don't call me 'baby'
PART 7 | SERIES
Pairing: Steve Harrington/fem!reader
Warnings: Sugardaddy!Steve, SMUT (18+), angst, phone sex, daddy kink, ddlg dynamics, dom/sub dynamics, dirty talk, mutual masturbation, webcam sex, swearing, alcohol use, smoking, age gap, no use of y/n
Wordcount: 6.5k
A sugar daddy modern AU, a whirlwind summer romance in Italy, and two people from completely different walks of life, somehow finding each other in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. But, what will happen when summer ends?
PART 7 | is it cool that I said all that?
Soon enough, June gave way to July, the mid-summer heat setting in across the city like a fog. The city became busier, too, thanks to the peak tourism season and school being closed for the summer. For once, you barely noticed - you didn’t have to worry about the influx of customers, the more crowded buses and metro cars with packed, sweaty bodies that you had come to dread. Now, you were happy to shell out the money for a taxi, or to call Steve’s car service, even when he wasn’t with you. You had felt strange about it at first, but he insisted upon it. And, of course, you had started spending most nights with Steve - still getting picked up from your apartment, going out to fancy dinners and bars, and then going home with him. You had started spending the night more often, too.
On mornings that Steve had work, he’d leave quietly, rarely even causing you to stir. He’d usually send a text, or on occasion leaving a note; something along the lines of stay as long as you’d like, I’ll see you soon. On occasion, he’d stay at your place, too. You were embarrassed by your tiny, cluttered apartment, thinking of his pristine penthouse. But, he never said anything. Sometimes, you’d find yourself stumbling up the stairs and into your bed, challenging yourselves to be quiet with the knowledge of Robin asleep on the other side of the wall.
It was a nice routine - in the time you had been living in Rome, you had been spending most of your summers working as many hours as possible to save for the upcoming semester of university, spreading your money as thinly as possible during the school year when you had to inevitably cut back on hours. But now, it was different - you were letting yourself actually enjoy the city. You would take yourself out for breakfast, sipping coffee leisurely in a cafe while the city woke up. You would go for walks, stopping in shops along the way. Normally, you’d take one look at the prices of anything and walk out empty-handed. But now, you decided to treat yourself. If you saw something you liked - clothes, books, trinkets, jewelry, fresh food from the market - you let yourself buy it, not feeling guilt anymore when you brandished Steve’s credit card. Even in casual clothes, you found yourself dressing nicer in your daily life, the way you had always wanted, but just couldn’t afford to. You treated yourself to the hair salon, manicure appointments, and even splurged on the extra spa options every now and then. It was all new, still.
“You going somewhere?” Robin had asked one morning over her cereal, eyeing you as you were pouring yourself coffee, already fully dressed for the day.
“Just the market - do you need anything?”
“Uh, no. It’s just - you look nice. That’s all,” she remarked, smiling a bit.
“Oh - uh, thanks.”
You had started to notice it, too - your face had grown a little fuller, your skin brighter, the dark circles under your eyes a thing of the past. At one point, when you walked past a mirror, you stopped in your tracks - you were glowing. You never knew what people had meant when they said that, before - but now you understood.
Then, of course, there was Steve. You were seeing him even more frequently, five or six nights a week. Sometimes, he’d even meet you for lunch, on the rare occasion that he actually took his lunch break. It was over one of these lunch dates that he broke the news - you were sitting at a cafe close to the city center, only a few blocks from his office. You sipped your coffee, eyeing the menu as he cleared his throat.
“So, um - I have to go away this week. Business trip,” he said.
You looked up at him, a wave of disappointment washing over you. You tried to shake it - it was stupid, why did it matter? You just did your best to keep your face neutral.
“Oh, really?” you asked.
He nodded, sitting up a bit straighter in his chair.
“I only found out this morning - Barcelona, just for a bit. Five days, I think. Six, if you include travel, I guess.”
You nodded, pressing your lips together.
“Yeah, I mean - do what you’ve got to do. At least it’s not too far, right?”
“Not at all - five, six hour flight, I think.”
“Well - that should be fun. I went to Barcelona over winter break with some friends my second year - I mean, we stayed in a hostel and basically just fucked around in the city, but it was nice.”
Steve chuckled, picking up his coffee cup.
“Yeah, well, I’ll probably spend most of it holed up in a conference room or hotel. Besides, I don’t speak a lick of Spanish.”
You shrugged. “To be fair, you barely speak Italian and have been living here for, what, six months?”
“Yeah, okay, fair enough,” Steve said, holding his hands up in surrender as he rolled his eyes. “To be fair, a lot of people speak English. Still, pretty sad to live in Italy for the better part of the year and not know any of the language, right?”
He was smiling, shaking his head incredulously, but avoiding your gaze. It probably meant nothing, just him making a joke, but you couldn’t help but read a bit into it. There was something in his tone, something wistful, a bit self-deprecating.
“I could teach you,” you said softly.
“Yeah?” he asks, looking up at you.
“I mean, I don’t think you’d be fluent, I’m not a teacher or anything, but… some words, phrases, basics, things like that. If you want.”
He smiled, a bit more softly this time.
“Yeah - that’d be nice.”
You both just stared at each other, exchanging smiles, the moment lingering. It was interrupted when your waitress returned, asking for your order. You glanced over at Steve.
“Okay - I guess the lesson one will be ordering in a restaurant, yeah?”
******
You stayed over at Steve’s the night before he left. Despite doing his best to move quietly around the room, you found yourself waking up to the sound of him zipping his suitcase, his silhouette barely visible in the dim, early-morning light.
“Mm,” you groaned, rubbing your eyes.
He froze, turning to you.
“Hey,” he whispered, “Sorry, baby - go back to sleep.”
“Are y’leaving?” you asked groggily.
“Yeah,” he said softly. “I’m afraid I have to. But, I’ll be back on Saturday, yeah?”
“Hm, yeah,” you said, turning over under the sheets. You let your breathing slow, shutting your eyes as you heard Steve move about the room, grabbing some last-minute things. He whispered your name through the darkness, so softly that even awake, you barely heard it. But, sleep was pulling you back into its clutches, and you didn’t say anything, too disoriented to reply. In hindsight, he probably thought that you had fallen completely back to sleep. You heard him take a few steps until he was right next to you, crouching down to your level. He reached out slowly, placing his hand on the side of your head, gently rubbing his thumb along your temple.
“You know - I’m really gonna miss you,” he whispered. “I know I probably shouldn’t, but -”
He stopped, taking a deep breath. Then, you felt the warmth of his lips pressing to your temple, then he pulled away, footsteps carrying him towards the doorway.
“Did you say something?” you grumbled into the pillow.
His footsteps stopped. Then, from the doorway, you heard, “Oh, uh, no - just, go to sleep. You can let yourself out - I’ll see you Saturday.”
Then he was gone.
*****
You went almost 12 hours before you texted Steve. You weren’t entirely sure what the protocol with this was - should you reach out to him? Should you ask how his flight was, or how things were going? It felt strange, though, doing something a girlfriend would do. But, it felt just as strange to not talk to him.
You stared at your phone for a few moments, tapping your fingers nervously on the kitchen table. You stared at your text conversation, typing and erasing a few times. This was stupid - you should be able to just text him -
hey
It sent before you could think about it anymore. You groaned, letting your head fall forward on the table.
“What did you do now?” Robin’s voice asked from the kitchen doorway.
“Why do you assume I did something?”
“Well, did you?”
You rolled your head to the side to look up at her, sighing.
“I’m the lamest mistress in the world.”
Robin visibly gagged.
“Okay, first of all - never say ‘mistress’ again. Also, that’s not technically what you are -”
“Robs, I love you, but I don’t need -”
“What’s going on?” she asked, more sincere now. She slid into the chair across from you, the old rickety wood creaking under her.
You just flashed your phone at her, defeated. She studied it for a moment before leaning back in her chair, arms crossed.
“Yep. You’re lame.”
You groaned again, slamming your forehead on the table again.
“What do I do?”
“Well, why the fuck are you texting him, anyways?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s just - isn’t he away? For like, a week?”
You straightened up, furrowing your brow.
“Well, yeah.”
“So - why are you texting him? Like, are you trying to sext him or something?”
“What? God, no -”
“Then - huh?”
The look on Robin’s face said it all - somehow, not sexting him was infinitely weirder. Before either of you could say anything, your phone sounds off with a ding.
Steve: Hi!
You stared down at it, realizing one thing - somehow, Steve was infinitely lamer than you’d ever be. As you continued to stare at his message, plotting how to even reply, you were pulled out by Robin saying your name. You glanced up at her - had she said something?
“Hm?”
“I asked why’re you smiling? Is it him?”
You hadn’t even realized you were smiling. Suddenly feeling like a silly schoolgirl, you shook your head.
“Uh, no -”
Robin rolled her eyes.
“Oh god.”
*******
For that entire first day, you found yourself constantly texting Steve. Before, it had just been making plans, occasionally saying goodnight, letting him know you got home safe. But this was… different.
how was your flight?
It was okay, no complaints. Just tired. Did you get home okay?
yep thanks for letting me stay over
Never a problem - sorry I woke you up this morning.
…
…
…
oh you didn’t
at least, i don’t remember that
A lie.
Oh, good.
It was easy, after that. He sent you pictures of the city as he drove through, as well as his hotel room.
ooooh, fancy
It should be, considering I’ll be spending most of my time here.
you’re not exploring the city at all? let yourself have some fun, old man
Ha. Wish I could - I’ll be at a conference or in meetings most of the week. Maybe we’ll go out for some corporate dinners, though.
sorry, i was falling asleep just reading about it 😴
Oh, shut up.
you gonna make me?
He didn’t reply for a few minutes. You saw him start to type a few times, stop, and start again. Finally:
You’re going to pay for that later, you know.
i’m counting on it 😉
You didn’t hear much from Steve after that - it was silly to think you should, considering he had work to do. You went about the rest of your day pushing him from your mind - heading down to the market, cooking dinner for yourself and Robin, ending the night watching a terrible horror movie that you laughed your way through. It was pretty late, after you had been lying in your bed scrolling on your phone mindlessly for a while, that you heard from Steve again. But, he didn’t text - he was calling you.
The moment his name popped up on the screen, you sat up a bit straighter, letting your finger hover over the accept button. You weren’t sure why it was such a big deal that he was calling you - but, when you pressed accept, you felt your stomach flip, your heart rate speeding up a bit as you pressed the phone to your ear.
After a deep breath, you managed, “Hello?”
“Hey there,” Steve’s voice replied. “I didn’t wake you up, did I?”
“Oh, no,” you assured him, shifting to fully sit up. “I was awake.”
“Okay, good - I wasn’t sure, I know it’s late.”
You pulled your phone away for a second to glance at the screen - 11:47pm.
“Yeah, I guess,” you said.
“What are you doing?” he asked, something rustling on the other end.
“Just - well, nothing, really. I was just in bed, scrolling on my phone, normal stuff.”
“Normal stuff?”
“Yeah - you know, the rest of us are on social media, letting our brains turn to mush. It’s fun, you should try it,” you said sarcastically.
That earned a chuckle from him on the other end.
“Sounds great, but I’ll probably pass.”
“What’s your phone for, then?”
“Work. And contacting people, like you. Well, not like you, but - you know what I mean. Maybe taking a picture every now and then. What else would I need it for?”
You rolled your eyes. “What are you, 80?”
“Honestly? Feels like it sometimes.”
You laughed, settling further into your pillows.
“So, how’s Barcelona?”
He sighed. “Fine. I mean, I landed, checked into my hotel, and went straight to the conference. It’s the same shit as always - presentations, schmoozing people from other companies, meeting with industry big-wigs. But, at least there was a cocktail hour at the end.”
“Wait, are you drunk-calling me?”
“What? No! I only had a couple. It’s not - it doesn’t matter.”
You rolled your eyes. You could picture him, flustered and slightly indignant at the mere accusation.
“So, where are you now?” you asked.
“Back at my hotel. I - I just wanted to talk to you. Is that okay?”
“Of course it’s okay - It’s nice, actually.”
A moment of silence hung between you, and you immediately kicked yourself for even saying it.
“I’m sorry, that was - I just meant that it’s - well, you’re -”
“What’re you wearing?” he asked, the words tumbling out. You paused, your ramblings dying on your tongue.
“Huh?”
“I - I asked, what are you wearing?”
You looked down, brow furrowed. “Uh, like, an old college t-shirt, some shorts, just what I usually - wait, oh my god… are you trying to, like, have phone sex right now?”
“Well - it’s not - yes. Yes, I am. That’s how it’s supposed to start, right?”
You giggled, falling back on your bed. You probably shouldn’t be laughing, but you couldn’t help it - somehow, Steve was both the most suave and awkward person you’ve ever met, often at the same time.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, voice tinged with worry.
“It’s just - you’ve never done this before?”
“Is it that obvious?” he asked sheepishly.
“Well, yeah, kinda. But, don’t worry about it, you’re doing great.”
“Do you want me to stop? We don’t have to, I just thought you wanted -”
“No! I mean, when you said you’re going to pay for that later, I thought you meant when you got home. But… if you’re offering -”
A pause. Then, “Yes,” he whispered. “I’m offering.”
You laid back a bit more, biting your lip.
“Well, let me get a bit more comfortable, Harrington.”
You reached down to the hem of your t-shirt, lifting it over your head with ease. Bare-chested, you hissed as the cool air hit your breasts, making yourself comfortable on your back again. Placing the phone on the pillow next to you, you put Steve on speaker.
“What did you just do?” Steve asked on the other end.
“Just took my shirt off, hope you don’t mind.”
You heard his breath hitch. “What kind of bra do you have on?” he asked quietly.
“Wasn’t wearing one,” you replied.
“Fuck.”
“Mm,” you said, taking one of your breasts in your hand. You began massaging it, rolling your nipple between your fingers until it hardened, before moving to the next one.
“They feel so nice in my hand,” you said breathily. “So soft, god, but not as nice as when you do it?”
“Yeah?” Steve asked, voice hoarse. “God, I miss your tits.”
“Mm,” you said, leaning into your own touch. “And they miss you. They miss your mouth on them, you know that? Now I’ve just got them all to myself -”
“Jesus Christ,” Steve murmured.
You let your hand snake down, toying with the hem of your shorts. Then, slowly, you slide them off, shimmying them down your legs and kicking them off.
“Sorry, my shorts were in the way - had to take them off,” you confessed.
“Yeah? You still got anything on, baby?”
“Just my panties - but, god, they’re soaked,” you said, fingers ghosting over the lacy fabric.
“Yeah, I bet,” Steve said, voice a bit rougher. “My voice gets you off that much, huh?”
“Mmm hm,” you said dreamily. “But, there’s a problem.”
“And what’s that?”
“If I had to guess… you’ve still got all your clothes on, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” he said.
“Well, I’m not touching myself until your cock is out.”
And with that, you heard rustling on the other end of the phone, and the distinct sound of a belt hitting the floor, followed by fabric. God, he wasn’t even dressed for bed, yet.
“There you go,” you whispered. “That’s more like it. Are you hard yet?”
“Yes, Jesus, I’ve been half-hard ever since you picked up the phone.”
“Good,” you said.
“But - I’m not doing another thing until you start touchin’ yourself,” he said firmly. “Can you do that for me?”
“Anything you want, daddy.”
You heard him groan, and you smirked to yourself. You let your hand wander over your clothed cunt, finally allowing your fingers to slip under the waistband. You ran your fingers up and down your slit, soaking them in the wetness there. When you finally came in contact with your clit, you gasped.
“What are you doing?” Steve asked, voice gruff.
“I’m so wet,” you breathed. “My fingers are coated - I - I’m rubbing my clit. Nice and slow.”
“Good girl,” Steve whispered. “Does it feel good?”
“So good,” you admitted.
“Does it feel as good as when I do it?”
“No,” you said. “But still - god, it feels so nice.”
“Do you touch yourself a lot?” he asked. “When I’m not around? Tell me the truth, baby.”
“Yes,” you breathed. “I do.”
“Do you think of me?”
“Mm hm, I think about you when I make myself cum, all alone.”
He sighed on the other end. “Yeah, I bet you do. Because you’re fuckin’ mine.”
“I’m yours,” you echoed, picking up speed on your clit. You gasped.
“Do you ever use toys to get yourself off?” he asked.
“I - ah! Fuck - yeah, I do. I have a - shit - a vibrator.”
A pause on the other end. Then, “Take it out, baby. I want you to use it.”
Even though you knew he couldn’t see you, you nodded, reaching towards your nightstand and shuffling through the drawer until you found it, a little purple thing that had been getting less use lately than usual.
“I have it,” you said, settling back down. “But… I’ll only start using it if you start touching yourself, now.”
He groaned. “Fine, I will.”
You heard him hiss, then his breathing start to quicken.
“I’m stroking my cock, baby - god, I’m so fuckin’ hard right now - just thinking about your pretty pussy, how good it feels around me.”
You sighed, turning on the vibrator in response. Upon hearing the sound, Steve groaned. You pressed it to your clit, crying out the moment it made contact. Your back arched, your hips bucking into it.
“Oh, god - this feels so good,” you said.
“Are you using it?”
“Yeah, right on my clit - it’s so good, it’s too much -”
“Yes, play with that pussy, baby,” he said, voice strained. “I want you to fuck yourself on your fingers, can you do that for me?”
“‘Course I can,” you whispered. “After your cock, I can fit anything inside me.”
He let out a guttural groan. In response, you took your free hand that had returned to massaging your breasts and brought it downwards, coating it in your slick before letting a finger slip inside you. After a few moments, you added a second finger, stretching and pumping as you circled your clit with the vibe.
“Mm, that feels good. I miss having you inside me, though,” you confessed.
“Fuck - yeah? You do?”
“Mm. Nothing makes me feel as good as your cock, sir.”
“Damn right,” he said. “I’m just picturin’ you, all spread out, touching yourself - are you close?”
“Yes,” you admitted, hips bucking to your own touch. You added a third finger, curling them inside of yourself, finding that one spot that made you see stars.
“Are you close?” you asked.
“Yeah, fuck, I am - you should see this, sitting here, cock in my hand - wishing it was your pussy, or you mouth. It’s like your pussy was made for me, I wish I was buried inside you right now -”
You felt your abdomen tighten, your heart rate quickening. You moaned, fucking yourself on your fingers faster.
“Shit, Steve, I - I’m close, I’m gonna cum -”
“Cum, baby, please,” he begged. “And say my name when you do it - I wanna hear you -”
“Yes, daddy,” you sighed, “I’ll cum for you, I’ll scream your name as loud as you want -”
“Good girl,” he grunted, his breathing labored.
You pictured it, Steve jerking himself off to the sound of your voice, the very thought of you getting him off. You gasped and moaned as you touched yourself, your walls starting to clench around your fingers. You thought of Steve - his hands on you, his voice in your ears, his cock inside you, filling you to the brim. You could feel it, your soft walls wrapped around him, him pounding into you, your fingernails digging into his shoulder blades as you both came -
Before you knew it, you were coming, your peak hitting you suddenly. You screamed, head thrown back as your cunt squeezed and pulsed around your fingers.
“Steve! Fuck, oh my god, I’m cumming -”
“Shit - me too, princess. Oh -” he growled your name as he came and you convulsed and moaned as you thought about it, him spilling into his hand, your name on his lips.
You rode out your orgasm, brow sweating and breathing heavy as you came down from your high. You dropped the vibrator, the stimulation becoming too much. You just heard Steve’s labored breathing on the other end of the phone, both of you needing a moment to gather yourself. Eventually, you withdrew your fingers from yourself, grimacing. Your hand was soaked, coated in the evidence of your orgasm.
“Christ,” Steve breathed after a while, finally breaking the silence. “Baby, that was so fucking hot.”
“Yeah?” you asked. “What would you rate it?”
“Five out of five stars,” he joked. “Definitely would do it again.”
You laughed, slapping your palm to your forehead as you stared up at the ceiling. You had a stupid smile on your face, you could feel it. But, you didn’t really care - he wasn’t even here to see you.
“Same,” you said. “So, turns out you are good at phone sex.”
This earned a laugh from Steve on the other end, much to your satisfaction.
“Oh, yeah - but, I’m only going to get better with practice. Couldn’t hurt, right?”
You felt your face heat. You bit your lip, nodding.
“Yeah,” you whispered. “Practice makes perfect.”
“Good,” he said. “Because whenever I'm away, I'm planning on doing this a lot."
That time, you let yourself giggle into the phone, practically giddy. And, you tried to ignore the small part of you, deep down, that ached.
******
The next day, you hardly heard from Steve, aside from the odd text exchange here and there. That was fine enough with you - Robin got it in her head to go out again, and you opted to go along. You finally met Vickie, who met you at the bar - she seemed lovely, and exactly Robin’s type. You had been spending so much time with Steve, that you had forgotten what it had felt like to be a normal 20-year-old. So, when you stumbled in the door at 3am and collapsed in your bed, you had hardly thought about Steve at all. That was, at least, until the following day. When you woke up, it was nearly noon, a headache already forming as you blinked groggily in the morning light. You reached for your phone, squinting as the newest message from Steve flashed across the screen:
Good morning :)
morning
After a few minutes, a response:
Did you just wake up?
yeah
Robin and I went out last night
i’m kinda hungover
Should you have told him that? Or, was he going to judge you, reprimand you, ask where you went? Then again, did he have any right to?
That sounds fun. Well, not the hangover, but going out. I hope you had a good time :)
Seemed legitimate enough - over text, you learned, Steve really only knows how to be genuine.
it was, i’m regretting it now tho
Well, take it easy. I’m heading out now, I’ll probably be busy most of the day.
What were you even supposed to say to that? Have fun? Of course he wouldn’t, it was a 12-hour workday. Did he even want you to say anything to that?
ok ☺️
It wasn’t until quite late that night that you heard from him again. You were getting ready for bed, brushing your teeth when his name popped up on your screen - but now, he was FaceTiming you. Part of you wondered if it was an accident, if he meant to just do a voice call instead, or perhaps not call you at all. Still, you quickly spit out your toothpaste and fumbled with the phone to answer. Steve’s face popped up, looking expectant. It had only been a few days since you actually saw him, and you felt your heart tighten anyway.
“Hey,” you said, trying to mask your surprise as you made your way back towards your bedroom. “What’s going on?”
Something faltered in his face, only for a split second - for all you knew, it was a connection glitch.
“Oh, nothing - sorry, should I not have called?”
“No! No, it’s fine, I just - didn’t take you for the FaceTiming type.”
“I’m thirty, not eighty.”
You rolled your eyes, plopping down onto your bed and settling until you were sitting up cross-legged.
“Allegedly, you old man. How was your day?”
He sighed deeply, in a way that you almost wished you hadn’t asked.
“Fine, I guess. Long. We’re really close to closing a major deal, but… it’s just -” he sighed again, rubbing his hand across his face. “Well, I won’t bore you with the details. But it’s taking longer than expected, and we’re really hitting some roadblocks.”
“I’m sorry,” you replied, frowning a bit. He looked tired, and stressed. All you wanted was to reach through the screen and kiss it better.
“It’s alright, I’m not expecting you to say anything - I don’t even know why I’m even telling you, I just -”
“-wanted to vent,” you finished. “Yeah, I get it. You can talk about these things with me, you know.”
He smiled wearily. “Thank you. Really.”
A moment of silence passed, before he spoke again.
“So - was your day at least good?”
You shrugged. “Yeah, it was fine. Nothing too exciting. Just did a lot of cleaning around the apartment, to be honest. Cooked dinner, had a night in. You know, nothing crazy.”
“Are you feeling better?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah - nothing hydration and Advil couldn’t fix. It wasn’t too bad.”
You squinted at the screen for a moment, and realized he was sitting at a desk.
“Are you - are you FaceTiming me from your laptop?”
“Uh, yeah - why?”
You just giggled. “Nothing, it’s just… of course you are.”
He rolled his eyes, visibly fighting a smile. “I was doing work, and… I don’t know. I guess I just really wanted to see your face.”
You felt something warm in your chest, spreading through you until your ears tingled and face heated. You did your best to ignore it, just smiling back at him.
“It’s nice to see you, too,” you admitted. You felt a yawn coming on, but did your best to stifle it. Still, Steve apparently noticed, as his face set into a frown.
“Are you tired? I can go, if you want.”
“No, it’s okay! Seriously. If I hang up, I’ll just be on my phone for the next two hours, anyways.”
“As long as you’re sure -”
“I am.”
He nodded. “Okay. And I didn’t - I don’t want you to think I called for the same reason I did the other night, by the way. At least, not if you don’t want that.”
You felt your face flush at the memory.
“Then, why did you call? Just to see me?”
“Well, yes. And… this is going to sound stupid.”
“Try me,” you whispered, settling further into bed by the minute.
“I just - I haven’t been sleeping that well, since I’ve been here. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s just being in a hotel, but I usually get used to that after a night or so. But… maybe it’s just because I haven’t been sleeping alone much lately.”
Oh.
“Do you want me to stay on with you?” you asked softly.
He nodded, glancing down to avoid your gaze.
“Okay.”
So you did. You both just started talking, about your days, the book Steve was reading, the TV show you were binge-watching. What you did around the house that day, a quick tour of your (now cleaner) bedroom, which led to him asking about the photos pinned you your wall, and the tchotchkes on your bookshelf. You got the “grand” tour of his hotel room, which he evidently had been spending very little time in. Slowly, you began to carry more of the conversation, his responses coming slower, becoming shorter. You were both in your beds, lying sideways - he had set the computer on his lap, now barely visible through the dim light.
After who knows how long, you realized you had been talking and hardly heard a response from Steve. You paused, only hearing his slow, deep breathing. He was asleep, finally. Your initial response was relief - he needed to be up early, and if this is what it took for him to finally fall asleep, that was enough for you. But, another small part of you was indescribably sad. Sad for the man on the other end of the call, who was still a boy in so many ways, who couldn’t spend his nights alone, but probably often did…until recently.
“Goodnight, Steve,” you whispered. He, of course, didn’t hear. Maybe that was for the best.
When you hung up, it didn’t take you long to fall asleep. Your last thought before you drifted off was of Steve, and the way he had said I just really wanted to see your face.
*******
For the rest of Steve’s trip, you two fell into a routine - he’d call you late at night. You’d chat about your respective days, just catch up. Sometimes, he’d vent about his frustrations with work; other times, he’d just keep asking about you. It was the night before he came back that it came up.
“You’ll probably be relieved to come home tomorrow,” you said.
“Definitely,” he admitted. He was ready for bed, only wearing a white t-shirt from what you could see on-camera, back pressed against the headboard of his bed. He sighed, eyes fluttering shut. “I really need a break, even if it’s just for the weekend.”
“Yeah,” you said. “We don’t have to do something on Saturday, by the way. In case you’re tired from traveling.”
“No! I mean, I want to see you. My flight gets in around 9am, so maybe we can do dinner?”
“Yeah, sounds great,” you replied, fighting the encroaching excitement at the thought of being with him again. “Just let me know.”
Steve raised an eyebrow, after a moment. “Wait, it’s Friday night - why are you at home?”
There’s an unspoken question in there: you didn’t stay home just for me, right?
You shrugged. “Robin’s out with Vickie, and - I don’t know, I thought about going out, doing something, but I just didn’t really feel like it.”
“Oh, okay - just making sure. Because, you’re twenty - if you want to do something fun over the weekend, it’s okay -”
“Almost twenty-one,” you joked, not even thinking as you said it. He paused, eyebrows raised.
“Almost? Is your birthday soon?”
You looked up, shrugging. “Oh, yeah - it’s next week, on the 18th.”
“Do you have something planned for it?” he asked.
You shook your head. “No, not really. Maybe Robin and I will go out to dinner with some friends, or something. I don’t know, I’ve never been big on my birthday.”
He paused for a moment, and you were suddenly afraid that he’d ask why. But, he didn’t. Instead, he just said, “Well, your 21st birthday is kind of a big deal.”
“I mean, in the States, yes. But, I can already go out to a bar here, so the novelty’s kind of worn off. Just means I’m another year older, really.”
“But, still… it’s worth celebrating, right?”
You shrugged, maintaining an air of nonchalance.
“Sure, I guess.”
It went silent for a moment, Steve evidently starting to open a new tab and start typing on his computer.
“What are you doing?” you asked.
“Nothing, just… thinking.”
You just shrugged, choosing to not even worry about it. Knowing him, he was probably responding to work emails, despite it being nearly midnight.
“You don’t want to do too much of that, you know,” you said sarcastically.
Steve scoffed, tearing his eyes from the screen back to you.
“You know, I’ve been keeping a list of all these clever quips you’ve been throwing my way,” he said.
“Oh yeah? What are you going to do with that?”
He smiled then, a mischievous glint in his eye.
“Make sure I find ways to shut you up, once I get back.”
You nearly choked on nothing, ears roaring as the blood rushed to your head. Steve must’ve noticed how caught off-guard you were, the way your mouth hung open, eyes wide. He smirked, clearly self-satisfied. That alone helped you regain your footing. In a measured voice, you replied:
“I hope that’s a promise, sir.”
His eyes darkened a bit, and he smiled.
“Take your clothes off. Right now.”
Who were you to say no to that?
******
When you woke up the next morning, strangely, there wasn’t a text from Steve. You frowned at your phone, blinking groggily. It was Saturday, and nearly noon - after spreading yourself on camera for Steve, both of you coming together with each other’s names on your lips, you had fallen into a deep, blissful sleep. Despite your lie-in, Steve should’ve touched down back in Rome by now. You had figured, at the very least, that he would’ve sent you a text with instructions for tonight.
You groaned, pressing the heels of your hands into your eyes, before slowly rolling out of bed. As you padded down the hallway, you heard movement in the kitchen. Robin must’ve already been awake. You prayed that she had already made coffee - if she hadn’t eaten yet, maybe you two would order something, or go out.
“Hey, Robs?” you called, stifling a yawn. “Is there coffee on? Because if not -”
You stopped in your tracks. Because, standing in your kitchen with Robin, was Steve. He was dressed casually, just in jeans and a black t-shirt, leaning against the counter with one hand shoved in his pocket, the other grasping a mug. He straightened up when he saw you, smiling.
“Oh - hey,” you said stiffly, trying to figure out if you were still dreaming or not.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” Robin said brightly. She immediately handed you a mug of coffee, knowing you well enough that she didn’t even have to ask. You accepted it, eyes darting back and forth between her and Steve.
“I - what are you doing here?” you asked. Realizing you sounded accusatory, you added, “It’s just - I hadn’t heard anything, I didn’t realize you were coming over -”
“Oh, this is a surprise,” he assured, smiling. Even after a week of not seeing him in-person, you felt your heart quicken at the sight of him - how boyishly handsome he was, how he stared at you like you were the only thing in the room.
“A surprise?” you echoed.
“Yeah,” Robin added. “See, Steve asked if he could come over - wait, how did you even get my number?”
Steve shrugged. “I’ve got my ways, Buckley.”
Robin just rolled her eyes. “Well, anyway - Steve came over because, well, he wanted to talk about some stuff. Well, ask me about - why don’t you tell her?” she asked, redirecting her attention to Steve.
“Right, yeah, okay.”
He locked eyes with you, grinning. “Pack your bags, we’re leaving today, for a week.”
“Leaving? For where?”
“That’s a surprise,” he said. “But, we’re taking a trip, just you and me. And, I came over to run it by Robin, and to assure her that I’m not planning on murdering you. Which, by the way, I would’ve done by now if I wanted to.”
Robin shrugged, taking a sip from her mug.
“Can’t ever be too careful.”
You shook your head.
“I - so, what’s going on? Why is this a surprise? And, don’t you have work?”
“I took the week off,” he assured. “In my seven years in this company, I’ve never taken a vacation. Not a personal day, anything. I’ve accrued a lot, and this is a pretty damn good reason to use it.”
You cocked an eyebrow, confused.
“What is?”
Steve’s eyes flitted up and down your form once, before settling his gaze back on yours, smiling warmly. You were still in your pajamas, and probably should’ve been embarrassed. But, with the way he was looking at you, you found it hard to be.
“This vacation, it’s my gift to you,” he said. “Happy birthday.”
*******
author's note: thanks for your patience, everyone. The next last few chapters are going to be longer, and have a lot more "plot" (aka fluff and angst). I also can't keep a taglist for this fic anymore - it's too long, which is a nice problem to have, but still a problem! To make sure you never miss an installment, make sure to turn on post notifications for the blog. Also keep an eye out for my new Steve series, coming soon. As always, thank you to Em - she knows why :)
KO-FI ♡
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high tide (came and brought you in) - chapter one.
summary: you’d originally rescued the injured merman out of kindness, and perhaps a healthy undercurrent of fear of what others in your town might do to the creature. the last thing you ever expected after returning him to the sea, was for him to try to stay.
tags: afab reader, merfolk, mention of explicitly-inhumane fishing practices.
this fic is a part of the teahouse collab, on discord!
A hunting party had left port, yesterday.
It was made up of the usual kind of tourist, you gathered, overhearing the neighborhood gossip on the sandy, well-trodden path into town. It was made up of a bunch of trigger-happy business students, likely bored with another year of academia and looking for something visceral. Looking to harm in a way that was sanctioned— even celebrated, in some corners of your seaside town. Doubtlessly, they were after the biggest creatures they could catch: sharks, dolphins, or something even more dangerous. Most of those you passed seem to believe that they’d be headed to the outer reefs.
This year, the annual merfolk migration had come early. You had heard through the grapevine that some of the offshore boats had begun to radio in with the usual signs: faulty sonar, empty traps and a general sense of unease, the closer they got to the outer-lying reefs, where multitudes of traveling pods made their temporary homes. Anyone with sense usually knew to stay far away from merfolk-territory, no matter how temporary their stay.
But now that that the sudden departure of the town’s gaudiest fishermen had combined with this news, it was collectively generating more rumor than Baralou Island had handled in months. As the path transitioned to craggy, uneven sidewalk, you still heard people on their porches, gossiping about what could’ve drawn the group’s attention so suddenly. Perhaps it was one of the cartload of technological additions that they’d constantly been wheeling up onto the sleek convertible boat they’d rented. You’d already had to duck through their large group by the harbor yesterday, and through the small crowds that had gathered to see what the fuss was about.
One of their number had been particularly boastful, perched at the top of the gangplank. His cerulean hair almost blinding in the sun, you’d heard him claim that he possessed the skill to capture merfolk— “I could snag a whole pod, in a single net!” — Anywhere else, those statements would’ve warned a call to the coast guard, if not the police. On Baralou, however, it was met with scattered applause and a single wolf-whistle.
Anti-merfolk sentiment always reached a peak in the summertime. The reason always varied: a lesser catch of fish that year, an increase in hurricane warnings. Merfolk— intelligent, powerful and little-understood— made the perfect scapegoats. With the early arrival of their annual migration, it was the opinion of some locals that the large pods passing through the reefs of the island were choking out the tourism industry. Never mind the fact that it was barely the start of summer, and the migration never lasted longer than a month. Nothing got people riled up like the notion of losing out on their most important source of income.
As a former resident, you knew that Baralou took great, and often dubiously-legal pains to advertise itself as having the “safest beaches in the world.” Entire books recounted years worth of fishing competitions with consistently high numbers of so-called “incidental harm” to merfolk. When taking these years’ worth of torment and fear tactics into account, it was little wonder that no mer would dare cross the reefs near the island, these days.
As a teenager, you too had sworn you would never come back to the island again— though this was more to do with Baralou’s pitifully-tiny size outside of tourist season, and the maddening frustration of growing up amongst the same faces you’d seen since nursery school. Nearing the end of your college career has reignited that passion to stay away— but unfortunately, your budget wasn’t quite in agreement with those plans. A summer of housesitting for your aunt and uncle, as well as your waitstaff position at one of Baralou’s many dockside restaurants would ideally give you enough to leave for good, come the fall.
Although you could barely wait to repack your overflowing suitcases, your first weeks back home had reminded you that not everything here was abjectly awful. Your expression lightened once you’d ordered from your usual café, turning to find an outside table already occupied with your favorite resident.
Camie Utshushimi wasted no time in shattering your hopes for normalcy.
“I heard—“ she began in a low voice, as you seated yourself, “—that somebody on the south-side offered to guide the business yuppies to a huge mer pod.”
You exhaled your disapproval over a warm mug of tea.
“That’s gotta be a scam. Even if they wanted to go out there, those reefs are nationally-protected. The fines alone would keep anybody away.”
“Babes, you know as well as I do that won’t stop them.”
“Even if they make it—” you retorted, “—I highly doubt a mer from these parts would be so easily caught, especially by that group.”
Camie at least seemed to take that point into consideration, a brief smile playing at her lips. She took a slow sip of coffee, her warm brown eyes pensively scanning the water.
“If anything, they’ll snag a nesting sea turtle, or a manatee that got washed in by mistake. The poor thing.” still you frowned, considering, “I hope they come back with nothing. But with all that fancy gear…”
This seemed to shake Camie out of her reverie, turning from the sea with a dismissive click of her tongue.
“Nah, Inasa already gave me the deets— that’s all rented. Fat chance they know how to use all of it.”
“Are you sure?” your lower lip worried anxiously, under your teeth.
Despite her agreeable chirp, you knew by the actual look in her eyes that she couldn’t be fully certain. You both finished your drinks in uneasy silence.
Camie was always amongst the island’s earliest risers, which meshed well with you. Shame that she had a social calendar more tightly packed than a visiting royal— she was never available in the evenings, no matter how many nights you tried to invite her to join you at the beach bars. Regardless, she was your closest friend on the island, and if these short moments outside the cobblestone cafe were what you had with her each morning, it was something you were grateful for.
On your way home, you cut back through the fishing harbor— at least, until you were stopped by a growing crowd. You couldn’t make out what was going on amongst their fluctuating number, but with everyone talking and the piercing beep of a large convertible boat backing in along the docks, you could only assume the town’s ‘conquering heroes’ had finally returned. Disgusted, you gave up your gawking and diverted to walk along the craggy shoreline for the last half-mile, back towards your borrowed home.
Most beachgoers preferred the island’s largest offerings, located just outside the shopping district at the other end of the island. These days, you preferred this semi-deserted spit of sand, despite the high tide forcing you to walk through the shallows for most of the way home.
Your weak earbuds were cranked to the max, but still did little against the crash of the waves. Slowly, you picked your way through a bed of oyster shells— even if any accidental cuts would be soothed in an instant, once the saltwater raced over your feet, again. At last, you reached the end of the shell bed, picking up the pace as the wind pushed insistently at you, spraying sand into your face and forcing you to stop, until it calmed.
Your podcast faded to ringing static in your ears when you spotted the torn fishing net, lying ahead.
Its edges had gouged deep into the sand— and, as it was so close to the shoreline itself, the waves that followed had buried them under more silt, throughly entrapping it. It was doubtlessly lost from the harbor. Was that the source of the commotion you’d missed? But, more horrifying than its condition (so tangled up on itself that it resembled a massive bunch of seaweed) or location, far from the fishing harbor, was the fact that it was moving.
Fear coursed through your veins. You needed to call some kind of authority. There should be a phone number at the prior beach access for the wildlife conservatory, if you could just get back to it. You’d have to go back over the oyster bed, but if something was still alive in that monstrosity, there wasn’t much choice to make. You’d taken all of two steps back, preparing yourself for the pain, when an odd sound rose in the lull of the tide. You tore out your cheap earbuds and strained to listen.
The sound that followed defied explanation. You’d never heard anything close to it. The only comparative experience you could draw from was mourning. A harsh, desperate cry, from something that was quite literally on its last hope.
The next thing you knew, your hands were plunging into damp tangles of rope. You cursed as it slid from your hands, as you first tried to wrench it apart, and then upwards— but of course, its moorings were stuck fast. It vaguely occurred that you had absolutely no idea what you were attempting to unearth, but the thought was quickly forgotten. Whatever this was, you could hear breathing from within the mass— shaky, ragged, and quick. You didn’t have much time.
And so, you turned instead to the edges themselves. You plunged your hands into the wet sand and dug as fast as you could. Fortunately, the fasteners weren’t buried too deeply. It didn’t take long for you to pry one up, and then another, the raspy catch of breathing serving as an inefficient and rapidly-dwindling timer. Your fingers burned. Your arms ached. And yet, you continued to tear at the bindings, tugging at the base of the netting until you could finally start to pry up a corner.
You‘a heard of hysterical strength before, but you’d never truly acknowledged the sensation until the soaked, dripping netting was held high above your head. Very quickly, those considerations vanished entirely at the sight of the form underneath.
A pair of bright dichromatic eyes blinked at you through the gloom. The moment would be almost ethereal, if their owner wasn’t literally heaving for breath, both arms stuck akimbo in the holes of the netting. You gave voice to the only thought that actually made sense in this situation.
“…What the hell…?”
Your arms burned from the sopping weight of the net. Water and damp pieces of seaweed were falling on the both of you. With a grunt of effort, you finally stepped forward and chucked the excess portion backwards, before you immediately knelt to loosen the remaining bindings.
The man— not human, not fully, your brain warned— almost immediately began to thrash, displacing a spray of water between you as the tide came in. You bit back a yelp, but repressed the urge to flinch, caught up by the look on his face.
Whatever he was or wasn’t, you knew he was afraid.
You couldn’t be sure if he would understand, as you raised your hands, palms out. Was there really such a thing as a universal sight of surrender? Although your next movement forward earned a flash of sharp teeth, he didn’t move against you. With that, your hands returned to the net, and you set to work untangling it from his body.
You stared down at your hands as you worked, pulse thrumming in your ears. Outside of them, you couldn’t feel anything, outside the numbing sting of adrenaline. Because of that, your motor control was tenuous at best— all you could do was continue working at the net. Heart in your mouth, you snuck another glance up, to confirm your suspicions. Sharp teeth. Bright eyes. Fins, twitching and alert, where ears would be.
If anyone else happened upon your rescue of a beached merman, you would be in very serious trouble.
You re-doubled your efforts, trying to get him loose, wishing that you’d somehow had the foresight to grab something sharp—
—oh, wait.
“Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow—!”
One painstaking pick-over of the oyster graveyard later and you had yourself a prime specimen. You’d exchanged a fair bit of blood to the sand, but that was neither here nor there. You half-ran, half-limped back to the fallen net, makeshift tool held high and set to work, ignoring the latest attempt to swipe at you. This particular shell had sliced open the ball of your foot, so, soon enough, it had started a tear into the tangled net.
The merman didn’t seem to appreciate your ingenuity. You’d barely gotten his right arm free before he was using it to grab onto yours, tugging you forwards as his other, bound arm tried to gesture to his throat.
“Wait—!” you panicked at the strength of his grip, “I’m getting your other arm out, just breathe—!”
A feeling like ice water ran down your spine.
“….Can’t…”
“You ca—?” you’d barely gotten through the repetition before you saw the small slits in his throat, gaping and closing frantically.
You had no idea how long the mer had been breathing above-water, but those rattling wheezes sounded like he was reaching his limit.
“Oh, shit— hold on!”
You cut through the last binding of his left arm and began to feverishly hack away at the snarled mass behind him. It wasn’t long before the shimmer of scales became apparent through the remaining bindings. You couldn’t think much about the full magnitude of what all you had uncovered— how could he speak? — because the merman in question could barely breathe at all. The small gasps of air he managed to draw seemed more like hiccups.
With no time to spare, you dragged whatever remained of the net backwards, wincing as a massive number of koi-like scales were caught and sloughed off in your haste. Supposedly the merman would sooner be alive than care about the finer details of his appearance.
The net had barely dropped before his powerful tail slammed down into the surface of the wet sand— sending fragments of it splashing back over you. You took a few steps back as the merman— tail uselessly trying to propel him forwards— was forced to use an approximation of an army-crawl to get towards the shallows.
Without the snarled ropes in the way, you only saw the injuries left behind. A multitude of bruising and deep scratches marred his back, some still sluggishly-bleeding. There was a long gouge of scales missing on his left flank, revealing the smooth muscle of his tail which seemed to share the unique dichromatic coloring of the rest of him. A few pairs of dorsal fins twitched valiantly as he tried to propel himself forwards.
Finally, the merman made it to the sea. It was easier going from there, especially after he’d managed to fully submerge his head and neck underwater. He stayed for a long moment, doubtlessly drinking in the relief of oxygen that he could fully process. But no mer would ever want to stay this close to Baralou’s shore. As he sank into the shallows, you expected him to tear off, instantly.
Instead, he broke the surface again, split hair tumbling over his broad shoulders, before another of those indecipherable sounds carried itself over the shush of the incoming tide, back to you. This one sounded like a challenge. He’d fought his way through whatever hell had gotten him trapped in that netting, suffered through a slow asphyxiation and crawled himself back to the sea. He’d very nearly been killed. But now, he seemed to dare the land and anyone living there to try it, again.
Caught in the early-morning rays, he was the most breathtaking creature you had ever seen.
In spite of the sentiments, the posted warnings, and the merman’s borderline war-cry, you made your way back down the sand and into the shallows. The merman had vanished far into the deeper waters by then. You doubted he’d return for such a silly reason. And yet….
A few small tide-pools were receding beneath the tangles of net you’d torn away. You knelt and began to dig through their broken coils, to extract as many of the curved, glimmering scales as you could. They were ivory, with splashes of wine red, each one with its own unique pattern. Perhaps, like snakeskin, a mer’s scales were destined to be shed. Still, you felt like they had to serve some purpose.
Once you’d gathered up as many as you could carry, you made your way down the shore, following the shallow trench that his tail had left. You went along it, into the sea, out until it lapped up over your kneecaps, where the merman had first shoved his face underwater, and then you went a bit further, just for good measure. It would be nothing but bad news to have these wash back up, after all.
There, you lowered your hands, and let the scales slip through, to the ocean floor. Even if the merman didn’t come back, perhaps the currents would be kind enough to return at least some of them back where they belonged. With one final glance outwards, you took your leave, walking determinedly towards the shore, even as the ocean’s receding current pulled enticingly, trying to lure you to follow, into its depths.
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❤️🩹Lifeline | MYG❤️🩹
Synopsis: It’s long been controversial for idols to date, but idols dating each other can be really beautiful or a complete nightmare. When Yoongi's relationship with another idol is discovered, he decides maybe it’s time to break the taboo and show people it’s ok for idols to date. Instead, they find themselves caught in the midst of one media frenzy after another and struggle to keep their relationship as strong as it had been the past 2 years. Yoongi finds a self destructive way to cope, and it causes even more problems than it solves. As they fight for their relationship and their careers, they discover that sometimes, the only way to truly be free is to let go.
Pairing: idol!Yoongi x idol!OC
Warnings: nsfw, alcoholism, cheating, depression, anxiety, Yoongi goes through a bisexy ho phase, Yoongi is also in his alcoholic phase, post-military BTS
Next chapter | Masterlist
In the spirit of the season I thought I’d give the first chapter of this new fic to you all 🤗 I haven’t fully worked out the specific day, but I’ll be posting a chapter a week after the new year so stay tuned! 💜
Ch. 1: Love
Time seems slow when you’re in the middle of it. Even slower when you’re looking forward to something. Yoongi spent 21 months away from his home, his members, Army, his family, and his girlfriend who he had only been dating 3 short months before he had to leave.
Yoongi and Hyeri had known each other before, both being under Hybe as artists. Na Hyeri, stage name: Rainbow, began her idol career with a short lived girl group called Two Piece under a much smaller company. The group disbanded after just two mini albums, and a lot of attention thanks to their company infamously mishandling everything from money to the artist’s safety and well-being. When the smoke died down, Hyeri signed with Hybe as a solo artist and has made a name for herself in the few years since her solo debut.
She first met Yoongi when he produced a song that she performed for a tourism campaign. The song made waves across social media and beyond and Hyeri found herself gaining a mass of new fans. The first time they ran into each other after the campaign took off, Hyeri jokingly thanked Yoongi for the new fans. That turned into an hour long conversation that was the beginning of a new relationship.
After endless texts, phone calls, and sneaking to see each other around the company building whenever they could, they became official. To themselves mostly and close family and friends. Yoongi told the rest of the members and Hyeri told her best friends and former bandmates, Haeun and Minji. To the rest of the world they’re just label mates who worked on a song together.
Being under the same company made things easy. Moving in together 2 months later made things even easier. Yoongi’s enlistment however, made things harder.
For 21 months Hyeri lived alone waiting for Yoongi with the rest of the world. His few vacation times never seemed long enough and his discharge date seemed like it was centuries away.
Then he was back. And just like that those 21 months didn’t seem so bad after all. Things were as they had been before with all seven of them back together again.
Hyeri had begun taking more and more acting jobs so she was fairly busy, but always left a note and a snack for Yoongi when she’d leave before him. Other times she would give him a soft kiss when she’d come home late and find him already asleep. Yoongi always sent her a meal if she were home and he wasn’t. The nights he spent in his studio instead of home he would make up for with more gifts than necessary. Jewelry, stuffed animals, posters of himself, and the occasional pair of shoes despite him telling her he wouldn’t buy her shoes since she already has so many.
Once the group’s big post-military comeback had concluded, Yoongi felt truly happy. He was back with his brothers making music and seeing Army again, and he had his girlfriend by his side who he’s deeply in love with. All felt right in the world.
Yoongi had begun working on new music for the group’s upcoming full length album. He’s been in his studio much more instead of home, but it’s not too bad. Hyeri finished shooting her small parts in a drama she was cast in and had begun working on a couple of songs for the soundtrack. When she was done recording for the day, she would come by Yoongi’s studio and spend as much time there as she could since she knows he may not come home that night.
This day is like any other. Hyeri finished her final recording session and dropped by Yoongi’s studio with a dinner of his favorite cheat meal, noodles. They both sit on his couch eating, chatting, and cuddling a bit once they’ve cleared their bowls.
“I think this may have been my last recording session,” Hyeri says with her legs rested across Yoongi’s lap.
“So you’re really going to do it?” Yoongi asks.
“Yeah,” she sighs. “I know it’s going to suck and you’re going to hate it, but I just…” she pauses and looks up at his face. He may be expressionless, but she knows that’s just him trying to hide his disappointment.
“Hybe is more of a music company, you know that,” she continues. “I just really think I’ll have much better acting opportunities with JJS since they’re such a successful acting agency.”
JJS is one of the top entertainment agencies in the acting world. They house some of the best entertainers in the industry, from romance movie heartthrobs, variety show comedians who have become household names, and even action movie baddies. Hyeri had been looking into switching companies so that she can embark on her new career as a full time actress. She’s gotten a number of roles through Hybe already. Mostly a few commercials and a couple of small cameos in tv shows. For her, switching to JJS could mean finally getting her breakout opportunity to send her acting career soaring.
“I know we won’t get to see each other like this anymore,” she says. “But we’ll still see each other at home. Don’t be mad,” she pouts.
“I’m not mad,” Yoongi says caressing her leg. “I told you before I would support you no matter what you decide.”
“But you still don’t like it.”
“It’s fine. We’ll see each other at home, right?”
“We never see each other at home,” she pouts more.
“You just said…” he chuckles shaking his head and pulls her closer to him. “We’ll make it work. I want you to follow your dreams. Don’t hold yourself back because of me.”
“Are you sure you’re ok with it? Do you think it will make things hard?”
“Not as hard as me being away for 21 months,” he chuckles. “Trust me.”She nods and he gives her a reassuring kiss.
Hyeri goes back and forth on whether she’s making the right decision. Yoongi constantly tells her she is but she’s struggling to believe it. She spends less time in the company building since she’s not working on anything and will be leaving soon. That means she’s been home alone a lot. It’s nothing new to her, but she’s starting to realize how hard it may actually be. Especially when she starts working again.
Yoongi is the perfect support for her. He keeps her sane and assures her that he’ll stand by her no matter what she does or where she goes. Sure it will come with challenges, but he knows they can make it work.
Things start off fine. News of Hyeri signing with JJS was met with lots of support from her fans. She immediately landed a small supporting role in a movie and Yoongi couldn’t be happier for her.
Shooting on the movie began and that became the true test of their relationship. They rarely saw each other. When one of them would leave or come home, the other would be asleep. Yoongi would even spend less time in his studio so he could be home on the off chance that she gets there early. She never did and he would spend another night falling asleep alone.
It’s frustrating for them both to be so close yet so far from each other. Yoongi has completed the majority of his work on the songs for their new album. Even with endless recording and dance practices, he still can’t seem to find enough to do to keep his mind off of the empty space in his bed that smells like Hyeri.
They text when they can but it’s never enough. They miss each other and start to feel like they were able to talk to each other more when he was in the military. No matter how hard they try or how bad they want it, they can never seem to get their schedules to line up.
One day that finally changes. A month into Hyeri’s shoot, and about a month before Yoongi embarks on another BTS comeback era, they find an overlap in free time in their schedules. Yoongi had a gap in his schedule that gave him a bit of free time. He typically would spend that time in his studio. However, Hyeri had a last minute cancellation that gave her the rest of the evening off.
Yoongi only has an hour to see Hyeri so he rushes out and tells her to meet him at a nearby restaurant for dinner. He would rather see her at home so they can be in private, but the further he has to go, the less time that will leave him with Hyeri. He’s so desperate that he doesn’t want to lose a second.
Since time is limited and privacy is important, Yoongi chose a small snack food place that he and the members had been going to for many years. They always have a table in the back away from the public eye for them. It’s private enough and a quick meal.
Yoongi arrives at the restaurant first. He doesn’t have to wait long before Hyeri arrives, though to him it felt like hours. She looks around a moment then runs to give Yoongi a long kiss filled with so much pent up longing.
“I feel like I haven’t seen you in years,” Hyeri says kissing him again.
“I missed you,” he says stealing one more kiss before she takes her seat across from him.
“I wish we had time but I’ll take this over nothing,” she says quickly scanning the menu. “There’s so much I want to tell you about the movie shoot! It’s been so much fun and everyone has been really cool. I really think I made the right choice. I just wish it didn’t keep me away from you so much.”
“I know, Bow,” he says, calling her by the shortened version of her stage name, Rainbow. “You’ll have more time once the shooting is done. Then even more time when you finish all the promos.”
“I know, baby, but aren’t you guys going on your world tour around the time I finish shooting? I know things haven’t been finalized yet, but we really wouldn’t have much time together before you’re off traveling the world.”
Yoongi knows she’s right and it breaks his heart to see the sadness in her eyes. Their server comes by to take their order before he can think of something to say to make her feel better.
After placing their order and sitting in silence a few moments, Yoongi reaches across the table and takes Hyeri’s small hands into his.
“I wish I could take you with me,” he says forcing a smile.
“I don’t know,” she chuckles trying to lighten the mood. “You might get sick of me then.”
“I won’t get sick of you,” he chuckles. “Even when you’re annoying, you’re still beautiful.”
“Are you trying to romance me, Mr. Min?” She jokes.
“I was only stating a fact,” he chuckles.
“Admit it, Yoon-gya, you like me,” she laughs calling him by the nickname that never fails to make him laugh.
When Hyeri first met Jin he was speaking so fast she could hardly understand him. When she heard him shout “Yoongi-ah” it sounded like “Yoon-gya” to her. After they began dating she asked Yoongi why Jin calls him “Yoon-gya”. Yoongi was confused at first, but once he realized what she was saying he never let it go. In return she calls him that whenever she’s messing with him.
“I love you,” he chuckles. “But still…you’ll wait for me, won’t you?”
“Of course I will, babe.” She shakes her head knowing he should know better. “I’m not going anywhere. It’s going to take more than an enlistment and a world tour to get rid of me.”
He gives her hands a light squeeze and flashes his gummy smile in happiness. Both of them are soaking up each other’s presence in this rare moment they have together. They continue talking about work and things they haven’t been able to tell through text. Their food arrives and they continue chatting as they eat.
That hour is much too short. It only felt like a few minutes to them, but they look and now it’s time for Yoongi to return to the office for his scheduled recording session. It’s hard for them to let each other go. They stand in front of the restaurant lingering a moment trying to find the courage to leave.
“I’ll try to stay up for you,” Hyeri says.
“Hopefully we can make it quick. I’ll come straight home once I’m done.” He reaches for her hand out of habit briefly forgetting that they’re out on the street. She doesn’t stop him though. She takes his hand for just a brief moment to feel his warmth a second longer, then let’s go.
“Don’t keep me waiting too long,” she smiles. “I love you.”
“Love you too,” he smiles.
They both head to their cars and go off their separate ways. They hate to leave after finally getting a moment of togetherness. That only gives Yoongi a much greater sense of urgency the rest of the evening.
When he returns to the studio it’s clear to everyone he’s trying to get things done quickly. He has no time for small talk or getting off track with mindless conversations. The sooner this is done the better.
“Hyung,” Jimin says exiting the recording booth. “Take it easy. Why are you in such a hurry?”
“She’s waiting for me,” Yoongi says with no further explanation.
“Ah,” Jimin nods. He knows exactly what Yoongi means. He knows what Hyeri means to Yoongi so he doesn’t need any further explanation. “Get in there and finish up then.”
Before Yoongi, Jimin is the last one to finish recording. Now that he’s done he switches places with Yoongi to help things move along faster. Jimin doesn’t mind staying a bit later so Yoongi can get home. It takes a little longer than Yoongi would like, but he finally finishes and rushes off to go home without giving Jimin a second look. Jimin follows him out and simply laughs to himself at how flustered his hyung is. He knows Yoongi is in deep.
Yoongi returns home at 1am hoping Hyeri is still awake. When he steps inside all of the lights are off and he fears he may be too late. That is, until he reaches the bedroom and he can hear the shower running.
Hyeri had just gotten in the shower after finishing a late meal. She was fighting her sleep in hopes that Yoongi would be home soon. She decided to hop in the shower in an attempt to stay awake just a little longer.
She leans her head back and closes her eyes as the water runs through her hair and down her back. The warm water is relaxing so she stands there not moving for a few moments. She takes a deep breath and just then she can feel a hand on her waist.
She opens her eyes to see Yoongi entering the shower and pulling her close to his bare body. She isn’t sure how he managed to get home and get undressed without her hearing a thing, but it doesn’t matter. She instantly wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him in for a kiss.
“I’m so glad you’re still awake,” Yoongi says in a low tone. “I feel like I haven’t gotten to hold you in way too long.”
“I know,” she says kissing him again. “I never knew I could miss you so much when we live together.”
He feels the same but rather than saying so, he pulls her in tighter for a heavier kiss. His hands trace every wet part of her body until he reaches between her legs and softly teases her clit. He lives for the breathy moan she lets out at the feeling of him. The sound he’s missed, the feel he’s missed, the taste he’s missed. It’s all too much and not enough at the same time.
He continues kissing her, slipping his tongue into her mouth and swallowing every sound of hers until he presses her back against the shower wall. His level of arousal is almost unbearable in this moment. So many missed connections and lonely nights are overflowing and poking her pelvis in the process.
“I love you so much, Bow,” he growls lifting her leg and wrapping it around his waist.
“I love you too, baby,” she whispers anticipating his entry that is much desired.
He presses her into the wall harder and takes his tongue on a tour of her neck and chest until he reaches her tits. He loves to see her like this. Melting in his arms and breathing heavily for what he’s about to give her.
He fills her up slowly sending waves of heat through her body until he can’t go any further. He pauses in place and stares her down. He could die in her big brown eyes that are staring up at him with lustful anticipation.
He starts slowly. Easing in and out of her delicately as if she were made of porcelain. In his mind she is. Right now, she’s his beautiful porcelain doll that he’ll never break.
“You feel so good,” he whispers taking her lips again.
She tightens her hold around his neck and arches her back pressing her chest into him more. It’s her silent way of telling him she wants it faster and harder. She wants his love to break her.
He takes the hint and picks up speed while pressing her harder against the shower wall. Her unsteady breaths fuel his powerful strokes more and more. Her moans sing a song that he’ll never get tired of. He can feel that overwhelming pressure within him getting closer to exploding out of every part of him.
The way her nails dig into the back of his neck lets him know she’s just about to lose it. He’s just about to lose it. Her pussy tightens around him sucking his oxygen out.
He growls at her, becoming more relentless and desperate with each stroke.
“I love you so fucking much,” she pants.
The rhythm of his hips sends her over the moon. Her nails dig deeper into his skin as she searches for some bit of stability. He lets out a deep purr when his muscles start to tense and his vision begins to fade.
“I love you,” she repeats kissing his neck. She continues to hang on to him until his hips slow to a stop and his purrs decrease to heavy breaths.
“I love you too, Hyeri,” he says once he has his voice back.
He slides out of her and kisses her softly. She lowers her leg from around his waist and smiles up at him.
“I don’t think I’ll have trouble falling asleep tonight,” she says.
“Good,” he says nipping at her bottom lip. “You only have about three hours before you have to leave.”
“Perfect,” she sarcastically huffs dreading her very early call time that she could have been well rested for had she not stayed up waiting for Yoongi. “I guess I should get to bed then.”
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