#He's trying so hard to successfully flirt but it is just not working for him

[newtafterdark]

POV the resident Tiefling (who used to be a massive playboy & wrestler just 5 years ago) has to face the reality that he has absolutely lost all of his previous rizz. 😔

[gooobraghhh]

I’ve successfully completely broken a mutual of mine and it has been so fun

I’ve talked about @the-kennel-keeper on here a few times but I think I really need to display the whole picture.

He started out like most of my followers, a puppy boy anon in my askbox that had a massive crush on me, but I had happened to follow his account along with like 10 others that were in the trans nsft tag when I first made this blog. He sent me an anonymous ask about realizing I followed him and how it got him so exited but he spam liked me like right before he sent it which made it exceedingly obvious who he was. That little pathetic mistake that was rip for being made fun of was the first thing that got me interested and his general tendency to accidentally humiliate himself or be easily tricked has remained extremely adorable. He finally dm’d me some message about how much he loves my blog since he wanted my direct attention and he did one of those ask games where one of the questions was like “who’s your tumbr crush?” and of course I asked him that one anonymously.

Surprise surprise he says me and at that point I’d sort of gathered too much dirt on him to let it go to waste and I really didn’t even try. We flirted, he talked about how he was only submissive in an extremely defiant, bratty way and how he basically can’t be tamed which just made him all the more alluring of a target for me. He did act like that for a while, but I built up to this perfect demeaning message where I revealed both of my little secrets on him and he just had no choice but to give in. The message ended with me telling him that I own him and I managed to get a “Yes ma’am” in response. He got so worked up that night that he finally got himself off after not being able to for months. I think that’s when I truly gained control over him.

Since then I’ve been slowly training him more and more. Learning exactly what gets him flustered and makes him tick. He started being more obedient, begging on command, singing my praises. A month or two later and the progress is undeniable. Hes cum for me a total of ~10 times (probably more than that, he couldn’t remember the exact number at first but I let him round down) 5 of which have been in the last 24 hours. He volunteered to send me audios of him jerking off and praising how good he’s been trained, he responds “yes ma’am” to basically every command I give him.

I know him so well that I can make him kind of shut down and give in from just a sentence or two of dirty talk. I mean I really pushed him today and yesterday and he couldn’t help but get himself off several times while recording it for me.

This man genuinely thought he was untamable, before talking to me he hadn’t even cum in months, but I’ve taken real good care of my new mutt. Thoroughly corrupted him into my perfect toy. Sometimes I even give him dirt on me just to give him a fighting chance but he’s so pathetic it doesn’t even matter. He’s had sex dreams about me and has chatted with me while around his friends, desperately trying to keep his composure.

So I’m starting a counter in my pinned of how many times he’s cum while thinking of me. It’s only fair I get to show off my hard work I think. We can all enjoy seeing how fucking pitifully submissive my mutt is.

And you can be jealous of him while that number ticks up because I know there’s a lot of you that’d kill to be in his position.

Exited to see how fast I can get keep the number increasing.

[tendertulip]

under pressure

word count: 3.8k

summary: You can’t seem to get away from the Marauders and their hopeless flirting. After turning them down continually, the four of you get paired up for a Potions project. With the help of a messy dorm room and a record player, you find out you may have more in common than you thought.

content: poly!marauders x slytherin!reader, just a bit of language, kind of enemies to lovers maybe?, a tiny mention of jegulus tehe, grumpy x sunshine trope, idk i think that’s it?? lmk if there’s anything else!

authors notes: here it finally is!! sooo sorry it took me so long to post this, life has been crazy recently! also i know that under pressure isn’t exactly time accurate for when they were at hogwarts but just go along with it ily! i’m probably gonna make this a series so if you have any ideas or suggestions please leave a comment or request! anyways pretty please lmk what you think!! enjoy lovies!

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Another day of trying to fend off the Marauders with a fucking stick. You weren’t known for being particularly warm to anyone, let alone to the three boys who terrorized your house-mates daily, even though you always seemed to escape their pranks untouched. Unfortunately, your cold demeanor never deterred them from trying to charm you. Each of them, in their own way, had attempted to catch your attention, only to find your wit and icy demeanor an insurmountable wall. Every attempt was more vexing than the last, and you were growing more perturbed by the sight of them every day. It did, however, brighten your day a little, in some sick way, seeing their faces when you turned them down.

James was the first to try. Armed with his trademark confidence and lopsided grin, he cornered you outside the Potions classroom one afternoon, leaning casually against the doorframe.

“Hey angel,” he greeted, running a hand through his perpetually messy hair. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“We have class together, Potter,” you replied flatly, brushing past him and into the classroom.

Unbothered, he followed you, sliding into the seat next to yours despite the scowl you shot his way. “You know, I’ve been thinking…”

“That sounds dangerous.”

He laughed, undeterred by the jab you threw at him. “You’re funny. I like that. So, how about this—you, me, Remus, Sirius, a butterbeer in Hogsmeade this weekend?”

You didn’t even look up from your parchment. “I’d rather spend the weekend brewing Bubotuber pus.”

“Come on,” he said, leaning closer. “You’ll be missing out on the best date of your life.”

You leaned away automatically before finally meeting his gaze, your expression blank. “And you’ll be missing out on your dignity if you don’t leave me alone.”

James blinked, momentarily stunned, before letting out a bark of laughter. “Alright, angel. I like a challenge.”

“Good,” you said, turning back to your work. “Because you’re not getting anything else.”

He nodded with brows raised, “I’m aware.”

You spent the rest of class dodging his looks and ignoring his sickeningly sweet comments, gathering your books and hurrying out as soon as class was over, successfully avoiding any more hopeless persuading from James.

Sirius Black was the next to suffer. He prided himself on his charm. He’d never met a girl he couldn’t win over—until you.

It started in the library, where you were seated alone at a table, engrossed in a particularly dense-looking book. Sirius slid into the seat across from you, his signature smirk firmly in place.

“Hey there, gorgeous,” he drawled, propping his chin on his hand.

You rolled your eyes internally and didn’t look up. “Black.”

“Studying hard, I see. Not that you need to. I bet you’re brilliant at everything.”

“Flattery won’t get you anywhere,” you said, turning a page.

He grinned. “I’ve got other tricks up my sleeve.”

“I doubt that.”

His smirk faltered for a split second, but he recovered quickly. “Alright, love. What would it take to get you to have dinner with me?”

“An entirely different personality,” you said, still not looking up. You knew that statement was mostly true, or maybe, deep down, you were trying to convince yourself more than him.

He let out an exaggerated gasp. “You wound me.”

“Not yet,” you muttered, scribbling something in the margins of your book.

Sirius leaned back in his chair, clearly torn between frustration and amusement. “You’re playing hard to get.”

“No,” you said, finally meeting his eyes with a deadpan expression. “Try impossible.”

For once, Sirius had no response. He dragged in a breath, knowing he was losing momentum the longer he stayed silent. He sided with giving the table a quick tap as he got up and reluctantly walked away, mentally kicking himself for being off his game.

Remus Lupin was the final victim. He was subtler in his approach. He wasn’t one for grand gestures or flashy lines; instead, he opted for quiet conversation and shared study sessions. You were virtually looking over your shoulder every five seconds, knowing he would be trying his hand with you at some point. You avoided all three boys as much as you could, turning heel and leaving if you saw them coming your way in the corridor or entering the room you were in. Of course, your luck ran out.

He found you in the greenhouse one afternoon, tending to a particularly finicky Venomous Tentacula.

“Need a hand?” he offered, stepping carefully around the plant, his hands in his pockets.

You glanced at him, brow raised. “Not from you,” You paused, taking in the calm air around him, and against your better judgement, spoke again. “What would you know about Venomous Tentaculas?”

“Not much, but enough to know not to touch it,” he said with a small smile.

Your lips twitched, but you didn’t smile back. “I’m fine, thanks.”

He leaned against the workbench, watching you carefully prune the plant. “You’re good at this.”

“Obviously.” You kept an eye on him out of your peripherals, apprehensive, surprised he wasn’t trying to get in a spare word wherever he can, like James and Sirius did.

He chuckled softly. “I was being polite.”

“Well, don’t,” you said, setting down your shears and brushing dirt off your hands, turning to face him. “It’s unnecessary.”

Remus hesitated, then said, “You know, you don’t have to be so guarded all the time.”

Your eyes narrowed. “And you don’t have to waste your time trying to psychoanalyze me.”

“I wasn’t—”

“Yes, you were,” you scoffed, cutting him off. “And for the record, I don’t need your pity or your approval. So, if you’re done, I have actual work to do.”

Remus sighed, pushing off the workbench. “Alright, dove. I’ll leave you to it.”

And there’s another dreaded pet name. “Good idea.”

As he walked away, he glanced back over his shoulder. You were already focused on the plant again, seeming as if he hadn’t been there at all. When you heard the door shut behind Remus as he left, you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. He was the most tolerable out of the three, giving you space when you asked for it, leaving when you wanted. He was calmer than the others, a quality you appreciated. You shake the thought out of your head and pick up the shears once more.

The boys reconvened in the Gryffindor common room that evening, nursing their bruised egos.

“She’s impossible,” James declared, flopping onto the couch.

“Completely heartless,” Sirius agreed, though his tone was more impressed than frustrated.

“I told you,” Remus said calmly, sipping his tea. “She’s not interested.”

James sat up, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Or maybe… she just doesn’t know us well enough yet.”

Sirius grinned. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Remus sighed. “This can’t possibly end well.”

But he didn’t stop them from planning their next move.

Within two weeks, their plan was in motion. The three boys were so dedicated that they spared time out of their precious weekend and stayed after Potions one day, ambushing Slughorn. Somehow, pretty easily in fact, they managed to convince him to make the four of you partners for the new project. Sirius put it under the guise of needing your “brilliant brain and knowledge” because he and James were “trying to be better students”. As if.

The next week, Slughorn announced the groups for the project. You sighed and narrowed your eyes at the three boys, knowing that somehow, this was their doing. If it was one thing, they were persistent. If only they put that effort into their schoolwork.You hoped you could just get this over with as soon as possible, you would even do all the work yourself to avoid being stuck in a room with them. You hurried out of class that day, annoyed. You shoved through the boys as they had tried to make their way to you as soon as you were dismissed.

You sat at your usual spot in the library, a fortress of books surrounding you, quill scratching furiously across parchment, trying to possibly finish the project without having any contact with the three menaces seated across the library. You could hear them whispering just a few tables away, their presence proving to be an irritating hum in the back of your mind. Sirius laughed, low and rich, and you refused to look up.

“Hey, angel,” James called, sliding into the seat across from you. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes and instead flipped the page of your textbook. “Since we’re all partners for the Potions project, we thought we’d… collaborate.”

“I don’t recall asking for collaboration,” you replied dryly, not sparing him a glance.

“That’s the thing about group projects,” Sirius chimed in, plopping into the chair beside you, a roguish grin plastered on his face. “It doesn’t require your approval.”

You raised a brow, scooting your chair away from him slightly. “I didn’t realize Gryffindors believed in forcing unwilling participants into things. Aren’t you supposed to be noble or something?”

Remus, the most tolerable of the trio, slid into the seat on your other side, carrying a stack of books. “You’re right, dove,” he said smoothly, voice calm and measured. “But unfortunately for you, Slughorn paired us up.”

Your jaw clenched. Sluggy and his infuriating belief in “Inter-House unity.”

“Fine,” you said sharply. “But don’t expect me to do all the work while you three mess around.” In truth, you were happy to do all the work if it meant you could escape this conversation.

“We wouldn’t dream of it,” James said, eyes sparkling behind his glasses.

The next evening, you found yourself in the Gryffindor dormitory, an unfamiliar space that smelled of old parchment, broom polish, faintly of Sirius’ cologne, and something you can only describe as teenage boys. You had practically begged to meet anywhere else, their dormitory being the last place you wanted to end up. Coincidentally, every option you came up with seemed to be taken. Your dorm-mates were using your dorm for their own projects, and were firm on their stance of “no boys, especially not those ones.” The library had a suspiciously timed incident of smoke bombs exploding, and all the students had to vacate until it was aired out. It had Marauders written all over it. Your house-mates would rather die than have three Gryffindors in their common room, so you didn’t even suggest it. As a last resort, you tried to coax them into working in their common room, but, once again, the answer was no. The rest of their in-house friend group decided to work right in front of the fireplace. The girl who introduced herself as Marlene definitely had a glint in her eyes, as if she was in on it. You just couldn’t win.

Reluctantly, you followed them up the stairs to work in their dorm. The room was, oddly enough, exactly what you expected. The space that was tidy with stacks of books on the floor next to the bed had to belong to Remus. Fitting. James’ and Sirius’ beds seemed to blend together, the only telling factors being the Quidditch posters by James’ bed and the record player and band posters by Sirius’. Also fitting. You knew most of the bands on Sirius’ posters. Surprised, you shook your head slightly. You couldn’t have anything in common with these boys, could you? The fourth bed, which you learned belonged to Peter, one of the boys in the group holed up in the common room, was a mix of tidy and messy, with a half-played game of chess sitting on the blanket.

There were clothes strewn on the floor between James’ and Sirius’ beds, both of the boys scrambling to pick them up and throw them out of sight as you walked in. They looked at you like they hoped you hadn’t seen it. You had. Remus scoffed a chuckle, which you somewhat appreciated, but didn’t let it show.

Now here you were, perched awkwardly on the edge of Remus’ bed, the cleanest place in the room, with your arms crossed, as the boys arranged their notes across the floor. The Gryffindor dormitory felt strangely foreign to you, with its warm tones and cozy chaos. It was nothing like the pristine coldness of the Slytherin common room, where everything was sharp edges and muted colors. Here, the atmosphere was alive, buzzing with an energy you couldn’t entirely place—and didn’t trust.

“So,” Sirius began, lounging on a pillow in his usual carefree manner, “any brilliant ideas, gorgeous?”

“I have several,” you replied, not acknowledging the irksome pet name, “but I doubt you’d appreciate the brilliance.”

James smirked. “Why so cold, angel? We’re charming, aren’t we?”

You snorted. “You’re persistent. That’s not the same thing.”

Sirius grinned, leaning forward. “I bet we’ll grow on you.”

You ignored him, focusing instead on the pile of notes on the bed in front of you. That was, until Sirius got up and began rifling through a stack of records near his bed. You rolled your eyes.

This was supposed to be about the project.

At least, that’s what you told yourself when you agreed to meet them here instead of putting your foot down and insisting on the library or another neutral space, or perhaps even working together on another day entirely. But you weren't naive—you knew better. The Marauders had been relentless in their attempts to worm their way into your life, and you had been equally relentless in shutting them down.

“You know,” James said, glancing up from his notes with an infuriating grin, “it’s not every day we let a Slytherin into our sacred quarters.”

Sirius spoke over his shoulder as he searched through the records. “Even Regulus hasn’t seen it.” You glance at Remus as he tries to catch your attention.

He mouthed, “His brother.” to you. You roll your eyes and mouth back, “I know that. House-mates, remember?”

James responded to Sirius aloud, “...Right, yeah.” You narrowed your eyes slightly, knowing his response was suspicious, but not pushing further. None of your business.

“Oh, I’m honored,” you replied to James’ initial comment, deadpanned.

Remus shot James a look. “Don’t mind him. He’s been insufferable since he got that Outstanding in Charms.”

“Not insufferable,” James protested, recovering and tossing a quill at Remus. “Confident.”

“Arrogant.” You corrected without missing a beat.

James clutched his chest as if you’d wounded him. “You wound me, love.”

“No,” you said, inspecting your nails. “But I’m considering it.”

From the corner of the room, Sirius laughed, his voice rich and warm. “I like her. She’s got bite.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, Black?,” you muttered, side-eyeing him as he turned around with a record in hand. You immediately kicked yourself mentally for saying something that could be misconstrued as flirting.

Sirius’ eyes lit up. “In fact I would, doll. You offering?” Sirius said, flashing you a grin. You rolled your eyes, your silence being response enough. He took the record out of its sleeve.

“What are you doing?” you asked, brow furrowing.

“Setting the mood,” he said with a wink, sliding the record onto the turntable. Moments later, the opening notes of a familiar song filled the room. The unmistakable opening notes of Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie graced your ears.

Your quill paused mid-sentence.

You didn’t mean to react, but the music stirred something in you—an instinctive recognition, a fondness you couldn’t quite mask. Maybe you could have something in common with them after all. Your lips twitched, just barely, and though you fought to remain impassive, your lips began to move slightly to mouth the words of the song. Anyone looking would probably just assume you were just talking to yourself to figure out your assignment. Unfortunately, you had no such luck.

Remus was watching you from his place on the floor, leaning against Sirius’ bed. A small smirk formed on his face as you continued reading a Potions book, still mouthing the words to the song. He scoffed a small chuckle and shook his head, not having expected you, of all people, to listen to Queen or Bowie.

The small noise caught Sirius’ attention and his eyes flicked to Remus. He followed his gaze to you, and he caught it immediately. His dark eyes lit up like fireworks. “Wait a minute.”

You looked at him sharply. “What?”

“You like Queen,” he said, his voice brimming with something close to awe.

“It’s just a song,” you replied, tone clipped, feigning indifference, but the words didn’t carry much weight.

James and Remus exchanged a glance, both clearly intrigued.

“Oh, no, no, no,” Sirius said, practically bounding over to you, his excitement spilling over. “This isn’t ‘just a song.’ This is Queen. This is brilliance. This is art. And you, my darling—” he pointed at you dramatically, “—you know it.”

You opened your mouth to retort, but before you could, Sirius flopped onto the bed beside you, far too close for comfort. Remus chided him for messing up his blanket, a scold he hadn’t extended to you when you sat down. You leaned away from Sirius slightly, but made no effort to actually move.

“Admit it,” he said, leaning in with a conspiratorial grin. “You’ve got good taste.”

Your lips twitched again, and this time you couldn’t quite stop the ghost of a smile from appearing. “You’re ridiculous.”

“And you’re avoiding the question,” he shot back, his grin widening.

“It’s just a song,” you said stiffly, though your body language had betrayed you.

“No, no, this is monumental,” Sirius declared, rolling dramatically onto his side and throwing his arms in the air. “I knew you had taste!”

Remus took this as an opportunity to chime in. “Queen’s one of his favorite bands.”

“They’re the best band,” Sirius corrected. “And now I know you have some semblance of a soul.”

You rolled your eyes, but didn’t pull away when Sirius leaned closer, his energy almost contagious. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, Black,” you said, but your lips twitched upward ever so slightly.

James, not one to miss an opportunity, tossed you another question. “Alright, love. What’s your favorite Queen song?”

You gave him a deadpan look. “I’m not playing your little games, Potter.”

“Fine.” he looked away for a moment, before turning back with a hopeful smile. “Queen or Bowie?”

Remus, ever the observant one, chimed in gently after a moment. “It’s alright, you know. You can like Queen and still pretend you don’t tolerate us.”

You rolled your eyes but didn’t deny it. The music played on, filling the room with its familiar rhythm, and for the first time that evening, for the first time with them, you felt yourself softening—just a fraction.

You hesitated, eyes flickering to Sirius, whose expression was a mix of hope and anticipation. He was grinning like he’d just won the Quidditch Cup. You scoff in resignation. “...Both. But I’m partial to Queen.”

Sirius let out a triumphant laugh, throwing his arms into the air. “I fucking knew it! She’s got taste!”

“Congratulations,” you said dryly. “You’ve discovered that I enjoy good music. What a revelation.”

“It is,” Sirius insisted, still grinning. “You’ve officially earned a pass in my book.”

You raised an eyebrow. “A pass for what?”

“For being tolerable,” he said jokingly, as if it were obvious.

“Oh, how generous of you.”

Remus chuckled softly. “You’ll have to forgive him, dove. He doesn’t know how to behave like a normal person.”

“I can see that.” You snickered dryly, appreciating the semblance of alliance you seemed to have formed with Remus.

Sirius leaned back on his elbows, watching you with an expression that was almost smug. “See, gorgeous? You’ve got more in common with us than you think.”

“Now I wouldn’t go that far,” you shot back, though the edge in your voice was noticeably duller. Sirius looked back at you deadpanned, but that smirk seemed to be glued to his face.

“Fine,” you muttered. “I like Queen. Happy?”

“Ecstatic,” Sirius said, beaming.

For the first time, you didn’t feel entirely out of place with them.

James, sensing the shift, tossed you a chocolate frog from his nightstand. “You’ve somehow found common ground with Sirius. That means you’re officially one of us now.”

You caught it, unwrapping it slowly. You raised your brows at him. “One of you? A kind offer, but no.”

Sirius threw an arm around your shoulders, grinning like a madman. The contact was uncomfortable, but you made no effort to pull away completely. Remus chimed in this time. “Sirius is the most judgemental out of all of us. You get in with him? You passed.” He shrugged at you as if his statement was absolute.

James leaned forward with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You know, angel, we might just have to keep you around.”

You scoffed. “Please don’t.”

“Too late,” Sirius said, his grin practically splitting his face. “You’re one of us now, whether you like it or not.” He leaned towards you and placed a dramatic kiss on your cheek. This time, you leaned away, furrowing your brows at him, wiping your face with your hand.

“Watch yourself, Black. You want to keep those lips? Keep them off me.” You shot at him.

Sirius gave you the infuriatingly enticing smirk that seems to be consistently plastered to his face. “Whatever you say, doll. But soon enough, you’ll be begging for our lips on you,” He shot a wink at you.

You rolled your eyes in response, popping the chocolate frog into your mouth. You glance at the other two boys, who seem to agree with Sirius. “In your dreams, Black.”

Sirius got up from the bed, scurrying to his corner, “Oh, believe me, we see you plenty in our dreams, gorgeous.”

For the first time, you don’t have a response.

Before you could wallow in the feeling of being speechless, Sirius came back with a thick stack of records and tossed them down on the bed next to you, earning him another scold from Remus about getting floor germs on his bed. You chuckle and share a look with him, shaking your head at Sirius’ antics. Sirius began to shuffle through his albums, questioning you about every band he knew of, as he tried to find another similarity between you. James chimed in every so often, commenting on one of the few bands or songs he knew of, only to get brushed off by Sirius as he was awaiting your input. Remus looked on from the floor, periodically trying to continue to work on the project. After a while, all of your schoolwork layed forgotten on the floor. As the music played on and the boys pulled you into their banter, you found yourself relaxing—just a little. Maybe they weren’t as insufferable as you thought.

Not that you’d ever admit it.

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[mattyriddlesbitch]

a steamy enemies mattheo fic w you as the shy yet stern tutor and he keeps messing w you. maybe at the end after he passes his exams you try to stop the meetings by saying he doesn’t need a tutor anymore and he gets mad/the jealousy trope 🤤😈🛼 also what if there’s a scene where you go to a ‘dangerous’ party w the wrong crowd and he catches you there and gets mad bc he doesn’t want u around those people

I hope this works! So sorry this took so long!

Tutor

Mattheo Riddle x F!Reader

Warnings: kissing, cussing

You and Mattheo never got along. Everyone knew that too. Insults and snarky comments were thrown at each other all the time.

So it was infuriating when McGonagall said you were his new tutor since he was struggling with some classes. You tried to get out of it, switch with another tutor, but she just said that everyone's already set up with another student and she can't change it.

Tutoring sessions were brutal. He always messed with you. Always tried getting off topic. Even jokingly flirting with you to try to derail your lesson. But you were determined to get him to study and tutor him enough to pass so you could stop these sessions. 

“How about every answer I get right, you give me a kiss?” He smiled at you.

“In your dreams, Riddle.” You rolled your eyes, but felt the heat rise to your cheeks. “Can you just focus?”

He finally just started passing his classes, his homework and test scores soaring  enough to make him start passing classes. McGonagall said you didn't have to tutor him anymore, but she recommended you did since your own scores were going up as well as you tutored him. You had enough of Mattheo and told him you weren't going to be tutoring him anymore during your last tutoring session, showing him the tricks you learned for studying and retaining information.

Oh, he was mad. He never really hated you. He liked you and never knew how to express his feelings so he became mean to you instead. He was a dumb kid when he decided that and didn't know how to change it and make you like him, even as a friend. These tutoring sessions were making his feelings grow. He thought it'd be a perfect time to find out more about you, asking you questions about yourself, trying to change the topic to something more fun to hear you talk about something other than school, even flirting with you to try to change your view of him and see if he could fluster you.

So when you told him that you were done with tutoring him, he was upset. Moreso at himself than you. He was upset that he didn't seem to get you to change your view of him. He was upset he tried so hard, he passed enough to not need you to tutor him anymore. He was upset that he decided to be an ass to you at the beginning of your relationship so you'd always have a bad view of him.

“What do you mean you're not tutoring me anymore?” He frowned as he sat across from you in the library.

“I mean exactly that. You're doing well enough to not need one anymore.” You shrugged.

“I'm only doing this well because of you.”

“I'm showing you how I study so you can keep doing this well. You don't need me.”

He wanted to say he does need you. Merlin, he wanted to. He wanted to see how you'd react. He even wanted to see you get all smug and tease him about needing you, but he bit his tongue.

Truth was, he really didn't need your help. He knew this stuff enough to pass with flying colors. He just never applied himself. But he thought if he did start passing because of you, you'd be impressed and happy he did so well because of you. He felt like he lost his chance to win you over once he saw you leaving the library after your last tutoring session.

Your friend invited you to a party she'd been invited to, saying it'll be fun and to think of it as celebrating successfully tutoring Mattheo and being done with him. You were reluctant but finally agreed, deciding it'd be fun to relax and let loose.

You arrived with your friend, who let you borrow one of her short dresses and a pair of heels. You both drank and danced until she was eventually pulled away by one of the guys there, leaving you alone. You were slightly tipsy, just enough to make you relaxed and slightly dizzy.

A guy approached you, you recognized him enough to know he was in Slytherin, but you never learned his name. He was about to say something when an arm wrapped around your waist from beside you.

“Hey, princess. Hope you weren't waiting on me for too long.” You recognized the voice as Mattheo and turned your head to see him smiling at you.

“What-”

“You seem a bit tired. How about we go sit down?” Something in his voice and smile was off. You nodded and he guided you away from the crowd and down a secluded hallway. “What are you doing here?” He asked as he moved to stand in front of you.

“My friend invited me.” You frowned.

“And she left you alone?” He matched your frown.

“Some guy took her to dance.”

“You're kidding. This isn't safe for you.”

“What? Why?” You crossed your arms in front of your chest.

“Doesn't matter. I'll get you back to your dorm.” He said, trying to turn you back around to lead you away.

“No, tell me. If I'm in danger, then I should know why.” You said, resisting him.

He sighed, looking down the hallway before looking back at you, talking quietly. “This is for purebloods and Death Eaters, something you shouldn't get involved with. So, let me get you out of here before something happens to you.” He said, trying to guide you again and you let him this time.

“What are you doing here then?” You questioned, now sobered up from this conversation.

“My father. What do you think, Ms Know-It-All?” He teased and you rolled your eyes.

“No need to be mean.” You frowned. There was a pause as he led you out of the party and started the way to your dorm. “Why are you helping me anyways?”

“I don't hate you, you know?” He said and you turned your head to look at him again.

“You don't?” You raised an eyebrow.

“No. I never have. I'm just…” He paused trying to find the right words and you stopped walking, turning to face him as he stopped too. “I'm not good at…words-at expressing myself. I don't do well with feelings and emotions.” He sighed, looking down.

“Okay.” You spoke quietly. “So…what do you actually mean then, if you don't hate me?”

“What I mean is that…” He looked back up to meet your eyes. “I mean, I don't hate you, I…” He ran a hand through his hair, letting out another sigh. “Fuck it.” He muttered before grabbing your face gently and pressing his lips against yours. He pulled back after a few seconds, noticing your surprised expression as you still tried grasping what just happened. “Did that make sense?” He asked, hands still cupping your face.

“Um, I think so.” You said, still a little dazed.

“Let's get you back to your dorm. Maybe it'll give you time to figure it out.” He said, a small smirk playing on his lips now as he moved a hand back to your waist and started guiding you again.

Taglist:

@jeannie-beannie @yourenogoodforme @mixvchelle @helendeath @evaslytherpuff

@soaked4abby @hpnsfwaddict @mayamonroem @motherfing-stargirl @brittney-121

@dracoslovergirl @littlemadamred @mattheoriddlesbitch @acornacreacure @opheliamalfoy236

@demieyesore @akira1246 @queenshu

Let me know if you wanna be added!

[suempu]

heavy make out session w kabru perchance ??? w a his quiet/reserved s/o who is super horny pls👀👀

-> i hope you like this one anon <33 -> reader is shy but like not in a cutesy way. ooc kabru. he's obsessed. established relationship!!! less horny and more love-y???

he presses a slow, soft kiss onto your cheek, smiling at your flustered expression.

you’re both tucked in his bed, the rumbles and laughter from the tavern above are hushed and muffled in the background of your intimate moment.

kabru has a hand on your arm, soothingly rubbing it before he slowly moves down to take your fingers into his.

“what are you doing?” you whisper with slightly narrowed eyes, looking at him in warning.

he laughs softly, “i’m kissing you? is this okay?”

“its… um— yeah.” you mumble offhandedly, trying to ignore the beat of your heart.

he cradles your head, a thumb circling on your temple in a gentle manner. “you’re cute.” kabru scoots closer, smiling before pressing another kiss between your eyebrows.

“shut up.” you groan while he giggles in response. its unfair how much of a flirt he could be.

he peppers kisses around your face before placing a peck on your mouth. kabru smiles when he pulls away, swiping at your bottom lip before he leans in once again.

humming against you, he wraps his arm around your torso, slowly bringing you two together.

“hm—“ he licks your lips before diving in, making you whimper at the wetness of his tongue and warm mouth. you feel his hand carding through your hair in beat with his other one that was squeezing at your waist lightly.

"god... mnh— you drive me—" kabru breathes out inbetween kisses, "—you drive me crazy."

the wet smacks and pops of your lips along with his reluctantness to be a breath away for more than a few milliseconds makes your stomach flip and turn. your whole body tingles with need and want as you unconsciously rub your thighs against each other.

"worked so hard on my persona, yknow?" he mumbles, bedroom eyes staring deep into yours. "can't have anyone else knowing... how insane i am with you."

"kabru..." you whisper out, unable to form words at his confession. pursing your lips together and too shy to spill out your own secrets to him, you opt to reach a hand out to cradle his neck, your smile shaking nervously at him. "i..."

your man shushes you with a kiss, the hand on your waist moving down towards your thighs to lift them before placing them around his hips. you two were successfully pressed up on each other now, bodies molded while your breaths mingled together.

"you don't have to say anything but," kabru smiles reassuringly. "i love you."

you let out a small gasp, feeling your face go hot. but before you could give a response, he laughs, "annndddd... i'm gonna go crazy if i don't go down on you in any second now."

"you can't just say that..." you turn your head to hide into his pillows, making him spill out more laughter. you groan, not knowing what to say or do in your flustered state.

"can i, dear? will you let me?" kabru presses fluttering kisses across your arm to your shoulder. "please?"

oh... really, how were you supposed to say no to that?

[tojismain]

Heyy!! Love ur work eveytime I read one of ur fics I get so many butterflies lolll, ✨✨

I was wondering if you could do like a Toji x shy/studious reader where they are in a library and she’s trying to reach for a book on a tall shelf and Toji flirts w her and helps her only with a kiss or smth. LMAO so specific but yeah play around with it if u want! <33 I LUV FLIRTY TOJI 💕💕💕

hiii!! ahh thank you <33 sorry this took so long! I hope you like what I wrote and thank you for sending in a request! <33

request by/written for: @allisonr729 ʚɞ ⁺˖ ⸝⸝

Toji was impossible. Impossible to study with and certainly impossible to focus around. It was easy to slip away from him—well it was easy to lie. Toji was clingy and telling him you wanted to study alone was an invitation to an hour-long glare. So you simply lied. 

You were in the library, books spread out on your table and the swinging of your legs to keep you company. You needed to get up at some point to reach for a book. Your height preventing you from even getting close. But you managed to successfully sneak away from a 6'2 man, a book shouldn't be a problem. 

10 seconds of frustration in and someone's arm reached over your head to pull the book out. Whoever it was had their body caging you in against the shelf. You knew exactly who it was. The familiar hands gave it away. Or was it how close he was to you? How you could smell his cologne and how his chest was almost touching your back. 

You wouldn't turn around. You lied and he still found his way to you. He was impossible.

"Wanna look at me?" His gruff voice causing your face to blush. 

You bit your lip and cringed at how you were caught in such a stupid lie. If anyone else were to look at you, they'd think you were caught with your hands bloodied. 

You shake your head and keep your body facing the bookcase. 

Toji sets the book somewhere on the shelf and turns you around. His hands set on your waist. 

You lower your head and look at your feet. He trails one hand towards your neck, thumb placed on your chin as he gently lifts up your face. But your eyes keep moving towards everything except him. Which was hard given the fact that he was everything, everywhere.

He chuckles and taps his thumb on your chin.

"What's up, sweetheart?"

"Nothing." You squeak out. 

He lowers your head to be directly in your eyesight. Now this, this was what made him impossible. He had the ability to dumb you down to nothing when you were just studying. When you were so smart, you made him look at you like a love-struck idiot—listening to whatever you were spewing.

"Why's your face all red then?" 

Him and his pretty eyes would probably find you if you were stranded at sea. 

"The library's h-hot, you know? B-books and all." You had no clue what you were saying. 

An amused smile stretches across his face.

"So it's not because I caught you running away from me?"

"Ye- No? I wasn't running." You looked up at him, begging to be believed. 

He raises an eyebrow in amusement. You stayed quiet. 

He hums and moves his hand to move your hair out of the way. He tucks a strand behind your ear and trails his hand to the side of your neck to lift your face up one more time.

He brings his face incredibly close to yours. His lips barely touching yours. Your eyes were hooded, you looked down at his lips, and you leaned forward hoping to catch them with your own. Time stopped and you could feel his breath against your lips. This close. 

Instead, he laughs and pulls his face back. His hand was warm against your face.

"You want me to touch you that badly? I thought you wanted to be alone."

You brought your hands up to cover your face. 

"My poor baby." He chuckles. "She's all red." 

You shook your head and tried to move away from him. Back to your table and hopefully away from how he was making you feel. But he wouldn't let you.

"Toji." You whined. "I need my book."

He reached for the book again and held it above you. He looks at you, blinking slowly.

"You need this, sweetheart?" He teases.

You pout and furrow your eyebrows at him. He uses his thumbs to smooth over them.

"Kiss me." He demands. "Kiss me and I'll give you the book."

Your jaw drops slightly. "I tried and you-"

"That was then, this is now." He explains.

You leaned up and quickly pecked his lips

You feel his arms reach around you to the back of your thighs as he lifts you up. You gasp and softly yell out his name. 

"Toji. Put me down." 

He starts walking towards the table you were seated at. Did he forget this was a public space?

If it was possible, you had gotten redder so you shoved your face in his neck, hoping to avoid his gaze as well as anyone else's.

He sat down with you on top of him. You were unmoving against his lap. He was comfortable against you and far too annoying to make you look at him.

"Was that supposed to be a kiss?"

You pulled your head out of the crook of his neck and bit your lips nervously. You sighed and leaned forwards as you brushed your lips against his— you were finally close enough to completely and fully kiss him. He lets out a breath as he moves his lips in tandem with yours. Gripping your shirt tightly. Everything around you disappeared. No books, no people, no one, except him.

Him, him, him.

He pulls away looking at you with a hooded gaze.

He moves his hands against the side of your hip and taps his thumb against it. 

"Study, sweetheart. Isn't that why we're here?" 

Unbelievable.

You stood up off his lap, still out of breath, to move to another chair but he grabs your wrist softly and pulls you back on top of him. Now, you were facing the table whilst his chest was pressed against your back. 

"Here, baby."

You couldn't even fight the smile off of your face. You try to get serious.

"Fine. But you can't distract me Toji. I mean it." You looked back at him.

"I won't. Have to let my baby get smart. Hm?"

You were about to start studying, only 10 seconds had passed, ten, when he lifts his hips upwards and moves himself forwards to lean back on the chair. 

"You comfortable?" He asks twirling your hair around his fingers. 

Impossible.

[xoxochb]

maybe an apollo x fae (yes the fae realm totally exists alongside the mythological one) where apollo is successfully tricked by a fae into a revel and finds himself drunk, probably with that very fae, admiring the features and differences from nymphs.

⋆·˚ ༘ * my mind turns your life into folklore

warnings: fae realm, getting drunk, one mental breakdown, seduction (very brief), readers appearance is almost identical to hyacinth for plot purposes pairing: apollo x fae! reader

conquering up a drink. an afternoon of silence and peace, alone, very rare to come by. a sip from the cup, you savor the taste. relaxing aura until a branch snaps nearby, you turn quickly, eyes scanning the area until they land on a bright figure, almost a human embodiment of the sun. along with that everything began sounding like a beautiful melody, the water droplets falling from leaves, the wind, every step. you place the cup on the ground and hurry to follow the figure. a human? perhaps. but when you get closer you realize it’s no human but a god. what was a god doing in your woods? that doesn’t matter! you need to greet him now!

before making your entrance you straighten down your dress and touch up your hair- you need to look decent for a god! especially this particular handsome one! an accident, you pretend you meet by pure chance, not like you were previously stalking him. you take your chance now, walking in front of the god, both falling to the ground at the collision

“oh I’m very sorry, silly me. wasn’t watching where I was going” you stand and brush yourself off

“no, no, it was my fault I was the one aimlessly walking around” the god replies, a melodic tone in his voice “what- uhm, what are you?”

“a fae”

“fae? like a nymph?”

“…I suppose you’re close. who might you be?”

“apollo. god of the sun”

you smile. “ah, I should have known with your bright aura”

silence fills the area. were you trying to hard? it doesn’t matter, he won’t remember tomorrow anyways

“would you like a drink?” you ask

“I really should be going”

“It will only be for a little bit. I don’t get much company”

he declines again but you pull down the top of your dress from the waist a ‘I’m just simply fixing my dress nothing else’ movement. any other god may not have accepted after the action but with the womanizer god you knew just how to work around it

“I guess… I could- I guess I’ll stay for a little while”

you clap your hands softly. “perfect! come along”

you lead the god to your ‘home’ taking seats on the green grass. you begin to conquer a drink, handing it to him

apollo holds the drink up “what’s in this?”

you smirk. “drink up”

he takes a sip hesitantly. at first no reaction but then amazement. “did you make this?”

you nod and he takes another sip. “so tell me about yourself. It must be exciting as a god”

apollo shakes his head. “not that much. many things immortality would be fun but I don’t think so. a lot of responsibility along with it. like this one time-”

he begins to ramble on and on about the many responsibilities of a god. doing this doing that… the more he drinks the more the conversation sparks and slurs until all he speaks is absolute nonsense. you allow him to rest his head on your lap to ease the dizziness but you’re assured that being dizzy doesn’t affect his flirting

“a fae, a fae. are you not a nymph? how beautiful you are, I would chose you over those nymphs”

“how different?”

“nymphs… they are seductive but you are not, very sweet let me drink and talk” he begins to laugh. over what? you’re unsure

laughs soon turn into sobs as he speaks of a past lover. one you’ve only heard as a beautiful flower. apollo sits up and cups your face

“hyacinth! you’ve come back to me” he kisses you deeply but you push him off, picking a hyacinth flower from beside you, holing it up, his weeping continues

“no! turn back don’t leave me!” he pouts and you decide to discard the flower in hopes of is emotional state calming down “so beautiful with dark hair and violet eyes” he kisses you a second time

you place a hand to his chest in an attempt to keep his lips far from yours. “I am but a fae. hyacinth is not here”

“you have to be”

“I am not”

“do you know of him?”

you nod

“tell him I am sorry”

you nod your head again and push him back down onto your lap, allowing him to fall into a peaceful slumber. you hope he forgets your promise in the morning

[cringesilver]

Courage and how he feels about The Chain

And vice versa

~~~~~~~~~

I made these on a whim, theres more i wanna go into detail with but everytime i see someone mention courage with the others it feels off. As someone obsessed with the games n show ever since i was 6 i had to post my own spin on thing.

~~~~~~~~~

Time:

Courage is a little intimidated by Time, hes sorta the first person that hes ever seen so gritty and wirn down from experience. Courage definetly respects Time, enough to try his hardest to not complain or show his outward reluctance to do what he considers "chores". Hed feel the need to prove himself to Time, and because of that Time often has to talk him down from being a reckless idiot.

Time sees courage as a strange outlier, hes like hyrule yet not as adept almost. Looking at courage makes him wonder if this is what Hyrule would become in some sort of way, but at the same time since the two are so different hes unsure. Seeing courage push himself so much worries him, but he only ever lectures him if he endagers himself.

~~~~~~~~~

Wars:

Their relationship is weird, on friendly terms one moment then being competative the next. Courage sees him as sorta of competition, seeing as hes a guy who keeps trying to flirt with any girl he saves -- wars being just as charming but possibly successfully so bug him. He also never appreciates it when wars tries lecturing or giving pointers on how to be a knight. He doesnt see himself as one, despite the fact that unlike hyrule he was knighted. Courage refuses the title. The most these two bond over is over women, talking about the ladies they remember meeting, and maybe gossiping about the others in the chain.

Above all else though, courage refuses to tell wars about the time he accidentally kissed a monster disguised as a lady and got turned into a frog.

~~~~~~~~~

Twilight:

Courage himself feels a lot of envy but also admires twilight at the same time. Seeing as twilight is the strongest physically, no enhancements, he likes to challange him a lot. Even if he losses every time he gets a sort of pride seeing as hes the only one to come closer to being as strong as twilight. The two also bond heavily over simpler lives, not as much as say wild, or hyrule, but they still show a fondness over missing it with each other.

Twilight likes to always check up on courage just in case, he can see he works himself hard a lot. He feels bad that courage seems to cobstantly compare himself to the others, he sees a lot of the people in his past, even himself, in courage because of it.

~~~~~~~~~

Sky:

Its strange for sure, they dont quiet know how to feel with each other. Courage is very curious over sky namely with how fondly he talks about his zelda. It makes him look back on his relationship with wisdom [courages' zelda] a lot. Sometimes he musters the confidence to ask sky what he should do if he sees her again, but at the end of the conversation just brushes his own worries away.

Sky feels bad for courage due to how he describes his strange feelings towards wisdom. He diesnt know how to go aboit it though and opts to just give reassurance and advice. He doesnt exactly like how forwards courage can be but courage is a very blunt forwards guy in general, so its hard to say anything.

~~~~~~~~~

Four:

They dont talk much, courage feels confused by four namely because he has so much knowledge despite seemingly being a kid. He does get ideas quiet often, seeing as he always picks up whatever weapons his enemies drop he likes to give them to four to see if maybe he could do something with them. He gets bummed when four says no and often questions why hes giving a bow to a blacksmith but four always humors him saying he'll try looking at it.

Four doesn't like courages sass snark and ego but he does appreciate how courage comes up to him a lot asking about his skills. He still gets chills of disgust remembering the sword gave to him once. The flimsy weak one courage claims he got for free having been scammed. Four just tries his hardest to make sure courage doesnt get that sort of dissappintment again. He takes pride in his work, so seeing courage get excited with his now modified weapons makes him happy.

~~~~~~~~~

Legend:

Despite the fact that he's another Link from the failure timeline, Courage probably has a tense relationship with Legend. They bicker sometimes, mostly because Courage would like to assume he has a bit more experience especially in a rougher almost primitive feeling version of hyrule. Legend himself would get tired and annoyed over any complaints he said, or ego he showed.

However, there are a few sparks of friendship between them from time to time, namely, with hoarding. Courage wouldn't dare touch legends things, and vice versa, but in terms of finding new things, it's sorta competative in a friendly way. While Courage is jealous of the huge house legend has where he can keep and display his items without getting hounded on. Legend is jealous seeing courages basically bottomeless pouch where he can keep and take everything with him, no restraints.

~~~~~~~~~

Hyrule:

Seeing as he's not just another failure timeline link but also a variation of Hyrule, Courage actually sees him in a very fond admirable light. Courage feels like Hyrule is a sorta long-lost brother. They'd both probably talk in detail over their adventures and what it was like for the two of them.

There would be some slight moments of embaressment on Hyrules end, most due to how Courage behaves and carries himself. Despite the fact that Hyrule would come off as looking younger compared to Courage, he would take the time to coach and sorta lecture him on how to fully behave. Courage probably feels like hes being talked to Spryte cus of it, not knowing Hyrule himsslf is half fairy.

~~~~~~~~~

Wild:

They wont stop talking about their adventures, let alone what it was like starting out. Courage always complained about the clean home body life he was living while protecting the triforce. So when swapping stories, and hearing wild talk about what his adventures were lkke he was obsessed. The two fawn and get excited hearing about how rough and dirty they got into their respective adventures.

Wild sees courage as a sorta brother in arms for sure, he doesnt remember much about his fellow knights, the memories of the champions stuck with him more clearly. But talking with courage feels like them simpler days, before he even drew the master sword or before the calamity war. Just sitting and talking with the others he trained with. Seeing another person who can use just about anything as a weapon as well comforts him a bit.

~~~~~~~~~

Wind:

Courage gets worried for wind a lot, not just because he's a kid but because he knows so much despite being a clear kid. With four, yes, he's short, but he definitely doesn't act like a kid, wind however clearly does. Hearing about winds adventures always gives him a pit in his stomach, especially when he describes his ganon. Sure, every itteration of ganon when describes confuses him. He's so used to his, and how admittedly stupid he seems. But hearing wind talk about his hurts.

He likes to try an uplift wind, have fun and make games out of everything they do just to go the extra mile to keep that childlike spirit going. Doesnt want wind to miss out on being a kid entirely. He loves playing the part of a "wise courageous hero", whispering advice to him sneakily.

Wind himself enjoys courage, find him pretty stupid for sure but loves the fact that someones going far to make sure hes safe and has fun once in a while. A part of him somewhat sees linebeck in courage. It causes him to automatically feel a sorta brotherly connection to his old friend, one he didnt see after the adventure was over.

[claudemblems]

Kaeya + Diluc Flirting Headcanons | Genshin Impact

Summary: How they flirt with you at the beginning vs. a long time into your relationship. Fem!Reader.

Notes: No thoughts head empty I just want them to flirt with me too owo

Kaeya Alberich

Beginning of the Relationship

This man is a sweet talker to the max

He's just over the moon that you chose him out of everyone else and so he just has to lavish you in all his love in return!

That and it's hard to shake off the flirty persona he's had for so long. But you don't seem to mind it so he just uses it to his advantage

But he's kind of a brat about it. He won't lie: seeing you lose your composure over him fills him with a sense of pride. No one else can turn you into a flustered mess like he can

He also likes to try different pet names out on you, paying careful attention to which ones elicit a reaction. And then he strictly uses that pet name to refer to you, even in public. As far as he's concerned, "Darling" is your name now!

But if you try to flirt back, he'll either 1) be virtually unfazed by your attempt (nice try, though, you're cute) or 2) feel his face turn red as he struggles to find a witty response. Congrats, you've broken him!

You always manage to surprise him, which is something he thoroughly enjoys. It makes him that much more eager to one-up you the next time

Established Relationship

Kaeya is still the same flirt as ever, but now he's a lot more toned down with his romantic gestures

He doesn't want to overdo it or make you feel like he's putting on an act around you. He knows you're satisfied just having his attention, and he's more than willing to give it to you

His gaze is much softer now, and he looks at you with a visible fondness in his eyes. The sight leaves butterflies fluttering in your stomach

He's realized you find his sincerity most attractive, so he focuses on making you feel wanted and loved (something that deep down, he aches to feel, too; good thing he has you <3)

You can say his love is like a mixture of sugar and spice. He riles you up with actions like his breath fanning against your neck, but then he presses a sweet kiss to your cheek, reminding you of how much he loves you

Diluc Ragnvindr

Beginning of the Relationship

This man has absolutely no rizz lol

Every time he's managed to fluster you so far has been completely by accident (his good looks and attractive voice work wonders for him)

Most of the time he doesn't even know what he did to make you blush, but seeing you turn shy because of him does something to his heart

He will be thinking about it all day to the point where he'll be tending the bar and Kaeya will have to snap him out of his daze (all while teasing him because that's what brothers do)

Honestly, you tend to successfully flirt with him more than he does with you, but he has no complaints about it

He does, however, try his best to find ways to make your heart skip a beat. Whether that's by gifting you flowers or treating you to dinner, he wants you to feel as loved as you make him feel

If he's really in need of ideas, he begrudgingly asks Kaeya for help. He might even read some romance novels to get inspiration

Established Relationship

Though still awkward and clumsy at times (he tries too hard, bless his heart), Diluc has made great strides in his flirting abilities

He's learned that it's best to just let his heart guide him. It helps that he just harbors so much love for you that he unconsciously shows it to you through his actions

He's also aware that you really like when he wears that one outfit during his shift at Angel's Share, so he shows off a little by rolling up his sleeves or tying up his hair, all while sneaking a smirk or two your way

Knowing that he's the only person that can render you speechless sets his heart ablaze

But Diluc can only do so much flirting before he ends up becoming the flustered one. Your expressions are just so endearing. It's not fair!

And when you look at him like he's everything you've ever wanted, he melts. He scoops you up into your arms and whispers the depths of his love to you

He'll do all that and more to make you smile. Anything you want. He's already yours, but he'll prove it if he must

[seospicybin]

REWIND.

PART I

Hyunjin x reader x Seungmin. (s,a)

Chapters: Part II

Synopsis: As a part of a research team that works on a memory-erasing machine, you work alongside the professor whom you greatly admire and a computer geek who relentlessly flirts with you. But the one that you want is the one that you can't have. (12,6k words)

Author's note: Sorry for the delay. Enjoy this one!

Memories are recordings of our past experiences and experiences can be good and bad, some are in between. There are also ones that we wish we had never experienced in the first place and whether we like it or not, they stay with us. We can only try to endure them in the hope that time will lessen the pain that memory carries.

The thing is remembering is easy. It's forgetting that's hard.

Here at KS Research Facility, forgetting is as easy as pressing the delete button. The research team has successfully built software called Memory Neurons Erasing Machine, in short, MNE-Machine.

With the existence of this machine, now anyone can erase a certain memory from their brain and live as if that memory never existed at all.

The one to thank for this technology is Professor Kim Seungmin, the youngest yet the brightest scientist of the past decade. He is the one who came up with the idea, spent two years developing that idea, initiated the project, and ultimately, led the team building the machine from scratch.

There's only one MNE-Machine in the world for now and once it has successfully passed five human tests, the board will authorize the production of this machine so eventually, anyone can easily undergo the memory erasing procedure which means there’ll be more people to help.

And what is your part in this? You're an assistant to Seungmin, you directly work with the man who invented it and help him achieve his goal. Despite your minor role, you're proud to be a part of it. Despite restocking the coffee pods in his office is one of your job desks, well… yeah, you're still proud of it.

"How much time do I have before the meeting?"

You scramble when you see Professor Seungmin come into the office. You hurriedly finish restocking the coffee pods into the drawer and crumple the empty box behind your back. You glance at your wristwatch and check the time.

"You have approximately 30 minutes," you answer with a smile.

It's not like he'll your smile, Seungmin barely speaks a full sentence to you so there's no reason he looks at you in the eyes as he speaks. He goes to his drawer, scanning through the files with his fingers flipping one file over another to finally find the one he's looking for. He takes it with him as he sits on his desk, flipping the file open and starts reading.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Professor?" You ask because despite it being your job to assist him, he rarely asks for your help unless it's urgent.

He stays quiet until he flips to another page of his file, "Get me the subject's latest psych eval!"

"Right away, Professor!" You reply, picking up the empty box and carrying it with you out of the office.

Considering that there's not much time left until the meeting, you need to get it fast for Seungmin. But you know when you're in a hurry, there's always something that slows you down in the process. Well, in your case, it's a man who dresses like he's in a rock band in his ripped jeans and oversized t-shirts, his dark hair that he keeps long is usually tied in a low, messy ponytail.

At one point, everyone just kind of gave up telling him to put his lab coat on. As long as he does his job well as a tech scientist, everyone just let him be.

However, Hwang Hyunjin can't let you be, he flirts and teases, even seduces you at any chance possible.

"Can you get off my chair?" You ask, then let out a low sigh.

He swivels the chair to face you and grins, making his eyes forming two crescent moons, "I'm making your chair much more comfortable," he simply says while patting his lap, telling you to sit on it instead.

It's only going to be a waste of time trying to tell him off so you relent, sitting on his lap and when he's about to put his arms around you, you glare at him.

Hyunjin immediately put his hands up in defeat, "Want to grab drinks after work?"

He asked you the same question every other day for a few months now and your answer remains the same.

"No," you answer without a beat, getting on your computer to search for the file Seungmin asked.

"How about dinner?" Hyunjin shoves his hand into the pocket of your lab coat, knowing you like to keep sweets in there.

"My treat," he adds while checking the other pocket.

You're clicking open a few folders as you answer, "No."

Hyunjin excitedly gasps as he pulls out something out of your pocket, a caramel. He wastes no time to unwrap it then pops the cube-shaped caramel into his mouth.

"You know you can't keep saying no to me," he says, resting his chin on your shoulder.

"No," you shortly respond.

He hisses at the way you keep rejecting him, "There'll be a day where you say yes," he confidently says.

You look away from the computer screen to look at him and say, "No."

He softly sighs then rests his chin on your other shoulder, "Let's say you already done your part playing hard to get and get to the first base already," he shamelessly says.

Hyunjin is so bold and confident, you can't deny that he's beautiful, he probably never had any problems getting any girls he wanted. Maybe that’s why he won't stop asking you out, he feels challenged to win you over too. As if you would let him have the satisfaction.

Shaking your head, you pretend that you didn't hear him say that. You click print on the file and get up from his lap, walking to the printer to wait for it to finish printing yet Hyunjin follows you there, leaning against the printer machine with his arms crossed in front of you

"The more you reject me, the more motivated I am," he says with a lopsided grin on his face.

"You sound like a serial killer," you tell him.

He bends down to get the printed file for you and hands it to you with both hands, "I'm just saying."

Without looking, you know Hyunjin is trailing behind you like a puppy with his tail wagging behind him. He then sits on the edge of your desk, grabbing the stapler for you to use.

"Go, do your job or something!" You try to send him off even though you know it's going to be a useless effort.

"I am doing my job by helping you do your job," he says with a half-smirk.

See? It's only going to waste your time trying to tell him off, it's easier to ignore him. You hurriedly tidy the files and bring them to Seungmin's office. You place three gentle knocks on the door before letting yourself in.

"Professor, I have the files you need— Ouch!" You bump into someone and you glance up to see that it's Seungmin.

His office is big, in fact, too big for someone who likes to spend most of his time in the lab yet you feel like there's no space left where you can escape his intense stare.

"Oh, God! I am so sorry," you apologize in sheer panic and quickly take off the hands unknowingly resting against his chest.

You expect him to, you know, dust himself off since your hands were touching him but instead of that, he looks at you and not just look at your face but right into your eyes for the first time in a long time. The eye contact only lasts a second until Seungmin takes the files from you.

"I'll read it on the way to the meeting room," he says.

Having no time, you hurriedly grab your things from your desk, clutching them close to your chest as you follow him from behind.

On the way to the meeting room, Seungmin spotted Hyunjin having a donut in the pantry. He stops on his track to say, "Aren't you coming?"

Hyunjin knows well enough that when Seungmin tells him to go, then he should go. In fact, Seungmin is the only one who can control Hyunjin. A part of the reason is because Seungmin personally hired him and has been taking him under his wing, you can say Hyunjin is his protégé.

He puts the half-eaten donut down and happily joins the two of you as you let him link his arm with you, walking together to the meeting room.

-

There are three main buildings in the KS Research Facility.

 A building is the main office and a health facility, B building is the biggest and also a research facility, there are several science projects on the works in there but it's mainly focused on Biochemical, led by Professor Hale and C building is where you work along with the team that works with MNE-Machine, it's the smallest building so the team get to have the building for themselves.

But as a smaller community, you have to go to the B building for meetings and such because most of the board members are there. You have to walk from and through the greenhouse, seeing all the rare plants the scientists are collecting in there on the way to get to the B building.

Today's meeting is to seek approval from the members of the board on the test subject Seungmin has carefully selected from a group of volunteers and once it's approved he can proceed with the procedure.

While the important people are busy talking about important stuff, you and Hyunjin are secretly playing tic-tac-toe in your notebook. He's twirling his pen between his fingers when you subtly nudge his elbow, signaling that it's his turn to place his O.

As Hyunjin observes the game with his tongue slightly sticking out the corner of his mouth, you notice that Professor Hale's assistant, Rina, is staring at Hyunjin.

"Your turn," he whispers at you.

You look down at your notebook and lowly mutter through your gritted teeth, "One o'clock."

It takes him a moment to get what you're saying, and then Hyunjin looks in the direction you hinted. You watch them exchange a look before Hyunjin turns his head back at you, looking unbothered. He clicks his pen to place an O and scratches down the line.

"I won," he whispers with his warm breath tickling your ear.

Noticing that the meeting has come to a final decision, you stop talking and fix your sitting position. You watch as the board members take votes on whether Seungmin can continue with the test or not and all hands are raised in favor of Seungmin.

"With all members approving the selected test subject, Professor Seungmin is allowed to continue with the procedure that will be held on the agreed upon time and place," the board leader announces.

Even in his triumphant moment, Seungmin remains calm and still, you can't remember the last time he smiled, even out of courtesy. Ha he always been like this? Honestly, you can’t remember.

"The board members will watch closely the process, before and after the test. We also demand follow-ups and thorough datas on every detail of the test," they warn once again even though it's not the first time Seungmin has run the test.

Everyone scatters around once the meeting has finished, you wait outside of the meeting room knowing that Seungmin will likely stay to chat with the other professors. Rina is still here as well, holding her tablet close to her chest and not-so-subtly staring at Hyunjin

"You should ask her out," you mutter at Hyunjin, subtly hinting the subject of the talk with your eyes.

Hyunjin doesn't even look up from his phone when he flat-out rejects the idea, "No, thank you."

"Why not? She's pretty and she's your age," you point out all of the obvious facts why he should be seducing her, not you who's a couple of years older than him and not having a shiny, healthy hair.

Hyunjin lets out a scoff, then shoves his phone into the pocket of his hoodie, "You're prettier and older," he says with a sly smile plastered on his face.

Whether he tries to compliment you or try to offend you, you feel like you need to check if there's something wrong with him. You poke his side with your pen and he yelps in pain.

"What's wrong with you?" He sharply gasps.

"You are what's wrong," you answer, poking him on the other side this time.

He laughs and leans against the wall facing you, slightly slouching so he can be on the same eye level with you. "Dating older women is hot, you know," he coyly remarks.

You give him a repulsed glare at his words, shaking your head as you look away from him.

"And you're hot so dating you would be ticking two boxes at once," he adds with his sly smile growing wider on his angular face.

Besides your actual job, you have to deal with this 5'10" man bursting with youthful charm and testosterone, you wouldn't complain if you get double paychecks for it. You aim his stomach next and poke him with your pen again, hoping a little violence would put some sense into his small head.

"One more test, huh?" Professor Hale says, patting Seungmin's shoulder as they walk out of the meeting room.

It feels like your body is accustomed to getting on your perfect posture whenever Seungmin walks into your radar, you stop moving altogether and stand up straighter.

"I'll see everyone on Friday!" Professor Hale says one last time, he also smiles at you and Hyunjin before turning to leave.

Now that the team has earned the green light, everyone is going to get busier to prepare everything. Seungmin lists the things he wants you to do as he walks back to C building and you jot down everything on your notebook. He stops by the main lab and gets Hyunjin on the job, ordering him to run a diagnostic test on the MNE-Machine, checking for any issues.

It's one of those times when you can see how passionate Seungmin is about his work.

He's the reason why you applied for the job, not only because you can work directly with him but also because you admire him, his brilliance, his work ethic, and most of all, him as a person.

There are so many things you learned from working for him for the last three years and your admiration toward him only grows bigger with time. And out of that admiration, something else grows, something that makes you excited to go to work, makes you happy at the sight of him and wanting to always be close to him.

Sensing that someone is watching him, Seungmin turns around to find you still standing there, "Don't you have things to do?"

You gulp air before asking, "Uhm.. Professor?"

He starts walking with his hands shoved inside his lab coat pockets, "Yes?"

You half jog to keep up with his wide strides, "Professor Hale said one more test and I thought we're only on our fourth test?"

You wait for his answer while quietly admiring his wide shoulders from the back while struggling to keep up with his fast walks.

All of a sudden, he turns on his feet and then he looks at you, the eye contact doesn't last longer than a second until he looks away, "Notify the test subject first and make sure they make the time for the interview tomorrow!" He orders instead of answering your question.

"Will do, Professor," you respond.

You manage to finish a few things before it's time to go home, the rest on the to-do list are meant to be done tomorrow though. As you're about to get your coat, Seungmin walks out of his office and swings his briefcase on his side.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he says without looking at you.

"Have a great—" You don't even get to finish your sentence as he disappears into the elevator.

Only a dozen people are working in the C building and there are only five people working directly with Seungmin. Professor Lee who worked together on MNE-Machine with Seungmin is being called to give lectures out of the country and taking his assistant with him, so that leaves you and Hyunjin. The rest of the employees are working maintenance on the lower level of the building, you only meet them when you either enter or leave the building.

"Are you sure you don't want to grab drinks with me?" Hyunjin asks, unlocking his car but not getting in yet.

You toss your bag onto the passenger's seat before getting inside your car. It's actually tempting to say yes, you could use it to blow some steam off to prepare you for the busy days ahead.

But you don't want to give Hyunjin the satisfaction. No, not yet.

"No," you answer with a playful smile.

Hyunjin tosses his backpack inside and comes up to your car, he bends down to look at you through your rolled-down window.

"Come on. It'll be fun," he persuades with a smile that is mischievous and seductive at once. You bet this is how he puts anyone under his spell.

You turn your head at him and smile, "You know what would be fun?"

He tips his head to the side and asks, "What?"

"Me running you over with my car," you jokingly say as you turn on the car engine.

“Ooo… feisty,” Hyunjin hisses then slowly, he steps away from your car.

That's how most of your days usually went, dealing with two men who are the opposite of each other. One gives you not enough attention and the other gives you way too much. One is cold and nonchalant, the other one is warm and attentive.

Sadly, the one that you want is the one that you can't have.

-

What is it that he likes about you? Hyunjin can quite put his finger on it.

Something about you though draws him to you, it's almost magnetic and he happens to like the push and pull of it. However, he liked you even before this dynamic formed between the two of you.

He likes that you're unlike the other girls he had met and known, you have a way of carrying yourself, you're outspoken and bold, and he can see how smart you are from the way you act, the way you talk, and even the way you think.

Under that layer of fine qualities though, you're a simple girl, gentle and a bit silly and Hyunjin likes to play with that latter part of you because he knows that even though you act like you don't like being around him, he knows that it’s actually the opposite.

One thing that Hyunjin likes the most is when you're deeply focusing on something. You look so beautiful yet so unaware of it.

"Why are you working so hard? You only get one paycheck," he whispers from behind you as you observe the interview occurring in the next room.

"Thank you for gracing us with your presence,” You sneer at him.

Hyunjin stands right behind you, his hand is rummaging inside your lab coat pocket to find something sweet in there. He finds your scrunchie instead and he uses it to tie his hair into a messy bun.

"So, what memories are we going to erase?" Hyunjin asks while rummaging through your other lab pocket. He gasps in excitement when he finds a lollipop.

"A bombing incident, he was trapped under the rubble for ten hours in complete darkness and has been dealing with severe PTSD and claustrophobia ever since," you eloquently explain, jotting down a few things in your notebook as you speak.

"That's tragic," Hyunjin comments while struggling to unwrap the lollipop.

Hyunjin takes a moment to look at the interview taking place in the next room conducted by Seungmin himself. He's asking the test subject about his worst memories and as the test subject talks about them, he triggers the brain to show where these memories are located. It's important to have a map of these memories to prevent the MNE-Machine from messing with the other memories.

"Are you ready to spend another night together?" He asks, finally succeeding in unwrapping the lollipop.

"I can tell you're into threesomes," you joke in a plain tone.

It seems like Seungmin hasn't told you about the personal matter he has to attend on Friday night and as his assistant, you’re supposed to know these kind of things before him. Hyunjin crosses his arms in front of him and tries to make what of it.

"He didn't tell you?"

You stop noting down bits from the interview, "What?"

"Professor Seungmin will be having his wedding anniversary dinner on Friday night and obviously, he can't miss it," he tells you.

From the way your eyes waver and widen, you indeed have no idea about it. You look back at your notebook but stop writing.

He leans in and mutters, "We'd likely spend the night just the two of us, isn't that exciting?"

You put your pen into your pocket and flip shut your notebook, then you get up from your chair. You turn to look at him and pull the lollipop he stole out of his mouth.

"Stop stealing my sweet!" You tell him, shoving the lollipop into your mouth next.

You leave the room looking slightly upset about something but he's sure it's not about the lollipop. However, Hyunjin is mostly focused on how you didn't hesitate to take the lollipop.

"Kinky? Checked," he mutters to himself.

There's nothing wrong with the MNE-Machine and Hyunjin understands that Seungmin wants everything to be perfect until the day of the test, but he worries too much. The MNE-Machine can only get activated by his access key so he goes to his office, knocking on his door before popping his head between the doors.

"Professor, I need the access key to uh..." he awkwardly says because it feels like he's asking his dad if he can borrow his car.

"I'll be right there," Seungmin shortly answers.

Now that he only needs to wait for Seungmin, he has time to tease you. He leans on your desk, watching your nimble fingers busy typing something on your computer with your hair draping around your face.

"Hi, the most beautiful and hardworking girl," he sweetly greets you with a bright smile on his face.

"That's half true," you say without taking your eyes away from the computer screen.

"You know I'm always telling the truth," he says once again, feeling tempted to tuck your hair so he can see your face.

"I am the only girl in the building," you point out with a raised eyebrow.

Hyunjin can't help himself anymore, he reaches for your hair, wanting to brush it to the side when Seungmin gets out of his office.

"Let's go," he says to Hyunjin while fixing his lab coat.

Hyunjin reluctantly drops his hand and offers it to you, "Come with me, dear princess?"

You chuckle at him and take his hand, letting him put your hand around his as you both walk to the main lab.

MNE-Machine resembles one big X-ray machine but the technology behind it is way more intricate than that and Hyunjin's job is to operate it. He's sitting behind the large desk with a dozen computer screens showing a lot of things all at once.

It's a quick check-up for tomorrow's test, Hyunjin gets the machine ready and swivels his chair back to let Seungmin insert his access key to run the program. Hyunjin's long fingers are dancing on the keyboard, checking everything and making sure everything is fine.

"I don't see any issues here, working just fine, Professor," Hyunjin informs, showing him the performance log on one of the computer screens.

Seungmin observes it for a while, checking things himself and Hyunjin is already used to his mistrust. After all, Seungmin is a scientist,  he only believes something when it's written in data, not someone's words.

"Everything is great," he mutters, still checking everything.

"Just like I said..." Hyunjin lowly mutters through his teeth while swiveling his chair to see you, flashing a smile at you when you're clearly not looking at him.

Seungmin then turns around to face everyone but only looks at Hyunjin as he speaks.

"The two of you can come late tomorrow but make sure to be here by four. The test will commence at 5," Seungmin says even though everyone is well aware of it because it's the only thing they've been working on for these past few days.

"And we'll take care of the rest," Hyunjin continues his words while swiveling his chair back to face the computer,

Seungmin briefly glances at Hyunjin then takes a pen out of his lab coat, "I'll stay to supervise," he says.

"Then how about your dinner, Professor?" Hyunjin asks.

"I'll take care of my personal matter myself," Seungmin coldly answers.

Those words are enough to put Hyunjin back in his place, he retreats right away and closes his mouth. His intention is not to meddle in his business but it's a wedding anniversary, it only happens once in a year and he has to wait for another year to celebrate. Maybe Seungmin can celebrate it another time but Hyunjin wouldn't be so sure the missus would be pleased to hear her husband rather stay the night up working in the lab.

And also because—

"I think you should go, Professor," you say.

The heads are turned in your direction, and you're fidgeting with the hem of your lab coat as you speak, "I mean, once you authorized the procedure... Hyunjin and I, the two of us can supervise it..." your voice gets smaller the more you talk.

It seems like a good time for Hyunjin to add his say too, he gets up from his chair to make it a formal appeal.

"We just need to wait until the machine finishes the procedure. We surely can do that for you," Hyunjin assures.

It's going to be a hard case to convince him since Seungmin has trust issues, especially with Hyunjin. Again, it's the scientist in him.

"I don't feel good leaving such great responsibility on the two of you," He says without looking at either you or him.

"There's nothing to worry about, Professor. The machine works fine and if anything happens— which I'm sure nothing is going to happen, Professor Hale is a building away and... so are the other dozen of Professors..." Hyunjin failed not to fumble on his words, he was rambling the whole time.

"What Hyunjin is trying to say is we're trained to do this and if you're worried, we'll keep you notified every hour on the progress of the procedure," you immediately add.

Hyunjin secretly gives you a thumbs-up from behind his back, thanking you for backing him up.

Seungmin looks at him, then at you, probably considering whether to finally trust his employees or not. Whatever his decision is, Hyunjin is ready to be disappointed. After a moment, Seungmin clicks his pen and puts it back into his pocket.

"I'll think about it," he concludes, leaving the main lab with the hem of his lab coat flying behind him.

Hyunjin kicks the floor to gain momentum so the chair rolls across the room and hits the other end of the table, stopping not far from you.

"I know you want to spend the night together with me," he teases you.

You scoff and look at him, "Mmh. Yeah, sure."

He takes both of your hands and holds them, "What do you want to do tomorrow night, mmh?"

Your shoulders slump as you sigh, "Should I change my mind about this?"

Hyunjin puts his hands on your shoulders and keeps your gaze on him, "How about this? Tomorrow, you come dressed nicely for me and I'll take care of the essentials," he says, slowly blinking his eyes hoping they're enough to soften you.

The stillness on your face shatters as you break into a smile, "Okay," you reply with a nod.

Hyunjin leans down to kiss your hands but you retrieve them before he can place a kiss, "Don't get too excited!"

This proves that you actually like having him around. You could have drawn boundaries and he would have respected it, but instead of that, you keep letting him in.

And Hyunjin hopes you keep on letting him in until the day you finally say yes to him.

-

With Seungmin sending you to pick up his suits at the tailor means that he has decided to go to the wedding anniversary dinner tonight.

The drive from the nearest town to the facility takes half an hour and on the way back to your car, you see a flower shop and think of getting a bouquet as a gift. You pick the nicest one knowing that Seungmin married a woman who comes from a wealthy family and their wealth funded Seungmin's project. In fact, the facility is owned by Seungmin's parents in-laws.

What do you have against all that? This is the bitter pill you have to swallow everyday for the last three years.

As you expected, Seungmin is already in his office as you can see through the glass window, reading his journal and probably working on his new project already. You put on your lab coat and then knock on his office door three times before entering his office.

"Good day, Professor," you greet.

You walk to his coat hanger, hang his suits for him, and then put his mails on his desk. You take a step back and look at him, a way to let him know that you’re at his service.

"Anything else I can do for you, Professor?"

Seungmin looks up from his journal and lays his eyes on you, staring at you like there's something wrong with you. You immediately look down, checking your appearance and you're sure that it's not the first time you wear a skirt to work so what is different about you that gets him staring?

"P-professor?" You stammer, wiping your palms down the front of your skirt.

He immediately looks away and clears his throat as he flips the next page of his journal, "Make sure the serum is ready and check in on Professor Hale uh..." he clears his throat before continuing to talk.

"What time he'll be here, " He takes another look at you before turning his chair away from you.

"Sure thing, Professor," you respond, wasting no time to get on the job.

The sight of the flower bouquet reminds you to put it in the fridge for the time being to keep it fresh, you bring it with you to the pantry, and safely tuck it between bottles of water inside the fridge. You're supposed to go to the B building to get the serum but you make a stop at the main lab, seeing Hyunjin is already busy in front of his computer.

"That's new," you say, commenting on the glasses he's wearing.

Hyunjin rolls his chair away from his desk and looks at you with a grin on his face.

"Yeah, it's uh... I can't see clearly without them," he says while sticking his finger inside the frame, showing you that it's just the frame. Hyunjin has a weird sense of humor but in a way that is adorable, not annoying.

You softly laugh and shake your head, "I have to go to the next building."

He nods and effortlessly twirls a pen between his fingers, "I'd like to come with you but he wants me to..." he shows how busy he is to get everything ready for the test.

"That's okay. I'm working faster this way anyway," you playfully say.

After running around the facility getting everything ready for the test, you knock on Seungmin's office to notify him that everything is ready. As usual, you let yourself in after the third knock and walk up to his desk, "Professor, the test subject is already on their way here," you inform.

Seungmin gets up from his chair to put on his lab coat, "Okay then I'll uh..." he looks down at his desk, cluttered with papers.

"Can you look for the—" he points at the mess on his desk.

"Want me to tidy your desk?" You offer but not moving until you get his confirmation.

"Yes."

While he's busy putting on his lab coat, you gather all the papers and put all of them into a stack, along with old files he took out from archives. You organize them into different piles and when you lift his journal, his access key slips out of it. You don't know if he notices, but you quickly squat down to get it from the floor.

Seungmin keeps a Polaroid photo in the back of his access key, you can tell from the back of it but you're curious to see who's in the photo. The safe bet would be of his wife or them together but if that's the case then why did he choose to hide it?

"Here," you hand him his access key knowing that he needs it to authorize the use of MNE-Machine.

Seungmin looks at you, then at the access key in your hand. He quickly reaches for it and as he takes it from you, his fingers brush with yours, you feel a static current, a slight electric shock that makes you retract your hand right away.

You see that he senses it too from the way his eyes widen and grow a little intense, or maybe because you caught him staring into your eyes again.

"I'll check the main lab," you excuse yourself out of his office.

The preparation continues as Professor Seungmin explains the procedure that he'll be going through and after that, he gives him an injection with the serum that will make the test subject's brain responsive to the MNE-Machine. Soon, the test subject will fall into deep sleep and he'll remain in his slumber while the MNE-Machine is working on him.

Everyone gathers in the main lab to start the test and Professor Hale is here as the representation of the board members, watching over Seungmin who works with a team of doctors to check on the test subject one last time to continue with the procedure.

You walk up to stand next to Hyunjin who also watches everything from the operator room, you quietly take his hand and put it inside your lab coat pocket.

He turns his head at you and smiles when he finds the sweet you keep in there for him. He gladly takes it out of your pocket and his eyes shimmer when he finds out what it is, a small bar of chocolate.

"Good luck for today," you mutter to him.

"Thank you," He whispers as he puts it in the back pocket of his jeans.

It's time for the final step. Seungmin takes out his access key and scans it into the computer, sending the screens light up and the system starts loading.

Hyunjin then takes the role of operating the machine, clicking on his keyboard and getting the MNE-Machine ready for Seungmin. When he's done, he backs away to let Seungmin push the authorization button. He glances at Professor Hale, seeking final approval from him.

"Go ahead, Professor," Professor Hale says, allowing him to continue.

Seungmin confidently pushes the button and MNE-Machine begins by following the map Seungmin has recorded days before and from there, it starts erasing the targeted memories from its most recent to the earliest. The procedure could take 8 to 10 hours, depending on the amount of memories programmed to be erased.

Professor Hale applauds as Seungmin successfully launches another test and comes up to him to congratulate him with a proud smile on his face and pats on his shoulder, "Congratulations!"

"Don't congratulate me yet, Professor," Seungmin sheepishly says.

"We all know your machine is a great success," Professor Hale praises, briefly glancing at you before looking back at him.

You don't want to overanalyze something that could mean nothing but a mere glance. You smile at him thinking he's just being courteous with you.

Professor Seungmin leaves to send everyone off or more like, return to B building. Now that the procedure is truly underway, you come up behind Hyunjin to give him a pat on the shoulder.

"Wow. You're working," you poke fun at him.

Hyunjin takes your hand and pulls at it, dropping his head to the back to look at you, "Do I look smart?"

"You are smart," you simply confirm with a gentle pat on his cheek.

There's no other reason why Seungmin hired him in the first place if it's not because he’s qualified for the job which includes adequate intelligence.

"And you like smart guys so what are we waiting for?" He says, pressing your palm to his cheek.

"Professor Seungmin," you tell him, seeing that he's making his way back into the main lab with his hands buried in his lab coat pockets.

You hurriedly take your hands away from Hyunjin and take a step back, you immediately get on your perfect posture as his figure enters the room.

"What's the status?" Seungmin asks.

"Everything is up and running fine," Hyunjin immediately responds.

"Vital signs?"

"Normal and stable," you respond from the other end of the desk, watching over the state of the test subject's essential body functions.

Seungmin stayed for another hour until the MNE-Machine successfully erased the first memory. He checks on everything once again to finally leave the main lab and goes to his office to get ready to leave.

You don't want to walk in on him changing his clothes so you give it a few more minutes and decide to take the flower bouquet out of the fridge before you forget. As usual, you knock three times on his door but this time, you wait until he lets you in. You knock again when he doesn't respond, afraid that he's still changing.

"Come in!" Seungmin says from inside his office.

Seungmin is tying his tie in front of the mirror when you come in, you stop right by his desk and inform him of the latest status of the test.

"Keep watching it closely while I..." his words trail off as he slides the knot up to the base of his shirt collar. He turns around and takes the suit jacket off of its hanger, swiftly putting it on. He's doing a mundane thing yet it's such a mesmerizing sight for you.

You notice the back of his collar is folded and you reach for it, reflexively fixing it for him. Now that you have crossed into his personal space, you may as well continue by helping him flatten the lapels of his suit jacket. You can feel his eyes on you as you fix on his tie and you try so hard to ignore it.

It's better to say sorry than ask for permission.

You quickly take a step back once you're done and mutter your apology, "I'm sorry."

Instead of scolding you, Seungmin takes his briefcase and coat with him, then heads to the door. You scramble to chase him out of his office and give in once you know that he's going to the main lab to check everything before he leaves.

Seungmin returns with Hyunjin and you hurriedly grab the bouquet you bought for him. You doubt he'll accept it but what's the harm in doing something nice?

Hyunjin pushes the button on the elevator and it arrives in a minute. Not giving him a chance to reject your gift, you wait until the last moment to give it to him.

"Congratulations on your wedding anniversary, Professor," you mutter as quickly as possible, handing the bouquet right into his hand.

Seungmin looks at the flowers in his hand, then looks at you, seeming like he wants to say something but refrains.

"Congratulations, Professor!" Hyunjin also congratulates him as he stands next to you.

"Have a great night!" He cheerily adds with a bright smile and enthusiastically waves his hands at him.

As the elevator doors close, you feel like letting go of something that you can't get back. It's funny that it feels like that when he's not yours in the first place.

The hand rests around your shoulder and snaps you out of your head. You turn your head to find Hyunjin slyly smiling at you.

"Ready to party?" 

-

The parent is finally out of the house and Hyunjin can throw a party in the house.

As promised, he brought a box of things that he deemed as ‘essentials’ that he's been keeping it hidden in the cabinet in the pantry.

"Okay, impress me!" You tell him, standing across the table to see what he bought for tonight.

Hyunjin puts on a cocky smile, he's confident with what he does as he places the box on top of the counter with a low thud. First, he takes out all the bags of chips and cans of soda.

One corner of your mouth curls higher than the other, seeing that he bought all of your favorite snacks. You take a bag of chips and waste no time to tear it open.

"Not the time to be impressed yet," he says to you with the cocky smile still dancing on his face.

You shrug and continue munching on potato chips as he introduces you to the other essentials.

Hyunjin takes a bottle of Tequila next and you respond with a nod of approval. He continues with another one, a tin can, and slides it in front of you.

"Mints?" You ask in utter confusion.

This time, Hyunjin gives you a shrug. He makes you open the tin can to find two rolled joints inside. He sees another smile of approval rise on your pretty face.

Hyunjin suppresses his laugh as he fishes out the last thing, he holds it in his hand and puts it in the middle of the counter.

Your eyebrow raises at the sight of a box of condoms, "This is essential?" 

Hyunjin rests both hands on top of the counter, "If you want to do it raw, I'm more than okay with it," he jokingly says.

You pick it up and observe it like you have never seen it before, reading the back of the box like it’s a foreign object to you.

"Regardless we'll have sex or not, a condom is essential," Hyunjin adds.

You snort when you notice something on the box of condoms, "Are you sure you bought the right size?"

He snatches it from you and puts it back into the box. He stares at you and says, "You have no idea what's coming to you."

You chortle at his words and uncap the bottle of alcohol, "Let's get this party started, shall we?"

He stops from you from getting the bottle of Tequila, "No, wait, wait, now is the time for you to be impressed," he says.

You tip your head to the side, "What?"

"I have Tim from security bring us pizza when he takes his shift tonight," Hyunjin announces with a pride smile.

The facility is in the countryside and ordering food is hard because it takes at least half an hour to get here, even if they are willing to go that far, the food gets cold by the time they get here.

"Now, I am impressed," you remark with a sly smile.

As a start, you both have a few shots of Tequila before mixing it with soda and drinking it from your respective mugs. The party continues in the main lab as Hyunjin has to message Seungmin on the current status. Hyunjin chooses to send a text instead of calling, afraid that he interrupt the romantic dinner.

Hyunjin glances up from his phone to find you leaning against the desk, reading something on the computer. With your lab coat off, he can see the way you are dressed for tonight. Not sure if it's because of what he asked but you indeed dressed nicely tonight. You wear a blouse and a plaid skirt, and you rarely wear a skirt to work, but the one that intrigues him is the black tights you're wearing.

Fuck leaving so little to the imagination, he likes having a lot of imagination when it comes to you. He can imagine a lot of scenarios just from seeing the way you bend against that desk.

You take a small sip of your alcohol then look over your shoulder, "Do you know why I can't open this file?"

Hyunjin immediately comes to your aid, standing behind you until his chest meets your back and maneuvering your hand that is holding the computer mouse instead of doing it himself. His head hanging next to yours to find out the problem of why you can't open the file and he discovered that it's locked.

"You need an access key to open this," he simply answers.

"You're saying Professor Seungmin is the only one who can access the file?"

He quietly gulps air before answering your question, "Yes."

You turn your head to the side to look at him and he can't keep his calm when your lips are only inches away from him.

"Can we have that joint now?" You sweetly ask with your alcohol-tinted breath brushes his lips.

He softly smiles and answers, "Of course."

Hyunjin lights up the end of the rolled joint and takes a drag, passing it to you after while letting out a long curl of white smoke out of his mouth.

"Why do you think he locked it?" You ask as you take the joint from him.

"I don't know," Hyunjin honestly answers with a shrug, "Maybe it's his new project or something."

You take a long, slow drag and pursed your lips as you exhale the smoke, filling the room with the sweet-smelling smoke.

"I found it in among the data files of previous tests," you tell him, passing the joint to him.

You turn around to face the computer again to show him where you find the locked files, "See?"

It's supposed to be a fun night and discovering what's inside that locked files isn't a part of the plan. Hyunjin needs to intervene so when you're about to take your turn to smoke, Hyunjin keeps it tugged between his teeth and rolls his chair away from you.

"Hey!" You shout in complaint.

"Puff and pass!" You remind him of the unwritten rule of smoking pot.

Hyunjin shakes his head and reclines on his chair, "Come and get it," he says, smoke escapes his mouth as he speaks.

Once you come close enough, he pulls you until you topple and have you sitting on his lap. You don't seem to mind, you get comfortable instead, resting your back on his chest and let his arms wrapped around you.

You take the smoke from his mouth and finally take your turn, "You think he'll be back soon?"

Hyunjin's forehead wrinkled at your random and sudden question, "Professor Seungmin?"

"Yeah," you answer, handing the joint back to him.

He takes it from you but keeps it between his fingers, "Uhm... I don't know. Rich people tend to take their dinner seriously, they probably have a full-course dinner, and after that... sex," Hyunjin emphasizes the last word.

He then takes a quick drag and looks the other way to exhale the smoke, "God, I hope he gets laid. Man needs to lighten up!"

He passes the joint to you even though there's not much left of it but you refuse by shaking your head. He finishes it and throws the butt into his empty can of soda.

"Don't worry. We'll have time for a foreplay or two," he jokingly says with his hand rubbing down your arm.

You laugh at that and his body shakes along to your crisp laughter. You turn your head and there it goes again, your lips merely inches away from him.

This palpable sexual tension... Hyunjin can't take it anymore yet he does nothing but keeps staring at your face.

"Are you going to keep staring and not kiss me?" You say but it seems like you're reading his thoughts out loud to him.

You take his glasses off and toss them away, "Or do I have to do it for you?" 

Your hand curves around his neck and you angle his head towards you, not hesitating to lean in first to kiss him.

Hyunjin always thought that when the two of you kiss, he imagined it would be romantic but it's not, it feels way better than that. It feels natural and familiar like he has kissed you a thousand times, like your lips belong to be kissed by his lips.

And you know what? Fuck romantic kisses.

Hyunjin wants kisses that feel right like this, tightening his hold around you and engulfing you in his warm embrace as he deepens the kiss. The more he kisses you, the more he can't stop, and worse is, you keep trying to quench his endless thirst.

The sound of his phone ringing shatters the intense moment, he keeps kissing you and mutters against your lips, "Let's pretend none of us hear it."

You chuckle and slowly pull away, "It could be Professor Seungmin," you say, then console him with a quick peck on the lips.

"Mmh... 'kay," he heavily sighs.

Hyunjin reluctantly reaches for his phone on his desk while his other arm is still wrapped around you, not letting you get off his lap. He accepts the call right away and talks on the phone, it's Tim from security telling him his pizza is here. He ends the call with another sigh.

"I have to go and get our pizza," he pouts at you.

"Then go and get our pizza," you simply resolve.

Hyunjin holds you close and allows himself to plant a kiss on your neck. He stays there for a moment with his head buried in your neck, getting himself drunk in your heavenly scent.

After a moment, he forces himself to let you go, "Guess I have to go," he says in defeat.

You take that as a cue to get up from his lap and immediately smooth down your skirt, "I'll be waiting here."

Hyunjin ties his hair into a messy bun and takes his phone with him, in case Seungmin is going to call him to ask for the current status.

"Don't go anywhere, okay?" He warns you.

You lean your hips against the desk and take a sip of your alcohol, "Okay."

Hyunjin heads to the door and then turns around by the doorway, "We'll continue the kiss when we get back."

You manage to not spit your drink and swallow it before answering, "Okay."

Impulsively, Hyunjin rushes to you and places a long peck on your lips. He then breaks into a run, not giving you time to change your mind about continuing the kiss.

-

It's going to take at least 20 minutes for Hyunjin to pick up the pizza to and fro.

As you wait for him, you're going to your desk to check on a few things, and then you see Seungmin's office and get intrigued to get in there. You're not going to steal anything, you just want to take a look around and perhaps, get a few hints on what Seungmin is working on.

You've seen the books on his shelf one too many times so you come to his desk because that's where you usually get any hints. It's either something he randomly jot down on his notebook or the journals he's studying.

Seungmin happens to have a stack of them on his desk, you're going through them one by one, only reading the front page to see what it's about and moving on to the next one. However, between those scientific journals, you find a different file. You open it to see that it's a lease statement whether he wants to continue the contract for another year or not.

The first thought that comes to your head is that maybe Seungmin bought a nice beach house as a wedding anniversary gift but why did he rent it? He's more than capable of buying a property, especially a house with only one bedroom that—

Wait, what if they've been living separately? You check the address and find that the conclusion is rather implausible. It's two hours of drive, commuting from there and here would be tiring. 

The faint sound of the elevator chimes open can be heard from his office, it seems like Hyunjin has returned from picking up the pizza. You tidy up the stack and put them back where they belong, then quietly leave his office. You can hear Hyunjin calling for your name.

You jog to meet him in the pantry, "Smells nice!"

"Where were you?" He asks, opening the fridge to get another bottle of soda.

"Bathroom," you lie since it’s easier then refill his mug with more alcohol and Hyunjin pours soda after.

It must be the effect of the recreational drug you smoked earlier that makes the pizza taste exceptionally delicious and the next thing you know, you already ate three slices of them. Hyunjin has been so quiet and it's because his mouth is full of food. He smiles at you as you catch him taking a big bite out of his pizza.

"Hyunjin eats so well!" You coo, addressing him in the third person and poking at his cheek with your index finger, treating him like a little baby to annoy him.

"Do you have any memories you want to erase?"

The question just sort of pops into your head and you are kind of curious to know his answer. You pick up another slice and alternate it with a sip of your spiked soda in between bites.

Hyunjin slows down his chewing, he puts down his pizza slice to grab his drink, and takes an earthly sip, "Maybe that one time I pissed my pants during the school field trip," he answers.

"How old were you?"

"Second grade."

You take a small bite of your pizza and ask, "What happened?"

"I got bitten by a spider," he answers.

"And how did you piss your pants?"

"Because I'm afraid of spiders," he innocently answers.

You burst into laughter and have a hard time swallowing your food after, you wash it down with your Tequila soda to help.

"But I'm not sure I wanted to erase it though," Hyunjin adds, adding more alcohol to his mug.

You give up on finishing your pizza slice and put it back in the box, "Why is that so?"

"That day, I found out I'm allergic to spider venom," he answers.

You scrunch your nose in perplexity because it's bad experiences, one after another and he chooses not to erase it,

"Why not?"

"Then I would forget that I'm allergic to it," he simply answers.

You don't get enough explanation from him so you keep looking at him with a questioning look on your face.

"What if I get bitten by a spider again and I don't have the knowledge that I'm allergic to spider venom?" Hyunjin lays out a scenario for you.

"Well, yeah..." you nod in agreement as the logic in his answer registered into your head.

"I could have died," Hyunjin dramatically adds with a squeeze on your shoulder.

"I get it, I get it," you answer, half chuckling at him.

Hyunjin takes a long sip of his drink and gasps once he swallows it all down. He leans on the counter and leaves not so much space between your faces.

"But think about it..." he says.

You nod, ready to listen to what he's about to say.

"Life would be boring if we only remember the good memories," he says.

That simple notion speaks so much and when you think Hyunjin couldn't be more profound than that, he comes with another remark.

"There wouldn't be good moments in the first place without the bad ones too."

Hyunjin lets a moment pass in silence to let those words sink into your head and you're indeed still processing them. He makes a good point that you can't add anything to that. You can't believe that Hyunjin has left you speechless.

But looking at the test subject, going through the procedure to have their bad memories erased doesn't mean that they're being cowardly. They have must thought these things through before deciding to volunteer as a test subject.

“But when you look at babies, they’re so pure and free because they come into this world with no memories. And adults are… a mess. They’re sad, depressed, and anxious and have phobias, and Professor Seungmin, he makes them all go away,” You deliver your opinion.

Hyunjin nods in agreement and that regardless of everyone’s stand on whether they want to erase their memories or not, the work all of you are doing here helps people.

-

"They're on their sixth, yes," Hyunjin speaks into the phone as Seungmin calls the office for a status check.

"Vitals?" He glances at you.

You hurriedly hover to the other end of the desk to check and give him a thumbs-up.

"Pulse rate, respiration, BP, all stable," he informs.

The call ends in the next second and Hyunjin places the handle of the phone down, he leans against the desk, panting as if he has just run a mile. It seems like you both have sobered down after munching on pizza together. You exchange a look at each other and break into a smile at the same time.

"Card game?" Hyunjin offers.

"Sure."

You can taste the imbalance of the alcohol and juice ratio you put into your mug but you need it to fuel yourself for the card game.

Hyunjin shuffles the card in his hands and splits the deck into two even stacks, he pushes one at you and draws the other closer to him.

"Whoever draws the smaller card value, loses," he explains the game rules.

You take a gulp of your drink and ask, "And when I lose...?"

He ties his hair into a ponytail and puts his hand on top of his card stack, "Whoever loses has to take a piece of their clothing off," he says with a devilish smirk that makes him more attractive.

It's obvious that Hyunjin has been wanting to play this game, the excitement is drawn on his face and somehow, it makes him more adorable, you can't help but smile.

"Are you sure you split the card evenly?" You jokingly accuse.

"You're welcome to shuffle your cards if you want," Hyunjin calmly responds, then sips his canned soda.

You laugh at how he gives you the side eyes, "When do we start?"

"Eager, are we?" Hyunjin says that it's him who's been anticipating this.

Hyunjin rubs his hands together before placing his hand on top of his deck of cards and pinches a card in between his fingers.

"Ready?" He asks.

You slide the cards down the table and intensely look at each other before turning it over, revealing the cards at the same time. A gasp escapes your mouth as your 7 of Heart card beats his 2 of spades. You prop a hand under your chin and wait for him to do his punishment as he lost this round.

It doesn't faze him, he takes his sweater off and tosses it onto the empty chair next to him. He's wearing a plain white t-shirt underneath and he rolls the short sleeves up to his shoulders, exposing the muscles on his arms.

The next round is won by Hyunjin as his 9 of hearts card beats your 6 of spades. You calmly take your blouse off and hang it on the back of your chair.

Your Jack of Diamonds forces Hyunjin to remove his t-shirt next and you didn't expect him to have a toned body considering that you always find him sitting on his chair and working in front of the computer. You try not to be obvious that you're ogling him but he catches you looking already, so...

"And you've been hiding that under your oversized clothes?" You poke fun at him.

He coyly shrugs in response to you and tidies his deck of cards, "Want to switch decks?"

It seems like a trap because your cards have been doing good and switching decks may switch your luck too.

"No. I like my cards," you refuse his offer with a smile.

He shrugs again and this time, his Jack of Clubs won against your Ace of Diamonds. He triumphantly smiles and crosses his arms watching you getting off your chair to unzip your skirt. You take a step away from the counter to shimmy the skirt down your legs. It feels wrong to be this exposed in the pantry of your workplace.

"You sure you don't want to switch?" He offers again with a lopsided grin.

It's tempting but you trust that your cards will bring you luck, you shake your head and take another card from the top of the stack.

"How about I reveal my card first?" Hyunjin daringly offers.

"Okay, sure," you coyly agree, letting him flip open his card first.

His long fingers are holding the edge of the card and at once, he turns it over, revealing a 9 of hearts. It is supposed to be easy to get a card higher than that. Oddly, you suddenly lost the confidence you had in your cards a minute ago. You put on a calm face and flip the card, not looking at it until you let go of your hand.

"Fuck!" You lowly curse at your 7 of clubs.

You let out a low sigh as you’re about to do your punishment and reach your hand to the back to unclasp your bra. You maintain eye contact with Hyunjin as you let the bra straps slide down your shoulders. In one swift moment, you take the bra off and let it join your pile of clothes on the back of your chair. You lean back and see Hyunjin smiling ear to ear.

"Christmas came early for you, huh, Hwang Hyunjin?"

It doesn't even bother him that you called him by his full name which he dislikes. He's enjoying his triumph, his tongue is slightly sticking out on the corner of his mouth as he smiles.

"I think it is," he says.

Instead of showing him your defeat, you feel motivated to win the next round. You put all of your hair to one side and lean onto the table, slapping the next card on the table.

"Want to raise the bet?" You challenge him.

One of his eyebrows raises in intrigue, "What are you proposing?"

"Whoever loses next has to take two pieces of clothing," you answer with a daring smirk.

It's a fair game since Hyunjin has only his jeans and his underwear on and so are you, with your tights and underwear.

"Let's raise the bet," Hyunjin calls to your bluff.

"I'll reveal my card first," you dare yourself even though you have no idea what card you're keeping under your hand.

"Be my guest," Hyunjin delightfully says.

You hold his gaze and flip the card, surprising yourself with a Queen of hearts. You can almost taste that sweet victory knowing that Hyunjin needs a King to beat your card. However, Hyunjin is looking nowhere near your card and you know well enough where he is looking.

You purposely lean forward on the table, presenting him a clearer view of your chest then tap your fingers on the table, "Ground control to Major Tom!" You summon his consciousness back to reality.

After a while, he finally looks away and immediately takes a sip of his can of soda to gain some sense back into his head.

"It's your turn," you remind him, propping a hand under your chin and waiting for the grand reveal.

Hyunjin clears his throat and puts his focus back on his card, he's fiddling with his card. He realizes that he's in a predicament.

He holds the card in his hand and tosses it upward, showing a Jack of Heart which means you won this round. You take a sip of your drink in celebration and victory indeed tastes so sweet.

Hyunjin reluctantly gets off his chair, he finishes his can of soda first before reaching for the waistband of his jeans. He begins by unbuckling his belt then slowly, he unzips the fly of his jeans and it's instantly loosening around his dainty waist.

"Wait, wait," you abruptly interrupt him from his stripping show.

You get off your chair and lean your side against the counter, "On a second thought... you can keep your pants on," you say.

Hyunjin looks rather flabbergasted by the turn of the event, he stands there with his jeans hanging open, "You can't do that!" He protests.

You calmly sip your drink and reply, "Oh, yes, I can."

Hyunjin rests his hands on the counter and looks at you, "You have to see!" He insists with his eyebrows furrowed.

You shake your head and pretend to not care, "Nah. I'm losing interest."

He takes a step closer at you, "Once you see, you will be interested," he boldly remarks with a cocky smirk.

You scoff and put down your empty mug, "Still not interested," you shake your head again.

Hyunjin inhales air and places his hands on each side of his waist, "You have to see!"

"No!" You refuse while half laughing.

You see Hyunjin about to take another step toward you but before he can do that, you turn to leave the pantry.

"You have to see!" He shouts as he follows you.

"No!" You shout back and immediately break into a run. 

You're squealing as he chases you but you know well enough that you will likely lose against his long legs. That doesn't stop you from running, holding your breasts with your hands as you make a turn in the direction of the staff lounge and Hyunjin catches you right as you're about to enter.

With the absence of lights, you can see the glimmer of the city lights from afar.

Hyunjin pushes you to the wall, he grabs both of your hands and pins them above your head as he presses his nose into your ear.

"I got you now," his breath feels hot in your ear.

When you tilt your head to look at him, his lips immediately capture you in a kiss, a kiss that consumes you whole and makes you feel hot all over.

He drops your hands around his neck and that way, he can freely roam your body, feeling the smoothness of your skin under his fingertips.

He puts his arms around you and draws you impossibly close while his mouth is busy lathering yours, his tongue is prying open your mouth, wanting to taste you more and more.

As much as you want to keep kissing him, you have to let go to catch some air and fill your lungs with oxygen.

Yet Hyunjin uses the opportunity to kiss you somewhere else, dragging his plush lips down the column to your neck, and from there, he starts a trail of kisses down your front.

He kneels in front of you with his fingers tugged at the elastic band of your black tights, he looks up at you and in the dark, you can see his eyes like two gleaming marbles.

Slowly, he pulls the tights down and you hear the faint whimpers escaping his mouth as he keeps pulling it down your legs.

The silence that hangs in the room only intensifies the tension, it's so quiet that you can hear your ragged breath as Hyunjin successfully takes your tights off.

He keeps looking at you with his wide, lustful eyes as his hands climb up your legs. He slowly leans in, landing a soft kiss on your inner thigh to earn a low whimper out of you.

Wanting to hear that soft whimper again, Hyunjin places another kiss on the other one, higher and closer to where you want him the most.

Just like he reads through your mind, Hyunjin drags his mouth higher and kisses your clothed core. You grab a fistful of his hair as he presses another kiss with his nose rubbing against your clothed core and then he softly inhales air.

The breath he lets out between your legs feels hot and it sets your body alight with desire yet you feel more alive in this heat.

Hyunjin opens his mouth wider and takes more of you, his wet mouth dampens the thin fabric of your underwear and all you can do is whimper at how erotic this very scene is.

Then he stuck his tongue out and starts to trace your clit through the fabric, repeatedly running his tongue in circles that it begins to pulsate under his slick tongue.

Your legs are wobbling and you can only hold onto his head and shoulder to keep you steady as he keeps his mouth buried between your legs.

Impatient to taste you, Hyunjin puts your underwear to the side and lifts your leg, putting it over his shoulder so he can dive deep into your wetness.

You keep your back close to the wall with your hands in his dark locks, tugging at it when the pleasure gets too overwhelming.

"Oh!" You gasp as Hyunjin inserts one digit inside you and not long after that, he adds another digit.

His fingers and mouth are moving in sync to give you immense pleasure, making the knot in your stomach tighten and your hands tugging harder at his hair.

Unknowingly, your hips start moving against his mouth, riding his face as you please as your hands keep his head between your legs.

"I'm close, oh, I'm close!" You breathlessly tell him with your eyes barely focused on him.

Hyunjin opens his mouth wider and runs his tongue between your folds before sucking on your clit, taking you to your high so that a loud moan falls out of your open mouth and echoes in the room.

Mischievous, Hyunjin teases you by touching your sensitive bundle of nerves, lightly circling it with only his fingertips.

"You're having fun, huh?" You look down at him and gently twist his ear as a way to get back to him.

In the dim light, you can see he's grinning at you with his face wet around the mouth from your essence. You pat his head and place his hand on the strap of your underwear.

"Help me take this off, mmh?" You seductively ask, turning around on your feet to face the wall.

Hyunjin wastes no time tugging his fingers on the waistband of your underwear and pulls the soaked underwear down, then off your legs.

You shiver as his fingers lightly graze the side of your thighs and the back of your legs. As you press the side of your face on the cold surface of the wall, Hyunjin starts placing kisses on the back of your thighs and he goes upward.

Eventually, his mouth lands on your ass cheek and he playfully bites at it, letting out a laugh knowing that you enjoy it.

"Go ahead. Bite the other one," you encourage him with a laugh.

He's going to do it with or without your permission anyway as he immediately bites the other cheek. From there, he continues his trail of kisses up to the nape of your neck.

His arms around you, touching your body and kneading on your breasts as his mouth busy planting ferocious kisses on your neck and shoulders.

It's rather sensual that he pinned your naked body against the wall when he still has his jeans on yet you can feel his member poking through the fabric and rubbing against your rear.

"Mmh..." you hum as his fingers circle your nipple.

You turn your head to the side only to let him capture your lips in a hungry kiss where his teeth almost collide with yours.

"Ouch!" You yelp as he pinches on your nipple while he smiles in satisfaction.

You turn around to face him and put your arms around him, not worrying that you'll fall when you have his arms tightly wrapped around you.

Without breaking the kiss, you maneuver his body, pushing him in the direction of the sofa until he finds himself plopping down and you let yourself sit on his lap.

You take a moment to catch a breath and look at him, seeing him this up close, in this light, hit differently. With the moonlight shining through the big window and casting a glow on his head, Hyunjin looks so ethereal.

"You're so beautiful," Hyunjin says, taking the word out of your mouth.

You smile at his praise and lean in to deliver your gratitude with a kiss, a kiss that takes things further. As your lips are busy lathering his, your hand makes its way down his body and slides it into his boxer.

You delightfully hum against his lips as you wrap your hand around his swollen member which you take out of its confine, letting his erection sprung free.

With your own eyes, you can see how impressive his size is and glance at him, "Now I know you bought the right size," you mutter with a seductive smile.

"Told you," Hyunjin says with a sexy smirk.

You sit close to his crotch, wanting to feel his cock against your cunt and wetting it with your essence while you keep stroking at it.

"I uh..." Hyunjin's words trail off as you rub his tip with your thumb.

"Yes?" You breathlessly ask.

"I have to get the uh... I have to get the condom," he stammers, almost couldn't finish the sentence as you rub his tip between your folds.

"You said you're okay doing it raw with me," you tease.

He drops his head to the back and you can see him swallow air with the way his Adam's apple bobs in his throat. He then shakes his head, "Don't think that's a good idea."

You tip your head to the side and pout, "Why not? I'm on the pill."

Hyunjin shakes his head again, he stands firm on his principle even in the trying of times. You cup his jaw and then plant a long peck on his lips.

"Go get that condom," you mutter.

He slowly opens his eyes as you pull away from the kiss, "You're not going to change your mind, right?"

You softly laugh at his words and even though you feel bad to tease him more, you can't help yourself.

"Uhm... maybe, I don't know," you jokingly say with a shrug.

He grips at your waist and pouts, his lower lip jutting out more than his upper lip. He's so adorable that you can't stop yourself from pecking his lips again.

You get off his lap and sit on the sofa, "I won't change my mind," you tell him.

Hyunjin can't shoot up from the sofa faster, sending his jeans drops and pools around his ankle, he hurriedly kicks it away, "I'll be back in a minute," he says.

-

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[alexsoenomel]

Random Dean Winchester Headcanons:

Dean not letting you drive Baby. Too protective over his car. You would beg him but he would always say no. He let you once though – on your birthday – but ended up regretting when you almost crashed into a tree. 

He loved drinking coffee with you in the morning in silence. It was your morning ritual. Coffee and then everything else. 

Loved discussing music with you, especially during road trips. He would even let you pick the next song, just because he thought your taste was awesome. 

Being overprotective and possessive. If someone hurts you – they're dead. If someone flirts with you – they get a polite fuck off. If they continue? They get a punch in the face. 

He loved the way you would look at him whenever he would wear a suit. You loved pulling his tie and giving him a sweet little kiss before work, telling him how handsome he looked. 

He loved sleeping next to you. He loved the smell of your hair and how it lightly tickled his face. He also loved being the small spoon every once in a while – he felt safe next to you. He would still put his gun under his pillow though; old habits die hard. 

Dean loved when you would play with his hair, especially before bed since sleep deprivation was his best friend. 

Random dates. He loved taking you out on random free days. Dinners, drinks, star gazing, night drives – he loved spending time with you. 

He wasn’t much of a reader, but he loved when you would read him your favorite books. Sometimes he would read it to you, the sound of his voice was like a lullaby for you on bad days when you couldn’t sleep. You would use him as a pillow as he would read to you until your light snores filled the room. 

Arguing. You would argue mostly while working. You were both stubborn and impulsive so poor Sam always had to be the voice of reason. He wanted to keep you safe and you wanted to hunt.

Jealousy. You would get jealous. Dean was a good looking man and other women would try to get his attention and of course it never worked. He would just ignore them, but that still didn’t ease your jealousy. You would grow silent, anger written on your face and he would of course tease you, making the situation worse – for him.

“Be careful, she’s going to come and steal your man,” He told you once, after a waitress left her number on a napkin. 

“Be careful,” you started as you kicked him in the shin under the table, “next time I’m kicking you where you like my face the most.” He groaned in pain and Sam almost choked on his coffee. 

Bickering. Because he was a little shit and you were his little shit. Two sides of the same coin, actually. 

Kisses, lots and lots of kisses. He loved kissing every inch of you, taking his sweet time, slow, sensual and tortuous. You would whimper under him every single time. 

Holding hands. First time he held your hand was while driving home after a ghost almost took you out. He lectured you after Sam successfully burnt its bones, told you how reckless and stupid you were for jumping in front of him. Then he realized you almost died – the thought scared the living shit out of him.

He was a switch, plain and simple. Sometimes he loved calling you his dirty little slut, making you scream his name over and over, but other times he just wanted to admire your body as you would ride him. He loved when you were in control. 

Praise kink. That man loved being praised. “You feel so good, baby,” was his favorite. 

He would smile whenever you would call him handsome.

You were his sunshine, darling and sweetheart.  He would call you by your name only when he was pissed.

He loved you more than anything, but at the same time he thought he didn’t deserve you. 

You told him I love you first, drunk on whiskey after a successful hunt. Sam was sick that day, so it was only you and him. He didn’t say anything at first, instead he kissed you and took you home. He made love to you that night and between kisses the words slipped. “I love you too, sweetheart.” 

[junkdrawerfics]

Swan Sisters (Part 4)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Bella and Sister!Reader

Summary: You get dragged into dress shopping in Port Angeles with the girls, which turns out to be a good thing considering Bella is a magnet for danger! Jasper is not in this one cause it got too long!

Word Count: 3534

Warnings: some violence (self defense) and allusion to/attempted assault (Port Angeles scene) also possibly horrid writing, I've been up for 24 hours!

---

“How was the beach?”

You meet Bella at the door, fluttering around her hectically as she toes her boots off and shakes stray droplets from her coat. She hits you with a look, the ‘calm down before I walk right back out of here’ look. Smiling apologetically, you back off a few paces, though you can’t stop the habitual leg bouncing.

She obviously had something planned last night, when you talked about La Push. Waiting is not exactly your forte these days. After wasting a couple hours working, you called Alice, who hadn’t seen anything, a common occurrence when the wolves are involved somehow. So wait you did, not that it was easy. The living room is in a completely different arrangement than it was this morning.

“It was fine. It rained a bit, but everyone seemed to have fun. I think I convinced Angella to ask Eric out,” she recounts once she hangs up her coat and starts towards the living room.

“Really? Angella and Eric? Huh.” You never thought of that, but they do seem like a perfect pair. Eric’s not too crazy and Ang- Wait, she’s trying to distract you! Focusing back in you, you prod a little further, “Besides that, did anything happen? Any coincidental Jacob appearances?”

‘Coincidental’ because you know of Jacob’s little crush on your sister. If he heard about Forks kids showing up on the reservation, he’d probably show up out of pure curiosity.

“Yup.”

Hm, the shut out approach. Smart. Unfortunately for her, you are now undying, which means an eternal amount of stubborn snooping.

“How’s he?”

“Fine, Billy’s good too.”

“That’s nice.” You give her just enough time to sit down and reach for the tv remote before plopping down next to her, your next question spilling out, “What did you guys talk about?”

Bella rolls her eyes, “Are we playing twenty questions?”

“Until I figure out what you were planning last night before dad came in,” you reply, just as snarkily, “So?”

“Fine,” she huffs, “I got him to tell me about the legend behind why they don’t like the Cullens. Happy?”

“How’d you do that?” This question is just for fun.

A lot of fun, considering Bella goes positively red, pursing her lips in discomfort.

“I might have…flirted with him,” she mumbles, scratching the back of her neck.

Oh the poor boy. Being exposed to that so young, he’ll never be the same. And to think, Bella can actually successfully flirt! You can’t stop yourself from snickering, which makes Bella look even more miserable. 

“It’s alright, Bells.” You try to reassure her, but there’s no hiding the amusement in your voice, and she just glares at you. “Sometimes you just have to use your feminine wiles to get your way, you know?”

She groans, head dropping into her hands. Her voice comes out muffled when she growls, “I hate you so much.”

The laugh you let out is truly a cackle, completely evil in intent, “You could never.”

“I am this close.” She holds out her fingers, except they are pressed firmly together, which just makes you laugh harder.

It takes a moment for you to calm down again. It’s a good thing you don’t need air, otherwise you’d be gasping, ribs aching. But now you can laugh as much as you want, as long as you want. A weird perk, but one you enjoy.

“So,” you start again, wiping a nonexistent tear from your eye, “What did you learn?”

Bella shifts, just enough to cast you a sidelong glance. Her eyes, thoughtful, calculating, seem to look straight through you as she considers her words carefully. You wish she would just spit it out, but it’s not too hard to guess what she might be thinking.

“He said that the Cullens are some enemy clan, and that they have some treaty with the Quileutes that keep them off the reservation,” she finally explains, though her tone is clipped.

“An enemy clan, huh?” 

That makes sense. You get the feeling that there’s more to what Jacob said, something about what you are, but you don’t press further. Whether she figures it out or not, you’re not too worried anymore. Alice’s visions always come true, and your stubbornness alone will deter the more gruesome ending.

You look at her face. There’s no fear in her expression as she meets your gaze. So maybe he didn’t say too much. But there’s still something. She has to know something. You catch yourself, humming at the realization that you want her to know something.

Maybe the quicker she figures it out, the quicker that future will come true.

You give her knee a soft squeeze and push yourself back to your feet, “Whelp, I’m glad you had fun, Bells. You should talk to Jacob more often, he’s a smart kid.”

Her brow furrows, confusion flooding her face at your conspiratorial grin. With a quick wink, you dart upstairs, leaving Bella positively bewildered much to your own amusement.

---

Not much changes the days following the conversation. The weather gets a little sunnier, meaning the Cullens don’t go to school and you get a few off days with Jasper. Bella doesn’t mention their absence, much to your surprise.

It’s almost like things are normal for a little bit.

She even invites you to Port Angeles for prom dress shopping, which prompted the question-

“You’re going to prom?!”

And the subsequent answer.

“No.” Said with such disdain, you let it drop immediately.

Even so, that’s how you find yourself here, watching Angela and Jessica try on dresses while Bella stares out the window, lost in thought. It’s a good thing that you know the girls from your time in Forks High, otherwise this would be so awkward.

Maybe that’s why she just invited you, to spare herself the pain of doing it alone.

“I like that one on you, Ang,” you chirp, “Lavender is totally your color.”

“Yah?” She smiles meekly, looking down at herself.

“Totally! Don’t you think Bella?” You give your sister a hard elbow to the ribs, making her jump and glare at you before turning to her friend.

“Definitely, Angela, you look beautiful.” At least she’s trying.

The two more normal girls go back to fussing over their dresses. Watching them gives you a dull sense of nostalgia. It’s been so long since you’ve done something like this with humans. Since you’ve been able to.

“So, (Y/n), are you still dating Jasper Hale?” Jessica suddenly pipes up, eyeing you with poorly hidden jealousy.

Ah, that, you haven’t missed. Out of the corner of your eye, you catch Bella smothering a smug smile. Karma.

“I am,” you reply shortly.

“Is that weird?” She presses as she stares at herself in the mirror, messing with a pair of white gloves. “Ya know, since you graduated and he’s still in school?”

“No. I skipped a grade, so we’re about the same age.” Not even close, technically, but appearance wise it is. 

“Still-”

Thankfully, or unfortunately, she’s cut off by a sudden knock on the window. A group of men walk by, whooping and catcalling. Angela and Jessica flinch and shuffle away from the glass, faces twisting with discomfort. You frown, a sudden flare of anger flushes through you.

You jump in front of the girls, flipping the bird at the men as you bark a low, “Piss off!”

It doesn’t do much to damper their attitudes, since they’re probably too buzzed to notice the typically unnerving edge you carry as a vampire. Anger simmers low and hot in your gut. What happened to common decency?

“That is uncomfortable,” Jessica mumbles.

“But really cool, of you, (Y/n),” Angela murmurs, voice touched with awe, “Thanks.”

“Oh please, it’s only decent,” you grumble and slump back into your seat, “I can’t believe that.”

You’re tempted to go rip their heads off, but that wouldn’t look too good.

“It’s disgusting,” Bella agrees, looking just as frustrated.

You fall into a tense silence. It’s tense to you at least, but that’s probably because you’re watching the window like a hawk, as if they’ll come back at any moment. For their sake, you hope they don’t. Their death would not be pleasant. No, you’d make sure-

“What do you think of this one, Bella?”

Oh right, dress shopping. Probably not the best time to get swept up in murderous thoughts.

“It looks great.”

You snort. Is it possible to sound less enthusiastic? 

“You’ve said that about, like, the last five dresses,” Jessica says with a grimace-like smile.

Bella shrugs, “I thought they were all pretty great.”

Angela, who’s observant nature rivals even Edward’s, picks up on her reluctance easily, “You’re not really into this, are you?”

“I actually just really wanted to go to this bookstore.”

You perk up a little in interest, eyeing your sister, “A bookstore?”

She noticably avoids your stare as she nods. Curious. Maybe something to do with her talk with Jacob?

“Well let’s go to this bookstore of yours then! We’ll catch you girls at the restaurant?” A charismatic smile and they agree easily. You tug Bella up by her arm, though she quickly jostles out of your grip with a soft glare.

“You don’t have to come,” she grumbles.

“Hmmm, stay here dress shopping for a prom I’m not going to or accompany my twig-like sister around a dangerous town?” You pretend to mull it over, rubbing your chin theatrically, and Bella rolls her eyes. “I’m afraid I’ll have to go with the ladder. For your safety, of course.”

“I can hold my own.”

Swan stubbornness.

“A gust of wind could knock you over, Bells. Or worse, a nice patch of wet concrete.”

No need to remind her of all the times you’ve watched her trip on nothing. The girl was frightfully uncoordinated. Plus, you’d heard word of some strange “animal” attacks nearby. It’s safer if you’re with her.

Though the trip turns out to be mostly uneventful. You walk to a small store, Thunderbird and Whale Bookstore, who’s clerk gives you a weird look as you puruse the indigenous literature. Not completely abnormal, given your appearance. Just abnormal enough to make you wonder, not too abnormal that people ask. But the legends of their people definitely make you more conscious of your human habits. 

Breathe. In. Out. Blink. Shuffle.

Until he focuses on Bella as she comes up to him with a book.

You peer over her shoulder at the cover. Quileute Legends. Seems you right.

She shifts, blocking your sight as she tucks the book to her chest. With a quick thank you and goodbye, you’re back on the street. The restaurant shouldn’t be too far.

“So…Quileute legends?” 

“Yep.”

You huff, “You’re so boring sometimes, Bella.”

She meets you tick for tick, “You’re so annoying sometimes, (N/n).”

Unconsciously, you catch the sound of heavy footsteps down a nearby road.

“That’s my job,” you chirp, slinging an arm over her shoulders, to draw her close, just to be careful.

“I thought you’re job was to teach me about makeup and boys and all that,” she snorts back.

The footsteps get louder.

Pretending to be playful, you pull her hood up, synching it over part of her face, “What do you want to know, hm?”

Bella looks at you, glare equal parts amused and irritated, until she catches the faintest glimmer of unease in your eyes. You smile, but it’s forced, too stiff, unnarturally sharp. She grip the book closer to her chest. As you push her into an alley, she catches sight of the two men walking where you had. 

And they catch sight of the two of you. A glint sparks in their eyes. An all too familiar one. The hunt has begun.

“Keep walking, Bells, please.” You urge, voice tight.

Their gaze burns on the back of your neck, much like it had at the dress store, dripping with hunger. It brings back every memory of walking through Port Angeles alone. The fear, gripping your mace with white fingers, keys held like claws in your other hand. All because men like them think they are entitled to touch touch touch-

Rage simmers up your throat.

Any other day you could show them what that fear is like. How it feels to be hunted. But you’re too aware of Bella tucked under your arm, one hand curling around your wrist so tight, it would break if you weren’t made of marble. She would see. As much as you want her to know, this is not how you want her to figure it out.

So you clamp down on the rage. Dismembering them might not be the best solution anyways.

Though it sounds more appealing as you step out of the alley and watch the last of the drunken men slither out from the shadows. Disgusting snakes. They were waiting for you.

“Hey, where you running to?”

“There they are.”

Bella flinches, and you envision their blood spilled over the pavement, fizzling alongside their beer. Something inside you craves it, longs to see these men wounded in the same way they hurt young women. But you keep it locked down. Not yet. Not unless it’s necessary, you snarl to yourself.

“Stay close to me, Bella,” you murmur, arm like a metal guard around her shaking, frail shoulders. 

The girl merely nods. Her eyes are wide, unblinking, like a china doll.

You will protect her. At all costs.

Head kepts low, you try to force yourself forward, through the men, but they close in like vultures around you.

“Woah, woah, woah, where are you going?” 

“Yah, why don’t you hang out with us?” They chorus in agreement.

Your eyes dart around, looking for any way to escape. There’s maybe ten men, and you feel your throat tighten with each step they take towards you. With each step, Bella’s heartrate spikes, panic flickering over her features. You pull her impossibly closer.

You go rigid when a scorchingly hot, sweaty hand gropes your butt. Snarling, you slap it away, disgust burning a pit in your gut.

“Don’t you dare touch me,” you warn, though your eyes flicker between their identical, sickening smirks, unable to tell who did it. If Jasper were here, they’d all die for it. They still might.

“Oh, she doesn’t like that.”

“Feisty one, eh?”

“What about this one?”

Everything slows down for just a split second.

Another reaching hand, palm covered in sweat and beer, nails rimmed with dirt, skin smudged with oil. Ready to touch. Ready to take whatever it wants. Reaching for your sister.

Fast - too fast - you block his way. Bella gasps almost inaudibly behind you, but you’re too distracted as you catch the man’s wrist. His face goes stark white at your crushing grip, and it’s like the clouds clearing, his eyes setting on you for the first, real time. The fear glinting in their depths gives you a sick sense of satisfaction.

“Keep your disgusting, filthy hands off my sister,” you hiss slowly and give his wrist a deft twist.

The satisfying pop paired with his pained yelp is music to your ears.

Alongside the sound of screeching tires.

Edward.

Bella barely has time to breathe as you shove her towards the Volvo as it skids to a stop, barely catches the imperseptible nod you give Edward as he steps out. Ignoring her sputtering, you push her into the front seat.

“What the h-”

“Just stay put,” you grumble and slide into the backseat.

You don’t watch as Edward approaches the men. You don’t care to see their faces again. If you do, you just might turn around and break the remaining wrists. Maybe that would keep them from laying their hands on any innocents again.

Eyes flickering shut, you let every muscle in your body go still. It helps somehow, like you’re resetting. You focus on the sound of Bella’s breathing, how it slows down, and how her heart eventually returns to a normal rhythm.

It picks up a fraction when Edward slips back in, slamming his door hard enough to make the car shake.

“Hold on tight,” you whisper, mostly to yourself.

Bella turns to look at you, but gasps and clutches at her armrests when Edward whips right out of the lot. The man drives like usual, like he’s trying escape the depths of hell. This time, you don’t give him grief for it though.

“I should go back and rip their heads off,” Edward snarls, fingers going somehow paler around the steering wheel.

“No. Bad idea-”

“Sounds good to me-”

Bella shoots you a glare. With an unapologetic shrug, you turn to watch the trees race by. They might not have hurt the two of you, but there’s no doubt in your mind that they’ve done the same thing to some other poor soul. They deserve to rot.

“You don’t know the vile things they were thinking.”

You resist the urge to slap your forehead. Or him.

“And you do?” Bella’s brow furrows.

Cover it up, cover it up, you idiot.

“Not hard to guess.”

Better than that, Edward.

The glare he sends you through the rearview mirror is remarkably similar to your sister’s. They really will make a lovely match. Good thing they can’t have kids, what with the amount of disapproval they can put together. 

“Good thing you were visiting Port Angeles, huh Edward?” You tease with a lecherous grin pointed right back at him.

“You were just…visiting.” Bella’s voice rings with suspicioun.

Edward grinds his teeth, “Yup. Visiting.”

The word is slowly losing all meaning. 

You settle back into your seat as an awkward silence fills the cabin. If you didn’t know better, you would think Edward was just another inexperienced teenager, new to the whole love thing. Though, he still looks ready to murder those guys, based on his black glare barely focused on the road.

Remembering them brings back a new feeling. Not fear, but a remanent, the faintest lingering of anxiety that makes you grit your teeth. Dread maybe, because you can’t help but wonder - what if it happened a year ago? It’s pointless, you know, but there’s no banishing the images that come to mind.

Something hollow opens in your chest as you shake your head, as if that will dislodge them.

Edward glances back at you again. His gold eyes crease with concern, but ignoring him seems better than admitting to something so stupid. You’re a vampire now, nothing like that will happen. Instead, you let thoughts of Jasper fill your mind. His smile. His eyes. Anything to keep you distracted until you’re in his arms.

Bella must tell Edward where to go, because the next thing you know, you’re pulling up to the restaurant you were meant to meet Jessica and Angela at. They are barely walking out the door as you park. Bella jumps out, probably to greet them, and Edward goes to follow, but you stop him with a hand on his elbow. Gold eyes flash back to meet yours, still concerned and questioning.

“Thank you,” you all but whisper, squeezing his elbow gently.

His features soften, a small, genuine smile flashing over his lips, “Go. I’ll take care of Bella. Alice told Jasper about tonight, he needs you just as much right now.”

Those words wash over you like a warm tide. Somehow, the thought of Jasper in a rage over your safety, despite you being almost stronger than him now, makes you feel a little better. His protectiveness almost matches your own, though yours spans to practically everyone around you.

Speaking of. 

You slip out of the car and give Bella one last once over. She looks…okay. No bruises. No lingering fear. Like it never happened. Satisfied, you nod to yourself and pull her into a tight, almost crushing hug. She jumps, wheezing out a soft laugh.

“I’m fine, (Y/n).”

“I know, I know. Just, stay with Eddie, okay? He’ll get you food and take you home.”

Bella frowns, “Where are you going?”

“To see Jasper.” You offer her a guilty smile, though she nods her understanding. “Eddie called him right before he got to us, so he’s freaking out a little.” Another nod. “Love you, Bells.”

“Love you, too.”

One last squeeze and you pull away, offering the two other girls a short wave, “Night girls, get home safe, alright?”

“You too, (Y/n)!”

“It was nice seeing you again.”

As you turn to leave, you hear Bella flip on her heels, laughter in her voice, “Eddie?”

Edward’s following groan casts off the last of your dark clouds. You’ll pay for that somehow, you’re sure, but it’ll be totally worth the pure enjoyment it brings you. He hates it when you call him that. Almost as much as Bella hates it when you call her Tinkerbell. Another match.

The silver lining of this all is that you have a convenient reason to leave them alone together.

And based on the events of the night, Bella will probably have more questions than Edward can answer without lying. Plus the book. Everything’s lining up, it’ll just depend on how much Edward outs himself!

---

Part 5 (ending)

I hope y'all enjoyed! The next part will likely be the last! And sorry if you missed Jasper in this part :( I try to keep my stories to below 4k words, so I decided to keep that for the next part.

@avadakadabra93

@glaciuswduo

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

How well do the sdv and sve bachelor/ette's flirt, and what styles of flirting do they have in your opinion? Hope you respond and enjoy writing your headcanon if you do :3

Hey hey, dear anon 👋 Thanks for your question! I enjoy writing headcanons and always glad to see you on my blog ☺️❤️

How well Stardew Valley/Stardew Valley Expanded bachelors/ettes flirt with the Farmer:

SDV bachelors:

Alex:

Flex. A lot of flex. Every time Farmer is around, Alex will lift heavy objects, thus showing off his muscles. Heavy? No, it's not hard for him to hold a huge crate at all! He repeatedly brags about his achievements in sports, but also doesn't forget to praise the Farmer for their hard work and looks. If Farmer gives the 'green light" for his flirting, Alex will move on to more classic things: small gifts, bouquets of flowers, walks on the beach, that sort of thing. Very nice of him, by the way. 6/10 - if he doesn’t praise himself often.

Sam:

In regards to flirting with someone, Sam gets a bit of a funny situation, which can be described by the phrase "Task failed successfully". Being inexperienced in love affairs, Sam often confuses words when he tries to flirt, or trips over an unfortunate rock in the road when he wants to approach Farmer. The young musician thinks to himself that his flirting is terrible and that he is clumsy. However, after much laughter, the Farmer thought Sammy was a very funny guy who would always make them laugh and they wanted to get to know him better. Task failed successfully! 5/10, although the flirting wasn't very good, it still worked!

Elliott:

If you think Elliott is going to seduce Farmer like in the book novels, you're absolutely right! But there is a little nuance. Yes, Elliott is a very well-mannered and sophisticated man, so his flirting, gifts and time spent will be the most romantic. However, a life of seclusion in a beach house has also made itself felt, and sometimes Elliott can forget that this is not a romance, but real life. So, let the Farmer get ready for small talk and nice walks in nature. Elliott will try to find an excuse to meet Farmer more often. 9/10, very good!

Sebastian:

Oh man, Sebastian's flirting.... is a bit of a mess. The young man was too shy and socially awkward to flirt with his object of affection in any way. He couldn't muster up the courage to show his past affection for Abigail, and it's more complicated than that. More often than not, and unknowingly, Sebby will smile and blush when talking to Farmer, avert his gaze, also more often invite them to his house to play board games or read comics. 3/10, sorry Seb, but that's not much of a flirt.

Harvey:

Yoba witnesses, Harvey tries his best, and, in principle, his flirting with Farmer turns out quite well. Not without flaws, of course, when he got a little nervous and confused, but quite acceptable and very romantic. The local doctor doesn't have much experience in love adventures, but he knows very well that the classics won't let him down if he wants to show his interest in the chaotic Farmer. 7/10, the key thing for Harvey is to keep his nerve (and not offer private medical check-up too often).

Shane:

Flirting is not Shane's thing. He has pretty low self-esteem and doesn't seem to care what most people think of him or what he looks like. Even if he gets the urge to try and start courting Farmer in some way, he stops himself most of the time. Unfortunately, Shane considers himself unworthy of their attention, like, who would want to socialise with someone like him. So the chicken lover will just throw dreamy glances at Farmer in the Saloon. Although, after a couple of beers, he does manage to flirt somehow (a bit vulgar, but still). 2/10, Farmer needs to make the first move themselves if they're interested in Shane.

SVE bachelors:

Lance:

No one knows whether it's a natural talent or whether Lance was taught a whole set of rules on how to flirt and behave in society, but this gallant man with a catty grin on his face is just a real master of flirting. Just like a noble knight in shining armour who came out of a chivalric novel. He knows perfectly well what levers to pull in order to gain the goodwill of the person he likes. Even if the Farmer doesn't mind flirting, but are an impregnable fortress, Lance is willing to spend a lot of time to conquer that fortress. 10/10, what a real romantic bastard.

Victor:

Behold - the smoothest man who can outdo even Elliott in his mastery of romance and very subtle flirting. Though a bit shy and introverted, Victor knows how to make the Farmer blush with a compliment (thanks to the many books on the subject in his personal library). Lots of walks, interesting and not too long conversations, dinner at the Saloon, or even sitting together at the game console. Victor chooses his complimentary words very carefully and watches the Farmer's reaction. If they don't feel uncomfortable, Victor continues. 8/10, this spaghetti man is full of surprises.

Magnus Rasmodius:

It had been a long time since Magnus had flirted with anyone, the last time he'd done so had been when he was younger... So it wasn't easy for him to remember everything he knew about love affairs, though even in his youth there had been only one affair, then marriage, then divorce, then.... Oh, well, that's just the way it is. Magnus is quite a romantic wizard, no doubt about it, but the hardest thing is to start flirting, especially if it's successful. It would help him to spend time together (a.k.a. magic lessons, thanks that Farmer has talent and is no stranger to Magnus). 4/10, c'mon Magnus, we believe in you.

SDV bachelorettes:

Leah:

Leah's main flirt is praise and shared pastime. Farmer very often becomes her muse for a future painting or sculpture, which, by the way, Leah then presents them. Collecting mushrooms and berries together, where the girl shares her experience in finding the best places with a lot of delicious gifts of the forest, she also repeatedly offers her help on the farm and praises their physical build. Leah is not shy about flirting, and if Farmer is single and doesn't feel uncomfortable during her flirting, the girl will continue until she achieves victory on the love front. 7/10, pretty good and confident flirting.

Penny:

Penny is a very sweet and kind girl, but she has zero ambition. She blushes too much and she almost always looks away or hides her face in a book if she sees Farmer, so it's an impossible task for a young teacher to approach her object of affection and start flirting. Her trouble is that Penny thinks she's a "grey mouse" who no one will pay much attention to, much less someone like Farmer. 0/10, I'm sorry Penny, but you have no flirting skills at all.

Maru:

Maru will look for any excuse to fix Farmer's broken appliances to get to know each other better. Broken recycling machine? Maru is already here, always ready to help them. In fact, she's always helped with repairs, but now her visits have become even more frequent. Mostly, the young inventor is a bit shy and rather timid when she tries to compliment the Farmer's appearance or clothes. She is sometimes afraid she might bore them with her chatter about her inventions. But if Farmer enjoys listening to a girl, she'll definitely talk all her ears off about science, and it will be much easier for her to flirt with them. 5/10, not too good but not too bad.

Haley:

Oh, Haley sure has a few tricks to get Farmer's attention on herself. After all, she was a star in high school and the centre of attention for many of her fans. Flirting is her thing. A subtle hint of wanting a relationship here, a successful praise there, a light conversation afterwards, a "chance" encounter here - it's a whole art for the blonde-haired girl. Also one of her best tactics is to be herself: to be nice, fun, and not to stay under the mask of a slightly spoilt and rude girl. Haley's tactics work, and Farmer has also started to take a liking to her. 8/10, there are a couple of flaws, but overall a quality flirt.

Abigail:

The amethyst lover's hints of flirting almost directly scream that she likes Farmer a lot. Recall at least her post 8 ❤️ event when she says that "Farmer must know what happened yesterday". But Abigail is going to start wooing them anyway, as she's not sure they've realized what happened yesterday after all. Constant compliments from Abby, also one of her main flirtations is her sketches of various fantasy characters, which she gives to Farmer. 6.5/10, not bad in principle but could be better.

Emily:

Honestly, I'm not sure Emily understands what flirting is at all. Well, she feels sympathy and a love interest for Farmer, but even when the two are officially a couple, Emily thanks them and refers to them as "good friend". "Friend", friendzone forever... Sure, she'll always compliment Farmer on their beautiful looks or their harmonious clothing choices, but it feels like she still refers to them as a friend. 1/10, I love you Emily, but you're not trying at all.

SVE bachelorettes:

Sophia:

Have pity on poor Sophia, she's having a hard enough time socialising as it is, and then there's the need to flirt! She has a very similar case as Penny, but unlike the red-haired girl, Sophia makes more attempts. Watching anime together, chatting about new manga, the latest from the video game world, etc... She also shares the most delicious snacks and sweets with Farmer, which is a big step considering how shy she is. This sort of thing comes across as just a friendly hangout, but Sophia tries to hint that she wants more than friendship. 4/10, she's really trying her best.

Olivia:

Need to say - Olivia is a bit of a contradiction in terms. This woman was a masterful flirt when she was younger if she really liked someone, and her skill hasn't faded over the years. The problem is simply that she's a widow, hasn't had a relationship since her husband's death, and feels that her flirting with someone (especially a younger person like Farmer) would constitute a betrayal to her late husband. If Olivia and Farmer work it out, the woman will quickly show the object of her affection what sophisticated and professional flirting is all about. 9/10, mommy- *ahem*, Olivia knows how to wow Farmer.

Claire:

Due to the fact that Claire is a rather quiet and shy girl (not as shy as Penny or Sophia) and her constant fatigue at work at JojaMart, flirting with Farmer is not easy for her. On the other hand, the young girl always feels a rush of energy when she sees her close friend (who has become her object of admiration). Claire doesn't have too many tricks in her flirting arsenal, but compliments and spending time together are assured. 5/10, not too bad, actually.

[storiesoflilies]

school bus love (4)

synopsis: a series of successes, but it can’t always be sunshine and rainbows, can it?

pairing: teen!toji fushiguro x teen!f!reader.

warnings: none.

a/n: i’m done with my exams and i’m freeee! to celebrate, i’ve dropped more lily lore hehe. apologies if this isn’t the best, i’m so so tired, but i really wanted to post today! enjoy my darlings xo

part 3 // part 5

toji fushiguro was an exceptionally hard nut to crack.

throughout the past two months, they had sent each other daily streaks. as per usual, she sent her usual quirky streaks to try and pique his interest. to her credit, it worked quite a number of times, as they’d had quite a few conversations over snapchat. they hadn’t been flirting, but it was still progress, and she was absolutely ecstatic every time she managed to crack toji’s enigmatic shell and draw him in.

however, they never spoke in person on the bus.

“you’re both bizarre,” her bus buddy had commented in private, rolling her eyes. “how can you snap each other every day and then not even speak actual words?”

she bit her lip nervously, swinging her heavy backpack higher onto her shoulder. “i don’t know! i’m too shy, maybe he is too?”

her bus buddy sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, clawing for her revision notes from somewhere inside her tote bag. exam season was in full swing, and having any sort of distraction was far from ideal. she was studying hard, but with thoughts of toji rippling in the back of her mind like a tantalizing fruit swinging high up on a tree, just out of reach.

she noticed that he often deflected the conversation back to her whenever she asked him slightly more personal questions. toji seemed to more interested in hearing about her old life back home, about the way of life and culture. while it was nice that he took an interest, his deflections and apparent unwillingness to reveal much about himself made her seriously doubt if toji had any sort of feelings for her.

chasing after him was maddening, and still so very addictive.

however, she had to decide when it was time to go cold turkey and cut her losses, but that time wasn’t just yet.

a movie was playing in the background as she peacefully lounged in the living room after a particularly long day at school. the rain hammered down outside, creating a pleasant hum of droplets hitting the roof, and she snuggled up further into the couch with her steaming mug of tea.

“so, how’s the handsome boy doing?” her mom suddenly perked up, sipping a glass of fizzy water. “the one at the bus stop.”

“oh, toji? we’re still talking.”

“you’re still just talking? he hasn’t asked you on a date yet?”

“mom, don’t. it’s exam time, i’m not thinking about that right now, and i bet he isn’t either.”

“alright, alright! i’m just saying, maybe you should take the initiative instead of waiting for him.”

she contemplated that with a finger placed thoughtfully on her lip. she’d always wanted to be asked on her first date, not the other way around, and it was a sentiment she wanted to hold on to for as long as possible. moreover, she wasn’t even totally sure that toji liked her back.

the plan had to shift; she had to step it up just a notch.

that night, after sending a picture of her midnight snack of avocado on toast and successfully attracting toji’s attention, she laid out the bare bones of a subtle plan. a plan that involved an indirect suggestion that should hopefully end with him asking her to see the latest avengers movie with him.

haha, so true. have you seen endgame yet?

toji fushiguro: nah not yet, wbu?

nah, not yet. i rlly want to tho 🙃

toji fushiguro: ah yeha, me and my friends are going on tuesday

well… fuck.

oh nice!! haha no spoilers though

toji fushiguro: hmm oh well now you mention it

toji fushiguro: nah, dw i wont i’m not that much of a dick haha

yeah lol, well hopefully i can see it before i go back home

that was a good nudge, right? it wasn’t too subtle. if he liked her, then surely he would take the initiative now.

toji fushiguro: oh when r you goin back?

a week after my last exam, can’t wait lol

toji fushiguro: i bet, it’ll be so much better than here

ah it’s not so bad here haha, wbu? what’s your plans for the summer?

toji fushiguro: so how hot does it get over there in summer?

she felt deflated, like a giant hot air balloon loosing all its shape and spluttering into a mess as it hurtled to the ground. why was toji so reluctant to answer such simple questions? it wasn’t like she was asking him to reveal the deepest, dirtiest secrets about himself. her heart was only half in the conversation after that, and she indulged his questions for a while before it fizzled out, like a sizzling party sparklers doused in an ice-cold splash of reality.

would this crush soon fizzle out in the same way too?

side note: i told my boyfriend i was writing this little drabble series about us, and his exact response was, “ew, why?” he doesn’t like to admit that we were cute. he’s a big grump, but i love him very much lol.

©storiesoflilies 2024, all rights reserved. please do not plagiarize, translate, or repost any of my work on other sites! i only post on ao3 and tumblr.

[dollfaced-erin]

I see you open for request, can I request how y/n(dan jia) meet the character? Because I want to know how we meet the character

Character : jing yuan, yingxing, jingliu and that fox lady. I forgot her name hehehe✌✨

Is it just open for scenario?

Definitely like your fanfic about dragon's cradle

I will wait for more update from the fanfic! ✨

I will request again if I have idea and your request is open :)

AWHH !! THANK YOU FOR REQ THIS !!

since this is very heavily reliant on canon events, everything in this scenario is just headcanons ! just for a little fluff <3

in this headcanon, Jing Yuan is already an adult. though i see many people referring Jing Yuan as a child in many mvs, but if im not mistaken, jing yuan was already a general before everything happened.

ONCE AGAIN ! i will replace the name Dan Jia with (Y/n), for more comfort, but this timeline was actually when Dan Jia was still 'alive'. But still, this is just a head canon, nothing too serious, so have fun !

OH ANOTHER THING ! i made dan jia/ (Y/n)'s horns blue for the sake of the story, and her powers are ice. She wields a crystal fan, and follows the path of abundance. Like Dan Feng, who is the Imbibator Lunae (drinker of the moon), (Y/n) is the Saltator Lunae (dancer of the moon), a name given to her due to the unforeseen fate of having two individuals that could inherit the dragon heart after successfully undergoing the Transmutation Arcanum.

Taglist ! : -

@rebeccawinters , @nayukiyukihira , @pix-stuff , @fluffy-koalala , @swivy123 , @starxao , @kaoyamamegami , @kimura-uzuri , @rsvye , @seikouryuu , @just-here-reading , @matsulovesyou , @sincerely-aaronette

"Jing Yuan, I want you to meet someone," the icy cold voice of his master entered her ears.

The practicing knight looked up from his place, looking to his right where his master in blue and white was standing. The sword that was strong in his grasp was let loosened as he stood straight, sheathing the sword into its scabbard.

Jing Yuan's golden eyes widened as he looked up. Behind his master was a young woman, who had similar features to the Imbibator Lunae he had grown close to. Not facial features, rather the unique features the dragon's predecessors have. The horns and the glowing (e/c) eyes, that brim with potential and power.

"This is (Y/n). Dan Feng's sister. She'll be training with me to hone her ice powers. It never hurts to learn more." Jingliu said, looking at the young lady behind her a hand gestured out for (Y/n). Jing Yuan blushed a little at the sight of the dragon lady before him. And it seemed that Jingliu noticed the gaze of her student.

"Jing Yuan. Be nice to her." "I'm always nice !" "No flirting."

Jing Yuan's face burst into a deep crimson shade. He was still a young adult., mind you. He was still pretty new with relationships. Future Jing Yuan would've probably pat his back and laughed at the shyness of his past self.

"Pleasure to meet you, I'm (Y/n), the Saltator Lunae." (Y/n) said, a light chuckle leaving her pink lips as she bowed to him. Jing Yuan's eyes widened and he bowed back. "J-Jing Yuan. Th-the pleasure is mine."

Though this is the first time he met this dragon lady who raised her head before him, this isn't the first time he's seen this lady. No, not when Jing Yuan remembers those (e/c) eyes that shone as brightly as the stars, and were as clear as glass.

The swordsmith was walking peacefully in the night at the bazaar, tired after a full day slaving by the fire, creating weapons with his own hand. Yingxing felt fulfilled more than anything, as he had the power to bring his creations to life. The soft gaze of the moon above him as if blessing him for all his hard work.

There was once, he received a commission unique to all other works. It was an odd request for a swordsmith like himself to create such an accessory, but since it was from a dear friend of that requested him to try, even going as far as to provide the materials, Yingxing thought that he might as well give it a shot.

In his hand, Yingxing held a beautiful glass hairpin he had molded with his own hands. The small accessory was embedded with stunning pearls and precious quartz, that was obviously hard to find from the exquisite quality. He felt almost saddened to part with it.

It almost felt...unreal to see the familiar shine of that...rainbow quartz shining beneath the moonlight. Yingxing reached out to it, but the said shine disappeared within the sea of residents of the Xianzhou ship. But he needed to find it, he needed to reach out, to see who was actually the beholder of that precious hair ornament.

Closer and closer Yingxing walked, pushing through the sea of people without harming anyone. His amber eyes scanned through the crowd, and came back in sight with the glass hairpin he had dedicated his soul into making.

A woman. A beautiful woman who had her hair held up with the beautiful stick made with the finest items. Yingxing reached out to the woman, his hand caught by the Imbibator Lunae who had a smirk.

"I knew you'd find her by the hairpin in her hair. Yingxing, meet my sister, (Y/n)." the High Elder said, and the woman beside him turned around, horns on her head.

Yingxing never knew that the hairpin he thought to be a failure at first was actually the most beautiful thing he has seen under the moonlight.

'Once...once again....again !' Were the things the master ice woman repeated in her mind time and time again as she swung her sword tirelessly. Who cares if her hands dripped with blood ? Who cares if her hands were sore from the splintered wood in her hands ? That's right. Not even Jingliu herself cared about it.

She kept swinging her sword towards the dummy. Time and time again she leapt into the air like a snowstorm, slashing her weapon infused with her ice powers, obliterating all the dummies she just had repaired. Jingliu was strong...but in her eyes, it wasn't strong enough, not precise enough...not fast enough.

Jingliu landed on the ground with a thump of her shoes beneath her feet, her expression filled with distaste and disappointment to herself. She cared not for the stinging in her hands, the blood dripping down and staining the stone pavement beneath her shoes.

"That's enough. Take a break." a soft and tender voice called out. Five slender fingers landed on her shoulder, snapping Jingliu out of her trance. She was quite disturbed to who had pulled her out of her zone, but as she turned behind, (e/c) eyes were staring deep into her red eyes.

"Your hands...wont be able to heal if you push yourself any longer without medical attention." the dragon lady said, peeling open Jingliu's hand, forcing her to drop the sword from her hands. Jingliu was so stunned by the sudden appearance of this woman, who she had never realized from earlier.

"Come. I'll heal your hands. And maybe you should take a break. Doctors always say that with a slight break, your body would be able to breathe and you'll be able to do better." the woman said, pulling Jingliu along with her, the tender and soft (s/c) hand holding onto her bloody and calloused hand.

"Who...are you ?" Jingliu asked the dragon woman before her, though she would be crazy not to know who this woman was with the horns on her head symbolizing her importance. And the woman smiled warmly and answered simply with a small smile. "My name is (Y/n)."

And as their friendship bloomed between the two ice women, Jingliu had been inspired by (Y/n)'s dances and elegance. And with that in mind, she had forged her signature move, earning her the name, Transcendent One.

(Y/n) gazed up to the sky, watching the starskiffs race around. She wished how she could have some freedom of her own. How free she would feel, in the sky above, travelling with the stars. She kept thinking about it, while sipping at the canned peach tea in her hands as she walked.

Her thoughts were cut short when she heard storming of boots and thumps her ears had recognized to belong to those in the Cloud Knights. And as she turned, there was indeed a group of 4 knights chasing after a purple foxian woman who was jeering at the knights who weren't able to catch up to her.

"Hah ! You thought !" the purple foxian said, looking back and pulling her tongue out at them. That was, until she turned front and realized there she was running into someone.

Without time and reflex to stop or to turn, Baiheng did the craziest thing she could ever do. Which was grab at the hand of the woman that was walking along politely like an average law-abiding citizen of the Xianzhou.

Baiheng pulled along the woman who was quite startled by the sudden pull and run, dropping her canned drink behind as she was suddenly pulled along. The drink fell from her hands and spilt onto the ground as the two of them ran.

"H-hey, wait !" "Sorry ! I'll make it up to you, I promise !" Baiheng exclaimed in pure horror, clearly not understanding her own reflex to pull along this innocent and clueless dragon woman with her.

"Anyway ! My name is Baiheng ! Pleasure to meet you !" the foxian said, flashing a bright, toothy smile to (Y/n) who laughed along with this cheerful foxian.

;;sorry if some of them weren't good,, i really didnt have much idea for them,,, i hope you had fun reading these !

[mermaidchan05]

Vesuvia Weekly: The Alchemist

Tangentially related, but hey, it works for @vesuviaweekly's "Is that... smoke?" prompt.

Set before the events of the game. Julian discovers that his magically-inclined apprentice has a talent for a certain element.

About 1600 words, brief mentions of the plague and how bad it was (since it's set in plague-times and all), but mostly fluff and awkward flirting. Featuring Julian and my apprentice Damian!

________________________________

Julian’s knock rang through the shop. Damian didn’t let that distract him. He was too busy working on another potion. He couldn’t let this one fail.

“Door’s open,” Damian called.

 The magic shop’s door was one of few in the city that remained unlocked. The plague had hit hard and fast. No one knew where it would strike next. Which was exactly why Damian was still awake in the dead of night. He’d tried as many concoctions as he could. He had no false hope that this one would be the actual cure. But he had to believe that it might at least help.

He was so focused on his work that he didn’t even look up. He couldn’t afford to. This was the part where he had to be the most careful. He had to keep the temperature exactly right, and managing fire magic so meticulously took a lot of effort and concentration. If he did it right, he might be able to successfully finish his project: a salve that could soothe those horrible red veins.

Or it might all just end up a pile of foul-smelling goo. Alchemy tended to be unpredictable like that.

“Damian, do you have a moment?” Julian’s familiar voice called as he slid through the door. “I have a few citizen reports that I can’t make head or tail—”

He cut himself off with a startled yelp. “Damian!”

Julian’s shout made Damian jump. His fire spell vanished, like a candle snuffed out. Smoke trailed from his fingers.

“What?” Damian cried. “What’s wrong?”

He turned to face Julian… only to find the doctor staring at him, open-mouthed.

“I… you… I thought you were… Damian, are you alright?” Julian stumbled. “You’re not hurt?”

Damian blinked at him. “Uh, no…? Why would I— ah, gods…”

In the single moment without the flame, his concoction had gone from beautifully bubbling into a soupy mess. And it was definitely getting clumpy. Damian quickly put the vial down on the shop counter before it spilled over and got all over him.

“What, uh… what is that stuff, exactly?” Julian asked.

He eyed the liquid that Damian had been working on almost suspiciously. He even took a few steps to the side, basically fleeing from the counter space. Damian couldn’t blame him. It was probably a smart move anyway. That, and Damian was too tired to worry about Julian’s suspicions about most things magical at the moment.

“Well, if everything had gone according to plan, it might have been some halfway decent medicine,” Damian sighed. “Something to help with those red marks.”

“Ah.” Julian visibly deflated. “I interrupted you. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s alright.” Damian wiped the spilled goop off of the counter with a spare rag, then disposed of the vial in a nearby bucket. A bucket that already had several similarly destroyed vials in it. “It’s hardly my first failure of the night. But I have plenty of ingredients left. I’ll try again.”

Almost without thinking, he moved to get his supplies from the shop shelves. Things were looking a little more bare than usual. Damian was normally very good at keeping things well-stocked. But it wasn’t as though there were a lot of customers lately. Damian had gotten a bit careless, he supposed, but he had other things to worry about.

Julian set his civilian reports off to the side. And he stepped over to Damian.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” he pressed. “It, uh, it looks like you’ve tried to make that concoction of yours a few times now.”

An understatement. Damian and Julian both knew it. But Damian still glanced over at the bucket of failed experiments.

He smiled bitterly. “Yeah. A few. But I’ll get it eventually.”

“I’m sure you will,” said Julian. “But not when you’re asleep on your feet.”

“I’m not—”

“Or when you have a singed hand,” said Julian, cutting Damian off. He held out his own hand insistently. “Let me see it.”

Damian was utterly confused. “See what?”

“Your hand,” Julian commanded.

Damian lifted both his hands and wiggled his fingers. He had no idea what Julian was getting at.

“Right hand,” Julian said firmly. “Glove off.”

Still utterly lost, Damian did as he was told. And he wiggled his fingers again, waving them in Julian’s face. Julian caught Damian’s now glove-free hand in his own and inspected it. Very closely.

Damian felt heat creeping up into his cheeks. He hoped Julian wouldn’t notice.

“Huh.” Julian carefully flipped Damian’s hand over so he was looking at the back of it. “I could have sworn… well.” He let Damian go. “It seems you aren’t the only one working himself to the point of exhaustion.”

“Julian, what are you talking about?”

“Ah, nothing to concern yourself over,” said Julian with a smile. “I must be rather tired myself, that’s all.”

“And you think you’re overtired because…?” Damian pressed.

Julian’s ears turned pink. “Well. When I walked in, I… it looked like your hand was on fire.”

Damian gave him a decidedly exasperated look. Then he held up his hand again and called on his magic. Flames danced across his fingers.

Julian sprang back with a comical yelp. Damian stopped his spell, making the flames vanish before Julian did something stupid out of panic. Damian wouldn’t put it past the doctor to try dumping water on his head.

Thankfully, all Julian did was stare at Damian’s completely unscathed hand. “Damian… how did you…? You aren’t even singed! I thought—”

“Magician,” Damian said pointedly.

“Ah.” Julian cleared his throat. He was definitely blushing now. “Of course. How could I forget? Though that was, uh, a bit unexpected.”

Damian smirked. “Want to see it again?”

“Maybe after my heart falls back to its regular rhythm,” Julian chuckled. His grin quickly faltered. “Really, though, you’re not hurt? It doesn’t bother you?”

“Not even a little,” Damian assured him. “It’s just warm. When I’m thinking about it.”

“Then the gloves are for…?” Julian asked.

“Making sure I don’t melt my fingers off if any of my experiments go wrong,” Damian said lightly.

Julian’s eyebrows rose. “Well. We certainly wouldn’t want that. Unless you have some magic that can re-grow melted fingers?”

By the way he was turning Damian’s own finger-wiggling back on him, Damian was sure he was teasing. Damian decided to play along.

He shrugged. “Not that I know of. My uncle might have been able to figure that one out, though.”

“Really?” said Julian.

“No,” Damian laughed. “But if it came down to it, I might be able to make a prosthetic hand. With enough practice. I’ve built a few things before, but never tried anything that complicated. Not exactly my strong suit.”

“I’m guessing setting yourself on fire is your strong suit, then?” said Julian, half playful, half still worried.   

“One of them,” said Damian. “As far as alchemy goes, though, I’m much better at potions like that. I can work with a few metals, but then you’re dealing with all kinds of different properties depending on how pure the metal is. Now gemstones and crystals, that’s where things get interesting…”

“Uh huh,” said Julian, clearly as lost as Damian had been a moment ago. “Well, I might not know much about mixing those concoctions of yours, but you aren’t the only one with hidden talents.”

Damian smirked. “Oh, really? Care to share one of those talents of yours?”

“I’m very glad you asked.” Grinning, Julian dramatically adjusted his coat. “For my first trick, I can tell you exactly when a magical goop maker—”

“Alchemist,” Damian cut in, smiling playfully. “Or just ‘magician’ works.”

“Noted,” said Julian. “I can tell you exactly when a magician needs to get some rest.”

“And when might that be?” Damian teased.

“When he’s made eleven separate bottles of unspeakable sludge in succession.”

Damian laughed. “Alright, point made. And here I thought you wanted to go over those reports.”

“That can wait until after you rest,” said Julian. “What kind of doctor would I be if I let my own apprentice overwork himself?”

“One who’s willing to let his apprentice test his own boundaries?” said Damian.

“I’m afraid I’m not that kindhearted, Damian,” Julian chuckled.  

Damian smiled, shaking his head. On the contrary, he thought that this was just more proof of how incredibly, wonderfully kindhearted Julian truly was. But he knew that Julian would never accept a compliment like that if he said it aloud. So the doctor would just need to be satisfied with a smile.

“Fair enough,” said Damian. “I’ll get ready for bed. On one condition.”

Julian raised an eyebrow. “Do tell.”

“You’re paying for breakfast tomorrow,” said Damian. “And coffee. We’ll go over the reports then.”

“Fair deal,” Julian chuckled. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“Tomorrow morning,” Damian agreed.

“Excellent.” Julian gathered up his things. “I’ll leave you to it, then. Unless you need some help cleaning up…?”

Damian didn’t need help. And he knew that Julian often joked about the idea of cleaning being one of his least favorite activities. Especially around so many very obviously magical things. But Julian didn’t actually let Damian refuse the help.

Even after they had tidied up, it was a while before Julian finally bid Damian goodnight and left the shop. Mostly because neither of them really wanted to say goodbye.

At least they had the morning to look forward to.