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adonis-koo · 4 years

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Blue Spring

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↳ Summary: Jeon Jungkook, only well known as the youngest (and hottest) dad at the daycare, he’s got it all, the looks, the sweetheart personality, the body, but here’s what gets everyone- he doesn’t wear a wedding ring. The only problem lies in his fickle one year old daughter that hates just about every daycare worker out there...Well...besides you that is. Which of course leads to Jungkook liking you just as much as his daughter...if not maybe a little too much.

Or in other words...You and Jungkook are secretly crushing on one another but too shy to admit it.

↳ Pairing: Single dad!Jungkook/Reader

↳ Genre: Daycare AU, Slice of life, copious amounts of fluff, a hair of angst, future smut

Word Count: 4K

___ | Next

Seven thirty sharp. Your mind was groggy and you couldn’t stop the yawn that escaped your lips, you had stayed up too late the night before studying due to a test you’d have later today without even thinking about the shift you promised your coworker you’d cover. So here you were at First Steps 7:30 in the morning, coffee in hand and your hair in a messy bun.

You hadn’t even bothered getting changed besides your fitness pants. Outside of that you were still dawned in your oversized university sweatshirt. At least you’d be with the kids most of the day, one of the perks of working at a daycare was you rarely had to get dressed up.

Another perk was during naptime you could squeeze in a little more time to look over your notes, but maybe you shouldn’t get ahead of yourself considering you only slept six hours and currently look like you just rolled out bed.

Opening the door to the entrance you were greeted with the sound of cartoons, a morning routine while all the kids had their breakfast snack and got out their energy while playing. What drowned out the volume however was a familiar loud screech and whine from a little pair of arms that attached herself to the much larger figure.

“Awwwh, poor baby.” You cooed as you kneeled down, your lips quirking into a pout at the all too familiar sight, “Mina! Daddy has to go to work, he’ll be back for you later”

The little one year old suddenly perked up at the sound of your voice making you laugh softly before she quickly toddled over to you as best she could, fat crocodile tears dribbling down her cheeks as she threw herself dramatically against your chest making your lips pull into a big animated pout, “Awh it’s okay baby! Poor thing, it always takes her at least ten minutes to stop crying anytime you go.”

You picked her up, maneuvering her up to your hip as you kept her balanced in one hand, turning to fully face the tall man who you had grown acquainted too, “She’d probably cry the whole time if it weren’t for you Y/n, really thank you.” Jungkook gave an endearing smile as he let his little girl wrap her tiny hand around his finger, tears still dribbling down her cheeks as whines escaped her.

Mina, was a tough one. When new kids came in it was usually guaranteed they’d have a little separation anxiety from their parents, especially if it was the first they had ever done something like this. Usually it was recommended that the parent only leave them for an hour or so at first before they started dropping them off full time but that wasn’t always the case.

Regardless, you were both used to it and trained for it. You could almost always coax a child into looking over at the toy wall to find something they liked, or maybe they liked being read aloud too. And with particularly hard ones, you’d even let them pick out a movie if it was movie hour. But almost always, after a child was initially acquainted to you, they’d let you at least hold them or maybe coax them to play with you.

Mina, was one of the few exceptions. She had major separation anxiety from her dad and did not want any of the workers holding her- even trying to play with her. You had heard plenty about the ‘cryer’ in your work’s group chat as various staff who had worked the days she was here tried to figure out how to handle her. Then, you finally met her.

She looked doe eyed, hugging onto her dad's leg when you kneeled down and introduced yourself with a bright yet sincere smile.

You weren’t sure if it was how you said hello to her, or if it was the way you smelled like your favorite lotion, but for some reason this little girl was stuck to you like glue ever since, “You know you're her favorite right?” Jungkook joked the dimple on his cheek showing as he gave a rather boyish- yet charming smile. He was a sweetheart, through and through, you could tell how much he cared for his daughter and it only added to his charm further.

“Well, it is a part of the job,” You glanced up at him returning a tiny smile of your own as you shrugged.

You’d deny all of your coworkers giggly words and raised eyebrows anytime you were in the same room as them when Jungkook dropped Mina off. You’d also deny that you were almost always flustered in his presence, Jungkook was young, like young. He could have only been five years older than you at most. If not closer to your age.

And it wasn’t like you were blind either, he was obviously attractive. He was the talk of your coworkers day, mainly because he had a child, right? But here’s the thing, he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.

At first you were the rational one, maybe he just had a girlfriend and they were going to tie the knot eventually? Or maybe they were one of those couples that didn’t believe in marriage. Chloe had proposed that maybe he wasn’t a jewelry type of guy and always forgot to put it on. Or maybe they were a couple that did something unorthodox like wedding bracelets.

It was Lisa who chimed in last, reminding you both that this was the dad who had his ears completely punctured with over four piercings on each side. He was definitely a jewelry kind of guy.

So why wouldn’t he wear whatever jewelry they chose as their wedding bond?

Regardless, the reason your coworkers constantly winked in your direction was because it was obvious Mina had taken a liking to you, which meant Jungkook had as well...Maybe a little too well, according to them at least.

The rest was self explanatory.

“Still, Mina’s a big daddy’s girl. I felt awful leaving her here all day the first few weeks.” Jungkook gave a bashful smile as he set the large backpack down, Jeon Mina labeled on the front which held all her favorite snacks, diapers and any possible blankets or stuffies she’d need or want from home. You usually didn’t go digging around through bags but it usually helped if a parent brought in something from home. Especially for ones like Mina who could really benefit from it.

“Oh I can tell,” You gave a laugh as Mina, as if sensing she was being talked about broke into tears again as her little hand tightened on her dad’s finger, “Oh honey, shhh,” You bounced her a little on your hip with a coo before glancing up once more, “But it’s a transitional stage for her, for any of them who tend to have separation anxiety. You might feel awful but I promise it’s fine, it’s something they all go through and adjust to as they get older. I see it all the time.”

Jungkook smiled a little at your reassurance, something about him just looked so endearingly boyish still despite being a fully grown man, maybe it was the little dimple that appeared on his cheek or the beauty mark just beneath his lower lip, “I know, it still doesn’t make it any easier though,” Just as he said those words he sighed a little as he glanced over at the clock, “Anyways I need to head on to work, I will see you later.”

Mina as if sensing his departure immediately began crying once more as he pressed a kiss on her forehead, your heart speeding up a little at him being so close, the strong scent of cologne meeting your nose before quickly disappearing. Mina had tried her best to hold onto her dad’s finger as he easily pulled away, giving a semi guilty smile at the wallowing drama queen he called his daughter as he gave you another smile and nod before exiting.

Setting your coffee down against the counter you sighed, taking a deep breath as you held Mina in both arms, her little face thrown down against your shoulder as she pitifully cried against you. Nothing like being clung to first thing in the morning before you could even drink a full cup of coffee. God you had so much respect for mothers.

“I just think, if the opportunity is there, and if he’s single...why not take it?” Lisa raised her brows as she coaxingly tried to convince you of an honestly, unprofessional idea.

Sighing you pinched the bridge of your nose as Mina colored beside you- well, if scribbling with a colored pencil counted as coloring, “Lisa, that’s a horrible idea. We don’t know if he’s single or not, and honestly? It’s none of my business. Besides he’s a dad, I don’t know….” You paused your words as you glanced around before lowering your voice into a whisper, “I don’t know shit about parenting.”

Chloe clacked her tongue as she leaned back in her seat, the tiny cherry red kids chair which almost all of you sat in rather than fight over who got to sit in the big chair, often making kids think they could sit on it in which they’d be disappointed in the result, “Y/n we work with kids everyday.” She cut into the conversation deadpan.

Leave it to Chloe to point out the obvious but working with kids or not that wasn’t even close to the same thing.

“Yeah, but we don’t live with them, Chloe, we don’t have to discipline them everyday, we don’t have to call the doctor when they get sick or- or tuck them in at night or let them sleep with us when they have a nightmare- being a caretaker and a parent might be similar but they aren’t the same.” You tapped your coloring pencil against the page of the coloring sheet Mina had picked out for you, well more like the first one she could find and drag out before slapping it against the table and pointing at a chair. If she could speak you were certain she’d be demanding for you to sit.

Having a tiny child boss you around all day wasn’t the greatest job in the world but it could certainly be worse.

“Honestly, who said anything about parenting? I mean...a flings a fling-” Chloe paused, glancing over at the four year olds who were all playing before lowering her voice and leaning in a little, “You’ve seen his body and he’s clearly interested in you, how can you not see it?”

You could feel your face flush as you looked away from her, scowling at the table. How can they talk about this in front of his daughter! Albeit she was only one years old and looked perfectly happy scribbling her piece of paper, even going as far as to help you color yours as well.

Swallowing thickly you lowered your voice before exasperatedly hissing, “I am not messing with that! It would be different if he was actively trying to talk to me but I don’t think that��s what he’s going for.”

Lisa raised her brows almost looking offended at your words, had it not been for one of the four year olds calling for her you were positive she would’ve went on a massive rant about how dumb you were, “Uh he always talks to you when he’s here? How much more does he have to beg for your attention Y/n?- Coming Wi Joo.” Standing up she huffed before making her way over to where the kids were.

Speak of the devil you were surprised at who had poked their head through the door, Jungkook had stayed behind watching with a soft smile at his little girl happily coloring beside you, tugging on your finger to make you look at her picture as you nodded, leaning in as you whispered, “I think someone is here for you.” Mina glanced up as you pointed your finger to the door.

You had never seen a toddler look so frantic as she cried in happiness, Jungkook never came by this early so it must have been a treat. Unfortunately Mina was still clumsy on her feet and tripped on her way to her dad before dramatically rolling onto her back as she cried.

“Oh my goodness!” Jungkook exclaimed as he walked in with a chuckle as he glanced down with precious eyes at his baby who glanced up at him with foe crocodile tears, purposely acting like she was hurt so he’d pick her up, “Is my babygirl okay?” He leaned down before effortlessly picking her up, her crying immediately stopped as a giggle bubbled on her lips as if feeling she had successfully tricked her dad into picking her up, “Was she good?”

Jungkook had asked as he turned to you, standing up as you rounded the table with a nod, “Oh yeah! A little fussy this morning but I think it was because she hadn’t had a snack yet, not to mention she was pretty upset for you leaving. I think all is forgiven though since you came by early.”

Laughing Jungkook nodded as he shifted her to his hip, “Yeah I only had a half day at work, so I figured I’d take her to get some lunch before dropping her off at her moms. She’ll probably be mad at me again but what can I do?”

“Uh Y/n- Ji Woo puked, you mind getting us some more paper towels?” You cringed as you looked over at Lisa who had pulled a crying Ji Woo along to the bathroom as Chloe hearded the other kids away from the mess.

“Oh she’ll survive. She loves to be a drama queen though, right Mina?” You poked her cheek making a giggle escape her lips as she grabbed your finger with both of her hands, a bubble escaping her lips as if she were trying her hardest to say something, little brows focused, “M…!” You laughed at her cute little focused expression, her doe eyes glancing at you like her little life depended on it, “Anyways, have a good day guys, I’ll see you later.”

You gave a short wave to them both, intending to go and get more paper towels because the sight of the bile was large and it was clear someone had still been motion sick even after the car ride. God didn’t his mom say she’d stop letting him eat in the car before taking him here?

“Oh uh!”

You turned around at the sound of Jungkook’s almost jumbled words, his eyes wide as if he had forgotten something before sharply forcing his voice to sound more calm, “I was uh wondering….” He suddenly looked a little hesitant, eyes glancing down as you raised your brows, “Umm, I...I promised my boss I’d come in on Saturday to help with a project and I really need a babysitter for Mina....Would you mind...if you aren’t busy of course!” He suddenly rushed. You tilted your head at first, mainly because it looked like he wanted to ask you something else but had changed his mind.

Tugging on a strand of your hair you quickly glanced over at the Chloe who had been telling the younger kids to stay away from the mess despite their ignorance, “Uh yeah! No, as long as you don’t mind me studying while watching her, um. I- uh- I...really need to go over and help...Let me uh-” You grabbed one of First Steps business cards before turning it over and using the back to write down your number, “Here, you can send me the details and we can work out pay a little later.”

Jungkook’s eyes lit up before he smiled, grabbing the card from you as he nodded, “Yes- absolutely! Thank you Y/n, I’ll uh,” He gave a small laugh as he glanced over to your frantic coworker, “I’ll leave you to it, say bye Mina.” He grabbed her little arm as he made her wave making you laugh as you quickly ran over to help Chloe.

Maybe...just maybe your coworkers were onto something.

You swallowed thickly, feeling only slightly intimidated at the size of the house. Jungkook couldn’t have been in his thirties already, right? I mean, you knew he was definitely older than you but still...there was no way someone in their twenties could already afford to live somewhere so nice. Right?

Meanwhile you were stuffed in a small apartment close to the uni with three roommates who all lived on ramen, you included. Fixing the bag over your shoulder you took an inhale before stepping up to the door and knocking, it was only a few moments before the door swung open. Much to your surprise you were met with a wet headed Jungkook, dawned in sweatpants and a loose white shirt that still somehow strapped against his broad shoulders, “Oh good you’re here! Come in.”

Jungkook ushered as he stood aside, carefully you took your shoes off as Jungkook waved you over, “Mina is in the living room right now watching cartoons, she’s never hungry this early in the morning but she has some chocolate milk, um, oh yeah, she’ll probably want breakfast around nine or so. I have some cereal in the dolly if you want an easy way out,” Jungkook had lead you into the kitchen- the very nice kitchen, granite countertops, smooth tile flooring and a spacious middle counter, “But I also have plenty of ingredients if you wanna be adventurous and making pancakes or anything- word of advice she’s picky about eggs.” Jungkook sent a playful wink your way making your face flair up as you gave a laugh- though it felt more nervous than anything.

“Also, feel free to eat as well, I don’t want you to starve while you’re here,” Jungkook continued, eyes genuine as he paused for a moment, making you nod before he gestured you into the living room, the lights were all turned off and the curtains had yet to be drawn making the room much more dark than it appeared except for the TV.

Your heart was ready to melt at the pile of blankets on the couch, Mina was practically buried in them happily, her stuffed bear she always carried with her nestled against her as she sleepily yawned, “I’m not really a restrictive parent when it comes to TV but if it’s grating on your sanity you can feel free to turn it off at any time, she’ll be a little whiney about it but there’s plenty of toys in her room, speaking of,”

You passed into the hallway with Jungkook as he walked all the way down to the end, opening the door into a much brighter and frilly room decked in light princess pink, toys scattered across the floor, “All of her coloring and markers are in her closet, any toy she could possibly need is in here, she might insist it isn’t but trust me- it is. I usually put her down for a nap around after lunch and get her up around three or so before dinner. That pretty much covers everything. Since she’s home she probably won’t cry, I’ll be home around two or so anyways so I’m sure it’ll go by quick for her. Uh do you have any questions or…?”

“No! I mean, it sounds good to me. I wrestle with kids everyday when it comes to nap time so I doubt anything will be any more challenging than that. Uh otherwise I should be fine, I can always call if I have a problem but I’m not worried about it, Mina’s a good kid at daycare so I’m sure she’ll be fine at home. Is there anything you want me to make sure to do?” You asked as you both walked back down the hall

Jungkook gave it some thought for a moment before giving a shrug altogether, “No, I have complete faith you’ll be fine. I know you guys get to deal with a lot of bitchy parents but I’m not really….” he paused for a moment, looking away with a familiar expression to Mina whenever she was focused, “I trust you, that’s all.” Oh...your face flushed a little at his words, both of you paused for a second as you realized how close you were to him at the moment.

Why did this feel so domestic?

Jungkook looked like he just rolled out of bed...and so did you...it almost felt like it another universe rather then coming over to watch his daughter it was like you could be living together- No! No! No! Don’t let your mind go there! Both of you broke out of whatever tranced silence had took over at the gurgle of excitement. Blabber coming from Mina in excitement at the sight of you, her thumb escaping her lips as she dropped her blanket, toddling over to you before hugging your leg, “Awwwh goodmorning honey.” You couldn’t help but coo out, internally squealing at just how cute she was.

God you loved kids.

Picking her up she excitingly bounced against your hip before wrapping her tiny arms around you. Jungkook’s eyes crinkled a little at the sight, “Alright, if you’re set here then I better get going. I’ll be back soon.” He leaned in kissing Mina’s forehead as she cooed softly, clearly in contentment as he smiled once more before exiting the kitchen. Except unlike at daycare she stayed calm the whole time, maybe not even realizing he was gone. Instead, Mina chose to snuggle up against you as you laughed walking back into the living room before carefully sitting on the couch.

Glancing at the entry way you couldn’t help but wonder where Jungkook worked for him to be going in wearing such casual attire. He was usually a little more formal with his clothes, not suit and tie but well fitted jeans and maybe a button up. Clacking your tongue you forced yourself to relax, you were going to be here for over six hours, might as well get comfortable.

The hours did in fact go by fast, you had spent most of the morning studying before going into the kitchen, deciding you’d make plenty of breakfast for both you and Mina while splurging on premade french toast sticks in the freezer while making sausage to go.

Given Mina couldn’t talk yet it had been a little lonely within the hours but it was a good time spent on studying until she was suddenly out of sight and getting into something, or trying to fall off something, or...well...you get the idea.

Naptime was more difficult than you anticipated, especially given how easily she was knocked out at daycare, but then again she also used a lot more energy there when crying. Mina was in the comforts of her home and was not happy to be told it was naptime.

You never could get her in her room but she eventually lost the battle when she cuddled in your lap and eventually fell asleep, your text book in hand as you tiredly rubbed your eyes, yawning before forcing your eyelids back open.

You hadn’t even heard the door open until the sight of Jungkook quietly came into view, he was in silent awe at the sight, you looked picture perfect with Mina sleeping against you, he felt his heartrate spike when you noticed him, giving your own sleepy smile as he sat down next to you, not too close, but enough to get a good look at your tired features, “Was she good?”

You gave a tiny nod as you set the text book down, “Yeah, stubborn about naptime but here we are.”

Jungkook gave a soft laugh, mindful of his voice as he didn’t wanna wake his princess, eyes affectionate as he glanced down, “Sounds about right, I usually get a naptime too when she gets like this. Guess you found out she’s a big cuddler.”

“Oh yeah, she tried to toddle off a few times but she stuck to me most of the day. She’s never been this clingy at daycare but I can understand why.” You carefully shifted in your seat a little, trying to straighten yourself from your sunken position without waking her, it was silent for a moment before you decided to tread carefully, “So uh, where do you work Jungkook? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Oh no it’s fine, I work as a game developer for Bandai Namco. We’ve been working on a new expansion for the Soul series lately and we’re behind so I’ve been going in extra to try and get us ahead again. I wish I didn’t have too since Saturdays are the only days I get to really spend with Mina…” A twinge of guilt flickered on Jungkook’s face as he pressed his lips together, yet if you looked closer you could see he seemed almost sad, maybe disappointed in himself, “I um, I know you’re studying but...How about you? I’m assuming you’re in university right?”

You gave a small smile as you nodded, “Yeah, I’m studying in nursing right now,” You could tell he seemed a little taken aback by your answer making you laugh, “I know, a lot of people assume I’m in for teaching, especially sense that’s the norm for daycare workers, but…! I am hoping to get in at the children’s hospital, I love working with kids.”

“You’re great with them,” Jungkook hadn’t meant to let it slip from his mouth but it was too late, silence had taken over once more as you gave a shyer smile as Jungkook fumbled, cheeks beginning to dust pink, “I mean...uh! You are! You know how to calm them down and uh…Mina really likes you, so um, that counts for something. She’s really picky with people, you didn’t hear it from me but she really doesn’t even like her mom.”

You tried to laugh yet you couldn’t force it, something felt particularly taboo about laughing at that yet you didn’t know why. You couldn’t help but wonder why Mina’s mom couldn’t watch her. Or why Jungkook seemed so serious despite his joking tone, “Well I think deep down all kids secretly have a favorite parent,” You kept your tone light yet neutral, not wanting to tread on sensitive ground with whatever seemed to be going on with Jungkook’s significant other.

You weren’t sure what the story was but going off his words yesterday at the daycare he must have been divorced if Mina’s mom didn’t live with him. And give his joking- yet serious comment their relations must not have ended kindly.

“Fair enough, maybe it’s just me but I think I’m a pretty awesome dad.” Jungkook boasted with that boyish grin making you stifle your laugh. After the initial ice had been broken you both seemed to hold a conversation easily and before you had knew it the hours had slipped away from you. Mina eventually waking up from her nap only to gurgle in delight at the sight of her dad, crawling into his lap, “Oh I should probably get going,” you had checked your phone only for your eyes to widen at the time, “I promised my friends I’d help get snacks for movie night.”

Shifting in your seat as you stood up, Jungkook mirroring you leaving Mina on the couch with a whine in complaint, “Oh yeah of course! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you…!”

“No! It’s okay,” You rushed out, feeling your cheeks begin to warm as you rubbed your neck, “...I actually enjoyed myself…!” You shuffled in your spot feeling your throat become dry at the silence as you wracked your brain to find something else to say.

Jungkook cleared his throat, feeling a little meek as he rubbed his nose, “W-well um...maybe we can uh...maybe we can do this again sometime?” You felt your face burn at his shy expression, peering up at you hesitantly before continuing, “O-or maybe go out to eat sometime…? With Mina of course!” He rushed, “She’d be a little mad if we left her here.”

You couldn’t help the soft laugh that escaped you despite the nervous butterflies in your stomach, “Of course she would...id...I’d like that a lot..!” Oh god, did he just ask you out? Your brain was wrecked with a million thoughts as you and Jungkook fumbled with your goodbyes. The warm air meeting your lunges with relief as you stepped outside before shoving your face into your hands. He asked you out! Jeon Jungkook, only the hottest dad at the daycare really just asked you out!

Sucking in another breath of air you couldn’t help but let the giddy grin tug on your lips. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea. Jungkook obviously liked you enough to try a date and...and why not not! Maybe your friends weren’t wrong after all.

Note: thank you all for being so patient with me! I know Blue Spring has been highly anticipated and the wait is over! It was originally meant to be a oneshot but it just got ridiculously long lmao so by popular choice it’s going to be a four part mini series! Please enjoy and let me know what you think!! 🖤

#bts #jeon jungkook #jungkook #jungkook x reader #jungkook x reader smut #single dad jungkook #jungkook x y/n #jungkook imagine #jungkook au #jungkook x y/n smut #bts au

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feliix · 4 years

Text

Crush Culture ✦ KTH (18+)

✦ Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

✦ Rating: M ✦ Word Count: 14k (screams)

✦ Genre: fluff, angst, smut, fake dating!au

✦ Summary: Once summer hits and you return to work at the local ice cream shop, you’re swarmed with couples coming in on lovey-dovey on dates. You’ve always hated the idea of relationships and love, but it’s Taehyung’s mission to make you reconsider by the end of the summer.

✦ Warnings: childhood friends 2 lovers, idiots 2 lovers unprotected sex, fingering, pining, soft sex, light mentions of marking, mentions of bad past relationships, Tae is kinda a player but he turns out alright

✦ A/N: a big big thank you to the lovely @hobiance for helping me plan yet another fic and @jinned for giving me the much needed support and hyping me up until I finished my first long boi ilysm ♡ also thank you to my lovely beta @jinterlude who I would be completely illiterate without! the most beautiful banner you’ve ever seen is made by none other than my baby @koophoriia ily bunbunbun

Written for the BHQ Bangtan Boardwalk Collaboration

Taglist: @krystle1990 @imluckybitches

“Gross”

Another couple. Probably the 50th overly lovey-dovey pair that you’ve seen this evening alone. The shop is packed full of them on warm nights like this.

To say ‘love’ isn’t really your thing isn’t far from the truth. Relationships suck. Been there, done that.

You always keep the same theory; relationships either end in heartbreak or marriage. And even still, marriage can still end in heartbreak, so what’s the point?

“Stop being dramatic,” Taehyung laughs after catching your snide remark from around the corner. He had just run to the back to get you a fresh package of cups after using up all the stock in the front.

Tonight is busy, to say the least. The sun is setting, and it’s the perfect time for families and couples alike to come in and get a cold and tasty treat, especially on a day as hot as this one. It’s over 100º, and the humidity is doing a real number to your hair.

“It’s not dramatic,” you sigh, leaning on the counter behind you as Taehyung maneuvers around you, placing the cups on the shelf underneath.

It’s just the two of you on the schedule tonight. Your boss is kind of an asshole, leaving 2 ‘kids’ in their early twenties to run the shop by themselves while he went off to do god knows what. Probably at the bar across the street, since his car is still parked in the back, but he’s nowhere to be found. That’s okay though, it's better than having him loom over your shoulder and critique your scooping texture the whole shift.

“Whatever you say,” Taehyung shakes his head.

Unlike yourself, Taehyung is a hopeless romantic, always looking for love in the wrong places. It always seems that his relationships never work out though, which has always confused you – Taehyung is a great guy.

So great that you have been best friends with him for as long as you could remember. It all started that time in pre-k, where you poured a shovel of sand on his head in the sandbox. Initially, it did make him cry, but he got over it eventually. Ever since, he’s been right by your side, sandy hair and all.

“How much longer,” your eyes roll back in your head, neglecting to look at the watch on your wrist in fear that your shift has a significant amount of time left.

“Just under an hour, we should start the closing checklist so we can get outta here,” Tae responds as he reaches for the rag and sanitation bucket.

Nodding your head, you follow his plan – beginning your mission to clean like a speed demon so you can leave at 8 o’clock on the dot. You’ll be damned if a customer comes in at 7:58, but there's always one Karen that comes as you’re about to lock the doors. You hate those Karens.

Lucky for you, closing tonight went as smoothly as it can go. You and Taehyung are ready to go at 8 on the dot, clocking out and locking up behind you.

“So what are we doing tonight?” Taehyung asks, his fingers adjusting the headband that sits just above his forehead.

“I was gonna go home and sleep…” you trail off, avoiding eye contact with him. You know his eyes are much too convincing to look into, and you are beyond exhausted from working a double today.

“Booooo you’re boring,” he teases, stopping in his tracks in the center of the parking lot, “it was an early night we should do something.”

With a deep sigh, you stop as well, turning around to meet his suggestive smirk. He knows he’s about to get his way before you have the chance to argue back with him. So you tilt your head, waiting for him to explain what he has in mind.

“I’ll be at your house by 9.”

And with that, you’re starting the ignition to your car and racing home, carefully, of course.

Taehyung is always spontaneous like this.

After making it home and rushing to get ready, Taehyung was there to pick you up, a few minutes late, but that’s just par for the course. When you end up at your favorite boba spot, you know Taehyung wants to talk about something. He never wants to sit down at a place like this just for small talk, you’ve picked up on his signs and can read him like a book.

But when you finally get your drink and sit at your favorite table in the back corner, he doesn’t say much. It’s almost like he’s waiting for you to speak up. His eyes staring down at his drink instead of sipping it, hands rested in his lap with his lip caught between his teeth. It’s puzzling, slightly, you thought he wanted to hang out tonight and do something adventurous…

The awkward silence and lack of gestures from Taehyung is starting to make you uncomfortable, so you decide to take matters into your own hands.

“How are things going with that girl,” you ask before bringing the straw of your tea to your lips, sipping nonchalantly.

“Oh yeah,” he sighs, his fingertips drumming along the surface of the table, “it didn’t really work out.”

When it comes to Taehyung, relationships never really seem to work out. To say it lightly, he is extremely picky. His last relationship ended because he thought the girl breathed too loudly. The girl before that had an annoying laugh, and then the one before that bit her nails.

Eventually, his pickiness has become a trend to the point that Taehyung will entertain a girl for a month or so. Then, he'll find something so minuscule within the said girl and turn it into a dealbreaker. The nit-picking things are way too much to move past for Taehyung. It’s clear that he is in search of the ‘perfect woman,’ like that even exists.

“You’re probably better off.”

You don’t think much of the words before they leave your lips. Relationships are a ton of work, is it really worth it to put all your effort into something like that? There is a way to just be happy on your own, you know.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He’s taken back by your statement, his eyebrows furrowing in response as he waits for your answer.

“You know what I think,” you tilt your heat matter-of-factly, “relationships are a waste of time.”

“What is with you and all this ‘anti-love’ stuff anyway?”

His question catches you off guard, a boba bubble almost catching in your throat leaving you a coughing mess. Taehyung chuckles at your discomfort, waiting patiently for you to get it all out and answer his question.

“I’ve wasted too much time with too many dead-beat guys to even think about love,” you sigh again, your coughing fit subsiding as you reach for your boba once again.

“Not all guys are dead-beats, you know.”

His words come out harsh, almost as if he finds your words offensive. Like you are meaning to group him in with all the guys you’ve dated in the past. Which is strange, Taehyung knows that he’s different. For one, you’ve never dated him before and two, if he was such a dead-beat you wouldn’t have kept him around for so long.

You can’t talk to guys, or most people like you talk to Taehyung. He’s the one you rant about the dead-beats to, along with everything else under the sun. He knows all the shit that you don’t tell anyone else, he’s like your own personal human diary. Secrets are always safe with him, it's not like he has anyone who would listen to the gossip even if he wanted to tell.

After a minute of silence Taehyung’s expression changes, his eyes squinting at you in that ‘I have a crazy idea’ type of way. It’s a look that you see often, and you couldn’t say that you would ever be used to it.

“Okay then I’ll make you a deal,” he proposes, a glimmering look in his eye that made you somewhat nervous. You never know what you are getting with Taehyung, but most of the time his ‘deals’ are on the crazier side.

“What is it?” You still ask although you’re a bit nervous to hear his answer. If his plan is to set you up with one of his delinquent friends or something–

“Be my girlfriend.”

Your eyes widen as the words leave his lips, confusion taking over your expression as a small chuckle leaves his lips. He can't be serious…

“Your what?”

“Two weeks is all I’m asking for. Be my girlfriend for just two weeks, and I’ll show you that love isn’t as shitty as you think it is.”

“You’re crazy,” you shake your head, a disbelieving smile stretching wide across your face.

“C’mon Y/N,” he challenges, “it’s two weeks of your life, what else do you have to do?”

The quirk of his eyebrow and quick squint of his eyes grabs your attention. He’s serious about this, scarily serious, and you aren’t quite sure how to react to that.

“What’s in it for you?” Your chin falls into your palm as you stare at him, waiting for his response.

“Well for one,” he starts, a sigh leaving his lips, “I won’t have to listen to you complain about how much relationships suck anymore.”

Just when you don't think you can roll your eyes any further into the back of your head, your own actions surprise you. If looks could kill, the one you’re giving him right now would surely take him out. He doesn’t pay much mind to it though, he’s used to your sass and just shrugs it off.

“This is an awful idea,” you glare at him as if it will change his mind. You’re certain this experiment of his would not change your own. Love sucked, and that was that.

“Two weeks,” his voice carries a taunting tone, his eyebrows wiggling to entice you into his plan. He isn’t going to give up on this easily, you know Taehyung. And Taehyung always gets his way.

“Fine,” you huff, “two weeks and that’s it. And if my mind isn’t changed you owe me 3 more of these,” you say, picking up your tea from the table and shaking it at eye-level for emphasis.

His bottom lip catches between his teeth, satisfied with your response. He isn’t exactly sure how he’ll manage to pull this off, but he’s definitely up for the challenge.

“We start tomorrow at 8, I’ll pick you up after work.”

Crossing your arms over the table, you bury your head in your arms. This is going to be the most interesting two weeks of your entire life.

“So you’re like dating dating?” Lainey’s jaw drops, excitement prevalent on her face as you spill about your night with Taehyung.

Lainey is the only person in your life that understood your hatred for relationships, other than Taehyung of course. Not that she shares the hatred herself, she just heard enough about how much you despise being in one to know how you felt.

Along with Taehyung, Lainey is your best friend. And she’s the only person in this world that you can bear to work a double with on a Saturday.

“That's the plan,” you sigh fiddling with the scoops behind you. It’s pretty slow for a Saturday afternoon, not many customers have come in since you opened up at 11.

That’s the thing about working at an ice cream shop – it sucks when it's slow, and it sucks when it's busy. Though it isn't a miserable job, you at least have Tae and Lainey to keep you company.

The smirk on Lainey’s face hasn’t disappeared since you told her about Taehyung’s deal. She’s shocked that you actually agreed to something like this, especially since it’s with Taehyung. The same Taehyung that ended a 3-month relationship last year because the girl ‘smelled like peaches.’ It’s only a matter of time until Taehyung finds your own deal-breaking trait.

“For the record,” you turn to look at Lainey, a grin still evident on her face, “I don’t think this is gonna change my mind.”

“Y/N,” Lainey whines as she draws out the last syllable of your name, plopping herself down in a chair to pout. “Stop being so…so…”

“So?”

Her face crinkles as she racks her brain for the word, rubbing her temples in hopes that it will come to her. Your eyebrow crooks in response, a slight chuckle leaving your lips as you wait.

“Pessimistic!” Lainey’s face lights up as it finally comes to her. She does have a point. It’s been a while since you actually let anyone in

“You know Taehyung, you never know, maybe something could happen,” her eyebrows lift at the end of her sentence, too suggestively for your own comfort.

“Okay no, that's exactly why this is only two weeks. I know Taehyung, he’ll be over it in 2 weeks.”

“Whatever you say,” the pitch of her voice is raised teasingly. She doesn’t believe this will be a two-week thing.

Lainey has been friends with you and Taehyung for 4 summers now. Once she started working at the ice cream shop with you two it was an automatic connection. Letting her into your little clique with no hesitation, you quickly became 3 peas in a pod.

But Lainey sees a lot of things that you aren’t able to see for yourself. You had grown up with Taehyung, grown accustomed to his unique mannerisms and behaviors without even noticing. Lainey, on the other hand, has a different point of view.

She sees the way Taehyung looks at you and how he hangs on each and every word that leaves your mouth. How he longs to make you laugh, watching you with a growing grin each time a chuckle passes through your lips. She notices every behavior that you see as nothing more than ‘friendly.’ But who is she to say? So, for now, the information remains tucked away and stored in her mind for a later date.

Your fingers drum on the glass cover of the freezer beneath you, leaning against it as you wait for a customer to come in. All this time with nothing to do is really doing wonders for your imagination; thinking about what Taehyung has planned for the two of you to do tonight. Nothing special, you hope, he really doesn’t need to go all out for this.

“He’s picking me up after work”

“Oooh he’s picking you up?”

“Shut up,” your eyes roll at her teasing nature, growing slightly embarrassed by how giddy it’s making you. It’s just Taehyung, and you are just hanging out like you do every other night.

The rest of you shift flies by – it always does when you work with Lainey. Before you know it, the closing checklist is coming to an end, only a few steps left before you can finally get out of here. The clock had just turned to 7:55 pm, but Taehyung still isn’t here. Not that you’re expecting him to be on time or anything, this is still the same Taehyung you have always known.

What you aren’t familiar with is the nervous butterflies fluttering around in your tummy as the clock approaches 8pm. What are you even nervous about? It isn’t a blind date, other than the fact that you have no idea what you’re doing. And it isn’t even a date. It’s Taehyung for crying out loud.

Speaking of the devil, the chimes in the front of the shop ring as Taehyung passes through the doorway. You don’t see who it is at first, your back turns to the door as you sweep behind the counter. The chimes ringing at this time of night do trigger your fight or flight instincts though, ready to turn to whoever is approaching and give them a dirty look for coming in this close to closing time.

But once you turn around and see Taehyung standing in the doorway with a bouquet of sunflowers, your tension quickly subsides. You swear that you can feel your heart skip a beat, heat rising to your cheeks as you try your hardest to form a manageable sentence. It's okay that you aren’t able to, though, the surprised look on your face is enough for his own to light up and beam across the room.

“I’m here to pick up the pretty girl with the coffee ice cream stain on her shirt,” he chuckles, his bottom lip catching between his teeth.

He dressed a lot nicer than usual attire; a dress shirt with a loose pair of slacks dressing his slim figure. His hair is light too, much different than the dark brown curls that frame his face. He’s really going all out for this – and you’re wearing a pair of running shorts and an ice cream stained t-shirt.

Lainey is just as stunned as you are, frozen in her spot with her jaw practically on the floor. She looks at you with wide eyes, her eyebrows raising as a smug expression crosses her face. You look in her direction, about to ask if she’s alright to finish closing on her own, but before you’re able to say anything she’s already shooing the two of you out the door.

With a goofy grin displayed across his face, he hands you the bundle of flowers, tied together with a delicate white ribbon. You mumble a thank you, still stunned that he showed up here looking like that to take you out tonight. So he is the romantic type, note taken.

“You like nice,” you gulp nervously. It already feels like a date and you haven’t even left the parking lot yet. If this is how things are going to start you had an exciting 13 more days ahead of you...

“As do you,” he smirks, his eyes wandering down to the small brown stains littering your shirt. Eyes narrowing, you read the expression crossing his face – of course, he’s joking. “I brought you some fresh clothes to change into don’t worry.”

Relief rushes through your body as the words leave his lips.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

An interesting yet on-brand response from Taehyung. He’s a big fan of surprises – as long as he’s not on the receiving end.

The drive to your destination seems long. You aren’t quite sure how long you’ve been on your way; between the agile back seat changing of clothes, which you are surprisingly skilled at, and the anticipation coursing through your veins, you’ve lost track of time All you know is that you’ve been driving through backroads for at least 15 minutes, and the destination doesn’t seem anywhere near.

“This is it.” The car pulls into a small dirt parking lot, dimly lit by some dingy street lights that aren’t doing such a great job illuminating things. Your eyebrow crooks unintentionally – this was it?

Your eyes wander outward as Taehyung parks the car, unable to see anything further than a 10-foot radius.

“Where are we?” The question leaves your lips in a worried fashion. Trees surround the parking lot on all three-sides, while the road you've pulled in from occupies the fourth-side. You’re hesitant to get out of the car, but as Taehyung rounds the front and opens the door for you, you’re on your way out. He motions for you to hold on as he pops the trunk – returning with a blanket and a reusable shopping bag filled with god knows what.

He still hasn’t given an answer to your question though, and you still aren’t quite sure where you are. If It was lighter out you assume it would be beautiful here, all the greenery dark and shadows hovering over you from the trees.

The bright light from his cell phone flashlight lights up the way, a path on your right

“Hell no,” your arms cross over your chest as you stand still in your place. He’s out of his mind if he thinks you’re going into the woods this late at night. You’ve seen enough horror films, stuff like this never ends well.

“C’mon, it’s not as bad as it looks,” Taehyung laughs at your pouting manner, amusement filling his system as you glue your feet to the ground of the parking lot. His puppy dog eyes plead for you to follow him, a hand outreaching in your direction for the taking. You contemplate it for a moment, your eyes narrowing as you ponder the possible outcomes of the situation before you.

“Fine,” you huff as you take his hand in yours.

His hand feels different in yours this time. His long fingers lacing between your smaller ones in the perfect fit that you’ve neglected to notice before. You’ve held his hand before, platonically though. This time it’s platonic too though, right? It’s just a date. A platonic date between two friends. Two friends who are dating on a two week trial period. So yes, it is strictly platonic. Right?

The dirt path doesn’t drag on for too long, but the sounds of bugs ticking and twigs breaking beneath your feet is enough to startle you. Every scared and breathy gasp that leaves your mouth is followed by a small fit of laughter from Taehyung. At least one of you is amused.

But the dirt path soon turns rocky, a clearing becoming more and more noticeable as Taehyung’s flashlight brightens the way ahead of you. The rows of trees come to an end as the ground flattens, a giant slab of rock lying beneath your feet. Out ahead of you is completely dark, and until you approach the darkness you don’t notice that you’re just a few yards away from the edge of a cliff. A river lies below the edge, the sound of water rushing fills your ears and calms your nerves. It is quiet out here, peaceful and without distraction.

Taehyung stands back as you admire the scenery around you – your own phone flashlight now out and panning around to look at the view. It’s beautiful out here, nothing to worry about but the sounds of the water and whatever Taehyung is doing behind you…

You couldn’t have zoned out for more than 2 minutes, but once you turn back around to face him a picnic blanket lies on the ground before you. Snacks scatter the extent of the fabric, a few candles placed in the center

“You really went all out for this, huh?” A nervous laugh leaves your lips before you swallow harshly. Never in your life has a guy ever gone all out like this for you. A late-night picnic at a secret location, fixed with all of your favorite snacks and some candles for ambiance.

“Had to,” he smiles, “it’s our first date.”

You join him on the blanket, grabbing for a bag of popcorn as you sit down. Maybe relationships wouldn’t suck so much if all men treated you like this…

Woah woah woah. It’s just Taehyung. Taehyung who already knows all your favorite things to eat. He’s just trying to be convincing – to prove to you that men take you on dates, do nice things. But stuff like this never lasts. Two weeks from now you’ll be going back to the same old Tae and Y/N friendship that you’ve always had.

The conversation goes on as normal tonight, he doesn’t make any moves (as expected, it’s Taehyung) and you enjoy the view and calm atmosphere with your fake but not so fake boyfriend. You stay out on the cliff for a few more hours before he takes you home. Taehyung put a lot of effort into making tonight special, and you appreciate him for that. But even after all his effort, you know that real relationships aren’t like this.

Every guy you’ve dated would try to woo you over in the beginning too. They call it the honeymoon stage for a reason. Things are always great in the beginning, lavish gifts and dates, loving gestures. That kind of thing never lasts. Soon the effort runs out, the guy gets bored of putting the work in, and they end up sleeping with your freshman year roommate. Well, at least that's how it is for you.

The bundle of sunflowers Taehyung gave to you earlier on in the night sits on the end table next to your bed. Each time you look at them all you can picture is the goofy grin he sported as he stood at the entrance of the ice cream shop. It replays in your mind like a movie. How he dressed up all spiffy just to take you out. How he took you to a spot only he knew about, somewhere so off-site and serene that he knew you’d remain uninterrupted. You can’t help but wonder if he’s using the same old tricks on you that he does to other girls though. If he only knew about that place because he’s taken someone there before.

Not that it matters though, you aren’t his real girlfriend. You’re just on a trial period. But for some reason the thought that he might have brought another girl to the same spot before doesn’t sit well with you.

“Sooooo,” Lainey teases, her chin falling into her palm as she leans on the freezer before her, “how was your date with Y/N?”

Taehyung chuckles at her nosiness, he’s sure you’ve already told her all about it. There are no secrets left between you two. Even sometimes Taehyung felt like the odd man out around you both.

“It was good.”

Taehyung keeps his answer short, leaving the rest up to her imagination. He isn’t one to kiss and tell or to not kiss and tell either. Things are better that way.

“Just good?” Lainey challenges, knowing there is much more that he’s leaving out. Her eyes narrow as she waits for his response. You haven’t told her anything about last night, not even where you went after he picked you up. Things are radio silent on your end.

Taehyung glances back at her, contemplating whether or not he should spill the beans.It would be nice to have someone else to confide in since it's always you on the receiving end of his secrets; however, this is the one secret that you can't know.

He chews on his bottom lip pensively, if anyone knows what’s on your mind, it would be Lainey. Not that Taehyung is looking to pry, he just has no indication to how you feel about last night, or about him.

Before Taehyung can even open his mouth to speak, a knowing smirk is spread wide across Lainey’s face. It’s that kind of look that makes him nervous – she knows something.

“You like her,” she muses, tossing her hair over her shoulder as the words catch in the air. It’s out there now, and it’s obvious. Well, maybe not obvious, but clear as day to Lainey – and that is more than enough to make Taehyung worry.

“I don’t,” He denies her claim, his willpower too strong to give into her.

“Oh yeah? Why do you self sabotage every one of your relationships then?”

Her words catch Taehyung off guard, his jaw clenching harshly as an annoyed breath is forced out of his nostrils. He wants to deny her claim once again, but he can’t bring himself to keep brushing off these feelings that have had a grip on him ever since he was young.

Lainey is right too. He does sabotage each relationship that comes his way. Taehyung goes out of his way to find something wrong with each girl he dates. He can never admit it to himself, but in the back of his mind, he knows that it's the fact that none of those girls are you.

“It’s written all over your face every time you look at her you know?”

Was he really that obvious? Did it show that much whenever he was around you?

“What do you mean?” Taehyung clarifies, the small once of hope bearing weight in his chest that Lainey is just joking around. That she doesn’t actually know the one thing he’s been holding onto for so long.

She doesn’t have to respond for him to know the answer. The quirk of her eyebrow and knowing expression on her face says enough.

“Well you can’t tell her,” he sighs, hand gripping harshly on the countertop as he stares down at the black and white checkered floors. Lainey turns to look at him staring down in distress, a sympathetic glance directed at him. He’s worried you’ll find out.

You can’t find out. If you do, then all bets will be off. Once you know Taehyung’s feelings for you there is no way that you’ll let your little arrangement continue. He knows you only agreed to this because there is nothing between you romantically, or at least as far as you know.

Lainey bears her weight on the cooler behind her, leaning comfortably on the cool glass. “I want her to be done with this ‘I hate love thing’ just as much as you do,” her fingers mock air quotes as she continues, “Want me to be honest?”

“Please.”

“I think you might be the only one who can change her mind.”

Taehyung’s heart skips a beat as the words leave her mouth. Blood rushes to his ears, pumping like a snare drum as he considers what she just said. He’s confused as to what she means. You agreed to fake-date him, but you still hate love.

A comfortable silence fills the air, Lainey watching him as his lips roll between his teeth as he’s deep in thought. Change your mind. The words repeat in his mind like a broken record. That’s what he’s trying to do, for the right reasons; so that you won’t be so miserable. But behind those selfless reasons come with smaller selfish ones. He gets to be with you as more than a friend now, and although it’s nothing more than some kind of test run, he can’t help but feel like this can be something more too.

“Like you think…” he gulps, clearing his throat as the words stutter out of his mouth, “I could get her to fall for me?”

The lack of response that Lainey gives is ominous, but the raise of her eyebrows and toothy grin forming on her face needs no words to tell. If anyone is to change your mind, it’ll be Taehyung.

That night Taehyung took you to the drive-in movies. To be quite honest, you couldn’t really recall what was playing, some Pixar film with bugs as the main character if you can recall it correctly. You were far too distracted laughing with Taehyung, watching as young kids played around on a grassy patch near his car. The giggles that left his lips each time the little girl waved to him were music to your ears. You never noticed how much he loved kids, how good he was with them.

The image of his hands clasped together as he fawned over the little girl, picking dandelions in the grass and racing to place them by your feet was burned into your memory. The boxy grin that graced his face all night long. The way his eyes squinted from his cheeks, pushing up as he smiled so big. The whispers of the word ‘cute’ each time her pigtails bounced while she toddled away.

Missing the movie doesn't disappoint you. If anything, the memories you've saved from tonight are more than enough.

The next night you were unable to go out, the shop was so busy that you were not able to leave until an hour and a half after your shift was supposed to end. Some punk kid dropped 2 cones on the floor on his way out and decided it would be best to leave them there without cleaning anything up. Maybe if it hadn’t been so busy then you would have noticed the spill before it dried up and stuck to the tile floors.

Naturally, you spent a good 15 minutes trying to mop up all the stickiness on the floor. But to your luck, Taehyung is working with you that night. Once all the customers left the shop he hooked his phone up to the speakers, grabbed your hands, and danced you around the shop. Well, it was supposed to be dancing but it probably looked more like Taehyung swinging your arms as you attempted to not trip over your own feet.

It makes up for not getting to go out though, and you’d take a night like that over a fancy dinner any chance you got.

It’s been 12 days since you became Taehyung‘s girlfriend, and as the remaining days decreased, so did your hatred for love. Each night he planned something special. The real kicker was the texts that you get once he makes it home from dropping you off every night. A simple ‘I had a great time tonight’ was enough to make your heart swell and heat rise to your cheeks.

And as you notice your hatred for love and relationships leaving you, you notice another feeling enter your system. Or several feelings…

Things are getting just as sticky as the night two when ice cream cones landed on the shop floor face down, sprinkles and all. Spending time with Taehyung like this is bringing some things to the surface you didn’t know were buried in the first place.

Every night that you spent with Taehyung over the past 12 days allowed you to see him in a new light. You got to see him on a different level than just friends. You got to see what every girl that fawns over Taehyung experiences.

Something about your friendship never let you jump past that barrier. You only see him as a dear friend of yours. Nothing more and nothing less. And now the issue is that...you aren’t sure how you’ll ever go back to see him as such.

You like Taehyung as more than a friend, that's for sure. And you know because of that things will never be able to go back to the way they once were.

Maybe you're reading too much into it, but your gut is telling you that you aren't the only one feeling this way.

The feeling of butterflies that pound in your stomach each time you meet eyes with him has to be reciprocated. There is just no way you can be feeling this way and he isn’t.

This isn’t like the feelings you’ve caught for any guy before, this is something else. Every night when you go home you lay in bed, staring at your ceiling with a dumb grin on your face as you think about your time together, about him. About the way his black curly hair falls in front of his eyes each time he looks down and how his smile lights up every room he was in.

These things that you were so blind to before can’t escape your thoughts, and it makes you wonder how many times or things you’ve looked over that make you melt, just like you are right now.

But in just 2 days, this trial-boyfriend period will be over, and you’ll have to go back to being just friends. Each day, each hour, each minute that approaches feels heavier and heavier. Anxiety floods your system each time you think about things being over, or that this arrangement you have isn’t even real.

When you think about the growing feelings you have for him, you honestly can't imagine what your life will be like any other way. What it would be like going back to just hanging out here and there. And what it would be like

You can’t even fathom thinking about what it would be like hearing him talk about another girl again. It makes you sick thinking that there's going to be someone after you, because in just 5 days this will be all over, and you’ll go back to being the girl best friend, nothing more.

Maybe it’s just wishful thinking that Taehyung has more feelings for you too. But the glimmer in his eyes as his bangs brush out of his eyes and they land on you tells a different story. When he looks at you it feels like you are the only two people on earth. He sees nothing else but you, and the way your eyes sparkle back at him.

Each day you spend with Taehyung after that feels like a wrench tightening the screws of your heart. 14 days is just not enough.

“Earth to Y/N” Lainey says waving a hand in your face. You must have zoned out, for god knows how long.

“Thinking about Tae?”

“What,” she catches you off guard, straightening your posture and brushing yourself off before responding to her, “no…just thinking.”

“Right,” the sarcasm drips from her lips, turning away from you as she wipes off a table in the front.

For personal reasons, you’ve kept Lainey out of the loop during this whole fake-boyfriend Taehyung thing. It’s better if you keep your feelings to yourself until you figure them out. And although it feels really really strange not giving Lainey the intel on what’s going on in your life, you know it’s for your own good.

Once you put what is in your head out into the world, you can’t take it back. What if you are just in the honeymoon-phase? If these feelings for Taehyung are only because he’s trying his best to woo you, and then they’ll just fade away as things return back to normal.

Something in you tells you that this isn't the case, but the small shadow of doubt in the back of your mind keeps you from talking to your best friend about it anyway.

The thing is, you don't have to tell Lainey for her to know. Every time Tae picks you up from work to take you out you shine. Your smile spreads so wide she’s afraid your cheeks will tear. The nervous shake of your fingers as you grab for your belongings as you head out the door doesn’t go unnoticed in Lainey’s eyes. She knows you too well to look over things like this, she just wanted to wait for you to say something first.

But now that you aren’t, Lainey has decided to take matters into her own hands, asking you about it herself.

“Lainey,” you start, waiting for her attention before you pull out a stool, sitting down and motioning for her to follow suit. She does, a questioning but knowing look evident on her face as she joins you. “You know how this thing between Taehyung and I is just an experiment or whatever?”

She nods in response, her hand quickly falling into her palm as she listens intently to your words.

“I think I messed up.” Your head is buried in your arms, laid over the tabletop in embarrassment.

“What do you mean?”

Her question is more for clarification, she wants to hear you say it herself. She knows that you’re gonna tell her you caught feelings. She sees it coming from a mile away, you confirming it is just the icing on the ice cream cake.

“Don’t make me say it,” you whine, neglecting to pick your head up and look at her. You can feel the grin on her face. You know she's smirking at you right now, doing her best to hold back a laugh. Finally, you got over your ‘I hate love and relationships suck’ thing.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” she sings, quite obviously teasing you while another deep sigh echoes from your chest. You manage to pick your head up, leaning onto your elbows with your chin caught between your palms as you face her.

“I like him.”

It comes out as a whisper, but Lainey hears it loud and clear. If you didn’t know better, you’d assume that the smile on her face can't grow any larger, but it does. She jumps up from her chair in victory, doing a funny dance with her arms whooping in the air to celebrate. You’re confused as to why, but you’re too far in your own thoughts to pay it any mind; your head just sinks back into your arms as your forehead presses against the cold metal table beneath you.

“I knew it,” Lainey smiles, her happy dance subsiding as she sits back down across from you. “I knew this fake dating thing was gonna work.

“Yeah well it really worked, because now I have feelings for a guy that’s never gonna reciprocate them for me.”

Your tone is laced with sarcasm, a disappointing ring outlining each of your words. You’re too embarrassed to look at the girl sitting before you, worried that if you do all the emotions you’ve been holding onto for so long will spill over and stain your stone-cold image; one you’ve maintained for far too long.

But Lainey’s your best friend. The only one that you should be comfortable being vulnerable about your feelings for Taehyung with; for some reason all you can’t bring yourself to be.

Before you can get a grip on your emotions tears are streaming down your face, falling onto the cold metal surface under you in small puddles.

A sympathetic sigh leaves Lainey’s lips as she tries to gain your attention, “Hey.”

Inhaling deeply, you face her – mascara strewn across your face in black streaks and eyes nearly bloodshot. You’ve held this in for far too long. Only a double would tire you out and exhaust you enough to cry on the clock. Thank God it’s a rainy day, no customers ever come in on rainy days.

Or at least, no customers usually come in on rainy days. It's not until you hear the bells on the front door ring that you’re wiping your eyes, whipping around to greet whoever was entering.

And then you see him, standing there as he shakes out his umbrella, a bouquet of sunflowers in his hand.

And he sees you; mascara running down your face and tears staining your cheeks. He’s early. Your stomach turns at the sight of him, emotions not stable enough to handle carry a normal conversation like

“Y/N,” his voice is quiet, worry dripping in his tone as your name leaves his lips. But you can’t face him right now, not like this.

Your feet move faster than you mind, standing up and rushing to the back to avoid him. Taehyung doesn’t follow you, just stands there and watches you walk away, solemn and worried that he’s done something.

It’s not until Lainey is rising from her seat and pacing over to him that he’s brought back to reality.

“Taehyung,” she starts, hands coming up slowly to console him, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be here right now.”

“Wh-What’s wrong?” His lip worries between his teeth, eyes glossy as he stares at the door you just closed behind you. He’s looking at it intently, mind flooding with worry, wishing so badly that the door will just fly open, and you’ll tell him what was going on. In the back of his mind, he knows that you won’t, at least not for now. Talking about emotions has never been your strong suit, and chances of that changing at this moment are at an all-time low.

Lainey is unsure how to answer him, caught in between not wanting to lie and keeping your feelings private. She doesn’t want to speak for you; but she’s scared of saying something that can make this situation worse.

Her mouth gapes as she searches for a response to his question, lips opening and closing and she hums to find the right words. They don’t come.

The umbrella hanging from Taehyung’s hand drops with a crash, starling Lainey as she jumps at the sudden sound. But before she is even able to speak, the bell to the front door is ringing again, and Taehyung is walking away into the pouring rain.

The next day you wake up feeling numb. You’ve received several texts from Taehyung the night before, none of which you have the energy to reply to or even look at for that matter.

The guilt riddling your body has become too much for you to handle. You left work last night without even saying goodbye to Lainey. She’s a good enough friend and coworker to know that what you’re going through is more important than working the counter at an ice cream shop.

After Taehyung left she came back and let you know; she almost had to break down the door to the backroom in order for you to let her in. She told you to go home, get some rest and that you’d talk tomorrow.

But after waking up the last thing you want to do is talk about Taehyung; to think about him.

Every time you thought about how your arrangement was supposed to end in just a few days you felt sick. You have worked so hard to open up just to build your walls back up again. And now you’re back at square one.

When you agreed to be Taehyung’s girlfriend you did not expect to fall for him like this. He’s Taehyung. He’s your personal diary, the one who knows all the shit that nobody else knows and listens to all the shit that no one else cares about.

Feelings ruin everything. Love sucks, and you knew this before you agreed. You agreed under the circumstances that Taehyung could show you that relationships could be fun; not under the circumstances that he would make you fall in love with him,

And the more that you think about it, maybe you were always in love with him. Maybe you always had these feelings for him, but they were trapped in the tight bonds of friendship that your subconscious never let you out.

But none of that even mattered now. The deal had to be off, and you need to distance yourself from Taehyung before you are hurt any worse. The longer this goes on the worse that you are going to feel when it's all over.

How are you supposed to go back to normal after this? Like is Taehyung thinking that showing you how amazing relationships are, you won't fall for him or something? Or does his true plan consist of making you fall in love with him, just to string you along like every other girl he's dated?

You’re trapped in the never-ending spiraling thoughts, soiling your image of Taehyung with each new theory that crosses your mind. None of them are good. All of them paint him as a player, as someone who just used you.

But the little thump in your heart when you notice the sunflowers placed on your bedside table wants your mind to change. Your heart wants you to believe that Taehyung feels something too, that throughout this arrangement he has seen a different side to you too – that he’s fallen for you just like you have for him.

It's a knock at your door that guides you out of your thoughts. The repetitive tapping at your front door that drags you out of bed. And when you check your peephole and it's no one else, but your small blonde best friend standing on your doorstep that has relief rushing through your system.

The door cracks open, Lainey standing there with an umbrella in her hand – even though it was nearly 100º with clear skies.

“Why are you still in your pajamas? It's noon.”

She pushes past you and to your living room, plopping down on your couch and making herself comfortable as she waits for you to join. You spin on your heels, an exhausted breath leaving your mouth as you pace over to her, plopping down beside her.

“Why the umbrella?” Your brow furrows as she hands it over. You take it though, still confused behind the meaning of the object that you're holding and where it came from.

“It’s Taehyung’s.”

You nearly drop it as his name leaves her lips. The name causes your stomach to tighten, mouth-drying instantly as emotions well behind your eyes.

“Why?” Is all you can mutter out. Why was she giving it to you, why was she here, and why did she have it?

“You need to bring it back to him.” She says sternly, her eyes locked on you as she waits for you to look back at her. But you’re too focused on the umbrella placed gently in your hands, tracing your finger over every wire and the soft rubber handle.

“I can’t.” Your words come out in a whisper, breath light and airy as you sigh, sinking your body back into the couch cushions. Giving the umbrella back to Taehyung will mean that you have to go see him. And if you see him, he’s going to want to talk to you about last night, then question you about why you haven’t been returning his texts. No. You will not be giving Taehyung his umbrella back.

“Y/N,” your name leaves her mouth gently, a sigh following it before she reached for you, rubbing your arm comfortingly before continuing, “I think you need to talk to him.”

“Lainey,” you let out an annoyed sigh, “you know I can’t do that.”

You’re serious in your words. Not that you don’t want to talk to him. If you could, you would, but you can’t. There are too many emotions involved. The wound is fresh and seeing him would be rubbing salt right into it.

“Y/N,” she sighs, this time more forceful, she’s trying to get something across to you but it's going right over your head. “Talk to him. Please.”

“You know I’m going to end up hurt if I do.”

Tears well in your eyes as the words croak from your throat. It's dry and scratchy, full of fear and anxiety.

“I think you’d be surprised,” she mumbles, her eyes instantly widening on realizing the words that just escaped.

Eyes wide with confusion, they’re begging her to go on, but if she does then Taehyung won’t be the only one in deep shit right now. You can’t know what she knows.

“What do you mean I’ll be surprised?”

“I have to go,” she stands instantly, motioning to the umbrella, “and you need to bring this back.”

With a slight ruffle to your hair, Lainey is giving you a supporting smile and waving goodbye. And you’re left alone once again – just you and Taehyung’s blue umbrella.

It takes a lot of courage to get ready today. You make sure to take your sweet time rummaging through your closet, flipping through articles of clothing for the better half of an hour. At the end, you opt to go with a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt. There isn't enough energy in your body to put on anything else, and you know you’ll just want to curl back up in bed once you get home. Sweatpants are safe, and safe is just what you need.

No makeup today either. If things are anything like you’re expecting, your makeup will just end up ruined anyway. It's your better judgment to shower though, you’ve neglected to take one after work last night; opting to just bury yourself under your covers as soon as you got back. But today is a new day. And with a fresh shower and your comfiest pair of sweatpants, you are about as ready as you’ll ever be to get your heart broken into a billion pieces.

Umbrella in hand, you step out onto your front steps, relishing in your last few moments of ignorant bliss before making your way to Taehyung’s. You immediately regret your wardrobe decision as the sun beats down on your frame, the humidity making you feel sticky and gross – your favorite pants are�� no match for this heat.

But you’re on your way to your destination anyway, the drive feeling longer and more drawn out than normal. Taehyung didn’t live that far away from you, but the ride there still felt like an eternity with each theoretical scenario passing your mind.

Dragging your feet, you make your way to the front steps of his house. You’ve been here a million times, but today is different. From now on, every time you drive past this place all you’ll know is heartache.

You brush yourself off, taking a deep breath before bringing your hand up and pushing the doorbell. The sudden ringing sound startles you, even though you have every indication that it’s coming – you’re just too nervous and jumpy for your own good.

Footsteps approach the door, your stomach tightening more and more with the muffled pitter-patter of footsteps. You’re praying to God that it’s his mom, hoping that Taehyung just so happens to be out – even though his car is in plain sight parked just a few meters away from you. Wishful thinking, you suppose.

When the door to his house opens, you struggle to maintain your composure. He’s dressed similarly to you; a pair of sweats and an old sports t-shirt that has definitely seen better days.

“Hi.”

His eyes are sunken in, dark circles dragging underneath his eyes and his lips pulled downwards. He looks like a sad puppy, his dark hair all scruffy and sticking up in each direction – probably from him running his hands through it so many times.

“I came to give you this,” you extend the umbrella out before you. He nods before taking hold of it, his hand far at the opposite end making sure not to keep his distance. The more you look at him, the more sorry you feel for dodging his texts. He looks like he hasn’t slept a wink, and you’re afraid it’s all because of you.

“Oh...uh, thanks,” he struggles to make eye contact with you, looking down at the object in his hand.

It’s awkward, uncomfortable, and you can’t seem to find the words to say to break this strange tension between the two of you. He’s acting weird, shifting his weight back and forth but not moving away to close the door. His mind is racing once again – contemplating whether or not to just invite you in or leave it at that.

But with every aching bone in his body, he musters up the courage to lift his head, looking you directly in the eyes. Their dark like his, definitely from the lack of sleep you had the night before. Your mouth is turned downward too; hands fiddling together to try and distract yourself.

“D-Do you wanna come in?” He stutters, stepping aside slowly as he gestures towards his house. He suddenly worries when you don’t respond right away, taking a second to contemplate if this is a good idea or not. Ripping off the band-aid is never easy, but it needs to be done.

“Sure,” is the word that you decide on – hoping that it doesn’t make you seem disinterested or too desperate to talk. Maybe he’s just being kind though. Maybe it’s an empty offer, something that you say when you’re trying to be nice, but subconsciously hope that they won’t take you up on it. Like when you offer to share your food with someone, but you’re really hungry. You do it to be nice, not because you actually want to split the delicious looking burger and fries on your plate.

He leads you inside and to his bedroom. It looks the same as always, but it feels different. It still smells like him though, the comforting woodsy scent of pine and mahogany that he always reaches for. But that comforting scent is anything but comfortable. You’re frozen in place, unsure if you should sit on his bed and make yourself at home, much like every other time in the past. For now you just stand in the doorframe, waiting for him to tell you to take a seat, just like any polite guest would. A guest. You have never felt like a guest in his home before, or around Taehyung in general. But that imaginary wall between the two of you is standing tall and sturdy, and suddenly the two of you are reverted back to being strangers.

You watch as he toys with something on his desk, his fingers dancing from object to object and sifting through papers to look busy. The point of it – unknown to you but to him, he’s buying time. Trying to think of the first thing to say, what to ask, or if you even wanted to talk. Maybe you only agreed to come inside to be nice. Maybe you were too worried about hurting his feelings if you said no. But alas, here you are, standing awkwardly in his doorway as he shuffles around his room, his brain flooding with thoughts – but his mouth can not form them into audible words.

“I’m sorry for ignoring your texts.”

Your voice catches his attention, dropping whatever paper he’s looking at now and turning his gaze to you. You’re sunken into yourself, your chest thumping with anxiety as his eyes begin to wander your frame. Not in a ‘I’m checking you out’ manner though; more of a ‘you look so sad and I don’t know what to say to you right now’ kind of way.

It’s true though, he doesn’t know what to say – which is why he’s staring at you, hoping the right words would just pop up and he didn’t have to use any brain-power at all. He doesn’t want to say ‘it's okay,’ because it's not. You never ignore his texts, and that alone tells him enough about what's going on. You are upset at him.

“What did I do wrong, Y/N?”

His words sound accusatory but his tone is soft, gentle and full of worry. Eyes swollen and looking like they are about to fill to the brim with tears, his sight is focused on you; now not able to look away.

“I-I don’t know…”

Your answer is honest. You don’t know if his intentions are dirty. Yeah, that’s what you thought initially, but looking at him with such hurt written all over his face tells a different story.

Taehyung is silent, unsure of what more he can do or say to make you talk to him. He can’t force you to open up, he never has and he never will – that’s always been his rule. Everything you’ve shared with him has been on your own terms and conditions. Taehyung has always been here to be your listening ear, but he never pries.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

His voice is soft, eyes full of sympathy as he holds himself together. Those were the words he has been looking for. Now the ball is in your court and you’ll have to be the one leading the conversation. It’s just what he needed to figure this shit out.

“I-I don’t know.”

“Y/N,” he sighs as he drops himself down onto the mattress, “I shouldn’t have to say this for you to know it, but you know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

You do know that. You really, really do. But this time things are different. Is he expecting you to just come out and speak your truth like there won’t be consequences? No, he won’t push you to tell him anything you don’t want to. But the worry in his eyes and clammy hands are begging for you to just let it out so he can stop being in the dark.

You sigh out an ‘okay’ before sitting down beside him.

Rip the band-aid off Y/N. Quick and painless.

His eyes narrow, almost to a squint, staring right through you in hopes of reading your thoughts. Your expression is nothing but blank as you try your best to gain some sort of composure. Do you just speak up and spill your guts? The words replay in your mind over and over until your thoughts are beat down and misshapen.

You can picture his face when you say it; disgusted with a trace of disappointment and some confusion spread into the mix. Or maybe he’ll laugh at how pathetic you were, catching feelings for your fake boyfriend.

That’s it. There’s no way you can tell him. It would be much easier to just get up and leave. Tell him to pretend like none of this ever happened and that you needed some time to cool off. A few months maybe, or maybe you could just ghost him entirely.

“Y/N?”

The sound of his voice breaks you out of your toxic thoughts, and his chocolate brown eyes bring you back down to earth. You can’t just leave him in the dust. He’s looking at you like you’re the only thing that exists. Things will be okay, right?

“Sorry, sorry,” you exhale deeply as you calm your thoughts; shifting the nasty scenarios out and accepting that whatever happens after this conversation is your fate.

“Taehyung, I-I guess I wasn’t expecting this boyfriend-girlfriend thing we’re doing to go like this.”

His brow quirks at your words, confusion riddling his expression as his eyes narrow. With a tilt of his head, he’s pushing you to continue, visibly riddled with your choice of words.

“Swear you’ll be honest when I ask you this?” You question him, your hand moving closer to his as you lean in slightly. He’s like a magnet, you can’t help yourself from moving closer; even though the proximity of the two of you is clouding your thoughts and you can feel your heart beginning to swell.

He nods in response to your question, his eyes full of concern as he waits for you to continue, “Why did you ask me to do this thing?”

He knows that a question like this was coming, only if he could have prepared for it. But he didn’t, so his throat is left dry and scratchy as his mouth opens, only to stutter a bit before closing it back up. No coherent thoughts or words are able to escape his lips, just nonsense mumbling that caught himself off guard.

With a deep breath, he closes his eyes, regaining his composure before he can face you again. He agreed to be honest, and if honesty is what you want, honesty is that you’ll get.

“I’m sorry.” That’s all that he can say.

Oh no. This is exactly what you were expecting before you came here. He’s gonna tell you that he didn’t mean to mess with your emotions, that he felt you catching feelings and got carried away. That he’s sorry that he ruined your friendship and played you like a violin all at once.

“Me too.”

You don’t know why you’re apologizing, but you are. It feels wrong. Absolutely utterly, and undoubtedly wrong. Apologizing for your own feelings is not something that you are okay with. Especially when he made you fall for him like this. Okay so maybe thinking that is giving him too much power, but who the hell takes you out on dates for nearly 2 weeks straight just to laugh about it later. How can he expect you to not catch feelings for him? With his deep voice and fluffy hair that always hangs in front of his eyes, that little giggle he has when he finds something amusing. Everything about him was attractive. And you’ve fallen for it all. Hard.

“Wait, why are you sorry?”

A scoff escapes your mouth unintentionally, but it’s well deserved. “For being the idiot to fall for a guy that was playing her, I guess.”

You can’t look at him any longer, so your eyes fall to your lap, staring at your chipped nail polish and dirty fingernails instead of reading whatever dumb expression he has now. But if you just took a second to look up, you’d notice the widening of his eyes, how his fingers are beginning to shake and his mouth gape.

“Wh-What?”

“Don’t make me say it again Taehyung, I don’t feel like sounding stupid one more time.”

“No no I heard you, it's just,” his eyes slam shut, angry at himself that he let things get this far without keeping you in the loop.

You’ve been telling him that you hate love for years now. After hearing it so many times, he’d just given up on the thought of you. Maybe if he said something before you went through all those shitty guys things could have been different. But he’s let this go on for far too long, and now you’re the one that was paying the price.

“Y/N, I have feelings for you.”

Your neck nearly breaks with how fast your head snaps up. He’s the one looking away now, his cheeks a bit rosy as he tries to hide himself. He isn’t doing a very good job though, his hair is only shadowing his eyes and you can clearly see the way he’s nervously chewing on his lip; a cute habit you have grown fond of these past couple of weeks.

If he didn’t look like he does right now, you’d assume he was messing around. But you know Taehyung. You know his small little gestures and what they mean by now. You know when he’s being serious and when he’s telling a lie. He can look someone dead in the eye and lie to them, but when he tells the truth, he becomes shy and worried that he’s said the wrong thing.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” You ask softly, gently reaching for his hand. The subtle contact makes him flinch, reacting by pulling your hand away. But his eyes meet your sympathetic ones, sparkling just like they always do, and he knows what he wants.

Taehyung’s hand reaches back for yours, lacing his fingers through yours before giving your hand a light squeeze. “You hate relationships,” he chuckles lightly, the mood of the room instantly shifting as the laughter leaves his lips.

“I hated the ones that weren’t with you,” you correct him, but your voice comes across as just a whisper. He’s close enough to hear though, a blushing grin forming on his face as you shyly look away. His heart flutters when he hears it, a million butterflies erupting in his tummy all at once.

“I hated the ones that weren’t with you too,” he coos, his eyes wide and sparkling as he looks at you with such adoration.

Time moves in slow motion as his hand meets your cheek, your eyes look deeply into his chocolate ones as he moves in closer. As your eyelids flutter shut his tongue runs across his bottom lip, wetting the surface before closing the distance between you. Finally.

And in that moment you’re at peace. Everything you thought you’ve ever hated, love, relationships, and maybe Taehyung for a hot second, are the only things that you long for. The 14 days don’t have to be over, and your days no longer have to be counted. When you’re with Taehyung you’re happy, you’re comfortable, and you're confident that he can give you what you have always deserved – but have never gotten.

His lips move against yours in slow, languid motions, his large hands holding you close like he’s holding on for dear life. But you won’t leave even if you want to, not now, not after all this.

Slowly, Taehyung shifts his weight and you move in succession. He’s laying you down on his bed, gently climbing over you without breaking the kiss. Things are becoming more heated now, you can feel it as his hungry lips devour your own. Your chest heaves up to meet his, your back arching off the mattress as his hands begin to scour your body. The heat pooling in between your legs is growing, an aching sensation overwhelming your core as your own hands reach up to rake through his long, fluffy hair. And you can tell he wants you too, the thin fabric of his sweatpants doing little to conceal the growing erection pressing against your thigh.

You can’t help but let out a steep moan as his hips begin to grind into yours. Needy groans fall past his lips and onto yours as you roll your hips upwards to meet his small ruts.

In a leisurely motion, Taehyung’s body is moving upwards, his knee finding a place between your legs as he brings himself up to a kneeling position. You chase his lips the entire way there, sitting up straight to be sure the contact doesn’t vanish, too consumed by your need for him to leave his lips.

And then his needy hands are running along the waistband of your sweats, fiddling with the tie before breaking your heated kiss. “Is this okay?” His words come out in a whisper, his eyes searching yours for any signs of doubt, but all he sees is lust.

“Yes,” you confirm, out of breath from making-out for so long without coming up for air. The lightheaded feeling taking over you goes unnoticed though, and quite frankly you’re too caught up in Taehyung to care.

Quickly, he rids you of your pants, looking back up at you for confirmation about your underwear. With an affirmative nod he’s removing those too, leaving you completely bare from the waist down as he stands over you fully clothed.

But soon he’s ridding himself of his own clothing, his shirt being pulled at the nape of his neck as he discards it across the room. He’s leaning back down to you, hungry for the feeling of your lips. He misses it, even though it's been less than a minute since he’s last felt your smooth lips on his.

You won’t open your eyes to see, but with the shuffling movements and shaky connection between your mouths you can tell Taehyung is stripping himself of any remaining clothing he has on. He’s needy, unable to wait any longer to get down to business, he’s already waited long enough.

You’re the one who breaks the kiss this time, too curious to see what he’s sporting down below for your own good. But you are not disappointed once you see it – he’s long and girthy; the pigment a shade or two darker from his skin tone than the rest of his body. Your thoughts are wandering, wondering what it's like to have him inside of you; dreaming about what he feels like. Arousal pools at your core, mouth salivating as your daydreams linger.

“Like what you see?” Taehyung chuckles. You barely notice that you’ve been staring, eyes wide and focused on the hardened dick before you, which is probably a bit uncomfortable for him.

“Sorry!” You cringe at yourself lightly, covering your eyes in embarrassment in fear that you just ruined the mood you’ve worked too hard to create.

“Don’t apologize,” he smiles as he grabs your wrists, moving them away from your round eyes. Scrunching your nose in displeasure, you catch your lip in between your teeth, mentally face palming at how weird you’re being.

He couldn’t blame you though, it was taking everything in him not to gawk at you. It was the first time you’ve seen each other naked. Bathing suits did little for your imagination, not that you had even thought about Taehyung this way before.

But he eases your nerves by coming down face level with you, reaching for your shirt and pulling it up over your head. You look at him with wide eyes, taking in each part of him as he caresses your body gently. He’s in awe of you like this. So relieved that you’re finally his, that he has you like this.

Nimble fingers dance down your body, landing at your core as he runs one up your slit, collecting your arousal on his fingertip. An impressed smirk grows slowly on his face, “I can’t believe you’re this wet already,” he hums. “All for me.”

His eyes remain focused on your center, devouring it with his eyes as his hands hold steady on your thighs. You can’t help but grow slightly embarrassed, dripping with arousal so early on though he’s barely touched you. A lump forms in your throat causing you to swallow thickly – this doesn’t go unnoticed by Taehyung.

A concerned expression crosses his face, brow furrowing as he moves his hands upward to settle on your waist. “Hey,” his voice is soft, gentle and full of worry, “everything okay?”

“Just nervous,” you answer, a fake smile showing on your face to try and combat your own emotions.

It is no secret that Taehyung is a bit more experienced than you are in bed. He knows that, you know that, and that is enough to turn you into a nervous wreck. Leave it to your own thoughts to ruin the moment.

“We don’t have to…”

“No!” Your voice comes out a little too eager, a bit loud, shocking Taehyung. His eyes widen in response, body jolting from the impact of your tone. “No,” you say more gently this time, “I want to.”

You did want to – you just have to get over your own nerves first. Luckily, Taehyung didn’t mind and was willing to guide you through it.

With a reassuring smile plastered across his face, he laces his fingers through yours. As you lock eyes, you nod him onward, giving him the go-ahead to continue. He moves languidly, his fingers moving back down to trace your slit once more. The sensation makes you tense, the nerves tingling through your body making it difficult for you to calm down.

But with a reassuring squeeze of his hand to yours, you’re taking a deep breath. Closing your eyes as you lie your head backwards onto his pillowcase. The smell of him consumes you, relaxing you effectively as his fingers meet the entrance of your core.

Shivers run through your body as he dips one finger inside. Your arousal acts as a natural lube, letting his finger glide gracefully into you. You gasp at the sensation, eyes rolling back into your head as he begins caressing your walls. His finger moves swiftly in and out of your core, his other hand still locked with yours to guide you through.

With your body finally relaxing, Taehyung is able to add another finger into the mix. The extra pressure makes you shudder for a moment, taking a little to adjust to the greater size inside of you. Thankfully the mild discomfort subsides, and he’s able to pump his fingers in and out once more.

He’s making sure to watch each of your expressions, growing harder and harder just from watching your face contort in bliss. With each of his movements you bite down harder onto your lip, focusing on him and him only.

“You’re doing so well,” he praises as his thumb rubs circles over your hand soothing you. You can feel your heart swell at his words, heat beginning to rise to your cheeks.

In one swift motion, Taehyung begins to separate his fingers, stretching your walls as his digits move in scissor-like motions inside you. “Fuck,” you mumble, hips jutting forward in reaction.

A steep moan leaving your lips as he brings his fingers back together, just to extend them once more. Your body is quickly getting used to the pressure, begging for more as you roll your hips.

He can sense that you’re eager from your movements alone. With one final squeeze, his hand is leaving yours. The empty feeling in your palm is unpleasant. But once you open your eyes and notice he’s using it to palm himself, his fingers groping around his length and beginning to pump slowly, that empty feeling is replaced with something else.

Your mouth salivates with desire, hungry for the feeling of him inside of you. He’s aroused you enough, and you’re too eager to feel him for your own good.

“Taehyung,” you moan, “fuck me please.”

His cock jumps in reaction to your words, his chest heaving as his breath catches in his throat. Never in his life did he expect to hear those words come out of your mouth – but he wouldn't mind hearing it again.

“Hmm?” He hums, knowing damn well what you said but being greedy enough to pretend that he didn’t. You whine in response, your legs shaking on the bed in a mini temper-tantrum.

“Please,” you drag out, “please fuck me.”

Your words are music to his ears. He removes his fingers from your dripping cunt, grabbing the backs of your knees to pull you closer to him and hike your legs up over his hips.

“Anything for you.”

Complying to your wish, he lines the tip of his cock up with your entrance. The feeling of his smooth head against your core is enough to make you moan, your head thrown back to expose the soft skin of your neck.

Taehyung takes this as an opportunity to leave his own mark behind, leaning down to attach his lips to your skin. You gasp as his teeth graze your skin, his plump lips sucking harshly before his tongue is swiping over the area to soothe it.

But your eyes open once he’s beginning to pull away to look at you. His eyes are dark, full of lust mixed with adoration, a sigh of relief leaving his chest as he gazes down at you under him. There’s a lot going on in his head right now. Of all the emotions swirling around, the thing he’s most focused on is how lucky he is to have you.

And before you know it, he’s leaning down. Pressing a chaste kiss to your lips, making you smile. One more kiss is left on your forehead before he's pulling back, securing the position of your legs on his hips.

And then he’s realigning himself with your core, pushing past your entrance and slowly descending into the depths of your pussy. He’s moving slowly, taking his time as he thrusts into you. The delicious stretch is unfamiliar, but it's not uncomfortable – like you were made just for him. A simultaneous groan leaves your lips as he bottoms out, the tip of his cock pressing deep into you on a spot that’s gone untouched.

He hums a sigh of contempt before pulling back, only to rock his hips into you once again. Your velvety walls welcome him delightedly, soft whimpers leaving your lips once he bottoms out again.

“Y/N,” your name leaves his lips in a low grunt, the bones of his pelvis driving into your skin as he begins to pick up his pace. In reaction you clench down on him, orgasm beginning to loom overhead with each movement of his hips.

Desire fills your senses as you roll your hips over to meet his thrusts. His movements are slow and intentional, making sure to bottom out each time to watch you squirm over his dick. He loves how your jaw drops each time his tip presses against your g-spot, knowing just when he hits it each time.

Taehyung’s teeth are barred, sweat gathering at his brow as his dark fluffy hair sticks to his face. He’s trying to hold himself back, the overwhelming urge to finish just in reach, but he doesn’t want to stop. So his hands roam your body to try and distract him, his palms caressing up the sides of your torso as your back bridges into him. The feeling of hot breath fans over your face with each sigh he lets out.

But the tightening knot in your stomach is threatening to snap with every movement of his hips. It's getting harder and harder to hold on with the power of his thrusts growing stronger.

“Taehyung,” you whine, “so close” your hands find his back, fingernails dragging down his spine in attempts to ground yourself. Taehyung’s face contorts as your nails pierce his skin, leaving lines of red scratches down the length of his posterior.

The stretch from his length and his rhythmic motions sends your senses into overdrive. Squeezing your eyes shut and grasping onto the sheets underneath you, you can taste the brink of your orgasm. Taehyung is focused; his grip on your thighs strong and his face contorted with bliss. But all you can think about is how stupid you could have been if you had decided to just cut him out. What matters is that you’re here with him now, and the thought of that is enough to push you over the edge.

Your breath hitches in your throat, stomach twisting and turning as your pussy throbs repeatedly around his member. Emotions running high, three words almost slip past your lips, but with the small amount of strength you can muster up, you hold them back. Another time, some time that isn't so lust filled like this one.

Taehyung’s thrusts are growing sloppy. His grip on your legs tightening as his lip is caught between his teeth. And with just a few quick thrusts, he’s coming undone inside of you. White, hot spurts of cum paint your walls, filling you up and making you feel so unbelievably full.

You’ve always felt close to Taehyung – he knew everything about you and vice versa; but this time was different. The way his hands settled on your legs, bringing them down gently after finishing. How his eyes are becoming so soft as he looks at you, a lazy grin pulling at his lips. You’ve never felt closer to Taehyung as you do in the moment. As his body collapses next to yours, pulling you in and holding you close as you recover from your highs, you’re completely at peace.

“Sorry I got carried away, I guess I should have asked if you’re on birth control still,” he laughs, burying his face into the crook of your neck.

“I am,” you chuckle alongside him.

Your naked bodies tangle together, his leg weaving its way through yours to be as close to you as possible. He’s intoxicated by you, closing his eyes as he rests against your body in complete bliss. Now that he has you this close he never wants to let go; and neither do you.

“Can I tell you something?” His voice is soft, whisper like but still confident. His tone doesn’t falter.

“Anything.”

“I love you, Y/N.”

Butterflies erupt in your tummy, your heart thudding in your chest as heat rises to your cheeks. He loves you. It's not that friendship kind of love anymore; it's the relationship kind. The same kind that makes your heart skip a beat and body riddle with every emotion in the book. The kind that keeps you up all night thinking about – but also helps you fall asleep, knowing he’ll be there in the morning.

And all of a sudden it seems so stupid that you were fighting those words back in the heat of the moment just a few minutes ago. He felt it too, you always knew that.

“I love you, Taehyung.”

Crush culture once made you want to spill your guts. Every guy sucked, relationships were stupid and love was a social construct that you didn’t feel like conforming to. There was absolutely no one that you would waste your time on, until Taehyung came around. What you had been looking for your entire life has always been right in front of your eyes – you were just too dumb to see it.

Maybe love is alright, after all.

#bb2020 #bangtanarmynet #networkbangtan #ficswithluv #btswriterscollective #smutcentralnet #magicshopnet #bangtanhq #cypherwritersnet #winterbearnet #kpopuniversenet #taehyung x reader #kth smut #kth fluff #kim taehyung #taehyung fanfiction

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hookedonapirate · 3 years

Text

Sneak Peek—All In

Chapter 5

A/N: I meant to finish this chapter like two weeks ago but then I ended up working a ton so didn't have enough time it energy for it.

As requested, I've included some background of Emma and her family in this chapter, how David became a mob boss and what James' role is, ect.

Hope you enjoy the sneak peek 🙂

Killian carries his beautiful bride over the threshold, her arms wrapped around the back of his neck as she giggles and teases him for being traditional.

He’s glad he didn’t have to worry about their luggage or gathering his things around, since pretty much everything he owns is back in Storybrooke. But Mary Margaret put a bag together for him and placed their luggage in the suite. Since Emma went shopping for Killian with her mother, it was a good way for her to prove how much she knows her significant other’s style. She may not know much about him, but she knows he prefers jeans, fitted t-shirts and black leather jackets. Though he’s not sure she knows what size he wears. So it’ll be interesting to see what she bought for him.

“I’m always a gentleman,” he assures, kicking the door shut behind them.

She snort-laughs. “You weren’t a gentleman the night we met.” She pats her belly. “If you were, I wouldn’t be pregnant.”

He gingerly sets her down on her feet and chuckles. “Love, if I recall, you didn’t want me to wear a condom and said you were on birth control when we were in the elevator.”

“Which I was, but I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about you asking me to your hotel room after we met only five minutes prior.”

He cocks his head to the side. “It had been more than five minutes. Besides, you weren’t exactly making it easy on me. If your uncle had left sooner, your hand would’ve been on my crotch.”

“Oh, yeah, I made it so hard on you.” She rolls her eyes.

“Aye, you made it very hard, indeed,” he quips with a smirk.

Her cheeks flush, and a shy smile overtakes her face, but she doesn’t have a retort as she walks away from him.

When he finally tears his eyes away from her, he takes the time to look around the suite and is in complete awe. It’s bigger than his entire cottage in Storybrooke. Emma doesn’t even seem to be fazed by all of this. Probably because she’s used to living in the lap of luxury. The penthouse she owns is much nicer than this hotel suite.

He scopes out the rest of the suite, thinking how unnecessary this all is, considering they’ll only be here for one night and will be leaving early tomorrow morning for their flight to Florence. So he highly doubts they’ll make use of the massage room, the dining room or the walk-in closet, which is the size of his entire bedroom. They won’t even make use of the granite wet bar, considering Emma’s pregnant. And is it really necessary to have two bathrooms, plus a powder room, or to have a large, deep-soaking tub and a separate walk-in shower? Okay, those things they might actually make use of.

Killian meets Emma in the bedroom and gulps when he sees the super king-size bed. Is it really necessary to have a bed this big, especially for a newlywed couple who will most likely spend part of the night in the middle of the bed making love and the rest of the night snuggled close, most likely in the middle again? At least, that’s how he envisions it.

Emma’s gazing wistfully out the balcony doors, which afford a colorful view of the Las Vegas strip.

Killian steps up behind her and wraps his arms around her frame, kissing her cheek. He’s not sure if this is exactly what he should be doing because even though they married for convenience, even though she’s pregnant with their babies and even though they’ve been together intimately before, they still barely know each other.

“You okay, love?”

Emma grasps his hands and leans into his touch, turning her head slightly to peer up at him with a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

He gets lost in her sparkling emerald greens for a moment, trying to forget why they’re actually here or how they got here, or what’s expected of them. He just wants to enjoy his night with the mother of his children—his wife—not wanting to allow a dark cloud to hang over them.

Emma blinks a few times and faces forward, snapping back to reality. “You know, we don’t have to pretend behind closed doors. You don’t have to pretend to like me.”

Killian’s smile wanes, his heart dropping into his stomach as she pulls away from him. “What do you mean, love?”

She turns around and walks over to the bed, shrugging as she sits on the edge. “Well, I know you hate my family, and I don’t blame you for that. My uncle tricked you and threatened you, and my father tried to kill you.”

When she tries to remove her shoes, her skirts get in the way and she struggles to reach her feet, so he kneels down in front of her and undoes the straps. His heart pounds as he takes her ankle in one hand and slips off her shoe with the other, his skin tingling from touching her. Even her ankles are perfect. “What do they have to do with how I feel about you?”

She scrunches her nose as though the answer is obvious. “Everything. They’re my family.”

“See, Emma, that’s where you’re wrong.” After he removes the other shoe and sets the pair aside, he rises and sits next to her on the bed. “You shouldn’t be faulted for your family’s doings. The fact you were raised by them and are nothing like them shows how strong and independent you are. You don’t let the family business define who you are.”

She looks away from him and peers down at her hands as she toys with the fabric of her dress, sadness clouding her face. “Well, it was easy not to let the darkness take hold of me since I've had to watch my dad battle it almost my whole life.”

#cs ff #captain swan #sneak peek #all in

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candyopala · 3 years

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Stuck in his ways, chapter 1

Sinopsis: After deciding to settle down after a whole life of mercenary work, Y/N moves to Konoha and becomes a nin thanks to an old favor the Nara clan owed her. She is assigned to a jonin mentor, but he is not too happy about his new task since he is a man stuck in his ways and a bit closed off. Will they be able to work their differences out?

Chapter summary: First impressions are important, especially when they are bad.

Words: 1.3k

Chapter: 1/?

AO3

“You’re at least an hour late, Obito”

Another restless night, two old ladies needing help with their groceries, Kakashi bothering him again to go on one of those blind dates, yeah, of course Obito was late again. The Uchiha flinches as he hears this as he goes through Minato’s office door. He does not try to come with any excuses, his former sensei knows him too well to fall for any of it, and so he just apologizes.

“You know, I sometimes tend to go too soft on you but this is third time this week you’re late. That’s a lot even for you.”

“I’m sorry sir I promise this won’t happen again”

“It won’t because I’m suspending you from getting S ranked missions until you change this behavior. I can clearly see that something is not wright with you lately”

Great, just great.

“Anyway, I was going to assign this one to a jonin with less experience and prestige as you, but I think I’ll be giving it to you since I’m sure you need to cool down a little, get some rest. You will be training a new chunin I just promoted exceptionally, not in a team due to specific circumstances, just one student. I want you to evaluate their abilities and teach them the ways of the village”

Obito immediately hunches his back forward in a mix of disappointment and frustration. He has been working so hard lately on his missions in an effort to impress, he wants to be the next Hokage, after all. Fine, he has been a little tired and unmotivated lately but hell, he still is better than most ninja, he does not deserve to be babysitting chunin like that.

Minato hands him a folder and gives him some more detail about the student in question, but the Uchiha does not pay any attention on it. He lazily starts making his way to the training field he was told his new pupil would be. Obito figures he will just borrow those bells from Kakashi and put them through it, no way in hell anyone will be able to pass this test with him as the teacher and he will get rid of this situation quickly.

One quick look through the file and Obito immediately recognizes the face on the top of the first page. The outsider joining the village. Great. Her face on paper stares back at him, the unmistakable cold look of someone that just kills for a living with no clear objective but money. As if he was not already uncomfortable in the position of teacher, it had to be someone his prejudices will not allow him to fully trust and on top of that, another person to give him that look, that awful look they have when they first see him.

Leaning into a tree, Obito keeps reading the papers. Ex merc, over a hundred captured S ranked missing nin, taijutsu and blade techniques, uninteresting details about the girl’s life. What on earth Minato had on his mind to allow someone from outside into the village’s ranks? He knows they are still struggling with reduced numbers since the war, but for Kami’s sake, village secrets cannot be told to just anybody like this.

He takes another look at the picture and the word pretty comes up in his mind, only to be immediately shut down by a pile of self-imposed negative thoughts.

“Hm, probably just a weakling traitor” He thinks aloud while still gazing at the folder.

~”~

Y/N sits close to the top of a tree observing the training grounds. These few weeks have been… exhausting. She never thought that settling down would be so complicated, but some of that is on her for choosing to be a village ninja and not opting to just open a small bakery or something.

They told her that her new mentor was supposed to meet her here, but she has been waiting here for over an hour and a half and… nothing. As if having to get used to ranks and authorities was not overbearing enough, she will have to deal with someone closely bossing her around.

After a while, she hears footsteps in the direction of the clearing she was in. A tall man appears, from this height she can only make out his black colored hair and jonin vest. This must be her supposed mentor, he has a beige folder and he is reading it intently. He appears to not have noticed her presence, so she decides to get down and approach him silently as to find out if what he has in his hands is about her. What can she do? She is a curious being.

Jumping down silently and getting closer from behind, he has not noticed her yet. She is able to look at the open folder, the jonin is staring at a picture of her. A bad picture if you ask her opinion, almost a mugshot.

“Hm, probably just a weakling traitor” the man says clearly referring to her picture.

“Ok, rude” is what she is able to say in response, while in truth she really wanted to spell out her entire extensive catalog of insults

Caught off guard, the man immediately points a kunai at her neck. A single red glowing eye meet hers, joined by a face half covered of scars that look incredibly painful, a vision that for sure would intimidate anyone. Y/N, on the other hand, has her interest growing bigger by the minute. She has heard of the dojutsu possessed by the Uchiha family in her travels and she knows they are native to Konoha, but she did not expect to meet one of them so quickly and to work with them on the field. The man is also strikingly han- uneducated, yes, uneducated.

Deciding to discuss the awful thing he said about her just now later, Y/N raises her arms as sign of peace:

“Calm down, I’m the one you were staring at in your creep file.”

Confused, the man stares at her and back at the picture a couple of time before finally letting his guard down. Putting the kunai back in his pocket, he finally speaks:

“It’s not a creep file, it’s mission information. I’ve been assigned to be your mentor while you’re new to the village. Obito Uchiha, nice to meet you.”

“It’s not a creep file alright, but it is a little creepy to be staring at people’s faces for too long and saying mean stuff about them. Anyway, I’m Y/N L/N, nice to meet you too sir.”

Mr. Creep Uchiha seems quite lost until he visibly realizes what she is talking about, and then he gets visibly uncomfortable and a little mad, hence the pout forming in his lips.

“Are you sure you should be talking to your superiors like this?”

“Are you supposed to welcome new people like that?”

Awkward silence follows for a bit before Obito starts walking to the middle of the clearing, Y/N takes this as a lead for her to follow him. Stepping into the sun now, the Uchiha finally speaks again:

“I want to see you fight” Is all he says, with a small conceited smirk creeping in.

“Weren’t you supposed to explain things to m-“

“It won’t matter if you are too weak to even go out on a mission later. I’m not big on having my time wasted.”

Y/N is stumped. Normally she would have already jumped at him for treating her like this, how dare he talk to someone like that? To not even acknowledge her. But in this new situation of hers she is obligated to not do anything, the only thing that escapes her mouth is a small whisper of the word asshole.

“Catch these bells. Fail to do so and I’ll make sure you’re kicked out from here forever. We’ll talk about everything else later.”

What?!

#Obito #obito uchiha #obito uchiha x y/n #obito uchiha x reader #uchiha obito

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dreamescapeswriting · 4 years

Text

Stray Kids Reaction || Comforting Hugs [Request]

Chan:

It was just one thing after another that day and you were getting more upset as time went by, you dragged yourself through your front door and threw your bag down onto the floor wanting to curl up into a ball and cry right then and there. The day had started with your boyfriend Chan telling you he couldn't come and see you that night because he was busy with work, which you understood. After all, you knew how much his dream meant to him but it didn't stop you being a little upset over it. The slowly throughout the day things got worse, your heel snapped on the way to work, someone at work dumped a tray of coffee over you so you were forced into wearing a tighter waitress uniform resulting in being reported by one of the Karen's that frequently visited the small cafe you worked in with her son, claiming you were trying to seduce him which ultimately lead to you being fired because your dumb boss valued money rather than the truth.

"Fuck," You groaned laying down on the sofa and trying not to break down into tears, you looked at your phone to see a photo from Chan sitting on your notification bar but you didn't want to open it because then he would know you were home early but you didn't want to be rude, on the screen was a photo of him in the studio,

Hi baby, hows work? x

That was all it took for you to break down into tears sitting on your sofa, sobbing into your sofa cushions and cradling them as though it was Chan's chest and he was holding you instead of you being home alone. Your phone was ringing like crazy and you couldn't ignore it anymore, you sniffled and lifted it up to your ear to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Y/n?! What's wrong? Why aren't you answering my Snapchat? Are you okay?" His voice was full of concern which only made your heartache more at the fact that he wasn't sitting beside you.

"I got fired Channie." You sobbed down the phone and he was up from his desk in a flash,

"I'll be right round."

"You're busy-" He hung up before you could even finish your sentence and you just sat there in silence while you waited for him to show up at the door.

He let himself into the apartment and sat beside you on the sofa taking your hands into his and pulling you close to him,

"Talk to me." He whispered but you shook your head snuggling your face into his chest,

"I just need you to hold me." You whispered back to him, he unlinked your hands and wrapped his arms around your waist and pulling you into him, holding you as close as he could without you being in his body.

"I'm sorry I made you leave the studio, you could go back." But he stayed silent and rubbed the small of your back in different patterns, whispering sweet nothings into your ear trying to comfort you in any way he could,

"Shh, I'm here." You smiled softly at him and closed your eyes listening to his heartbeat to calm you down from the awful day you'd had, it was perfect laying here. It was all you needed to make everything seem okay again and Chan knew that he knew all you needed was for him to be there and he was going to do everything he could to keep you happy because he loved you so much.

Minho:

Something had felt off all day, the moment you woke up you felt as though something was going to go wrong and you were right. Your boyfriend of two years broke up with you because he was in love with someone else who just so happened to be one of your close friends, well...Ex close best friend. You'd tried to stay as happy and positive about it as you could but it was hard to do that when it felt like the world was turning against you. You'd tried to call up your best friend Chan but he wasn't answering so you headed to the Soul Cafe to get your favourite drink instead in hopes it would cheer you up a little more. It didn't, now you were sitting in the cafe staring into the cup of hot chocolate and trying not to sob,

"Y/n?" You looked up to see Minho standing at the counter ordering something, you smiled softly at him and stared back down at the cup.

"You alright?" A simple question that normally you would answer without troubles but this time it made your eyes water and your chest hurt,

"Yeah, fine. You?" You were trying to act as calmly as possible but it was as if he could read your mind because the next thing you knew he was walking you out and up towards the studios carrying your cup for you and saying nothing.

"What's happened?" You sniffled and noticed a couple of tears were rolling down your face, Mina and Sana walked past you going to question what was wrong but Minho told them he had it covered,

"He broke up with me for my friend." You managed to say between broken sobs, Lee Know felt his blood boil at the thought of someone hurting you, he'd always had a crush on you but kept it a secret since you were in a relationship and one of Chan's best friends but this was it, it hurt him to see you hurting so much.

"I'll kill him." He mumbled walking you into a studio and sitting you on one of the leather sofas, you sniffled again and he handed you a box of tissues going to leave the room to find Chan.

"Please don't leave me alone." You whimpered, his hand hovered above the door handle at your words ad he turned around to look at you, you were staring at him and he nodded coming over to the sofa and sitting at the opposite end.

"C-Can I hug you?" You stuttered out feeling suddenly nervous to be alone with him, you'd only ever hung around with all of them together he opened his arms and you slid over to him, laying your head on his shoulder and closing your eyes.

"Has anyone ever told you, you make a great pillow?" You whispered snuggling against him and feeling relaxed and somehow at home.

"No, not really." His arm rested on your waist and he smiled, he could have stayed that way forever if you'd have let him just holding you to make sure you were okay or felt better he made a promise to himself that once you were over the low life that dumped you he would ask you out on a real date and make you feel like the amazing person you were.

Changbin:

It had been the worst week for you, you'd gotten sick on the Monday Changbin's holiday started and hadn't gotten better since. It was now Sunday and he'd spent the entire time he had off sleeping on your sofa away from you so he didn't get sick, he couldn't risk getting sick and then spending more time away from work so he was playing nurse for you from a distance. He wouldn't go near you, wouldn't hug, kiss or even be in the same room with you longer than ten minutes and it was starting to make you upset. You were cranky from hardly eating anything and not being able to spend time with your boyfriend was driving you insane.

"One hug." You mumbled coming down the stairs, you had a blanket wrapped around your head and he turned around to see you standing there. You were dressed in one of his hoodies with the blanket wrapped tightly around you and he sighed,

"I can't, you're sick. Back to bed." You stood your ground and pouted,

"I'm fine, I'm not sick anymore." You both stayed silent for five seconds before you began coughing hysterically in front of him and he raised an eyebrow at you.

"Not sick anymore?" He questioned making you mumble something in his direction before heading back upstairs to the bedroom. Changbin went into the kitchen to get you something to eat, though you weren't allowed much so it was mostly soup for you with a little bit of bread to try and build your immune system back up to being healthy once again.

He stepped into the bedroom and heard you sniffling under the covers, you hadn't heard him come in otherwise you would have stopped crying in an instant, you didn't want him to see you like this.

"Jagi?" You wiped your eyes and rolled over to face him acting as though nothing was wrong but he could tell by your bloodshot eyes that you'd be crying, he put the food down on the bedside table.

"What's wrong?" You shook your head at him not wanting to talk about it,

"Get out before you get sick." You whimpered moving over to the food and getting ready to eat but he stood there staring at you.

"What is it? Is your headache back?"

"No, my boyfriend hasn't hugged me in over a week and I want a hug." You pouted and he instantly felt bad for not being able to hold you in his arms, he wanted to more than anything in the world but you were sick and he couldn't risk it. You knew how much music meant to him but when you were sick you didn't care about anything but yourself,

"Move over." He mumbled kicking off his shoes,

"What?"

"Move over." You moved over in the bed and he climbed under the covers beside you, laying your head against his chest as he sat beside you. He wrapped his right arm around your waist and used his left one to turn on your favourite movie on the TV, you smiled softly and looked up at him thinking about all the ways you loved him.

A couple of days later you were fine and Changbin was the one sick and in your bed complaining that it was your fault he was in that state now and how you had to be the nurse for him.

Hyunjin:

Having a best friend that lived halfway across the world wasn't easy, especially when you were also in love with him and all you wanted to do was cuddle up next to him when you were feeling down. Hyunjin knew how much your mental health was taking a hit lately, how sad you were getting because you were away from him, friends and family in your time of need and he wanted to try and cheer you up as much as he could luckily for him he had already made a deal with Chan that on their vacation he could go and see you in your home country without telling you of course as he wanted it to be a surprise and that's where he was going.

"Just a minute." You mumbled dragging yourself over to the front door to see who was knocking so loudly on a Sunday morning at 4:15. You unlocked each of the locks on the door and swung it open to see Hyunjin standing there with a giant smile on his face,

"Oh, Hey. Come in I'll make a drink." It wasn't the reaction he was hoping for but he followed you into the apartment and into the kitchen where you continued to sleepily make a drink. The kettle clicked and so did your mind, the blanket was thrown from around you and you jumped into Hyunjin's arms screaming about how much you couldn't believe he was standing there.

"Hi!" You yelled giggling as he put you down on the ground and smiled at you, his smile was contagious and you already felt better just by him being there.

"Oh god, I can't believe it!" You yelled running into his arms and just staying there, he was resting his head on top of yours and holding you tightly. Neither of you wanted to let go of the other so you just walked into your living room and collapsed down onto the sofa together.

"Why? When? How?" He laughed at you trying to get all the different questions out to him and he pulled away to look down at you, tucking hair behind your ear.

"This morning, it's our vacation and because you needed me." He stared down into your eyes and you smiled at him, his eyes flicked down to your lips and it was the first time he'd ever wanted to kiss you badly, he leant forward and you met him the rest of the way both of you proceed to make out in the middle of your living room.

Han:

You were crying to your best friend about how much you missed your boyfriend Han, you'd only gone over to her apartment to do her makeup and it turned into a girl therapy session where you were now sitting on her bed and crying into her legs about how much you'd missed him. Normally he would stay at your apartment but he was busy with studio things and it was easier for him to be at the dorms than it was to be at your apartment,

"I understand, of course, I do. But I still miss him and I feel like I can't tell him that because I know how much music means to him." You whimpered and she continued to rub your back asking you questions about it, what neither of you had failed to notice was that you were laying on your phone and butt dialling Han. He'd heard everything you said including the broken cries you would let out when your friend asked about it.

He'd used the spare key to get into your apartment where he then laid out blankets on your living room floor and got snacks ready, putting Howl's Moving Castle on the TV and waiting for you. He heard you sniffle as you shut the front door and he said nothing, he just walked up to you and kissed your cheek.

"Han-ah?" You mumbled dropping the bag you were carrying on the floor and walking with him into the living room, there were fairy lights everywhere and he was smiling at you.

"I'm sorry I've been so focused on work lately, I hope this sort of makes up for it." You smiled sadly at him and wrapped your arms around his neck and his wrapped around your waist.

"It's perfect but all I need is you here." You whispered going over to the blankets and sitting down together, he sat you on his lap while you cuddled into him not wanting to leave his lap for as long as humanly possible. You both just laid there tangled together in silence, the movie wasn't in either of your minds you just laid together comfortably as he rubbed the small of your back and whispered sweet things to you to make you feel a little better, telling you a funny story about the boys and then trying to get you to talk but all you wanted to do was lay there and listen to him.

Felix:

Changbin had promised to come and pick you up for the night but he hadn't shown up and text you telling you he was being held back at the studios and you should go around on your own to the dorms. He was your close friend and he'd invited you to stay over at the dorms after a really bad week, you'd been fired on Monday, Wednesday your mum told you her and your father were getting a divorce and it just got worse with every passing day. The walk to the dorms gave you a lot of time to think which wasn't a good thing because by the time you got to the front door you were sobbing and crying into your hands as if you were in some kind of movie, the door opened and Felix was standing there looking at you, his facial expression was full of concern as soon as he saw you sobbing.

"Is Changbin here yet?" You whimpered and he shook his head letting you into the apartment and shutting the door behind you,

"You alright?" You shook your head and headed in the direction of his and Changbin's room to go and lay down and he followed you wanting to know why you were crying.

"What's wrong?" You shook your head again sniffling and looking around for one of Changbin's hoodies and Felix knew what you were looking for and handed you one of his instead, you stared at it before accepting it.

"I'll be right back." He mumbled leaving the room, you changed quickly and lifted the hood around your head, Felix came back into the room with a bottle of water and some snacks but you didn't look like you were in the mood for food.

"Come on," He whispered nodding over to his bottom bunk, it was easier than climbing up to the top one so you laid down in front of Felix. Naturally, his arm rested around your waist and he pulled you back to him making you hum as you rested so close to him,

"We don't have to talk about it." He whispered to you and you could feel his breath on the bottom of your neck making your heart pound. You'd been this close to him once before and it was when you were drunkenly making out at a party that he seemed to have forgotten about but you hadn't, you remembered it as if it happened yesterday. You turned over in his arms to face him and looked up to his face,

"Thank you Lix," You whispered leaning up and kissing him on the cheek, he blushed deeply and you smiled resting your head on his chest to listen to his rapid heartbeat.

"It's fine Y/n." He whispered kissing the top of your head, he wanted Changbin to stay as long as he could at work just so he could lay there with you in his arms.

Seungmin:

It had been without a doubt the worst birthday in the histories of birthdays no one had remembered that it was your birthday, you'd gone to work as normal and then after work, you headed to the restaurant that Seungmin had placed a reservation for you both but he never showed up at the restaurant and you left not wanting to look pathetic sitting there alone all dressed up for nothing.

"Oh Hi!" Chan yelled as you walked into the dorms, he took one look at you and knew something was wrong though,

"What is it?" You looked at the floor and then back up to his face,

"It's my birthday and Seungie didn't remember." You whispered, Chan almost dropped the drink he was holding and he felt bad instantly. They'd all forgotten it wasn't just Seungmin,

"Shit, Y/n...We've just been really busy with the comeback and-"

"It's fine, is he in bed?" He nodded and you walked in the direction of the dorm room, taking off the jacket and crawling into the bed beside him trying not to cry too much. You knew how much this meant to Seungmin so you weren't about to sit and cry about him missing a birthday, you loved how hard he worked and you adored the fact that he was so passionate about music.

"Hey, Jagiya." He whispered once he felt you snuggling against him, you stayed silent and laid against his chest. You knew Chan had followed you into the room and was mouthing a conversation to Seungmin who didn't understand what the leader was trying to say.

"He's trying to tell you it's my birthday." You mumbled against his chest,

"No your birthday is next Friday- Oh my god, I'm so sorry." You shook your head at him and looked over your shoulder at Chan,

"You're busy, it's fine." You promised, of course, you were hurt deep down but you knew how much everything meant to Seungmin so you were just going to get over it and the best way to do that was cuddling up to your sweet boyfriend and just staying in his arms for as long as possible with no interruptions,

"I'll make it up to you." He whispered kissing the top of your head and you responded with a hum closing your eyes and wanting to sleep laying against him for the rest of the night.

I.N:

The panic attack came on strong and you were left breathless and leaning back against a wall, your brother Hyunjin was somewhere in the venue which meant you were alone to deal with this on your own, you were trying to focus on breathing when I.N found you.

"Y/n?!" You looked up at him and he rushed over to you, kneeling you down on the floor in front of him and sitting there with you, he'd seen this time and time again with Han and he knew what to do when someone was having a panic attack.

"Deep breath in and out." He repeated trying to get you to follow along with his breathing but it wasn't working,

"Okay, name five things you can see that are circle." He mumbled and you frowned looking around the venue and naming this,

"Four things you can hear." You named them one by one and he continued to give you small tasks to do each of them slowly taking the mind away from your panic attack and bringing you back down to your normal breathing and thinking.

"You okay?" He asked as he noticed you were now crying, you nodded slowly and stared at him.

"How did you learn to do that?" He shrugged his shoulders telling you he'd seen someone doing it with Han once,

"We'll get you some water," You shook your head and sat on the floor not wanting to move in fact, you wanted to sit and cry about having a panic attack over something that seemed so silly.

"Don't leave me." You whispered and he shifted closer to you, sitting with his back against the wall and as if it was a natural thing for you to do you snuggled against his side resting your head on his shoulder and closed your eyes.

"Thank You Jeongin." You mumbled snuggling against him, he looked around to make sure Hyunjin wasn't around before he snaked his arm around your waist to comfort you hoping no one would come along and ruin it for him.

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whats-rambled-rambled · 4 years

Text

Smoke & Mirrors - part 5

Neil x Reader

Chapter 5: Blue blood

(see chapter 4, 3, 2, 1)

summary: everything should be easier from now on, right?

warnings: language, alcohol mention, 18+

author’s note: I know part 5 was supposed to be a finale.

It’s not.

This is just where the story took me, and I think splitting it this way is going to pay out in the end.

song for this chapter: Laurel - Blue Blood

Anyway, enjoy! And let me know what you think, please?

-----

You stared at your boss, trying to wrap your mind around everything you’d just heard.

“Does that technically make me--?

“An assistant squad leader, yes,” said The Protagonist. “At least for the time being.“

He didn’t need to say anything else - you were well aware he meant it could go both ways from now on.

You nodded, glancing to your left at Neil.

“As long as it’s not an assistant to the squad leader...” you said and shrugged, trying to keep a straight face while Neil snorted loudly at your comment. You exchanged quick looks and you finally allowed a small smile to appear on your lips. It felt good to catch him off guard for once, and him getting a reference was a nice surprise as well.

“What’s so funny?” the boss asked, eyeing you warily.

Just as you opened your mouth to apologize, Neil collected himself enough to let out a long musing sigh.

“Ah, one could dream.”

You let out an exasperated huff and kicked him in the ankle, stifling a giggle. Fucking hell, you didn’t know what had gotten into you. Or him, for that matter, almost choking with laughter at your reaction.

TP must have been thinking the same because his eyes darted between both of you from under a raised brow. He cleared his throat.

“Are you two done?” he asked, and something in his tone made you straighten in your seats instantly as if you were two misbehaving kids in the principal’s office. “I need the first drafts from you by tomorrow noon.”

“Of course. Thank you, sir,” you said, internally cursing at yourself for losing your cool.

Your boss shook his head slowly and you could swear his usual polite expression cracked for a split second, revealing a glimpse of a smug smile hiding in a corner of his lips.

“Now go, before I change my mind.”

You grabbed the documents from the desk and mumbled a quick goodbye on your way out.

Neil followed you closely, his sparkling eyes showing no remorse for what had just happened.

“Would be easier if you still despised me, wouldn’t it,” he teased as he closed the door behind you.

You groaned and smacked his arm with the papers.

“What makes you think that I don’t?”

“Oh please,” he let out a throaty chuckle and sent you a roguish smile. The way he seemed to be almost obnoxiously confident in how this combo worked on you drove you mad every time. Not that he was wrong, it simply didn’t help the case he was trying to make. “Meet me at my place later?”

You gaped at him. “Can’t we use the conference room?” you asked and started walking down the empty corridor, hoping that being on the move would help your clearly malfunctioning mind.

Neil matched your pace. “It’s gonna take hours and the chairs there are far from comfortable.”

“Who would’ve thought you have such a sensitive ass,” you snickered and narrowed your eyes. “Admit it, you’re just looking for an excuse to lure me to bed.”

You stopped by the elevators. Neil hummed as he reached out to press a button to call one to your floor.

He leaned your way slightly and lowered his voice. “I think we’ve already established that we don’t really need a bed for that.”

...fair point.

You swallowed with effort, turning his way. He was looking at you with an amused expression on his face, but you saw the way his gaze darkened under your stare. You could be annoyed with him being inappropriate all you wanted, but you had to admit - it was kind of reassuring how some things stayed the same after the recent events.

“Promise to behave?”

Neil raised a brow and a corner of his lips twitched.

“Only if you do.”

“Deal,” you said and walked into the elevator, nodding in a greeting to a couple of agents inside.

As the door closed with a small hiss, you caught a playful twinkle in the blue eyes.

“And only till we finish preparing that draft.”

His voice could be the prime example of corporate professionalism, and that one out-of-context line was obviously not enough to send an elbow to his ribs without raising suspicious looks from your colleagues.

...but you did it anyway.

---------

The time in Neil’s apartment could be counted by the emptied cups of coffee, the amount of scratched ideas, or the number of times you caught each other glancing at one another. And when you finally got close to cracking the case of planning that temporal pincer movement, it was already late in the evening, and you were glad you’d spent the last couple of hours on a comfy sofa instead of one of those god awful chairs in the conference room.

Neil kept his promise and was surprisingly easy to work with. His take on things, not yet tainted by years in the field, provided many fresh ideas, while your experience allowed you to catch and assess any potential risks on the fly. The way he paid attention to your words and cared about your feedback made you feel heard and appreciated, and that was something you weren’t quite used to. You didn’t have too much time to muse over it though, because there were still some parts of the plan you had to go through and the exhaustion was slowly catching up to you, making you less and less productive with every passing minute.

You crumbled a piece of paper in your fist and groaned, tossing it on top of a small pile of paper balls on the floor. As you moved your hand to your face to pinch the bridge of your nose, you noticed red and blue smudges from permanent markers covering your palm. Fucking hell. Choosing to rest your forehead on your knuckles instead, you closed your eyes and exhaled slowly, gathering your thoughts. You heard Neil standing up and moving to the kitchen. Seems like he needed a break as well.

A moment of silence was abruptly interrupted by the clanking of glassware. You raised your head and stretched your arms, only then realizing how stiff you felt after so many hours curled in one spot. Just as you got up, Neil came back with two glasses of what seemed to be a whiskey.

“Drinks?” you asked, puzzled. Anything with caffeine would be more fitting with your current state, especially since you were not done with the work yet.

Neil smiled as he handed you the glass.

“Thought we could take five minutes off to celebrate.” Seeing your perplexed face, he beamed a bit wider. “...your promotion?”

You laughed at your own confusion. Right. Shrugging lightly, you stirred your glass.

“Oh, it only means I got stuck with you, and I don’t know if it’s a thing to celebrate,” you said, holding back a mischievous grin.

Neil rolled his eyes and let out an amused sigh. “Drown your sorrows then.”

“That I can do,” you arched a brow and chuckled. “Cheers!”

The glasses clinked and you met Neil’s glance with something new shining from under the usual playfulness. He noticed the curiosity in your stare and smirked as he took a sip of his drink, sitting down on a sofa.

“You know what else we could use those five minutes for?” he asked casually, leaning back on the pillows with a roguish smile you knew too well.

You looked him up and down slowly, hoping the whiskey would help with the sudden dryness inside your mouth. That slightly unbuttoned navy shirt with rolled-up sleeves and the way he spread his legs made you weak. You mustered all the self control your tired brain could scramble before speaking again, the lit-up eyes being any indication of the effect he had on you.

“It’s closer to four now, I’m afraid.”

Neil put down his glass on a coffee table and knitted his brows together, pretending to run a short calculation in his mind.

“Ample.”

You downed your drink and teased, “Is it now?” as you placed the empty glass next to his.

“We’ll figure something out,” he said and reached out for your hand, pulling you to him before you could say anything else. As you fell on him with a quiet yelp, Neil wrapped one arm around your waist, securing you on his lap.

A faint protest about the draft not being finished got stuck in your throat. Captivated by the look in his eyes, it dawned on you that it was the first time you were so close, now without the rage boiling in your veins, without the danger of someone walking in on you; just you and him, focused on each other, too awestruck to make the next move.

You brushed a wild strand from his forehead and your fingers traveled further through his hair. Neil’s forehead creased, his jaw went slack and he searched your gaze, trying to figure out your intentions. As your eyes wandered around his features, your fingertips followed them unhurriedly. Grazing lightly against the eyebrows, gliding over the cheekbones, trailing along the sharp jawline till his breath hitched and his lips parted ever so slightly. You noticed how longing his stare became and you smiled softly. Was he always so gorgeous?

Leaning in and cupping his face in your hands, you could feel him tense for a split second, but as soon as you pressed your forehead to his, the arm wrapped around your waist pulled you closer to him and Neil exhaled slowly. He lifted his hand from your lap and his long fingers combed your hair and slid down, rubbing your neck gently.

You closed your eyes and let out a small sigh, relaxing under his touch, under the heat of his body. Breathing in the scent of his cologne, both arousing and grounding at the same time. Tilting your head, you nuzzled his nose and you could feel his brows furrowing as he followed your motion, stroking your nose up and down slowly. Tenderly. Brushing his lips with your fingertips, you lost yourself in this moment. In the warmth spreading through you. In the way your breaths intertwined.

Your hands traced back to his jaw and you felt it clenching in response.

Neil’s hand left your neck and you opened your eyes, only to notice his conflicted expression. And a glimpse of sadness tainting the blue irises. Seeing the confused look on your face, he palmed over your hand on his cheek, pulling it away hesitantly.

“We should get back to work,” he said, avoiding your gaze, his voice raspy and hollow.

The heart sank in your chest as you sprung from his lap. Of course.

“Yeah, right, sure,” you mumbled, suddenly feeling lightheaded, with the cold sweat slowly drenching the back of your shirt and the pulse pounding heavily in your ears.

You were such an idiot. Should have known better. You were never gonna learn, huh?

Gritting your teeth, you grabbed the markers and a fresh stack of papers and sat down on the floor at the far end of the coffee table, trying to ignore the enigmatic stare being sent your way.

Neil let out a deep sigh and reached out for his unfinished drink. As he put down the empty glass, he shook his head, looking somewhat defeated.

You cleared your throat and resumed where you'd left off, determined to get over the last details of the operation as soon as possible. Luckily, focusing on the work numbed down the crippling embarrassment. At least for the time being.

And although the initial flow was nowhere to be found, the plan was ready and bulletproof in a little over an hour. The presentation was finished. And so were you. Or at least that’s how you felt, collecting various blueprints and schematics covering most of the flat areas within your reach.

You looked around, checking one last time if everything was ready to submit.

“Guess that’s it,” you said and started gathering your things, getting ready to leave.

Neil followed you to the hall and watched as you put on the coat.

“Listen, I...”

Holding your breath, you turned his way. Waiting for his next words.

Meanwhile, he struggled to find them, and a frustrated frown clouded his features.

“...let me at least call you a cab?”

The void in your chest grew an inch. Right.

“I’ll take a walk.” Your mouth contorted in a weak attempt to smile. “See you tomorrow, blondie,” you said dryly and walked out of the apartment, nauseous and desperate to get some fresh air.

How silly of you to think that it could be about anything other than sex.

That’s what you get for being willing to open up.

Yet another painful reminder that you weren’t a relationship material.

You exhaled shakily as your legs carried you to the only place able to stop your mind from spiraling.

Aim and pull the trigger.

Repeat.

Simple.

(next chapter->)

#neil tenet x reader #neil tenet #neil tenet fanfiction #robert pattinson #tenet #tenet fanfiction #the protagonist tenet #neil tenet imagine #neil x reader #smoke & mirrors

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biaswreckingfics · 4 years

Text

No Limits: Part 13

Author: biaswreckingfics

Genre: Mafia AU - Warnings? Everything that goes on in a mafia au

Word Count: 5.1k

Previous Chapter

Chanyeol's POV

Sehun was alive.

Logically, he knew that Sehun was alive after talking to you but, it wasn't until he saw him with his own eyes that he actually believed it. The stoic expression, the slightly narrowed eyes, and the tall, lean frame... it was definitely his cousin. When he heard Sehun speak, it was like music to his ears. He had never wanted to hear the younger man's voice more than he did at that moment. In fact, Chanyeol had told Sehun to shut up more times than he could count, but once he heard his voice again, he never wanted him to ever quit speaking.

However, the magical moment was ruined when Sehun had met his eyes. They were the eyes of a complete stranger. Sehun had looked Chanyeol over like he was just another person on the street, and Chanyeol felt like he had lost him all over again.

It was different from when he lost his brother. When Jiho was gone, he was gone. He could properly mourn and grieve for his brother, and he was eventually able to accept his death. With Sehun, he was able to mourn and grieve the loss, but he wasn't able to move on. There was no possible way he could continue on, knowing his cousin was alive and well somewhere out there in the world without a hint of knowing who he was.

To hear Sehun confirm it all when he asked him if they were close was what broke Chanyeol, and he wasn't afraid to admit it. Nor was he afraid to drop down to his knees and share his pain with the world because it was too much for him to bear silently.

Although, another thought struck him as he silently sat in the back of the SUV during the ride home. How could he expect Sehun to remember who he was when he couldn't even remember it himself? He was just as much of a stranger as Sehun was at this point. He could barely remember who he was before he lost Sehun. Now, he was just an asshole with a bad attitude who used his friends like they were nothing to him.

He treated his best friend horribly and disrespected the shit out of his leader. Junmyeon had been there for him when he lost Jiho. He was one of his rocks during that time, and this time around, Chanyeol had thrown nasty comment after nasty comment without caring how it'd affect him. Actually, he wanted Junmyeon to feel the pain he felt. He wanted all of them to, and it disgusted him now.

It wasn't going to sit right with him until he fixed all of the relationships he ruined. Then, he could move on from this chapter of his life... and there was nothing he wanted more.

The bump of the gravel drive to their home broke him out of his thoughts, and Chanyeol knew it was now or never. He wanted to make things right before they ended the Baem because after wasn't an option. After wasn't guaranteed. He wasn't going to live the rest of his life regretting his final words to anyone or leave them behind with unforgiving memories of himself.

The second Jongdae shuts off the vehicle, and everyone reaches to undo their seatbelts, Chanyeol speaks.

"Junmyeon... Can we talk?"

All movement in the SUV ceases, and he can see from his peripheral that you and Jongdae were staring at each other with wide eyes. However, Chanyeol's gaze remains fixed on the leader.

Junmyeon searches Chanyeol's face, undeniably trying to hide the pity and sadness he felt erupting onto his own, before nodding his head. You and Jongdae quickly take that as your cue to leave and hop out of the vehicle, leaving the pair there in silence.

Chanyeol didn't know how to begin the conversation or what his thoughts even were, and Junmyeon certainly wasn't going to be the first to speak. He had already tried to reach out to Chanyeol for months.

"An apology will never be enough for the things I've said or for my actions, but I'll start there anyway. Junmyeon... I'm so incredibly sorry... I disrespected your authority. I've broken your rules... My actions would've easily gotten me killed by other bosses, but you always let me slide. I'm sad to say that I don't know if I were in your position I'd do the same, so thank you for being patient with me and attempting to understand me."

Junmyeon gives a small nod. "Thank you... Thank you for finally saying those words to me, because I admit, I was terrified I'd never hear them from you. Not because I didn't think you'd ever say them to me, but because I was beginning to think I'd never get the chance to hear you say them at all..." Junmyeon admits, swallowing down the sudden emotions he was feeling. "I really thought we were going to lose you, Chanyeol, and after Kyungsoo and Sehun, I couldn't go through that again so soon. I don't care about the stupid shit you said or did any more. It doesn't mean anything to me. All I care about is you being okay."

Chanyeol looks away at his words, knowing he doesn't deserve them but expecting them from Junmyeon anyway. That's the type of leader he was, and he was a damn good one.

"There is one thing that you said a while ago, though, and I need you to know my feelings on it."

Chanyeol looks at him curiously, wondering what the one thing was that stuck with Junmyeon.

"You and Sehun are more important to me than I can express, and just because my sister is here doesn't change that. Finding out what happened to Sehun was always the top priority for me. I never wanted to gain one and lose the other"

Chanyeol remembers the harsh words he threw at Junmyeon when he claimed Junmyeon no longer cared about Sehun because he had gotten you back. He had regretted them at the time, but the anger he was feeling was so intense, he was happy to speak them. Now, the regret was tenfold, especially knowing how hard Junmyeon worked to try to find Sehun. He wanted those words to disappear from both of their memories.

"I know... I knew then, but I didn't care... I wanted you to feel what I was feeling, and that wasn't fair of me... I hate that I ever said that to you. I hate that those words were ever able to leave my mouth... I need you to know that I couldn't be happier we got Y/N back. We all knew what we were risking, and I know we all would do the same damn thing as before, even knowing the consequences."

Junmyeon turns in the passenger seat and faces the windshield. They both needed a minute to collect themselves and let the pain and hurt they felt leave them. They had to accept the words spoken in the SUV, process them, and let the relief flow through them at the fact that they could finally move on from this.

Once that was done, Junmyeon turns back around and faces Chanyeol with a grin. "Ready to destroy the Baem and finally get payback for everything they've done to us?"

Chanyeol felt a matching smirk grow on his. "I couldn't be more ready."

Sehun's POV

The second he got back to the Baem compound, he knew something was up. People ran around everywhere, and the joking attitude that some of the members usually held was replaced with severe expressions and discussions. When Jaesuk called Sehun and told him he needed to come back, he didn't know what he had been expecting, but it wasn't this.

"Make yourself useful, maggot." One of the Baem members says as he shoulder checks him while walking by.

Sehun slowly looks over at the shorter man whose face held a growing sneer. On the inside, Sehun froze, but on the outside, he remained impassive. Were they even bothering to pretend he was one of them anymore? They had always been rude to him, but never this full of contempt... Sehun tries to calm his suddenly racing heart. Had they found out about his meeting with EXO?

"Get fucking lost, Choi." Jaesuk comes up behind him, saving him like he always does.

The man turned his sneer on Jaesuk, which just caused him to snort quietly beside Sehun.

"Why can't your little bitch speak for himself?" The man smugly says, like he actually thought he did something with his comment.

Jaesuk tongues the inside of his cheek as he glares at the other man. "Don't think I won't stab you in the eye with your own knife, Choi. Actually, they're in there fighting right now. Why don't we go over there and have a turn?"

Choi visibly pales a shade at Jaesuk's words before he brings back the cocky smirk and tries to hide whatever fear he momentarily felt. He lets out a scoff and quickly begins walking away, ignoring Jaesuk's words behind him.

"Awe, you're running away from a fight? Who's the little bitch now?"

Sehun turns to face Jaesuk, already moving on from the encounter that was just had. "What the hell is going on?"

Jae gives him a dreadful look before saying, "The leaders are here. Something is about to go down."

Sehun instantly perked up at his words. The freaking Baem leaders that he was just about to search for had just fallen into his lap? He thought it'd be way harder to find them. He certainly wasn't expecting them to randomly show up to the compound.

"They're testing everybody to see where their skill sets are. You're up next for sparring."

Sehun's eyes widen, and he blinks a couple of times, trying to remember when the last time he fought was. He hadn't been made to fight since the Baem brought him here, which means it's been at least a couple of months. He was about to get his ass handed to him in front of everyone.

"Wait. What do you mean something's about to go down?"

Jaesuk quickly looks around to make sure nobody was within hearing distance. When he's satisfied there's no one close enough, he says, "I haven't been able to find out yet, but I'm pretty sure they're planning an attack on EXO, so whatever EXO's plan is, I hope they do it soon."

Sehun didn't have time to process this information because two seconds later, the doors to the gym they were standing outside of open up, and a burly man walks out.

"Oh Sehun, you're next. Let's go."

Sehun tries to swallow, but his throat became so dry that it just proved to be painful. He takes a deep breath and starts walking towards the man.

"Good luck?" Jae shouts at his back.

Sehun flips him the finger before following the gruff man into the gym. There weren't many people in the room with him, just Minho and two of his men, who Sehun had grown used to seeing, and two other men Sehun had never seen before.

He knew with a single look that they were the leaders just by the way they held themselves. They had an air of superiority and had a cold demeanor like you should bow down at their feet, and if you don't, they'll break your arm. They eyed Sehun, not even bothering to hide their disgust but, Sehun quickly looks past them toward the mats where his opponent was waiting.

The guy easily had 30 kg on Sehun, and the odds of Sehun walking away from this unscathed plummetted. He internally groans, dreading the beating coming his way.

"What's your specialty?" He hears one of the leaders ask him.

Sehun turns toward him with a blank stare. "Weapons."

"Have you ever fought a day in your life?"

Sehun knew they were baiting him, testing to see if he had any memories back. He wasn't stupid. "Not in the past couple of months."

"And before that?"

Every eye in the room carefully watches him to see if he'll slip up about remembering his old life. The joke was on them, though, because he still didn't have his memories back.

He shrugs carelessly before saying, "You'll have to tell me. I'm sure Minho has told you about what happened."

"Right. The one who lost his memories... Well, let's see if your body remembers." He smirks, gesturing towards the mats.

Sehun walks onto the mats trying to hide his nervousness. He bounces on his toes and rolls his shoulders back as his opponent watches him with a grin and raised brow. They both meet at the center of the mat, and Sehun pauses, not knowing what to expect. He had never watched the Baem members spar, so he had no idea what they usually did. Did someone tell them to start? Did they just go? Well, he found out two seconds later, when the dude's fist came right at Sehun's face.

He managed to duck out of the way and get behind the other guy, but his opponent was quick to turn around and follow him. Sehun brought his arms up to protect his face, but his torso was long enough that his opponent found an opening resulting in a strong punch to the gut.

Sehun doubled over in pain and tried to breathe. Fuck, maybe he did suck at fighting. Sehun stood back up and got back into a defensive stance. He didn't even get the chance to throw a fist because his opponent consistently threw jabs and hooks at him that he kept having to dodge.

"This kid sucks at fighting."

Sehun lost his precious defensive stance as he focused on the leader's words and the laugh that follows, and that was his fatal mistake. The other guy threw a hook, catching Sehun in the side of the head and throwing off his balance. He quickly landed on the mat with a grunt, his head already throbbing like he had spent the entire night drinking.

"Alright, that's enough. We've seen what we needed to see."

Something in Minho's words made Sehun want to get up and prove himself, and it bothered him that he didn't know why. He found himself pushing on the mat and trying to stand up, but his opponent also noticed his movements.

He faces Sehun and draws back his leg before kicking Sehun in the head. Hard. "Stay down."

That was the last thing Sehun remembered.

When he came to a little while later, he found himself in his bunk. Jaesuk was sitting on the bunk across from him, waiting for him to come to.

"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty," he says with a small laugh.

"Fuck you," Sehun mumbles out.

Jaesuk lets out a loud laugh before handing him a glass of water and some pain medication. Sehun gratefully accepts them and sits up, letting out a curse at the pounding that seemed to surround his entire head as he takes the pills.

"Good news is, they don't think you got your memories back. The great news is, after that kick you took to the face, they don't think you'll ever get them back."

Sehun chugs the rest of the water in his glass and then sets it on the nightstand in between the two beds. He lays back with another groan, and at least this time, Jae tries to stifle his laugh.

"How did you get the shit kicked out of you so badly?"

"I haven't fought anyone since that night at the warehouse. I'll have to spar with Jongin more often - "

He cuts himself off as he realized what he was saying. He shoots up from his bed and meets Jaesuk's wide eyes with his own.

Jae's mouth drops open. "Did you - "

"I remember everything!" Sehun excitedly says.

Jaesuk smacks Sehun's leg as he looks around the, thankfully, empty room. "Let the whole damn compound know for god's sake, and here I thought you got some sense knocked into you."

His voice was stern, but a smile quickly grew on his face, and Sehun matched it with one of his own.

He remembered everything. His home. His family. Chanyeol. Chanyeol's brokeness at the beach... and whatever was going on between him and Junmyeon... He shakes his head. He can't worry about that right now. He needed to focus on taking the Baem down.

"I need you to do something for me." He waits until Jaesuk nods before saying anything else. "Can you get me all the information you can on the leaders? Addresses, phone numbers, family members, everything."

Jaesuk thinks about it for a second before he nods his head. "I've got a contact higher up that can get some of that information."

"Whatever you get will be helpful. Jongdae will figure out the rest."

Y/N'S POV

Another day. Another meeting. It felt like every time you turned around, the guys wanted to have a gathering for something. At least this time, it felt like things were moving forward. It wasn't a meeting where everyone was continually trying to theorize where Sehun was or what could've happened to him. No. You knew exactly where Sehun was.

This time, Junmyeon called a meeting because he wanted everyone to be prepared for what was to come. You originally thought you were ready enough and that you would be informed of the plan when the guys figured it out themselves. When your brother called a meeting and said, "all hell is about to break loose", you realized they had already set the plan in motion, and you had no idea what it even was.

To say you were irritated that you were kept out of the loop was an understatement.

Junmyeon had made sure to tell you enough to keep you satisfied, but he clearly hadn't told you everything.

He had shared that a couple of days ago, Sehun had gotten them information from some contact he had in the Baem. He was able to figure out where the Baem leader's safe houses were located and the routes they had taken to get there. Jongdae checked the accuracy of the information against the information EXO already had and reached out to some of his own contacts as well.

Apparently, it had all checked out, and the information Sehun was able to get was accurate. That was the last thing you had been told about.

Needless to say, when the meeting was well underway, and Junmyeon informs you all that "the message had been sent", you were very confused.

"What message?"

Minseok looks over at you in confusion before looking back at Junmyeon. "You didn't tell her?"

At least your brother had the decency to look guilty as he looks from you to Minseok. "It wasn't something she needed to know at the moment."

You try to check the irritation that was simmering under the surface and repeat, "What. Message."

Your brother sighs before answering you. "The night we confirmed the information Sehun sent was accurate, we sent unit members to check out the leader's safe houses. We had them wait until they were able to take multiple pictures of their families. Then, we sent those pictures to the Baem this morning to make them realize their families aren't actually safe."

He had just thrown a lot of information at you at once, and you didn't know how to process it. "You... threatened their families?"

"Yes. This way, they'll get spooked and hopefully react irrationally and carelessly. They'll be reckless, and they'll make a mistake, which will be good for us."

Confliction rises in you as you try to truly understand what this means. EXO had just threatened the Baem leader's families, their wives, and children, and you weren't entirely thrilled with the idea of kids being involved in all of this.

The entire situation hit way too close to home, and that's why Junmyeon hid it from you. He just put their leaders in the same position they originally put your parents in. While the idea of the Baem leader's freaking out in fear of what will happen to their families pleases the sadistic side of you, the fear those children will have once they realize the enemy is coming for them, sent you right back into that closet you hid in as a child.

You remember the terror you felt when your mother hid you in there and when the Baem burst into the room before killing your parents. It wasn't something you wished on another child. You definitely wished that terror on their parents because you wanted revenge, but not them.

That's where you and Junmyeon differed because he wasn't hidden in that closet with you. He wasn't even home when it all took place, so he could never truly understand, but you knew having someone hurt a child was the last thing Junmyeon would do, so you choose to let it go, for now.

"Y/N." Your brother calls your name.

You snap your head up, realizing you zoned out. You didn't even notice that Baekhyun had grabbed your hand and was gently rubbing it. You give his hand a quick squeeze before looking back over at your brother.

"Go get ready to go into the city. You and Minseok are going to meet up with Sehun and tell him what's going on. He needs to be prepared on his end."

You absentmindedly nod your head and ignore the annoyance you feel at being told what to do instead of being in on whatever plan they have. You had other things on your mind at the moment. ------------------------------------------------------ The entire drive to the park you were supposedly meeting Sehun at flew by because you were still lost in your thoughts. You had mostly come to terms with the action your brother had taken, considering it was just pictures that were taken. Minseok had assured you that, as of right now, there were no plans to actually hurt the families. However, you knew things could switch with the snap of a finger, so you tried to mentally prepare yourself for literally anything to happen.

Other than Minseok assuring you they weren't going to hurt the kids, he stayed pretty quiet and allowed you to take everything in, which you were thankful for. The only other time he spoke up was to let you know you were getting close to the park.

"Is it really safe to be meeting out in the open?"

"No, but there's a secluded area in the corner of the park where most people don't go, so we should be fine. Besides, we won't have to keep hiding much longer. The Baem won't be much of an issue soon."

The park was like every other park you've seen: there was a large, grassy area where you could lay down blankets and have a picnic, trees scattered throughout the grounds to give shade from the sun, and twisted walking paths, sporadically placed with benches every so often. There were a decent amount of people enjoying the sunny day, either playing with their dogs or jogging around on the paths. That's when it hits you that you couldn't even remember the last time you had gone to a park.

You quietly follow Minseok along one of the broad paths, walking only for a few minutes before you come toward the edge of the park. You noticed the secluded area he mentioned right away because it was one you would usually steer clear of any other time.

Giant bushes overgrew in this area, like whoever took care of the park didn't even want to be over here. Massive trees grew in the corner, providing plenty of unneeded shade for the little bench tucked away here. Alarm bells rang in your head because this was 1000% a place where someone would get attacked, especially at night, but you knew you were safe with Minseok.

The two of you sat on the bench while waiting for Sehun, and luckily you didn't have to wait long. Maybe five minutes later, you spotted Sehun casually walking toward you. He appeared normal at first, but the closer he got, the more you could see a lot of bruising on his face. Once he came to a stop in front of you, you and Minseok look at him with open mouths.

"I wish I could say 'you should see the other guy' but he definitely just kicked my ass, so..."

This was the first time Minseok was seeing Sehun in person, and all he could get out was, "What the hell happened?"

"The Baem wanted me to spar, and since I haven't done that in months, it didn't go to great," he shrugs before smiling, "or maybe it did, depending on how you look at it."

You and Minseok continue to stare at the taller man in confusion and, when he started pointing at his head, the confusion only grew.

"Apparently getting kicked in the head slid something into place up there..."

Your eyes grew at least double the size, if not triple when you finally understood what he was saying. "Your memories are back?!"

He grins and nods, causing you to bounce up from the bench and wrap him in a hug. His arms tightly close around you, and you can hear Minseok sputtering in shock behind you. You pull away from Sehun and look back at him. His eyes were just as wide as yours were, and his mouth had fallen back open before he quickly shut it.

He narrows his eyes at the taller man before asking, "When's my birthday?"

Sehun rolls his eyes. "You think I knew your birthday before?"

Minseok gapes at him, and you could've sworn a pout was starting to grow on his face, but you knew Minseok would deny that in a heartbeat.

His reaction causes Sehun to let out a laugh. "It's March 26th, calm down."

"You little shit," Minseok swears, pulling him into a tight hug.

With this revelation came new worries, though, and you had to ask, "Now that you have your memories back, are you okay with going back to the Baem?"

Sehun shrugs as he pulls away from Minseok and straightens up. "I got them back a few days ago, and no one's noticed. That'll be part of their downfall. They're so arrogant and cocky. They think they're three steps ahead of everyone else... So, what's the plan?"

You turn to Minseok and wait to hear it as well, considering nobody bothered to tell you either.

"We kept your part of the plan pretty light since you didn't have your memories," Minseok responds before tilting his head, "and you're working with a Baem member."

Sehun slowly nods at his words. "That... would make sense, I guess... but you should know that I trust Jae. He's been helping me out ever since I got with them, and he's the one who got me the information on the leader's."

Minseok pauses at that little tidbit. "Okay... and I'm very pleased he has done all that, but he's still a Baem member."

Sehun shakes his head, but before he can respond, you interrupt them. "Let's just talk about the plan and get out of here before someone spots us. We can talk about Sehun's friend choices later."

Thankfully, they both listen to you and move on from the clearly touchy subject.

"The plan has already been set in motion. We sent the leader's pictures of their families at their safe houses."

A light goes on behind Sehun's eyes, and he lets out a quiet, "Ah, so, that's why the higher-ups have been freaking out all day."

Minseok smirks at Sehun. "Then they got the message loud and clear. Good... You're staying at the main compound, right?" Sehun nods his head, and Minseok continues. "Okay, all I need you to do is find a way to barricade all of the exits tomorrow. Make sure no one can get in or out. Then, get the hell out of there."

Sehun looks between the two of you in disbelief, and you had to agree because what the hell kind of plan was that? "That's it?"

"I told you we kept your part of the plan pretty light."

"Use me," Sehun angrily says, "I can do more than just barricade some fucking doors."

"Sehun, we - "

Minseok is interrupted by the sound of Sehun's phone ringing. You raise your eyebrows at the familiar situation and wonder who the hell is always calling him when he's with you.

Sehun pulls out his phone and checks the caller ID. He looks between you and Minseok before pressing the speaker button. "What's up, Jae?"

"Our covers been blown, Sehun. Whatever your plan is, you need to do it now."

All three of you stiffen as you listen to the man's deep voice come through the speaker, his voice holding a slight tremor in it. You hold your breath as you listen to what he says next, your heart beating loudly in your ears.

"They know we're the ones who betrayed them. They already tortured the little information they could get from my contact before killing him, and now they're looking for us, so don't fucking come back here."

Minseok is the first to break out of the shock you all felt as he quickly dials Junmyeon's number to tell him what's going on. As he steps away to talk to Junmyeon, you search Sehun's face and take note of the shock and fear on it. Clearly, he thought he had more time. They all did.

"How did they find out?"

"I wish I could freaking tell you... They definitely think you have your memories back, and we're always together, so they connected the dots," Jaesuk quietly responds. You notice how he sounds desolate and worry that this man that you don't even know has already given up.

Sehun must've sensed the same thing as you because he hurriedly asks, "What about you? What are you going to do?"

"Don't worry about me... Go back with EXO. Help them do whatever it is they're going to do and finish these bastards... and Sehun... I hope like hell to see you on the other side of this."

Tagging: @knjkitten @kpopserene @multifandombxxch @tashaxvamp @kpop---scenarios @bhyunni @chanyeolismybaby @flaming-laboob @taetaeeyong @lilbitoflyssa @misstressporkchoppp @hoseok-wang @spiltkpop @isha454 @depuis2mille @marovekian1 @ladylynae @abby8451 @lynniev @insta1010 @sawadabegum @avxngxrrogxrs @equesasprokishi @imstuckinafictionaluniverse @layisanangel @mongryong-the-corgi @overthelamebowz @lizbether01 @thatanonymousgirl-as14 @nothingbutadeadesceane @kim-ji-hyeons-world @suhappysuho @futuremrspcy @lovebuginlove @skylions-den @precious-seungwooya @softysuho @kuppyjiminie @blushinyouth @bat-shark-repellant @vickylamore @heartshapedenchiladas @cardtak @tanithrea @wooya1224 @multifanstuff @hyuniebaby @sehunnies-hunnie96 @endzii23 @kkpoptrashhh @mayzerofour @ries-universe

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cloudshapedpatch · 4 years

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sing me a lullaby (don’t tell your boss what to do)

a super indulgent, tooth-rotting fluffy Julie and the Phantoms one shot.

julie can’t sleep so she goes to her boys for comfort. no plot. just sugar.

or! read on ao3 here

* * * *

Some nights, Julie could sleep like a rock. The band had found she was a surprisingly heavy sleeper, and could fall into a deep REM cycle within minutes. She was notorious for being able to fall asleep anywhere if she was tired enough.

Tonight was not one of those nights.

After many hours of tossing and turning, 3 relaxing YouTube videos and maybe a few too many melatonin gummies, Julie gave up on sleep.

Her go-to solution to any problem nowadays was to see her boys, so without much thought, she slipped into her favorite funky monster slippers and made her way out the front door.

The cold night air slapped her cheeks with a little alertness, and a little sense. If she went out to the studio, she was sure to stay up all night. Alas, it was still 2 in the morning, and her better judgement had set with the sun. She didn’t have anything really important to do tomorrow, right?

She opened one of the studio doors and squinted against the lights, too bright in contrast to the darkness of the house.

“Jules! What are you doing up?” Reggie was the first to notice her arrival, standing up to guide her to the couch (giving up his own seat and opting to sit on the floor in front of her; she failed to notice in her fatigued state).

“Couldn’t sleep,” Julie mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

“Jeez, you’re shivering,” Luke was always quick to worry about her, “Why didn’t you grab a coat?”

Alex had already taken off his pink sweatshirt and laid it in her lap before she could answer. As she slipped it on, she noted that while it was not warm like a living teen boy’s sweater should be, it was still warmer than she was expecting, and she was glad to have a little bit of extra heat.

After having taken a couple of moments to recover from being outside (she’d admit, it was colder than she was expecting), she went to answer the boys’ questions, but giggled at the sight of them. Alex and Reggie had sat themselves down right at her feet and Luke was seated on the armchair next to her, all looking like curious puppies waiting for a treat.

“Well??” They said at the same time, only filling Julie with more mirth.

“Nothing, I just knew coming in here would make me feel better.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew she should have changed her wording. Luke stood up and was demanding she tell him who hurt her feelings, Reggie had attached himself to her legs, resting his cheek on her bare knees comfortingly, and Alex was halfway out the door, saying he’d figure out how to make a cup of tea.

A fit of giggles later, Julie explained she just couldn’t sleep and was doing fine emotionally. It was only after the boys had sat back down that Julie asked what they had been doing before.

“Just a little bit of lyric writing. Can’t play with the melody until everyone leaves for the day tomorrow, but it works for us.” Luke shrugged, looking toward his abandoned notebook on the piano.

“Ooh, let me help!”

“Uhh…” Reg and Alex said together, in their usual harmonised way, looking anywhere but at her.

“Look, Julie,” Luke started, and she already knew what he was gonna say, “You got school in the morning. You shouldn’t be writing.”

“No no no, it’s fine! Writing will tire my brain out, you know?” They didn’t look convinced, so she continued, “My thoughts are running a mile a minute, let me get ‘em out on paper. Please?”

All three boys looked away from her then, mumbling about how difficult it was to say no when she pouted. Finally they gave in, and they led her to the piano to pore over the notebook.

Of course, they only got a few lines down before Reggie was throwing wads of paper at Alex, and Julie played Never Gonna Give You Up as softly as she could while simultaneously keeping her laughter down (the boys were fascinated that she knew the song since it had come out when they were young, which prompted a short lesson on memes and Rick Rolling. Reggie was especially enthralled by this).

Luke gave up writing and went to the dart board, where Julie had hopped off the piano bench and challenged him. Not being one to back down, he and Julie played while Reg and Alex cheered them on. Alex humored her while Reggie was convinced no one could beat Luke at darts. He was right, but Julie didn’t mind so much, especially after Julie got to over-exaggerate her pity party and receive a nice long hug from her opponent, sharing an amused look with Alex while Luke rocked them back and forth.

“I could go for some nachos right now.”

“You always want nachos, Reg.”

“Again, Reginald?”

It took Julie a moment to think through his statement (hey, it was past 3am, she had brain fog to wade through). Ever since the night they opened at the Orpheum, the boys found they could do other small things besides touch Julie, like eat, and much to Reggie's delight, take showers.

She just giggled and grabbed Reggie by the hand, starting the short trek to the house, knowing the other two would follow. For a moment, she had forgotten what she was wearing, but stepping back into the cold night reminded her. She had walked out of the house wearing her pajama shorts and a short-sleeved crop top, and she was drowning in Alex’s hoodie. Her face heated at the thought of all the boys seeing her in nearly nothing but the large pink sweatshirt, playing off the color in her cheeks as windchill.

But she should have known the boys wouldn't have behaved.

Because while nothing the boys said would be able to be heard by her father or brother, the results of their actions were definitely audible. Alex was trying to heat the queso, but he spent too much effort trying not to drop the jar that he forgot about the spoon, which clattered loudly to the ground. All four froze in terror until Luke burst into laughter because some cheese had splattered into Julie’s hair, and she replied by smudging some cheese onto his nose. And after the ensuing cheese-throwing war, the kitchen was not a pretty sight. The mere thought of her dad coming down to see his daughter covered in cheese, alone, in the middle of the night, in their equally messy kitchen brought shivers. She’d surely be back to seeing Dr. Turner three days a week.

The boys did their best to clean, but mostly entertained Julie while she wiped up the mess and carried the plate of nachos back to the studio (how long does it take a band of three dead teen boys to make a plate of nachos? apparently, 38 minutes) before they flopped on the ground in a big pile. Julie laid with her head on Luke’s chest, who had his head on Alex’s lap. Reggie laid on Julie’s legs and she ran her hands through his surprisingly soft hair as they slowly worked through the plate.

“Hey Julie? Will you sing me a lullaby?”

“Are you serious?” Julie turned her head slightly to see him more clearly. She almost laughed, but then saw the look in his eyes, and couldn’t tell if he was serious or about to tease her. “Luke, you guys don’t even sleep.”

“Aw, c’mon Jules,” Reg begged, “You have such a nice voice.”

“The voice of an angel.” Luke added. Julie pushed all thoughts of the song she never let herself write down, yet constantly played in her dreams, and hoped that they couldn’t see the flush creeping down her neck.

“Fine. But only because I love y’all.”

Alex wiggled excitedly from under her as she cleared her throat and started to sing A Thousand Years (Julie was sort of glad they had died 25 years ago. She would virtually never run out of new material to impress them with, and Christina Perri was a classic). At some point Alex had laid down too, and Reggie had closed his eyes as Julie kept scratching his scalp as she sang. Luke ran his fingers over her shoulder as if he were strumming his guitar. And everything was alright.

A large yawn took over Julie’s voice just as she finished the song.

“Alright, time for bed, little miss.” Alex joked, poking her tongue as her mouth opened in another yawn.

She swatted his hand away yet made no effort to get up, instead choosing to nestle further into Luke’s neck. “Sorry, can’t, Reggie fell asleep on me.”

Reggie cracked one eye open. “Nice try. We don’t sleep, remember?” Reggie climbed off her and grabbed her hands, pulling her to a stand.

The blood rushed from her head down to her toes, causing her vision to turn dark and her balance swayed. Before she could catch herself, Luke had scooped her up into his arms.

“Come on boys. We got a girl to tuck in.”

“Yes sir.”

“At your service.”

Julie played off her wheeze as a snort of amusement, burying her face into her hands. A few moments passed and they didn’t move, so she peeked out from between her fingers, only to see all three boys looking over her like she was exactly what they asked for for their birthday.

She yelped in surprise which only caused the boys to laugh. Julie huffed and crossed her arms, pursing her lips to keep from smiling.

“Oh, lighten up, boss. We’re going now.”

And then he was smiling that smile that he usually reserved for when they were alone or on stage. She snorted (for real this time, but still in an effort to keep her composure) and poked his cheek.

For the fourth time that night, the cold night air whipped at her legs and face as Luke and the boys carried her to her bedroom. Reggie made an offhand comment on how absurd it would look if Ray woke up and saw his daughter floating around the house, and Julie had to slap her hand to her mouth to keep from laughing aloud; the boys all laughing loudly without restraint didn’t help.

And finally, once they were in the safety of her bedroom, they did exactly what they said they would. Alex tucked the pink hood inside the sweater so she could lay on it more comfortably (“You look all cozy, you can sleep in it for tonight.”), Reggie pulled back the covers and fluffed the pillows.

Julie felt like a princess, being pampered by these boys who had crashed into her life and nestled their way into her heart. Luke even laid her down, hand supporting her neck, and all three of them literally tucked her in.

“Hey guys? Will you sing me a lullaby?”

They groaned, mumbling together about karma, payback, and song recommendations. Eventually they settled themselves on her bed and sang her a song she didn’t recognize, one that must have been vaguely popular in the 90’s. It was soothing, and she felt the tugs of sleep start to take her under.

She must have dozed off, because she awoke to some shuffling, opening her eyes to see the boys tip-toeing out of her room.

“Luke,”

She hadn’t meant to say it out loud. She had been thinking of him (and the fuzzy lingerings of a dream lined the edges of her mind, one with Luke and a magical dance and that sweet smile of his). But all three boys stopped, before Alex pushed Reggie through the door with a wink.

“You okay? Need anything?”

Her words failed her, heart full and eyes nearly brimming with tears. She scooted over and pulled back the covers, patting the sheets next to her and avoiding his eyes.

Just like she knew he would, he made no comment but slid into the bed and let Julie resume her earlier position on his chest. With a flick of his wrist, he pulled the covers back over them both and wrapped his arms around her back, keeping her close.

Idly, she noted how much she liked laying on the boys (and especially him) because they were the perfect cuddling temperature. Not too hot, but not cold. Plus, she reasoned with herself, if he was nervous, at least he wouldn’t overheat the bed.

Wait. Nervousness. She was sure Luke could feel her pounding heart, beating like thunder against his too-quiet chest. He didn’t say anything, just rolled her curls between his fingers as they laid in comfortable silence.

Her thoughts began to wander, instead of relishing in the moment like she longed to do, but thoughts of all the boys had done for her, not just tonight, but in all the months she had known them.

And then his thumbs were running over her cheeks, whispering soothing words and lifting her face, locking their eyes. Her cheeks were wet. She must have started crying.

“Happy tears, don’t worry about it.”

He looked back at her quizzically.

“I was just thinking about how grateful I am that you guys are in my life.” She bit back the ‘especially you’ that fought to escape.

“We’ll always be here, Julie. You’re okay. Just go to sleep. I’ll wake you around 6? You’ll need to take a shower.” Luke took his hands out of her hair to show her a bit of cheese he picked out.

Julie covered a laugh again, resting her head back on his chest, relishing in his company and willingness to do whatever she asked. And she fell asleep, for real this time, with his fingers in her hair and soft hums pulling her into the best sleep she’d had in a while.

And never had she felt happier than that morning, Luke softly singing her into consciousness while Reggie brought her a cup of hot coffee and Alex picking her outfit for the day.

Bonus:

Julie came home from school later that day exhausted but overjoyed. Flynn had teased her endlessly, but she was too happy to care.

Like she did every day, she said hello to her family before going into the studio to do her homework.

But her brain short circuited as she opened the door and found all three boys jumping up from their seats to greet her, Luke wearing Alex’s pink hoodie. It was a little small for him around the arms, not leaving much to be imagined. Julie felt her eyes grow wide, her brows climbing higher, but unable to fix her face or look away.

Alex, never one to miss a cue, nodded his chin towards Luke. “He insisted on wearing it today cause it smelled like you.”

Luke sidestepped to him and whacked him with the back of his hand, but the message had been received. She’d think about that later. For now, she had math homework and a cuddle pile with her ghosts to continue.

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staylavendertea · 3 years

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music, ya know

this is a complete impulse of lying in bed middle of the night thoughts that i don’t even know if anyone’s gonna see that have been stemmed off the experiences of the past couple days, topic of 1:41 am mind boggle:

music and it’s aesthetic and importance in literal every sense cause it’s just that important to me

first experience of realizing this, i’ve always loved film scores and listening to music and the orchestral pieces from movies and shows, but it really seemed to hit me recently, like the fact that this week’s new LOKI episode, no spoilers, has the most badass score and a badass scene with such a perfect mix and musical atmosphere. i literally had one of my best friends over, who has a very small interest in comics, cinema, marvel in general, especially a show about a norse comic god that they know nothing about, and whilst they sat there for my own regard, watching the show like a normal human being would, i sat there clinching their hand, watching in awe as our music is louder than actors talking tv speakers spurted out the most spine tightening world building story and just wandered “jesus that was good” and whilst i will always think about the superior acting, cgi, the amount of different people that just went into those few scenes and like what was physical set and what was computer image and what the hell did i just watch that has my brain running olympic marathon circles right now?

the thought that said brain kept going back to was that fucking score. it was literally tearing apart of every corner of my head and why was it doing that?

second experience, another marvel one, but i digress. black widow (no spoilers i promise), thursday night, movie theater for the first time in i can’t even remember how long now and we set through so many previews just for fucking boss baby to start playing and the reaction of the theater to make me burst out laughing.

however whatever works in that little projection box, gets fixed and the movie is pushed to just a little before it starts, a nice small pepsi ad, the regal rollercoaster intro (if you go to regal movie theaters ya know what i’m talking about), and then i hear it - the marvel studios logo - something so musically engraved into my head that my ass that can’t sing for anything, can harmonize with the sound and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up around movie theater surround sound. but i can’t think of that now, i’m here to watch black widow, a movie on hiatus with the rest of the world for so long now, a character i didn’t know much about it or truly, didn’t have the most connection with in the first place. yet through that one movie, i seemed to build one of those.

ofc though scarlett johansson’s beautiful acting and world building, but it isn’t until the end of the movie that i even realize why. it was the fucking score again. when i think about it, the beginning of the movie felt like all of black widows scenes in the avengers movies for me, kinda just, there. not really emotionally tugging, not bad ofc either, but just, there. in the present, watching something cool in motion. but then it hits, what i can only describe as a theme that somehow tells the entire black widow movie in one singular composition. something so badass, story telling, but also just singularly black widow-esk. i can tell you that i walked out the movie theater rambling about the composition and looking up composers.

third experience, the most recent as it was literally like 20 minutes ago and sprung one train rail of a thought process that immediately tugged me into typing this brain vomit into a tumblr post. i have playlists. for everything. and when i say everything, i fucking mean everything. i’m a writer and a reader, i have playlists mostly for the young avengers, my most utter comfort characters, and their stories i’m writing. i also have playlists/genre/specific song for about every book i read.

when i read red white and royal blue when that came out, i noticed i listened to one of the drunks by panic at the disco the entirety of the ending of the book and the words and music fit together like puzzle pieces, not only did it make the reading experience better, but i was so fucking emerged in my over hyper-imagitive brain that when i finally actually finished the book, i still never left. rewind present day to the beginning of this past june, one last stop comes out, ofc i get it the day it comes out with my anticipation building like wildfire. i start reading that night and i put on my recents on my liked songs playlist (true to true spotify user) and i slowly over the next day as i read and finish the book, windle down to the genre, then the band, to the album, to the exact song that feels like the carbon copy of the words i’m reading. that song was only ones who know by the arctic monkeys. now go back to this past week, anyone who reads the carry on series knows, anyway the wind blows came out this past tuesday. i waited till wednesday to buy the ✨pretty special addition barnes and nobles copy✨ so that the dear friend that indulged me by watching loki that same day could buy it at the same time and make a cute book date or whateva. i started reading that night and something just felt ,,, off. i didn’t know what it was, but i was living off the pure joy that simon and co give me so i ignored the feeling. until i realized why it felt off this morning. i wasn’t listening to any fucking music, literally nothing, not even queen. motherfucking. queen.

i looked for the snowbaz playlist i made when i read carry on for the first time back in 2016/2017 when i was still a freshman in high school just to remember i deleted that literally forever ago. so i made a new one. like an hour and a half ago. very inspired on how i made the playlists for the young avengers and all their stories. letting the music talk.

the fact that all these rambling thoughts have led to this conclusion makes my head hurt, but for me at least in my own experiences. music talks. a two way conversation. a radio broadcast, turning the peg until you match the same frequency thats being put out and you can hear it and understand it. it’s like when you see comedians on stages or actors on panels, they talk, you have reactions, you talk back, and so forth the loop continues until the last voice, last note, rings out. music and songs and orchestral pieces and bands and composers and lyric writers are telling you the stories in reverse. they don’t know their doing it, obviously they meant something entirely different in their creations, but it’s like literature and any work of words and storytelling. interpretation. to me, the notes, pianos, violins, guitars, drums, singers, cellos, and anything that can make sound you can think of, is telling you something. whispering in your ear as you watch or read. facial features, emotions the characters dont say out loud, outfits, they way their standing or talking or moving or interacting with anything and everything.

when i just made that carry on playlist, i played it, decided to try read some good almost 2 am fan fic as you do, my hanging on by a thread sleep brain telling me words aren’t recognizable right now, and tighten myself into a blanket to see if i can sleep at all. the playlist still plays and my never shuts up head thinks it’s own daydreams, stresses out about anything it can, that is until the song plays. the one that just speaks the carry on trilogy language. the one that i found whilst i was reading wayward son and then would play whenever i re read carry on. the one that started this whole way too long ass post in the first place. cant be alone tonight by atlas. i heard just the first sound and i saw them, as if i were in the same room, like i never even put the book down in the first damn place because i’m actually terrified of finishing it. i could see simon in his oversized hoodies, baz in an outfit that was way too good just to be sitting inside, agatha looking as pleasantly pretty as ever, penelope poking fun at shepherd, and shepherd poking fun right back; bickering, laughing, saying the dialogues i try to remember so i can write them later, existing.

in a way music doesn’t just talk, but it lives. it lives and breaths. a three way conversation you could say. characters, stories, plot, and settings talk to the music, then the music delivers us listeners the message, so that we can send one back. this literally took me over an hour to write and i should point the important note that i do have synesthesia where colors and sounds and colors and words do the association so this entire thing might be me being entirely biased, but alas, i love sound so much and if there is anyone else that feels the same ways as i do as just a simple good film score and song makes anything ten times better, feel free to talk, i will totally be awkward, but i need some music freaks like myself around so feel free to hit me up, also if you love movies and cinema also feel free to hit me up as i need movie buddies and now it’s 3 am and i will be going to bed - peace out 🛸

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flatstarcarcosa · 3 years

Text

favors and heists

notes: i gave myself brain worms while roping @dadbodsandbots into my mass effect insert shenanigans by using her mans so I had to shake some of them loose. this turned out to be kinda fun, actually, for a change :3

also tags @jackals-ships while making pspspsps noises

summary: what's the point of your best friend dating a galaxy-renown mercenary if not for the favors you can squeeze out of the deal?

zaeed takes a charity case.

ship(s): stubborn goddamn jackasses, cat/digs (boomcat? harcat?)

******

The door alarm has been chiming for four minutes. Pressing the override button on his omni-tool shuts it off for a few scarce seconds, only for whoever is outside to activate it again. Finally, Zaeed gives up on ignoring it and wrenches the damn thing open manually. The metal squeals in protest before the hydraulics correct themselves.

"The hell do you want?" he asks, frowning. Cat stands in the door way with barely contained tears in her eyes.

"My final thesis is due next week and the whole argument hinges on this 18th century painting and-"

"Dooooon't care," Zaeed drawls as he goes to manually pull the door shut again. She lunges forward, getting a shoulder and half a leg across before the safety catch feels an obstruction and stops.

"-and it got stolen and if I have to report it to my boss I'm not only gonna fail the program but I'll never work in this industry again!" she blurts. Zaeed has already turned his back towards her and is cussing at his omni-tool's refusal to force the door shut.

"Don't caaaaaaaaare," he says.

"You gotta help me get it back!" she cries, "That fucking asshole Harkness stole it and if he gets too far I'll never see it again!"

Zaeed stops, shoulders sagging. He holds up a finger and turns.

"When you say Harkness-"

"Yeah, Digger," Cat sniffs. "You know, Captain Boom-"

"Will willingly shoot my other eye out before I call him that, thanks," says Zaeed. He goes silent for a moment, and then lets out a frustrated growl and runs a hand over his face. "All right, fine. But only because I've still got a grudge against that jackass I've been meaning to settle."

She looks up, elation flashing across her face.

"Really?! I mean, I can hire you, too, so-"

Zaeed snorts.

"You don't make near enough to hire me," he says. "Especially not if you want him alive, although honestly, that part isn't up to you." He steps out of sight into the other room, and Cat wanders into the kitchen to blow her nose on a wad of paper towels.

"Where was he last?" Zaeed asks.

"I mean, my office," she calls back. He steps back around the corner, the top half of his armor undersuit hanging around his waist.

"I meant where was he before he stole the painting?"

"Oh!" she pauses. "I...dunno, some hotel down on Silversun."

Zaeed hums, and pulls his arm through the sleeve on his suit. He drags a footlocker over to the sofa and plops down, bending over to unlock the lid.

"How'd Harkness get into your office, anyway?" he asks. "It's not exactly publicly accessible."

"Uh- I...I don't know," she stammers, "he's a thief, that's what he does!"

Zaeed quirks an eyebrow at her as he laces his boots.

"Uh-huh," he says. "And he just happened to have decided to specifically case your office for one painting..."

"Yeah."

"Your office, which is in a moderately secured area in the Citadel Tower," he continues. He raises an eyebrow at her. She shifts her weight from one foot to the other.

"Yeah," she says again, voice tight. "Why?"

"No reason," he says. Motorized armor joints lock into place with mechanical whirring, and she watches him strap a pistol and a sniper rifle in place. "Here's the thing, if he's already jumped ship and left the Citadel, I'm not chasing him all over. This lasts until I decide the amusement isn't worth the lack of money. Matter of fact, you knowing Reese is the only reason I didn't tell you to fuck off and throw you out."

"A fact which I am heavily aware of," says Cat.

"Long as we're on the same page," says Zaeed. "Might as well wait here, I doubt this is gonna take too long."

"Hey," says Cat, "wait a second. How do you know him, anyway?"

Zaeed clicks his tongue.

"Got unlucky enough to be on a job with him once," he says. "Stupid little fuck nearly got me killed. Spent four weeks healing from that."

"Oh," she says.

"Granted, wasn't the same as getting half my face blown off," he adds, "but it was still enough that I've had it in for him ever since."

"You're not actually going to kill him, are you?" she asks. Zaeed shrugs as the door slides open.

"That depends on him, love," he says.

"Oh," she says. Before she can get another word out, Zaeed steps into the hall and leaves her alone. She sighs and sits down on the sofa. "Well, that's just fucking great."

******

It takes less than five hours to track Harkness down. After checking out of his hotel earlier that morning, he'd stuck around the Silversun Strip rather than booking a flight off the Citadel.

For some reason that Zaeed can only chock up to the man being an absolute fucking idiot, he didn't consider that wandering around with a medium sized painting under his arm was going to make him stick out to the residents.

Only on the Silversun Strip would one get away with that without C-Sec getting called and dropping down on your ass. Try it up on the Presidium and every rich asshole with a penthouse would be ringing the emergency numbers for 'suspicious activity' while triple locking their doors.

Tucked away in a back alley and away from the main attractions of the Strip is a little pawn shop run by, who Zaeed assumes, are the only Batarians to have a permanent residence on the Citadel. There's an old fashioned bell hanging above the door and it jingles when he walks through. It catches his attention for a moment, and he glances up at it, wondering where the aliens picked up that detail about human stores.

Behind the sales counter, a bored looking Batarian is standing with his arms crossed over his chest and glowering with all four eyes at the man in front of him.

"Come on mate," says the Australian. He's leaning over the painting, so focused on his attempts at hocking it that he either didn't hear the door bell, or isn't interested enough to turn around. Zaeed catches the gaze of the sales clerk, and holds a finger to his lips.

"I said no," the Batarian growls, looking back at the would-be customer.

"All right, fine, screw giving me what it's worth," the man continues, "we'll settle for 60% and then I can be on me way."

"You think I'm so stupid or naive I don't know stolen merch when I see it?" asks the Batarian. "I know enough about you humans and your squabbles to know there's no amount of credits worth getting involved in this kinda shit.

"Harkness, why don't you do something useful and stop pestering this poor Batarian?" Zaeed asks, interjecting only when he's close enough to Digger Harkness that the sound of his voice makes the man jump. "Bad enough the poor bastard has to walk around looking like that every day of his life, he doesn't need you coming in here and cocking everything up for him."

The Batarian sighs and rolls his eyes.

"Is it asshole human day today and no one told me?" he asks. "Oh wait, I suppose that's every day, isn't it?"

"Goddamn right it is," Zaeed says. Harkness turns around, nervousness clear on his face.

"Zaeed," he says, slowly, "well, I'll be...funny running into you out here, eh?" He reaches behind himself, fumbling his hand across the counter as he searches blindly for the painting. Zaeed is faster, and snatches it out from under him.

"Lets go," he says, gesturing towards the door. "You know why I'm here."

"Aw, c'mon-" Harkness' protest is cut short by Zaeed grabbing his wrists and slapping a pair of electrified cuffs on them. He shoves the man forward, and then tosses a credit chit down onto the counter.

"You see a couple of human males today?" he asks the Batarian. The alien grunts, considering him for a moment before reaching down and snapping up the chit.

"Been a slow day, I haven't seen anybody," he says, shrugging. Zaeed nods.

"Good man," he says. He shoves Harkness towards the door again. "Get moving."

The bell above the door rings as the two leave, and Harkness turns, walking backwards with his arms locked in front of him as he addresses Zaeed.

"Well, I'm simply stumped," he says, "can't for the life o' me figure who I pissed off enough to hire you." Zaeed says nothing, and simply motions with his pistol for him to keep walking.

Harkness faces foward and catches sight of the skycar parked at the end of the alley. It's not the best area to try and make a mad dash for freedom, but that doesn't mean he's not gonna give it a go.

"How'd you even get into the Citadel Tower to get a hold of something like this, anyway?" Zaeed asks, holding the painting up to get a good look at it. He's never understood fuck all about art and it's not one of those especially famous pieces that he'd even recognize anyway, so he doesn't bother theorizing on why it's so important to Cat's thesis.

"Oh, you know," says Harkness, "made a friend."

"Find that hard to believe," Zaeed drawls as he tucks the painting back under his arm.

"Oi, I'm quite suave when I want to be!" Harkness stops walking again, turning with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Though, some people are just easier to woo."

"Yeah, that sounds more like you, doesn't it?" Zaeed narrows his eyes. "Making a mark out of some poor girl that always sees the best in people."

Harkness blinks.

"Hang on," he breathes, "how do you know that? Don't tell me she's the one that hired you!"

"Course not," Zaeed snorts, "like I told her, she can't afford to hire me. This is a favor for a friend."

"Well shit mate! In that case, why don't you an' I work out a deal, yeah?" The grin is back, and Zaeed makes a point of ignoring him as he opens the skycar door and lays the painting in the back seat. "You ain't on an official contract, I see no reason why you an' I as two consummate professionals can't come to some sort of arrangement that benefits us both!"

"There's an exhaustive list of reasons why that won't be happening," Zaeed says, crossing his arms. "At the top of which is simply the fact that I can't goddamn stand you."

"Fair enough," says Harkness, "But Zaeed, come on, mate! As it happens right now, you're not making any money on this! That's a problem for you, and I can fix that real easy. You just slip these bracelets off me, let me be on my merry way, and recoup credits for your time. Anyone asks, I was too slippery to get a hold of, we all move on."

"No," Zaeed says. "Get in the goddamn car before I knock you out and shove you in the trunk."

Harkness groans, and bounces on the balls of his feet in frustration.

"Come on," he says again, "we both know at the end of the day lining your pockets is the only thing you really care about, so why don't you-"

Zaeed lunges faster than a half blind old merc has any right to move, and Harkness lets out a strangled yell as he punches him in the kidney with enough force to knock the wind out of him. He's wheezing as Zaeed shoves him into the alley wall, hanging onto him by the collar of his coat and lifting him off the ground.

"Listen to me, you stupid fucking jackass," Zaeed growls, "I'm not remotely young enough or stupid enough to not know exactly how you got access to Cat's office. That girl is the only person Reese knows that isn't a killer or a junkie or some fucked up combination of both, and the last thing she needs is to be caught up with likes of you and I."

Harkness says nothing as he gasps again, and waits on his lungs to remember how to take in air.

"I care about her well-being for my own selfish reasons because of her proximity to Reese, and I recognize that doesn't put me in a position of dictating to her who she spends her time with," Zaeed continues, "but so help me, you cause so much as a minor inconvenience for her and I will carve out your goddamn eyes, sew your mouth shut and sell you to Batarians as discounted slave labor, are we goddamn clear?"

Harkness manages half of a choked, garbled word and gets his head bounced off the wall for his effort.

"That didn't sound like a yes to me," Zaeed growls.

"Y-yes," he says. Zaeed slams him against the wall once more for good measure before dropping him.

"Get in the goddamn car."

******

The rental apartment Reese and Zaeed have been staying in isn't much to come home to. Far from the worst place they've ever holed up, sure, but that's never been a very high bar to begin with.

Regardless, as he pushes Harkness through the doorway and pauses long enough to set the painting down on an end table, he does reflect on the warm lightning in the corners and the smell of a beef roast being pulled out of the oven.

It's temporary and it's barely big enough for the two of them to move without tripping over each other, but it is home.

"You found it!" Cat appears in the archway to the kitchen, and Reese looks up over the counter. Their eyes glance between Zaeed and Harkness and the painting, and they quirk an eyebrow in his direction. Zaeed responds with a subtle shake of his head.

Later, he mouths, reaching up to undo the clasps on his armor.

"Wasn't too much trouble," he says aloud. "Helps when you're being sent after a goddamn moron. I should take more offers like this, actually."

"Caaaaaat," Harkness purrs. He goes to hold out his arms, and stops when he meets the resistance from the cuffs. She bypasses him entirely to scoop up the painting and make sure it hasn't been damaged.

"You know, on a hunch I looked into something on the way to the Strip," Zaeed says casually. "C-Sec has multiple active bounties on him at the moment. Cashing in on just one of them would likely pay more than, well...whatever it is you even do currently."

Harkness lets out a nervous laugh and looks between Zaeed and Cat. She sets the painting down and regards him for a moment.

"Right now I'm more worried with getting this back before anyone notices it was gone," she says, causing Harkness to puff up slightly. He winks at Zaeed, only to stop at the look the other man sends his way. "It's unlucky for me the building is locked down for the day, though..."

"Sounds to me like you could use someone who knows his way 'round security systems," Harkness offers. Zaeed snorts, and Cat frowns. Silence stretches out for a moment, broken only by the sound of Reese turning on an electric carving knife.

"Okay, fine," Cat says when they've turned the knife back off. "But know that if we get caught, I'm telling them you kidnapped me and I can cry on command."

"Well now you're just talkin' dirty to me," Harkness says.

"Really?" Reese barks from the kitchen. "Some of us still gotta eat tonight."

Zaeed remains silent and utterly unreadable as he taps at his omni-tool. The handcuffs beep a few times before popping open and falling off. Harkness massages at one of his wrists, and manages to ignore the bait when Zaeed shoves into him on the way to the kitchen.

"If we leave now we should make it in and out without too much trouble," Cat says. Reese offers a wave.

"Call me when you get in," they say, "mostly so I know if anyone's gotta kill him later."

"Sure!" says Cat. She tucks the painting safely under an arm, and drags Harkness out into the hall by the collar of his coat. The door beeps as the automatic lock powers on, and Reese turns to lean against the kitchen counter.

"What?" Zaeed asks, opening the fridge and pulling out a bottle of beer.

"Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not."

Reese rolls their eyes and turns their attention back to the roast. "I leave for 20 minutes to get fucking dinner, and I swear to Christ..." they say, trailing off when Zaeed reaches around and snags a slice of beef.

"You do realize she's got absolutely horrid taste in men, right?" he asks. The top of the beer bottle pops with a resounding hssss, and he flicks it across the kitchen into the garbage can.

"Yeah, well, that's just something we got in common, I guess," Reese says.

"Oi," Zaeed protests. He takes a swallow of beer and reaches for another slice of meat, then stops. "Hang on, she can cry on command?"

"Yeah, fucking wild actually," says Reese. They frown. "Why?"

Zaeed is silent for a moment as he takes another sip of beer before answering.

"Goddammit."

#reese.fic #ship: stubborn goddamn jackasses #others: boomcat

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ladyreapermc · 5 years

Text

Fic: Eyes Wide Shut (Henry x Reader)

Summary: AU. Working with an investigative journalist like Henry when you had a huge crush on him didn’t leave you with much free time for a social life. That is until you decide to visit a sex club and meet a masked handsome stranger who are more than willing to show you a good time.

Part 2: Undisclosed Desires | Part 3: Beautiful Problems

Author’s notes: I have no idea where this plot bunny came from, but I loved it and it turned into this huge one shot. I was vibing Eyes Wide Shut for the club (no idea why since I hate that movie) and it kinda worked for what I wanted.

Wordcount: 5666

Warnings: smut (powerplay; bondage; praise kink; orgasm denial).

What are you doing here?

A little voice inside your head asked as watched yourself in the impeccably clean surface of the club’s restroom mirror, your eyes looking wide and afraid, like a dear caught in headlights.

This isn’t you.

The voice continued and you had to take a pause and consider. This whole thing really wasn’t you. The elegant makeup with smoky eyes and dark red lipstick that you only ever wore for formal events; the slip dress that looked more like a camisole than an actual dress, but made you look so alluring in a way that you just weren’t used to.

You felt almost transported to another dimension or maybe having an out of body experience. It was the only thing that could make sense of what you were doing in a sex club when you were the very definition of vanilla. As a matter of fact, you were pretty sure if someone looked up the word in a dictionary, they would find a picture of you.

It just wasn’t your thing. Or at least that was what you always thought. You could never even understand why a person would want to get tied up and spanked during sex. It sounded so uncomfortable and crazy. You were perfectly fine with the traditional things, thank you very much.

You were absolutely sure this wasn’t for you. The only time you let your ex-boyfriend tried anything like it, you two used a blindfold and you ended up panicking and kicking in the balls, which killed mood obviously.

Yet, here you were. Curiosity got the better out of you when your best friend gifted you an invite for your twenty-third birthday. She said it had been a revealing experience for her and that you should try it, especially since she was probably the only person you’ve ever confided about your terrible and inappropriate crush on your boss Henry.

It started when you met the man six months ago when you started working as his personal assistant. It wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be even if sometimes you felt more like a glorified secretary than an actual journalist, but you were learning the ropes with one youngest Pulitzer winners investigative journalists out there so it was worth it.

Besides, Henry was such a great guy that you almost didn’t mind picking up his coffee every morning, because he actually took the time to teach and give you tips. He even let you co-write a couple of less important pieces for the magazine. The only thing he didn’t allow you to do was to come with him when meeting sources. He always said you had to cultivate your own.

That was actually one of the reasons you were here. Not that you thought you would be cultivating many sources in a sex clubs, but because Henry just took off tonight after receiving a text when you two were supposed to be working on his last big story.

He didn’t give you any explanation or justification. Just picked up his things, sending you a quick goodbye over his shoulder before he took off, leaving you alone in the office on a Friday night.

It was at that moment that you realized how pathetic you were being, pining over your boss who didn’t even notice you and having absolutely no personal life. So, you went home, got dressed and now here you were, inside the club, but hiding in the restroom, not exactly regretting your choice but without knowing how to go forward with it either.

The place was nothing like you expected. You were thinking chains and whips and a whole lot of leather. Instead, it was posh and elegant, everyone dressed in fashionable outfits and wearing masks.

Yours was lying on the sink, looking quite inconspicuous just like the blue bracelet sitting next to it. Ant that was the real reason for your little meltdown. You had already been on edge all the way to the club, but walking in and being asked by the hostess if you were a dom, sub or a switch, made you cheeks scarlet, locked the breath in your throat, and nothing but confusing words spluttered from your mouth.

She had been very kind and understanding, saying it was perfectly fine not knowing and offered you a blue bracelet so you could give it a try being a sub first to see how you would feel. You took it because you had no idea what else to do before scurrying to the restroom where you had been hiding for the last fifteen minutes, trying to work up the courage to actually step into the club and talk to people and see what would happen.

Wasn’t that what Henry always said? Make friends wherever you go; pay attention to everything. You never know when you’re gonna need that tiny bit of information that person let it slip after a drink too much.

Taking yet another deep, calming breath, you brushed off inexistent lint from your dress, adjusting them hem once more, before putting the mask back on and stepping outside. You were going to do this. You came all the way here, might as well have a drink and take a look.

You stepped through the thick, velvet curtains that separated the small reception from the actual club, immediately having your senses overwhelmed by different stimuli. The first thing that you noticed was the soft scent of incense that enveloped the place. It was something slightly familiar, but you couldn’t quite make out its name. Next was the music. You don’t know why you were expecting some kind of heavy metal to be playing but instead, soft jazz worked a background noise.

Then your eyes adjusted to the change of lighting since the main area of the club itself was slightly darker than the reception and you could see people lounging around and tables and couches, talking and laughing, enjoying elegant cocktails, all in masks, all completely ignoring your presence.

For a moment, you stood still, trying to gain your bearings before you finally moved to the bar with slow, hesitant steps, eyes still darting around like part of you expected some old acquaintance to pop up from a corner ready to report your visit to your overly religious grandma. It was ridiculous and you knew, but you couldn’t always help yourself.

Taking a seat on one of the high stools, you ordered a drink and once again turned your focus to the club. If it wasn’t the masks, the place would feel exactly like most high-end nightclubs you had seen, and the thought soothed your nerves a little. What you were expecting? People having sex in front of everyone else? You chuckled at your own silliness, turning back to the bar when the bartender brought over your order.

As you sipped your drink, the stool next to you became occupied by a tall, handsome stranger who ordered a whiskey, before turning his gaze towards you, his bright blue eyes framed by the black mask made your breath catch in your throat and your cheeks to go red as you quickly looked away.

“First time?” his voice was deep and smooth with a hint of an accent that couldn’t quite place because he was obviously working on disguising it.

“That obvious?” you asked with a nervous chuckle, glancing his way. His dark hair was neatly combed, but a couple of stubborn curls made themselves known and for some reason, you felt itchy to smooth them back in place.

“A little,” he replied with a soft smile, taking a sip of his whiskey and as the cuff of his grey blazer pulled back with the motion, you saw the red bracelet on his wrist. “We’re all nervous on your first visit, but this is a great place to… explore.”

All you managed was a small hum of understanding, shifting your attention back to your drink, swirling your straw because you didn’t know what to do or think. Was he just making small talk? Was he hinting something? If this was a regular club you’d know, but here the rules were different.

“You come here often?” you asked and rolled your eyes at yourself, at your awful small talk. “Sorry, that was terrible.”

“It’s fine,” he assured with a gorgeous smile as he leaned against the bar, looking at you. “Only when I have a date,” he said, glancing at his watch, before letting out a sigh. “But after 40 minutes one must recognize when they’ve been stood up.”

“I’m sorry,” you said with a small, sympathetic smile. Even if he was wearing a mask, you could tell he was a handsome man and you couldn’t understand who would stand him up.

“And how about you? What brings you here?”

“Curiosity. A friend of mine gave me an invite,” you admitted in a low voice as you surveyed the room once more. “It’s not what I was expecting.”

“Not enough chains and whips?” he asked in a teasing tone and strangely enough it didn’t embarrass you. You chuckled in response.

“Something like that.”

“They keep those in the private suites,” he explained, finishing his drink. “Would you like to see one?” You stared at him with wide eyes at the offer. “Don’t worry. You can just take a look. No need to stay.”

You took a moment to consider his offer. Were you really going into a dark room with a complete stranger? Were you crazy? Still, you were curious to see what it looked like and he didn’t seem dangerous. Even if he was tall and built like a brick wall.

You should be more afraid of this; instead, you were just excited about the prospect. Adrenaline rushed through your veins; your heart beat wildly in your chest. You licked your lips and met his eyes, trying to gauge if he might be a crazy psycho underneath the suave demeanor.

“Alright,” you finally declared, swallowing the rest of your drink in one go, the alcohol burning down your throat.

This is crazy.

That same voice in your head cautioned, but you ignored it. You came all the way here, the least you could do was take a look. And if he turned out to be a creep, you could always scream. There were plenty of security guards standing inconspicuously around the room.

Taking the arm he offered you, you let him guide you through the maze of tables and couches to the back of the club, where another red velvet curtain covered a passageway. He pushed it aside, letting you step in first, before following behind, one large hand on the small of your back as the two of you crossed the corridor full of doors. He led you to one of the last doors on the left, pulling it open for you and letting you step in first.

It looked like a regular hotel room, with a big bed in the center, a small sitting area to the side with black credence where a small bar sat. At the foot of the bed there was a large wooden chest the looked almost ominous and stood out against the rest of the décor. Same with the two large and shiny hooks hanging from the ceiling.

“Kind of anticlimactic, huh?” he commented, attracting your attention and you noticed he stood to the side, letting the door wide open.

“A bit, yes,” you agreed, looking around again. Were you really about to do what you were thinking about doing it? “Aren’t you going to close the door?”

Apparently yes.

“Do you want me to?”

“Yes,” you breathed out, your voice a little shaky as you looked at him.

He watched you as if to make sure you really meant it, before slowly closing the door behind himself and stepping further into the room. He shrugged off his blazer and set it on the couch’s arm, letting you see a little more of him.

He had such broad shoulders that stretched his black dress shirt in just the right way. The first two buttons of the shirt were open, revealing just a bit of his strong chest and dark hair. Even though you were never much interested in hairy guys, the sight of it was very appealing.

Swallowing the lump of nervousness, you moved to the bar and poured a generous amount of whiskey in two crystal tumblers, offering him one before consuming yours in one go, wincing at the way it burned your throat. You weren’t a big fan of hard liquor like this but you needed some liquid courage if you were really going forward with this.

You reached for the bottle again, ready to pour yourself another shot when he laid a heavy, but surprising soothing hand on your wrist, making you pause.

“I’m not doing this if you’re drunk,” he warned, his blue eyes meeting yours.

Gently prying your fingers away from the bottle, he held your hand and led you to the couch, taking a seat on the armchair, leaving a considerable space between the two of you, but his whole body was tilted towards yours and you could feel his gaze, heavy and intense over you.

“So how this works?” you asked, fidgeting with the hem of your dress. “How do I call you? I don’t know your name.”

“We don’t usually use names here,” he explained, his lips tilting in a small smile. “How do you want to call me?”

You paused for a second, looking him from head to toe. There was a word on the tip of your tongue. Something you only ever used with Henry, but it seemed fitting for this. For him.

“Boss,” you finally breathed out and his eyes widened slightly as he licked his lips and shifted in his seat. That was how you knew it affected him. That he liked and you had to smile. It was rewarding to see him not so composed for once. “Is that ok?”

“Yes,” he answered, his voice a little huskier than before. “Perfectly fine.” He took a sip of his whiskey before setting the tumbler on the table. “Do you know what you’re interested in trying?”

You had no idea where to begin. You were curious of course, but the thought of actually doing anything was still stunning you.

“How about what you don’t want to try at all?” he asked, probably picking up on your hesitation.

“No pain,” you hurried to say. It was one of the things you were absolutely sure of it. “Or sharp objects.”

“They don’t allow those here,” he assured leaning forward, elbows on his knees. “And I’m not interested in that either. Anything else?”

You thought back on what you knew about this sort of thing, which granted wasn’t much, but it should give you at least a direction on what you wanted and how.

“No spanking,” you declared after another moment and you saw him still, glass to his lips. “Is that a problem?”

“No,” he replied, draining his drink. “But when done right, it can be quite pleasurable.” His statement made you pause in consideration. “A conversation for another time, perhaps?”

“What makes you think there’s gonna be another time?” you challenged, eyebrow arched, and he grinned.

“I just have a feeling.”

The two of you talked for a while longer, discussing your limits, negotiating a few points, setting up safe words and gestures and slowly you began to relax a little more, feel more comfortable with him and with what you were planning to do. Despite being a complete stranger, you felt a certain familiarity with him, which definitely helped with your nerves.

“So, when do we start?” you finally asked.

“Are you sure?” he asked giving a long, piercing look and you just nodded, swallowing hard at the intensity of those blue eyes. “Then come here.”

You stood up feeling your knees wobbly; your heart hammering against your chest. You were really doing this. You must have lost your mind.

He looked you up from head to toe, his gaze hungry as he leaned back on his chair, legs spread and you couldn’t help but glance down at his lap, at the prominent bulge on his pants, wondering what it looked like. What it would feel like.

He offered you a hand, guiding you onto his lap, straddling one his strong thighs and the pressure against your center made you whimper, which you quickly silenced by pressing your lips together, giving him a shy glance.

“Don’t do that,” he asked. Well no. It was a command. His voice turning lower and harder and it set your nerves on fire. “I want to hear you. Every little moan, whine and cry,” he said against your ear and you shuddered, excitement coursing through your veins and heightening your senses.

“Sorry.”

“Try that again,” he said, one finger on your chin, giving you a hard stare and once again you swallowed hard as you lowered your gaze.

“I’m sorry, boss.”

“Good girl,” he whispered, and the words seemed to go straight to your core, making you gasp and shift on his leg, rubbing yourself against him. He smirked. “You liked it when praise you, baby?”

Your voice was once again locked in your throat and you couldn’t bring yourself to say anything, just nod and wonder if you have ever been this aroused this quickly before.

“Well, all you have to do is be a good girl and behave for me and you’ll hear a lot of it,” he said, one hand holding your hips still since you’ve been rocking against his thigh without noticing. “But if you disobey me, I’ll have to punish you and neither of us wants that.”

“No, boss.” You shook your head quickly and he smiled once again. You were getting addicted to it. It was gorgeous and made your knees weak. “I’ll behave. I promise.”

“Good. Then stay still,” he ordered, pushing your hair to one side, exposing your neck and shoulder. “And let me hear you.”

His lips brushed against your neck, right below your ear and you shuddered, your hands fisting his shirt as he explored your skin with his mouth, soft, wet kisses all over neck and shoulder. His tongue and teeth teasing you; finding every sensitive spot that made you shudder and moan as heat pooled between your legs.

He held the thin straps of your dress between his fingers, giving you a quick look, seeking permission. You just nodded already missing his mouth as he pushed them down your arms, exposing your bare breasts to his hungry gaze and even hungrier lips. He kissed and nipped and licked every inch of the skin of your breasts before flickering his tongue over your nipple and making you buckle.

“Stay still, baby,” he asked once again, tilting his head to look up at you. “Otherwise I’m gonna have to tie you.”

The prospect shouldn’t be that arousing. As a matter of fact, before you walked in here, you never considered bondage as an option, but here you were aching for it.

“Sorry, boss,” you said, your voice low and desperate and you leaned back, giving him more room to explore.

He noticed, of course, his smirk growing as his mouth returned to you; his lips closing around a nipple, sucking and licking it while he teased the other with his rough thumb. You struggled to keep yourself still as pleasure built inside you, your walls clenching around nothing, your clit throbbing, begging to be touched in anyway.

“Oh fuck!” you whined, one hand coming to his hair, taking a handful of his curls and he let out a grunt that sounded almost like a warning. “Please, boss. I need…”

“What, darling?” he looked up again, pressing one final kiss to your left breast before his lips moved to the right one. “What do you need?”

Embarrassment made the words die in your lips. You had never begged for it before. Actually, most of the time you had to ask guys to slow down and there he was, taking his sweet time and driving you crazy in the process.

“Can’t say it?” he asked with a smirk. “Then maybe you shouldn’t be doing it.”

He returned to his task, driving you crazy with his mouth; his fingers drawing lazy patterns on the inside of your thighs, touch featherlight and just increasing the temptation because all you wanted was for his fingers to move higher, touch you where you needed him the most.

As he bunched your skirt around your waist, exposing your white lace lingerie, you thought you’d finally have him. Finally, get some sweet release. Especially with the way, his digits ran over the edge of your panties, so, so close, but they moved away again, and he chuckled at the little whine you let out.

All your senses seemed to be in haywire from pleasure; your head was foggy and dazed; expectation made you follow every single one of his movements, desperate to feel him; to know which pleasure spot he would shower with attention this time around.

Goosebumps raised on your skin and you could feel perspiration starting to form as your body’s temperature rose along with your arousal. It made your mask stick to your forehead almost uncomfortably and you wanted to rip it off your face.

He pulled back once more making you whimpered at the loss of his lips and he chuckled once again, giving you a look.

“You know what you have to do,” he said nudging you to stand up and pulling the dress from your body, throwing to the side before his eyes shifted back to you, devouring your body. “Come.”

Taking your hand, he led you to bed and gestured to you make yourself comfortable while he slowly undressed before you, unbuttoning his shirts so slowly, revealing tantalizing skin inch by inch. You couldn’t take your eyes away, your breath coming in short pants. He was unbelievably gorgeous; built like a Greek God.

He let the shirt fall to the ground, before kicking his shoes and socks and finally undoing his belt and pants, pushing them down and off. You bit your lips in expectation, desperately to see him fully naked as his thumbs hooked over the edge of his black boxers. You could see the shape of his cock pressing against the fabric and all you wanted was to see it fully, have it on your hands; in your mouth; inside you.

“Are you ready to tell me what you want?” he asked and once again the words wouldn’t come. “Then maybe I should leave these on,” he declared, taking his hands away and you whimpered and pouted as he chuckled and crawled on top of you.

For the first time that night his lips found yours, kissing you softly; tongue exploring your mouth, tangling with yours as he settled between your legs, holding most of his weight on his elbows.

“Come on, baby,” he whispered, voice husky and throaty, mouthing the line of your jaw, making you arch your neck, giving him more room. “Just ask for it. We both want it. You don’t get to come until you ask me for it.”

All you managed in reply was a desperate little whine as once again his lips traveled down your body, setting it ablaze with arousal and want and you were so soaked your panties were starting to get uncomfortable. It was a relief when he finally pulled them off you before he spread your knees and just looked at you.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said before kissing your inner thigh, coming dangerously close to your cunt, but never quite there.

You were shaking with desire, one hand fisting the sheets, the other gripped his hair, tugging him to where you wanted him, but he pulled away, making a disappointed sound on the back of his throat.

“What did I tell you?” he asked with a smirk as he got up and moved to the wooden chest. Your heart thundered in your chest as he pulled it open and taking out a long strip of black silky rope. “Keep still or I’ll have to tie you.” You eyed the rope nervously, chewing on your bottom lip. “Do you wanna use your safeword?”

“No, boss,” you replied after a long moment. You wanted this. Every inch of your body begged for it. “No safeword.” You raised your arms above your head, hands coming to the headboard.

“Good girl,” he praised again with a smile; delft fingers tying your wrists together before his attention came back to you. “Ok?”

“Yes, boss.”

“Good.” He kissed you again; an obvious reward for accepting your fate so easily.

You should be terrified. He was a complete stranger and he could do whatever he wanted to you. You were at his mercy with only his promise to stop if it got too much. This was dangerous and you should be panicking, but all you felt was excitement and arousal. You wanted this more than you wanted anything else in the bedroom before.

“Boss?” you called, voice soft, hesitant and he looked at you, his eyes curious, full of expectation.

“Yes?”

“Fuck me, please.” You could feel your cheeks burning and you couldn’t hold his gaze. Here you were, stripped naked and tied to a bed, but it was those words that made you blush.

“Of course, baby,” he said, kissing you again. Yet another reward and you took it desperately, wanting everything he was willing to give you. “You’ve been such a good girl. You deserve it.”

This time, when he moved down your body, kissing and nipping and licking, making anticipation build deep inside you, making that wet heat coil tight in your lower belly, you knew you would finally have some release.

At the first touch of his tongue against your folds, you buckled your hips, a dragged-out moan came out of your mouth as you gripped the headboard. He held you still with one hand, licking and tasting and teasing you, before he sucked your clit between his lips and you cried out, your body quaking with need and he barely did anything.

“Please, boss,” you begged in a whine.

“Not yet. We’ve only just begun,” he replied, mouth returning to work.

He alternated flickering his tongue against your clit, with sucking kisses that left you moaning and shaking, your wetness slicking your thighs as you tried to roll your hips closer, trying to ease some of the maddening pleasure inside you that made your cunt clench around nothing.

“Oh please, please,” you begged again, desperate and needy.

He finally pushed one thick finger inside you, and you cried out as he immediately found that spot inside you that made you see stars; rubbing it over and over it until you were gasping and panting, babbling pleas and promises to be such a good girl for him if he would only let you come.

Finally, you felt his finger moving and you thought he would give you the release your craved for. Instead, he pulled out completely and you let out a loud keening whine, tears gathering on the corner of your eyes from need and frustration.

“Shush now, baby,” he cooed, petting your hair gently and kissing your forehead. “We’re almost there. Can you hang on a little longer for me?”

“Yes, boss.” Your voice was weak, shaky. You were panting like you ran a marathon and you had never felt this high-strung before, but the thought of saying no to him was the farthest thing from your mind.

“Such a good girl for me,” he said with a smile, finally taking off his boxers and freeing his cock, giving you a moment to admire it.

You had a feeling he was big, but it was even better than you imagined, and you wanted in your mouth. Desperately.

“Not tonight,” he replied, and you realized you said it aloud, your mind too foggy to stop your thoughts from coming to your mouth. “But I want that too.”

You watched as he reached into the bedside table, picking up a condom and rolling it on himself, stroking his cock a couple of times, grunting low in his throat and you whined again because you wanted to do that. You want to touch him. Feel him.

His large hands took hold of your legs, bringing them to his shoulders as he knelt before you, lining himself with your entrance, his head teasing your slit and making you throw your head back and groan.

“Is this what you want, baby?”

“Yes!” you all but screamed, trying to move, but this position left you with very little leverage. “Yes! Please! I want it! Please, boss.”

He grinned at you and finally pushed inside and this time you shouted, the pleasure almost too overwhelming with the way he filled and stretched you, rubbing at all the right spots. He bent closer, catching your lips in a dirty kiss while you acclimated to the intrusion, his thumb working magic on your clit and you didn’t know how it was possible for you to be this close already. Then again, you had been teetering the edge of it for so long with his teasing that it really only took a nudge now.

“Ready?” he asked against your lips and all you could manage of a nod.

He finally started to move, pulling all the way out before pushing inside again, slow and steady, letting you adjust to him, before speeding up his thrusts as he increased pressure on your clit and laved your neck and chest with bite and kisses, sucking on the spot just below your ear that had you weak and struggle against your retrains as your first orgasm washed over you, making you gasp and shake.

He fucked you through it, a smug grin making its way into his lips as your body quaked and quivered, his movements getting that tension deep inside you to start to build up again. It was so overwhelming you couldn’t think, you couldn’t focus on anything except beg incoherently for it. A flow of confused pleas spilling from your lips as he fucked you, his pace increasing, his hips slapping against you, filling the room with the sound of skin hitting wetly against skin, and your moans.

“Look at me, baby,” he asked in between pants, his thumb brushing against the edge of your mask. “I’m gonna take this off. This time I wanna look at you when you come.”

You nodded, too far gone to care. You could only focus on yourself and how close you were again. You barely felt him sneaking one hand behind your head, undoing to knot that held the mask in place, before pulling it off.

“Fuck!” he whispered, his blue eyes widening behind his own mask as he looked at you. You saw something changing in him seconds before his mouth crashed on yours and you could almost taste his own desperation and he fucked you with abandon, his thumb swirling your clit. “Come for me, baby.”

His words snapped something inside you, making pleasure crash over you again and your entire body felt alight as you came, crying out a name you shouldn’t be saying here.

“HENRY!” you shouted, body shaking and trembling, walls tightening around him and he moaned your name against your neck, thrusting through his own release.

You two lied there, sweaty, tired and out of breath, bodies pressed together as your heartrates returned to normal along with your breathing and your ability to think.

Two things registered on your mind then: you shouted out your boss’ name when you came. And this man who was supposed to be a stranger called out yours.

“You know my name,” you declared, fighting off the haze of pleasure so you could focus on him. “How do you know my name?”

You felt him sighing heavily against your neck before he raised himself and looked at you. Without saying a word, he untied you, rubbing your wrists soothingly.

“Does it hurt?” he asked, helping you sit up. You shook your head, still watching him with a frown.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“I know,” he said, once again sighing. “I promised I didn’t know. Not until your mask was off.”

Before you could ask him what he was talking about, he took off his own mask and you stared stunned and mortified because it was him. It was Henry.

The man you’ve been fantasizing about for half a year. The reason you wanted to call the supposed stranger boss in the first place. The man you called out the name when you came.

“Fuck!” you whispered, all the afterglow from the mind-blowing orgasms you just had completely forgotten. You just wanted the ground to open and swallow you whole.

“Look, I know. Of all the places in the world…” Henry let out a small, humorless chuckle. “I didn’t even know you saw me like that.”

He tried to move closer to you, but the motion made him aware of the mess he was about to make on the bed with the condom coming off from his now softening cock.

“Give me a sec and we’ll talk about this, ok?”

You waited until he was inside the bathroom to jump off the bed, pulling on your dress and all but running out of the room, putting on your heels as you went. You couldn’t stay. You couldn’t even look at him. Talk about this? It was unthinkable. You just needed to get as far away from Henry; as far away from this damned place as you could.

You should’ve listened to yourself. You knew this wouldn’t end up well. Were you really surprised it turned into this train wreck?

xxx

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