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dvrk-moon · 2 months ago

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LOVE ME NOT - YANG JUNGWON

— synopsis: fake dating your enemy, yang jungwon, for the sake of getting your mutual friends to stop playing matchmaker is the worst idea you’ve ever heard in your life. however, it’s a bit more enticing when $100 is thrown in the mix.

— word count: 21k

— warnings: cursing, suggestive jokes, stupid teenager activities, classism

— featuring: ive wonyoung, bnd taesan, zb1 gyuvin, nwjns minji, + more 04 liner idols

— genre: enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, SLOW burn, jungwon x fem!reader, private high school au

— playlist: kiss with a fist - florence + the machine, r u mine - arctic monkeys, the way i loved you - taylor swift, you get me so high - arctic monkeys, norman fucking rockwell - lana del rey, make up your mind - florence + the machine (feat. fire burning - sean kingston, come on eileen - dexy’s midnight runners for part 17)

— a/n: lowkey so relieved this is over and finally written after FOREVER. in the same breath i am so sad because this fic has been in the works for years (at least 3) and to see it finally written is so bittersweet :( thank you to everyone who supported me while writing this !!! i love you all so much !!!

— taglist: @jwonistic @ilovejungwonandhaechan @wensurr @yyawnjun @slvtella @dimplewonie @ch4c0nnenh4

i. GOD-DAMN, MAN CHILD

The wind always blows when you don’t want it to.

At least, that’s what it feels like.

You were sat on a bench outside of the country club owned by your friend’s family. They were crazily wealthy, owning not only a country club but also many vacation homes and businesses. That was pretty much a given though, especially since you had met your friend at a private and prestigious academy. Everyone that attended the school was extremely well off in a sense. Most of the students had parents who were business owners, political figures, or even celebrities. To say that you were an outlier would be an understatement.

You didn’t come from wealth. In fact, you were one of the only students at your school to not come from wealth. You were offered a scholarship for your academics; last year, you had an opportunity from your old school to take a test that offered a scholarship to your current academy if you scored well. Only the top five scorers would be granted admission. You and four other students were awarded with the scholarship.

Unfortunately, that meant that you had left a completely different life behind. Your two best friends from childhood, Minji and Gyuvin, were both in support of your academic opportunity, but neither of them had passed the test, so you were left alone. A new, clean slate at a school where you knew next to no one.

Your new classmates made no effort to help you fit in. In fact, most of them ridiculed you for coming from a lower class. It was expected when mingling with snotty prep school kids, but it still hurt. The only person that hadn’t singled you out was Wonyoung.

She was easily the most popular girl there, but she still brought you under her wing. This caused the others to be slightly kinder to you, but only in her presence.

So here you were, sat on a bench, outside of her family’s country club, swinging your legs and glancing at the tennis court in front of you. It was late March, and though the weather reports had said that it would be nice enough outside to wear a skirt, your legs were cursing you because of the wind.

Wonyoung had gone inside temporarily to go fetch the two boys that you were going to play tennis with. She’d left about two minutes ago, telling you that she just had to run down to the entrance gate and she’d be back as soon as possible.

You fidgeted with the hem of the skirt you were wearing. It wasn’t even yours; it was Wonyoung’s, and she had let you borrow it for today. You laughed at yourself, because here you were, at a country club, yet the clothes you were wearing weren’t even yours. From an outsiders perspective, you seemed rich. Everyone else could tell the truth, though.

Another breeze passed by and you stood up, walking towards the door. You weren’t sure how much longer you’d have to wait, so you figured that you may as well wait inside.

As if on cue, Wonyoung exited the door with the two boys. You knew both of them from school. Honestly, you liked Wonyoung’s boyfriend. His name was Taesan. He was always nice to you, and never made you feel bad for being of a lower class.

The other boy, however, seemed to have a personal vendetta against you, and you had no idea why. He didn’t seem to like you from the first day you met, even though you’d been nice to him from the get-go. If you had to guess why he didn’t like you, it was probably for the same reason that none of your other peers seemed to like you: your wealth status.

Jungwon was his name, and aside from being a major jerk to you, he was extremely intelligent. Ever since you arrived at the school, you’d been one of the top ranked students. It made sense, too, as you were permitted into the school based on your academics. Jungwon was ranked second to you in most classes. You figured that could be another reason.

As soon as you met eyes with Jungwon, he rolled his own and shook his head. He was donned in the most prestigious tennis outfit you’d ever seen, which was saying a lot, given as this country club was flooded with rich and pretentious tennis players.

“Okay,” Wonyoung started, walking over to you, “now that we are all here, do you guys want to warm up?”

“Yeah,” Jungwon said, looking away from you, “let’s warm up.”

You didn’t miss how Jungwon slightly shoulder-checked you as he walked towards the tennis courts.

You entered the fenced-in courts, and another breeze blew in your direction. As a reaction, you shivered, making Wonyoung giggle as she made her way towards you.

“Sorry about the hold up,” she started, bouncing a tennis ball on the court, practicing her serving. She looked over at the other side of the court, where Jungwon and Taesan were situated. She laughed, “but those two were taking forever. They’re weird.” She offered you an apologetic smile.

“It’s fine,” you said, “I was just afraid you wouldn’t come back. I stick out like a sore thumb here.”

Wonyoung frowned, “No you don’t, Y/N. I don’t think a single person here batted an eye while I was gone.”

“You were gone,” you teased, “how would you know?”

“I know lots of things,” she commented, “I know lots and lots of things.”

You bounced the tennis ball on the court as you laughed at her words, “Whatever you say.”

After about five minutes of warming up and a dirty look exchanged with Jungwon later, Wonyoung announced, “Okay, let’s get to playing! Do we wanna do singles or doubles?”

“Let’s do doubles,” Taesan said, walking towards the net. He patted Jungwon on the back, “and Jungwon, you can be partners with Y/N. Is that okay with you guys?”

Wonyoung turned to you, “It’s fine with me as long as you’re okay with it.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Taesan started walking over to Wonyoung, so you took that as your cue to go ahead and walk to the side Jungwon was on. Even though you knew Jungwon wasn’t your biggest fan, you still attempted formalities with him.

“Good luck,” you commented, looking at him. You sent him a little smile, “I’ll play to the best of my ability, but I don’t play often. So, sorry in advance.”

“I’m not surprised.” Jungwon replied under his breath, thinking that you wouldn’t hear. You decided to just ignore him and play to the best of your ability, like you said you would.

The first game started with Wonyoung serving and you receiving, but the first game was cut relatively short with an easy 40-15 that ended in your team’s loss.

The rest of the games of the first set ended very similarly, to no surprise. Wonyoung’s family owned the country club. Of course she would be good at the game.

So far, you and Jungwon had only won two sets out of the seven played. Wonyoung and Taesan only needed to win one more set to win the match.

Jungwon, quite obviously, was extremely frustrated at this loss. Very early on, you’d learned that he was a sore loser, and that you being bad at tennis definitely wasn’t helping soothe his anger.

After the final set that ended up in, surprise, a win for Wonyoung and Taesan, the two winners went to take a quick victory break while they left you and Jungwon to “discuss game strategies” as they phrased it.

In the three minutes that they’d been gone, no words were exchanged between you and Jungwon. He was just repeatedly slamming the tennis ball into the court and catching it when it bounced back. The air was tense, but you still tried to make conversation.

“Sorry about that.”

“Your horrible playing?” Jungwon snidely remarked, “Yeah. Thanks for the apology, but that doesn’t change that you’re making us lose.”

You furrowed your eyebrows at him, “You’re acting like this is life or death. It’s just tennis.”

“Yeah, it may be just tennis to you. But some people, of… higher class… take it more seriously than people like you would. So I don’t expect you to understand.”

“People like me?!” You laughed incredulously, surprised at his audacity. You tried your best to keep your voice down to not draw any attention towards you two, but with his attitude, it was difficult.

“Yeah, people like you. Did I stutter?” He asked snarky.

Your words got caught in your mouth- most of the time when people were mean to you, you’d just either ask them what they said (even when you’d heard it) or you’d repeat what they said to you, and that usually made them back off. Clearly this wasn’t the case for Jungwon, though, as he was completely okay with repeating himself and not even thinking twice about what he said to you. You groaned, turning away from him, “You’re not nice.”

“And you’re bad at tennis.”

“At least I’m good at math…” you trailed off, semi-hoping that he wouldn’t hear. You were better than Jungwon when it came to math, and that was a sensitive topic for him. But, if he wanted to ridicule your tennis-playing skills, then you would ridicule his mathematical abilities.

The tennis ball that was being aggressively bounced into the court stopped. You didn’t need to look at Jungwon to know his eyes were boring holes into the back of your head.

“What did you say?” Jungwon seethed out, taking a step closer to you.

“Nothing…” you trailed off, facing him, “it’s just that… I don’t need to be good at tennis. I’m smart.”

“Psh.” Jungwon rolled his eyes at you, “At least my parents can pay for good schooling. Sucks that yours have to mooch off of a scholarship.”

You rolled your eyes back, very slightly raising your voice at him, “Yeah. Imagine your parents having to pay for the same schooling that I get. And I get it for free.”

Before any more words could be exchanged, Wonyoung and Taesan returned with canned drinks, one in each hand for the both of them and for you and Jungwon. Wonyoung smiled, “We brought you guys back something to drink!”

You felt most of your anger dissipate at Wonyoung’s return, smiling at her. She and Taesan entered the courts once again and you met her in the middle, “Thank you.”

“Of course. Taesan also brought something for Jungwon.”

You nodded as she handed you the beverage, cracking it open and taking a drink. The cold liquid felt like a good refresher to the heated argument that was just beginning to unfold minutes ago.

“I’m glad that you and Jungwon seem to be getting along.” Wonyoung commented, nearly making you choke on the drink. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ears, “You guys wouldn’t make a bad couple.”

ii. SO SIT BACK AND WATCH THE BED BURN

You rolled yourself across your twin-sized mattress as you turned to face your two best friends, Minji and Gyuvin. You’d called them over to your family’s apartment to catch up, which was a much needed occasion, as you three hadn’t had much time to talk recently.

Minji and Gyuvin had just entered your bedroom door and stepped into your room, which was littered in posters, pictures, and art. Your room had always been cluttered (or “used to its maximum capacity” as your mother liked to phrase it) like this so your best friends weren’t surprised at anything when they walked in.

“Thanks for knocking.” You sarcastically remarked, pushing yourself onto your forearms to look at them. You watched as your two friends made their ways to the area in front of the foot of your bed, and saw as Minji took a seat on the rug on your floor. Gyuvin opted to take your desk chair and roll it to sit next to Minji, yet be eye-level with you.

“You look stressed,” Gyuvin commented, teasing you, “but what else is new.”

You flopped your face into your bed and let out a muffled and sarcastic, “Ha, ha.”

You heard a smacking sound and then an “Ow!” from Gyuvin. Minji stood up and made you scoot over so she could lay next to you in your bed, “Ignore him. His panties are in a twist right now for some reason.”

You turned your head to the left to look at her for a moment before dramatically flopping back into the mattress.

Minji patted your head, “What’s wrong, Y/N? You’re not usually this dramatic when we come over.”

Gyuvin stifled a laugh before quieting as soon as Minji sent him a pointed look.

You dramatically rolled over to face the ceiling of your room, “Why are boys so horrible?”

“Oh, don’t tell me you have a crush,” Minji groaned, “I’m no good with those.”

“No, no!” You rushed to correct her, not missing how Gyuvin was taunting in the mean time. He sung, “Ooh~ Y/N has a crush!”

“He is not a crush! He’s the worst person I’ve ever met!”

“Come on, Y/N,” Minji poked you, “he can’t be the worst person you’ve ever met. Think about Gyuvin!”

You rolled your eyes at Gyuvin, who was still taunting you with his song, “Gyuvin, shut the hell up!”

You watched as Minji lifted a hand that threatened to fall onto Gyuvin’s exposed thigh, and to which Gyuvin immediately shut up.

“What guy are you talking about?” Minji asked, looking back down at you.

“He’s this guy from the new school. He’s such an asshole to me for no reason. I mean, there might be a reason, but I can’t think of a valid one.”

“What does he do?” Gyuvin pitched in, finally getting his attention piqued from the conversation at hand.

“Like, everything?” You let out, “I’m not even sure where to start.”

“Saying ‘everything’ gives us no idea what this guy does, Y/N.”

You groaned dramatically before filling your friends in on the entire situation with Jungwon:

“I haven’t really told you guys about this guy before,” you started, using your hands to explain your story. Minji nodded as you told your story, while Gyuvin was spinning in his chair endlessly. You continued, “but there’s a guy at the new school, his name is Jungwon. Yang Jungwon.”

“Yang Y/N~” Gyuvin teased. Minji reached over to harshly smack his leg.

You rolled your eyes, “Anyways, he’s basically the worst person I’ve ever met. His dad runs a corporation of local gas stations, so he’s basically filthy rich. I say this because not only is he like every other private school kid that makes fun of my wealth status, but he’s also threatened to sue my parents multiple times. Most of the time he has no reason.

“The reason I’m so particularly upset about him is because I went to my school friends’ country club. You guys remember Wonyoung?” They both nodded, because as Wonyoung was your closest private school friend, of course your actual closest friends knew about her existence.

“Okay,” you said, “so we were at her country club, but her boyfriend and his friend are also there, and you’ll never guess who the friend is! Jungwon!

“He’s an ass to me basically the whole time while I’ve been trying to be nice to him,” you sighed, “I don’t know what his problem is. I didn’t even do anything to him. Anyways, we were partnered up because we were playing doubles tennis at the country club, because Wonyoung wanted to be on the same team as her boyfriend. That’s understandable, and I haven’t held it against her or anything. But he is not only a sore loser, but just a jerk to me.”

Minji nodded in sympathy at you while Gyuvin made his presence known, “Kill him. Easy as that.”

“You’re sick in the head, you know that?” MInji questioned him.

“He’s a private school kid, Y/N.” Gyuvin said, standing up from the chair to stand over you. “I really don’t know what you’re expecting from someone like him. He’s probably never been told ‘No’ in his life.”

“I’m also a private school kid…” you murmured.

“Yeah, but you weren’t brought up that way. He undoubtedly was.” Gyuvin said.

You nodded, “You’re right.”

“Always am.”

“The problem is that it’s my senior year,” you lamented, “and I don’t want it to be bad just because some pest can’t leave me alone. I just don’t know how to get rid of him.”

“You could always drop out.” Gyuvin offered, going to sit back down in the chair.

“That’s a horrible idea,” Minji said, “don’t listen to him. I’m sure that as long as you don’t pay much mind to this Jungwon guy then you’ll be fine. Plus, you have Wonyoung. They’re basically the same height, and she could probably beat him in a fight.”

You laughed, “I don’t know, I like Wonyoung a lot, but she’s basically Ivy Hills royalty. She has a reputation to manage. I’m sure fighting with Jungwon wouldn’t do her much good.”

“I would pay money to see that fight.” Gyuvin announced.

“You’re weird.”

“My mind is an enigma. I wouldn’t expect commonfolk like you to understand.”

iii. JUST SO FRUSTRATING

The halls of Ivy Hills Private Academy never failed to make your head hurt.

The utter abundance of students flooding the halls and blocking every locker at 7:30am was absolutely astounding to you. Not one person there paid any mind to you, and if by chance they did, it was a slight shove or a snarky comment. The bright, fluorescent lights surely didn’t help. You tried your hardest to blend into the background, but even though you were donned in the same uniform as all your peers, somehow you still stuck out like a sore thumb to them. It was almost like they could feel your class difference radiating off of you.

Wonyoung was one of the only people who made you feel normal. The only way that others would treat you kindly was if she was also present, since she was basically the school’s princess. You had just received a text from her that read:

good morning !! do you wanna get some food this weekend? it’s on me :)

You had no idea what your plans were for the weekend; it was only Tuesday after all. But you were sure that as long as you weren’t scheduled to work, you’d be doing nothing else. Besides, Wonyoung was always great to be around. You had yet to respond to her text, needing to not only check your schedule but also run the plans by your parents before you acted on anything. They really liked Wonyoung, so you doubted there would be a problem, but it was always best to check.

You sighed, tucking your phone into your bag while walking to your locker. You were mandated to keep your phone stowed away somewhere, and as a student at the school with a scholarship, you wanted to abide by any rules. You couldn’t risk the possibility of getting the scholarship pulled from you; you didn’t have the privilege to keep the school quiet with monetary bribes like others did. You snapped out of your train of thought and started to unlock your locker to put the majority of your textbooks away. The first class on your schedule was AP Calculus BC, one of the tougher classes at Ivy Hills, but you found it relatively easy.

Of course, it was one of the classes you shared with Jungwon.

It would be okay. You’d just do your best to not get into any quarrels with him.

You left your locker and walked quickly to your Calculus class, wasting no time to converse with others or engage in any sort of interaction with them. The Calculus class was only a hallway down from your locker, but it would still be difficult to get in there quickly with the amount of students crowding the halls. You cradled your school bag in your arms and tried your best to not run into anyone.

The AP Calculus BC teacher was possibly the stingiest educator you’d ever witnessed. She refused to let people turn anything in late, she refused to give extensions, and she refused to accept wrong answers. You’d learned this very early on in her class; one of your female peers forgot to turn her homework packet until the end of the bell, and your teacher almost didn’t even let her turn it in. You were sure she only let the girl turn it in due to the amount of points the packet was worth, and a lack of turning it in would surely result in a failing grade in the class.

You quickly found your assigned seat near the window on the far wall. The sun was still rising above the horizon, and your window seat gave a beautiful view of the sight. The sunlight spilled into the room like a calm water fountain, leaving you smiling without realizing.

Sitting down at your desk, you placed your bag to the right of your seat and opened it to pull out your binder, textbook, calculator, and a pencil. You usually opted to use mechanical pencils, but they’d all somehow gone missing, so you were forced to use a wooden one. You grabbed your pencil sharpener from your bag just to be safe.

As you lifted your head back up, you saw a face that nearly made you jump. It was Yang Jungwon, who happened to have an assigned seat right next to you in this class. Just your luck. It made sense, having the two smartest people in the class next to each other. Your teacher didn’t have to worry about any cheating on tests, at the very least.

Jungwon had one strap of his backpack looped around his right shoulder and the left side was just hanging. He was talking with some friends. You didn’t know their names, yet you were positive that they’d at least called you ‘poor’ once before. Not surprising coming from friends of Jungwon.

You started pulling out a work packet from your binder and flipped to the page in the textbook that the teacher had written on the board: 295. Sure, class hadn’t started yet, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t get ready for it to start. You were eager to finish this last unit; the last month or so of class would be spent reviewing for the AP test. You were nearly positive you’d receive a score of five.

Out of the corner of your eye, you watched Jungwon make his way to his desk, the one to your right. He sneered at your presence, “Already got your stuff out, huh? God, what a nerd.”

Rolling your eyes, you responded, “Thanks. We’re in the same class so that also makes you a nerd.”

“There’s still time until class starts,” he said, “no need to get your stuff out ten minutes early.”

“No need to be a prick ten minutes early. Come bother me during school hours, Jungwon. Give me my ten minutes of peace while I still have them.”

Surprisingly to you, he turned away and stopped himself from snapping back.

Your ten minutes of peace quickly felt like thirty seconds when Jungwon returned to his seat at the beginning of class.

Your teacher had immediately tasked you and your classmates with pairing up with the four people closest to you; your group was you, Jungwon, a girl named Sull Yoona, and another boy named Leehan. The aforementioned two weren’t the kindest to you, but when compared with how Jungwon treated you, you were a dutchess. The groups were assigned to work on the work packet and solve fifteen problems by the end of the class period, which was roughly an hour away. You dreaded what was to come, but sucked it up. Yoona and Leehan were smart enough. Plus, conversations would be minimal anyways.

The answers you all shared majorly coincided with one another, yet there was one — problem 13 — where Jungwon and Leehan got a different answer, and refused to change their answers to fit yours. You didn’t care too much, you were sure that your and Yoona’s answer was the correct one.

“Jungwon,” you tried to reason, “the question isn’t asking for the distance traveled. It’s asking for the displacement.”

“I’m not listening to you, Y/N.” He huffed, “You tried to tell us that the last question’s answer was that the limit does not exist.”

“Okay,” you admitted, “I made a calculation error. But I’m sure that I’m right about this one.”

“I don’t care. We’ll see who’s right at the end of class.”

Another fifteen minutes passed and there was ten minutes left of class, and as most of your classmates had finished, your teacher called on a different group for each problem to answer and explain how they got what they did.

When the teacher got to question 13, it was your group’s turn to answer. Jungwon immediately stepped up to the question. His answer, which he announced confidently, was “8 meters”.

Your teacher frowned at Jungwon, “That is not the correct answer. Can someone else from the group answer differently? And maybe correctly this time? How about Y/N?”

You smiled at your teacher, “I got -5 1/3 meters.”

“That is correct. Thank you, Y/N.”

You didn’t miss how Jungwon gave you a nasty side eye when you answered correctly. The teacher quickly moved onto the next group with question 14.

Wanting to push his buttons slightly more, you leaned to your right and whispered, “I hope you realize I got into this school for a reason.”

iv. YOU CALL THE SHOTS

It was now Saturday: the day that Wonyoung had asked you to get food with her. Over the week you’d agreed to go get lunch with her on Saturday, and decided on a locally owned Italian restaurant to eat at.

It was a complete shock to you to find out that Taesan and Jungwon were also going to be at this lunch.

Wonyoung didn’t tell you, and you were sure there was no malicious intent, but the irony of this happening to you twice was slowly chipping away at your sanity.

When you arrived at the restaurant to find Jungwon and Taesan already waiting for you two, you fought every urge in your body to roll your eyes at Jungwon’s presence.

“You’re here!” Taesan called once he laid his eyes on Wonyoung. He embraced her quickly before turning to you, “Hello, Y/N. Great seeing you too.” There were no hints of sarcasm in his words, but you weren’t sure how great you felt seeing him. Not like you hated Taesan, but the growth that followed him around (Jungwon) definitely didn’t make you happy.

As if on cue, the host came back with menus and led the four of you to your table. When Wonyoung had mentioned food, you made the wrong assumption of going somewhere casual; the fact that Wonyoung was filthy rich somehow slipped your mind. There was no way you could afford most of the items they sold here, but since Wonyoung was paying, you let yourself relax a bit.

Wonyoung and Taesan were the two that are following closest behind the host, leaving you and Jungwon to be the last two in the group. You tried your best to slightly trail behind him, not wanting any altercations (especially in front of Wonyoung), but to your dismay, Jungwon had other plans in mind.

He slowed his pace just slightly to make a little snarky remark, “I hope you know that if Wonyoung wasn’t your wallet, you’d never step foot in any place like this.”

His words hurt, but it wasn’t anything that you weren’t already used to. You ignored him and picked up your pace slightly.

When you reached the table, Wonyoung and Taesan (unsurprisingly) chose to sit next to each other, leaving you and Jungwon to occupy the remaining seats. You braced yourself for what you thought would be a peaceful lunch turning into a living Hell.

Lunch, shockingly, went a lot smoother than you had anticipated it would be. Jungwon mostly kept his comments under wraps, and nothing he said was hurtful enough to actually provoke you into retorting with something potentially worse.

Near the end of the meal, Wonyoung excused herself to go to the bathroom. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to finally be able to talk to her without the boys around, you leapt up and joined her.

Once in the bathroom, Wonyoung immediately went into a stall while you stood in front of the luxurious sink. You adjusted your clothes and some of your makeup while she occupied herself.

Once the toilet flushed and you were sure there wasn’t anyone else in the bathroom, you spoke up and finally popped a question to Wonyoung:

“Can I ask you something?”

Wonyoung emerged from the stall and walked to the sink next to the one you occupied. She turned on the water, “Sure, what’s up?”

“How come you haven’t been telling me when Jungwon and Taesan will be joining us at stuff? I don’t mind it all too much, but I feel like I’m being led into it blindfolded instead.”

“Oh, I-” she stopped herself, an indecipherable look on her face. She finished washing her hands and turned to you, “I’m sorry about not telling you, first of all. I’ll make sure to be more transparent about it in the future.”

“Thank you,” you said, “but my question is why are they there all the time? I understand Taesan; that’s your boyfriend. But Jungwon and I have no relation outside of being the assumed valedictorian and salutatorian of our graduating class.”

“Well,” Wonyoung smiled, “Taesan and I just think you guys are so cute together. Like, not only are you both geniuses, but you’re also both Taesan’s and my respective closest friends!”

You tilted your head, wanting her to continue.

“Listen, Y/N.” She grabbed your hand, her cold and dainty hands wrapping themselves around your right one. She smiled genuinely, “You’ve just been able to help me so much, so I want to return the favor! You deserve someone like Jungwon. He’s smart, he’s a gentleman, his dad has a lot of power, he’s athletic.”

You pursed your lips at her.

“Plus,” she continued, “with you two being the most intelligent students in the school, can you imagine the cute study dates? I’m just getting giddy thinking about it!!”

“Wonyoung…” you started carefully, “I think I’m okay. I should probably worry more about school than any potential relationship right now anyways.”

“If you say so,” Wonyoung removed her hands from yours, “but I’m still rooting for this. The second you tell me to back off, I will, but for now, Taesan and I are going to try to help you two from the sidelines.”

v. HOPE YOU DON’T REGRET IT

The following day, you, Minji, and Gyuvin were all situated at Minji’s house, in her living room. Minji was sitting in an armchair, Gyuvin was on the sofa, and you were sprawled out on the floor, in yet another dramatic mood.

You recapped your two best friends on the incidental Saturday lunch, not missing any details. Starting from the presence of Jungwon, and especially up to the comment Wonyoung made about you two getting together. The whole entire story was crazy to you and reliving it through your storytelling made you almost shiver in fear.

“And she went, ‘we will help you from the sidelines’,” you lamented, “like who says that?! I get that she has no idea about the rivalry, but he and I aren’t even cute together. He’s short.”

Gyuvin let out a hearty laugh at your comment, “Y/N, if he’s short, then you are also short.”

“Besides the point!”

“Your life does not even sound real,” Minji said, “and it’s so hard to not laugh, I’m sorry.”

You groaned from your spot on the floor, sending Minji a side eye, “Is my life some joke to you two?!”

“A little bit.” Gyuvin laughed out.

You rolled your eyes and flipped over onto your stomach, “This is so not funny.”

“Have you thought about just telling Wonyoung to back off?” Minji asked.

“Yeah, I have, thanks.” You replied to her sarcastically. You craned your neck to look at your best friend, “I haven’t done it because I know for a fact she would ask why. And I don’t wanna get into all of that, especially because her boyfriend is best friends with the devil in question.”

Minji snorted, “You two should just fake date. That’d get Wonyoung to back off.”

You immediately sat up, “Are you crazy?! Absolutely not!”

Gyuvin agreed from his spot, “Minji has a point. Maybe you two could even become friends along the way.”

Shaking your head profusely, you shot a look at Gyuvin, then at Minji, “You guys are crazy.”

“What if,” Minji proposed, “you did it for money? You just told us about how your workplace is shutting down. Plus, you need the money. You’re broke as fuck.”

“Ouch.”

“She’s right, I hate to admit it.” Gyuvin said, shrugging.

“Oh, absolutely not. I may be broke but not broke enough to date Yang Jungwon, even if it’s fake.”

“How about this?” Gyuvin challenged, “If you can successfully fake date this guy until your pretentious-ass Ivy Hills Ball dance in a couple weeks, I’ll give you $50. But only if you also go to the dance with him.”

“It’s like you want me to kill myself.”

“I’ll also give you $50.” Minji said, raising her eyebrows.

The Ivy Hills Ball dance was essentially a more talked-up prom, but from what you’d heard, it was held in an old music hall and the funding was insane. To have that experience be ruined by having Jungwon as a date did not sound enticing in the slightest, but $100 dollars did.

Plus, Gyuvin was right. It would only be a couple weeks.

“You guys drive a hard fucking bargain, I hate you two.”

“Damn,” Gyuvin laughed, “your ass really is broke. $100 to date your alleged enemy, and you’re sold.”

“I haven’t agreed!” You reasoned, trying to defend yourself.

“We both know you will, Y/N.” Minji cocked an eyebrow.

“I really, really hate you two.”

vi. YOU GAVE A KICK, I GAVE A SLAP

Any consideration you had towards fake dating Jungwon was almost thrown out the window on the next Wednesday.

It was your AP Physics bell, which, surprise, was shared with Jungwon.

After almost trying to embarrass you in front of the class (yet luckily failing), you had to fight every urge inside to not curse him out right in that moment.

You breathed heavily out at him, “Jungwon, if you keep bothering Hanni and I, we’ll never finish this lab. And neither will you.”

“You say that like you’re smart enough to finish this lab even if I wasn’t bothering you.”

You didn’t miss how Hanni immediately widened her eyes and focused her attention back onto her lab notebook. Other classmates’ attention was caught from Jungwon’s loud comment, making your face flush a bright red.

Breathing out heavily, you sent Jungwon the most nasty look you could muster. Blinking once at him, “Shut up, Yang. Shut up for once in your goddamn life.”

Jungwon cocked an eyebrow at you, slightly smirking. He placed down his pencil, “Why don’t you make me?”

You started at him, not breaking eye contact. Of course you couldn’t ‘make him’ shut up, but that wouldn’t stop you from trying to kill him with your gaze.

“That’s what I thought,” he remarked, “all bark but no bite. Typical Y/N.”

“You’re the worst person I’ve ever met.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

vii. AND I CAN’T LOOK YOU IN THE EYES

The following weekend, you found yourself at Wonyoung’s mansion with Taesan and Jungwon. This time, Wonyoung had warned you that Jungwon and Taesan would be present, yet you still decided to go. Because who was Yang Jungwon to dictate when you could and couldn’t hang out with Wonyoung?

Wonyoung had recently opened her pool back up and invited the three of you over to be the first to swim in it. You happily accepted, having no other plans for the day and promising yourself that you wouldn’t let Jungwon’s presence bother you.

While in the pool, you kept letting your mind drift to the bet that Minji and Gyuvin had proposed to you earlier that week. The $100 sounded really appealing, and potentially getting Wonyoung off your back about getting you and Jungwon together would also be nice.

Noticing your distancing, Wonyoung swam up to you, “What’s wrong? Is everything okay?”

You snapped out of your thoughts and looked at her, “Yeah, yeah. Everything’s fine, just thinking.”

She nodded at you while you pondered whether taking a break inside would be good to clear your mind for the time being. You decided that at the moment, that seemed best. You spoke again, “Actually, I think I’m gonna go inside to get a drink. Is that okay?”

“Yeah,” she smiled, “of course. Make sure to dry off well before you go in though.”

You nodded at her, watching her swim away back to Taesan while you swam to the pool steps and got out. You quickly found your towel and sandals, then went to the door that led back into the house.

You wrapped the towel around your shoulders and dried your feet on the bath mat that the Jangs had outside their home. Opening the door, you took one last look at the three in the pool, accidentally locking eyes with Jungwon. You furrowed your eyebrows and entered the house.

You entered the house of your friend and approached the kitchen where there was lemon water waiting in a pitcher. Of course, the rich family drank lemon water. You put ice into your newly found cup and sighed. While pouring yourself a glass, you heard the back door open and close again, signifying someone was also coming inside the house. You hoped it was Wonyoung, or even Taesan, but you were disappointed when you saw Jungwon’s figure walk towards the kitchen.

At his presence, your mind came back to the bet. You really needed the money right now, and getting Wonyoung off your back about him would also be a major plus.

Jungwon strode his way into the kitchen, passing you to grab a can of what appeared to be some seltzer water. His hair was still wet and his body was damp, him having done an obviously half-assed job at drying himself off. His towel was wrapped around his waist, but what drew you in was his body. Had he always had this attractive of a figure?

“I think you have a staring problem.” He said, smirking at you and making you snap out of your daze. You cleared your throat and felt heat rise to your cheeks.

“I don’t,” you clarified, “I was just… spacing out.”

“Sure.”

A layer of silence fell over the two of you, you avoiding looking at Jungwon in order to not inflate his ego any further. Your mind went back to the bet. Would this be an appropriate time?

You quickly decided, fuck it, and cleared your throat once more to get his attention, “Jungwon.”

He rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated breath through his nose, but answered, “What?”

“I, um,” you tried to find the words, “I have a really.. interesting.. hypothetical for you. Could be good, could be bad, just- a hypothetical.”

He raised an eyebrow at you questioningly, “Go on…”

“So,” you got a hold of yourself finally. This was just Jungwon you were talking to; if he declined your suggestion to the bet, you’d live. You looked at him, “I can’t be the only one that’s being bothered by Wonyoung and Taesan about the two of us getting together, right?”

Jungwon paused but then answered, “You aren’t.”

“Okay,” you continued, “so I recently saw some of my closest friends and they know about the whole thing. They came up with the proposal for you and I to fake date. Before you say anything, I’m not exactly thrilled either, but I think it would work. I’m sure you’re not too happy to be forced to be around me all the time either.”

“I feel like there’s an ulterior motive here,” Jungwon replied, “so tell me what it is you’re gaining out of this.”

“Getting Wonyoung off my back, of course. I also may be getting paid $100 by my friends to fake date you.”

“Why would you be getting paid?” He asked, crossing his arms.

“They know we don’t like each other, so they think it’s funny. They said if we successfully date until the dance, I’ll get the money.”

“This sounds really stupid.” Jungwon said, disgusted.

“I’ll give you half the money,” you offered, “I promise.”

Jungwon scoffed, “You think I need the money? Funny joke.”

You rolled your eyes, “Okay, rich boy,” you started walking back towards the door that went to the pool, “whatever. As long as you’re fine with Wonyoung and Taesan never leaving us alone, then suit yourself.”

You stopped in your tracks, turning over your shoulder to finish your ment:

“I didn’t expect you of all people to say yes, anyway.”

You watched as Jungwon cocked an eyebrow, his tongue prodding his cheek. He swallowed, taking quick steps toward you before you could open the door.

“Y/N,” he said, suddenly sounding challenged, “wait. Let’s discuss this.”

viii. IT’S JUST WHAT YOU DO

The following Monday, you were sat next to Jungwon in your Calculus class, supposedly listening to a lecture. Having not discussed the concrete rules with Jungwon yet, you decided that passing him a note to ask about if talking them through after class would be alright with him.

You ripped a corner off of your notebook paper and quickly scribbled down:

Hey. Do u wanna discuss the rules after class?

As discreetly as possible, you tapped Jungwon on the sleeve of his uniform and when he turned his head, you handed him the note. He gave you a wide-eyed look but grabbed the paper anyway.

You turned your head back to your teacher, but moments later your attention was taken by Jungwon, who had tapped on your arm instead this time. You read his handwriting:

What rules

Was he dumb? How he could be so good at math but so socially unaware was astonishing to you.

You flipped the small piece of paper once and wrote your response:

For fake dating? We need to establish rules. Unless you’ve already chickened out …

You passed the slip back to Jungwon.

Within seconds, he handed the paper back to you. His response read:

I didn’t chicken out. We don’t have much time between classes but as long as you’re fine walking the same way as me we can do it then. Make it quick though. I don’t want to be seen with you if I don’t have to be.

You stifled a laugh, and quickly wrote back:

You agreed to this, man. You’re gonna have to get used to being seen with me anyways

Jungwon read your written message and rolled his eyes. He crumpled the paper up and shoved it somewhere in his bag, never to be seen again.

Minutes later, the bell rang. You packed up your items and waited for Jungwon to finish packing his up so you could leave the class. Once finished, he started, “So?”

“Let’s walk and talk,” you said, leading the way. Jungwon was quickly on your heels. You shrugged, “the hallways will be too loud for people to overhear anyway.”

Jungwon nodded and speedily made his way next to your side in the hallway. You were right, not only was it loud, but no one would be paying any mind to you two anyway. At least hopefully.

“First off, if anyone asks, from this moment on, you and I are dating, okay?”

Jungwon breathed out a little sigh and pursed his lips, “Yep. Let’s get onto the rules now. We’ve only got so much time.”

“Okay,” you started, “first rule: this only goes until the dance. We’ll go to the dance as each other’s dates, and after that, we can ‘break up’.”

For once in his life, Jungwon agreed with you, “Sounds fine to me.”

“Great. Have any ideas for rule two?”

“Uh…” he paused, trailing off in thought. “Hm. Who is allowed to know that we’re fake dating?”

“I mean, ideally no one. But because my two other friends know, I feel like as long as it’s someone you trust that’s not close with Wonyoung or Taesan then it should be fine for you to tell them. I can’t control what you do, though, so do whatever you want, I guess.”

“Okay,” he said, “so rule two: keep it on the down-low.”

You nodded your head at him, “I have a suggestion for rule three.”

“Go ahead.”

“We can do some PDA, but kissing is unnecessary.”

“Sounds good.”

“Okay,” you continued, “rule four: if we need to ‘break up’ for any serious reason before the dance, that’s okay. We just need to let the other person know before we stage a break up.”

Jungwon nodded again, then turned his head to the left, “My class is over this way. We can message later about this.”

“Okay, see you.”

Jungwon walked into the classroom on the left and within moments, Wonyoung made her way to your side.

“Where did you come from?” You asked, surprised at her presence.

“I was walking behind you this whole time. Since when did you start going this way?”

You shrugged, “Since now.”

She painted a cheeky smile on her face, “And?”

“And what?”

“Don’t think I didn’t see you walking with Jungwon, Y/N! What was that about?!”

You feigned innocence, “Oh, nothing. Y��know.”

“I don’t,” she said, smiling widely, “I really don’t. Spill.”

“Well,” you replied, “I dunno, what do you think?”

“I think you two should date.”

You offered no response and just let your face form into a smile. Wonyoung’s eyes widened at you, “Y/N L/N. Don’t tell me.”

“Tell you what?” You responded with a smirk.

“There’s no way!” She freaked out, “You guys are dating?!”

“Possibly.”

“Y/N! I’m so happy!” Wonyoung smiled at you and grabbed your hand and gave it a squeeze. This was the most excited you’d ever seen her.

“I am too.” You said, “Could you maybe keep it on the down-low for now though? It’s really new.”

“Yeah, of course! Can I tell Taesan?”

“Go ahead, yeah,” you smiled at her, “I think he’d be pretty stoked too.”

Wonyoung pulled out her phone to text her boyfriend and a small silence settled between you two. Wonyoung was the first to break the silence once she sent the message:

“So, I was right about you two being cute together.”

You laughed, “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Wonyoung.”

ix. MAKE UP YOUR MIND

It was already a week and a half into the fake relationship and you felt like your sanity was slowly slipping away from you.

Jungwon played soccer all year long, you’d learned, and you’d started going to his games and practices. Aside from the practices as a whole being excruciatingly boring, the games weren’t bad at all. You had to admit, Jungwon was good at what he did. He had four practices during the week and two on the weekend. In the time since you’d started going to see Jungwon outside of school hours, you’d learned that he could be tolerable sometimes. Emphasis on ‘sometimes’.

You’d also learned that he was a very good actor. His teammates immediately accepted you as Jungwon’s girlfriend, and as a result, you’d earned an honorific position on the team.

It definitely helped that you could make small talk and pre-event plans when Jungwon drove you places in his expensive car. His car was probably more expensive than your family’s whole apartment.

But here you were, sitting on the bleachers at around 7pm on Tuesday night, watching Jungwon and his teammates practice. There were only about fifteen minutes left of practice, and then you were free to go home and potentially regret every decision you’d ever made.

The bright lights of the field were giving you a headache and you weren’t sure how much longer you’d be able to handle this. You took a look at where Jungwon was located on the field, taking note of his focused face as he listened to his coach. Jungwon was one of the better players on the team, and it was evident to you because of the way he talked so passionately about the game. You hated to admit, but it was nice to see him talk so fondly about something for once rather than make unprovoked mean comments towards you.

Around five minutes later, Jungwon and the team suddenly dispersed from their coach and walked towards their bags. You rested your chin on your hand and watched his figure start making its way towards you. He slung his bag over his shoulder and jogged slowly to your spot on the bleachers.

Once he reached the barrier between you and the field, he sighed, “Hey.”

“Hi,” you said, “how was practice?”

Ever since you’d started ‘dating’ Jungwon, you’d made a point to try (at the very least) to be kind to him, even if it wasn’t in front of other people. You hoped that maybe through being kind to him, it might make him be kind back. Hopefully that would make the whole fake dating process a whole lot easier.

“It was fine,” he was short with his answer, yet not necessarily cold for once, “I’m tired.”

“You look like it.” You stood up from your spot on the bleachers and walked towards the barrier to meet Jungwon in the middle.

He checked his watch, “It’s good that we got out early. I have a shit ton of Calc work to do.”

Walking out from behind the barrier, you met Jungwon. He started walking to his car and you quickly followed.

“The packet?” You questioned, picking up the pace to match with his.

You and all your classmates had your work packet that was due the following day, which was Friday. You had already finished the packet a couple days ago and had turned it into your teacher, wanting to get it off of your mind if it was out of your sight.

“Yeah,” he said, “do you have the answers?”

“I don’t have them, no,” you admitted, “I already turned my packet.”

“Shit,” he quietly exclaimed, “I don’t know how to do most of them.”

“Oh,” you replied, “I do. I’m sorry that I don’t have answers.”

“It’s fine,” he rolled his eyes.

Suddenly, it looked like Jungwon got an idea.

He turned to you, “Wait. Are you doing anything after this?”

You racked your brain to think of anything, but nothing came to mind. You turned to look at him, “No, I don’t think so.”

“Do you wanna come over and help me?”

“To your house?” You questioned.

“Yeah,” he said, confused, “where else?”

“Oh,” you said, surprised, “are you sure you’d want me there?”

“It’s fine,” he replied, “it’s just this once.”

“I mean I guess so…” you pondered, “I don’t know. It’s a school night.”

Jungwon checked his watch again, “It’s only 7:09, I don’t think it should be too bad. Unless you have a curfew?”

“I don’t…” you admitted, “I guess I could help you. But I don’t want to make you drive me there and then have to drive me all the way back home. You already picked me up, plus it’s out of the way for you.”

“Consider me driving you as a payment for you helping me… I really need the help, and would appreciate it. You’re smart.”

For the first time ever, Jungwon complimented you. It left you in a state of shock, to put it simply; you had never expected to hear Jungwon compliment you, even while fake dating.

“Thanks,” you said, “I’ll help you.”

He said nothing more as the two of you finally reached his car. He loaded his soccer bag into the back of the car and opened the drivers side door, beckoning for you to do the same.

“I don’t live far from here,” he started the car, “so it’ll be a quick drive.”

You nodded in your spot while Jungwon reversed out of his parking spot. He shifted the car into drive and quickly pulled out of the school parking lot.

Like Jungwon said, the drive was extremely quick. It was only around three minutes, so Jungwon didn’t even bother putting on the radio. He opted instead to roll down the window and not speak.

You really shouldn’t have been surprised by Jungwon’s family estate. Given just by how much money his car seemed to cost, the grandeur of his home should not have come as a shock to you. But it still did.

The gate at the beginning of the driveway seemed inviting; it looked purposefully worn down. The somewhat dingy look of something that was probably not even a year old welcomed you in, in a sense.

The driveway looked freshly paved, the black color not ever changing from erosion. There wasn’t a single crack in the pavement, and it was lined with white pillars that had lamp light illuminating from the top.

Further up the driveway, you could see four other cars. Thinking about the total cost of all the vehicles combined sent a shiver down your spine.

The house itself, which was to the left, could barely even get by being called a “house”. It was easily more than ten times the size of your family’s apartment, and if not for the trees that surrounded it, you’d assume it was a lot taller than it actually was.

The brick was white and the front of the house had pillars driving up and down to support a black roof. The lights in the house were off, giving a stark contrast to the otherwise homely feel of the entrance.

Jungwon pulled the car into the parking spot closest to the house. Once parked, he loaded himself out and went to the back seat to grab his soccer gear.

“No one’s home but us,” he said, “but my parents have cameras everywhere, so we’ll go through the garage. Leave your shoes on the doormat.”

Jungwon led you through the garage, then into the large kitchen, followed by a large living space. He then flipped on a light switch and walked you to the foyer, which was a high-ceilinged room with white walls and stairs that cascaded towards the second floor. The balcony of the second floor overlooked the foyer, and there was a large chandelier hung at the top of the ceiling.

Jungwon beckoned you towards the hardwood steps, “My room’s upstairs.”

Your attention was brought away from the chandelier and you followed as Jungwon ascended the steps towards his room. At the top of the steps, there was a hallway that extended both left and right, and there was also the other side of the balcony.

This side of the balcony overlooked a different living space, but you didn’t get a good look at it before Jungwon tried to disappear out of your sight towards the right hand side of the hallway.

He passed by a few rooms with closed doors before opening the door to the final one on the right. Jungwon walked in first and left the door open for you to enter.

His room was just as large as you anticipated it to be, with large windows on two sides of the room and a king-sized mattress in the corner of the space. You bit back any comments about the size of his bed; he was a short man, why did he need that much space?

Jungwon turned on the lamp next to his bed and dropped his soccer bags at the foot of the bedframe. His backpack was lying right in front of the bedside table, already opened. You could assume that he’d already tried to start the Calculus work yet failed. Hence why you’d needed to come over to help.

Jungwon sat on the edge of the bed and pulled his backpack onto it. You stood very awkwardly in front of him, not sure what to do; you were almost waiting for instruction from him.

Jungwon scooted back on the bed with his backpack to make room for you. He beckoned towards the now empty seat for you to sit on. You carefully sat on the edge of the bed, not even turning your knees to face his body.

“You look really weird right now.” Here came back the Jungwon you were used to, the one who threw out any sort of comment he could at you.

“I’m sorry,” you said, turning back to him, “I’m trying to be cautious. I’m afraid you might insult me if I so much as lay a finger on your comforter.”

Jungwon, without you noticing, rolled his eyes. He sighed, “You can sit further back on my bed. I don’t bite.”

“I just don’t believe you, to be honest.” You remarked back at him.

Sighing again, albeit more frustratedly this time, Jungwon caught you by surprise by grabbing your wrist closest to him and slightly tugging you further back on his bed.

“I don’t care if you don’t believe me,” he said, “I need your help. I won’t bite so long as you’re helping me.”

You finally turned to face him, taking note of how much closer you two were sat now that he had pulled your wrist. You looked down at his hand still wrapped around your wrist. He quickly removed his hand.

Adjusting yourself, you turned to face Jungwon on his bed, watching him pull out a binder, a pencil, and a calculator. He opened the binder, searching for a familiar white packet: the same one that’d you’d turned in earlier that week.

You tucked a piece of hair behind your ear and leaned over slightly to look at the problem that he was caught on. Jungwon noticed how you were sat across from him, and thereby couldn’t properly read the problem. He scooted his body more to the left of you and moved his binder so you could read.

The problem that Jungwon had attempted last had lots and lots of erased pencil marks all over it; he had clearly been struggling with it. You remembered also struggling with the same problem, but not nearly as much as he did.

“So this is one of the ones you’re struggling with?” You questioned, looking at him.

“Yeah,” he rolled his eyes, “I feel like she made this a lot harder than it should’ve been.”

“I had a hard time with this one, too, if it makes you feel any better.” You reassured him. Motioning to his calculator, you continued, “Why don’t you walk me through the steps of what you’re doing? Then I can show you what I did.”

Roughly fifteen minutes later and there were still eraser marks decorating the paper, yet not nearly as much as there were before. Jungwon was still confused, but had successfully worked through half of the problem he was caught on.

Jungwon groaned for what seemed like the hundredth time when you caught another mistake of his, “This is so stupid.”

“Hey,” you laughed, “I’m just trying to help you.”

“You know I didn’t mean you.”

There it was again, another positive comment from Jungwon, and this one sent a special beat through your heart. You chalked it up to just being not used to this side of Jungwon, not anything more.

“It’s okay,” you reassured, “I told you that I also struggled with this one. It’s not you, it’s the problem.”

You weren’t sure what came over you, but with the sudden kindness from Jungwon, you felt the need to return the gesture.

“I know,” he groaned, “I know. I just want to finish this problem. I have like four more to do that are the exact same thing.”

Jungwon flopped back on his bed, covering his face with his hands. You slightly laughed at the boy; all that big, tough act just for him to crumble at a math problem.

“Why are you laughing?” Jungwon whined, not amused. He removed his hands from his face to look at you.

“I’m not,” you tried concealing your laughter, “I’m not. I swear.”

“You’re laughing at me,” he said, “I’m about to drop out of school and you’re laughing at me.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” you replied, “it’s just one math problem. Wanna take a break with me?”

“…Maybe.”

You got off of Jungwon’s bed and started, “Come on, get up.”

“Actually, changed my mind, I’d rather die here than take a break with you.”

Though his words seemed harsh, you could tell there were hints of joking in his tone. You smiled naturally at him, “Fine, be like that. I’ll just leave.”

“You don’t have a ride home, need I remind you.”

“But I have a phone,” you teased, pulling your phone out of your pocket, “and I have people I can call. Like Gyuvin or Minji.”

Jungwon sat up finally, tilting his head at you, “Who are they?”

You didn’t even realize that you’d mentioned your childhood friends with Jungwon; you had been so oddly comfortable in the moment that you’d just let their names leave your mouth.

“Oh, uh-” you started, looking down, “just, uh, friends from my old school.”

You braced yourself for him to make fun of your ‘poor’ friends as usual, but nothing came from his direction of the room. You looked back up at him to find him with the same expression he’d had while asking you about them.

“What did you want to take a break for?” He inquired.

“Oh, I didn’t need it,” you said, “I thought you might’ve needed it.”

“Oh.”

A blanket of silence temporarily fell over the room until Jungwon broke the quiet atmosphere, “Didn’t know you had it in you to be so caring.”

“Maybe you’d know if you didn’t try to get under my skin all the time,” you remarked, with hints of teasing, “I’m actually quite the caring person, you’d be surprised.”

“I’m not.”

You had no time to process what he’d said before he spoke again:

“Let’s get back to work. I need to focus so you don’t stay here any longer than you have to.”

And just like that, Jungwon was back to his normal self.

x. I ALMOST SAID “I LOVE YOU”

The next following weeks that were leading up to the dance passed quicker in a blur than you’d like to admit they had; it seemed like just yesterday you had started fake-dating Jungwon, but in actuality it was coming up on around a month and a half.

In the time that you two had been “dating”, you’d become familiar with the soccer team, had gone to his house on multiple occasions, and even met his mother once.

Another uncertain familiarity had also made itself known: you were beginning to get used to being with Jungwon.

There had been many different occasions in which you’d felt yourself especially having let your walls down to the boy, and as more weeks passed of being “together”, the moments became much more frequent.

In particular, the last week had been particularly eventful for you.

The first strange event had occurred on Tuesday evening, when Jungwon, Wonyoung, Taesan, and you had all gone to the mall after school. Wonyoung was in need of some sort of new fur jacket for a family company event, or so she said. You had tagged along to help her find something suitable to wear, and she had told you that it was of the utmost importance that you were with her.

Taesan had joined because he wanted to pay for Wonyoung’s coat, being the caring boyfriend that he was. Taesan had also extended to invite to Jungwon to create the illusion of a double date.

While Wonyoung was in the fitting room of an expensive French store with a name you couldn’t even try to pronounce, Taesan had told you that he would hold onto the current items you had in hand and told you to try find some more different ones on the other side of the store. You happily obliged, loving the feeling of window shopping in a place you could never afford.

To your surprise, Jungwon had joined you without you asking or Taesan offering the idea to him.

The two of you quickly found yourselves in the coat designated area of the store, and you told Jungwon that you two should divide and conquer.

He listened to you, and set off in the opposite direction of where you were.

The first coat that caught your eye was cream colored, with what felt like a velvet inside and a chiffon outside. The sleeves and collar were decorated with what you could only guess was arctic fox fur. You loved Wonyoung, but you had a hard time getting behind her family’s necessity of wearing animal fur. It sent a shiver down your spine.

Looking at the price tag, it read $1,205. Your jaw slightly dropped, forgetting how truly expensive it was in there. You grabbed the jacket nonetheless, and started to make your way to try and find Jungwon.

Out of the corner of your eye, a glint of diamond found you.

You knew that you should have been getting back to Wonyoung.

But one look wouldn’t hurt, right?

You stalked your way up to the glass display slowly and spotted the most gorgeous pairs of earrings you’d ever seen in your entire lifetime. Next to the diamond pair that’d initially caught your eye, there was a beautiful silver chained necklace with what appeared to be a green gemstone encased in the center. It had to be the most beautiful thing you’d ever seen.

The employee noticed your wonder and walked over to speak to you.

“Hello,” the middle aged woman started, “see anything that you like, sweetheart?”

“Oh, uh-” you were startled, “Sorry. I was just looking.”

“I understand. We have a wonderful selection of jewelry. Are you looking at anything in particular?”

You shook your head, “No, um, I can’t. I’m here with a friend. This is way out of my price range.”

“I see, dear,” she said, pulling her glasses down from her head and placing them on her nose, “but that’s not what I was asking. Which one caught your eye?”

“Oh,” you laughed awkwardly, “I liked the diamond earrings a lot. The necklace with the small green gemstone is what kept me staring, though.”

“That’s a very popular one, the green gemstone. It’s a Colombian emerald.”

“It’s absolutely beautiful. If I had a job like this, I’d just spend all day looking at all the jewelry.”

The lady nodded, “As do I now.”

Suddenly, Jungwon appeared behind you, slightly startling you. You whipped around to see what seemed to be a concerned look.

“Hi,” you said, “I found something for Wonyoung.”

“I can see that,” he responded, looking down at the coat, then back at you, “but I was hoping more for you to find me. Taesan messaged me, asking where we were, because Wonyoung is still ‘hopeless’.”

“Oh,” you stuttered, “I got distracted. Thank you,” you turned to the woman as you started walking away, “and sorry about that,” you looked at Jungwon, “I got really distracted.”

“Yeah,” he slightly laughed, “I could have told you that. You should’ve answered your phone, I was worried.”

He was worried?

“You texted me?” You asked him.

Jungwon was worried?

“And called.”

Jungwon said he was worried.. about you. Weird.

You tried to ignore the slight skip in your heartbeat as you walked with him back to the fitting rooms.

xi. TO SIP IT SLOWLY

The next strange occurrence was the following Thursday night.

As a celebratory event, Jungwon’s soccer team decided to have a party in honor of their hard work (and just to party).

It was no surprise that a group of boys like Jungwon’s soccer team would host an obnoxious party. It reminded you of the ones that came out of movies; there was plenty of underaged drinking, it was too loud, and shitty music was blasting from a speaker that was a room over.

The party was in full swing by the time that you had arrived, which was about an hour after it was said to have started. The reason for your tardiness could have been chalked up to one person only: Gyuvin. As an apology for him causing you to be late, he offered to drive you to the location where the party was being held.

You had tried texting Jungwon multiple times on your way to the party, but, to no avail, he didn’t answer. This alone nearly caused you to forget about even showing up.

You sent him one last text — “just arrived. Wya?” — before leaving Gyuvin’s car and walking up the lawn of the house. While you went to the door (alone), you repeatedly checked your phone to see if Jungwon had messaged you back:

No.

The front door was unlocked when you reached it, and the foyer was empty. From a couple rooms away, you could hear music being blasted from a speaker. Hoping for the best, you decided to follow your gut and head that way.

The music was coming from the basement, which was down a hall then through a door that led to a flight of stairs. As you approached closer and closer to the basement door, you braced yourself for the potential of going deaf.

With still no text back from Jungwon, you opened the door and began walking down the stairs towards the main event of the party.

The first girl to acknowledge your presence was a girl named Noh Yunah, who was best friends with the girl who hosted the party: Park Minju. Minju was in a long term relationship with Anton Lee, the head captain of the team.

“Hey,” Yunah started, “you’re Y/N, right?”

“Yeah,” you made your way to stand next to her. Yelling over the music, you continued, “I am. You’re Noh Yunah?”

“I am!” Yunah smiled at you. “Where’s Jungwon?”

You slightly flushed at the sound of his name. You forgot that everyone here was in relation to the soccer team somehow, so of course they’d only know you as Jungwon’s girlfriend.

“Beats me,” you laughed, “I texted him earlier but he didn’t respond.”

“Weird,” Yunah responded, “I’m pretty sure that he was talking about you earlier. I just assumed that you two would have shown up together.”

“Yeah,” you said. Looking past Yunah, you couldn’t see anyone that resembled Jungwon. Sighing, you continued, “I had plans beforehand though. They unfortunately made me late.”

“Girl, I understand,” she laughed, “I hate these stupid parties most of the time. If I had other plans, I’d rather be there. Unfortunately, everyone that I’m friends with is here. I’m just glad there’s another girl.”

Suddenly, Park Minju made herself known from beside Yunah. She smiled, “I’m so relieved that you came, Y/N. Jungwon never stops talking about you at lunch. I needed to meet you finally so he would shut up.”

You laughed awkwardly, not sure if she was being nice or if it was a backhanded compliment. Either way, both girls were right; it was a complete relief to have other girls there.

But their behavior kind of puzzled you, too. Had the three of you been in a school setting, they probably wouldn’t have looked twice at you. If they did, it probably would’ve been to make a snarky comment.

Okay, maybe you were being too harsh on these girls. You’d never met them before.

But, in the same breath, you could never truly be too sure about Ivy Hills students.

Minju looked at your awkward stance, then laughed, “Do you want a drink?”

“Oh,” you started, “no. I don’t drink. Thank you though.”

“Suit yourself.” Minju raised a teasing eyebrow and smiled, then walking away to the big circle of people in the middle of the room — that same Jungwon-less circle you’d seen earlier.

Yunah looked at you, “Are you okay?”

You snapped out of your thoughts, “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just, um… wondering where Jungwon is.”

“Hey,” she grabbed you by your wrist and pulled you closer so you could hear her better, “Sorry about Minju. I swear she likes you. She just doesn’t do well with new people.”

You nodded and let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding in, “That’s good to know. I think I might actually take her up on her drinking offer, though. Is there anything non-alcoholic?”

Yunah bit her lip, “I’m not sure. Everything’s in the kitchen. Want me to come check with you?”

“No,” you reassured, “I’ll be fine. Thank you, though.”

You left Yunah and ventured back up the stairs towards where the kitchen was, which was off the hall. There were a few people in there already, looking into coolers and what you could assume was Minju’s parents’ liquor cabinet.

You crouched by a cooler with no one nearby and fished through it, looking for something tame, like a soda. Your best bet was either a safe ginger ale or something new: a Jack Daniels wine cooler.

You didn’t know anyone at the party.. and you had school the following morning, that you couldn’t risk skipping. But maybe one wine cooler wouldn’t be that bad…

You stood up from your crouching position and walked to the kitchen counter where you placed your drink. Cracking it open, you took your first sip.

Suddenly, your phone buzzed in your pocket with a text from someone you had been waiting on:

Jungwon.

It was a simple text — “Hey” — but you felt your heart skip a beat. Perhaps the alcohol had entered your system quickly.

You quickly responded — “Where are you??” — to his text and placed your phone face down, leaning your back against the counter to face the open doorway.

As if on cue, a familiar lean figure walked through the doorway, almost making you choke on nothing. Unknowingly, your face broke into a little smile of relief.

Jungwon nodded to whoever the other people were in the room (who were still scavenging for drinks) before walking over to you.

“Where have you been?” You questioned teasingly once he made his way over to you.

“Oh, around, y’know.”

You rolled your eyes at him.

“I was out on the back porch with some of my teammates, why?” He looked at you, “You missed me?”

“You wish,” you laughed, “but no. I don’t know anyone here. I kind of need you here in order for it to make any remote sense of me being here.”

“Fair enough,” he shrugged. Jungwon glanced at your drink, then furrowed his eyebrows, “You been drinking?”

“It’s my first and probably last. We have school tomorrow, so even though I wanna fit in, I wanna keep my scholarship more than that.”

Jungwon chuckled at your words, “Smart girl, I guess. Wanna go downstairs?”

“We can, yeah,” you said.

Jungwon pushed himself off of the counter and led you back downstairs to the basement, but this time to the large crowd. They were all still sat in a circle, but the music was softer this time.

A couple of (assumed) teammates called out Jungwon’s name as he walked to find a spot in the circle, leading you with him. The two of you found a spot on one of the couches at the end. The spot had enough space for one person, but you and Jungwon squished to both be able to sit. He offered for you to sit on his lap, but you declined. The alcohol was making your face red enough.

You sat between Jungwon and one of his friends, Junhyuk, who everyone called “Win” for some reason. Assuming he played for a school team and was the star player, that would make sense. But you still thought it was weird nonetheless.

The conversation was still flying at a million miles per hour once you’d sat down, and you didn’t expect to really understand anything. Your main goal was to just sit there nicely and then go home once Jungwon left.

The last thing you’d expected to happen was Jungwon to slowly slither his right arm around your waist and place his hand on your hip nonchalantly. Your eyes widened at the occurrence, but Jungwon seemed unfazed.

Junhyuk was very obviously drinking and had been for some time, so when he leaned over jokingly and asked how “serious” you and Jungwon were, you weren’t exactly shocked that he’d made a comment about you two, especially given that your “relationship” was the most recently established.

A couple other people had overheard Junhyuk’s comment and laughed, causing Jungwon to raise an eyebrow at them.

“We’re very serious, Junhyuk, thank you for asking.” Jungwon commented with hints of snark in his voice, “And, also, thank you for hitting on my girlfriend! Just reminded me that I have the most beautiful woman this school has ever seen!”

“If she’s so pretty,” Junhyuk laughed, “why don’t you share? Especially if you know how much other people want her.”

You furrowed your eyebrows, there was no way he just said that. Another drunkard called from across the circle, “Jungwon, I’ll give you $40 if you trade places with me for the night.”

Jungwon’s pride turned into disgust within milliseconds, “My girlfriend is not an object. I will never let her around gross low-lives like you both if you ever say any bullshit like that again.”

Jungwon tightened his grasp around your waist. He then pulled you to be sitting on his lap, so that you wouldn’t have to be sitting next to Junhyuk anymore.

He whispered in your ear, “Sorry for making you come here.”

However, the boys’ drunk comments were deafened in comparison to the way Jungwon had your heart beating.

You were so fucked.

xii. BUT I DONT GET BORED

The final occurrence actually happened the following day during your math class.

Many of the people that you were mingling with the previous night decided not to go to school the following day — which would be today — and unluckily for you, you didn’t have that option, so you sat quietly in your Calculus class like normal.

Jungwon, to your surprise, had decided not to skip school like most of his friends and teammates, so he was sat quietly in your Calculus class, too.

Around two weeks prior, your teacher had decided to change up the seating chart of the classroom, sending Jungwon nearly all the way across the room from you.

You were almost 100% sure that it was because your teacher had seen the two of you passing notes during lectures, but because she never mentioned anything to the either of you, you couldn’t be sure.

You took a peek at where Jungwon was situated on the other side of the room just for you to notice him already looking at you.

You gave him a little smile, but then quickly turned to look at your teacher instead.

The AP tests for the majority of your classes had already happened, but your final AP exam was on the following Monday, which meant your teacher was doubling down on the review work and studying for you and your classmates.

Your teacher had randomly assigned everyone into either A team or B team, and today’s review session was to be a team vs. team test. You were hoping that by some miracle, Jungwon would get sorted into the same team as you; the two smartest people in the class — and in your whole grade, for that measure — being on the same team meant a guaranteed win for that team.

But, unluckily for you, he got assigned to B team, and you were stuck in A team. Once the sorting was complete, Jungwon caught your eye from across the room and mouthed a quick “sorry” while frowning.

You gave him a small smile that said “it’s okay” before turning to your teammates.

The desks had been pushed all together but separated in the middle (to distinguish between the two teams’ spaces) to create more space for everyone to “work together”.

You knew damn well in your mind that “working together” for your team most likely meant that they would make you (and maybe one other smart person if you were lucky) do all the equations and then just take credit for your work.

Your hunch was proven correct when you were onto your fourth problem in the process with the teams at 1-2. Your team was winning, but you were beginning to stress. If B team finished the equation first, the teams would be tied up.

Even though the exercise was supposed to be “fun”, it seemed to be fun for everyone except for you. The feeling of roughly 6 or 7 classmates breathing down your neck in wait of you finishing a problem only made you want a cry.

Moments later, a member from B team stood up and ran to the teacher to show her the answer and the work done. While all your classmates were watching in anticipation to see if she got the answer or not, you continued to work on the problem. You couldn’t join them in watching, because on the off chance that she made a mistake in her work, you needed to be prepared to swoop in with correctly done work at any moment.

Alas, to your dismay, your teacher chimed the bell that signified a correct answer.

One of your teammates gave you a dirty look.

Trying your best to ignore them, you focused onto the whiteboard and waited for your teacher to write down the final problem of the competition.

It didn’t take long for you to be reimmersed into the world of Calculus and try your hardest to finish the problem first. It wasn’t easy to focus when your teammates were breathing down your neck, though.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, you had nearly completed the problem when your opponent, Leehan, quickly ran up to your teacher to hand her the answer sheet with his work.

While she was grading the work, your teammate, Haruto, was urging you to finish while cursing under his breath at you, but not quietly enough for you to not be able to hear.

The bell chimed, signifying your team lost.

A cheer erupted from the other side of the classroom while Haruto snatched the paper from you and crumbled it up. He rolled his eyes, “Nice work, trailer trash. You’re more stupid than I thought.”

From the corner of your eye, you noticed Jungwon’s neck snap in Haruto’s direction.

While his team was cheering, Jungwon decided that instead of joining in, he would make sure he didn’t just hear what he thought he did from Haruto.

“What did you just call her, Watanabe?”

At this point, not only did you and Haruto notice Jungwon, but the majority of your teammates did, too. While some opted to pretend they didn’t see anything, some of the other ones turned their full attention to the interaction.

“Why do you give a fuck, Yang? You’re not on this team, so you shouldn’t even care that she made us lose. You won.”

“Maybe I did, but if you wanted to win, you should’ve helped her, instead of standing there like the bum that you are,” Jungwon scoffed, “because it’s no secret, Haruto, that you’re a lazy loser who rides off other people’s success to create your own.”

Haruto’s face morphed into an unrecognizable expression.

Jungwon continued, “In case you didn’t notice, your ‘personal math problem-solver’ here was doing the work with you breathing your hot breath down her neck.”

Catching more people’s attention now, he raised his voice a bit, “None of you did anything and you’re complaining that you lost. Y/N is lucky that exams are solo activities because she definitely won’t need any of you to rely on for answers. I’m glad that at least one person in this class is smart-”

Your teacher cut him off, “Yang Jungwon, that’s enough. Please go take a seat.”

Once Jungwon sat down, you couldn’t help yourself from sneaking a look at Haruto’s face, which hasn’t even changed a bit since Jungwon insulted him.

You laughed to yourself, thinking about Jungwon. Maybe losing wasn’t so bad after all if that was the result.

xiii. NEVER KNEW I COULD FEEL THIS MUCH

The sudden comfort that you had found in the man you once despised terrified you.

It terrified you so much to the point of you declining Wonyoung to a hang-out twice this weekend, for fear of Jungwon being there.

You were sure that by the third time, Wonyoung could tell what was up. So, it didn’t entirely surprise you when she showed up at your family’s apartment door that same night she texted you.

“You have a bit of explaining to do,” she started once you opened the door to her.

“Hello to you too.”

Wonyoung stepped past you to walk toward your room, you trailing behind her by a few paces. You watched as she sat herself right on your bed and sent you a look that said ‘sit here’.

Once you sat, she immediately started, “Why have you been avoiding hanging out with me?”

“I haven’t,” you lied through your teeth, “I’ve just been… busy.”

She furrowed her brows at you, “Busy with what? Your boyfriend?”

You tensed subconsciously at the word, but responded, “No… just school, I guess. Even though AP tests are over, I still have some schoolwork.”

Wonyoung squinted, “Like what?”

“Just… papers and stuff.”

“You’re a bad liar,” she complained, “but whatever. If you don’t want to tell me, that’s okay. I won’t prod.”

You nodded thankfully at her, looking away, “If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t seen any other friends.”

She laughed, rolling her eyes and standing up, “No, Y/N, that doesn’t make me feel any better. That makes me feel depressed on your behalf.”

You sent her an annoyed look.

“Anyway, since I’m already here, we should go do something. I miss my best friend.”

You smiled a little at her and also stood up.

As if on cue, you received a text from Jungwon:

Wanna go do something fun tonight?

xiv. LOST TRACK OF TIME AND SPACE

That Saturday after, you were once again with Minji and Gyuvin in your family’s apartment. This time, you weren’t being dramatic or even complaining about Jungwon. Instead, Minji decided to bring up the man herself.

“Y/N, I saw on your story last night that you went to a party.”

“Yeah,” you started, “I did, so what?”

“Since when are you a party person?” Gyuvin butted in, antagonizing you.

“I’m not, obviously,” you sighed, “I hid in the bathroom for most of it anyways. It was loud and obnoxious, and I only went because Jungwon asked me to go as his date.”

“Hm,” Minji hummed, “seems like he’s pretty serious about you, given that he asked you to go as his date to a party.”

“What’s even funnier is you went!” Gyuvin laughed from his spot on your bed.

“What’s so funny about that?” You interrogated, snapping your neck to look at him.

“Nothing, nothing.”

You shook your head at him, rolling your eyes slightly. Minji spoke next, “It is a bit funny. Y/N L/N, the well-known party-goer.”

“Look, I only went because he asked, okay? You guys both know damn well that I wouldn’t have gone otherwise.” You scoffed, surprised at their audacity.

Minji laughed, “And since when are you one to listen to what Yang Jungwon asks of you? The Y/N that I know wouldn’t have said yes in a million years.”

“It was important to him, okay,” You replied, “and he was insisting that I go. For public image reasons.”

“And now you care about what’s important to him,” Gyuvin piped up, “the plot thickens!”

You sighed, “It’s really not as big of a deal as you guys are making it out to be.”

“Listen, Y/N,” Gyuvin continued, “never did I ever think that you would ever go to a party, let alone with someone you claim to ‘hate’. I think you’re starting to like him.”

Minji laughed and you widened your eyes as you felt your face slightly flush at the thought. Was it that obvious?

“Oh my god, Gyuvin is totally right! Y/N, you liiiiike Yang Jungwon!” Minji sang to you.

“I do not,” you felt yourself retort like an elementary-aged school girl, “I do not! I swear it’s nothing. We’re just fake dating and that’s it.”

Minji kept laughing, “Sureeeee, Y/N. We both believe you!” She continued taunting you, high-fiving Gyuvin.

“You guys are so sick for this…” you grumbled, trying to push away your feelings for Jungwon further down.

“You’re just mad we’re never wrong,” Gyuvin said, “oh, and, by the way, you only have a week until you get your money.”

You felt your eyes slightly widen and your heart skip a beat or two.

Had time really flown by that quickly?

xv. HARDER TO HIDE THAN I THOUGHT

Two days had passed and you were scheduled to attend a double date with your “boyfriend”, Wonyoung, and Taesan. It was, pretty obviously, Wonyoung’s idea. But, because you didn’t want Jungwon to assume you suddenly hated him, you agreed to go.

Around an hour before the date, Jungwon suddenly texted you — “Hey, I’m omw to get you a bit early. I wanna talk before we see them” — and you felt your soul temporarily leave your body.

You and Jungwon hadn’t talked very often in the past week, because you had been avoiding him like the plague, trying to deny and drown out your feelings towards him.

Jungwon didn’t live too far from you, but it was far enough that you had at least fifteen minutes to freak out about his text message.

What could he possibly want? Was he going to confront you about avoiding him? What would you say, if that was the case?

You ran to the bathroom to touch up your outfit, makeup, and hair quickly, not wanting to present yourself badly in front of him. As in denial as you were, a small part of you knew that you did like the boy, and wanted to look pretty for him.

You were wearing a fairly plain outfit:

A white lace cami under a red short sleeve shirt, some secondhand baggy jeans, and some old clogs from your mother. You sported the look with an old (most likely faux) brown leather jacket from your father.

As for your hair, it was loosely braided into two braids and tied with a ribbon. You pulled some hair out to give it a more “effortless” look, but you were slightly afraid it came off as you trying too hard.

Your makeup was minimal, but this left you worried you did too little. You added slight highlights to the inner corners of your eyes to make them pop.

Arriving 10 minutes earlier than you anticipated, you heard a knock at the door, knowing immediately who it was. You looked over yourself one last time before leaving the bathroom.

As soon as you opened the door, Jungwon’s once grim face lit up at the sight of you, “You look nice.”

“Thanks, I like to think so too, sometimes.”

He scanned your whole body and face before slightly smiling. He cleared his throat before asking, “Ready to go?”

You nodded, shutting the apartment door behind you, not bothering to lock it, as both of your parents were home at the hour. You laughed slightly, “Where are you taking me?”

Jungwon, leading the way down the steps towards the bottom landing of the apartment building, turned back for a split second to say, “It’s a surprise.”

Roughly another fifteen minutes later, Jungwon parked his car. He unbuckled his seatbelt and said, “We’re here.”

You followed suit and once out of the car you looked around, “Where are we?”

“East Eden Park.”

Jungwon smiled at you as he started walking up a hill, beckoning for you to follow.

“Okay, why are we here?” You asked, your tone slightly laced with panic as you walked behind.

Jungwon looked over his shoulder at you, “I’ll explain when we get up to the top.”

Suddenly, you had the genius idea to beat him to the top. Smirking, you said, “Race you.”

Before Jungwon even had a second to register what you said, you took off up the hill and managed to get many paces ahead of him before he started running too.

To your surprise, you ended up beating him up the hill, to which you cheered in victory, “I win! I win! You suck!”

Jungwon laughed as he finally reached the top of the hill, “Okay, bragger.”

You settled down your laughing and cheering to take in the view around you, widening your eyes at the sight. It took your breath away momentarily, “Wow, this place is amazing. You can see the whole downtown area from here.”

“Isn’t it?” Jungwon asked, as he reached to be next to you.

The sun had just started to set over the horizon of the city, making the perfect spot to watch the sunset.

“This is oddly romantic,” you laughed, awkwardly, “thanks for taking me here.”

“You’re welcome. Will you take a seat on the grass so we can talk?”

You immediately sat down in your spot, “You don’t have to ask me that twice.”

Jungwon also sat next to you, so close that your hands almost touched. If not for the rules that you two had made, you would’ve reached and grabbed his hand. But deep down, you knew you’d strangle yourself if you ever broke the unspoken fifth rule:

Don’t catch feelings.

Sighing to yourself, you trained your sights on a familiar building. You nudged Jungwon, “Hey, did you know that’s where my dad works?”

“Wait, which one? Your pointing skills suck.”

“Right there, second to the right on the bottom. Big brown building.”

Jungwon squinted his eyes, still not seeing what you were talking about.

“Dude, the one at the very bottom. Not the gray one.”

Jungwon sighed, “I give up. I can’t see it.”

“Really?” You said, exasperated, “You can’t see the brown building that says ‘Armstrong & Dennis’ above it?”

“Ohhh, I know that one. My dad’s a shareholder in that company.”

You rolled your eyes playfully, “Great. Thanks for reminding me of our societal class difference.”

Jungwon chuckled, nudging you, “You know that’s not what I meant when I said that.”

“Yeah, whatever, rich boy,” you nudged him back, “So, why’d you bring me here?”

“Oh,” he said, reminded of the reason, “I wanted to talk, um, about next week.”

The words Minji and Gyuvin were teasing you with appeared back in your head:

Only one week.

You tensed slightly and laughed, “Oh, I forgot about that.”

He stayed silent.

“So… what did you want to exactly discuss?” You questioned, looking at him. His eyes were still trained on the sunset-stained skyline, not moving. You wondered what he was thinking about.

He broken his silence after a minute, “Just… logistics, I guess.”

“What logistics?” You asked, “I thought it was just that we would go to the dance together, and then ‘break-up’.”

“Well, yeah, but…” he trailed off, not even continuing his sentence.

“But?”

“Y’know what? Never mind. It doesn’t matter,” he sighed, finally looking at you, “because you’re right, we’ve already talked about it. Guess I’m just psyching myself out because I don’t know how Taesan and Wonyoung are going to react.”

“Understandable,” you said, “I mean, I do like hanging out with you though. Or, at least, when you’re nice to me. I’m sure we can stay friends after this whole fiasco is over.”

Jungwon took a long pause.

“Yeah… friends.”

You didn’t respond, instead opting to look at the way the sunset looked that evening, even taking out your phone to snap a photo of it.

You then got an idea, turning to Jungwon, “Wanna take a picture?”

He seemed genuinely surprised at your question, stuttering out a quick “sure” before posing next to you in your picture.

You flipped the camera to selfie mode and posed with a quick peace sign and slightly puckered lips. Jungwon copied your pose, but with a close-mouthed smile instead.

“Okay, wait, one more.” You insisted to him.

This time, you stuck your tongue out and widened your eyes, and he made a screaming face. You both laughed at the funny pictures before Jungwon got a call and picked it up swiftly.

“Yeah, we’re on our way.”

It was all he said before hanging up and standing up, “Hey, let’s go, or we’ll be late for dinner.”

“Okay, okay,” you said, pushing yourself off the ground and following Jungwon to his car.

The next ten minute drive was eerily silent. Not even comfortable silence, but instead a silence that felt like it was sitting on both of your chests— as if there was something that needed to be addressed, but you were both too afraid to acknowledge it.

You let out an unknowing breath of relief when you arrived at the restaurant where Wonyoung and Taesan were already waiting outside for the both of you.

As if on instinct, Jungwon grabbed your hand as you walked towards your friends at the door of the restaurant. You tried to pick up on their conversation, but it seemed like your mind was too foggy to even function that night, with nothing being able to even be clear.

However, there was one thing that night that couldn’t leave your mind:

Jungwon’s grip on your hand felt a little tighter than usual.

xvi. ARE YOU MINE?

One day before the dance, you were with Wonyoung in her family’s mansion and just hanging out as usual. Your conversations had been extremely honed in on the elephant in the room: the dance. Wonyoung tried on her expensive gown for you, and even asked you to help her style it. You two had practiced hairstyles, and even discussed when you would be coming over the following morning to get ready with her.

The dress you had bought was much less glamorous than hers, but even though she offered to let you borrow one of her “family event” dresses, you politely declined, insisting that you go with the dress you bought, because Jungwon liked the color.

Just as you were finishing up a hairstyle YouTube tutorial, you got a sudden call from Jungwon. You turned to Wonyoung, saying, “Hey, I’m gonna take this real quick.”

You walked out into her hallway and then into the guest bathroom to answer the phone.

As soon as you answered, he immediately started rambling, “Hey, Y/N, I know you’re with Wonyoung right now, but is there any way we can meet up late tonight? I have stuff I need to go over with you.”

Trying to understand him through his rambling, you just agreed, telling him to pick you up from Wonyoung’s at 10:30, which was in 15 minutes. You knew for a fact that Wonyoung wouldn’t care, because for one, she would be seeing you tomorrow morning anyways, and for two, you had planned on leaving at 10:30 anyways, but this time it would be Jungwon driving you, and not Wonyoung back home.

As soon as he heard your confirmation, Jungwon immediately hung up. You shook your head a bit, confused.

You walked back into Wonyoung’s room, letting her know that Jungwon would be coming to get you and drive you home. She nodded, still working on fixing her attempted hairstyle.

You went back to one of her mirrors and undid your hairstyle, not wanting to spoil your potential look for the following day, and also not wanting to look dressy from the face up, because you were wearing a baggy tee shirt, athletic shorts, and ankle socks, which would soon be joined by your sandals that were on the bottom floor.

Jungwon sent you a text — “I’m here” — which made you say goodbye to Wonyoung and tell her that you’ll see her tomorrow at 11am. She only waved “bye” as you left, still preoccupied with her hair.

As soon as you slipped out of the front door of the Jang’s, you were immediately met with Jungwon’s car. He rolled down the passenger window and said, “Get in.”

You yawned a bit as you opened the door, not even questioning where he was taking you.

Roughly five minutes went by and you both arrived at your location, which, to your surprise, was the same park that he took you to only a couple days ago.

“‘Welcome to Eden’…” you read the sign as you unloaded yourself from the car.

Jungwon said nothing as he trekked up the hill, leaving you to catch up once again. This time, however, you didn’t race him.

Once at the top of the hill, Jungwon immediately sat down, inviting you to join him. You complied in milliseconds.

A silence again filled the area between you two before you broke it:

“It’s so picture-esque here.”

Jungwon nodded next to you, the lights from the downtown illuminating his expression, which was unreadable.

“So…” you started, “why’d you bring me back here?”

Jungwon took a deep breath, “I just like it here.”

“Wow,” you teased, poking him, “trying to bring me to his favorite places before he breaks my heart. Such a tragic love story.”

You laughed at your own joke, but didn’t fail to notice how Jungwon remained expressionless.

He sighed, “Yeah…”

Another minute of silence befell the two of you, this time you being too afraid to break it.

Out of nowhere, Jungwon started, “Do you think we should keep doing this?”

Caught off guard, you asked “What?”

“Like, fake dating,” he said, “for Wonyoung and Taesan, of course. I feel like it’ll be suspicious if we break up the day after the dance.”

You furrowed your brow, not against the idea, but confused nonetheless, “Uh… sure. But how much longer?”

Jungwon pondered for a moment before coming to a conclusion, “Until it feels right.”

Not daring to turn your head to him, you stared into the abyss with the most confused look of your life, not even sure what to respond with. Instead you fell onto your back, opting to look at the stars above instead of the city ahead.

Shortly after, Jungwon followed suit.

He broke the silence first again, “Which constellation is your favorite?”

“Oh, I have no clue,” you said, genuinely thinking about it, “I don’t think I’ve put much time into thinking about it, honestly. Maybe the Southern Cross? It’s pretty easy to spot.”

Jungwon hummed next to you. Then he grabbed your hand and made you make a pointer finger, guiding it to where he wanted you to point, “Mine is Bootes. Can you see it? It’s right…” he moved your hand slightly, “…there.”

“Yeah… yeah, I think so.” You replied, squinting.

“Do you see the big star at the bottom? Its name is Arcturus.” He let go of your hand.

“I didn’t know you knew so much about astronomy,” you laughed, “it’s endearing.”

Jungwon chuckled, “My maternal grandpa worked for NASA. As crazy as it sounds, I was born from generational wealth.”

You smacked him teasingly, “You don’t say!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he said, “crazy that the spoiled rich kid was born this way. And both his parents, too.”

You nodded, “Crazy. Would’ve never guessed. But, question, why do you like Bootes?”

“Oh, mainly because of Arcturus,” he replied, “because I can almost guarantee that there’s some sort of other life out there.”

“Yeah,” you agreed, “do you think they’re smarter than us?”

“Maybe.”

“Cooler?”

“Definitely not.”

“Do you think there’s a parallel version of you and I that are doing the exact same thing right now?”

Jungwon paused, “I hope.”

You smiled, “Who do you think wins in a fight, you or alien you?”

“Oh,” he laughed, “I’d definitely win. No question about it.”

“How can you be so sure? What if their species is naturally taller and stronger?”

“I’m smarter.”

“Sure…” you said, “so does that mean alien me would beat human you? Or would you finally one-up me for once?”

Jungwon laughed loudly at your comment, “Wow… you think you’re so funny.”

You peeked at him and smiled to yourself before looking back at the stars and sighing, “I think I’m starting to like Bootes, too.”

Once back in Jungwon’s car, the silence was more comfortable than previous times. This time, it’s as if you’ve let your heart completely out of its cage of fear without actually telling Jungwon how you feel. This time, you’re sure that somewhere along the lines, you started to fall for him. This time, you knew that he meant something to you.

Halfway through the drive, Jungwon started to talk about his intergalactic arch-nemesis again and how he was sure that alien Jungwon was not as cool as human Jungwon.

“You two are essentially the exact same, though, just from different planets.” You said as a counter argument.

“Let me ask you this,” Jungwon replied, “Do you think you’re better than your alien self?”

You thought for a second before answering, “No. I am her and she is me. I’m sure she’s great.”

Jungwon laughed at your reply, “Okay, that was a pretty nice response.”

“Thank you,” you said, “I like to think highly of my alien self, because if she’s anything like me, she probably doesn’t think the highest of herself.”

Jungwon’s face got a bit more serious as he pulled onto your street, “What do you mean?” He turned down the radio.

“Oh, I, uh,” you stumbled over your words, “I didn’t mean to turn this into a pity party or anything, just…”

He parked the car and only looked at you.

“I’m sorry,” you laughed awkwardly, “that got depressing quick.”

“No worries,” he reassured, grabbing your hand and surprising you, “why don’t you think the highest of yourself?”

“Jungwon,” you said, uncomfortable, “you’re not my therapist. No need to worry about me-”

“No,” he cut you off, “I want to know. I mean, if anything, you’re miles smarter than me.”

You laughed a bit, “Um, thanks. But intelligence isn’t everything.”

He nodded, “Go on.”

“It’s just,” you started, “nothing really. It just sucks being the absolute poorest person at your school. No matter how high I score, or how hard I work, no one sees that. They just see my class background.”

Jungwon studied your face, “I’m sorry.”

“Wha-” you sputtered, “Why are you apologizing? It’s not like you were the one who did it! Well…” you paused, “actually you did. But that was a while ago. I basically already forgot.”

Jungwon doesn’t break his stare, “I wish I could help.”

You felt your heart race faster in your chest as you locked eyes with him, “Really… it’s okay. I swear.”

Something about the way that he was looking at you had you frozen. Sure, Jungwon had made questionable comments in the past, but nothing as simple as this specific look. You weren’t sure what it was.

Your eyes flickered down to his hand, still holding yours. You felt your heart rate pick up as you realized the proximity you were in.

As if nothing happened, Jungwon slowly tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear and looked at you like you were the only person on earth.

You felt your mind start to go fuzzy as you thought about him.

In that moment, it felt like you two were the only people alive to feel anything. It felt like all the world’s people’s emotions had swirled around the two of you, catching you in a deadly storm, of which neither of you wanted to escape.

In that moment, you felt everything and nothing all at once.

In that moment, it was just Jungwon.

And in that moment, you took the risk to lean into him softly place your lips on his.

The months of secret yearning spilled into the car and into the kiss. Before you could even realize what happened, you pulled away.

You were terrified. You swallowed deeply and looked at Jungwon, who seemed equally as shocked. You then mumbled a quiet “goodbye” as you left his car and ran into your family’s apartment complex.

You didn’t look back to watch him drive away silently.

xvii. NEITHER OF US PLANNED IT

You knew you were screwed. You knew you were plainly, simply, just screwed.

There was no one you could talk about last night with. Wonyoung already thought you had been dating Jungwon for some time now, and Minji and Gyuvin knew you two weren’t actually together. If you told them what happened, you were almost 100% sure you would never hear the end of it.

You obviously wouldn’t talk to Jungwon about it, either. Why the fuck would you talk about the elephant in the room to the elephant in the room?

You’d been freaking out all morning and nothing was easing your mind. One way or another, you’d have to face Jungwon today. You were nearly sick to your stomach thinking about it.

You were already at Wonyoung’s, but you were silently freaking out in her guest bathroom while she was getting ready. You almost threw up while you thought about the night to unfold. Your hands were sweaty, stomach sick, and head hurting. You weren’t sure how you’d survive the evening.

You took a deep breath and walked back into Wonyoung’s room, her already finishing her makeup and hair, still dressed in her pajamas, as putting the dress on was the last step.

She turned her head to you with a concerned expression as you trudged through the door, not even trying to hide your emotions at this point.

“What’s wrong, drama queen?” She asked, looking over her shoulder at you.

You sighed dramatically into her mattress after flopping yourself loudly onto it.

“Okay…” she laughed, “Well if you want to talk about it, I’m here.”

“I just hate emotions.” You grumbled.

She laughed again, “Okay, me too. Wanna tell me why?”

You groaned, “No.”

Roughly an hour and half later, you two were both ready to be picked up by your dates. Before the dance, there were pictures to be taken, and a dinner to be eaten, and then you could finally go to the dance, which started at 7:30.

Taesan and Wonyoung chattered in the front seat while you and Jungwon remained dead silent, not even looking at each other.

The car ride stayed exactly like that during the twenty minute drive.

Once you all arrived at the park to take pictures, you lifted yourself out of the car and walked to wherever Taesan and Wonyoung were leading.

At the pavilion, you took the time to fix some strands of your hair and flatten any creases in your dress, which was blue, Jungwon’s favorite color.

Even though you were originally standing alone, Jungwon soon made his way towards you. He cleared his throat awkwardly, “You, uh… you dress well for the occasion.” You could tell that he was flustered, but you’d be lying if you didn’t admit that you were too. You were just glad he didn’t bring up the incident from the night prior.

You laughed shyly, “I mean, of course. I was planning on getting my heart broken tonight after all.”

“I mean, we did agreed to keep this act going,” he replied, “We can’t have me breaking your heart while you look so pretty.”

Your heart started racing like you’d just ran a marathon. Trying to stay calm, all you could muster back was “thanks”.

Some pictures and a dinner later, you and your group arrived at the location where the dance would be held, which was none other than the downtown’s Music Hall.

As you walked in with Wonyoung, you tried to take in everything that you could, from architectural designs to the art on the ceilings to the over-the-top decorations that Ivy Hills had created for the event.

It didn’t take long for her to grab your hand and pull you along to talk with some of her friends, one of them including Park Minju, who you’d first met around a month ago.

You surprisingly relaxed a lot during the dance, having expected the DJ to only play classy songs, but you were entirely shocked when Fire Burning by Sean Kingston blasted through the speakers.

Around half an hour later, you found yourself on a balcony from the top floor of the venue, needing some fresh air after sweating as much as you did. You didn’t expect to dance as much as you did, but nonetheless you still needed a break.

It was a lot colder outside than you’d anticipated it to be, somehow forgetting that the sun had already set. You didn’t really mind, though, as you were too lost in thought to even pay any attention to the weather.

Almost exactly a minute later, you heard an all-too-familiar voice from behind you. He slowly approached to stand next to you and asked, “Are you okay?”

You nodded, too lost in thought to really acknowledge him, “Yeah.”

“What’s up?”

“Just…” you finally looked at him, “just a lot going on right now.”

He chuckled a bit, “I get it.”

A comfortable silence fell over the two of you as he tried to mimic your body language.

From inside the venue, your ears perked up at the sound of the DJ announcing the first slow song of the night, to which you groaned.

“What?” Jungwon questioned.

“Slow songs are just soooo corny. Especially at dances. It’s always either ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran or ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri or ‘I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You’ by Elvis.”

Jungwon shook his head in disbelief, “So you don’t like slow dancing?”

“It’s not that I don’t like slow dancing,” you replied, “the songs are just overplayed and corny.”

“I mean…” he started, “I completely disagree. I think it’s romantic. But, okay.”

“Of course you wouldn’t get it,” you retaliated, “you’ve never been to a public school dance. PDA is off the charts. It’s gross.”

“I’m sure of it,” he replied, “but PDA is off the charts here, too. You just don’t see it because these weirdos go hide in the unisex bathrooms and-”

“Ew,” you cut him off, “ew, okay. Stop there please.”

Jungwon laughed loudly, “Listen, this is how I can tell you only know the surface of private schools.”

“Yeah, and maybe I’d like to keep it that way. We’re graduating this month anyway, and I’ll never have to see anyone here again if I don’t want to.”

“Sounds like a dream,” he said, “where are you going for school?”

“I haven’t committed anywhere yet, is that bad?” You winced.

“No,” he assured, “definitely not. My parents wanted me to go to Yale but I ended up on Brown. Took me months to choose between Brown and UCLA.”

“Oh my god,” you laughed, “I got rejected from UCLA. I’m stuck between MIT and Brown. Yale accepted me, but they didn’t offer me enough. There’s no way in Hell that I’m paying twenty thousand a semester.”

“Yale didn’t even waitlist me,” Jungwon sighed, “my parents were so mad. Their next choice was Princeton or Brown, so I chose Brown to make them happy.”

“My parents just wanted me to go to the state school,” you said, “…good ‘ol Virginia Tech.”

“Not a bad school,” he answered, “but I understand your parents’ concerns. Moving out of state is hard. You’re their only child, too.”

“Yeah,” you shrugged, “I understood why. But I don’t think they understand how important education is to me… I don’t know.”

Jungwon smiled, “Well, if you go to Brown, just know you’ll have a friend there.”

You smiled back at him.

Noticing the song was over, you muttered, “Thank god.”

Just then, through the speakers, you heard the opening violin notes to one of your favorite childhood songs that your dad used to play for you on his CD player: ‘Come On Eileen’ by Dexy’s Midnight Runners.

You gasp in excitement, “I’d much rather dance to something like this.”

Jungwon laughed at your reaction, “Well, then can I have this dance?”

You tried to fight your smile, “Why yes, you can.”

Jungwon stuck out his hand to you, but instead of you grabbing it to slow dance, you linked his arm with yours and started making him do a strange folk dance with you, making him spin and dip you, and trying to convince him to let you dip him, but with no success.

Just as the song started, it ended. The DJ announced over the speakers that the king and queen of the ball would soon be announced.

Without saying a word, you followed Jungwon into the building and down the steps, towards where the crowd was forming.

To no one’s surprise, the queen was announced to be Wonyoung, and her king to be Taesan.

As they did their dance, you leaned towards Jungwon and whisper-shouted sarcastically, “Who would’ve seen this coming?”

He laughed at your comment and replied, “Right?”

A moment passes before he leans over again and asks, “Do you wanna go get something to drink with me? I need some water.”

You nodded and followed him back up the steps to the second floor where there were still people, but much less crowded than the bottom floor.

As he was walking, he looked over his shoulder at you and said, “I can finally hear myself think now.”

Once he got his water, you both retreated back to the initial balcony that he found you on earlier in the night. The silence was comforting, and you caught yourself trapped in your thoughts again.

Out of nowhere, Jungwon suddenly broke the silence:

“Did that kiss mean anything to you yesterday?”

Completely caught off guard, you replied, “Huh?”

Without missing a beat, he explained, “Like, when I dropped you off yesterday. Did that mean anything to you? I’m just confused ‘cause- I mean, I know it wasn’t for show. It was only the two of us in the car. I- I just want to know.”

You took a second to even process what he said to you. Sure, it was inevitable that he was eventually going to bring it up. But you didn’t think now was the moment, especially so soon.

Trying to find the right words, you responded, “Oh, um… I don’t know if this is a conversation we should have here and now… I mean… there’s people around and…”

Jungwon nodded stiffly.

“I…” you trailed off, “I think I’m going to go back downstairs.”

And just like that, you left Jungwon alone again.

xviii. ROLLER-COASTER KINDA RUSH

For the next few hours of the dance, you didn’t see Jungwon at all. In fact, he didn’t even ride with you, Taesan, and Wonyoung to Wonyoung’s afterparty. You were starting to worry that by you deflecting the conversation earlier, he took it as a rejection.

The next time you saw Jungwon was an hour into Wonyoung’s afterparty. You caught the slightest glimpse of him in the kitchen, but just as you’d seen him, he’d disappeared from your sight. You were beginning to believe you had started hallucinating him from how much he was driving you crazy.

However, once outside, you’d seen Jungwon’s car parked on the street across from Wonyoung’s mansion, and sighed in relief when you realized you weren’t actually losing your mind.

Near the end of the afterparty, Jungwon snuck up on you.

“Hey.”

You jumped, startled from the sudden appearance, “Hey. I haven’t seen you all night.”

His only response was a simple and short “yeah”. Before you both fell into an uncomfortable silence.

A couple of seconds later, Jungwon asked you, “Do you want a ride home?” He held up his keys.

You smiled at the gesture, knowing that otherwise, you’d have to find someone else to drive you home, and although Taesan drove you there, and he’d likely be staying the night, leaving you to fend for yourself.

“Sure.”

With the party already dying down, you made sure to say goodbye to Wonyoung and thank her for hosting. You gave her a small hug and watched as Jungwon dapped up Taesan.

The both of you walked to Jungwon’s car in silence down the driveway.

However, this time, you decided to bite the bullet:

“I think we should talk about what happened yesterday.”

You noticed Jungwon almost freeze in his spot for a second but he continued walking to his car.

All he could mutter out was another “yeah”.

Once you reached his car, he quickly put it in gear and started driving you home.

Jungwon didn’t say anything until he almost reached your apartment. He parked his car on the street, and got out to walk you to your door.

He sighed, yet started, “Listen, I know you’re getting paid from this. But we never needed to kiss to seal the deal…” he trailed off, “so I really don’t understand why that was a necessary part to the whole act and-”

“That wasn’t about the money.” You cut him off.

Jungwon slowly turned to look at you, confused, “What?”

“It-” you stumbled over your words, “it stopped being about the money a while ago.”

A small and barely audible “oh” escaped his lips, with an unreadable face.

“I-” you started, “I- I know that we’re supposed to sell this,” you motioned between the two of you, “thing for a long longer. I know that because we both agreed on it. But…” you trailed off, not sure what to say next.

You took a deep breath, “But what I say next might change the trajectory of this… friendship…” you shook your head, “…or whatever this is.”

Jungwon said nothing.

“But the truth is, I-” you sighed, defeated, “I kissed you because I wanted to kiss you. Not because of the stupid money, and not because of the validation I’d get from Wonyoung and Taesan.”

He stood still, motionless, still with an indecipherable expression.

Nearly to tears with frustration and stress, you continued, “I kissed you because… because I felt like it was right in the moment. And- and it’s okay if you don’t feel that way. And if that is the case, then I’m sorry for kissing you and making things weird between us.”

Sighing one last time, “And I know the unspoken rule of this whole thing was to not have any actual feelings for each other, but-”

“Y/N.” Jungwon cut you off.

Afraid that you went overboard, you muttered sheepishly, “…what?”

“Please,” he said, taking a step closer, “please, stop talking.”

You frowned, “Did I say too much?”

“No,” he laughed, “but if you never stop rambling, I won’t be able to tell you how I feel.”

“Um,” you said quietly, “sorry, what?”

You weren’t sure exactly what Jungwon meant by ‘telling you how he felt’ but you were nearly bracing yourself for the worst. You decided to keep quiet as to not disturb him.

“I want you to know something right off the bat,” he started, “okay?”

You nodded but still didn’t say anything.

“It was never about Wonyoung and Taesan for me,” he laughed, “Hell, I’m the reason that we were all forced to hang out, the four of us.”

He sighed, “Y/N, I’ve always admired you, but I never knew how to deal with it. Why? Because in all of my life, I have never had a girl distract me from school as badly as you did.”

Your eyes widened at the confession.

“The only reason that I’m ranked 2nd in math for our class is because you are 1st,” he continued, “And I used to really hate you for it, because who did this pretty girl think she was, coming into my school and usurping me of my top rank in the class?!”

You felt yourself flush at the compliment, but tried to stay as calm as possible.

Jungwon calmed down, “But… at a point, I realized that you never did it to spite me, and you were genuinely just that smart. Then, I got over myself.”

You nodded with furrowed eyebrows.

“But,” he sighed, “I knew I had already pushed your buttons so hard to the point that I really thought there would be no point of return…”

“…So, when you brought up the idea of fake dating me, I immediately said no, because I knew it wouldn’t end well for me,” Jungwon laughed bittersweetly, “But then you challenged me. And I love a challenge.”

You felt your heart flutter at his words, now noticing how closely he was standing to you. You opened your mouth to try and form a response, but the only thing that you said came out in a whisper:

“Wow… I don’t know what to say.”

He smiled brightly at you, grabbing your hand.

“I don’t think words can be used in this moment.”

As if he’d been doing it forever, Jungwon wrapped one arm around your waist and let the other cup your head. Slithering your arms around his back, you stood on your tippy toes.

This time, you knew you wouldn’t run away from his kiss.

a/n : aaaand it’s over meow meow meow sorry for the long wait but it seemed like life hasn’t been on my side for the past year. hope u guys enjoyed tho <3 this was a bit too happy ending for me and not nearly enough angst but whateva

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liyue-harbour · 4 months ago

Text

lighter's 6-step guide to ruining your kitchen (and winning your heart)

lighter lorenz x reader

summary: what starts as lighter trying to fix your broken coffee maker turns into an explosion of chaos, tools, and laughter. he's confident— too confident— but even as things spiral out of control, you can't help but enjoy the mess. (he's trying his best)

you eyed the old coffee maker like it had personally wronged you. in fairness, it kind of had— months of leaking water, leaking coffee, sputtering, and smelling vaguely like burnt plastic had left you at your wit's end. when lighter showed up for a visit and saw you glaring at it, he made the offer:

"i can fix that for you."

you raised a skeptical eyebrow. "can you?"

"please," he said, rolling up his sleeves with the bravado of someone who definitely had no idea what they were doing. "i've tackled bigger challenges."

step one: the toolbox gauntlet

it started innocently enough. you dug out the dusty old toolbox you hadn’t touched in years while lighter sets the coffee maker on your kitchen counter like it was a patient awaiting surgery.

"this is a mess," he said, holding up a screwdriver and spinning it in his fingers like he was auditioning for a hardware commercial.

"i know," you replied. "that's why i was going to buy a new one."

"where's the fun in that?" lighter grinned at you. "trust me, i've got this."

famous last words.

step two: controlled chaos (emphasis on chaos)

lighter pops open the back panel with alarming confidence, revealing a tangled mess of wires. "here's your problem," he said, pointing at the horrifying jumble like it was obvious.

"oh really?" you deadpanned. "i thought it was working perfectly."

he ignored your sarcasm and started tinkering, tools clinking against the counter as he muttered things like "that's weird" and "pretty sure this goes here". you leaned against the counter, arms crossed, watching the spectacle unfold. at one point, a small spark shot out of the machine, and both of you jumped back.

"totally normal," lighter said, though his wide eyes behind his tinted glasses betrayed him.

"normal for what? a sci-fi action movie?"

"relax", he said waving you off. "i've got it under control."

you weren't sure what definition of "control" he was using, but it definitely wasn't yours.

step three: the great coffee maker escape

things escalated when lighter attempted to plug the machine back in for a test run. it hummed ominously, sputtered, and then released a small puff of smoke. you grabbed a kitchen towel, ready to smother it in case of fire.

"uh, that's... progress?" lighter offers weakly.

"progress toward a lawsuit," you muttered, fanning the smoke away.

he finally threw in the towel, setting the screwdriver down with an exaggerated sigh. "okay, maybe it's more stubborn that i thought."

"lighter, it's dead." you laughed, shaking your head. "you didn't fix it— you put it out of misery."

step four: damage control

despite the chaos, lighter didn't look defeated. in fact, he looked entirely too pleased with himself as he leaned against the counter, arms crossed, and smirked at you. "hey at least we tried," he said. "and by we, i mean me, because i did all the work."

“oh, yes, all your hard work ruining my kitchen,” you teased, gesturing to the tools and coffee maker debris scattered everywhere.

“ruined is a strong word,” he countered, nudging you with his elbow. “i prefer ‘temporarily restructured.’”

you rolled your eyes but couldn’t stop smiling. “well, thank you for temporarily restructuring my coffee maker into a pile of junk.”

“anytime,” he said, his grin widening. “seriously, though, i’ll help you pick out a new one. one with fewer... deathtrap vibes.”

“appreciated,” you said, grabbing a damp cloth to start cleaning up.

step five: the clean-up crew

cleaning was just as chaotic as the diy attempt. lighter insisted on washing his hands in the tiniest sink possible, accidentally knocking over a glass in the process. you spent more time dodging his elbows than actually organising the tools.

“maybe stick to your day job,” you joked, shoving a wrench back into the toolbox.

“funny,” he replied, leaning over the counter to grab a towel. “i think i make an excellent handyman.”

“sure,” you said, smirking. “if the goal is to create more problems than you started with.”

he shot you a mock-offended look, but the glimmer in his eye gave him away. “you wound me.”

step six: the aftermath

by the time the kitchen was semi-clean and the coffee maker officially declared beyond repair, you were both leaning against the counter, exhausted but grinning.

“you know,” you said, nudging him with your shoulder, “you’re banned from fixing anything in my apartment ever again.”

“fair enough,” he replied, straightening up. “but admit it—you had fun.”

“fun?” You gave him a look. “that’s what we’re calling this disaster?”

“a masterpiece of domestic chaos,” he corrected, his grin teasing.

you laughed, shaking your head. “alright, fine. it was... entertaining.”

“entertaining?” he leaned closer, raising an eyebrow. “try ‘the best time you’ve had all week.’”

“don’t push it,” you said, but the smile on your face betrayed you.

#lighter #lighter lorenz #lighter x reader #lighter x you #x reader #zzz #zzz x reader #lighter lorenz x reader #zenless zone zero #zenless zone zero x reader #zenless zz x reader #zzzero x reader #zzzero #lighter zzz

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fangdokja · 2 months ago

Note

Yandere royal guards plot twist: reader was isekaid into their world and has no idea wtf they’re saying, so thinks being nonchalant is safest when it’s actually making them insane lmao

You got isekai’d. Now three murder machines think your blank stares are divine wisdom.

♡ Yandere! Royal Guards who don’t realize their beloved Sovereign is just some random girl from another world with no clue what’s happening.

♡ Yandere! Royal Guard who prowls at your feet like a starving beast, ears twitching, tail lashing, his grin full of sharp promises. “Sovereign, I’ve torn out the tongues of the palace spies. Their screams were... exquisite.” His voice purrs, expectant, waiting.

You stare blankly. “Ah.”

His pupils dilate. His breath shudders. “...Your restraint is incredible.”

♡ Yandere! Royal Guard who kneels before you, his wings folding like a dying swan’s. “Sovereign, forgive my forwardness, but do you love us?” His angelic eyes shine with desperation, manic with devotion. “You need only say it, and we shall set fire to the world in your name.”

You blink slowly. He is sweating.

“…Sure.”

His breath hitches—his body trembles—his fingers dig into his chest as though holding his heart inside his ribs. “Such… modesty,” he breathes. “To hide your love beneath cold indifference—your restraint is divine.”

♡ Yandere! Royal Guard who glowers from the shadows, a hulking wall of destruction. “Fight me.” His voice grinds like crushed bone, deep and sharp. “Your fists. Now.”

You shake your head. “No thanks.”

His nostrils flare. His hands twitch. “...You are waiting,” he mutters. “You want me to earn it.” His eyes gleam with lethal reverence. “I will not disappoint you.”

You sip your drink. He goes outside. The walls tremble. The ground shakes. The screams of unfortunate trainees echo into the sky.

They don’t know that you, a confused isekai victim, have no idea what they’re saying. They think your apathy is an unfathomable test. Every blank stare fuels their madness.

And the worst part? You’re just trying to stay alive.

────────────

♡ Note. This is NOT canon. Reader is canonically genetically equipped, capable in her position despite the chaos of the Yandere! Royal Guards, and her apathetic personality is really made to be that way. This is a what-if fanfic to the main story. Character banner art belongs to “inplick” and can be found in Instagram. But, it it also official art from a collaboration between Link Click x Sanrio.

♡ A/N. Anon, my request box is closed even for short requests (this isn't an ask, but a request). Also, please read the RULES before making requests. I only allowed this since I do plan on opening Anon requests; but, I haven't made the official announcement. My request box will officially open 2-5 months from now. But... since this can be used for drabbles anyway, fine. Don't expect me to spoil you guys though! I'm already swamped with a lot of long project requests alongside other works. Also, I don't like doing canon-divergent works of my OC's usually, but fine. Short, attempt at humor idea. Seriously. Please read the Rules, I don't like repeating myself.

────────────

If you want to be added or removed from the tag list, just comment on the MASTERLIST of Whispers in the Dark (WITD): Subtle Devotion, Lingering Shadows. Thank you.

General TAG LIST of “Whispers In The Dark”: @keisocool , @elvabeth , @elloredef , @mjsjshhd , @lem-hhn , @yuki-istired

❤︎ Fang Dokja's Books.

♡ Book 1. A Heart Devoured (AHD): A Dark Yandere Anthology ♡ Book 2. Forbidden Fruits (FF): Intimate Obsessions, Unhinged Desires. ♡ Book 3. World Ablaze (WA) : For You, I'd Burn the World. ♡ Book 4 [you are here]. Whispers in the Dark (WITD): Subtle Devotion, Lingering Shadows.

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lieslab · 5 days ago

Text

No wisdom, just teeth

꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎ ꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎

Pairing: og8 X gn reader

Summary: A tooth infection leads to a dentist trip and some chaos.

Genre: 9th member AU

Word Count: 3.6k

A/N: Lab rats, do we like 9th member AUs? I'm testing this out and working on another 9th member AU request. Consider this a brief test run.

꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎ ꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎

The pain radiating throughout your jaw, when your eyes opened to the sound of your alarm clock, blinded you. You gently cupped the side of your aching jaw, moaned in pain, and blindly reached over to quiet your alarm clock.

Three days ago, it was a minor toothache. All the way in the back left corner of your mouth, you assumed it was a pesky wisdom tooth. Why on earth humans grew more teeth as they aged? You didn’t know. All you knew was that it was hell on earth.

The aching gums, the discomfort of chewing, the tiny morsels of growth that left you feeling exhausted and defeated. It became more and more clear why babies cried and gnawed on everything when growing in their own teeth.

You took the proper steps yesterday, when nothing seemed to work. The pain killers didn’t help the pain and neither did the gel you applied to numb the pain. Briefly, you were freed from the ache with the gel, but the pain came back much worse. The next opening for your dentist was next week. You thought you could manage, but clearly your tooth had other ideas.

Out in the kitchen, plastic coffee cups clattered. Chan pressed buttons on the fancy espresso machine and tapped his fingers awaiting a third espresso shot. A triple shot americano wasn’t needed at seven in the morning, but something had to cut through his groggy haze. A cup full of ice sat waiting.

In the distance, Jeongin struggled to open his eyes in the bathroom. His hair stuck out in multiple directions. Their morning routine didn’t change, but he still struggled to pull himself from sleep, too. A sigh escaped his lips, he forced his eyes open, and reached for the hairbrush.

Mid-brush, he paused when he heard you calling for Chan. It wasn’t unusual for the ninth member to want Chan. You found comfort in Chan and often seeked him out for guidance. Being the leader of the group, you often admired him and trusted his advice.

“Chan?” You grumbled again as you patted into the kitchen.

“I’m here, what’s up?” His silhouette appeared around the corner. “Do you want a morning coff- oh?” He frowned. Your eyes were still barely open. An unsteady gait in your walk. With cheeks flushed of color and something obviously wrong, he walked to meet you. “What’s wrong?”

“I think my tooth is infected. I feel like shit and my tooth has been hurting.”

“Uh-oh.”

“What’s going on?” Jeongin appeared with a toothbrush full of toothpaste. “Did you lose something again?”

“Even worse, they might have a tooth infection.”

Jeongin’s face contorted into an instant grimace. “That’s not good.”

“Did you call your dentist?”

“Booked out until next week.”

“Are we sure it’s an infected tooth and not the flu or something?” Jeongin asked.

Chan’s eyes wandered back to you and you shook your head. “I have a pounding headache and was fine last night. My tooth hurts worse and my head feels like it’s on fire. Even just accidentally touching my face hurts my jaw.”

His face quickly mirrored Jeongin’s. “There’s no way you can work like this. Why don’t you settle back into bed and I’ll make some calls? I’ll call my dentist and if I can’t find someone willing to work something out, I’ll call another dentist.”

“I can call people, I just-”

“Your focus right now should be on resting. Take some painkillers, drink some water, and I’ve got this, okay? Let me do this for you. You’re in pain and I don’t want you to stress yourself out more.”

“Thank you.”

“Innie, are you still-”

“Going to the company building? Yeah, unless you want me to stick around here and help you.”

“I’ve got it. Tell the guys that I’ll be there a little later. I’m going to get this worked out first.”

“Aye, aye, captain.” He saluted, patted you on the shoulder, and disappeared back in the bathroom to brush his teeth.

“Try not to worry too much, we’ll figure it out.” Chan flashed you a dimpled reassuring smile, but it didn’t feel very reassuring to your aching jaw.

~ ~ ~

The bright blue eyes of the dentist peeking over your face didn’t make you feel better. After a quick phone call to his dentist, Chan’s dentist agreed to meet you immediately. If a tooth infection created the root of the problem, the infection could turn much more dire than expected.

So you laid with your mouth cranked open. Silver dental tools poked and prodded the back of your mouth. Tender and sore gums bled at the touch. Your nose scrunched from the pain. Tools scraped. The dentist mumbled to the assistant and you hated all of it.

Getting x-rays sucked. Biting down on two pieces of plastic nearly made you vomit in your unwell state. Even the basic exam made tears prick in your eyes. Chan’s dentist was nice. She didn’t mean to make you feel worse, but your feelings were in shambles.

All you could focus on was your aching jaw. Across the pale blue room, Chan’s knee bounced. He could have stayed in the waiting room, but he wanted to be here with you to make sure you were okay. You were grateful, despite the awkwardness, you didn’t want to be alone.

He texted the group chat with frequent updates to keep the rest of the members informed, but all he could really do was wait for the dentist’s diagnosis. Nervous for you, his knee never stopped bouncing. He winced at every sound of a tool clanging against your teeth, he knew how it felt from his own time in the dental chair for cleanings.

After a few more moments, the dentist pulled back. She pulled down her blue surgical mask and sighed. “I have good news and I have bad news. The bad news, it’s an infected wisdom tooth. The good news? It can be fixed with extraction and some antibiotics to make sure the infection is cleared up.”

Chan’s head perked up at the sound of her voice. He clicked off his phone and looked at you. Your eyes were focused on the ceiling, only half-paying attention. When he called your name, you glanced over.

“Did you hear that?”

“Please take it out before it kills me.”

Unable to hide her amusement, the dentist chuckled softly. “It won’t be a problem.” Her eyes went back to Chan. “It might take a while and since it’s a wisdom tooth, you’ll probably be better to wait in our waiting room.”

“If I give you my number, can you call me when they’re finished?” He glanced at the dentist and she nodded. He stood up and approached you. “I don’t want to leave you, but the guys are having some issues at the recording booth.”

“Go ahead and help them. I’ll be here when they finish and after they call. If we’re lucky, I’ll be in a lot less pain.”

He chuckled, grabbed your hand, and gently squeezed it. “Behave for the dentist, will you?”

“As long as she frees me of that stupid tooth, we’ll get along just fine.”

~ ~ ~

The lights blinded you. The world blurred and you groaned loudly. Your head jerked back in the wheelchair you were sitting in. People around you turned into silhouettes rather than individuals with clarified features.

“Hey, easy there, tiger.” A hand gently patted the top of your head. Minho’s voice reassured you, but you couldn’t see him. “Keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times or the pig-bunny will gnaw them off.”

“Hey!” Changbin cried out, clearly offended. “That’s not true! I wouldn’t gnaw off your arms.”

“Guys, stop it. They just came around from having all four wisdom teeth plucked out. They’re probably confused and disoriented, you’ll scare them.”

Felix’s freckled face appeared right in front of yours. “Hi, there!” He grinned and reached out to lightly poke the tip of your nose. “Can you hear me? Are you okay?”

All you could muster was another groan. Your cheeks felt like they were bursting at the seams. Packed with bloody gauze, you were a numbed zombie. Your entire body felt off. More than anything, you were confused about the ongoing scenario around you.

Back in the lobby of the dental office, Chan talked to the dentist and receptionist with slight worry. He didn’t realize after he left, you agreed with the dentist to have all four wisdom teeth pulled, rather than the single infected tooth. It’d save you a second procedure, but the recovery would last a lot longer.

He flipped through the papers in his hands, trying to understand everything the dentist reminded him. Beside him, Jeongin glanced back outside to you. As both your roommates, they’d get the task of managing the majority of your recovery process. Neither was looking forward to it, nor were they looking forward to informing your manager that you’d have to sit out of the usual schedule for a while.

Han popped out of an open car door when Minho rolled up with your anesthetic-laced body. Upon seeing the roundness of your cheeks, he burst into a fit of giggles. “Hey! You look just like me! You’ve got my cheeks!”

Your head slightly shook, which caused him to laugh. He climbed out of the car. Hyunjin glanced up from the driver’s side and looked behind his seat. Bloody gauze could be seen in your slightly opened mouth. His eyes narrowed. “Ew.”

“Ew?” You mumbled.

“That’s what I said. Ew.”

Your bottom lip trembled and Felix’s face fell. “No, no, no. Sweetheart, don’t cry, he’s just teasing you. He doesn’t think that you’re ew, he’s talking about the bloody gauze in your mouth. He’s just being silly.”

“He’s ‘urting my ‘eelings!”

“Well, you look ugly and swollen, so…” Seungmin shrugged and took a sip of his smoothie. Before the guys left the company building to pick you up, they stopped to get drinks.

Changbin spun around, trying not to laugh. Felix swatted his shoulder. Han forced himself to bite his lip. Behind you, Minho couldn’t stop the grin from appearing.

By the time Chan and Jeongin came out of the building, a steady stream of tears slipped down your cheeks. The guys tried hard to comfort you, but you weren’t having any of it. Too strung out on the remnants of being under anesthesia, you didn’t realize Seungmin’s words held no truth.

“What’s going on? Why are they crying?”

“Because Seungmin was a dickhead,” Minho pointed out.

“Yeah, he called them ugly and swollen.”

Jeongin’s hand patted your leg reassuringly. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it. Seungmin’s face looks ugly and swollen all the time.”

“It does not!” His instant objection brought a pause to your tears.

Minho realized it instantly and grinned. “Hey, they stopped crying! Keep going! Seungmin is ugly and untalented!”

“Seungmin smells like beef,” Han continued. A look of Seungmin’s genuine concern shot his way. Han ignored it and went on. “Seungminnie is bad at most video games.”

“‘Outh ‘urts.”

“What are they saying?” Changbin asked.

“Their mouth hurts. I know it hurts, but we’re going to get you home and feel better. When you feel much better, I’ll make you an entire batch of brownies, okay?”

You wiped away your tears instantly. “Tanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

After deciding who was sitting where, a few of the guys sat with you. Others followed Jeongin into his car, so they could be taken home. Hyunjin drove, Chan sat in the passenger’s seat, Minho, and Felix sat on either side of you.

You stayed quiet and let your eyes shut. For the first few minutes, all was fine, until it wasn’t. For whatever reason, you jerked straight upright with wide eyes. Both Felix and Minho glanced over concerned.

“I’m being kitnapped!”

“Huh?”

Your hand went towards your seatbelt. Minho quickly grabbed your hand, trying to prevent you from getting loose. “Woah, there. You can’t unbuckle when the car is moving.”

“Channie!” You cried out loudly.

Chan flipped his sun visor down and glanced at you. “What’s wrong? What is it?”

“He’s kitnapping me!”

“Who is?”

Your arm flung toward Hyunjin. Hyunjin glanced in the rearview mirror and rolled his eyes. “If I was kidnapping you, you’d probably have a bag over your head. Why would I kidnap you and put you beside Felix? Being kidnapped with Felix probably wouldn’t even feel like being kidnapped.”

“Don’t worry, mate. When ‘re outta this, I’m gonna make yer brohwnies.” Hyunjin uttered in a dramatic Australian accent.

“I do NAUGHT sound like that!”

“You just did.”

Felix huffed and tucked his hand around yours. “You’re not being kidnapped. We’re taking you back home, so you can get some rest. You’re safe with us.”

“Channie!” You uttered again.

“Hyunjin, can you stop the car, so I can change spots with Minho?”

“Oh, yeah! Lemme up there, so I can air fry the ferret and stretch my legs.”

“CHANNIE!”

“Minho, you’re making them upset. It’s okay, I’m coming back there, don’t worry. Felix isn’t going to let Minho air fry anyone, okay?”

Hyunjin slowly brought the car to a stop on the side of the road. He turned on his hazard lights, allowing Minho and Chan to swap spots. The moment Chan slipped beside you, you grabbed his hand and refused to let go. Your forehead rested upon his shoulder. The numbness and confusion you felt melted together. Your eyes drooped and you let yourself drift to sleep.

~ ~ ~

In Chan and Jeongin’s dorm, Jeongin already arrived back home with Changbin, Seungmin, and Han. Chan told Jeongin to make sure they had a proper spot for you on the couch and he didn’t know exactly what that meant, so he tried his best.

After dumping multiple of your blankets and pillows on the couch, he stood back and scratched the back of his neck. “How on earth do you make a cozy spot for someone on the couch? It’s the couch, it’s not meant to sleep on after such an intense procedure.”

“Oh, this one is.” Han grabbed one of the blankets and wrapped it around his shoulders. “This leather couch is so sleek and nice. I can’t believe I’m saying it, but you both have good taste. This couch is my favorite piece of furniture.”

“I don’t think they’re going to be real happy knowing you’re stealing their blanket,” Seungmin commented.

“And I don’t think they’ll be happy seeing your swollen and ugly face,” Changbin shot out in Han’s defense.

“You wanna go, pig-bunny?”

“Yeah, come here!” Changbin shot forward and grabbed Seungmin’s throat.

A grin instantly filled Seungmin’s face. “I didn’t know you were into being an alpha man.”

“Yah, no! Ew! Stop!” Changbin pulled away and shook his hand. “No more alpha and omega stuff. I don’t wanna hear about it, you pervert.”

“You grew oddly offended about that.”

“Shut up!”

“Shh! They’re back, I can see them coming to the door through the window.” Han shoved himself to his feet, shedding your blanket, and letting it lay on the couch.

Jeongin hurried to the door and pulled it open. In Chan’s arms, your sleeping body lay bridal style. He carried you inside with ease. “Did you get the couch ready?”

“I mean, I didn’t know exactly what you wanted, but their stuff is there.”

“Good enough.”

The rest of the guys followed behind Chan. He gently placed you on the couch against your pillow, making sure you weren’t lying on either side of your jaw. He quickly grabbed blankets to cover you up and let out a sigh of relief. “That takes care of that for now.”

Out in the kitchen, Minho flicked through the stack of paperwork from the dental office. “This looks like a huge headache, thank god I’m not playing a part in this.”

Felix appeared over his shoulder and frowned. “Oh, poor thing. This is certainly going to be a long recovery period. They’ll probably be pretty upset when they wake up.”

“And in pain. Does anyone want to come with me to go pick up their antibiotics from the pharmacy?” Jeongin pulled out his car keys.

“Please get me the hell out of here,” Seungmin walked towards him instantly.

“I guess I’ll go.”

“Yeah, same.”

Changbin and Han followed him, but it was Han that spoke up first. “Do you think we should stop at the store and grab some soft snacks, so they have something to eat and drink when they wake up?”

“That’s a good idea.”

The guys all conversed and slipped out the door, leaving only a handful behind. Hyunjin observed your peaceful demeanor and sighed. “I think this is the first time they haven’t been stressed in a while.”

“Anesthesia is just a brief coma,” Felix mumbled beneath his breath.

Chan came out to look through the papers that were in Minho’s hand. Despite Minho’s previous words, he didn’t mean them. Of course, he’d help with your recovery, he always would.

~ ~ ~

You woke up to the sound of quiet whispers full of affection.

“They look so cute when they’re relaxed and asleep like this.”

“I can’t wait until they wake up, I miss them.”

“I like them when they’re dead to the world. I haven’t heard this kind of silence in so long.”

“Kim Seungmin, you fucking jackass.”

“Bite me.”

“I might.”

When your eyes opened, you made out the faint illumination of Chan’s yellowed face. The way the lamp positioned, it cast an unnatural tint to his face. He stepped away and walked closer to you. “Hey there, are you awake?”

You tried to speak, but the gauze stopped your words from coming out clearly. Your eyes widened and Chan stepped forward. “Whoops, I forgot about that. Hold on, stay still, and let me take this out for you.”

He leaned forward and peeled away the gauze. When he did, you blinked rapidly, trying to wake up. To your surprise, all the guys were scattered throughout the dorm’s living room.

“You made it through your wisdom teeth extraction.”

“You’re a total baby when you’re high on anesthesia and you can’t take a joke.”

“Seungmin made you cry.”

You tried to speak, but your voice felt hoarse. Jeongin quickly stood up to retrieve a water bottle for you when your words came out cracked. When he came back, he jerked it open, and handed it to you. After a few sips of refreshing cold water, you thanked him.

“Honestly, I’m really disappointed you didn’t give us more to work with. I was expecting you to turn into a total brat, but you didn’t. You thought I was kidnapping you and cried at Seungmin’s insult, but that was about it.”

You glanced up at Hyunjin with furrowed eyebrows. He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “You don’t remember?”

“No. I don’t remember a lot of it. I thought they were taking out one tooth.”

“Yeah, I think you were half unconscious when you agreed to take out all four.”

“But I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” Felix chimed in. “Now you never have to do that again and that’s pretty cool. Unlike the rest of us…” He frowned thinking about it.

“Oh, hell no!” Jeongin’s head shook. “They’re not putting dental tools in my mouth.”

“Yeah, I agree. I’ll continue my regular appointments to keep my mouth cleaned. I’ll be flossing and brushing like usual,” Minho added. “Preventive measures help with tooth infections and cavities.”

“Thank you, doctor obvious.”

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” Chan questioned with concern.

“My mouth feels so swollen and I’m tired.”

“No pain?”

“Not really, I just feel groggy.”

“I think this has been the best possible outcome for you.”

“Wrong. I wanted to see you beat up Changbin,” Seungmin pouted.

“And I wanted to see them put their foot up your ass, so I guess we’re all disappointed,” Changbin glared.

The sound of your stomach made everyone pause. Your cheeks flushed red and you grabbed your stomach. “Sorry, I guess I’m hungry. I haven’t had food all day.”

“Oh!” Felix popped up. “You can pick something off the list of foods that the dentist recommended.”

“Nothing hard, crunchy, or sticky,” Han clarified.

“I know it’s not exactly healthy, but a milkshake sounds nice.”

“You’re not allowed to use a straw, but if you want a milkshake, it can be arranged,” Chan leaned over and patted your head. “What kind?”

“Can we all have milkshakes for dinner? A big giant chocolate milkshake would hit the spot. Topped with a lot of whipped cream and chocolate syrup and-”

Jeongin cut off Han’s rambling. “Usually, I’d judge you for that, but that sounds so good.”

“Sounds pretty official to me.”

“Come on, Innie.” Changbin stood up and grabbed Jeongin’s arm. “The rest of you can text the group chat with what kind of milkshakes you want. We’re going to go find our sugar rush.”

Chan sighed and leaned back against the couch. “I can’t believe I’m a full grown man and agreeing to get dessert to replace a balanced dinner.”

“Live a little, you ancient, old fuck.”

“Seungmin is right!”

“Felix, you’re not supposed to agree with him.”

“Well, he’s acting like he has a stick up his ass.”

“I am not! I just think that having a milkshake is ironic since our member just got out their-”

“Hey, what’s the best time to go to the dentist?” Han beamed.

“Han fucking Jisung, if you say tooth-hurty-”

“Tooth-hurty!”

“Come here,” Minho stood up with a fist. “I’ll show you a tooth-hurty.”

“AH!” He rushed to the opposite side of the couch.

You sucked in a deep breath and sighed. You might have survived getting your wisdom teeth removed, but now you were tasked with surviving your recovery period with the members of your group; quite a difficult feat when you live with a group of wild animals.

| ♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡ | ♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡ | ♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡ |

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lovelytsunoda · 4 months ago

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domesticated | oscar piastri

summary: yn comes back from a business trip to find her boyfriend doing the laundry. naturally, it’s this smidge of domesticity that makes her want to jump his bones

pairing: oscar piastri x girlfriend!reader

warnings: 18+, sex in a laundry room (and up against a laundry machine), men that pull their weight around the household are sexy as fuck!

the house was quiet when she came home. almost too quiet.

she left her tumi suitcase by the door, taking off her shoes and blazer before making her way through the foyer.

"oscar?" she called. "babe, i'm back. my flight landed early!"

she and oscar hadn't been living together for long, maybe six months at the absolute maximum. her five-day business trip to the other side of the country had been the longest that the young lovers had spent apart since they had moved in together.

the living room was empty, despite the flat screen tv playing a cricket match to the empty space. there was a mug of tea on the end table, half full and still warm.

"osc?" she called again, drumming her fingers against the wall. where could her boyfriend possibly be?

she could hear vibrations coming from deeper inside the house, a loud rattling, more like. she followed the noise to the laundry room, where she found oscar sitting on the tiled floor, surrounded by piles of laundry, the washing machine rattling away behind him. he had his headphones in, head bopping to whatever it was that he found helped him focus.

she knocked loudly on the door, heart jumping when he looked up at her with nothing but pure love in his eyes.

"hey, baby!" he said excitedly, stumbling over a pile of t-shirts on the ground. "you're back!"

he kissed her softly, hands coming to rest at her waist. "how was the conference?"

"a waste of time." she hummed, pulling him in closer. "what i really want to talk about is your laundry skills."

"oh yeah?" oscar grinned, nodding towards the piles on the floor. "i live here too, i should pull my weight. my race suits are dry clean only, but everything else can go in the machine. i've developed a system."

she raised an eyebrow, but couldn't deny how sexy it was that oscar wasn't afraid of a little bit of housework. "you have, have you?"

"yeah, do you want me to explain it?"

"actually, i would much rather you fuck me against the washing machine."

and who was oscar to disagree?

that's how she found herself pushed up against a running laundry machine, naked from the waist down. her legs were wrapped tightly around oscar's lower half, his sweatpants lying forgotten ono the floor and he kissed up her neck, teasing her entrance with the tip of his throbbing cock.

"christ, babe. you're this wet already?"

"missed you." she hummed, kissing him gently. "that's all."

"well, we can't have that, can we?"

he slid inside with one swift movement, filling her to the brim. he muttered a curse, face buried in her neck as he got settled. all he could feel was her: her warmth, the smoothness of her thighs as she drew him closer, the softness of the skin on her neck, the beating of her heart.

she was everything he could have ever wanted and more.

"fuck me, oscar. please."

keeping in time with the rhythmic churning of the washing machine behind her, oscar's thrusts started out slow but firm, testing the waters. her gentle moans and whimpers were music to his ears, and he bit back a few grunts of his own as he slipped in and out of her warm and welcoming pussy.

"oh, yes. right there, baby. fuck, you fill me so well." she moaned, head thrown back as she rolled her hips in time with oscar's movements.

"that's right, darling. keep taking my cock like a fucking champ."

"faster, oscar." she whimpered, nails digging into his shoulders. "faster."

he kissed her hurriedly, delivering a few more teasing and languid thrusts of his cock before pulling out and slamming back inside. the scream of pleasure she let out was positively delightful, followed by desperate pleas of 'more' and 'kiss me'.

which, of course, oscar was all too happy to oblige.

her body was curled around his, her aching nipples pressing against her lacy bra and showing through the flimsy white dress shirt she was wearing. oscar was transfixed by the sight as her breasts bounced with the effort of his thrusts, pushing her against the machine with each feral pound.

"yes, baby." he grunted. "just let me take care of you." one hand gently tugged at her hair, the other braced on the countertop. the sounds of his balls hitting her skin was almost as loud as the noise the washing machine was making,

"fuck, oscar, i'm so close! wanna come on your thick cock." she pleaded, marking the skin underneath the collar of his white shirt. a shirt that was now completely soaked through with sweat.

"yeah? are you that pent up, baby? you were only gone for five days. you know i'm coming with you next time, right? i mean, my hand can only do so much. it doesn't cuddle with me, or kiss me softly, or smell like fresh vanilla-"

"oscar!" she squealed as he thrusted hard enough to send her body shotting upwards towards the bottom of the hanging cabinet. her fingers scrabbled for purchase, limply clinging to the door handle.

"right, okay." oscar grunted. "i've got you, sweet girl. come on, give it to me. give it to me, angel."

she came with a cry, her body curling around his. this was always the part where she felt the most emotional, and the most vulnerable. oscar pulled her close, running his hands up and down his arms while he tried to gently thrust through it.

“atta girl. you’re so good, baby. I love you so much.”

“you didn’t finish.” she whispered softly, licking her lips.

oscar grinned. “baby, I’ve got gas left in the tank like you wouldn’t believe. what do you say we go to the bedroom and you let me show you just how much I missed you?”

#smutmas (tasia's version)#oscar piastri smut #oscar piastri x reader #formula one smut #f1 imagine #f1 smut #formula one x reader #formula one imagine #formula 1 smut #Spotify

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incorrectstarrailquotes · 4 months ago

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Sunday: I am the oldest.

Dan Heng, chugging Himeko's coffee to test his grit: We know.

Sunday: I'm also the newbie.

March 7th, baking glitter into a cake: Uh huh...

Sunday: I'm responsible for making sure you guys don't die.

Trailblazer, holding an airhorn to the sleeping Trotter and Tuskpir: We know.

Sunday: I'll say that again, I'm responsible for making sure you guys don't die.

Dan Heng, pouring espresso into the coffee machine instead of water: Is this going somewhere?

Sunday, in tears: Please make this easier. Why are you like this?

March 7th, standing next to the now-on-fire oven: I do not believe anything can kill me.

Dan Heng, chugging the coffee that is now strong enough to break someone's spine: I WAS killed. And I came back. I don't believe anything can KEEP me dead.

Trailblazer, being gnawed on by the pets: Does it honestly look like I care at this point?

#honkai star rail #honkai star rail incorrect quotes #hsr sunday #hsr trailblazer #hsr dan heng #hsr march 7th #posted during version 2.7

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smokedensitychambermanufacturers · 1 month ago

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ha-rinrin · 5 months ago

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The Metal Touch

summary: What begins as intrigue and banter with Jinx quickly turns into something deeper—a mix of fire and vulnerability as her metal touch becomes both comfort and thrill.

Pairing: Jinx x Fem!reader

Wordcount: 6.5k

Authors note: I don't I really feel like I gave her finger justice but oh well, I tried. more fics are on the way guys I just cant stop writing with the new amazing content of season two 😭 also I didn't proof read 3 times, thats what I usually do, so if its bad thats why.

masterlist

The dimly lit workshop buzzed quietly with the sound of metal grinding against metal. Jinx tinkered with her mechanical finger, her expression an intense blend of fascination and frustration. Every so often, she muttered something under her breath, adjusting a bolt or tightening a screw, her usual bravado toned down by the meticulousness of her task.

“Almost got it,” she mumbled, her fingers moving with surprising finesse over the intricate mechanisms. Sparks flickered, and you instinctively reached out to brush them away from her, grinning when she looked up with a smirk.

“Afraid I’ll break, toots?” she teased, her eyes glinting with that familiar, playful gleam.

“Not afraid—just making sure my girlfriend stays in one piece,” you reply, nudging her shoulder. “Besides, not everyone has a cybernetic finger to work with.”

Jinx rolled her eyes, though a smile tugged at her lips. “Come on, where’s your faith?” she quipped, giving her finger one last twist and holding it up for a test. She flexed it, and to your relief, it worked without a hitch. “See? Perfectly fine.”

“Yeah, for now,” you teased, reaching out to take her hand in yours, feeling the cool metal of her finger against your skin. She didn’t pull away, her gaze softening as you laced your fingers together, careful of the mechanics but not the least bit shy.

She grinned, standing up from her chair and tugging you closer by the hand until your faces were inches apart. “Guess I should thank my pretty assistant, then,” she murmured, her voice low, as her free hand reached up to cup your face.

Your cheeks warmed under her touch, and before you could come up with a clever reply, she closed the gap, kissing you softly yet confidently, Her lips curled into a smile against yours. Your hands found their way to her waist, holding her close

“You make this stuff look easy, you know?” you whispered when you pulled back, catching your breath.

Jinx shrugged, as if it was nothing, but the way she held onto you said otherwise. "I don’t know, you make it easier.”

She kissed you again, and as the machines hummed around you, it felt like, for a moment, the whole world was just the two of you, tucked away in the quiet workshop, right where you belonged.

The workshop seemed to shrink, leaving just the two of you in the dim light and soft whirring of machines. Jinx’s lips brushed yours again, but this time, there was a fierceness that hadn’t been there before—a sense of urgency you felt all the way down to your toes. Her hand, warm and steady, slid to the small of your back, drawing you in closer as the kiss deepened. It was full of all the unsaid words she rarely let show.

You felt her smirk against your lips, her metal finger tracing along your jawline as her other hand tugged you even closer, leaving no space between you. Your heart pounded, and every nerve seemed to come alive under her touch. She broke the kiss only long enough to catch her breath, her gaze dark and heated as she looked at you, her purple eyes blazing in the dim light.

“See? I’m not all that dangerous,” she murmured, her voice low and breathy as her lips found your neck, leaving a trail of heat with every kiss. Her mechanical finger traced up your side, leaving goosebumps in their wake, and you couldn’t help but tilt your head, giving her more access as her lips and teeth made quick work of your senses.

You tightened your grip around her, pulling her impossibly closer, losing yourself in the warmth and intensity of her embrace. Her breath was warm against your skin as her hands roamed with an expertise that had you forgetting everything else, her laughter soft and thrilling as she felt your heart racing against hers.

Jinx’s kisses intensified, her lips pressing hungrily against your skin, making your pulse skyrocket. Her metal finger traced down your spine, the coolness a sharp contrast to her warmth, igniting shivers along your skin. Every graze of her mechanic middle finger was electrifying, a reminder of both her strength and the tenderness she only shared with you.

She pulled back just enough to look into your eyes, her breathing heavy, her gaze intense. “You don’t mind a little metal, do you?” she teased, a wicked grin flashing across her lips as she lifted her metal finger to gently hold your chin, her thumb brushing over your lips.

You barely had a moment to shake your head before she kissed you again, deeper this time, her mechanical finger trailing up and down your side, their cool touch making you tremble.

It was as if she knew exactly how much pressure to apply, a calculated intensity that left you breathless. Her hand moved from your chin to your shoulder, holding you firmly in place as her other hand slipped beneath the fabric of your shirt, exploring with a confidence that made your knees weak.

“Feels different, doesn’t it?” she murmured against your lips, her metal finger pressing into your skin, creating a contrast that drove you wild. She leaned in, her mouth brushing your ear as she whispered, “Bet no one else could make you feel like this.”

You couldn’t form a coherent response, too caught up in the heat of her touch and the rhythm of her breathing. She chuckled softly, the sound vibrating against your skin as she pressed you back against the workbench, her metal hand sliding up to cup the back of your neck, keeping you firmly in place as she kissed you again, her lips urgent and unapologetic.

“See?” she whispered, her voice a low growl. “Told you I wasn’t dangerous… unless you like it that way.”

Her words sent a thrill down your spine, and you gripped her tighter, pulling her close as your lips met hers again in a kiss that was as wild and intense, just as she was, both of you losing yourselves to the heady mix of passion and abandon in the quiet of the workshop, with only the flicker of lights and hum of machinery as witness to the fire between you.

The intensity between you built, filling the workshop with a charged silence that only quickened breaths and the hum of machinery could break. Jinx’s fingers slipped beneath the hem of your shirt, her touch both familiar and thrilling, and she paused, her eyes meeting yours with a spark of mischief.

“Mind if I make things a little… warmer?” she asked, her lips curving into that wicked smile she wore so well. Her hands, both warm flesh and cool metal, gripped the fabric and, without waiting for your answer, began lifting it. You raised your arms as a sign of permission, letting her pull it off in one smooth motion, and she tossed it aside, her gaze sweeping over you with an unmistakable glint of admiration.

She bit her lip as her fingers trailed over your bare skin, her metal fingertip cold but thrilling as it traced along your collarbone. “Didn’t think I’d get this lucky in the middle of a tune-up,” she murmured, her eyes never leaving you as her other hand went to her own shirt, tugging it over her head with practiced ease. You felt your cheeks heat up, unable to hide your appreciation as her shirt joined yours in a messy pile on the floor.

Before you could catch your breath, she pressed against you, her bare skin warm and firm against yours, her lips finding yours again with a hunger that made your pulse race. Her metal finger found your waist, the sensation sharp and grounding, while her other hand cupped your face, guiding you deeper into the kiss, her mouth capturing yours with a fierceness that felt like it was made for you alone.

You slipped your arms along her sides, savoring her closeness as her breaths mingled with yours, her laughter soft and thrilling. Jinx’s lips moved to your neck, pressing heated kisses along your skin as her fingers traced patterns down your back, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake.

“Still sure you’re up for this?” she teased against your ear, her voice barely more than a whisper, filled with both daring and tenderness, her hands roaming, claiming every inch of skin as if she could never get enough.

“Absolutely,” you whispered back, pulling her in closer as the world outside faded to nothing but the heat between you. And in that moment, there was only the two of you, tangled together in the dim light, lost in each other’s touch and the thrill of being exactly where you wanted to be—right there, in her arms.

Jinx’s fingers explored every inch of your skin with a blend of precision and intensity that sent a shiver through you. Her metal hand rested at your waist, the coolness making each touch more vivid, a thrilling contrast against her warmth. Her other hand traced a line up your spine, pulling you closer until you could feel her heartbeat, fast and strong, mirroring your own.

She leaned in, her breath hot against your ear as she whispered, “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to fuck you with my new upgrade.” Her lips trailed down your neck, leaving a path of soft, heated kisses that made you melt under her touch. Her metal hand tightened on your waist, steadying you as your knees went weak, her gaze holding you captive as she grinned, clearly enjoying the effect she had on you.

You slipped your arms around her, fingers tracing the lines of her back, her muscles tensing under your touch. Her mouth returned to yours, this time fiercer, more urgent, as if she was pouring everything she felt into that one kiss. You matched her intensity, letting her press you back against the workbench, your bodies moving together in a perfect rhythm.

Jinx’s metal hand slid up to your side, the cold touch sending a thrill through you, grounding you in the moment even as her other hand moved with care and confidence exploring your breasts. She deepened the kiss, her lips hot against yours, her fingers now tangling in your hair as she held you close. Every touch, every brush of her skin with yours left you breathless and wanting more.

“Guess you’re not so afraid of a little metal after all,” she murmured with a grin, her eyes dark with something deeper, her voice thick with desire.

“Not when it’s you,” you replied, barely able to keep your voice steady, drawing her back to you as the two of you lost yourselves in the electric pull between you.

Jinx’s hands, both flesh and metal, continued their exploration, her fingers tracing patterns that left your skin tingling. Her smile held a daring glint as her hands dipped to your hips, fingers hooking onto the waistband of your jeans. She met your gaze, a mischievous question in her eyes, and when you nodded, she didn’t hesitate.

Slowly, she slid your jeans down, her hands gliding over your thighs as she dropped the fabric to the floor, leaving you exposed to her smoldering gaze. The intensity in her eyes made your pulse race, your breath hitching as she took in every inch of you with a quiet reverence that sent a thrill through you. She stepped back only long enough to tug off her own pants, and when she pressed close again, the feel of her bare skin against yours was intoxicating.

You couldn’t help but pull her closer, wrapping your arms around her as her hands settled on your waist, her metal fingers cool against the heat of your skin, grounding you in the moment. She grinned, her usual playful confidence softened by something deeper as she leaned in, capturing your lips in a slow, lingering kiss that left you breathless. Her hands roamed with practiced ease, each touch sending a shiver through you as her mouth moved from your lips to your neck, then lower, to your collarbone, pressing heated kisses along your skin.

The moment you pulled her even closer, the air between you thickened with anticipation. You could feel the heat of her body pressing against yours, the thrum of her heartbeat matching the pulse in your veins.

Her fingers skimmed your waist, sending sparks of sensation wherever they touched. She didn’t rush, taking her time, savoring every second as if she were memorizing the way you felt. Her breath was warm on your neck, sending a delicious tremor through your body.

“God, you’re perfect,” she murmured, voice low and rough, sending an ache through you as her lips found yours again, soft but charged. When you kissed her back, there was a hunger in it—a craving for something deeper. Her tongue met yours, slowly at first, tasting, exploring, before it deepened, pulling you closer as if she couldn’t get enough.

Jinx’s hands glided down your body, her fingertips tracing the curves of your hips before slipping lower to your thighs, igniting a thrill that left you breathless. She paused, her lips hovering as she looked at you, her eyes dark with need, but there was something else there too—something tender, something dangerous in the way she gazed at you.

“You don’t know what you do to me,” she whispered, her voice a heady mix of lust and something raw that made your heart race even faster.

You swallowed, your breath coming faster as she leaned in, her lips brushing against the shell of your ear. “I think I’m starting to get it,” you replied, your voice trembling just slightly, betraying the heat building between you two.

Jinx chuckled, a soft, sultry sound that made you shiver. Her hands moved lower in her gaze that was soft, almost vulnerable, like she was savoring this moment as much as you were. The mix of tenderness and hunger in her eyes made your heart race even more than before, if that’s even possible. She leaned in, her breath warm against your ear as she whispered, "You sure you're ready for this?"

You nodded, your voice barely a whisper as you replied, "More than ever." The words hung in the air between you, a promise you were both eager to fulfill.

Without another word, Jinx’s hands slid lower, fingertips grazing the sensitive skin of your inner thighs, sending a wave of heat through your body. She paused again, looking up at you, her gaze seeking permission. You met her eyes, steady and sure, and without hesitation, she leaned in to kiss you again, her lips pressing against yours with a desperation that spoke louder than words.

Her fingers, both warm and cool, massaged your bundle of nerves, her touch a perfect blend of confidence and care, even when she pushed them in you, allowing a loud moan to escape your mouth. As she explored you, your senses heightened, each soft caress sending ripples of pleasure through you. You gripped her waist, pulling her closer as the world around you faded, leaving only the two of you locked in this moment of raw, unfiltered connection.

Every movement, every touch, felt like a dance, a rhythm you both knew instinctively. Jinx’s lips trailed down your neck, her kisses slow and deliberate, each one sending a wave of heat straight to your core, your hips bucking and sweet nosies leaving your mouth.

She smiled against your skin, a wicked grin that made your pulse spike with anticipation. "I love it when you lose control," she murmured, her lips brushing your ear. "Makes me want to take it even further."

You gasped, your body instinctively arching toward hers, urging her on. Her name slipped from your lips in a breathless moan, and that was all the encouragement she needed. her fingers exploring deeper, hitting all the right spots, the mix of warm and cold from her metallic finger inside you made your legs feel like jelly.

Her fingers pushed deeper, and a soft gasp escaped your lips. The combination of her warmth and the sensation of her touch sent a wave of pleasure coursing through you, making your pulse race. Jinx didn’t stop, her movements steady and confident as she sought to draw you even closer to the edge. Her lips parted from your neck, her breath warm and uneven against your skin as she whispered, “You feel incredible.”

The connection between you both electric. She took her time, making sure every moment was felt, every touch adding to the growing intensity between you. Her name escaped your lips once more, barely a breath, and it seemed to spur her on.

Jinx’s eyes met yours, a dark spark of something mischievous in them. “You’re mine,” she murmured, her voice low, sending another shiver down your spine. Her fingers moved with purpose, hitting places you hadn’t even known you craved.

You couldn’t help but let out a breathy laugh, caught somewhere between pleasure and disbelief. “Always,” you managed, your voice thick with need.

The world outside the bubble you shared faded completely, leaving only the two of you, entwined in each other’s presence, moving together in perfect synchrony.

Jinx paused for a moment, her breath ragged as she took in the intensity of the moment, her gaze never leaving yours. Without a word, she lifted you up, her hands gently helping you to sit on top of the workbench.

You felt the cold metal against your ass as she sat you on it, pushing your legs apart so you were perfectly positioned, one of her hands steady as she helped you get comfortable while the other one continues its thrusting, sending a shiver through your body.

Jinx bent a little so that her mouth was right besides your ear, her breath fanning over your skin as she leaned in, her lips brushing your earlobe. "This feels like the perfect spot," she whispered, her voice low and teasing as she pressed herself against you. Her tits meeting yours, the heat of her body undeniable as she took her place between your legs.

"Perfect," she repeated, her lips brushing against your ear as she nipped at the lobe, her fingers working at your hole, sending jolts of electricity through you. "I’ve got you exactly where I want you," she murmured, the palm of her hand massaging your clit.

You could barely catch your breath, every movement of hers driving you crazy with desire. You wanted more—wanted all of her. And Jinx was more than ready to give it to you.

Her lips twitched into a grin as she saw the look on your face, her fingers still dancing against you, pressing you deeper into the moment. “Can’t get enough, huh?” she teased, her voice a low murmur, full of playful arrogance. She shifted her weight slightly, the motion making your body heat up in ways you didn’t know were possible.

The air between you thickened with anticipation, each passing second feeling like an eternity. Jinx’s mechanical hand moved with a fluidity you couldn’t ignore. She paused, giving you a look that was equal parts teasing and uncertain, before slowly pressing her palm against your clit with her fingers still deep inside you.

Everything went still, a moment suspended in silence. Then you felt it—a faint hum, a vibration that seemed to travel from her finger, right into your core. It wasn't just a mechanical shift; it felt like the world’s pulse, steady, and in sync with the beat of your own racing heart.

She smirked, watching your reaction. “How’s that feel?” Her voice was low, filled with something dangerous and playful as her gaze flicked from your face to where her hand lingered.

the vibration echoed through your body, intensifying with each slight movement of her hand, a sensation so intense it sent shivers down your spine. You couldn’t hold back a soft gasp, your breath hitching as the sensation became more than just a touch—it felt almost electric, like it was pulling at every nerve in your body.

Jinx’s smirk deepened at your reaction, her eyes glinting with satisfaction. “Like it?” she asked, her voice dropping lower, almost a growl as she leaned closer, her lips brushing against your ear once again.

You nodded, your body trembling as it arched toward her, a silent plea for more. The vibrations surged again, sending a wave of heat coursing through you, pooling in your lower stomach, igniting something wild inside you. Your fingers curled into the edge of the workbench, your knuckles white as you gripped it, trying to steady yourself.

“It’s... it’s amazing,” you breathed out, your voice trembling with the intensity of it. You met her gaze, eyes wide with desire, your lips parted, whimpers coming out of your throat as the hum of her hand against your skin grew more pronounced, each pulse pressing deeper into you.

Jinx’s grin deepened, her eyes glinting as she reveled in the effect her touch had on you. “I thought you'd like that,” she murmured, her breath hot against your skin. She moved her palm slightly, adjusting her touch, allowing the vibrations to increase in speed, pushing you further into the moment.

The feeling was like nothing you’d ever experienced before. It wasn’t just physical—it was sensory, every inch of your skin acutely aware of the vibrations, the heat of her body pressed against yours. You were lost in it, every pulse, every movement of her mechanical finger drawing you closer to the edge, both mentally and physically.

Her lips were close now, just a whisper away from your neck as she whispered, “Tell me what you want, and I’ll make it happen.”

“Please,I want the more- FUCK!” you couldn't even finish your sentence before her ministrations became more frantic, the vibration growing harder and faster.

You couldn’t help the way your body reacted as the vibrations became more intense, the hum of her mechanical hand resonating deep within you. It was as if she’d tuned into something inside you, something raw and primal that made it hard to think, let alone speak. Your breath hitched again as the sensation surged, sending a rush of heat coursing through you, you let out laud moans to escape your throat.

Jinx’s eyes never left yours, her smirk widening with satisfaction. She could feel your body respond, could see the way you shifted beneath her, wanting more, needing more.

"Is that what you wanted?" she whispered, her voice low, teasing, yet filled with that dangerous edge. "Tell me, what exactly do you need?" Her mechanical fingers tightened slightly, pressing deeper, as if testing your limits.

At first, you couldn’t speak—your chest heaving with every shaky moan, your body caught between pleasure and need. But eventually, you managed to get the words out, your voice trembling, raw with desire.

"More," you gasped, barely able to keep your voice steady. "Please, Jinx... more."

Her eyes flickered with something mischievous, a spark of delight that only made the tension in the room thicker. With a swift, fluid motion, she leaned in closer, whispered again, her breath hot on your skin.

“Desperate, huh? I like that,” she murmured, voice low and playful, words sending a shiver down your spine. She paused, letting the moment hang in the air, her hand still pressing against you, the vibrations now steady but undeniable.

She could tell you were on the edge, and she reveled in it, enjoying the control she had over the situation, over you. But, with a shift in her posture, she moved slightly away from you, breaking the connection just enough to allow you to catch your breath.

"Now," Jinx purred, her eyes glinting with mischief as she leaned back, giving you that signature, dangerous grin. "Tell me again. What do you want?"

You struggled to steady your breathing, her words lingering in the air, making your heart race even faster. The weight of her gaze felt like it was pulling you in, making your skin burn, every nerve alive with anticipation. She was waiting, holding you at the edge, giving you no choice but to beg for more.

"I... I need you," you whispered, your voice barely audible, shaky with the intensity of it all. "Please, Jinx, I can’t take it anymore. I need you... every part of you,” you breathed, the words barely leaving your lips, heavy with desire

Her eyes glinted, a predatory smile creeping onto her lips as she leaned in again, close enough that you could feel the heat of her breath against your face. “That’s what I like to hear,” she murmured, her voice low and silky, the words wrapped in the promise of something dangerous.

Her mechanical hand shifted again, pressing deeper, the hum intensifying as it surged through you, each pulse igniting every nerve in your body, like it was seeping into your very bones. The pressure of her hand against your skin felt almost unbearable, but you didn’t want her to stop. You needed more.

"You’re mine now, you’ve always been mine" Jinx whispered in your ear, her voice thick with both satisfaction and something darker, something that made your pulse quicken even further. She pulled back just slightly, enough to watch you, her eyes dark and full of mischief. “Tell me what you want me to do next,” she purred, her fingers still sending jolts of electricity through your body.

Your body was already aching, the need for her so overwhelming that it was all you could think about. Every part of you screamed for release, for connection. But Jinx wasn’t giving you any space to breathe, and you didn’t want it any other way.

“More,” you gasped again, your voice thick with need. “I need you... right now.”

A low, throaty laugh escaped her lips, and she leaned back in with a smile that made your heart race. "You’ll get what you need... but on my terms."

Jinx’s smirk widened, her eyes sparkling with something dangerously playful as she hovered above you. She could feel the way your body trembled beneath her touch, the way your breath quickened with each passing second. It was as if she had you exactly where she wanted—teetering on the edge, desperate for more.

“You’re so eager,” she murmured, her lips brushing lightly against yours before pulling away just enough to look into your eyes. Her thumb grazed over you clit, sending another rush of heat coursing through every nerve. “I like it.”

Her fingers shifted, the vibrations quickening, more insistent, yet her thumb stayed still. You gasped, your back arching involuntarily, as the heat inside you grew even more unbearable.

“Jinx, please,” you breathed, your voice a mixture of frustration and need. You couldn’t think of anything else anymore, the world reduced to the feeling of her hand, the pulse of her touch, and the hunger for more of her.

She leaned in closer, her lips brushing the shell of your ear as she whispered, “Patience, toots. You’ll get it... but first, I want to hear you beg for it.”

A shiver ran through you at the sound of her voice, dark and velvety, as though each word she spoke sent a spark straight to your core. You were trembling now, every muscle tight with anticipation.

“Please,” you repeated, your voice shaking, unable to form anything coherent beyond that desperate plea. You didn’t care anymore—this was all you wanted, and you’d do anything to make her give it to you.

Jinx’s breath hitched at your surrender, and she pulled back just enough to get a good look at you—face flushed, eyes wide with desire, lips parted in need. “You’re so beautiful when you’re like this,” she purred, her voice dripping with both affection and something much darker. “But you still haven’t told me exactly what you want.”

There was a brief, agonizing moment of stillness as her hand paused, the hum dying down just slightly, making you ache for more.

“I want you, Jinx,” you whispered, your voice barely audible. “I need you to make me feel... everything.”

Jinx’s eyes flashed with triumph, and she leaned down to kiss you deeply, her lips demanding, as if she was finally giving what you both needed. As she deepened the kiss, her thumb started to move slowly, moving your clitoris in circles, sending waves of electricity through your body once again.

The moment Jinx’s lips met yours, the world outside seemed to fade away. Everything was consumed by the intensity of her touch, the warmth of her body pressing against you. It was like a spark igniting a wildfire, every nerve in your body lighting up with the need for more.

Her lips were fierce and demanding, claiming you with a hunger that matched your own. The kiss was messy, full of urgency—her teeth grazing your lower lip as she pulled you closer, her body flush against yours.

But even as she deepened the kiss, she kept her hand where it was, the hum of the vibration slowly building, and her thumb brushing over your clit sending ripples of heat throughout your entire body. It was maddening how much you wanted her, how she had you wound so tight, barely holding it together.

Her breath came in quick, uneven gasps as she pulled back just enough to look into your eyes. She studied you with that dangerous, teasing grin, her lips swollen from the kiss, her chest rising and falling with every breath.

You swallowed hard, feeling the weight of her gaze on you, the heat from her touch radiating through your body. But you needed more.

“Don’t tease me, Jinx,” you managed to whisper, your voice trembling with the intensity of it all. “I want you... now.”

Her smirk only grew wider at your words, and she leaned in again, her lips brushing your lips as she whispered, “You’ve got me. Just remember, you asked for this.”

And with that, she moved her hand again, the vibrations increasing, sending an intense pulse through you that made your breath catch, her thumb moving faster and harder. You gasped, your hands finding purchase on her hips, gripping her desperately as your body arched towards her.

“You’re so responsive,” she murmured, her voice teasing as her lips traced down your neck, leaving a trail of heat. “I could make you beg for more, but I think you’re ready, aren’t you?”

Your fingers gripped her tightly, the vibrations becoming nearly unbearable, tightening the anticipation in your chest. Every nerve in your body was alive, begging for release. The desire in your eyes mirrored the hunger in hers as you nodded, breathless, unable to form anything else.

“I’m ready,” you whispered.

And just like that, Jinx moved again, every single movement intensified, pushing you toward the edge, both of you lost in the moment, in the desire that was palpable between you.

Her rhythm quickened, every movement sending you spiraling closer until, with a shuddering breath, the pleasure crested, overwhelming you. A cry escaped as your body tightened, lost in wave after wave, pulse racing as Jinx’s touch lingered, grounding you even as the world blurred around.

Your body trembled, small aftershocks rippling through you as you struggled to catch your breath. Jinx’s hand remained steady, grounding you in the haze, her thumb tracing gentle circles that sent tiny jolts of lingering pleasure through you. She watched you, a satisfied grin on her lips, clearly enjoying the way your body reacted to every subtle touch. Even as the intensity faded, your skin remained sensitive, every brush of her fingers drawing out little shivers, keeping you tethered to the sensation long after the peak had passed.

The world slowly came back into focus as Jinx pulled away slowly, her eyes searching yours with an intensity that made your heart skip a beat. Her touch lingered, leaving a hum in your body, each breath feeling heavier. Her fingers stayed still, a faint, steady pulse mirroring the beat of your heart.

For a moment, neither of you spoke, the silence hanging thick and warm between you. Jinx’s breath was slow, almost unsteady, and you could feel the faint tremble in her fingertips as she picked them out, leaving you breathless and still wanting more. She slipped her fingers into her mouth, slowly drawing them out to trace light patterns across your skin. It was as if she was waiting for you to catch your breath, or perhaps for the moment to settle—either way, you could feel the weight of everything unspoken, the lingering heat of the connection you’d shared.

Her eyes softened, the usual mischief replaced with something quieter, more vulnerable. “You okay?” she asked, her voice quieter now, softer than before. It was a rare moment of care from someone who often lived in the chaos.

You nodded, the intensity of the moment still settling in your chest, and you took a slow, deep breath. The touch of her hand felt grounding, like an anchor that kept you from floating too far away. “Yeah, just... catching up,” you whispered, unable to fully explain the whirlwind of emotions swirling in your chest.

Jinx gave you a small, almost imperceptible smile, the kind that only she could pull off—teasing, but also a little fond, a little more tender. She didn’t move away, her body still close to yours, her fingers lingering on your skin as if she wasn’t ready to break the connection entirely.

She leaned in, her forehead resting against yours for a brief moment, just enough for you to feel the warmth of her skin, the steady rise and fall of her chest against yours. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing you like this,” she murmured, her lips grazing your ear. There was no arrogance in her tone, only a quiet truth.

You smiled softly, your fingers lightly brushing the edge of her jaw. “I think I could say the same.”

And for a while, there was nothing else but the quiet, the two of you wrapped up in each other’s presence. No rush, no urgency—just the softness of the aftermath. The kind of peace that only followed something that felt as real and raw as what you’d just shared.

The air between you both was thick with a new kind of tension, one that felt softer but still undeniably electric. Jinx’s fingers lazily traced patterns on your skin, her touch light but knowing. She could sense the undercurrent of desire that still simmered beneath the calm. The intensity had faded, but that connection was still there, like an unspoken promise.

Her lips brushed against your ear again, this time with a lightness that made your skin tingle. "You sure you’re okay?" she asked, her voice low, almost playful, but there was something deeper in her gaze. “I mean... I’m pretty good at this.”

You could hear the teasing note in her voice, but there was something more to it—a quiet challenge in her words that made your heart race, just like it had when this whole thing started. She shifted slightly, her body pressing closer to yours again, her breath warm against your skin.

“I’m more than okay,” you whispered back, your lips curling into a smile as you met her gaze, knowing exactly where this was heading. “But... I think I’m ready for round two, if you are.”

Jinx’s eyes darkened slightly, that familiar glint returning with an intensity that made your pulse quicken. Her lips parted in a grin, the mischievous spark reigniting, but it was softer now, more controlled. “Round two, huh?” she murmured, her fingers tracing a line down your arm before resting at your waist. “You’re sure you’re not just saying that because I know exactly what you want?”

You bit your lip, feeling the heat rise in your chest, your body reacting to her presence, her words, the closeness. “I want you,” you said, your voice low and steady, a hint of challenge in it now too.

Her grin widened, her eyes tracing your face with a predatory curiosity, as if studying every part of you. "Well then..." She leaned in closer, her lips brushing against yours, her hand sliding down to your waist, pulling you in as she deepened the kiss, slow and deliberate this time. The warmth of her body pressed against yours once more, the vibrations from her hand a steady hum beneath your skin, just enough to tease and tempt.

But this time, it wasn’t just about urgency. There was something more in her touch—a slow burn, a promise of more to come. She pulled back just enough to look you in the eyes, her expression both confident and a little softer than usual. “You’ve got me. And if you think you’re ready for more... I’m more than happy to oblige.”

The words hung in the air, heavy with implication, as her hand rested lightly on your hip, her thumb gently stroking the sensitive skin there. The fire was reigniting, but now it was a steady, controlled burn that left you wanting more.

“Let’s see how much you can handle,” she whispered, her voice a hushed promise, as she pressed her lips to your neck, and you both dove right back into it—closer, deeper, with that undeniable chemistry still crackling between you

The room was quiet now, save for the sound of your breathing, slow and steady. Jinx’s fingers trailed over your skin, her touch almost reverent, as if savoring the moment. Her lips brushed the edge of your ear, soft but with an underlying tension that you could feel deep in your chest.

"Didn't think you'd be this responsive," she murmured, voice low, a touch of surprise in her tone.

You turned your head, meeting her gaze, your fingers lightly grazing her wrist, urging her to stay close. "I told you," you whispered, "I want more."

Her smile was small but knowing, a glint of mischief dancing in her eyes. She leaned down to kiss you again, not as frantic as before, but deeper, lingering. Her hand moved from your side, slowly threading into your hair, holding you gently as she deepened the kiss, as if testing the waters for what came next.

When she pulled back, just enough to look at you, the look in her eyes was different. There was no teasing now, just something raw, almost protective. "You’re not gonna get away so easily," she said softly, her voice carrying that same dangerous edge, but there was a tenderness to it now.

You felt the heat rise between you both again, and even though you both needed a breath, you could sense that the hunger wasn’t quite finished—it was only changing shape. Her fingers traced the curve of your jaw, her lips pressing against your forehead in a sweet, gentle kiss.

For a moment, it felt like everything had calmed, but it wasn’t over. The space between you still buzzed with energy, something unspoken lingering there.

"I’m not going anywhere," you said, your voice steady but thick with desire. "And I don’t think you are, either."

Jinx gave a soft laugh, but it was full of promise. "You know me too well," she replied, her smile now a slow, deliberate curve. “Get comfortable, toots... this isn’t over.”

#jinx arcane #jinx x reader #jinx x y/n #arcane jinx #jinx/you #jinx x fem!reader #jinx posting #jinx league of legends

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godmadeaterribleerror · 2 months ago

Text

And You Were Brighter Than The Light Pt. 1

Main Masterlist - Bucky Masterlist - Pt. 2

Read on A03!

Tags: Bucky Barnes/Female Reader, fluff, angst, no use of y/n, mental health issues, canon-divergent au

Summary/Warnings: There are a lot of Avenger's at the compound. And you never leave your room. It's a good thing you did, though. Just once. Otherwise you never would've met Bucky

Author's Note: I love sad men more than I love myself. Enjoy!

Word Count: 7.6k

Bucky saw an angel.

He was almost certain he saw a real, moving, glowing angel. Hovering over him as the world shifted and blended around him, and She became sharp and clear and the only thing he’d ever need to see again.

Beautiful. She was beautiful.

He had really missed looking at beautiful things.

And She had to be an angel. There was no other explanation beside Bucky was watching an angel, perfect and ethereal above him, because everything had been a lot of pain and stained red vision, but She’d placed a soft hand on his brow and he’d been so warm. It had been like summer, the world in a full bloom of color and the air in his lungs impossibly clear. As if She’d injected him with a drug, and his heart was no longer lead but gold, and his every organ and muscle were soothed to relaxed.

Only an angel could make him relax. Go all loose and floppy like a damn rag doll, wipe his every instinct of fight and scrape like an animal when he knew he was vulnerable.

Bucky was vulnerable here. On his back, with the angel over him and his whole body exposed to the world. But there was no fight in him. No urge to flee or guard anything, though there had been no order to be at ease, no paralytic injected into his blood stream.

The angel started to hum, and his body relaxed even further. He was sleepy. Not tired or exhausted, with itching eyes and the world blurred in odd shapes as he fought his brain to stay awake, but sleepy.

Like he was safe.

And everything would be okay, if he just let the darkness wrap over him as the angel continue to hum.

The last thing Bucky saw before he gave in was Her. The angel. Still beautiful in ways he didn’t have words for, still touching him, still watching him like he was being studied. Like there was a test or trial he needed to pass, but She didn’t expect him to fail in the slightest. No fear on Her features, no caution or tension. Only curiosity and care because She was an angel, so She could look right into him and find all She desired without ever needing to ask.

The only thing that reminded him that he hadn’t seen an angel was the fact that if death was coming—it didn’t feel like it was, not as the angel kept Her hand on his skin and sleep closed faster in—Bucky would not be headed to whatever paradise had sent Her to his side.

He’d rot away under the ground, and—as the peaceful, purple and blue and green darkness moved over his vision and the angel faded into only a song—pray that Hell truly was a place of fire, because he’d spent long enough in the cold.

———

Bucky was not dead.

A lot of things hurt, but he wasn’t dead.

It was unfortunate.

Now he’d have to write on of Starks dumb fucking mission reports.

His eyes stayed closed as he grabbed his every, slightly dulled sense and pulled them back into his body, sharpening them by brute force and keeping his breathing steady and measured. Nobody needed to know he was awake yet. And as long as he remained asleep, he’d have an advantage.

There was a steady beep on a machine, and a little clamp latched onto one of his fingers. A human one. The metals ones were relaxed in thin but soft sheets, and the mattress under Bucky’s bed was stiff and filled with odd bumps.

He was in the infirmary. He’d gotten shot with a dart on a mission, and the dart had been filled with a poison strong enough to knock him down, and he was in the infirmary. His heartbeat was normal, the air was about two degrees below the normal temperature, and his IV-

There was no IV. There was an aching pain and a heavy weight over his every nerve, but there was no IV.

They’d need an IV to combat the poison. Bucky wasn’t dead—he didn’t even feel like he was dying—but there was no IV. It didn’t track. There were many, many things about this world he didn’t understand, but medical things were often straight forward and simple. You get shot, you needed stitches. Your arm gets ripped off, you need a new arm. You got brainwashed, you need a psychiatrist.

You get your veins pumped with a white-hot poison that brings you to your knees and makes the world spin, you need an IV.

He kept himself together. He wasn’t dying, so there was no need to burst up and demand answers, but someone had meddled with his body and now he’d need to be careful. He’d been certain Steve had been the one who grabbed him after his knees gave out, but Bucky knew far better than to trust his own memory, so now all he had to do was ensure that he kept the upper hand. He’d figure out what these people—whoever had him, whoever had tried to warp something in him that he still couldn’t identify—had done to him when he got back to the compound, and he’d make sure the world was safe from whatever new weapon he’d become, but he had to keep the upper hand-

“I know you’re awake, Sargent Barnes.”

Bucky heard the skip in his heart through the monitor.

Fuck.

He didn’t move. He didn’t dare. He couldn’t identify that voice—it was a lovely voice, musical and almost heavenly, honey without being too sweet, a little bit of a rasp or drawl or rough edge around the words—so he’d been right. Someone he didn’t know had touched him, and now he had to think fast-

“I know you’re playing dead, as well.” The woman—Bucky was pretty sure it was a woman—said, and she sounded a little bored. Or annoyed. Her tone was really hard to read. “Steve told me he’d be back in a few hours, so you can keep pretending you can’t hear me until then.”

Steve.

He wasn’t in a strange bunker or lab, because Steve wouldn’t have just left him somewhere unsafe—Steve didn’t even like letting Bucky use a damn can opener in case it somehow triggered him—so it was alright.

Bucky opened his eyes slowly, and god, why was is so fucking bright-

“FRIDAY, can you please lower the lights?”

“Of course, doctor.” It wasn’t bright anymore. Bucky’s brain felt a little fuzzy. “I have also alerted Captain Rogers that Sargent Barnes is awake. He is running a little behind from the city, and would like to know if Mr. Wilson would be welcome to observe in his place.”

Bucky’s jaw grit, because he was getting on better with Wilson, but he didn’t need the asshole watching him like he was a dog who would bite someone or piss on the floor if left unattended-

“I think I’ve got it, Friday. Thank you.”

Bucky frowned, glaring at the ceiling as his eyes continued to open at a horribly slow rate. When he managed to find his voice, it was hoarse.

“Are you a mind-reader?”

She gave a soft laugh. “No.

“You my doctor?”

“No.”

“Nurse?” “No.”

Bucky felt his hand twitch slightly. “Guard?”

“No.”

He turned his head, ready to raise his brow and figure out who the hell Steve had left him with, and the world stuttered. Rewound just a pace before rushing forward, as the beeping of the machine sped up, and Bucky gaped at Her.

It was the angel. She was real.

Bucky hadn’t dreamt of or hallucinated Her, she was right here and somehow more beautiful when his mind wasn’t melting into his skull and his blood wasn’t trying to rip out of his body.

He’d seen an angel.

Twice.

“Know any words besides no?” He whispered—god, he sounded weird, and weak, and a little pathetic—and She smiled at him.

It was the prettiest smile he’s ever. He’d start wars for that smile. He’d end wars for it. He’d reverse the orbit of the earth and rewrite everything that was determined, just to see that fucking smile on the face of a woman he didn’t even know.

“You know,” She tilted Her head slightly, and Bucky felt himself mimic the movement. Like already, he was bending for whatever will She had. “I think I might.”

———

Stark’s compound was too big. There were too many rooms, and things, and people. So many damn people, that Bucky had somehow been living in the same house as this woman for almost a year and he’d never even seen Her.

She’d told him that She was—technically—an Avenger, but She didn’t like to fight or participate in things, so she spent most of her time in her private lab, and kept good company outside of the other Avengers. She said they were better than the people, softer too, and Bucky didn’t know what the hell that meant but he liked how She’d said it, so he’d nodded and asked Her name.

It was a perfect name. Bucky hadn’t known there could be perfect names, but this was one of them. He’d repeated it to memorize it—it felt impossibly critical that Bucky memorize Her name—and it had tasted good on his tongue, and felt right to pass through his lips. A little like oxygen.

She’d explained her powers as well, but with very big words Bucky didn’t think were real. He’d said at much, and She’d simplified with a bright look in Her eyes that reminded Bucky of the moon. Shining and soft and easy to look at and wonder if he could touch it, if he just reached out to try.

He’d had to ask Steve, very casually a few days later so as not to be suspicious, what Biology manipulation could do.

The casual approach had not worked.

“Oh, right.” Steve had said Her name with raised brows. “You finally met her. Not getting her powers?”

“Guess not,” Bucky had muttered “You going to explain them?“

Steve had just shrugged. “Wish I could. Only ones who seem to really understand them are her, Stark, and Vision. Even Banner gets confused. Far as I’ve got, she’s got some sort of harmony with things. I mostly see her when we get a really bad injury on a mission, there’s not enough time for the usual fixes, and she works a miracle.”

Bucky had frowned. “Like the poison.”

Steve had nodded, and Bucky hadn’t pushed further. He didn’t need to give away how he hadn’t stopped thinking about Her—Her smile or voice or face or how She’d sat with Her legs had been crossed like some sort of princess, but She’d looked like far more than just royalty under the harsh fluorescent lights—and he spent a lot of time wondering how he’d somehow missed her, when they’d been under the same roof for months.

She’d told him She was never out much. But this didn’t seem to be true, because suddenly Bucky was seeing Her everywhere.

First it was in the kitchen. Sitting across the counter in the morning, giving Bucky a small, world-ending smiles over breakfast. She never bothered with small talk, only giving him a soft Hi and wave when she walked into the room, and a nod and bye when she walked away. Her presence was always more than enough, though, because suddenly eating didn’t feel like a chore he allegedly had to complete to keep living.

It was period of time he got to see Her. See how She moved through the world, see how She’d take her eggs and what drink she’d have and which mug was Her’s, because then he’d place his right next to it like a fucking creep.

But he liked it. He liked how their handles would bump against each other, and how when Bucky would leave his mug in the cabinet first—leaving the kitchen before She did—he’d still find them in their right place.

Besides each other.

He liked how She’d chase the last three soggy cheerios around the milk with an adorable, focused frown. He liked how She’d run her hand through her hair like it soothed her, and it would always make his fingers flex to mimic that movement as well. She seemed to tilt Her head whenever she was thinking, and She sat with her legs crossed, and sometimes—when She’d wear headphones—she’d tap her nails in perfect rhythm with the song.

Bucky really liked how She held her spoon. It was an odd thing to like, but that didn’t stop Bucky from being entranced every time She moved. She’d spin and flip it in Her fingers, and set it down very carefully when she was done.

And Bucky liked it. He liked Her.

He liked Her so much he couldn’t stop looking at Her. She looked like an angel in every light, but the breaking colors of the sunrise made Her look like art. Bucky wished he could paint, or sculpt, or do something besides grip his fork like a weapon—it was—and stare at Her-

“You have hot sauce on your face.”

Bucky blinked at Her. She hadn’t looked up at him. If they weren’t alone, he wouldn’t be sure she was speaking to him.

“Wha-“

“Hot sauce.” She repeated, raising a finger to point at Her cheek. “Here.”

She was right. Bucky mirrored Her movement, and his fingers came away red and sticky.

There was a moment where his heart fractured and stumbled against his will. He knew it wasn’t blood. He knew he hadn’t hurt anyone. But his body was quicker and played dirtier than his mind, and it went into overdrive.

Blood. Horrible and tainted on his hands, and it was choking him but he’s breathing just fine, and his skin is burning and wrong on his body but there’s nowhere else for it to go-

A foot bumped against his under the table, a soft song filled his ears, and the world became light and easy.

Bucky breathed, and Her foot stayed pressed against his.

She’d never once looked up from Her cereal, and when he walked into the kitchen the next day, there were napkins on the counter.

———

After that, She was at the stupid, mandatory team-bonding meetings. Steve and Stark’s well-meaning—at least in Steve’s case—late night movies, games, or required two hours sitting in the common room and not fighting with each other.

He’d never seen Her at one before. They were mandatory, and not in a flexible, do your best to come kind of way. Bucky knew that, because he’d tried to skip them, and Steve had dragged him by almost the nape of his neck.

But She’d missed all of them. And suddenly She was sitting silently in the corner, and Bucky knew it wasn’t just he who noticed. Bruce offered Her a drink with wide eyes, Sam cleared his throat in the middle of a conversation, and nodded to where She was sat with a questioning expression that no one had been able to offer an answer to, and Stark had been staring at Her all night.

But it wasn’t the way Bucky stared—where he was trapped staring at all the stars condensed before him, and he never wanted to look away—but like a bomb, set to go off any second.

“Dr. Dolittle’s out of her cave,” Stark muttered to Steve at the bar, and Bucky didn’t think he was supposed to be listening, but he didn’t really care. “You call her?”

Steve shook his head. “She told me she’d be here. And it’s not exactly a bad thing, Tony. We’ve been trying to get her to come to one of these for almost two years-“

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m just-“ Tony glanced over to where She was sitting on the floor playing solitaire with a deck of beaten cards, a weary expression on his face. “Heads up would’ve been nice. Good. For all of us, not just me and my paranoia.”

“She’s not going to do anything-“

“But she could.” Stark shrugged, giving Steve a pointed look Bucky didn’t understand. “Half a thought and all of us are dead, Cap.”

Steve sighed, but didn’t push back, and Bucky frowned. She was an angel. She wouldn’t kill anyone. Bucky didn’t really know Her, but Steve said she didn’t like doing missions, and she didn’t really seem like the killing type.

But Tony spoke of Her like she was dangerous. Unpredictable.

It was just another thing to be added to the list of things Bucky didn’t understand.

And She was there the next week. And the next. Over and over until people weren’t acting like She was a shocking presence, but rather a phantom. Visible, but not real. She always played solitaire. She always sat in the same corner, and she never participated in the actual team building.

Bucky realized She only ever really spoke to four people. Steve and Tony when they spoke to Her, Wanda when she’d drop at Her side and they look anywhere but each other as they had a quiet conversation, and Natasha when she brought Her food.

Bucky wanted to talk to Her. More than just quick words exchanged in the kitchen. A real, normal conversation to learn how She said different words, and what She thought of things, and if when She smiled with full light in his direction it would be as powerful as he thought.

“I can play solitaire.”

She looked up at him with a completely neutral expression, and tilted Her head to the side. “Congratulations.”

Bucky stared at Her, and she just stared right back. It was unsettling, and his heart was going to pound of his chest, and it had taken twenty minutes to walk over here but he was ready to damn it and flee like a coward-

“Can you play war?”

“I-“ Bucky swallowed, and he probably looked like an idiot, but She was looking at him so nothing else really mattered. “War?”

She nodded. “The card game.”

He shook his head, and She shrugged.

“You’ll learn.”

He did. It was boring and simple and repetitive, and he liked it, too. He liked that he didn’t have to think, and that he could never be doing anything wrong, and that She was talking to him the whole time. She asked him questions, and he answered, then She’d hum and offer him Her own answer like a reward.

“Do you have a favorite animal?”

He nodded, flipping his top card over and watching Her carefully. There wasn’t a wrong thing to say here, it was a personal preference.

Bucky was almost certain he’d be able to create an incorrect answer, without even trying.

“I like cats.”

She hummed. “Me too. I know a few, if you want to meet them.”

It had been an odd way to phrase that, but She seemed odd. And She kept talking, so Bucky hadn’t pushed it.

“Are you drinking?”

He shook his head. “Doesn’t work on me.”

“Super Soldier?”

He nodded, and She hummed.

“I don’t drink unless Natasha makes it.” She told him, folding Her cards back into a neat little stack, shuffling them without ever breaking Her gaze. “All the other ones are dogshit at it.”

Bucky had to swallow his snort. “I’d believe that.”

“Do you watch movies?”

“Not really, no.”

She tilted Her head at him. “Have you tried to?”

Bucky raised his brows. “Tried to watch movies?”

She nodded, and he shrugged.

“They all seem to be the same these days. Not that interested.”

She made a face at that. “They weren’t all that different in the 40s, Bucky. I’d argue they were worse.”

She’d said his name. She’d said Bucky, and he’d never loved his name more than when it was spoken by Her.

And he’d agree to anything She told him, so he nodded.

“You, uh-“ He paused, watching Her carefully. “You got any recommendations?”

She had hundreds. She had more opinions on what Bucky and Steve had missed than Sam did, but She was cute and bright-eyed as She said them, and Sam was just annoying.

Bucky wouldn’t remember everything She told him.

But that gave him an excuse to talk to Her later.

She looked around the common area, scanning over the crowd of slowly dwindling avengers. “Do you guys really do these every week?”

“We’re supposed to.” Bucky shrugged. “If we don’t, Tony revokes our FRIDAY privileges.”

She frowned. “That’s dumb.”

Buck couldn’t stop this snort, and it didn’t hurt when it broke out of his chest. “You’re telling me.” He muttered. “How come you haven’t been dragged into one before?”

He didn’t expect the full answer. He didn’t get the full answer. But She did run a hand through her hair as she flipped another card, and he got an answer, which was more than enough.

“Because I didn’t want to.” She said. “And Tony’s scared of me. Most of them are.”

“They’re scared of me, too. I still end up here.”

She shook Her head. “You’re unstable, but not dangerous. It’s different.”

Bucky stared at Her, unable to hide the expression of pure, numbing and dizzying shock on his face. “I’m unstable, huh?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “But it’s not loud. It’s colorful. And don’t worry. All of you are unstable. Except him.” She pointed to Vision, standing silent behind Wanda with a small smile on his face. “I don’t know about him.”

She was really pretty. And She’d just called him unstable, but She’d also called him colorful, so Bucky wasn’t really all that offended.

And he still liked Her.

He couldn’t find a part of Her he didn’t like. He needed to, but he couldn’t.

There had to be one part. Just one thing about Her that could be a flaw, that Bucky could cling to and force Her to seem more human.

Because from the start, the sight of Her made his heart skip a beat before falling into a strange time, and his brain would feel less like a burden, and his whole body would turn warm. It was strange, and dangerous, and distracting. It grabbed his attention and demanded his devotion without Her ever speaking a word, and since Bucky started talking to Her, he failed to find something to kill that odd reaction. It could prove deadly.

It felt deadly. It felt like a sickness that he didn’t want to be cured of. And every time he’d go to another mandatory meeting She’d be in the same corner, and they’d play war and talk, and Bucky knew so much about Her and he liked all of it.

“What would you add to the compound?” Bucky had started to ask the questions. He still always answered first. “I want a computer.”

She gave him a strange look. “You don’t… Have a computer?”

He shook his head. “Nah, I don’t know where to find one-“

“You buy one.” She said, a small frown on Her face. “Just like a phone.”

“I didn’t buy my phone.” Bucky shrugged. “And I don’t like it. Only use it cause Stark makes me.”

She raised her brows. “So why do you want a computer?”

“I’m trying to catch up with the times.” He drawled. “Sam says everything’s on computers. Answer my question.”

“Your-“

“What would you add to the compound?”

“We need more water.” Her answer was almost immediate, and She was still looking at him. “You know a computer isn’t an addition, right, Bucky? A hedge maze would be an addition.”

Bucky frowned. “Why would we need a hedge maze.”

“We wouldn’t. But don’t waste your wish on something I can bully Tony into buying you-“

“You’d bully Stark for me?” Bucky stared at Her—She might be better than an angel—and She shrugged.

“I’d bully Tony for a pack of stale gum.”

He snorted. “Well then, don’t let me stop you. Bully away, doll.”

The word slipped out, and even in the low light of the common room, Bucky could see Her flush.

It was beautiful. It made Her look more like at least something heavenly, but more tangible as well. Like he could reach out and hold Her cheek, and it could, maybe, be warm.

“I will,” She mumbled, Her fingers stuttering for the first time as she flipped a card, and Bucky liked Her more.

This was cancerous. It only spread, and he lost a little sleep because he couldn’t stop picturing her, and he kept turning around to look for Her in places he knew she wouldn’t be, and all his dreams were plagued by Her smile.

Because She’d smiled. At Bucky.

He’d been training in the compound gym, and She’d been there, and the world had done its little skip as Bucky just watched Her.

She wasn’t alone. She and Natasha had been sparring on a mat—almost dancing around each other with unwavering focus—and She moved with an unsurprising grace that drew Bucky in like a moth to a flame.

He’d heard Sam say Her name from somewhere behind him. “She’s out early.”

“Nat said she asked to move their training,” Steve had said, and when Bucky glanced over his shoulder, Steve had been watching Her and Natasha with a curious expression. “Didn’t mention why.”

Bucky had frowned, and forced his voice to remain casual. “When did she train before?”

“Midnight.” Steve had shrugged, then Sam had said something about not wanting Bucky and Steve to forget he wasn’t a super soldier and could be crushed under weights, and the conversation had moved on.

But She and Natasha had stopped for only a minute. And She looked over from the mat, spotted Bucky, and smiled.

Just for him. Just from the sight of him. Just as blinding and critical as he’d thought it would be.

Then She’d mouthed Hi.

He’d mouthed Hi in return, and She’d smiled again.

Are you training with them? She’d pointed to Sam and Steve, Bucky had nodded, and She’d shaken her head. Don’t. Steve is going to fart soon, and it’s going to smell.

Bucky had blinked at Her. How do you know that?

She’d shrugged, and ignored the question. Can you tell Sam to stop using Redwing around the Compound, please.

Why don’t you tell him. He’d pointed at Her, and She’d given him a flat look.

I don’t want to. And you’re friends with him.

I am not.

You are.

Bucky rolled his eyes, a smirk pulling at his lips. He’s not supposed to be using it at all, doll. Tony yelled at him already. Are you sure?

She’d nodded, and Bucky could’ve sworn She was flushing. Positive.

He raised his brows. How?

The birds told me.

Natasha had said Her name, their silent conversation of gestures and exaggerated movements ended, and Bucky had been left staring at Her.

She was odd. Incredibly odd, in a way that only seemed to feed into Her beauty. He couldn’t stop staring, and he knew that was a general problem, but it was amplified with Her. Sam had to hit him on the shoulder to get his attention, and would only stop wiggling his brows and making kissing noises when Bucky told him to stop using Redwing around the compound, and he froze.

“How’d you know I’m-“

“A bird told me.” Bucky had repeated Her reason. From Her it had sounded mysterious and elusive and ethereal.

From him it just sounded insane.

But it worked, and Sam called off Redwing with a grumbled threat at Bucky not to snitch to Stark.

Ten minutes later, Steve farted so loud it shook the earth, and they had to clear the training room due to the toxin-like smell.

As they walked out the door, She gave him another smile, and mouthed, told you.

You did. He mouthed back, and prayed no one was looking. He was grinning like an idiot. Are you hungry?

No.

Bucky’s heart shifted back to lead and dropped to his stomach, but there was a shimmer in Her eyes, and she wasn’t done.

But I’ll go with you.

He blinked, but nodded. She would go with him. He’d go with Her. He’d go almost anywhere with Her.

And there wasn’t a single thing about Her Bucky didn’t like.

———

“You don’t have to do this for me,” Bucky said Her name, trying and failing not to stare at where Her hand was wrapped around his wrist. The metal wrist. She was touching the metal wrists and wasn’t recoiling, even though there was no heartbeat to feel under her fingers. “I said I was curious, not about to die if I didn’t see-“

“I’ll die if you don’t see.” She shot him a small, soft smile over Her shoulder again, and there he went.

She’d die. Bucky couldn’t allow that.

He was a goner.

“Alright,” he muttered, although nothing changed. It hadn’t been as if he’d been fighting Her all that hard before. “You gonna tell me what to expect?”

“No. It will ruin the surprise.”

Bucky opened his mouth to protest, but She wasn’t done.

“And I know you hate surprises. You’ll like this one.”

He paused, and nodded. He trusted Her. More than he trusted himself.

“If you’re wrong, we’re skipping the next meeting together and you’re taking the heat for it.”

“Deal.” He could hear the smile in Her voice. He’d taught himself to identify the sound under a million feet of water and over the loudest ringing in his ears. “You know we can do that anyways, right?”

Bucky shrugged. “I’m not trying to force you fight with Steve, doll-“

“Why?” She shot him an amused look over his shoulder, and it struck him like lightning. “I’d win.”

She’d fallen back a pace, until Bucky wasn’t being dragged behind Her, and—if he grew a new pair of balls and damned all the possible consequences—he could tug Her to rest under his arm.

“I’m not doubting that.” He said, hoping his voice was a little steadier than his heart. “I’m tryin’ to save my friends’ honor. You’d destroy him, and then you’d need to do the paperwork for it. There’s a lot of paperwork involved in this shit. You’d hate it.”

“I know.” She ran a hand through Her hair, giving him a small smile. “But it would be worth it. If I don’t have to go to all of them, you shouldn’t either.”

Bucky grinned.

He’d been doing that a lot lately.

She stopped outside a large, metal door, and this was it.

This was Her room.

“Are you-“

“Don’t ask me if I’m sure, Bucky.” She gave him another smile, and he folded once more. “I don’t do things I don’t want to.”

He frowned at that—suddenly, many, many doors of what She wanted to do were open, and he both wanted to explore all of them and stay comfortably in the dark where that statement could mean what he wanted it to mean—but She was moving, and he had to follow Her.

He’d asked what was in Her lab. She’d said everything.

He’d shaken his head and said everything couldn’t be in Her lab, because that didn’t make any sense.

She’d said She’d show him and prove it.

And now they were here.

She paused with Her hand over the scanner. “You’re not allergic to anything, right?”

“No-“

“Good.”

She pressed Her hand down, the door opened, and Bucky’s jaw dropped.

It was everything. Open grass and trees and so many animals he was almost certain he had to be seeing things. Maybe he’d hit his head, and this was a dream. Maybe this whole thing had been a dream, and he really had died that first time he saw Her. There was no other explanation for how Her palm was still resting on his chest, or how there were an impossible amount of real animals looking at him with possibly more judgment than people did.

He said Her name as the door closed behind them, unable to look away from where a moose was staring at him. “What the hell is this.”

“My lab.” She said, and when he shot Her a glare, she was smiling.

It melted most of the barbed wire that had formed over his skin. He was still really fucking confused.

“Why is your lab a zoo-“

“It’s not a zoo. And they don’t like that word, don’t use it.” She nodded to the animals, who were all still staring at Bucky. “Tell them who you are.”

He blinked at Her. “Will they, uh, they going to understand me-“

“No. But I’ll translate.” She shrugged. “They’ll trust you more if you do the introduction yourself.”

Bucky nodded slowly, and he wasn’t sure how the hell his life had led him here. Telling a room full of horses and dogs and birds—a lot of things were starting to make sense very quickly—that his name was James Buchanan Barnes, and he was a super solider, and he was Her friend.

She repeated his words in English, and when he frowned at Her, she gave him a small smile.

“They understand when I say it.”

“Oh.” This had to be a dream. “What.”

She tilted Her head at him. “You know how my powers work, right?”

“No-“

“No?” Her eyes widened. “Why don’t you-“

“You never told me, doll.” He gave Her a pointed look, and realized they were walking further into the strange room. The animals weren’t really looking at them anymore. This was still insane. “I had guesses, but none of them were this.”

He gestured to the room, and She sighed.

“That’s… yeah, that fair.” She ran a hand through Her hair, nodding to a bobcat as they passed it. “Do you want to know?”

“I think I need to.”

She smiled again, and nothing could be that bad. Bucky was still making Her smile.

“I’m in perfect harmony with all living things. So I can sense anything within anyone’s body like it’s- kind of like it’s sixth sense? And I can speak to animals, obviously, and I can manipulate bodies to a limited extent-“

Bucky frowned. “Like healing things?”

She nodded. “Yeah, but it takes a lot more focus and energy. And it kind of hurts. I get a tension headache. I usually hum to focus properly, otherwise I get dizzy.”

He felt his jaw tick. She’d healed him. When he’d first met Her, she’d healed him.

He didn’t know how to reckon with that. He’d caused Her pain. Just to save something already damned like Bucky was, She’d hurt herself-

“Was I right?”

He stared at Her. “What?”

“The surprise. Was I right?” She was watching him carefully, something delicate behind Her eyes Bucky might rather die than break. “Did you like it?”

He gave Her a soft grin, and she was already standing taller before he even answered. “Yeah. Fine. You were right.”

She looked back to the path ahead of them—there was a path, a real dirt path, and they were somehow still walking, and science really could do weird fucking things—and hummed. “I know.” He chuckled, falling into perfect pace beside Her, and Her voice was softer when she broke the easy silence.

“They like you.”

“Them.” She said, nodding to a passing fox, and made a loose gesture to the madness around them. “They like you. They don’t like anyone but me.” She paused, tilting Her head the air. “Except the ants. The ants like Scott.”

“Why do you think they like me-“

“Because they told me.” She shrugged. “Do you want to meet the cats?”

All Bucky could do was nod, and follow Her deeper into the lab. She was explaining a lot of things about how Stark had designed the lab specially for Her, and made artificial sunlight for the animals, and they could all come and go as they pleased but most of them—Her included—preferred to stay.

“And you’re a doctor, right?”

She let out a soft laugh. “Yeah. Of Zoology. For obvious reasons. But they do most of the work in here. I just transcribe it.”

“Oh.” Bucky frowned, Stark’s voice tugging at the back of his skull. “Can you kill people?

“Yes.”

She didn’t flinch at the question. Or sound offended. And She was showing him all of this when nobody else had gotten to see it, so Bucky pushed a little further.

“How?”

“Just like I can heal things, I can hurt them.” Her voice was incredibly causal. The fake sunlight made Her hair fill with colors Bucky had never seen before.

He’d never seen Her in full sunlight before.

It made Her skin glow and Her hair look like a halo and Her eyes somehow brighter. It made Her look more like an angel.

He never wanted to leave this place.

“I could stop a heart or shut down a brain, if I wanted.” She was still talking. Her voice was like a hymn. “But I don’t.”

“That’s why Stark is so afraid of you?”

She nodded. “That, and I have an army.”

Bucky raised his brows. “The animals?”

“Yep.” She gave him another smile. “You have them too, now. They really like you.”

He chuckled. “You know, you’ve said that already-“

“I’ll say it again, Buck.” She waved him off. “You need to hear it.”

———

She slept in Her lab. She had a little, undisturbed hut in the back, and it had a kitchen. Bucky tried not to think about that too much. How She’d never need to leave, if she didn’t want to, yet She had.

And She was spending more and more time there again.

But Bucky was too.

He’d never found something not to like about Her. It was a little too late to turn back now. He liked it here, because he liked—more than liked, loved, but that was a terrifying word that felt like too much and not enough all at once—Her. Being near Her. Watching Her be somewhere She liked, where she was comfortable, and where they were both wanted.

She hadn’t lied. The animals did like Bucky. Sometimes they’d greet him, when he was in Her lab. He was friends with all the cats, and a few of the varying canines, and a lot of the birds. After they moved breakfast from the kitchen into Her little sanctuary, he’d started to bring them things from the kitchen, and they liked him all the more. She’d told him She tended to like animals more than people, and he understood that. They seemed nice, and he’d seen them all care for each other and Her—he liked that there were living things that seemed to care for Her as much as Bucky did— and sometimes an animal would walk up, She’d start talking to them, and Bucky would just watch Her until he was invited into the conversation.

“Josie wants to know if you’ve ever had fish.”

Josie was a wolf. The small one, who had a large scar through her ear. Bucky was still trying to learn all their names, but he was getting better at it.

“I have.” He told Josie, looking her right in the eyes. According to Her, it was better if he addressed them directly, even if She still had to translate. “A lot of it.”

She repeated the words, Josie made a noise, and She turned back to Bucky.

“Did you like it?”

He shrugged. “It was fine.”

She smiled at him. “Just fine?”

“I’ve had better.”

“Like what?”

Bucky paused, watching Her carefully. “I like stir fry.”

She nodded, and the conversation moved on.

Three days later, dinner was stir fry.

———

Sometimes, if Bucky was having a shit night, he’d knock on Her door and it would open for him. She’d asked FRIDAY to let him him whenever he asked.

He was almost certain even Stark didn’t have that privilege.

Tonight was worse than normal. Tonight had been suffocating. Not like air was stolen from him, but like there was too much. Like his lungs were being stuffed and he couldn’t find a way to dig the oxygen from his lungs, because he’d demanded more than he deserved, and a bill always came due. The other shoe would always drop. Everything had been good lately—and it was because of Her, but he didn’t know how to say that yet—but that just meant the crash would be worse, and the fall would knock his heart right out of his chest.

It wasn’t really in his chest anymore, though. It was in Her hands, and she didn’t even know.

And when he found Her tonight, something felt different. She didn’t ask questions, when he stopped at the edge of Her bed with hair stuck to his brow, shifting on his feet as he waited for permission.

She just stared at him, and something frightening and hot rushed through Bucky’s body when he realized he’d forgotten a shirt. He’d woken up in a cold sweat with an image of a metal hand around Her throat, imprinted on his vision, and his own screams echoing in his head as his body pressed on no matter how hard he fought to stop, stop hurting Her, Bucky loved Her so why wouldn’t he stop hurting Her-

And he’d rushed to Her room.

And he hadn’t put on a shirt.

She could see all of him. It was too much. All his scars on full display, and She could see where his skin became cold metal, and She loved living things so how could She love him-

But She didn’t ask questions.

She just scooted to the side, gave him an expectant look, and followed his movements with shining eyes as he moved to sit on Her mattress.

When he dropped at Her side, he felt like he should say something. They’d done this before, but there had never been this easy, warm hum in the air, and he’d always had a shirt on.

Then She twisted in the sheets to cross Her legs under her body, and started to scan over him. Over his skin and metal and scars and hunched position on Her bed, Her expression unreadable in the artificial moonlight.

Bucky had been judged before, in a court, where they decided if he was worth anything more than a cell deep underground or adrift on the ocean.

This felt more important.

“Can I touch you?” Her voice was soft, and suddenly there wasn’t enough oxygen.

He nodded, and She reached out with careful fingers, slowing tracing over every scar on his chest with that same unreadable expression. It was an effort not to shiver under Her touch, not to lean forward and try to take more when he was owed nothing.

But there was something strangely calming about it. There was nothing hateful in Her eyes, and she wasn’t recoiling, and everything felt blurred and soft around the edges, and his head was lighter on his head than it had been in eighty years, and She was humming-

Bucky grabbed Her hand, narrowing his eyes.

“You don’t have to do that.” He muttered, squeezing Her hand in his. “I’m not worth hurting yourself-“

“Don’t be an idiot.” She tilted Her head at him, slowly prying Her hand from his grip. “Of course you are.”

Bucky stared at Her, She started to hum again, and this time he didn’t try to fight it.

He’d been sure She looked most like an angel in the sunlight.

He’d been wrong.

In the moonlight She looked like heaven. Every shadow seemed to be designed to cast over Her features just right, and the glow on Her skin was softer, but seemed to be coming from inside of Her, and Her hair was floating slightly around Her head as an artificial summer breeze picked up.

But nothing about Her was artificial. She was the realest thing Bucky had ever known.

And he was almost certain he loved Her. Really, fully loved Her, the way they wrote songs and stories and waged wars for. That he’d loved Her all along, and he just didn’t know how to be positive of it. Maybe he just liked Her, and She was so beautiful he was confusing it for love.

But he was certain he wanted to be real with Her.

That he wanted to be half as beautiful as She was, to see if he could learn how to find a proper name for the sickness She’d planted in him, and how he gladly rot away from it if it meant She’d be at his side.

“Could you,” he cleared his throat, waiting for Her to look back to him before he continued. “You’d be able to heal them?”

He didn’t have to elaborate on what he was referring to. And Her gaze darted back to his chest for only a second, Her fingers resuming their path—like She was trying to map him, memorize him the same way he’d memorized Her—as She looked back to Bucky.

“I could.” Her voice was soft, and Her smile was softer. “But I won’t.”

He swallowed, his voice almost a croak. “Why?”

“Because I like them.”

Bucky felt real. She was still touching him, and She looked like an angel but She was watching him like he was holy, so he felt human.

And, for once in his life, he was sure.

End Note: Have any of you seen the Avenger's episode of Phineas and Ferb?? That's what we're channeling with Her lab.

If you like this story, please reblog, share, or leave a comment! <3

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coffeefleecy · 5 days ago

Text

The Serpent's Posession

Pairing: Caleb X MC

Summary: You're finding that you're less scared of Caleb's visits and looking forward to them and the relief he brings you. You're also finding that you're becoming more attached.

Warnings: Virgin reader, inexperienced reader, vaginal sex, cunnillingus, incubus!caleb, dream sex, wet dream, panty sniffer Caleb, come eating, multiple orgasms, gaslighting, second person POV

This is part of a series called The Serpent. While the first work is not necessary to read, it might add more context. You can find that in part one here and part two here

In the following weeks of Caleb’s last visit, you find yourself feeling even more sluggish than usual. Your default lately has been operating on a lower caliber, but something in the last few days has you so drained that you’re barely making it to work on time. The distortion between reality and dreams is becoming hazier and instead of whatever unremarkable dreams you’ve had prior to meeting Caleb are nothing compared to the lasting mark he’s branded you with.

These dreams aren’t quite like the ones where Caleb actually visits, but you can hear his voice whispering things to you and it’s impossible to differentiate between sweet promises and malicious threats. He invades every pore; every nerve and your synapses are firing on all fronts, which serves to only exhaust you further. It’s like he’s taken possession of you and reworked your makeup to respond to only him as he lords the promise of sleep over your head. Caleb is Pavlov, bell surreptitiously dangling in hand as you pant after him, begging for any bit of relief he can give you so long as sleep comes with it.

By ten in the morning, you’ve had three cups of coffee. The caffeine working in tandem with your exhaustion and nerves causes you to become more and more uneasy as the day progresses and the promise of night looms over you. Despite those worries and the fear of the unknown, a part of you longs for Caleb - yearns for the moment you get to see him again. Your anxiety and unease bleed into a raw, intense need that’s been driving you mad. If you called for him by name, would he come?

You lie in bed later that evening in one of your more daring pajama choices; a selection that you’ll never admit is intentional. Despite grappling with the idea that you’re dressing up for a man that the inner machinations of your mind have fabricated, you reason that donning the crimson lace panties is an act of self-love; something that makes you feel sexy and comfortable regardless of who gets to see it. You opt for a thin, oversized tee shirt decorated with apples that remind you of Caleb’s intoxicating scent. God, are you pathetic?

It’s as if he’s bewitching you, mind, body and soul - burning himself into you until you can’t survive without the sustenance he grants you – body withering as if you were in a desert and the sun is sapping the life force out of you.

You’re terrified for him to make an appearance, but every bit of you sings for him, begging him to come. You want to test out the theory that he truly only does appear when you call for it and you’re in dire need of the fix he gives you. Even if it’s only a couple of days of good sleep, you’re in such distress that you’re desperate for it. It’s getting to the point that you cannot rest without him and the pleasure he brings you, so surely what’s the harm in asking for him?

Would it be so bad?

Fatigue overrides any sane thought you might have and this time, you are intentional.

“Caleb,” You whisper, throat raw and dry as his name comes out in rasps of agony. “Caleb, please. I need you, please. Please.”

“Call for me?”

Within split seconds, Caleb’s voice comes from over by your open bedroom door where he’s leaning against the frame, almost too tall to be allowed - not entering like he’s waiting to be invited in.

“You’re - you’re here?”

A sneer flashes across his face and he smirks at you like he’s making fun of you.

“Did you not ask for me? Honestly, you’re kinda stupid. What? What did you need this time? I’ve noticed how exhausted you’ve been looking. Can’t sleep without me, huh? Good.”

Caleb crosses the small distance between the two of you, his every move full of purpose and promises. He stops short of your bed, looking down on you with a face full of a false, gleeful pity.

“Fuck, you look awful,” Caleb lets out a low, chiding whistle. “Let’s fix it, yeah? What can I do for you, princess?”

Caleb graces you with an exaggerated, mocking bow.

“A-Anything, I don’t know what I want - just wanna sleep, please.”

“You want to sleep or … you want me?”

“Can’t it be both?”

What’s the difference?

“Which need is more dominant? I can bend you over and fuck you stupid until you pass out, no problem – but don’t you want a little more than that?”

“I’ll - I will take anything you’ll let me have, please,” You beg hoarsely and even you think you sound pathetic.

“Of course you will,” Caleb sighs and runs a hand through his messy hair. “Look - I’m not in the business of giving people things they don’t actually want. I am here for you; this is all for your benefit. None of it makes a fucking lick of difference to me, so you might as well enjoy it. I can anticipate your every need and nothing, not even the most minute of reactions gets past me. So why don’t you tell me what you really want? I know, but do you?”

“You.”

“You’re probably exhausted so I’ll give you a pass for acting so dumb, but we’ve established that. What? Do you want my tongue on you again? You and I both know that makes you feel good with how soaked you got me - I’m surprised you weren’t so embarrassed that you were squirting all over me.”

“I - yes but,” You stammer, unable to fathom your desires into words.

“Buuuuuuut you want more than that this time,” Caleb finishes for you. “You need something big to fill you up, huh? I felt you clenching around my fingers and my tongue and it wasn’t enough for you.”

“I just want you to make me feel good,” You struggle with the words and the fact that all of this is new to you makes you feel small; weak.

Caleb grabs your chin and forces you to look at him.

“I’ll make you feel good no matter what I do, so HOW do you want me to do it, pipsqueak? Use those words – I see those awards on your walls and I know how smart you are. I’m in charge, but I need you to tell me what you want.”

Despite the rough way in which he’s conveying it, the idea that he wants to take care of you is overwhelming. Not once has he focused on himself or demanded anything of you for his own gain even though his attitude has been less than warm. He’s made your body sing, erupt in ways that you’ve never experienced before and will likely be unable to achieve without him. He’s here for you; this figment of your imagination and likely the conjuring of all of your unspoken needs amalgamating into your perfect idea of what a man is.

“This - this is all a dream right?”

Caleb’s eyes narrow and he cocks his head to the side, his gaze hungry as he releases his grip on your chin and steps back to drink in the sight of you.

“Does it really fucking matter?” He challenges.

“My - my underwear, you - you took them, didn’t you?”

Caleb scoffs.

“Why would I do a thing like that?”

“Don’t - don’t lie to me, Caleb. I’m not stupid.”

“Fuckin’ could have fooled me. I think you like being stupid for me. You like it when I make you go dumb, don’t you? You always have so many big and important thoughts in that beautiful little head of yours that you love it so fucking much when you don’t have to think with me. You like it when I take care of you, don’t you, baby?”

“I just want to feel good and -”

“And you know I can make you feel good no matter what, right? So what you’re saying is you trust me?”

“I g-guess, but -”

“You’re relying on me to make you feel good, right? You know that I can do this. So, you trust me. You’re surrendering yourself to me, yeah? I kinda like that. So touch starved and so eager for me you’re willing to let me do whatever the fuck I want to you so you don’t have to think about it and just feel?”

“Yes!” You cry, frustrated and turned on as you rub your legs together.

“That’s all you had to say, ya know?” He grins at you, crossing his arms as he relishes in your frustration. “You just had to tell me that’s what you wanted. I’m not gonna act on anything here no matter how well I can read your desires. You’ve gotta want it out loud and proud, sweetheart.”

“I do - I do want it.”

“Yeah? How badly?”

“So badly. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat - I haven’t been able to think about anything but you. What did you do to me?”

“You’re just obsessed with me, princess, don’t worry. It’s not your fault, I mean, look at me. How about this? How about you stand up for me?”

You obey as if in a trance, shoving your bedsheets out of the way to free yourself. He backs away from the bed a bit to give you room to stand in front of him and the height difference causes a fresh wave of arousal to course through you.

“Good girl,” Caleb coos, cupping your jaw with his hand, big and comforting as he stares sweetly into your eyes. “Now get on your fucking knees.”

You bite back a whimper at the command and do as you’re told without a remark, sinking slowly to your knees and grabbing hold of his legs as leverage to steady yourself. Caleb leans forward to grab your chin again, forcing you to look into his eyes.

“You gonna do exactly what you’re told for me?”

You swallow the knot in your throat and nod, enchanted by his captivating gaze.

“So sweet of you, pipsqueak. I love how obedient you are - you really need me don’t you?”

“I - Yes,” You manage.

“Say it,” He demands, letting go of your chin and straightening up so he’s fully looking down on you. “Say you need me.”

“I need you, Caleb.”

“Not good enough; be more specific.”

“I can’t sleep without you and I can’t think about anything but you, please, I need you to help me Caleb.”

“So you’re fucking nothing without me, right? You can’t live without me in your life and you’ll take whatever I give you as long as I’m here, right?”

“Y-yes, please, I c-can’t live like this without your help.”

“Awe, you make it sound like you’re selling your soul to me,” Caleb laughs, though the sound is harsh and devoid of any humor. “Would you?”

“Would I what?”

“Nevermind, I’ve got something better for you. Can you undo my pants for me or is that too complicated for you, sweetheart?”

It’s occurring to you that despite baring everything to Caleb, you’ve never seen him unclothed. It’s never been something to cross your mind due to his over-attentiveness to your needs and he’s never asked you for anything or expected you to reciprocate, leaving you oblivious to what he has to work with. Taking your lack of a response as the latter to his question, Caleb makes a ‘tch’ sound and unfastens his belt, wasting no time in removing it and dropping it to the floor. He watches your head snap to the direction he let it fall in and smirks.

“What, want me to tie your hands together with it?”

“N-no, I just -”

“Have never done this before? Trust me, I know, but don’t fret - I’ll teach you,” Caleb croons, pausing to tug his pants down his thighs before continuing, “I’ll make sure you learn just what I like so you can do it perfectly for me, how’s that sound? You wanna learn how to gag on my cock?”

Your gaze lazer focuses on Caleb’s simple, black boxers. Though you have no real life experience to compare it to, the bulging fabric indicates that you don’t have an inkling of what you’re about to get yourself into.

“Yes? You wanna learn how to take it all the way in your throat? Speak for me, yeah?”

“Y-Yes, I - I want -”

“Want what? Be more specific, remember?”

“I want to l-learn what you like,” You manage despite your nerves. “I wanna taste you.”

“That’s my girl,” Caleb praises you, slipping his fingers into his boxers to slide those down along with his pants.

His cock catches on the waistband before bobbing free, the movements slow and intentional so you can get the full experience of the show he’s putting on for you. Caleb is long and thick, curving at the end in a way that makes you wonder what it would feel like inside of you. The tip is red and drooling with precum that Caleb collects with the pad of his thumb and covers the rest of his dick with.

“You can touch it, sweetheart, don’t be scared,” Caleb murmurs, reaching for your hand with his free one.

You allow him to take your right hand in his and swallow thickly as he places it on his cock, curling his fingers around yours to make a fist.

“Feel how hard I am for you? How much I’m leaking for you?”

The way he speaks is always shocking for you, yet his words encourage you. Despite the fact that he’s crass and filthy it makes you want to push him to the edge and see how much more he has to say.

“You like it when I talk to you? Like it when I guide you? Just a good girl that wants to be told what to do, huh? Fuck, you are so pretty when you’re following instructions. That’s right, just turn off your brain and listen to me - surrender to me and I’ll make it so fucking good for you - put your lips on the tip, sweetheart.”

You part your lips for him, hovering in front of him as if to wait for his actions.

“No, no - you’re gonna do it yourself, okay? Go at your own pace and I’ll tell you what to do, don’t wait for me to put it in. If you want me to control this I could just fuck your face and take what I need, but you don’t want that, do you?”

The prospect isn’t entirely unappealing, you find yourself thinking as heat floods through your body in needy waves.

“Huh… maybe you would like that. Let’s take it one step at a time, though,” Caleb’s grip on your hand slackens as he guides your hand slowly up and down his cock until he releases it completely to let you take over.

“I just… put my lips on it?”

“That’s the general idea, yeah,” Caleb sounds amused as he peers down at you. “Go ahead; I’ll be good.”

His gaze is intense and the fact that he’s watching you makes you all the more nervous. Worried your grip on his cock is too tight, you loosen it until just your fingertips are touching him. You lean forward, licking your lips to wet them before pressing a gentle whisper of a kiss to the tip of his cock. The wetness of his precum coats your lips, making you curious about the taste. Your tongue sweeps across your bottom lip to collect the slightly salty, sharp tasting liquid and Caleb groans.

“You don’t gotta treat me that genty, you know - I won’t fuckin’ break if you’re a little rougher,” he coaches as you press another delicate kiss to the tip and his fingers find purchase in your hair. “This okay with you?”

You’re surprised he’s asking, but you look up at him and nod, overcome by the sight of his flushed, slightly dazed face. It makes you want to take him apart like he did for you, unravel him completely and have him at your mercy. The newfound fuel from that delicious expression on his face has you eager to see more; hear more of him coming undone for you. You part your lips and take him in until the head is pressing against your tongue, that sharp-tasting precum spreading across it. You swallow it down, wincing slightly at the unfamiliarity of the taste and the sensation and Caleb hisses out your name; something he doesn’t usually refer to you as. You pull your lips off of him until the tip of his cock catches on your bottom lip.

“Like this, Caleb?” You ask innocently, desperate to hear more of him.

He glares at you.

“Aren’t you a little fucking tease? Well, go ahead. You think you can break me? I dare you.”

You know he’s mostly all talk and trying to rile you up - that he’d never let you feel unsafe or like you’re doing something you don’t want to be doing. Dream or reality; none of that matters and it’s a far cry from your mind, a thought so fleeting that disappears as soon as he’s with you. You push more of him into your mouth inch by inch until you feel a gag in the back of your throat, not unlike the feeling of brushing your tongue in the morning. It’s uncomfortable, but manageable, so you close your lips around him fully and taste him with your tongue, trailing it up and down what’s in your mouth.

“‘That’s it, good girl,” Caleb encourages, fingers tugging at your hair and pulling at your scalp as he collects it into a makeshift ponytail, a few silky tendrils slipping from his grip to frame your face.

What you lack in experience you make up for in determination, so set on making him feel as good as he’s made you feel and chip away at that carefully crafted image you’ve already begun to see cracks in. He can’t be as unaffected as he acts and you know for a fact that’s the case when you hear the faintest whimper bubble in his throat as you hollow your cheeks to suck around him.

“Fuck, just like that,” He groans, tightening his grip in your hair to the point that the tugging begins to sting a bit, but not enough to hurt.

You look up to catch his gaze to instead see his head lolling back, the adam’’s apple on his throat pronounced and bobbing as he shakes with restraint. He could take control, shove himself down your throat and fuck your face, but he lets you figure it out slowly as you get your bearings and grow used to the feeling of him in your mouth. A throbbing, aching sensation blooms between your thighs as your pace increases and you begin to sloppily suck him off, drool dripping down your chin with the exertion.

“Quick learner for me, yeah?” Caleb tries to act nonchalant, but the tell-tale signs of his pleasure manifests in the pain you feel as his grip in your hair tightens. “So fucking good for me.”

The ache between your legs becomes too much to ignore, causing you to whine on Caleb’s cock. The vibrations make him hiss and that grip gets even tighter still, bringing tears to your eyes with the combination of him hitting the back of your throat. You take him as far as you can, which admittedly isn’t that far, but he hums his appreciation and refrains from bucking into your mouth, using your hair as leverage.

“I can see you - ah - squirming down there,” he huffs out, voice thick with tension like a rubber band about to snap. “You’re making me feel so good that you’re ignoring your needs, aren’t you? Go ahead, touch yourself while you’re blowing me, it’ll make you feel a lot better.”

His words barely register in your mind, like it’s a foreign concept to you.

Can you touch yourself like that? Do you have the capacity to do both at once? Isn’t this about him?

“This is about you, remember.” Caleb remarks, like he can read your mind. “Take what you need, okay?”

You whimper, the sound again reverberating against Caleb’s skin and causing him to hiss. Drool pools at your lips, spilling over with every thrust into your mouth. With a trembling hand, you reach between your legs to find your panties soaked completely through, the revelation that sucking him off is bringing you so much pleasure is slightly shameful. A desperate, whining sound bubbles in the back of your throat as you shyly press your fingers against your clothed entrance, the friction not nearly enough to satisfy that need.

A slight move of Caleb’s leg has him pushing his shoe against your thigh, indicating for you to open your legs for him while pressing more insistently in your mouth as a result. You focus hollowing your cheeks around him, sucking him as deeply as you can, oblivious to what it is that he’s doing. Caleb lets out a frustrated groan and forces his shoe between your legs and right at center. The pressure has light dancing behind your eyes and your fingers are long forgotten as you subconsciously begin to grind against the cool, textured leather.

“That’s it, baby, ride my shoe - take what you need from me; you’re doing so well,” Caleb encourages as he manages to take control over the rhythm you’ve established with your mouth as to not go too rough, but give you room to seek your own pleasure.

You moan around his length, picking up speed as you chase the feeling of bliss you’ve been craving for the past few days, anxious that if you’re not fast enough, he may disappear. His absence always feel like kick to the gut; a harsh punch back to reality that reminds you of what’s to come – a lack of sleep and this deep longing in the pit of your stomach - something like melancholy that he isn’t real and isn’t actually there for you – that this false man is the most you can get and he slips through your fingers in the form of shadows and smoke.

“Don’t cry, baby,” Caleb chides, fingers slipping from his grasp in your hair to cup your cheeks.

Your hair falls around you in curtains, damp with sweat and tangled from Caleb’s grasp. He brushes it away from your face to tuck it behind your ears as he wipes the tears away with his thumbs, maintaining the slow, lazy pace of his thrusts in your mouth. You let the tears fall, unashamed in your drive for your pleasure as you ride his shoe faster, more insistently.

“You gonna come all over my shoe for me? Be careful, if you get them too dirty I might make you lick it up, sweetheart. Would you like that?”

The slight edge his voice has taken doesn’t go unnoticed by you and if you were placing bets, you’d be willing to put money on the fact that he’s focusing on you so he doesn’t lose that control he’s been clinging to. You can feel him pulsing in your mouth and while you’re inexperienced with all of these new acts and his knowledge outweighs your own, you’re not completely oblivious. Or hard of hearing, you think, as he lets tiny, controlled gasps slip from his lips. The idea that you’re turning him on and making him just as feral as you are sends you into overdrive. You grasp his naked thigh, anchoring yourself to allow more movement and more pressure. The feeling of his shoe pressing against your clit with every grind makes you cry out and soon, you’re falling over the precipice from rutting like a bitch in heat against Caleb’s shoe.

“Pretty, desperate girl,” Caleb soothes, hands delicate and gentle against your face as he cups you almost lovingly, amused at the fact that you’re getting off on anything he’s willing to offer you. “Oh, you’ve made such a mess.”

In your trance, you haven’t even noticed just how much you were leaking against him. You cry out almost hysterically, overstimulated as Caleb takes over and begins pressing his shoe against you, reveling in how much you’re trembling beneath him.

“That’s it, baby. Just feel it, yeah? Fuck, do you feel how hard you’ve got me? Made a mess on my shoe and my cock,” he marvels, gently pulling his cock out of your mouth and sneering gleefully at the globs of saliva connecting him and your lips.

He leans forward to catch you before you collapse to the floor in a trembling, exhausted pile and steadies you before crouching to your level. He presses soft kisses to both of your eyelids, then your nose and then your lips. You faintly register him breathing in through his nose, inhaling the scent of him on your lips and the pleasure it’s brought you, like he can actually smell the arousal.

“Oh, no, you can’t rest -” he chastises as you slump against his chest. “Did you actually think we were done?”

Caleb’s arms are huge as he wraps them around you to pull you to your feet, allowing you no time to rest or revel in the embarrassing orgasm you’ve just been subjected to. Caleb somehow manages to kick off his shoes as well as his pants and boxers before he walks you to the bed and gently pushes you back. You blink up at him as he peels his shirt off, displaying his naked chest to you for the first time.

It should come as no shock to you that he’s sculpted to near perfection, yet you ogle him shamelessly in your post-orgasm haze. His playful disposition and sweet looking face contrast the sight of him naked drastically. Though you’re no stranger to the internet, nothing compares to the sight of the man before you, complete with an arrogant and knowing smile that somehow enhances your attraction for him.

“Like what you see?”

“You’re beautiful,” You say without really thinking twice, averting your eyes when you realize you’ve been caught. “S-Sorry.”

“Don’t ever apologize for looking at me,” Caleb commands, tossing his shirt to the side before leaning over you. “ ‘sides, you did just have my dick in your mouth so I think we can drop the formalities, right?”

You look back at him, this time directly in his eyes. Molten pools of violets with flecks of scarlet gleam back at you, darkened with a raw, unmistakable want that makes you dizzy.

“I think you need me inside of you just as badly as I want to be inside of you, don’t you?” Caleb prompts.

“I’ve - I’ve never -”

Caleb cuts you off with a searing kiss, his lips hot and frenzied against your own. He presses his tongue against the seam of your lips, demanding entrance that you grant immediately. Caleb sucks on your tongue, the kiss devolving rapidly as he pants into your open mouth, not bothering to repress any of his unbridled need for you. His groans are kindling for an open, blazing flame and your whimpers are the gasoline and the catalyst for a wildfire.

“Fuck, this outfit, too - you wear this just for me?” Caleb grunts after breaking this kiss to allow you some air you didn’t know you needed. “These fucking panties…”

“I thought you’d like them,” You murmur, chest heaving with shuddering breaths. “Hey -”

“Mm?” Caleb wonders before trailing wet, open-mouthed kisses against your throat.

“My p-panties, the ones with - the ones with the cherries,” You accuse, not letting Caleb distract you like he did earlier. “You t-took them, didn’t you?”

“Are these some magical underwear or somethin’? Fuck, why does it even matter?” Caleb huffs as he pulls back to look at you.

“If it doesn’t matter then why won’t you tell me?” You tilt your head to the side.

Caleb pulls away to look at you – almost like he’s sizing you up.

“Why can’t you just stop talking about shit that doesn’t matter and let me make you come,” Caleb counters.

“Because,” Your eyes narrow as you stand your ground. “I think you’re lying to me.”

He actually laughs at that.

“I’m in your dreams, pipsqueak - ‘s not like any of this is real, right?”

“I know that you lied about those roses,” You press. “I know that you took those panties. I couldn’t find them anywhere and I wear them all the time – it’s not like I have a bottomless underwear drawer. So… why don’t you answer that question for me, Caleb?”

An unsatisfied, agitated frown tugs Caleb’s lips downward as he stares at you.

“I - I just feel… I feel like I’m losing my mind,” You say softly. “I woke up without them and - and I was still…”

“Still what?”

“Wet,” You cringe as you say it, your embarrassment trickling into your voice with pricks of shame. “Like … like it all… happened.”

“You had a wet dream,” Caleb reasons, leaning forward to hover over you. “Just like you’re having now, right? Perfectly normal and nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“B-but, the underwear -”

“Baby, you probably just lost them in the wash, you know? Sorta like how those machines eat your socks sometimes?” Caleb purrs, slipping his fingers beneath your lace-covered cunt.

“I’m not - you’re trying to distract me,” You cry out when he easily slips his pointer and index fingers inside of you.

“You need me so badly, sweetheart, please just let me take care of you,” Caleb coos. “You’re so fucking wet and I can feel you clenching around my fingers.”

“Caleb -”

“Gonna let me fuck you? Gonna let me be your first and your fucking last?” He demands, scissoring his fingers to open you up before slipping his ring finger in as well.

Caleb’s fingers are long and dexterous, the perfect length to reach places inside of you that you’ve never been able to reach yourself. He sneaks his thumb into the mix to press harshly against your clit, drawing a broken, high-pitched cry from your lips so needy, you’re ashamed of yourself.

“Gotta give me an answer, re-mem-ber,” Caleb taunts, punctuating the words with the thrusts of his fingers. “I can make you feel so fucking good. I’ll put you right to sleep, sweetheart. Make you come all over me while I’m fucking you stupid.”

Your insistence on forcing him to explain himself with your missing panties ebbs away with each filthy promise he spews and the need to have him inside of you outweighs it all.

“P-please,” Your concession is a quiet plea and it’s all Caleb needs to rip your panties off of you.

He moves down your body to flatten his tongue against your cunt, fingers still buried deep as he works them concurrently, collecting as much of your arousal as he can. You blink back pleasure-induced tears to see Caleb gripping his cock, squeezing it at the base while he eats you out like he’s staving something off and the sight has you clenching around his digits as your second orgasm of the evening takes you hostage.

“Fuck, atta girl,” Caleb’s muffled encouragements come from soaked, quivering lips as he drinks up everything you have to give him. “Tastes so goddamn good.”

“C-Caleb,” You moan, reaching for him and finding purchase in his hair.

“That’s it, pull it,” Caleb eggs you on, placing sloppy kisses against your soaked, fluttering cunt. “Use me and my mouth – think I can get you a third time?”

“N-No, need - I need you inside,” You pluck up the courage to voice what you need, knowing Caleb will only grant you what you want when you ask for it directly.

You whimper at the loss of his fingers but don’t have to miss him for too long, because he’s settling between your legs and slipping his cock up and down your pussy without penetrating it. You gasp at the feeling of his bare cock against you, thick and pulsating with need as he ruts against you, his shoulders quaking with restraint.

“Fuck, so fucking wet for me,” He grinds out, head falling back at the feeling. “You want me to put it in? Want me to fuck you raw? I’ll give you every last bit of come I have and I’ll fuck that into you too so you don’t waste a single drop.”

“W-Wait, it’s - I’m just dreaming, I can’t -” You blubber, a feeling of panic rising like bile in the back of your throat.

“Don’t worry, as much I’d fucking love to breed you and knock you up so you’re tied to me forever, I can’t get you pregnant,” He scoffs ruefully. “You won’t catch anything from me, either.”

“C-Caleb, what are you?” You whimper, confused but aching for him to keep touching you.

“Yours,” Caleb deflects and he sounds dejected as he guides his cock so it’s pressing at your entrance, but still looks to you for permission. “I’ll stop right now if you don’t want this. Just tell me. I just need you to come for me, okay?”

You know Caleb isn’t human – that much has been clear to you from the beginning. Though he manifests in the form of the most devastatingly gorgeous man you’ve ever seen in your life, he feels more spiritual than anything. Whether that spirit is malevolent or he truly does exist to please you is unclear, but you’re starting to think that area is more gray than white.

“Want you, Caleb,” You grind against him from below, lifting your hips to encourage him. “Please, make me feel good. Make the ache go away.”

Caleb’s eyes search yours for any traces of hesitation even though you know he can likely read your thoughts or intentions and the double-checking that you’re okay and in compliance makes your heart flutter in a way it probably shouldn’t.

“Say it,” He commands.

“Please, just - please fuck me, Caleb, I - ” You whine, cut off by the feeling of his engorged tip breaching your entrance.

“Keep saying my name like that, sweetheart.”

You’re expecting force or a roughness that never comes and are instead soothed by Caleb’s large, gentle hand stroking your cheek as he feeds his cock into you with the other. There’s an intense, building pressure that doesn’t quite hurt, but feels incredibly unfamiliar in comparison to the size of his fingers.

“It’s - It’s so big,” Your voice is strained as he inches in slowly and you make the mistake of looking to where you’re joined.

Your eyes widen in panic as you realize he’s not even halfway inside of you. Caleb notices your expression and he laughs, his eyes crinkling in amusement when he sees where you’re looking.

“Don’t worry, baby, we’ll make it fit,” He thrusts forward, digging deep into you at a spot you’ve never felt anything reach before. “Look at that, you’re taking me so goddamn well. So good for me, sweet girl. I fucking love you.”

I’m delusional, you think mirthfully as he praises you. I’m actually starting to believe he loves me.

You writhe beneath him as he bottoms out, squirming uncomfortably against him as you try to get used to the feeling of him inside of you. To his credit, Caleb always puts your needs first and he exercises the most monumental display of strength you’ve seen thus far as he stills and allows you to acclimate to him.

“Feel good? Need a second?” He asks softly.

“Feels good - I think I’m okay,” You confirm, wiggling your hips a little to test your comfort levels.

It doesn’t hurt nearly as bad as you thought it was going to, but with the residual wetness from the two orgasms he’s given you, it makes sense that the glide would be comfortable. Any ounce of discomfort melts into a deep-seated need for him to keep going; to chase his own pleasure after attending to yours so diligently.

“Caleb, y-you can - you can -” You stammer, unable to find the right wording and too nervous to speak clearly.

“Huh,” Caleb slowly pulls out of you until just the tip of him rests inside. “I think I remember telling you that you need to tell me what you want from me, didn’t I?”

“You’re - you’re being mean,” You accuse, trembling beneath him in your desperation for him to move.

“Yeah and you fucking love it, don’t you?”

Caleb leans slowly inches back into you at a maddening snail’s pace and leans forward to tug your shirt over your head, a low, appreciative groan wrenching from his lips as he takes in the sight of your bare breasts.

“C’mere,” He demands, tucking his hands behind your shoulders to pull you up to his chest so you’re essentially sitting on him.

The angle changes, gravity working overtime to aid the slide of his cock so deep inside of you that you can feel him in the back of your throat.

“O-Oh,” You choke out. “Feels - that feels so good, Caleb - I think I’m -”

Caleb laughs derisively against your neck, the breaths of air tickling your skin.

“You’re gonna come already? Fuck, you’re really aching for it, aren’t you?” He teases and your delusions fuel you into thinking he’s sounding softer; less malicious and more fond. “Go ahead, let go for me.”

Your hips move of your own accord and there’s a force that you believe to be Caleb’s doing that aids you in your movements. You’re so close to him that every time he bottoms out, you’re grinding against him in a way that makes you see stars, the pressure on your clit and the filled void inside of you too much for you to handle.

“That’s it,” Caleb encourages when he feels your muscles spasming around him, constricting him so tightly you vaguely worry he won’t be able to pull out of you. “Love this pussy so much - love you so much.”

Caleb’s proclamations are your undoing and you detest how much your body reacts to that word. It’s as if he’s lit a fuse on you and every part of you is exploding; your body trembling so violently as Caleb reaches between the two of you to rub circles into your clit, the feeling so visceral and intense you’re sobbing. Caleb doesn’t stop until you’re falling against his chest, limp and breathing so ragged you’re a hair away from hyperventilating.

“C-Caleb, can’t - no more, can’t -” You weakly rest your hand against his to stop him, too exhausted to take any more.

“So good, love it when you come for me,” Caleb whispers into your ear, slipping his hand from between your legs to push your hair away from your face. “That’s my good girl.”

“Wh-What about you?” You panic, the realization that he hasn’t come setting in.

“What about me? This is for you, sweetheart. Can you handle any more? ‘Cause I think you’re done for now.”

“Please, I want you to come for me, Caleb,” You beg, shakily pulling away from your slump against his chest to look him in the eyes.

You can feel him pulsing inside of you as he matches your gaze. He murmurs your name like it’s a warning, clearly worried that you’re pushing yourself for his sake.

“Hey, I really don’t need -”

“Please let me suck you off,” You press. “Please, I - I want to make you feel good, too.”

Caleb is silent for a moment, eyes searching yours for any kind of objection or betrayal of your words and he sighs when he finds none.

“You’re somethin’ else. I didn’t even get to fuck you within an inch of your life the way I wanted to because you couldn’t handle it and now you’re telling me you’ve got enough energy for that? Fine.”

Caleb eases you off of his lap, wincing as his cock catches against your entrance and bobs out, drenched with a mixture of your come and his sweat, angry and red with his need to come. You sniffle at the loss and Caleb snorts despite the fact that he’s so pent up. He leans back on his elbows so he’s still able to see you and looks at you expectantly.

“Well? Not gonna suck itself, is it?”

You grin tiredly at him, throwing every last bit of caution you have out the window in your desire to make him feel good. Caleb fights back a laugh as you clumsily lean forward and shakily rest your arms on his thighs. You swallow thickly at the sight of his cock up so close and it looks even bigger than when you had him in your mouth earlier.

“Pipsqueak, you don’t have to - fuck,” Caleb hisses.

It’s your turn to take Caleb apart as you cut him off by slowly slipping him into your mouth. He’s far too big for you to take all of him, but you apply what you learned earlier and despite the vast space between your different levels of experience, your tongue on his cock has Caleb swearing. His fingers flex and curl into fists at his sides and you suspect it has something to do with him wanting to grip your hair. He fights the urge to just take from you as he lets you explore his cock with your mouth and hand, taking what you can’t fit in your mouth into your fist.

“Just like that, sweetheart,” He coaches. “Feels so good, baby.”

You wince at the taste, somewhat taken aback by the tang of your arousal and his skin, but it’s beyond worth it when you look up beneath your lashes and you see him panting, eyebrows knit together in a way that makes him look almost angry with how hard he’s concentrating. You take a deep breath and take as much of him in as you can, hollowing your cheeks around him as you suck as hard as you’re able and his reaction has you rubbing your legs together.

“Fuck, that’s it, I - I think I’m gonna come, you need to fucking - fuck - pull off, now.”

It’s probably unwise to ignore him, but you want to show him how good you can be and how badly you want him to feel as good as he’s made you feel. Instead of pulling off, you suck harder. Your inexperience serves to aid you because Caleb loves how sloppy you are with it. The image of you with his cock between your lips with drool and precome dripping down the sides of your mouth makes him growl, the sound inhuman and feral deep in the back of his throat.

“Fucking - P-pull off!” He warns, but the feeling is too good for him to fight off and he’s not about to risk hurting you, so when he hits a new depth in your throat that has you gagging around him, he comes undone.

You sputter around his cock as thick, warm ropes of come splash against your tongue. In a panic, you swallow what you can, but globs of his come spill out of the sides of your mouth and comingle with your saliva.

“Shit,” Caleb hisses as his hips flex with the force of his orgasm, every fiber of his being fighting for him to buck into your mouth as he holds himself back. “I told you to pull off!”

Caleb extricates his cock from your mouth and groans as more of his fluid spills out with it. You have a glassy, dazed look in your eyes and your lips are swollen with the exertion of your efforts, slick with his come and your spit.

“Fuck, you’re perfect,” Caleb marvels as he leans forward to slot his mouth against yours without the grace of an actual kiss.

Caleb bullies his tongue between your lips, darting out to taste as much of you and him together as he possibly can. He laps up as much of the remaining fluids as he can from your mouth, throat working as he swallows it down. Caleb’s hands find purchase in your hair, deep to the scalp so he can be as physically close to you as he’s allowed.

“C-Caleb,” You pant into his mouth, panting for air he’s not granting you.

“Love the way you say my name,” He groans before sucking your tongue into his mouth.

This kiss is longing, deep and greedy as Caleb takes everything from you to your very essence. There’s something real within it; something you can’t place that you haven’t felt in his kisses prior. Caleb doesn’t stop kissing you until your eyelids are fluttering and you can barely keep yourself held up. He lowers you to the bed, carefully placing your head on your pillow.

“Don’t - don’t go,” You snivel. “You can stay here -”

“You know I can’t, sweetheart,” Caleb sounds crestfallen, that mask of his slipping entirely.

Am I imagining that?

“Please, come back then,” You’re almost bartering with him, already missing the weight of him against you despite him still being here. “Please come back tomorrow - Every night - I - I need you.”

“I’ll come when you call,” Caleb promises as you close your eyes with the relief in that knowledge. “Get some rest, okay?”

“Need you,” You babble incoherently as sleep takes you as its captor.

Everything goes black.

As always, you wake up the next morning feeling renewed. You stretch and nearly double over as a sharp ache blooms between your legs. You frown in confusion until the memories of the previous night flash through your mind, vivid and almost tangible. You swallow thickly as his answer from the night before resurfaces.

“Caleb what are you?”

“Yours.”

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