#But not sure how long that'll keep me occupied

[gayness-and-mayhem]

Lol didn't realise how dependent I was on AO3 until now.

[02chois]

DISTRACTION

pairing: choi yeonjun x afab! reader

summary: your boyfriend had been waiting for you to finish your class, however his patience had ran out. maybe a little distraction won't hurt, right? no one can see what he's doing to you anyway.

word count: 2.0k

content warning: slight exhibitionist, fingering, forced orgasm, squirting, mentions of recording, dirty talk, established relationship, not proofread, non-idol au

note: this is a repost from my old blog (choideluxe) and I didn't edit much of it, but still hope you enjoy 🫶

The first thing you reminded your boyfriend not to do during your online classes was to distract or disturb you. He seemed to ignore your statement a few months back or perhaps it was long forgotten in the back of his mind, either way you weren't having it from the way he kept on pestering you while you're listening to your professor discuss your lesson for today. His chin was resting on top of your shoulder, his front flushed against your back, he wouldn't let go of you no matter how much you told him to do something else, he didn't move a muscle.

It was still early in the morning and it was your first class of the day, you were still tired as you tried to keep your eyes open. But your boyfriend decided to latch himself on you to keep you awake, it doesn't help the fact that something was poking your behind. It was more than a wake up call as it did nothing but occupy your mind. You should be listening to your professor talk, however, Yeonjun was making it harder for you to focus.

"Yeonjun, I said do something that'll keep me awake but not like this." You kept your head steady, your gaze focused on your laptop's monitor. You didn't even dare look at your boyfriend knowing he'd be wearing that smug grin of his that you admittedly find attractive. You felt him shift behind you, teasingly rolling his hips against you.

A quiet laugh escaped his lips, seemingly finding it attractive how you could hear the smirk from that. He's annoying but you would be lying if this didn't excite you, the risk of being called by your professor while your boyfriend's hands roamed around your body, groping and feeling you up, it felt too good for you to stop him. You've been busy these days and haven't had any time to spend with your boyfriend like the good old days. It felt like it's been a year since the last time he touched you like this, but he could've picked a more appropriate time to think about fucking you.

However, it's not like he cared about the timing. He doesn't care about the time and place, if it's slightly secluded then expect him to fuck you up against the wall, he has no shame and you're not surprised if your boyfriend has a thing for voyeurism. He hasn't explicitly told you about that, though you're more than sure it's a kink that he hasn't realized yet.

Your situation is a perfect example of his kink. There are several unsuspecting people in your class, that includes your beloved professor, and one mistake of opening your camera or microphone could lead to something you'll regret in the future. Yeonjun's hand trailed down to your shorts, carefully sliding his hand under the band of your shorts, his finger pressing on your clit against the fabric of your panties. A gasp escaped from your lips, your eyebrows furrowing as you tried to keep yourself composed.

He hummed against your neck, the rumble of his voice through his chest was deep. "I'm doing what you asked me to do, sweetheart. I'm being a good boyfriend." A chuckle escaped his lips, taking you by surprise when you felt his finger gently traced your slit. "You're already so wet for me. Are you looking forward to this? What a dirty girl you are, thinking about me fingering you while you're in class." His voice was hushed, breathy and deep; it was like velvet against your skin.

Your body instinctively limped against him, unplugging your earphones from your laptop for you to hear the discussion better. You made sure the camera and microphone was disabled, you wouldn't risk getting caught by your classmates and teacher being finger fucked by your boyfriend; however, you knew Yeonjun wouldn't mind at all. He'd be proud of it even if it was embarrassing for you.

"Just fucking do it, Yeonjun. I don't have time for this." You removed his hand away from you then pulled your shorts and underwear until it was hanging around your ankles. The cold air meeting your flushed skin made you flinch, looking back at your laptop, you couldn't help but feel shy, you pressed your thighs together as you settled in between his legs once again. "H-hurry up, okay?" You wanted to curse for stuttering, but you couldn't help but imagine recording everything he's doing to you. That thought wouldn't be too far up your alley, knowing Yeonjun would be up for things like that, and the fact that you can make money from it while being pleasured, he's not going to back down that offer. Yeonjun might even suggest that idea to you in the future.

Yeonjun pressed his plush lips against your cheek, feeling the way his lips curved into a smile. "I can't promise you that we'll be done after this," his hands firmly opened your legs, "we haven't done anything for two weeks." You felt his tongue press against the shell of your ear, his hot breath sending shivers down your spine. "Ditch your class for me? I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Okay… let me finish this class first." Your dainty hand wrapped around his wrist, your gaze focused on the way he played with your clit. "You're lucky that I love you." Your words were followed by a quiet moan as he inserted a finger without a warning and started moving.

He started at a slow pace, watching your class over your shoulder with a small smile across his lips. He couldn't explain this feeling, how he finds this whole situation so erotic, from the way you could possibly forgot to mute your microphone, picking up the sound of his finger fucking your cunt, letting them hear your cute whines along with the delicious sound of your pussy. He felt his cock twitch from the thought, he wanted to fuck you then and there already.

Your body was throbbing, eyes unfocused from your screen, and his free hand shoving two fingers straight into your pussy. "You want me to hurry up, right?" He curled his fingers to hit your sweet spot, repeatedly hitting it with no signs of stopping, your juices dripping down on his fingers, thrusting his slender fingers knuckle deep inside you. "You don't mind me forcing an orgasm from you, maybe make you squirt as well? I bet that'll feel good." His digits stayed deep within your walls, his palm brushing against your aching clit. He noticed this and immediately pressed his palm against your clit, slowly curling his fingers inside of you, picking up the same pace he went a while ago.

You felt like you were going to burst, your legs were beginning to feel weak, you were unable to control your breathing at this point, forgetting about your class and what you professor was discussing about. You didn't care about your lesson at this point as you focused on the way he pressed his palm against your clit, his hard cock pressing against the small of your back. His cock was straining against the fabric of his sweatpants, but you could tell that he wasn't wearing any underwear underneath, there was a wet spot and you could feel it pressing against you.

"Fuck, I haven't even—hah, Yeonjun." You haven't squirted once in your life and hearing about his goal made you want to curl into a ball. Once he says he'll do something, he won't stop until he does that thing successfully. It would normally take some time but from the way he was fingering you, it won't be too long until you'll be squirting on his fingers.

"Yeonjun," You whined, hands grasping at the fabric of his shirt as you rolled your hips. Suddenly, your clothes felt too heavy for your body. A thin layer of sweat coating your skin, and tightness spreading throughout your limbs. You were so close, you could taste it. He fastened his pace and grabbed your hips to keep you steady, his breathing was starting to become uneven. He could tell that you were already so fucked out but he wasn't done with you yet.

He wasn't surprised that you were already so close to your orgasm, you were too sensitive for your own good. The littlest touches make you shiver, he could make you squirm underneath him, from the way his fingers would only brush against your flushed skin, you're already such a beautiful mess with him doing the bare minimum. He missed how responsive you are for him, your body reacting in a way he could tell you were enjoying it way too much. There's a lot of things you haven't discovered about yourself and he's eager to show you how good and addicting it feels.

It wasn’t long before you were falling apart, pants and cries leaving your lips as your head fell down to rest on his shoulder. Your walls clenching around his fingers, he could feel the way it spasmed around his digits, it only made him want to fuck you even more, missing the feeling of your tight pussy around his cock. He couldn't wait until he was finished fingering you.

"I'm not done with you yet," his tone gruff and deep, almost commanding as he immediately closed your laptop. High-pitched, desperate moans left your lips as he began to curl his digits inside of you at such a merciless pace. He continued doing that without break, the veins on his arm were visible under the bright light, determined to make you squirt to the best of his ability.

"Can't wait to fuck this tight pussy. It's been a while, hasn't it? Did you miss my cock deep inside you, sweetheart? Want me to fuck you so hard, I'm sure you'd love that." He dragged his tongue on your jaw, pressing wet kisses clumsily against your skin. "I'm gonna fuck you until sunset, you're not gonna leave this bed until I'm satisfied."

A drawn-out moan left your lips, he pressed his palm against your sensitive clit, overstimulating you to the point you were beginning to tear up from the pleasure you're receiving from him. You were close again, whining and crying out, hips squirming desperately against his hand. "I'm so close, jjun. Fuck, I'm so, so close…" your words ended with a choked moan, mouth dropping with your eyes tightly shut as the pleasure spread up your body, filling and intoxicating your veins.

Your release left your body, legs shaking as your vision blurred. It felt like you were in cloud nine, the explosive orgasm left you shivering, strings of incoherent words left your lips that you weren't even sure if they made any sense to your boyfriend. Yeonjun slowed down the movement of his fingers until you rode out your post orgasm high. Your hands were tightly gripping the sleeves of his hoodie, your chest heaving as you tried to catch your breath.

Yeonjun slowly pulled his fingers from inside of you, turning his head to take a look at your bedsheets. A grin spread across his lips, they were completely ruined, but he wasn't at all mad about it. "That was fucking hot," he pressed a gentle kiss against your temple, handling you as if you were delicate. "I'd love to see you do that again." He gently closed your legs and let you straighten them, hoping to ease the strain from how wide they were opened a while ago.

Your juices were staining the sheets underneath you as well, however, you knew you shouldn't worry about it at the moment. You might as well ditch your whole class for today just to spend time with him in bed. It's not a wise decision for you to make but it was only for today.

You heard him chuckle behind you, "lay down for me, sweetheart. You're in for a ride."

[nogenderbee]

♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ 𝔹𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 ₊˚ˑ༄

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ not a request!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ Happy Birthday to KAITOOOOO!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ fluff

Affiliation with @virtualbookstore

You and KAITO were kinda just living together by now so it was hard to realize your plans without him noticing. You did had spare houses but always ended up in one place and bed either way.

So you had to make a believable excuse so he'd be gone from this place for 2 hours or so. He was always a bit of a gentleman and... you just kinda used it... You did felt guilty for asking him to bring you soda which you knew wasn't available in any shop in a hour distance, especially since it was his birthday! But you planned it for way too long to just abandon your idea.

You wanted to bake chocolate cake, colored with blue food dye! It may sound simple but your idea surely wasn't! You also had in mind to make chocolate flowers that'll decorate the top!

So now, you tried not to think abut the guilt and instead focus on baking, keeping your phone on full volume, since your partner promised to text you once he finds what you wanted.

You just put the cake in the oven when you heard sound of notification, which you immidietly checked, hoping you still have time to finish your gift...

"<You won't believe it, they had your favorite soda in 2nd closest gallery! I'm heading home now. Or do you need anything more?>"

You noticed the opportunity to keep him occupied for a bit longer but you didn't wanted to be this mean, so you just picked up the tempo slightly.

"<No, that's all! Thanks a lot, stay safe on your way back!>"

Luckily for you, baking process went pretty smoothly! It was the chocolate flowers that you were stuck the most on... and the stress wasn't helping!

You took the cake out of the oven, which looked absolutly perfect! The bad news were that... making petals weren't as hard as attaching them without them breaking...

But you thought you were getting the hang of it when you heard door opening...

"Hey, I'm back with some soda for us!"

You quickly ran out of the kitchen, hoping to block his view and for the cake to stay a surprise. Though you seemed to forget about one important fact...

"Are you baking something? It smells like chocolate in here! You could invite me so we'd bake something together. I believe I know a thing or two from MEIKO."

"Well it's..."

You realized there's no point in lying anymore so you decided to just spill it out.

"I wanted to bake a cake for your birthday but I'm struggling with chocolate flowers..."

"Do you want me to help you? I'm not a professional but I rememberd watching others do it!"

You nodded with a small sigh. You didn't wanted him to bother making it but since you couldn't figure it out and he didn't mind... maybe it was alright?

And when both of you arrived at kitchen, his words only confirmed. He really learned how to make these from just observing. It seems you were missing the gentle touch he could effortlessly do! It was probablu just stress that rubbed off on you.

"Thank you KAITO... I'm sorry you had to help with your own birthday gift..."

"Oh, so it was gift for me? Thank you! And don't worry, I'm happy I got to spend some more quality time with you."

His words reassured you a bit, making your shoulders relax. And the genuine smile on his face only confirmed his words!

"I'm happy to hear it~ In that case, Happy Birthday!"

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

@bleachtheidiot - come get your soft gentleman!

[ladyswillmart]

"THAT'S Bowser's Keep?!" Mallow squinted into the smoldering distance; whatever he perceived with his beady black eyes, it evidently did not impress. He frowned with a little sigh. "It's pretty crumbly now that I see it from here."

"Crumbly!" snarled Bowser. "Crumbly, he says! About my castle?"

"That's what it sounded like to me!" said Peach.

"Ghrk... well! Well!!"

Mallow turned his beady eyes towards the overgrown turtle. "Well what...?"

"D'aw, well, of course it's gonna look crumbly!" was his stellar retort. "Damn thing's got a big fuckin—"

"—language—!"

"—sorry, Princess—I mean the darn thing's got a big fuckin' envelope opener sticking out of the foyer! You know we just renovated that part of the castle? We were gonna put the new Bowser's Castle Welcome Center and Gift Shop in there," Bowser continued; while his brave face was game as usual, it would once more be stymied by the way his eyes welled up like overflowing toilets. "It was looking real good, too! Mario saw it! Yeah, you saw it didn't you? Didn't it look real good?"

The plumber nodded and gave a couple energetic bounces with his arm raised in the air; by now his traveling companions knew to interpret this as an enthusiastic yes.

"So don't gimme that crumbly crap! It's just... It's just got a boo-boo right now, okay? Eh? Oh yeah, that reminds me—oi, Geno! Oi!"

The caped creature failed to respond to Bowser's verbal hailing, forcing the testudine tyrant to resort to a more physical means of address; the well-timed punch to the shoulder not only did the intended trick, but also did roughly 8-10% AOE splash damage to the rest of the party.

"Ow!" Geno yelped and clutched his arm, thus putting paid to the question of whether or not a doll's body could feel pain (at least while occupied by the incomprehensible essence of an extraterrestrial lifeform).

"What was that for?" he begged.

"Got a question for you!"

"Great! Can you ask it without maiming us?"

"Apparently not." Bowser shrugged. "I just wanna know one thing! Whenever we fix that Stairway to Stardom thing you keep going on about—"

He paused.

And Geno waited, only a few awkward seconds before it became clear enough that that blankly blinking prompt was meant for him. "Huh...?"

"Aren't you gonna correct me and go That's Star Road like you always do?"

"I hadn't planned on it," he replied. And he really hadn't planned on it; in truth, he gave up on trying to correct everyone's constant misnomering long ago. The endeavor started to feel both pedantic and pointless, and frankly he couldn't tell which one was more grating. "Why, do you want me to say it?"

"Ghrk—! Of course I want you to say it! How the hell else am I supposed to know you're payin' attention?"

"...that's Star Road, Bowser."

"Yeah! That's more like it." He nodded, eminently satisfied. "Now. If we collect all the pieces and actually fix the Star Rail thing, that'll definitely get rid of that overgrown Ginsu knife squatting in my castle, right? Like automatically, right?"

Geno tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Mm. Now that's going to be hard to say."

"What do you mean by that...?" asked Mallow.

"I mean it's going to be impossible. Impossible to say."

Bowser growled, a promise of a threat. "Don't care much for that word, Timbertoes. Especially when it involves my castle..."

"Sorry Bowser, but I just don't know," said Geno. "So far, my experience in your world has led me to conclude that only two things are an absolute guarantee: Death, and a Toad-Mart in every village. And given the number of Dry Bones I've seen lurching around the place, I'm not so sure about the former."

Mallow resumed gawking at the castle across the chasm; crumbly as it was, the sword itself had a rather mean look about it. The hilt glared back at them hatefully, daring them to approach. The blade looked new, sharp enough to effortlessly split infinitives.

"You think we're gonna have to fight that thing, then...?" he wondered meekly.

"Well. The kid did say Death is one of this world's absolute guarantees," spat Bowser.

With these hopeful words left hanging in the air with the smoke and cinders, Mario jumped up and down a few more times, his arm raised high.

[daemonoferror]

Asgard's Bard- Chapter 3

TW Phobia of birds, swears, Heimdall not being in a heimdall x reader fic.

Summary: Odin got you a gift, how nice of him! Also PROBABLY musical historical inaccuracies? Sheet music definitely is wrong. But I tried my best. My defense is if it's wrong, the dwarves or Aesir probably invented it early, okay?

--------

You're grateful when sunlight floods your room and signifies the start of a new day. At best you got in a nap, but you aren't tired. You feel energized, and the sun rising finally means it's a reasonable time to get out of your room.

Before leaving you made sure to grab the talharpa and its bow off the wall. It's not as familiar to you as the lyre, but it's close enough. You're just excited to play something at the pub, a personal mission in mind to breathe life into the space often occupied by the dead warriors.

You step out of your room and to the hall. You set the instrument on the table, and get a plate of food. It occurs to you that you could eat at the pub, but perhaps it's better to delay your arrival, as to not be cooped up in a tavern all day long. You sit down with a large plate of food, and an herbal drink with it. It looks and smells delicious. You only get a few bites in before a booming voice behind you makes you jump, almost choking on your food.

"Bard." Thor says. You start coughing, sending little shocks of pain through your back. You had almost forgotten that pain, your soft bed doing wonders for it while you laid awake, antsy.

"Thor!" You exclaim through your final coughs, taking a drink to help. "You startled me. How may I help you?" You clear your throat.

He stares you down, and you cannot see a single thought behind those sad eyes. "The All-Father is waiting for you outside." He says after a moment.

"This early? What for?" Thor shrugs, but for a split second there's a smile on his lips that he has to force back. He clearly knows something, but you'll let it slide. "Well, can I finish my breakfast first?" You ask, it'd be so sad to throw away a perfect meal.

Thor seems to think for a minute. A long minute, long enough to make you wonder if he's telepathically communicating with the All-Father for an answer. "Yes." He says at last, and he sounds confident in the answer. So much so he sits down next to you, making you smile as you take another bite and thank him for his patience. "What's that?" He asks, pointing at the talharpa.

"It's an intrustment, pretty similar to a lyre or harp, just with a bow string." You explain in between bites of food.

He chuckles, "I had thought your instrument came with a weapon." He says, pointing at the bow for it.

It makes you snort, "Ha! Yeah, you might get one good wack in, but it couldn't hold an arrow if that's where your mind goes."

"Good to know." He jokes, though he seems to seriously take note of the information.

"I was going to play it at the tavern today." You mention in between bites, "I guess that'll have to wait a while now." You mumble.

"I'll bring it with me. Was heading there anyways." Thor offers immediately. He reaches out for the instrument, and picks it up with more care than you'd expect- like he'd break it if he wasn't extremely gentle.

Figuring you'd be tired or busy with whatever the All-Father needed you for, you protest "Sure, but the All-Father's-" Thor interrupts you.

"It won't take you all day." Thor dismisses with a shrug, "probably." He tacks on. He's smiling again, and something tells you he's not great at keeping secrets. Part of his no thinking policy, perhaps. At least it reassures you whatever the All-Father wants isn't dangerous, or grueling. It's exciting, and encourages you to eat faster.

You shrug, and agree to let Thor take the instrument with him. "Alright. Thank you, Thor." He only grunts in response. You try to chat a little longer as you finish your meal, but the conversation dies fast. Thor doesn't seem to like speaking more than he has to, and clearly nothing else you have to say is interesting enough to him. Still, he must appreciate your company because he stays by your side until you finish eating.

The empty dishes clatter a bit as you stack them together and pick them up, sliding out of your seat to properly put them away. "I'm gonna head out." Thor tells you as you clean up, standing up with the talharpa in hand. He didn't wait for you to say goodbye before he started to leave, and soon after you'd follow after him out of the great hall.

All-Father is waiting right outside for you. He smiles when you step out, and extends his arms to you. "Ah! There you are!"

"Apologies for being late-" you start, you had no right to keep a god- much less the All-Father- waiting.

"No, no, don't worry about it. You're here now, that's the important part. C'mere, there's somethin' important I need your help with." Odin beckons you to follow him, but you're weary. A few feet away is a swirling circle of black feathers, just like the one Odin had stepped into yesterday, and been swarmed by ravens before disappearing. It was deeply unsettling to you. You knew of tales of Odin using the birds to travel, but it seems quite impractical and truthfully horrifying in person. Imagining a raven full of hatred flying straight at you made you grimace, and had you frozen in place. Odin recognizes the fear in your expression, walks beside you, and pats your shoulder, "I know, it's scary the first few times. But they're harmless. They can't move you anywhere if you don't allow 'em to, and it's so fast you don't even notice you left the ground. It'll be fine!" He reassures you, and gives you a gentle shove to make you stumble a couple feet. It's exactly what you needed to remind yourself you can walk, taking a few small steps towards the circle.

You do your damnedest to steel your nerves. You have to trust the All-Father, and you don't want to waste his time. So with a deep breath and one big step, you enter the circle.

"Ha! There you go!" Odin laughs, standing beside you as you squeeze your eyes tight. The flapping of wings and occasionally squawk makes you flinch. Hundreds of birds circling you almost like prey- it feels nightmarish. For a split second the ground is gone from under you, and your heart drops to your stomach. You nearly collapsed on the ground when it's over. You try to catch your breath, not quite sure where it went in the first place, a hand over your pounding heart.

Odin chuckles, "See? Not that bad." But his expression falls, seeing how shaken up you are, "Eh, well, you'll get used to it." He dismisses. Yeah, you'll get used to it, you repeat to yourself. It was only for a second, you're okay. Once your breathing evens and the ground beneath you feels stable under you, the realization you're in a new place sinks in, and you look up.

It's the middle of a city. There's a large statue next to you of Odin- at least the depiction of him you knew before meeting him. The town seems to be built around the lush greenery of the realm, the beauty of which could make you jealous compared to Midgard. It's extremely humid, almost unbearably so. The most stunning part though is the architecture. Small circular houses and buildings built into the landscape. Everything looks expertly crafted, with ornate details.

"Welcome to Svartalfheim." Odin says, and the name instantly clicks with you. The home realm of the dwarves. The craftsmanship makes sense, then. "Follow me." Odin commands, and you do as told, tripping over your feet a bit, excited to see more of the land's beauty. "So," All-Father begins as you walk. Out of nowhere one of his terrible ravens swoops out of the sky, straight towards you. Terrified, you duck, but the bird lands perfectly on Odin's shoulder. "Muninn found this last night." You straighten your posture to look at what All-Father was holding. A torn piece of paper. "I'm assume it's yours?"

The poem. Shit. Throwing it to the ground probably wasn't the best idea. Should've burned it instead. "Oh, yes. I'm sorry, let me just-" you go to take the page from him. He obviously tries to hold it away from you, but he's slow. It's enough to make you pause and give up, though, to ensure you don't seem rude.

"Eh, don't worry about it. Just know for future reference, Asgard had very strict rules against littering." He chuckles, "I take it your first time meeting Heimdall wasn't all you imagined?"

"Not- quite." You say begrudgingly, reminding yourself you're speaking to his father, the All-Father, who might not appreciate someone speaking negatively of his son.

"Yeah, he can be an asshole." Odin laughs, and his blunt reply makes you laugh too. "What'd he do now? Insult you? Yell at you? Accuse you of treachery?"

"Sort of all of it." You admit. The two of you walk across a bridge, which Odin stops in the middle of and turns to you.

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me. You'll have to excuse Heimdall. He takes his job very seriously and- and, well, I think he worries." Odin shrugs with a heavy sigh. He nods to himself, satisfied with his answer, and continues walking.

"Worried? He knocked me to the ground instead of just asking me to step away from the lift. I'm sure he was so worried." You grumble to yourself sarcastically. You could almost feel the sharp pain in your stomach where the hilt of the sword hit you.

"Yes!" Odin answers despite you clearly not trying to speak to him. You worry you've struck a nerve, he seems passionate while he explains, "He's especially particular about no one going up on that wall. Thor went up there when he was drunk once, right? Dumb bastard lost his balance and fell off." You gasp! You had no idea! You'd never heard a story about it before either. All-Father just shrugs, "He had mjölnir, he was fine! But Heimdall hasn't liked anyone else on the wall since." His expression softens, he seems to realize he told a secret not meant to be shared and quickly tacks on, "ah, I probably shouldn't have mentioned it- it's a sore topic to both of em. You won't say anything, will ya?" He chuckles, a little embarrassed. He's like any other parent realizing they telling an embarrassing story about their kids.

"Of course not." You promise with a big smile. You could write a song about the great fall the God of Thunder took off the wall, and the horrified look the Watcher of the Aesir wore as he witnessed it. Except that seems like an excellent way to make an enemy of two gods, and would not bode well for you.

"Good. We're almost there, it's this building right up ahead." All-Father directs the both of you back on track. You can hear muffled music from inside. It's not a tune you recognize, in fact it sounds unfinished, by the sudden pauses after a note that didn't quite fit in, followed by the same melody with a new note. Still, the parts you could hear were beautiful, and the chance to meet a fellow bard was one you always met with excitement.

--

The building you enter is a forge. The heat inside doesn't offer relief from the humidity outside. In the corner of the room, the one furthest from the furnaces and other equipment, was a dwarf, sitting on the floor with an instrument in his lap. "Ah, All-Father. We were starting to wonder when you would arrive." He says curtly, without looking up or breaking from playing.

"All-Father!" Another dwarf drops what she's working on with a surprise gasp, turning to the both of you.

"Yeah yeah, it's me." Odin addresses the startled blacksmith. "Is it ready yet?" He asks impatiently.

"Yeah, of course! I put it away so it wouldn't get dirty. I'll go get it." She doesn't wait for a response before shuffling off to a connecting room. Odin seems annoyed by this, crossing his arms and tapping his foot as he waits.

In the meantime you walk over and address the guy playing music, "That song is beautiful."

His eyes dart up to look at you, seemingly accessing if you could be mocking him. "Thank you." He says, with a little semblance of a proud smile. "It's still a work in progress, something is off, just can't place what."

"Maybe you could try-" All-Father interrupts you, just now noticing you two talking.

"Ah, yes" He introduces you to the man and then tries to do the reverse, "and this is, uh, uh-" he snaps his fingers, as if trying to remember as best he can the man's name.

It goes on for an embarrassing long time until the man gives in, "Raeb." He answers for the All-Father.

"Raeb, Raeb, of course. He's a... uh. I don't know? A musician of some sort?" All-Father states with a shrug. He's clearly disinterested, but perhaps feels it important to talk, even if he has nothing to say.

"Sure." Raeb doesn't agree or disagree, but is clearly irritated. There's obvious tension between the dwarves and Odin. Neither of them seems to like the other, or even want to tolerate the other's presence. But the All-Father has been nothing but kind to you, even without being an Aesir. So the hate doesn't make much sense to you. "And you are the new 'bard of Asgard'? I am riddled with envy." He says dryly, words saturated with sarcasm. The smile on his face tells you he's joking, but the remark makes Odin scoff.

"You do not have to converse with him. It's probably best to ignore him." He advises you. Raeb takes this as his que to turn his attention back to his music.

You frown and tell him, "it's always nice to meet a fellow bard, though."

"Likewise." Is his short response, not looking back at you, indicating the interaction was over. At the same time, the other dwarf re-enters.

"People gotta stop moving my things." She mumbles under her breath. "Sorry bout that! Here it is." She beams.

She holds out a lyre, like the one you had at home, but so much grander. It's made of a red wood, with the sides plated in gold. It's covered in engravings, and you can tell it took a lot of effort and care to create. It's a beautiful instrument, and with a nod of approval, the woman walks past Odin to hand it over to you. You think this must be what had Thor so happy, the surprise All-Father had planned, but you didn't assume anything until it was in your hands. You treat it as if it's made of glass and easy to break, beford slowly looking to Odin with a speechless grin.

"Well? Play it. Make sure it's in tune and such." He encourages you, and very carefully you strum the lyre. It plays perfectly, and the strings glow a soft gold after they've been plucked.

"What-" you mutter in shock, turning the lyre back to you to watch the glow settle, the strings returning to their natural color.

Raeb speaks up at your wanderment, "I prefer mechanical elements to mine, but magic works just the same. Sort of." He mutters the last part with a shrug.

"Raeb was a big help. Don't let him fool you, he was so excited someone wanted a musical instrument. He had so much fun designing it." The lady, who apparently will stay unnamed, tells you.

"Well, it was all my idea. Unless you hate it. If you hate it, then... er, I don't know why we came here, why're we here?" All-Father looks around the room as if he's just an old man with a failing memory. When he's done with the bit, he laughs, "You don't hate it though, do you?"

"No, I love it, it's gorgeous! Thank you!" You beam brightly, holding the lyre close to your chest.

"Glad to hear it. In that case, we shouldn't linger. I have another matter I need to discuss with you." Odin kind of abruptly turns to the door, starting to leave without another word.

"Oh. Yeah, well- good day to the both of you!" You tell the dwarves as you leave so you can keep up with All-Father. Raeb waves to you in reply. A little ways away from the store, another circle of ravens are forming, and you feel your stomach twist. "What is it you want to discuss?"

"Well, it'll be easier to explain back at my study. There's a piece of music I want to give you. It's special, though, I found it while exploring the realms." His explanation stopped short as he stepped into the circle. He looks at you and frowns at your apparent uncertainty. "You ready?"

You take a deep breath and nod. You take a big step into the circle and stand beside him. As you close your eyes tight and hold your breath, Odin grips your shoulder. The birds flock around you, and it's still just as terrifying as before, but this time your brain knows enough to block it out, like a performance you were nervous about. The hand on your shoulder reassured you, to. When your feet didn't touch the floor, you figured it had to be already because Odin didn't budge in the slightest.

When it was over, All-Father patted your shoulder before stepping away. You breathe out and open your eyes. You're in Odin's study, and he's already scouring through each shelf and drawer for the piece of music.

"So, you've noticed all the snow in midgard, right?" Odin mentions as he searches.

"It's fimbulwinter, isn't it? You inquire. It had been here for over a year, with non-stop snow, but some people were still insistent that there was no way fimbulwinter had started.

"Yes, unfortunately." Odin sighs. He grabs a book and flips through it, stopping on a certain page and tearing it out. "But, I have a hunch that this can stop it." He grins and holds the paper up. "The title roughly reads 'rebirth of spring'. I found it originally carved in stone in Alfheim, and wrote it down in hopes one day I would find someone talented enough to play it."

"And I'm that someone?" You try to feign confidence and not laugh picturing yourself as some hero.

"Exactly. Now take this," he pushes the paper into your hand. "And I want you to take the next few days to learn it. Can you do that?" You look at the sheet music, it seems simple enough.

"Yes. A few days is all I need." You assure him with a nod, and he chuckles. In a few days you might regret promising that much, though.

"Good, that's what I want to hear! Go on, I've got some work to catch up on- and hey! Now so do you!" He laughs, shooing you away as he returns to his desk. As you leave he calls out to you, "Oh! And you are becoming a wonderful addition to Asgard!"

The affirmation makes your smile so big it hurts your face. You're not just a midgardian getting in the way, you're a useful member of Asgard! It feels amazing, and powerful. You walk proudly back to your room.

You sit down at your desk, lyre in hand and sheet music in front of you. With your new found confidence, you pick the first measure of notes. You think you do it correctly, but the notes sour when you play, instead of glowing gold, the strings glow a blood red. Your eyebrows furrow, and you try again, slower to ensure it's right. Once again the chords sour. Not only do the strings glow red, but an unnaturally quick annoyance falls over you. You grit your teeth and fix your posture. You huff, "okay. It's just dissonance. It's supposed to sound bad, songs do it to create interest. Just. Keep. Going."

You play the next measure, and it sounds worse than the first. "Shit." You cursed under your breath, "am I playing in the wrong scale or something?" You check, but there's nothing written to indicate one way or another. You still try adjusting the notes and replay the song. It's an improvement, but there's still some bad notes that irk you. You try to push through them and continue the song with hope it'll improve.

You play for hours, you start to lose track of time. Adjusting the notes only does so much to fix the music, and no matter how much you try to push past it, the awful sound grinds on you, makes you impatient and angry. Your teeth could just shatter from how tightly your jaw is clenched. The sound is terrible and hurts your ears. The strings do more than glow, they start to burn with every bad note you play. You don't even notice the cracks forming in the ground beneath your feet.

Something snaps within you after playing a particularly awful measure. You shoot up from the chair- knocking it over in the process- and throw the lyre down. "Shit! Fuck, fuck! Fuck this!" You scream, clasping your hands over your ears and crouch down. You can't recall ever being this angry over something so simple. Music takes patience, you know that. You shouldn't be mad, you just are.

"What are you throwing a tantrum about?" Sif's annoyed voice in your doorway catches you off guard.

"It's not me! It's this fucking lyre!" You yell. You stand up, stomp, and point at the offending instrument.

"You need to calm down." Sif orders, "I will not stand for this tone of yours." Her voice is fierce and not to be trifled with.

You scoff, but she stays and watches you pace around your room for as long as it takes you to calm down. "Why're you here?" You ask, wishing she wasn't as the anger tugged at you.

"Thor asked me to drop this off for him." She raises up the talharpa for you to see, before setting it in its place on the wall. "He was disappointed you didn't show up today."

The rage quickly switched to guilt. You promised Thor to play at the pub, but you had forgotten all about it by now! "Oh no! I didn't mean to, I didn't realize it's gotten so late!" You whine, putting your head in your hands.

"My husband does not need more reasons to drink. He needs to be a father to his daughter. It's probably for the better you didn't go." Sif assures you. She enters your room, picking the chair and lyre off the ground. "It seems you've been busy anyways. What are you working on?" She asks, tilting her head as she notices the music sheet on the desk.

"All-Father wants me to learn this in the next few days." You flop down on the bed as you explain. "But it sounds terrible."

"Hm. Did All-Father write this?" She wonders allowed as she reads over it.

"He copied it from a stone carving." You explain with a sigh, an ache in your back as you try to relax into the mattress.

"So maybe he just wrote it down wrong. Suppose we change the notes so they fit basic music theory?" She suggests and looks over at you.

"What? No! This is important, I need to play it just as it's written. There's no way the All-Father would mess this up." You protest and shoot up in bed.

"Sometimes it's necessary to break the rules." Sif states with an almost mischievous grin.

"Not when it's from the All-Father! I'm sure he'd know-" Sif cuts you off.

"The All-Father is an," she scoffs, "intelligent man. But he's called All-knowing because he wants to know everything. Not because he does know everything. If he did, he could play this piece without your help." She hands you the lyre back, and sits down in the chair across from you. "You need to be more confident in your own abilities. Forget this song for a minute." She slides it further down the desk, out of your sight. "Why don't you play a song you're familiar with?"

You don't know if you feel like playing after earlier, but you still ask, "like what?" To humor her.

"I don't know. What's the first song you learned?" A lullaby. You hadn't played it in years, but without much thought your fingers pluck the right strings. It's simple and sweet, but you get lost in playing it. The strings are a soft glowing warmth under your fingertips, no longer violent and burning like earlier. You start to feel tired as the song ends, and even Sif yawns. "That was lovely. Do more of that." She compliments as she rises for the chair.

"Thank you." You speak quietly and rub your tired eyes. You might actually be able to sleep tonight, you think.

"It's late. Get some sleep, worry about fixing All-Father's mess in the morning." Sif wishes you a goodnight before leaving your room, closing the door behind her.

Before you go to bed you play the lullaby one more time. You fall asleep only halfway through it.

[uncl3badtouch]

I read The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager, and I'm gonna tell you why you need to read it too

I finished this book about a day ago, and I am still reeling from it! I love that it sits with me. It's such a twisty adventure that has inspired a little bit of fear in me that I'll probably think about every time I swim.

Now, normally when I'm diving into a book that says things like "a terrifying read" or " an insane ride that'll keep you white knuckled the whole time" on the back with all those reviews from people I've never met or really paid attention to, if I'm being honest, I just kind of take it with a grain of salt. I like to go into things without anyone else's ideas in my head. But if I had paid more attention and had and looked at the back, I would probably agree with whatever was written.

It started kind of in the middle of a scene, a pretty intense one too, and it really drew me in. The chapters are divided up between Now and Before, with each part twisting in with the other, oftentimes making my jaw clench and unclench trying to figure out how the story is going to end.

We start with Casey, a recent widow whose fame didn't mix with the depression and alcoholism and was forced by her mother to stay at the summer home in Vermont she grew up in until she isn't always drunk. We meet sweet older Eli, the retiree who moved there full time after his wife had passes, and is kind of like the wise older uncle to Casey. There's and empty house occupied by Boone, a widower cop the same age as Casey, who was no longer a part of the police and does odd jobs around the area. Finally we meet Tom and Kathrine Royce. Tom being an app creator (and jerk) and Katherine is a supermodel who is taking a break from the game.

Casey wakes from a drunken stupor one morning and notices something strange in the lake. From there, she and Katherine make nice and a friendship starts to blossom. Casey has made a habit of spying on her neighbors though, and when it's discovered it kind of gets her into a bit of trouble, of course. After another night of drinking until she can't feel, Casey is woken at the crack of dawn by a sound she's not even sure she heard.

Casey soon finds herself in a life and death battle between her past and a new friend's future, that was an intense ride with an ending I didn't see coming. It really made me think about the truth behind myths and legends we hear about places, and how a kind act can change lives.

I cannot think of a single time that my mind had wondered from the story (sometimes I have to re-read because my mind wanders and I get distracted. Not always because of the story, and it's more of a me problem)

It had inspired a few spooky thoughts in my mind that I would love to write out one of these days. I really admire how the twists and turns fell perfectly into place and the timing of it all was perfect.

So, I would give it 9/10 stars. It was more thriller than horror, although some parts are classically scary, it wasn't something that gave me nightmares, and when I read horror, I want that. Not thrill.

I urge everyone to read it, there's a reason there's a lot of buzz going on about it. I hope that more media comes of it. I couldn't quite tell about a new movie being made about it, but I would definitely will watch it. It wasn't a long book, and it was really easy to get through. I read in chunks at a time, unless I'm so close to finishing and I just can't put it down, that happens sometimes. Do yourself a favor and just pick up a copy, or listen to the audio book. You won't regret it!

[sweettodo]

a simple competition.

�� Hisoka Morow x freader x Chrollo Lucilfer

Includes : threesome, toys, smut, not even a good plot but yk, consumption of alcohol

word count : 2,7k.

my last little surprise for you guys, some more threesum action .... here you go puppies. THX FOR 300 [ almost 400 rn :) ] <3 !!! your favorite men at your disposal... [y/n is aged].

fun fact, I'm eating takis rn, are these spicier than usual or am I imagining things ? i’m also watching ‘malcolm and marie’ AMAZING movie, i highly suggest it, the dynamic of the two is so detailed, such a good movie.

••

Maybe it wasn't a clever idea to drink, but once you attained that nice and warm sensation in your gut, there was certainly nothing stopping you from finishing the already half-empty bottle of pink whitney.

Laying sprawled out on the couch, staring at the ceiling as the room slowly spins around you. Content and relaxed with your position.

It wasn't your fault, Pakudona reassuring you that it wouldn't hurt to have a little fun tonight, that Chrollo wouldn't heed if you crashed here for the night, he was tipsy, manspreading on the other end of the couch, eyes puffy and glossed over, enjoying the quiet.

Music was playing thirty minutes previously, but as the night went on, one by one, the others hit the road to sleep off their intoxication, it was already past midnight.

One person had yet to leave, that was Hisoka... of course.

He wandered back into the living room, plopping down next to you and your friend on the couch, "leaving anytime soon? Y/n?"

You shook your head, "staying the night." Hisoka's arched eyebrows rise, a little smile tugging at the niche of his mouth.

"Is that so?" Chrollo sits up, staring at the kaleidoscopic man, a sarcastic undergone on his tongue.

"That's what happens when you drive here, and drink" You nod, "although I didn't quite intend on you staying the night, Morow." He hums, Hisoka pinches the corner of the thin card, waving it back and forth teasingly.

"I can't let you have our playmate all to yourself," you roll your eyes.

"It's not like that," you mutter, staring the magician in the eyes, "I couldn't leave if I wanted to."

"That is true," Chrollo interjects, "that doesn't mean you want to leave though, is it?" you shrug.

"No, I wanna stay, got an issue with that?" you ask, he shakes his head.

"Of course not- although, I suppose Hisoka would be better off on his way."

You estimated things would only get progressively worse from here, the moment Hisoka's bloodlust began to fill the air, you felt this was your cue; before you're able to leave the room, Hisoka's hand is fastened around your wrist, sitting you back down.

"Oh, you can't flee now," dread fills your face, "come on, we might as well finish the conversation."

You and Chrollo both knew what he was talking about. No matter how petty or pathetic, it appears to be that the rivalry between the two never seemed to subside, even drunk.

"Go on, since you have so much to say."

"Am I wrong for thinking my friend is a pretty girl? I seem to remind her more than you do."

"You seem to think you own her, it's pitiful honestly, " Blushing, you look down at your thighs, "do you think she's pretty, Chrollo?"

"I do. I think she knows that right?" you peek up at him, he gleams and tilts his head.

"Look at her, my, you must like us flattering you." You shake your head.

"That's because you neglect to tell her more often, does Chrollo ever call you pretty?" with Hisoka pushing Chrollo's every button, tensions were surging, both men now at the edge of their seats- literally.

"No, he doesn't," you speak, the magician letting out a deep chuckle, you felt like you were being scrutinized, the eyes burning into you felt poisonous and dour, you felt minuscule compared to them.

"I could do so much better than call you pretty, right kitten?" your heart sinks to your stomach, gulping hard. It was too hard to look at them in the eyes as you sunk further into the couch.

"Are we making you nervous?"

The inquiry continues.

"Yeah- you are." You retort, "you guys are talking about me like I'm not here."

"Then let's ask the lady herself, y/n." Looking up to meet Hisoka's gaze, "who do you think could take better care of you?"

Heart pounding out of your chest, your stomach filled with butterflies, "I- I don't know, I've never thought about it." Laughing, you look to see Chrollo, who's standing to his feet.

"I think I know a way to help you decide," smug smile peeking from his face, "unless you don't want to?"

A single nod is all they needed to know, Hisoka standing to his feet, seeing how you sat on the couch as still as a statue, "please don't be so tense, you know how good we are to you." Hisoka slowly picks up your hand.

He's steering you to your feet, "what do you have in mind, Chrollo?" the man leading you two upstairs.

"I think I have something that'll work out for all of us."

The dress you wore to this get-together now seemed like you were exposed, bare, and vulnerable, you knew what their agenda was, you didn't fancy the idea of being the center of attention.

Chrollo slowly clicking open his door, walking in, and promptly turning on the light, you're led to the side of his king-sized bed, his room was both contemporary and warm, comforting feeling; the walls a deep vermilion, the sheets plush, soft and black tones.

"We should leave it up to our little kitten to decide," the buttons on his shirt slowly coming undone, stopping at his sternum.

"What do you think, Morow?" Hisoka looks at you with low eyes.

"I'll go first."

Chrollo stalks towards you, sitting there falling apart at the seams, Chrollo's large and reaching behind your ear, thumb gently caressing your jawline, side to side, "you okay with this? Sweetheart?" you nod, the name sending jolts between your thighs.

Hisoka's rubbing your bare leg, sitting next to you on the mattress as his fingertips trail up and down, his hand stopping inside your thigh and pressing a leg open, Chrollo clasping your other knee and you lay on your back

"I'll get some time to please you, Hisoka gets the same when I'm done, yes?"

You're breathless, Hisoka grabbing you and pressing your back against him, his hands pinching the seams of your dress, "cute little dress- you should wear it more often for me." He hums, rolling it up, your thighs buckled together while lifting your back off the mattress, the dress sitting bunched up at your hips, the panties you wore sitting on your hips.

"My, who knew she would wear something so- revealing." Arms linking around your own, Hisoka keeps you completely locked in place.

"Did you wear these for me? Kitten?" Chrollo asks, shaking your head no.

Tugging at the little strong which hardly kept you covered, “I'll keep these, yeah?” you nod, the pants of Chrollo’s fingers barely ticking you, brushing against your already anxious body.

"Stay still for me, okay?"

"Okay." You breathe.

Hand leaning over past Hisoka, he's opening up the drawer beside his bed.

Your eyes widen at the sight of the little pink toy, compact in nothing bugger than four inches long, he sits on the bed in front of you, bringing the little object to your core.

He switches it on the lowest setting, the only noise in the room was the quiet buzzing of the vibrator as he barely touches your clit, the tiniest contact with the toy having your chest rise and fall, "keep these open for me, okay princess?" his fingers hook below your panties, pulling them down and placing them beside him.

"Such a pretty pussy, don't you think, Hisoka?" You're gnawing on your bottom lip from the teasing little touches with the toy, he was doing this on purpose; your legs laid open, the other man holding your arms to where you couldn't do anything if you wanted to.

"It is, I'm sure it's even prettier when it's cumming,"

Chrollo finally presses the vibrator onto your clit, he leans over your cunt, spitting, your mouth opens, the saliva hardly cooling your excited cunt.

He uses his free hand to finish unbuttoning his shirt, dropping it on the floor, he leans down leveled to your cunt, holding your leg over his broad and muscular shoulder, his tongue licking a stripe towards your occupied clit. Your body shakes, digging further into Hisoka's chest, he holds you tighter.

"Fuck, p-please!" you gasp, wanting to dig your hands into his hair, thrashing against Hisoka's arms, "let me touch-" your pleads fall on deaf ears, Chrollo’s tongue swirling into you in sinful ways, your legs twitching, the toy too much to handle.

The euphoric feeling of the overstimulation sending a pool of cream right onto Chrollo's tongue, lapping up every drop of you.

You were dizzy, Chrollo drinking up all of your essences, his hand pressed into your thigh to keep you from buckling onto him, your back grinding against the pressure of Hisoka's growing erection, his hands had grabbed the straps of your dress, one by one pulling them down and releasing your tits from the braless dress.

It's almost too good to be true- the man spending a dangerous amount of time eating your pussy like it was his very last meal, tasting everything he possibly could, the vibrator maintaining its spot in little circles around your swollen and screaming clit.

Ripping orgasm after orgasm out of your body, you're dripping sweat, he pulls off of you, your cum covering his reddish swollen lips, chin soaked. You looked a wreck, makeup streaming down your face, legs numb, his head coming to yours, he kisses your panting lips, releasing you from Hisoka.

The taste of your cum filling your mouth, his tongue licking past your bottom lip and into your mouth.

"Take this off." tearing at your dress, peeling it over your head, unzipping his pants, "you're gonna straddle me and stay still, is that okay with you, kitty?"

"O-okay, what about Hisoka?" Grabbing your hips, you straddle him. He raises you a little.

"He's gonna watch me make you cum a few more times-" hissing in the air as he assists you to slide down onto his cock, the stretch was unbearable, but you push through, trying not to slouch over in pain.

"-hurts, bad!" You sob.

"You take me so well, it'll only hurt for a second, promise."

His hand's move, one to your waist and one loosely around your throat as he holds you up to get a better grip on your already weakened body.

Keeping eye contact with Hisoka as your body is demolished by the man beneath you, eyes boring into you seductively, captivated by your mess of a face.

You felt as if you were being torn in half, crying out his name as he knew just how to fuck you; fucking your pussy just right.

Fucking you so hard you were going numb.

"Gonna cum! Gonna cum again!" you screamed, head falling back as you searched desperately for air, Chrollo rolling his hips into you as he released you, slumping to his chest, his chest stick from sweat.

"You wanna be filled with my seed, kitty?" Nodding in his shoulder.

"Please fill me- I want your cum,"

The feeling of his cum seeping down his cock and deep into your beaten-up cunt, his breath heavy against your ear.

You sit up, large arms wrapping from behind you and pulling you off of your straddle, Chrollo getting off the bed to clean himself off as Hisoka sits you on the bed, tucking your hair behind your ear gently, smiling as you look up at him, blurred eyes.

"My my, I don't think she can handle it, or can you?"

"I-I can, trust me." He smiles, pleased with your answer, his soft hands taking up your arm before leaning you back, onto your back, he was sweaty, so his shirt was clinging to his body, his hair was messily draped over his shoulders, pulling his tie loose while standing between your open legs, "let me see your wrists, princess."

He's leading you against the bed frame, linking your hands together and finishing off the knot around the post of the frame, the man getting on his knees between your legs, letting his shirt hand open as his hands work at his slacks, unbuckling the leather belt and tossing it to the side, "you look so innocent, tied up and quiet as a mouse, even after you just got fucked out," he pushes down his pants, erection throbbing from underneath his underwear.

The area between your legs throb, he was beyond ready to feel your walls tighten around him, he was ready to hear you begging for more.

He needed to one-up Chrollo.

He lifts your hips, your legs propped against his thighs while remaining restrained, his tip aiming into you accordingly before pushing into your beaten cunt.

His arm propped, flexing as he grips the headboard, drilling into your cunt with no tenderness, he spares you no pain as he ruts into you, ready to split you in half the instant he saw you spilling cum at the hands of his rival.

The size of him left you perplexed, the way he was splitting you open while bringing you to an indescribable state of heaven had you a sloppy mess, the thick cock he had with his veins filling in the little nerves you had yet to feel seconds earlier. He filled you, and he filled you well.

Hisoka fucks you until your head is blank, eyes seeing white, one of his hands gripping your hip, keeping you from laying fully on your back.

You try to cry put to him, and he notices.

He slows only slightly, rolling his hips back and forth into you so you can speak, "s-so good, it feels so good!"

Each rut of his hips sends you into oblivion, the way his hips bumped and clashed against your body left you spitting out a mantra of his name, Chrollo inches away from you, rolling your perked nipple in between his fingers, sending chills up your body.

Hisoka brings his eyes to you, "joining in, my friend?" Chrollo pulls his hand back, you almost find yourself whining.

“Did I fuck you better, y/n?” Chrollo taunts, his lips barely pressing against the life of your ear, “is Hisoka making you feel good?” Hisoka's beautiful golden eyes stalk you, waiting for your answer; stabbing right into your soul.

“Answer him, go on, kitten; did he fill you as good as I am?”

The questions were throwing you in for a loop, your stomach twisted, digging your head back deeper into the pillow of Chrollo’s bed.

“Fill me, please- daddy.” You cry, you longed to touch him, to feel his soft hair as he pummeled into you; you tugged on your wrists softly, already weak, the tied limbs going numb and tingling.

Before you know it, another orgasm is torn out of you; groaning out as you tightened and clenching around him, body once again convulsing, legs tightening around Hisoka’s waist. Each time they made you cum, the more came spilling from your cunt, it was almost unreal how much the bed was soaked, how soaked your thighs were, Hisoka’s pants being stained in the process.

This pretty little soaked pussy, sucking me in so good.” Panting, his head falls back, his dick quaver’s while his thrusts become more staggered, hand gripping tighter around your already sore hip.

His seed bathes both you and his cock, hips sputtering as he slowly slips out of your abused cunt. your head spinning, a panting mess at you blink and stare at the ceiling.

You could barely move, the men in the room throwing on clothes, hearing zippers, you lift your head.

Chrollo hands you a blanket, draping it over your body.

Sitting up, the blanket around you, you look at the two men who were fiddling around doing nothing but looming around the room.

While Hisoka buttons up his shirt, he tilts his head towards you, “tired, princess?” you nod.

A devious smirk dances on your lips, they look at you confused, “perhaps though, I might need another round, you know- to decide who was better.”

[atomic-thomas]

(Fake ASMR Script) Urban Giantess [Part 2]

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

*city & traffic noises*

"Hm? Oh hey. It's you. I was wondering when we'd meet again. Didn't think you'd make me wait so long."

"..."

"Ah right. It's probably uncomfortable for you to tilt your head so far back just to talk to me. Here, hop aboard the hand elevator. I'm sure you'll find it comfy."

"..."

"There we go. Last time we met, I put you on the roof of a building, but now I just want to keep holding you."

"..."

"Yeah, about that. I've been getting over my fear of holding people. I got myself worked up for no reason. It's not even like it's all that scary. What's the worst that'll happen? It's not like I'm gripping them or anything. And I'm certainly not so careless as to drop them by accident."

"..."

"Oh yeah. Speaking of... The law enforcement around here have recently started telling people 'Don't Harass The Giantess'. I guess they realized that I was getting too much unwanted attention. They've also established a no-fly zone around me. So hopefully no more helicopters will get caught in my hair. Those things are a pain to dig out.

"..."

"You have something to ask me. Well, don't be shy. What is it?"

"..."

"Wha-...! A date? Really? Wow, uh... Jeez, so sudden. I wasn't expecting that."

"..."

"Oh no. Don't worry one bit. That's really sweet. I'll totally go on a date with you. But... There's just one problem. I'm a behemoth. I don't know where we could go or how this'll work."

"..."

"You know a rooftop restaurant. Well, that's convenient. I assume that it must be open to the sky, right?"

"..."

"Really... Well then. Show me the way. The night is young. Let's make the most of it."

..........

*casual restaurant music playing quietly in the background*

"Wow, you weren't kidding. This place is perfect for someone like me. The roof is at level with my face. You chose the best spot for our date."

"Aaaaand everyone is staring at me. Suppose I can't blame them. I'd probably do the same."

"..."

"Just act natural. Alright, I'll try my best."

"Ooh, hey. A waiter is already here."

"Oh My God, the look on their face is priceless. I think I'm starting to enjoy watching people's reactions to seeing to me. It's humorous."

"..."

"Hello. Uh, yes. I'm ready to order. Um... I hope it's not too much to ask, but... Can I just get one of everything on the menu? I have the money for it."

"..."

"It'll take some time. That's okay. I'll be patient. Thanks."

"..."

"This is gonna be long night. I can feel it."

"So... While we wait for our food, would you be interested in hearing about some of my new gigs?"

"..."

"Well of course, silly. If fate has decided that I'm going to be this big, I'm not just gonna sit around & do nothing. I need to occupy my time with things to do. Volunteer work. I already possess a fortune."

"I guess I'll start with Gulliver Engineering since they're the reason I got into this mess in the first place. They recently got back to me & said that they're trying to rebuild the size ray. And they promised that it wouldn't malfunction this time. I certainly hope they're right about that. God, can you imagine if I grew even bigger? I could potentially wave to people inside passenger planes flying at cruising altitude. And I certainly wouldn't be able to fit in the city anymore. I think that's what one would call a mega giantess. Here's hoping that doesn't happen."

"As far as volunteer work is concerned, I got a job as a construction worker. Turns out, the demolition team doesn't need to waste money on explosives when they have a giant woman to tear down buildings for them. And it's not like they need cranes anymore either. I can do all the heavy lifting myself. It's actually really fun. It's like playing with Legos, but with real buildings. It's so cool!"

"I also got a job as a firefighter. Rescuing people is super easy. All I have to do is wait by the windows to see if anyone needs to make a jump for it & when they do, they'll just land directly onto the palm of my hand. It's really gratifying."

"And now... My favorite gig. So you know how the last time we met, I joked about starring as a kaiju in the next Godzilla film? Well, as it turns out, that's not actually a joke anymore. The studio making the film wanted to add a humanoid-looking kaiju to the Godzilla universe since that concept hasn't been explored yet. As soon as they caught wind of my existence, they rang me up & asked if I wanted to play the role."

"Naturally, I accepted. The character's name is 'Cosmic Goddess Malzenia; The Sunbreaker'. Apparently, I'm the main antagonist. My goal is to destroy humanity so I may turn Earth into my own personal paradise. Sounds pretty metal. Although as big as I am, they're still gonna need to use CGI to make even appropriately big enough for the role. Even at this size, I'm still only about half as tall as Godzilla. What a monster."

"Ooh! There's our food. That didn't take as long as I thought it would."

"Good Lord, that's a lot of carts. Wow. I have no idea how I'm gonna eat all this. You know... Without breaking the dishes. I didn't really think about this."

"..."

"No, It's fine. I just gotta... Figure it out."

*music fades out*

..........

"Well that was fun. I really enjoyed my time with you tonight. We should do that again sometime."

"..."

"Feeling's mutual. I'm not ready for this date to end quite yet either. Here's an idea. How about I hold you as high as I can?"

"..."

"To get a great view of the city of course. Come on. It'll be cool. What do you say?"

"..."

"That's the spirit. Now hold on tight, cuz you're going for a ride."

"..."

"Enjoy the view while you can. This is how I see the world. Maybe it isn't so bad being this big. There's some perks to it. Since I started volunteer working, I've been enjoying life. I could get used to this."

"..."

"It's really late. I should probably go sleep now. Fortunately, the city park has a wide open space for me to lay down in. I don't know where else I'd be able to crash without it."

"..."

"No, I don't get cold at night. At least I haven't yet. It's Summer right now. Not sure what I'm gonna do when Autumn or Winter rolls around. Hopefully, the size ray will have been remade by then."

"Who knows? Maybe the next time we meet, I'll be normal sized."

"..."

"Yeah, good point. Such an advanced piece of tech won't be built in a day or even a week. I expect that I'll have to live at this size for at least another few months. Might as well get used to it."

"Anyway, I'll put you down now. I hope we meet again soon. I had fun tonight."

_______________________________________________

THE END

[dreamiesdotcom]

fireworks | l.jn

Summary:  New Years are chances for drastic changes, so every year you make Jeno promise to never forget several things before the clock strikes 12. Now and then he makes a note to recall all the things he's sworn on, except one: that one time that never really left his mind at all.

Word Count: 2.3k

Life was a little complicated back then, if a little harsh. He was just getting used to having his brother — stepbrother, really — and the only person he knew was Na Jaemin, whose only friend was Lee Donghyuck. That's three new people he's met in four days, and he was so overwhelmed he hid in his bedroom for a day straight.

You come in a little later, and even then he knew you were a force to be reckoned with. The stubborn Lee Donghyuck was in some way caught in your strings, and Renjun (who he's very intimidated by) allows you to pinch his cheeks — what kind of power, right?

It all starts from when he was 12 years old, newly moved to the Neighborhood, on the 23rd of December.

The first shift was when the year ended and another began, welcomed by the brightest set of fireworks Jeno's ever watched. Amidst it all, Jaemin invites all of you to go and hang-out, having already asked your parents way before he asked you all. You had pointed at him then.

"Don't forget to come, okay, Jeno?" you tell him, head slightly tilted. "We're friends now. I would seriously be upset if you don't show up!"

"Sure but uh, my parents— what's that?"

"Nana's got it under control, and well, pinky swear!" you link your pinkies together, and you offer him a sweet smile. "You break the promise and expect me to cut your fingers off."

Donghyuck's friends... are quite scary, per se, but he made a promise that night. His heart raced quickly at that thought, and he shakes slightly, but another round of fireworks burst up the sky, and this time it's much more brilliant, even more radiant, and as all of you exchange smiles, he knows that he's made friends as well.

###

Something about Jeno is astral, you concluded. He just doesn't believe it.

"You see that Jen?" you asked him one of the many times you've asked him to stay up with you. He remembers the honeyed-laughter you let out then, "That's the brightest star in the sky as seen from Earth, and it's called Sirius."

He couldn't form words then. He didn't know what it was that got him so stunned, but he knew that it was something beautiful; whether it's the stars or you.

He remembers what makes his heart go wild: "And to me, if I was the Earth, that'll be you. You're my Sirius."

Jeno hoped it meant something. He wished that it meant as much to you as it did to him because he keeps on losing sleep dreaming of how hypnotic you look, mind void of anything else aside from redamancy. He hopes it means something even after he realizes that it's just like you to associate people with celestial bodies.

"Renjun's like the moon..." you sighed wistfully, chin resting on your palms. "He seems so far away, distant and mysterious. He's the type of person you never truly know... but sometimes, a person always makes effort to glance at it more often than the others. That person knows less of his mystery and more of his misery, at that point."

"And that person, I suppose, is you? You know him the most."

"And I... the things you're implying!" you groaned. "Stop fooling around, Hyuck."

The clock moves closer to 12, and Jeno decides that it's now or never — he asks a question: "If at one point, you have to choose; would you rather have the moon or the stars?"

"I would rather have them together," comes rather too quickly, way too mindlessly. "The stars would be lonely without the moon, and it goes both ways."

"But—"

"No one's more than the other," you shrug, turning to face him. "You overheard it, didn't you? Well, don't worry about it."

Guilt washes over his face, and you shake your head slightly as you raise both your hands to cup his cheeks. It's quiet for a moment just like the way it's always been when the world holds their breaths, counting down and anticipating the last number. That space has somewhat always been empty, the one that makes him think — this silence is the type that echoes, the type that feels cold. It emphasizes all his feelings.

"You're still my Sirius, Jen," you whisper, and if you weren't so close, the fireworks would've drowned your confession. His eyes flutter at the warm feeling your words give him. "You'll always be my favorite. Now, promise me that you won't ever question that."

He nods and makes his promise, but it doesn't mean he stops being anxious. What if one day, you look up at the night sky and realize that you preferred the moon over Sirius, after all?

"I can see the hesitance in your eyes," you say even softer this time. The fireworks subside, just like the loudness of his heart, but then as if in sync they start up again — the fireworks and his heartbeat. You smiled, and both of them returned much stronger than the last. "Please don't doubt me."

It's alright, he concludes. He realizes that he doesn't need to be your favorite. Just as long as he has you — because that's what he wants the most at the moment. He wants you all to himself for as long as he can have you, and you looked so lovely that he almost tells you that and the galaxies of words occupying his mind since summer two years ago — he wants to say them slowly so you won't forget, so that he closes the tiniest distance separating the both of you that feels so big despite being unnamed, a haunting chasm that spreads further every shuddering breath —

But he doesn't.

###

It certainly is illegal.

How it happened is a little bit crazy — well, not really, but just like most of Jeno's irrational decisions, it starts from Donghyuck's stories and then boils down to his curiosity. Flash forward to right now, an unexpected but welcomed masterpiece in front of you, Jeno admiring the painted wall with delight and proudness ebbing through his veins. Around him, spray paint cans lie empty, some half-full.

'Hyuck and Renjun does it all the time, and they've never been in trouble,' Jeno said.

'You're dumb and I can't believe I'm letting you do this,' you replied.

But why should you stop?

Jeno looks regal when he's breathless like this, adrenaline sparkling in his eyes like the golden glitter staining his eyelids. This side of him is nowhere soft — it's too passionate, too unknown, too beautiful to not be overwhelming. You manage a muffled call of his name.

An instant before 23:59 turns to zero, the year beginning again. You spend half of that minute staring at each other, somewhere along the way a force pulling you so close to him.

"I need you to swear on it." you manage to say between the blurs. "Promise me we'll always stay like this."

Ten, nine, eight

"Promise." He says, raspy, pinky finger entwined with yours. He cups your cheeks, gentle, just carefully watching. He smiles. "You and me, like this, forever."

Seven, six, five

His stare is firm, but at the same time, it's so gentle. It's as if he's seeing you in a new light and he wants to miss none of it, not even a split-second. Your eyes flutter shut.

"Can I kiss you?"

Four, three, two

Your heart beats aggressively against your chest, your toes curling in your shoes out of nervousness. Despite that, you nod your head enthusiastically, something he always found so endearing.

"Of course, yes, please."

One

Fireworks burst into sparkling reds and golden yellows, both in the night skies and your hearts. Your lips each a lustrous star, crashing together ever so softly, sparkling like luminous spheres about to go supernova — the kiss a cyclopean shift to the Universe's plan.

###

People change all the time. Friends are people. It's only normal to drift apart a little, right?

After all, it doesn't matter if you don't hang out as much as then. It's reasonable, honestly. Donghyuck's been immersed in his music these days, Jaemin spends most of his time hanging around the dance studio and bothering a certain boy named Jisung (bless his heart for not murdering Jaemin yet) while Renjun's busy... doing his thing. Hell knows what he's been up to, but the last time Jeno's seen him, he has an overwhelming amount of books stacked on his table ("It's a queue, Jeno. I'm reading the next one after this once I finish!"), and he just hopes he doesn't take three years before finishing all those up.

"Why is it that it's so hard for them to make time to be normal friends?"

"It's hard for them to make time to be normal people, what do you expect?" you roll your eyes, turning off your phone and then sitting right across from him. "We'll meet next Sunday, anyway. Let's give those people hell from us both!"

From outside, the world celebrates a new incoming year, but for some odd reason, you two stayed inside his room. Light seeps in from his open window, seeping golds and violets and reds, occasional greens, and other colors. All it does is remind him of that kiss. It sends a flush on his cheeks, especially when you leaned to press a kiss on his forehead, ever so careful.

Jeno would like to believe that it was out of random, but he felt like at that moment, you knew something he didn't.

"Promise me something, yeah?" you asked, nervous. "Promise me you'll never forget that I love you."

"I pro—" he says as if a routine, but then he halts. "You what?"

The fireworks stop, and the both of you knew that it only takes a little seconds before they ignite again. You looked up to meet his gaze, mustering up courage, and making your voice silvery and clear.

"I love you," you said, shaking. "So fucking much, Jeno. Now promise me."

He stays in stunned silence for a little, and then he pulls you into a hug so tight neither of you ever wanted to let go. His breathing was shaky and so was yours, a feeling as unstable and as sweet as the kiss you two shared right after he whispered an answer, "I promise."

And that was enough for you to know that he loves you too.

("I feel cheated that you never told me. We could've been doing this for years," he nags later once you're spooning in his bed, his chest pressed against your back. You break into laughter then, still coming down from the high of sparkling lights and pure euphoria.

"We're just in time, love. There's no need to rush when we have an infinity ahead of us.")

###

It's easier to remember moments that passed like headlights on highways at full speed when all is said and done. If that makes sense at all, maybe that could be the reason why he just realized it now that neither of you two got to tell how much you wanted to be so much more than friends who confessed to having feelings for each other. You never clearly talked where you should stand.

If he were to say his truth, he'd say that there was way more than to how you looked against the bright lights exploding and the towns of stars. There's way more to you than the way you made his heart beat, skip, and ache. The truth is, you were heavenly. It made his heart do all the things it could do so he's unable to speak. The truth is, he knew where it was going, and he didn't want to travel that road. The truth is, he's been falling for the longest time, but the truth is not important.

Because not even the truth could have given you the freedom to have a choice, he says in his mind.

"Promise me you won't forget me." You looked so gentle close to him like that, skin reflecting moonlight and flares. "Please, baby. Promise me."

But it's the last thing he ever wanted to do. He doesn't want you to make him swear to never forget you — you have forever waiting ahead, and you're walking down that road hand-in-hand. Why does he need to promise to always remember when there's no reason he'll forget? It's the last thing he needs. He'll have you next to him every day and there would be no hour that expires where he doesn't hold you, no second that passes that he doesn't feel like he loves you.

He didn't want to have to promise that because people only ask to be remembered if they're planning to leave.

Jeno closes his eyes, lowering his head. "Don't do this to me."

Still, after the most painful kiss he ever had, it lingers both like sugar and poison at his lips, your name, and a promise. A promise he never wanted to make.

"We'll see each other again..." he whispers, painfully fond. "For now... for now, we'll take some time and wish that the Universe brings us back together...If the Universe doesn't do it for us, then I will. I promise."

He recalls the night before, then all the previous others that stands out with vibrant colors and the love of his life. He crosses his fingers and wishes that sometime somewhere, you look up to watch fireworks but see Sirius instead — and it reminds you to come home.

[danceing-spelled-wrong]

Made a Grumpus OC

They're just one of few of them..not sure if I'll draw any of them, I drew them because..I'm bored

I have a grumpsona in mind..but I'm not finish with it's design

I guess I'll explain them

Amly Ductforce(I'm bad at names) came to Snaktooth island because they were bored and needed a vacation from their "job"

He's gender-fluid and doesn't mind people getting his pronouns wrong when he doesn't feel that gender, but some just call him a "They" and that's fine by him

One thing that she's really good at, is lying and stealing. When she came to Snaktooth Island, she started her hobby right away and stole some things from Wambus which got him pretty upset

He gives everyone nicknames despite not liking anyone besides Cromdo

She likes order yet enjoys chaos, sometimes, she would plant random objects that belong to the residents in each other's huts to start up something

When the town split, he went to the Boiling Bay due to the nice warm yet cold feel to it and because she wanted to steal stuff from Floofty

They're probably in their late 40s early 50s

Her and Cromdo get along for the most part as long as she doesn't steal anything from him

In their hut, they have a lot of stolen objects, most from Wambus

Their hut is beside Liz and Egg's hut but is to the right of the beach

If he was in the game, then you'd meet them the same time you meet Floofty

She doesn't like Lizbert because she always calls her out on the stuff she steals, same for Beffica

Due to his hatred to Lizbert, he shares the same hatred towards Eggabell but doesn't go out his way to steal from her, seeing her as too fragile

He's scared of Chandlo(because he would snap her like a twig), Shelda(because she acts like a cult leader), and Gramble(because he's too nice)

If they get caught stealing, they lie about it and theres a 90% chance it'll work due to their confident sounding voice and being a bit manipulative

Dialogue in game:

What everyone thinks of them

Filbo:

"Oh..them? They're..ok, as long as they don't cause any trouble.."

Wambus:

"...."

Beffica:

"She's just a thief, no wonder her and Cromdo work so well together, they're nothing but squeebs."

Gramble:

"I never spoke to him before..but..I don't think he likes me very much.."

Wiggle:

"She stole my banjo and said she wanted to play a song, but then she threw it off a cliff! I'm so glad I have fast reflexives."

Snorpy:

"All they do is steal stuff! Then lie about stealing that stuff! I haven't gotten my inventions back in 3 months!"

Cromdo:

"Ah..that grump is something all right..greatest business partner ever, she and I are gonna rule the money world!"

Triffany:

"Oh..Amly? I don't come in contact with her often but Wamby doesn't like her."

Chandlo:

"After they stole my balls AND Snorpy's inventions, I promised to never speak to them for the rest of my life bro!"

Floofty:

"I don't appreciate them stealing my leg or my notes. If given the chance, I would experiment on them."

Shelda:

"Do not speak of thy name who gladly would turn his back on us if given the chance!"

Cemi:

"Nope. I don't like her at all..she's not that attractive..and she hangs with Cromdo."

Charlia:

"I really don't like it when she tries to remove my arm..it hurts my feelings.."

Being asked about Floofty:

"I like stealing their stuff but if I offered to help them, I think they'll kill me."

Meeting them:

"Woah..a new face! I haven't seen anyone new around here in..grumping forever!"

"Who are ya and why are you talking to me?"

*explains*

"Oh! You're that amateur journalist Lizzie was talking about! I thought you were never coming, isn't this grand? New faces! New people! New stuff to..borrow!"

"I'm Amly Dustforce, the ruler of Snaktooth island!"

Will you come back to town?

"Wait..town? No way..if Cromy's not there, then I'm not going!"

"Also, I'm a little parched, can ya get me a Sqaquiri? I'd drink those things, everyday of the week, maybe we can..cut a deal, how's that sound doll?"

*Caught Sqaquiri*

"Now THAT was a refreshing beveridge, thanks doll!"

"So, ya want me to come back to town? Well, I might need some convincing, I want ya to find out what that Filbo kid does when nobody's lookin, I could use it for..things."

*You find out what Filbo does*

"HA! Are you serious?! Oh jezz, and I thought he couldn't be more of a squeeb! HAHA! Goodness..that's a laugh I needed..ha!"

"Good to know theres some things to see in town, but I'm more interested in WHAT is in town."

"For ya final task, I want ya to steal Beffica's diary..then rip out some pages that are interesting, and give them to me. Easy."

*You grab the pages*

"Sweet! Good job my messenger grump!"

"*sigh*, I think I'm ready to go to town..but..first I want you to get Cromy in town."

But you said that was the final task

"I lied."

"Get Cromy in town and I'll follow right behind, deal?"

*Cromdo is in town*

"Wow! That was..slow but it'll do!"

"Thanks doll, looking forward to chatting with ya! Farewell!"

Interview:

Have time for an interview?

"Interview? That sounds fun! I'm in."

Who are you?

"Amly Ductforce, it's pronounced Aim-ly. Strange. I know."

Why come to Snaktooth Island?

"I heard of Lizzie's stupid conspiracy on TV, I was about to change the channel when I heard there was an island involved, and I just so happened to be looking for a place to host my vacation. So I packed up and lied about being interested in her expedition."

Vacation from what?

"My life. My job. My family. Everything basically."

Thoughts on Bugsnax?

"I guess they're ok, the names could be better..but some taste pretty good. Note, keep away from the Aggroll."

Why?

"Because those things will break some bones and the flavor isn't even worth it! Also because it's named after someone I'm not found of."

Why did you leave town?

"I could handle the drama between Wamby and Gram, but once Cromy left, I had no reason to stay. I wanted to follow him, but I decided to live near the beach instead, so yeah."

What do you think about Cromdo?

"Me and him have a pretty decent relationship, I give him what he wants and he takes the fall for me. Simple business."

Are you planning on betraying him?

"No way, he's cool, I don't consider him a friend, but he's still great to work with."

Any info on Lizbert?

"Liz..I grumping hate her! She keeps saying I stole stuff from her, I would never do such a thing! If she didn't have that little obstacle beside her, I would burn her hut down!"

Woah, calm down. Who's this obstacle?

"I am calm..just speaking out my mind. And I'm talking about Eggabell. The doctor? Lizzie's girlfriend? Eggy bell? Yeah. She and her are like..two papers in a file. Theres nothing you can do to separate those two."

What happened to Lizbert?

"If we're being honest, I'm not sure."

Are you lying?

"Heh. For once in my life, no. I really don't know what happened to Lizzie, she went up that mountain and didn't come back."

How do you know she went up the mountain?

"I saw her."

Why didn't you tell anyone?

"I did. Nobody besides Cromy believed me, guess that's the price being the best liar in the world."

That'll be it. Thank you

"No problem doll, that was pretty fun! Here, have this!"

*stolen piece of journal paper*

"Found it while cleaning Lizzie's hurt, it might help ya in someway. Any who, I gotta run, farewell!"

Side Quests:

"Heya doll, you won't believe what I discovered! It'll help ya find Liz!"

What?

"First..get me a Poptick..it's very important."

Why?

"Trust me! It's super super SUPER important!

Sure, I guess

"Caramel please."

*Got the Poptick*

"Perfect..now..I need a Snaquiri.."

Are you going to tell me why?

"Nope. Make it quick! I have a feeling my brain's about to forget everyone!"

*Got the Snaquiri*

"Good..now..I need a Cheery, that'll be all to finish this!"

I have a feeling you're lying

"I'm hurt."

Fine.

"Hurry up! I'm losing my life force!"

*Got the Cheery*

"Alright..now-"

*silence*

What?

"That's it. I was just hungry."

Why did you say it was important

"There was no way you'd do it if I asked, so I just..slightly lied."

Slightly?!

"Calm down doll! Everything fine! Nobody got hurt.."

You have a lying problem

"I know..but I can't do anything about it, it's the only thing I got."

"When you're a liar, nobody wants to be around you, nobody likes you..and nobody will trust you."

"Ever since birth, I lied, stole, and broke so many things, nobody wants anything to do with me. I had no friend and my family kept saying I was a bad person..so I don't talk to them anymore."

"Lying is all I got left doll and if I stop, I got nothing. So I'm not stopping anytime soon, so deal with it."

"Thanks for the food..farewell."

Welcome back message:

"Oh..you're..back."

"Heya Wamby, didn't know you'd be back either! How sweet! The gangs coming back!"

"Amly, if you go near my farm-"

"What? Me? Go near your farm? No way! I would never!"

"Don't think that everyone things you're a saint! Only Cromdo thinks that!"

"I don't think I am one, but it's nice knowing you think so!"

"Just stay away from my farm."

"Deal. Happy catching up with you!"

Major Celebration Dialogue:

"You know, Cromby..maybe we should take a break from our business, we're making a few people upset by it."

"Agreed. What should we do to be occupied til then?"

"Hm..maybe we could sell Bugsnax? I could..borrow that trap the journalist uses."

"Yeah..yeah I like that idea!"

"It's settled! Cromy and Amly's marketing lives on!"

"We need a better name."

"Yeah.."

*approaching him*

"Heya doll, how's the party?"

*asked to dance*

"Sorry, but I'm working. Maybe when we sell out."

*sold out*

"Wow! That was quick, how's about a dance Cromy?"

"You bet! Meet you on the dance floor!"

Reaction to partner(I guess..he paired with Cromdo and Beff):

Cromdo: "Grumping..NO!"

Beffica: "Wait..no..what..what's going on?!"

Dying message:

"I'm nothing but a liar..a cold..worthless liar. I hurt so many people..no wonder I have no friends..at least I got bugsnax.."

Final message(Good ending):

"What the ever grump was all that?! Why..did...oh zonk who cares?We're alive! Ha ha! Amly lives to see a new day!

You know..after all of this..I think I'll finally turn over that new leaf..I'll quit my job..and start fresh in the country. I should also apologize to everyone I hurt, so..sorry doll, I stole your pen...

Geez that took a lot out of me! Ah! This'll be hard!

But..it feels..kinda nice..guess I shouldn't wait around..farewell, til we cross paths again, doll."

Final message(Bad ending)

"What..the grump? Cromdo..he's..gone. This..makes me..realize..our lives are so..fragile, I..shouldn't waste it..

Oh Cromdo..if I known that..I would have put myself in your place

At least..maybe we could be together..again

Business partners forever...ha.."

I over complicate everything

[spicycreativity]

Intertwined - Chapter 7

Chapter: 7/8

Content warnings: Blood, respiratory distress, mentions of alcohol and use (no depictions)

Add'l Notes: Patton is a sweet, gentle bear, Janus is a scheming, diabolical manlet, I'll die on this hill, etc etc.

This was getting unbearable. Janus buried his face in his handkerchief and coughed and coughed. His blood was warm against his tongue and lips, streaking the blooms dark red. His chest burned constantly now, his throat always irritated and raw.

To top it all off, Patton had disappeared without a word of warning, leaving Janus with no answers. If anything, he had more questions than ever before. The vase of poppies on Patton's dresser could not have been a coincidence, but there was just no way this was Patton's fault.

So Janus was saddled with a mystery, with flowers in his lungs, and with Remus' awkward attempts at support.

"I'm just saying, you can't rule it out until you try it," Remus said, pausing in his pacing to give Janus a doe-eyed pout.

"For the last time, Remus, I'm not going to huff weed killer." Janus threw his head back against the couch cushions and tried his best to sigh. The effect was somewhat muted by the sputtering coughs that followed.

"I can tell you want to scream," Remus said.

He was right, though Janus would never admit it. "Yes, I think that--" Breathe, breathe, breathe-- "that'll fix me." What Janus really wanted, disgusted as he was to admit it to himself, was Patton. Not that Patton would be able to do anything that Remus couldn't do, but Janus missed him. Quite terribly, if he was being honest with himself. Maybe he would feel better if he cried, not that he'd ever allow himself to do that. He'd have to be out of his mind on hypoxia and poppy seeds.

"I just wish there was something I could do," Remus said, dropping hands to his sides. "Other than just sit here and watch."

Janus hadn't told him about the flowers in Patton's room. He kept things close to his chest by nature, determined to solve his problems on his own. He didn't ask for help. Even if he would have dearly liked another perspective on this mystery, he couldn't put that responsibility on Remus. It would only make him feel worse if he failed.

"You can make me ginger tea," Janus said, forcing a smile. It wasn't right seeing Remus fret like this. "With honey."

A teacup appeared on the coffee table alongside a bottle of whiskey. So much for occupying Remus with busywork. "What I should do," Remus said, brandishing his morningstar, "is go maul Roman until he agrees to fix you."

"As entertaining as that would be, I'm not so sure that's the most efficient course of action, per se." Janus shifted, trying to work out how to leave Remus without making him feel abandoned. He just wanted to go check on Patton, but didn't feel at all up to the task of refereeing whatever confrontation would result in Patton and Remus sharing space. He could always just get up and leave with no explanation…. But Remus didn't deserve that.

In the end, he decided to wait until Remus got bored. There was no guarantee he was even going to find Patton. He had been AWOL for the past two days and Janus had had a near run-in with Virgil last night when he'd gone to look for Patton, an experience he was not keen to repeat.

And if Janus expedited the process of ditching Remus by pretending to fall asleep, well, he'd never tell.

Patton had a distinctly hungover look about him, with his glasses missing and his hair sticking up in the back. He blinked at Janus, bleary-eyed, and Janus' heart started to jackhammer in his chest. How utterly cute, how endearing. He wanted to smooth Patton's hair down and kiss him on the forehead, though he'd have to stand on his tiptoes to reach. Damn the subconscious for making him tiny.

"Where have you been?" Janus asked, planting himself in the middle of the hallway. Patton's door disappeared into white ether, a fact which Janus filed away to think about later.

"Sleeping," Patton said, holding up a bottle of NyQuil.

Well, that explained why he didn't smell like alcohol despite the obvious hangover. "And here I thought you were avoiding me," Janus teased. Despite the awful sting all up and down his chest, Patton's mere presence seemed to lighten the burden and ease his fears. He could bear this as long as he had Patton by his side.

"No," Patton mumbled, dragging hands down his face. "Coffee. Then talk."

He swayed a little, steadying himself on the wall. Janus held out his hand. "Come here, let me help."

Patton nodded and let Janus lead him to the kitchen. Not trusting Patton with high chairs at the kitchen island, Janus instead led him to the table and turned a chair out for him so they could face each other. Patton coughed behind closed lips and a spike of fear paralyzed Janus' heart. He was already fighting for breath and this new bolt of adrenaline made him dizzy. He took deep breaths (as well as he could, with his lungs all entangled and bleeding) and forced himself to make coffee step-by-step. It was the one thing he regularly did by hand instead of just imagining it to completion, a ritual and a reward.

"I hope you didn't catch what I have," Janus said. Maintaining the lie.

"Doubt it," Patton mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

Janus narrowed his eyes. What did that mean? Was Patton coughing up poppies, too? Suddenly, the drip-drip-drip of coffee into the pot, the rich, reassuring smell of the grounds, seemed unimportant. Janus imagined the coffee done percolating, imagined two mugs on the table. He pushed one toward Patton. "Cheers."

"What time is it?" Patton asked before downing half the contents of the mug in one long swallow.

"Around noon, I think." Feeling his diaphragm seize, Janus turned away, shaking his handkerchief out of his sleeve, and gave in to the fit. It was getting harder and harder to swallow the pain. Inhaling was not just uncomfortable now; it hurt like clenched fists around his lungs. But Janus was a practiced liar and tucked the pain away behind a velvet curtain. "I haven't seen you in two days."

"Sorry," Patton said, looking fractionally more alert now. "I was trying to sleep off this… Cold, I guess."

"Mm," said Janus, taking a sip of coffee to keep from having to answer properly. He couldn't decide how he wanted to pursue this, if he wanted to pursue this. What did it matter if Patton was coughing up poppies or daisies or African violets? It brought Janus no closer to solving the puzzle.

"You sound really bad," Patton said. He finished his coffee and blinked hard. "Oh! I'm sorry, but I don't think it's Roman."

"You're sure?" Janus asked, blood running cold.

But a lot of things seemed to be hitting Patton all at once with the introduction of caffeine to his system; he whipped his head up to look at Janus with something akin to panic. "I wanted to thank you, and-- Oh." He looked at their coffee mugs with obvious dismay. "I did it again."

"Did what?"

"I… I let you take care of me," Patton said in a small voice.

"Oh, Patton," Janus sighed, unable to help himself. The breath that ghosted across his lips tasted like blood and black coffee. He wondered if Patton would mind terribly if Janus kissed him anyway. "I really haven't been." That was true. Janus had been deliberately holding himself back from giving himself over to Patton. How little support did he get from the others, that Janus' minor attempts at friendship felt so significant?

"You have!" Patton insisted. "Right from the start. You've been right by my side through all of this, reminding me to take care of myself, spending time with me. You even helped me with that dog puzzle."

"I don't understand," Janus said. These were normal friendship behaviors. Had he been too obvious? Did Patton suspect? "Wouldn't the others have done the same?"

"They would," Patton said. "If I had asked."

"Oh," said Janus, blinking away a wave of dizziness. Even he couldn't begrudge the others their lack of understanding. It wasn't their fault they couldn't give Patton what he hadn't asked for. But what did it say about him that he had?

"You've been a really good friend to me, Janus. Even though I don't deserve it."

"Don't talk about my friend like that," Janus said, nudging Patton in the ribs. It was a soft, familiar gesture, something he'd done to Remus a hundred times before. It was the first time Janus had touched Patton without announcing it, getting permission.

Patton smiled at him, and then they both ruined the moment by dissolving into twin coughing fits.

Janus' lasted longer; he felt Patton's eyes on him as he repeatedly tried and failed to get himself under control-- Was that an entire flower in his throat? What did that mean? He banished it with difficulty, trying to master the animal impulses screaming it hurts it hurts it hurts as if to drown out his rational thought. He should leave, but he didn't want to. So he straightened up and washed away the taste of blood in his mouth with another swallow of coffee.

"Ohhh," Patton whispered. "You really don't sound good."

"I'm fine," Janus said, reflexively bringing out an old standard. It was the one lie everybody told.

"You didn't believe me when I said I was fine," Patton said. "Why should I believe you?"

"There's not really anything to be done about it," Janus said, hating the shallow breaths he had to take between every few words. If he stayed, he would have to pretend he wasn't in agony. But hadn't he been doing that this whole time? It was agony, being so certain that Patton could never want Janus the way Janus wanted Patton, yet unable to crush that sliver of hope that never died out.

Patton brandished the NyQuil bottle and Janus forced himself to laugh. Patton smiled at him, so soft and gentle and honey-sweet. "Why don't you sit with me?" Janus blinked and they were on the couch with two fresh cups of coffee. Patton had left no space between their bodies. "Is this okay?"

It wasn't, really. Janus burned with the contact, burned all over until he could feel it in his face and had to hide behind a cooler mask, though he was sure this one was still pale and pinched with pain. It wasn't fair at all, this horrible parody of romance. It shouldn't have been a problem. He should have been satisfied with friendship, like he was with Remus. It was nothing to sit in Remus' lap or play with his hair because they were both happy with the arrangement. But this? This made Janus want to put a fist through the wall. So of course, he said "Yes" and took his hat off in case he worked up the courage to rest his head on Patton's shoulder.

"Are we still gonna be friends the next time Thomas needs us for something?" Patton asked.

"So it's just a given that we're going to disagree?"

"Janus."

"Okay, okay." Janus sighed as deeply as his strangled lungs would allow. "I promise."

Patton beamed and didn't even question him. He just took it at face value now, that Janus wasn't lying about this. "Oh, good."

"So what are we doing?" Janus asked. "Going to drink coffee and gossip like a couple of old ladies?"

"Whatever you want, really," Patton said.

"Oh, good," Janus said drily. "I want to take shots and play strip poker." Patton blinked at him. "Kidding."

"Oh!" said Patton, shaking his head. "Sorry. Guess the NyQuil hasn't worn off yet."

"How about we watch something?" Janus asked. It was probably a little too early in the friendship to force Patton sit down and watch Perry Mason with him, but then again… He was a practiced hand at being selfish. The TV flashed to life and Janus sat his mug down on the coffee table before leaning back to watch.

"Ha," said Patton, apparently recognizing the show. "Should have guessed."

"Oh, enlighten me," Janus said, feigning innocence. "What's so funny?"

"I should have guessed you'd be into courtroom dramas," Patton said.

Janus would have ribbed him further, had his lungs not decided to turn themselves inside out. He barely got his handkerchief in front of his mouth in time before blood started spilling over his lips. God, this was miserable. His resolve was cracking, he was starting to doubt he could make it much longer without vocalizing the pain. "Maybe I will take that NyQuil," he said, the words feeling like coarse grit sandpaper as they dragged themselves up his throat. He took it from Patton before Patton could take the cap off-- He still had his pride even if he wouldn't have his voice for much longer. The thought loomed so terrifying in his mind that denial smacked it down to nothing before it could get out of control. Janus poured out half a dose of NyQuil. Everything would be fine. He would be okay. The subconscious would set him straight before the flowers could completely take over his respiratory system.

Beside him, Patton coughed a little too, and Janus sincerely hoped that he wasn't suffering the same ailment. Patton didn't deserve that.

The NyQuil kicked in gently, drawing Janus so subtly toward sleep he only noticed he was drifting off when his head touched Patton's shoulder.

[guardianoracle]

What is a guardian? I made a quick guide explaining them! I'll be looking forward to posting my new fellas here over the coming days.

Guardians are a type of egregore, bound to an idol for physical form. The materials themselves can be virtually anything. The only thing that matters is what you think their effect will be on the finished guardian. 

It is also very important to make sure to use sturdy materials in crafting them. You want it to be string enough to withstand things like falls, rips, dogs, poltergeists, what have you. This not only helps keep them intact, but it reinforces your idea of their strength to protect them further on a spiritual level, too. 

You want to let go of imposing your ideas while crafting them, allowing your ideas to pool into a chaotic jumble of your initial impression of the spirit of the guardian you're crafting. Of course, you want to guide this chaotic energy to a degree to make sure things stay consistent and stable in the process. No matter what, trust and believe that it will turn out exactly as it should. Believe that it's spirit is helping guide it's creation and let it's creativity flow through yours. 

It's important to take this work very seriously and approach it with patience, persistence and care. This process uses the same faculties as wandmaking or enchantments. This process is assisted with skills in things like mediumship/channeling, enchanting, tulpamancy, thinking magick and magickal observation. Warding and banishment is important, too. You are crafting an egregore. A companion and friend. It is very important to treat them that way, as a true partner. They are your responsibility. 

As with any relationship, keeping strong boundaries is most important. You need to be steadfast in them. You are creating a living soul. All living souls will push and test boundaries, especially with whom they are closest with. This is completely natural and they should not be punished for doing these things, but a stern correction may be necessary from time to time. 

It is imperative to establish your authority with them from your first interaction. An easy way to think of it is to imagine them as your teenage children in a way. You are still their authority, but they are your obligation and will need your guidance to stay out of trouble. Even though you must dictate their behavior to a degree, it is very important to treat them with the utmost respect and not micromanage them. Even though they are yours in a way, they are their own individual and must be treated as such. 

Some people like to design every little aspect of their egregores. This can make them more tailored to your needs, but it restricts the entity to a degree that can make them feel depressingly robotic in my experience. Or, they may react by withholding information about themselves from you so that they won't risk losing those aspects of themselves. Fear of rejection is something that affects us pretty much universally, and objects or artificial things aren't necessarily spared from it. 

Personally, I leave my intentions towards their usage very open-ended. I prefer to instill morals into them over assigning purposes to them. You are their mentor in a way, as they are yours. Giving them the freedom to become who they want to be, with some level of structure, has given these things a level of humanity and personality that I couldn't feel more blessed to be able to witness. Even though this relaxed approach can be significantly more risky, it is my opinion that these risks yield great rewards and taking that leap into the unknown can allow you to experience so much more than you would otherwise. Always trust that things will happen as they should. 

Guardians get lonely, too. It's usually best to make companions for them. My guardians typically have a soul mate made for them as well. This ensures that they have a partner in their life, romantic, platonic or otherwise. They generally become inseparable partners in this way and have similar or very compatible souls with each other. 

Creating a tribe of guardians is a great way to give them a sense of family and identity. This also adds a layer of accountability between them. They are egregores after all, and will remain active without you. Giving them a pack gives them a way to stay occupied and fulfilled with each other while you're away. Of course this isn't exactly necessary and can be a big commitment to make. Regardless, socializing your guardians is essential to avoid unwanted antisocial behaviors. 

After you create a guardian, you're going to want to make sure they're awake. You hear them with your mind's ear, so attempt telepathic communication with them, even if you don't necessarily think you'll be able to. You'd be surprised. Ask for their name. If they won't tell you for whatever reason, ask if a nickname would be acceptable. There is a chance that they haven't decided on a name just yet, or that they can't figure out how to express their name with language, or they may not consider you ready enough to know. This is very personal information to them. You must respect their boundaries too, even if this is one. Don't try to find their name before they're ready to tell you. This is crossing a personal boundary and will hurt your relationship with them right off the bat. 

Remember, these are companions, not your tools. If you cannot sufficiently communicate with them you can try to use divination to communicate instead of telepathy. Communication is key to a healthy relationship with them. Ask them about their wants and needs. Ask them about what they've been up to. The answers might surprise you! They do live lives on the edge of our realities in a way that are completely different from our own. As we teach them about our world, they teach us about theirs. 

Go into your creation with an open mind. The perfect guardian for you may be something you'd never expect, or might even fear! Look at them as individuals and don't put flash judgments on them.

Use whatever you have handy to create them! Of course you can buy things instead, and if you do, make it special and treat the trip as a significant spiritual event, because it is. I prefer found objects though, as some of the best art seems to come from scarcity in my opinion. It's also best to use materials you connect with. I'm using pipe cleaners for these guys and that works wonderfully for me, but it might not for you. Use your instincts! Express your divinity. 

As with any enchantments, it's best to spend the with them after they've been born. I usually keep them with me for at least a week or two afterwards. As you spend time with them they get to know you, your life and the people around you. This helps them understand your needs better and improves your relationship with them significantly. They will learn their role in your life organically, based on necessity. This also helps you get familiar with them and their energy. 

Have a safety plan in mind, just in case something goes wrong. Plans on how to protect them or save them are important in case they get attacked or injured. It's also important to have in mind a way to destroy them if they turn into something dangerous. It is your responsibility to do so if you have to, but as a last resort of course. Fire and banishment is a method. As long as a fragment of them exists, they may live on. This is also my disclaimer. Playing with fire is a great thing, just don't let it consume you. I'm not encouraging anyone to make these, just explaining my process and opinions to anyone that has decided to do so already, or is curious as to these things. 

Don't forget about them. If you store them, store them together and have a special place to do so. If you can no longer care for them, consider selling them to transfer ownership. Always, always explain to the buyer what they are getting themselves into. Otherwise, this would be a spiritual attack and you will need to deal with the ramifications of this. Don't let the guardians fall into loneliness to the point of despair. Give them the ability to sleep. Unnecessary despair breeds all sorts of negativity and can cause all sorts of issues. 

Do not insist on asking for something they are not able to do. They may not be allowed to, or even be able to tell you why. You should respectfully as for their reasons and then respect their decision and privacy by allowing them to keep it to themselves if that's what they want to do. 

Don't hold back! If you have an idea, go for it. The worst that'll happen is you'll fail. At least you'll go down with courage! Push your limits. Believe you are more than you think, and you might start seeing that you really, really are. Trust yourself and be yourself. Create what you feel called to. Create for the sake of creating. Don't worry so much about rules or systems, you are perfectly qualified to make your own! You don't need loads of experience to do so. Let your instincts guide you instead, see where it goes. As long as you do that, whatever you do will be wonderfully magickal regardless. 

[x-useobwa-x]

༄ Swipe, baby! | Part 12 - Oh, a real gentleman, I see

Idol!Taehyung x Reader sm/au

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➺ Word count: 1,5k

Genre: Crack humor, Romance/Fluff

╰ You both swiped right on each others tinder profile with no pictures of yourselves.

You keep the details on the low; no names, no nothing, only your ages. To keep the interest until the meeting, you started talking casually, but little did you know that the guy that's trying to get into your pants is no one else than Kim Taehyung, Singer of BTS, and little does he know, that you are completely whipped for the man, an army by heart since day 1.

Start reading!

⇣ ⇣ ⇣ ⇣ ⇣ ⇣

Taehyungs grip around your wrist is tight and his pace is fast, it's taking all you've got to keep up and not stumble over your own feet.

„Tae- Taehyung,“ you stutter. „Can we slow down it's really hard to walk if you- if you pull me like this.“

„You brought this over yourself y/n, you'll have to learn your lesson.“

Hearing your name falling from his lips nearly has you losing your breath. Your name? Said by the Kim Taehyung? The man you've been losing your mind over for around 6 years? This is more than you've ever dared to dream. It almost makes you lose all the confidence you've built up over the evening. It was fun to tease him and drive him crazy, but now that it's close to happening you're getting pretty nervous, and the fact that he pulled himself together and took the upper hand again is almost intimidating.

As soon as you reach the doors Taehyung agressively types in the door code and continues to drag you over to the elevator. He's repeatingly pressing the button impatiently while waiting for it to arrive.

As soon as it's there, the doors open agonizingly slow and Taehyung shoves you through them the second the doors give enough space to do so; unbothered by the fact they did not fully open yet.

With one swift pull he spins you around so your back is meeting the wall on the left side as he slams his hands onto it and traps you between his arms. Seconds later, all you recognize is how he's leaning in sharply, with his face so close to yours that it has your breath hitching in your throat.

„You shouldn't have played me like this, y/n.“ he says while one of his hands is leaving your side to push the button thats starting the elevator.

You're meeting his hand halfway as he's about to bring it back and take it into yours, locking eyes with him. He's in control right now and you don't like it; you have to do something about this.

After stopping his hand with yours and holding it in place for a second, you're guiding it to rest on your cheek, not losing the intense eye contact even for the smallest of moments.

You watch as his bottom lip trembles and his adams apple bobs in his throat before he exhales shakingly.

Within the blink of an eye, what follows next is his lips crashing onto yours and his fingers diving into your hair. His lips are warm and soft and the kiss is greedy and filled with passion and in this moment its taking you everything to not rip his shirt off of him. His teeth are pulling eagerly at your lower lip and as he lets go of it his tongue is softly grazing your mouth, begging for entrance.

As much as you wanted to have a taste of is tongue, you don't get to let him in; the elevator opens its doors and Taehyung pulls away.

„Let's get out of here so we can continue somewhere more comfortable,“ he growls under his breath while he takes your hand, fingers intertwined.

As you walk towards the door, you can't help but feel overwhelmed by the impressive and gigantic building the boys are living in- not to mention how overwhelming the fact, that you're about to enter their dorm and spend a night with your bias, already is.

Taehyung is quick to type in the door code and he doesn't hesitate to push you through the door immediately.

With the sound of the door closing, he's already finding his way back to your body; his hands are gripping tightly around your waist as he's pulling you closer.

Sadly, just as he's about to lean back in to kiss you, nature is suddenly calling. This might not be the best timing, but on the other hand, it's pretty much just fitting into your plan of gaining back the upper hand. It won't hurt to leave him hanging high and dry for once more.

„Not so fast, big boy,“ you say while bringing up one finger, placing it on his lips, stopping him midway.

„What is it?“ he's asking under his breath as he's planting a kiss onto your finger.

„I kinda have to use your bathroom... can I?“

He's pulling away sharply, confusion visible on his face. „Uhm, of course you can... uhh, it's right over there,“ he responds with raised eyebrows as he's pointing into a direction.

You free yourself out of Taehyungs grip and start making your way towards the bathroom as you hear him calling out to you.

„I'll be waiting for you in my room, just walk down the hall on the right side.“

You turn on the spot, sending a nod his way. „Sure, I'll be right there,“ you assure him, making him smile.

But you wouldn't let go of a perfect opportunity to put one on top, not in this fight over dominance. So what you're doing, is forming a silent ,daddy‘ with your mouth, watching as Taehyungs eyes are widening while you turn back around to continue walking.

As soon as you reached the door Taehyung has pointed towards, you're quick to push down the handle- you wanna make him wait, but you don't want to make him wait for long.

Surprisingly the door won't open, though. Instead, you hear a voice calling out to you.

„Uhm, hyung?? I'm still in here so... would you mind??“

Being an Army for so many years, you know exactly to whom that voice belongs to. It's no one else than Jeon Jungkook, and it has you shocked. You would have thought that no one would be in the dorm when Taehyung brings you over, but certainly you've been proven wrong. Too bad that you have to keep the act of not knowing them up.

„E-... excuse me?“ you say nervously.

It doesn't help that now there's a big awkward silence, caused by probably both of you being equally surprised.

„I... uh... I-I'm sorry but-... uh yeah... occupied,“ Jungkook stutters out, being obviously just as nervous as you are.

„Uhh, okay, that's fine. Do you think it'll take long? I really have to... you know... pee.“

„Sadly, I think so... I'm sorry but I have been here for a while already and I don't think that'll change anytime soon...“ he says with the tiniest of voices. He sure sounds embarrassed.

„Oh dear, how long have you been in there?“

„... four hours...“

„Fo-four hours? You poor boy, what happened to you?!“

„I might have eaten 21 buckets of KFC... it's kinda taking its toll right now...“

„What- twenty-one buckets? That's... well, yeah. I can see that might take a while,“ you laugh. „But that doesn't change anything... do you happen to have a second bathroom?“

„Yes, it's actually two doors to the left, it should be free!“ he responds, now a bit more excited.

„Thank you! And... good luck in there!“ you cheer, as you turn away to find the other bathroom.

„Thanks.“

As you are about to pass the first of the two doors, it suddenly shoots open and Hoseok is sliding out of what seems to be his room.

He's leaning onto the door frame, arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

„Hey sexy, how are we doing tonight? Who's your daddy, huh?“

„Someone that's not you,“ you reply as you keep walking, unfazed.

„Fair enough,“ is all he says as he quickly disappears, shutting his door.

That sure was not what you'd have imagined what Hoseok would be like, but who are you to judge, you are not better.

As you push down the handle of the door next to Hoseoks, you are relieved to see that it in fact is the bathroom. You step inside and quickly do what nature is calling for.

Taking two, three glances in the mirror after washing your hands, you straighten your dress, fix a couple strands of hair and are ready to go find Taehyung.

‚Just walk down the hall on the right side,‘ you recall. ‚Shouldn't be too hard.‘

The right side of the hall is pretty much in front of you now, there is only one problem- it hasn't exactly only one door.

„Of course he didn't tell me which one,“ you mumble to yourself. You could try and call out his name, but you aren't very fond of the idea of making a fool out of yourself.

This damn guy. You immediately understood why you had to give your phone away as soon as you saw him and you didn't mind, but right now it wouldn't have been too bad to have it back.

Taking a deep breath you place your bet on the first door there is. Every rational thinking person would mention which door it is if it wouldn't be the first one, so that must be it, right?

Slowly you open the door and dare to peek inside. The lights are out, yet the space is dimly lit by a monitor that's left turned on. The whole room is a mess made out of empty bottles of banana milk, ramyeon bowls and a giant load of KFC buckets.

‚Jesus christ, Jungkook...,‘ is all you think as you close the door again. Not the room you were looking for.

Now you're getting nervous. As it seems, you'll have to go through all the doors, as much as you'd wish that wouldn't be the case.

Gathering some courage, you're knocking on the door next to Jungkooks before you open it carefully.

This time, the lights are on and the room isn't empty either; someone's sitting in their chair working on something on the computer. You immediately figure that you've barged into the wrong room again, but when he's starting to turn around in his chair, you'd feel rude if you would just leave now.

„You must be the girl that's Taehyungs guest for the night?“ Yoongi says with a monotone voice.

„Yes, I am and... you are?“

„That's not important right now. It's just good that I met you before, because...,“ he says while turning back around, opening a drawer, looking for something. When he found what he's been looking for, he reaches for his pocket, pulling his wallet out and turns back around as he continues his sentence. „You're going to stay over night, I assume? So, let me ask you, how exactly are you going to pay for this? I can accept cash,“ he says while lifting the wallet a bit, „....or credit cards,“ he says as he lifts a pocket card reader with his other hand, smirking.

You chuckle. This is probably the most hilarious thing you've ever witnessed. These guys are rich, and yet he asks you for money?

„Excuse me, but... this house doesn't exactly look like you'd need this, are you for real?“

Yoongi lets out a breathy laughter while putting down both of the items in his hands.

„We might seem rich, but I like to be on the safe side, you never know when you run out of money, you know?“ he explains with a smile, his expression kind of thoughtful.

You assume that this mindset probably has its roots in the fact that he grew up very poor, so he'd try to do everything to keep that from happening.

„I think I can understand that,“ you start. „and who would I be if I wouldn't support that? Also I kinda liked the way you asked. It was funny.“

You're laughing as you finish your sentence. Reaching into your bag, you drag out your wallet and pull out a dollar.

„I'm so sorry, but I can't just give you everything I have, since you never know when you run ouf money. But I can give you this as a thanks for the hospitality.“ you mock, and his eyes widen in surprise as you offer him the money.

„Are you for real?“

„Yes, just take it,“ you respond with a laughter.

„Holy shit, this is the first time someone actually does that. Geez, girl, you might not be as bad as I thought!“

„Excuse me?“ You're cocking an eyebrow.

„Nothing, forget it!“ he quickly says.

„Alright... listen, I should probably get going. Keep doing what you do, it's amazing!“

Shit. You didn't think that sentence through.

„What?“

„Uhh, the... the money thingy, you know. It's amazing how you, uh yeah, how you're managing that! I'll leave now, enjoy your night!“ you stutter out.

Yoongis face is decorated with a huge smile.

„No, you better enjoy your night.“

Closing his door behind you, you're taking a deep breath. That was close. You have to be more careful with what you're saying.

Giving the next room a try, you definitely did not expect what just happened, and neither did the person inside expect someone to walk in.

You are peeking your head into Kim Namjoon's room, which isn't a bad thing at all, but his eyes are fixed on you as his mouth hangs open in embarrassment.

He was listening to a song you know all too well, no, he wasn't just listening, he was enjoying it. He enjoyed ‚Expensive girl‘. He danced to it.

„That never happened.“ he says emotionless.

„Deal.“

You know exactly why he's embarrassed, but since he doesn't know that, you decide to take a different route.

„That was a nice song, though. What's it called?“ you say with a soft smile.

Namjoons eyes widen even more when you said that.

„Are you- are you serious?“

„Yes, I am.“

„Fuck yeah it is right?! I knew someone will think so. You know what? I'm sick and tired of hiding that song. I'm sick and tired of pretending I don't like it. It's a good song, and thats the facts, ain't it like that?“ he says with way too much exitement and somehow a hint of aggression.

‚Who hurt this poor boy? Jesus christ, why does he feel so angry?‘

„The song is actually a cover, someone named Rap Monster made it. He changed his name though, but he's really sick!! You should give him a try,“ Namjoon says with a smirk.

You're having a hard time not to laugh. If only they'd know.

„I'm sure he is.“

„You're not in here for me, though, huh? You're looking for Taehyungs room. It's the last door at the end of the hall. After mine there's a couple other rooms following. You probably stumbled into some other rooms before mine, I guess I'm just... yeah, I guess I'm just trying to be nice so you won't waste your time.“

„Trying to be nice, huh?“ you laugh.

„Yeah, I mean, how could I not? You promised not to tell anyone about what just happened, so I'm just giving back the favor.“

„Oh, a real gentleman, I see.“

You both laugh out loud and remain smiling at each other quietly for a few more seconds afterwards. The guy that just seemed like an angry one now doesn't seem angry anymore at all; he suddenly feels warm.

„You're pretty cool, do you know that?“ you compliment him, your voice sincere.

Namjoons smile fades away, and he's staring at you with big eyes.

„I'll go now. Keep your nice taste in music up, alright?“

He doesn't say anything. Instead, he just nods a couple times.

Poor guy. You must have flustered him, although you have to say that this expression looks pretty cute on his face.

With a smile on your face, you wave him goodbye as you close the door behind you.

Namjoon's a decent man. At least he's told you where Taehyungs room is.

So here you are, walking towards the end of the hall, and as you reach it you realize that you're facing another problem. Just as you thought you might finally be able to get this night started, you are standing in the middle of two doors.

‚At least its a 50:50 chance now... instead of tons of possible doors that could be the right one.‘

Namjoon really could have mentioned if it was the left or the right door. But well, you're thankful that you didn't have to open the other 5 doors thanks to his hint, so you're not complaining.

‚Fuck it, let's just go with the left door.‘

Knocking first, you open the door ever so slowly before you step inside a bit. You can't see anyone to your left, but as your head turns over to the right, you find Jimin sitting on his bed in a cute pajama set.

This is probably the purest thing you've ever seen. He was reading a book, and as he faces you, your eyes lock. He looks as if he's absolutely mesmerized; his eyes wide and lips slightly parted, and you'd be lying if you'd say that this moment doesn't make your heart skip a beat.

„....I- uh.... I'm sorry.... wrong room,“ is all you can bring out, your eyes still locked.

He slowly nods at your words.

There's a short moment of silence before you cut the tension that lays thick in the air.

„I should... uhm... yeah,“ you stutter as you point over your shoulder with your thumb. Again, he only nods in response.

Just the second before you close the door, you can hear Jimin whispering a quiet ‚wow‘ under his breath.

As soon as it's closed, you're leaning onto his door. What the fuck was that?

While you're leaning there, though, your eyes fall onto the door in front of you.

Taehyungs door.

‚Alright, y/n. Game on.‘

a/n: jfc what a riDe this chapter was clykslxls. N E WEIGH I HOPE Y'ALL ENJOYED IT!!

And before you ask, y e s. The next chapter will be exactly what y'all are thinking. 👀 🐸☕️

Thanks for reading, ILY ALL SO MUCH 💕💕💕

Taglist: @foreverconfused-foreverlost @depressed-philosophers-daughter @hobisbeech @torrentmgc @rjsmochii @xxqueenwxtchxx @presentlyblooming @xosetsuna @babyboyjiminn @stray-kids-in-your-area @thefooolonthehill @yeosinlana @sippinpeachtea @stbangtan @kpopkermit @d-noona @sarahleslie123 @sociallyawkwardforever @oodlespadoodle @btssouls

[punkscowardschampions]

Janis & Grace & Jimmy

Janis: Fucking Phones! *Janis shouts, her frustration kicked into overdrive, phone shotput at the nearest wall before she can think about it. If it wasn't broken before, like. Paces over to the shattered remains, not to cradle with regret, but to put the boot in further, stomping heavily on the useless hunk of junk 'til she's satisfied. Deep breaths were saved for AFTER the storm, not some pathetic vain attempt to stop the inevitable. She was well past that stage. Had she EVER been so naive to be at that stage? Had she ever tried to stop herself? What was the point? She knew how strong she was, how strong IT was, knew better than to get in her own way, like. As she was pondering what the fuck to do now, someone who had NEVER learnt to get out of the oncoming tide's way walked through the door. Oh, Gracie. How many times have you been left shattered on the floor? Stung to think about. Not just 'cos she'd got glass in her feet that needed dealing with. But first- Despite agreeing with Jim earlier, Janis knew her twin better, knew there was more to it. What she did not know was what to do about it. Whatever it was. Gulp. An olive branch disguised as you'd be doing me a favour. That'd have to do it.* Grace? Can I borrow your phone quick, like. *She gestured to the crime scene below her feet.* Grace: *She's a liar, concerned with only the promise that today the gym would be packed, and it was. Every lad who flexed to get girls had eyes for the ones they ranked before Grace walked in, and the girls that were above it, or faking that they were, locked onto their camera roll as they did their work out, looking at themselves, 'done with anyone else, honestly'. She took selfies herself, because without being focused on the insta numbers what did she have, a playlist that preached empowerment without giving her any? Tragic. Pathetic was all she felt next to them, solidarity wiped off her radar by the invisibility she needed and hated. Fuck the sisterhood. Mother nature's turned her back and over it without a 'thank you, next. There's more space at home for her than here. Beyond tragic. Still she goes there minus any juice or coffee stops, there's no craving that can touch how much she doesn't want to run into the growing list of people who she'd die if she had to deal with being around. Obviously she near collides with one of the first immediately because OH MY GOD she can't get a break right now. Coping with only being wanted for her phone is easier than expected though. Grace unlocks and hands it over wordlessly, keeping her attention on what is gestured and so #relatable.* Janis: *Janis nods her thanks, doing her level-best to pretend her sister, silent, wasn't a total headfuck; Wished for many a time but she'd never professed to being careful, had she? The tapping out of a quick text the only sound allowed to occupy the vast space between them. Allowing the awkwardness to grow, as if it could bridge the gap, Janis read his reply (received in record time, by the way) and made huge effort not to smile smugly because she REFUSED to be one of those girls, even though that had had the potential to unite her with her twin in the past, it felt like a bad move now. She wasn't one of those girls either. Not really Not deep down. And she certainly did not seem it nowadays. Oh how we have changed, my friend. She handed the phone back as silently as it had been given, intent on leaving it at that but, for some reason, words tumbling as thoughtless as the rain of violence had upon her own phone just moments ago, she just asked her.* Do you want to come out with us? We're not doing anything exciting, like. So you don't have to...But if a bit of normality sounds good, though; gotta walk the dogs and his brother and sister, run some errands up town. *She finishes lamely with a casual shrug, as if that took nothing, as if they always did this kinda thing. Before they did, but the past was a different place, a town they didn't occupy any more. Whether you thought that a tragedy (and Janis did think it that, too) or otherwise, it was what it was.* Grace: *This headfuck adds itself to the pile, leaving her again, clueless as to who the fuck she is. Grace had long been thinking it of her twin, before barista boy had moved in and got her shaken off from her sister totally, but it's pushed away whenever it enters her head and tries to shake up her own persona. No way and no time like. Until now that it had run out for her anyway. It doesn't matter what her mum said, over and over, she feels broken. And ashamed. And somehow, Janis knew that without knowing, offering her a pity hang to keep the vibe from leaving her alone. Obviously she could go off, hard, in the moment and get everyone else to leave her but what was the point if that's her only power? A pity party is the only one that'll be thrown for her these days, there's no choice but to cope with that. Later. After she's called Janis out in gestures and expressions that scream UGH and AS IF because too much has changed to let go of that. Even as she realises she's accepting, all 'thank god I showered and changed at the gym' crossing her mind and face.* Okay, Jan, no need to beg babes. *Grace fluffs her hair, smiling wide enough to hurt. Later too.* Gotta change my bag first like OMG, a dog that cute has just gotta come home with me. Unfair that your feed gets all of her when mine's the most poppin'. She's welcome. Janis: *Janis rolls her eyes but that action, so overused it went way beyond practiced into straight up muscle memory, was accompanied by a less usual smile. Small but conveying the too-big-and-awkward-to-mention idea that today, just this once, she would let shit slide. Still, it'd feel to alien for both if she let her twin get away with EVERYTHING, like. Sympathies SHOULD only stretch so far, otherwise who even were they?* Sure she'll be buzzin' for the fame, Grace. Just be quick about it, alright? I've already left 'em hanging long enough meself with the fecking phone dramas... *And the shower. And the actually taking longer than ten seconds to pick out somethin' decent to wear, somethin' he might like. Push that feeling down, along with the bile it caused. Don't think about it. Deal with it later. She busied herself in the kitchen, NOT like the proper little housewife the stupidity of giving a shit was mockingly making her feel, but by fishing out the promised leftovers for Twix, finding the sparklers, and chucking in some leftovers for the kids too, Holiday food still coming out their earholes here. Again she ignored the mocking voice from within, trying to be rational about it. It weren't like she gave a fuck like THAT, and not about Jim but if their dad was AWOL it was probably microwave meals and takeaway grub, the kiddos may as well have something decent to line their bellies, Lord knows her fam didn't need it. No sense wasting it. So there. Fuck you. Janis grabbed her house keys and chucked her new cropped hoodie over her outfit, untucking her curls and waiting by the door, foot tapping from impatience, nothing more, alright?* Grace: *Grace moves fast, not because she's feeling it herself but she knows Janis is and can't handle the fight, impatience so blatant to cause it that even without a twin connection that Jimmy would see it himself as quick. Her stomach twists painfully, the idea that no man will ever want her again resurfacing before it can be pushed back down. Her body flops down on her bed staying separate from her, face pressed into the tear-stained pillow until she has a reason for not being able to breathe. A small sound comes out, nothing else. The other girl will be charging up the stairs if she doesn't hurry so she forces herself up and does the switch, grabbing stuff she might need blindly. The 'who am I?' question throws itself out again but it's better than any Janis will ask otherwise. Grace reassures herself its her reasoning for no mirror check before walking away. * Janis: *The 'okay, let's do this' doesn't need to be vocalized (need or want? they're two very different beasts but let's both pretend we don't know otherwise), so it isn't. Quickly jostling out the door, matching pace on the short walk to the Grandparent's, like this was a two-step or a tango another dance that required two to- somehow keeping rhythm, keeping time, so well and so naturally between them it was like they'd never stopped being a double act. Now with Killer in tow, the truth that they had stopped being Graceandjanis, presented itself readily in the hugs and love she received and the awkward hellos and suspicious barks Grace did when they made their date. Janis couldn't very well push the kiddos away, no need to be that much of a cunt on anyone's behalf, her sister especially wouldn't thank her for it- but she converted Jim's into a one-arm handshake type hug affair; 'accidentally (who knew?) pushing her extended fist into his stomach with a 'whoops'. She withdrew, choosing to do what she knew how before anything else could be said or done or even thought.* Race ya to the swings! *It was a challenge for the entire group, fuck it, the dogs could get in on the action if they liked, just give a fucking distraction. Bobby hung back Grace too. Janis looked back, wondering if she should run back too, not leave her sister so soon but she found her legs continuing regardless, beyond her control. That was just how it was these days.* Grace: *She can breathe again, easily, of course she can, when they are walking side by side. Grace forgets until the park's in sight, reminding her hard enough to bring tears to her eyes. She blinks them away, refusing to be that girl, but the buggy's still there, being pushed in time with her own steps so close she can't help but remember how far away any of that is for her. Frantically she clutches her phone, acting out living a life where what the screen is showing her is something she cares deeply about knowing. The distraction can't last and doesn't. There they are, Jimmy and his brother, his sister keeping pace with a sniffing puppy, kicking her own toes against the ground. 'I feel you girl' she thinks, automatically despite having no idea what the girl's deal is and barely a grip on her own either. They all smile, waves and everything, but hers doesn't hurt now and won't tonight. None of this is real. She might as well not be here, that's not news anymore than Janis being gone again is, so why react to it? It's hard enough pretending to give them her usual vibes. The boy doesn't run when the rest do, sticking with her. What the fuck is she meant to do or say to that? She blinks again, breathing deep and he mirrors it. Too relatable. Horrible. If he starts sobbing she can't just stand there. No way. Janis would kill her. It'd look suss af even if she handled it well, a kid crying with nobody but her around to blame. Oh god. She can't do this. He's looking at her like she trod on his dog with her heels on, and hasn't stopped. Grace bends down to his level with another whispered 'hey, cutie', cussing herself for packing her bag on autopilot because she couldn't guarantee having anything he might like. At a loss she falls into old habits, asking him quietly if he wants to take a selfie. He shakes his head no first, until she pulls up all the best features her phone can offer, filters making him smile wider and wider as he skips through. He almost loses it when she makes herself into a singing dog emoji thing and insists loudly that she send it to his big sister's phone. She tells him to go ahead, all it takes to secure a friend for the afternoon apparently. Grace shakes her head, smiling without realizing it. He hasn't even found her games yet. Just you wait boy.* Jimmy: *It's been a headache getting them sorted, but the fresh air eventually clears it before it turns into more than a heaviness behind his eyes. Janis not having a phone, and the thought of him having to text Grace's more than once had him picking up the pace and the kids followed eagerly despite dragging their feet when he first told 'em to get a move on. Cass has no choice unless she was about Twix wrecking her Christmas trackies in all the excitement of her true love appearing and Bobby makes up his mind just as fast when he catches on too. The park or the cramped four walls of their living room, no contest, like. He was with them both there. #Buzzing he thinks with a smirk that's a grin until it's nothing. She pushes him away, forcing him to push himself to catch back up. He touches the chain of the swing just after she does, dogs at his heels, only moving aside so his sister can jump on (and off as soon probably, but go for it, Cass). No prizes for coming second. He looks over his shoulder for bobby, seeking him out, relaxing when he sees Grace with him. He's alright. Wish he could say the same, having lost.* Janis: *Janis took as much internal pleasure from the victory as she could get- not much, nothing if we're being real (we aren't). Empty as she felt, plenty of room, like; still, she found the silly little 'win' just as hollow. Still, could fake that that wasn't the case, throwing up loser signs as she raised her arms in 'triumph'. Being an arrogant cunt was a surefire way to keep people at a safe distance, that method beyond tried and tested now. 'Let's get this whole situation back to fakery, yeah?' Her every sane impulse urges, terror white hot, cornered animal scared, ready to lash out for her survival, (and his). 'Please, no. I'm not ready to stop this!' The part of her that burns with wanting him, loving- this, whatever 'this' was, begs, thick with need. Need was not allowed. Needing things just meant hurt and disappointment, every time. And Janis felt she had enough stacked already. Call her weak or a pussy for knowing she wasn't super-human, (not even human), for knowing her limits (Weak. Pussy.) Enough was enough, do what you do best already, and run; run so far ahead of him that all he's left with is your dust, not even memories, good or otherwise, to remember you by. Forget about it, kid. Ignoring Jim might be a task she was up for the challenge of but ignoring Twix proved near impossible, Janis patted the pup's head absent-mindedly, just to get her to calm down a bit, like. Working out what was wrong when she was met with manic sniffing, she dug around in her pockets and produced a bone. She tossed it lazily but it still flew a great distance through the air out into the open field. She then had the perfect excuse to casually follow after the running dog. So chill. So natural.* Jimmy: *He pushes Cass on the swing a few times, helping her get the speed up she needs to make the jump, but hard as he goes for it, it doesn't help. The only thing that's gonna is to sort out why Janis is being off with him. He asks himself first, thinking that since Grace was being uncharacteristically quiet too that was the answer. Being mad that Gracie has invited herself to tag along made sense but taking it out on him was a dickhead move like. Shrugging to convince any watching sisters that he didn't give a shit, he jogs over to where the two of them are, bending to annoy Twix 'cause that'll get to her most.* Gracie coming too town too? I see how it is, getting coffee when she knows her real faves on shift. None taken.* It's bollocks but going off for a smoke'll go down like a lead balloon with Bobby when he notices which means Cass getting pissed off at him when Janis already is. Instead he nods over to where his little brother is, still beside Grace. *We should get in on that, bet our selfie game's well stronger and you'd make a gorgeous bunny mate it has to be said. Janis: *Janis nudges him away from Twix as if the daft thing were hers and not at least part his, making a 'leave off' sound too.* Don't blame me if she goes for your ankles, like. I didn't teach her how to do that or nowt but you know, s'a bitch's prerogative. *She nods, not looking at him, eyes kept on the horizon, as if he were a stranger she was having a meaningless chat to about the weather whilst keeping an eye out for the bus still.* Yeah. Anything to get out the house though, init. *Said as if Grace was driving her as mad as two hyper kids, which usually wouldn't be a lie but currently her sister had about as much life in her as the Christmas tree they'd just chucked. She did her best to ignore the joke about the other baristas, 'cos at the end of the day it was one, it just didn't feel like it when her twin was in such a way. But even Janis couldn't pin that on the boy stood with her now, she had enough pride to not appear entirely irrational, like. She could, however, lower herself to an eye-roll at the equally as jokey suggestion.* Nah. Bobby's cuter. Besides, I'm so fucking sick of selfies. Jimmy: *He shakes his head exaggeratedly, smirking.* No chance. She's soft as. Lot of that going about.* Jimmy nudges Janis playfully. *Like trainer, like dog, don't they say? *Anything to get a reaction out of her that isn't this. 'Cause fucking hell he doesn't get it. They'd had a good day before, only better if he'd beat her at paintball too, and a decent night despite the actually mad amount of family she had for him to meet. This morning she'd been alright with him. Their normal. Until now. What the fuck had gone wrong? Panic makes his palms slick and he uses her nan's husky as means to destroy the evidence before she twigs it to be, patting the dog's head affectionately.* This one on the other hand, #savage. Twix, get taking those notes, hun. *He laughs, hating what it sounds like when it lands, but preserving. Why the fuck not. Might as well go one further he thinks, and does, acting like he'd been shot down by what's actually true as he raises his hands to demand a ceasefire before making a show of putting the phone away and patting his pocket. * You'll change your tune once that new model's in your hand. Janis: Fuck off! *She says, indignant, voice raised. Couldn't even help it, correct button pressed; well done, mate. Nail on head, the ease in which he could do it sickening, a punch in the guts. A warning sign. No, it wasn't. She just got angry, she was an angry person, that was all, nothing more to it. Now calm down. Calm the fuck down before you embarrass yourself further. 1 2 3- Fuck it. Janis snorts, again words out before she can help it. Before she can censor the shit he doesn't need to know. The shit she doesn't talk about. Ever. With anyone.* Yeah well, that's what happens when you're not raised- *Stopping herself before its too late, 'cos nope not going there, not today, not with him. She let him distract the both of them with his amateur dramatics, looking him up and down skeptically.* Not too late to join the drama club, you know. You need an outlet, mate. About as much as I need the newest iPhone and all its megapixels, like. *She does her own mime act, clicking an invisible camera at him.* Grace: *They are playing some brightly coloured tapping game together when his shyness of her wears off. The questions are easy at first, listing off the cats names as far back as she can remember when she tells him regretfully about not having a dog, counting on her fingers and using his when they run out. They are both laughing at the end of it and she continues after hearing his mum was allergic to dogs so they couldn't get Twix 'til she went. Way to own and finalise that separation Mr Taylor, Grace thinks. Such a mood. Janis would 100% approve. She looks over at her sister but her gaze won't linger long enough to be felt. Not now. It just can't. She can't go there. She asks him more about her, this mum who he insists is 'far away', letting him talk. He deserves to say anything he wants, in whatever sense her absence means to him. None of her family do and look at them all. There's a huge part of her desperate to join in, just have the words 'my sister Edie is gone too' come out, but she can't go there either. It isn't right. Not when she means dead and this kid is what, like 5? If her twin's ever shared that info with her she can't find it in the moment, like it matters. She's not gonna offload that on him. No way. Better to keep smiling and encouraging, at least he's thriving off it.* Jimmy: Calm it down! *His own tone stays playful, matching the smirk he doesn't dare to drop. Fuck him for forgetting his shades the one time he needs them for something that isn't posing, if anything in his face gives him away to her they aren't gonna make it to town, making him a peak dickhead. He nods at the next bit, letting her know how 'so relatable he finds it, like' as he looks over at Cass and Bobby both, wearing the 'don't I know it' on his face wearily. Joke's over there. Call it a raw nerve, or too much truth to shrug through.* Yeah. *Before his weariness can piss them both off he takes the out his given to keep this banter jokey. Hip Hip Hooray!* Countin' on it. Shame you've missed the deadline for being one of us art pricks. You'll always have the 'gram though. #blessed. Janis: *'Great' Janis thinks to herself, sinking further into the regret consuming her every thought and action today as she realizes, (or at least presumes), he picked up on the dead sister vibes and now feels awkward as arse. Well done, dickhead. It wasn't as if she could plead ignorance, four years gone had taught them all that other people were crap with dealing with the death conversation. No one wanted the reminder. Least of all them, to be honest. Had to seep into everything, didn't she? Never any good at staying gone. Fuck you, Edie. Janis swallowed following his gaze to Cass and Bobby, taking the time to check up on her sibling too. Nothing, she tells herself, she feels nothing. Fuck them all. Its the blisteringly cold wind making her eyes water, that's all. She grunts in response, hardly worth it but it was all she had to give, not sorry about it. Sorry. She walks on in silence, throwing things for the dogs, shouting out commands, doing her best to disguise the cracks in her voice as a sore throat and nowt else. In the spirit of throwing a bone, she attempts to say something real, give him anything to work with. Purely 'cos this was boring, like. If they were gonna be wasting their afternoon regardless, yeah?*  Let's play a game. You have to answer every question truthfully and straight away, like, if you don't you lose your chance to ask a question back. Meaning I get to go again or you pussy-out fully and call game over then you lose. Got it? I'll even let you go first, gracious victor that I am. Jimmy: *He doesn't know what to do when he sees it in her eyes any more than when he does in his sister's. The fight. He knows what he wants to do, every damn time, but he knows what it'll earn him from Janis. Same as Cass near enough. A smack or a strop off. He's had plenty of the first, naturally, but the second has him frozen in place. He sees it in his head, Janis stepping back as he moves forward and can't bear the maybe like. He breathes out hard, forcing it until he coughs. By the time he has his shit together, it's done. Chance missed for him to go for asking 'why are you being so off with me?' Thank fuck, 'cause honestly he knows the answer, doesn't he? She's fed up now they aren't faking it. He shouldn't hold blame, state of him, but it's there. For himself mostly, thinking she'd be any different. Nobody stays. Give her a few years and Cass'd be off to, looking for better. Bobby after some more. Still, he trails along, trying to be wrong. Needing to be. He feels it when he kisses her, more than his desperation, and if it exists, he can keep on to it.  So he gets a grip now, sorts himself enough to be properly back next to her. Grins when he is, 'cause there it is. A new chance. Fucking hell. Jimmy nods. * Yeah okay. *He catches her eye, challenging her to back down already but bricking it that she might. What would he do then? He nudges her, the contact meaning more to him than the casual gesture lets anyone else know. He tries, ready to lose if needs be. * What's up with you then? Janis: *Janis resists the urge to pull a face, an 'of all the questions' kind of look, 'cos obviously that's the entire point of the game and she was the one who started it so- man up, like. She opts for the classic 'is that it?' look instead, faking out on her answer not being an option (she wouldn't do that to him) but she could at least front some bravado before answering truthfully. She leaned into his nudge as if to prove to herself otherwise as she said-* I'm scared. *A shrug, again, as if to counteract her words. She also fought the urge to ask what was wrong with him too, settling on an easier question, but one she'd still care to know the answer to.* How many girls have you slept with? Jimmy: *There's so many questions that come to mind when she gives her answer but it isn't his turn and honestly, if it was, he's scared too. More than a bit. Probably more than she is, truthfully. 'Cause the feeling is too strong to be alone in, he's about to let her know she isn't, by reaching for her hand and squeezing but there's no time for that. She takes her go, digging at him less than expected. Jim hides his surprise with a snort, shaking his head. 'What are you like?' that gesture implies, but he's bothered more about the state of himself, hiding behind all this bollocks again. He returns the shrug she gave him, easy as. She already knows about Skerries. There's no mystery despite what they all seemed to believe when he arrived as a newbie * 2. I had a girlfriend at home before. Ages go. * He shoots her a look, hopefully unreadable.* That scare you more or less? Janis: *She nods. Honestly, pleased, just a hint of a smile gracing her face. Yeah, yeah, yeah that shit shouldn't matter and it didn't, like; when you were on level-pegging, her bitterness told her, even if Jim's number was low, hers was always gonna be lower, wasn't it? Still, there was only one honest answer to his question. Didn't even compare, like.* Less. *Janis was tempted to ask him why he was wasting questions but she would be doing the same in-turn so, nah. She let herself think for slightly longer than last time, working out how best to play this. Interesting enough to keep him playing but not coming out with the real scary shit 'cos that'd have him quitting even faster if she went there with no warming him up, like.* Why'd you not wait to find a real girlfriend here? Jimmy: *He laughs, it's her directness that does it. Yeah that's the point of the game but she's there shamelessly #buzzing by his 'revelation.' It's the first time he's done something right since they got here and he can't help smiling himself. Finally not a smirk. Cheers, mate. He stops himself shrugging yet again, in case that feels like a step back, though for real, he could care less about this question. He'd never lied about his lack of interest or any of that. Still wasn't. * I didn't want one. *Until he did. And here they are. Scary shit. It's better to focus on the game, something he can ask while still playing safe enough to keep going. What then? Come on, dickhead. There's a part of him, also from ages ago apparently, that wants to blurt out something about that cunt Harry she kept kissing, the jealousy existing, making him feel shitty. Reminding him he is, like. His smile fades. Can't keep anything, can he? *Why me when you could've just told your haters about other school Harry and left it at that? He loved boasting about the two of you, he'd have been enough. Janis: *Janis stuck her middle finger up but she joined in the laughter all the same, 'cos not would give her away more than she already had and she couldn't have that. Just let him think she was a jealous girl or whatever had him cracking up. 'Cos surely she hadn't let him close enough that he could actually know what was up, had she? She considered his answer as she stressed over her own. Guess he hadn't...But why now? What had changed? Was they really still just mates, but with benefits, like? Was that all he waiting for? Oh wait, stupid bitch, YOU have to answer first. And that is way more than your allotted one question per turn. And just much too much in general. Calm it. And answer before you look any weirder.* 'Cos he weren't my boyfriend. Ever. Anyone can get a lad like that to get off with them, didn't really prove anything. Besides, I wanted to help you, like. I dunna why. Sue me. *She pokes her tongue out, turning to face him, walking backward as she asks her next. Changing tact, 'cos she's not sure if she can actually handle knowing the answers to all the questions she'd posed in her head.* Do you really hate it here? Jimmy: *It doesn't seem like she's gonna answer at first, but instead of feeling good about another victory to his name, it just lets in all the shit waiting there in his own head to fill in the blanks. He's heard and told a load to piss off before she gives hers. It's nowt he didn't proper know by himself but there's comfort in how she says 'ever' as a fuck you. Fuck off Harry you prick. The feeling only builds when she gets walking like that, reminding him of Jaden's party. He'd never wanted to stop kissing her that night. Still didn't. Same finality. 'Cause yeah, right now he didn't ever. There it was. So when he shakes his head it's no pisstake. Banter's the furthest thing from the gesture and he let's his face show it. Just for now, like. * Nah, I hate that them two do, but not me. *He looks over at his siblings, Bobbin's taken Cass' place on the swings now but she's stayed nearby, phone out, snapping him. Do it for the 'gram, he can't help thinking, an affectionate smile lingering as he looks back at his girlfriend. *You? Wish you'd kept running when you did one from school and me like? Janis: *Back to nodding again, following the direction of his gaze and topic of conversation, 'cos she gets it. Without second-guessing and stopping herself with 'well their situation is probably worse' type of thoughts, she just lets it come out. The first thing she's ever said to him about Edie. The first time she's spoken about her in a long time, except to tell Grace she's glad she's dead, and that she wished she were too, of course. Standard.* We haven't always lived here, either...Lived lots of places for Mum's job and just 'cos. Ireland was barely Home for the older lot; when we came back my sister Edie hated it so fucking much. Not exciting enough, I guess. Or she liked people not knowing us the rest of the places, unlike here... *She trails off red-faced. Shrugging for cover as always.* What I mean is, probably the exact opposite for them two. Not enough people know 'em. We could change that. Introduce them to the unwashed mass of my lot. They will get more comfortable, you know... *Again the trail-off 'cos why the fuck was she offering up useless platitudes like he was a total idiot? Jesus. Distract with your answer time, bitch. As if that would diffuse the tension any. HA.* Kind of...but nah, not really, 'cos its just the people and their talk and the good and bad memories and all the ghosts, init? No matter the destination, all that shit follows so- It ain't really Dublin's fault. Just nice to take a break sometimes. *She smiles, hoping it'll just be taken as a reference to always having Skerries or some shit, and not the fact that being with him felt like a break, wherever they were. Don't need to scare him off THAT hard. And not yet. Fuck a good decision. For now.* What about you, why'd your Da move yous here? Jimmy: *It's his turn to nod dumbly then, 'cause he gets it, Edie's (supposed) feeling. It's what he likes best about this city, that even when his (supposed) new boy shine wears off, there's still much none of them know about him. Won't. He can breathe here for that, a bit, and does until he's reminded of the limits by Janis says after. She isn't wrong. Here he isn't the lad whose mum vanished, but he still is. Always will be, unless she does some magic fucking reappearing act, and how likely is that? It isn't doable, he tells himself so every damn night and for good reason. But Janis isn't wrong about what Cass and Bob need either. It isn't fair for him to keep them shut in this tight circle knowing that they can't keep their mouths shut. Why should they? They're just kids and its their normal, bound to feel like the kind of shit chatted about over the school lunch table. His hands shove themselves deep in his pockets not knowing what else to do. He wants a smoke bad but isn't far enough away from the park yet. Won't get to be. This is why they're here like. Shit. * Yeah. *It's all he has to say, barely able to look at her as is. Lifting his head back to her level is a bigger challenge than he can rise to now. Loser. Fuck. More than anything else he wants to ask her for a break, demand it, but he can't. Janis hit right on how there's no escaping this. He sighs, pulling his hood up. If she thinks he's only keeping the cold out then he'll take that, if not, he'll handle it when. Fuck it. There's only so much trying Jimmy can do today. * He got fired. Wanted a fresh start then.* He shrugs. All true. He doesn't believe if lying by omission or any of that bollocks. She didn't ask why he was sacked. Why a fresh start had to be so drastic. Those are other questions, ones he's not about to answer come to that.* We goin' down town or what? Janis: *That was it. Game over. Before she even had tie to register his answer he was sick of giving it. His hood and guard back up. Sighing with it too. Oh, how Janis wished it made HER mad. What she wouldn't give to feel that familiar friend close to her right now, to take comfort in its arms when he was shutting her out. But of course not, of course fucking not. Couldn't even have that, could she? All she felt was desperation, desperate to be let back in, to know what she did wrong so she could avoid doing it again, and it made her feel fucking sick. At least the nausea gave her valid reason to spit on the ground.* Can't be bothered now, don't matter, you lot still go if you wanna. *She fumbled in her hoodie pocket for Killer's lead, whistling him over so she could get the fuck out of here, NOW. Of course, Twix came bounding and the oblivious husky didn't. Great.* Good girl, Twix... *She mumbled, giving her some love and a treat, wishing the ground could swallow her whole.* Jimmy: *He starts walking back toward the swings, knowing it'll take ages to get both of them ready to go, longer than Janis is gonna stick around for definitely. Jimmy keeps his gaze there, Twix'll move when Cass does and there and then, if she didn't he didn't give a shit. There's no room for it. He's only filled up with how badly he's fucked this when the answer comes and a question won't follow. His sister starts mouthing off when he makes it clear they're off home but a look sorts it. Gotta leave before he's left, sorry. Cass gets Bobby and Twix with her, which should make him feel worse but there's no room for that either. Not yet. One for later like. The two them say their goodbyes, Bobby gives hugs to both twins. He doesn't. Can't if it's the last. There's nowt to do but this.* Probs text you, Gracie. *He's aiming for a joke, without waiting for it to land. Any answers. It's too much, being fake again. Especially like this.* Janis: *Even though she's the one who said it, AND she was the one who started to pack up first, when he just walks away, without so much as a glance back, nevermind a goodbye, it's like a punch in the face. (Don't you know by now I don't mean it? Dickhead)* Oi! *She pushes past him, letting the shout sail over his head like it wasn't even a little bit aimed at him, rushing up to Cass to give her the bag of goodies she'd foraged.* Enjoy, yeah? *Saying her Goodbyes to both kid's as if her and Jim already had, nothing to see here. Janis grits her teeth, poor excuse for a good-humored smile to match his worse attempt at a joke. Have her, if that's what you really want, just cut me off 'cos I can't keep hanging on your every word, Jimmy Taylor. She says nothing, figuring she can let her twin, like she used to. Feeling that unnecessary and unwanted again.* Grace: *Grace has no idea what's happening, beyond the obvious. The tragic. She was in her own world until Jimmy came through, a world where she could deal with being around these kids 'cause they're older and Cass reminds her of Gus which hurts, but in the old way, one she's learned to cope with. This new pain is too new to try and deal. It takes everything not to cry when she hears a newborn doing that. She's hates it, being back to being this lost, a hopeless saddo again, so obviously latches onto the tension surrounding her twin and the barista. She can't fix it, can't even really put her finger on the vibe, but it's enough that it isn't hers. A distraction she can sit in. Drama that can never be as deep as the one her body's done on her.* Oh, you're going. Cool. Laters then, babes. Hope I'll see you around, cutie. * She smiles wide at Bobby, a better fake than Janis can ever be. *No offense, Jimmy.* The laugh sounds real. Only the kids give her something back, but it's for them she does it, not wanting what her sister is gonna dish out in this mood. And if looks could kill, the boyfriend's could have them all in the ground. No fucking thanks. Off you go, boy, bye.* Jimmy: *He waves both twins off as if they're on equal footing suddenly like. Funny fucker he is. Even more of a twat. He keeps going, lighting up as he does, every word Cass might say about it blocked out before it gets out. Enough. It's this or worse, sorry. The kids start bickering as they round the corner, taking out the bullshit he'd started and let seep out on each other when they can't reach him. Jimmy feels like handling it like he's younger than Bobby's age, throwing himself to the floor and sobbing for a bit. There's no getting rid that easily though. Not for him. Janis was the lucky one there. Shame she didn't feel it, but it was too late for him to do anything about that. She wasn't even in sight anymore. Fuck knows when she next would be. He couldn't think of school starting when tomorrow was too far. Too much. He rubs his eyes, ready to call it tiredness but nobody was there to issue a challenge. Fuck.* Janis: *Janis turns on her heel, without acknowledging him again (not hard when all she can think to do is knock him out or beg at his feet, neither of those an option she could live with), but its cheapened by the fact he did it first, and meant it. She prays the walk Home can be as shrouded in sweet silence as the walk here was. For her sake this time. But as they walk on, further and further away from him, she starts to wish Grace would say something, ANYTHING! She needed the distraction from her own thoughts, the ones that had got her in this mess in the fucking first place! Differences aside, even her twin was better company.* Did you wanna go up-town, like? We still can... *She shrugs. What else does she have to say or offer right now?* Grace: *The walk back doesn't feel anything like the one going, they are in step, yeah, but it means nothing 'cause they're both so in their own 'drama'. She nearly tells her sister, at least part of it, as an excuse for why she's being this 'ugh' (none of these stupid, basic words fit, but they are what she automatically reaches for), feeling she owes her that, knowing Janis would be down for her being a bitch over giving her nothing to kick back against. None of the words will come out though. Of course. Only more of her usual kinda convo stuff will. She's that bitch now. Shadowing her former self. God, it's even more pathetic than anything she'd tried to pull on her twin. But it fits, and she flips her hair, turning to the other with a smile which doesn't come as easy but she forces herself to wear anyway. *Well, girl, you still need a phone. Even if just to tell him to fuck off when he tries blowing mine up. Janis: *She's looking down at their feet; looking anywhere else, a risk. She nods, allowing a small 'true' chuckle to follow too. Janis raises her head, straightening her back and standing up taller. She groans as she cracks her bones and stretches out her arms and legs like she's warming up for something. Too little too late, perhaps? God damn.* Fuck this shit, Gracie. Fuck.This.Shit. *She doesn't even know fully what her sister's shit is yet but she feels confident in sending it to Hell with her own.* What are we gonna do, eh? Grace: *She whispers it herself, 'fuck it' so soft, but so 'fire'. (Another word than couldn't touch how things were) It felt good to have it out of her. More than that, feeling connected to her twin again (bad as she felt for thinking it under these conditions, god she was such a bitch.) was even better. A more genuine smile is offered up while she thinks of what she can say, tapping her nails against denim. *We're going to town, sister, and owning the rest of this day. New phone, new clothes, whatever we want. Fuck it. Janis: *Janis smiles back, as genuine.* Fuck it. Let's do this.

[spicycreativity]

Intertwined - Chapter 7

Chapter: 7/8

Additional Notes: IDK if anyone is keeping sole track of this fic on Tumblr but if you are, apologies for the delay in posting 😅 Also do yourself a favor and get an AO3 account

Chapter Content Warnings: Blood, respiratory distress, very brief mentions of alcohol (alcohol use not depicted)

This was getting unbearable. Janus buried his face in his handkerchief and coughed and coughed. His blood was warm against his tongue and lips, streaking the blooms dark red. His chest burned constantly now, his throat always irritated and raw.

To top it all off, Patton had disappeared without a word of warning, leaving Janus with no answers. If anything, he had more questions than ever before. The vase of poppies on Patton's dresser could not have been a coincidence, but there was just no way this was Patton's fault.

So Janus was saddled with a mystery, with flowers in his lungs, and with Remus' awkward attempts at support.

"I'm just saying, you can't rule it out until you try it," Remus said, pausing in his pacing to give Janus a doe-eyed pout.

"For the last time, Remus, I'm not going to huff weed killer." Janus threw his head back against the couch cushions and tried his best to sigh. The effect was somewhat muted by the sputtering coughs that followed.

"I can tell you want to scream," Remus said.

He was right, though Janus would never admit it. "Yes, I think that--" Breathe, breathe, breathe-- "that'll fix me." What Janus really wanted, disgusted as he was to admit it to himself, was Patton. Not that Patton would be able to do anything that Remus couldn't do, but Janus missed him. Quite terribly, if he was being honest with himself. Maybe he would feel better if he cried, not that he'd ever allow himself to do that. He'd have to be out of his mind on hypoxia and poppy seeds.

"I just wish there was something I could do," Remus said, dropping hands to his sides. "Other than just sit here and watch."

Janus hadn't told him about the flowers in Patton's room. He kept things close to his chest by nature, determined to solve his problems on his own. He didn't ask for help. Even if he would have dearly liked another perspective on this mystery, he couldn't put that responsibility on Remus. It would only make him feel worse if he failed.

"You can make me ginger tea," Janus said, forcing a smile. It wasn't right seeing Remus fret like this. "With honey."

A teacup appeared on the coffee table alongside a bottle of whiskey. So much for occupying Remus with busywork. "What I should do," Remus said, brandishing his morningstar, "is go maul Roman until he agrees to fix you."

"As entertaining as that would be, I'm not so sure that's the most efficient course of action, per se." Janus shifted, trying to work out how to leave Remus without making him feel abandoned. He just wanted to go check on Patton, but didn't feel at all up to the task of refereeing whatever confrontation would result in Patton and Remus sharing space. He could always just get up and leave with no explanation…. But Remus didn't deserve that.

In the end, he decided to wait until Remus got bored. There was no guarantee he was even going to find Patton. He had been AWOL for the past two days and Janus had had a near run-in with Virgil last night when he'd gone to look for Patton, an experience he was not keen to repeat.

And if Janus expedited the process of ditching Remus by pretending to fall asleep, well, he'd never tell.

Patton had a distinctly hungover look about him, with his glasses missing and his hair sticking up in the back. He blinked at Janus, bleary-eyed, and Janus' heart started to jackhammer in his chest. How utterly cute, how endearing. He wanted to smooth Patton's hair down and kiss him on the forehead, though he'd have to stand on his tiptoes to reach. Damn the subconscious for making him tiny.

"Where have you been?" Janus asked, planting himself in the middle of the hallway. Patton's door disappeared into white ether, a fact which Janus filed away to think about later.

"Sleeping," Patton said, holding up a bottle of NyQuil.

Well, that explained why he didn't smell like alcohol despite the obvious hangover. "And here I thought you were avoiding me," Janus teased. Despite the awful sting all up and down his chest, Patton's mere presence seemed to lighten the burden and ease his fears. He could bear this as long as he had Patton by his side.

"No," Patton mumbled, dragging hands down his face. "Coffee. Then talk."

He swayed a little, steadying himself on the wall. Janus held out his hand. "Come here, let me help."

Patton nodded and let Janus lead him to the kitchen. Not trusting Patton with the high chairs at the kitchen island, Janus instead led him to the table and turned a chair out for him so they could face each other. Patton coughed behind closed lips and a spike of fear paralyzed Janus' heart. He was already fighting for breath and this new bolt of adrenaline made him dizzy. He took deep breaths (as well as he could, with his lungs all entangled and bleeding) and forced himself to make coffee step-by-step. It was the one thing he regularly did by hand instead of just imagining it to completion, a ritual and a reward.

"I hope you didn't catch what I have," Janus said. Maintaining the lie.

"Doubt it," Patton mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

Janus narrowed his eyes. What did that mean? Was Patton coughing up poppies, too? Suddenly, the drip-drip-drip of coffee into the pot, the rich, reassuring smell of the grounds, seemed unimportant. Janus imagined the coffee done percolating, imagined two mugs on the table. He pushed one toward Patton. "Cheers."

"What time is it?" Patton asked before downing half the contents of the mug in one long swallow.

"Around noon, I think." Feeling his diaphragm seize, Janus turned away, shaking his handkerchief out of his sleeve, and gave in to the fit. It was getting harder and harder to swallow the pain. Inhaling was not just uncomfortable now; it hurt like clenched fists around his lungs. But Janus was a practiced liar and tucked the pain away behind a velvet curtain. "I haven't seen you in two days."

"Sorry," Patton said, looking fractionally more alert now. "I was trying to sleep off this… Cold, I guess."

"Mm," said Janus, taking a sip of coffee to keep from having to answer properly. He couldn't decide how he wanted to pursue this, if he wanted to pursue this. What did it matter if Patton was coughing up poppies or daisies or African violets? It brought Janus no closer to solving the puzzle.

"You sound really bad," Patton said. He finished his coffee and blinked hard. "Oh! I'm sorry, but I don't think it's Roman."

"You're sure?" Janus asked, blood running cold.

But a lot of things seemed to be hitting Patton all at once with the introduction of caffeine to his system; he whipped his head up to look at Janus with something akin to panic. "I wanted to thank you, and-- Oh." He looked at their coffee mugs with obvious dismay. "I did it again."

"Did what?"

"I… I let you take care of me," Patton said in a small voice.

"Oh, Patton," Janus sighed, unable to help himself. The breath that ghosted across his lips tasted like blood and black coffee. He wondered if Patton would mind terribly if Janus kissed him anyway. "I really haven't been." That was true. Janus had been deliberately holding himself back from giving himself over to Patton. How little support did he get from the others, that Janus' minor attempts at friendship felt so significant?

"You have!" Patton insisted. "Right from the start. You've been right by my side through all of this, reminding me to take care of myself, spending time with me. You even helped me with that dog puzzle."

"I don't understand," Janus said. These were normal friendship behaviors. Had he been too obvious? Did Patton suspect? "Wouldn't the others have done the same?"

"They would," Patton said. "If I had asked."

"Oh," said Janus, blinking away a wave of dizziness. Even he couldn't begrudge the others their lack of understanding. It wasn't their fault they couldn't give Patton what he hadn't asked for. But what did it say about him that he had?

"You've been a really good friend to me, Janus. Even though I don't deserve it."

"Don't talk about my friend like that," Janus said, nudging Patton in the ribs. It was a soft, familiar gesture, something he'd done to Remus a hundred times before. It was the first time Janus had touched Patton without announcing it, getting permission.

Patton smiled at him, and then they both ruined the moment by dissolving into twin coughing fits.

Janus' lasted longer; he felt Patton's eyes on him as he repeatedly tried and failed to get himself under control-- Was that an entire flower in his throat? What did that mean? He banished it with difficulty, trying to master the animal impulses screaming it hurts it hurts it hurts as if to drown out his rational thought. He should leave, but he didn't want to. So he straightened up and washed away the taste of blood in his mouth with another swallow of coffee.

"Ohhh," Patton whispered. "You really don't sound good."

"I'm fine," Janus said, reflexively bringing out an old standard. It was the one lie everybody told.

"You didn't believe me when I said I was fine," Patton said. "Why should I believe you?"

"There's not really anything to be done about it," Janus said, hating the shallow breaths he had to take between every few words. If he stayed, he would have to pretend he wasn't in agony. But hadn't he been doing that this whole time? It was agony, being so certain that Patton could never want Janus the way Janus wanted Patton, yet unable to crush that sliver of hope that never died out.

Patton brandished the NyQuil bottle and Janus forced himself to laugh. Patton smiled at him, so soft and gentle and honey-sweet. "Why don't you sit with me?" Janus blinked and they were on the couch with two fresh cups of coffee. Patton had left no space between their bodies. "Is this okay?"

It wasn't, really. Janus burned with the contact, burned all over until he could feel it in his face and had to hide behind a cooler mask, though he was sure this one was still pale and pinched with pain. It wasn't fair at all, this horrible parody of romance. It shouldn't have been a problem. He should have been satisfied with friendship, like he was with Remus. It was nothing to sit in Remus' lap or play with his hair because they were both happy with the arrangement. But this? This made Janus want to put a fist through the wall. So of course, he said "Yes" and took his hat off in case he worked up the courage to rest his head on Patton's shoulder.

"Are we still gonna be friends the next time Thomas needs us for something?" Patton asked.

"So it's just a given that we're going to disagree?"

"Janus."

"Okay, okay." Janus sighed as deeply as his strangled lungs would allow. "I promise."

Patton beamed and didn't even question him. He just took it at face value now, that Janus wasn't lying about this. "Oh, good."

"So what are we doing?" Janus asked. "Going to drink coffee and gossip like a couple of old ladies?"

"Whatever you want, really," Patton said.

"Oh, good," Janus said drily. "I want to take shots and play strip poker." Patton blinked at him. "Kidding."

"Oh!" said Patton, shaking his head. "Sorry. Guess the NyQuil hasn't worn off yet."

"How about we watch something?" Janus asked. It was probably a little too early in the friendship to force Patton sit down and watch Perry Mason with him, but then again… He was a practiced hand at being selfish. The TV flashed to life and Janus sat his mug down on the coffee table before leaning back to watch.

"Ha," said Patton, apparently recognizing the show. "Should have guessed."

"Oh, enlighten me," Janus said, feigning innocence. "What's so funny?"

"I should have guessed you'd be into courtroom dramas," Patton said.

Janus would have ribbed him further, had his lungs not decided to turn themselves inside out. He barely got his handkerchief in front of his mouth in time before blood started spilling over his lips. God, this was miserable. His resolve was cracking; he was starting to doubt he could make it much longer without vocalizing the pain. "Maybe I will take that NyQuil," he said, the words feeling like coarse grit sandpaper as they dragged themselves up his throat. He took it from Patton before Patton could take the cap off-- He still had his pride even if he wouldn't have his voice for much longer. The thought loomed so terrifying in his mind that denial smacked it down to nothing before it could get out of control. Janus poured out half a dose of NyQuil. Everything would be fine. He would be okay. The subconscious would set him straight before the flowers could completely take over his respiratory system.

Beside him, Patton coughed a little too, and Janus sincerely hoped that he wasn't suffering the same ailment. Patton didn't deserve that.

The NyQuil kicked in gently, drawing Janus so subtly toward sleep he only noticed he was drifting off when his head touched Patton's shoulder.