#I Wanna Make Sure I Don't Have To Worry About The Paper While We're Hanging So I Can Make The Most Of The Little Time I'll Have With Him

[xaykwolf]

My final for the class I have this semester is a paper wherein we’re supposed to act as though we’re a licensed psychologist called into an organization to consult on a problem and give recommendations. My prof suggested a former prac site because we’re likely to know quite a bit about the day-to-day operations and problems that grunt workers face. And well, after the last year I just had, there’s no way I’m touching that without a hazmat suit and years of therapy (haha irony), so this assignment’s really not the place to do any of that processing.

No...instead I chose RT. And I gotta say, it’s been pretty cathartic to type out the history of the company, to see how it developed in its entirety, the good, the bad, and the ugly (though it’s been mostly those last two, even with a nice bit of perspective on what I liked about the company). I get to talk about the ethical and diversity issues next, which is gonna be a treat and a half for my poor brain, and then how I’d go about evaluating the company, how I’d conceptualize everything put together, then give recommendations. I’m already 4 full pages into the 12-15 requirement, and it’s not due till December 1st :b

[coquitokisses]

Trusting Again | chapter 003: the truth

Word count: 3232

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📍Berlin

So after we arrived at the place, thankfully we weren’t cuffed anymore, but we weren’t in the clear either. We’re kinda in trouble.

“So we’re going to prison.” I looked at Sam and Steve as we walked to the place where they were gonna let us be in

“No, we’re not.” Steve answered

“Well this kinda looks like we are.”

“This isn’t prison.” Steve said

“I cannot believe my first time being arrested was because I decided to follow two idiots and go against the law.”

“Ow, what? You regret it now?” Steve pouted

I just rolled my eyes. “Shut up, this is your fault.”

“My fault?!”

“Yes! We should’ve let the CIA catch Bucky, why the hell did we even bother going to Bucharest? Look where we ended up, and where’s Bucky? Arrested.”

“Oh please.” Sam rolled his eyes “Even you said that this didn’t make any sense.”

“You shut up, tú lo que eres es un lambe ojos, I don’t wanna hear it.” I told him

“Hey, don’t talk to me in Spanish.” He pointed at me

“You’re a kiss ass.”

“Oh look who’s talking.” He looked at Steve and they chuckled

I sighed. “I hate you both.”

We saw Natasha walking in our direction and she approached us.

“You” she pointed at me “Aren’t supposed to be here.”

“Well if I would’ve known it was gonna get this bad, I wouldn’t have come.” I shrugged

“Liar.” Sam looked at me

“For the record, this is what making things worse looks like.” She said in a low voice

“He's alive.” Steve told her

We walked into the office and we saw Tony talking on the phone.

“Consequences? You bet there'll be consequences” Tony said while looking at us three “Obviously you can quote me on that cause I just said it, anything else?... Thank you, sir.” He said before hanging up the call

"Consequences?" Steve said

“Secretary Ross wants the three of you prosecuted, had to give him something.” He shrugged as he started to walk away

“I'm not getting that shield back, am I?”

“Technically it's the government's property” Natasha said “Wings too.” she looked at Sam

“That's cold.” Sam shook his head

“Warmer than jail!” Tony said

“Well, he's got a point.” I sighed “What the hell are we supposed to do now anyways? Die of boredom?”

“Well you can always play Stop with Sam.” Steve looked at me “I’m sure there are some papers and pens laying around somewhere.”

“That'll be great.” I looked at Sam

“Fine, but only because I'll probably die of boredom too.” he said

“Guess we'll be playing Stop then, wanna join, grandpa?” I looked at Steve

“I'm good.” He chuckled “Good luck.”

(...)

It’s been like an hour. I’m getting bored and I honestly want to leave. I just can’t be sitting around doing nothing, I get bored. We're now in the office, the three of us and Sharon, as we watch that doctor evaluate Bucky.

“Why would the Task Force release this photo to begin with?” Steve spoke breaking the silence

“Get the word out, involve as many eyes as we can?” Sharon shrugged

“Right.” Steve nodded “Its a good way to flush a guy out of hiding, set off a bomb, get your picture taken, get seven billion people looking for the Winter Soldier.”

“You're saying someone framed him to find him?” I asked him

“Steve, we looked for the guy for almost a year after Austria and found nothing.” Sam told him

“We didn't bomb the UN, that turns a lot of heads.” Steve said

“Yeah but that doesn't guarantee that whoever framed him would get him, it guarantees we would.” Sharon replied and then frowned kinda getting all the pieces together

“Yeah.” Steve turned to look back at the monitor

“Tell me Bucky, you've seen a great deal, haven't you?” Zemo asked Bucky

“I don't wanna talk about it.” Bucky responded

“You fear that if you open your mouth, the horrors might never stop.” Zemo replied

I kinda don't like this.

“I got a bad feeling.” I whispered to Sam as I leaned my elbows on the table

“About what?” He whispered back

“All this.” I sighed “It’s just.. it’s kinda weird.”

“Don't worry” Zemo added “We only have to talk about one.”

And just seconds after that, the power went out and the whole office was dark. Sam and I looked at each other and we kinda already knew that something was not right.

“Bad feeling alright.” Sam looked at me

“What the fuck?” I said and Steve turned around looking at Sharon

“Sub-level five, east wing.” She told him and he immediately looked at me like telling me to go with him

“Just go.” I said

Sam and Steve both stormed out of the office and I stayed there for a few minutes. I saw that Tony and Natasha were walking towards the door and Sharon saw them too.

“Come on.” She said to me

I got up and followed her. When we got out, we were kinda in like a lobby or some shit and there was Bucky just punching anyone who tried to stop him.

“Forget it, I’d rather get arrested.” I said after seeing how Bucky fought with Tony, but the poor man ended up on the floor.

I was really thinking about turning around and going back to where I came from, but before I could even think about leaving, Sharon grabbed my arm.

“You’re not leaving.” She said

“I’m sorry, but who was the one who almost died last time when he appeared in Washington?” She opened her mouth to talk, but I didn’t let her “Exactly, this time I’ll watch everything from a very far distance.”

“But you’re trained better than me.” She looked at me.

“You’re working for the CIA.”

“Cat! You gotta help me.”

I just rolled my eyes. “I should’ve stayed in New York.” I said starting to go down the stairs and she followed me

He might succeed and kill me this time.

When we first got there, Sharon was the first to kick him and I had no other choice than to follow her. It didn’t take long before Bucky was throwing her onto a table, breaking it, and grabbing me by the neck with his metal arm and pushing me onto one of the other tables there. I tried to get him off me once he started choking the shit out of me, but it was obviously impossible to even push him away.

“You could at least recognize me.” I managed to say, words barely coming out of me, as I tried to breath and also get him off me

My sight was starting to get all blurry and then I finally felt his hand releasing my neck. I rolled off the table coughing trying to catch my breath and when I managed to get on my feet again, I ran out of there trying to look for Sam and Steve. I even went outside but there were too many people running and screaming that it was literally impossible to find someone. I just opted to get the hell away from there and ended up walking for almost 40 minutes, also, trying to not get caught by the freaking helicopter that was looking for us.

I arrived at what looked like a small bookstore and decided to call Sam because I had no idea where they might be.

“Hey.” He answered

“Are you guys okay?” I asked him “Where the hell did you go?”

“I sent you the location of where we are.” He said “Come quick tho.”

“On my way.”

I hung up and went straight to Sam's conversation, I saw the pin and realized it wasn't so far from where I was so I decided to walk there and I literally arrived in almost 20 minutes. It was like an old auto shop kinda?

I got in and I saw Steve, Sam and Bucky inside.

“Took you forever.” Sam said

“Y'all literally vanished.” I rolled my eyes “And also, I had to make sure nobody saw me, there's a fucking helicopter looking for us, did you guys know that?”

“Are you okay?” Steve asked

“I’m fine.” I nodded and then I looked over at Bucky

Now that I have him closer and he's not trying to kill me, I definitely noticed that he looked a little different than the last time I saw him. Starting with his hair, which is a little longer.

If it wasn’t because he's a super soldier, I would smash my fist straight into that perfect face of his right now.

“And we meet again, soldat.” I stood in front of him folding my arms “So much for not wanting to be found, huh.”

“Not that I was planning on running into you three, specially not you.” He responded

“Well look at us now.” I gave him the most sarcastic smile ever

“Alright, that’s enough.” Steve said and I just stepped away from Bucky “I see Cat made quite the first impression.” He looked at his friend

“You don’t say.” Bucky sighed

“Oh he did too, trust me.” I scoffed “You do know we all have a fucking target on our backs, right?” I looked at Steve

“He didn't do it.” He said

“Oh I knew that since the moment we saw the news.” I nodded “I just can't really comprehend why the fuck would you go through all this shit when we already have secretary Ross on our asses because of the fucking accords and now we also have the CIA looking for us!”

“No offense, but that's a little hypocrite coming from you.” Bucky said to me “Why do you care so much about following orders now?”

“Offense and listen, you really shouldn't be talking shit after what's been happening.” I turned to look at him “You should've listened to me when you had the chance.”

“You really wanna do this now?” He raised an eyebrow

“Alright, enough.” Steve sighed

“You know what? I kinda want to.” I stepped closer to him, completely ignoring Steve

Not that I wanted to ignore him, but I'm actually kinda mad so my mind is only focusing on Bucky.

“Then why don't you do it, agent?” Bucky said to me

I just sighed. “You really are starting to get on my last nerve, who would’ve thought.”

“Shut up, both of you.” Steve said in a more serious tone “That's enough.”

“What the hell are we supposed to do now?” I turned around looking now at Steve

“That's why we called you.” Sam said

“I'm not tryna put my ass on the line again! We got enough with the accords to also be dealing with escaping from the fucking CIA.”

“What? You regret it now? Cause if that's the case, by all means, go talk to Tony, I’m sure he’ll welcome you with open arms.” He said folding his arms

“Don't be ridiculous, I’ve always been on your side, but this is fucking insane.”

“And don’t you think I know that? I’m tryna think of what to do now.” He said and I let out a sigh

“I just don’t want us to end up worst than we already are.. if that’s even possible.”

“It is, we could be in jail.” Sam said

“Relax, it won’t happen.” He said and I just leaned on the wall without saying anything else. “Who was that guy?” He asked Bucky

“I don't know.” He responded

“People are dead.” Steve started saying “The bombing, the setup.. the doctor did all that just to get 10 minutes with you, I need you to do better than "I don't know".”

“He wanted to know about Siberia, where I was kept.” He said after a few seconds “He wanted to know exactly where.”

“Why would he need to know that?” Steve asked

“Because I'm not the only Winter Soldier.” he replied

“Woah, hang the fuck on.” I shook my head

“Cat.” Steve looked at me

“No, wait, I'm with her on this one.” Sam spoke “You're saying there are more like you?” He asked Bucky

“Yes.” He nodded

“Who were they?” Steve asked

“Their most elite death squad” Bucky replied “More kills than anyone in HYDRA history and that was before the serum.”

“They all turned out like you?” I asked him

“Worse.” He looked at me

“The doctor, could he control them?” Steve questioned

“Enough.”

“He said he wanted to see an empire fall.” Steve added

“With these guys he could do it.” Bucky nodded “They speak 30 languages, can hide in plain sight, infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize, they can take a whole country down in one night and you'd never see them coming.”

“Well this is just great.” I said with sarcasm

“This would've been a lot easier a week ago.” Sam walked over to Steve and I

“If we call Tony..” Steve started saying and I scoffed

“I don’t think we’ll believe us.” I cut him off

“Even if he did..”

“Who knows if the accords would let him help.” I said and Steve let out a sigh

“We're on our own then.” He looked at the both of us

“Maybe not.” Sam shrugged and we both looked at him “I know a guy.”

“So” I looked at Steve “What's next, Cap?”

“I need to make a few calls.” He said “And we need to get out of here.”

“We gotta stay low tho.” Sam said

“Yeah, very low.” I nodded

“I'll be right back.” Steve walked out, I supposed so that he could make "a few calls"

Sam walked out too and I took a deep breath. This is insane.

I looked at Bucky and then I sat on the floor in front of him.

“So” I crossed my legs “Being framed is fun huh.”

“You have no idea.” He sighed “How'd you know it wasn't me?”

“Are you kidding? I’ve been tracking you.” I replied “…From a distance, of course.”

“Of course you have.” He said not at all surprised “Does Steve knows?”

“No, of course not.” I shook my head

“Why? Felt guilty?”

I let out a sigh. “A little.”

“He’s gonna find out eventually.”

“Yeah, I know.” I nodded “I’ve been thinking about telling him, but I just don’t know how he’s gonna react.”

I should tell him. I really should because maybe we wouldn't be in this mess right now if it wasn't for me.

“You have a certain look on your face, agent.” Bucky said in almost a whisper “What is it?”

“I just.. I think I better tell him now.”

“He's not gonna be happy.”

“I know.” I sighed “But I have to.. better late than never.”

I looked back and saw Steve standing next to Sam, who was actually talking on the phone.

“Steve.” I cleared my throat and I stood up from the floor “I, um.. can we talk?” I said and he looked at me “I kinda need to tell you something.”

“Yeah, of course.” He nodded “Wanna go outside?”

“Well I don’t want the police to see us, so here it’s fine.”

I was really anxious. I didn’t even know how to start.

“What is it?” He asked when he saw that I was pretty impatient

“Okay, I’m just gonna say it.” I sighed “Remember when I went with Sam to Europe? To find Bucky.”

“Yeah, what happened?”

“Okay, well remember that we did found him, right? We told you we were in Austria.”

“Yes, Cat, I remember everything, where are you going with this?”

“I didn't lost him.. I, uh..” I bit my lip nervously “I let him go.” I finally confessed, he looked at me a little confused

“What are you talking about?” He frowned and then looked at Bucky “What is she talking about?” He pointed at me

“I was the one who talked to him that day.”

“Yeah and if I remember correctly, he got all defensive and threw you across the room, you were all bruised and even had a cut.” He said “What do you mean you let him go?”

“I talked to him, he said that he needed time and I just.. I simply decided to let him go.”

“Simply decided?” He raised an eyebrow

“Look, I’m sorry.”

“What the hell happened exactly for you to let him go like that?”

“Don't be mad at her, it's my fault.” Bucky interrupted us and Steve looked at him “I was just trying to remember everything on my own.”

“Stop.” I looked at him “I should've knocked the fuck out of you and drag you out of there.”

“Yeah, you should have.” Steve nodded “You realize that because you let him go we’re in this position now, right?”

“Yes!” I raised my voice “I made a mistake, I know and I'm sorry, okay? I didn't think it was too big of a deal at the moment, he just wanted to remember everything on his own and I thought that was okay.”

“Well it clearly wasn't.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t.” I sighed “But at least my intuition was right! He didn't do anything.”

“But look where we are now!”

“But that’s not entirely my fault now, is it?” I said “I mean, the fucker who messed with his head is the real responsible here, he could’ve done it even if Bucky was with us.”

“That’s not the point…”

“It is! It kinda is.” I cut him off

“Cat, you’re not realizing the consequences that your actions had.”

“I am! Trust me, I am realizing it and I knew what I was getting myself into when I made that decision.”

He clicked his tongue. “I just can’t believe you could do something like this knowing it would have consequences. I just..” he sighed “I can't believe that you, out of all people, could do this.”

“I know it was wrong but I just..”

“What?” He looked at me with his hands on his hips

I let out a sigh. “You're really mad at me, aren't you?”

“A little.” He nodded “And a little disappointed too, you were supposed to do your job and I asked you to do it because I knew you were the only one who would do it no questions asked.”

“I know and I'm sorry.”

“We could've prevented this.”

“I know.” I sighed feeling guilty as hell “I really am sorry.. trust me if I could go back in time and change what happened, I would.”

He let out a sigh. “I'll go see if Sam's done so we can get the hell out of here.” He said walking out again before we could say something else

I just sighed and then leaned on the wall. Bucky's eyes found mine and he took a deep breath as he sat straight.

“I'm sorry for trying to kill you.” He said looking at my neck

“It's fine.” I said “Not the first time anyway.”

“Sorry.”

“At least you’re apologizing now.”

“Apology accepted then?”

“I don’t know, I’ll think about it.” I sat on the floor facing him “I tend to hold grudges.”

“Well that’s not good.”

“Do I look like I care?” I tilted my head

“You got issues, you know?”

“Well.. that makes two of us.” I shrugged

“…Can't argue with that.” He shook his head and I chuckled

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[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #269

I was going to try some Dead Cells today, but something unexpected happened and I didn't have an opportunity to devote a long time to focus on it. So I ended up doing other things, and that was good, too.

Once more, I did a lot of leisure writing today. It was... cathartic. Necessary. But time-consuming. It takes up a lot of my time and focus when I do it. And... given that it's just a pale imitation of what I am searching for, I'm not really sure if its time and focus cost is... prudent. Hm.

...There's so much I wish I could tell you. But I can't write it here and still have what I'm trying to do for you be taken seriously. I have to try to seem normal, at least for now.

...

It's not all I did today, though. At some point, J and I wandered around to get some errands done. He needed some things from the hardware store, I needed to get those meds prescribed by the sports medicine place, and we also needed toilet paper. So that's what we set out to do.

The medicine I got from the sports medicine place is called "celecoxib". I guess it's a kind of anti-inflammatory that works a little differently than ibuprofen, which is what I've been using on the really bad days. I'm supposed to take it twice a day for like a week, and then on an as-needed basis after that. I wonder if it'll help with the rib injury at all. Maybe it will. Or maybe nothing will happen. Or maybe something weird will happen. I don't know. But I took the first dose just now, so I guess we're gonna find out.

I saw a lot of birds-of-prey while we were out, so I took pictures of them for you:

...I think, so far, this is the best one I've ever gotten, though:

...It almost kinda looks like you, doesn't it...? Maybe a little...?

...

...Well... I'm reminded of you when I see great big flying birds in the sky, anyway. I'm not really sure why that's the case, but... it is what it is. I can be grateful for anything that prompts me to think about you.

Later, M, J, and I went out to see a movie called DanDaDan. J wanted to see it, so we went. I took some pictures of the sky on the way:

...The sky in general reminds me of you, especially during the parts of the day when it's blazing with kaleidoscopic hues.

...It was a very fun movie. Silly as heck, but also a lot of fun! I can't say for certain whether or not you'd like it. But... as part of seeing this movie, there were previews for other movies. And one of those movies was called The Wild Robot.

...It looked very promising. Next time someone calls you a "cyborg", now you have one more wholesome robot to point to, besides Zeta from The Zeta Project. We're gonna go see it! You can bet that when I do, I'm gonna tell you all about it, and probably encourage you to see it, too!

It doesn't come out until sometime towards the end of September, though. So if you wanna hear about it, you're gonna hafta hold on and stay safe at least until then, okay?

...Apparently, though, this was a book trilogy before it was a movie. So maybe I'll get the books after I see the movie. I wonder if our local libraries have a copy... hmm...

...It's about 9:30pm now. J is trying to make that garlic pudding. The whole kitchen smells amazing to me as a result. I'm going to have to go to bed relatively soonish, though; I go to my bakery job tomorrow! I'll try to get some yummy pictures for you, okay? So please just hang tight out there, okay...?

...

...I'm worried about you and stuff. I know how things ended for you the first time around and I... don't want to see you get broken, bloodied, beaten, and slashed up like that again. So please... please make sure that it doesn't happen to you again, okay? If you try to break things again, then that's how it's going to happen for you again, and I... don't want to spend a number of weeks crying again. So please... make good choices, okay? Make kind, good, loving, brave, and gentle choices out there. But also... please make sure you don't get killed, all right?

Oh!!! Before I forget. Over the last several days, J and I got even more pictures for you. Suppose now is as good a time as any to send them along... J's cellphone camera takes really good photos of the moon, unlike mine. I wonder if you'll be able to tell which ones are his and which ones are mine...

...In that set, the only pictures that were mine were the ones of the moon, haha... The rest were all J.

...J keeps making the garlic pudding as I'm writing this, and it smells and tastes absolutely phenomenal. It's still warming, though, and it won't be set until tomorrow. Look forward to pictures of it at some point after my shift at work is all done, okay?

I'm gonna get ready for bed now.

I love you. Please keep yourself safe out there. Please make it through to the end of all this alive and well. I'm counting on you coming back home.

I'll write again soon.

Your friend, Lumine

[lazy-cat13]

day 7: Future (finale)

There will be a few time skips, journal entries, and a few more things that you'll see!

Ash also knows the union leaders a bit more.

And this is also in first person POV (unfinished accidentally posted? Idk)

Black= Ash

Red= Brain

Green=Ventus

Blue= Ephemer

Orange= Chir

Pink= Lauriam

Purple= Skuld

~After the Keyblade war, about a month before Daybreak Towns destruction~

Things have been strange lately, I keep hearing static noises and it gives me a headache, I keep having nightmares about something that seems in the past but I don't remember. . . I sometimes see glitches in the sky, but I think that's from my lack of sleep lately. Maybe I'll talk about it to Brain at some point.

I walk into fountain square to see two familiar faces .

A young boy with blonde hair, he's around 10 it seems like, his name is Ven.

And someone a few years older, around me and Brains age, he has fluffy hair that looks like a dandelion. And his name is Ephemer.

"Ash! Nice to see you!" Ephemer waves, sitting on the fountain.

"Ash!" The young blonde runs up to me in excitement.

"Hi Eph! Heya Ven!" I ruffle Vens hair while he pouts in embarrassment. "Have either of you seen Brain?"

"He's reading right now in the meeting room. He's been reading that for a few weeks now, it's almost impossible to get him away! We have to convince him by giving him food!"

"Sounds like Brain to me."

He chuckles "Why? You wanna talk to him?"

"yeah, but he's busy right now, so when you see him next would you mind giving him this? Please don't read it." I walk up to Ephemer handing him a small paper with Ven following me.

"Sure! I'll get it to him as soon as possible!" He tucks the note away.

"Thanks."

"What does it say?"

"dude. What did I just say?"

"But I wanna know!"

"No, I'm not telling you."

"why not?" Great he's starting to pout more now.

"Cause it's private! Brains eyes only!" I put my hand on my hips.

"awwww , does somebody have a crush?" Ephemer chimed in

"What? No. What makes you think that?" I glare at Eph

"nuthin. Well, the way you're acting I guess." He shrugs

"I- dude! We're just friends!"

"alright, calm down! I was just joking! I'll be sure to get it to him."

"Thanks."

"Well, we'll be on our way, see ya! C'mon Ven!" He starts walking away

"Coming! See ya Ash!" The blonde catches up to Ephemer, waving goodbye

I start walking back to my apartment, putting on my headphones and music. Walking through the town sun setting, other keyblade weilders running by, laughing, enjoying life. things I wish I can do, constant stress isn't helping, well, there are a few times that I let loose, like earlier with Eph and Ven. And times with Brain.

I make it to my apartment and unlock the door.

"Chir! I'm home!"

Chiri appears and brings me into a hug.

"Ash! Hoi! What's for dinner?!"

"well I didn't really think about that. . . Ramen sound good?"

"Yeah!!"

I start to get a pot of water boiling and a sharp static sound strikes my ears and I instantly grab around my ears losing my balance a bit.

"woah! Are you okay?!"

"Yeah! I'm fine chir! don't worry about it!"

"Uhhh huhh. . ."

I finish making the ramen and they set two bowls on the table.

"Eennjoy!"

"thank you!!"

"no problem!"

I hand Chir a spoon, and we both cheers, but a knock interrupts us.

"op- one moment! 'Scuse me Chir."

I run to answer the door and it's Brain.

"Oh, hi."

"hi. . . You wanted to talk to me?"

"yeah, wanna come in? We got some ramen I just made." I point inside

"Why not."

"cool, come on in, sit at the table while I get you a bowl."

They walk in guiding Brain.

"Feel free to hang your hat."

"damn, I don't think I've been here before, it's nice."

"Thanks, sorry for the mess. . ."

"don't worry about it. . ..hey chiri" he takes a seat

"Hiya Brain!"

"here. Enjoy" I put a bowl in front of him

"thanks"

"Don't mention it." I sit down too taking a bite of my food

"are. . . You alright, you seem more tired. . ."

"uh? Yeah, I'm fine!" I wave my hand

"why do you always do this?"

"do what?"

"whenever I notice something is wrong, you brush it off. Why do you wanna keep things from me?!"

"cause I think you're already stressed enough!!"

"that doesn't mean you just can't tell me! You're also a main priority! You're my best friend! Please, just. . . Tell me. . ."

". . ." I'm at a loss of words, I know what to say, but I can't say it.

"I've. . .been having strange thoughts and occurrences lately, static noises keep giving me a headache and I swear I keep seeing these glitches! And I've been having a dream that's constant, a war between unions."

Now Brains at a loss for words

"and it's been months since I've last saw you! I get it because of the leader stuff you have to do! But still take a break!"

"*sigh* you're right. . . I'll take the day off some point. . . Sorry."

I just nod, unsure what to talk about now we finish our food.

"when was the last time you got some sleep?"

"I could say the same to you."

"hm, seriously though, you have bags under your eyes, and it sounds like you've been struggling sleeping due to those nightmares."

"and why do you have bags under your eyes? Reading too much?" I put my hands on my hips

"you know it."

". . .do you have anything going on tonight?"

"Don't think so, why?"

"well, since we have the chance. . . Maybe we could do a sleepover? been a while since we've done that."

"we're going to actually sleep this time, right?"

"yeah, I've got spare pajamas you can use since we're about the same size."

"sure, appreciate it."

"yup, be right back!"

~We both get changed quickly.~

I gather a lot of fluffy blankets, gotta be comfy

"why. . . Do you have like 20 blankets?"

"3 reasons, one, I get cold easily, two, it's comfortable, three, enough for the two of us."

"alright then."

" I wanted to ask, was there another reason you wanted to talk?"

"hm. Oh, right, one moment." I finish setting up the blankets and pillows.

"so. . . This may be kinda awkward but. . . This is kinda difficult to put into words. . . I want to be in a more Queer Platonic Relationship, be there for each other more often than usual, something like a romantic relationship, but without the romance!"

"I'm keen to that! We could be there for each other more often, well, we can try. . . And you gotta be more open alright?"

"fine, I'll try my best."

"just know we'll be here for you if you have another nightmare."

"Alright. . ."

Little did we know whats to come next. . .

~1 month later~

Log entry-

Everything has gone to hell it seems like, the town is being destroyed, I'm not sure why, but I'm off to help Brain and the others, turns out that Ven wasn't supposed to be a union leader, it was Strelitzia, the girl I remember writing about, lost that journal though.

Something tells me. . . That this will be the last time I write in hear, not sure why, gut feeling I guess. Let's hope it's not though..

--------------------------------------------------------------

"Brain! What's happening?!" I barge into a large room to my horror, Lauriam and Ven are knocked out on the ground, while Eph, Skuld and Brain are fighting darkness, struggling.

"crap!" I run in summoning my Keyblade "Fira!"

Everyone moves aside while I run and jump for an attack.

"raaaahhhh!!!"

"woaholy crap!"

"ack!"

"Ahhh! Where did-?!"

I jump back catching myself, "got room for one more?"

"Ash!"

"sup! Stay sharp!" Everyone nods

We keep fighting for 10, 15, 20 minutes until Skuld is knocked down.

"Skuld- gah!" I was next, left on the floor lightheaded. For the next two minutes it was just Brain and Ephemer.

"nnng" brain falls down while ephemer is completely exhausted. oh this isn't good. . . I get up, legs shaking, summoning my Keyblade again and throw it at the darkness, failing to catch it when it comes back, and I collapse from exhaustion, still being able to hear what's going on .

-its over.-

"yeah. . ." He breathes in shakingly "but I can't take you down alone, I'm not even sure we can wear you down."

"fair point ."

-shall we call it done then?-

"oh? So you surrender?"

Brain chuckles "you claimed you aren't after anything, but I'm not buying it."

-what?-

"you seem pretty desperate to get in our way like this, I don't know whether its pride or fear, but there's a reason you're still here."

-....... Infection -

"infection?" I push myself off the ground.

"meaning?"

-data transfer requires a signal -

If teleports in front of Ephemer

-the same goes for the hearts and minds of you humans-

Eph tries attacking but it goes away

- you underestimate how easily the darkness rides on those signals. . . And spreads though this place-

"is that why you wormed your way into the data world?"

Data world...?

"but why hide inside of Ven?"

Could that be why vens unconscious?

-i told you, cause it was decided.-

"that's enough." Skuld gets back up again

"Skuld! You're alright!"

"jeez, is all you ever do rant?"

"welcome back Ash!"

"you're saying because it was written in the book of prophecies, it was meant to be? Well I don't care! You hijacked Ven and attacked lariams sister!" She summons her keyblade "and now you're gonna pay for it!"

"that's right!" Now brain summons his Keyblade

"man, I'm just hearing this now? I would've gone way harder on ya!"I summon my Keyblade again.

-we are many and we are one, but to be one requires will,- it teleports behind Ven and Lauriam -through him we can divide darkness and light. . . Willful and distincted, it was a sacrifice needed to be made-

"so, Ven didn't attack Strelitzia, you did. . ."

"lariam!"

"Laur!"

Then, I hear an ear ringing that blocks everything out , I can't focus and the next thing I know we're in combat again, but with someone I've never met before . . . But now, my side is in the most pain. . . And. . . I'm using brain for support, Ven is glowing and I don't know what's going on, then I think I blacked out. . .

I woke up on a bed that isn't mine, unsure of what happened after Lauriam was awake again. I sat up to just see brain and a dark room

"nng... What happened ?"

"you were hit pretty badly. . ."

"what about Ven and the others?"

"Eph and Skuld are talking to ___(whatever you're Ux character name is) vens unconscious, and Lauriam is talking to his friend. We're gonna head to the arcs, you should come."

"...''

" do you need help walking?"

"yes please"

We both walk to where the arcs are. And everyone discusses what they're doing

"I'll stay behind. . . I'll help Eph and Skuld. . ."

"what? No! You're injured!"

"I'll be fine brain, you, Ven, Lauriam and Elrena are already taking enough."

He pulls me into a hug

"see you soon?"

"see you soon. . ."

Everything went hazy again , but I remember hearing Eph and Skuld cry, and a talk about the darkness. . .

"Ash! Ash!"

Chiri?

"Ash!" Chiri brings me into a hug, crying.

What happened?

"you perished, struck by the darkness. . ."

Oh, is it just you and me?

"well for now. . ."

Ah, ok. . . Man I'm tired. And I drift off. . .

-------------epilogue---------------

I woke up at a beach of scala as caelum, unsure on what was happening, there's this boy, his name is brain, he seems to taken an interest in me. . . I don't know why. He seems familiar, I'm not sure why, whenever i would hang out by Ephemers fountain, he would bring croissants, I'm not sure why, but it's a nice gesture. He's the only person I've really talked to here. . .

[verrerdises]

come hang out | yongseung x reader

Summary || You never thought you'd end up in a class with him. Frankly, you find him a bit intimidating but always wanted to get to know him. Fate grants your wish when your professor assigns him as your presentation partner.

Word count || 3.4k

Yongseung nudged his glasses back up. His eyes flicked between the professor's notes on the whiteboard and his own notebook. He had only been in college for a few semesters, but he found it equally challenging and rewarding. Only thing is, he tended to isolate himself. Not entirely his fault; whenever he entered a classroom for the first time, he tried to find a spot near the front. Others were not as bold as him, instead opting to sit near the back or leave a few seats between them. 

It grew a bit lonely; he won't lie. But he tried to focus on his studies. Most of his classes hadn't asked for partner work. However, this was a much smaller class size, and he remembered spotting the words "group project" on the syllabus. Thinking about it made his leg bounce. 

"Okaaay, I know we're still pretty fresh into the semester, but keen eyes probably saw a mention of a group project in the syllabus," the professor beamed at them, despite the students' uneasy squirming. "I wanted to use the project as a way for everyone to get to know each other! Don't worry, there's no more after this." Some sighed in relief, others in quiet annoyance. 

The professor pulled out a box from their desk. "In here are names of countries we'll be studying throughout the semester. This'll be a duo project, meaning two of you will get the same country and have to create a short presentation overviewing basic details." They rattled the box and began to walk around, stopping at Yongseung's desk first. "Go on, don't be shy!"

He gave them a tight-lipped smile then reached into the box. His hand dug through the papers for a minute before he pulled a piece out. The professor kept walking, so he undid the folds to reveal his country: Mexico. He hummed and nodded- not a bad choice. He has been studying the language for a while and has been wanting to learn more about its culture for a while now. 

But he looked past his shoulder at everyone else. As some were reading their countries, a few looked around expectedly and showed their country. There were some murmurs of disappointment, as well as quiet cheers. He scanned the room to see if he could make eye contact with his partner, but no one came forward. 

"Alright," the professor spoke up, "I'll be ending my lecture a bit early, so you all can find your partners and start planning. The details are already posted on your portal, but I'll be here for another 10 minutes if you have any questions."

The room sparked with conversations and awkward hello's. Once again, he looked around, but... his leg began to bounce-

"Um, hi."

He whipped around to look up at a classmate. He gave them a relieved smile. "I was starting to think I'd be doing a solo project." He laughed lightly. They smile awkwardly at him. "Can I sit here?" They point to the chair and his backpack that was occupying it. "Oh!" he hurriedly pulled it off. "Yes, yes, of course. Sorry." He cleared his throat and readjusted his chair. "What's your name? I don't think I've met you," he asked.

"(y/n)," they answered. "And that's probably because I tend to hang out in the back..." They fiddled with their pencil. "And you? I don't think I've seen you around either."

"Yongseung." He replied.

"Y...Yongsung? Sorry, I wanna make sure I get it right-"

He shook his head, smiling kindly. "Yongseung, as in sing."

"Oh! Okay, okay. Yongseung. Just gimme a few tries and I'll get it down next time we meet." They share some light laughter, causing his nose to scrunch up. It's true; he hasn't seen this person before, but they're making a good impression on him. A bit awkward, but he's dealt with awkward before. If anything, it only made them cuter. 

"So... Mexico. Dunno if this is gonna be easy or tricky." They looked down at the paper. "We shouldn't overthink it," Yongseung pointed out. "But..." he peeked back at the emptying classroom, "I honestly don't want to be the last ones here. Are you okay with heading to a little cafe spot nearby?"

"R...Right now?" They stared at him with wide eyes. He nodded. "Oh! Yes, that's... that's totally fine." Although he wore a smile, his brow furrowed in slight confusion at their blush. He gathered his things and led (y/n) out of the room. They made pleasant conversation as they walked, finding out each other's majors and other classes they're taking. It... was nice to be able to talk to someone, just as he's watched others do. He only hoped he wasn't coming across as overeager.

He wasn't exactly sure why people avoid him. He did his best to smile politely and sometimes ask questions, but he'd always be met with weird or awkward looks. And his other friends were all occupied with different things. He wanted to make friends on campus. A study buddy, even. 

He may be getting his hopes up too soon, but he hoped something will come out of him and (y/n). 

A short bus ride later, and they arrived at the Privacy Cafe. He held the door open for them then asked, "Do you want anything?"

They scanned the menu hanging overhead and hummed. "What do you usually get?"

"Iced matcha or something with caramel."

"Ooh, I'll go with the caramel option. Don't disappoint me," they chuckled. His eager smile returned. "Okay, you can find a spot. I'll get us the drinks-"

"Wh- are you sure?" Their blush returned, "You don't have to..."

"Really." Yongseung nodded. "Don't worry about it." They stared at him for a minute before a small, warm smile appeared. "Alright... thanks, Yongseung." And they turned to find a comfortable booth to sit at. 

He watched as they took a seat. "God, you're hopeless." His friend's voice made him turn back to face the barista. He huffed slightly. "I am not! I'm just being nice. Nothing more than that, Gyehyeon."

"Mhm," Gyehyeon tiredly rubbed an eye, "so, two of your usual caramel?" He rung up his friend's order and gave him the ticket number. "They seem nice," he continued. "Surprised you haven't scared them off."

"They wouldn't run..." Yongseung mumbled. "I hope not, anyway. And I'm not scary-"

"Start talking about space and see how they react," Gyehyeon softly snorted. "Or soccer. Or your collection of Rubiks cubes. Or-"

"Okay!" The other raised his hands to silence him. "Okay, I get it. Well, they don't really have a choice. We're partnered up for a presentation."

"Ohh, that explains it." Gyehyeon soon passed his drinks over. "Hm. Good luck. Keep me posted," he gave him a thumbs up. Yongseung said a quiet thank you and walked back to the booth, handing a cup to (y/n). Even though he wanted to know more about them, he spotted their open laptop. Right, the assignment is more important. He took some sips of his drink and pulled out his to look at the project details. 

They began to layout a plan for their presentation - finding good sources and dividing the work between the two of them. He also found some enjoyment in this. He could tell they were a hard worker and wasn't about to let him shoulder all the work. It was actually starting to become a little fun. 

As they studied the words on their screen, Yongseung found himself staring. They chewed down on their pencil and held furrowed brows in concentration. Their fingers delicately swiped the mousepad up as they scrolled. He... wasn't sure why he was staring. But even when he tried to break away and focus on his own screen, it was as if his gaze was magnetically pulled towards them. 

Eventually, he was caught. "You... okay?" They asked. He blinked then rapidly shook his head, forcing himself back to his screen. "Y...Yeah, sorry. Spacing off."

"Oh..." Was that disappointment in their voice? "Well, it is getting late. I don't wanna miss the last bus to the parking lot." They started to pack up their things. "Thanks for the drink. I actually really liked it," They smiled softly at him. His shoulders relaxed at the sight. "Oh, we should exchange numbers. Y'know, to schedule more meet ups." He nearly shot up at the suggestion. He was all too quick in breaking out his phone to receive their number. 

"You okay with heading back by yourself?" He quietly asked. 

They chuckled softly. "It's cute that you're worried for me, but I'll be fine. Look, I'll um... I'll text you when I make it to my car safely, yeah?" He could only nod pathetically. But their smile remained as they gave their goodbyes. 

Yongseung slumped in his spot. That... wasn't so bad, right? He got their number, after all! He leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling. God, they're really cute... And it wasn't just in the physical sense. A little awkward at first, sure, but he was already admiring their work ethic and willingness to try new things. This interaction only made him more eager to learn about them. Their likes and dislikes, sources of fear and joy.

Is this normal...?

"Hey." His head rolled over to Gyehyeon, who was standing over him. "Congrats on a successful first date. Can you take me home? I forgot Hoyoung was out of town for a wedding."

Straight to the point with that one. Yongseung sighed but otherwise nodded and grabbed his things. Not many words were shared, but that's how it normally is. Besides, his thoughts were on his new partner. He barely remembered dropping Gyehyeon off and making it back to his apartment. He practically collapsed on the couch. Too much energy spent from social interaction. Mindlessly, he turned the tv on to a rerun of a soccer game. 

The pillow was pulled closer to him. The exhaustion washed over him like a soothing wave. That is, until he felt buzzing from his pocket. He groggily rose his head and pulled out his phone. Oh, right! (y/n)! He tried to rub some sleep out of his eyes to read the message:

sorry for the late text! was driving. but made it home safely :]

hope ur getting some sleep too

i'll see u in class tomorrow! 

A smile stretched across his face. He snuggled back into the pillow and allowed himself to drift off to sleep. 

The project served as a good excuse to hang out throughout the past few weeks. As predicted, though, it didn't take much effort to finish, and their presentation went off without a hitch, so he came up with the idea on holding a minor celebration at his place. 

"God, now I can close all these damn tabs." (y/n) groaned as they leaned back from their laptop, earning a chuckle from Yongseung. He took a sip of his water then readjusted himself on his spot on the floor. 

"Oh yeah, I was always curious about something." He tilted his head at their question. "And what is this something?" he asked them. 

They point towards the bottle in his hand. "I only ever see you drink water or some juice. I've never seen you drink soda. Hell, not even sparkling water! I get staying hydrated but man."

Yongseung let out a few nervous laughs as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's a bit hard to explain... I basically can't drink anything carbonated." He winced at the memory. "Last time I had a soda, I passed out."

"No way!" They gasped. "Seriously?"

He meekly nodded. "My body just can't handle it, I suppose. One of my friends, Dongheon, he tried to make me drink something carbonated to see if I was still the same. I spat it back out and just laid there on the floor..." Even if it was embarrassing, he found himself laughing all the same. He quieted himself to hear their laughter more, though. "Um... please don't ask me to do that, though. Yeonho would kill me if I got stains on his rug."

They shake their head, smiling up at them. "Nah, I won't. But that is a funny story to tell." They shifted a bit closer to him as they became quiet. He nervously stiffened for a second. Since they've been hanging out, he had found out so much about them. He was shocked at how many interests they shared, and even more so when he realized how attentive they were when he would ramble about his favorite topics. 

It only made his crush worse.

It's gotten so bad that his friends were beginning to notice. Gyehyeon was already teasing him, but Yeonho couldn't, considering he had also started seeing someone he met at his job. The others were just like Gyehyeon - teasing him until Yongseung scolded them like a mother. Also didn't help that this was his first crush in a while...

"Yongseung..."

Their voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "Mhm?"

"There's something else I've also been curious about."

He tilted his head again. "Yeah? Ask away."

"I... kinda lied when we first met. About not knowing who you were."

His brow furrowed as he sat up a little. He waited for them to continue, "Truth is," they sighed, "I've seen you in a lot of my classes. The entry-level ones. Y'know, with the big halls. You always sat in the front, but you were never with anyone. You... don't have to answer, but why? Why do you sit by yourself?"

He took in a deep breath then sighed. Honestly not a question he was expecting, but he wasn't offended by it. They were merely being observant. "It's not exactly my choice," he began. "My main group of friends are all doing their own thing, so it's just been me on campus. And..." he stared at the ground, "I've tried talking to people. I don't know what it is about me. I asked my friends once. Yeonho told me that I look kind of intimidating. He figured people were just too nervous to talk to me," He shook his head. "But I've done my best to come across as nice. So, I don't know what I'm doing wrong..."

They quietly sat, eyes staring off as they listened attentively. They finally take a soft breath, "I... don't think it's on you, then. You're not doing anything wrong." They shuffled even closer. He felt their weight rest against him. "Okay, yeah, I'll admit, I was a bit intimidated by you. I mean, super pretty boy who's also insanely smart? I was also kinda worried you'd be some kind of jerk."

He paused, mouth slightly agape. Did they just-?

"But," they continued, "talking to you, hanging out with you, working with you..." They rest their head against his shoulder. "You surprised me. You're genuinely such a sweet person." His heart began to race, but not from their closeness. He felt a lump forming in his throat and had to swallow it down and cover it up with a quiet laugh. A hand wiped away the few tears that managed to leak from his eyes. 

"That's... That's really nice to hear, (y/n). Thank you. I could say the same of you... Being a sweet person, I mean. Not the intimidating part." He smiled warmly, "I actually find you quite pretty yourself."

He felt them flinch and their arm warm up against his. "Jeez, don't play like that, Yongseung..."

"I'm serious." he gazed down at them, silently waiting for them to raise their head up. When they did, he chuckled quietly at their red face. "Not only are you pretty, you're also intelligent, observant, and attentive." His voice quieted to a soft murmur as he leaned in. "I've never met someone quite like you."

He heard their breath get caught in their throat. A tiny smile couldn't help but appear on his face as a result. His forehead delicately rested on theirs; he could smell the perfume that was beginning to fade. "(y/n)..." He mumbled against their lips.

But he quickly pulled back as he heard keys jangling and the door creaking open. He bit down on his tongue and straightened out his lips as Yeonho entered. His friend paused, staring at the two of them. "...Did I interrupt something?" he snorted. 

"It's fine!" (y/n) blurted out. "It...It's getting late, anyway. I have a paper to finish." Yongseung could only sadly watch as they grabbed their things in a haste and rush to the door. "I'll um... I'll text you when I get home, okay? ... Bye." They hurried out, closing the door behind them. 

Yongseung jumped as Yeonho clapped his hands. "You were about to kiss them!" His friend laughed. But his smile dropped at Yongseung's glare. "What? Oh, c'mon! You know what time I come home!"

"I lost track of time," Yongseung grumbled. He started to clean up the area around him. "Damn, now it's just gonna be awkward," he hissed to himself. 

"Might've been awkward if you did kiss them too-"

"Not helping."

Yeonho raised his hands up in defeat, "Okay... Okay. Relax. Look, I'm sorry for ruining your little date." He hung his jacket up. "But if they really like you, then you'll get another chance soon enough." His eyes shifted to his phone. "Besides, it really is getting late. Have you ate?"

Yongseung sighed deeply. "No..."

"Then it's decided. I'll cook us up a quick meal; it'll help us sleep easier, 'kay?"

He couldn't help but nod. He could never be genuinely upset at his friend. It wasn't his fault. He just hoped he was right... 

After the brief dinner, he washed up and crawled into bed, phone in hand. He stared at the messages shared between himself and (y/n). Should he text them...? No, that might come off as too strong-

He jumped at the vibration. 

made it home see u in class :]

Despite them sending their little emoticon, he still felt like shit. He buried his face into his pillow as it began to burn hot. Why? Why did he do that? Now he might've ruined his only potential friendship - all because he got too greedy...

He took a deep breath then sighed. No use crying over it. He plugged in his phone then turned over. He'll deal with this tomorrow.

And tomorrow came all too fast. He honestly slept walked through the day. Everything his professors said went in one ear and out the other. He thought he could sleep it off, but no, it continued to haunt him. And (y/n) hasn't texted him since. His heart ached as a sudden thought came through: they hate him...

It was finally time for their class together. His footsteps felt heavy as he made his way to the building. He kept his head down, earbuds in. They can't hate him; they texted him last night! But what if that's just them being nice? His hands clenched together in his pockets. Man, he needed to apologize and soon -

His steps slowed as he took out his phone to check a notification. His eyes went wide, and he had to rub them to make sure it wasn't a mistake. His head shot up; he suddenly gained the energy to bolt the rest of the way. He knew the spot where (y/n) usually waited. And sure enough, he found them right there.

No fear weighed him down as he rushed up and called out their name. They turned towards him, only to jump as he grabbed their shoulders and spun them around. "Did you see it??" he asked excitedly. 

"Wh...What? See what?"

"Our grade! A perfect score!"

"What?!" They whip out their phone to check. "I...I mean, I knew we'd get a good grade, but a perfect score?" They looked up to him, "Shouldn't you be used to this? I'm sure you get perfect grades all the time-" They froze when he quickly kissed their cheek. Wide eyes stared at him as he was beaming. "No! Okay, sometimes, but I... I don't know! I guess since we worked so hard together on it... I guess I'm just... really proud?" He questioned himself. He finally noticed their expression and pulled their hands back.

"Oh, I'm... I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Yongseung softly grunted as his arm was yanked down. A blink later, and he felt soft lips against his own. His heart swelled with joy, but the feeling disappeared as quickly as it happened as they pulled back. He had to blink a few times to get out of his daze. 

"Tell your friend if you have me over next time." They huffed with burning red cheeks. "Also..." their eyes darted around nervously, "people are staring. Let's get inside before we're late for class."

He couldn't help but burst into laughter. His nose scrunched up as his wide smile returned. "Okay, I'll let him know." He offered a hand. "Come on. Be a real bad look if we were late after getting a perfect grade."

|| Part of the My House collection ||

[dozenssporks]

(via @terukitime)

*vash murmuring to the photocopier and printers while his coworkers peek around the corner*

vash: okay don't make that sound have some patience the jam is nearly cleared and you'll be back on the job . . . this one's still frozen huh just hang in there I'll clear the printing queue and see if you feel better don't worry bud I've got this

coworker #1, whispering: this is the softest thing ever

coworker #2: it's like a horse girl movie

vash: hey now don't take that toner with me young lady! Hehe, toner . . . the copy machine by accounting is still down and they asked first so you have to wait your turn. Your sister here can handle things for now so just enjoy a break

coworker #3: I want someone in my life who talks to me like vash talks to office equipment. Tim, are you crying?

coworker #1, wiping tears: how can he be so kind working in this hell-scape? He makes me want to do better.

vash: yes yes I know you want attention I'll get a fresh ream of paper in a sec you're always such a hard worker I appreciate you. but I don't like that grinding sound, you're overdoing it. let's try a quick restart to help you shake out of it.

coworker #4: hi, what's going--oh! vash is fixing the printers again? why didn't anyone call me! I really need this today.

coworker #1: tough day? wanna talk about it over some tea after this? I just bought a new blend to try.

coworker #4: talk? tea? I'm sorry, but you are Tim, aren't you? you slapped my hand when I tried to borrow a pen and now we're having tea?

coworker #1: yeah I'm sorry about that. vash said something the other day about how the little things are important, good or bad, and I realized I was doing a lot of bad little things and thinking it was okay because they were 'just' little. I switched from coffee to tea and I'm trying to do better.

coworker #4: tim, I think that's amazing of you! have you reconsidered your stance on hugging?

coworker #1: I'm still trying to figure out if I've been refusing as a way of distancing myself or if I just don't like people touching me, so the stance is currently unchanged, sorry

coworker #4: don't you apologize! handshake?

coworker #1: that I can do!

vash: now that is a beautiful test page! mmhm, nice clear lettering and no streaks! I'll take this over to your sister and see if she can do a copy to match--and perfect! Thank you, girls, your paper trays are full and you're running like a dream. Okey dokey we'll get these papers to the recycle bin and I'll see you later, ladies. Keep up the good work!

vash, pausing to check the time on his phone: yeep! I'm gonna be late for that meeting!

cowoker #1, stepping out from behind the corner: taking those to the recycle bin? I can grab that for you!

vash: thanks!

coworker #1: not at all, it's the least I can do!

vash, clearly not getting it: um okay. seeya!

coworker #3: how does he run so fast

coworker #2: how does he make those noises--oh no I think he's gonna wipe out when he turns the corner!

coworker #3: no, he made it! His arms are pinwheeling but he made it!

coworkers #1, #2, and #4: nice!

coworker #4: alright everybody let's knock out the rest of this day and go home on time!

*everyone heads back to their desks but coworker #1 stays behind for a moment and goes over to the photocopier, glancing furtively around*

coworker #1: um, sorry I kicked you last week when the paper jammed. It wasn't your fault and I shouldn't take out my anger on innocent objects. it reinforces my habit of expressing anger with physical violence. Thanks for your hard work

*coworker #1 glances around again to make sure he's alone and then gives the photocopier a quick pat before heading to the kitchen to make some tea*

[weird-dere-writes]

okay so like, of course, we're currently coming to the end of the first semester of our final year and Byakkun and I are both starting to become swamped with end-of-term papers, projects etc and preparations for the next semester.

we're seeing each other a little less then normal but still manage to check in via texts and brief moments on campus/the odd date. But it's at times like this that I tend to need to draw on other's support more, to avoid overthinking etc.

I know Byakkun is busy so I try not to bother him more than usual (even though he's of the 'it's unfair that we laughed together but you cried alone' type beat)

and one time when you and I are hanging out, I confess that I miss him and feel bad that work is so all-consuming but I don't want to be so demanding when we're at such a critical point

This song came on while I was writing this response and I think it fits the vibes so well 🥹

Oh my poor, tired, love 🥺.

When you tell me how you’re feeling, I immediately go to hug you close. My hold is gentle, but is still firm enough to let you know I’m here.

I’ve noticed as of late how preoccupied you’ve been. Not necessarily distant, but just swamped.

Admittedly, I had been a little worried about you. Every time i checked on you, you seemed to be working on things. I had wondered if you were even getting any rest. I couldn’t wait for a rest period to come any faster for you, truly.

I feel the way you shiver in my arms, eyes beginning to shine with tears. I’m trying to reassure you with quiet murmurs.

“I’m sorry life is bringing you so much stress right now. Even more so, I feel bad it’s keeping you and your love apart. But I’m more than sure he misses you just as much as you miss him, if not more. I know you worry about being a bother, but I think you should tell him how you feel.”

I’m sure I didn’t know him to the extent you or Ichigo did, but I know Byakkun is considerate enough to do what he can for you regardless of the struggles along the way. I know that he would never see your presence as an intrusion. I try to remind you that you are not a burden adding to his workload. You are the love of his life. And that it’s already in his heart to wanna be there for you when you need him.

But he has to know you need him in order for him to be there :(((( <3.

Byakuya, similar to you has been working in over time. Not only on his grad work, but also for his little class he teaches, and for the tasks he does when working with the organization in charge of Ichigo’s internship. When the two guys work together, Ichigo takes note of how… frazzled Byakkkun has been. And he makes it a point to keep checking in with him to make sure he’s okay.

At some point, when Ichi and Byakkun get some downtime, Byakuya straight up tells Ichigo he feels like he is losing his mind hardly being able to see you amongst all this chaos. But he knows you have enough on your plate. That your academic crazies are probably going extra hard without trying to fit him in between constant study sessions, revisions, exams, meetings with professors.

And Ichigo tells him something similar to what I tell you. But still, thought Byakkun knows he’s right, his brain is so fried he feels like he doesn’t know how to go about rectifying this. So Ichigo tells him that he’s gonna help him figure it out. He grabs a piece of paper and a pen, gives it to Byakuya, asks for his schedule. When he’s in class, when he’s studying, when he’s working on his thesis, when he’s eating, everything. And once Ichi has this information he is texting me.

We begin to make plans to help y’all out, so you don’t have to think about anything. You can save all your energy to your academic pursuits and we can handle all the rest.

Essentially Ichi and I work together to schedule events in which y’all can spend time together simply vibing. Taking little tidbits from conversations wit you both and brainstorming ideas to fulfill those needs in a way that brings both your brains back down to earth.

You mention one day you wish you had something to warm you up as you chug water to keep yourself working diligently. The next day after you’re out of class for the day, I’m picking you up and dropping you off at a small lounge somewhere on campus. Inside awaits a cozy atmosphere with fairy lights, blankets, and your choice of coffee and hot cocoa. There’s a projector set up to watch whatever you please for the next few hours and Byakuya is already there waiting.

Byakuya murmurs to himself about getting some fresh air while scribbling down notes for something. Ichigo is texting me about places with nature you two can go to. Byakkun’s next day is packed, but the day after that is when Ichigo grabs Byakkun and drives him somewhere toward the edge of town. Waiting by a booth nearby where he’s dropped off it me and you.

Ichi and I paid for your fair to walk this trail filled with flowers, lush trees, a bridge overlooking a small pond with koi, zen gardens, and fresh fruit from stands at certain stopping points. Once you two are together and told what’s up I hop in the car with Ichi and leave y’all to it. We come to get you when you message us you’re ready to go.

Stuff like that :3.

Y’all have helped us so much, so we’re more than happy to help shape more self care and quality time with your partner into your hectic and almost impossible seeming schedule. We are also making sure y’all are getting your meals in and getting your rest and all the like. Until this hellish period calms down, we are here for you, and we hope we can help you both to be there more for each other without fear uwu.

I kith you 😘💋

[unpredictable-probabilities]

Azul Ashengrotto of Royal Sword Academy || Chapter 13: Daring to Fly

Summary:

After donning Scarabia's dorm uniform, Azul chooses to spend the rest of his visit at an unexpected spot: the dorm's very own rooftops.

Word Count: 3,688

After a quick stop by the kitchen, they've reached the tall and tidy storage chamber, filled with decorations, shelves, robes, supplies, tools and plenty more. Jamil easily finds a uniform around Azul's estimated size before continuing onward and then arriving by a large door.

"You can change in here," he gestures with a small jerk of his head, opening the door and revealing the Prefect's room, large in size with a canopy bed and a wondrous balcony view.

A lush carpet lies on the floor, with pillows, books, a trunk, a desk, and a short bookcase. On top of the bookcase is a headset, a radio and a first-aid kit.

Past that, the room doesn't have much in decoration, a testament to its owner's preference to minimalistic simplicity.

"Just head inside and I'll wait for you here. You can knock on the door once you're done."

"Your room looks incredibly comfortable," Azul says appreciatively. "I might just fall into a nap in there." He smiles playfully at Jamil as he walks through the doorway.

"Heh. Careful. I won't be waking you up if you do," Jamil quips back, smiling.

He quietly closes the door.

A few minutes pass, then there's a soft knock.

Azul is standing there in the red and black uniform of Scarabia, pulling at the strings of the hoodie uncertainly.

The fitted hem of the pants with the flame design wrap just above his ankles, and luckily the sandals seem to fit him just fine.

The dark colors contrast his fair complexion, made more noticeable by the sleeveless hoodie and vest exposing his skin from shoulders to fingertips, and the neckline being lower than RSA's uniform revealing his collarbones.

"Does this look okay?" Azul asks. "It does feel much more comfortable than my uniform, I just wonder if I look… odd in it." He fidgets with the vest.

He's so cute, Jamil thinks giddily.

"You look fine, don't worry," he smiles, leaning against the doorway. "It's definitely a new look for you, but trust me, you fit in well. Can you move around in it okay?"

"I think so," Azul says, turning to face the mirror in Jamil's room, his eyebrows furrowed.

He takes a fighting stance, one foot in front of the other, the knees slightly bent, and his fists raised in front of him.

He does a few punching and kicking techniques, a serious expression on his face.

Then he turns again and sees Jamil, looking surprised as if he just remembered that Jamil is there.

Azul's face flushes and he hastily stands up properly again.

He clears his throat and smiles shyly. "Sorry. It's a habit to do that with every new outfit I wear. I did that with the suit I wore at the Winter Ball, too. I like to make sure that I can fight no matter what I'm wearing, just in case."

Greats, he's so cool, too.

"I do the same," Jamil reassures Azul. "Glad to see that you won't be killed while you're wearing that."

He enters the room and opens one of his cabinet's drawers, taking a few sheets of paper out.

He hands them to Azul. "Here are the study sheets… What made you wanna help them? Was it really over information about me?"

Azul chuckles and takes the papers. "Thank you. And I decided to help them because they were asking me to convince you to provide easier study sheets for them, but I didn't want to meddle in how you run your dorm."

He looks through the copies that Jamil gave him."These are very similar to what I use with Rielle and our friends when we're studying for exams, so I offered to help your residents instead, so there would be no need for easier study sheets. They were suspicious of me offering help for free, though," Azul smiles in amusement. "And I… I asked them what they wanted to pay me with, and they said they wanted to know more about you, since they respect you a lot but you rarely hang out with them. One of them pointed out that that sounds more like another favor than something to pay me with," he chuckles. "But I did want to know more about you, so I told them that instead of me just answering their questions, it could be a conversation among all of us, and they could tell me more about you as well. I hope you don't mind."

Jamil looks bewildered.

He begins to try to piece it all together, automatically assuming that his dormmates are digging information to use against him.

But with how Azul and they have been acting earlier, he can only assume that the merman would be smart enough to tell if they were being sincere.

"That's... an unusual change of heart for them," he mutters, finding it hard to understand. "I had no idea they felt that way."

What the heck is he gonna do with that?

Azul leans against his cabinet and crosses his arms. "Change of heart? What makes you think that they haven't always seen you that way?"

"Why would they always see me that way?" Jamil shoots back.

"Why wouldn't they?" Azul counters. "They said that you're strong, handsome, smart, and dependable. Those things are all true, yes? Unless you've gone out of your way to pretend otherwise, of course that's how they would see you, because that's who you are."

"W h a t!?" Jamil sputters out, falling quiet for a moment before narrowing his eyes at Azul. "What sort of magic did you pull to get them to admit that?"

Azul smiles. "I didn't have to do anything. As soon as I asked why they respect you so much, they started talking excitedly. They admire you that much. Or perhaps it's just my RSA charm that got them to talk," he smiles playfully.

Jamil doesn't look like he wants to believe it but he eventually just shakes his head and sighs. "I suppose you're just that capable of impossible feats… But… if it is true, then how am I even supposed to approach that?"

A part of him does want to see them openly express those sentiments, but another part of him feels like it's going to hiss and shrink into the shadows as soon as it gets all their positive attention.

He... does think that hanging out with them might not be so bad, but it's hard to overturn a suspicion that he's harbored for more than a year.

Azul smiles softly at him. "You felt the same way about me back then, didn't you? I was the annoying RSA guy that you were forced to hang out with because of Floyd, and I'm willing to bet that you were suspicious of me as well. How did you approach that?"

"... I kept talking and getting to know you," Jamil answers. He wonders how he can do that to a whole dorm. "I guess we'll all see what we can do about it sooner or later. But… Thanks. They seemed a bit more relaxed by the time I came back."

"Indeed," Azul nods. Then he smiles and mumbles to himself, "I worried for nothing."

"Hm? Did you say something?" Jamil asks. He heard perfectly well what Azul just muttered, but admittedly he wants to hear it again.

Was Azul really worried for him about his dorm mates? Was that why Azul looked troubled earlier after he mentioned the traps?

That makes Jamil feel a soft warmth in his chest that he'd never admit to.

Azul blinks and looks at him, then smiles and shakes his head. "Just thinking to myself." He stands up straight and holds up the papers. "Thanks again for these."

Jamil gives him a searching look before nodding. "No need to thank me. You're the one who's gonna be tutoring them, after all."

He leads Azul back to the main lounge, where some of the students have formed a small huddle to whisper to one another. As soon as the both of them arrived, however, they were quick to disengage, looking up at them with curious gazes.

"How long do you think it'll take you to get the materials into their heads?" Jamil quietly asks Azul.

Azul hums thoughtfully. "A few days, perhaps a week at most, hopefully, since they'll already be familiar with the materials once we begin. Why do you ask? Are you worried about their exam scores?"

Some of the students aren't subtle at all about staring at Azul wearing their dorm uniform. Others even whispered to each other while following Azul with their eyes.

Jamil notices and gives them a scolding glare. Some clear their throats and look away, some decide to transfer their gazes to him or the both of them instead.

He turns his gaze to Azul, growing concerned. "Wait, does this mean you'll be coordinating with them online, or…? Listen, if this becomes another responsibility on your shoulders--"

"Don't worry, Prefect! We'll make it as little of a hassle for him as possible!" Convo-Hopper pipes up, having gotten out of the table since a while ago. "We're fast learners!"

"In fact, it could go even faster if you stick around and help him tutor us! You're the one who made the study sheet, after all!" Gossipmonger boldly suggests.

Jamil frowns at him, but says nothing to decline, and that's when the Violet-haired freshman asks, "When will we be starting? After Halloween, right?"

"Yes," Azul nods, smiling. "If you're all free by then. I'd speak with your Prefect about it to synchronize our schedules." He puts a hand on Jamil's back just for a moment.

The Scarabia members shoot a quick look at one another before amiably nodding.

"Looking forward to it, Mister Azul!" One of the students exclaims.

"This has been a very surreal afternoon…" Jamil sighs, still feeling Azul's touch on his back even when Azul had already let go.

"We're lucky that Housewarden's boyfriend is so nice!"

"Sshh!"

Jamil hears some of his residents whisper. He'll deal with those rumors later. For now, he wants to focus his attention on Azul.

"Is there a rooftop here that you like to frequent?" Azul asks him. 

"A rooftop… I do, but it's only accessible by flight. We have a couple of brooms in here in case any of the rafters and rooftops need maintenance work."

"Ah, flying. On a broom that is not attuned to my magic," Azul says. "Just promise not to make fun of me," he tells Jamil playfully.

"Not attuned to your magic?" Jamil asks curiously, leading the way back out. "You have specialized brooms for mermen in RSA, or is it just for you specifically?"

"It's not that," Azul says as he follows Jamil outside. "I've done a lot of research on broom-flying, in the hopes that it would help me perform better. I read that brooms are similar to horses, in the sense that if they're already familiar with their rider, they're more likely to be calm and obey that rider's wishes. That's why Spelldrive players tend to have a favorite broom. Whether or not they're aware of the science behind how brooms recognize each individual mage's magic, they know that they perform best with the broom that they've used for a long time."

"Ohhhhh, so what you mean to say is that you bond with your broom back at RSA," Jamil says in amusement. "Well, just as much as a bond helps in one's broom control, they can sense whenever its rider has lost his focus or his nerve, so as long as you try not to panic so much, you'll be fine. I'll be close by to catch you if you fall."

The walk to the broom closet was not a long one, and soon they find themselves standing on one of the higher balconies, looking up at the rounded rooftops.

"... They're not as precarious as they seem." Jamil attempts to reassure Azul after a pause.

"Good to know," Azul says as he looks at the rooftops, his knuckles pale from how tightly he's holding the broom. He seems even more nervous than when they were about to fly on the magic carpet. "If I do fall hopefully it'll be on some soft sand dune."

"..."

Jamil stares at Azul's demeanor before he walks over and pats his shoulder. "We don't have to, you know. We can just stay here on the balcony."

Azul smiles at him and seems to relax ever so slightly. "I want to. I can't be afraid of flying forever, especially since Flight Class is mandatory, and flying is the only aspect of Knight Class that I have a really difficult time with. Now seems as good a time as any to face my fear," he looks at the rooftops again, gleaming in the afternoon sun.

"As determined as ever," Jamil chuckles. "How about we work up to it? While we're heading to the roof, you can come ride with me first."

Azul's eyebrows raise in surprise. "Are you sure? Have you ridden a broom with someone else before?"

"Yeah, of course," Jamil nods. Sometimes a Scarabia student would fall off his broom and he'd have to swoop in and catch them. And even then, he was already experienced since he was used to having Kalim ride with him when they were kids. He holds out his hand with a smile. "Come on. Don't you trust me?"

Azul looks at Jamil's hand and chuckles, then glances down and adjusts his glasses, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

He clears his throat and looks at Jamil again.

"Of course I do," he takes Jamil's hand.

Jamil's breath hitches at the touch, and he grins, the low afternoon sun catching his features in an orange glow. "You won't regret it. I promise." He straddles his broom and waits for Azul to clamber on. "Bring your broom with you so that you can use it once we descend."

Though he would not mind if Azul still chose to sit with him the entire time.

Azul nods and climbs on behind Jamil, his broom clasped in his left hand.

"Um, I'm not sure where I'm supposed to hold," Azul looks around at the broom uncertainly.

"It's a good thing we learned that I actually don't mind hugs beforehand," Jamil off-handedly comments in amusement. "Just try not to crush my stomach while we're going up."

Azul chuckles. "I'll do my best." He firmly wraps his right arm around Jamil's waist.

"All right," Jamil takes a breath. "Let's go."

Jamil kicks off, hovering several inches above the ground at first to make sure it's not too jarring for Azul.

Then, slowly and smoothly, he soars to the top of the tallest building. It was not too fast or too slow. Even with the winds getting stronger the higher they go, the broom's movement remains steady.

Jamil hears Azul inhale sharply behind him, and the arm around his waist holds him tighter as he feels Azul's torso press against his back.

"You all right?" he asks, glancing over his shoulder to look at Azul, all the while quietly relishing in the close physical contact.

"Sorry," Azul loosens his grip a little and leans away. "I'm… I'm fine."

"Take your time. Do you want us to reach the top already or do you wanna stay here to get used to the feeling of being in the air for a lil' bit longer?"

Azul takes a moment to answer, and Jamil feels his grip around his waist tighten slightly. "I'd like to stay here for a bit longer, if that's all right."

"Fine by me," Jamil calmly responds, leveling the broom so that it's neither tilting towards one side or the other.

"Is there a reason you wanted to come all the way out here?" he asks, glancing off to the sun in the distance.

Azul sighs, unwrapping his arm from Jamil's waist and simply gripping the side of Jamil's shirt loosely. "When we were in RSA's auditorium, we talked about our fears. And I've come to realize that I have quite a few, and I want to face each of them, starting with this one."

"Oh..." Jamil doesn't like the possibility of ever having to face any sort of bug in the near future. "Why?"

"Well…" Azul says slowly, like he's choosing his words carefully. "There are certain things I'd like to do, but I can't because I'm afraid. I want to learn to lessen those fears, at the very least, so they won't stop me from doing the things I want to do."

"I see... How are you feeling right now?" He begins to wonder if he can recall any tricks or advice in getting around one's phobias. "Planning on opening up a restaurant in the sky?"

Azul chuckles. "Something scarier than that, I'm afraid," he answers vaguely and wraps his arm around Jamil's waist again. "Alright, let's land on the roof now."

Jamil complies and lands up on the roof. Everything sounds so quiet up here, with only the wind whistling by.

He lets Azul hop off first before he follows, sitting on a spot where he had rested plenty of times before.

Azul hesitates, standing rooted on his spot and testing his balance first.

Then he carefully walks over and sits beside Jamil, looking out into the sprawling sands. "The sun isn't as hot now, and the breeze feels cooler. Though that's probably because of these clothes," Azul says. "Thank you for lending them to me."

Jamil glances at him, relaxed. "We can leave it as your honorary uniform for you to use whenever you choose to do those tutoring sessions... And I may have an idea that could help conquer your fear of heights but it's not gonna sound pleasant. What if… you try and fall?"

Azul turns to him with a horrified look on his face. "What!?" He looks down at the ground far beneath them. "From here?"

"Oh, I'm not saying we do it now!" Jamil reassures him. "And definitely not here! Baby steps. The fear of heights mostly comes from the fear of falling, right? Next time, we can find ourselves a low platform, jump from there, and get higher and higher until you don't feel threatened by heights because you know you'd be safe even if you do fall."

Azul nods, exhaling a breath of relief. "Alright." He furrows his eyebrows in thought. "Where do you think we can do such practice? Where can we keep falling without getting badly hurt?"

"That..." Jamil hums. "That I don't know yet. Perhaps we can find something in the town. I can ask around the school. Floyd will insist on something like parkour probably." He waves his hand to and fro. "We'll figure it out eventually."

Azul is silent for a few moments, looking thoughtfully at the desert beneath them. "Are there any trap-free areas here where the sand would be soft enough to keep falling on?"

Jamil stares out into the desert horizon. "There may be. We'll lack the platforms but we can use the brooms, and the point of the falling exercise is to practice using our magic reflexively fast enough before we hit the ground."

Azul stands up and picks up his broom. "Shall we, then?"

Jamil blinks at him. "You wanna do it NOW?"

Azul shrugs. "If you want to as well. Though I'd also be glad to just relax here on the rooftop. We can do it some other time." He smiles and lowers his broom again, waiting for Jamil to decide.

"Considering the upcoming Halloween Week, a small moment of peace might be what we both need right now. C'mere." He pats the spot beside him. "We'll worry about all that self-growth another time."

Azul chuckles and drops his broom. He sits next to Jamil and just stares in the distance for a long moment.

"Sorry," he says quietly. "I suppose I was just trying to distract myself. I'd been worried about Rielle and Kalim while trying to keep myself together so I could work on the Halloween preparations and help with Rielle's workload." He closes his eyes for a moment and runs a hand through his hair, sighing in tired exasperation. "But I shouldn't have tried to drag you along with me. You're right, instead of trying to keep myself busy all the time to forget about my worries, perhaps a moment of peace is what I need." He stares into the horizon with a faraway look in his eyes.

Jamil shrugs. "It's what I do when things get too much back at the Asims' Palace. If this is too boring for you, though, we can always do something else."

Azul shakes his head and smiles. "Not at all. I'm never bored with you, Jamil," he lightly hits Jamil's shoulder with his own.

The physical contact and the playfulness in Azul's voice remind Jamil of their conversation while he was in detention.

They were just joking around, though, weren't they? And Azul already kinda hugged him on the broom earlier, anyway.

Besides, a hug right now would be extremely out of the blue. It's not like they're saying goodbye already like last time.

Jamil takes in a breath and knows that there is at least something he can do in a situation like this.

He slowly leans against Azul's side, still and quiet and hoping the merman doesn't find this too intimate for his tastes.

Azul doesn't react for a moment, then Jamil feels him lean back against him, his posture relaxing. "Hm. Much better than jumping off a broom repeatedly," he says quietly.

Jamil chuckles, feeling himself relax in relief.

Closing his eyes, the song of peace and quiet surrounds the both of them until it was time for them to go.

…

Jamil makes sure to give Azul another small hug before his departure, this one a bit more sure than before.

Great Sands, he may be a bit more into this whole physical affection thing than he thought.

<- Chapter 12

Chapter 14 ->

(Masterlist)

[extravaguk]

pairing: jungkook x reader

summary: But above all things, the last thing you expected to happen when you came back was to show your tits and get pierced by none other than motherfucking Jeon Jungkook.

Jeon Jungkook. Guk. Gukkie. Jeongukkie.

wordcount: 15k

genre: summer!au, ex high school classmaters, kinda frenemies to lovers, tattoo artist!&piercing artist!jungkook, popular!reader

rated: m (fluff - smut - angst)

warnings: you broke jungkook's heart you bitch!! , oral sex (m&f), protected sex (shocking tbh), CL as your bestie it doesnt get better than that! idk i dont wanna spoil too much

author's note: fucking finally dude!! i've been writing this since february but school was kicking my ass. now that i finished my exams and mercury is in gemini i was able to finish it. if you read this, i hope you enjoy it!

Inkphoria

You've been standing outside the shop re-reading the word for fifteen minutes, although it definitely feels like it has been longer. You're gripping the flyer too tightly, rumpling the paper in your hand until you're pretty much sure it's ruined. It's the first day of June, and it's already too hot. The sun and humid weather are causing beads of sweat to form in your hairline and your white tank top to stick to your skin. Your jean shorts didn't feel this uncomfortable a few hours ago and you're sure the heat is causing your mascara to transfer to your eyelids and lower lashline. You've never needed a slushie and a smoke this bad in forever, even if you knew the later would make your parents lose their shit.

Inkphoria

You read it again. Your brain is trying to guess what font its written in, an excuse to try to steady your heart beat until your nerves ease a little and you can finally gather the courage to step into the damn shop. You've noticed a few people passing by giving you strange looks because maybe it hasn't been fifteen minutes. Perhaps you've been unmoving like an idiot in the middle of the street for longer than you want to admit.

Chaelin's voice echoes inside your head.

'Its not that much of a big deal. It's not even that painful, trust me.'

You wish you could trust your best friend, but your best friend is also the same woman who assured you Cats was the movie of the year. Yes, not 'Cats: The Musical'. 'Cats', the movie.

'And this could be a great start to get out of your comfort zone and start living your life exactly the way you want to, not the way people expect you to. Not the way your family wants you to, not the way Adam wanted you to.'

But although her credibility could sometimes be questionable - like that time she also told you she'd tried marmite and 'honestly, it's not as bad as people make it out to be'-, you also didn't trust anybody in this world as much as you trusted her. She had always been your entire support system, the only one around you who never sugarcoated, who always treated you as an equal, who was always there for you to help you discover yourself and, at the same time, remind you of who you were.

'And it's gonna look so hot, too.'

That's it. Sticking the wrinkled flyer on your back pocket, your feet finally start moving. It doesn't take longer than three strides and you're pushing open the door.

The first thing you notice is that, thankfully, the shop is empty. The second thing you notice is the bright sky blue walls, a green undertone peaking through. Your eyes scan nervously the interior. Frames with tattoo designs and people modeling other different designs decorate the walls, some skateboards also hanging from the ceiling. A few plants in the corner, and two leather couches on either side of the room. Your scanning stops on the counter, where a girl with short, platinium hair and -what you guess is- the eighty percent of her body inked. Face included. She's been looking at you, a smirk tugging at her lips. Her tone is amused when she speaks

"Hi." she says. "You can come closer, you know? We don't bite."

Great. As if you couldn't feel more out of place, apparently you also couldn't look more out of place.

"Sorry." you gulp as you walk forward. "It's my first time doing anything like this."

She laughs this time, but it's not mean. It's not mocking, thank God, and the smile she sends you is as warm as the weather, friendly, luckily helping you calm down a bit. "A virgin, huh? JK's gonna love this." your eyes jump in surprise, but she's fast to wave her hands in front of you. "Just a joke. So, first time getting a tattoo. You have something in mind, honey?"

"Um, no. Not a tattoo. Not yet, I think." you wet your lips, regretting not reaplying chapstick before stepping inside. "A piercing."

"Oh! Cool!" she claps her hands, too excited for your own taste, pulling from under the counter a catalogue. "So, where will it be? Cartilogue? Nose? A lot of people are getting their septums pierced right now, though, so you might-"

"Nipples. Like, one of them."

Her gaze finds yours in surprise, although her face swiftly transforms again into an amiable expression. "Now, that's badass. Alright!" she skims through the pages of the catalogue until she finds the nipple piercing collection. You scratch your head before wiping your forehead sweat-free. "You can pick either barbells or hoops, although barbells heal faster and they don't move around as much. There's different kinds of metal, too. Gold or platinium. If your skin is sensitive, I recommend titanium. It's hypoallergenic and not as problematic."

The blonde keeps talking as you nod your head, a smile making its way into your face while silently thanking her for her easygoing personality. It quickly makes you feel comfortable and stupid for being so terrified of doing this.

Once you decide, settle on the cost and sign the papers, she stands up from the stool she'd been sitting on. "Ok, I'll go tell my coworker. He's been sketching tattoos all morning, it's time he gets to work!" she laughs, but suddenly your smile banishes and your throat shuts down.

"He?" your alarmed tone halts her motions and she looks back at your frightened expression.

He? A he is going to pierce your nipple? You're about to let a random stranger, a HE, see and touch one of your boobs and then pierce a needle through one of your nipples?

"Oh, baby, don't worry. I'd do it myself if I knew how to, but I only do tattoos. Most of our staff are on summer vacation so it's mostly just him and I. If you don't feel comfortable, which is totally understandable, you can wait until september when Minzy comes back and she can do it for you." It's her turn to scratch the back of her head as she adds: "but trust me, we're professionals. He's not a creep or anything like that. He's been doing this for a long time. He won't cross any boundaries."

September? You won't even be here in september. Fuck.

Sure, you could do it when you move back into the city. But this summer was supossed to be the summer. You already decided after your breakup with Adam that there would be no trace of the old you. That it was time to push yourself, to do the things that you've always wanted to do, unapologetically. To find the new you, the real you. To stop being scared.

So after going through you options for a few seconds and taking a deep breath, you make up your mind.

"It's fine. I can do it."

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"JK, sweetheart!"

Jungkook is finishing drawing a Chinese dragon when Mijoo opens the door without knocking. Again. He puts the pen down, rubbing his eyes. It's monday, a slow monday, not much work, and he had hoped it would stay that way until closing time. It's summer and Jungkook hates summer. He hates the heat, he hates being drenched in sweat, and he hates the fact that he can do nothing about it. Because working in the summer is terrible. Summer makes him lazy, makes him want to bathe in a tub full of iced water and not get out until he turns into a raisin and october comes. It makes him irritable. Summer makes him annoyed by people -like Mijoo, even if he loves her to death- and himself.

"I got a girl here who wants a nipple piercing, her first piercing by the way, so get your shit ready and bla bla bla. Straight titanium barbell. Also, don't flirt and don't be creepy. She almost ran away when I told her a male was going to be touching and piercing her tit, be mindful of that. She's too cute, if you want to get her number you should wait until it's done. I think that's it. I'll bring her in in a minute."

Mijoo leaves as fast as she talks, but Jungkook is already used to it. He's already used to the headaches her mouth causes too. He sighs before standing up, tying his too-long raven hair into the best bun he can manage. He washes his hands, sets the table up, sits on the chair and puts the gloves on. He's too busy sterilizing the jewerly when Mijoo comes back with you.

"Alright, my babies. I'll leave you to it." she turns to you. "He'll explain everything, from how the process will be to how to take care of it after it's done." she leaves before saying bye, closing the door behind her, and then he finally turns to you.

Your eyes meet and suddenly everything stops. He almost drops the sterilizing machine, his whole body tensing, going into panic mode as he recognizes you immediatly. His hands shake.

Of course he does. Of course he recognizes his high school crush. The too goody two shoes, too pretentious and too rich, too good for everybody and, most importantly, 'too good for Jeon Jungkook' girl of his high school dreams. Of course he recognizes the girl he had confessed his stupid crush to when he was sixteen. Of course he recognizes the girl who rejected and broke his young and foolish heart when he was a dumb teenager.

It doesn't matter that six years have passed ever since. He still knows every lock of your hair like the palm of his hand. He still remembers the shape of your lips and the exact shade of your eyes. He can still identify the body he fantasized about -and jacked off to- when he was a hormonal teen, now filled in all the right places. Now a grown woman.

Just one look at you after years and years of pining is enough to almost make him faint. And grow a boner under his jeans.

And by the look on your face, your eyes wide and your mouth agape, you recognize him as well.

Dammit.

He schools his features and clears his throat. Forces his body to relax and compose himself, because he's not a teenager anymore. He's also a grown man, who has matured, who now has much more experience with women than he did back then. He had already embarrased himself enough when he was sixteen to be doing it all over again. You're just another attractive girl in a sea of attractive women.

He turns to you. You still haven't said anything. Neither has he.

"Um, you can sit on the table." he manages, motioning to the set up in front of him. He watches you taking doubtful steps until you're sitting down, your eyes avoiding his gaze. He almost forgot you were here to get pierced. Holy shit, you were here to get pierced. To get your nipple pierced.

You're a professional, Jungkook. You can do this, Jungkook. You've seen boobs before, Jungkook. You've pierced nipples before, Jungkook.

Clearing his throat again and forcing his hands to stay by his side, he speaks. "The... The top." your gaze finds his, like a puppy about to get scolded. You look at your top, realization dawning on you. "You don't have to take it off. You can just pull it down."

So you do, pulling the straps of the white tank top down and dragging the fabric down with trembling fingers. No bra. Jungkook gulps as your breasts comes into vision. As perfect as he had imagined years ago. His cock twitches. Round, full, perky and so damn inviting he has to hold himself back from latching onto one nipple with his mouth around it and swirling his tongue over the nub until you're a pretty, moaning, little mess on his piercing tabl-

He closes his eyes for just a second before reminding himself to act like the 23 year old Jungkook he's tried so hard to become. The confident, assured Jungkook he is.

"Okay, this is how it'll go. First I'll clean it and scrub it to get rid of any bacteria." he's so glad he hasn't stuttered yet. 23 year old Jungkook doesn't stutter like 17 year old Jungkook. He's also glad he can pick the alcohol bottle and the surgical scrub without trembling. When he faces you again, you're watching his motions with your lip caught between your teeth. That has him swallowing the lump in his throat.

Making eye contact with him again, you take a deep breath and offer a small nod, so he gets to work. He can show you and himself he's a grown man. A grown man who can pierce a nipple without appearing like it's the first time he's seen a boob in his life. The sooner he does it, the sooner it's over.

Jungkook wets the paper towel with alcohol before carefully wiping over your nub with it. Your back arches, probably from the cold feeling, he guesses. He rubs it a few times before throwing it in the trash can nearby. He avoids looking at how enticing the soft peak is salluting him when he reaches for the marker. He doesn't say anything when he dots it with it, jaw clenched and his dick painfully stiff.

"Lay back." his voice low as he commands, turning away to get the clamp. When he slides closer, he tries to ignore the view: you, with your hair sprawled and your sweaty, shiny skin and your eyes focused on the cieling, nipple fully erect, like the star of one of his most erotic dreams. He extends his free gloved hand before he can stop himself, fingers carefully working the nub until he's sure it's painfully hard. Almost as hard as he is.

You gasp, your back arching again. He stills and looks at you, your cheeks flushed pink. Probably from the heat, he guesses again. Or at least that's what he tells himself. He can't stop himself from wondering how responsive would you be in a different setting, most likely his bed while his teeth play with your breast and his cock dives into-

"You okay?" he studies your face, your eyes not meeting his and instead still focusing on the white ceiling.

"Mhm." you reply with a small voice.

"Relax, alright? It'll be over soon." his voice is as gentle as he can, his fingers mindlessly caressing your breast to try to soothe your nerves. Or maybe it's just because he's a selfish bastard. Whatever it is, he forces himself to bring the clamp to your nipple, securing it around it.

"Take a few deep breaths. This will only take a second of pain and then it will go away." He misses the way your mouth falls open, but he doesn't miss the way your eyes squeeze tight as the needle goes in.

"Ah!" he definitely doesn't miss that either. He goes rigid for a second, because that didn't fucking sound like a cry of painfulness. It's breathy, and whiny, not too loud and, for fucks sake, if that's how you sound when you're getting fucked, he swears to God-

He feels your heartbeat under his hands when he puts the barbell in and then the bandage over it. He takes a look at you, chest moving up and down. And then you take a look at him and what he sees is almost enough to take you right there.

Reddened cheeks, drops of sweat framing your face and those eyes glazed with something he's seen too much in the women he's fucked throughout his life. They're half lidded, mascara adorning your long lashes and almost smudged, looking right through him.

"Jungkook..." and your voice, as you say his name -acknowledging him for the first time since you stepped into his shop, for the first time since you were sixteen-, it's hoarse, almost inaudible, like you just came all over his-

He's on his feet in an instant like he's been burned. "It may bleed for the first week, and it can be really sore. The swelling will eventually come down." he's quickly tidying up the table, a bottle in his hand that he hands to you without looking directly. "Wash it gently with this soap and warm water once per day. Don't touch it. Wear a comfortable...bra. If it gets crusty, clean it with saline. Not alcohol or any other thing you might clean a wound with. The soap I just gave you or saline. Nothing else."

He's pacing around the room as he takes his gloves off and throws them in the trash bin, too agressively maybe, then he keeps rambling, like he's hurriedly trying to make you leave as soon as possible. "Avoid pools and the sea. It takes about six months to a year to heal, so don't... don't touch it, don't play with it or..." he clears his throat, "don't let anyone else play with it. And if it gets infected, come back immediately and I'll take a look at it." which he honestly hopes it won't happen. When he faces you, your top is back on and you're getting off the table.

"Alright, um...I'll do that." clearing your throat, your hand gripping the doorknob. "Thank you."

But right before you can exit the room, Jungkook says your name.

"_____." when you turn around to face him, it takes a few seconds for him to make eye contact from across the room. "It was good to see you."

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"Let me see!"

It's the first thing Chaelin says when she opens the door to her appartment. It's on the second floor, small enough to compare it to most expensive appartments you'd stayed in throughout your life, but big enough for Chaelin, her cat and her -impressive- collection of acrylic nail kits and pairs of high heels. It's also big enough for her to offer you the only guest room until summer is over so you didn't have to, one, stay at your parents' place, and two, find an appartment in a short period of time for a short period of time.

When you left years ago, you did so with the thought of 'never looking back'. You never really expected to return here, of all places. Maybe visit your best friend for a weekend at most, have dinner with your parents on a saturday and then go back to the new life you'd made for yourself on a sunday.

But that was before you'd caught Adam cheating.

Tale as old as time: childhood sweethearts get engaged, move in together, son of a bitch sleeps with the assistand he told his girlfriend not to worry about, and then the brokenhearted girl packs her bags and leaves the cheating bastard begging for her to come back.

You'd be lying if you said you were surprised.

Throughout your life, you'd learned to expect many things, regardless of being sheltered and babied by your family since you were born. Watched too much Maury and Dr.Phil. Too much Gossip Girl to know what the deal with life really is.

So, thankfully, you'd only shed a few tears, mostly because your ego and self steem were slightly triggered. You'd realize long before that your feelings for Adam started to disappear once he popped the question and you said yes. Your love story began as teenagers but soon after graduating, the two of you went on different paths: you'd matured, grown into your twenties while he got stuck at 17 and never stopped acting as such.

So yeah, whatever, break ups are hard. But they're not as hard when the love is gone and the sole reason to stay with your partner is to please your parents. You were also right when you expected your mom to tell you to 'forgive and forget' because 'those things just happen, it's not a big deal, honey'.

But above all things, the last thing you expected to happen when you came back was to show your tits and get pierced by none other than motherfucking Jeon Jungkook.

Jeon Jungkook. Guk. Gukkie. Jeongukkie.

The lanky nerd with braces, glasses and an anime obsession much bigger than his hentai obsession, which is saying a lot. The shy, awkward classmate who'd stuttered his undying crush for you when you were just kids. That one who you had rudely rejected like the bitch you used to be in high school.

But my God, Jeon Jungkook was anything but a kid now.

You were shocked. You were gagged. Couldn't seem to fathom what was happening and what your eyes were seeing. It took you a while to close your mouth when you realized JK was Guk. Gukkie. Jeongukkie.

With messy black hair, a smoldering gaze free of glasses, piercings adorning both ears, and his right eyebrow,, the braces long gone showing perfectly straight - but still bunny like- teeth. The clothes he wore were loose, all black, but it was impossible not to notice the muscles of his back and arms, covered with tattoos from his hands to his forearms. You'd bet there were more of them underneath the fabric.

It was awkward at first. You didn't know what to do, or what to say. Didn't know if he rememberd you. So you chose to stay quiet while your body chose to react like it had never been in the presence of an attractive young man in it's entire life.

And oh, did it react.

He was reluctant, his old timid demeanor peeking through his newly adopted persona. But as soon as those hands came in contact with your skin, your whole body was lit on fire. Like you were 16 and losing your virginity over again and it was the first time a dude touched your boobs.

There shouldn't have been anything erotic about it -besides the fact that your entire breasts were exposed-, it should've been just a professional procedure. But those gloved fingers touched and pinched and suddenly you were too aware of Jeon Jungkook and the way you were starting to sweat profously, not due to the heat of the season.

You tried to distract yourself by looking at the cieling and not at his gorgeous face. Tried to avoid thinking about Jeon Jungkook and how his mouth would feel wrapped around you. Tried not to think about the way your panties were a second skin to your folds, and how tempted you were to grind your hips until you recieved some sort of friction with the jean fabric of your shorts. You wonder if he noticed you squeezing your thighs together. You hope not.

And then the needle happened. You never thought of yourself as a particularly kinky person. Sex with Adam was boring for the most part and you'd lost your libido for a long time. Stopped thinking about sex altogether. But the pain. The pain mixed with his hand rubbing soothing circles on your breast and his voice, as sweet as honey, guiding you through it. It made you reconsider a lot of things you'd once dismissed as 'weird' or 'deviant'

You swear you almost came right on his table.

And then your eyes connected, you made the mistake of calling his name like a satisfied woman who still needed more, and it was all gone. He stood up like a scared cat, gave you a bunch of explanations about the aftercare that you barely grasped without even looking at you and pretty much rushed you to leave.

So you walked, all the way from the tattoo parlor to Chaelin's appartment, mortified, and completely humilliated.

"Are you gonna let me see or not?" your friend says expectantly as you finally sit down after chugging a glass of iced water. You sigh, placing the glass on the table before carefully pulling down your top. "Oh my God, it looks so cool!" she gasps and you can't help a smile while she studies it in amazement. "Did it hurt?"

"Um, I guess." you keep out the part where you almost orgasmed, obviously, stopping her hand from touching when she reaches towards you. "Wait, no. He said something about not touching it for like six months or a year, I don't remember."

At that, Chaelin's eyebrows quirk up. "He? It was a he? Was he cute, at least?"

"You won't believe this..." looking away for a few seconds, you take a deep breath. "It was Jeon Jungkook."

There's a pause, a silence that fills the room when Chaelin's jaw drops. "Jeon Jungkook...pierced your nipple?"

You close your eyes, bracing yourself for what you're a hundred percent sure is coming.

"Ha..." there it is. "Ha ha..." you still know there's more. "Ha ha ha..."

Chaelin laughs hysterically for about God knows how long, while you keep drinking your glass of water unfaced, your mind drifting back to Guk. Gukkie. Jeongukkie, his tattoos and his stupid gloved hands.

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You know he's here.

Everything was cool, you were doing alright, having a great time with your vodka sprite in hand and your cute white bikini on. Chaelin was by your side, the guys were excited to have you back and thankfully, you'd avoided most questions about Adam and they'd avoided digging too deep into the topic. You'd sunbathed the whole afternoon, kept away from the water like he'd told you and ate the Hawaiian pizza Yoongi insisted on ordering despite Namjoon's and Jimin's complaints.

It's at night, when you're a little tipsy and your cheeks are flushed, that you feel it. You'd barely noticed Taehyung disappearing to let in a new guest.

You don't see him, but you feel him.

You're sitting on the pool tile steps, legs dangling and the water baely reaching your belly to make sure it doesn't touch your very sensitive and newly pierced nipple. Your back is facing the sliding glass doors of Hoseok's house, but the moment you hear his voice, smooth but animated as he converses with Taehyung, your body wakes up immediately, back straightening, goosebumps forming on your arms and nipples tightening against the fabric of your two piece.

You don't turn around, instead opting for downing the remaining of your drink and coming to the realization that, of course, Taehyung, social butterfly who'd always got along with everybody and remained friends with most people from high school, still keeps in touch with Jungkook.

You ignore him when he enters the pool, still peering from the corner of your eyes while pretending to be engaged in Chaelin's and Jihyo's conversation. Your mind sabotages you by taking you to that day a week ago at the tattoo parlor.

To the warmth of his hand, to the few strands of hair that his small ponytail couldn't keep together, to the way his eyes focused on such an intimate part of your body, to the endless ink decorating his skin, to-

Great. Now your bottoms are wet and not due to the water.

You don't miss Chaelin supressing a laugh and her not so subtle elbowing. You glance at her in warning and try to keep calm for the next fifteen minutes until Jin proposes moving to the living room to watch a movie.

"I'm gonna stay here for a little longer, guys." you say, after clearing your throat. You needed some time to gather yourself before being in a confined space with Jungkook.

"Are you sure?" Jin stops by your side to place a hand on your shoulder as everybody starts exiting the pool. "It's Mean Girls! You love Mean Girls! You never miss a minute of Mean Girls!"

Rolling your eyes, you wave him dismissively. "I know every dialogue on Mean Girls like the back of my hand, I think I'll be alright, Jin."

When everybody finally leaves, you take a deep breath, covering your face with your hands in an attempt to get him out of your head. Damn Jeon Jungkook and his irresisitble glow up.

"You okay?"

The unexpected voice startles you, a gasp finding its way out of your mouth and causing you to jump on your seat, heartbeat erratic as you instantly recognize who it belongs to. Your hand grasps your chest as if that would do anything to protect yourself against him.

"Shit, don't do that!" you say, the words almost getting stuck in your throat as you see him approaching you, still submerged in the pool. The more he nears you, the less water depth there is and the more visible his torso comes into view. Wich was exactly what you'd been avoiding.

Because Jeon Jungkook was ripped, as you'd imagined when you first encountered him.

Broad shoulders and strong biceps and chiseled abs and veiny forearms. Drenched hair, a full sleeve of tattoos and water dripping from delicious tan skin and all just so very hard. That paired up with a loopsided smile that does nothing but make you shudder.

"Sorry." he doesn't sound apologetic at all when he says that, the smirk adorning his features telling. "You just seemed a little off." you advert your gaze when he pushes his hair back.

"I'm fine, just...just wanted to be by myself."

"Oh" Jungkook's smile disappears. "I can leave, if you want me t-"

"No!" you're not sure where that comes from and neither does he, judging by the look on his face when your eyes find his. Eyebrows raised and mouth slightly parted, he's as surprised as you and there's an awkward silence for a few seconds. "Um, you don't have to. I mean, it's not my house, you can do whatever you want." you sniff and tame your voice, trying to seem cool and collected like you didn't just practically beg him not to go.

Ironic, considering this was exactly what you had been fearing for the past thirty minutes.

And then he smiles. A knowing smile. A smile that says 'you just totally checked me out and now you don't want me to leave'. A smile that you would have never associated with Jeon Jungkook of all people years ago. A smile that makes you want to look away but still keeps you in place.

"Sure." he says, closing the space between the two of you slowly but still leaving enough distance. "So, how's it going?"

You clear your throat, head high and determined not to let this man, or any man for that matter, turn you into a trembling mess. You're still you and you're not easily shaken by the opposite sex. Or at least that's what you helplessly chant in your head.

"Everything's cool. I'm on summer vacation now," a little white lie, "so I decided to-"

"The piercing." he says, the smile never leaving his face. "I meant how's the piercing."

"The pier- right." you almost miss the step he takes forward, all too aware of his height over yours but thankful for the centimeters that being propped on the stairs added to yours. "It's-" you almost, almost miss his knee touching your knee and him slightly separating your legs with his own inch by inch. Or how your thighs open unvoluntarely to welcome him in and how you can barely find coherent words to speak. "It's doing-" or the way his smile disappears and is instead focusing his dark stare fully onto yours.

"It's doing well." you finally say in a whisper, not being able to bring yourself to be louder.

He hums. "May I see it?" Jungkook wets his lips with the tip of his tongue and the action and his voice is enough to make you nod your head, bewitched.

His movements are unhurried, his hand coming up to tentatively come in contact with the flesh of your clavicle. His fingers skim through your skin upwards, his touch is feather-like when it wraps around your throat. You pant, and he stops but he doesn't move away, his eyes still focused on yours, studying you, daring you to pull back, to tell him to back off. But just a simple touch of his and you're fully under his control. It reminds you too much of the day you got that damn piercing.

Your lips are parted and for a moment he stays just like that. His body so close to yours but not close enough, and his hand slightly gripping your neck. Your pussy clenches around nothing and you can't wrap your head around the fact that something so simple sets your entire being alive and leaves you aching.

Then, as slow as he started, his hand travels from the front of your neck to the back, pushing your hair aside to carefully untie the straps of your bikini. He breathes through his nostrils, doesn't make a sound. He seems so collected it's starting to annoy you.

Instead, your breathing is ragged when the top falls down, exposing both your breasts to him. That's when he removes his eyes from yours and his jaw clenches. Your nipples perk up under his gaze, like they remember him and the effect he had on them just a week ago. You're at least glad you're not the only one affected but he seems to be a master at keeping it under wraps.

Then, his hand moves again, leaving goosebumps on your skin as it goes south. Jungkook takes his time, so deliberate you want to scream, until he's cupping your pierced breast, keeping away from the nipple just like he'd advised you a few days prior. You can't look away from his face, from his eyes observing you like you're a full course meal and he's been starving for days. You feel drops of water falling from his hair to your thighs, his thumb caressing your skin so delicately as it faintly nears your still tender nipple. Just nearing it, never touching it.

"Beautiful." his murmur is almost imperceptible and for a moment you think you've imagined it. Your back arches on its own, breast pushed against the palm of his hand, almost like your body is begging him to come closer, to touch you more, to feel you all over. He meets your eyes briefly, gauging your reaction, before going back to your chest. Suddenly, the grip on your breast tightens, fingers ever so softly squeezing your flesh. From your throat comes a mewl, your eyes shut and your legs close around his waist.

"Jungkook, please..." you whisper when you open your eyes. He looks at you, unvertainty written all over his face, lips bruised as if he had been biting on them too hard, gaze as glassy as yours. And just like that, the spell is broken. He blinks and his expression changes completely. Lips forming a straight line and jaw tight. His hand retracts, fixing your bikini top over your breasts before tying it around your neck like it originally was. Meanwhile your eyebrows crunch in confusion. But when you're about to start asking questions, he clears his throat.

"It's healing okay." he steps back, avoiding your eyes. "I'll see you inside."

Jungkook leaves the pool like nothing happened.

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Jungkook is fiddling, fixing the position of his glasses and combing through his straight hair with shaky hands, habits he's tried so hard to get rid of in his sixteen years of existence but still finds impossible to.

He can't help it. He's always been like this: the quiet and awkward kid in class who sits in the back, a misunderstood puppy in a sea of stronger dog breeds that could eat him alive. An outcast. Too geeky for his own good. Notebokes full of Dragon Ball doodles on the margins of the pages, the shelves in his room stacked with Marvel figurines, and a closet filled with outdated clothes that he has been inheriting from his older brother.

He has never been the type to stand out, always being overlooked by people like he's invisible. He doesn't mind though. He'd much rather be ignored than getting picked on by bullies like he used to in elementary school.

He never gets invited to parties. Ever. He's a nobody who barely speaks, and when he does he either stutters or manages to embarrass himself in one way or another. He's seen the look on people's faces when they look at him. Their eyes seem to scream 'weirdo' everytime he gets acknowledged.

So obviously the only reason he was invited to this particular party had a first and last name: Kim Taehyung. The only kid in Jungkook's entire life who didn't look at him in a funny way, the only kid who took the time to entangle in a random conversation with him after class and who seemed geniune enough to make Jungkook feel comfortable.

He's not sure how it happened, since Taehyung mostly hangs out with the cool kids. But somehow it did, and now Jungkook is uncomfortably standing in a living room full of drunk teens, looking directly at you.

You, the one girl Jungkook had been pining on for God knows how long. You, who are obviously too pretty, too popular, and way out of his league. You, with your plaid skirt and your polo shirt and those legs that never seem to end. You, who are sitting with your friends in a couch, drink in hand and visibly tipsy. And yet, he doesn't think he's ever seen anyone pull of the 'drunk-rosy-cheek' look better than you.

He can hear your laugh through the music and he already thinks it sounds better than whoever is playing in the background.

"Come on, Gukkie! Her friends are leaving and she's all by herself now! It's your chance" Taehyung's obviously drunk too because it took Jungkook a while to decypher his exact words. He'd disappeared for a while and now that he's back, he's pushing Jungkook in your direction.

"This was a mistake, Taehyung." Jungkook shakes his hair and steps back, quickly glancing at the front door to prepare his escape. But his new friend's grip on his hoodie keeps him in place.

"Guk, listen. The only thing you have to do, is walk up to her, and say 'hey I think you're, like, really pretty. Just letting you know. Bye!' That's it. Jung- Dude, Guk, seriously, look at me." Taehyung grabs Jungkook's cheeks, squishing them between his hands and forceing him to face him. "You've been crushing hard on her for years, my man. We're graduating and you won't see each other again. What's the worst thing that can happen? Getting rejected?"

Jungkook's eyebrows draw together. "Um, yeah?"

"Exactly! Getting rejected is not the end of the world, bro! It just means keep trying on other girls!" Taehyung releases his hold on Jungkook's cheeks. "I just think you're going to regret not telling your crush she's your crush. Who knows? Maybe in the future you two will get married."

Jungkook snickers, muttering a 'yeah right' under his breath. Still, he can't help the smile that Taehyung's words always seem to pull out of him.

"Now," Taehyung playfully slaps Jungkook before turning him in your direction again. "Go get 'em, tiger!"

"Okay," Mijoo's voice slices through Jungkook's memories. She's sitting on Jungkook's desk, munching on her brownies and looking at her coworker expectantly. "And then what?"

He sighs, running a hand through his hair, sits back on his chair, already feeling the effects of Mijoo's baked goods. "And then I walked up to her, like a damn fool, stutter and all. And I say:" he clears his throat, making an effort to do his best teenage Gukkie impression."'Hey, _____, um, so, I think you're beautiful and I've had a crush on you since seventh grade, haha, just wanted to let you know.'"

Mijoo rolls her eyes, still chewing. "And then what?"

"And then she looked me up and down, giggled, fucking giggled, Mijoo, and said 'Who are you, again?'" Mijoo gasps and Jungkook closes his eyes, trying to force that recollecion out of his head.

"What a bitch." she can't help but laugh before apologizing. Jungkook merely shrugs his shoulders and takes another bite of his brownie. "She didn't say anything else?"

"She said something along the lines of:" he clears his throat again, this time, doing an impression of you. "'That's sweet and all but, you and I... we're not the same. And I have a boyfriend, so...' She said that like I didn't know, like I wasn't aware of the school's it couple! Like I was dumb!"

Mijoo nods. "And now you want to fuck her even more than you did in high school."

"I- No! Well, yes. Fuck, of course I want to sleep with her! But I just... can't."

"Why not?"

"Did you hear anything about what I just told you or were you too concentrated trying to get high?"

It's Mijoo's turn to roll her eyes. "I heard everything you just told me. I just don't understand what the problem is. You two were sixteen. Sure, she was a bitch about it, but Lord knows I've been a bitch my entire life and now I'm not anymore." Jungkook raises an eyebrow at that. "Okay, sometimes I can be nice. But the point is..." Mijoo finishes her piece of brownie before getting off of Jungkook's desk. "It's been, what? Nine? Ten years? People change, JK. You're the best example of that. You want to fuck her and she obviously wants to fuck you too. You're both adults." she wipes her hands on her shorts. "I think it's time you fulfill that high school fantasy of yours."

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You've made up your mind.

And by you, it means Chaelin has made up your mind.

It didn't take long to convince you though. That last interaction with Jungkook cause too many emotions stirring within you. It left you hot, it left you bothered, it left you confused. Sure, it also left you a little bit embarrassed like the first time, but above everything else, that interaction with Jungkook left you absolutely livid.

Because who the fuck did Jeon Jungkook, formerly known as Guk, Gukkie, Jungukkie, and currently known as JK, think he was to come near you, speed your heart rate's up, and then runaway like that?

You've spent days thinking about it. About that face, about that body, about those hands and- shit. You're doing it again.

You've spent days trying to push those intrusive thoughts. Spent days trying to bury what happened. You've spent days trying to keep quiet, not telling anyone about it and just wishing that stupid spark of desire simply went away.

But it has just been simply unavoidable. You haven't been able to ignore the sleepless nights with your brain drifting back to that night and forbidding your hand from slipping under your panties. Or the excessive amount of time during the day where images of him suddenly popped in your head and wouldn't go away, even with you squeezing your thighs to try to make the ache go away.

So you ended up ranting and ranting and ranting to the only person you could confide on, who is obviously your best friend. Your best friend, who's too smart for her own good and knows you too well for your liking. Because apparently your moodiness and snappy remarks couldn't go unnoticed.

And after explaining the fiasco over a bottle of wine -and minutes of endless laughing on Chaelin's part because, again, it's Gukkie you two were talking about and, according to her, this was "the most karmic thing I've ever seen"-, she gave you the best advice an older sister could ever give.

"Fuck him."

"I know right? Fuck him!"

"No. I mean, fuck him."

And now here you are. Right inside that room you stepped in weeks ago, confronting the man in question with the same confidence that has always distinguished you from others and trying to act like the fluttering inside your belly wasn't nauseauting.

"A date."

"Yes."

"You want to go on a date with me." this wouldn't be so hard if Jungkook didn't look so delectable in a plain white t-shirt and ripped jeans. You cross your arms over your chest, doing your best to not look down at the exposed skin of a man who obviously worked out a lot and apparently, never skipped leg day. "What's the catch?"

He's sitting on his chair, back resting comfortably and legs spread, narrowing his eyes at you and probably wondering why the girl at the front desk let you in without an appointment. Also, probably wondering if there was a catch to all of this.

"There's no catch. I just want to go to the fair this weekend. I'll ask Taehyung for your number and text you the date and the exact place we'll be meeting. Unless..." your quirk one of your eyebrows. "Unless you're already planning on how you'll chicken out this time."

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Of course, Jungkook says yes to going on a date with his high school crush but spends the following days overthinking every single thing.

He can't help but feel like it's kinda sketchy. What if you're planning your vendetta on him? What if you don't even show up and he ends up there looking like a damn idiot? What if you hate him and are just messing up with him? What if that incident in high school is going to repeat itself?

"If she doesn't show up, you simply move on and never speak to her again. It's that simple. She can't have that much power over you to cry about something like that." Mijoo had said that same day she let you in the tattoo parlor after you'd asked to see Jungkook. Jungkook's coworker hadn't even question you and just motioned you to Jungkook's room with a knowing smile on her face. Later that day, Jungkook had scolded her about it and she'd simply shrugged.

He considers cancelling, eyes reading the 'won't be able to make it, sorry (sad face emoji)' over and over again and fingers hovering over the send button so many times he's lost count. But then he remembers that comment of yours about him chickening out and Jungkook starts seeing red.

How couldn't you understand he's just terrified of you rejecting him one more time? Sure, Jungkook is now an adult who doesn't get butthurt over stuff like that. He's experienced too much after graduating from high school and he's a much stronger individual than his fragile self back was back then.

But something about you just makes him feel so... weak.

He still finds it impossible to concieve where he got the courage to approach you like that at Taehyung's pool, or how he brought himself to touch you for longer than a minute without coming in his pants. He'd enjoyed it too much. Allowing him to see you so exposed, just for him. He'd be so tempted to kiss you right there and then, to run his hands up and down your thighs and fully wrap your legs around him to let you known how much you'd affected him. Once you called his name, it was like he'd finally snapped out of it and backed away like he'd been burned by you. He spent the next twenty minutes trying to keep himself from pulling down his pants and jerking off in his friend's bathroom.

It's terrible. Because he feels like the teenager he used to be when you're around. Shy, insecure and overall a mess. You showing up in his life after so many years and now apparenly being interested in him seems like a dream that he's not sure he wants to keep being in or wake up from before it's too late and he falls back into that tumoltuous longing that will inevitably end up in heartbreak. His heartbreak.

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It's saturday night, he's standing by himself in the crowded fair at the spot. You're fifteen minutes late and he's already about to turn back and dip out. He feels too awkward and the nerves are eating him alive.

You're not going to show up. You're not going to show up and now he feels and looks even dumber than the time he told you he was crushing on you. You're not even going to show up and now he's going to come back home, get drunk by himself and curse your name for-

"Hey!" he turns around to the sound of your voice and sees you running towards him. "Sorry I'm late! I couldn't find my phone and spent like thirty minutes looking for it. Turns out, Sharon Stone, was taking a nap on top of it and I didn't even notice."

"Sharon Stone?"

"Chaelin's cat."

To be honest, he's too surprised to process your explanation right away. He might also be a little speechless because that sky blue sundress looks too good on your skin and your eyelashes are so long, framing your beautiful eyes, and your lips are all glossy and kisseable that it takes him a while to find his own voice.

He clears his throat. "It's alright." scratching the back of his head, he momentarely adverts his gaze from you in an attempt to not get distracted by how soft your hair looks and how much he wants to wrap it around his hands in a ponytail. "Um, where do you want to go first?"

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Almost an hour and a half later, when the sun has already disappeared and you're both surrounded by colorful lights, Jungkook decides to buy the both of you hot dogs and a drink and you both settle down on a bench.

You've been walking all over the fair, going from booth to booth, playing any game in sight Jungkook dared you to -he obviously had a competitive streak-: from the ballon and dart games, to the shooting games, to the bumping cars, to the ball-in-basket one. To say you were having fun was an understatement.

You'd almost regretted setting the date up. You were sure he wouldn't even show up and if he did, you were scared of how awkward things could get between the two of you. And if things were awkward, you were sure it would only take less than thirty minutes for the both of you to part ways and never talk again about such failure of a date.

To your surprise, none of that happened.

The conversation was flowing, both of you acting like you were strangers on their first date getting to know each other, which, to be fair, that's exactly what it felt like. There was a slight banter, teasing each other when one of you lost in whatever game you were playing while the other was obviously winning. There were laughs and a funny feeling in your tummy whenever you'd walk side by side and his arm brushed yours.

There was no stiffness on his shoulders, no mention of the past or your previous encounters, no acknowledgement of the blatant sexual tension you'd experienced before, not an ounce of avoidance whenever your eyes met his and he was even sure of himself enough to place a hand on your lower back or briefly interwine your fingers with his to guide you through the mass of people.

It felt like you'd both unspokenly agreed on making each other feel comfortable enough to have a good time.

"I didn't think you were going to show up, to be honest." you suddenly say, taking a sip of your strawberry juice and thankful to finally let your feet rest for a while.

Jungkook looks at you, hot dog mid air and eyebrows almost disappearing into his hairline. "You didn't think I was going to show up? I didn't think you were going to show up." you simply shrug, lowering your gaze seepishly, the beginning of a smile on both your faces. He surprises you by tilting your head in his direction with his forefinger. You watch him watching you, a little dazed, a little lost in how his dark hair messily falls over his forehead and his equally dark eyes study your face, his thumb swiping over your lower lip. "You um... There was ketchup right there." he lies.

"Oh" you say, feeling your face heating up. "Thanks. Red doesn't really match this dress." you manage a smile and tuck a lock of your hair behind your ear.

At that, he eyes your dress for a moment, mouth slightly ajar. He's debating on whether or not to say something but you beat him to it.

"I'm sorry, by the way."

"For being late? I already told you it's fin-"

"No." you shake your head. "For... that time when we were young and I was such a concieted brat." you say, looking away , trying to find anything else that's not his pretty face. "I thought I was a queen bee back then. I was annoying and rude, specially to you. I..." you lick your lips. The cherry glittery gloss was already gone. "I thought it was cute, what you said. There was no reason for me to act like that. I know this doesn't make anything right but..." when you turn to face him again, there's still the same expression on his face. "I'm sorry."

A few seconds go by before it's him who's shaking his head. "It's okay. It was a long time ago, anyway." he smiles at you, although it doesn't reach his eyes and seems sorta forced. You sigh, and he takes your hand. "Let's go to the ferris wheel."

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tell you're tense. You're sitting right beside him in the ferris cabin, your back is all straight, you're facing forward and he believes you haven't blinked for what feels like an eternity. He thinks it has everything to do with your conversation a few minutes ago. You were probably not content with his response but what could Jungkook do? There was really no point in apologizing for something that happened years ago, but at the same time, he didn't want to hold anything against you like a resentful asshole because it was really not who he was. But there was still a little bit of stingyness inside of him and he didn't know how to make it go away.

At the end of the day, here you were, on a date with him that you'd asked for, getting along and asking questions about him and laughing at his jokes and trying to start all over again.

But then the ferris wheel starts moving, and he finally understands why you look so uncomfortable.

It's the way you immediately grip his forearm, nails digging in his skin and he swears he hears the smallest gasp forcing itself out your throat.

"Are you... scared?" he tentatively asks.

You say nothing for a while, not moving an inch. He would laugh if you didn't look so pained about it.

"I don't like small confined spaces nor rollercoasters." you finally say through gritted teeth.

"It's not really that small and ferris wheels are not rollercoasters. " your nails dig deeper and he winces. "Okay, okay. You don't like small confined spaces nor rollercoasters, and that includes ferris wheels. So why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know. I've never liked ferris wheels but you seemed excited about it, so..."

There's a silence after that in the environment, neither of you exactly sure of what to say or how to act. Until Jungkook moves one of his hands hands until it's resting on the one who's holding onto him for dear life, fingers caressing yours. The warmth of his hand spreads through yours and although it's almost July and you can already feel your sweaty back staining your dress, it's oddly comforting. What's more comforting even, is him twisting his body towards you and talking with the calmest and most soothing tone you've ever heard.

"Look at me." you do instantly, unwillingly, and kinda wish you hadn't. It's almost as if your body will do anything he says without question. Like he has some sort of power over it to just react however he wants. His eyes bore into yours and suddenly the cab doesn't seem so suffocating. "It's just you and me right now. We're not even on a ferris wheel." the corners of his mouth turn slowly upwards. You zone out the environment, suddenly too aware of him and how close he is and how loud the beating of your heart is to your own ears.

"Jungkook."

You swallow the knot in the back of your throat when he removes his hand from yours. It almost makes you protest, - now realizing you've losened the tight grip on his arm- , before it craddles your face, keeping you in place while bringing his body closer.

"You have to stop saying my name like that."

With his thigh touching your thigh, your whole demeanor melts. When he leans closer, and you feel his breath fanning over your lips, your eyes shut closed.

"Tell me I can-" he starts to say.

"Yes." you finish for him. He doesn't doubt on closing the distance between you two. His lips touch yours and your body shakes in excitement. It's just him lightly skimming your lips with his but it's already too much and at the same time, not enough. It has you deepening it, yourself moving closer when he kisses you again. It has you relaxing against him, the tenseness prior disappearing and making you arch your back when his tongue asks for permission.

But it's exactly then, the moment you open your lips to him, that has you losing your mind.

The sparks fly, traveling from your head to your toes and then settling on the pit of your stomach as soon as the kiss starts to turn desperate and rough. When he nibbles your lips with his teeth, it makes you mewl and whine and your nipples tight against the cotton of your dress. It makes the metal barbell to feel uncomfortable, slightly painful. And when he goes back to being messy and filthy with his tongue tangled with yours, your thighs close on their own.

He forces himself to pull his hand back and bring it down, finding the parting of yd opening them for him. "Wait," you say, your fingers wrapping around his forearm as you try to catch your breath."The ferris-" he shuts you up with another kiss.

"We're not on a ferris wheel." he reminds you, a soft whisper against your mouth. And for whatever reason, you believe him.

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"He fingered you on the ferris wheel."

"Yes."

"And you came before the ride was over."

You take a small sip of wine, your eyes focusing on the TV where a rerun of the Golden Girls is playing, although, to be fair, lately you haven't been able to pay much attention to anything else but a certain brunet with doe eyes and kisseable lips. "Yes."

She hums, stealing a handful of popcorn from the bowl between your thighs.

"How long did it took? Like five minutes?"

There's a pause in which you clench your jaw, your fingers twitching around the glass in your hand, and then you answer. "Probably less."

There's another pause, and then-

"Ha...Ha ha...Ha ha ha-"

You let her laugh. It's okay. You knew you had it coming.

Chaelin knows the pillow you throw right at her face is also something she had coming.

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It's not that you're mad.

Jungkook and you had a great time on that fair date, he made you laugh, bought hot dogs and drinks for the two of you and got you off inside the cab of a ferris wheel on record time with those magical, long fingers of his. Technically, there shouldn't be anything to be angry about.

Except it's been a week and you can't stop thinking about him, about wanting more, and about those words that he left you with after the ferris wheel ride ended, when you had tried to return the favor.

'Next time, maybe.'

And there hasn't been a next time.

The thought of texting him or giving him a call to ask for another date is persistent in your mind. It remains while you do the laundry or wash the dishes, while you shower, while you eat or while you spend your days at the beach with Chaelin. There's always the incessant desire to reach out towards your phone, unlock it and dial his number to beg for more.

But you'd never been one to beg, so you resist the urge everytime that feeling starts to creep up on you and it washes over you like a wave. You silence your phone and try to concentrate on making the most out of your summer.

It's one random night, when you're tiredly dragging your feet across Chaelin's apartment's carpet, yawning and ready to succumb to a well needed slumber, that you see your phone screen's lighting up with a message.

Your heart pathetically leaps inside your chest when you read his name.

'you free on saturday?'

You wish you could say you ghosted him, ignored his text and moved on with your life until it was him who begged you for another date. But the truth is you opened it in a matter of seconds and typed 'i'm free, why?' back in a rush with trembling fingers.

So now you're on the passanger seat of his car while he sits on the driver seat, the first saturday night of July, like he's Danny Zuko and you're Sandy Olsson, watching a vintage movie in a drive-in theater which plot you don't give a shit about, even if Jungkook's date plan idea made something inside of you churn with adoration.

And the only reason why you don't give a single damn about the movie playing in front of your eyes, is because you're hot. Way too hot. And the reason and cause is none other than the boy-now-turned-man sitting on your left.

You barely exchanged words when he picked you up, just rode in silence until you got to your destination and you bet he can feel as well as you do the tension in the air.

You've surveyed him a few times from the corner of his eye, noticing him fiddling with the rings around his fingers and shifting in his seat from time to time. And if the sight of his fingers bring memories that you've tried to bury to keep yourself from lunching towards him, a brief glance at his forearms, adorned with ink drawn through his golden flesh -doing a poor job at concieling the veins running underneath- and his skin-tight jeans wrapping those muscled thighs of his is enough to have you be the one squirming in your seat.

A woman can only endure so much, and you come to that realization thirty minutes into the movie.

"I want to suck your cock." you say, a stern expression on your face as you turn your body in his direction.

Jungkook frozes as your voice slides over him. It takes him a couple seconds to look at you, shock widening his eyes and parting his lips.

"Huh?" he manages, his grip on the steering wheel turning his knuckles white.

Without separating your gaze from his, you gather your hair and tie it in a ponytail with the hair tie previously around your wrist. You don't miss the quick glance he sneaks into the curvature of your neck and the valley between your breasts.

Inching forward, closing in on him, you place one of your hands on top of his thigh, the action making his whole body tense. "____..." he whispers your name in a warning that doesn't sound convincing even in his own ears.

You smile, your eyes never wavering from his as your hand inches upwards, slowly caressing over the fabric of his jeans until you finally come across what you were looking for.

His hand flies to your wrist, stilling your movements. "____, this is not-". He starts, but his voice gets stuck inside his throat when you palm his undoubtly growing erection.

"Shh." your shaky breath fans over his cheek and you force yourself on your knees on the passanger seat in a more comortable possition to stop the trembling to reach them.

You fumble with the belt holding his pants in place, then with the button and finally with the zipper. He helps you by lifting his hips to pull his jeans and boxers to his thighs and you have to bite back a mixture between a gasp and a moan at the sight below you. You haven't even seen Jeon Jungkook naked all the way, but the mere sight of his hard cock with pre-cum glistening on his crown is probably the sexiest thing you've ever had the pleasure of appreciating.

It gets sexier when you wrap your hand around the base and his body melts in the driver seat, throwing his head back with his eyes shut. It gets even sexier when you finally lower your head, swirling your tongue over the head before finally engulfing him fully in the wet warmth of your mouth.

"Shit." his voice is tight, uneven as his hand loosely grips your ponytail, as if careful not to accidentally hurt you and break the glorious moment.

Although you wouldn't mind at all. Because the moment your hands are on him, and your tongue is on his shaft, that's the only thing you care about. Your belly is twisting, an undeniable wet spot on your panties as the fabric sticks to your folds, and the more you suck Jungkook, the more you want from him. His earthy taste is addicting and the soft little whimpers he occasionally can't prevent himself from are making you want to milk him until he can't take it no more. There's this desire within you to whorship him and his cock like you had been dreaming for the past weeks.

"This is s-so fucking h-hot." he rasps between ragged breaths, the bobbing of your head, sliding up and down his dick as your hand works the centimeters your mouth can't take is about to make him faint.

"Getting a blowjob?" you joke, your throat starting to feel sore as you kiss his leaking tip.

"N-no." he draws in a rough breath when you take him all of him again. "You giving me a blowjob... T-the f-fact that anyone c-could see us..." he darts a quick glance at your body, your ass up in the air and your dress sliding down, almost exposing you completely. "The fact that-ah! Shit..." he squeezes his eyes when he feels a glob of your spit lubricating him.

There's a sudden need to make you feel the same, to touch your skin and have you shaking the same way you have him. So one of his hands travels from your spine, to your perked ass, finally dragging the cotton of your dress to allow himself to see your thin white panties. "The fact that anyone could see you l-like this," he murmurs, regaining a little bit of control when he squeezes one of your cheeks. "letting t-them see you s-sucking my cock and..." he smirks when he feels you gasping around him, his fingers trapped between your thighs and pushing them inside your heat easily "and letting them see me fingering this pretty little pussy."

Soon after that he's cumming in your mouth while you're cumming around his fingers.

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At first, it's mostly on weekends when you see each other. Weekends of stolen kisses and soft sighs and whispering against each other's lips. Then weekends turn to week days, sitting on grass while sipping on refreshing beverages, drawing each other laughs, elbows touching as you walk around the park side by side because the both of you are too scared to interwine your fingers together.

Jungkook feels content like this: sitting on the sand with you between his thighs, admiring the sunset while nuzzing your neck and inhaling your scent every now. He likes waching you enoying your strawberry ice cream, almost forgetting the chocolate chip one already melting in his hand.

"If you were an ice cream flavor,which one would you be?" you ask him, relaxing against his chest.

"Rocky road."

"Why?"

He shrugs behind you. "Everyone likes rocky road."

You hum, playfully rolling your eyes. "What about me? Which ice cream flavor would I be?"

"Lemon sherbet, in the summer."

"Lemon sherbet? Out of all of the flavours out there, you're rocky road and I'm lemon sherbet?"

"Lemon sherbet, in the summer." he corrects.

"Okay, fine. Why?"

"You're boring and basic."

You gasp, trying to feign outrage but not being able to repress the laugh that escapes your throat. You elbow him, his laugh mixing with yours while taking the time to wrap his arms around your form, the breeze blowing your hair allowing him a spot between your neck and your shoulder. "You're boring and basic, but once you have a taste..." he presses a small kiss on your skin, causing the tiny hairs on the nape of your neck to rise. "Once you have a taste, specially on the hottest day in the middle of summer, you can't stop tasting and licking until there's no more lemon sherbet left."

You suck in on a breath when he craddles your jaw to face him. "It's been my favourite flavor since I was a kid." he kisses you immediately after, his lips swallowing the small whimper now stuck in your throat.

You close your eyes as his tongue opens your mouth, arousal blasting your insides and something much, much deeper that you fear to even name shredding your chest.

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The beginning of august comes faster then you two realize, but what you both do realize is how hard it's becoming to stay away from each other.

It's been thirty days of dates happening almost everyday, sharing high school memories and anecdotes of the time you spent away from each other. Hours of getting to know each other and opening up to each other. From failed relationships to new friendships. Of park dates walking side by side and fingers now interwined because you both realized one day that, fuck it.

It's difficult to sleep when you realize you're starting to catch serious feelings for somebody who was just supposed to be a fling. It's hard to sleep when his face, his voice and his touch and thoughts of missing him when you don't see each other start haunting you at night.

It's hard for Jungkook to focus on work when you're everything that's occupying his mind. Because he has a hundred sketches to make but he's too busy thinking about the hundred different sketches he would make of you.

It's hard not to send him a goodnight text, just like it's hard for him not to reply in a matter of seconds, almost as if he was already waiting to recieve it.

Jungkook thinks of you at night. Of how pretty and absolutely perfect you are for him. Of the taste of your lips, the way your hair feels between his fingers, or the flush on your cheeks when he makes you cum as droplets of sweat accumulate between your breasts. He thinks about your voice. He also thinks about the amount of hours left to be able to listen to it again.

But mostly he thinks about how ridiculous this situation is. Because he was stupidly crushing on you when you were only teenagers, daydreaming about a chance with you. And now his crush is long gone and he's starting to realize that he's falling, and falling fast.

You, too, think of Jungkook at night. Of his ability to bring a smile out of you, to soothe you with just a few words and filling your belly excitement, happiness and feelings you're sure you've never felt before.

Jungkook's managed to imprint himself in your dreams, and you, in his.

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Getting drunk with Jungkook is fun and messy.

It's fun because he lets loose, he stutters a lot like he used to do when he was a teenager and he makes you laugh louder than ever before. It's messy because he has no control over his hands as they explore your body, clumsily taking your clothes off as his mouth laps at the breast he's allowed to touch.

He's more forceful and dominating too, pinning your hands above your head, and commanding you to keep them right there, on the pillows of his bed. When you rebel against it, your fingers finding the hard planes of his chest, he pulls away from you and places them back where he left them. "Don't make me tie you up." he threatens, and your body shudders beneath him.

He sucks, and bites and leaves marks all over your skin, grunting in response to your moans. Creating a path of kisses from your lips to your stomach, his shoulders separating your knees, opening you up only for him. And thankfully, when you reach down to tug at the strands of hair framing his face, he lets you, because he knows you need something to hold on to the moment his tongue eats you up. He leaves his fingertrips on your thighs as he keeps you in place, not allowing you to runaway. Just forcing you to take it as he takes from you.

And when you cum, he doesn't back away. He keeps sucking, and licking and punishing you with his mouth until you're cumming over and ove again, screaming and begging for his cock.

Having Jungkook over you, both completely naked, skin to skin and only sweat in between is more than you could've ever fantazised about. He slurls your name when he puts the condom on. He would do anything to feel you raw, but he also knows he wouldn't be able to last a minute. The sight of you spread open, with your cheeks darkened by a crimson blush and your hair tangled all over his pillow is a picture he wants to keep forever.

He enters you when you call his name, your voice dripping with need. He stretches your warm and wet felsh, slowly easing himself into you at first, until he's fully inside and your bodies are completely in union. A shiver runs down Jungkook's spine when he looks at your contorted face in pleasure, your lips forming an 'O' and your pussy clenching around him.

"Oh, my God." you moan into the dark of Jungkook's room, and even then, he can clearly appreciate every curve of your body lifting off the mattress to connect with his. He lowers himself on his elbows on either side of your head, caging you in and capturing your mouth with his.

"I know, baby." he murmurs. It's hot, in the middle of August but suddenly Jungkook doesn't hate summer as much as he used to. Not with you sharing the heat with him. "It's way beyond what I could ever imagine." You nod hurriedly against his lips, your arms finding their way around his neck as he starts rocking in and out of you.

"It's too good." you cry, when he hits a particular spot that has you rolling your eyes in bliss and gripping his waist tighter with your legs against you. Your fingers thread through his hair, not bothered by the beads of sweat gathered on the nape of his neck.

"Too good..." he agrees, not missing the shiver that's shaking your own frame when he picks up his speed. "You have no idea what I would do t-to fucking feel you with n-no barriers between us," his movements become frantic as his hips slap against yours, his jaw clenched as he keeps talking, "to s-stuff you full of my c-cum over and over again until it won't stop d-dripping."

Jungkook's voice against your ear has you trembling and your orgasm nearing closer, your nails scratching down his back as his thrusts overpower your form. "Would you like that?" he asks with his voice strangled.

"Y-yes. Anything y-you want."

"You'd take all of my cum like a good cum-slut?"

You hate the fact that that's what makes you come undone. The twisting and knotting in the pit of your stomach finally snapping until you're holding on to him like you never want to let him go and he's following soon after.

Because if Guk, Gukkie, Jengukkie was not only able to make you come in less than a few minutes with his fingers or his tongue, but he was also able to make you cum instantly just by calling you a good cum-slut, that means you're fucked. Like, really, really fucked.

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There's a knot in Jungkook's stomach and a suffocating grip around his vocal chords as he caresses your skin. The sun is rising in the distance with the first rays of light entering his room through the window. Your shamphoo is intoxicating him, numbing him and enticing him to bury his nose in the tangled curls pressing against his chest. Your arm is thrown across his stomach, your breathing leavig goosebumps all over his body.

"It's too early. Go back to sleep." you mumble against his heart. He wonders if you can feel it dangerously speeding up.

"I can't." he says, voice struggling to stay balanced. "I have to tell you something."

You hum in response, sleep still interwined with your body, your arm tightening around him. You sigh in content, expecting him to elaborate.

He wets his suddenly dry lips. "I don't want this to end. In fact, ____.... I want more. Need more."

"Jungkook..." your whole body goes rigid right away, untanglling your bodies from each other and sitting up on the mattress.

"No, listen to me." he mimicks your movements, rapidly grabbing your hands to make you look at him. His eyes are expressive, a mixture of fear and hope swirling in his dark irises. "I wake up everyday, and you're the first thing I think of. I go on about my day, and I keep thinking about you, wondering what you're doing and counting down the hours until I get to see you again. I spend every night dreaming about you, and when we'e together, the only thing I can think about is how I wish I could stop time so I don't have to say bye to you the next morning. ____, I-"

"Jungkook, stop please." you shake your head, pushing away from him and in desperate need of air. You press a hand against your chest, beating back the throb of pain while the other curls in a tight fist, the feeling of your fingernails digging into your palm less painful than the ache inside your heart. "This... This wasn't supossed to happen, Jungkook." you start pacing around the room, as if trying to find an exit while avoiding his gaze. "This was just a summer fling. That's all it was, I'm supposed to come back to the city in two weeks and-"

"A summer fling?" a sardonic sneer comes out of him. "Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening again..." he mumbles to himself before rising from the bed. You stop immediately, a shiver quaking through you as his impressive frame intimidates His eyebrows are drawn together and his dark eyes are void of any prior emotion. "You're going back to the city in two weeks? And you didn't care to tell me until now, after I just spilled my guts to you?"

You eyes fill up with uncomfortable tears, reaching one arm towards him. "Jung-"

He flinches, taking one step back. "A summer fling is all I mean to you?"

"Ju- "

"Look me in the eyes, right now, and tell me that's all I mean to you. A summer fling." panic crawls up your throat. There's the need within you to confirm, to stare into his beautiful and stern eyes and tell him that, yes, that's all he is to you. But you've never been a good liar. So nothing comes out. You opt for wrapping your ams around yourself wishing they were his and lowering your eyes to the ground. "I think... I think you should leave."

Those are the last words he says to you, and the last thing you see when you turn around one more time after gathering your clothes, is his back as he looks out the window.

You allow yourself to cry the exact moment you step into Chaelin's apartment. Your friend is sitting on the couch, bowl of cereal in hand and a fresh cup of coffee sitting on the livingroom's table.

"Hey, you're early tod- Baby, what's wrong?"

"Please, don't laugh."

That morning, you lay down for hours on the couch with your head on Chaelin's lap while she softly brushes your hair as you cry, hiccup, fight through the pain in your heart and relate to her as best as you can the latest events.

She doesn't laugh at all.

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"She'll come back." Mijoo's slurred words do nothing to put Jungkook's state at ease that night. He simply shrugs, fingers clenching at his sides, frowing into his drink before gulping down the bitter taste of vodka in one shot. "Seriously, I think she's just afraid. My ex was the same."

"Comparing her to your ex is not the analogy you think it is."

"Ugh, shut up. Things didn't work with my ex because she was a bitch." Jungkook gives Mijoo a pointed look which she responds to by rolling her eyes and sipping on her rum coke. "Your girl is not a bitch. She used to be a bitch. What she did this morning was bitchy, but, like I said, she's just being a pussy. If she only wanted sex with you, she wouldn't have been doing couple stuff with you the entire summer."

"Whatever. I don't care." he lies and Mijoo knows he's lying but decides to drop the subject fo now.

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"We can't keep spending our days smoking weed." Chaelin speaks over Blanche's voice on the TV.

"I know. I'm just sad."

"You have to come back and tell him how you feel."

"I know."

There's a beat of silence before your friend kicks your thigh with her feet.

"I know and I will." you mumble through red eyes and smoke clouds.

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It's September first and it doesn't feel like Jungkook's birthday at all. He's been trying to focus on his work, alternating between isolating in full hermit mode and hanging out with friends to drink away his sorrow. The days have gone by and before he could realize it, he woke up today with over twenty text messages wishing him a happy day and a throbbing hangover.

He dresses up on autopilot. First a cotton shirt, then a pair of jeans and lastly, his Nike's. He doesn't bother tying his sneakers just like he doesn't bother taking a shower. He smokes a cigarette for breakfast, the death stick making him feel nauseaus on an empty stomach. And then he goes to work.

He's been repeating the same routing for the past weeks and he's not thinking of changing it, not even on his bithday.

He spends hours drawing, tattooing and drawing some more between yawns. He ignores texts an phone calls and simply waits until the day is over to go home, go to bed and forget about the fact that you're probably on your way to the city and that he hasn't crossed your mind not even once.

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Inkphoria.

You've been standing outside the shop re-reading the word for fifteen minutes, although it definitely feels like it has been longer. You're gripping cup of ice cream as it melts down your fingers the more you wait. The shop is already empty and it's starting to darken out side, and still you're so hot. Your shorts are heavy and your tank top is sticking to your skin. You didn't even bother to put on any make, although your eyebags definitely needed some concieling and your lashes some dimension to hide the fact that you'd been crying for the last few days.

'You're crazy about him.'

Chaelin's voice echoes inside your head.

You've lost count of how many times your best friend has given your advice, or simply encouraged you to do something you've been too scared to try.

'And he's cazy about you too.'

Chaelin might be wrong about marmite and the movie Cats, but she's definitely now wrong about anything regarding your and Jungkook.

That's it. You briefly close your eyes, inhale a deep breath then release it slowly. You start walking. It doesn't take longer than three strides and you're pushing the door open.

The tattoed blonde looks up from the counter the second you come into view. She smiles at the distance between you two. "You can come closer. I won't bite."

You clear your throat, stalking closer to her. "Is he-"

"He's in the back." she replies before you can finish you question. You close your mouth, clear your throat and nod your head.

"Thanks, Mijoo." she gives you a small wink, her smile easing your nerves like she had three months ago.

She watches you disappear. She shakes he head, her smile meeting her eyes. "I told him so."

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Jungkook ignores the knock on his door at first. It's almost ten and the parlor is about to close. He just has to finish this last fucking sketch so he can grab his shit and go the fuck ho-

Knock knock.

He growls, exhasperation cursing through him. He runs a hand through his messy pile of hair, his rings tangling between the strands, making him wince in pain. "Come in." he grunts under his breath. The door opens. "Mijoo, I really have to finish-"

He stops dead in his tracks as soon as he sees you.

"Hey." you say after a moment of hesitation.

"Hey." he replies and although there's something inside, deep in his chest, shouting at him to stand up, run up to you and kiss your face while he tells you how beautiful you look right now and how happy he is to see that you're still here, he decides against it. "Listen, ____, I'm pretty busy-"

"No, you listen to me." you cut him off abruptly. He looks taken aback and is already opening his mouth to say something, but you're not having it. "Please, just... Let me talk."

Silence looms between the two of you for a while, a staring contest defying each other to back down. When you take one step inside and close the door behind you, he sighs and leans back against his chair.

You move towards him slowly, your lip caught between your lip going through your mind for the speech you'd been preparing the last few days. Your hands are sticky due to the the sugary treat liquifying in your hand. "I know there's no reason you should give me another chance after rejecting you in high school, and there's definitely no reason why you should forgive me for the way I shut you out a few weeks ago. You've been confessing your feelings to me since we were teenagers, and now it's my turn to tell you exactly how I feel about you."

"Jungkook, the truth is... I like you so much. I like you more than I've ever liked anyone. Ever. I said this was just a summer fling, and I was lying. I was lying because there's no way a simple summer fling could make me feel the way you do. There's no way a simple summer fling could make me want not just summer with you, but also fall and winter, and spring and every summer that comes next."

You hadn't realize when your eyes filling up with tears until the sight of him starts blurrying in front of you. His fingers reach yours, his thumb comforting on your skin. "____, it's okay-"

"I'm not done yet." you sniffle, gathering enough courage to continue. "I brought you a lemon sherbet because you said it was your favourite. But you also implied I was your favourite, and I want to keep being you favourite, but now it's already melted and-"

The corners of Jungkook's lips start pulling upward as he tugs you towards him, his heart loudly jumping inside his chest. "Shhh, come here."

He takes the ice cream from your hand and places it on his desk. Then he's helping you onto his lap, your head tucked under his chin and your arms wapping on their own around his neck.

He doesn't care about your sticky fingers or the wet stains of your tears in his shirt. The only thing he cares about is the fact that you're right there, letting him engulf your frame and drown in the scent and warmth he'd misses so much.

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The first day of June has Jungkook sweating and wishing for a haircut. Jungkook usually hates summer. He hates the fact that he has to shower at least twice a day, and the fact that the heat is almost unbearable to sleep in and also the fact that he's easily sunburnt.

This year, however, Jungkook likes summer a little bit more.

"Excuse me, miss. Do you have an appointment?" it's the fact that you're starting to wear those summer dresses he loves so much, and the fact that your skin glows under the sun like glitter, and also the fact that he can lick ice cream off of it whenever he desires.

"I am the appointment." your giggle is almost childlike, playing with Jungkook's heart strings. You shut the door behind you, nearing him. You also seem to always have that flush on your cheeks. Although he likes to think part of it is due to him. He doesn't say anything else as he puts his pencil down and instead turns around in the chair to have you immediately on top of his thighs.

Yeah, he also likes the path your lips trace from his cheek, to his jaw, ending at the juncture between his neck and his shoulder. It still makes his body quaver to this day.

"Let me see." he murmurs against you forhear, his hand already working on unbottoning the front of your dress.

"Mijoo hasn't left yet." you whisper back, your smile impossible to supress and the faint whimper impossible to hide when his fingers expose your breast and tug at the titanium barbell adorning the already hardened nub.

Jungkook loves knowing he was the one to do that, and also the only one to play with it. He doesn't hesitate when he dips his head. "As if we'd ever cared about that." he adds, wrapping your sole point in his mouth.

He fucks you on his studio table with your legs around his waist and his tongue playing with both your breasts, the tattoo sketches long forgotten, scattered on the floor as he whispers against your flesh something that sounds a lot like 'I love you'.

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-valves]

You gave us Pepa & Félix’s first time, and that was wonderful. But what about Julieta and Agustín’s first time?

Also, unrelated, but how are the puppies?!

Oh I had JUST the idea in mind!(also check 'pupdates' tag for puppy info!)

Julieta went right for the door as soon as she heard it open. She smiled as soon as she saw Félix, and Augustín. Both of these lovesick idiots were holding flowers, though Félix also carried chocolates, while Augustín was holding a stack of papers.

"Hey, Jules! We wanted to check up on you guys! We didn't see any of you at school!"

Julieta sighed as she rubbed her hands on her apron.

"Pepa is...not feeling well."

Félix looked worried immediately. They JUST became official boyfriend and girlfriend, yet he acted as if they'd been married for years.

"Really? Something your arepas can't cure? Should we be worried?"

"Oh no no. It's not something that needs curing, per se, but she's. Uhm-"

"Oh my god just say she's on her period, Julieta, we're adults."

Augustín and Félix jumped a bit as Bruno seemed to pop up out of nowhere. Augustín swore under his breath, trying to stop his poor heart.

"Geez Bruno, I didn't see you."

"Kinda my whole bit, really. Anyhow, Pepa is on her period, and it's like bad. I literally poked my head in and she threw a chair at my face. Which was fine, since it's clouds, but my feelings were hurt. That for her?"

Félix frowned as he handed the box of chocolates to Bruno.

"Ay, mi pobre bebé. Can I see her?"

Julieta tried to open her mouth, only for Bruno to laugh.

"I mean, it's YOUR funeral. But sure, let's go see this mess."

Julieta joined the boys as they went to Pepa's room. She kept her voice low as she stopped Augustín.

"You're practically a lightning rod, stay right here."

He wanted to object, but he really couldn't. Félix knocked on her door, and made his voice sweet ad honey.

"Pepi! It's your handsome boyfriend! I brought flowers as pretty as you~"

"He didn't bring chocolates though!"

She glared at Bruno's face full of sweets, but he refused to put them down. Pepa opened the door violently, and she was just. A mess. Mami would be beside herself if she saw her like this, soaked in rain, makeup running, hair wild.

"Go home, I'm not in the mood."

"I just thought I could take you out! Augustín brought your homework, I thought maybe we could get some lunch, with a little dessert, maybe?~"

"OH THAT'S ALL YOU THINK ABOUT! STUPID!"

Thunder BOOMED along the Casita as she slammed the door. You'd think that'd be enough to get Félix to quit. Nope.

"Pepi? If it makes you feel better, I love you."

"...Cuanto?"

"More than anything in the whole wide world. You're the most beautiful woman ever, and the second you're ready to come out, I'm going to kiss every freckle on that pretty face~"

He didn't get a verbal reaction. Instead, thunderstorms were replaced with a mist that seemed to hang over them. Julieta could tell she had forgiven him. Félix chuckled.

"Sucks she couldn't come. I was going to head out to watch a play in town, to surprise her. Bought the tickets and everything."

Julieta was going to tell him to maybe take Augustín, when he turned to Bruno, and handed him the flowers meant for Pepa.

"You wanna come instead?"

"Y...you're asking me to watch a play...with you? JUST us?"

"Yeah, why not? You like those sorta things, right?"

For some reason, Bruno's face was just on FIRE. He tucked the chocolates away, and took the flowers, burying his face in it.

"Uh y-yeah! I'd uh. Love to. Really."

"Great! I'll meet you downstairs. And YOU two,"

Félix gave a little shake of his hips as he made it to the stairs, being clearly suggestive.

"Mueve esas caderas~"

She knew her blush was just as bad as Augustín's. Pepa and Fèlix were VERY physical from the get go, but she wasn't sure she was ready, just yet. Not that she didn't want to. He was handsome enough, sweet enough. It was just-

"Oh my god Jules- do I look fine enough to go out? Should I cut my hair a bit? Shave? Wait no I don't have time, imma just go, wish me luck!"

Bruno took one flower with him as he rushed downstairs, before leaving the flowers with Julieta. She chuckled.

"He must've been so excited to see that play. Did you see that face?"

"No its not the play, it's because-"

He paused as she looked at him curiously.

"Why else would he be nervous?"

"Uh...nothing. Nevermind. It's nothing. Do you mind if I hang around? I don't want to go home yet."

"Why? Your parents are lovely."

She put the flowers in vases in the hallway, before walking down the steps. Augustín sighed as he continued to carry the papers.

"They want to do more family pictures. Which would be fine, if they didn't keep trying to put Nevado in different outfits. He gets angry."

Nevado was Augustín's pet cat. Old, white as snow, and a bit grumpy. She chuckled at the idea, taking him to the dining room table.

"Oh but that sounds so cute. What was he supposed to be?"

"A bumblebee, since he's 'sweet as honey'. Think we have a different cat I don't know about."

She couldn't help but laugh as she pulled out some fruit, and started to cut it for him. She cooked for ANY guest, but always added more love into things for Augustín. It was probably why the fruit was cut into little hearts.

"Aw, I kinda wanna see that. Would you go through all that if I asked you to?"

He opened his mouth to object, but the second she leaned in to kiss the top of his head, he sighed in defeat.

"I would. I will at this point. Gracias."

He helped himself to the fruit as she sat next to him.

"You're sweet, Augustín. Now, let's get her homework out of the way."

"Mmph- I did it already. I felt bad that we didn't see her today."

She couldn't stop her smile. He was so sweet to not only her, but her family.

"That's sweet of you. Thank you for being so good to my sister."

"Course. I like Pepa, she's fun. Plus, she's important to you, and that's important to me."

How his forehead pressed against hers, she'd never know. But she did know that he smelled of honey, and his eyes were so kind. She didn't hesitate when they leaned in for a kiss, and she found some sort of delight in the slight tickling of his mustache. She sank into it, only to suddenly be brought out of it when she accidentally knocked the fruit bowl over, right onto her dress.

"Ay Augustín!"

"I'm sorry! Here, I'll help you pick up!"

She wanted to get up to help him, because she felt bad for scolding him, but then she watched him kneel to pick it up. Augustín...had a REALLY cute butt. It was all perky and his pants didn't hide it at ALL. She covered her face with her palm upon realizing what she was thinking of. Oh what a crass thought, she shouldn't do anything to make them worse-

"Augustín, it's fine, I'll clean it up. Can we just go get me a change of clothes, please?"

He got up quickly, allowing himself to be held by the hand, and guided up to her room. She never had a boy in her room before, and in a way it was...exciting.

"Uh, should I be going into your room? Isn't that a no no?"

"Well technically that's only for Pepa. Besides, you're just helping me pick a new outfit, we'll be in and out."

Augustín looked at her room in awe. Fields of herbs and spices, various comfortable bits of furniture for company, book shelves, and even a sauna off to the side, for the days that felt just too much.

"Woah. It's...bigger than mine."

"Hey, yours DOES have nice wallpaper, if that helps any. My closet is right there, pick something for me, yes?"

Her closet was right by her bed, and while he dug into her closet, she checked herself out In the mirror. Alright, not looking too bad. This WAS due for a wash, though. She took it off in a second, only to realize Augustín was still here. He turned around for something when he saw her, and immediately covered his eyes.

"I'm sorry! I thought you were going to warn me!"

She should put clothes on. She was just here in her white underwear and white bra. But she...well. Didn't want to.

"I mean, you're my boyfriend. It's okay to see me in ways others can't. "

He hesitated, before slowly pulling his hands away. His face was so cute, and he was trying NOT to look.

"Uhm. Right. I was going to ask if you wanted to change your socks too. Did I just get your dress wet?"

"I COULD change my socks. I've got these thigh highs, do you wanna see?"

"Yes. Very much so, yes."

He was nervous. So was she. She reached into her closet, pretending to search for the socks. When in reality, she was just bending over so he could see her butt. In truth, she always did this at school. Not for any of the other boys, just for him. It was only occasionally, when she felt like he looked particularly handsome or deserving of her attention. But this is the first time she'd done in in just her underwear. She wished she had time to switch underwear, she had a much cuter pair than this.

"Oh no. I think it's in the wash. Tell you what, you can pick out a bra for me instead, right in the dresser."

She sat down on her bed, folded one leg over the other, and looked at his flushed cheeks. Oh he was a mess. A delightful, stud of a mess. He stammered, absolutely at a loss towards such a proposal.

"I uhm. Shouldn't be looking through your underclothes. Besides you look beautiful as you are now. You're ALWAYS beautiful, Julieta."

Oh her poor heart. It melted for him. She knew he was looking upon her in awe, but she was doing just the same. He was a kind, accident proned man.

"Alright. How about I make it up to you with a kiss then?"

"If I ever say no, assume I hit my head too hard."

She leaned back a bit, letting him plant his palms on her bed, and kiss her. It was a sweet, slow, soft kiss. One that made her bring her hands up to his ears, and slowly massage them. She could feel him smile as he kissed her, clearly in bliss. He lost his footing however, and found himself face planting, right onto her chest. His eyes widened, and he was clearly about ready to apologize, when she cut him off.

"It's okay. You can touch me, Augustín. I...want you to. I like you."

"Are...you sure? You don't have to because I want to and-miércoles."

She cut him off by taking off her bra, and setting it aside. She was nervous, sure, but if she was going to do this with anyone, it'd be him. She tried to hide her blushing face in her palm, possibly just as nervous as he was.

"You can...touch them if you want. So long as you don't tell anyone."

"Is it...because it's me?"

"No, it's because mi mami would kill us both. Come on, I'm being brave here!"

She thought he didn't like her chest. Her breasts were on the large side (Pepa even said 'it's stupid that yours are huge, you don't FUCKING use them!'), and she sort of hated it. The stretch marks, the back problems, the awkward positioning, the rather vulgar comments. She WISHED they were smaller. Thankfully, Augustín didn't feel the same. He cupped them in his hands as if they were sacred treasures, muttering a swear as he felt just how heavy they were.

"They're...beautiful. They suit you."

"You don't think they're...you know. Too big?"

"Not at all. I love them. I love you. And I'm...so honored that you trust me enough to show me this side of you."

He massaged them in his hold; kneading them, having his thumb rub her nipples in little circles, all while muttering praises about how much he loved them. It was simple, slow, sweet, and the idea of him doing this to her in her room was making her little panties all wet.

"I...Augustín?"

"Si?"

"Could you...uhm...take these off too?"

He spread open her legs. She shouldn't want him to do this, but she did. Desperately. He looked embarrassed himself, but he was never one to refuse her well, anything.

"I'd be honored, mi pan dulce. Please, just relax."

She decided to get REALLY comfortable. She un did her braid from her hair, and laid back onto the pillows. She opened her legs, and tried not to hide. She'd never let a boy touch her like this, she was SUPPOSED to be pure until her wedding. But she didn't want to be. Not tonight. His hands shook a bit as they trailed down her legs, admiring them. Unlike Pepa, she never really had to shave them (though she still did), and apparently it was a thing boys liked. Augustín hooked his fingers into her underwear, and slowly peeled them off. She heard him gulp, and was worried that she hadn't shaved enough, or shaved too much, or just. Something.

"Augustín? Is everything okay?"

"I just. I've...never seen one up close before. It feels so...hot, and wet."

She couldn't hide the moan that flooded the room the second he reached down to cup her pussy in his hand. He tried to take it back, as if he was worried he hurt her, before she grabbed onto his wrist.

"You can...keep touching. I've never let a man touch me before. Just...be soft. I want to make love to you, mi abeja."

Steam was pouring out of his ears like a kettle. But he nodded quickly, wanting this just as much as she did. His fingers trailed alongside her length, and she played with her breasts as she felt herself leak onto his hand. She didn't know how much it was until he pulled away his hand, and she immediately felt embarrassed. His fingers were soaked, and he had some of her fluids running down his arm.

"You're so excited, mi vida."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just-"

To her surprise and shock, Augustín looked her right in her eyes, and licked the fluids off of his thumb. God she wanted this stupid sexy man.

"I like you excited. It looks good on you. I feel alive with you, Julieta. Please, let me return the favor. Tell me what you want me to do to you."

She looked him up and down, before deciding to just come out with it.

"I wanna see your body too. I mean, Pepa says she's seen it because she watches the boys in the locker room, but-"

"I'm sorry she what now?"

"Uhm, never mind, just focus on me. Please, let me see you."

He nodded, and obeyed. He took off his suspenders, then his shirt. Such nice shoulders, such nice pecs. All for her. Her hands reached before thinking, his skin so soft against hers. Then she noticed the bulge in his pants. He was excited, and she was terrified to see her first ever cock. She'd seen then in text books and the like, but in person? Never. He took off his pants, then his underwear, and there it was. His cock. Erect, a bit thin, a bit of hair right under it, paired with his balls. He cleared his throat a bit awkwardly.

"Is...everything okay?"

"Sorry, sorry, yes. I've just. Never seen one up close. Is it...weird that I want to touch it?"

He chuckled, running his hand through his pretty hair.

"I mean. I won't stop you. Just be careful, it's VERY sensitive right now."

She leaned over to let her fingers graze the head. That was weird, but she found herself oddly compelled to continue. She wrapped her hand around it, and slowly started to stroke him. He had his hand clasped over his mouth, clearly in disbelief. He was slick with precum, and in curiosity, she pulled her hand away, and licked it off. Salty, yet pleasant. Their eyes met, and in a combination of embarrassment and lust, she spoke up.

"If you have protection, you can put it inside."

He scrambled so hard, he fell out of bed, right onto his back. She hurriedly got up to check on him, slightly wincing.

"Augustín? You okay?"

"I HAVE the condom!"

He cried triumphantly from the floor, and she chuckled, leaning down to kiss his lips.

"Then come up here and use it~"

He jumped up so fast, she had to make sure he didn't fall over again. She laid back down, and watched as he rolled it over his penis. He held onto her thighs, and slowly started to rub his girth against her wet folds. Truth be told, this alone felt so good, she was sure she could cum from that alone. One of her hands reached over to hold his, and the smile on his face was just pure as pure could be.

"I love you. Thank you. I'm going to treat you so well."

Up and down, up and down, tip occasionally rubbing against her clit- it was all so much. She let her head fall back, ready to feel him sink into her. Then she felt his tip...well. Where it wasn't supposed to be. Her eyes shot open (she hadn't remembered closing them), and she practically shoved him back with how quickly she grabbed onto him.

"Wrong one, Augustín!!"

It took him a minute, then realized his mistake.

"Oh my god I almost- I am. SO sorry, I'm not used to this sort of thing! Dios, I'm ruining this, I'm SO sorry I-"

She had to have him lean down in order to kiss him. Just a brief one, just enough for him to calm down. She lightly patted his cheek, trying not to laugh.

"It's our first time, Augustín. We'll make mistakes. Let me help you."

She held onto him, and after rubbing herself with his tip, slowly pushed himself inside of her. She had no idea what happened, but the second he was inside, he seemed to know EXACTLY what to do. He held both her hands above her head with his own, using only his hips to get his cock inside and out of her. She hated how she looked getting fucked by her boyfriend. She knew her face was red, hair was messy, tits bouncing and sweat against her forehead. Augustín seemed to think otherwise.

"You're so beautiful. I've wanted you for SUCH a long time. I knew you'd feel good. I knew you were incredible, and I can't STAND it."

She was trying not to whimper. From the sensation of being fucked for the first time, to the sneakiness of knowing she wasn't allowed to do this, to the intense look in his eyes. It was all so much. Too much for him too apparently, for just a minute into this, he pushed himself into her fully, and she felt warmth nestled deep inside of her. He just came. Sure, it was in the condom, thankfully, but technically cum was inside of her. She met his eyes, unsure if she should tell him that she wanted a turn. She thought about maybe saying she was fine, not wanting to hurt his ego.

Thankfully, her boyfriend wasn't like that. He pulled a hand away, and used it to rub her clit in fast circles. It was enough for her back to arch, enough for him to, surprisingly roughly, force her body back down to the sheets (it was a sudden bout of aggression that she honestly sort of liked, oddly enough).

"Cum for me. I want to feel you tighten around me. Give it to me. Look at me in my eyes. I want to remember every sound you make. Give it to me. Cum on your novio's cock."

She did just that. As if on command, she came for him, leaking all over her poor sheets and squeezing his poor, sensitive cock, enough to make him wince. It was all so quick, the foreplay took longer than the actual fucking. But she didn't mind it. Not one bit. He pulled out of her, tossing the filled condom into her small trashcan. She made a note to trash it before mami came home, but that didn't matter. Not now. She laid her head on his chest, and found delight in him wrapping his arms around her, chin resting on her head.

"I'm...sorry it wasn't perfect."

"Didn't have to be. It's us. We'll have plenty of time to work on it anyway."

"We...will?"

"Mhmm~"

She was about to lean up to kiss him, when her door SLAMMED open. Pepa.

"JULIETA. WHEN WAS I GOING TO GET MY FUCKING AREPA-what. What's going on?"

She jumped off of him so quickly, finding herself absolutely frozen in fear.

"Pepa, don't tell mami please, I just-"

"Oh my god it's ABOUT TIME. I thought Augustín was fucking celibate."

Augustín raised a brow, confused.

"You...won't tell Alma?"

"PFFFT! You think I'd snitch like that on my sister? Never. Plus, maybe she'd finally loosen the hell up!"

She laughed, banging her fist on her doorway. She tried to clear her throat, In hopes of getting her to leave.

"Pepa, I'll feed you in a minute. Could you just-"

"Okay sure, sure. I'll go make fun of Bruno for being the official family virgin."

Augustín sat up, trying to hide his still hard cock.

"Oh he's with Félix at a play."

"...lo voy a estrangular."

Julieta sighed as she got up, about to ask Augustín to give her clothes, when he seemed to be a step ahead of her, handing her a dress.

"I'll go get Pepa. She hates Félix giving anyone else his attention around this time."

"Need help?"

"If you want to take care of the evidence."

"On it. Good luck."

He, ever sneaky, reached over to kiss her nose. This man was too cute, she herself couldn't heal her heart from what he did to her.

[that-one-weeb-but-starwars]

Asks: How about some Wrecker Fluff?

Y/N is on her period. She tries to hide the fact from the boys but Hunter can smell it and Tech knows because of his useless facts. Clones probably aren't taught much about the female anatomy as it's not "important" for a Soldier. Wrecker knows something's wrong and after Y/N explains the issue, he ends up bringing her stuff like chocolate and cuddling to make her feel better. Bonus points if she ends up losing her crap on a whole bunch of baddies. Whether it's Droids, bounty hunter, or something else.

I think this is cute- so Ima do it

Strong Muscles Stronger Gut| Wrecker

"Are you. Um..." Hunter spoke.

The two stood in the hanger, both alone.

"What?" Y/n asked.

"You uh...smell...stronger"

"I what!?"

"I mean! Well! You smell...diffrent." Hunter tried to explain, "You do atleast once a month for a week. Are you okay?"

Y/n rubbed her temples- oh so she had to have this talk.

"Yes. Im fine." Y/n spoke, "its a girl thing."

"A. Girl thing?"

"Yeah." Y/n spoke, "Every girl gets- well most, usually around pre teens."

"Its important then?" Hunter asked, "I uh. Know she won't want to go to me about it. She might. I- I don't know-"

Hunter started to ramble, mixing up his words with uhs and ums. He was talking about Omega.

"Can. Uh. You explain it to me? I know it affects you. I just...wanna be there for her you know?"

Y/n nodded, she had explained periods before to boys- men- young girls that were sobbing in the bathroom confused.

Y/n explained what was happening to her body, and what essentially Omega would go through. She told him- everything- spilled all the beans. Y/n had offered to show how much periods really hurt and he agreed saying "its only fair so I understand"

Y/n held his shoulder, he growing increasingly worried.

"What are they doing?" Wrecker asked as he watched them from a far.

Tech looked up from his work, Y/n holding and apologetic face as she then proceeded to slander his guts, kneeing his stomach as hard as possible.

Hunter doubled over letting out a spew of Mando as he went down.

"Yeah thats about a quarter of the pain. But it depends on each girl." Y/n told him, as he was slolwy getting up.

"Remind me never to call you weak even if we are just messing around." Hunter spoke Y/n holding his shoulder.

"Sorry about that..."

"Oh." Tech spoke understanding what was happening, "Y/n must be busy this week then."

"Busy?" Wrecker asked looking at the two, Y/n now in pain as she held Hunter's shoulder leaning over holding her stomach.

"Right now?! You didnt even do anything?!" Hunter complained.

"E-excatly- fuck! Fuck fuck! Ow..."

"Is she okay?" Wrecker asked Tech.

"It will go away- soon- unless. How many days has it been since mid week?"

"Uh..." Wrecker spoke, "three?"

"Makes sense." Tech spoke, "she has most of her pains three days in."

"Three days in of what?" Wrecker spoke.

"Menstruation." Tech spoke, "hand me the-"

Wrecker handed him a tool, "no not- oh yes this one thank you."

"What's Menstruation?" Wrecker asked.

"When a women, in this case, our lovely brutally honest Medic, Y/n." Tech infromed, "is going through a cycle once of month..."

Tech contuined to ramble- Wrecker. Well Wrecker didnt process one piece of information Tech was saying.

"What?" Wrecker asked.

Tech sighed looking back at Wrecker, "she bleeds and has cramps."

"Why is she bleeding? Did she get hurt?"

"Wrecker-"

"Is she okay-"

"Yes-"

"Then why is she-"

"Wrecker!" Tech stopped him, "her monthly bleeding means she's healthy, shes fine. Sure she is emmense discomfort and I certainly hate to see our sister like such, but thats what makes her strong- well also the fact that she can- at any momment be with child, carry the damn thing for almost a year give birth and take a squadron of droids down with just one blaster."

Tech looked back at Wrecker who still looked confused out his mind as Tech sighed, "You know somethings wrong?"

"Yeah." Wrecker answered.

"Go ask her."

"Good idea!"

Wrecker made his way over to Y/n and Hunter the pain Y/n was mild now, she could deal with it.

"Wrecker." They both greeted.

"H-hi."

Y/n looked at him worriedly, "something on your mind?"

"Can. I talk to you?" Wrecker asked, "alone?"

Y/n looked at Hunter, "I'll leave you to it." Hunter responded and left.

Y/n looked up at Wrecker worried, "Wrecker? Hun? What's wrong you look worried?"

"Tech says you're bleeding." Wrecker tried to explain.

"I'm bleeding?" Y/n asked- oh- oh here we go again.

"Y-yeah.." Wrecker spoke rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "and I. Don't really ever understand what comes out of Tech's mouth....unfortunately...and I saw you in pain for the last three days. I just- are you okay?"

Y/n smiled at Wrecker, "Im fine."

"Oh. Oh good." He spoke, not seeming fully satisfied with what she had said, "but uh. Why are you bleeding? Can I stop- We stop you from bleeding?"

"Please I wish you could." Y/n spoke with a light chuckle, "No Wrecker, see women once a month go through a cycle, it unfortunately makes you bleed like you're birthing hell out of your guts but is one of the ways we stay healthy."

"Oh." Wrecker spoke, "so. You bleed to stay healthy? When I bleed Tech's always poking me with needles."

"Well... yes and no. The cycle once a month helps get rid of an egg- well its called an egg, but Im not a chicken alright?" Y/n explained.

Wrecker sat and listened intently to her, something that wasn't really common when learning about what would be considered a random thing to him.

Y/n was pretty impressed by him to say the least. She had never seen him so focused, and it was honestly kind of cute.

"But boys or men don't have it." Y/n told him.

"That doesnt seem fair! Why do you have to suffer?" Wrecker argued as Y/n shrugged with a laugh.

"You tell me." She smiled.

It went silent as he thought intently, "well nothing can make you feel better? While your on your period?"

"Well because of War I've been so busy with fighting That I've only used heat packs and compresses. Usually I just have to fight through it." Y/n spoke, "but I've heard of alot of women saying like affection makes them feel better."

Wrecker hummed in thought, "Hey! Wrecker! Y/n!" Omega called.

The two turning there heads seeing the girl across the hanger with the others.

"We're going to a Cantina for dinner! Come on!"

"Come on Wrecker." Y/n spoke.

They met up with the rest of the group, walking to the Cantina with as usual happy Omega. They sat down for dinner as usual. Talking back and forth with smiles. Wrecker would frown though everytime Y/n winced, closing her eyes taking deep breaths. She was obviously in pain.

"Can I leave earlier?" Wrecker asked.

"Uh, sure?" Hunter asked as Wrecker got up.

"Can I come?!" Omega asked.

"Oh. Uh..." Wrecker spoke, "not this time...sorry Omega."

"Oh." Omega frowned, "Okay then! I'll see you later!"

Wrecker left the group who was relaxing.

"Odd." Tech spoke, "Wrecker always likes to take Omega."

"Maybe he's found a girl." Y/n recommend leaning back and drinking her water.

"I doubt that." Echo spoke, "thats not him"

"Maybe he just wants to go back and sleep?"

"Now that sounds like Wrecker." Hunter admitted.

Y/n shrugged, the group talking casually. Until some bounty hunters came up to them.

"Well hello Doll."

Y/n only contained her arguement about physics with tech.

"Whats a princess like you doing hanging around a few clones?" The man spoke with a purr.

"Call me princess again and you'll have no cock."

The men laughed as the batchers kept quiet, it was bad to mess with her in one of her moods.

"Oh come on Princess. Whats a small fry like you gonna do?"

Y/n quickly grabbed her pistol from her tigh, aiming it at the guys head.

"I warned you didn't I?"

"W-woah now put the-"

She aimed the gun down shooting the man right in the Kenobis.

"FUCK! SHE SHOT ME IN THE DICK!"

"I fucking warned you!" Y/n argued.

"What the hell!" His friends shouted.

Y/n lifted the gun up, "It may just be on electric shock but I will turn it to live ammo!"

"You bitch!"

Y/n growled as they came at her, Y/n grabbing a bottle on the table smashing it against of there heads as they fell to the floor. The third ramming Y/n into the table as he pulled out a knife, Y/n reaching back grabbing a fork and stabbing the man in the shoulder.

He cried out in pain as he fell to the floor.

The group left the cantina after paying, no bystander daring to make a comment. The group returning to the Havoc Maurder.

"Wrecker! Wrecker! You should of been there!" Omega cheered rushing inside to find the large batcher.

Y/n rubbed her stomach in pain, "still bad?' Echo asked.

"Just a bit yeah..." she groaned.

"I can see if we have any heat patches" Echo spoke as Y/n nodded in thanks, the group walking in.

Omega came back out, "Y/n Wrecker wants you in the bunks."

Y/n nodded, Echo handing her a heat patch.

"Thanks."

Opening it with her teeth she walked towards Wrecker and her's shared bunk.

"Yeah Wrecker? Omega said-" She stood seeing Lula on her bed and a large paper bag.

"Hey!" He cheered holding lots of blankets in his hands and in his blacks.

"Hi." She spoke, "whats up?"

"Oh well I heard about the fight." Wrecker spoke, "and uh. I know you've been in pain for a few days so this is to make you feel better!"

Y/n cocked an eyebrow up still confused, Wrecker wrapping her in one of the blankets as she held it so it stayed in place.

"What in the bag?"

"Well me and Omega always go get sweets and it makes us feel good so..."

Y/n walked over seeing the mass amount of choclate bars,

"I bought a few." Wrecker spoke.

A few? More like a whole isle.

"And thought made you'd want a hug." Wrecker recommend, climbing into the bottom bunk, it was often they shared a bunk.

"Oh." Y/n spoke, "uh. Are you sure? I don't wanna...you know bleed on you by accident."

"You've bleed on me on the battle feild how is this any different?" Wrecker spoke with a smile.

Y/n chuckled, only Wrecker.

Wrecker had wrapped a blanket around him waiting with open arms to Y/n. Y/n smiled making her way into his arms, her blanket wrapped around her and his, Wrecker pulling another blanket over them. She smiled head in Wrecker's chest. He rubbed the middle of her back as she hummed in pleasure, her head barried into his warmth.

"Your like a heater..." she spoke muffled as he chuckled, rubbing up and down her spine.

"Do I ever tell you how much I love you?" Y/n purred, "especially your back rubs..."

He kissed her head as she smiled.

"Thank you Wrecker." Y/n told him.

"Anything for you, after all. Your always making sure we're all okay."

[mistresseast]

Here is my shuake temporary amnesia threadfic I posted to Twitter earlier! Presented to you in screenshots for the full cinematic experience of being spammed with gross fluff on your timeline. The complete text is under the cut in case you don’t want to or can’t wade through all of those images ❤️

The procedure was really simple. Akira’s appendix hadn’t burst or anything, it was just inflamed and the doctor decided to have it removed as a precaution. Nothing to get worked up about, Goro kept telling himself. His husband would be in and out within a day, no hospital stay required.

Akira was all jokes before the surgery, teasing Goro about putting on a nurse’s outfit to take care of him at home, and Goro just said something threatening about suppositories, which earned a cheeky laugh.

It didn’t take long, and the other thieves showed up right as Akira was getting out. He was pretty woozy as the anesthesia wore off, but Goro was just relieved everything had gone perfectly, according to the surgeon.

When Goro comes back, eyes red-rimmed but dry, the thieves are visibly struggling to hold it together. Ryuji is facing the corner, shoulders shaking. Ann and Futaba are clinging to each and Haru has her hand over her mouth. Makoto is holding her head like she has a headache.

Except when Akira is coherent again, he’s...weird. He keeps avoiding Goro’s eyes and he barely responds to the others when they speak to him. Goro tries to take his hand, and he locks up, going pale. The others just watch, looking awkward, and Goro excuses himself, suddenly feeling ill.

Akira is sitting up in bed, beaming.

“What happened?” Goro asks.

Sumi smiles innocently. “Nothing.”

Goro eyes them all with suspicion. “The neurologist will be here soon to clear him for discharge.”

“Great,” Ann squeaks.

“Somehow, I do not think--” Yusuke starts before two of the others shush him.

Well, that’s weird, but when are the thieves not weird? Goro is more interested in Akira, who’s staring at him with a crooked grin.

“Feeling better?” Goro asks, retaking his seat.

“I am now that you’re here,” Akira says, flashing him a wink.

Goro squints at him. “Are you sure? You were pretty out of it earlier. I can go get a doctor—”

“That was nothing,” Akira insists. “I was just surprised to wake up to someone so pretty waiting at my bedside.”

“Oh is that what it was.” Rolling his eyes, Goro sits forward to guide Akira back down against the pillows. “You shouldn’t be sitting up. You’ll pop your stitches.”

“Yes, sir.” Akira lies back obediently and catches Goro’s hand when he tries to pull away. “I can think of some more fun ways to pop them, anyway. Are you free later?”

Goro stares at him while Futaba lets out a hysterical giggle and Makoto mumbles something.

“You think you’re so cute,” Goro says eventually. “The doctor said to hold off on that for at least a week.”

"Oh, right." Akira hitches up his coy smile. "What's your schedule like in a week, then?"

Cheeks warm, Goro cuts his eyes to the others, who are all studiously avoiding looking at the bed. "What's gotten into you?" he scolds. Akira is never this…overt in public.

Akira's smile droops. "I...sorry, I—" He flicks a glance at the others as well, and Goro catches Ann giving an encouraging little hand wave.

"What?" Goro directs at her. "Is something wrong?"

She shakes her head quickly, eyes wide and glittering.

"Everything's fine," Akira insists. "I was just...uh, wondering if, after I'm recovered, you'd like to grab some coffee or something?"

Goro furrows his brows at him. "You realize that's a ridiculous question, right? What are you playing at?"

"But—you—" Frowning, Akira darts a look down at the ring encircling Goro's fourth finger, then over at the rest of his friends. "You guys—"

Futaba bursts out laughing and Ryuji nearly keels over from the force of his own elated wheezing. Makoto pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Sorry," Akira mumbles, releasing Goro's hand, cheeks red. "I guess they thought it'd be funny to play a trick on a sick person."

"A trick?" Goro repeats blankly.

"Of course you're already taken, someone as hot as you—" Akira scrubs a hand through his hair. "I saw your ring but they said it wasn't—you weren't—"

Realization clicks in Goro's head and he angles a glare at the others, which apparently breaks the final seal because the remaining thieves, minus Makoto, dissolve into helpless giggling.

"I'm really sorry," Akira continues, oblivious. "If I knew, I wouldn't have hit on you, but you're just so...and when I woke up and saw you being so nice to me, I thought, you know—" he grimaces. 

"Oh my god." Goro rubs his temples.

"When you left, I asked them if you were single and they said yes, but they were just taking me for a ride." Akira scowls at the others. "Not cool, guys."

Futaba snorts. She has her phone out and pointed at them but Goro can't worry about that at the moment. "Akira, how much do you remember right now?"

Akira shrugs. "Everything's pretty hazy. I figured you all had to be my friends since you don't look like family and you were all really happy when I woke up, but I can't remember the specifics. That happens with anesthesia sometimes, right?"

"Yes, it—" Goro breaks off on a sigh.

"Look, I'm really sorry again," Akira says earnestly, "—and I hope this doesn't make things awkward with us, but I just wanna say that I hope whoever you're with knows how lucky they are."

"Oh, they do," Ryuji pipes up. "They never shut up about it!"

The others all snicker and Goro wishes he was close enough to elbow Ryuji in the gut.

"Good." Akira smiles sadly, putting Goro in mind of a kitten left in the rain. "Who is it, anyway? Do I know them?"

Goro makes a strained noise in the back of his throat. "Akira, it's you."

Akira blinks. "What?"

Digging in his pocket, Goro produces a simple silver band and grabs Akira's hand. "You're the person I'm with, we're married—" he slides the ring into Akira's unresisting finger. "And your friends are all assholes."

Akira stares slack-jawed at his ring. "Wait, really?" He glances between Goro and the others. "Really?"

Goro nods with another sigh while the others struggle to compose themselves.

"Sorry," Ann says, at least looking a little contrite. "When we realized he didn't remember you, we just couldn't resist."

"We owe you," Sumi titters. "Please don't be mad! We'll make it up to you!"

"You absolutely will," Goro grumbles, already planning just how he's going to make the thieves pay for this.

"Hang on—" Akira snags Goro's hand again, eyes shining. "We're really married?"

"Yes," Goro answers patiently. "For nearly two years."

"Holy shit," Akira marvels. "How did I manage that?"

"Here we go," Futaba groans.

Goro shoots her a warning look before reaching over and smoothing Akira's fringe off his forehead. "Hopefully you'll remember that on your own soon." He doesn't really want to recount the whole operatic series of events.

Akira leans shamelessly into the touch, a dopey smile growing on his face. 

The neurologist assures them that Akira's brain is fine and that this kind of disorientation is common after general anesthesia. Nevertheless, he stays in the hospital until his memories start returning.

"Look at it this way," Ann suggests while Akira hides his face in embarrassment and Goro signs his discharge papers. "Now you both know that Akira's not just into you because you tried to kill him."

Goro still isn't pleased with the thieves, but he's starting to see the humor in the situation. "That's definitely a load off my mind. Though now I'll have to rethink our anniversary plans."

Akira whines something that sounds like "please stop"

"I did quite enjoy hearing about how hot I am, though."

Akira lowers his hands, pouting petulantly. "I tell you that all the time."

"You should remind me more often."

"Oh?" Some familiar impishness sparks in Akira's gaze. "So you like when I praise you?"

"Your memories must still be hazy because that's not a secret."

"Please don't do this," Makoto begs.

Laughing, Akira ignores her and makes grabby hands at Goro. Smirking, Goro sets his clipboard aside and leans forward, allowing Akira to pull him into a kiss.

It's just as sweet as always.

[straydawg-writing]

𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞'𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦.

- 𝓚. 𝙯𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙮𝙘𝙠

• hunter x hunter series

⋯✰⋯

Chapter 3—

"Don't they have anything at least a LITTLE flattering? I get they're like hippie-extremists, but not all of us want to look like a sack of potatoes," you complained, swiping through their clothing racks that screamed no-potential-whatsoever.

You'd finally arrived at NGL headquarters, only for them to make the three of you throw out your phones and clothes. It's like they were still living in the 18th century.

"It's only clothes. Just pick whatever," Killua replied while browsing through the selection, though he looked equally as aggravated and bored. He did have at least some style that he wanted to upkeep.

Gon on the other hand didn't seem to care.

"You think they have anything green?" He wondered out loud.

You pulled out a set of white pants with a blue long sleeves top.

"Hey Killua."

"Yeah?"

You shoved the set into his arms, giving him a bright smile.

"Try this on, I think it would match your eyes well."

"Idiot. The Chimera Ants won't be looking at my eyes when we're fighting them." Pink dusted his cheeks as he looked to the side, avoiding eye contact.

He bought the outfit without even trying it on.

Gon pouted. "Wait, what about me?"

You pulled out two more similar sets. One was a pair of green pants and a white tank top, while the other was burgundy pants with a black top. That one was yours.

"We can all match!" You grinned, relieved you finally found something that wouldn't make you all look like homeless children. "Well, sort of." The sets were still different colors, but they retained the same general style.

"Oh, great idea Y/N! I'll go change into it now," Gon beamed, nearly skipping all the way to the changing room with his brand new green pants. It was about time he put on something different for a change, you inwardly joked.

Killua was already walking back from the stalls when Gon ran past him.

"Wow Killua, look at that drip~" You whistled, checking out his new outfit.

"You're so hopeless," he sighed, bonking the top of your head.

You rubbed where he had hit and stuck out your tongue, pretending to be hurt. It was the truth though, he looked really good in the outfit you had picked out. Peeking at him while he wasn't looking, you discovered that the tight-skinned long sleeves accentuated his arms in a way you'd never noticed before, hugging his lean muscles. You were right about the royal-colored shirt bringing out his pretty blue eyes. And the way his pale skin and white hair contrasted them even looked a little heavenly...

God, what were you thinking? If Killua heard you right now he'd hit you over the head another 20 times over. You looked to the floor, hoping he wouldn't see your growing blush.

After all three of you had changed into your new clothes, the hunt for the Chimera Ants began. Kite was on his own horse, while the rest of you fit on the second one due to your small frames. You were holding onto Gon's torso as he took control of the reins.

He was like a natural, his whole body moving in sync with the horse in strong determination. You trusted him, knowing that wouldn't just let you topple over. You weren't really used to horses, as they weren't typically found roaming around the jungle.

Then there was Killua, who was standing stick-straight on the horse like it was nothing.

"How do you even do that?!" You called out over the sound of galloping hooves.

"Huh, Do what? You mean this?" Killua smirked, doing a handstand.

You couldn't believe him. The boy had no fear at all.

"You're crazy," you stated, turning around to face Killua and leisurely leaning your back against Gon.

You had finally mastered balancing on the horse without having to hold onto him— but you had nowhere as near the skill Killua did.

"Maybe I am, but you love it," he teased, still upside-down. Temptingly enough, his white locks of hair were hanging upside-down too.

Slowly, you leaned forward on the palm of your hands, steadily closing in the distance between you two.

"Sure, I do. You got me there," you cooed, catching him off guard.

"Huh.." He sweatdropped, turning bright red. Killua's balance was starting to wobble.

Then, exploiting his moment of weakness, you tugged on his hair knocking him over.

Satisfied, you rested against Gon again. Thankfully the boy didn't seem to mind.

"Show off," You said, sticking your nose in the air.

"Man, that was so unfair!" Killua whined, sitting back down on the horse and dragging his hands down his face.

You crossed your arms, ready to deliver some witty comeback, when you noticed some bees in the distance that looked like they were carrying something. Squinting your eyes, you saw that they were flying in closer.

"Hey guys, look at that," you pointed out. The horses stopped as one of the bees dropped the paper in Kite's hand.

Help!!

Chimera Ant Nest, Rocky Area

Notify Hunter Association!!

An SOS? And it appeared to be written in blood.

You cast a worried glance at Gon, who looked disturbed.

"It's Ponzu..."

Ponzu...? The name wasn't familiar to you at all. That must be somebody Killua and Gon knew from before you had met them.

The bee fluttered defeatedly around you before making its landing on your ring finger. Kite made the decision to leave the horses, with a message for the Hunter Association.

Even though they ran faster on foot, it didn't take much time until you came across an unsettling scene.

Or, what was left of Ponzu.

Blood soaked the ground. Articles of ripped-up clothing scattered the dirt, and there was not even a bone in sight. The putrid smell of iron overwhelmed your nostrils.

It was fresh blood.

If you had arrived even 15 minutes earlier, maybe Gon and Killua's friend would not have so barbarically killed. You felt sick to your stomach.

'This wasn't done by a human'

"This was done by a Chimera Ant," Kite finished your thought.

The look on Gon's face scared you. Most of the time, Gon was a sweet boy on a journey to find his father. But sometimes, you could spot a festering darkness threatening to take over his very being. You knew he would never tolerate his friends getting hurt, but you couldn't help but wonder if Gon was self-sacrificing, or perhaps selfish?

"I hate to consider the possibility, but it's possible that NGL's underground rulers have already been fed to the queen. What will happen if Chimera Ants are born with their genes..?" Kite trailed off, studying one of the bullet casings in the murder scene.

An unprecedented biohazard never seen before in human history, is what that meant. The worst-case scenario had just happened.

⋯✰⋯

That wasn't the last disturbing scene the four of you came across. In front of you now were three decaying horses, each speared through the stomach by its own tree. They resembled grilled chicken and steak kebabs.

The scent was even worse than the last incident. This time, they were rotting. Killua and you both covered your noses, in an attempt to block out the stench.

"It's like a morning sacrifice," Gon stated.

You remembered what that was. Back at home, sometimes birds would impale their prey on sharp objects like branches. It wasn't a pretty sight, but it was the circle of life. What kind of monster could do this to not just one, but three 1,000 ton horses?

Your question was answered quicker than you had hoped.

"Trash. Those are mine!" The monster in question growled as he stepped foot out of the dense forest.

He looked like an overgrown bunny, with wings of a bird, thick-ass thighs, and seaweed green hair. And as for the vibe he gave off? You could safely assume he was just a stupid man-child.

"Wow. You're ugly," you deadpanned.

"You wanna say that again little brat?" He snarled, making the first move and charging right after you.

You quickly dodged his attack, but not before he came in contact with your arm. That was gonna leave a bruise.

Kite activated his aura, temporarily distracting the bunny-monster. It seemed to have noticed the change in atmosphere.

No way...was it possible? Had it already learned about the power of nen?

"Y/N, Gon, Killua... You three must deal with him yourselves. We'll be encountering more Chimera Ant soldiers like him. I won't be able to help you during combat, so if you can't defeat him, you will have to leave." Kite stepped back from the fight.

You nodded, Gon and Killua mirroring you. The three of you understood what hung in the fate of this fight.

"We told you before Kite, we're pros, not just kids!"

In sync, you all activated your nen together.

"Did you hear that bunny? I'm about to blow off those weird speedos of yours into the next dimension." You raised your hand in front of you, manipulating the wind to blow him away with every step that you advanced.

Killua was already in the air, prepared to test his thunder-bolt. In a flash of blue, dozens of lightning strikes were being zapped into the ant, immobilizing him. Gon's charged punch was enough to send him flying across the sky.

You saw his tail-puff shrink and sparkle in the distance as he was about to disappear, until something fast and unidentifiable swept him away.

Someone had been watching.

"He let his soldier do the fighting so that he could learn our abilities," Kite explained while walking towards the three of you again.

Gon and Killua looked disappointed. You hadn't even gotten a chance to use much of your powers during that fight. If you had finished it off, would that have been enough to prove yourselves?

"Are you coming?"

You looked up at Kite.

"There's no need to feel down, your attacks weren't that bad. You just need experience now. If you wish to become stronger, this is a perfect opportunity... But if you aren't prepared, you won't be able to endure it. Whether we win or lose, hell lies ahead of us." Kite finished off, looking at each one of you in the eye with a resolute stare.

You knew that. Gon and Killua knew that also.

Even so, all three of you were prepared and eager to do whatever it takes to strengthen yourselves and help Kite save NGL.

⋯✰⋯

Kite looked serene as the light of the small campfire lit up his features. He and Gon had caught some fish for dinner earlier, while Killua and you set up camp. Now, you sat brushing arms with Killua, who was sitting next to Gon, who was huddled up close to Kite. The night was quiet, except for the cicadas singing in the trees and the thoughts running through you and your friend's minds.

There was a lot to think about.

Gon and Killua hadn't even been given the time to grieve over the loss of their past acquaintance, before being hit with the hard-hitting truth that the Ants were already evolving at a nightmarish rate. Nobody knew how many had gone missing or even more so been eaten. Yet everyone knew that the death count had already surpassed comprehensible numbers. Most likely, not everybody here would make it out alive.

But, the three of you consistently have proven the odds wrong. You held onto that fact like you held onto your pendant.

It reassured you.

It was obvious that the three of you had become inseparable over the past two years.

After you met Gon and Killua at Heaven's Arena, you'd never left each other's side.

Nobody would be going home without the other, because you had all found home within each other.

"Hey, Kite? What was your dad like?" Gon asked.

Kite looked up at the boy, surprised by the sudden question. Turning his eyes to the starry night sky, he exhaled a breath of cold air.

"I didn't know him. He disappeared when I was a child."

Gon hummed, waiting for Kite to continue. He knew that feeling too. It was an icy and empty feeling, not having a father figure in your life to guide you, praise you.

"I have very few memories of him, but they've all muddled together by now. Sometimes I can't tell if they're real or if I've convinced myself they are."

"....I think Ging would thank you."

This brought Kite's attention back to Gon.

"Thank me for what?"

"Well... You've been like a sort of mentor for me ever since we met, back on Whale Island. If it weren't for you, I would never have even become a hunter. Maybe I'm just a kid, but the past month it felt like I.. like I had a dad."

Your heart ached for Gon, who had been searching this whole time for his father in everyone he met and everything he saw. Gently, you placed your hand over his and squeezed it, wishing you could be of more comfort to him. Wishing you could turn back time and bring Ging back to his home, to Gon.

Kite's eyes softened as he looked at the boy, who offered a wobbly smile.

"Ging would be proud of you," he said, ruffling Gon's spiky hair.

That night, the glimmering moonlight had brought out your most vulnerable selves. You felt a honey-like warmth grow inside of you— a new member had just been added to your family. Killua seemed content, happy that his friend was smiling. And Gon's eyes matched the twinkling stars as he looked up to Kite like he was the most wonderful thing.

It was a special night. You knew deep down that you would treasure it, for a long time to come.

⋯✰⋯

[thatsgay-writes]

Korrasami x Reader Part 2

Summary: Telling your kids how you all started dating.

Warning: Light cursing?

Ages in flashback:

Korra: 21

Asami: 22

You: 23

"I wanna know how you and mommy got with mama." You give your son a kiss on the head, "Ok bud, so..."

*Flashback Start*

You and Asami had been dating for 4 years at this point and you had helped her build her company back up. You both had been sending letter to Korra, some were joint letters and some were not. You two were also the only two to get responses. You knew about Asami's not so small crush on the Avatar and had known about it for a while. You both had talked about it and you confessed that you didn't always see Korra in just a friendly way either. You both had planned on telling her about it after everything that happened with Unalaq but knew that she had gone through practically two breaks up within a month and decided to wait. Turns out you waited too long because before you could even blink, Korra was paralyzed and on her way back to the South Pole. Asami kept getting nightmares about that day and what could have happened if Suyin didn't get the poison out. Over the years they did lessen and soon stop happening. When Asami went to talk to her dad the first time, she came back to you crying. She told you how she wanted to forgive him but she just didn't know how and if it was a good idea. You told her that you would stand behind whatever she decided to do and that if she did want to forgive him, to just take it slow.

When Korra did come back you were surprised by her hair. "Wow, I love what you did with your hair." Asami said, standing a few feet in front of Korra. Korra blushed and grabbed her short hair a little. She goes to respond before feeling arms wrap around her from behind, "Korra! Oh my spirits, you cut your hair it's so cute!" You said in excitement before giving Korra a kiss on the cheek, causing her to blush more. She just mumbles a thanks as Asami smirks, seeing the blush you and her caused. With Korra back, you and Asami talked more about finally confessing the feelings you both had been harboring for the Avatar for the past 3 years. But of course something had to happen and next thing you know, you are all fighting for Republic city against a giant machine with a spirit beam.

You had watched as Korra froze water over the robot and Asami's humming bird land on it. You watched at one of the robots hands broke out and was heading towards the humming bird. "No..." you said as you watched in fear as the hand got closer and closer to the humming bird machine. You let out a huge sigh of relief as you watched Asami (You knew it was her because she was on top.) get ejected from the humming bird, until you realized that she was the only one ejected. "Shit." As much as you wanted to go and comfort her immediately, you had a job to do and you wouldn't want her dad's death to be in vain. Your job was to more or less be back up for Korra because the room was too small for all three of you to fight in. When the machine crashed, you followed Korra and Kuvira into the spirit wilds. You were shocked when Kuvira turned the spirit beam on and made sure to help Korra and Kuvira dodge the beam. When the beam got shot right at the three of you, you helped strengthen the sides and top of the air pocket Korra made to protect you all.

When the three of you get sent into the spirit world, you get sent flying away from the other two. You end up landing on a sharp rock and getting stabbed by said rock. You would have just laid there and waited for someone to come find you but you knew that Korra and Kuvira were too occupied with each other and after getting the rock out of you, you were losing blood too fast. Stumbling towards the new spirit portal, you see Korra talking to Kuvira, who finally hangs her head in defeat. "Is it over?" You ask standing a little ways away from the two girls. Korra smiles hearing your voice before turning around and responding, "Yeah, maybe we can all go on a vacation after this." Korra jokes. You smile at her, "Thank the spirits." You say before falling to your knees. "Y/n!" Korra yells running up to and catching you before you face planted. Her expression turns from one of concern to horror after seeing the blood that was soaking your shirt. "Kuvira see if anyone has water! Hurry!" Korra says as she looks around and doesn't see any water. Of course they open a spirit portal in the one place that doesn't have water. "Come on, stay awake. Asami will kill both of us if you die." Korra says as she keeps your head on her shoulder and ties cloth around your wound.

Kuvira rushed out the spirit portal and stumbled forward after tripping on some rocks. She looked up to see Korra's friends standing in a defensive position, ready to attack. "Let Kuvira go or we will fire." Somebody in a mech suit said. Kuvira shook her head, remembering what was happening in the spirit world. "Stand down, this battle is done. But do any of you have water? It's an emergency." Everyone looked at her confused, "Korra's friend is injured pretty badly and where we landed in the spirit world didn't have any near by water." Asami immediately got worried when Kuvira said "Korra's friend". "Y/n!" Asami says out loud before grabbing Kya's hand, knowing she had water on her, and running towards the spirit portal. When she breaks through the portal she almost cries at the sight before her. Korra is sitting on the ground, with her legs open, and has your head on her shoulder and your body laying in between her legs. The wound in your back was very obvious and had bled through the cloth Korra wrapped around it. Kya had rushed forwards immediately and unwrapped the cloth from around your wound, causing you to cry out in pain. That sound finally broke Asami from her trance and she ran forwards.

Asami kneels down next to Korra and notices the shine of tears in Korra's eyes. Asami puts one of her hands on the back of Korra's neck and rubs her thumb back in forth in an attempt to calm her down. She takes her other hand and places it on your cheek, you shift your head a little to push into Asami's hand. "I'm going to do as much as I can but the wound is a lot deeper than it looks. She is gonna need a healing pool to completely heal." Asami nods her head before giving you and Korra a kiss on the cheek before running back out the spirit to get Tenzin to get a bison.

*Time skip to Zhu Li and Varrick's Wedding*

You and Asami sat on the stairs outside looking at the spirit portal. "I can't believe Korra made that." Asami nods her head in agreement, "Only Korra would accidentally make a spirit portal." You chuckle at her statement and hear a playful scoff come from behind you. "You both act like it was on purpose." You and Asami turn to see Korra standing behind you with her arms crossed over her chest and a playful glare on her face. You roll your eyes before slowly moving over to leave space between you and Asami for Korra to sit. You accidentally wince a little as you move causing Korra to rush forward a little. "No, y/n you don't need to move." "It's okay Korra... Asami and I actually need to... talk to you." You say a little nervously, which causes Korra to get suspicious. She sits down slowly before looking between you and Asami. Asami wouldn't meet her eyes and just looked down blushing. Korra turned to look at you, to see you holding a letter to her. She looks at you confused before slowly grabbing it. As she goes to open it, you speak. "This is the last letter Asami and I wrote to you, we just never got the chance to send it." Korra nods her head before focusing on the letter to read it.

(italics is Asami writing and bold is you writing.)

Dear Korra,

I hope your doing better and that you always know you can talk to me and y/n. We heard you're coming back in a couple weeks and are absolutely ecstatic. With that knowledge in mind we decided to not actually send this letter, we thought it would be better for you to read in person. Okay I took over because Asami is way to formal with this stuff. SHE HIT ME! The nerve of that woman I swear. But anyways, I'm going to make this short and simple. I'm in love with you, we're in love with you. Yes, you read that correctly. I can't speak for Asami but I didn't fully realize how deeply I was in love with you until I saw you laying on the ground after Zaheer had poisoned you. I always knew I had an attraction to you and felt more towards you than a friend should but seeing you laying there, almost dead, felt like a punch to the face. You could have died having never known about how much we love you, how much people love you. I would say that after seeing that, that I didn't hesitate to tell you because life is short but you were so broken afterwards and we couldn't put that on you. You needed time to heal and I understood that. My only hope now is that you haven't found somebody in the south pole. Now that y/n is done writing and being annoying, I want to agree with most of what she said. I know we had a rough start, with everything that happened with Mako (his eyebrows though), ignore y/n. But somewhere along the line of going from competition to friends, I realized that you dating Mako wasn't the source of my jealousy, well it was just not in the way most people thought. I wasn't jealous that you were dating Mako I was jealous that Mako got to be the one dating you. He obviously didn't know what he was doing when he broke up with you. I swear if Y/n takes this paper one more time I'm going to hit her again. Anyways, Y/n and I talked and we were wondering if you would be our girlfriend or at the very least go on a date with us.

With love,

Y/n and Asami

Korra's mouth was opened in shock. She was so sure that the letter was a prank or something but when she looked up at the both of you and saw how nervous you both were, she realized that it wasn't. "Both... You... You both love me?" You bit your lip nervously before nodding in response. Asami looked up in concern, "If you don't feel the same way, we can all act like this never happened. We wouldn't pressure you in---" Asami gets interrupted by Korra pulling her in to a kiss. You watch with a giant smile as Asami relaxes into the kiss and returns it. Korra pulls away and turns to look at you, "I can do that now right, I know I should've as---" This time Korra is cut off by you pulling her into a kiss. This time it's Asami smiling as Korra relaxes into the kiss. When you both pull away from each other, Asami speaks. "So I guess that's a yes to our question." Korra blushes and rubs her neck nervously, "Yeah... I love you guys too if that wasn't obvious." You and Asami share a smile before pulling Korra into a group hug. You all sit there for a moment before pulling away. You wrap an arm around Korra's shoulder and hold Asami's hand with the same hand. "So..." You say looking out at the spirit portal. "Y'all want to go on a vacation?"

*Flashback End*

"Whoa! Do you have a scar!?" You chuckle at your sons excitement. "Yeah I'll show y'all before bed tomorrow if you're good for Bolin and Opal tomorrow. That means best behavior." "Okay mom." Your son says with a serious expression, he wanted to see that scar. "You ruffle up his hair before moving to your oldest daughter's bed. "Now, what story do you want to here?"

PREVIOUS /// NEXT

[xxisxxisxxis]

Gateway Drug | Part Ninety-Four [PT.2]

Words: 2k

Warning(s): explicit language

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VIVIAN

"Who was that?" Mandy asks me as I hang up the phone after talking to Nikki.

"Nikki." I reply, helping her get the straps on her dress adjusted. 

She doesn't look like a conventional bride in her satin black dress that reaches just below her thighs. 

"Looks pretty." I tell her. 

"Thanks." She replies. 

I think for a moment before clearing my throat. 

"Are you nervous at all?" I ask her and she looks at me. 

"No? Should I be?" 

"I mean, it's just a big step, you know?"

"Not any bigger than already living together. It's not gonna change much." She says. "It's just a silly piece of paper to me." She admits. "I'm doing this for him, he's always wanted to get married--don't get me wrong, I have, too--but it's never been on my absolutely priority list like it's on his." She explains. 

"If it's just a silly piece of paper, why does it take so long to get it annulled, or divorce finalized?" I ask her and she furrows her brows. 

"There's a lot that goes into marriage, Mandy, and it does change things to an extent. But it's a good change." I assure her. 

"No offense, Vivian, but shouldn't you be worried about your own marriage before you worry about mine?" She asks me, a little aggravated. 

I get aggravated right back. 

"I didn't mean anything by it, Amanda. I just think you shouldn't marry him because he wants marriage more than you do and you want to make him happy. You marry him because you love him and you want to do it without the pressure of living up to a standard he subconsciously has placed on you. I'm just trying to look out for both of you because I'm his friend and I'm--"

"--Trust me, I'm well aware." She cuts me short. 

"Then act like it and don't talk to me like that in my own fucking house." I snap. 

She just stares at me and I stare at her. 

"You know what? I need to get going. I've gotta run to town. Thanks for your help." She says flatly, getting the dress back off and pulling her clothes on.

When she gets to the door she stops and turns to me. 

"I get it. You're carrying his kid and I'm the woman he proposed to when you wouldn't stay with him. I wasn't trying to be a bitch. I'm just trying to fucking adjust to this shit, because it's hard on me, Vivian. This whole clusterfuck is really fucking hard on me." 

"Like it's easy for me?" I ask her, scoffing. 

"I have to know I'm second to him, Vivian. Do you know how much that fucking hurts? And he swears up and down I'm first, I'm a priority, but I know I'm not. I know if both of us was fucking dying and he could only save one, he'd choose you." 

"Well, like you said, I'm the one pregnant with his kid, so…" I blurt it without a thought and immediately regret it. 

She just looks hurt--betrayed even--and slams the door shut on her way out before she gets to her car and squeals out of the driveway. 

"Shit." I say to myself. "Vivian, you shouldn't have fucking said that...what have you done?" 

I figured Duff would call shortly after and scold me. Little did I know the phone call would be skipped altogether.

"What the hell, Vivian?!" Duff says, slamming my door shut and I jump a little, looking at him as he comes to me in the living room. 

"I didn't mean to say what I said." I tell him. 

"Didn't mean to say it?! You basically told her you were more important because you're knocked up with my baby!"

"Am I not?" I ask him, raising my brows. 

"That doesn't mean you're more important to me, Vivian. That doesn't mean Mandy's second place right now. You're both important to me in different ways!"

"Oh, so if I told you Nikki and I were done and I wanted to be with you, you wouldn't leave her within a matter of days and be with me?" 

"Not with you acting like this." He declares. 

"Like what?"

"Like fucking--" He stops talking before he says something he'll regret, before huffing out a breath of air… "You're jealous, and I get that, but you're not treating Mandy like shit just because you think you have the upper hand, right now." 

"I didn't treat her like shit, I just said--" 

"--I know what you said. She told me what you said. I love you, but I'm not doing the petty cat-fight drama so cut it out." He states sternly. "And if you wanna play the, 'I'm carrying his baby' card, that's fine. Be the woman I just got pregnant. But she'll always be the one I married."

"She's also the one hammering screwdrivers with you at brunch, I've heard." I tell him, crossing my arms, trying not to be hurt by his words. 

"Whatever makes you feel a million miles taller than everybody else, Viv." He gives up, heading to the door before turning to look at me. "You're taking your medication like you're supposed to, right?" 

"Go fuck yourself." I snap. 

"That's what I thought." He says sharply. 

"You can leave now." I say, defensively. 

I thought that was that...thought.

"I just missed a dose or two, Nikki, honestly." I tell him the next morning, not necessarily telling the truth but also not lying completely. 

"Vivian, we're not doing this shit where you don't take your medication, again." He tells me. 

"I'm not doing it, Nikki." 

"And I've heard some shit about fucking lithium and you don't need to just miss any doses if you can help it. It can fuck your body up and if it can do that to you it sure as shit can hurt the baby." 

"Nikki, I didn't miss any doses on purpose, I just forgot." 

"Right, like you forgot to take your Nardil for three months in a row at times." 

"Can you hop off, Nikki, I mean, seriously. I'm trying here." 

"I'm not trying to get on to you, Viv, I just want you to take this serious."

"I do." I insist. 

"Then why is Duff telling me you went off on Mandy and him?" 

"Oh, he told you that, too? Along with my lack of taking my medicine on time?" 

"He's worried, Vivian."

"He should be. He's fucking his life up by marrying her." 

"Vivian." He snaps and I look at him, sighing. 

"We broke up. And within a few weeks, he's engaged to her, Nikki. They're getting married in two months, did you know that? Who the hell gets married five months after they have a breakup from someone they were in love with? Not to mention his drinking." 

"So what if the guy had a few screwdrivers at breakfast or whatever? I've seen Sharise throw back mimosas at ten in the morning before." 

"Champagne and orange juice is a lot different than straight vodka and orange juice, Nikki." I state. 

"Alcohol is alcohol." He reminds me. "And besides, he's probably drinking because he's under a lot of pressure with the band right now, and you're catching a lot of shit right now, and he's got a lot on his mind." He adds. 

"I do, too, but I'm not rushing into a marriage to try to convince myself I'm making the right decision." I mumble. 

"Nah, I think you and I both did enough of that five years ago." He replies and I realize what I said, and look at him pointedly. 

"I didn't mean it like that."

"I didn't say you did. I just think maybe you're taking something out on him because you don't want him to me the same mistake we did." He suggests. 

"Oh, so you're the therapist now or something?" 

He just stares at me with a little smirk, his eyes searching mine. 

"I'm gonna blame the exponential amount of bitchiness on the pregnancy." Is all he says before trying to get up.

"Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I say, reaching out and grabbing his wrist, and he looks at me and sits back down. "I'm sorry, Nikki, alright?" 

"There's a reason I wanted to talk to you, I didn't just bring you down here so you could start a fight." He raises his brows. "I wanted to talk to you about something important." 

I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear and he rubs his face. "Look, about the whole sex thing…" 

My face burns with embarrassment and I let out a breath. 

"I don't wanna talk about it, Nikki. Let's just forget it happened." I tell him. 

"No, don't do that, Viv, it's not anything to be--"

"--I cried and whined over not getting dick. Yes, it is something to be embarrassed about. So let's just not even acknowledge it happened." 

"You were crying and whining because I, your husband, wouldn't be intimate with you. It has nothing to do with sex itself, but the feeling that comes with it--at least that's what Amber told me." He tells me. 

I just smile at the fact he's actually paying attention to his therapist instead of blowing off her intel. 

"I guess you're right." I reply. 

"And I'm sorry for that…it's not like I just found out about the baby. I've known it since you told me. I agreed to work this out with you, you know? So I shouldn't have thrown it in your face that I'm not attracted to you because of the baby thing."

"Well...are you not attracted to me?" 

"The first session we had I was trying to get you on Amber's desk, Viv." He reminds me, chuckling. 

"That was before you knew I was pregnant, Nikki." 

"...It was?" 

"I think it was." 

"...oh…" 

"Look, I'm just as attracted to you now as I was when we first met." He assures me. 

"You hated me when we first met."

"Doesn't mean I didn't wanna get you under me." He shrugs. 

"Oh, whatever." I roll my eyes and he grins. 

"My point is that I'm sorry for making you feel like something's wrong with you or you're undesirable or something. The truth is, Amber suggested that we wait on having sex for a while until we're mentally stable enough to separate sex and intimacy from problem solving and apologies." 

"...And you agree with her?" I raise a brow, not believing my ears. 

Since when the hell does Nikki Sixx take marriage advice from anybody? 

"Yeah, I guess I do." He shrugs.

I just scoff.

"Viv, you said it yourself multiple times the past few years that sex doesn't solve anything." 

"I meant using sex as a means to brush things under the rug. Not just happy-go-lucky-'we aren't just doing this to keep our marriage from falling apart'-sex." 

"Was there a difference in the two by 1986?" He raises his brows and I'm about to argue some more, but he has a point.

"I'm trying, Viv. You know I am. I haven't tried barely at all, and you know that, too, so please, let's just see if this works." He pleads. 

"So, what, we're just not gonna do anything until we get our crap together?" 

"That's a good way to put it, yeah." He nods. 

Despite it being an inconvenience, it'd be well worth it. Maybe if we aren't so focused on getting each other's bones jumped, it'll give us time to actually grow up, some. 

"Okay, Nikki." I agree and he looks relieved.

I made a very deliberate point to stop by Amber's office on the way out.

[fritae]

The Missing Piece (Ch 14)

Flirt.

gang! au / ceo! au

characters: dabi x f. oc, lov

status: ongoing

read on ao3 here.

a/n: I'm sorry for not updating for a bit, I was busy with finals. But hopefully, I should be posting more often from here on out! I hope you're all doing well in the meantime :)

---

As I make my way to the Blaze today, my conversation with Al this morning is all I can think about.

"What time are you coming home tonight?" I asked her as we both got ready to leave the house. It was rare for us to leave at the same time, Al usually sets out hours earlier.

"Probably 11-ish? The Midnight Show's on break today."

"Really? That's weird. That's never happened before."

"Yeah, we're doing maintenance today so the equipment will need to rest overnight. All our stations are clocking out early."

"How about you?" She asked me as I locked the door behind us.

We pause before our apartment for a moment, as I shrug. "Mr. Dabi needs me today. I'll probably come home late again."

Al nods. "I'll see you tonight!" She calls out before walking in the opposite direction.

"Yeah," I wave back. "But don't wait up for me!"

---

I knock on the door once and turn the knob to Dabi's office.

But my grin falls when I find the room empty.

I sigh.

"Looking for someone?"

I turn around immediately.

"Dabi," my face brightens. He's wearing a simple black suit today. My eyes unconsciously glance at his abdomen, looking for any sign of blood. I hug the morning report closer to my chest when I find none.

"Was waiting for you to come in," He registers the look on my face with a smirk. "That smile for me?"

I roll my eyes and hand him the report as he walks to his desk.

He flips through the documents, eyes skimming the pages. His fingers move up and down the paper casually, rather than with purpose as he usually does.

I take that as a sign he's not too concerned with what's in them.

Let's see.

"Is your wound better now, sir?"

Dabi nods.  "Anything urgent on the agenda?"

I shake my head. "At 4pm, you just have-"

"Around midnight, I mean."

I blink.

"Midnight sir?"

He nods, looking up at me. "I've got a deal with a big client today. I'm taking you with me."

Tonight?! My heartrate rises.

"But sir..."

Dabi raises a brow. "What's wrong? Thought you'd be happy."

"Nothing I just..." I try to think of a lie. "Me and Al were planning on having a girl's night."

Dabi closes the folder. "Got it. I'll try and schedule you in advance next time then." He doesn't seem upset at all but I don't let it go.

"No! I mean, it's okay, you come first. I'm sure she'll understand."

"I'm going anyway, Rina. There'll be other opportunities for you to come along. I don't need you there, I just thought you'd wanna be better acquainted with business."

"I am," I insist. "I'll come with you. Al can wait."

Dabi tilts his head. "You say you two are friends but who'd rather hang out with their boss than your friend?"

"We've grown distant a bit since I've left NNTV," I tell him honestly.

Of course, there's more. But there was no way Dabi would stay silent if he found out. The problem is... would I have another chance to do what I was planning on doing tonight?

I bite my lip.

It's okay, I can still make it afterward.

If it takes too long, I'll tell Dabi I need to leave early.

But Dabi is already suspicious.

"Wouldn't this be the perfect opportunity to patch things up then?"

Why's he suddenly asking so many questions.

"Dabi-"

"Are you friends or not?"

"We are. I think. I just haven't been feeling it lately. I don't know, maybe it's because we haven't really spoken with each other in so long."

He stands up and steps closer to me, forcing me to take a step back. "I think there's more to it than that." He eyes me with amusement. "Why do those pretty eyes look scared?"

I blush and my back hits the wall.

Can he not change up on me so fast?

"I think you're keeping things from me, princess."

There's a playful smirk on his lips as he places his hand against the wall, leaning in closer. "What are we gonna do about that?"

"Look who's talking," I cross my arms.

"And here I thought I was making your day."

I feel his breath against my skin and it makes me grow bold.

"You tryna make me happy or something?" I tease gently. 

"If you'll make it worth my while." 

"How so? Big boy couldn't even handle a hug."

A deep chuckle comes out of Dabi's mouth.

"Let's see how much you can handle then, princess."

A fire dances in my stomach at his words. Where is this Dabi coming from? The casual flirting. The mischief in his eyes.

But before I can discover what he means, he pulls away from me, a fake serious expression on his face and adds: "Ah. When you don't have a girls night planned, that is."

There's a playful banter in his voice that I love.

It reminds me of the Dabi I first met.

Suddenly, I hear Atsuhiro behind the door.

"Dabi, we on for tonight?" He calls out.

Dabi's eyes flit from the door to me.

"Would ya look at that? Guess I'm having a boys night."

"No," I immediately frown. "You promised."

Dabi laughs. "Get out of here with that bullshit, I don't make promises."

"Dabi, we out? Or are you taking Jin today?" Atsuhiro knocks again.

"Now you do," I tell him seriously. "You've taken them before, it's my turn."

"Is it though?" He scratches his head. "I thought it was girls night."

Atsuhiro knocks harder. "Dabi, you there?"

"I won't speak to you again." I narrow my eyes. "That's a promise. You can't bring this up and then say no."

"Wait, wait let's get something straight, princess. I brought it up and you said no."

"Dabi!" I groan.

"Rina," He whines, mocking me.

Its strange seeing Dabi like this but it excites me.

More so that he won't let Atsuhiro in.

"You won't regret it," I whisper. "Promise."

He considers my words.

"You sure you want to come?"

"Yes!"

"What are you gonna tell your friend?"

"I'm working late."

"Bad girl." He shakes his head in mock disappointment. "I didn't take you for a liar."

"Guess you should know me better," I tilt my head, my lips curling at the hint in my tone.

"Careful now," His voice gets deeper when my fingers find his tie. "You know what happens when you get too close to fire?"

I remember the Dabi in the car, who pulled back as soon as I touched him, and this Dabi - who teases and pulls me close then pushes me away. I wonder what's different. What makes one come out or the other.

"Maybe I want to see what it'll do."

I don't miss the way Dabi's eyes darken.

But before he could respond, Atsuhiro bangs on the door.

"Hey boss, you-"

Dabi's grin falls.

"I'm not fucking taking you tonight!" Dabi growls at the door. "If I don't answer, I'm doing something, how about you calm the fuck down?" 

There's a pause at the door and then a low "Okay" that makes my heart clench.

Dabi turns back to me. "Now-"

"Wait now I feel bad," I look at the door. "It looks like he really wanted to go, why'd you have to say it like that?" I pout.

Dabi rolls his eyes and decides to pull sway completely. The mischief in his eyes is gone. Instead, there's a bored and slightly irritated expression. He goes and sits on the sofa, spreading himself out.

"Princess, I don't have time for this, are you coming or sh-"

"Yes, yes I'm coming."

"Then don't fucking worry about him."