#GUYYYYSSSS CHAPTER 1 IS HERE!!!

[orfeoarte]

Tower of Three

Chapter 1: Scorched surroundings

Read on Ao3

"Times are changing, pendahn. I don't like those clouds, the way they stir on the summit," he hesitated, voice dropping in secret shared with the underbrush, lit only by the flickering wick of a lard candle. "I- I'll follow you, but please don't do anything stupid, will you?"

"Fancy yourself the voice of reason? I'm climbin'. If you don't like it, you can well stay behind."

The Wolf, and the Bosmer are forced to unite on an Odyssey under the Dragonborn's command. To break the mark of a world in disarray, they must make an accord: after all, what use is a hero if her thread is split in three?

Riverwood. a tranquil place, with little to write home about. Saathel thought of it as a slight downgrade from her previous life in the depths of a wooded area most certainly ruled over by the postulates of serious Nordsmen and their grave voices. She, in all certainty, lacked the will to perceive them as anything other than the sad attempts they made to rule over sacred wilderness rather than form a covenant with it, as she knew Holy, so she hunted and assembled her shelter and supplies out of those carcasses. Bone, sinew and skin were all she needed to survive the inclemencies of Skyrim’s weather. That unforgiving cold that seeped into one’s very insides— when near claimed by it Saathel liked to remind herself why it was that she was there. Sometimes, that was all that kept her going.

Though close to the town, Saathel liked to keep herself unseen, trading only when necessity brought her to dire bartering, known only by a merchant and his mule. It was a quiet life. Lonely.

She hadn’t been expecting plumes of smoke to rise from Helgen, a morning during her earliest hunts. Like most things unexpected, it beckoned to the part of her mind that didn’t know better. In retrospect, perhaps she should have stayed put, ignored the fires, ignored the obvious silhouette of a dragon, rising from the settlement and slicing clouds with its wings.

A dragon. A tale as impossible could bore its most faithful reader by overstating the incredulousness of its witnesses, but in this situation truth was present: Saathel dropped her bow, mouth ajar. She stood there frozen, the only sign that she lived still in the miniscule droplets of condensed warmth that hung in the cold air as she breathed.

"Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck."

The thick blanket of cumulonimbus above spoke both of cold weather and a chance of precipitation— and a perfect hideaway for the embodiment of death and fire, whose getaway Saathel could no longer track.

After watching for a good handful of minutes, ears twitching from her over-excited senses trained keenly on Helgen's rising smoke, she resolved that action was the only choice.

The dragon had left, there seemed to be no more unrest in the vaulted sky above the town. Ensuring that it had not made for her portion of wooded sanctuary was a task Saathel performed hastily, feverish, eyes darting to and fro. She discovered soon enough that there was simply no trace of the beast, the ground's twigs and pebbles did not rattle from an impact nearby, and her path was clear from her campsite to the rubble.

With a backpack put together by shaking hands and slung over her shoulders, she set out quickly on her feet.

Accompanying Saathel were her hunting bow and quiver, and a lumber-axe she had taken up for survival in the cold climate when much to her chagrin, no amount of furs could tide over the damp bite of winter. Her weapons would soon prove useful, as she was surprised by a half-singed mare fleeing the town, questing in pain and barrelling towards her.

In a single act the beast had an arrow protruding from its eye socket, Saathel's drawing hand as quick as the projectile itself. She leapt out of the way as the horse keeled over from the sheer impact strength; piercing through eyeball and nerve, in a diagonal straight into the brain, it was dead within seconds. Mercy was written all over the shaft of the arrow as she pulled it out, a boot holding down the mare's heavy skull. Its flank was burned, flesh melted together, the skin connecting its thigh to the trunk a mass of reddish pink wrinkles and blackened splotches. The scent of ruined meat made Saathel retch.

"Y'ffre keep you," she sighed, wiping the arrow down on a piece of leather and slipping it back into the quiver. She knew the spot. Though burned horses weren't her choice of food, no child of the Green could leave such a bounty unused. Sharing with the wolves and foxes was not an issue, the beasts were to her as brothers. Her people knew their song and story as Y’ffre had told it even this far in the North, cold ice Skyrim housed but a different part of Y’ffre’s creation, the one where mountains walked the skyway to meet with the stars, instead of tamarinds, soursops and magnolias.

Her boots slanted in a diagonal across the slippery slope leading towards the valley to ease the mer’s descent down the scene of havoc, the footprint of a passed dragon whose return she still feared enough to cause nervous glances back and forth, and to the sides. Saathel crouched to receive the encroaching scent of fiery substrate, ember and char. It awakened a form of primal unease in her to smell the remains of timber houses and thatched roofs engulfed by flames. Spewing smoke. Those threads of blistering heat weren’t the product of a single uncaring mortal, but spun by an unworldly demiurge against which she was powerless.

Calm, Saathel, she reasoned with herself. You’re thinking in the language of prey. But her own thoughts offered little in the way of solace when she ducked under a tree’s branches and saw the thawing drip, heat from the initial blast melting away at what was supposed to be a mountainous morning frost, impassive and perennial. Her encasing of fur, too, felt heavy instead of comforting.

Yet as she approached poor Helgen the heat became a part of her surroundings, and hardly more than in the Valenwood. Out came her thick gloves, aided by a tug with her teeth and stuffed inside her side-pouch. Huffing and puffing her way through pylons of still-rising smoke, stepping carefully about corpses made into coal, smelling as that horse had, she was dry-heaving by the time she set foot within Helgen proper. The first thing she noticed was the scene of an execution in the heart of the city. Some poor fool had given their neck; presumably more had been queued when the dragon struck, the unlucky bastards.

There was nothing in Helgen left to salvage. Trails ran cold out of the village where some survived, yet two similar paths caught her eye before waning. Inside a building that somehow still stood whole those trails continued. Saathel opened the door. She looked around, coughing into the inside of her softened pelt scarf and lowered it to take a deep breath allowing the scents to flow into the back of her palate. The scents then spoke to her. The place was as a prison once she delved deeper in pursuit of the still-hot trails of possible survivors. Skeletons. Dead Nords and dead Imperials alike flanking the cages holding excarnated corpses of prisoners who never knew of the dragon attack. Sometimes, to be dead is a luxury.

Too far in to turn back and give in to the nagging thoughts of living a life of minding her own business, she descended into a collapsed series of tunnels dug underground.

“Mole-folk, these Northerners. Just how far have they dug into the—”

A faint sound stopped her. It was only for her ears, and came from far down and out. She paused, tilting face and ears to better catch the cry in their shell, as her eyes grew wide and her pupils dilated from adrenaline.

“Help!”

Survivors, at least one of them. Saathel threw herself forward in a frantic scrambling run, abandoning all of her aboveground elegance in favor of speed. Unknown ground as her enemy, eventually she made it to where the tunnels merged with a cave system. Spider corpses littered the floor. Those were Frostbite spiders, hunters endowed with a paralyzing venom that left their pray sluggish or, in worse cases, surrendered to a thick stupor. Frustration grew in her, there was no time for harvesting their venom sacs when someone might be dying further down. Guano covered the roof and walls, nitric acid impregnated her every breath, and Saathel cursed her heroic streak for deciding to play rescue brigade and woodland patrol.

Soon she was at the mouth of a large chamber within the cave. A colossal spider curled its dead limbs in on itself, and nearby were two paralyzed men. Nords, the both of them, she could smell their poisoned blood oozing from puncture wounds. One of them blearily opened his eyes and his hand shook as he stretched his arm out towards her. “Help us, please.”

Saathel knocked both men out with a precise blow to the back of their heads.

[glowingjunmyeon]

Lost and Found (an EXO fanfic) - ch.18

Idol!AU

Pairing: Xiumin x Reader

Status: Ongoing

Summary: Marion’s life was going perfectly well before it had fell apart. She had moved out from her family’s house to New York City almost a year ago to attend her dream college. She had gotten a small job and had a great group of friends to keep her happy. Then everything went downhill the moment she found out that her father had died. What made it worse was the fact that her father’s bank account was mysteriously empty, leaving her and her family completely broke. Marion suddenly didn’t have any time to go to college anymore or even grieve her father’s death as she thrown into working multiple jobs to support her family. Her happy college days were gone, instead replaced with working at a Chicken restaurant during the day and serving people drinks at a bar by night. It wasn’t until a rather handsome man walks through the Bar doors that lightens things up in her life. He’s attractive, charming and likable-everything a girl would want in a man-until he does something that leaves her never wanting to see him again…but he still wants to see her.

Sometimes you live with memories that you wish you could forget, but not always regret.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 |  Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22

Marion looked at him pacing around with her elbows propped on her knees and her hands holding up her chin. Minseok had just came from work and was stressing because apparently his music company had changed the deadline to earlier.

Minseok ranted, angrily, "How the hell can they expect that from us when it's our first time doing shi-"

Marion leaned back on the couch, "Minseok." She said, speaking firmly but softly as she looked up at him.

He turned and looked at her, his face smooth of any expression as his intriguing dark eyes scanned hers. "What?"

She patted the spot next to herself on the couch, "Come here."

Minseok's brows furrowed slowly-the tension of his rant still flowing through him, "Why?"

Marion raised a brow as she tilted her head, "You don't want to sit next to me?"

The hurt softness in her voice made him sag his shoulders in defeat. He walked over and plopped himself beside her on the couch. She looked up at him beside her on the couch. By the furrow of his brow she could tell that he was still stressed. She suddenly reached her hand up and placed it around the side of his head to bring his head down on her lap.

"Woa." He said, as he looked up at her before realizing what she had done. A small smile slipped onto his lips as he stretched his legs out comfortably on the couch and let himself look up at her from her lap.

She smiled as she looked down at him, bringing her hand off his chest to tuck her hair behind her ears so it wouldn't get on his face. She then ran her fingers through his wavy black hair slowly and let her other hand rest over his on his stomach. She could feel his uniquely shaped eyes on her and it only made the little silent moment feel all the more right. She could feel him relaxing with each stroke that her hand caressed his hair. She couldn't help but notice that his hair was undeniably soft.

She removed her hand from over his and placed it on the side of his face before leaning down and placing a gentle kiss on his lips. Just as he had reached his head up to kiss her harder she backed away placing a hand over his lips with a small teasing smile on her lips. "I believe...that you can do it." She said, softly. "You don't need the deadline. You don't need anything. You just need yourself. And you're a smart man, so I believe that you can do it."

His dark eyes searched through hers before he sighed underneath her hand over his mouth. His tenseness from earlier coming completely undone. She looked down at him for a second, watching him as he half-closed his eyes while she raked her fingers through his hair. She removed her hand from over his mouth and placed her lips on his gently once again and he leaned his head up letting his lips move against hers just as slowly. Her hand cupped the side of his face. She let her fingers explore the hard jawline that adorned his face and let her index finger brush over the smoothness of his cheekbone.

Suddenly the intensity of the kiss grew when she felt his hand grasp the back of her neck as he leaned up into her lips. His lips crashing against hers passionately as he tilted his head for better access. Then before she knew it he was sitting up, and her back was pressed against the couch and his arm was slipping around her waist tightly so he could bring her onto his lap.

She gasped when she was sitting on his lap, her wide eyes planted on his face as she was facing him. He looked at her reaction and couldn't help but chuckle, his hands slipping around her back loosely as he tilted his head. "You're so pretty."

She hated the fact that she was red, as she smacked his chest lightly, "Shut up."

He grinned, "Make me."

She smacked his chest harder this time, "Why the hell are you such a smooth talker!"

He threw his head back and laughed.

Kyungsoo was sitting quietly at one of the tables of the Chirping Chicken when he suddenly heard someone say, "You're stupid."

Kyungsoo looked up to see a waitress-he blinked as he recognized her. She was Marion's friend, Jasmine. "Excuse me?" he said, his deep voice rumbled.

Jasmine shook her head, her loose brunette curls falling out of her bun. "You should've at least told her."

Kyungsoo was a little distracted by her accent, he couldn't pin down where it was from. It felt familiar. He looked away, folding his arms, "What are you talking about?"

Jasmine squinted, "C'mon, I know you know what I'm talking about."

Kyungsoo half-closed his eyes, "Nope."

Jasmine sighed before collecting his plate and placing the checkbook on his table "She's not coming in today, she doesn't have dinner shift."

Kyungsoo finally recognized her accent. It was Colombian. He remembered it from when EXO had done their world tour and had 2 concerts in Colombia, a few fans had the opportunity to meet them backstage. He remembered being stunned by the fluidity of their accent.

Kyungsoo ran his hand through his hair before saying, "If I told her...what difference would it have made?"

Jasmine turned around, "You wouldn't be sitting here and sulking about it."

Kyungsoo furrowed his brows, "I'm not sulking. I'm happy that she's with Minseok."

Jasmine raised a brow.

Kyungsoo nodded, "I really am. He's a good guy. He can treat her right."

Jasmine looked at Kyungsoo curiously, "Then why do you keep coming back here?"

Kyungsoo opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out.

Jasmine sighed before placing the plates back down on the table, "Look, why don't you do something-instead of coming here daily why don't you give yourself a break and come once every week instead? I know that she considers you a good friend, and you do too, but you really need a break. You need to lose your attachment to her. If you see her every day, you won't be able to move on." Her voice was insistent but calm.

Kyungsoo shifted uncomfortably, how does she know all of this?

Jasmine waved her hand, dismissively, "Don't worry. You weren't obvious about your feelings for her-I'm just good at reading people. Besides, you're not the first."

Kyungsoo raised his brow, "What do you mean?"

Jasmine shrugged, "She's a really good person. She's been through a lot but instead of letting that bring her down she pushes through it. I can see why people like her, but the thing is she doesn't see it. She thinks she just normal-when that's the last thing she is."

Kyungsoo locked his jaws, he didn't need to be reminded of how she was one of a kind.

Jasmine looked at him, "Look, dude. It's not over for you. You're a good guy. There are plenty of fish in the sea. But I just know that if you keep coming back here to see her you won't be able to see those other fish."

Kyungsoo raised a brow, a slight smile climbing onto his lips, "What an analogy." He muttered.

Jasmine continued, "I'm going to tell her that you came here today and that you told me that you can't come to the restaurant everyday anymore because you are busy. She won't be offended, she likes you too much for that. But still, make sure you keep up to it. You need to move on."

Kyungsoo sagged his shoulders, even though he didn't know this person it felt better to talk to someone about it. He leaned back against the seat, "Easier said than done."

Jasmine nodded, "I know. But you got this. We all go through unrequited love...and if you don't then you're a freaking genius."

Baekhyun looked at Kyungsoo on the couch beside him, "How about Minion?"

"What about Minions?" Kyungsoo said, confused.

Baekhyun looked at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "For Minseok and Marion's ship name!" he said, excitedly.

Baekhyun looked over to see Kai and Chanyeol turnaround from their spots on the ground. Kai paused the video game that they were playing. Chanyeol mouthed 'Shut up!' to Baekhyun while Kai glared and actually said it, "Shut up, Baek."

Baekhyun frowned, he didn't get why Chanyeol and Kai seemed to be hovering around Kyungsoo so much. They always made sure that he ate or that he was never bored and mostly they always made sure that they were with him. Baekhyun didn't get it. And even made Baekhyun feel...a little...jealous.

Baekhyun crossed his arms, about to open his mouth and complain until Chen bounded down the stairs and shouted, "GUYS! GUYS! GUYS! GUYYYYSSSS!"

They all turned around and looked at him. Kyungsoo spoke, "What is it?"

Chen held a small light blue envelope in his hand, "We've been invited to a BALL!"

Minseok appeared from the hallway under the stairs, a purple blanket in his hands as he itched the corner of his head. "What?"

Chen turned to look at him, excitedly, "YA-!"

Suho suddenly snatched the envelope from his hand, "I was going to tell you all at dinner but I guess someone was snooping around my desk." Suho tried to elbow Chen and Chen dodged it with a wide smile on his face. Chen giggled boyishly. "But yes," Suho continued, "We've been invited to UNICEF's annual Snowflake Ball and Teacher Lee Soo Man allowed us to go."

"Thanks." Sehun said to Minseok, as he had just handed Sehun the purple blanket. Sehun wrapped the blanket tightly around himself before laying back down on the couch. Sehun spoke through a yawn, "Oh, how wonderful. Let's go suit shopping tomorrow. There must be a Louis Vuitton here somewhere right..." He murmured as he turned over and drifted off into sleep.

Suho rolled his eyes, "We should all go together. So make sure you are all here by 6:30 on the day of. If you're not here by then you'll be left behind. I'm not waiting for any of you. And it's a black tie event so make sure you all wear you're suits."

Baekhyun looked down at his phone with a smile, "Ah-this is so good. People on my Instagram were commenting if I was dead-with crying emojis-because they missed me. Aren't my Aeris so cute?"

Kyungsoo scrunched his nose, "How is that cute?"

"You never find anything cute, mann." Baekhyun said-with a slight pout, before scrolling down his Instagram comments.

Kai itched the back of his head, "Ah, I don't think I packed my suit." Kai said, unsurely.

Chanyeol muttered, "Me either."

Kyungsoo wanted to roll his eyes at the two idiots sitting before him on the living room carpet.

Minseok frowned, "How did you not pack at least one suit?"

Kyungsoo raised his hand, "That's what I'm saying."

Chanyeol squinted, "Not everyone packs everything like you, okay?"

Kai shrugged, "That's okay. I'll just go with Sehun when he goes suit shopping. Right?" Kai glanced over at Sehun. This was Kai's way of asking Sehun if he could go along with him.

Sehun didn't reply, due to the fact that he was sound asleep.

Kai didn't realize this, as he was multi-tasking from playing the video game while talking. "RIGHT, SEHUN?" Kai shouted.

Sehun flinched and flew off the couch, staggering as he didn't realize that he had stood up. Sehun looked around, clueless, "What?!"

Suho placed a hand over his forehead, before shaking his head. Minseok looked at Sehun with an amused grin on his face.

Kai paused the video game before him, "Can I go suit shopping with you?" Kai asked, innocently.

Sehun almost shouted, "You woke me up to ask me THAT!?"

Chanyeol peeked his head from beside Kai, "Can I also come too?"

Sehun huffed, "Yes, yes, whatever." Sehun stomped off, dragging his purple blanket behind him. As Sehun stormed by, Suho heard him mutter something about how no one cared about his beauty sleep.

"I just realized that..." Marion itched the corner of her head before blushing as she turned around. "You know what-never mind."

Jasmine grabbed Marion's shoulders and spun her around, "You realized what?" Jasmine questioned.

Marion brushed off Jasmine's hands from her shoulders before returning to sweeping the floor with the broom. "Nothing-I just realized that Me and him never kiss gentle."

Jasmine slowly raised a brow, "Do you want him too?"

Marion stopped brooming for a second to adjust the cap on her head as she said, "I mean-we do but it's not as often as the...the more...I don't know-fierce kisses I guess?"

A grin slowly spread across Jasmine's lips, "You mean the hard kisses?"

Marion looked at Jasmine for a second before looking away and rolling her eyes, "Yes-yeah. That."

Jasmine held back a slight laugh at noticing how fidgety Marion was being. Until she turned and looked at Marion earnestly, "Well, did you guys have sex yet?"

Marion's eyes widened, "No-what? No." She shook her head, "We haven't even slept on the same bed yet...well, we have slept on the same couch but...not on a bed."

Jasmine raised her brows, leaning onto the counter as she asked, "Do you not want to?"

Marion turned red, reaching her hand up to adjust her hat again, "No-I mean-Yes-I mean...I don't know. I guess I want to...but somethings holding me back."

Jasmine looked sharp for a second, "He's not forcing himself on you-is he?"

Marion shook her head, "No-he's not. That's the last thing he is doing. Every time we get to that point when we're kissing he just...stops. And I can feel it..." She looked a bit distracted as she continued, "I can feel that he's waiting for me."

Jasmine clapped her hands as she laughed, "Girl, you are driving him crazy."

Marion made a face before hitting Jasmine with the broom. "Can you not!" Marion said.

Jasmine laughed as she dodged the broomstick that Marion was swinging at her. The girls started laughing as Marion continued to chase her around the whole restaurant. Marion stopped running when she heard her phone vibrating and went back to the kitchen to check her phone.

When Jasmine walked back into the kitchen Marion was scrolling down a series of text messages that had been sent to her. Marion looked impassive.

Jasmine wandered over to her, "Look you're only hesitant because you are having those first time jitters. Trust me, I know how important-"

Marion's phone started buzzing again and she frowned in annoyance before shutting it off.

Jasmine frowned, "Who is it?"

Marion looked at her, "Remember when I used to work at the bar?"

Jasmine nodded.

Marion sighed, "It's my boss from there. Ever since I sent him the 'I quit' text-several weeks ago-he still keeps calling and texting me about it. He's just like how can you quit on me like this-blah-blah-blah. I'm not working there anymore. He needs to accept it."

Jasmine motioned for her phone, "Here give it to me, let me block his number for you."

Marion handed it to her, Jasmine tapped the phone expecting the phone to be on. Jasmine's shoulders dropped, "Did you have to turn it off? Oh wait-of course you did, because you keep turning Minseok on. HA-" Jasmine cackled loudly.

Marion covered her face with her hands, "Oh my god."

It was late. Light flooded the living room when Minseok had turned the lamp by the large flat screen TV on. "Better?" He asked.

Marion made a face, as she stood-swerving along with the video game controller in her hands as her character was suddenly bombarded with a ton of bullets. "AH-yeah! But I still don't get this-stupid-shitty-"

Minseok wandered back over to her, standing beside her as he looked at the TV-he watched her character run through the fort, somehow managing to dodge the spray of bullets that followed after her. He grinned, "That's because you're doing it wrong."

"No." She said, defensively, not removing her eyes from the TV. "My brothers played this. They taught me how-and I got real good at it too. I just haven't played in a while."

He looked over at her, grinning amusedly at her focused expression. He slipped his hands into his pockets, glancing back at the TV to see that she was successfully managing to get around despite not having her safety gear on.

Marion continued, under her breath, "Jus a lil' dusty...that's all."

His grin widened until her character was cornered. Men surrounded her at every angle and she was shot down within a couple of seconds. Marion let out frustrated sound before throwing the controller onto the couch. "Ugh-is there even a way to finish this game?!"

Minseok slipped his arms around her waist, letting his head rest on her shoulder as he murmured, "Shh-don't yell. I know we're alone in the house but no need to give someone a heart attack."

She chuckled slightly before letting herself lean back against him. She looked down at his arms around her and placed her arms over his. She couldn't help but feel the hard muscular surface of his chest, through his shirt, against her back. She swallowed, before closing her eyes.

She felt him press his lips to corner of her neck-a habit of his that she was beginning to become more and more aware of. She felt his breathe tickle her neck as he tilted his head so that it rested on her shoulder. And they stood like that for a while-in comfortable silence. His arms around her and her back pressed against his chest.

It would've been peaceful-if it hadn't been for the friction in the air. It was like a slowly draining air balloon-that was filling the air with more and more electricity. Making it so that his arms around her wasn't just his arms around her. And his breathe on her neck wasn't just his breathe trailing down her neck. It was a breath that ran down her body, making her heartbeat uneven and her body want something more. She moved her head slightly, but he suddenly held onto her body tighter.

He let her go and she turned around-he saw something in her eyes that he hadn't seen before-but it was enough for him to know that she was feeling it too. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed him back onto the couch. He fell back, his eyes dark as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her down on his lap. He placed his hand firmly on the back of her head, winding his fingers through her hair before crashing his lips hard onto hers. She placed her hand on his shoulder, twisting his shirt into her fist as she tilted her head to adjust to his demanding kiss. Her other hand moving around his neck into his dark hair, her fingers running through its softness.

His hand slipped under her shirt as he ran his hand slowly up her back. She gasped against his lips, her back arching as his hand slipped along the trail of her spine. He pulled her body closer to him, making them chest to chest with each other as she now sat atop his hips. He took advantage of her gasp to slip his tongue inside her mouth, tilting his head as he captivated her once more. She could feel his hand sliding up and down the small of her back, sending sparks of hot fire to run through her veins and cause her to grip his shoulder tighter. She couldn't help but let out a small moan when he pressed his hand on the back of her head closer to himself, deepening the kiss. She let her hand release the fist of his shirt that she had created on his shoulder and let her hand slide slowly down his chest to the end of his shirt. She slipped a couple fingers under his shirt, ready to pull it off, until she heard the DING of the elevator opening.

She pulled quickly away from his lips and moved herself beside Minseok, he moved his arm around her shoulder which made it look as if they were just sitting close to each on couch. Baekhyun, Sehun, Chanyeol and Kai poured out of the elevator. Chanyeol hastily shook out of his coat.

Minseok looked calm as he glanced at them, "Hey guys."

Baekhyun smiled wide, "HI!"

She placed a hand over her mouth to try even out her breathing. She looked at Minseok, wondering how he was able to look as if nothing had happened so fast. What she hadn't noticed was that he had just placed one of the small pillows on the couch over his groin.

Baekhyun bounded over to the two of them, "Hiiiiiii, lovebirds. Look what I got!" He said, with a wide cheerful smile as he held up a fancy looking box that had the Louis Vuitton label.

Sehun walked over to the living room, placing his own Louis Vuitton box on the glass coffee table before them before taking off his coat delicately. Chanyeol looked over at Marion and Minseok and waved, "Hi-Marion."

"Hey." She said, with a smile before waving back. She noticed him look over to Kai beside him, who was looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"You got suits." Minseok said, as he ran his hand through his hair.

She sat up, "Suits?"

Chanyeol walked over to the living room also, placing a Tommy Hilfiger box on the coffee table over Sehun's. Then Kai strided over, placing an Armani bag on the table. Marion mentally thought, Oh my god.

Chanyeol nodded, before throwing himself back onto the couch, "Yes, suits." He said, exhaustedly. Chanyeol pulled off his hat to reveal a big ruffled flop of silver hair.

Baekhyun waved his Louis Vuitton box in the air, "I want to show mine first!" He said, excitedly. He handed Marion the box, "Doesn't the box look so cool?!"

Marion ran her hand over the smooth light orange box, and the bold Louis Vuitton letters before slipping her finger around the purple ribbon that held the heavy duty box together. "It's nice." She commented.

Baekhyun cupped his face in his hands, "It's Louis Vuitton!" He looked over at Sehun with a gushing smile, "Sehun helped me pick it out."

Sehun ignored Baekhyun and moved to get his Louis Vuitton box from the coffee table. Baekhyun took the box out of her hands and slipped the ribbon off as he bounced around excitedly, "I'm going to open it."

Sehun looked over, "You're going to get it wrinkled!"

"Noo I won't, man!" Baekhyun patted Sehun's broad shoulder with a wide smile. "Come on, man!"

Minseok looked over at Chanyeol, who was starting to doze off on the couch. "Go to your room and sleep, Chanyeol."

Chanyeol sat up straight, "Oh-no, no. I'm not tired."

Minseok raised a brow, "Did you guys eat dinner already?"

Chanyeol nodded, "Yeah, we had Korean food...even though it tasted nothing like the food at home."

Minseok chuckled, before asking, "Where is everyone else?"

Kai walked over from the kitchen, a brownie in his hand as he replied for Chanyeol, "They are still at the studio."

Baekhyun looked over from his bickering with Sehun when he heard that. "Ya! They are all at the studio. Ha. Ha. On them!" He said, with a wide boyish smile.

Marion wondered how he never seemed to lose energy. Kai rolled his eyes, "Very funny, Baek."

Baekhyun stuck out his tongue, before placing the box back on Marion's lap. "You open it. I'm too excited-I can't."

Marion chuckled, "Don't you already know what it looks like?"

"Yes-yes, I do. But it's soooo nice. It's my first Louis Vuitton suit, man!" Baekhyun said, jumping up before sitting down next to her.

Chanyeol added, randomly, "He usually wears Alexander Mcqueen suits."

Sehun suddenly placed his box over Baekhyun's box on her lap, "You should open mine first. It's better."

Marion chuckled, shocked by the confidence that oozed out of his voice. Baekhyun looked offended as he stood up, "YA-I told her to open mine first! And who do you think you are saying your suit is better than mine!"

Sehun squinted, whispering it as if it were the biggest insult, "I helped you pick out an ugly one on purpose."

Baekhyun gasped-truly insulted. Sehun grinned before running and Baekhyun bolted after him. Marion stared after them in shock as they ran around the penthouse, yelling and jumping until they both bounded upstairs somewhere. Marion wondered how they were older than her. She moved the suit boxes off her lap, and turned to look at Minseok beside her. Minseok had just finished saying something to Kai before he turned to look back at her. She quickly looked away, her eyes landing on Kai as she asked, "Why did you guys get suits?"

Kai replied, informatively, "For The Snowflake Ball."

Minseok waved his hand, "We were invited by UNICEF to go and represent Korean artists since we've teamed up with them to donate some of the money earned from our new album coming out."

Marion blinked, "Sounds...fancy."

Kai looked lovingly at his Armani shopping bag on the table, "It is." He said, softly.

Chanyeol looked at Minseok and Kai with wide eyes, "Can you believe it? It's going to be our first event that we've done since 6 months?"

Kai sat up straighter, "Woa."

Marion could tell from the way they spoke that this meant a lot to them. Minseok looked at the two of them before sitting forward, leaning his elbows on his knees. "I'm going to sleep now." He glanced down at his watch, "It's late." He added.

Chanyeol yawned, "It is. I'm going to go to sleep too."

Minseok was about to remark him for lying to him earlier but decided to let it slide. Minseok slipped his hand into Marion's before standing up, pulling her up with him. She looked down at their intertwined hands before sucking in a sharp breathe and looking at the boys. "Good night, guys."

Chanyeol and Kai replied in unison, "Good night."

Minseok tugged at her hand slightly before walking with her to his bedroom.

Marion looked at herself in the mirror. Is it happening? It's happening. No it's not happening. How do you know that? SHUT UP! Her thoughts ran wild as she ran her hands through her long black hair. She was wearing a loose white shirt and sweatpants that both didn't fit her. She scolded herself for not thinking beforehand and leaving at least one pair of her clothing at his house but then again she didn't know that when he would pick her up from work that he would bring her here.

She turned around and looked at the luxurious bathroom. It was a shiny cool grey marble theme, with white and gold accents giving the whole bathroom a royal vibe. Unlike her bathroom, which was small cramped and had a fish patterned shower curtain. She'd been in his bathroom before, but every time she came to his penthouse it all felt so new again. She sighed, before turning off the lights and finally stepping out.

She looked around to see that there was barely any light in the room, except for the partly open curtains that let an intriguing glow of the crescent moon create shadows along the ground. She looked at the floor, to see that he had not laid out a blanket for himself to lay on the ground with, instead-he was sitting down comfortably on the bed. His back leaning against a pillow on the headboard. He had his blanket pulled up over his legs, which she could tell were crisscrossed under the sheets. He was looking out of the window from his spot on the bed, he looked calm and his eyes were glittering. Just looking at him made something in her heart stir.

He turned his head, his dark eyes meeting hers as he slowly looked her up and down, "How do you make my pajamas look good?"

She laughed lightly, "There you go again."

A slight smile spread onto the edge of his lips as he patted the spot on the bed beside himself, "Come here. I want to show you something."

She slowly walked over to the bed and crawled into it, sitting beside him. He slipped his hand around her shoulder to pull her closer. She rested her head, comfortably on his chest, letting herself melt into his crisp scent and warmth. He pointed at something out the window, muttering, "Look."

She looked. What she saw was a dark sky, almost like a painting, with thin wispy white clouds that glittered slightly due to the stars that shined from space beyond. But the most prominent feature was the glowing crescent moon, it was huge. You could see some of the craters. Of course, she had seen the moon before but this felt different, more noteworthy. She looked up at him, her eyes searching his face until he turned to look down at her. "You see it?" he asked, quietly.

She smiled slightly, "It's hard to miss."

The corner of his lip turned up in a grin, before slipping his hand into her hair and bringing his lips down to place a warm, captivating kiss on her lips. She leaned up to him, letting herself drown in the feeling of his touch. He pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers before murmuring through half-closed lids, "Let's sleep."

She nodded before turning away and laying her head down on the pillow. She heard him shuffle to find a comfortable sleeping position as she pulled the blanket up to her shoulders. It would be her first time sleeping with someone that was of the other gender that wasn't part of her family and questioned how she would sleep but she did. It would be one of the most comfortable nights she'd ever slept. She had noticed that Minseok hadn't touched her and appreciated that he was doing as much as he could to make her comfortable but she didn't know that by the morning, they would be tangled around each other. Like they always are.

:3