#( like something in them suddenly switches off and whatever fuzziness )

[bloodacre]

nvm zazriel managed to worm in anyways. they never stop smiling. they think thats how to get people to like you, to smile and show that youre their friend. you can trust them :] .. ofc thats untrue and it tends to make them look unreal and unsettling. but they still do it anyways. mostly because theyre unaware of how it makes them look. so you know something is horribly wrong when they finally frown.

[rubra-wav]

Hii! Can I get lil sceanarios/oneshots of Vox, Husk, and Lucifer (if you write for him) where they are ranting about something thats bothering them to their crush, so they kiss him to shut them up?

I just love the thought of them being completely caught off guard and all blushy 😚😚

Thanks!

Vox, Husk and Lucifer x crush!reader shutting them up with a kiss

Cw: SFW, gn!reader, fluff

Vox

- After another public spat with Alastor (albeit, a lot less explosive then last time) Vox sits next to you bitching his head off about it, occasionally glitching and sparking as he emphasises words.

- "I can't believe that old asshole has the audacity to come after my design choices. Mine. I mean, can you believe that! They look great- right (name)?" He doesn't wait for you to respond to his question, just cuts you off as you nod and open your mouth to speak going on with his rant.

- "Exactly! My shit is perfect. It's top of the line. I wish he'd just fuck off to whatever crevice he crawled out of!"

- You inwardly sigh watching him carry on. As much as you loved to just stare at him as he animatedly talked loudly both with his voice and also his hands, it was beginning to get somewhat annoying listening to him repeat the same things over and over again while occasionally seeking reassurance from you.

- You smile slightly, looking at his lips moving as he spoke.

- You'd seen him drink and eat stuff, but how exactly did they work? If you kissed him, would it just be screen? Would he be able to feel it?

- He continued to ramble on, not noticing you had peaced out mentally about 3 minutes ago.

- Not noticing you moving your face closer to him from the corner of his eye.

- "When I get my hands on him, I'm going to beat the shit out of him! Right (name), I'd totally win, wouldn't I-" he turns to you as he asks, and suddenly he's feeling warm lips pressed against his screen over where his mouth is displayed.

- A loud binging sound is heard as Vox momentarily errors at the sudden gesture.

- You pull your lips off of him, and look at him with raised brows. "Could you feel that? All I felt was warm glass." You asked as you watched his monitor glitch and then switch back to his usual face dumbly blinking, blue flush covering his cheeks.

- As Vox gained his bearings, he glared at you. "H-hey!" He cringed at his stutter before clearing his throat. "You can't just do that out of nowhere, Doll! The fuck?"

- Vox would be pissed off and flustered you'd tried to quiet him by kissing him out of nowhere. Who the hell do you think you are essentially telling him to shut up??

- The smaller voice being squashed was yelling about how it liked the feeling of your lips on him and wanted more, though.

Husk

- The Bartender rarely got to be the one to rant about his issues, so when you showed up as someone he trusted and loved, he took the chance to complain to his heart's content.

- "And that idiotic daddy issue having child has been forcing me to play along with her delusions. I can't just say fuck off as usual because Alastor is ordering me to partake in it for his own sick fucking enjoyment!" Husk growled before taking a long sip of his drink.

- "The sooner I can get out of that shithole, the better. I can't wait for Alastor to get bored of it, I am going crazy having to participate in 'trust exercises' and 'bonding activities'" Husk emphasised each example with mock sweetness, clearly disgusted by it.

- You snorted. "What, has she been making you make arts and crafts or something?" You joked, but then grew silent when he sourly nodded.

- "Yes. She made us do hand painting like some fucking kindergarten class. There's still yellow paint stuck in my fur from where Niffty rolled in it and jumped onto me!" He turned around to show you his back, and sure enough, yellow paint clung to his fur.

- Husk went on complaining about 3 in 1 and how it wouldn't do shit for it, and that's when an impulse took over you suddenly as you watched his fuzzy cheeks move.

- Husk abruptly stopped as you leaned forward to kiss his cheek, instead catching his mouth by accident as he unconsciously turned towards you.

- It only lasts a second as you realise your error, apologising profusely. "Sorry! I meant to get your cheek!"

- Husk stutters in surprise, unable to get out any words for a long while, before coughing and turning away, unable to meet your eyes.

- He brings a hand to touch his lips, flushing darkly under his fur at the memory of your lips on his, the scent of the sweet cocktail he'd made you on your breath as it happened had him feeling dizzy.

- Christ.

- He interrupts you from where you were apologising profusely, kissing you again.

- Liquid courage tells him not to let this opportunity pass, so he doesn't.

Lucifer

- He was very down on himself about a rather failed day out with his daughter.

- The impression that he was happy and okay had fallen to bits the second he discussed how he'd tried to take Charlie to Loo Loo World only for paparazzi to storm him and lead to a series of unfortunate events ending with Charlie covered in an overly sweet drink and popcorn and having to leave.

- "And then she looked so awkward and uncomfortable when she said goodbye! My daughter hates me!" He exclaimed, burying his face in his hands.

- You shook your head, patting his shoulder and trying to tell him that wasn't true.

- "I'm the world's worst father. I caused all of hell to exist, and for someone like you to get condemned to this horrible place, and after all these mistakes, I still can't do anything right." He looked up at you, dejected, tears in his eyes.

- Your heart hurts seeing it. You just want him to stop talking about himself in such a way.

- So you do the only thing you can properly think of on the spot.

- "I'm just a failur-hff!" he hums loudly in surprise as his face is gripped, and suddenly your lips are on his.

- As he comprehends what's happening, tears well up in his eyes alongside his now pounding heart as years of him not being touched like this weigh on him all at once. It felt wonderful to be held and kissed by someone - let alone you.

- You pull away after a short time, hands gently brushing across his now even more overly warm cheeks.

- "Don't say that about yourself. You aren't a failure, Luci." You softly say. "Tell Charlie you're sorry and arrange a more private activity with her. She's your daughter, she will forgive you." Lucifer slowly nods against your hands.

- He doesn't say anything, mouth slightly parted as he looks at you with wide, lovesick eyes as his mind races alongside his heart. You're so warm.

- His hands come to rest atop your's, keeping them against his cheeks as his eyes flutter shut, basking in your touch.

- "Please just let us stay like this for a little longer." He breathily whispers. His face crumples as you nod and invite him to come closer into your arms.

- The king of hell slumps against you, craving but still hesitant to further request your touch.

Masterlist

[heartfullofleeches]

Camp counselor darling and slasher yan? 👀

Fire crackles in the pale moonlight. Figures cower behind a tree stump as a shadow rises from its amber flames, beckoning the braver of the group to draw closer as its voice drops to a grumble.

"It's said that in this exact forest - right where you're all sitting, is where those hikers met their end. On what had been a quiet, peaceful hike until then, the group suddenly began to hear whistling from the trees. A bird's call some would claim, but none of them could argue the strangeness of it all. The sound was a constant as they moved on, switching directions and even allegedly playing right in the leader's ear. A chilling drone that drew further when brought into question- like whatever was watching them was enjoying their increasing fears. They say if you listen closely - you can still hear it-"

The shadows purses its lips in a would be bone rattling hum save for the giggle they're unable to keep in. Still - the call works in favor of their narrative; teeth chattering from more than just the cold.

"The group collectively ruled to write it off as the sounds of the forest, but the deeper they traveled, the louder it grew... and louder... and louder.... until...it fell from the trees."

A hand slips discreetly into its pocket and over the flames - the fires quickly consume the salts and burst in a fiery, devilish red.

"The severed head of one of their members... missing their tongue!"

The screams of the campers reach all the way back to the main hall as you laugh maniacally- drinking the sweet cries of your victims for as long as they'd play along. With a playful shove from behind, the tarp dropped over your shoulders fall into the arms of your fellow teammate as they shake their head with a chuckle.

"Quit telling ghost stories before lights out. We want them to actually sleep when we get them indoors."

"Aww, come on - they earned it. Clean up their mess on time and majority of what you see here won the tug of war game earlier. That counts for something - right?"

You glance back at your audience who all agree on the notion. It was nice to have some people on your side. Really, you couldn't imagine a better way to spend your summer. Your fellow council was a blast, and groups like those seated around you loved the stories and games you came up with. There honestly weren't any issues at the camp - until your last story about man eating spiders left a camper with a fuzzy blanket restless.

Your teammate stifles their grin and tucks the tarp under their arm, clasping their hands over their mouth as the address the campers. "Alright, lights out in ten. Make sure you have all your belongings or we will take them for ourselves. Stick to the buddy system and get back to your cabins.... that means you too, Y/n."

You wave them off, crossing your legs over one another as you sit in the dirt. "Yeah, I know. I'll head it once the fire dies."

The campers gather their things and wave their goodbyes.

"Bye, Y/n."

"See you in the morning, Y/n."

"Can't wait to see what you got next!"

"See you!" You wave everyone off, warming your hands at the fire as everyone leaves. Eyeing the supplies someone had forgotten, you search around for a stick and roast the remaining marshmallows over the embers as the passing breeze snuffs the roaring sparks. You zip up your jacket as it bites - leaning back to watch the moon as it ducks behind the hanging trees. One by one, lights around the camp go out - a soft hum enduring as the whir of electrics drains out. A branch snaps behind you.

"Dawn? You back already?"

Silence...but still, faintly- breathing. You laugh, sandwiching the marshmallow between two crackers. "I know you're here. I can hear you."

Weight shifts behind you. You look back to see, but the branches and haze of night obscure your sight of the silhouette in the trees. ".....I like your stories...."

"Thanks.... but you're not Dawn.... Lewis, that you? I told you I'm not interested, but you're still welcome to sit by the fire."

" 'fraid not.... I'm not from your part of the woods. Is this.. Lewis giving you problems, Dear?"

"Nah, just a flirt... Who are you then."

Silence - followed by the dying pops of the fire. "Just passing by. Live up the creek a few miles down and fancy a stroll now and then. Didn't know the camp wad reopening so soon and overheard one of your stories a couple nights back. You're a whole lot nicer than the group they brought in last year.... cuter too."

"You sure you're not Lewis?... You're welcome to come back and listen another time if you like - if you're just passing by again."

The smile in their voice is indisputable. "I'm sure we'll be seeing alot of each other, Y/n... I can almost guarantee it."

"Right, hey - it's getting kinda late so I have to go. There's still some marshmallows in the bag you can have if you want." No response. You take it as a yes anyway and leave the bag out for them as you throw what remained of your smore into the pit. You stand up, leaving to grab something to put out the fire and the charred remains of your dessert. A figure steps from the shadow and completes the first task for you - picking up your half eaten smore and dusting off the ash as they lowered their mask. A hum at the sweetness of the treat pitches into a soft whistle as the figure disburses back into the trees.

You exit the main hall, water bottle in hand and head back to the pit site - stopped by none other than your teammate from before.

"Hey, Y/n- you seen Lewis anywhere? He said he was going to check out some noise he heard and hasn't come back yet."

[hype-blue-fixation]

Spying from the Bayou (SFW tickle ficlet)

One sided radiostatic and implied platonic radiorose.

Vox spies on Alastor doing self tickling while talking to Rosie through his voodoo dolls.

He was hopeless. Obsessed. Pitiable. Always one step behind no matter how far forward he thought he was. His name was Vox. Even today, he thought he'd won some sparkling victory for having snuck a camera into the Radio Demon's tardis room. Normally he would be met with fuzzy images of the demon from where his stupid outdated power messed with the technology.

Now he watched crystal clear as Alastor entered, locking his door with comically sized chains and locks. Whatever he was about to do was something he really didn't want anyone to see, and Vox sat on the edge of his seat to drink every second of it. Perhaps some blackmail or a dirty secret would come of his spying.

Alastor began unbuttoning his jacket. Then suddenly his clothes poofed away into a closet, replaced by a vintage women's night gown and pants. No doubt a gift from Rosie. Alastor yawned and stretched his way into bed. Fluffy fur poured out from the gown collar, getting thinner toward his hands and hooves. Vox's heart melted at how soft the radio demon looked. Not at all like his usual conniving and murderous self. The TV demon was already drooling over the headlines. Slandering his rival's foreboding reputation. Imprinting the image of a delicate fawn into the eyes of the public.

He continued watching as Alastor cozied up in bed, pulling his pillows around him and summoning plushy voodoo dolls to his side. God, how much better could this get? He hugged the dolls close and picked at their stitched faces, absent-mindedly tearing the thread out as he stared at the ceiling. It was obvious his mind was wandering in far away places. If only Vox could see those thoughts.

The claws that had been picking at the doll eventually reached up to touch the corners of his own permanent smile. Picking away as if he could remove the invisible thread in his face, too. A small pang of guilt tugged at Vox's heart. A feeling he quickly overwhelmed with quips about how weak and dumb Alastor looked. Vulnerable. Exploitable. How so very exploitable.

Alastor suddenly rearranged himself into a sitting position. His dolls close, friends that had no choice but to do his bidding. Stay exactly how he posed them with their stitched up grins. Then he began talking to them as if they were alive or possessed the ghost of someone special.

“Rosie, dear. Are you there?”

Of course it would be Rosie. Who else? The dolls didn't make a sound, but the way that Alastor smiled…genuinely smiled with his eyes…made it seem like he could hear her voice through them.

“That's good to hear. Unfortunately my day hasn't been quite so bright. I wish I could come see you. I'm in one of…those moods. How do you call it? Yes, that word.”

Vox leaned forward as if he could step into the room himself and hear the other side of the conversation. How frustrating.

Alastor went quiet and brought his hands up to his neck. At first looking like he was trying to strangle himself, but a shift in the camera view revealed that he was spidering his hands from the top and bottom of his neck. Lightly scratching his nails across the pale, sun deficient skin. His eyes fluttered closed, his head tilting from one side to the other as if he couldn't decide which side felt better.

A deep sigh of genuine relaxation echoed in the large room. The hands moved from his neck and took turns rolling up the gown sleeve of the opposite arm. Exposing more skin and thin fur that faded out into a beautiful shade of ebony. One hand scribbled on the underside of the other forearm. Extremely slow and teasy, all the way from the elbow to wrist and back. His eyes opened, but his gaze floated off into some unknown space.

When he switched arms, his body twitched and his breath hitched. Whatever he was doing, it made him feel good. Relaxed. Cuddly. As his claws kept dancing around, he melted against his bed and hid his face in a pile of plushy dolls. Hiding the genuine curls to the edge of his smile, muffling the soft giggles and whines that threatened to be heard.

Vox was livid. He wanted to see that dumb silly little grin with a spaced out stare. Catch those disgustingly adorable sounds on record to broadcast all over Hell. Even when Alastor wasn't aware of the camera, he still made his likeness impossible to capture.

Out of what seemed like nowhere, Alastor removed his gown top. Revealing an upper body full of fluffy, curling fur. One arm tucked behind his head as the opposite hand explored with tickly touches. The fleshy underside of his upper arm, toward the armpit, down the side, and back up again. His body jerked when certain spots were grazed along, especially close to the armpit and over his ribcage. Sometimes even pulling out a sweet little giggly hum.

Vox wanted more. To have his claws dancing on those sensitive spots, eliciting those sickeningly adorable little sounds. Imagine the blackmail. Imagine the stories. Imagine his own exploding heart and popping circuits from how cute it was. He could feel his screen heating up to a point where the fans nearly kicked on.

“Rosie, shush! You're not helping! Shut up!” Alastor playfully bantered, saying mean things in the purest way. Whatever she was whispering through the dolls, given that this whole thing wasn't just imagination, had the radio demon's face turning a healthy shade of pink. He switched to the other side, playing with a fresh set of nerves. 

His little hooves shivered and clicked against each other as he tried very hard not to break into a giggle fit. His smile growing with his need to hide it in the pillows and dolls.

“No,” Vox whispered at the screen, “you're going to show me that ugly little smile.”

As if he could hear him and obey his command, Alastor turned his face up. The smile completely true and bright, not hiding any shifty schemes behind its sharp teeth. Only genuine joy and fuzzy feelings. This only happened by accident, but Vox felt like Alastor was looking directly at him. Oh how his digital heart leapt at the mere fleeting thought. Hopeless.

Alastor's claws moved from his sides and both settled on his soft belly. Scribbling up the sides, over the top. His fingers moving in such an eye-catching and fascinating way. Like spider legs barely contacting his skin. it almost looked like art. The reactions even more so.

Little fawn-like bleats. Biting his lip to dam up the embarrassing noise. His hooves still clicking and kicking ever so slightly.

A single claw circled around his belly button, and that seemed to be the absolute end of his patience. He melted into a pile of giggling goo. Draping the idle arm over his mouth to muffle the sound. Such a shield could only hide so much. Eventually his giggles and sighs rose higher.

Locked away emotions bubbled up inside Vox. The desire to make those giggles fill up that entire room. To see his rival reduced to a fuzzy mass of useless goo. Unable to look him in the eyes because he was too busy hiding in dolls and pillows. Exploiting the demon wasn't even part of these strange desires. What could these feelings even be called? They were too pure for him to apply any label he knew.

Alastor's self teasing came to an end. He stretched out on his bed and sighed deeply. Fully relaxed like a baby in a warm cradle. And for the first time, Vox actually witnessed the overlord sleep. Gripping tightly to his voodoo dolls. Curled up in a fetal position with his head folded back on his body uncomfortably. His eyes stayed wide open, but Vox somehow knew he was sleeping inside that empty head. Creepy. Unsettling. Adorable. Charming.

After witnessing that pure little scene, Vox couldn't bring himself to do any of the things he'd originally planned. Exposing Alastor in this way felt morally wrong, like stealing a baby's candy or kicking an old woman who's already on the ground. At least he forever had the footage to go back and watch again and again. To obsess over.

Except that he forgot to hit the record button.

What a shame.

[lunartuness]

Attributes

Some short fluff I couldn't get out of my head about Vox and Alastor teasing the other for their forms. You can read on ao3 if you'd rather: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54024907

“I know you’re supposed to be a big scary Wendigo, and all.” Vox started, breaking the peaceful atmosphere between him and the radio demon. Currently they were on Vox’s sofa in his penthouse, Alastor laying with his head in Vox’s lap and enjoying the light scratches Vox was giving his ears. Or he had been, before Vox opened his big mouth. The light jazz that had been playing from nowhere came to an abrupt halt. Alastor’s ears twitched in annoyance when Vox stopped rubbing them.

“Supposed to be?” Alastor looked up through narrowed eyes, a staticky filter over his voice.

“Are, you are, of course.” Vox frantically amended, seeing the glint of sharp teeth Alastor was bearing at him. He resumed his petting quickly. “But you gotta admit, when you’re in your normal form, your deer attributes are pretty cute.”

“Oh?”

If Vox wasn’t as much of a simp he might’ve heeded the warning in Alastor’s tone. Instead, he continued on, never one to turn down an invitation to gush about the other. “I mean, your soft fuzzy ears you can’t fully control” Vox spoke fondly, idly scratching in a spot he knew Alastor couldn’t resist, eliciting a pleased hum from the deer despite himself. “Your tiny cute antlers make you look absolutely darling, and that sweet little tail you hide away certainly-”

Vox suddenly found himself unable to speak, quite literally. Alastor sat up from his lap, grinning cruelly at the now annoyed TV.

“Your attributes make me rather fond of you as well, love.” He laughed at the mute sign covering Vox’s mouth.

A grumpy Vox glared back at him. Subtitles filtered across the bottom of his screen. “I gave you that remote as a sign of trust you asshole.”

“And I let you play with my tail as a sign of trust, seems like we were both fools, no?” Alastor said with no real heat behind it.

The two glared in standoff, just long enough for Alastor to consider unmuting Vox when the other lunged.

He pounced onto his prey, catching Alastor so off guard he couldn’t help the nervous little grunt he made or the way his ears folded down and his tail shot fully up and alert (for a fucking herd that didn’t exist, one day he’d finally cut that monstrosity off).

Vox grinned victoriously, easily flipping the wide-eyed deer beneath him so he could tug and play with that oh so adorable tail he loved. Just because he was muted doesn’t mean both of them had to be silent, he figured.

Alastor allowed it for a minute, rolling his eyes and thankful he couldn’t see whatever nonsense Vox was surely spewing across his screen instead of his usual very vocal tirade. He really should mute the other more often. Still, he indulged the TV, giving in to the little moans and sighs he felt compelled to make, even letting his tail wag as it pleased when he usually tried (and admittedly failed) to control it.

Thinking he’d be rewarded for his polite behavior somehow, it wasn’t until Vox yanked particularly hard on both his tail and ears that Alastor suddenly switched their positions, patience having run out. It seemed Vox needed a reminder of who he was truly playing with.

Vox felt himself slam into the sofa with a jolt hard enough to make his screen glitch briefly. Radio static flooded his senses and the interference from that alone was enough to make him dizzy. Sharp claws sunk into his shoulders as Alastor loomed above him, antlers wide and teeth bared in a painful looking grin. Radio dials overtook his eyes as he cracked his elongated neck, looking for all the world like he was about to devour Vox. Right. Wendigo.

Alastor lunged, stopping his teeth an inch away from Vox’s delicate and exposed wiring at his throat, causing the other to flinch. “You know,” He spoke roughly, static warping his voice into something truly sinister, “I really do wonder what would happen if we tore some of these out.” He laughed darkly and for a second Vox thought he was actually going to find out when instead he was met with a simple kiss to his throat.

“Perhaps an idea for another day though.” Alastor said cheerfully, back in his normal form and sitting up with a wide grin, enjoying the shaky dazed look his partner beneath him had.

Unmuting Vox, he nuzzled the others neck again, careful of his antlers as he showed his affection.

Beneath him, Vox let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding (not that he even needed to breathe).

“You’re one fucking creepy-ass cryptid, you know that right?” He spoke with resignation, begrudgingly arching his neck and exposing it more to allow the other to scent properly.

“Mm, and that is why you love me, my dear.” Alastor spoke happily, still licking and nipping lightly at his partner’s wires, careful not to apply too much pressure.

“Yeah, I guess.” Vox sighed, relaxing into the touch and letting the moment end in peace.

“Your tail is still the fucking cutest thing ever though.”

Both deer and TV felt a light shock when Alastor bit down hard enough to cut through one of the wires. It was fine, though. They both knew it wasn’t one of the important ones anyways.

[universitypenguin]

Good morning, I have rejoined the land of living. Either the drugs have kicked in or I’m actually feeling better, but I’m ready to resume my commentary.

I have a headcannon of Mandy as that mean girl from TikTok who justified bullying as “something evolutionary or like, biological, that has to happen when you’re young.” If you’ve seen her TikTok, you’ll understand.

This is the one:

Jake looked at you with an expression that could only be described as awe

Good! 😊 This makes me so happy, because it proves that Jake just needs to feel appreciated. Thanks to Mandy, the bar is in hell… you know, I actually kind of appreciate the role-reversal of this situation. In most romance plots you see the girl having been in the bad relationship before and the guys is the one who switches things up, making her feel appreciated and happy. However, the way you’ve set it up, it actually lands better for me. Like, there’s more of an emotional punch to Jake suddenly feeling acknowledged by Skipper. He’s clearly been in an emotionally abusive relationship (or semi-relationship, idk what exactly his status is with Mandy) for years and seeing him get a glimpse of a better future for himself gives me the warm fuzzies.

“Shut up.” / All eyes turned to Jake.

Ahhh… here we go! Let’s see it, Jake. Stand up for yourself!

“You shouldn’t listen to Mandy, okay? She’s a stone cold bitch on the best of days, and, well, she’s never been told ‘no’ a day in her life. She’s always gotten what she wanted, when she wanted it.”

I like Bradley. He’s being very supportive and he tells it like it is. I’m putting a premium on honesty in this story and Brad is getting points for keeping it real - which is more than I can say for Bob!

Bradley snorted beside you, and the two of you looked over at where he was smirking, eyes peeking at Jake before looking back at you. / “How could I forget?” He drawled, taking another sip of his beer. “I met Rusty when you and I were snuggled in bed the other morning.” / You were cut off by a growl to your left. You turned to see Jake’s entire expression had changed. His jaw was clenched, eyes trained on Bradley as if he wanted to take his head off.

Ooohh… jealous!Jake is in the building

“Listen,” Jake started, stopping to turn to you, eyes earnest as they took you in. “I’m sorry about Mandy-”

Eh, it’s okay for him to apologize. If it serves to reinforce the reality of how awful she is, I say go for it.

“It’s my fault she’s taking it out on you.”

Again, he gets points for honesty and for accurately sizing up the situation, then taking accountability for his part in the conflict. Right now in the story, any character sticking closely to an honest account is in my circle of trust and anyone who isn’t… they’re cancelled. 🙅🏼‍♀️

the hand that was cradling your cheek slowly drifted down until it brushed the mark on your neck. You let out a wanton cry at the shock of pleasure that jolted through you at the simple touch, and Jake smirked down at you, stroking softly over the mark again and again as he drew more pleasured cries from you.

What?! Okay, what exactly did this mark connect to physically, mentally, or magically to produce that kind of sensation?

You gasped, grasping at your ears at the almost inhuman shriek that pierced the night air.

It’s Mandy, isn’t it? I already know it’s Mandy… and… I’m right!

Mandy glaring at him, blue eyes practically glowing with rage.

She’s one of them, isn’t she? Mandy is a mermaid. If so, I have a bad feeling for Skipper. Also, in light of Mandy’s reaction, I’m wondering how the frenzy affects female merpeople. Is Mandy really awful, or is the hormones/magic, whatever that’s bringing this out in her? Based on what Bradley said, I’m leaning towards “no,” but it was an interesting side thought.

Also, yikes! 😳 Possessive much, Mandy? Someone’s more than a little delusional if she thinks she “owns” anyone… possessive isn’t a good look on anyone but it’s particularly off putting when we know Jake doesn’t feel the same way. Let’s call this what it is- Mandy is an abusive girlfriend.

“No,” Jake growled, “I’m not.”

Excellent follow through on standing up for yourself, Jake. You’re getting the hang of this. All you needed was the right motivation.

“I’m just going to head back so you two can talk in private,” you murmured.

Relatable. I’d extract myself from that situation so fast if it were me. 😂

The song was beautiful, melancholic. It was unlike the one you had heard before, this one sounding more animal like than human, but you still found yourself drawn to it. It called to you, begging you to listen, and you did, feeling the sound drift through your mind and pulling you in.

Ooohh… this is interesting. More animal than human, you say? 🤨

You let out a cry as you were yanked away from the water, a strong hand on your upper arm. / You whirled around to see Javy staring at you with an intense worry

Huh. That was an interesting incident at the end. I can surmise from the context clues that this wasn’t the song we heard before, which was presumably from Jake.

I’m looking forward to seeing how this plays out!

Meet Me at the Sea: Chapter Five

Meet Me at the Sea: Chapter Five

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Reader

Summary: Your best friend, Bob Floyd, had insisted you join him for the summer at his family's home along the Carolina coasts. You had been hesitant at first, but ultimately agreed to his request. Now, here you were in a new town with strange locals who spoke in hushed whispers and cryptic retellings about glistening scales, glowing eyes, and haunting songs that echoed from the sea. You didn't believe them at first, but when you wake up on the beach one morning after having fallen overboard the night before, you can't help but think that maybe you hadn't imagine the strong arms and deep, green eyes of the man that had saved you.

Trigger warnings: Language, Mean girl Mandy, Flirting, Alcohol, Siren call, Supernatural elements, Kind of suggestive/smutty but not really? idk

Word Count: 4.2k

A/N: Alright, alright! The ball is starting to roll! We've got a lot going on now, I think. Can't wait to hear y'all's thoughts! Also, shoutout to @goldenseresinretriever for letting me bounce ideas off of her! You the real MVP!! If you're feeling kind/generous, please consider buying me a ko-fi! Also, if you DO NOT fill out the form below (Tag List) then you will not be tagged! I will be referring to that Google form from now on! As always, reblogs, comments and likes are greatly appreciated! Asks/requests are always open! 18+ ONLY!! You can find me on AO3 under sailor_aviator where I also post my updates!

Series Masterlist || Jake "Hangman" Seresin Tag List

“I thought the bonfires happened the other night?” You asked Bob as the two of you made your way down the practically deserted streets. It was late, and the only people out were the young adults still looking to have a good time. The family friendly activities had ended hours ago, and now it was time for the partying to start.

“They were supposed to,” he said, eyes scanning the dimly lit street, “but they got postponed because of all the rain the other week. This was the only night that worked for most everyone around town.”

“That works out for us, I guess,” you hummed, hearing the sound of crashing waves grow closer as you neared the beach.

“Hey, thing one and thing two!”

The two of you turned around to see a grinning Bradley jogging up behind you, and you turned with a smile to greet him.

“Hey, Bradley!” You chirped. “We thought you’d already be down at the beach with everyone else.”

“I was, but I forgot my phone at the house,” he said, waving his phone in his hand. “So I ran back to grab it. Everyone else should already be down there, though.”

“We better get a move on before all the drinks are gone,” Bob mused, already moving once again. Bradley fell into step alongside you, bumping your shoulder with his.

“Feel like I haven’t seen you in forever, Skipper,” he joked, casting a smirk down at you. “You been avoiding me?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” you giggled.

Bradley scoffed, giving you an offended look that was made less serious by the grin on his face. “Me? Avoid you? Don’t be ridiculous. Who in their right mind would avoid a sweet, little thing like you?”

“You must not really know her then,” Bob snorted. “She practically cut my hand off when I went for the last fry at lunch today.”

“That was entirely your fault,” you huffed, sticking your tongue out at him. “You know how much I love french fries.”

“Yeah, enough to cause grievous bodily injuries, apparently,” he smirked. You scowled at him before looking back at Bradley who was also smirking at you.

“He’s being dramatic,” you offered with a shrug.

“Barely.”

“Like you’re one to talk,” you griped as the three of you walked down the stairs and onto the beach. You could see the glow from the various fires flicker in the night, groups of different people huddled around each one. “I have to set an alarm every morning to wake up before he does if I want any bacon.”

“Oh, trust me,” Bradley laughed, steering you towards a fire on the edge of the grouping, Bob in tow. “I grew up with him. I know how much bacon he puts away.”

“I am not that bad,” Bob huffed, earning identical dubious looks from both you and Bradley. You giggled when Bradley quirked his eyebrow at you.

“Sure you aren’t, Bob,” you laughed, earning a scowl from your best friend.

“You made it!”

The three of you turned to see Nat waving at you, the rest of the squad already settled in on the towels surrounding the small fire. You felt a shiver run up your spine as you made eye contact with a pair of mossy green ones. You looked away as your cheeks warmed, letting Bradley guide you across the fire and down on a group of towels, Bob on your other side.

“So,” said the brunette sitting next to Jake, blue eyes calculating as she took you in. She was just as beautiful as the last time you saw her. Tan skin glowed in the light from the fire, body lithe and athletic. She looked like she walked off the cover of a fashion magazine, and her narrowed gaze was trained on you, lips curled into waht appeared to be a permanent sneer. “You must be the tagalong I’ve heard so much about. Skipper was it?”

You shifted uncomfortably, glancing over at Bradley as he stiffened next to you, a glare fixed on his face as he looked at her.

“Yeah,” you said, offering an anxious smile as you looked back at her. “That’s what they call me anyway.”

“It’s cute,” she said, tone indicating that she most certainly did not find it cute. “I’m Mandy. You’ve probably heard of me from the others.”

“Oh, yeah,” you smiled. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I’m not surprised,” she continued with a smirk. “I’ve known everyone here since we were in diapers. We go way back, you know. Don’t feel bad if you end up feeling left out in our conversations, okay?”

You shifted again, this time knocking your knee into your bag. The shells you carried with you jostled, clinking together, and you blushed when everyone looked at you.

“What was that?” Mickey asked, peering over to get a better look. You lifted your bag as you began to pull each shell out and placing it carefully on the towel.

“Oh, these are the shells and things I’ve been finding everywhere!” You smiled, running your fingers over the conch. “Aren’t they amazing? I’ve never seen so many beautiful shells in my life! And they’re all perfectly in tact, can you believe it? It’s like someone just plucked them up off the ocean floor and set them out for me to find!”

“That’s quite a collection,” Nat chuckled, shooting a smirk off to the side. You followed her line of sight, and your eyes made direct contact with the mossy green ones from earlier. Jake looked at you with an expression that could only be described as awe as he took you in, eyes peering down to where you cradled the conch gently in your hands before looking back up at you. His eyes shone in the firelight, a hint of a smile on his lips as he looked at you. You felt another blush creep up your neck, and you leaned forward to place the conch closer to the fire for everyone to see. You heard a sharp intake of breath, and you looked up to see Mandy with a look of rage and shock on her face as she stared at you. You realized quickly she wasn’t staring at your face, but rather down at the base of your neck. Her eyes darted up to meet yours and her expression shifted quickly into one of cold contempt.

“You actually carry those around with you?” She sneered, scoffing out a laugh. “What are you? Five?”

You frowned up at her, suddenly feeling self conscious as you glanced around the group. Their smiles had shifted into looks of irritation as they glared at the brunette.

“Oh, I just-”

“I mean,” she sniffed, cutting you off, “I suppose it’s fitting for someone who looks like you though, right? You’re not exactly dressed to impress or anything.”

You looked down at your clothes, a frown on your face. You weren’t normally self conscious. Sure, you didn’t look like a model like Mandy, but you didn’t think you were hard on the eyes. You had dressed for comfort though, and it was plain to see in your jean shorts, tank top, and white button up. Mandy wore a pair of cutoffs and a tight fitting tank top that showed off her figure, and her makeup was immaculate. You hadn’t seen the point in putting any on. Should you have?

“Mandy,” Bob growled, glaring in a warning.

“Oh, I know she’s your friend and all, Bobby,” Mandy continued, a viscious smirk poised on her lips. “But let’s be honest. I mean, we’re among friends, right? And friends should be honest with each other. You’d be lucky if anyone gave you the time of day looking like that. Nevermind the silly, little shells you’re carrying around everywhere. You really should have left those back at the house, you know. And tell me you brought something nice to where for the ocean dance festival. Can you imagine if you wore some frumpy shorts to something like tha-”

“Shut up.”

All eyes turned to Jake who was glaring into the fire, eyes cold as the water that lapped the shore behind you. Mandy narrowed her eyes at him, rage clouding her features.

“Excuse me?” She spat, turning to face him. His gaze shifted to her, jaw clenching.

“Was I not clear enough?” He said evenly. “I said ‘shut up.’”

You hadn’t even realized that tears had gathered in your eyes until Bob laid a gentle hand on your shoudler causing you to jump. You looked over at him, sniffling as he gave you a concerned look. You wiped at the corner of your eyes, scrambling to your feet. You felt everyone’s eyes on you as you shifted from one foot to the other, avoiding their gazes.

“I’m, uh,” you gulped, trying to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill over. “I’m gonna go get something to drink.”

“I’ll come with you,” Bradley said, moving to his feet and giving you a gentle smile. “I’m parched.”

You turned to Bob with a watery smile. “You want anything?”

He studied you for a second, eyes uncertain. You gave him a look that you hoped communicated your need to pretend like you were okay, and he pressed his lips together.

“Just a beer.”

“You got it!” You smiled, trying and failing to add your usual cheeriness to the statement. You gave a half smile that you were sure came off as more of a grimace as you made your way towards the line of coolers on the other side of the fires. Bradley followed you silently, and you kept your head down, feeling the tears start to stream down your cheeks.

You knew you were being silly. They were just words after all, and you were a grown woman. You shouldn’t be letting silly words get to you like this. But why did they hurt so bad? You knelt by one of the coolers, fishing out two beers and a coke. You handed one of the beers to Bradley, refusing to make eye contact with him as you pushed the lid to the cooler closed.

“Hey,” he said, grabbing onto your arm gently, pulling you so that you faced him.

You kept your head down, and Bradley let out a sigh.

“Listen,” he started, hesitating as if he were choosing his next words carefully. “You shouldn’t listen to Mandy, okay? She’s a stone cold bitch on the best of days, and, well, she’s never been told ‘no’ a day in her life. She’s always gotten what she wanted, when she wanted it.”

“What’s your point?” You muttered, glancing off to the side as you wrapped your arms around yourself. Bradley let out another sigh, taking his hand from your arm to run it through his hair.

“My point is that she’s taking her new experience with the word out on you, and it’s not fair. I know it’s hard, but just ignore her, okay? She’s just jealous.”

“Of me?” You scoffed, finally meeting his gaze. Bradley smirked down at you, casting you a wink.

“You’re pretty great, Skipper,” he hummed. “Anyone with eyes can see it. Now, come on. Let’s head back to the others, yeah?”

You nodded, and the two of you made your way back to the fire. As you approached, you noted that Jake was the only one still there, eyes trained on the flames in front of him, seemingly deep in thought. He jumped when Bradley plopped down next to him, leaving just enough room for you to slide in between them.

“Where’d the others go?” Bradley asked, twisting the top off his beer and taking a swig from the bottle. Jake grimaced, gesturing around towards the other fires.

“Take your pick.”

Bradley hummed, leaning back on the towel with his legs outstretched towards the fire. The three of you were silent for a moment, and you felt a tingling sensation on your left side. You turned to find Jake already looking at you, eyes soft as they took you in. Your breath caught in your throat, cheeks flushing. You thought you should have been been creeped out with how intensely he was staring at you, but you felt oddly comfortable under his gaze. In fact, you found yourelf sitting up a little straighter, almost preening under his gaze, and a small smile tugged on Jake’s lips as he took you in, eyes blazing as they reached your neck.

You jumped as Bradley suddenly leaned over in front of you, breaking the spell you found yourself under. A shit eating grin was etched onto his face as he looked at Jake.

“Did you know Skipper here always wanted to be a mermaid?”

You felt yourself begin to splutter as your cheeks warmed for a different reason, eyes growing wide as you peered between the two men. Bradley waggled his eyebrows as Jake’s own shot up on his forehead. A smirk graced his lips, giving him a devilish look to his already handsome features. He looked at you, smirk intensifying as he saw your flustered state. He leaned forward, smirk growing into a grin as you glanced away.

“Is that so?” He hummed, warm breath ghosting over your face.

“I will remind you that I was, like, five at the time,” you snapped, glaring at Bradley. He only chuckled, resting his chin on his hand as he smirked lazily up at you.

“I think you’d make a cute mermaid, don’t you agree, Jake?”

Jake nodded with another hum, eyes taking on a look you couldn’t place, but it made you squirm nonetheless.

“Just imagine her swimming around with all her little fishy sidekicks,” Bradley teased, eyes alight with mischief. You scoffed, turning to face him.

“As if,” you snarked, “my sidekick wouldn’t be a fish, it would be a stingray.”

Jake quirked an eyebrow. “Why a stingray?”

“Oh,” you blushed, your nerves kicking up again. “Because they’re my favorite.”

Jake nodded slowly, like he was trying to commit that fact to memory. Bradley snorted beside you, and the two of you looked over at where he was smirking, eyes peeking at Jake before looking back at you.

“How could I forget?” He drawled, taking another sip of his beer. “I met Rusty when you and I were snuggled in bed the other morning.”

“That’s not-”

You were cut off by a growl to your left. You turned to see Jake’s entire expression had changed. His jaw was clenched, eyes trained on Bradley as if he wanted to take his head off. His fists were clenched so tight, you wouldn’t be surprised if he was drawing blood from where his fingernails dug into his palms. He was almost too still as he glared at Bradley, the other man looking smug as he took in his friend’s appearance.

“Are you okay?” You asked the blond, and his eyes glanced over at you, gaze seeming to soften as he took in your concern.

“Bradshaw!” Reuben called from across the way. “Get your ass over here!”

Bradley heaved a sigh, rolling his eyes as he got to his feet. “And that’s my cue,” he muttered.

You watched as he strutted over to where Reuben and Mickey were gathered with a group of people you didn’t know, leaving you alone with Jake.

“He’s such an ass sometimes,” he muttered, shaking his head.

“Isn’t he one of your best friends?” You asked him with a giggle. Jake’s demeanor seemed to relax at the sound.

“Unfortunately,” he grumbled, casting another glare over at where Bradley stood chatting and laughing.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” You frowned, noticing how tense he still seemed to be. He looked back at you, hesitating before letting out a sigh.

“Yeah, I guess I’m just feeling a little overheated or something,” he muttered, flexing his hands as he uncurled his fists. He moved to stand, and you followed suit.

“Think I’m going to go take a walk to cool off,” he mused, rolling his shoulders back. You frowned, rubbing a hand over your arm.

“Oh, okay,” you said, glancing at the ground, shifting your feet in the sand that covered the towel. Jake seemed to hesitate once more, chewing his bottom lip.

“Do you want to join me?” He asked you, his green eyes hopeful as you met his gaze. You felt a smile tug on your lips as you nodded.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” you murmured, moving to grab your bag. You stopped when you noticed it was placed neatly on top of the towel you had been sitting on previously, shells already back inside.

“I, uh,” Jake stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. “I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t want anything to happen to them, so I put them back in your bag. I guess I should have asked first instead of just moving them. I’m sorry if I-”

“No,” you smiled, “it’s okay. Thank you.”

Jake gave you a nervous, tight lipped smile before nodding. “You can leave your bag here if you want. No one is going to take it.”

You returned his nod, gesturing for him to lead the way down the beach.

The two of you walked in silence for a few minutes, the ocean waves crashing off to your right, and the cool, night breeze ruffling your hair.

“Listen,” Jake started, stopping to turn to you, eyes earnest as they took you in. “I’m sorry about Mandy-”

“Oh, no, Jake,” you frowned, shaking your head. “You don’t have to apologize for her.”

“No, but I do,” he stated firmly, face serious as he looked at you. “It’s my fault she’s taking it out on you. She’s been so convinced that she and I are going to end up together, and now that she knows that’s not the case, she’s on the warpath.”

“Jake,” you sighed, “I understand feeling some kind of weird responsibility for her, but her actions are her own. You shouldn’t have to apologize on her behalf. She’s a big girl just like I am, right? We’re adults who are capable of making our own decisions and apologizing for the wrong we do. None of this is your fault.”

He didn’t look convinced, and you took his hand in yours to offer him some kind of reassurance. A bolt of electricity ran through you, causing you to let out a gasp, and a warmth rushed over you, causing you to squirm. You felt like a magnet, drawn to Jake in a way that you couldn’t even begin to understand. You wanted to feel more of him, to consume and be consumed by him. You had never felt anything like it in your life, and you looked up at him hazy eyes to find that he wasn’t any better off.

His own eyes had a haze to them, seeming to glow in the moonlight. His breathing came out labored, almost like he was fighting to maintain his composure. His eyes raked over you, a hand coming up to rest on your cheek, and you nuzzled into it without thinking.

“You’re so pretty,” he breathed, voice barely above a whisper as he inched closer to you.

“You’re just saying that,” you muttered, leaning into him.

“No,” he stated firmly, causing you to jump just a hair. His other hand came up to rest on your hip, pulling you closer so that you were practically molded against him.

“No,” he said again, gentler this time. “I mean it. You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid my eyes on.”

If it were possible, you were sure your skin would have heated up even more than it already was. As it stood, a pleasant warmth spread through you at his proximity, and the hand that was cradling your cheek slowly drifted down until it brushed the mark on your neck. You let out a wanton cry at the shock of pleasure that jolted through you at the simple touch, and Jake smirked down at you, stroking softly over the mark again and again as he drew more pleasured cries from you.

“It’s okay,” he cooed, leaning his forehead against yours, nuzzling his nose against the tip of yours. “I’ve got you.”

You couldn’t find it in you to feel embarrassed at the intense amount of pleasure you felt at the simplest of touches, too focused on the way his hands felt on you. You raised your own, one hand cradling his cheek as the other ran through his golden hair. He let out a groan as you tugged gently on the soft strands, and you couldn’t help the small smirk that spread across your face. Jake’s eyes met yours, the green of them so intense that it took your breath away. He glanced down at your lips, slowly leaning in-

“Jacob Seresin!”

You gasped, grasping at your ears at the almost inhuman shriek that pierced the night air. Jake pulled back, placing you almost protectively behind him. You peered around him to see Mandy glaring at him, blue eyes practically glowing with rage. Her gaze turned to you, and you shrank back slightly, hiding behind Jake a little more. This only served to make Mandy even more irate, and she snarled as she stomped closer to the two of you.

Jake bristled, standing taller as he continued to block you from Mandy’s warpath.

“How dare you,” she spat at him, lips pulled back into a sneer. “You’re mine.”

“No,” Jake growled, “I’m not.”

You shifted behind him, moving out from behind him slowly, and the pair turned to look at you. You gave them a sheepish smile, as you inched around Mandy, hands up in a form of surrender.

“I’m just going to head back so you two can talk in private,” you murmured. Jake looked like he wanted to argue, but Mandy’s glare had you moving before he could say anything.

You wrapped your arms around yourself as you walked back towards the bonfires, already missing Jake’s touch. You had never felt anything so intense in your entire life, and you wondered what had come over you to make you act so brazenly. You weren’t one for hookups, but you weren’t even sure that’s what that was going to be. He had held you so gently, like you might break or run away at any moment. You had been so ready to give him every part of you in that moment. You knew you should have been worried at that thought, but a large part of you thought that it felt right, that you should give yourself to him. The more you thought about it, the more you found yourself wanting to turn around and go back to him.

You were about halfway back down the beach when it started. It was quiet at first, distant. But then it grew louder, and you found yourself slowing to a stop, turning towards the crashing waves to your left.

The song was beautiful, melancholic. It was unlike the one you had heard before, this one sounding more animal like than human, but you still found yourself drawn to it. It called to you, begging you to listen, and you did, feeling the sound drift through your mind and pulling you in. You weren’t sure when you started walking, but you felt the sand shift beneath your feet as you slowly made your way towards the water. The fires faded from your sight, the churning waves beckoning to you like gentle hands that promised refuge. The song grew louder, all consuming, blocking everything else out but the need to answer. You felt the wind whip your hair around you, the cold sting kissing your cheeks as the crashing waves grew louder, the song more desperate. The sand beneath your feet grew cold as you ventured into a spot where the water met the shoreline. You’re almost there, the song called to you. You felt a relieved smile tug on your lips at the thought of finally reaching your goal and answering the song. You felt the water come just up to your toes before retreating back. You closed your eyes in anticipation. Just one more step.

You let out a cry as you were yanked away from the water, a strong hand on your upper arm. Your arms reached for the water, your mind still foggy as a loud, keening cry sounded from the water before disappearing entirely. You whirled around to see Javy staring at you with an intense worry, Nat just behind him, worry clear on her face.

“Wha-” you mumbled, pressing a hand to the side of your head as it began to pound. “What happened? Javy?”

“Hey, Skipper,” he murmured gently, pulling you closer, away from the water. “We’ve been calling you for a while now. You okay?”

“I…” you trailed off, glancing between him and the water. “I’m not sure.”

“How about we get you some water, yeah?” Nat suggested, wrapping her arms around you as she led you back to the bonfires. You nodded slowly.

“Yeah,” you muttered, glancing back at the ocean. “Yeah, okay.”

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[passerine-writes]

Chapter 36

Warnings: Panic attack, minor medication usage, mentions of past trauma Word count: 2220

Back to Masterlist

Chapter 35 | Chapter 37

I snuck downstairs later on to get some food after not participating in 'family dinner', four boys on the phone since I refused to carry my laptop and they refused to leave me alone if it wasn't for the bathroom. I put in some earbuds and kept my phone in my back pocket, I felt completely and utterly out of it, but I slowly made my way over to the kitchen and pulled out left overs to heat them up in the microwave.

With a minute left on the clock, I heard a creak on the stairs and saw Komini coming down.

"What're you doing up?" I gestured to the microwave and he scoffed, resting against the kitchen counter. "Seriously though, you're so stuck up you won't even eat dinner with us?" I stayed silent, hoping I could just wait out the last forty eight seconds and go back to my room. I went to turn, flinching when I was stopped my hand tightly gripping my wrist. "Answer me." I tried to pull my arm back, my breathing picking up when he only tightened his grip.

"Get off of me." I couldn't help it as my voice shook, my breaths shallow and inconsistent. It took a moment to realize my body was shaking as well. His hand dropped suddenly as tears welled in my eyes, I could hear the boys in my earbud trying to get my attention but I couldn't pay attention.

He's not Jaakuna, it's not him.

He's not here.

It's just Komini.

He won't hurt you like he did.

"Kaara?" I heard the steady beeps of the microwave and Komini's voice.

"I'm going to bed, I-I'll see you in the morning." He looked like he wanted to say something but instead he sighed as I walked quickly and quietly up the stairs. I switched back onto my laptop and immediately started searching for my meds.

"Talk to us, little atom." I kept scrambling around, searching through my overnight bag from this weekend.

"Kaara," I looked up like a deer caught in head lights, "take a moment and breathe, you're safe." I swallowed the lump in my throat at Keiji's words, logically I knew I was safe, but every other instinct in my body was telling me otherwise.

I took a slow, deep breath before resuming looking through my bag. After I didn't find it, I gave up and grabbed my emergency bottle, quickly downing what I needed to dry. I turned off my camera in a daze, my meds could only do so much so I was still feeling it, but it was dulled. My heart beat calmed down a bit, my arms less tingly and the fuzziness in my vision decreasing, but I still felt the panic.

Without thinking too much, I changed into one of Tetsurou's old hoodies and Keiji's sweats, both things from middle school but still bringing a certain amount of comfort for some reason.

I turned my camera back on and locked my door before finally sitting back down. I curled up in a ball while one of my legs shook violently. I just wanted to disappear, I didn't want to feel this anymore.

"What happened, baby owl?" I glanced up at the sound of Kou's voice before quickly looking away again with a shrug.

"Just Komini being Komini." I finally muttered out, fidgeting with my fingers.

"I'd say tell your dad but he won't exactly do anything." I nodded absentmindedly with Tetsurou's words. All of us freezing when there was a knock on my door.

Hesitantly, I got up and unlocked it, cracking it open to see a tired Arise.

"Hey honey, Komini woke me up and told me what happened. Are you alright?" I shrugged after a second, keeping my arms wrapped around myself. "Can I come in?" I stepped aside and let her in, shutting my laptop as I sat on my bed. Whatever this was, the boys didn't need to hear it. "I noticed you haven't really left your room today, you're not taking well to the move, huh?" Her voice was sweet and gentle, not condescending or fake, but genuinely concerned.

"My mom did this a lot, so I'm not exactly thrilled." She hummed and smoothed out her clothes, trying to figure out what to say.

"And now your fathers doing it, so it's hitting a little too close to home?" I nodded, still overwhelmed after having a panic attack. "Komini told me that you had a panic attack after he grabbed your arm, he was a little shaken up and by the looks of it, he's beating himself up." I looked at her in shock.

He's feeling guilty?

"I just don't know why he keeps doing it." She let out a deep breath at my sentiment.

"I'm not sure honestly and I wish I had an answer for you. I'm glad he's protective of you, however I'll admit, he does need to learn to tone it back a bit. Especially when it comes to your soulmates. Speaking of, if you're comfortable with it, I'd love to meet them. Maybe one of these weekends you can have them over, set up the basement however you like and crash down there. I'll make sure Komini stays out of your hair and I'll run it by your dad." I smiled softly at her excitement. Something about how cheerful and open she is made me feel mutually happy, but it also made me feel guilty for giving her the cold shoulder.

"I'd like that, I'll talk to them about it and see if they can get away from practice one of these weekends." She smiled tiredly. "Arise?" She hummed and looked at me. "I- I'm sorry for how I've been acting. I know it seems like I don't like you at times and I just wanted to tell you that that isn't the case. I'm not good with change to begin with, and after all the stunts my mother pulled, it's just hard." My voice shook as I spoke, threatening to crack under pressure. "I just wanted to let you know that you haven't done anything wrong."

"Oh honey, you didn't give me that impression at all but thank you for talking to me. I'm just curious, if it bothers you so much then why not talk to your father? He's pretty reasonable at times." I immediately shook my head.

"He just, he wouldn't get it. And any time I try and talk about my mom or anything that happened there, he just doesn't believe me or takes her side without fully listening to me. That's what most of our fights are about, if you haven't noticed." She frowned at this, not seeming particularly fond of his actions.

"Well, if you'd ever like to talk to me about it, or have me be a mediator, I'll listen and help where I can. I know it doesn't change the past, but sometimes talking helps." I wiped away a stray tear, not expecting her to be so kind and compassionate about something she knows nothing of.

"Thank you. You remind me a lot of Mama Mei." Her head cocked to the side.

"Mama Mei?" I nodded and sniffled.

"She's Bokuto Koutarou's mother. She's really sweet and treats almost everyone like family. She loves cooking and baking and will always talk to you about whatever's going on in life. I've known her for over thirteen years now and she sorta became a second mother to me. Along with Keiji's mom, Akaashi Kanami. She loves her teas and we would always taste test new ones together growing up." She smiled delicately as I spoke, avidly listening to my rambling.

"So that's why you have a big tea collection?" I nodded along happily yet surprised that she actually remembered that.

"Yeah, anytime I was having a rough day, she would make me my favorite tea and wrap me up in a blanket. Keiji would feel left out so she would sit us on the couch, wrapped up in some blankets, put on a little cartoon and give both of us our favorite teas. If Kou was there, she'd make him a hot chocolate cause he was weird about his tea." She pulled one of her legs up on my bed and angled towards me more.

"I can't wait to meet them, they sound like great kids. What are they all like?" I chuckled a little, reminiscing on so many memories.

"They are. Kenma's on the quieter side and really likes his video games. Tetsurou is a huge science nerd but specifically with chemistry. Keiji loves reading and is very down to earth. Koutarou is volleyball obsessed, I actually met him with a volleyball. Kou and Tets are a bit on the more wild and energetic side, but know how to kick the brakes when needed." She now rested her chin on one of her knees, fully invested with the topic.

"So how did you meet, oh what's his name, Bokuto, with a volleyball?" I blushed in embarrassment but continued to tell her about that day. "I bet that's why he loves it so much." She said with a laugh, her words made me break out giggling.

"That's what we've all come to agree on! It can't just be a coincidence." She shook her head profusely.

"No, not in the slightest." She glanced at my analog clock and grimaced at the time. 11:56 at night. "I should probably head back to bed. You can stay home tomorrow, I'll tell your dad. I know how hard it is after a panic attack that bad." My eyes widened at her words, completely shocked that she offered.

Let along understood.

"Try and get some sleep, hun. I'm not going to work tomorrow so I'll see you in the morning, alright?" I nodded mindlessly, mumbling a small 'good night' as she left my room.

After a moment, I clicked back on to the group call to find Keiji and Koutarou fast asleep. Tetsurou insisted on waiting up for me and Kenma was on his video game but even he was looking tired.

"Everything alright, little atom?" I nodded, still mulling over what exactly we talked about. "What'd Arise want?"

"She wanted to make sure I was okay a-and told me that uh, she wants you four to come over one of these weekends." His eyes widened in disbelief.

"Really?" I nodded, still processing it myself.

"Yeah, sh- she uh, said we can take the basement and she said she would make sure Komini's doesn't try to start anything." He hummed in a delighted surprised tone.

"We'll talk to the others about it in the morning. You should probably get some sleep though." I shrugged and picked at my fingers.

"I'll be fine, I'm not going to school tomorrow. Arise told me to stay home for the day since I had a panic attack. Y- You both need sleep though." He shot me a look, silently telling me that I needed sleep as well.

"I'm glad she's letting you stay home tomorrow but you still need sleep. So if you're not sleeping then I'll stay up as long as I can with you." My face dropped, the guilt starting to consume me again.

"You don't have to, Tets. I don't want you jeopardizing your sleep schedule just because I had a rough day." He scoffed and sat up straighter on his bed.

"I'm not 'jeopardizing' anything, pretty. So stop trying to convince yourself of that. I don't mind staying up with you, okay?" I nodded begrudgingly, still feeling guilty that he's staying awake with me.

"Alright I guess." He smirked in content and leaned back a smidge.

"Good. So are we making a plan for when we visit? Cause knowing you, you're not going to want to stay inside the house with Komini all day." I chortled out a laugh, his joking assumption was spot on.

"You're not wrong, I'll try and find some things to do around here." He nodded and got this look on his face, one I had seen many times before. "Tets, just ask." He cocked an eyebrow and smirked again, having his own turn of amusement at how well I can read him. After a moment he turned serious and I started regretting opening this can of worms.

"What happened earlier?" His tone was delicate and warm, open and light but still serious.

"I had a panic attack." He shot me a pointed look.

"You had another flashback, didn't you?" I turned my attention to my hands, fidgeting with my fingers. "Do you wanna talk about it?" Instinctively, I shook my head before it sunk in that he deserves a verbal explanation.

"N-Not really, it's also something none of you would understand. It's a lot different then the divorce and stuff. I wish it wasn't as complicated, but I just can't get into it." He nodded sympathetically, accepting my ramble of words as a reason.

"Okay, just know if you do want to talk about it, all of us are here for you. Alright?" I nodded with teary eyes, silently grateful that I had them.

I truly am lucky.

[beyondspaceandstars]

That Black Tee

Relationship: Bucky Barnes x Reader Warnings: SMUT, NSFW, penetrative sex, fingers, slight metal arm kink, sex against a wall, semi-public sex, dirty talk - 18+, minors DNI. Summary: It was such a simple thing. Just a simple black tee-shirt. But the way Bucky wore it had you practically melting -- and he seemed to realize it, happily granting your needs A/N: idk guys there was just something about that black tee-shirt bucky wore in episode 4 of TFATWS. it got my mind wandering. and i love practicing writing smut i hope im getting better at it lmao

Masterlist

You knew you absolutely, utterly fucked the second Bucky took off his jacket, revealing that damn black tee.

So simple yet so fitting, so accentuating. He looked casual and cool yet incredibly powerful and dominant with that metal arm fully on display thanks to the short sleeves. Between that damn shirt and the hard expression he wore, you were pretty much done for. It took all you might to not march over to him right that second.

Bucky appeared to be aware of all this as he turned to you, feeling your eyes wandering shamelessly over him in that shirt. He just looked so… him. Not a soldier, not some asset, just him. And he was hot.

He shot you a little smirk, making your eyes widen, suddenly unreasonably worried your boyfriend could read your mind.

You two must’ve been too caught up in your silent communication because the next thing you heard was Sam asking if you were okay.

You jumped and forced yourself to look away from Bucky. "Yeah, Sam," you nodded, "I’m fine."

He hummed, suspicious. "Are you sure?"

But before you could answer, Bucky felt it was his time to chime in. "She’s a little distracted."

Your eyes widened again, this time sending a signal to your boyfriend to shut the hell up. He wouldn’t look at you and instead just laughed to himself.

"Distracted?" Sam questioned.

"I- I’m fine, really-,"

Bucky cut you off, "Actually, I need to talk with her about something."

Your jaw went slack as you tried finding some words of explanation, something to save yourself from this situation as you could see Sam’s concern growing. But nothing was able to come out before Bucky was grabbing your hand.

"You can’t talk to her out here?" Sam asked.

Bucky shook his head, profusely. "It’s a very private matter. Incredibly serious. Just between me and her."

"Bucky-," you just about yelped as he started walking to one of the off-shoot rooms from the living space. Sam tried asking more questions but Bucky promptly shut him down by slamming the door. Hard. It was a miracle the thing didn’t just fall right off its hinges. For whatever reason, that suddenly turned you on even more.

You stood there in the middle of the room watching as Bucky slowly turned to you. He had a playful glimmer in his eyes as he took in your nervous yet needy state. Your thighs were practically in pain from how hard you were trying to squeeze them together, wanting some relief to your core that was set ablaze by him. Him and that damn outfit. That damn hair. His damn face- God, you just needed your boyfriend right now.

Bucky walked towards you slowly, intensely. You tried averting your eyes to save yourself from crumbling but he stopped you. His fingers came to your chin, forcing you to look him in the eyes. He appeared to be just as eager.

"What happened back there, doll?" He asked just barely above a whisper. He held your chin firmly.

"What- What do you-,"

He chuckled. The fucker chuckled at your flustered state. "What do I mean? I mean that look you were giving me. How those eyes were peeling off my clothing piece by piece. Made me want to take you right there."

Bucky’s words went straight to your core. The wetness was pooling profusely, practically soaking through your jeans. You let out a little whimper as his thumb brushed over your lip.

"It’s your tee-shirt," you whispered, surprised that you could even find any sort of words in your dazed brain. He was way too intoxicating.

Bucky’s face shifted in surprise. "My shirt?"

You nodded. "It just… looks good on you."

He couldn’t help but let out another chuckle. You pouted at his reaction which he took as the opportunity to quickly place a kiss on your lips. You tried moving into him, grinding your body with his to beg for more, but he stopped, forcing you two apart.

"Oh, doll," he mumbled as his hand left your chin and slowly made its way down your body. Over the curve of your clothed breast, down your stomach, to your hips… the hand finally dipped under the waistline of your jeans. Without much warning, two fingers traced your folds, dipping slightly in to collect the wetness. He gave a few thrust, teasingly. Bucky groaned. "You’re this wet just from how I look in my shirt?"

You gasped, nodding. Embarrassment wanted to coarse through you but the pleasure from Bucky tracing his fingers to your clit was too much. Slowly, he started with circular motions, making your body jolt. You squealed in surprise. Bucky smiled down at your reaction.

He kept it up, adding pressure every now and then as he continued. Your legs began to shake forcing you to grip his arms in support. Bucky noticed this and brought his metal hand to your hip, steadying you.

He picked up the pace, his eyes boring into yours intensely. You let out a breathy moan at the sight of him, looking at you so hungry and aroused.

"Come on, honey, cum for me," he mumbled, still working on your clit. Every now and then he’d stop to dip a finger in as if gaging your wetness. In those moments you’d groan, waiting for the contact to come back. He never let you suffer long, though, finding his way back to your clit quickly, keeping the pressured motions. "Be a good girl and cum for me, doll, and I’ll fuck you real nice against the wall just like you deserve."

That was the final straw. His words alone practically sent you over the edge. Your body shook as the first orgasm pulled through you, lighting fire throughout your body. Your hips bucked and twisted uncontrollably, almost trying to get away from the touch but Bucky didn’t lighten up. He worked you through it, whispering sweet praises in your ear, making you lose it even more.

Once you came down from the high, Bucky wasted absolutely no time gripping your hips and pushing your back to the nearest wall. You yelped in surprise before his lips attached to yours, rough and demanding.

He lifted you up and grabbed your legs, circling them around your waist. You took the opportunity to grind into him feeling his erection hit your covered core. It lit a new fire in you making you gasp at the feeling.

Bucky moved his lips down your face to your neck, kissing and nipping at your skin. You whined and grabbed onto that fucking tee shirt, still trying to push into him, wordlessly begging him to speed up.

"Eager, doll?" Bucky asked. You could practically hear the dumb smile on his face and it made you want to slap it off. But all you could do in response was nod.

He placed one more kiss on your lips before his hand made its way back down your body. This time he popped the buttons of your jeans open. Briefly, he placed you back down to pull your jeans to your ankles. When that task was done, you were back wrapped around his waist, now feeling the erection more prominently. You let out a deep, uncontrollable moan when it hit.

As if he understood your annoyance, Bucky quickly undid his own jeans. In your dazed state, you must’ve zoned out because the next thing you knew, your panties were just pushed to the side and his cock was breaching your walls. You two were in sync letting our moans and groans at the warmth, the wetness.

His arms held you tight as he began his thrusts, so precise and strong. You were backed into the wall forcefully, enjoying the pressure and pleasure combining into one. Your boyfriend groaned above you, sounds going right to your core which was made evident by the squelching sounding in the room.

Bucky kept his thrusts up as his metal hand left your hip and made its way to your clit. His body held you up with his other arm, giving you a second to marvel in his strength. It was always such a treat when it came out in the bedroom. How he could hold you down or hold you up had your mind spinning half the time.

As his thrusts began to pick up, his metal hand started with the circular motions again on your clit. The coldness meeting your warmth was enough to drive you crazy. Your hands fisted his shirt, trying to keep yourself grounded. You let out a surprised moan at the whole sensation which Bucky seemed to like as he gripped you harder. Your brain was going fuzzy, drunk even, as he pounded you into the wall flawlessly.

"Bucky… B-Bucky…" you choked out.

"Hmm?" You could tell he was staring at you despite your eyes being fluttered shut. He was taking in every inch of your face contorting in glorious pleasure. It seemed to drive his thrusts faster, the circular motions on your clit picking up as well.

"I- I’m gonna-,"

"You gonna cum again, doll?" He asked, a little mockingly. You would’ve bit back if you weren’t in this state but you couldn’t do anything, just take what he was giving. You nodded weakly. "Alright, honey, that’s it… Cum for me, come on. I got you."

It was like Bucky flipped that last switch as his strength and speed picked up. You yelped, clinging to his shirt even tighter.

One final push on your clit was all you needed before you were crumbling in his arms. Your body shook as your orgasm flooded you with ecstasy. Bucky didn’t want to let up with the trusts, though, chasing his own orgasm and thoroughly working you through your second. He kept pounding, his hand opting to leave your clit to grope at your breasts under your shirt. The metal hitting your skin in a new place made you squeal again.

The sounds and motions were it for Bucky as the next thing you knew, he released inside you, coating your walls and thrusting in and out, letting it leak onto your skin. You moaned at the sensation.

Bucky gave a couple more weak thrusts before he let out a final groan and stilled inside you. Both his arms now were around your waist, pulling you close as you two panted, coming down from the pleasure.

Bucky leaned forward, his head resting on your shoulder. Your hands left his shirt and came up to his hair, where you ran them through his short locks.

"Was that what you needed, doll?" He asked, voice breaking through the heaviness of the room.

You giggled, "Exactly what I needed."

"Hmm," he sighed and straightened back up. He pecked your lips. "Guess I gotta wear this shirt more often."

You gasped, slapping his chest lightly as he laughed. But you couldn’t totally disagree. "I wouldn’t complain if it made an appearance every now and then."

Bucky shook his head, "I don’t understand how a black tee shirt can get you going, doll."

After he spoke, he slowly removed himself from you, letting you down from the wall. Warm wetness began soaking your thighs feeling so intimate, so hot, it almost made you almost suggest round two right then and there but that didn’t seem on the table after Bucky handed you some tissues to clean up. Not to mention the fact there were people in the living area.

You shrugged, readjusting your shirt and pulling your jeans back on. You watched as Bucky also readjusted his appearance. "It’s because it’s on you," you insisted. "You could walk around in the most ridiculous outfits and I’d still beg you to jump my bones."

Bucky let out the most joyous laugh at that. He walked back towards you, securely wrapping his arms around your waist. You placed a kiss on his lips, which he hummed happily into.

"I’m flattered," he mumbled. The light blush across his cheeks confirmed his words.

You smiled, "What can I say? I got a hot boyfriend and he should know it."

Bucky placed another kiss on your lips. "Oh, trust me, I think he knows it now."

You let out a giggle and pulled away from his grip, despite a little protest. "Come on," you said and motioned towards the door, "we should probably leave this room before we get any shit from them."

"Oh, you’re getting a lot of shit once you come out of that room," Sam called from the other side of the door, making both you and Bucky jump. "Might as well stay in here."

You groaned at the words, your face and neck suddenly becoming hot in embarrassment. Bucky just chuckled, somehow finding everything amusing, and wrapped an arm around you.

"Worth it, though," he whispered before placing a kiss on your cheek. You rolled your eyes playfully but couldn’t at all argue. Just glancing between the wall and that black tee made you suddenly hot and bothered all over again.

Bucky picked up on your gaze, once again practically reading your mind. With a suggestive smirk, he asked, "Round two?"

You bit your lip as his hand began running over the curve of your ass.

"Fine."

Bucky didn’t waste a single second before whisking you off your feet

[suna-reversed]

Somebody else

sukuna x reader/ yuuji x reader

wherein, your best friend takes over your lover’s body

decided to combine these two👀

(❤️=size difference)

Warnings/Tags- dub con, unprotected sex, creampie, manhandling, choking, nipple play, mirror sex, degredation, slapping (once), spit kink, size kink, oral (m.receiving), bulging, slight exhibitionism?, yandere themes heavily implied! (all characters are aged up‼️)

The arrangement, per say, was quite peculiar. But you somehow still managed to work it out, much thanks to Yuuji’s patience and his willingness to allow such a thing. 

You couldn’t remember when it started, perhaps it was your constant bickering with the mouth on Yuuji’s cheek or how it always seemed to show up whenever you were around, or perhaps it the time he saved your life during one particularly tedious mission, surprising everyone else.

Whatever it was, it had ended up making the king of curses grow a soft spot for you. Well, at least what would be considered soft for a curse. It was never acknowledged except for the one time you went to sleep in between tattooed arms and woke up to the face of your best friend staring intently at you, 

“It’s okay, as long as you’re happy.” He’d said. You didn’t pay much heed to why he hadn’t removed his body from yours. 

Time with Sukuna was scarce, most of it being when Yuuji would be too tired after a mission and involuntarily shift, leaving you alone in the hours of dusk with your lover, as he drove his lips all over your body, moaning filthy things in your ear as he rut into you- you could only hope your best friend was unconscious all throughout it. 

----

You were on your knees in between Sukuna’s legs, taking as much of his huge girth down your throat as you could, your hands taking care of what your tongue couldn’t. Glancing up at him through your lashes, you don’t fail to miss the smug look on his face as you desperately whine around his cock. You know he’s just playing, god forbid he ever cums anywhere except for deep inside your cunt. 

“Begging for my cock already- how pathetic.” 

His voice is gravelly calm, sending a shiver straight down your spine. You whine once again as he slightly bucks his hips up, your mouth struggling to encompass his massive member. One of his hands comes to grip your hair, your moan coming out muffled against a mouth full of cock. 

“So desperate for it, aren’t you? Well, if you want it so bad you’d better start taking it-” He’s cut off with a groan, “Ah- shut up brat-” 

You somehow get the feeling that he wasn’t talking to you, but you don’t have much the time to ponder over it as the hand on your head starts pushing down urging you to start moving once again. 

“Fuck fuck- stop it! No-”

His voice is laced with genuine annoyance and you hurriedly pull yourself off of him, brows scrunched in confusion as you look up at him, wondering what you were doing wrong. 

The face that stares back at you however is chillingly unfamiliar, a cheshire grin spread across it which makes the marked face of your lover seem like it is of a madman. You’re thoroughly confused by Sukuna’s behaviour- you know he’s complex at times but you’re truly at a loss of comprehension this time. 

“Did I say that you could stop?” 

You instinctively shake your head, no words leaving your mouth as you remain stunned with his strange behaviour. 

His hand comes to caress your cheek, thumb moving to brush against your bottom lip,

“C’mere” he mumbles, and your body seems to move on it’s own, as you move your face close to his. The thumb on your bottom lip prods at your skin until you open your mouth and Sukuna brings his head to rest against yours- you’re too enchanted by the feral look in his eyes, gasping at the feeling of his saliva landing against the tip of your tongue. He presses your jaw shut with one hand as you struggle against it,

“Be a good girl and swallow it.” 

His commanding tone instantly has you doing so. You’ve never seen such a side to him, however, you can’t say that you mind it. His grip on your jaw loosens and you let him switch your positions- not like you could’ve fought against his raw strength. His muscular chest is pressed to yours as he pins you down beneath him, one large hand exploring the valley in between your legs, dangerously trailing close to right where you want it to be but never quite reaching there. 

“You like watching this huh?” 

Again, there’s a strange feeling in your gut, but it’s overpowered as two fingers land against your sensitive nub, lightly pinching it which makes you push your hips against his fingers, asking for more. 

A yelp escapes past your lips as he suddenly moves away, getting off the bed to stand at the edge. His cock stands tall against his stomach, tip still dripping with a mix of pre-cum and your spit from before. 

“Come here, slut.” 

You’re a little shocked at his words- used to getting spoiled with praise by this time of your rendezvous. Was he angry about something tonight? 

“No- I forbid you from leaving my arms.” He had said as you cuddled earlier in the night, making you laugh and slap his chest- which was exactly what led to where you were now. He seemed fine before- perhaps he just felt rougher tonight?

“Kitten, don’t make me tell you twice.” 

He growls out loud, snapping you out of your daze. You’re instantly crawling towards him, looking up at him with a mixture of both need and confusion as you wonder what he’s up to. A hand comes down to wrap around your throat, his breath right next to your ear as he leans forward, 

“Next time-” the grip on your throat tightens, “...you listen when I tell you something.” You weakly nod your head, sighing as he pulls away. 

Smack!

The burn on your cheek stings, making tears well up in the corner of your eyes- you look up, only to find yourself staring into a pair of orbs in between crinkled eyes, a smirk resting atop his lips- you almost feel guilty for the arousal that pools in between your legs. 

“Now now, let’s show you what a proper fuck is.” 

You’re being picked up, strong hands coming to knead the flesh of your ass as he walks you two over to the full length mirror in the corner of the room. Before you know it, he’s sitting you down on the chair in front of your vanity table, turning you around so that you’re met with the reflection of your legs spread over his thighs, his cock rubbing against your soaking pussy. 

You throw your head back against his chest as one of his hands moves forward to play with your clit, the other twisting and pinching your nipples. You’re grinding against his wet cock as he increases the pace of his fingers, moaning profanities as his teeth dig into your neck. You feel your orgasm building up, the tight coil in your stomach getting close to bursting and right as you’re there-

“No!” You cry out loud. 

Your eyes meet in the mirror and you’re slightly thrown off by the bewildered expression on Sukuna’s face- almost guilt filled and panicked- his hands completely positioned away from your body. 

“No please- don’t stop- need you filling me up so bad please.” You beg out loud, tears falling down your eyes, the ripples of your ripped away orgasm still pulsing through your body. 

And just like that, it’s gone, and the hunger-filled eyes are back. 

“Oh, she said she wants it- who am I to deny such a precious little thing?” 

You don’t have the time to register his words as strong arms lift you up, positioning his huge cock against your slick heat. You moan at the contact, still sensitive but needy as you clench your eyes in pleasure. 

“Do you know you look real pretty when you cry?” 

Your mind is too fuzzy from the feeling of his tip stretching your insides to respond. A hand comes to your jaw- angling it forward,

“Come on, look at how my cock stretches your tight little hole- how you gush around it like a desperate whore.” You find your eyes opening out of their own accord and almost moan at the sight you’re met with.

His enormous length is almost halfway inside you, the base of his shaft glistening with your dripping juices as your tiny hole struggles to fit all of him in. One of his arms is protectively wrapped around your waist, pushing down against the bulge starting to form on your stomach while the other kneads your tits, pressing them together, pulling your nipples every now and then. His scarlet orbs hold a wild look from where they glance up at you, his face bowed down, teeth biting into your neck. He makes sure you see him smirk against your skin as he pushes himself up deeper into you making you cry out loud. He starts bouncing you up and down on his cock, moving your body like a rag doll as the air is filled with both of your loud groans and grunts.

Yuuji would argue that he’s dreamed about this for weeks- almost months- perhaps from the first time he laid eyes upon you. All those times he had to watch your body underneath his- only to barely be able to feel you, your saccharine moans hitting his ears and him not being the reason for it- it pissed him off beyond reason. He thrusted his hips harder into you, the hand on your tits moving down to rub circles onto your clit. 

“Ah fuck- I’m close.”

That’s right- you were moaning for him now. More than you ever had for the stupid curse. Did he ever fill you up this well? Always handling you like you were as fragile as glass- when this is how a real whore like you wants to get fucked. He feels pride swell in his chest as he hears you crying about how big he is, how well he’s filling you up, how it’s too much- but you’re still crying for him to fill you up aren’t you? All while the king of curses sits back and watches helplessly. 

He feels your walls clamp down on him, your frail little body compared to his thrashing from the overstimulation of pleasure as he continues to fuck you through your climax. He finds his own pleasure not too later, spilling inside you with a loud moan, grinning at the sight of you all fucked out in the mirror- his seed dripping out of your hole as he pulls you up, turning you around so that you’re facing him. Your head falls against his chest, arms coming around his neck- the audacity you have- no, you don’t get to do this shit with him after all the years he took care of you- all the years he spent loving you- only for you to go ahead and open your legs the second a pathetic man with tattoos and a silver tongue showed up. 

“You didn’t think we were done did you?” 

You’re still too exhausted from your previous feat, almost clawing at his body heat being pulled away from you as you’re manhandled onto your knees on the floor. Your pleas are shut down with a single stern look from him- apparently puppy eyes weren’t gonna work on him tonight like they usually do. 

“I’m gonna make sure every single part of your body is covered with my cum by the time I’m done with you. Now suck.” 

Who were you to deny him? Especially when he kept his word, fucking into you all over the bedroom, spilling his load onto your tits, ass, face- everywhere. You were so tired by the end of the night, you didn’t notice how he didn’t run a bath for you or stroke your hair while pressing kisses to marks he’d littered your neck with like always. Instead, the last thing you saw was his back as he walked out the room- did it not have tattoos? You didn’t remember it the next day as you clocked out. 

The next few days are strange- with no sighting of your lover. You assume it’s because Yuuji’s busy with training or missions. That is until you meet him in the cafeteria. 

“y/n! Good morning!” He greets you cheerfully, and you feel a little guilty for wishing he wasn’t in such high spirits- hoping he’d have been tired enough for you to get some time with Sukuna.

“Hey, where have you been?” You ask while leaning into his side hug. Just for the matter of a second, you think you notice a feral look flashing through his eyes- gosh, how much had you missed Sukuna to have to be imagining such a thing. Yuuji is still speaking, his usual happy grin on his face,

“...no worries though, I’ll make sure you get your time with your grumpy big cat.” Your heart warms at your best friend’s considerate offer, knowing his time is limited and he still chooses to give it to you.

“Thank you so much Yuuji! Have I ever told you how grateful I am to have you as a friend?”

“It’s no problem y/n!” He says, ruffling your hair, “As long as you’re happy…”

You do not understand why Sukuna refuses to enter your room that day- insisting you shift somewhere else- or why he refuses to even touch any part of your body where he himself had left marks upon- or why there’s an air of jealousy and possessiveness to him as he bends you over the couch, hands tied behind your back while he ruts into you like an animal in heat, promises of fucking you better than ever before being grunted into your ear.

Taglist- @bakugohoex @mahitochan @saturnmoon @lilshortcakess @itsyaboiana @p-each-y-day @osmosly @jotazinha @captainmads2092 @laura-marie-16 @tsuki-kusa

Thanks to my masochist baby @bakugohoex for helping with the idea🙄🙄 no I’m not killing the reader❤️

[uwusenpaiuwu]

Sleepovers At The Baji Household feat. A Fed-Up Chifuyu

Summary: Chifuyu just wants to sleep, man, but Baji wants to be a jealous crackhead at 2 AM.

Pairing: Sano Manjiro | Mikey x Male Reader

Note(s): I had a little free time and wrote this. So, please enjoy! ALSO, to the anon that sent me a request a few days ago, I saw it and have it filed on my to-do list!!! I will definitely get to it as soon as I get a break in my schedule :)

"Chifuyu, ya wanna see some real discrimination?"

No. No, Chifuyu does not want to see what Baji means by 'real discrimination.'

Does he tell him that, though?

Yes, actually, because it's 2 in the fucking morning and, as much as he respects the other boy, he wouldn't put it past himself to smother him with a pillow after having his dream of cuddling with a sea of puppies suddenly destroyed.

Unfortunately for his sanity, Baji either doesn't hear him or, more likely than not, doesn't give a fuck, because he's already flopping onto his belly and whipping out his phone to do God knows what.

The dial tone that sounds from the speaker a few seconds later makes Chifuyu cringe, especially since it's only ever been a calm silence fit for a good night's sleep prior to Baji bulldozing through it with his absurd question. (At the very least, he's thankful that the latter has half a mind to keep the brightness on the lowest setting, otherwise, Chifuyu would have had to fight.)

On the far end of the row of carefully-laid futons, you shift in your sleep, eyebrows furrowing together at the noise. Rotating onto your side, you unconsciously reach for Baji, and just when he thinks you're being cute and trying to cuddle him, you smack him in the head.

Baji doesn't flinch, instead, takes his pillow and shoves it in your grasp to keep your unconscious self occupied, so that he can focus on getting through to the person who reuses to pick up (understandably so).

Releasing a frustrated groan after being redirected to voice mail for the fifth time, he dials the number again, muttering an impatient, "Pick up already."

Chifuyu feels sorry for the poor soul on the other end. He would've blocked someone following the first call, because again, it's-

The blond has to squint his eyes up at the digital clock on Baji's nightstand, which confirms that it's already 2:22 A.M, further solidifying the fact that he shouldn't be awake right now. And this also applies to the ever persistent first division captain, who insists on bothering who Chifuyu soon discovers is Mikey from the contact ID that flashes across the screen.

Why Baji is so keen on bothering him is a question he doesn't have the mental capacity to ponder over. The most energy he'll expend is to listen in when the call miraculously connects.

"What...?" comes a muffled voice from the receiver, tone laced in an irked grogginess birthed from a slumber rudely interrupted.

There's an absurdly loud, almost angry, roar of Mikey's name, one that has Chifuyu curling in on himself in a futile attempt to escape a sound that should be illegal at this hour.

But you know what else should be illegal?

The fucking whiplash Chifuyu gets when Baji's deep voice takes an abrupt 180°, switching from its normal gruffness to a squeaky, ear-piercing shrill as he screams, "I love you, love you, love you! Do you love me, too, Mikey-kyun~♡?!"

The room is dead silent.

Not a word. Not a murmur. Not a breath.

Just pure, unadulterated silence as both Chifuyu and Mikey process the words that hang in the air, permeating it with a goosebumps-inducing eeriness from having heard such a...a girly, overtly cutesy screech from Baji.

Then-

"What the fuck? He hung on me!"

Chifuyu opens his mouth, thinks better of reacting to the cursed scene he had the misfortune of bearing witness to, and promptly closes it.

Other people may have sleep paralysis demons.

But Chifuyu?

Chifuyu has Baji.

With both hands partially raised in prayer, he begs for the shenanigans to be over and done with.

They are not.

While his eyes remain closed in a last ditch effort to convince himself that it's all a bad dream, he hears a lot of grumbling happening on your side of the room, courtesy of Baji, who's scrambling around in search of...something. One quick peek reveals him fiddling with a phone - yours, to be exact, as evidenced by the distinctive phone charm of your favorite anime character hanging from it.

"(Y/n), wake up for a second," he hears him whisper. It takes a bit of prompting, until he's able to successfully rouse you enough from sleep to elicit any kind of response, which is, essentially, nothing short of an incoherent, slurred mess. Although, Chifuyu is pretty damn certain he heard you call Baji a 'dickhead' for the trouble.

Unperturbed, he continues shaking your limp form, coaxing you into wakefulness with, "Repeat what I tell you, and I'll let you go back to asleep. Deal?"

You squint your eyes at him, only able to make out a vague outline of his visage in the lightless room. "Promise?"

"Cross my heart, hope to die," he automatically responds with the same phrase he's become accustomed to saying whenever you two made a promise, something done purely out of habit, formed when the two of you were just kids and he wanted to get you to do something absolutely ridiculous either for him or with him. And just 'cause he knows you're more susceptible to complying if he does it, he also interlocks his pinky with yours.

"...Fine."

The approval is his cue to proceed, and it's as he's putting the phone on speaker that he turns back to a regretfully wide awake Chifuyu, mouthing a wordless, 'Watch.'

The phone rings, loud and clear, precisely once and only once.

"(Y/n), what's wrong?" It's important to note that even though Mikey still sounds tired as hell, his tone is much lighter, much happier really, than when it was Baji, which is an offense in itself to the said teen that's off to the side, attentively listening to the conversation unfold.

Then, it strikes Chifuyu, what Baji is trying to do, and fuck does it give him an instant headache.

Meanwhile, your mouth morphs into the dopiest of smiles with the pleasant surprise of hearing your boyfriend's voice, chest instantly overtaken by a warm fuzziness that never fails to make an appearance whenever he's involved. Sappy, you know, but it's true!

A light but firm nudge to your shoulder reminds you of your mission. It's too bad that, teetering along the edge of sleep as you are, the words Baji whispers are barely repeated correctly.

The initial phrase from before, the one Baji greeted Mikey with, is shortened to a simple, "You wuv I...?"

But, without missing a beat, you receive Mikey's confident reply of, "Mhm... I wuv you a lot."

There's a sleepy giggle then - a fucking giggle - before your voices drop to sweet whispers that the third and fourth wheels can't fully comprehend from where they are.

"Where the fuck was my 'I wuv you,' huh?!" Baji whisper-shouts, considerate of your conversation even when ranting and raving. "Shit, I would've taken a simple 'I love you,' too! I've known that bastard way longer than (Y/n), and this is what I get?!"

Okay. Toman's president answers his boyfriend's late night calls faster than he does anyone else's and openly expresses his love for him. So what? Chifuyu wouldn't exactly call it 'discrimination,' per se. 'Favoritism,' maybe if you wanna stretch it, but using as strong a word as discrimination, especially taking into account you two are dating; it's normal? Nah.

"You wanna say 'bye' to them? Mm. Baji and Chifuyu." A pause. "Fuyu, Mikey says 'bye.'"

"Bye, Mikey-kun."

The other person in the room waits, and waits, and waits, and when it's clear that there is no intention to address his presence whatsoever, Baji turns to Chifuyu with an almost scandalized expression, making wild gesticulations with his hands, clearly distressed. "See?!"

Blank blue eyes stare back at him, unblinking. Honestly, it's a common occurrence - Baji spiraling in a nonsensical rage - so it's easy for Chifuyu to block out the muted, jealousy-driven temper tantrum as he takes his pillow in both hands, raises it as high as he can, and-

Sigh.

-lets it flop right back onto his face.

He can't suffocate Baji. Shouldn't. Wouldn't. Couldn't. After all, they're best buds, meaning he has an obligation to put up with shit like this once in a while. (Plus, he'd probably get his ass kicked before he succeeds anyway. Totally not worth the beating.)

"Did you hear? Mikey said he wuvs me," he hears you drawl dreamily as soon as you hang up, sounding very close to clocking back out for the night.

"Yeah, yeah. Cute shit. Happy for ya, dude," Baji huffs. Thankfully, he sounds like he's in a similar state to yours, if the yawn that follows his sarcastic comment is anything to go by.

"...He soooo ignored you."

That warrants a punishing punch to the arm, dulled only slightly by the combination of the thick quilt you're swaddled in and the raven-haired boy's fatigue.

"I'll fucking throw you out right now, (Y/n). Don't test me."

"You won't."

"I will."

"Won't."

"Will."

The conversation gradually dies down shortly after, the exhaustion that took its sweet time getting to both of you having reached its peak with the help of the childish bickering. It takes 10 minutes, maybe 15, before two sets of light snores fill the room.

Finally.

Let it be known that there is a lesson to be learned from tonight's events. Really, there is. Y'know, something along the lines of 'Don't agree to a sleepover with Baji, if you plan on actually sleeping,' or whatever.

Alas, Chifuyu's consciousness fades before he realizes what it is.

~~~

"Mikey, be honest. Who do you love more? Me or-?"

"(Y/n)."

"But-"

(Y/n)."

"I-"

"(Y/n)."

Baji is only momentarily discouraged, sharp eyes glaring at the blond that lays his head on your lap after hi-fiving you. He didn't want to do this, but he's left with no choice.

"(Y/n) or Babu?"

From the way Mikey stiffens up, refusing to look at either him or you in the eyes, Baji knows he has him right where he wants him, has him torn between a cute face or a sweet ride.

"Oi! Don't pretend to be asleep! Answer the damn question! OI!"

(After hours of serious contemplation - even though you told him it doesn't particularly matter - it's revealed that, of course, Mikey loves you more. Babu just happens to trail behind as a very close second.)

[artzee-bee]

Best friend’s ex | Benny Weir x reader

Fandom: My babysitter’s a vampire

Request: “ Um if you don’t mind can you write for mbav? Something along the lines of the reader and Ethan try a fake relationship thing cause Ethan asked her to? Like to get to Sarah/ or get her attention. And everyone is shocked cause they thought Benny and the reader would date instead cause all 3 of them are childhood friends”

Genre:Fluff mostly but I guess a little angst torwards the end

Warnings: some arguing and also it’s LONG, don’t say I didn’t warn you

A/N: This has a little Ethan x reader too but over all it’s Benny with a guest apperence from jelous!Benny torwards the end (or at least that’s what I was going for)

~~~

“Wait, you’re dating?! Like for real dating?!”

 You clinged tighter to Ethan’s arm “Yeah, we are” but you weren’t. You didn’t want to lie to your friends and it was honestly making you kinda uncomfy but you were doing it for E.

“Ok so how long has this been going on for?” asked Benny. You and your entire friend group were gathered around his locker and you decided to break the news to them about your and Ethan’s “relationship”, which was all bullcrap. He had asked you a couple nights before to pretend. He was hoping it would get him closer to Sarah.

“Um, no more than a month” E said, trying to sound as confident as possible and doing a fairly good job at it. Of course you saw right through him but everyone else seemed to buy his act.

“Well that’s...interesting news” Sarah laughed awkwardly

“You think so? Why?”

The group went silent for a moment

“Well, just cause” Sarah started, nervousness laced into her tone “I mean I would have guessed that Benny and Y/N were going to get together eventually.” Rory and Erika just nodded in agreement while Benny tried to suppress a nervous laughter.

“I mean, come on guys” he said “ I’ve known Y/N for just as long as Ethan.” 

“Yeah, but you two just always seemed, I don’t know, closer?”

“Well” Ethan interrupted “ seems like you were wrong on that one.”

Suddenly aware of how rude she sounded, Sarah babbled some lame excuse and left quickly, face red from embarrassment. Rory and Erika left as well, each in their own direction, but not before congratulating the couple once more. Benny was the only one left.

“You good Benny?” E asked

“Yeah, I guess it’s just interesting seeing you like this”

“I hope you’re not mad or anything I mean we…” you were quickly cut off by Benny

“No, no, absolutely, not! I’m really happy for you guys! My two best friends are in love, that’s really cool!” A pink tint made its way onto your cheeks hearing Benny say “in love”, even though you knew it wasn’t true. E smiled at you and hid his face in your hair. You wrapped your arms around his neck and he placed his hands on your hips, swaying you two back and forth for a moment

“Alright, well I gotta go. Chem starts in a few” you told your boys and headed to class, not before hugging both of them and leaving Ethan with a quick peck on the cheek

As soon as you got to class however, you texted your “boyfriend”

“Think that went pretty well”

“I think so too. Everyone seemed to buy it!”

“I know!” you said and the conversation ended like that. 

You switched your attention back to your teacher, who was discussing your next assignment but even though your eyes were on her, your mind was replaying Sarah’s comment on repeat. You and Benny, huh? You couldn’t say you disliked the idea or that you’ve never thought about it. You’ve always felt different when hanging out with him compared to all your other friends.You felt more free and comfortable. You couldn’t stop the smile on your face from the fuzzy feeling you got just thinking about Bens and you together.

“So how long are we gonna be doing this for?” you texted Ethan. Now that you thought about it, you could never date Benny after this. The sudden realisation made your stomach twist in knots. He would never even go on a date with you if he thought you to be Ethan’s ex! Bro code or whatever but you couldn’t blame them!

“I don’t know for sure, I don’t see why it should last more than a couple months.”

“Ok” you didn’t mind helping E. He was a great guy and one day, some amazing girl is gonna see that and be all over him, even if it’s not Sarah! And he’s going to fall in love and have a beautiful wife and a happy family and this thing you are doing right now is just gonna be a silly high school memory to look back at. You tried not to overthink everything like you usually do and go with the flow, have fun.

It was surprisingly easy to do. Holding hands and occasional cheek kisses didn’t mean much and you never had a “proper kiss”, telling everyone you were simply not fans of PDA. It didn’t feel much like you were a couple, just closer friends. Touchier.

About 4 months down the line, you and Ethan go on your last “date”, which really just meant pizza night at Morgan’s.

“Thanks for all this Y/N, I know you didn’t have to and it might have been awkward at times but it means a lot that you went with it all this time” Ethan says sincerely while pouring you a glass of soda

“Don’t be silly E! You are one of my best friends. I would do anything for you.”

“Yeah but, now you and Benny won’t be…” he didn’t finish his sentence, as if he wasn’t sure if bringing this up was even a good idea or if it was gonna make you mad. You told E about your crush on your best friend not long after your first day as a “couple”. You couldn’t lie to him and quite honestly, you needed someone to vent to. The more you thought about Benny, the more it hurt and while you weren’t mad at Ethan for bringing it up now (you knew he had the best of intentions), it was putting you off

“Let’s not talk about that tonight” you said softly

“Right, yes, of course! Sorry” you giggle and reached out for your glass of soda, raising it up

“A toast!” you declared dramatically, making E laugh “To our breakup!” Ethan raised his own glass and clicked it with yours 

“To our breakup!” he said before you both took a sip of your drinks

You laid down on the couch, getting ready to watch Scare Finder. Your head was resting on one of Ms. Morgan’s decorative pillows and you placed your feet on E’s lap. He rolled his eyes at you and you giggled

“I love you!”

“I love you too babe” he joked before laying down next to you and wrapping you in a hug. The couch was a bit too small for the both of you to lay down side by side and you felt the left side of your body  hanging off the edge but E’s arms were around your waist, holding you and you felt safe

“Can we..” Ethan whispered nervously “can we keep cuddling during shows even if we aren’t boyfriend- girlfriend anymore?” 

“Yes of course” you giggled

“Good, cause this is really comfortable” he whispered in your neck

“I know, I love it too”

~~~

 Your breakup was a much bigger deal than you anticipated.Your friends seemed not only shocked, but heartbroken too. You didn’t tell them anything about why you ended your relationship, saying it was too early and you didn’t feel like talking about it but that you were still close friends and nothing was going to change

Things went back to normal afterwards, except now you were single and so was Benny and you couldn't help the invisible pull, dragging you closer and closer to him. Everyone of his silly jokes made you crack up and you couldn’t even be mad at him when his failed spells ended up in a big mess that you and the friend group needed to solve. You hadn’t realised how much you missed him until you broke up with E. Whether or not that relationship was real, it felt like a real reason to stay away from Benny. It felt like you were taken because everyone else belived you to be. You couldn’t make a move on him because everyone knew you to have a boyfriend but now you didn’t and you couldn’t help yourself from looking at B in a different light.

You were over at his house, helping him pack some herbs he had to organise for his grandma, as punishment for wasting all her old ones on some spell. You were stuffing dried leaves in tiny jars, while Benny was busying himself attaching little tags to them, with the name of each plant.

“Thanks again for coming to help me, you didn’t have to”

“Anytime Bens, you know I’m always here for you” you looked at him and smiled sweetly. He looked into your eyes and said

“I know, Thank you” you nodded and switched your focus back on the plants, hoping he wouldn’t notice the blush on your face. Lucky for you, he started telling a story that happened in his geography class and things slowly fell into their usual, casual place, at least up until you had to leave.

You placed the last little jar in its respective spot on the shelf

“I think this is it, right?” Benny asked

“It should be”

“Perfect, I’m in dire need of a snack. You want chips? I have some upstairs”

“No, it’s late, I should head home”

“Um, ok yeah. No problem” but none of you moved after that, you just looked at one other for a little bit, until the awkwardness got too much and you took your backpack and headed to the door

“Thanks again” Benny said right when you reached the door

“No problem” and then time froze again. You got lost in his pretty eyes and barely noticed his chest rising and falling faster with every second that passed until, you both found yourselves in each other's arms, kissing deeply and desperately, as if you’ve waited all your life for this. Your hands tangled in his hair, pulling at loose strands, his hands running up and down your back, bringing you as close to him as possible. All your senses were intoxicated with him and finally, the little pit in your chest disappeared. Your lips fit together like puzzle pieces but than, all of a sudden, Benny pushed you away aggressively

“No, I can’t do that!” his back turned to you, but you saw the red in his face and his hands went to his head, massaging the back of his neck just like you had been doing

“Benny…”

“No, no, you are Ethan’s ex and we can’t do that! I can’t do that!”

“B, listen to me!” you tried to step towards him but at your slightest movement, he jumped back, finally turning to face you

“Y/N, that was a mistake and I’m sorry! We shouldn’t have done that! It was a mistake” your eyes stung from the tears threatening to spill down your cheeks

“Don’t say that…” you could barely hear your own voice and were genuinely surprised when B replied

“Of course it was! As much as I wanted to do it and as right as it may have felt, it’s barely been a few weeks since your last relationship with MY BEST FRIEND and your best friend too and we can’t, I CAN’T do this to him! You, you guys dated and…”

“But we didn’t!” you said

“Of course you did, are you out of your mind?” Benny looked at you, teary eyed and desperate “I saw you, we saw you! Holding hands and cheek kisses! He had his arm around your back every moment of every goddamn school day and every time I wished it was me! He had all of you and he could hold you during movie nights and spend all his free time with you and kiss you and run his hands through your hair and everytime he did it I imagined that I was in his spot, hoping you would look at me with the same love and admiration that you looked with at him but now it’s too late! It doesn’t matter that he didn’t cherish you better while he had you because I still can not take you! I can’t do that to him!”

“Benny it wasn’t real!”

“What does that even mean Y/N?” he was yelling now, but you knew he wasn’t angry, just hurt. You saw the tears in his eyes and how hard he tried to stop them from running down his face.

“We weren’t ever dating! We just pretended!” the madness in his eyes turned to a question, an invitation for you to continue “It was all a show Bens. He wanted to impress Sarah. He asked me to fake a relationship with him.”

Benny leaned over the table, resting his body on his arms. He seemed to be thinking for a while, until he said “That’s a stupid idea”

You laughed “I thought so too when he told me” Benny seemed to think some more before saying

“Such an Ethan idea to have” which only made you laugh more

“So it was never real?” he asks you finally

“No! It was just an act” but even now, Benny couldn’t say anything. He was looking at his hands nervously. You took a deep breath and said the one thing you could think of

“He knows if that’s what you are wondering” the boy looked at you with questioning eyes again “Ethan I mean”

“Ethan knows what?”

“That I like you” Benny straightened and looked at you with soft eyes once more, you felt your cheeks heat up and turned to walk away but Benny quickly grabbed your wrist and pulled you into him, holding you in a tight hug. 

“So, does that mean I can kiss you again?” a small smile tugged at your lips

“Please do”

[adonis-koo]

tease

| 19 |

↳ Summary: You came with the intentions of your best friend landing a job as a stripper. You never meant to catch the eyes of the king stripper of the establishment- Jeon Jungkook, yourself. With what was supposed to be a harmless way of paying off college debt faster you find yourself falling into a very odd and passionate relationship with your new mentor. Between infidelity, passion and jealousy there’s never a dull moment at Cherry Bomb.

↳ Pairing: Stripper!Jungkook/Reader

↳ Genre: Smut, fluff, angst, drama, slice of life, relationship problems without the relationship, reader is such a shy baby protect her, MUTUAL pining, so much sexual frustration,

Word Count: 11k

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Song Mood

Warning: This story touches on both sexual harassment and abuse, please read with caution if any of these things are triggers to you. Additional warnings will be given when a chapter presents them.

Music gently echoed through the living room and the smell of jasmine wafted in the air mixed with the smell of fresh rain from the open windows. Your home hadn’t changed much in your week-long absence yet you on the other hand felt...different. Not a bad difference, or a good one. It was just hard to believe you were home again. 

The plane ride was over fourteen hours and it gave you and Jungkook a very long time to talk about what had happened throughout the week at Seasonella and of course the afterparty....which you couldn’t help but cringe at, thoughts filtered your mind as to what had even possessed you to do that with Jimin? You had apologized relentlessly to Jungkook when you realized just how inconsiderate you had been, no matter how much he kept trying to play it off.

The more you thought about it the more you felt even worse, no matter how much Jungkook tried to tell you it was fine, because it wasn’t fine, especially when he admitted at first, he did feel hurt watching you do that after he had opened up about it. Not only this but Jungkook had confessed it was difficult to even admit in the first place. 

You could tell he was seemingly at war with himself internally and was holding back some of his own feelings still, but you wanted him to take his time and open up when he was ready too.

Moving the books off the shelf you began to dust it down as you sighed. Jungkook had gone on to explain that he wasn’t hurt by the action anymore, in fact, he had only felt hurt for a very brief moment before realizing what you were doing was, how he interpreted it, a challenge to his authority in your relationship. 

At the very least you were relieved he interpreted like that rather than you just being an inconsiderate ass to his feelings, which is how you felt about it, even though in those moments it hadn’t been your intentions as all and you secretly vowed you would never do again, Jungkook more than anyone, didn’t deserve that. You never wanted Jungkook to feel like he couldn’t open up and be honest with you with no judgement at all. 

With that all being taken into consideration you told him every little bit on how you felt and of course apologized for minimizing his feelings about what could have been possible with Jimin, which he had accepted. And in the end Jungkook had simply asked to just let you both move past this and last what had happened in Vegas, stay in Vegas.

Jungkook had asked though, if it was okay to drop you off at your apartment once you got in, as he wanted some time to himself.

Which is why you were here alone, but the decision was mutually agreed upon. Being alone was giving you a lot of time to think over all of your actions throughout the week and with each memory you couldn’t help but berate yourself over...well everything, what had come over you...? You sighed as you thought about Seulgi’s message and what she had said the night you had been prepping to go on stage….maybe...maybe she was on to something. You frowned as you checked your phone.

Jungkook was supposed to come over in the morning with the pregnancy test but....maybe you just had a lot of PMS? 

Sitting down on the couch you let out a brief dry laugh, wouldn’t that be ironic? Everyone freaking out about you being pregnant for the past week only for you to be PMSing. It would explain why you had been so emotionally charged the whole week…

Your emotions, specifically anger, were always heightened when you were a week away from your period and it always led to you doing and saying things you typically wouldn’t. You certainly weren’t looking for an excuse as much as an explanation for how things unfolded the way they had. 

Once again, you weren’t late for your period, so the idea of being pregnant was possible, but a slim chance. You sighed as you laid down on the couch, could you really be pregnant….? You didn’t even wanna think about it. You didn’t feel pregnant, no matter how ludicrous that sounded, you didn’t and if you were...Your head was fuzzy and you knew the timing wasn’t right, but you also felt conflicted…

You knew Jungkook would stay no matter what but...being possibly pregnant meant having to tell Jimin and if it was his...You rubbed your head as you felt a whine escape you, your eyes nearly blurring from just the stress of thinking about it because truthfully...You didn’t want to have a baby if it meant this much stress in your life.

Rain pattered against the windows as you rubbed your head, no longer wanting to think about the possible future that was nobody’s fault except your own. It was nearing ten PM and you were beginning to feel the jet lag of the plane ride as you stretched out with a soft sigh, what good would overthinking do you anyways? 

You wouldn’t deny you somewhat missed Jungkook’s presence, you’d probably be curled up against him right now in front of the TV. But having some alone time was good, it was healthy. And god knew you both needed a little bit of that. Or maybe just you so it seemed these days…

Walking to your bedroom with a yawn you changed into some comfy pajamas before curling up in bed, your mind beginning to calm as rain poured outside. If anything being back home makes you feel more grounded. Jungkook has done leaps and bounds in changing for the better, you’d do the same if not for yourself then for him. Being back home, it’ll be like a new start. 

Groaning your eyes cracked open, your alarm clock blinking at four in the morning as the bed shifted making you roll over, arms wrapping around you as you squirmed, nearly jolting right up, “Easy baby.” A deep voice murmured making you sigh in relief, rubbing your eyes as you mumbled, “Jungkook? What are you doing here?” It was so late at night, didn’t he want the day to himself?

You couldn’t see his face and your eyes were too tired to keep them open but you knew it was him by his hands and voice, he shifted once more to get comfortable. Obviously letting himself in with the spare key he knew was above your door.

“Couldn’t sleep.” He mumbled against your hair, it was his voice that made you force your eyes back open shifting a little away from him to try and get a look at his face. It was his voice, that sounded...docile? Maybe a little shy? 

You could tell it wasn’t just a regular insomniac night, “You wanna talk about it?” You asked delicately with a frown, reaching out your hand to run through his hair, soft sigh escaping him as he melted into your touch, shaking his head as you frowned, “Alright it’s okay, c’mere.” Jungkook scooted in, letting his head press against your chest, his arms loosely wrapping around your waist. 

His muscles relaxed as your fingers tenderly stroked through his hair as your eyes closed once more, it seemed like a light switch, whatever difficulty he had going to sleep was gone and quickly replaced with him nearly rolling on top of you in his sleep. Yawning it didn’t take long for you to drift off to sleep either. 

…

Pain, no not pain. It was more like a dull ache as you groaned, eyes cracking open to sunlight streaming in and...When did Jungkook get here? His body was on top of yours, nearly crushing you as you wheezed. Memories of last night began to surface as you sighed softly with a frown as you rubbed your eyes, did he have a nightmare? 

It was hard to ruminate when you felt another dull ache in your stomach and something uncomfortably wet against your underwear, “Ah...Jungkook, hey sleepyhead. C’mon, wake up.” Ignoring it temporarily you whispered as you shook him, you wouldn’t care about him sleeping on top of you if you didn’t feel like absolute crap. Your head began to throb and it felt like your body was drained of all energy. 

“Mm mornin’ ba’girl.” Jungkook’s words were slurred and deep as he rolled off of you, stretching out as he let his hands rest above his head. Eyes still closed as you let out a silent breath in relief. Not nearly as uncomfortable as before as you rubbed your eyes before realization dawned on you. 

Jungkook looked like a disturbed cat when the bed suddenly bounced at your jolt. 

Opening his eyes he pressed his brows together in confusion as he frowned, watching you scramble out of bed while swearing up a storm, that was unusual. Sitting up right he yawned as he rubbed his eyes, mild concern washing over him, were you okay? Was the baby okay? He had never seen you jump out of bed so fast...Well okay he had seen you do it a few times when you were hung over but…

You trudged out of the bathroom and he could immediately sense annoyance on your face as you sighed, unable to look at him as you opened your dresser drawer, “You good baby?” Jungkook frowned in confusion. 

“Well I’m definitely not pregnant.” You mumbled grabbing a new pair of panties, bland and black, comfortable and above all else not cute. You turned to face him as you frowned, Jungkook seemed...frozen almost, like he was still processing your words, “Oh…” Was all he said. 

Your once annoyed expression at your ruined panties softened at the tone of his voice, tilting your head in confusion and you intended on asking him if he was okay until you felt another drop of wetness against your ruined underwear. 

Knowing it would be better to freshen up first you gave him a moment to himself before quickly heading for the bathroom you changed yourself and freshen up a little before making your way out of the bathroom. 

Jungkook was laying back down, staring up at the ceiling blankly as you sighed softly a small frown forming on your face as you crawled onto the bed ignoring the dull ache in your stomach as you spoke, “Jungkook?” He hummed as he closed his eyes, as if he didn’t want to see your face, this in it’s self made your lips quiver a little before curling up beside him you reached out as you let your fingers run along his jawline as you asked gently, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah...I’m great!” Jungkook tried to make his tone peppy, a painfully obvious forced smile on his face as he turned to look at you trying his best to look happy, “I mean, you’re not pregnant so…! That’s great, it’s- it’s good.” His smile faltered as he sighed as if not having the energy to fully commit the clear lie he was telling, turning to look back up at the ceiling as soon as he noticed your expression unmoving.

Your expression was soft as you frowned a little as you scooted up against his side, “Jungkook…” You mumbled, glancing at his somewhat melancholy demeanor in worry, you understood he was the one that firmly believed you were pregnant so you weren’t fully surprised to see his somewhat downcast demeanor but it still worried you nonetheless, “You don’t have to lie, what’s wrong?” He shifted a little, somewhat uneasy at first as he sighed, bringing his hands up to his eyes as he rubbed them.

“I just…” He paused somewhat hesitant before mumbling, “I was so sure you were pregnant...Is it...is it bad I was hoping you were…?” His voice sounded small as he coughed suddenly rushing, “I mean like I said! It’s good you aren’t, we just got into a relationship and we couldn’t really have a baby or afford to have one right now and we’re both still in college and-” 

“Jungkook,” He paused at the sound of his name, unable to look at you as you felt a small smile tug on your lips, despite the sad tone of your eyes, “You're allowed to feel the way you do about it.” You could tell by the way he was acting he was obviously upset about it. Maybe upset wasn’t the right word, but he was certainly melancholy. 

He sighed as he closed his eyes once more, “I was so sure…Maybe I was just projecting, I don’t know.” 

“I don’t think you were projecting,” You spoke softly, letting your fingers tangle into his hair as you lifted up a little to press a kiss on his face, his nose scrunching as he cracked his eyes open to playfully squint at you. Snorting you couldn’t help but let a shy little smile tug on your lips as you pressed another kiss onto his nose before straddling his stomach to collapse on top of him, “I think,” You mumbled against his skin, “You had every right to be concerned. But pms symptoms and pregnancy symptoms are hard to tell apart.” 

He sighed as he wrapped his arms around you, “So the cravings, the mood swings, the head aches…? All just pms?” He sighed somewhat dramatically as he mumbled, “You’re kinda mean when you’re getting ready to start.” You couldn’t help but giggle as you shoved him a little, feeling somewhat flustered and embarrassed because he was right. You were absolutely mean. 

“I’m sorry again,” You mumbled somewhat shyly, nudging against the crook of his neck, “If I had been tracking a little better I could’ve given you a bit of a heads up.” 

Jungkook snorted as he pressed a kiss against your neck, “It was my fault I jumped to conclusions. You said it yourself you weren’t even late. I just got carried away at the idea of you being pregnant.”

“Nobody is at fault here Jungkook, everyone assumed I was pregnant, and for good reason I mean....I was just oblivious and hadn’t even gave it a single thought,” You lifted your head with a weak smile, you didn’t genuinely blame the group either as they only had your best intentions in mind, but really it was just another lesson of communication between you both.

You shifting against him a little as your gathered your thoughts before continuing, “It didn’t even cross either of our minds about pregnancy until they said something. I mean really, given what symptoms had shown up I know everyone only brought it up with our best intentions in mind but this kind of got blown out of proportion. It would’ve been one thing if my period was late, but I was still a week away from starting when they brought it up...”

Jungkook sighed before groaning, “Seriously. Still feel somewhat bad though, I don’t know. I really liked the idea of having a baby there for a second…God what have you done to me?” He joked a little, as if not wanting to linger on the topic seriously much longer making you smile somewhat bashfully as you rolled your eyes. 

You could feel your face becoming somewhat hot as you crawled a little closer to his face, feeling a wave of boldness enter you before leaning against his ear, “We could always still have a baby.” You immediately felt flushed as you tried to shy away but it was too late. 

Jungkook’s grip on your body already tightened and he effortlessly rolled your both over, “Is that so?” Jungkook nipped at your neck making you squeak, “You shouldn’t be saying that unless you’re ready to make it happen sweetheart.” His hands clamped your legs making you squeak as you scrambled. 

“No! No! No! There is BLOOD down there-” 

“What you think I’m scared of getting a little messy-” 

“That is disgusting!” 

Jungkook was howling against your stomach in laughter, was it your tone of voice? Was it how frantic you were to get away from him? Was it your expression? Maybe it was all three, whatever it was it knocked Jungkook out as he wheezed against you, “Alright, calm down baby I was joking.”

“But you were half serious weren’t you!” You scowled in embarrassment, feeling your face become hot and your ears burn as you squirmed to sit up as you glared at him. 

Jungkook looked up at you fondly, hands reaching up to smush your cheeks as he sighed, “Okay maybe a little-” 

“I knew it!” 

“But!” Jungkook cut you off, “You don’t seriously expect me to go seven days straight without being inside you right? Like I’ll wear a condom if it grosses you out but-” 

“We are not having period sex.” You were rapidly shaking your head as he whined against your thighs. Of course he was willing to get his dick messy if it meant cumming inside you. Why was he like this? “Jungkook…! I’ll give as much head as you want but we are not doing it inside me…!” 

“Why do you have to tease me like this, it's not fair baby!” Jungkook groaned as he rolled over, a snort escaping you at the sight of his half hard on, his eyes cutting into you with a sulky pout, “Don’t laugh at my semi boner! It’s your fault talking about wanting kids and shit.” 

Smiling you reached up to brush the hair out of his face as he huffed, “Jungkook,” You clacked your tongue, your smile becoming a little shy as you murmured, “I didn’t bring it up to give you a hard on. I just meant to say that, just because I’m not pregnant doesn’t mean we can’t have a baby in the future.” You glanced away feeling somewhat bashful as you mumbled, “When it’s planned and we’re both prepared for it...and maybe when we’ve been together a little longer. It’s not like we missed our only chance…” 

Jungkook sighed softly, a small smile tugging on his lips as he shrugged, “I know...I don’t know what my problem is. I guess I just, really liked the idea of having a family. I really was hoping you were pregnant.” He groaned as he stretched out, “I mean like I said, I do think it’s better this way. Your uterus saved us a lot of stress between having a baby and between us, and an awkward conversation with Jimin.” 

You winced at the sudden stabbing sensation in your stomach, a whine escaping you making Jungkook jump up immediately worry in his eyes as you waved your hand, “I’m good...just hurts...Anyways…” You wiggle around a little to get comfortable before offering him a small smile, “Like I said, it’s okay to feel sad about it. But remember what I said, we can always have a baby in the future. Maybe if we’re married,” You shifted as you gave a weak smile, “I don’t know how my parents would react if I got knocked up while we’re just a couple.” 

“Mm maybe we’ll test that out in a few months.” You rolled your eyes making him laugh as he sat up, pressing a kiss against your forehead as you winced once more, the pain becoming more prominent in your stomach, “Alright, I’m gonna go get you some pain killers then start on breakfast baby.” 

“Thank you.” You mumbled, lifting up a little to meet his lips as he gave you a quick kiss before you crumpled back against the bed. Pressing your brows together as you grabbed the pillow he had been previously sleeping on and cuddling it close as pain began to flush and throb harsher. 

You were relieved to find out you weren’t pregnant but dear jesus, at what cost?

You didn’t expect your relationship to change despite becoming officially girlfriend and boyfriend. Most people said it changed nothing. Feelings remained the same and so did the problems that seeped into your relationship over time. But...you couldn’t help but feel like things had changed. Even despite being back for a few days things seemed more….

Natural? Calm? You weren’t sure but you liked it. The once dramatic passion you craved in a relationship wasn’t your interest anymore. You found out, passion meant being emotionally charged, heartbroken, arguing and all of the above. But it wasn’t like that with Jungkook anymore. It felt like home. You loved it.

Coming back home to Korea felt like a second chance in a way, like you were coming back with a clean slate and a new start. That didn’t mean all of your problems were magically gone. But whatever happened in Vegas would stay there. You liked this. Holding Jungkook’s hand while he looked like there were stars in his eyes, excitement brimming at his seams as he tugged you along down the walking path. 

“Come on we’re almost there!” Jungkook looked like a little boy as he pulled you along in excitement making you giggle as you stumbled over your feet to catch up. He had been like this since you got back. You had been learning more about Jungkook in the past few days more than you had within the three months of knowing him. 

Particularly how he had a nice camera he loved scoping out in the early mornings and taking photography, he loved printing them out into polaroid photos and keeping them in photobooks, Jungkook had a real fondness for taking morning walks and finding new trails to walk down. You always assumed he was just extremely energetic but he was actually just a morning person. 

He hummed when he cooked and he wasn’t good with his spices but he was more than happy for your help in the kitchen, especially when you found out he can’t really cook, at all, but he’s always enthusiastic to learn. He seemed so open? Happy now? His eyes always had that look in them now, the same look you saw all those months ago outside the diner when he first met your parents. It was your favorite look. 

Trying to catch your breath Jungkook paused as he let go of your hand, letting out a content noise as you glanced up, “Oh wow…!” You were delighted to meet with the beautiful scenery of a stream trickling down against rocks that made it look like a little waterfall, light beams streaked through the lush flora and the wind made the branches sway so beautifully. Unable to keep the smile off your face as you glanced around, “It’s so beautiful here! Why isn’t this marked on the trail map?” 

Jungkook nearly beamed with pride like a little boy as he walked towards the stream, “Probably because they marked it off this trail,” He gave a somewhat sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his neck, “But it’s a really good spot! It’s just hard to go any further from here because the woodland is so thick ahead.” 

“We aren’t trespassing, are we?” You bounced while wringing your hands nervously suddenly feeling concern wash over you making Jungkook laugh as you clenched your fists, huffing as a pout began to tug on your lips, “I don’t wanna get arrested Jungkook!” 

“Baby,” Jungkook tutted as he walked back over to you, pressing his hands on your cheeks before smushing them, practically beaming down at your pouty squished face, “Why do you always assume we’re gonna get arrested? For what it’s worth I never saw a ‘No Trespassing’ sign…” He snorted at your flailed arms as you and you stomped your foot, of course he’d say that!

“Fine, I guess as long as there aren't any signs…” You mumbled, still not completely sold as you glanced around, letting a small smile tug on your lips as you added shyly, “It is really pretty out here. I loved walking on the trails back at Kimhae, my dad use to show me what all of the shrubs were and he could spot a flower a mile- Hey!” You paused when you heard a click, whipping around to face Jungkook who was cheekily smiling, camera held up as you flusteredly flailed your hands, “Don’t take my picture! I’m not even dressed up!” 

“You always look good.” Jungkook flirted wrapping a hand around your waist as he tugged you closer. An embarrassed squeak escaped your lips, no matter how hard you tried a smile graced your lips as you let out a whine, pressing your hands to your face as Jungkook chuckled, “What? It’s the truth.” You could feel his warm breath against your neck before the invasion of kisses peppered against your skin, his thumbs rubbing against your waist as he hummed against your skin, “Sounds like you're close to your dad.” 

Wrapping your arms around his neck loosely you let out a breath in contentment as you nudged against his neck, looking at him with an endeared smile as you shrugged a little, “Yeah, I learned a lot about gardening and plants when I was younger, it was our thing to go out on trails and hunt for little mushrooms.” You smiled fondly as you let your head rest against him, “Min Ji and Nari always complained it was too hot and too many bugs so they’d always end up going back to the house. But we’d stay out there for hours. During the summertime mom would always make watermelon lemonade for us when we got back. I miss those days sometimes.”

Jungkook rested his chin on top of your head, fingers trailing through your hair as he murmured, “Sounds nice... sounds like you and your family are close.” His voice seemed somewhat reserved, as if he were in thought. 

“Well, we have our ups and downs like anyone else but...yeah, we are pretty close.” You pulled a little bit away from Jungkook to look at him, his eyes seemed somewhat downcast as you frowned a little, “Was it not like that for your family?” 

Come to think of it, you don’t really know anything about Jungkook’s home life other than what he said in Vegas, which was about his younger sister. Jungkook frowned a little, not replying right away like he usually would before shrugging a little, “Not really. I’ve never been close to either of my parents.” He parted his lips for as if he was going to further elaborate before cutting himself off, choosing to look at the soft ground beneath you rather than at you, “I wanted too when I was younger, for what it’s worth I guess.” 

Your frown furthered at his dim expression as your expression softened, your arms wrapping around him as you squeezed tight, letting your chin rest on his shoulder as you murmured softly, “Not everyone is close to their families and they almost always have a valid reason Jungkook. You don’t owe anyone that reason.” 

Jungkook sighed, closing his eyes, his body weight slumping a little against you as he mumbled against your skin, “Even you? You can’t tell me you don’t want a reason or an explanation at least.” You pressed your lips together, unsure of where all of this was coming from before ultimately humming, letting your fingers twist into his hair. 

“Of course I do,” You agreed gently, but it wasn’t just wanting to know for the sake of knowing, but it was simply because you just wanted to know everything you could about Jungkook, you wanted to understand him at his core self, “But only when you want too. When you feel comfortable enough too. Nobody wants to openly talk about anything bad that happened in the past. Don’t push yourself so much Jungkook. You can talk about it when you’re ready. I’ll always be willing to listen.”

“I know,” Jungkook mumbled against your neck, “I just wish it could be sooner.” You weren’t sure what was holding him back but it wasn’t like you were in a rush to get to know one another. You could afford to take your time and go at a slow pace. You certainly didn’t mind. Pressing your lips against his neck you squeezed him tight as you gave a shy little smile, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll always wait for you.” 

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” You pressed your lips together in dismay, it wasn’t that you didn’t trust Jungkook, because you did, you had absolute unwavering trust in him. But given where your relationship was at...well...you didn’t want to cause any more harm to it then you already had. Not that you thought you would but-

“Nothing scandalous is going to happen babygirl I promise,” Jungkook replied, pressing a kiss against your temple as he wrapped a hand around your waist, giving you that dumb boyishly charming smile of his, “It’s just been awhile since I’ve seen Yugyeom, besides Hyerin will be there as well. If it makes you feel better this dungeon has a pretty strict no sex policy.”

You sighed as you pressed your hands into your face, trying to not let yourself whine as he pressed another kiss against your face, “You could always regress again, I still have that last picture you drew for me, you were such a sweet girl.” He cooed out before laughing at the sight of you stomping your foot. 

“Jungkook stop!” You covered your face feeling somewhat embarrassed, his hand squeezed around your waist in reassurance before leading you into the dungeon. The lights were low lit but the environment seemed much more tame, Jungkook kept a steady grip on you, not too tight but not too loose, just enough to let you know he wasn’t going anywhere. 

There were still a few here and there who were dressed in latex and masks but otherwise if someone walked in without knowing what this was they’d assume it was another club. Apparently according to Jungkook most dungeons weren’t exclusive but given it was a daunting environment most newcomers usually came with someone who was already acquainted. 

You supposed you were on that list. 

“Hey man! Long time no see,” Yugyeom waved you both over to the booth he sat at, Hyerin smiling as she waved, not looking nearly as broody as she did whenever she was regressed. So this would be just like a double date! You concluded, for some reason you felt nervous. Even despite working as a stripper you still didn’t fare well with small talk. 

You felt more comfortable at least with Jungkook who was a social butterfly in and outside of work, sitting down across from the couple, “How was Seasonella?” 

It was quiet for a moment, both Yugyeom and Hyerin raising their brows as they watched you and Jungkook exchange glances while shifting in your seats, “It- ah…” Jungkook offered a weak smile before chuckling, “Well, there won’t be one next year. To summarize, the mafia and police got involved, Y/n almost got sold into a prostitution ring and everyone told me at the worst time possible she could be pregnant. Which she isn’t by the way, but yeah. Busy weekend.” Jungkook wrapped an arm around you both looking at you with a toothy smile as you pressed your hands into your face.

Both Yugyeom and Hyerin were speechless- not that you could blame them before they began laughing, either because this just sounded like a normal part of Jungkook’s life or they didn’t believe you, regardless Yugyeom snorted, “Right, so you’re just gonna leave us on the edge of our seats now?” 

Jungkook didn’t hesitate to dive into all the gruesome details on what had happened at Seasonella and the couple looked vastly entertained if not somewhat worried when Jungkook revealed Eva’s speech she had given him just before he found you. You had butted in a few times to correct some of the events that had happened only for Jungkook to give you a dumb smile that made you flustered and ultimately shutting you up. 

“So yeah,” Jungkook finished recalling the weekend as he shrugged, thankfully leaving out details of what had happened at the after party, “How was your guys weekend?” He hummed as if he had just talked for the past twenty minutes about a normal weekend date. 

“Is this just normal in stripping?” Hyerin asked, a smile mustered on her expression but you could tell she seemed a bit exasperated and admittedly you couldn’t blame her. 

You rubbed the back of your neck as you muttered, “I’d hope not.” 

Jungkook pressed a kiss against your hair as he chuckled, “No, it’s usually a lot more relaxed but Seasonella has always been a high stress event. At least if we’re still stripping by next year we won’t have to worry about it. I can’t help but wonder why Cherry ever got involved to begin with…” The air at the table seemed to turn a little tense as Jungkook rubbed the back of his neck, deciding to deflect as he shrugged, pulling a smile back on his lips with ease, “Anyways, doesn’t matter now. It’s all over.” 

“Hey!” Everyone’s attention was drawn to a new man entering the conversation, tilting your head he seemed a little familiar...Wasn’t he the one who intervened the last time you went to a BDSM club? “Yugyeom! I can’t find the rest of the guys and I could uh- really use some help...It’s Shownu…” Yugyeom immediately perked up and your memory was drawn back to Shownu, yeah! That was his name, he tried to creep on you and Hyerin when you were regressed. 

“I’ll go too.” Jungkook immediately puffed up as he and Yugyeom stood up, a viscous grin on his face at the sight of both men about to reject him, “I still have a few words for him.” Sighing the man waved them both along as you frowned, watching them disappear into the thick crowd. 

“Shownu has a pretty bad rep in most dungeons,” Hyerin hummed as she curled up in her seat, “I don’t think he’s a bad guy but…” She trailed off before offering a weak smile, “But I think he has a hard time knowing when to stop, he’s pissed off a lot of dominants and often causes trouble between couples.”

You frowned as you wrapped your arms around yourself, “Can’t people get kicked out if they cause enough trouble though…?” There had to be some kind of system right? Jungkook didn’t go too in depth about how everything works but you made sure to make a mental note to ask him whenever he got back from his... ‘talk’ with Shownu…

“Well…” Hyerin parted her lips but she paused for a moment as if to gather her thoughts on how to explain, “Yes and no, people can only get directly kicked out if it’s by the dungeon master, or, in other words the owner. But Shownu knows a lot of the club owners and is on pretty good terms with most so, getting kicked out is pretty hard, for him at least.”

Glancing out over the crowd you weren’t sure what possessed you to ask, “How long has Jungkook been coming to places like this?” You could ask him yourself sure, and you probably would but...you were admittedly curious to hear from a different perspective. 

Hyerin tilted her head as she tapped her finger to her lips in thought, “Longer than me. Yugyeom said they met at a munch and got on great. I didn’t meet Yugyeom until about two years ago and he started taking me here because I was interested.” 

She paused for a moment before offering a weak smile, “Your boyfriend’s an interesting character, he’s a regular but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him share a scene with anyone before. Kind of weird considering he calls himself- and I quote- ‘ a very proud exhibit’-” Hyerin began cackling as you groaned, facepalming as your memory shot to the sloppy rough sex you shared for all of your friends to see, “He usually just...watches....he knows a lot of people here but I don’t think he’s ever participated in anything. Not that you probably care…!” She hurried as if not wanting you to get the wrong idea, “It’s just interesting, almost everyone who frequents dungeons are usually here to...well find someone to do a scene with…”

You hummed, unsure of how to reply because you weren’t sure yourself, it didn’t sound like the Jungkook you knew at least, he was never afraid of women and he always jumped at the opportunity to get his dick sucked, especially when you first met him, shrugging you ran a hand through your hair, “I don’t know...it is kind of weird but maybe he had his reasons? How can you be so sure he hasn’t done anything?” 

Hyerin looked a little flustered as she began to rapidly flail a nervous laugh escaping her as she fumbled, “I never slept with him if that’s what you’re asking!” “Woah wait I never-” “I- I um…” She rubbed her neck as she tried to calm herself, your eyes had to be dilated at the way she forced a laugh, “I mean um…! Look,” She took a deep breath, “People here...talk…” She refused to look at you now, obviously embarrassed, “A lot. Yugyeom told me all of this, apparently he tried to set Jungkook up with a few people but it never really took off…? This was way back before I even met Yugyeom...I’ve met a lot of women who have wanted to do scenes with Jungkook, and I mean…” 

Hyerin seemed to calm down a little as she let out a more natural laugh, “A lot. But apparently Jungkook would always tell them he wasn’t interested or he’d start sending mixed signals before abruptly cutting contact. I don’t know. I can’t say I’m positive but...from what I’ve heard, it just seems that way. Uh- I’m sorry by the way- for what I said earlier…” 

She offered a weak, yet again embarrassed smile, “I’m sure that’s not what you meant but...a lot of women here get jealous. Jungkook and I aren’t even friends really, I’ve only ever talked to him because of Yugyeom but a lot of women get mad at the fact that I’m even in association with him. Doesn’t matter how many times I say it, nobody seems to believe it.” She gave an awkward smile as she rubbed the back of her neck. 

“Oh…” You pressed your lips together before giving a small smile, “Well I believe you, I mean...I…” Closing your eyes you pinched your brows as you forced a laugh, “Definitely know what you’ve been through…” Sighing you looked out, trying to find Jungkook’s figure in a sea of people but you knew it was useless, “Being his trainee at Cherry Bomb was not as easy as some might think it would be. Our relationship has been...anything but easy.” 

Hyerin frowned a little as she tilted her head before offering you a smile, “Look...It seems kind of weird to apologize but uh...I am sorry for when we first met! I’m not really uh- the most outgoing person when I’m regressed but…! I want to get to know you when we aren’t little so…! We can exchange numbers if you want? It sounds like you could use someone outside of work to vent too.” 

Your lips parted in surprise, you hadn’t even given it any thought from last time, Hyerin was completely different from when she was regressed and so were you, “Of course!” You bounced in your seat in excitement, always happy to have a new friend, digging out your phone, “It actually would be great to have someone outside of work I mean…! It’s nothing against all of my friends there but, it can get a bit frustrating at times.” 

“I can understand that,” Hyerin snorted as she typed her number into your phone, “Or I can at least imagine. Yugyeom and I have visited Cherry a few times and a lot of the girls are um…” She raised her brows as her smile tightened a little, “I’m amazed you have the patience, that’s all I’ll say. Here!” She handed back your phone, “Now we can stay in touch!” 

“Seems like these two are getting on at least.” You both jumped at the sight of Jungkook and Yugyeom returning, Jungkook rolling his neck as if he had pulled a muscle as he sat down next to you, pecking your lips as you scooted away to try and get a look at him, “Hey! C’mere!” Jungkook grabbed you, pulling you back immediately as you wiggled to try and get away to get a better look at him. 

“I just wanna see your hands!” You replied as Jungkook managed to wrap his arms around you, squeezing you tight making you yelp as you began to laugh, “Let me see your hands! You didn’t beat him up did you?” 

“Fine, fine, fine!” Jungkook replied, rolling his eyes with a smile as he showed his hands which were impressively just as flawless as they were before, “I said I was gonna talk to him baby, and that’s all I did. Yugyeom can vouch for me.” 

Yugyeom snorted as he wrapped an arm around Hyerin, “Only because it took both me and Wonho to hold you back,” Jungkook looked like a deer caught in the headlights before he glared, “Hey!”- “What? I still vouched didn’t I?” Yugyeom offered a playful smile, “Besides, what counts is you didn’t.” 

You couldn’t help but smile as you rolled your eyes, “It’s better than doing it. We can’t have you all bruised up back on your first night at work.” You cooed, reaching up to squish his cheeks as he tried to bat your hands away. 

“Don’t worry babygirl,” Jungkook stretched out as he wrapped an arm back around your shoulders, “Everything’s taken care of.” 

“God I hate it here.” You told Jungkook that you both should get home at a decent hour and he agreed, but somehow, two am didn’t sound that late last night and somehow either you or Jungkook thought it was a bad idea. You had been so used to sleeping in over the past week you forgot how awful your regular sleep schedule had become.

“Hey, at least Seasonella is over.” Taehyung was stocking up today looking bright and chipper as he offered a boxy grin, “Now all you gotta do is focus on SSU coming up, I mean, it should be a lot more fun and relaxing at least. You aren’t aiming to win right?” 

You were collapsed at the bar as you swiveled the glass of water Taehyung had been kind enough to get you, not that you were hung over but you had definitely been dehydrated, “True,” You sat up as you rubbed your eyes with a yawn, “That’s the idea at least. Me and Jungkook are supposed to start working on my routines today, he said since I have soloist experience I should be able to do a lot on my own but you know him, always happy to be hands on.” 

“Mhm,” Taehyung grabbed a few more empty bottles from beneath the counter as he set them all out, “It’ll be fun! Once you get used to the whole schedule again. Besides, the worst is over now, everyone can just calm down and relax.” 

You couldn’t help but give a tired smile as you nodded, it was nice to be back at Cherry Bomb again. You could have never imagined yourself feeling this way before you started working here but, you liked being home again and in your own environment. 

“Doubt she’ll calm down.” Yoongi walked past you with a mutter as he held up the simply vodka box, setting it down on the ground as he grunted, “She keeps glaring at you.” Frowning you straightened up a little before looking in the direction Yoongi nodded. True to his word your eyes met with the one person you had nearly forgotten about altogether. Seulgi. 

Her eyes were mean and cut dry as she whipped away from your figure, talking to her two little cronies as you rolled your eyes, “I don’t know what I did!” You pressed a hand against your chest as you sighed, “She thinks Jungkook has changed me. Or he’s been a bad influence or...fuck if I know at this point.”

“I think she’s jealous.” Yoongi replied as he leaned back against the counter as you tilted your head, sighing as you rubbed your head, you knew it was the only logical explanation but...It just didn’t feel right to accuse her of being jealous...Or maybe it just…

It just seemed hard to understand, Seulgi was…she always got everything she wanted. The best boyfriends, all the most amazing friends, everything. The idea of her being jealous of...you...just you...it was difficult to wrap your head around. Why would she ever be jealous of you? 

“I don’t know what her problem is,” You shrugged with a frown, unsure of how you were going to handle dealing with her. It would be one thing if you left one another alone but...you had seen Seulgi in action before, you had been the one beside her before. If she has a problem with someone, she won't hesitate to find an opportunity to let them know, “I mean…” You pressed your lips together before shrugging, “Maybe I’ll just find a moment and talk to her about it.” 

Yoongi groaned, obviously not agreeing with your idea as he began unpacking bottles, “It’s best to just ask! Right? I’d rather us talk about face to face then over a text message” You glanced at Taehyung for confirmation as he shrugged, pulling out his inventory list as he began scribbling. 

“Sure I guess,” Taehyung hummed, “It really depends on if you think it’s going to change anything. And if it does, will it be beneficial to moving on or repairing your friendship.” You paused for a moment, having not thought about his words...Would you gain anything out of talking to her…? 

Pressing your lips together you glanced back at Seulgi who was stretching with her friends, you supposed if anything, it would give you confirmation that it was time to move on if she couldn’t at the very least, be happy that you were happy, “I’ll talk to her later today.” You nodded to yourself before sitting up a little straighter, “So I guess you haven’t proposed to Yeri yet?” 

Taehyung nearly knocked over the bottle of gin next to him as he fumbled with his inventory list, “Propose!?” Yoongi was wheezing with laughter as he slapped the counter. 

“No, he’s been sulking the whole time you guys have been gone,” Yoongi wiped the non existent tears from his eyes as he sighed with amusement, “Keeps making excuses like oh her mom called, I had to go get groceries-” 

“Shut up!” Taehyung hissed as he shoved him, his cheeks were bright red as he groaned making you and Yoongi laugh as he melted against the counter top, “I’ll ask her I will! I just…! Give me like another two weeks!” 

You watched Jimin enter the room, teaching today's lesson as you rolled your eyes with a smile, “Yeah sure, okay…I’ll know in two weeks though, Yeri would be blowing up our chat if you proposed. Don’t wait too long!” You called out as you got off the chair, everyone beginning to make their way over as Jimin greeted everyone. 

Class wasn’t mandatory by any means, but who would turn down a teaching by a soloist? The one difference you had noted was Chan Hee had yet to make her presence noticed by you. 

Rather she seemed to stay with her group of friends, looking somewhat...meek? You frowned a little, you weren’t sure if it would be welcomed but you just wanted to make sure she was okay, walking over the group silenced as they watched you somewhat warily as you waved timidly, “Hey…” you offered a small smile as you wrapped your arms around yourself, “I just came over to see ask how you guys were. I know Seasonella was pretty rough for everyone.” 

Chan Hee looked away, not saying anything as she pushed a strand of hair away from her face as her two friends squeaked a little, “It was!” The blonde of the right chirped, “Thank you so much for looking out for our girl.” She grabbed your hands with a bright smile as you jumped a little, having not expected this to go as well as it was.

The blue haired girl clasped her hands as she nodded, “Yeah! Seriously! No matter how rivals here are, girls need to look out for one another. Thank you Y/n!” You offered a small smile as you sheepishly rubbed your neck, “Of course! I’d do it for anybody. Stay safe guys, I’ll see you later tonight.” You were waved off with smiles as you walked back to the private room where everyone was currently. 

Opening the door what you didn’t expect was Seulgi shoved up against Jungkook practically eating his mouth, just as quick as you saw it she was suddenly shoved away, Jungkook’s expression cold as he snapped in a low voice, “Don’t ever fucking do that again. Get out of here. This conversation is over Seulgi.”

Her face was twisted vehemently as she sneered back, “We’ll see about that you asshole!” Whipping around her expression only soured further at the sight of you as she snarled, “Get your boyfriend on a leash Y/n.” You couldn’t even find the time to reply due to the shock of the whole situation. Jungkook only glared at her back before the door shut.

Looking between him and the door you swallowed thickly before pushing your hair away from your face as you tried to comprehend what happened, “...What...what was that?” You asked incredulously, twisting to face Jungkook as his jaw clenched. Whatever had happened obviously put him in a bad mood but you couldn’t help but be completely side swapped at what you had just witnessed. It didn’t upset you as it was clear how Jungkook felt about it but...it left you rather confused and mildly concerned.

“Doesn’t matter.” He snapped, running a hand through his hair as he looked away from you, tongue pushing against his cheek as he began walking away, “Come on we have better things to focus on then her.” 

Your lips were parting and closing several times as you pinched your brows together, but…! Something was obviously wrong, while Seulgi and you weren’t what you’d consider friends anymore, it still didn’t sit right with you the feud they both were having, if it could even be called that, “Jungkook what happened!?” You raised your voice a little still in shock, you may not have been close to Seulgi anymore but she was still your friend, you didn’t want her and Jungkook at each other's neck. 

Jungkook’s jaw was clench as he whipped around, fire in his eyes as he growled, “Can’t you ever fucking leave something alone when I ask!?” Frustration was evident in his expression as it twisted in anger, “Why do you constantly just push? I am not in the mood to talk about it! How many times am I gonna have to say it until you drop it!?”

For the first time in your whole relationship with this man, you were rather speechless, feeling somewhat meek as you looked away from his seething figure as you rubbed the back of your neck, the silence was thick and you could feel the lingering gaze of your friends all curious.

You could feel specks of embarrassment knowing everyone was watching you both closely, as last time this had happened you chose to engage in an argument that ended in you almost quitting. And you really didn’t want to argue today and if he really wasn’t in the mood to talk about it then- “...Okay…” You drawled after a moment, somewhat exasperated as you let your voice soften a little, “You don’t have to talk about it. I just...she is my friend Jungkook.”

That argument that...kiss...whatever it was, you didn’t like it. Not because it happened but more so whatever lead up too it. And more than anything you didn’t like it being kept secret from you. You had already learned your lesson in not pushing Jungkook when he really wasn’t in the mood to be open but...it wasn’t fair, especially when it directly involved your friend. 

Jungkook seemed to relax a little at your words but his expression darkened a little as he muttered, “She isn’t your friend. That’s for damn sure.” 

Something about his words rubbed you the wrong way, you got it, he obviously had a falling out with her, but the way he was speaking. It was as if his words were law, as if just because he said she wasn’t your friend, it had to mean she wasn’t and you needed to stop acting as if you both were. That was your decision, not his. You understood he cared but...

Frustration immediately spiked as you inhaled sharply, gaining his attention as you raised your brows trying your best to keep a good attitude as you spoke, your voice a little more on edge, “Listen...you said you didn’t wanna talk about it. Let’s just…” You looked away to try and get yourself to relax, he probably didn’t mean for it to come across the way it did after all.

You were well aware Jungkook said things he didn’t mean in the heat of the moment, and even if he did it was always poorly worded. Sighing as you rubbed your face, “Lets just focus on SSU, right?” You held up your hands, trying to redirect your energy into something more positive as you offered a weak smile, “You wanted to go over some pointers with me today about it.” 

If anything, redirecting the conversation to work always seemed to get things a little more calmed down between you both and you had been excited to learn from Jungkook about his own experience with SSU and how it would be tailored to suit you. 

Jungkook tucked his tongue into his cheek before relenting as he waved a hand for you to follow him as you walked further into the room, “Right,” He sighed before following up, “SSU is basically a big popularity contest, it isn’t a guarantee that you’ll be promoted to a soloist- just don’t tell fillers that. It’s really just a big marketing ploy to try and get new people to come.” 

Frowning you tilted your head, you supposed it made sense, but it still felt somewhat slimy to not be transparent about the reality of winning, “So, what? What do they gain by winning if you don’t get a promotion?” 

Jungkook shrugged, offering a weak smile that you could tell wasn’t his usual energetic self, “Money, a lot of money, not from Cherry Bomb, they don’t work like that. But again, it’s a big popularity contest, the winner is by crowd choice so most voters are usually throwing a lot of money at the leading person. Promotions are solely based on when we need new soloist’s and who the best person would be. Great example was Hoseok and Taehyung, they went up against one another during SSU. Taehyung won that year but Hoseok got the promotion as well because two of soloist’s previously left a few months before.” 

“That still seems a little shady to me. Isn’t this supposed to be every dancer's fair shot at becoming a soloist?” You frowned as you crossed your arms, you couldn’t help it, this just seemed a bit...dishonest. Really dishonest. Had Jungkook not told you this you would’ve been like any other filler and assumed this could be your one shot at a promotion, not that you held a lot of stock in it to begin with but still...

Jungkook shrugged as he tossed an arm around you, “Supposed to be, yeah. But that’s just how the stripping world works, nobody ever bothers to look at fine print. We are looking for a new soloist this year though.” Jungkook answered pointedly, “So Sejin is going to be looking through votes very carefully this year. Who knows, maybe another Taehyung and Hoseok will happen again.” He tossed a wink as you felt a smile tug on your lips as you rolled your eyes. 

“Well I’m not gonna get my hopes up.” You rolled your eyes as you smiled, wrapping your arms around yourself once more as you both paused, now at the end of the room where you used to work on your form when you first started dancing. 

Jungkook paused for a moment, his expression twisting a little as he looked away, “You could though,” Looking at him you tilted your head as he continued, “I mean seriously Y/n,” Oh no, he was using your name now…”You have everything going for you, why not just go for it?” 

Why was he acting this way? 

Setting down your bag you gave an awkward smile, beginning to feel a little uncomfortable with how he was acting as you shrugged, “I mean I could but that’s....not what we agreed on…?” You kneeled down, avoiding his gaze now as you shrugged somewhat timidly already knowing he was in a bad mood and you didn’t want to make it worse with the wrong wording, “I mean- if I get 1st place that’s great! Of course that’s the biggest goal but-” You fumbled a little with your wording as you looked at your hands, “But we talked about it a lot when I first started and we agreed to just focus on getting a following for me so…”

“Yeah, when you first started,” Jungkook replied immediately putting emphasis on ‘first’, “But you aren’t new anymore and you already have a following as it is, you could destroy the competition. You’re just what we need Y/n.” 

You appreciated Jungkook’s words, you really did, but this...it didn’t sound like him. It was one thing for Jungkook to advocate for you to go for it, he had done this every single time you doubted yourself or needed that gentle push from him, he even did it when you were too humble or shy to try and he loved teasing you lovingly in a way that would make you come to the conclusion to change the original plan.

But you didn’t need a gentle push right now, and any other day he’d know and respect this and would still of course bring it up in a light hearted teasing way. But this? This wasn’t him. He would never go about it like this, and especially not so seriously, grabbing your journal of choreography from your bag you stood up as your lips twitched a little disheartened, “Jungkook! I don’t…!” You paused as you sighed, rubbing your neck as you mumbled, “I don’t want to destroy my competition...I just...Can we please focus on choreographing? We can always talk about this later.” 

You’d be more up for debating this topic when Jungkook wasn’t in a mood, when he was his normal peppy self and you could figure out what was motivating his reason behind the sudden aggressiveness he had displayed. And it wasn’t that talking about it now was off the table but, you could sense a shift in the air that always happened when things could get volatile easily.

Jungkook ran a hand through his hair, his expression looking semi irritated as he replied, “You can, you could if you’d just have confidence in yourself-” 

“I do have confidence in myself!” You had up until this point tried to be as passive as you could but he had hit a sore spot that made you immediately defensive, cutting him off feeling mildly offended at his words, only to be ignored as he continued- “Then what’s holding you back?” He asked sharply, his expression narrow and short tempered as he questioned, “Other than this…! Frustrating mentality you have about always wanting to be nice to everyone! You’re the only person I know that would go out of her way to befriend the same backstabbing manipulative bitch that works here!” 

You felt utterly offended and upset by his words, people could change! Was that not something he and you were both a product of? What was wrong with trying to make amends with people who wanted to set differences aside? 

Your voice quivered in an attempt to try and remain calm as you gritted your teeth, “Are you finished?” You whipped around to face him your anger quickly growing and your patience now gone as you asked, “Or would you like to add more to the list of things you find annoying about me,” “That’s not-” “That's exactly what that sounds like Jungkook!” 

Your expression contorting between upset and anger as you snapped, admittedly feeling mildly hurt by his words, “I don’t know where this is coming from! I’m- I’m sorry that you find it frustrating but that’s who I am! These backstabbing and manipulative bitches are still people Jungkook!” 

You curled your fists as you glared, emotions rapidly coiling in your chest as unpleasant memories of your own dark moments at Seasonella arising as more emotion filled your voice, “You wanna know why I befriended Chan Hee? When I was at Seasonella, you wanna know what happened? She got raped and the shit beat out of her!” 

You ignored the way Jungkook’s body stiffened at your words and his gaze shooting away from you as your eyes blurred only by a little as your lips twitched in anger, “I-...I would never leave someone like that alone by herself! Never. That is not who I am! I would never turn my back on someone- anyone who needs help,” You were rapidly blinking back the tears of your own strong emotions, you always treated others how you had always wanted to be treated, how you had wished someone would have intervened for you and Diego…. You pushed the ugly thoughts away, your lips quivered in bubbling anger as you glared down at the floor “And you bringing up my self confidence…?” 

You inhaled sharply before letting out a weak laugh, “Jungkook,” Your gaze turned more pleading, it was a sore spot! He knew it was a sore spot and it wasn’t fair for him to bring this up every time you didn’t do something he wanted! “I thought you more than anyone else would know this, I didn’t become a stripper for money or fame. You said it yourself, anyone going in with that mentality was an idiot. I became a stripper because,” 

You forced yourself to take a breath, not liking being under so much pressure to present a case for yourself as you pressed your hands to your face, “I became a stripper because for once in my life, I wanted to see if I could do it. I did it to help my self confidence. This- this stupid notion of me being a soloist, I’m glad you think I can do it! I probably can! But that wasn’t and never will be the reason I got into this. I have nothing to prove to anyone, I understand your frustration right now but dammit Jungkook I’m not going to be your verbal punching bag!” 

You grabbed your bag from the floor as you glared at him once more, “I don’t know what you talked about with Seulgi- and you know what? It doesn’t matter! I don’t care! It’s the fact that you’re taking it out on me right now! And that’s what sucks the most about this stupid argument! This isn’t even about me being a soloist, or SSU. I don’t know what the fuck this is about! And- and questioning my character! When the hell have you ever done that before!?”

“Wait, wait, wait! Where are you going.” Jungkook immediately stepped in front of you, eyes widened as you began to walk towards the door, “I’m leaving!-” “No you aren’t, look! I’m sorry okay? I just, hey come on, stop,” “Jungkook! I’m being serious!” 

You paused, irritated at the way he side stepped you to get you to stay still, Jungkook grabbing you by the arms, not tight, but firm enough that you couldn’t push away, “I’m sorry!” Jungkook replied again, louder this time in an attempt to stop you, “I just, don’t go for god's sake can- can we work this out?” 

“You didn’t wanna talk about it!” You shouted, your chest filled with unfairness as your lips parted in disbelief and hurt in your eyes, “I tried asking and you said you didn’t wanna talk about! And that I was always pushing you to open up! I can’t…!” You pulled away from him, grabbing your head as you turned away from him “I can’t win with you Jungkook! I left it alone- so- so we wouldn’t argue!” You hated the way your eyes began to water as frustration boiled in your veins, you were so angry! Why couldn’t you ever do anything right!?

“C’mon don’t cry baby, look let’s just…” Jungkook grabbed your bag from your shoulder as he set it down, quickly turning you back around to face him guilt written across his face as the tears slid down your cheeks. 

“If- if I’m so frustrating and- and pushy…! Why even date me!” You curled your fists as you vehemently rubbed your eyes, “Why do you even like me if I’m so annoying! If I’m just a- a whiny insecure bitch!” 

Those were all his words, you knew he said things he didn’t mean in the heat of the moment but that didn’t mean they didn’t hurt, that it didn’t linger and make you wonder in the back of your head. Jungkook ran a hand through his hair as he sighed, his hands cupping your cheeks as you gritted your teeth in anger before defeatedly closing your eyes. 

His thumbs rubbing against your wet cheeks soothingly as he sighed, “I’m sorry okay? I shouldn’t have picked a fight.. I just…” Something lingered on his face, as if he wanted to tell you something but couldn’t, his lips twitched as he huffed, “I hate seeing people take advantage of you.” 

Letting his head rest against yours as he closed his eyes, “I fucking hate it. I hate seeing people use you for their own gain and I hate hearing the way people talk about you, and believe me I hear a lot, I hate it all of it. I just- I just want so fucking badly to show the world that my girl can do it, and that she isn’t just some fucking doormat they can walk all over. You might not get upset over it but I do, I can’t stand watching you be treated like this by people!” 

Wiping your eyes you sniffled as you replied while shaking your head, “You can’t fight all of my battles Jungkook!” You had calmed down a little, hearing his reasoning, you could understand now why he was acting like this, why he was obviously frustrated by you at times but taking it out on you like that was not going to make you change those things about yourself, “I appreciate it, you know I do!” 

You nodded as you sniffled again, leaning away to get a good look at his tired expression that looked at the ground, “But at some point you just have to ignore them Jungkook. We- we can’t keep fighting over stuff like this! There will always be people in this world who don’t like me or you and there is nothing that can be done about that. If you give that negativity a voice in your life then they’ve done everything they could’ve ever wanted. Because they genuinely think what they say about us matters when it shouldn’t.” 

Jungkook’s arms wrapped around you, his chin setting on your shoulder as he mumbled, “I just want the best for you. I’d do anything for my girl.” His arms squeezed around your waist as his nose rubbed against your neck. Sighing you curled against him, “I know...but your dedication scares me a little sometimes.” Your tone was light and you could hear a snort from him, successfully calming the air between you both. 

But...you wouldn’t lie...it did scare you sometimes...Jungkook was so intense and passionate, you could help but get caught up in the heat of his personality, you didn’t want to be burned by it. Pressing a kiss against your neck Jungkook hummed, “If we’ve hit our daily quota of arguing can we work on choreo now?” You pulled away from him with a childish glare as he smiled softly, his hands cupping your face as he smushed your cheeks, “My precious little cry baby.” 

“For better or worse.” You mumbled. 

Note: I was a glutton and couldn’t wait any longer, so lemme know how you guys enjoyed the chapter and all of your thoughts!!!

(Taglist CLOSED)

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[weirdmarioenemies]

Rating all the Catified enemies in Bowser’s Fury!

With the release of Super Mario 3D World on Switch, we got a fantastic little game! Bowser’s Fury! It’s like a sequel to Mario Sunshine with 3D World mechanics, it’s a delight! it has the mod Sockop seal of approval! But that’s not why I’m here today, I’m here because this game gave us Cat versions of 3D world enemies! Complete with fur, tails and little cat ears! In this post, I’ll be rating these catified designs, as an excuse to show them all to you dear reader!

Name: Cat Biddybud

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

Starting off strong, Biddybuds are some of my fave Mario creatures, and this look fits them well, the paws and tail look natural on their spherical body! And the fur looks like a fine velvet!

9/10  Would pet.

Name: Cat Blockstepper

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

Blocksteppers are also already perfect, with their funny hats and their trumpet mouths. However, this cat form doesn’t give them fur, or paws or a tail at all! just some cat ears! Which I’m not even sure are part of their actual body! They could just be glued onto their hats, I hope it’s actually part of their bodies and they made little holes on the hats so they can poke them out.

4/10  Blocksteppers seem to have arrived too late at the Catification center, they only had spare cat ears left.

Name: Cat Bob-omb

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

Another one that got the short end of the stick! No fur, no paws, not even a tail! Just cat ears! Both Blocksteppers and Bob-ombs walk thanks to their wind-up keys, so perhaps they only get cat ears because these are not organic creatures! It still seems a bit unfair on the guys, just because they’re automated doesn’t mean they don’t deserve some fuzzy fur!

4/10  You deserve so much more Bob-omb.

Name: Cat Boomerang/Fire/Hammer Bros.

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

The ears don’t look bad at all! But it’s still a very lazy catification, sure, they get fur but it’s so short it might as well not be there.

2/10

Name: Cat Bullet Bill

Debut: Super Mario 3D World

This one’s an interesting case! They’re the only cat enemy not exclusive to Bowser’s Fury, as they appeared in the base 3D World game. Like Bob-ombs and Blocksteppers, they don’t get any fur, so this supports the inorganic creature hypothesis. However these guys DID get a tail! And they look so much better because of it! Why didn’t they give tails to Bob-ombs and Blocksteppers! I demand justice.

6/10  The tail almost makes up for the lack of fur.

Name: Cat Bully

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

Now THIS is a catification! Extremely long and luscious fur, you can TELL he grooms himself regularly! Cat Bullies also get a tail, ears, and paws, which fit in very well with their rotund body, as a matter of fact, their iconic horns got completely replaced by the cat ears! Which is a very bold move, but one I support wholeheartedly! Now, does this confirm Bullies are organic creatures? Even though they are clearly made of metal in their base forms? Perhaps the metal is an exoskeleton of sorts, as mod Chikako suggested, whatever the case, I’m glad they got the full fur treatment!

9/10 Fantastic ball of fur.

Name: Cat Cheep Cheep

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

This is a fishy, with fur and cat ears, not very hydrodynamic, fishies are bullet shaped for a reason, but this is ok because they at least look cute!

7/10 Pretty standard catification but it works well!

Name: Cat Coin Coffer

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

Ouggoough.... Coin Coffer my beloved.... I wanna pet him so badly now... I guess sticking cat ears and fur on an orbular character just works!! And look at those paws! This is a novelty coin purse if I’ve ever seen one!

8/10

Name: Cat Conkdor

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

Well, this is certainly something, I adore Conkdor, another mario creature very dear to my heart. Not sure I love this catification though, the tail looks good but the cat ears look very awkward, and it’s very unsettling to see a bird with fur instead of feathers. But don’t worry Conkdor you still look great, it’s just not your style y’know?

3/10

Name: Cat Flopter

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

I really like Flopters! they have a Bee-like body with Dragonfly-like goggles, and they fly like a helicopter! Very charming little dudes often forgotten.

The cat ears complement the goggles extremely well! They looked a bit too bald in their base forms. And I bet those paws make landing easier! Good for them.

8/10   Award winner for best use of Cat ears.

Name: Cat Fuzzler

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

Fuzzlers are already a delight, there’s not a lot you can do to improve perfection, and I guess the devs took that personally because this is a very light catification, I guess they couldn’t give them fur since they’re supposed to look spiky and not soft, but I still wish they did. They do have tails but they’re oddly short, more like a nub, they deserve longer tails! They’d look so good while rolling!

5/10  They don’t deserve a vestigial tail.

Name: Cat Fuzzy

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

Very lazy catification, their oily shinyness doesn’t play well with the cat ears and tail. I’m sorry little one...

2/10

Name: Cat Goomba (Brown)

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

You might be wondering why I put their color in parenthesis, well, this is not the first Cat Goomba we got, 3D World has an orange Cat Goomba that actually pounces like a cat. The implication seems to be that the orange one is a Goomba that used a Super Bell, while this brown one is just a Goomba that got Catified by whatever catification forces are present in Lake Lapcat. Back to the rating, I love their little white/brown color scheme! Fits them very well, and they get little whisker-like stripes too!

9/10  Good Kittycat.

Name: Cat Koopa Troopa

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

I really dislike this one, why are the cat ears on their cheeks? That looks like it would hurt? I don’t like looking at Cat Koopa for a long time, I think it would’ve been cuter if they put the cat ears on the shell! Maybe it wouldn’t make sense but it would certainly look nicer.

1/10  I can’t give out a 0 because look at that blessed smile...

Name: Cat Magikoopa

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

The ears look very odd, like they’re clipping out of the robe. Very lazy catification. Almost unnoticeable.

2/10

Name: Cat Piranha Plant/Creeper

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

I love these ones they look SO silly, just stick some ears on their orb heads and you got a great kittycat! The fur also doesn’t look unnatural, there are fuzzy plants in real life!

8/10  Would pet carefully.

Name: Cat Rammerhead

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

I also like this one quite a bit! The ears fit well with their already ridiculous head, they just look like rounder spikes! It’s like they were meant to have ears! The lavender fur looks very nice. The tail also looks very cute, completely replacing their caudal fin, how do you seem with that buddy?

8/10  Very wet kitty.

Name: Cat Skipsqueak

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

WOW!!! This one is basically perfect! This is the ONLY catification to change the colors of the base creature! And for the better! They’re now a very vivid electric blue instead of the dull light blue of their non-cat selves. This one’s also the only mammal enemy, so their cat features look completely natural and fitting!

10/10  Very cute fat catmouse.

Name: Cat Snow Pokey

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

Yeah this one’s arguably the laziest catification, their ears are barely visible too, but they still look cute and not unsettling! So I really can’t complain too much.

4/10

Name: Cat Spike

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

Spike always has such an expression of pure existential dread I can’t tear my eyes away from it... It looks like he’s not handling the catification too well... He probably feels very weird being suddenly covered in fur. They did get a cute little patch of white fur on their belly, which I think is an improvement to the design!

7/10  Hope you’re ok there buddy.

Name: Cat Splounder

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

YESSSSSSSS I LOVE SPLOUNDERS SO MUCH!!!! When I found out they got in the game I was SO happy, this catification is top notch as well! The cat ears fit in like they always belonged! And the salmon-colored fur is one heck of a look! They also got a long tail which hangs peacefully underwater, making them look like a cute comma!

10/10 Cat Splounder my beloved...

Name: Cat Stingby

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

As we already know, putting a tail and cat ears on a sphere looks really good! So this guy is a winner by default! I think the paws are slightly unsettling since they’re just hanging there... Never to be used. But it’s ok, I’m sure they don’t get in the way too much.

9/10 Fuzzy bees are always a win.

Name: Cat Seagull

Debut: Bowser’s Fury

To finish off this post! The most important introduction to the Mario universe by far! Cat Seagull!

This is positively delightful, they look so silly and mindless. They’re just vibing and I respect them so much for that. They probably don’t even know they have cat ears, but that doesn’t matter. Only thing that matters is existing and these guys are killing it at that!

10/10 I wanna live like you.

[princehrry-writings]

Y/n's a witch and Harry's her soulmate

I'VE LITERALLY BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR 2 MONTHS!!!

lanfvksbkvjbs I hope you guys like it because I poured my whole soul into this!!!! I wanted it to be over 10k but I felt like I was just dragging it on and the ending isn't great but it's ok.

I switch between present and past tense without meaning too- oops :)

wordcount: 9911

warnings: uhhh, swearing, google translated latin :) catcalling and unwanted male attention (with a bad witch moment... see what i did there😏), a little bit of violence, very lightly edited lmao

She didn’t quite understand what was going on. Was this another witch? No, she would have felt that energy differently. So he had to be a mortal. But why did it feel like she had just been set on fire in the best way possible.

“Thank you…” He muttered, eyes glazed over. “M’Harry, by the way.”

Harry.

What a magical name, she thought.

or

Harry walks into Y/n’s shop one day, sees the brooms sweeping by themselves and gets a little curious.

.

.

.

“Althea, get your claws out of there. You’re gonna get hair in the muffins!” Y/n shrieked, quickly shooing the troublesome feline away from the open bowl of batter sat atop the counter. The cat just meowed at her, unbothered by her person's shrieking. Thea was quite the diva. She couldn’t give a flying fuck even if she tried.

“Oh Stars, look what you’ve done!” Y/n continued, cleaning up the trail of paw prints left in the flour on the table. “How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of the kitchen when I’m baking Thea! Why don’t you ever listen!”

Y/n has been a little strung up lately. That’s probably the understatement of the century. Maybe if she hadn’t been put in charge of the shop for the first time by herself while her mother went to gather supplies and place orders for said shop, she wouldn’t be so stressed. She’s only 22 years into her eternal lifetime. She’s yet to learn the virtue of patience, her mind never ceasing to run with ideas and thoughts and feelings.

Her mother always griped about how she needed to take a deep breath and let go of the tension in her shoulders because now that she had stopped ageing- she had all the time in the world (literally) to do everything she was worried about. Y/n would argue that she’s not worried so much as eager. She’s just very excitable.

“Why do I even bother yelling at you anymore.” Y/n grumbled, flicking her wrist in the direction of the broom closet. The broom and dustpan came floating out and got to work sweeping up the bits of flower seeds and petals that had dropped off the table instead of into the mortar like she had planned.

Y/n’s never been known for her cleanliness.

Out of the blue, the hair on the back of her neck and arms stood at full attention, a warm shiver shooting down her spine. What the hell? She thought to herself. Thea didn’t seem bothered by whatever energy was coming closer so she knew it wasn’t any danger, but it was something. Y/n flicked her wrist once more, quickly sending the broom away and going to hide behind a wall where whoever this was couldn’t see her.

The little bells above the door chimed, alerting anyone inside that someone had just arrived. In walked, who Y/n thought to be, the most beautiful boy she thinks she’s ever seen. Chestnut curls shielded by a knit beanie, sea glass eyes, broad shoulders, a kind smile on his face. He looked as ethereal as she was.

She felt the earth shift under her feet, her heart speeding up slightly in his presence. He was magnificent, she thought. The shiver she felt was steadfast and unchanging, finding a home in the goosebumps covering her whole body. She had never felt like this before.

The witch watched from behind the wall as the man gazed about the shop, his hands rested behind his back. In a pair of black jeans with a rip in the knee and a white tee shirt with a cardigan thrown over it, he shuffled about.

Y/n took a deep breath, collecting herself before making her presence known. She walked out from behind the wall, stepping behind the main checkout counter and clearing her throat lightly.

“Welcome in! I’m Y/n, let me know if you need any help!” She said, trying not to cringe at how scripted that sounded.

His head popped up, eyes connecting with hers and that’s when they both felt the energy in the room grow. Thea came sauntering out of the kitchen area in the back, Y/n made a mental note to check the muffin batter for cat hair later, no doubt at the electrical charge of the room.

She didn’t quite understand what was going on. Was this another witch? No, she would have felt that energy differently. So he had to be a mortal. But why did it feel like she had just been set on fire in the best way possible.

“Thank you…” He muttered, eyes glazed over. “M’Harry, by the way.”

Harry.

What a magical name, she thought.

There was a pause, where neither of them wanted to move, in fear of this moment passing and never getting to feel like this ever again.

It felt like having a picnic on a warm summer day, where it’s not too hot but just right. It felt like the first breath of fresh Spring air, like hearing a baby giggle. She felt fuzzy and warm. Like she was wrapped in a hug. Y/n felt… peaceful. She felt all of her anxiety about the shop melt away, as if it had never been there.

Harry smiled at her, a pink tinge coating his skin, and pulled his eyes away (he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable by staring), continuing on with his peruse of the shop. He had no idea why he was here, truly. Didn’t realize where he was until he pushed through the door. He doesn’t even know what any of this stuff is, he’s just looking so it seems like he knows what he’s doing.

He felt something brush his ankle, looking down and seeing a fluffy snow white cat with striking green eyes (just like his!), and cooed at her.

“Is it alright if I pet her?” He asked, looking back up at Y/n. He would take any chance he got to look at her. She was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. With her shiny hair and kind eyes, a smile that made you want to hug her. She looked so welcoming. He felt… oddly peaceful.

“Yeah of course! She’s my little attention whore, aren’t you Thea?” Y/n giggled and Harry thought his heart would stop right there. Her little giggle was the most glorious sound he’d ever heard, he decided.

She got up from her little stool behind the counter and floated over to him, using her cat as an excuse to get closer. She just couldn’t figure out why she had such a pull to him. It didn’t make sense to her. Maybe he was a witch and was just masking his energy really well, maybe he was some sort of other creature, or maybe… no, that can’t be it.

Well…

Maybe… he’s her Flame. Her Twin Flame… Her Soulmate.

No. There’s no way. It’s so rare for witches to find their flames. And especially at such a young age. Y/n’s parents didn’t find each other for almost 75 years, and here she is at just 22, stumbling upon some magical happenstance where her Flame just saunters into her family’s shop.

Harry scratched behind Thea’s ear, a motor-like pur erupting from her little belly. She nuzzled into his touch, and then sprung up onto his shoulder from the table, startling the man. Y/n giggled at the look on his face, reaching up to scratch just above Thea’s tail, her favorite spot.

“She does that when she likes someone.” Y/n explained. A blush appeared on his face at this.

She likes him.

“So was there anything in particular you were looking for?” Y/n continued, hoping to make more conversation with him. Her fingers are buzzing, wanting to reach out and hold his hand or touch his arm, anyway she can get her hands on him really, but she knows that would be inappropriate so she refrains (however difficult it may be).

Harry was in the same boat. He felt the need to wrap her up in his embrace and never let her go. It was the strangest thing he thinks he’s ever felt.

“Honestly, no. I don’t really know what any of this stuff is… I didn’t even realize when I walked in but I didn’t want to look like a psycho just walking in and out of shops randomly.” A shy smile displays on his features.

Y/n chuckled. This furthers her hunch that he is, in fact, her Flame. Getting a random urge to come in here could only mean that the invisible string tying them together was leading him to her. Pulling them closer and closer everyday until this very moment, when they were fated to meet. Written in the stars to know each other, whether that be for love or friendship only time would tell.

She really hopes it’s love.

“Ok… We’re kind of just a general shop. We carry crystals, herbs, spices, oils, candles, and my mother does a lot of crafts, so we sell those here too.” Y/n went on to explain, Harry’s eyes flitted around to all the things she mentioned. He saw glittering crystals, by themselves but also made into jewelry like rings and necklaces, he saw bundles of different flowers and vials of liquids he assumed were the oils she mentioned.

“What is all this stuff for?” He questioned. He had never heard of anyone suddenly needing Oxeye Daisies or black onyx crystals, but he’d never been one to judge.

Y/n paused, thinking of the best way to explain everything. Practising “witchcraft” wasn’t an unusual topic to humans, but they didn’t know that witches with magic that was (semi-inaccurately) portrayed in movies and tv shows actually existed.

“Uhm, anything in the shop can be used for a number of things. Apothecary, gardening, herbal remedies, manifestation.” She explained. He nodded along with her words, doing his best to focus on what she was saying rather than just her. His body was tingling the closer she stood. He never wanted this feeling to go away.

Whatever this feeling was.

Harry looked around, his sights landing on a shelf full of colorful candles. His eyes lit up, trotting over to them, picking up one that was a light lavender color. He didn’t know he was drawn to this one in particular, but something had pulled him to grab it. Something was telling him to buy it, bring it home, and burn it on his bedside table, right next to his head every night.

It was Y/n’s favorite color.

The girl's cheeks burnt when she realized this was the one he had picked out. The occurrence might seem random to anyone passing by, anyone who didn’t know two halves of a soul had just been reunited with one another after being apart for however many years. But Y/n knew, and hopefully Harry would know soon.

She didn’t want to scare him though. He would think she was crazy. Imagine a random stranger that you’ve never seen before in your entire life tells you that you’re meant to spend the rest of your life together. He would run away screaming.

So she has to start slow.

“Think I might get a few candles…” Harry trails off, looking around at all the different shapes and sizes of colored wax sitting before him. Y/n smiles at this and nods, letting him know she’ll be at the counter if he needs anything.

Please need something, she hopes to herself.

He didn’t end up needing anything, but he ended up purchasing 3 candles, all of them being that same lavender color.

* .

. * .

It was a few weeks later when Y/n felt a familiar tingle run down her spine. Harry must be near, she thought.

She had spent the last fortnight and then some moping about the shop and her flat, hoping her Flame would turn up again. Her mother, Asteria, had been ecstatic when she heard that her daughter had found her Flame, and empathised with her pain, understanding that he was a mortal and it was difficult to form bonds with them quickly. The woman always found it interesting how the most indefinite creatures took the longest to form their bonds. But then she remembered they had no knowledge of Twin Souls and often settled for one not fated to them.

“Mama, he’s close. I can feel him!” Y/n cried, tidying her appearance in the reflection of the window. She hopes to the Stars that he’s coming to see her and not just passing through.

Waving away the brooms fluttering around the shop, she busies herself restocking shelves. Asteria had just finished a new batch of candles that needed shelving. The mother had been trying new recipes lately and was excited to see how they would fare.

Y/n almost misses the little chime of the bells signaling that someone has just entered. If it weren’t for the energy in the room skyrocketing and all the hair in her body standing at attention, she wouldn’t have noticed it at all. Turning, her gaze falls upon a familiar set of sea glass eyes and chestnut curls that have enchanted her mind every passing second since the first time they met. She tried her damndest to hide her grin, but had to turn away so he wouldn’t be able to see it.

Harry looked around the shop before his gaze fell upon the girl he hadn’t stopped dreaming about since he last was here. There she stood, back turned to him, with her shiny hair and adorable outfit. In a lavender colored sundress, hair pulled back by a white scarf, she fussed about the candle shelf that Harry had searched the last time he came.

Everytime he burned that candle, he thought of the way her eyes sparkled when she talked about the different items in the shop and how she smiled at him when he asked her a question.

Harry had never been one to jump into things quickly. He was the kind of guy that liked to get a feel for a situation before he really dived into it. But there was something about this girl that made him want to jump in head first, fearless. He hadn’t stopped thinking about her, daydreaming about little scenarios that he wished would happen between them.

He knows he sounds crazy, but he has a crush on her. And he’d only met her once! That is so not like him at all.

Y/n turned once again, sure that she had calmed the burning in her cheeks, greeting Harry as if she hadn’t thought of him in weeks.

“Welcome in,” she says, wondering if it would be weird to him if she remembered who he was, she decided she doesn’t care, “Oh, hi Harry!”

“Hello Y/n!” He smiles. Y/n felt her heart stutter in her chest when her name fell from his lips. As if she was floating (she had to check to make sure she actually wasn’t), she followed the sound of his voice, going to stand before him. Her first instinct was to hug him, and she was very sad that she had to stop herself.

“What brings you back?” She asked, itching to reach out and hold his hand. His gaze flits around for a few seconds before landing back on her face, a rose tint now on his cheeks.

“I- uh, I don’t really know. I just felt like I needed to come back…” He stuttered. A smile graced her lips, causing an identical one to grow on his own. Asteria watched from behind the counter, beaming at the couple.

“Y/n dear, who’s this?” The witch called. Y/n snapped out of her love-drunk haze, looking to her mother.

“Mama, this is Harry. He came in a few weeks ago while you were away.” She answered, giving her a look that said “please don’t say anything.” Asteria had a tendency to butt into her daughter's life, and Y/n needed to figure this out on her own.

Thea came flouncing out from whichever corner she had burrowed herself into and nosed at Harry’s feet before launching herself onto Y/n’s shoulder and staring at Harry from her new height advantage.

“Well look at you Thea, sittin’ all pretty up there!” Harry reached out to scratch behind her ears. Thea began purring loudly, louder than she did when Y/n petted her (Y/n did her best not to roll her eyes at her attention whore cat). The one thing the girl loved about this was now she had a reason to step closer to the boy before her. He smelled like citrus and woods, with a hint of weed (she’s not judging, she just wouldn’t peg him for a stoner so it’s a little surprising). She let it take over her senses until all she could think about was HaryHaryHary, having to stop herself from purring just like the cat.

“Well, whatever led you back here, it’s nice to see you again!” She blushed, deciding to let her affection for him shine through lightly. Y/n realized she didn’t really want to waste time dancing around mortal niceties. She didn’t want to scare him off but she wouldn’t feign disinterest. The witch wanted to make it clear she was smitten with him. So this was her way of starting slow, letting her blushes be seen, maybe resting a gentle hand on his bicep if he says something that makes her laugh, letting her longing gazes be caught before she looks away.

Like she said before, she’s going to start slow.

“I am too…” Harry wondered if maybe she felt the things he was feeling too. If she couldn’t stop thinking about him the way he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He wondered if it would be weird to ask her out. See if she wanted to get dinner with him, or have a picnic in a park on a sunny afternoon while he stared, as uncreepily as he could, at her bright smile and star-stricken eyes.

Very quickly, like it almost didn’t happen, Y/n saw a blush pink haze surrounding the boy. He was feeling love. The heat in her cheeks rose, fluttering of her heart increasing.

Now she knew for sure, he was her soulmate for love- not friendship. Thank the Stars!

* .

. * .

The next few weeks, Harry would come in every few days just to see Y/n. After realizing that she might be feeling the way he was, he wanted to make it clear to her that he was smitten. So he’d come in after he got done with whatever he’d been doing that day, bring her flowers or a blue-raspberry red bull italian soda (he saw her drinking one one day when he came by) and they would talk and sometimes he’d bring food if it was late and they would eat at the counter in the back kitchen. It became a routine, and he started showing up almost everyday. On slower days, she would close up early, so as not to have a single distraction from her Flame.

The two would talk about the most obscure things, not giving a rat if others heard them cackling at each other's jokes and misspeakings (Y/n stumbled over her words quite a bit when she was tired, he came to realize. He thought it was adorable).

In return for the beautiful flowers and the delicious drinks he’d bring her, Y/n would give him little spell jars or charmed items to make his life easier. He didn’t know they were spelled or charmed, but he thought it was cute how she gave him a lavender colored pen and told him he would think of her every time he wrote anything down (she had charmed it to always spell things correctly) or a little jar filled with lavender and chamomile buds, a few drops of lavender oil and a small amethyst crystal sealed in white wax to help quell the anxiety he’d been feeling with his job lately.

He appreciated them more than any material thing she could have purchased for him. He liked that she wanted him to think about her or that she wanted to do away with his ailments. He came in with a cold once and she spent the better part of an hour fussing over him, telling him all these little tricks to clear his sinuses and giving him different blends of herbs and spices that should clear this up in no time! He thought she was very adorable, worrying over a little cold and wanting to make him better.

Harry found that each time he left her, the force that pulled him to her grew stronger. He wanted to be in her presence more and more every time he walked out the door of the shop. The boy still didn’t really understand what it was about her, but he’s long since stopped asking questions and was just rolling with the punches.

Speaking of things Y/n did that Harry thought was cute- the things she said enamoured him, rendered him so speechless sometimes all he could do was sit there and look at her, (ironically) wondering what magical force brought her to him. He had no idea that the Universe herself was the one who chose his favorite girl.

“Oh Stars Thea! Get out of the nettle! It makes you sneeze, silly cat!”

“Stars forbid you ever listen to me, mother.”

“Althea Rose get your furry ass away from that hot wax before I feed you to the hellhounds!”

He loved how she was always saying Stars where he would normally say Jesus Christ. He never was one to be into religion but it was just something people around him said.

As the weeks went by, they began to sit closer and closer to each other. What started as across the table from one another, began to turn into her at the head and him on the corner next to her, then both of them sitting on one side but a bit of space between them, and then side by side, thighs touching, on the bench seat. Eventually, Y/n would lay one of her legs over his and he would rest his hand innocently on her skin, his thumb absentmindedly brushing back and forth, tapping his fingers to an imaginary beat as she told him a story about a kooky customer that came in.

That was another thing he loved that she said a lot: kooky.

Their goodbyes had grown more and more affectionate over time as well. From a little wave and a shy smile to a little hug, to a bear hug with a kiss on the temple from Harry.

Things were moving very swimmingly. Y/n was happy with the progress the two had made in getting to know each other. She had learned that he worked at a marketing firm but his passion was music, that he was in a band when he was in high school, and he’s from a village in Manchester.

Harry learned that Y/n has a degree in herbology and really likes the woods, and the show The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (despite the inaccurate depiction of witches, she thinks the characters are pretty).

Y/n has been trying to figure out the best way to tell Harry about her… lifestyle. It’s going to be a big shift in his reality and she worries that she’s going to overwhelm him. Her parents didn’t have this problem because they were both witches, but she had been fated to a mortal, which she’s not complaining about because loves Harry and all his human afflictions (loves!), but it’s quite a task keeping him in the dark until she’s ready to shed light on everything.

Especially on a day like today.

Her mother is out again, leaving her in charge of the store, again! And as previously mentioned, Y/n gets a little strung up when she’s left in charge. She’s forgetful, her mind flying all over the place. Her messiness gets worse, leaving different things all over the place (she somehow left a grimoire in the refrigerator at home), losing things… Basically, Y/n’s not doing so hot at the moment.

A busy spell had just finished, she had like 7 different customers in at once, all of them needing her for different things and all the chamomile and lavender oil rubbed behind her ear in the world couldn’t calm the anxiety flowing through her at the moment. She’d been so strung up that she hadn’t noticed the warm golden shiver running down her spine or all the hair on her body raising to attention or the jingle of the bells on the door when Harry walked in.

Walked in to see… the brooms sweeping up by themselves? And different pots and pans flying back into place… with no one carrying them. And Y/n muttering words he didn’t understand while her fingers wiggled, making the pestle inside what he learned to be called a mortar, moving by itself.

To say the least, Harry was very confused. And a little scared. Was he dreaming? Did today even happen? Was he still at home lying in bed?

The only thing that makes him realize he’s not is the shriek Y/n let’s out when she sees him standing frozen in the doorway, eyebrows pulled together in confusion (and a little bit of terror), mouth agape like he wanted to say something but didn’t know where to start. All at once, every moving item ceased and dropped, including the pots and pans which made a very loud noise, scaring Thea so much that she did the loud “meow!” that you only hear cats do in movies, and Y/n let out a quiet“Shit!”

“Harry…” She muttered, standing up slowly and treading towards him.

“Um… Y/n. What- what the fuck… was all of that?” He stuttered, and she continued to walk to him.

“Love, why don’t we go sit down and I’ll explain everything to you!” Y/n said slowly. She had taken to calling him Love lately, not being able to stop herself. They had yet to really “confess their feelings” to the other, but it was like a silent thing that no one said but they both just knew. So the name didn’t surprise him. Actually in the midst of all this craziness (and how his whole world had just seemed to be flipped in a matter of 5 seconds) he was clinging to the familiarity of the pet name.

He nodded, his eyes glazing over as he tried to wrap his head around what he was seeing. Y/n waved her wrist, everything that had dropped seeming to come to life again and be put back into their rightful places. Harry stared in amazement. Seeing it for the second time really drove the nail into the coffin that holy shit this is really happening…

They sat down side by side on the bench where they normally did but Y/n didn’t put her leg over his like they had grown used to. She missed the contact but figured a little space while she explained everything would be best for her Flame. Harry didn’t agree and tugged her closer to him. She didn’t fight it.

“Ok,” She sighed, cracking her knuckles as she took a deep breath, “Harry… my darling Harry. I need you to keep an open mind while I tell you all of this ok? It’s gonna be a lot for you to take in and I don’t want you to get a headache.” He nodded, and she took his hands in her own, running her thumb over his palm and channeling positive energy between the two of them. She saw Harry relax a little, letting her know it worked. He was ready (as ready as he could be) to hear what she had to say.

“Love, I’m a witch.” She says, letting it sink in for a moment. Harry doesn’t say anything for a moment. Y/n wonders if he’s even breathing. The strong pulse thumping in his wrist is a steady reminder that he’s ok, just shocked. (Very, very shocked).

“I come from a very long line of very powerful witches. I have magic, kind of like you see in movies and tv shows except I don’t worship the devil or eat children. None of us do. We’re usually very gentle creatures, unless we’re put in danger. Witches don’t use magic to hurt others, quite the opposite actually.”

“So… you cast spells and stuff?” He asks quietly. She breathes a laugh through her nose, nodding her head, continuing to channel him by rubbing her thumbs over his palms.

“I do, that’s what you saw me doing at the counter. I was actually strengthening the anti-anxiety jar I gave you a few weeks ago, because you told me you had a big project coming up and I didn’t want you to get too stressed out.” The girl said.

Harry couldn’t really focus on one thing for too long, letting his gaze flit around the kitchen area. He felt oddly… calm.

“Why do I feel so calm right now? I feel like I should be freaking out a little bit more than I am…” He voiced, finally looking into her eyes.

“I’m channeling you… look.” She said, pointing her gaze to their hands. He sees her thumbs rubbing gentle circles into his palms and looks back into her eyes.

“You’re casting a spell on me right now?” Harry wonders out loud.

“Channeling isn’t necessarily a spell, I’m just focusing and directing positive energy onto you right now, to help keep you calm. Like I said, I don’t want you to get a headache or pass out on me. I can stop if you want me to though!” She added quickly at the end but he shook his head.

“No, don’t stop…” He almost cried, pulling her closer to him.

“Ok, I won’t. It’s ok!” She shushed him, letting one of her hands float to his cheek, brushing over his cheek bone and pushing a fallen curl out of his eyes, before her hand found his again.

“Was it a spell that made me want to come in here that first day?”

“No baby, that’s actually a little different. This might be a little much so you gotta bear with me ok?” She explained and he nodded, heaving out a heavy breath.

A beat of silence passes and Y/n lets her eyes lock with his.

“We’re Twin Flames… or what you would know as Soulmates. We were fated to be together. That’s why you felt a pull to come in here. We were… destined… to meet each other.”

Harry doesn’t say anything and Y/n feels like her heart is about to beat out of her chest. She knew he was going to find out someday, but really didn’t expect that day to be this one. This crazy long day where everything had seemed to just bubble over and explode. She should have known something was going to happen when this morning, the flame on the candle she had lit for Harry on her altar was taller than it ever had been. She had written it off to him just thinking about her or something (if this was the case, it would be to the ceiling all day everyday because he never stops thinking about her), but she should have known. And now, here she was, terrified that Harry was going to walk away from her. She would understand if he did, it’s a lot to take in, and having your whole world flipped on its head is a bit much.

It would still break her heart though.

“So… this is normal?” Harry broke his silence.

“Is what normal?”

“That I want to be around you all the time? That I think about you all the time? What I’m feeling is normal?”

Y/n’s face softens. He’s so cute, she thinks. She could just wrap him up in a little bow and keep him all to herself for the rest of time.

“Yes, baby. It’s normal! I’ve been feeling the same things as you ever since we first met!” Harry’s mind is a little clearer now, so he picks up on the new pet name. Baby. He likes it, he decides.

“You feel this way too?” He looks like a little puppy right now, Y/n could just cry. She nodded her head, scooting impossibly closer to him, practically sitting in his lap. It seemed now that he was even calmer than he had been before, even without her channeling. She stopped for a second to test his reaction and he was ok. He didn’t tense up, eyes didn’t well in tears, didn’t lose consciousness. So she moved her hands to cup his cheeks now, feeling him lean into her touch.

“You’ve been the only thing on my mind since before you even walked through the door that first day. You’re in my dreams every night, I see you every time I close my eyes, I’m completely taken with everything you do.” Y/n confesses, feeling a weight lift off her chest.

“I know it seems fast to you, as a mortal. Your kind usually takes this kind of thing slowly, really learns a person before you become vulnerable. Out of fear for being judged or whatever it might be, but I would never judge you. I want you to know it’s ok to let your guard down with me. Whatever you're comfortable with! I don’t want to overwhelm you in any way, and I know all of this is so so much to take in. I just want what’s best for you, my Love.”

It’s not lost on Harry that she adds my before Love. He feels his heart flutter.

“I’m taken with everything you do too. Absolutely everything.” He whispers, if he speaks too loudly the moment might be lost.

They stare into each other's eyes, feeling the energy in the room grow. Flames from the lit candles around the room grow tenfold, reflecting the rising energy. Harry has half a mind to break his gaze from the girl before him, seeing the tall flames before bringing his eyes back to hers. He sees her gaze drop to his lips repeatedly. He doesn’t think she even realizes that she’s leaning in to him, but he’s not going to stop her.

When she’s so close he can feel her breath fanning over his face, she pauses, looking back up to his eyes, silently asking for permission. With her hands still cupping his cheeks gently, she closes the distance between them, pressing her lips delicately to his. Harry places his hands in two places: her waist and her neck. He pulls her in closer, pressing their lips together more firmly. A wildfire spreads from head to toe on both of them. It seems as though time has paused for this very moment, and again the earth shifts. A piece of the universe has just been restored, two halves of a soul reunited.

Harry’s fingertips send sparks flowing down her spine, she hums against his lips. The kiss is simple, just two people getting to know each other, learning the other's body, but it’s long. It’s not just one peck. Harry presses his lips against hers multiple times, slotting her bottom between both of his.

When Y/n pulls back to catch her breath, Harry chases after her, not ready to end this moment yet. She chuckles and grants him a few more kisses until she really is about to pass out because she needs to breathe. Pushing him gently, she breaks the kiss and rests her forehead against his, keeping her eyes closed.

She so badly wants to let the three words sitting on the tip of her tongue go, but doesn’t want to overwhelm him with too much all at once.

“Do you feel that?” He whispers, pulling her to sit astride his lap. She moves pliantly, letting him take control of the situation.

The air feels charged, thick, like it should be hard to breath but it flows, smooth as water, into their lungs.

Y/n’s head feels heavy, like she’s high on every drug there ever was, her mind fuzzy, unable to think outside of this moment. Outside of this little wrinkle in time where Harry is the only other thing that exists.

“Yeah,” She whispers back, reconnecting their lips, slotting them together over and over until their lips are puffy and red. Harry slides his hands around her waist, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her flush against him, not even a slip of paper would fit.

Pulling away, Harry heaves in a deep breath, squeezing Y/n’s hips.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for so long…” He says, nudging his nose against hers. She smiles, letting his affections wash over her, warming her eternal soul.

“This doesn’t freak you out?”

“Oh, I’m so freaked out but I'm kind of just going with it, living in the ambiguity and all that shit.” He heaves a laugh through his nose, pressing kisses to her cheek and down her neck, smoothing his hands up and down her back.

This was the best possible outcome of the situation, if Y/n had to be honest. It could have gone so many ways. Harry being freaked out but rolling with it… she’ll take it.

“How about we make dinner and you can ask me any questions you have?” She suggested and he nodded.

So they did just that. But Y/n closed the shop early and they went back to her place. Hand in hand they walked the few blocks, side glaces of reassurance and little squeezes of the hand, letting the other know they were there, and they weren’t going anywhere, with Thea in her little travel backpack (that she was absolutely in love with surprisingly).

They came upon an unsuspecting alleyway. Harry thought they were just passing through as a shortcut but Y/n stopped walking in the middle of a blank brick wall and muttered a few words she didn’t understand while waving her hands. He started to realize maybe this wasn’t just a shortcut.

Before his eyes, a door appeared. His brows shot up in surprise (he’s gonna get worry lines on his forehead if he doesn’t stop doing that, he realizes). Y/n looked over her shoulder at him, trying to hide a smirk but the look on his face was too good.

“Pretty wicked huh?” Harry didn't say anything, just chuckled and nodded, following her when she opened the door and a set of stairs appeared. Walking up the dimly lit hallway, they come to another door with the cheeky The Witch Is In sign.

“Cute.” Harry smirks at her and she laughs, opening it and letting him walk through first.

“Make yourself at home! I’ve got records on the shelf over there, you can pick one if you want. I’m just gonna feed Thea and get her all settled and we can get to making dinner.” Y/n explained. Harry ventured off into her living room, seeing the shelf she was talking about and browsing through. There were many different artists from Fleetwood Mac to Taylor Swift to Weezer. He picks out Hozier's self-titled album and puts it on, the beginning of Take Me To Church crackling through the speakers.

“Good choice,” He hears from behind him and smiles, turning around to see the girl he was apparently destined to spend the rest of his life with standing before him.

“Jackie and Wilson has been stuck in my head the last few days so,” He said, sauntering over to her and snaking his arms around her waist.

Taking a look around, he sees many different trinkets and items similar to what was in the shop. A lot of jars filled with different things, candles of all different colors, crystals, a broom (he didn’t realize witches actually had brooms but ok), among other things that he didn’t know the purpose of.

“Wait… how are there windows in here? I didn’t see any outside.” He asked, pulling back from the hug and looking at her.

“Well, there aren’t any windows in the alley. But there’s also a glamour spell on this building so nobody can see my apartment. That’s why you can’t see the door until I do the little thing you saw me do.” She answered. A sheepish smile broke onto his face.

“Oh,” he said and she laughed from her chest, petting a few fallen curls back from his forehead. She could get used to this, she thinks as she stares into his eyes, green as the forest and wide with wonder at everything he’s discovered today.

Who knew the girl he was falling in love with would be a witch… with actual powers.

* .

. * .

“Wait so, if no one can see your front door… how do you get mail?” Harry asked, reaching around Y/n for the salt.

“At the shop,”

“Oh,” He says. She laughs, kissing his cheek and continuing on cutting up veggies for the salad they're making.

“Have you always been able to do magic or was it something you grew into?” Y/n thought back to when she was little, remembering how she struggled to harness her powers for a few years before she started getting the hang of things.

“I always had powers, but imagic isn’t something you just wake up and know how to do so it took a while for me to really settle into and control. Magic is a skill, same as reading and writing, so I had to be taught and I had to work on it. Does that make sense?” She pauses while she explains, looking into his eyes. Harry nods, but his light hearted curious expression turns into one of embarrassment and she doesn’t understand why.

A rosy red color surrounds him, telling her he was feeling… embarrassed? Why did he feel embarrassed?

“Baby? What’s going through your head?” She asks, wanting to help him feel better.

She doesn’t like when he’s feeling anything other than happy!

“I just… I feel like I’m asking you so many questions about all of this stuff and it’s just tough to wrap my head around I guess.” She puts the knife down and sets her hand on his wrist, stopping from what he’s doing. She places her other hand on his shoulder, coaxing him to face her.

“Harry, this is a lot to take in, yeah? It’s not something you can just find out and move on from. It’s gonna take time to process. You’re gonna feel a lot of emotions, and that’s ok! I would be worried if you weren’t feeling a little off, as much as I hate that you’re not feeling 100%.”

She places a series of gentle pecks on his lips, doing her best to soothe him in any way.

“Ask all the questions you want! You don’t have to worry about being judged or saying something wrong, you have a right to be curious.” She feels him relax in her hold which in turn makes her relax.

“Thank you for being patient with me,”

He’ll get used to this, he thinks. He’ll get used to the fact that real witches actually exist, he’ll start to understand the words she mutters when she waves her hands, he’ll get it eventually. But right now, he doesn’t really get it, he’s not really used to it. But she’s worth it. She’s worth more than everything.

“I think you’re the one thing I know how to be patient with,” Again, she wants to mutter those three words on the tip of her tongue, but he’s already been through so much today, she doesn’t want to overwhelm him any more than he already is. So she’ll wait, because one day (hopefully soon) he’ll be ready to hear them.

“Can you do a spell? I kind of want to see how they work…” Harry asks after a moment of them just enjoying the silence that only really comes when two people understand each other.

She chuckles and nods, telling him she will show him a few spells after dinner. He agrees and they go back to making their meal, dancing around each other and laughing just like they always did and it felt good. Felt like this would be ok. Y/n was still scared because he could still decide to leave, that this was too much for him. That she was too much for him.

But for right now, things were ok.

* .

. * .

“Amoris et lux sum ego ipse, et carorum beatum facere potest, per potentiam solem et lunam, ut superius, et inferius.”

(I am love and light, I bring happiness to myself and my loved ones, By the power of the sun and moon, as above, so below)

Harry doesn’t think he’s ever heard anything weirder in his life...and his college roommate freshman year was a conspiracy theorist.

As Y/n spoke the words, she stirred a brew of tea infused with different herbs clockwise. He watched from beside her as she did this, his hand placed on her thigh so that his energy could be used in the spell along with hers.

Before she said the spell, she told him to set an intention and he had no idea what that was so she did a little lesson after reassuring him that his question was valid. (He’s still feeling insecure about not understanding anything she was talking about.) She told him to “close your eyes, take a deep breath, and clear your mind. Think of something you want in life that isn’t material.”

His immediate thought was that he wanted to spread kindness and love in the world (Y/n did her best not to tear up at her Flame’s pure intentions) so she nodded, telling him to think about that and only that, and set her intentions to the same thing so the spell would work. Mixing lavender, rose petals, and chamomile in a large mug, she pours in hot water to steep the herbs and, as previously mentioned, stirs it clockwise (something about clockwise being for manifestation), , rubs her palms together and snaps her fingers, and snuffs out the candles she had lit.

When all is said and finished, Y/n pulls Harry into a sweet kiss, and then has him take a sip of the tea telling him be careful my Love, it’s still hot. He kisses her back, taking a sip of the tea (he’d never been one for lavender things but this was actually really good. He wonders if it has anything to do with the fact that Y/n made it).

“So we just drink this and then what?” He asks, handing her the mug.

“We sacrifice an animal,” She says, not skipping a beat and taking her sip. Harry chokes on his spit, gasping for a breath of air before the girl bursts into a fit of giggles.

“I’m just kidding, baby. That’s it. That’s the whole spell. You just have to honestly believe it for it to work.” She says and he heaves a sigh of relief.

“Don’t joke like that!” He whines, more giggles escaping from Y/n’s throat.

“I’m sorry bub, I won’t do that anymore.” She says, still fighting off laughs. They continue to sip the tea, Y/n telling Harry about different things she did during the day.

Harry looked upon her as if she hung the moon just for him, and was telling him all about how she did it. Without even realizing it, he started to feel warmer and like a buzz was coursing through his veins.

“I feel weird…”

“What do you mean you mean you feel weird?” She voiced, pressing the back of her hand to his forehead and then feeling his pulse. Both were normal.

“I feel warm and like I’m buzzing… Kind of like I’m high…” He explained and she nodded her head, a small sigh of relief escaping her.

“That’s the spell working baby. You’re ok!”

“Oh, ok. It just worried me a little,”

“You’re ok! I want you to tell me when something worries you or feels different or off.” She says, and places a hand on his thigh. Harry agrees and they continue with their conversation.

When they both took their last sips on the tea, they cuddled up on the couch, an incense stick and candle lit on the coffee table.

Y/n sat, manipulating the smoke and flame simultaneously while Harry watched with a wide eyed gaze. She had explained how this was something he would be able to learn if he wanted to, and that she had been practicing for years to be able to do both things at the same time.

“I started when I was… I want to say 5. It’s a simple skill that promotes concentration. You have to stay extremely focused to even manipulate one element at a time. It’s only been these last few years that I’ve been able to concentrate enough to do both.” She explained, taking a break. As much as she loved showing Harry all these different things, it took a lot of energy out of her and it had already been a dreadfully long day.

“How about we go to sleep and I’ll show you more tomorrow? I’m pooped!” Harry hums an agreement, lifting his head from her lap and letting her lead the way to her bedroom.

Light lavender walls adorned with shelves full of plants and different nicknacks, and a desk with more candles, herbs, and other eclectic items sat atop it.

“What is all of this?” He sifts through all the things on the desk, not touching as Y/n had explained to him at some point today, I know you don’t have any ill intent, but a lot of this stuff absorbs other people's energy which can mess up what I use it for, so look and don’t touch. If you want a closer look, I’ll pick it up. There are different colored stones of varied shapes and sizes and many candles. One in particular catches his eyes. A green one with a very tall flame with something carved into the side of it. “What’s up with this green candle?”

“This is my altar, and the green candle is the one I have lit for you. I’m assuming that because you’re here, it’s going a little crazy. Nothing to be afraid of! I’m actually going to put it out since you’re here with me.” She explained quickly, reaching towards the flame with her finger and snuffing it out.

“Wait, you had a candle lit for me?” His eyes rounded, a shy smile coming onto his lips. An identical smile graced her features as she turned to look at him.

“Yeah, I’ve had one lit for you since the day we met. I made a sigil and carved it into the side and keep it lit day and night as an extra layer of protection for you.” She explained. Harry felt his heart melt at this.

She couldn’t get any cuter, he thinks.

A candle lit for him… to keep him safe. That’s adorable.

He leans in and places a gentle kiss on her lips, brushing the little hairs away from her face.

Y/n led him further into her room where her ensuite bathroom was, giving him a tooth brush and letting him know he could shower if he wanted to. When he came back into the room after getting ready, Y/n laid out on the bed in a sports bra and shorts. He just wore his boxers.

Climbing into bed next to her, she cuddled up to him right away, his arm finding a home around her body and her head laid on his chest, listening to his heart beat.

“Been dreaming about this moment my whole life,” Y/n mumbled, cheek smushed against his skin, making her look all cute and cuddly. Harry had to hold back a coo at the sentiment.

“Me too Moppet, me too,” He sighed, and they both drifted off into warm, fluffy, dream-like states, wrapped in the safety of each other's arms.

* .

. * .

Walking down the street at night isn’t the best idea for normal women, Y/n had learned over her 22 years of life. But Y/n is not a normal woman. She’s a witch.

And while most women carry their keys between their knuckles and have tasers or pepper spray or mace at the ready, Y/n didn’t really need that. This was one of the only instances where she would use her magic to harm anyone. Like she’d said before- only when she’s put in danger (or someone else around her is put in danger).

So when a prick who reeks of whiskey starts tailing her, she waits for him to take the first blow. Waits for him to get a little too close, so she can turn around and unleash her wrath on him. All the while making it seem like it’s not her doing. Like causing a brink to fall off the roof above her and hit him in the head. She wouldn’t actually do that but a witch could dream.

No, she’ll trip him up without turning around and if he still insists on gaining her attention, she’ll spin around quick, flick her wrist and send him into an unconscious daze and let him sleep off his inebriation on the lovely warmth of the concrete sidewalk.

That’s exactly what she does.

“Hey sweetheart, where you goin’?” He slurs, beginning his trek behind her. She’s unresponsive which leads him to believe she’s playing hard to get because his fragile little man ego can’t fathom that a woman would ignore his attention.

“Oh c’mon baby don’t be like that!” He speeds up, already wobbling but this only serves to make him clumsier.

She does her thing, flicking her wrist in his direction (discreetly) so he trips, but this doesn’t stall him. He reaches out, effectively grabbing her arm. She whips around to face him, cheeks growing red hot with anger. Ripping her arm out of his grasp and twisting his arm around, she gets close to his face.

“Touch me again, I fucking dare you!” She snarls, doesn’t even realize her grip is burning into his flesh- her magic gets a little crazy when she’s mad. Releasing him (tossing his arm away from her in a rough manner), she flicks her wrist once again and mutters a quick “et obliviscere somnum*”, watching him fall to the ground, unconscious. She looked around to see if anyone was watching the scene go down but no one was sober enough to pay attention to some drunk bloke harassing a young woman.

*(forget and sleep)

She shakes off her frustration as she comes to a stop in front of an unfamiliar building. Where her Flame lives.

She had agreed to let him make her dinner at his house, so she packed an overnight back and made her way further into town. He had given her an address and while, yes she did use it, she also let their bond lead her to him. She just kind of knew where to go, it seemed. Harry had expressed that he felt something similar the first time he went into the shop, though he didn’t understand why he wanted to walk in- just felt like he had to.

Making her way up the stairs, she let’s Harry know she’s there, beginning to feel the familiar tingle rush down her spine. She hadn’t seen him for a week and a half since he's been busy with a project at work- a client wasn’t happy with all the work he and a coworker had done so they had to quickly re-do an entire proposal to meet the client's deadline. Needless to say- the little anti-anxiety jar she made him was coming in real handy lately. Y/n had also had him put citrine and amethyst points on his desk while he worked to help him focus and stay calm so he didn’t stress too badly.

She always had a little something to make his life easier, whether it be a stone, or a jar of different things (a spell jar, he’d learned), or whatever it may be- she always had something to help.

When she made it to his floor, he was standing there waiting for her with open arms. She ran to him, jumping into his arms and holding onto him tight.

“I missed you, my wild girl,” He muttered into her neck, spinning her around. Her face flushed without fail, her arms wrapping tighter around him.

“Missed you most,” She sighed, nuzzling into him.

“Don’t think that’s possible.”

She hummed in disagreement while he walked them inside, Y/n still wrapped around him like a koala bear. His house smelled of peach and mango. It’s sweet- just like him. The thought made her smile.

Giving him a big smacking kiss on the cheek, she pulls back to have a look at his face, seeing he’s smiling like an idiot. It warms her heart to see him smile, butterflies breaking out of their cocoons and fluttering about her tummy.

“What’re you smiling for?” She voices, giggling at him.

“M’ happy you’re here,” He sighed, “Don’t like not seeing you.”

“I don’t like not seeing you either,” She frowned, petting his wild curls back and placing little pecks all around his face.

His cheeks flushed at her affection.

Harry set Y/n down on the kitchen counter, standing in between her legs, hands resting on her hips. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to hers lightly, before slotting them together, fully indulging himself in his girl. She responds immediately, letting her hands rest around his neck.

She will never not be amazed by how soft his lips are. Kissing him feels like floating through clouds, like laying down in bed after a long day on your feet. Kissing him is like the first breath of warm summer air after the longest winter. Kissing him feels like coming home.

Y/n’s heartbeat picks up as the kiss becomes more needy, leaning into him further. Harry pulls her closer, his hands ghosting up the bare skin under her shirt and fiddling with the band of the bralette she’s wearing. A gasp escapes her lips when he pulled the fabric up, letting it snap back to her skin causing a smirk to grow on his face- struggling to keep up with her lips.

He kisses her breathless before pulling away, watching as her eyes flutter open and she heaves air into her lungs, her cheeks flushed and supple.

“Don’t want the food to burn,” He smirks again, hands falling away from her body, moving the pots and pans on the stove around to the counter so he could plate their dinner.

“Asshole,” He hears her mutter.

Harry could get used to this, having Y/n around. Being able to come home to her, make them dinner, make out in the kitchen, fall asleep together. He can’t believe he ever thought he loved anyone before she came along. There was just no way. Y/n came into his life and took over every aspect and now he couldn’t imagine a world without her in it. He hopes to the Stars he doesn’t have to.

Yeah, she’s got him praying to the stars now.

[oonajaeadira]

Long Fall Into Oblivion (Ezra x reader)

(header by sirtadcooper - check out the whole beautiful set here.)

Rating: Mature. 

Pairing: Ezra (post-Prospect film) x f!reader

Warnings: Non-explicit sex. Some swears maybe (think there’s a f*ck in there somewhere, my GOODNESS). A lot of gooey, syrupy, soft fluffety fluff. Author attempts at writing Ezra dialogue. A lot of chewy prose.

A/N: I can’t believe I’m posting this, but here goes. I love Ezra. He is a man of questionable morality and an insufferable tongue and I really shouldn’t. But I really do. I just wanted to give him a try. I’ve softened him up here, putting a few years on him so maybe he’s fluffed up some since the events in the film. Also I just ignored the fade or assumed that aurelac mining was still happening because scarcity/demand. Doesn’t matter. Just wanted to go exploring.

Summary: You take a job as an aurelac prospecting trainee and Ezra shows you the ropes. You’re gonna fall in love with him. That’s it. That’s the whole thing.

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MASTERLIST

________________

Bakhroma is one of the smallest gas giants in the sector, but as you stand on the surface of the Green Moon, it dominates the entire horizon, pulling your focus, threatening to engulf everything around it. You almost feel sorry for the lush moon as you walk through its undergrowth, so gentle and full of beauty, destined many years after you’re gone to give its life to her.

A moon is an orbiting admirer, and what is an orbit but a long fall to oblivion?

There’s a painful, sour ache in your heart as you walk back to the camp in twilight, watching the back of Ezra’s helmet bob along in front of you. You’d spent two days digging that claim only to find the weakest aurelac nest you’ve seen yet, only three viable nodes. You’d dug through one of them by accident and completely melted another like an incompetent fool. Kevva’s ass, you were such a disappointment. Three months in the Green and you still can’t cut a blister out properly. Not even once.

Ezra’s shoulders are wide and tense, his one hand splayed out as he walks, running over the tops of the tall ferns, catching one every now and then only to rip the top away, twirl it between his gloved fingers and toss it impatiently aside.

The other two members of your team headed out on a sling this morning, another two will be arriving in a few days. And you wonder if Ez regrets just not cutting his losses and leaving with them, or at least sending you back in exchange for another kip.

You think about shifting through the comm channels, hoping that he’s chattering away in one of them, switched without your knowledge, but it’s a lost cause. You can hear him breathing on the channel between you. It’s not often Ezra has nothing to say.

________________

You thought your father was leaving you an inheritance. It’s not the reason you took care of him through his illness, but you’d dropped everything to be back home with him through his final months. In a way, it was a blessing, a reason to quit the Dasha factory and the terrible working conditions there, come back home and focus on your dad, relive good memories, just spend time. The reconnection lifted your heart, but his death sank it low again. When you learned he had nothing to leave you but a small house and some old vehicles, you sold what you could and traded in the rest.

Then you had nothing. No family, no job, little savings, questionable future. It almost broke your spirit. But the last few months with your father rekindled your love of him as he told you about his years in the Fringe, mining and prospecting. And your heart had said, “what the hell, let’s try that.” So you listened.

It took some time to track down the right inroads, but you were able to find some ads for prospecting teams, in particular those who were willing to take on members in training for a re-distributed cut. With all provisions included--other than suit and gear, which your father’s inheritance neatly covered--it seemed like just as good of a deal as any, and an adventure to boot.

But the reality was, every team you met with was full of hardened men, and while you were not a soft Central woman, you also weren’t overly versed in weaponry and didn’t know if you could defend yourself out in the Fringe against attack if things got crusty.

You were just about ready to admit defeat when you walked into yet another conference bunker and found your match. The first thing you noticed was that he was standing when you arrived, waiting for you politely rather than manspread at the table. Second were his eyes. Deep, brown, and sad. Maybe sad was the wrong word, certainly it seemed by the lines in his face, possibly by the missing arm, that he’d seen enough sadness, but toward you, it read more as concern. You wouldn’t know it until later when he confessed his feelings about this first meeting, but he was worried you wouldn’t choose him. Ezra had a hell of a time hiring partners. He may have been one of the longest-working aurelac diggers out there, but young kippers saw his greying beard and seasoned diggers saw his lacking arm and they all tended to turn around and walk out before he even said hello. So he’d tried to put himself out there as a trainer, show that he had something more to offer.

It didn’t hurt his feelings when you admitted to him later that those qualities were exactly why you chose him. He seemed the opposite of threatening. And his eyes were bright when he smiled at you. With his thrumming baritone and his Fringe twang and his mixed deck of mosaic words, he had a way of speaking that felt like a fluffy blanket curling around you, your brain vibrating with comfort at every new monologue. He was eccentric and perhaps a little jarringly rough in his humor at times, but there was something about him that you trusted immediately, even though you’d come to learn later you probably shouldn’t have if you were being overly cautious.

Not that your judgement ever came to detriment. Not that he ever proved you wrong that way. Not when it came to you. But the man was dangerous when he had to be in a way you hadn’t initially picked up on.

________________

You hadn’t been out in the Green two weeks before you looked up from the bottom of a dig hole to see Ezra standing over you with a thrower.

“You get down and you stay down, understand?”

“Ez? What--”

“I said stay down! Do not make me waste words on mere repetition!” The fuzzy blanket of his voice replaced suddenly by a snarling, snapping brush wolf, a quick change hitting you like a slap in the ear.

There’d been pops and whizzes as shots rang through and you did as your trainer said, face down, the view of your visor giving you nothing but dirt. Your helmet was a chorus of quick breathing from both of you and sweat rolled down your neck as you begged the eyes of Kevva to look down upon your partner. When the crossfire faded, you’d heard Ezra stalk away. Then there were a couple more shots. Then more footsteps returning.

“You are permitted to stand, trinket. All is well as it can be for us. But not so much for our dearly departed friends.” These words were as soothing as much as his previous ones had burned, and he simply went back to working at the dig at hand as if he’d just come back from taking a leak. It wasn’t until you left the site that evening that you tramped past two rotting raiders, gaudily outfitted with broken face shields, left to let the Green take them.

Ezra whistled as he stepped over them, stopping only to harvest their filters and munition rods, which he tossed your way to stow in your pack, and then continued lazily down the path toward camp. Just another day on the job. 

He may be a little peculiar and not someone to trifle with, he may have just killed two people without remorse or further comment, but his lack of reassuring words told you that this was just part of the deal. You wear the suit, you use the air scrubber in the tent, you follow the landing pod instructions as written, and you defend yourself against those who wish to harm you. Survival by any and all means is paramount, mundane, and something he has no qualms with on any level.

There was something deep down inside of you that instinctually pulled you to follow him, not just down the literal path before you, but whatever path Ezra chose to wander.

________________

Before you’d left the station with him, he’d taken you to a thrower range to gauge your skill which was decent in theory, but dismal compared with what he could do. No matter, he still patiently taught you how to properly clean and charge a weapon and the best way to breathe and pull the trigger; “like you’re taking hold of a man’s...well... Just go easy and firm.” He suggested you should come and practice every day before lift off and then hope to Kevva that you didn’t have to rely too heavily on it.

“If I find myself in a coffin of my own suit, then feel free to defend yourself as a final means of preservation. Otherwise, when it comes down to shots fired, best to let me do the dirty work. Might as well keep the blood where the blood has been.”

You’d been a little nervous about sharing a freighter pod alone with him, but Ezra was...well, not so much a gentleman as just a comfortable soul. 

He always waited until you were hungry to eat, thinking it rude to eat alone in front of you. He never moved around the pod while you were sleeping, content to keep still with a book in his cot. And if you couldn’t sleep, he was always willing to read to you from whatever impossibly dense old world classic he was digging through for the umpteenth time, letting his voice come up from the deeps and pull you gently under. If you asked permission to turn on the radio, he’d ask you “why Isn’t it on yet, woman,” quietly tolerating your taste in harsh and gleeful babblecore pshcyopop. In the later days of the journey, he’d even come to dance with you from time to time, although both of you were dismal at it and ended up with you in a fit of giggles. It was a sure-fire way to cure a case of the pouts you carried through from the morning fitness sessions when he beat you at pushups. Again.

When it came to privacy in the tight space, he had a habit of turning away without having to be asked or stopping his stream of talk when you went to change clothes, just happily chattering away until you called the all clear. Although he was not squeamish about his own state of undress, should you happen to catch it by accident. While he was respectful of your privacy, he seemed to need none of his own, but neither did he flaunt anything. You might look up from studying the flight manual to notice he was changing into a fresh pair of compression pants, tugging them on haphazardly with one hand, more concerned with telling you the overwhelmingly disgusting manufacturing process of Bits Bars than his own ass hanging out where you might see it. At least he always changed facing away from you which was a kindness.

Until it wasn’t.

After you realized you’d fallen quietly in love with him--a sudden, soft moment on the Green--then you’d admit only privately to yourself that you wouldn’t mind if you accidentally saw a little more than the occasional shirtless attire he might wear around the tent.

But in the pod, the only part of him that had caught your curiosity was his stump, and you’d known Ezra intensely enough over the past couple of weeks where you knew he wouldn’t take offense. Especially if you asked him the right way.

“Will you tell me a story, Ezra?”

“I feel that it is my duty to do so whether you ask me to or not. Shall I choose, or is there something in particular you would like to hear?”

He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, propped up against his cot, going through his kit, cleaning his gear. You waited until he noticed your lack of answer and looked up to meet your eyes. When he saw that you had put your manual down and were focusing all your quiet attention on him, he stopped his busy work. 

When Ezra gives you his attention, it is absolute. When he knows you seriously need something from him, that becomes his immediate main priority and all else can wait. It’s only gotten more intense since that day, but there is a trust that resides between you when you look into his eyes, gathering your words as he waits patiently every time to hear whatever you’re going to request of him. There’s always hope there in his big browns, always something specific he’s waiting for you to ask, and every day you get a little bit closer to understanding what it might be. But until then, any question is a welcome one, any query is met with his wish to provide.

“Will you tell me how you lost your arm?”

At first you thought you may have gone too far, that maybe you insulted him, as his eyebrows peaked together and he looked down at his hand. But then, “That is a tale that may cause you some consternation, trinket. The Green is dangerous and unforgiving, and there were times I may not have been a man worthy of fair opinion.”

“My father was a prospector, you know. I’ve heard stories. Have you ever killed anyone?”

He clicked his tongue and screwed up an eye, causing the thin white scar on his cheek to twist. Then he sighed and returned to your locked gaze. “To be honest, I have. Though I have never done so with pleasure, I have killed in defense and out of desperation, and it was out of dispatching a man in this way that I came to lose the second favorite of all my appendages.”

“Second favorite?”

“Well, it depends what you classify as a limb.” He huffed a small laugh, a spark in his eye, trying to diffuse the harsh subject in his own way.

His leaning into baseness never bothered you. There was something earthy about it, gritty and rough, but never lewd. You rewarded his crassness with a smile. “Do you plan on killing me out in the Green?”

“I would hope my murdering days are behind me, and if they are not, you would see me aim a thrower at everyone but you in the course of my spree. You are under my tutelage, and for that, I owe you a duty of care. That is my word by Kevva.”

“Then tell me the story. I like your stories. I promise not to judge now-Ezra by then-Ezra.”

A dimple formed on his cheek, a punctuation mark framing the approaching anecdote on his lips. “Then I will declare myself absolved of any sin heretofore and regale you with a clean and grateful heart.”

________________

You can see the tent through the trees and you realize with some horror that it’s just you and Ezra for the next few nights. If he’s angry with you, and this is how he is when he’s upset, the silence will be unbearable.

Even that little girl he helped out here years ago was probably more capable than you. You feel so lost in this moment, and it’s only made worse by his silence. You fumble with your communicator and hit the mute just in time to choke on a sob.

This isn’t like you. You’re not one to cry when things get rough. You hardly shed a tear when your father died. But the thought of that just brings another sob and as acting as your own psychologist you realize that you are experiencing some displaced sorrow, the odd need to please the leading male in your life, the one that’s walking ahead of you, away from you. If he’d just turn around and throw you his worn weary smile, if he’d just start up a conversation you’d know that there was hope for you, you’d know you didn’t give up everything to be here in a job you couldn’t hack.

You gotta stop this. Or it’s going to be an uncomfortable night.

Shake it off.

Once you enter the tent, the usual dance happens. Ezra reaches up to turn on the air scrubber and you unhook his filter tube from his helmet. When he turns to you, you pull open the zipper cover on his suit and start his zip for him before lifting his helmet up and off. He can pull the zip the rest of the way, but you generally pull the left collar down for him so he can get his arm out. He’s on his own from there as you turn to fuss with your own gear. 

________________

You remember it starting easily enough. He was telling you a story about the breeding habits of the Tokovian Musk Owl and you could see he was having trouble with his suit zipper, yanking at it and trying to look down at it even though it was under his chin and his helmet. Without another hand to keep the fabric taut, the zip didn’t want to release, so you simply batted his hand away and started it for him. He didn’t even stop his yammering, just threw in a “thank you” somewhere in between “could hear them screeching” and “for a fuck.” He’d right out asked you the day before if you wouldn’t mind disengaging the filter tube just because it was delicate and he didn’t want to mangle the expensive part trying to pop it out one-handed day after day. And while he could manage the helmet fine enough, his prominent nose thanked you for a smoother removal for sure. 

It wasn’t the only routine dance you’d concocted. 

There was the harness dance.

While dig days were excruciating, you always looked forward to helping him attach the harness for his prosthesis--a kind of rigid pole attached to a shovel so you didn’t have to do all the hard digging alone. There were a couple of straps that came around his torso with multiple latches and you’d come to really enjoy wrapping your arms around him to fit the straps on. Sure, you could do the job just as easily from behind, but if you embraced him at the front, he’d usually raise his arm and let it come to rest around your shoulders while you worked. If you let yourself dream, it would be easy to imagine that he might be pressing you into him just a little bit.

And there was the harvesting dance.

On a dig, you were the one to mix the fazer and Ezra did the pour. He fished the sack, you cut the cord. You sliced the outer casing and held it open while he did the extraction. And with the flesh-covered stone, he told you every time to “hold it like you love it” so he could cut away the slippery blister before cleaning the gemstone.

It was a beautiful harmony. And the only way it worked. Because once on every dig he urged you to do a solo extraction, and on every dig, you pierced the blister and lost that stone. And on every dig, he squeezed your shoulder and told you it was a wondrous try, that he was proud of you, and there would always be another turn. There was no sarcasm, no pity, just a warm smile and ceaseless optimism even though you just lost both of you thousands in pay.

These were the first touches, these shoulder squeezes that ran down your arm on the let-go. Sometimes he would just reach out and grab onto you like a pole to help himself up, or he might stumble off balance on uneven ground and without the counterweight of his right arm he’d throw his hand out onto you to steady himself. He wasn’t beyond lightly touching the small of your back to encourage you down a path or to take your next try at a gem pull. 

This was all part of something you’ve secretly named the left-handed-lover’s dance. Basically, that you keep on his left whenever you can in case he needs your help or has the inclination to reach for you. It started out as just trying to be a good partner. Then it became a passing hope that it was more than just a friendly bond. But you were both here to do a job. He was here to teach you to be an independent prospector and you were here to assist and learn. That was evident at the end of the day; once you were both in the tent and out of the suits he never touched you, never so much as bumped into you or grazed your hand in passing an item or clapped you on the arm after a good joke. 

But out in the field all zipped in and helmets on, there was nothing more natural than his gentle hand guiding you or reaching for your assistance, including the day you realized you loved him.

________________

Before you can turn away to strip off your own coverings, Ezra catches your arm, spinning your face into the light. You try to shake him off, not wanting him to catch your eyes puffy from crying and your cheeks still streaked with tears, but his grip is not so gentle now and he yanks you back around to his stormy glare, chin up, brows low. His intensity paralyzes you, rendering you unable to continue your struggle when he catches your eyes with his.

When Ezra gives you his attention, it is absolute.

His gaze travels back and forth between your eyes, waiting for an explanation, a minute so stringent it breaks you down, dissolves you into the tears you’d tried so hard to hide.

“I’m sorry, Ezra. I really am trying... I don’t know why I’m such a scuffer at this and I know it would only be right to release you from the contract and tell you to send me back but I don’t want you to, I really wanna stay, I really wanna learn and I’m so, so sorry.”

Your words have an immediate effect, softening him, pulling his glare into concern and wonder, his lips parting just the tiniest bit in surprise.

“This is the reason for your heavy mood? You think I am provoked by your proficiency in the field?” 

“I crusted up good today and it seems like you’re not happy about it. Just...know that it means so much to me that...I don’t wanna let you down.”

“Oh, trinket, no.” An incredulous huff jumps out of him and his grip on your arm loosens, becomes a splayed warm support behind your shoulder, moving in soothing patterns and you’re instantly relieved that your assumptions were wrong. “You have done no harm in my book. It is not an easy thing to deliver a gem of this ilk into the world unscathed. Your opportunities have been few and scattered and it takes many sticks before a lover becomes a lothario.” He knows the crass humor will make you laugh, knows what to say to lighten your heart, to get you to soften, and bring you into his intimate, conspiratorial mood. “To be perfectly honest, I am selfish to an unrighteous degree, for every gem you burn keeps me in value to you. A worthy sacrifice to guarantee you mightn’t be so quick in your need to fly away from me until your training’s complete.”

This causes a hitch in your breath as you see the welcome turn the conversation he’s taking and you follow the path he’s making for you. “I don’t want to leave you, Ez.”

A smile creeps up one side of his mouth. “Well then I am a happy man. A bargain is struck! Partners it is.”

“Partners it is.”

A moment hangs between you as he rubs his thumb in slow circles on your shoulder. There’s that look in his eye again, the one where he’s waiting for you to ask the question he wants to hear from you. So close now.

Still, you’re unsure. “I guess I’m lucky I found the one person who wants an incompetent partner.”

“No, I do not, nor is it what I have and I must express my objection to your self-debasement. This work is not for the shiny, and you have not once complained about taking on the meat of the digging or the crawl of my schedule.”  His hand comes to your helmet shield and he rakes his thumb across it as if he ached to wipe away one of your staleing tears. “Those bright eyes of yours got a penchant for spotting deposits more skillfully than I could ever manage and that’s not something that can be taught; that’s talent, girl. The blistering?” He shrugs. “Even I can’t manage that without the steady help of your fine hands. You may think that your blunders in education are causing us some financial ruin, but our fortunes are creamy. I assure you, we can afford it.”

That look is still there. He’s waiting. “There’s some ‘us’ and ‘we’ in there, Ez.” Your hands drift to his sides, taking fistfuls of his compression suit top, willing him closer.

The edges of his eyes take on the crinkle you’ve come to find so much comfort in. “So there is.”

You’re almost there. You know what he wants. “Why were you so quiet on the walk back?” 

“Because for the next few days we are alone here and I have a mind full of questions I do not know how to ask you.”

“Then let me go first.” A yearning happiness settles in his brown eyes; finally. Finally you’ve found out what it is he needs you to request of him. “If I take this helmet off, are you going to kiss me, Ez?”

His eyes close in contentment and he nods, “Yes. Yes, little jewel. Yes I am, that and more. I hope I have inferred correctly that it is your wish that I do so, because I am in free fall. I feel my orbit ending and my pull to you is complete.”

_______________

“A moon is an orbiting admirer, and what is an orbit but a long fall to oblivion?”

Speculating days were some of your favorite times, just wading through the brush and looking for the telltale signs and shoots of an underlying deposit. Sometimes you came upon nests of strange groundling insects or flowers that only grew in secret. There were treasures underfoot on this poisonous moon, but if you remembered to look up as well, you might find some dangerous beauties there too. 

On that day--the one where you finally understood your heart--you’d looked up to find that you were on a cliffside overlooking a valley, the canopy a million different hues of green, the gas giant looming over half the sky in a big pink and orange semi-circle. There was a fallen log that served as a perfect seat for the perfect view and you knew Ezra wouldn’t mind if you stole a few moments to sit and to take it in. It’s just the kind of thing he’d appreciate. And you were proven right when he came up behind you, putting a hand on your shoulder to steady himself as he swung one leg then the other over the log, finding a perch next to you, spouting pretty words through the channel link--soft and low--about moons and orbits and obilvions.

“That glowing beauty is Bakhroma. She is quiet and fierce, made up of the unfathomable and the unknowable, always within sight, but out of reach and untouchable unless one would trade the honor with great sacrifice. She reflects the light that is given to her with a patience that is heretofore untold. And the Green Moon upon which we ride follows where she goes like a lovesick fool, spinning around her in a heady kind of adoration, full of secret treasures buried deep down that will ultimately one day belong to her, falling incrementally over eons until he finally loses himself in her, all his glories gladly forfeit to her welcome and inevitable embrace. Alone but together, seemingly eternal, pulled as one by the laws of a mysterious universe.”

The void that came after those words was filled with the beating of your heart, and you were sure he could hear it through the channel.

When he’d landed there beside you, you’d registered how his hand slid off your shoulder, diagonally down across your back, coming to rest at your waist, his arm draped lightly around you. Natural. Easy. Everything was warm--the colors of the sky, the care with which he kept you close as if to better hear the honey sweetness in his prose, the fire burning in your lungs and neck.

Ezra probably didn’t know that you spoke a little Vayok.

Bakh being the Vayok word for adornment. Ornament, Gem. Roma was a modifier, a diminutive. Small. Dear.

Bakhroma. Sentimental bauble. A little jewel.

In other words, a trinket.

All you wanted to do was sit down to take in the view of an entire world for a few moments, but by the time Ezra took your hand and helped you to your feet, all you saw was him.

________________

The helmet is barely off before his lips are sealed to yours in a press of greed. Even if he can’t form words when he kisses you, he can’t help but express his deep relief in a heartbreaking moan. It’s a fight to release yourself from the suit when he keeps pulling you against him and every time you try to get some space between you to work the zipper, he chuckles into your mouth, enjoying the tease and the struggle. It’s simultaneously frustrating and thrilling and you give in for a few moments just to give him what he seems to want so desperately right now.

Ezra kisses like a man starved for air, long, hard, and full of need, peeling his lips away only to come back for another breath of you until his initial want is slaked and he slows, allows for more time between his taking, his mouth starting to mumble against yours, praising you with pet names, telling you how perfect you are to him, how long he’s “fought against my more dubious natures to respect your womanly virtues and take them only when you could see in me a man worth bestowing them on.”

You’re able to use his weakness for monologuing to turn around in his vice-like embrace, finally freeing yourself of the suit and he takes the opportunity to drawl more pretty words in your ear, warning you that “I’m afraid I have been enamored of you overly long and may be extra eager in my attentions. So you just say the word if you need a slow down, gentle one, and I will do my best to comply. Although I will admit it will be a difficult endeavor indeed as I feel I am entering your atmosphere and nothing might quell this burn but finding some drowning place to land.”

Your first impression of him was of a man whose age and temperament and body would not be able to overpower you.

Your first impression was wrong.

Of course, it helps that you are willing.

It doesn’t take long for him to strip you down, and then himself. To kiss you down onto the floor. To find exactly where you like to be touched most and how long it takes for you to break from it. He has so many words for you, so many praises to sing about every part of you that is round or soft or wet, comparing you to things that are sweet and plush or celestial and holy. And when you take his favorite limb in hand--as wondrous as the rest of his body--and guide it to its fit, he plunders and harvests all you have to give him, filing you with himself, for as long as you call for it, as long as you let him. He loves you like he speaks to you: rough and drawn out, full of beautiful tangents and meandering plotlines, but in the end it is beautiful and fulfilling; you may be just a little bit confused how you got to the ending, but you’re completely in awe.

When you lay breathing heavy, staring but not seeing the ceiling of the tent, your consciousness seemingly lifted to see through it to the stars, to the glowing face of Bakhroma, you run hands through rough-chopped hair on a head laying on your chest. He’s listening to your heartbeat, waiting for it to slow down so he can start again. The air is thick--even the air scrubber can’t keep up with all your humidity--and there’s a halo around each bulb of the string lights just barely illuminating the darkness.

“How long, Ez?”

“Hm?”

“How long have you been waiting for that.”

“Most likely since the day you walked into my interview. I am a man of simple wants and you had all the right parts for my preferences.”

“For real, Ez.”

He tipped his head up to find you. “What you ask has many true answers, and I stand by the first. I have no qualms telling you of my weakness for a pretty succulence and a kind smile the likes of which you possess. But if you are asking when I knew I would have it, well, that may have been the first day you danced. Or when you asked me to read you to sleep. Or when I understood I wouldn’t let those bastard raiders get near enough to take their turn at your qualities when I had not had them myself. Or when you finally saw me as a viable person to drape your affections on; maybe it was that day too.”

“When I finally saw you as....”

“I have read many tomes and verses but none so full of beautiful passages as your face that day on the cliff. There is a difference of knowing and being. I knew the feel of your pull that day, but found I’d been in orbit all along.”

How he can live this way, twist everything into a tossed away poem...it should be exhausting. Yet you feed off it. You breathe it like air.

After another long cycle of frenzied entanglement and violent euphoria, you ask Ezra if he’d like to move to a cot, maybe get some sleep. “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to walk to the dig tomorrow morning,” you confess.

“No need to worry about tomorrow,” he says, wapping his arm around you and dragging you back to him, grumbling into your ear. “We are the only prospectors in this sector and the aurelac will wait. Until our new compatriots arrive, we are officially on hiatus. Recreational mining only. Restricted to the confines of this tent. By order of your supervisor. In the interest of more precious treasures. And I intend to strike it rich.”

“Well. I’m here to assist. And learn.”

“When it comes to this dig, trinket, you are more than competent. I am no longer your trainer. Partners it is.”

“Partners it is.”

The new contract is struck, signed and sealed in kissing and in touch and a long, slow fall into inevitable oblivion.

[xiyao-feels]

i've seen takes that jgy started playing turmoil before the staircase, aka wwx comments that it would take 3months for turmoil to kill nmj (ch64) so obviously jgy started playing it a long time ago, causing all of nmj's anger, all of that was his fault.

but also the novel says that jgy made a decision on the stairs or gave something up then a few days later played for nmj (ch 49) and like...idk what that could be except for killing nmj, is there something else this could be?

is wwx right? is mxtx bad at timelines? is nmj kick 3 months in the past, what is the time between 49 and 50 (when nmj dies in 2mo)

idk this whole thing is fuzzy and if you have any clarification or insight i'd like to hear it

-🦊

Fox anon! I'm glad to hear from you, and I hope you're doing well. I'm sorry I took so long to answer this—I was trying to be thorough, you all can judge whether I succeeded.

Now, I think the first thing to note here is that WWX actually and explicitly observes the Song of Clarity working when JGY is playing for NMJ before the stairs (ch 49):

Since then, Jin GuangYao would travel from Lanling to Qinghe every few days, playing Sound of Lucidity to help quell Nie MingJue rage. He tried his hardest, without speaking even a single word of complaint. Sound of Lucidity was indeed effective. Wei WuXian could clearly feel that the hostile energy within Nie MingJue was being suppressed. And, when playing the guqin, the way that the two conversed and got along even had a hint of the peace they had before they fell out. He began to think that maybe the so-called busy reestablishing the Cloud Recesses was just an excuse. Perhaps Lan XiChen simply wanted to give Nie MingJue and Jin GuangYao a chance to ease their tension.

(emphasis mine)

I think this is pretty conclusive. WWX's observations on the spot override his conclusions after a) being extensively soaked in NMJ's anger/resentment (ch 48-50) b) the entire drama afterwards at Jinlintai including being stabbed through by Jin Ling (ch 50) and c) resting and recovering for four days (ch 63).

Moreover, let's look at what WWX actually says in chapter 63:

Wei WuXian, “Jin GuangYao’s spiritual energy isn’t high. He wouldn’t have been able to take someone’s life with just seven notes. And killing him this way would’ve been too obvious. He definitely wouldn’t have chosen a song so powerful. But, if he could use the reason of playing the Song of Clarity for ChiFeng-Zun to calm his temper and continued to play it for three months, would the song be able to act as a slow poison and catalyse ChiFeng-Zun’s outburst?”

He's asking LXC questions about Turmoil, because it's new to him and he doesn't understand everything about it. I think it's pretty clear here that he's starting from how long he saw JGY play for NMJ, and asking if that would be long enough, rather than definitively stating that it would have to take three months; nor is there anything in LXC's response ("… Yes") that suggests three months is any kind of necessary minimum.

So those are the facts at hand. And imho if you look at the text in the later Empathy, there's a great deal of supporting evidence as well. There's the moment you mention, where JGY seems to be making a decision:

Nie MingJue, “Then why don’t you sacrifice yourself? Are you any nobler than them? Are you any different from them?”

Jin GuangYao stared at him. A moment later, as though he had finally either decided on something or given up on something, he replied calmly, “Yes.”

He looked up. In his expression were some of pride, some of calmness, and some of a faint insanity, “I and they, of course we are different!”

I agree with you, he's deciding to give up on NMJ—and if it's something else, what is it? If JGY isn't giving up on getting through to NMJ here, what function does this line serve in the text?

And I think it's worth noting here, as I've noted before—when JGY is talking about how different his and NMJ's positions are, he says "Your background is noble and your cultivation is high"; and the "Your background is noble" part is 你出身高贵, with the 高贵 being the "noble" part. When NMJ is asking him "Are you any nobler than them? Are you any different from them?" the "Are you any nobler than them?" is 你比他们高贵吗—so the "noble" part is, again, the same word, 高贵.  Given that JGY has just spent a great deal of breath explaining that he is different from NMJ precisely because of his less-noble background, this is very much a pair of questions that might quite justifiably make JGY feel like NMJ is just completely not understanding anything he is saying here at all. 

Besides that moment, there is the way he approaches or interacts with NMJ, which is quite noticeably different after the stairs. If you look at the beginning of the stairs, he's trying to convince NMJ to let the XY thing go: he says that if XY is locked up for life and can't hurt people, this isn't too different from him being executed, and then when NMJ does not accept this, points out that it's JGY's father's command and he cannot simply go against it as NMJ wishes. Once JGY loses his temper, he is still presenting arguments for his position—which granted is now approximately "you're being a hypocrite and you don't understand things", but he is still arguing for it—that is, he is still trying to reach NMJ; he is acting as though on some level he believes he can get through to him. 

But in attempting to convince NMJ about XY, he is not acting like someone who expects that NMJ is right about to die; because if he were expecting that, he could simply say whatever he likes to put NMJ off, knowing that he won't actually have to pay up. Similarly, in attempting to get through to NMJ via argument, however angrily, he is not treating NMJ as purely an object to be manipulated; NMJ's beliefs matter to JGY separately (I am not saying /only/ separately) from what those beliefs lead NMJ to do. To put it another way: he cares about what NMJ thinks. This too is something that prevents JGY from simply telling NMJ whatever he wishes to hear, and this, too, is lost at the stairs.

For after the stairs, telling NMJ what he wants to hear, and just telling NMJ something that will put him off because he knows or hopes he won't have to pay up, are exactly what JGY does. When he shows up at the Unclean Realm a few days later, he tells NMJ he's here to acknowledge his mistakes and that he's realized NMJ is "doing this" for him; he promises to bring NMJ XY's head in two months, and tells NMJ he can do whatever he likes with him if JGY does not. This is a significant change in behaviour from before the stairs, and in consideration with all the other evidence it seems to me that this is because, post-stairs, he no longer values what NMJ thinks of him, and he is now gambling on his killing NMJ before NMJ kills him.

The only area where he does push back now is NMJ's treatment of NHS, I suspect because he worries about what NMJ might do or continue to do to NHS in his remaining two months of life.

So: I really do think the evidence is pretty clear that JGY starts with Turmoil after the stairs, in that it is directly signalled by the text and in that all the evidence around it backs this up.

That said, I have seen other objections raised by various anti-JGY folk, and while some of them have more merit than others I think it's worth taking the time to go over them.

-JGY couldn't possibly have prepared the Turmoil music in the few days between the stairs and him starting to play for NMJ after.

Yes, I agree; he must have had it prepared earlier. But that only means that he had it prepared, not that he was using it, and while there are certainly people who will only prepare a weapon if they are sure they will use it, I really don't think JGY is among them. He might also have prepared it as evidence for his father that he was working on solving the problem.

-WWX didn't notice a difference between the music JGY was playing before the stairs and the music he was playing after; therefore, it must be the same music.

Honestly, I think that WWX just didn't notice. It's explicitly described as very subtle, and indeed he can't tell the difference between the altered passage and the rest of the song (ch 63):  

Wei WuXian withdrew the flute from his lips, “It really is this section? But I don’t find this section different at all.”

And he again observes how similar they are in chapter 64:  

And he combined them so well. They sound as though there were the same. His musical talent is indeed excellent.

His repeated observation that they sound just the same suggests that he could very well have failed to notice, I think, and indeed he would have heard the altered version more often.

There is also another explanation, entirely compatible with JGY only using Turmoil after the stairs. WWX says of JGY playing Turmoil that he must have "used little spiritual power" during the Clarity sections, and "only exerted power" during the Turmoil section (ch 64). So if we think WWX would definitely have noticed the difference, there is an explanation for how he nevertheless very clearly observed NMJ's hostile energy suppressed by the music; JGY might have been using his power during the (much longer) Clarity part, and only used a very little during Turmoil. Personally, I think that it fits better with the overall emotional arc if JGY didn't change the music he was playing until after the stairs; but I accept this isn't ruled out as a possibility.

I feel obliged to note that at one point, after I was challenged on the issue of JGY changing the music after the stairs and pointed out WWX noticing NMJ's hostile energy being suppressed, as above, I was offered as an explanation for the passage that JGY couldn't possibly have abruptly switched to Turmoil right away when he started playing for NMJ, because NMJ would have noticed that he was suddenly feeling worse; and that therefore WWX clearly feeling NMJ's hostile energy being suppressed was not really evidence that JGY was playing Clarity and not Turmoil before the stairs. But I disagree with this, on two counts.

First, it is not clear to me that NMJ would in fact notice. He does not seem to be very self-aware about the effects of the sabre curse. He explicitly denies it at the stairs, for example: "I am not [in turmoil]. I know what I'm doing" (ch 49). After he burns NHS' things, when JGY asks him if he's told NHS about the sabre curse yet, NMJ asks "Why would I tell him so soon?" even though at this point he is quite clearly being affected (ch 50). And when he kicks open the door to kill JGY in chapter 50, he seems not to think about the curse at all. Of course this last is moments before he qi deviates and dies and is therefore perhaps not representative, but it fits with the general pattern; I don't believe we ever see him consider whether his anger might be because of the sabre curse, and indeed he is hardly given to questioning the righteousness of his anger in general.

Secondly, and more abstractly...WWX observing the hostile energy being suppressed—"clearly feel[ing]" it being suppressed (ch 49)—may not be /literally/ incompatible with the idea that JGY changed music after the stairs. But a story isn't just a collection of facts, and I think by far the most natural interpretation of this, in context, is that JGY is playing Clarity and not Turmoil. Which is not of course to say you can't have a resistant reading here, but I think it's generally good practice to acknowledge when your readings are resistant readings, and especially if you have a resistant reading not to say it is the only possible reading of the facts.

-JGY has no motive for playing for NMJ other than wanting him dead.

If we assume rather that he doesn't want him dead, he pretty clearly has a motive to help keep NMJ's temper under control, both on a personal level (so NMJ doesn't attack or embarrass him) and on a political level (so NMJ doesn't lose it and embarrass JGS). I would also like to note that although it was some time ago, and it seems likely that even before the stairs JGY's feelings about NMJ are not as positive as once they were, we have seen JGY go to quite heroic lengths to save NMJ's life before, when he saves him from Wen Ruohan by misdirection and assassination then drag/carries his unconscious body rather than leave him there and make good his own escape.

-The stairs and the fan burning both happen before JGY starts playing for NMJ after the stairs; NMJ wouldn't do either of those things in his right mind…

I agree; the Nie have to deal with the sabre curse. I think it's worth pointing out, too, that aside from Clarity we don't see NMJ take any measures to try to deal with the curse, either directly in addressing the curse itself, or by preventing himself from acting excessively under the influence of the curse; it shouldn't be surprising, then, that the curse can cause such drastic incidents.

-…and the sabre curse wouldn't be strong enough.

This one really confuses me as an objection, I'm going to be honest. We can be pretty sure NMJ would have qi deviated eventually, Turmoil or no. NHS says this in chapter 26:

"The sabers of our past sect leaders were all heavy with hostile energy and killing intent. Almost every single sect leader met a sudden death from a qi deviation explosion. Their irritable tempers also had a lot to do with this."

(As a side note: the missing paragraph in the ER translation right after this has I think occasionally led people to the conclusion that it is the qi deviation and such that WWX suggests is similar to demonic cultivation, as opposed to the sabres turning murderous after the deaths of their owners—you can see the Taming Wangxian and the MDZS Translation versions for the full context of the exchange.)

So NMJ was almost sure to qi deviate eventually! Moreover, he would have greatly strengthened the sabre spirit through his extensive use of Baxia during Sunshot, and after the war he continues to pursue cultivating with the sabre, without, I think, any sign of moderation. And it seems likely that he is already showing recognizable symptoms of the curse by the time JGY starts playing for him alone, as Clarity seems intended to slow the progression of the curse and also like something relatively newly introduced—they don't seem to have been doing this since Sunshot just in case, or anything. So how then could we be sure that the sabre curse on its own would be insufficient?

-NMJ wasn't at all violent before JGY started playing for him

This is simply not true. Unfortunately we don't see much of him outside of Empathy, but looking exclusively at things that happen before JGY starts playing for him:

His reputation in Sunshot is about his destroying the Wen, contrasted with LXC's which is about saving people (ch 48):

During the Sunshot Campaign, stories of praise were told about all three of the Venerated Triad. The ones of ChiFeng-Zun were about how he swept over all obstacles, leaving not even a trace of the Wen-dogs after he finished. ZeWu-Jun—Lan XiChen—however, was different from him. After the situation of the Gusu area had settled down, Lan QiRen was able to defend it with great tenacity. Thus, Lan XiChen often travelled to aid others, saving lives from danger. In all of the Sunshot Campaign, he had countless times recovered lost territory and assisted narrow escapes. This was why people were ecstatic whenever they heard his name, as though they gained a ray of hope, a powerful trump card.

The description of his reaction to seeing MY kill the Jin captain pretty strongly suggests his initial reaction was to attack MY on the spot (ch 48):

Nie MingJue saw all of the scene. Without saying a word, he unsheathed his saber by an inch. A sharp ring pierced through the air.

Hearing the familiar sound of unsheathing, Meng Yao immediately trembled. He spun around, his soul almost evaporating, “… Sect Leader Nie?”

Nie MingJue pulled all of his saber out of its sheath. The body of the sword glared brightly, yet the blade itself vaguely glinted in the red shade of blood. Wei WuXian could feel the billowing anger from him, along with emotions of disappointment and hatred.

Meng Yao knew Nie MingJue’s character more than anyone else. He dropped the sword with a clang, “Sect Leader Nie, Sect Leader Nie! Please wait, please wait! I can explain!”

Even after he's listening, he ends up grabbing MY by the collar and lifting him up (ch 48). 

When he's explaining what happened with MY to LXC, he announces his intention to kill MY if he ever sees him again (ch 48), and after MY kills WRH, saving NMJ's life in doing so, and is carrying him out afterwards, he grabs his sabre from MY's hand and tries to kill MY again (ch 49). He only stops when LXC physically blocks him, and changes his mind after LXC explains that MY was in fact a spy, and I think it's worth noting that WWX believes that MY would probably have died under NMJ's attacks before LXC arrived if NMJ hadn't been heavily injured (ch 49). We're also told the brotherhood oath 3zun swear is unusually violent, in a way JGY suggests, and which LXC notably does not refute, was decided by NMJ (ch 50). Finally, while this summary of NMJ's interests is arguably from WWX's perspective, it is still notable that the only two things he's apparently interested in are "training his saberwork and killing Wen-dogs" (ch 49)—which is to say, the study of violence, and a particular and fatal application thereof. 

(Totally unrelated fun fact: I was looking at the entrance to the Phoenix Mountain Hunt for this too and apparently NMJ is seventh on the young cultivators list (ch 69). The more you know!)

I want to be very clear that I am not saying that all of NMJ's violence is unreasonable or not understandable. But that it can be reasonable and understandable does not mean that it is not violent; and it is certainly not the only reaction a person could have to the events he's reacting to. Contrast LXC, as someone rather on the other end of the spectrum.

-If NMJ were violent, JGY wouldn't risk his life killing him via Turmoil (and therefore NMJ must not be violent)

Even aside from the extensive textual evidence for NMJ's violence, I don't think this holds together. As shown above, I think it's quite clear that NMJ was in fact always a violent man, but there is absolutely no question that he's violent to JGY in his last months of life, and if you think JGY started playing Turmoil for NMJ before the stairs, then it's really extremely clear that JGY was willing to risk NMJ's violence in killing him! I think the clash between JGY's desire to live and the evident risk to his life from killing NMJ with Turmoil actually supports the position I am arguing here. Assuming we are agreed that JGY is attached to his own life, and as it's clear that as NMJ approached his end he was a danger to JGY (regardless of how that end was induced!), why was JGY playing him Turmoil?

I think the stairs make it clear to JGY that his life is not safe while NMJ is still alive. Using Turmoil, therefore, becomes a gamble he is willing to take, though still an enormously risky one: on the one hand, it appeases his father and enables him to promise NMJ he can do whatever he likes with JGY if he doesn't kill XY in two months (ch 50), a promise he obviously and understandably has no intention of keeping. But on the other hand, if NMJ doesn't die within the two months, he probably will simply kill JGY—and more than that, given his focus on JGY, he may kill JGY anyway, for some much more trivial reason. Indeed, this is exactly what almost happens just before NMJ's death, when he kicks open a door and attempts to kill JGY on the spot because JGY was complaining to LXC about NMJ's treatment of him; if LXC hadn't blocked NMJ's sabre, JGY would almost certainly have died (ch 50). But as risky as this gamble is, it is still a better bet than waiting around and hoping LXC always saves him when NMJ tries to kill him—especially taking into account the risk from his father should he do so.

-The stairs incident was good for JGY and bad for NMJ, which is evidence that JGY arranged it on purpose

...I have a lot of things to say about this position. None of them are very nice. However, as I am in fact trying to argue in good faith, I will attempt to address it as an argument.

I think this comes from a confusion of the fandom reaction to the stairs with the in-universe reaction to it. To people now, yes, looking at this makes NMJ look bad, and inspires sympathy for JGY. In-universe, however—when NMJ publically assaults JGY and tries to kill him, when he calls him Meng Yao, when he shouts he's the son of a prostitute, it's not /NMJ/ who looks bad. NMJ of course is righteous in his anger; really he's only putting that boy in his place, don't you think? I knew Chifeng-zun didn't really accept him. Etcetera. It /weakens/ JGY's position, because the cultivation world does not have the same beliefs and priorities and value judgements that we do!

Certainly if he'd actually managed to kill JGY he would suddenly have found that he had killed JGS's beloved son, the only remaining son of the Jin, a war hero, his own sworn brother who had saved NMJ's life etc etc etc. But only because then there would have been political advantage in it for JGS, and quite substantial political advantage too, and he wouldn't have to deal with JGY being around anymore. As it stands, all NMJ's actions at the stairs do for JGY is tell the world that he is vulnerable and weak and disgusting. The only significant person in-world who would find JGY more sympathetic after this incident is LXC, and frankly a) he is already deeply in sympathy with JGY and b) we don't see JGY playing it up—after LXC's appearance at the stairs rather he minimizes and soothes things, and even when we overhear his complaints to LXC around two months later he is talking about what NMJ thinks of him, and not the physical danger NMJ poses.

I will also observe that while JGY does end up losing his temper, he starts off soothing even through NMJ's first attempted assault, and only loses it after NMJ calls him Meng Yao and says "your whole thing stopped working on me since a long time ago" in front of everyone; this attempted conciliation seems an odd thing to do were he in fact trying to manipulate NMJ into assaulting him, trying to kill him, embarrassing him and weakening his position in public. You could argue that NMJ would be more angered by JGY's attempts to be soothing than he would by JGY's directness, and thus the soothing could be read as provocative, but this simply isn't backed up by the text; while NMJ was obviously already angry before JGY lost his temper, he nevertheless escalates significantly after JGY talks back.

Moreover...I think what NMJ actually does and tries to do at the stairs, in terms of violence, is sometimes not fully grasped.

The first thing he does once they're properly outside is try to hit JGY, though fortunately JGY manages to dodge. When NMJ kicks him down the stairs, even aside from calling JGY the son of a prostitute, JGY ends up rolling down more than fifty steps and acquiring a head wound—/another/ head wound, because he already had one, apparently from the physical abuse he receives at Jinlintai from Madam Jin. And finally, NMJ actually /unsheathes his sabre/ and, after LXC approaches, announces his intention to kill JGY:

Lan XiChen, “Brother, sheath your saber first—your mind is in turmoil!”

Nie MingJue, “I am not. I know what I’m doing. He’s beyond hope. If these keeps on going, he’ll do the world harm for sure. The earlier he’s killed, the earlier we can relax!”

(ch 49)

When I say that NMJ almost killed JGY at the stairs, I am not just talking about kicking him down the stairs, although that certainly could have killed JGY. I am talking about drawing his sabre on JGY with the intention of killing him. JGY would very likely have died if LXC hadn't thought they were taking too long and come to see. 

JGY can certainly take enormous risks when it's necessary—but for a risk like this he would have to be gaining something extremely significant, and I remain unconvinced he was gaining anything at all, let alone anything worth the cost.

-NMJ's actions at the stairs and his burning NHS' things are completely unrelated to any of his previous actions and motivations.

In fact, although they're certainly both significant escalations, I think that in both cases NMJ's motivations and actions draw extensively from preceding characterization.

Consider the stairs. The direct classism is certainly new, but there are several other elements that have already been established as part of NMJ's characterization: the tendency to violence, the investment in JGY behaving correctly even while ignoring incorrect behaviour around him, the approach to justice both in his particular and frequently-retributive idea of it and in his commitment to that idea, and a failure to understand the realities of JGY's position.

The violence I discussed above, and the failure to understand JGY's position has I think been discussed sufficiently elsewhere and besides would be a full post in its own right. As to NMJ's approach to justice, you can see both idea and commitment to it in his anger to the men speaking badly of MY (ch 48) and his appreciation and promotion of MY for his accomplishments (ch 48); his initial intention to kill MY after he catches him killing the Jin captain (ch 48), his subsequent insistence that MY turn himself in to the Jin (ch 48) and his intention to kill MY for his betrayal after MY tricks him and escapes (ch 48); his initial insistence that MY should pay for killing the Nie cultivators, even as he acknowledges that MY saved his life and says he will kill himself after he kills MY (ch 49); and of course in his insistence that WQ and WN should pay for their complicity with WRH, even in the face of LXC and JC's defense of them (ch 73). And in describing LWJ as "absolutely [unable to] stand wrongdoings, possibly even more than Nie HuaiSang’s brother" (ch 30), WWX implies a great deal about the extent of NMJ's inability to stand wrongdoings. Of course, not all of these instances involve NMJ seeking violent retribution as justice, but a significant portion do—about half—and it is certainly a recurring theme. This approach to justice, I should add, is certainly involved in attempting to punish JGY for his misdeeds by killing him, but it is also part of why he is so upset in the first place: in NMJ's view of things, holding XY in prison instead of executing him for his crimes is failing to see justice properly done.

The investment in JGY behaving correctly, even while caring less about the behaviour of other people around him doing the same, is likewise an established character note. WWX concludes that NMJ's desire to guide JGY is one of the main reasons he agrees to the brotherhood (ch 49); we see his disapproval of JGY associating with XY, who already has something of a bad reputation, at the Flower Banquet (ch 49); at the conference after WWX rescues the Wen, when JGY backs up his father's lie about what WWX said about JC, NMJ seems to mark it more heavily than JGS' initial lie (ch 73). And then, of course, there is this, from the scene just before JGY starts playing for NMJ (ch 49):

In reality, it wasn’t that Jin GuangYao could calm Nie MingJue’s anger, but that since Jin GuangYao came, all of Nie MingJue’s anger would be directed at him alone, having no time to scold others. Thus, there was nothing wrong with saying that he was Nie HuaiSang’s knight in shining armor.

While NMJ's actions at the stairs are certainly not something he'd have done without the sabre curse, and again the direct classism is new, it nevertheless very much ties in to his preexisting characterization.

What about the burning of NHS' things? Again, many elements of the situation derive from NMJ's preexisting characterization; in this case, his tendency to release his anger on physical objects, his desire for NHS to be a strong cultivator and his angry displeasure with NHS' actual interests and capabilities, and his threatening to burn NHS' things.

Although prior to the burning of NHS' things it seems to be usually a momentary lashing out, NMJ definitely has a history of releasing his anger on physical objects. When he is annoyed at the men speaking badly about MY, he knocks down (or carves up? the English is unclear) a boulder at the front of the cave (ch 48); when he decides not to kill MY after LXC explains MY was their spy, he carves a boulder in half (ch 49); and he cracks the top of a table by bringing his palm down on it in the scene just before JGY starts playing for him (ch 49).

As to NMJ's desire for his brother to focus on and do well at cultivation, and his displeasure at NHS' actual areas of focus, this is perhaps one of his most consistent beats of characterization. We see it in our introduction to NHS at the Cloud Recesses lectures (ch 13); in NHS' plea for WWX's help with the test (ch 14); in LXC's message to NHS from NMJ and NHS' reason for staying in CR instead of going to Caiyi Town (ch 16); in WWX's reminiscences about NHS after discussing the "Man-Eating Ridge" with the "know-it-all of Qinghe" (ch 21); in NMJ and LXC's discussion when NMJ brings LXC NHS' sabre during in Sunshot (ch 48); and of course in the scene just before JGY starts playing for NMJ, both in his initial anger at NHS' preoccupation with the fans and uncertainty about his sabre's location, and in his dismissal of NHS as a "good-for-nothing" even after his temper had faded (ch 49).

The threatening to burn NHS' things, on the other hand, I believe we only see once, and really in the form of "instructing NHS to burn certain specific things of his"; but it is in the very scene before JGY starts playing for NMJ, as NMJ tells NHS to burn the fans he has just been going over tenderly before JGY interrupts (ch 49).

Indeed, I think that scene in general is very much worth a look here, for what it has and for what it doesn't. On the one hand, we do see NHS' fear of NMJ—he literally falls to his knees in terror, and stutters even after getting up! But he also seems fairly comfortable after the worst of NMJ's anger passes, and when NMJ sends him off he goes not to his room as instructed, but to the living room for the gifts JGY has brought him. Yet many of the elements of NMJ's later destruction of NHS' things are present here, and to my mind one of the most important things about the scene is its illustration of what prevents NMJ from carrying out the threats he made in his anger. It's not that he's convinced he's being unreasonable—indeed, he doesn't seem to consciously change his mind at all. Instead it is simply that repeated interruptions and NHS's ridiculous appearance as he greets JGY end up draining his temper, and with his temper drained he no longer pursues punishing NHS. But this has obvious implications for what might happen if NMJ's anger did not diminish, and I think it's quite clear how the behaviour NMJ exhibits in this scene could lead to NMJ burning NHS' things simply by giving him a more sustained burst of temper, even as it is not something NHS ever expected to happen, or something that would happen had NMJ's temper not been worsened by the sabre curse.

To conclude this section—while NMJ's actions at the stairs and in burning NHS' things are certainly unprecedented in themselves, they are nevertheless solidly rooted in NMJ's preexisting characterization, and it's easy to see how the sabre curse could lead to these extreme escalations. 

To conclude the post, I think the direct evidence is quite clear that JGY was playing Clarity before the stairs, and I think the indirect evidence also significantly supports it; nor am I convinced by various objections I have seen, for reasons I hope I have conveyed.