#I feel like an ao3 author just rambling in their tags

[drifloonz]

The multiple miki thing might be because Miki could've been based on Charizard M and that thing is known for cloning itself.

Tbh i cant fault shadowmalerenamon for completely changing doors open when rewriting it. Having missingno be the main antagonist was miles better than how Steve was in the original.

( mention of suicide ig )

i respectfully disagree . i see where you're coming from but i think all of the rewritten strangled... duology i guess bc strangled red itself never got one

( thank fucking god to be honest. it needs No change. although at the same time its kind of funny it never got one bc its the most popular one and going more into him as a Person if smr didnt fuck it up would be nice ... but im too attached to my own interp based off of his canon implications to care about what smr kind of has to give. and he already did that in og strangled red, to a degree, although it focuses on the tragedy there is character stuff to be extrapolated from the implications of the story if youre very deeply ill. like me. )

- is a lot less character-focused, at least on steven specifically, and is focused on explaining or rewriting shit that never needed to be explained or rewritten. it is a revisit and reinterpretation of the story, that to me, is just purely kind of . Not good or fun to read. and the new shit it introduces is fucking stupid imo. steven being banished by the town instead of... fucking. killing himself ( especially specifically by cop. that's lame and way more boring + FUCK THE POLICE !!! + It feels out of character for steven he would just do it himself like actually. Also yk. hanging yourself is narratively thematic and ironic. ) or whatever goes so much harder .

guy who loves his town and home region and wanting to be a role model and wanting to be cool so badly being driven mad and then the entirety of kanto, his homeland, forsaking him and walling him off goes crazy . Also because it implies they're scared of him to some degree which also makes me go crazy as an implication.

[ more put below bc i love to fucking yap about strangled red and how much i dont like the rewrites ]

i Will not step down from 'the rewrites arent good' . Doors open is mostly bad because stevens characterization is garbage. even though its random and from left field ( why the fuck is he in sprout tower ) it couldve been handled well if it was written better characterization-wise.

also i supposed the 'M charizard makes sense. not. not really i don't actually think smr thought that through. if he did, which he couldve because she is named #'M# in Strangled Red, cool, but i still think it's just to make the "miki" name thing with 4 party members he has. which is cool admittedly. it's just that i hope it is never explained why he has 4. and it never has since, doors open rewrite didnt do anything with that thank god.

and bc he wouldnt have any other mon other than miki post-incident and afaik that thing only replaces existing partymembers, and steven canonically releases all his team in SR + pokemon avoid him. but yea. Doors open i treat as a 'spinoff' in a sense bc nothing from it really makes sense when properly thought through, and its basically there to make the lost silver crossover i feel. also, yk, he literally says "Never." in strangled red when you press switch on 'M / missingno/revived/whatever you want to call miki post revival. its kind of out of character for canon-compliant steven to have anything other than miki post-incident for these 3 reasons - i only made a team for him post incident bc im autistic about pokemon and pokemon teams so that was for fun.

basically it makes more plotholes and questions than not the more strangled reds plot stuff tries to be explained or added upon esp in the remakes which i think are not fun reads if you like steven as a character anyways. and also bc strangled and doors open in the ogs are easter eggs. trying to explain what is supposed to be an in universe easter egg in pokemon would obviously be kind of a lesson in futility. not. not exactly but at least in the way smr does it.

strangled makes sense, you just go to his fucking house and hes there. yea. doors open is like. Yea hes in johto now. dont ask. but its also easily explainable as... He just fucked off to johto. For what reason? idk. hates kanto bc theyve forsaken him and banished him to the Woods, just wanted fresh air i guess, or just for fun. these are all more plausible reasons.

iirc the rewrite doesnt even say why hes there and if it does the reason is convoluted and not needed. i think its just 'hes a ghost hallucination... thing??? following the mc which is the most boring route to go for with steven and the most uninspired thing ever, and missingno was not the antagonist just a plot device in the og story Why are we focusing on it so much.' and its still a plot device in the rewrites! it isnt explained ( good the explanation would be kind of awful ) and i cant see any good way to explain missingno other than the way i do as a fun idea. which is biased but the 'failed clone of mew number 3' is a fun idea.

this is an insane ramble from a deranged person. if you can't tell i fucking love steven as a character and smr does him dirty except in strangled red, really. strangled... is fine but bc he barely talks in that one and when he does its like. yea. that checks out.

no hate to you btw none of it was directed at you specifically just smr and strangled reds various canons. you just gave me an excuse to ramble about how much i dislike the remakes tbh. I fucking LOVE analyzing why i hate things esp involving steven bc hes not greatly written by his og creator and not often greatly written by the fandom either .

[altcvnningham]

needy

adler x f!bell

summary: adler gets up for a morning cigarette. or tries to. read on ao3

tags/cw: established adlerbell, f!bell, she/her pronouns, bell is russian, fluff, light angst, no plot, drabble, smoking mention, kind of domestic i guess, bo6 adler so he's a little soft, pre-bo6 but post-panama, cw references galore, dog imagery as is synonymous w adlerbell atp, author has adhd and goes on prosaic rambles in lieu of an actual plot. this fic could have been an email?? sorry wc: 3.1k

a/n: bwuhhh this was just an excuse to write self indulgent soft morning adlerbell at the rook while i work on my actual pre-bo6 adlerbell rook fic when i have the energy . no plot, lots of rambling, once again kind of just a thinkpiece on their relationship now adler's an old fossil. idk she was doing nothing being left in my notes app ajdkhjkasjk

He reckons she’s needier these days, more than she ever used to be back in Berlin.

Sometimes he wonders if it’s just his age that makes him feel that way; that perhaps she hasn’t changed at all, and instead it’s the dust settling on his bones, rusted shrapnel over the years snagged in the joints and sinews, that makes him feel sluggish in comparison. It’s the first time in his life since Livingstone brought up the CIA’s desire for more sprightly recruits that he wonders- is he struggling to keep up?

Their reunion after all these years was a messy one: a scrap in an indistinct bar, bloodied knuckles split and bruises welted dark blue, the white of his eye burst red, the curve of her jaw swollen for a good week. Fresh after Panama. As soon as she caught wind of what happened she’d picked up his trail barely a week after he arrived in Bulgaria. Had she come to kill him? He doesn’t know. It isn’t as if she’d confess to it even if she had, and maybe he had it coming anyway. It stopped mattering at all the second the fight had descended into the alleyway, wrestled onto their backs against the cobblestone, where hands had found throats and then jaw, waist, hip, and everything else. Punches had calmed to caresses, curses to kisses, and somehow he’d found himself patching her up back at the Rook, his stray dog come home to him, like old times.

She’d eased herself back into his life easily enough then. Simple and unspoken. Or, rather, wedged her foot back in the door well enough that he couldn’t shut her out again, even if he’d wanted to (as if he hadn’t always kept it ajar all these years just to let her in, never closed, never closed). Never a word for what they are, what they have, the routine they’ve slipped almost effortlessly back into again- that hasn’t changed since the old days- and yet he doesn’t find that it robs it of meaning whatsoever.

If anything, it makes it something rare, special, his diamond in the rough, glinting sea glass washed a perfectly chiselled bead upon the shore. Just as she’d crashed along with the tide as time brought her back to him, he picked her up, tucked her gently back into that place she belonged, in between the rib and vertebrae, nestled inside him all to steady the beat of his restless heart. Her alone enough to settle the frantic, ceaseless palpitations he’s suffered nightly, since… Solovetsky? He thinks? The dull gnawing in the back of his mind all those years in between, that wasn’t sure if he was more frightened for her inevitable return or her disappearing forever, slipping through his fingers back to sea again.

He supposes it doesn’t matter anymore. That was then, and now seemed to fare much nicer.

Now, she rolls sweet and placid onto her back against the mattress, limp as a daisy in rain, soft body bowing to his careful manhandling; he’s itching for a smoke, aching for his vice the second he awoke, hours too early for his alarm. He lifts her off him delicately, almost methodical as he starts with her arm, the heavy loll of her head, her shoulder. Like defusing a bomb, he’d joked once, a comparison she’d only proven right by her explosive reaction to it.

It’s an odd feeling, though, the calm where there had once been nothing but war between them, the quiet, the warmth upon his chest now fading where she’d laid her head after he came back last night- back home, back to her- and it’s in moments like these, just mere glimpses of normalcy, that makes him wonder what could have been his life, theirs, had things not happened the way they did. MK Ultra, Berlin, Solovetsky. Perseus. Then again, he supposes, if she hadn’t been shot in Trabzon that night, if she hadn’t been there at all, then he wouldn’t have known she’d even existed. This mundane moment lost to time like everything else.

She murmurs in her sleep, spurred to wakefulness when the mattress lifts and groans at his absence, her eyes squinting through the sliver of morning light bleeding through the gap in the curtains; even when she’s completely out of it, she doesn’t miss a thing. He’s never exactly been the paragon of stealth when he excels at everything else, but even if every factor in the world had worked in his favour- if the beaten mattress wasn’t so rusted, if the ancient floorboards didn’t squeal underfoot when he stood up, if there wasn’t a constant draft on his side of the room that hit her as soon as he moved- nothing would have stopped her from registering his absence, clawing to fight off sleep just so she had an excuse to grouse at him. Ever his stubborn girl.

“Mm… where y’going…?”

Adler smiles to himself, flat but genuine, stifled by the lethargy that hangs over his head heavy as an anvil. Her accent so thick in the early hours it hardly sounds like English at all. He’s half tempted to reply in Russian, just to see if her cottonmouth tongue latches quicker to that instead.

But he doesn’t, just lingers in the doorway leading out to the hall, feeling only a little guilty for letting in the cold. It rather satisfies him instead to see her shiver and pull the blankets further over herself, keeping her right where he wants her. Right where he needs her, so he knows she’ll still be there when he comes back.

“Smoke,” is all he says, rattling the crumpled pack for her to hear.

She’s half coherent when she grumbles, English sandwiched between Russian endearments. Cussing him out.

“Y’can smoke in here… m’don’t mind. Come back to bed.”

Something tugs at his heart, almost foreign, vague. Something he only feels when she digs her claws in him just like that, even if only to graze. It’s the same certainty as when he wraps his finger around a trigger, pulls a pin, wrenches his hand around the hilt of a knife- unspoken, inevitable. The drop of a guillotine, inexorably quick. A certainty that verges on frightening, a promise, which he’s never been good at keeping, but knows she means wholeheartedly, down to her marrow. Possessiveness, he thinks- (is it irony, now, how often he finds her fist wrapped around the leash he doesn’t even notice he’s wearing?)- people not in their line of work, those with nice houses and desk jobs and white picket fences, he’s heard, call that feeling belonging. To be beckoned like that. Home.

It’s her demand that he stays. Hardly a question. And Bell doesn’t beg.

He’s sure that in her spitefulness, if he’d had a trigger phrase just like hers, she’d spit it at him ‘til he turned heel and crawled back on over to her, slid under the sheets like an apology scrawled onto a note and tucked under the door. It’s a near enough thing- the way her bleary eyes fix on him vengefully through matted lashes, searing her betrayal into him. Every morning he gets up before her, it seems to say: you left me. A petulant notion, only half serious, but one cold enough that it almost works. Frigid. Familiar. Arctic air.

It works a little at least- getting soft in your old age- because he lugs himself back over to the bed and just stands by it, refusing to give her the satisfaction of quiet victory if he climbs back inside. She stretches a languid arm flat across the mattress, rolling catlike onto her stomach, splaying her fingers in the hopes that she might somehow pull him back in to her. She manages a knuckle grazing his knee, before she gives up, pulled under by sleep once more. Head slumped against the pillow, she muffles her disdain.

But Adler is nothing if not at least a little amenable. If he’s sweet on anyone, it’s his Bell. His baby. Hard to let a thing like that go, when she was quite literally made for him. Made by him, in his image. Scraped marrow from rib like Adam, caulking the hole Arash shot through her chest and bestowed life upon her once more. He’s happy to have a piece of himself broken off and left inside her, a tithe tossed to the slab of her altar. The fracture of his soul a discarded lamb in sacrifice, sustaining the sick hunger that starves her.

It keeps them inseparable, he thinks. He’d read something somewhere, pretentious shlock about strings of fate and those bound to it- romantic crap shmucks use to justify ugly marriages and affairs, the suffering of co-dependency given some transcendent meaning, a purpose greater than the mundane. The notion that two people, by whatever higher power, are bound to one another no matter what they do to separate themselves of it, tethered from their first breath and suffering an endless togetherness until their last. He’d rolled his eyes the first time he’d heard of it- there wasn’t a world where he’d be enough of a sap to actually buy into that shit. Maybe his ex-wife might’ve been fond of it, maybe it was something she wrote into one of the letters he kept under his bunk back in ‘Nam. He doesn’t know.

But Bell made him understand it. He’d dug a grave in her when he denied her her own on that airstrip in Turkey, and he buried himself in it, over and over again. His memories, his life, his voice ringing like God’s. His favourite things, treasured, secret. His fears and doubts and worries, every little thing that made up the culmination of his being. It was never just Vietnam he put there. It was everything. She’s half himself, a faded mirror image. It only makes sense that they’d find each other again, eventually. She’d walk the earth, stalking like a bloodhound trailing his dried scent until she found him. She’d roam the endless nights, a ghost shivering their old haunts until he meanders his way back to her again, pulled along by a gnawing ache inside himself- a missing piece he’d seek the rest of his life to fill. She could track him blind. And he would feel her coming, like blood in the water. He did. He did.

It’s that tether that makes it impossible not to relent to her, when he kneels down next to the bed, knee joint cracking under his weight, the mottled floorboard doing nothing to steady him. It’s her, when she has enough leverage now to close the distance between her fingers and the collar of his shirt, curled inside the bleached cotton, fist wrenched tight. The seam digs into the back of his neck but he doesn’t let her pull him to her; he waits, making her work for it. The satisfaction that tends to follow when she does is usually worth her ingratiation.

She drags herself across the mattress, using his body as an anchor. Heavy and boneless, she lays right at the edge of the bed where he kneels, her nose nudging at his jaw as she turns, belly up like prey. Too easy a kill, he knows that. She’s gloating. The fact he’d come back at all means she’s got him right where she wants.

“C’mere,” she murmurs gently, saccharine, cloying. He’s surprised it doesn’t make her gag- the pretend domesticity of it all. Dragging her dried lips, smiling, against the underside of his jaw, her fingers sliding idle up the back of his neck, arm slung around his shoulder like she’s expecting to be carried out.

He humours her with a smirk, his blues nearly grey in the dim dark of the room as she mouths at him, vying for his attention. It’s as much a demand as her words had been, sharp as her tone as she nips at his jaw. Adler sighs, as though turning his face to gaze down at her were something laborious, and not the blessing he counts on every finger, every day, seemingly numbered since Panama. He tuts, and it says, what am I going to do with you?

But if his condescension was an attempt to dissuade her advances, it doesn’t work, because she sees right through his playful façade, and the wry smile that unfurls sleepy on her lips betrays her excitement, the sifting of her legs under the sheets audible as she squeezes them together. Needy. She knows he notices.

“Not gonna work, Bell,” he hums dryly. Yet he steals this moment of her surrender, his eyes flitting to every feature of her face. He doesn’t need to commit her to memory, she’s dug in there like a tick. But God, if he doesn’t like to look at her. He brings a rough hand down against her temple, smoothing the baby hairs back, eliciting a satisfied sigh from her as her eyes slip shut. Her head falls back against the pillow, anticipating a kiss he doesn’t give her.

“C’mon. Back to sleep. I’ll be ten minutes.”

“Five.”

“Bell.”

“Five minutes.”

Adler sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose and scrunching his eyes shut.

“C’mon,” she croons, “five minutes… n’then…”

He thinks she’s fallen back asleep, the way her sentence carries off like that into silence. But when he opens his eyes she’s blinking prettily up at him, looking far too satisfied. Just as he opens his mouth to ask why, he feels the warm press of her hand against his knee, sliding up his thigh, fingertips tugged impishly at the sweatpants he’d haphazardly thrown on. He’s lightning quick to catch her, fingers circling her wrist; where the darting action might scare a weaker person it makes Bell’s eyes light up like stars, enamoured with his roughness. Excited. The way only she could be, eager pup biting at his ankles for a reaction.

“Behave,” he scolds, giving her knuckle a cursory smack before releasing her. That must finally be enough to spoil her fun, because she huffs, growling low in her throat, and rolls back over, burrowing herself deeper into the blanket than she’d begun.

It’s always a game to her, one she doesn’t much like losing. He can’t blame her for it. It’s always been that way. Back in Berlin, he’d taught her to play poker the proper way, the American way- whatever that meant- her downfall eternally being the fact she couldn’t bluff for shit around him. And it was just him- she’d caught on quick to the play, and had triumphed a couple times against Sims and Lazar; Park had refused to indulge the game, and Woods wiped the floor with the lot of them, even Adler. But with him, Bell just couldn’t lie. He was carved from marble, impassable- what he’d been trained to do. And she was a piece chipped off his softest part, malleable- of course he’d catch every minute twitch and wince, the flitting of wet lashes, the purse of an uncertain lip. She always told him the truth even with her eyes, her heart bore on her sleeve. It almost always felt like cheating. After all, it was what she was made for, wasn’t it?

And this felt much the same way. Not as strict as the luck of dealt hands and stifled poker faces but she’s never said or done anything to him she doesn’t mean. After he missed the shot in Solovetsky, all cards were strewn on the table. There was no mystery anymore. No joy taken in a good old fashioned backstab when the real damage was done, much too late to rectify. Maybe that’s why she makes it her personal goal to poke and prod and tease him now, chasing her fun in her own way, a decade late. Suppose it’s why she hates when he doesn’t just drop the cool attitude and give in.

He rises from the floor, that same knee joint clicking again. Where she might have mumbled a curt jibe about it, she’s silent, sulking into the pillow.

But just as he goes to leave, Adler stops at the door, a foot out into the hallway, the rest of him still stuck here, stuck on her. He sees a similar image in the back of his mind, of her laid upon the gurney in Die Landebahn, halfway into the back room with a syringe in hand when for one single moment of sobriety it dawned on him, what he’d been doing to her. Nothing like guilt, but it came close. Tinged with the regret of something so shameful as affection, Cupid’s arrow dipped in kerosene, shot straight through his heart; to come out the other side, to let him survive, to let him have this, here, her, now. And it’s a torture to have lived it, to know he doesn’t deserve a lick of it. The soft rise and fall of her breath beneath the blanket. Her hair splayed upon his pillow. She buries her nose deep in the old goose feather to try and keep him where he’s left her. Hold him close even when he’s gone.

The decade’s done much to him. He’d put on a couple pounds, had to start plucking the errant greys flecking his hairline, begun to wake most mornings with a tell-tale crick in his neck. He’s learned to relax that hard line in his brow, drawn too deep to reverse the evidence of age; let himself laugh a little easier, surprised people with his newfound ability to actually smile. He’s lost a lot, gained half as much. He’d been through hell and back, worse maybe than what he did to her- his karma, he supposes. And he supposes the decade’s made him soft, sentimentality creeping in to nestle somewhere he can’t reach, hidden inside himself with all the other things he doesn’t talk about. And he supposes of everything he’s lost, he has Bell again, and all things considered- it’s a fair trade.

He sucks in a breath, a sigh made audible for her to hear. Even as she feigns sleep, he knows she catches it, a flinch of her shoulder- where the shot he missed had landed in lieu of her head. In Solovetsky.

Then, Adler sighs, followed by a promise that feels to her like a confession.

“Five minutes.”

And when the door clicks shut, Bell steals herself a little victory smile.

[bardic-tales]

OC / Writing Ask Tag List

I'm making a taglist for everyone who would like to participate in bringing back certain Writblr events and Tumblr games. However, instead of just limiting it to writeblr, I would like to extend it to fan fiction authors, as well as OC creators.

This Creators' Club was created by my dear friend @starryeyes2000. As part of her legacy, I was debating how I wanted to celebrate her. Starry was extremely supportive of everyone and their work. I would like to continue that.

Instructions:

Please interact with this post if you'd like to be added to my tag list for Tumblr games and past Writeblr ask games, which aims to encourage community interaction, support for others' work, and foster a drama-free creative space. Do not interact whatsoever (including liking this) if you do not wish to be tagged / participate. If you have a different blog that you wish to be asked / tagged in, please either let me know in in the reply section of this post.

By liking, commenting, or reblogging this post, you’re telling me, bardic-tales, you would like to be on my Creators' Club tag list. I encourage you to reach out to the other creators who are on this list, so we can create a community and celebrate each other's work.

This group is open to all creators: writers, visuals artists, and readers. It is for those who appreciate these types of creators. All fandoms are welcome. We accept original works, original characters, alternate universe, strict canon, opt, x reader, and so on.

We aim to support, nurture, and cheer on our fellow content creators, as well as give everyone visibility. Different levels of participation are okay. I understand that schedules change, as does health. Participate at any level, as it feels right for you and your heath.

Part One

@bardic-tales @megandaisy9 @watermeezer @littleshopofchaos

@nightingaleflowlibrary @kricketbee

@themaradwrites @pinkevilwriter

@serenofroses @asirensrage @aalinaaaaaa @goldenlilium-ocs @glbettwrites

Part Two:

@wyked-ao3 @badscientist @thebadphilosopher @andromedalestrange

@fantastictrashpolice @seastarblue @happypup-kitcat24 @chickensarentcheap @allaboutmagic

@ryns-ramblings @kathaliabloodyrose @riemmetric @andromedaexists @kckramer

@tales-from-nocturnaliss @pastelpinkhobbies @idonthaveapenname @the-bar-sinister

@rosesonkittens

--- EDIT: I am putting all the newest members on this post, since I am adding it to the main @creators-club blog. I will also keep posting your work on my main @bardic-tales and that blog. I'm just going to queue your posts on this one so I don't hit my followers with a bunch of posts. :)

[starry-fame]

Hopeless Eternity [Dawnbreaker Zayne x Gender Neutral!Reader/MC]

Summary:

Is this what it means to be lost in your dreams? Some days, if there’s no risk of transformation, he spends his entire day and evening in bed, drifting in and out of sleep. Sleep is warm, serene, sleep gives him a life where his hands are soaked in blood with the intention of saving — not destroying. It’s a dangerous irony, the him that exists as a surgeon, an aid, a life-saver.

A him that’s loved.

Tags: angst, pining, Zayne POV, hurt no comfort, complicated feelings, touch-starved Zayne, post-prologue to tomorrow Word count: 3,030 Ao3

Author’s Notes: I pumped this out in a day out of pure will and post-main story release I love Zayne I love Dawnbreaker :(((

Masterlist

It’s equally fleeting as it is vivid. His solace — his reprieve; a soft smile and sparkling eyes. The way you look at him, something he’s come to crave. Find solace in his quiet dreams. Sometimes you’re a wide eyed child, teary over a popsicle he awkwardly freezes to fix. It’s lumpy and not very appetizing but you seem to love it anyway. Other times you’re older, an adult, a hunter, he learns over these dreams. A dying profession. A world bright, warm, lacking the destitution of his current home.

Is this what it means to be lost in your dreams? Some days, if there’s no risk of transformation, he spends his entire day and evening in bed, drifting in and out of sleep. Sleep is warm, serene, sleep gives him a life where his hands are soaked in blood with the intention of saving — not destroying. It’s a dangerous irony, the him that exists as a surgeon, an aid, a life-saver.

A him that’s loved.

Zayne can’t save a soul. But he can destroy them before they drag innocent bystanders into the depths of hell with them. If there is a heaven — a cold voice flickers in his mind that a damned world like this experiences no heaven nor hell — he hopes the souls he freed make it there. Maybe then the blood he’s drenched in would feel a little less heavy.

It’s a rinse and repeat. Destroy and recoup. Grab just enough sustenance and plant food, repeat. Life’s a bleak repetition over and over. He doesn’t lose himself in AI like the rest of the world does, but when he spends hours grueling over doctor shows and trying to understand the same procedures the him in his dreamscape undergoes, he wonders if his form of escapism is any better.

They don’t compare to his vivid mind. Well — it can’t merely be dreams. It’s practically life itself. A world just beyond his reach, dreams that haunt him. There’s always that person — you. He’s not sure if the bubble of affection comes from himself or the person he is in his dreams. Yet every time he wakes up, the hollowness in his chest doesn’t go away. The yearning for someone far beyond his reach, a soft smile and fingers that press a macaron to his counterpart’s soft lips.

He always liked sweets.

—

The day his dreams become real, tangible, a reality, he almost feels complete.

It’s brief, it always is, but it’s enough to stave him over. Makes the chill in his heart thaw, the frost that seems to enshroud him, a never ending arctic mist, dissipate.

He’s blacked out — a wanderer — he thinks. A hand too slow, a shot too off. He kills it, but not before it gets a blow on him that knocks the breath from his lungs and the light from his eyes. The world goes black.

Until it isn’t.

The person that inhabits his dreams, you, sit before him. You’re rambling about something Zayne tunes out, too focused on the way your eyes soften, the soft movement of your lips, the round of your cheeks and the way your lashes dip. The you in front of him is so tangible, so real. He can feel the warmth of your skin and almost taste the lingering sweetness on his lips from a snack he’s never before indulged in. The world is bright, warm. The place he inhabits is homely, smells distinctly sweet with a hint of floral. He knows this home, it’s the one he resides in. In this world, at least.

He watches, rapt, until your eyes meet his and you tilt your head. Every small thing Zayne drinks in like a starved man. A person he can only yearn, a life he’s never been able to reach, not until now.

“Zayne…?” Your voice asks. Zayne tries to answer, to formulate something his counterpart would say, but he has no words. His breath hitches, and lashes flutter slightly. It feels so surreal his heart thunders, an erratic, unknown rhythm.

Is this what being with someone you like feels like? So raw, so visceral, so all-consuming? He almost thinks he can’t control himself, and his hand reaches out of his own accord, brushing your cheek.

You blink, so cute, and Zayne breathes as you nuzzle into his hand. So warm. He can’t remember the last time he let himself revel in another human’s touch. He wants to — he wants… he wants everything, to the point where he can’t do anything. Could he simply exist here forever?

You hum, look into his eyes, and your fingers come up to rest on his cheek. Zayne flinches, he doesn’t mean to, but he does. He quickly relaxes and your hand lingers as your soft thumb strokes his pale cheek.

“Zayne…? Are you okay?”

Zayne’s breath hitches. This… he remembers this. Once. The fear, the wide eyes, when you finally realize…

He almost wants to retreat, turn around so he can bask in the dream longer. But your hand on his cheek is enough to make him melt. He wonders what he could say to make you laugh, to make you pout. Would you like him as much as the doctor you fell in love with?

Your thumb presses a little harder, and Zayne instantly notices the telltale furrow in your brows. You scrutinize him and Zayne can only sit there, let himself be examined like a cadaver in a room full of med students.

“You’re… different. Strange. I don’t…” You whisper. Zayne tries not to let the sting get to him. The sting of you knowing the other him so well — the second he gets a chance, this one fleeting chance to truly experience the life he vyes for, he’s instantly rejected.

“…I’m sorry,” he breathes. He knows. He’s a fraud. A criminal. A man who reaps souls rather than revered for his ability to save them. He’s the complete opposite of the man you love in every sense of the word.

He’ll never be him.

“…Are you Zayne?” You murmur. The apology was all you needed, it seemed. Zayne should be impressed really — attractive, sweet, and perceptive. It melts his heart as much as it makes him ache. He craves your you, your everything. The dream he so vividly recalls each night brightened by your smiles. A desire he distantly aches for experienced through another.

“Not yours.” He’s Zayne, but not your Zayne. As much as he wishes he could, much as he wishes he could experience the world you do each day beyond the firm of his rugged mattress and thin blanket.

You watch him, your eyes transferring from soft to a sort of solemn. It hurts, that gentleness gone, yet, he revels in the fact that you’re seeing him. You’re not looking at the doctor you go on dinners with, the Zayne that adores a variety of sweets, dresses in light, doesn’t have to stalk in the shadows and remain a faceless mystery.

You’re looking at the man with countless bodies that lay behind him and dissipate to ash. Blood that stains his hands and soul, forever tainted.

“You know my Zayne,” You respond, not a question, it sounds resolute as you pull away from his cheek. The air feels chilly devoid of your warmth. He expects you to retreat, scurry away from the stranger that dawns her lover’s flesh like a suit. Instead, you take his hands and stroke the back of them. It’s ironic, the marks that litter this Zayne as well. Even in a world not yet completely overran by wanderers, his scars have stories to tell.

“I dream of him almost every night,” the words spill from Zayne’s lips. A dirty little secret. The unequivocal truth. When he looks into your eyes, it feels impossible to lie. He wants to admit the truth. To feel your hands on his skin and whisper quiet reassurances that you can love him too. It might be an impossible wish, but it’s the one that flutters deep in his heart he long since closed off to the world.

“…Do you like to wear all black?” You query. Your fingers trail along his scars, and Zayne can’t help the way he trembles. To be touched so gently, so reverently, it’s terribly foreign. The question is so innocuous, yet nearly shatters everything. It’s always you. Always able to see him.

To know he wears black — his mind flickers to Georgie. The determined spirit before tendrils burst from his fragile flesh. Perhaps, in this world, he truly is nothing but a nightmare.

Zayne nods.

Your breath hitches, the fingers tracing Zayne’s scars pause. He wishes you’d continue, but he fights back the urge to goad you to.

Your eyes seem sadder, somehow. And all Zayne can think is to do something, anything to chase that sadness away. Could he ever be the one to kiss away your tears?

“I wish you didn’t give Zayne nightmares,” you say.

Zayne’s eyes merely flicker down, some semblance of guilt gnawing at him. He’s learned to harden his heart long ago, to keep a calculated distance, but he can’t ignore the pang that shoots through him at receiving your chastising.

Nightmares. Perhaps time and space mean nothing, not truly. Perhaps everything exists in tandem, the idea of past present and future intermingle. Time is a convoluted subject Zayne — quite ironically — hasn’t the time to dabble in. So he can only speculate as dreams and reality converge before his very eyes, past and future entwined.

“I don’t… intend to.” Is all Zayne can say. His life — the world he resides would be a waking nightmare for someone who lives a life such as this. You seem to soften at that, and when you stare straight into Zayne’s eyes, Zayne daren’t look away.

“If you’re truly Zayne’s dream…” You say, and you grasp his hand, interlocking your fingers together with a soft squeeze. Zayne’s heart quivers, and he feels his face waver as a dash of yearning and overwhelming affection surge in him. He’s unsure of it’s his own heart or the natural bodily response of the person he resides. Neither seems wrong. “I wish you’d take better care of yourself.”

Something inside of Zayne breaks then. Maybe if he was more emotional, the sort to cry, tears would spill. Instead, he leans forward, breathless, and you flinch back, eyes wide.

Right. He shouldn’t be surprised. He’s not your Zayne. He might share the same face, but that’s where the similarities end.

After, though, your hands come to brush over his cheeks before holding them firmly in your hands. You’re soft, hesitant, but you hold him in a way so sweet Zayne feels any tension leave him.

“Do you like jasmines?” You ask, and Zayne wishes he could stay like this forever. Encased in your warm hands as you ask him anything, everything. You could speak gibberish and he could listen for hours.

He tries not to feel envy. To despise and abhor the cards he’s been dealt. But if he had the option to be born in a world like yours, with you, he’d choose it in a heartbeat.

“At least I can keep one thing alive,” Zayne scoffs bitterly. Half a joke, half self-depreciation. Your hands continue to encase his cheeks, not put off, and when your thumbs brush his lips, Zayne feels everything in him freeze. Figuratively, but the emotion hits so hard it could almost manifest physically.

“Your world looks sad. You plague Zayne, a nightmare… but I guess it’s your reality.” You mutter, it seems more to yourself than anything, but your fingers stroke Zayne so tenderly he wonders if it’s okay to indulge. To think this is meant for him and no one else, not even the him that resides in this world.

Zayne’s eyes flutter, he knows he must look something akin to needy. He watches you with weak eyes, a quiet want that’s stirred in him for as long as he can remember.

You chew your lip — Zayne watches the way your teeth catch on it, the way they glisten when you lick them, and, and…

Does he move first, or you? In a moment, your breath fans his cheek, his lips, and Zayne’s eyes flutter shut as your lips press against his.

So warm. So soft. It’s brief, a slow, sweet kiss before you pull away and look at him with half-lidded, complicated eyes and parted lips.

Zayne wants to lose himself in your lips. Kiss you for an eternity over and over. Instead, he breathes, lets his ears burn. He can’t remember the last time he kissed someone. The world was so secluded, and once it became his duty, no, once he became obsessed with ridding the world of abominations one at a time… time froze. An endless loop of death, gathering food, watering his jasmine, watching old shows, repeat.

“You’re not Zayne,” you repeat as you watch him. Your eyes waver, and Zayne knows all too well the look of instant regret. Confusion after you took a leap into the abyss — uncertainly floating amidst the sea.

He’s not Zayne. But they share the same face. The same dreams. Yin and yang. Two sides of the same coin, intertwined, unable to escape or exist without the other. If Zayne didn’t have this world in his dreams, he’d have given up long ago. He thinks, plainly, maybe even meanly, the Zayne you love can dream the so-called nightmare he lives daily for all he cares. At least your Zayne got to wake up to a stable, populated world.

“Not yours. But he knows me. And I know him.” He can’t say if it’s right or wrong. Him or you. He knows he’s hijacked the man you love. The man that loves you. He wonders — is the Zayne he’s meant to be in his own body? Or is he simply suppressed, as though he never existed?

“You looked so sad. I… couldn’t help myself,” you say. As though defending yourself. Zayne doesn’t need an explanation — frankly — he hardly cares. You could have the worst excuse known to man but if you looked at him with those doe eyes and kissed him with those lips that make him melt, he’d let anything slide. “You’re… not my Zayne. But you’re Zayne. You’re different, but similar. You melt in my hands the same way.”

Zayne blinks, head gently goaded side to side as you playfully move and cradle his face in your palms. You’re not wrong — he’s so pliant he moves with little resistance. Watches you with the same eyes he’s always had, as though nothing is ever enough. It feels nice. Could this be his new life? His everyday?

“Will… my Zayne ever come back?”

The soft-spoken words shatter the pleasant world Zayne had began to encase, enshroud himself in. Even if you see him, kiss him, he’ll never be enough. He’ll never be the man by your side every day. The man who gets to experience you in full, your joy, your touch, your sadness, your serenity.

The words are like a cue. The world begins to lighten, warble, the feeling of nearly waking from a dream. Zayne fights to keep it for just a little longer, to stay in your hands and bask in your attention.

“He will,” Zayne says. All he can. Because he yearns for you as much as he yearns for your happiness. The same happiness the Zayne you’re meant for elicits.

But for a brief moment, he got to experience you. The light of a clean, pristine world. Not through a dream where he’s a spectator in the head of his doppelgänger.

The world begins to dissipate. Pain engulfs him. The world he’s lost himself in shifts and returns to a world enshrouded in dark.

His side burns. The cotton of his shirt clings to his throbbing wound.

It hides the blood well.

The only proof of his attack are fleeting glowing crystals a ways away.

—

The next night Zayne dreams, it’s as usual. You’re both eating lunch together this time, the smell of fresh food and a bustling crowd — an impossible dream in reality. He can’t control himself, but he can live through your Zayne, see the world through hands that heal, a heart slightly lesser burdened. A world where he lives and works in the light.

Warm food tastes good. Smells good. He doesn’t have the time, money, luxury. But he can experience it through these, almost as real as life itself.

When he awakens, the room is ever barren. The sky dark, and the incessant chatter of a much too dramaticized ER show plays in the background. He blinks, weary, and sits up to look at the holoscreen in his room.

Numerous glowing green dots. One, about a mile away, flickers red.

Zayne inhales, presses against the used, rugged mattress, and sits up. He follows routine, changing into his nightwear — perhaps work wear. Inspects his jasmines — bright and strong, they almost glow against the dark backdrop. And he reaches into a cabinet, downing a powder that fills him physically. Quick, efficient.

His wound still aches. The sticky gauze clings to his festering gash and despite being a doctor in another life, he doesn’t care much for his own wounds. It’s nowhere near healed. But abominations don’t offer sick days. The world attacks indiscriminately, and if he rests, people who don’t have to die will.

He might be no doctor. But by destroying a withering life, he can at least preserve a few more.

So he inhales, exhales, and steps into the barren world. Barely a person in sight, aside from one or two stragglers. No one to run up to him and hug him, no bright lights and city chatter. No warm sun to prickle his skin, lift his mood. No Linkon City.

Just the shitty world he was born into. The world he’ll endure and battle until his last breath even if it means trying to save a hopeless, dying land.

The routine repeats. Never-ending. Only one thought echoes in his mind as he takes off:

Here we go again.

btw check out Linkon Lounge, an 18+ Lads Themed Otome Discord Server! We stream otome/anime/movies, have lads boys rp/text bots (+Caleb ofc), and chill! Super inclusive and lgbtq+ friendly!

[startrekfangirl2233-writes]

Look! Up in the Sky!

Mickey "Fanboy" Garcia x Reader

Description: It's hard, making a name for yourself as an investigative journalist in a city as big as Metropolis. It seems like everyone and everything is against you, just because you weren't born and raised in Metropolis. But you're determined to make it. When a run-of-the-mill article turns into a hostage situation with armed criminals, you're not sure you'll be making it out of this situation alive. Can a run-in with Metropolis' own Superman light the flames of your passion once more? Or are you destined to pack up and go back home?

Disclaimers: DC canon-typical violence. Armed gunmen. Some language.

Warnings: Like most of my fics, this fic features a Female!Reader

Word Count: 3313

Author Note: Hiya lovelies! I've been thinking about this fic for a long time. I started writing it sometime early this year and never actually got very far. Several rewrites later and here we are!

First and foremost, I want to dedicate this story to the beautiful @sarahsmi13s, since it is her birthday! Vinny! Happiest of birthdays to you! I hope the upcoming year is bright and filled with as much joy as you've brought to me!

Second, I feel like I am permanently obligated to thank @horseshoegirl for being the Comma Queen she is and making sure my ramblings are well-written and actually make sense. This fic wouldn't be possible without you, Lucky!

This is going to be a multi-part story. Please let me know if you'd like to be tagged!

AO3: Cross-posted here!

Wattpad: Cross-posted here!

My Masterlist

"I'm sorry, he what?!"

The mumbling on the other end of the phone makes you even angrier and more frustrated than ever. The frustration isn't new to you, not at all. It's part and parcel of being one of The Daily Planet's investigative journalists. The other thing the Planet appreciates in its journalists is people who have a nose for stories. You think you have one. Which is why everything is telling you that Peabody is prevaricating because he's trying to hide something.

"I understand your position, Mr. Peabody, but your contact is my biggest informant. If we don't have his testimonial, we'll never be able to publish this article on LexCorp."

There's more irate, increasingly loud yelling spilling down the speaker, but you could care less. You've been working on this article for months, carefully building layer upon layer of evidence, crafting the perfect hard-hitting expose. You're not taking his bullshit at face value anymore. Your mind is whirling as you lean back in your chair. Peabody is still spilling excuses into your ear, not that you care. Maybe you’re a little rough and brusque with Peabody as you hang up, but something about this situation is pinging in your head.

Your office is a bright space, all white walls, glass panes and metallic accents. From up on the 68th floor, Metropolis looks like a heaving anthill. Across the cityscape, another skyscraper glints tauntingly at you. You know Luthor is wrapped up in this. Okay, sure, corporate espionage isn’t exactly his deal, but who else could it be? You’ve carefully counted out every other potential culprit. Only Luthor is left.  Turning around, there’s an unholy rage in your countenance as you glare down at the twisted mess taking over your walls. There are newspaper clippings, articles, string and scribbled notes all over the walls. Just looking at it is sometimes enough to give you a headache. But you desperately need to get to the bottom of this situation. There must be a reason why all roads seemingly lead to Lex Luthor’s shining obelisk to his ego. You wouldn't be surprised if Peabody is clamming up because someone is blackmailing him.

Before you can further dig into the LexCorp situation, a whistle rings out through the air. You're the newest investigative journalist at the Daily Planet. It means you have the smallest office with half-broken heating and air conditioning, which nobody else wanted. It’s also the office furthest away from the bullpen.

The editor-in-chief of the Planet, a gruff, peppery older man named Perry White, only calls all of you together if there is something big brewing in Metropolis. You have to shove your way to the front of the circle loosely gathered around Perry. You're short, so you couldn’t see over the crowd if you tried.

“Alright, alright, settle down you lot.”

Perry's voice is gruff, carrying the tones of a person who grew up in Metropolis or one of its boroughs. Of course, most of the office hails from Metropolis. Sometimes you think your upbringing in the cornfields of Iowa has something to do with your distance from the other journalists on staff. After all, despite living in Metropolis for the past five years, your voice still holds the slightest twang. You can dress like a Metropolis professional, walk like one, and talk like one, but everyone makes it abundantly obvious you will never be a citizen of Metropolis.

The hazing is par for the course. You’ve seen more than your fair share in the three months since you started at The Daily Planet. The source of your struggles is, you’re sure, one person. She’s standing at the other end of the circle of reporters waiting with baited breath as Perry doles out assignments.

Natasha Trace.

She gets all of the best assignments from Perry, just because she’s his niece or something like that. The vindictive smirk she gives you as she accepts the latest city hall press conference is proof. Your own assignment is a little more dangerous, 300 words on the newest homeless shelter opening in Southside. According to the mayor, Southside isn’t dangerous anymore, but you don’t believe him. Perry quotes the same thing every chance he can get, especially because he sends reporters out to Southside pretty often. It’s all part of the Planet’s “For the People” reporting strategy. Every day, you hear people talking about another mugging or shooting or what have you. So you’re under no assumptions that Perry and Natasha are giving you an assignment they want you to succeed in.

You're cursing them more and more the next day when you're kneeling with a puddle of spilled tomato soup seeping into your sensible dark trousers. It was just your luck that masked gunmen waltzed into the shelter in the middle of your interview, wasn’t it?

 It was also just your luck that one of them had sent a spray of bullets into the air the moment hands went up. Cue some well-deserved screaming and a near-stampede for the doors, and you’d been pushed to the floor. So now you’re crouching in spilled soup with your hands up, trying and failing to moderate your breathing.

What the hell does a soup kitchen in Southside have for a gang of armed robbers, anyway? It’s not like it has much money. After all, this is only one of a string of new food shelters opening up in Metropolis. They’ve all been funded by the government, and they’re all supposed to be as clean as can be. Supposed to be, anyway. Obviously something isn’t right in the state of Denmark.

What’s just as interesting is the sight of the photographer you’ve been sent to the shelter with. Mickey Garcia is one of the Planet’s best. He’s got an eye for taking those photographs nobody else can. You’re not sure why Perry sent him with you. Usually he’s buddy-buddy with Natasha. He’s probably wishing he were with Natasha at City Hall right now. You know you are. But he doesn’t look scared or worried. He’s just kneeling in the soup next to you, hands up with his head cocked to the side and eyes staring into the distance.

It’s almost like he expects the police to come roaring up. Just as the lead invader turns his head, there’s a rush of wind and you see an imperceptible smirk on his face before he disappears between one blink and the next. You can smell ozone in the air, bitingly sharp, but it seems like nobody else notices but you.

Who the hell is Mickey Garcia? You almost wish you were hiding behind one of the tables. Because then you can pull out your notebook and start writing. Instead, it seems like all you have is your eyes and ears. How did he disappear so quickly? Metahumans aren’t exactly new in the world (or well, at least in the country). You remember reading about metahuman related events across the country. After all, everyone knows about Gotham City’s Bat. But recently there have been more and more reports. A meta-human in red-and-gold streaking through Central City. Villains with the power to freeze anything in its tracks and heroes with the power of the seven seas and beyond. And of course, everyone has seen the fluttering blue cape of Metropolis’ own metahuman.

So where does that leave you? Wishing for Superman, as you’ve heard him called, to save you? You’re not even sure he’ll show at all. There have to be a million other things happening in Metropolis more important.

“ALL OF YOU ON THE FLOOR!”

You’re not on the floor long when a hand grabs you by your hair and yanks you up.

“What do we have here?” A greasy voice growls the words into your ear as cold metal presses into your temple. “A little reporter eagerly waiting for a scoop?”

You shudder, your skin crawling at the hunger in this man’s voice as he traces his index finger up and down your throat. Your press badge thwaps against your chest with every movement.

“P-please.” You’re trembling in earnest, teeth chattering. “These people are innocent, th-they have no money. They’re here to get some food. The only money the shelter has is for food.”

His cackle chills you to the bone. “Oh, you’re so naive, you sweet little thing.”

“We’re not here for the shelter’s money. We’re here for the city’s money.” He grins, blowing his foul-smelling breath in your face. “And if the city doesn’t cough up the goods, we’ll just take you in exchange.”

“And what if he comes to save us?”

You’re not sure who asks, but it sparks a rising tide of questions. People are shouting the questions out, and the men grow angrier and angrier. From your new vantage point with a barrel pressed to your temple you can see how uneasy they actually are. Their fingers tighten around the weaponry, paling at the joints as they grip at the metal. The more people ask, bolstered by the sounds of the sirens outside and the crackle of voices through bullhorns, the angrier your captor gets.

“All of you, shut up!” It's a roar of sound which leaves your ears ringing. The gun hurts as it presses into your throat. It’s hard to breathe, to swallow, to think. Something tells you you're not getting out of this stand-off alive. Your pulse is thudding in your ears and your chest aches. You hear the tell-tale click and your eyes are screwed closed.

Please. Please. Please. I promise I'll be better. I promise I'll be a better daughter, a better employee.

You're not sure who you're praying to, but you’re praying nonetheless.

There's so much I haven’t done yet.

It shouldn’t be so sad, thinking about how pathetic your life is - how empty it is. You're braced to hear the sound of a gunshot, braced to feel pain and then feel nothing ever again. You can feel the silk of your blouse, the expensive one you never wear, sticking to your back as you heave in thready, unsteady breaths.

It's almost anticlimactic, the way it happens. You smell the same sharp ozone scent you did earlier and the hand wrapped around your throat, the gun pressed to the hinge of your jaw disappears. You keep your eyes screwed shut, trying to ignore the yells of pain and cut-off curses as people get beaten up. You keep expecting to feel the acute pain of a bullet lancing through you, burning through your skin. But you feel nothing. You hear nothing, and obviously all you can see is the underside of your own eyelids.

“Miss, you can open your eyes now. It's all going to be okay.” 

You know what this voice is saying as you stand stiff-backed in the center of the room. Your muscles are locked in place and your hands are curled into fists at your side. You're not sure you could move if you tried to.

The hands that hold yours are warm, warmer than they have any right to be. But they feel good, and you can feel yourself relaxing into the touch. When your eyes open, you're not sure what you expected to see. But what you get is Metropolis's own Superman. He is smiling at you, pearly teeth on display, big brown eyes gentle as he talks you out of your panic. You're enraptured by how his dark hair curls just so over his forehead and how his jaw is so well-defined it could cut diamond.

More than anything, you wish you were still holding your notebook and pen or a dictaphone or anything. If there was anyone you want to interview here and now, it's him. But something is bothering you about him. He looks oddly familiar, something in the turn of his cheek and the fall of his hair.

Your statement to MCPD takes the longest. Long after all the other hostages have headed home or been shuttled to other shelters in the city, you stand, ignoring the way tomato soup is crusting on your clothes and how your fingers ache. Maybe your statement wouldn’t have taken quite so long if you weren’t trying to interview your interviewer back. In any case, by the time your throat is dry and aching, it’s late, approaching midnight and the only person left other than police personnel is Superman.

“A-are you okay, Miss?” 

You blink at his words, because he sounds oddly bashful, and that is a look you never expected to see on a superhero’s face.

“I’m fine.” You grin, the motion only halfway genuine. “I'm just about to head out. I'm sure a superhero like you has better things to do, other people to save and whatnot.”

“U-um, no actually.” He tips his head to the side, using his hand to fix his already immaculate hair.

“Do you always wait around at crime scenes to walk a gal home?”

“W-would it be alright if I walked you home?”

Your questions collide in midair against each other. You huff out an exhausted laugh, but he just blushes a little, golden cheeks flushing as his eyes twinkle at you.

“N-no. I don’t make a habit of waiting at crime scenes to walk girls home. Guess that's something only for you.”

Now it's your turn to battle hot cheeks. You can't even fan your face off because you don't have a thing to fan yourself with. Flapping your hands makes you feel stupid. So instead, you let Superman lead you out of the shelter and onto Metropolis’ streets. The city is alive with the sound of cars and ambulances. Someone has a radio on their window playing music. It feels like you're in an entirely different place.

“So, what about that walk home?”

He smells good. For the first time you notice how good he smells, this Superman, now that your nose isn't clogged with the smells of spilled tomato soup and sandwiches. You want to spend time with him. You want to forget what is waiting for you in the morning, how angry Perry is going to be when you didn't get a scoop on the shelter or any pictures that you know of. Maybe if you spin the Superman angle to this? It doesn't feel right, exploiting this man when he's so clearly doing it to help people. You also don't want to stop talking to him yet.

“Sure.”

Honestly you wish you'd clarified, because when he said walk, you thought he was actually going to walk with you. Instead he sweeps you up in his arms and shoots up into the sky. You scream the whole way, hands scrabbling for purchase against his suit, finally settling for an arm around his shoulder. You're shaken and shivering when he finally stops moving.

“Shit, sorry.” 

You grumble into his broad chest at the cheeky apology. 

“Just thought you'd want to see the city how I see it.”

When you finally screw up the courage to take a look, your lips part in a gasp. The entirety of Metropolis is laid out in front of you. Lit in gold from all of the lights, you're grinning from ear-to-ear as you peer out over the city.

“It's gorgeous!” There's a pleased smirk on his face. “I can't believe you get to see the city like this!”

“Yeah,” He grins, something soft. “I didn't fall in love with the city until the first time I saw this view.”

“I can see why,” You gasp, witnessing how soft your colossal city looks in the moonlight, how it seems like a world filled with such promise.

“Let's get you home.” There's a blush on his cheeks as he swoops you down, following your murmured instructions like he knows every inch of the city.

You feel a little bit like a princess when he sets you lightly down on the doorstep. He's still floating in the air, the navy blue suit he's wearing clinging to every muscle. Now more than ever something feels familiar about him. He stays outside your door watching with the same smirk on his face, his head cocked to the side like he's waiting to hear your deadbolt slide home.

You're a little giddy when he flies away, and you curl into your bed like you're in a dream. You sleep well, for the most part, not half as traumatized as you expected to be after being held hostage at gunpoint. At least, until you jolt up in bed, your hair a mess around you and growl, “Garcia!” 

He'd disappeared when the police came to the shelter with their bullhorns and their posturing. You'd smelled the same sharp ozone-tinged scent in the air when he'd disappeared and when Superman shot into the room. But there is more too. The shape of his face, the way he smiled, the almost compulsive way he pushed his hair off his face. He acts just like Garcia does, too.

What is the likelihood your first encounter with Metropolis' own Superman would give you insight into his alter-ego? After all, nobody would suspect that quiet, bespectacled, sweet Mickey Garcia, a photographer for the Daily Planet, is Superman. Nobody, it's obvious, but you. Forget your conspiracy board on LexCorp and their shady dealings. Right now, an exclusive interview with Superman seems like just the ticket to rocket you into fame.

But you can’t let on that you know. You spend the day typing up a lackluster article on the shelter opening, your eyes peering over your computer every time you hear footsteps coming your way. The people walking past you never stop by, not even to chat. You're practically sprinting for the door when you see Garcia, chunky headphones around his neck.

“Hey, Garcia!” 

He turns and looks oddly surprised to see you. 

“You got a sec?”

“Y-yeah, of course.” 

His stutter is adorable. You have to remind yourself he is Superman. 

“I wanted to take a look at the pictures you shot yesterday. Obviously the opening wasn't what we expected, but it should be an interesting public interest piece anyway.”

When he's sitting in the chair next to yours, fingers flying over your keyboard as he shows you all of the photos he took as well as a few of the aftermath, you're questioning your gut instinct even more. How is it possible he got pictures of the police helping people, interviewing you, if he was Superman? 

It's nice, working with someone who smiles at you instead of spitting insults out behind your back.

“This looks great.”

There's a smile on your face as you look at the finished article. 

“Yeah, not bad for an article about a shelter opening turned into a hostage situation, right?”

“Y-yeah.”

You turn, and rest your arm on his forearm. You let your reporting instinct take the driver’s seat. When he's relaxed, maybe you'll get some answers out of him.

“I completely forgot to ask! How are you holding up after yesterday? You know what Perry always says, ‘We're a family here at the Planet!’. I was terrified when those gunmen burst in.”

You prattle on and on, seeing his face change, almost fall, when you mention Superman. 

“You know, he's awfully handsome, Superman is. He took me home, made sure I was alright.”

You grin, wickedly, though you know for sure nobody here in Metropolis knows you well enough to tell.

“And then he blushed.”

All of your suspicions are proved true when Mikey Garcia blushes the same way Superman did.

“You know something? Superman blushed just like that when he was showing me Metropolis how he sees it.”

There's panic in his eyes now. You're just fast enough to block him at the door, arm flung out to stop him from walking past you.

“So…. How long have you been Superman, Mickey Garcia?”

Taglist:

@sarahsmi13s @desert-fern @horseshoegirl @teacupsandtopgun

@roosterforme @cherrycola27 @kmc1989 @chaoticassidy

@shanimallina87 @a-reader-and-a-writer @dakotakazansky @seitmai

@shinycupcakebaker

I DO NOT CONSENT TO HAVE MY WORK POSTED, TRANSLATED, OR PUBLISHED ON ANY SITES OTHER THAN ON AO3, ON WATTPAD, OR ON TUMBLR BY ME. IF YOU SEE MY WORKS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN AO3, ON WATTPAD, OR TUMBLR, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN POSTED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND I WILL BE WORKING TO TAKE THEM DOWN.

[boywifesammy]

spn fic rec fest - 8

AUGUST 28 - episode codas

as before, i've tagged authors that have their tumblr public on their ao3. if you'd like me to remove the @, just lmk. @spnficrecfest for more info on the event.

034 - adrenaline by ani_coolgirl (@ani-coolgirl) 2x12 Nightshifter, Sam/Dean, 2k, E

Sam & Dean crash at a motel after the bank heist in Milwaukee, but they’re way too wired to sleep. i really had to restrain myself from putting every coda in the Every First Time series into this list :') the way ani writes the boys is perfect for episode codas/missing scenes because she just absolutely NAILS their characterization and tone of voice. i love how chaotic and desperate this fic is, it’s really like sam and dean are like two black holes collapsing into each other. very electric & sublime.

Hail, The Son by HandsAcrossTheSea 4x1 Lazarus Rising, Sam/Dean, 2k, E

When Dean comes back from hell, Sam’s buff & broody. With a little push from Dean, they rediscover the sexual relationship they had before. ok so this ones mostly on the list for being scorchingly hot and having one of my fav hell!headcanons, that sam&dean came back from hell with foreskin. dunno why but it has cemented in my brain and refuses to leave. its also so cozy seeing them find comfort in each other during really tough arcs like post-hell seasons, and this fic really exemplifies that <3

True Face by WetSammyWinchester (@wetsammywinchester) 12x11 Regarding Dean, Sam/Dean, 5k, E

Rowena can't undo Dean's amnesia curse. Sam deals with the aftermath. this fic is the perfect mix of angst with absolutely adorable wincest. its basically 5k of dean crushing hard on sam & being able to show it without inhibitions while sam has a mini freakout every time dean forgets who he is and finds their terrifying hunting gear lol <3 great fic

acid by goshen/applecrumbledore (@goshen-applecrumbledore) 11x17 Red Meat, Sam/Dean, 15k, E

Dean's romeo-juliet suicide attempt in red meat spurs Sam into starting a conversation about their codependency that Dean really does not want to have. ok so-- not TECHNICALLY a coda, because it veers away from red meat pretty quick, but i haven't recced one of goshen's fics in this fest yet and that's just plain wrong. the dahmer conversation in this is crazy and totally something sam serial-killer-junkie winchester would ramble about. i also loved the scene later on about sam pointing out how much they know about each other and how they’re basically synced up 24/7. i luv my codependent boys :3

Sometimes I Think It's A Sin by TatteredBurningWings/angelshotgun 4x22 Lucifer Rising, Sam/Dean, 3k, E

After accidentally freeing Lucifer, Sam is certain that Dean will want to kill him. He hopes that sex will put Dean in a better mood, at least. a voicemail fix it!!! this is my brand of angst, i cant explain it but i loveeeeee when characters feel that overwhelming sense of guilt & humiliation and push themself into doing whatever they can to appease the other person. this fic hits that little guilty-pleasure spot in my brain. plus its hurt with comfort and the ending is soft and a great ending to the scene ❤️

[coltermorning]

Of Love and Loss Ch. 11 (RDR2 Fanfic, Arthur Morgan x F!Reader, 18+)

Summary: After narrowly escaping with your lives, the trip goes on without further trouble as the weeks begin to add up. To pass the time during a snowstorm, you and Arthur exchange questions over a bottle of gin.

Author’s Notes: Nothing like a little alcohol to make you admit your feelings to yourself :) Arthur and reader both get drunk in this one. Chapter eleven of this one.

Tags: Arthur Morgan x reader, high honor Arthur Morgan, minor character death, loss of parents, blood and injury, grief/mourning, survivor guilt, strangers to lovers, slow burn, eventual smut, graphic depictions of violence

AO3 Link

~

Of Love and Loss

Eleven: The Gentle Act of Teaching

Word count: 5574

It has been a month since we started this journey and, as I assumed it would, it has come with no shortage of setbacks. Rambling like we do, I have seen a lot in my time and maybe even grown used to the pointless violence of it all. The wilderness is unkind and man more so, but I haven’t given it much care or thought until now. Now it seems I’m only leading a woman just to show her how cruel this world can be. That haunted look on her face will stay with me for the rest of my days.

~

Arthur rolled his shoulders, trying to undo the persistent ache that tightened them. Riding three days without much of a break to speak of had worn on his body, his mount, you and yours. In fact, it was so wearying you hadn’t said a word to him since the night before.

Your grief seemed to come in waves. This time it was pulling you back down into that shell of yourself you had been, unspeaking, unreacting, seemingly doing all you could just to make it another day. It was tough to watch, but Arthur didn’t have it in him to cheer you up. He was too worn down himself. That, and there was another nagging reason in the back of his mind he hardly let in for fear of letting it eat at him—that this was all his fault. He couldn’t do a thing about what else had happened to you, but he’d lost his head in that town. The mere thought of that slimy bastard calling you out like that had him bristling even now, fingers twitching with the need to shoot something. That nasty little look in his eye had been why Arthur had drawn iron in the first place, so fast it was more instinct than any sort of decision. That same look that had said plenty without words, that said the man felt he was owed something from you which warranted him following you out of town. Arthur didn’t care to ponder whether the man would have followed had he not threatened his life. It didn’t matter now anyhow. He had killed them all, exposed himself for what he really was. All because he saw red at the mere suggestion of someone wronging you. For protection’s sake, he had done his job. But it was obvious that you needed more from him than that. Your near silence since his shooting those men was plenty proof of that.

The truth was, Arthur suddenly felt that the side of him that town had revealed was glaringly wrong. It was a strange feeling, like denying the truest part of himself. But it gnawed at him now, that who he was did not have to be defined by his talent with a gun, but by the possibility of being something more. That the man he wanted to be became something he actually pondered. Things used to be about survival, about protecting those he held dear and nothing else besides. When had that changed?

As Arthur looked sidelong at you riding beside him, the empty stare on your face like that of a corpse, he knew. He had never had someone pure-hearted enough to warrant the believability of some better version of himself. With the gang, with Mary, there had only ever been a separation of good and bad, white and black, and he was always caught on the latter side of those things. But you made him think he could push beyond that, into some unknown middle ground. That look on your face was making guilt curl low in his gut for the first time in a long time at the act of taking lives. So he would push, do his best to shield you from it all. For you were good, and you deserved to remain so, lest he die trying to make it truth. If he didn’t try, no one would. Then you would be left like this—empty. And he knew enough about that to be determined to keep you from it.

~

The fourth day riding away from that terrible place and those terrible people, Arthur finally relented his pace. You had stopped here and there in the meantime, but never for a full night. The tiredness threatening to roll your eyes shut was testament to that.

Before the sun had even set and Arthur had finished with the tent, you laid back on the hard, thankfully snowless ground and fell asleep, the empty bliss of it like a gift.

When you woke, the sky was already lightening above you. You’d slept the whole night through, mercifully dreamless.

You looked down, curious over the warmth surrounding you despite the cold air, then remembered the bison coat. It was doing its job. The wind could hardly touch you with it on despite your poor judgement in sleeping outside the tent. And, like a pair of fools, it seemed Arthur had done the same. He sat against a nearby tree with his knee up, a gun in his lap and his head lolled down in sleep. Like he had every intention of standing guard but had let his exhaustion get the better of him. You couldn’t blame him.

No, the past few days had been anything but easy. You had been so plagued with guilt and worry and shame and regret the whole time it was a wonder you hadn’t given up. Given Arthur your mule and laid down and died right there in the dirt. In fact, the mule had been the only measure of happiness tethering you to the world at all. She still was. Though, sleep had helped clear your helplessness some. Instead, you were left feeling like you could go on but that there wasn’t much point in doing so. There was only brutal, unknown life ahead of you. And just like every interaction with strangers on this trip, that terrified you. The only comfort you’d known since losing your parents had been Arthur’s steady company. But that wouldn’t always be there. And, it seemed, you weren’t cut out for simple comforts anymore. It was time to grow up and see the world for what it was—unforgiving.

After plenty of rest, the pair of you packed back up and set out again. This time, you went two weeks without a break in routine. You passed over into Nebraska in the meantime, plenty of snow and cold following you in. You finally admitted to Arthur just how far you had left to go, nearly midway into the state, with no small measure of annoyance resulting on his part. But he agreed nonetheless, saying he had come this far. At least the railroad would tie into the trail soon, and he could take it back down to Denver instead of riding all the way back alone to join up with his gang.

His gang—you still hadn’t grown used to that. You hadn’t brought up the subject of his killing those five men, though it often crossed your mind to. The only thing stopping you was the fact that he didn’t owe you a thing, squeaky clean reputation included. In fact, his killer instinct had probably kept you alive thus far. Your judgement would be no help. If anything, it would just set you two to arguing again, as you often found yourselves doing. And the fact of the matter was you were tired of arguing. You were tired of a lot of things.

When the trees finally seemed to give up their steady growth, leaving behind nothing but wide open plains and brutal cold, Arthur stopped midday for the first time in a long time. The snow was blowing in sideways, and you nearly groaned in relief when he stopped his horse and swung off of her, saying, “Forget it. I ain’t freezing my balls off just to wait ‘til nightfall to do it again.”

You gave a pitiful laugh and dismounted, your legs like ice picks themselves when the pain of reaching the ground shot up them.

You and Arthur cleared a circle of snow for your camp, then built the tent and the fire. Arthur had been carrying kindling and a bit of wood for miles considering there wasn’t much of it to come by anymore, and you were impressed with his campfire skills when he got the thing burning despite the pelting snow. He had built it on the far side of the tent so that the canvas was blocking the weather, and when the flames began small then built, it took all you had not to shove your gloved fingers and your booted feet right into them.

You were both huddled close enough to the fire that Arthur suddenly took to laughing, calling you both idiots for being out in this kind of weather.

You managed a faint smile. “Montana got a lot colder than this, but…cold is cold.”

“Cold is cold,” he agreed. “How was it up there anyway? In the winter.”

“Brutal,” you admitted. Lots of days spent inside, chores finished as quickly as possible, week-long stretches where you didn’t know if the food would last. But it always did. Lucky you and your father were good hunters, your mother a good motivator.

“It wasn’t always like this,” you went on, having to raise your voice to talk over the wind. “It was sunny and pleasant some days. But still cold. The snow never left.”

Arthur just hummed his acknowledgment before holding his hands out to the fire, black gloves and harsh light eating up the reflection of the flickering flames.

After long enough, he reached around to his satchel and pulled out a box of cigarettes. Not a day went by he didn’t do this, whether for habit or enjoyment you couldn’t tell. You didn’t have the experience of smoking one to know. But when he lit one, the butt smoldering to life beneath his inhaled breath, it suddenly seemed like just the thing to warm your bones. So when he offered, as he always did regardless of how many times you turned him down, you took one.

“Well,” he said with a drawl. “Finally become a bad influence, have I?”

You didn’t respond, sticking it in your mouth, rolling it over your tongue. It was faintly earthy. Bitter.

You watched him light another match. He brought his hands over to you, cupping them around the flame to keep the wind from snuffing it, touching the match head to your cigarette.

You didn’t know what you expected to happen, but nothing did.

He grinned at you. “You gotta breathe in. Just- small breaths-” he added, but too late. You had taken in such a large breath that your lungs crumpled beneath it, burning from the inside out. You took the cigarette away and coughed and coughed, the feel of it like hellfire trapped inside your chest.

He was laughing at you, but you couldn’t quit coughing enough to berate him for it. You did hand it to him, the disgusting taste and the horrible feeling enough to convince you that it wouldn’t be your new pastime. Then the cold set back in, frosting over your throat and combining with the burning feeling in your lungs. All in all, it only served to make you feel worse.

Arthur’s chuckling finally tapered off. “At least you didn’t get sick on yourself.”

“Does that happen?” you asked, hoarse.

“Sometimes.”

“Lovely.” You wrapped your hands around your knees, scooting closer to the fire, glad for your shaggy coat. It was nearly unbearably cold, but your only other option was inside the tent, and without the fire it would only be colder.

You watched Arthur smoke both cigarettes with ease, one after the other, like he needed their smoke to breathe.

“Why do people do that anyway?” you asked, still miserable from the rawness in your throat.

“What, this?” he said, putting the one that had been yours to his lips and taking a long drag. He blew out of his nose like a dragon would, smoke billowing out of both nostrils.

You didn’t answer, knowing he was just trying to show off or work you up or both.

He finally turned to you. “Calms you down. Takes the edge off.”

The first time he’d offered you one, he’d said the same thing. What edge had he been so desperate to dull back then? And each day since? It wasn’t hard to figure now—cold like this could drive any man to madness. It was certainly making you want to run circles around the camp like a crazy person.

“Same as anything I guess,” he went on, blowing more smoke. “Why does anyone do anything? Alcohol, sex, drugs, they’re all the same.”

You didn’t quite understand the sex part but let it pass. One conversation with him about it was enough to last you a lifetime. But the mention of alcohol had you suddenly desperate to try that too. You had before, what little you’d been able to get your hands on up in the mountains, but it was never enough to take much effect.

“Would alcohol warm me up?”

He eyed you, that boyish gleam returned. “Not necessarily. Though it can make you too busy thinking about other things to remember how cold you was before.”

Anything would help at this point. “You got any?”

He huffed a laugh and stood, walking over to his horse. The poor animals were both standing with their backsides to the wind, close enough to share body heat. Arthur pulled a small glass bottle from his saddle bag and shuffled back over, kicking snow as he went. He tossed you the bottle, and you caught it, flipping it. It had no label.

“What is it?”

“Gin. ‘Fraid I drank all the whiskey.”

You eyed it. “How can you tell? There’s no label.” The liquid was clear, tinged green due to the tint of the glass.

“I can tell,” he said with amusement. “Can’t afford the labeled stuff.”

You eyed him for that, wondering about your saddle and bridle and the mule standing beneath them. He was either exaggerating, or you owed him more than you thought you did if one bottle of good gin would put him out. He just inclined his head toward the bottle in your hand with a slightly upturned mouth, not giving whatever worry you had about owing him a moment’s thought.

You uncorked the top with stiff, numb, gloved fingers then lifted it to your lips. The burn of it was immediate. Almost as bad as the cigarette. You forced yourself to drink it down but let out a wincing cough after you did.

“Christ. Are all the vices so terrible?” you asked, wiping the excess off your mouth and handing the bottle back to him. It had to be a punishment, for people to drink that. Addiction born of the need to punish one’s self.

Arthur was snickering again, but this time you joined him in it.

“Tastes smooth to me,” he said, lifting it to his own mouth. You watched him drink it down with near reverence, his eyes half-closing as he did. Savoring it. He brought the bottle down and examined it. “Shitty, but smooth.”

You leaned over and snatched it from him. Like hell was it smooth. It was as cutting as swallowing ice. But the aftertaste wasn’t near as bad as the cigarette had been, so you took another sip, letting it cut all the way down.

Arthur took it back. And after some back and forth, minutes passed and enough swallowed to dull its burn, he stopped you from taking it again. “Slow down there, or it’ll come right back up. I ain’t letting you put out the fire with your own sick.”

You cringed at the thought but felt that familiar defiance within you stand up at the challenge. You went for the bottle, but he snatched it away before you could grasp it.

“Don’t be dense,” you spat, going for it again. He again held it out, far enough you couldn’t reach it. And the resulting smile curving across his face was making you mad enough to tackle him for the damn thing.

You were about to lunge for it when he stopped you with a hand held out. “All right, all right, quit it. I’ll make a deal with you.”

You already didn’t like where this was going. To hell with the gin. Now you were just angry. You crossed your arms at him.

He grinned then said, “You answer a question, I’ll give it back.”

As annoyed as humoring him made you, you just shrugged.

“Agreed?”

“Go on,” you snapped. Better to get it over with, get the bottle back and walk away so as not to have to deal with him anymore.

He thought on it a moment, taking another sip as he held your gaze, an amusement lighting his eyes you didn’t much care for. Then, “What’s something you never told anyone?”

That you still wished you had died with your parents. That life didn’t feel like it had much meaning after their deaths. That one of the sole reasons you went on was because the man staring back at you had given a damn at the right moment. But you didn’t want to go down that slippery slope, not right now and not with him. So you reverted back to your younger years, to the girl who was full of life and grit and the ability to get her way. What had you kept hidden even from your parents?

You landed on it then hesitated, heat staining your cheeks from embarrassment.

“Spit it out,” he said accusatorially, sensing that hesitation.

“I…” How to word it and not sound ridiculous? “When I was a kid I…fancied the postman.”

Arthur burst out laughing.

“Shut up,” you said miserably.

“That’s your deepest, darkest secret?”

The deepest, maybe. Certainly not the darkest. But his laughter was slightly contagious given how stupid the confession had sounded, so you just said with a laugh, “I was little! He was handsome!”

“I’m sure he was,” Arthur said, tilting his hat to you in obvious sarcasm, his grin never leaving.

“And I never got to go to the post office,” you went on, unsure why you were explaining yourself. “So when Pa let me come with him, the hours that it took to get there, it was…it was just nice to see the man is all!”

Arthur was veritably howling with laughter now.

“Shut up!” you said, leaning over and shoving him. “Like you never had an infatuation with a girl.” This did seem to sober him some, and that gave you an idea.

“Give me that,” you snapped, yanking the bottle away. “And it’s your turn for a question.”

“Well, I never said-”

“Yeah, and I don’t care. You’re answering one.”

He settled back with a sigh but didn’t protest. So you took a swig of gin for courage and looked him straight in the eye. “Who taught you to shoot so well?”

Surprise crossed his face, lining every inch of it. He had obviously assumed you were going to ask about said girl, whomever that may be. But no, you wanted to know how he had taken down five men in a matter of seconds.

His face turned contemplative. Then, “No one, I guess. I always had a good eye. Good aim.”

“That aim was better than good,” you admitted. And the reference to what had happened back in that town seemed to sour his mood. He snatched the bottle back and took a long pull from it.

“Yeah, well, you’re either a decent shot or you get killed pretty quick in my line of work.”

His line of work. On the opposing side of the law, where bullets were aimed at you as often as a dirty glance.

“Do you ever get scared?” The question pushed out before you could stop it.

Arthur just looked at you, face tinged with mild curiosity.

“Not really,” he said. “Not anymore. But—” He tipped the bottle at you. “It ain’t your turn.”

You rolled your eyes and sat back, looking into the flames instead, knowing he would fire off another stupid question whether you got on to him for it or not.

Sure enough, he spoke, the amusement in his tone not lost on you. “You ever get into trouble up in them mountains?”

“What kind of trouble?”

You shouldn’t have asked. The smirk he shot back was enough for you to know he didn’t mean the kind where you got lost in the snow, where your life was in danger.

When he didn’t answer, you sighed like he usually did, drawing it out. “A few times. Once for this,” you said, taking the gin from him.

“What, getting drunk?”

“No, they caught me before it got to that point. I raided the liquor cabinet. It wasn’t much, a bottle of whiskey and some wine. But I was trying both when Momma and Pa came back from town early. They gave me hell for it.”

Arthur snickered. “How old were you?”

“Twelve,” you answered. “But it’s not your turn,” you said sweetly, making him shake his head, though his smile never left.

You took a sip of gin, wondering what it took to be drunk. But you wouldn’t waste a perfectly good question asking Arthur about it. Instead, you asked him something you had wondered since the night after leaving that trading town.

“Why didn’t you buy another bedroll? At that trader stall.”

Again, Arthur seemed surprised by the question. He took some time to answer, gesturing for you to hand him the gin. You did so, and he took another long pull of it. Long enough that you wondered how often he did this, drinking his thoughts away.

“It honestly didn’t cross my mind,” he muttered, staring into the fire. “I was trying to keep an eye on you when I was talking to that old croak. Weren’t thinking about it.”

You let out a breath of relief at his response. You had assumed he’d spent all his money and resources on you, that he couldn’t afford one. And, as it stood, he had been using the very edge of your bedroll ever since, both of you colder than you cared for but too prideful to cling together for warmth like you had that night after the wolves. So you had thought all this time another bedroll had been neglected at the cost of the coat on your back. But now that you knew otherwise, you didn’t feel quite so shameful. And you were grateful, too, that it had been because Arthur had kept such a watchful eye on you.

He took another long drink from the bottle, and you watched him, watched his throat work and his mouth purse with the harsh liquid. This man who you thought you knew—you didn’t really know him at all.

Arthur looked over and caught you staring.

“What?”

You shook your head, pushing the thought from your mind. Not because it scared you, but quite the opposite—you always assumed he was bad, that he was the low-down outlaw, and at every turn, he proved you wrong.

“Nothing.”

He chuckled lowly. Then, “You ever kissed anyone?”

“Excuse me?” It was all you could manage through your embarrassment. Not this again.

“Couldn’t ask it any clearer,” he said, about to take another drink. But you snatched it away before he could, taking a long pull yourself. Drunk. You needed to be drunk.

“How much of this do I need before it blocks out the sound of your voice?”

“So, no then,” he said with that god awful smirk.

You drank again.

He laughed. “Easy there.”

“I told you,” you said, voice hoarse from the harsh liquor. “There wasn’t anyone up there to kiss.”

“Not even the postman?”

You could have hit him. Instead, oddly enough, you laughed at that stupid smile on his face. “No, not even the postman. He was twice my age. Maybe more.”

“Hm.”

“What?” you fired at him, the bottle clutched tightly in your hands.

“Nothing, just…” He smiled again, his teeth showing. “Imagining it, is all. That life you led.” He pried the bottle from your clawed grip, smiling as he brought it to his lips. “Sounds…boring.”

You tried not to think about his mouth kissing the bottle, his mouth kissing anything, as you replied, “It was what you made of it. I enjoyed it.” At your nerves, you reached over and took the bottle away before he was even done drinking. He made a noise of protest, but it didn’t register before you had the bottle at your own mouth, trying desperately not to think of how his lips had just touched the same spot.

When you brought it away, you looked at him. Really looked at him, all notion of it being improper to do so suddenly lost. “There are other ways of enjoying yourself, you know.”

His brows rose high, either at the way you were looking at him or at the implication in your voice.

After long enough, he said, “You plan on enlightening me?”

“I…” Your eyes dipped to his mouth before you took another long pull, the bottle blocking your view of him. Shaking loose the thought that began to plague you. The urge to experience something new, something you were afraid would be addicting in its own right, alcohol aside.

When you didn’t respond, just pulled the bottle back down and looked to the fire, Arthur said, “I can’t imagine it would be much beyond snow sledding or the like all the way up there. You telling me that’s the secret to happiness?”

There it was, an out. A diversion to the path this conversation had led you down. And in anything other circumstance, you would have taken it. But for some reason, you were starting to believe that drunkenness snuck up namelessly after all, a haze of intuition lost.

You looked to Arthur, to the soft amusement on his face, to the casualness that seemed to always weigh on his shoulders and make its way to his mouth.

“You could teach me.”

“Come again?”

Your eyes dropped to his mouth again, seemingly of their own volition. Then words spilled out of you like gin from a bottle.

“Kiss me. Show me how.”

His face softened. Surprise, realization, a bit of embarrassment. Then deflection as he chuckled, his face tingeing redder in the gray light than the cold could account for. “Nah, you don’t want that,” he said, like he was trying to convince himself. “Not your first-”

“Kiss me,” you said again. You couldn’t imagine it being anyone else in the world. There was no one else you trusted. “I wouldn’t ask if that were the case.”

He looked at you then with such raw surprise you wondered when the last time anyone had shown him such affection was.

He stared at you, and you stared at him, and before you could ask if his brain had shut down entirely, he looked to the fire and said defiantly, “No.”

You scoffed. “Come on. It’s not that big a deal. Just think of it as teaching me something new.”

“But it ain’t that,” he fired back. He still wouldn’t look at you. “It’s…kissing someone to learn something and kissing someone because you want to are two different things.”

“Exactly,” you said, taking another sip of gin. “If it‘s just for learning’s sake, what’s the problem?”

He shook his head, disgruntled. “Forget it. I ain’t doing it.”

You groaned aloud, unbelieving he was being the stick in the mud for once. “You know, for an outlaw,” you said, standing, pointing the bottle at him. “You’re awfully honorable.”

He let out a barking laugh like he didn’t believe that in the slightest but still didn’t take the bait. The stubborn fool.

The ground swayed a bit beneath you as you added, “And cowardly.”

“Excuse me?” he asked, the question poised somewhere between annoyance and a threat. But he had finally looked at you at least.

“Woman asks you to kiss her, and you won’t even consider it.”

He stood now, swiping the bottle from your hand. “You’ve had enough.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” But you couldn’t have pried the glass from his grasp if you wanted to, your vision starting to swim. “You don’t want to kiss me that’s fine, but don’t tell me what to do.”

He laughed that annoying laugh again. “I ain‘t kissing someone who can barely keep her feet.”

“Oh yeah?” you said, stepping over to him to prove a point. Close. You could have leaned over and kissed him yourself you were so close. In fact, the thought was a breath away from being turned into reality when he lifted the gin to his own lips, blocking you, his eyes catching on your mouth. Or maybe that was your shoddy vision making things up.

When he brought the bottle away, he was grinning. “Real impressive, being able to walk.”

“Shut up,” you said, but didn’t shove him like you wanted to. His closeness was…distracting you. And any forceful movement would likely land you on your backside.

“Tell you what,” he said, shifting his weight so that he stood even closer. Not backing down from you in the slightest, that cocky grin lighting his face. “You answer one more question, and I’ll kiss you.”

Your face burned with those words, like your body was realizing this might actually happen.

When you didn’t respond, his grin went wider. Feral. Then, “Tell me your name.”

Damn him. Because he knew it was the one thing you wouldn’t give him.

“That’s not a question,” you said simply, holding his eye.

“Come on,” he coaxed. “Why don’t you want me to know it?”

Now it was your turn to grin. “Because they were the last people to call me that.”

Arthur was confused by your smile despite your words, his brows pinching together. And you said without hesitation, “And I just answered your question. So kiss me.”

Realization hit him again, and he immediately let out an unbelieving laugh. “You’re a damn sneak, you know that?”

When his eyes met yours, his gaze shifted the slightest bit toward serious in the harsh daylight. And he definitely eyed your mouth this time. Alcohol or no, you could see it plain as day. Then at last, he groaned his annoyance, or tried to shake how flustered he was, and said, “All right then. You win.” He dropped the gin and stepped toward you.

All you had ever known of this suddenly became futile, juvenile, worthless in the eyes of him bringing his gloved hands to the back of your head. Your scant knowledge couldn’t hold a candle to the gentle way he brought your mouth to his, meeting you at last in a kiss so tender it sobered you. This was happening. Arthur was…

All thought was lost when his mouth pressed against yours a second time. Slow. Caring. You let him be, forgetting entirely what this was supposed to be about, instead navigating the newness that was kissing someone back.

The kiss went on for an eternity, the effect better than any cigarette, any gin, anything in the world. There was no snow, was no cold, was nothing but the way his lips parted. You did as he did, and soon your mouth was at his with a fervor, his tongue warm against yours, the taste of gin and tobacco all you knew and all you ever wanted again.

Then he was stepping away, letting his hands fall, his gaze shy as it hit the ground.

“Was that…what you wanted?” he asked softly, meeting your eye as his hands fell a bit nervously onto his gun belt, fidgeting.

You just stared at him. Dove deep inside yourself to remember your words, to remember your circumstances and who you were supposed to be to each other. Because it was certainly blurring as the warmth of his mouth lingered.

After long enough that he kept shifting his weight, you spoke. “I understand it now. Why people…enjoy that.”

You thought you saw the smallest softening of his gaze before the mask returned, his teasing smirk back in place. “You really don’t know nothing, do you?”

You couldn’t even be bothered to chide him. Not after what he had just given you.

You pursed your lips like you could hold that kiss forever then looked at the bottle at your feet. You knelt and picked it up, pushing it into his chest. He grabbed it. And you wouldn’t meet his eye for fear of wanting him to kiss you all over again as you said with a giddy smile, “Thank you for teaching me,” and stepped around him. Aimed for the tent. Focused on keeping your feet beneath you, keeping your head somewhere inside reality, keeping your thoughts away from the man at your back. Away from just how much you truly felt for him, your fondness veiled like the unfamiliarity of a kiss until now.

_________

Chapter twelve is here.

tag list: @nayomi247 @ultraporcelainpig @photo1030 @spiritcatcherxo @calcarius445

[softshrimpy]

How To Woo A Hot Principal

Step 11: Realizations

Summary: Working at the Weathervane was exactly what you needed. The routine, the people, your co-workers. It certainly helped that a certain tall, blonde, fucking gorgeous woman happened to frequent the cafe. Now some may call hopelessly flirting with your customers inappropriate behavior.

But truly, when it came to Larissa Weems, who could blame you?

Y'all wanted the Larissa pain and I bring you Larissa pain. Enjoy. Also again, pls send all the love to the now co-author of this series @misssmephisto 🦐✨

Tags: @variant-2402 @the-bagel24 @eveymay @kimiinou @muffintopxs @h-doodles @bbykens @lilfartbox1 @bigolgay @winterfireblond @gela123

(pls let me know if you want to be tagged/ I missed you!)

Chapter 10

Cross Posted on AO3 here

HWTAHP Masterlist

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Larissa had fucked up.

She knew she had the moment she’d ended her bullshit-filled tirade. Knew when you had run out of her office sobbing.

And she sure as shit knew right now.

She had been sitting at her desk, re-reading the same email for what had felt like the hundredth time when she’d gotten a call from Marylin. She was confused, it was the middle of the night. She answered the call, a deep sense of dread chilling her to the bone as she did so.

“Larissa? I-I saw your girlfriend running into the woods and-and I was worried so I followed her but- she’s been attacked, Larissa. I don’t-I don’t know if she’ll make it I-“ Marylin rushes.

Larissa can’t breathe, she’s no longer listening to Marylin. Her hands are shaking and she feels like she might throw up. She brings one hand to cover her mouth, the other gripping her phone as if it were her lifeline. As panic gripped her, the words blood, ambulance and sheriff breached her mind from the device in her hand.

She’s the reason you were out there. She’s the reason you got attacked.

She was wrong. She was so so wrong. She was wrong and now you might die and she was so wrong.

She called you a monster.

Before she can even register what she is doing she has grabbed her keys and ran out of her office.

“Marylin” Larissa started, cutting off the tear-fuelled rambling of her college. “I need you to gather the staff and check on all the students and make sure everyone is accounted for. The school is on lockdown as of now, keep everyone indoors and safe. I’m going to the hospital, call me if anything else happens.” She instructs.

Before Marylin can reply, Larissa has hung up and is getting into her car. She drives frantically, not particularly caring what traffic laws she’s breaking. All she cares about is getting to you. You have to be okay. You just have to.

When she finally makes it to the hospital, she all but barges through the front doors. Rushing up to the front desk, the headmistress frantically asks about your whereabouts. She’s told you’re in surgery, you’d lost an almost catastrophic amount of blood but they were doing everything in their power. She’s directed to a waiting room and then left alone.

Larissa had no idea how long she had sat there, her eyes burning holes into the floor beneath her as the words, those horrible cruel words she spoke to you ran through her head. She keeps seeing your face, heartbroken with tears running down your cheeks. She keeps thinking of how this is all her fault, how you could’ve been safe if she had just listened to you. If she had just not been a royal bitch. If she had just had dinner with you.

She didn’t deserve you. After all you’d done for her, after all you’d gone through with her. She wouldn’t be surprised if you never wanted to see her again.

But you didn’t deserve to be alone, so she would wait here until she knew you were okay. It was the least she could do.

——————

The clock ticked on, seconds becoming minutes, minutes becoming hours. There had been no news, and she couldn’t decide if that was good or bad. Her legs were stiff, her eyes were stinging. She probably looked dreadful but she couldn’t find it in herself to care. The once powerful persona of the Nevermore headmistress was broken, stuck floating in time.

She was glad to not have heard from Marylin. Hopeful that that meant everything was well at the school. She honestly wouldn’t have been much use if something was wrong anyway.

She was startled by a set of doors being flung open, her body fuelled with adrenaline, legs quivering with how fast she was forced upwards. She was even more shocked when three of her students came bursting through said doors. Enid, Wednesday and Yoko ran up to her and before she can scold them for being off school grounds during a lockdown, Yoko speaks.

“Is she still in surgery?”

Larissa sighs and nods, deciding she doesn’t have the energy to be the stern principal she should be. Sliding back into the seat beneath her, Larissa’s mind begins to fall back into the routine she had been stuck in for the past however long. However, Wednesday spoke six words that shattered the downward spiral the headmistress had created.

“Do they know she’s an outcast?”

“What are you talking about?” Larissa responded, her head turning towards the girl, curiosity leading her fast reply.

“She’s a vampire. We can explain how we know later but right now we have to tell them she’s a vamp and will be needing blood, well- more blood.” Enid explains.

“I-that can’t…how certain are you of this? We can’t just- she could-“ Larissa stutters.

“Just trust us on this, please. I don’t…we don’t want her to die.” Yoko pleads.

Shocked by Yoko’s outright display of emotion, Larissa nods. She gets up from the chair, her joints popping in protest. She strides over to the nurses' station, explaining your situation to them. She has to argue back and forth with them for quite a while before they listen to her. The terms legal guardian, family and medical records are thrown around in protest before the desperation on Weems’ face convinces the receptionist to ring into the surgery room. Before she can turn back towards her students, a nurse in conversation with the other receptionist turns in disgust at the piece of information Larissa had shared. Continuing in the direction she was heading, Larissa barely resists the urge to cuss her out.

  Returning to the seating area, she sighs. A motion filled with exhaustion, regret and deep sadness.

“Can I get you three something to drink? I have a suspicion this is going to be a long night.”

——————

The four had settled back in the waiting room, this time on the two couches that were available. Larissa and Enid had gotten a hot chocolate while Wednesday and Yoko had settled on coffee (Larissa did not have it in her to try and get them to have something without caffeine in it.) None of the girls commented on Larissa’s appearance, which she was truly grateful for.

Breaking the tense silence they had found themselves in, the headmistress spoke, “Alright, so how did you three figure this out?”

“Well, it actually started when Wednesday ran overheard you two talking about (Y/N)’s nightmares.” Enid starts.

“I’m sorry what?” Larissa interrupts, turning to shoot Wednesday an accusatory stare. She expected nothing less of the girl, knowing her reputation but a sense of upset and surprise still struck her.

“I was investigating a potential lead in the attacks and happened to walk by your office while you two were talking.” She hums, taking a sip from her decidedly not completely shit coffee.

“Anyway, from there Wednesday was uh curious about what was going on with her…” Enid continues.

“I suspected she may be the person behind the attacks.” Wednesday deadpans.

Larissa freezes at that, swallowing against the sudden lump in her throat. She feels a strong stabbing pain in her chest. In an effort to distract herself, she looked down at her takeaway cup and hums.

“Uhm so yeah Wednesday did some digging. She was trying to figure out what made her come to Jericho in the first place, given the attacks started right around the time she arrived. But then Yoko came to pick me up for a trip to Jericho to go shopping and saw Wednesday’s murder wall and found it way more interesting than I did, it gives me the creeps.”

“A murder wall?” Larissa questioned, incredulous.

“So then Yoko told us about the way your barista girlfriend had a vampire smell. Furthermore, along with some information she learnt from Outreach Day and her behaviour over the past couple of days, I deemed it appropriate to enter her home and do some more digging-“ Wednesday explained.

“Wednesday Addams-“ Larissa hissed.

“And I found these tablets she was taking. I’d never seen or heard of them before, so I did some further investigation and it would seem it's a rather poor blood substitute, which fit Yoko’s vampire theory.” Wednesday continues, ignoring the blonde’s obvious anger.

“But she has no fangs?” Larissa murmurs.  

“In more conservative places there was a practice where they would file down young vampire's fangs to make them more ‘normal.’” Yoko explains with a scowl. “It's archaic and evil.”

“Why…who would do this..?” Larissa mumbled.

“Well, that’s where Wednesday’s digging into why she moved here comes in. Turns out she used to live in this super small town literally in the middle of nowhere. Everything we found about it was not like outright ‘outcasts are evil and dangerous’ but was prejudiced enough to give me the super ick.” Enid offered.

“I see…” Larissa breathed out.

Larissa didn’t know how to feel. Actually, she did. She felt a deep, deep sense of self-loathing and shame. And above all else, she felt guilt. Guilt that made her stomach churn and her chest ache. Gods she truly didn’t know how she would live with herself after tonight.

The four of them sat in silence for a while, the three girls noticing their headmistress’s unusually upset demeanour and deciding it best to leave the queries, for now. Hours went by with no news, Larissa growing more and more weary as time went on. She had tried to convince the three girls to go back to Nevermore but had received a rather strong chorus of no’s in return. Eventually, a doctor came through the doors and called out your name. Larissa immediately stood from her seat and rushed over to her, her heart firmly lodged in her throat.

“I-Is she alright? Did she make it out of the surgery okay?” Larissa asked.

“She’s just come out of surgery, we’ve taken her to the ICU. The surgery went well, surprisingly given her condition, it was touch and go for a while, but after we started administering more blood things went much smoother. I can take you to her room if you’d like?” She states.

“I-Yes, thank you.” Larissa breathes, her heart calming just a bit.

She gathers the three teens before following the doctor to your room. The doctor warned the group that you were still asleep and still weren’t in the greatest shape, so they needed to prepare themselves. Larissa had to take a moment outside your room to steel herself. She needed to keep herself together.

When she entered your room and saw you laying there, unconscious and battered her resolve to keep herself together crumbled instantly. You looked so small and fragile in the hospital bed. Your face was so pale and you were so still. She let out a choked sob, bringing a shaking hand up to cover her mouth, feeling tears gather in her eyes. She hurries over to your side while scanning you over for injuries. You have several small cuts littering your face and arms. A deeper more noticeable cut on your head, and the skin around it is bruised terribly. She’s certain the brunt of your injuries are hidden beneath the blanket covering you from the chest down and her stomach drops just thinking about it. She drops into the chair seated next to your bed. 

“When uhm-“ Larissa tries, her voice cracking, “When will she wake up?”

“Unfortunately, due to the extreme nature of her injuries we can’t be certain when she will wake up.” The doctor explains.

“Do you know that she’ll wake up?” Wednesday queries.

Enid scolds her, slapping her on the arm while Larissa squeezes her eyes shut. She can’t fathom a world, a life without you. You and your brilliant smile and silly jokes that never failed to make her laugh. And yet she threw that all away anyway. Hurt you immeasurably and for what? Because she was stupid enough to doubt your character, to make out as if you were some manipulative awful creature? She was awful, irredeemable.

“Principal Weems?” Enid prompts gently.

“Hm?” she responds, not taking her eyes off you.

“We’re going to head back to the school now. Do you need anything before we go?” She asks.

She shakes her head, thanking the three of them before they leave. And then it’s just you and her. She moves the chair closer to you and settles into it, kicking off her heels. She tentatively grabs one of your hands, squeezing it gently.

“I-I know that I-“ She whispers, her voice shaking. “That I- That the things I did- the things I said were- they were-“

She breaks into sobs then, squeezing your hand as she doubles over. She cries harder than she ever has in her life. She cries for what feels like eternity and she’s honestly not sure how long it truly was. Eventually, her sobs dissolve into hiccups and a constant stream of tears falling down her cheeks. She wipes at her eyes with her free hand, careless of the way her mascara smudges.

She knows this is the least of what she deserves. She deserves to be crushed by her guilt. She deserves to feel as though all the air has been sucked from the room, as though the weight of her callous words and cruel thinking will drown her.  She deserves all the pain and suffering the world has to offer.

But she will stay by your side, ensure you’re taken care of and not alone. It’s the least she could do.

——————

Larissa essentially hadn’t left your side since that night. She had gotten Marylin to bring her laptop the first time she visited so that she could attempt to get work done while watching over you. She had admittedly gotten much less done than usual but was still managing to get everything sorted. After two days of Larissa not moving from your side she had a very entertaining conversation with Enid and Wednesday.  

“Uh, Principal Weems, don’t take this the wrong way but uhm…do you think you should maybe uhm…well…” Enid tried.

“You look dreadful. You should go back to Nevermore and clean yourself up.” Wednesday interjected.  

Larissa had stared at the two of them, wide-eyed, before huffing a sigh and agreeing to head back to Nevermore later that day to make herself more presentable. The two had offered to stay with you while she sorted herself out. She thanked them, taking the hint and quickly returning to Nevermore and taking a much-needed shower and changing her clothes. She made sure to pack a few days worth of clothes and toiletries. The whole time she was away she worried you’d wake up while she was gone. She worried you’d think she didn’t care. She didn’t expect you to want her there when you woke up, she would leave as soon as you told her to. She deserved your anger and hate. But she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if you woke up alone.

So she packed all her necessary belongings and headed back to the hospital, to you. When she arrived back at your room Wednesday and Enid were deep in a seemingly very serious conversation. She used the opportunity to get herself a coffee from the hospital cafeteria. The coffee wasn’t terrible, but it was nothing compared to the drinks you brought her every morning. You would always bring her the most delicious coffee in the morning with the sweetest messages written on them.

And she had the gall to say all your kindness, all your actions were nothing but an elaborate ruse? She was truly the most awful person alive.

She made her way back to your room, her chest heavy with guilt. When she arrived for the second time Wednesday was nowhere to be found and Enid looked like she was on the verge of tears. Larissa stood awkwardly in the doorway, clearing her throat to alert the young werewolf to her presence.  Enid startles slightly, wiping at her eyes with the brightly coloured sleeve of her sweater.

“Oh Principal Weems! I uhm- She still hasn’t woken up yet. And Wednesday was here she just- well we…” she trails off, her lower lip quivering.

“Miss Sinclaire,” Larissa starts, pausing before coming to stand next to her. “Enid, I don’t know the intricacies of your relationship with Wednesday, but if you ever want to talk about it…”

“I just…” She sniffles, fresh tears coming to her eyes, “I really thought I-I was making progress with Wednesday and-and our friendship and her accepting that we’re you know actually friends. But then every time we have a moment or something she just shuts down and runs away. I just- I don’t know what to do.”

“Well,” Larissa starts, offering Enid a tissue which she gratefully accepts, “I’m not always the best with these sorts of things, goodness I all but ruined the one good relationship in my life… never mind that. With Wednesday, I think- she’s naturally closed-off but she truly does care about you. She may not express her affection in the same manner you do but I know for certain that she values you and your friendship. She just needs some time to figure out her feelings and figure out how she’s most comfortable expressing those feelings. So just, keep doing what you’re doing, but understand and give her time.”

Enid stares up at her with wide, tear-filled eyes before launching herself forward into Larissa’s arms. Larissa startles, glad for her tall frame for once. She tentatively wraps the poor girl in a hug. She holds her as she cries into her coat.

“You really are an amazing person, Enid, never doubt that.” She murmurs.

The two embrace for a while before Enid stops sniffling and takes a step back, she beams up at her principal.  

“Thank you, Principal Weems, you’re the best…” She smiles, which then turns into a concerned frown, “What was that about ruining a relationship?”

Larissa’s face falls at that, all of the colour draining from it. She clears her throat and does her best to fight the tears gathering in her eyes. Turning to face your sleeping form, she lifts a hand up to play with her necklace, swallowing thickly. She opens her mouth to speak, to explain herself but can’t find the words.

“I’ve not been a very good person as of late…” Larissa whispers, “I hurt her, possibly beyond repair. And now she’s-“

She stops herself, shaking her head and wiping her eyes. It’s highly inappropriate for her to even be talking about this with a student. She really ought to-

“Well, I’m sure whatever it is that happened,” Enid says, “If you just talk it out with her and apologize then maybe it’ll all work out.”

Enid's hope is adorable, but Larissa knows it won’t be that easy. The things she said to you were unforgivable. She had very little hope of salvaging things between the two of you. She only wanted to make sure you were okay and you didn’t blame yourself for anything that happened, as you tended to do.

Enid leaves her alone to her thoughts and she settles back in the chair. She reaches over and grabs your hand again. She can’t stand the silence of the room, only permeated by the constant beeping of the machines. So instead, she fills the silence with her apologies. She cries and apologises over and over. And when she’s all out of apologies she tells you everything she wished she had told you before that night, everything she thought and felt.

“I love you…” She whispers shakily, “I’ve loved you for so long now. I- I will never stop loving you, regardless of what happens when you wake up.”

She falls asleep that night, holding your hand while awkwardly sprawled in the chair, hoping you wake up.

——————

Marylin visits quite frequently, much to Larissa’s confusion. She brings new flowers each time (which consequentially has left your hospital room looking like a florist despite the nurses clearing the room each night.) She watches over you to allow Larissa some time to stretch her legs and occasionally go home to shower. As she travels back and forth between the hospital and Nevermore, she comes to the conclusion that the reason for Marylin’s visits are because she was in essence the one who found you. She also constantly reminds herself that she has no right to feel jealous of whatever friendship you and Marylin may share.

Along with Marylin some of her students come and visit you. Yoko comes around the most, often not staying very long but checking on you nonetheless, occasionally leaving small trinkets with your still form. Despite not knowing the true depth of your friendship with her student, Larissa feels comfortable giving you two space when Yoko visits.

Enid and Wednesday were the next most frequent visitors. Often they came together, a good sign Larissa hoped, but sometimes one of them would come on their own. Often Enid would chat with Larissa, ever since they had their heart-to-heart a few days ago she found the young werewolf had deemed her someone she could gossip or rant to. Larissa didn’t mind, often she found she actually really enjoyed Enid's company.

Wednesday was the complete opposite. She would always come in, check your vitals and flip through your chart that sat at the bottom of your bed (Larissa had given up on scolding her for it after three days.) Then the dark-haired girl would nod at Larissa before slipping from the room, off to cause mayhem no doubt.

James had visited every day, often chatting to Larissa while he did. Larissa didn’t know how to tell him he should hate her, should be cursing her and being as cruel to her as she was to you, if not worse. So instead she took to making important calls just after he arrived. She figured he appreciated the time alone with you anyway.  

On one rather strange occasion, Tyler Galpin had sheepishly knocked on the door of your room. He had glanced from Larissa to you and then stared at you with a hollow, almost guilty look. He had dropped off some flowers (adding to the ever-growing collection you now had) and then left. The entire visit had felt strange to Larissa but she didn’t have the energy to put into thinking about it further.

It had been over a week since the accident, twelve days to be exact. Twelve days of restless sleep, nightmares and uncomfortable sitting. Her whole body ached from being sat in the less-than-comfortable chair all day and night. Often she’d have to redo her makeup at least once a day (made so much easier with her shapeshifting abilities) on account of all the crying she was doing, despite feeling she had cried enough to fill the Pacific.

She worried you would never wake up. That one night she would fall asleep in that awful chair and wake up to the long unending beep of the heart rate monitor. And then they would take you away, and there would be a funeral and she would be completely and utterly lost without you. She worried you would wake up and quietly ask her to leave and never come back. She worried you would wake up and rightfully hate her and everything she stood for. She just worried.

Larissa never stopped speaking to you. On some days it was simply her telling you about the work she’d been doing or the latest update from Enid. Others it was her begging for your forgiveness. But she always made sure to tell you she loved you at the end of each day, regardless of whether you could hear her or not.

——————

It was the evening of the fifteenth day since the attack. Larissa was holding your hand with one of hers while she read a book she had been meaning to finish for months. She had taken to reading aloud, she found it helped keep her mind occupied and off of the crushing guilt she felt. She was halfway through the chapter when she felt your hand twitch.

She dropped the book, scrambling to bring her other hand over yours, her eyes rapidly searching her face for any sign that you may be waking up. Her heart was in her throat and if she hadn’t been holding your hand so tightly she would’ve noticed just how badly they were shaking. Her heart stops when your brows furrow, your nose scrunching. The beeping of the heart monitor beside you, began to speed up slightly.

“Darling?” she breathes out.  

And then your eyes flutter open and her breathing stops.

 You’re okay, you’re waking up. Everything is going to be okay-

Larissa’s back hit the floor, the chair she had been stuck to toppled beside her but she didn’t hear it fall. Everything was silent, the world had stilled. Her eyes were pinned to the ceiling staring at the fluorescent lights above as she began to feel a deep, burning pain in her neck. Slowly turning her head, she discovered the source. It was you.

[sunnydbd]

some fanart of HEAT STROKE! by @zorno-graphic on ao3 + 3L!Scar

text in second pic: You're a messy eater

uncensored link : ❤︎︎

twt : @ sunnybutlame

the rest of this post is just yapping abt the fic,, so light spoilers for heat stroke!

ngl im super nervous posting this and idk why??(i do, its bc im tagging the author..)

anyway, i didnt think this fic would ever be finished as the months went on and rolled over into next year but then i got the email notification and nearly screamed(yes that is embarrassing to admit..)

i cant, and probably could never, fully explain the sheer amount of detail that zorn put into this fic(and also the other fic ive read from them, Tweetheart, which is my roman empire) youll get more insight, and far less rambling brain slurry from the recesses of my animal brain, if you read both the fic and the comments as discussions on there are far more introspective citing direct quotes from the fic also have great author feedback, the rest of this post is something i wanted to note

the fic is riddled with contrasting elements(im mostly focusing on chapter 2 when i say this as its fresh in my mind) like in the descriptors, monologue, and characterization. 

comparatively Grian’s and Scar’s characters are complete opposites, Grian’s invasive to intimacy and outright tries to deny it(trying to physically leave their house) while Scar is the one who initiates the intimacy and craves vulnerability(not saying Grian doesnt initiates anything between the two just that Scar is less repressed.)

a similar example of this is in the sex scenes, the inherent intimacy of sex and how Grian acts during(practically begging sometimes) is contradictory to his established character, standoffish(once again im directing you to the comments as lovely user sheepfriend and zorn have a great conversation further explaining Grian’s character better than i am) while Scar is so delightfully pathetic and almost takes a submissive role(??) which is against his confident demeanor throughout the fic(dunno know where else to mention this but i love the uses of dog imagery for Scar its just so good, mwah chef kiss)

 in Grian’s inner monologue he feels remorse when looking at the scars hes caused on Scar’s body but then later on, still in his inner monologue, revels in the fact that hes left his physical mark on Scar(again reading those comments from sheepfriend and zorn give far more insight) 

water and thirst is often used as a metaphor for desire in the more intimate scenes, "Water sidling up to the hard coast that is Scar’s body, the firm landing strip of bones.”, “He’s thirsty, he realizes, the withering curling need gathering on his tongue and down his throat.” this imagery is very contrasting to their environment, which is a desert, and also to the catalyst of the fic, Grian’s heat(in an etymologic sense rather than in the context of the fic)

theres in fact no thesis statement to this long post aside from the fact that zorn loves the use of contrast(thats the entirety of the 2cents i wanted to chip in,) but if you want a far better explanation of the insane rambling i just wrote i direct you to this lovely post by zorn from his blog ! i recommend if you havent read HEAT STROKE!(or Tweetheart because its good !!) you should read the fic first and then the post as it really puts the vibe you get throughout both fics into words❤︎︎❤︎︎

honestly zorn's writings have greatly influenced my writing and(when i first read Tweetheart) got me back into writing, their writing style is so good and is chalk-full of detail and care i truly cant recommend their works enough or put it into words(which is why this paragraph is so rambling,,)the sheer amount of creativity and detail in every aspect of his fics❤︎︎❤︎︎

also, didnt know where else to mention it, i love the way zorn writes Grian's and Scar's dynamic(like?? hellofjdkj???)

i have no idea if this makes any sense i havent slept in hours and its catching up to me,,.

[aheckinmess]

Morosis [Bakugo] (Fluff)

(One-Shot 3/? in a collection of My Hero Academia Reader one-shots posted regularly once a month - sometimes more.)

Read on AO3.

Tags: Katsuki Bakugo x Reader, Katsuki Bakugo, Mina Ashido, Kirishima Eijiro, Toru Hagakure, Ochaco Uraraka, Asui Tsuyu, Momo Yaoyorozu, Class 1-A, Mostly Fluff with a Dash of Angst, Romantic Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Katsuki Bakugo-centric, Katsuki Bakugo Swears a Lot, Pining Katsuki Bakugo, Katsuki Bakugo is a Dork, Reader-Insert, Reader Has a Quirk, Reader Goes to the Mall, With All of Class 1-A, It's Wholesome and Sweet, and Then There's Bakugo

Word Count: 967 words

Summary: While hanging out with Class 1-A at the mall, you and Bakugo end up standing beside each other, and he has a comment about a manga that you start arguing about with him.

Author's Note: I wrote this because someone on Quotev requested I write Bakugo x Reader, but it was inspired by this post on Tumblr. Hope you enjoy!

Morosis: (n.) the stupidest of stupidities

When the girls from 1-A invite you to the mall with them, you don’t expect it to turn into such a big affair. Whispered words and presented plans travel around until the entirety of 1-A walks together through the large building.

This arrangement both thrills and bothers you. While it’s true that being with the whole class allows you to send unassuming glances in Bakugo’s direction, it is equally true that Bakugo is, well, an asshole.

But dammit if he isn’t your type.

“(Name), where do you want to go first?” Mina rambles, her head twisting this way and that, eyes glowing as she settles into her element. “Ooo! We should go to Sephora first! They’ve released some new brands that look like they might work with my complexion!” 

“Sure, we can hit up make-up first. I want to check out some video games and the bookstore at some point, though.” You beam.

“Oh, yes! I have a list of books I need to search for.” Momo agrees.

You take note that Ochaco and Tsu linger behind, so you slow your pace so that you’re in the back with them. It’s important to you to keep surveillance on the group as a whole, always keeping a watch out for danger. 

“Were you wanting to look for a specific game, ribbit?” Tsu asks, side-stepping a toddler squealing happily towards a photo booth. 

“I’ve been meaning to look and see if the sequel to Dazzling Designer has come out yet. I’ve got 300 hours logged on the first game, and I wasn’t disappointed when I saw the trailer for the sequel.” 

“My favorite is Amphibious Adventures.”

“That fits.” You laugh, picking up a lip tint tester and swatching the color on the inside of your wrist. You crinkle your nose and then set it aside. 

“I like more casual games, ribbit. They don’t stress me out as much.”

“I can understand that.” You continue searching for a shade to your liking. “Do you like dating simulators, then?”

“Some of them. Others just aren’t made well.” Tsu shrugs.

 You carry on like this for some time, everyone helping each other find what they want or engaging in idle chatter while you ponder where Bakugo might have gone with his posse. He gives me sports store vibes. The image of Bakugo in a plaid shirt and mountain climbing gear suddenly plagues your mind and you smile to yourself.

Well, you thought it was to yourself.

“Ooo, whatcha thinkin’ about?” You jump at the sound of Toru’s voice. “Oops! Sorry, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”

“No, you’re fine.” You chuckle, tucking your hair behind your ear as you move on. “Did you find anything you liked, Toru?” 

“Nah. It’s hard to find much since I’m invisible.” As you start walking towards the door to wait on the others to finish up.

“Oh, yeah, that has to be frustrating.” You empathize.

You’re careful to keep control of your wandering thoughts afterwards, feeling successful since you dodged her question. But when you all start walking again, you can’t stop your eyes from searching for the Bakusquad. You think you catch sight of Kirishima’s red hair, but are promptly redirected when Momo gets giddy and guides the lot of you into the bookstore.

 The beautiful sight of colorful spines and the entrancing smell of leather bound pages calls to you like a siren song. Within seconds, everyone loses themselves to the luxury of lexicon around them, going in their own direction.

You head towards the manga first, hoping to find an affordable copy from your favorite series. You get distracted a few times with other titles that you’ve been interested in, but when you make it to your initial goal, Bakugo stands in front of the shelf.

You tense at first, but clear your throat and stand next to him, scouring the shelves for what you want. Even though he doesn’t say a word, you feel the heat of his presence beside you. Damn, if he wasn’t such an asshole, I’d ask him out. Since he’s minding his own business, you mind yours. However, when you reach for the book you want, Bakugo breaks the silence.

“Hmph. You read Music House?” He asks. Do his eyes soften?

“U-Uh, yeah.” You reply, shocked that he’s talking to you. Maybe he’s not as bad as he seems.

“Good manga, but I bet your favorite character is Hikaru, isn’t it?”

I take it all back. You frown at his comment.

“What’s wrong with Hikaru?”

 “Tch. Knew it.” Bakugo smirks, looking over the selection and grabbing a volume that’s several copies ahead of you in the series. “The only chicks that like Hikaru are the ones that don’t know a man when they see one.”

“Oh, yeah? Well who’s your favorite character, huh? I bet it’s Vesper!” 

“Duh, she’s a badass and not a weak extra like Hikaru!”

“But Vesper likes Hikaru…and Hikaru isn’t weak!” You growl out, stepping closer to him with a pointed finger on his chest. “In fact, he reminds me of you!”

“Me? That weak bastard reminds you of me? Are you calling me weak?!” He hisses, getting in your face.

“I told you, Hikaru’s not weak!” You ground out before shoving him one good time. “You’re not weak, Bakugo, you’re just oblivious. You wanna kiss me so bad, it makes you look stupid!”

  You don’t know why you said it, but when his hand grips your jaw and rough lips assault yours, you’re not complaining. Your eyes flutter and when you sway a bit when he pulls away, dazed as you look at him.

“Now who looks stupid?” He says with a cheeky grin and flushed cheeks.

And he leaves you dumbfounded in the aisle.

[rwrbficrecs]

Readers' Choice Rec List Part 7 of 7

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 (ft. sentimental thank you note from me at the end ❤️)

History in the Making by watchmecope

anon: It is an adorable piece that has made me laugh more than once. It's a fantastic palette cleanser if I read something a bit too angsty!

All our Sweetest Hours Fly Fastest by AHistoricDistraction (WIP)

anon: This fic is so good and so suspenseful! It is so thoroughly researched with so much feeling

And All The Tears On Her Guitar by @saywhatjessie

anon: This is so good for a number of reasons, but my favorite part was finally finding someone who didn't make me feel bad for not liking Taylor Swift.

(don't be alarmed if i fall) head over feet by weather_stained

anon: This fic is so damn funny. It is 100% crack, and I love it!

Give 'em hell by th0ughts

anon: Great look into Alex and Martha's potential relationship.

Gemma's husband by floatingaway4

anon: Lovely and original take on firstprince through an outside perspective

Nova, Baby by @cha-melodius

@leaves-of-laurelin: Amazing spy au. Reading it feels like watching an sexy, action-packed, heart-wrenching movie.

I trace your constellations by viciouslyqueer

anon: A well written taste of representation that doesn't once feel like pandering. A feel good falling in love tale.

A Whole Problem by @thenburntheashes

@daisymae-12: A fic I come back to often, especially when I'm in need of some roommates + college au goodness ❤️

Just a sappy lil thank you note from me (@daisymae-12) A huge THANK YOU once again for following and supporting this blog. When we hosted this celebration for 500 followers, I didn't think we'd currently be at 1k but here we are 🥺 It's been so nice to spread joy through this blog for both authors and readers 🥰 I've also ended up with such a lovely discord community with the Volunteer team, so a big thank you to them as well for helping out and for contributing so much. I wouldn't be able to do this without them, it really takes a village ❤️ Last but not least: shoutout to my husband who has listened to all of my blog ideas and ramblings. For the amazing IT support, writing me code to not only generate index spreadsheets and html formatting, but a code to download every single fic in the rwrb ao3 tag so I can search within fics as well 😭 We're continuing to workshop ways to improve the admin side of the blog with his codes, so this blog is his passion project as much as it is mine ❤️ He always goes above & beyond in his support of my hobbies and I am so grateful ❤️

[altcvnningham]

waning moon

helen park x madam shell

summary: helen park sees the cracks in her lover's façade. (inspired by @mickstart and their amazing post on perhaps the most underrated ship of all time??) read on ao3

tags/cw: nsfw, wlw, angst, pre-cw, betrayal (but vaguely unspecified), light choking, younger woman/older woman, age gap, references to coercion, vague references to abuse of authority, so much bird imagery, doomed sapphics wc: 1.1k

a/n: i literally read @mickstart's park x shell (shellen???) post and got possessed, blacked out for an hour and wrote this. i have 0 memory of how i got here or what this means and though it isn't like 100% what the post was talking about it DID inspire me to spill out this ramble ab a character who has 0 canon appearances outside of dialogue. sorry for pretentious purple prose and rough editing!! it's 12am forgive me

She doesn’t know when she sees the change, but it slips in slow and sweet, like a paling knife glinting in the moonlight. How sand sifts to the bottom of an hourglass, she too feels just as suffocated under the weight of borrowed time.

Yet Shell’s eyes are paler still even in the dark, the waning moon of this interminable night, one that feels to Helen Park like the bookend of something. An answer, unspoken, but as implicit as though it had been there all along, a truth she’d known deep down but refused to acknowledge. And why would she? How could she? It had been three long years since Shell took her under her wing, her pretty little bird, three years that had changed everything. Irreparably. Even now as Park finds the pieces of it all scattered and frayed with Shell’s silent betrayal, she sees the beauty in each and every one, too besotted with the finer details to bear looking at the bigger picture.

Shell is lying.

She knows, more certain than she has ever been of anything in her life. As the older woman climbs languid atop her narrow hips, smothered in perfume bergamot and liquorice, plum coloured lips close over her own in a lazy mimicry of a kiss. Helen parts open her mouth, as she had her legs countless times, like a good little protégé, showing her madam just what she’s learned. All for her. Tongue hot as she kisses back with hooded, half-open eyes, curling around Shell’s like a proclamation. I know what you are. I know what you’re doing.

(And do you know, how powerless I am to stop you? As if I’d even try?)

And Shell knows it too. In the dark of this Parisian hotel room, blinds drawn to cast away the world’s prying eyes, she can see it on the girl’s face plain as day. Sweet Helen is a pretty thing, much too clever for her own good, but wears her heart on her sleeve, with eyes as big and shiny as a doe’s- and now hunting season had come for her sweet girl, and how wide they had looked at Shell upon her return, hands smothered in blood. Blood that she hadn’t bothered to scrub, knowing Helen had likely smelled it coppery on the air when she’d walked in. Her fingers are still tinged pink with it, even as she traipses them up the girl’s waist, cupping the plush undersides of her breasts.

That is to say, Helen isn’t the best at hiding her expressions. It’s what Shell had loved about her. The shrill gasps when Shell would come up behind her, grasping her waist in lieu of a polite excuse me; the way she’d avert her eyes shyly when she’d caught hers across a room, crowded, empty; how she’d been so young when Shell had met her, blushing like a schoolgirl at the mere whisper of praise; and how when Shell had asked her but a month later if she’d ever been touched before- properly, darling girl, like a lover might- Helen had flushed red and bright as a virgin. Perhaps she had been, too proud to admit it. For a girl who is as sharp as a knife and twice as lethal, Shell had held in her hands a mourning dove, cooing softly in her palm, willing to piece together its nest there. Right there. With her.

Now, not so much. Her songbird doesn’t sing as she used to, her eyes parsing through the fog she’d been happy to let Shell pull over them. Helen sees her for what she is now, and they both know it.

It isn’t a strange thing, what she’s doing. Not at all irregular. It’s a gesture Shell had exercised over her innumerable times before, a kind of sordid foreplay, staking her claim over her. Shell’s hands lay flat upon Helen’s sternum, her heart thrumming steady but beating violent as a war drum; the older woman smiles- how well she’s taught her. Calm, girl, slow breaths. Don’t let them see you falter. Don’t let them feel you shiver. Don’t let them hear you breathe. In the face of fear, Helen had grown around herself flesh of stone, unyielding. That doesn’t change, not even around Shell.

But this isn’t a test. This isn’t one of her many lectures, her teachings. Very rarely does Madam Shell separate work from pleasure, seeing the two overlap rather conveniently; but for Helen she had all the time in the world. Perhaps not after tonight, given what they both know now. But pleasure is a special thing she keeps locked in a drawer for Helen to pry open and play in, rifle curious fingers through until they snag on something that piques her interest.

And yet it always ends the same way. Like this. The older woman atop her, faraway look in her eye, warbled smile on her lips. Hands around neck.

Her fingers slide slow, deft, thumb parted to curl her hand around the pale column of Helen’s throat. And she can do nothing but be still for her mentor, her lover, holding her breath in wide-eyed submission, a devotion that spoke beyond words, beyond meaning. A kind of reverence she knows only Shell would understand, a stillness like prey clutched within a lioness’ maw. Playing dead, prettily.

Shell’s eyes fix upon her, steel grey boring into vivid green, alight with something akin to amusement; in the daytime, Helen mistakes the glint for adoration, something like love, when she’s drunk enough on Shell’s affections to believe it.

Now, in the waning moon of their last night together- as they are, as they could have been, if only she didn’t know what she knows at the very pit of her being is true- she recognises the errant flicker for what it is. Kindling. A struck match, willing to burn it all down, even if it means taking sweet Helen with her. Her mourning dove. Cast to the fire like everything else. For a terrifying moment, Park isn’t even sure she’d much mind it at all. Ashes to ashes, as they say.

And as Shell squeezes her hand soft and gentle around her favourite girl’s neck, Helen surrenders her head against the pillow, spilling back with a moan shrill like a song. It’s the last time she knows she’ll ever sing for her again, so she makes sure it’s a good one.

[kingofbodyrolls]

My Heart's Home (m) | pjm | nineteen [fin]

🐴Chapter summary: Your sister and Jungkook arrives home from their honeymoon with exciting news. You and Jimin just can’t wait to marry each other, and when you finally get to, it’s like your soul has come home.

🐴Chapter title: Home

🐴Pairings: jimin x reader (main), jungkook x reader (only happens once in the first chapter), jungkook x OC (jessi), namjoon x OC (jessi), yoongi x hoseok, namjoon x oc, seokjin x oc, taehyung x oc

🐴Characters: female reader (isn’t mentioned by name and no “y/n”), Jimin, Jungkook, Namjoon, Yoongi, Hoseok, Seokjin, Taehyung and four female original characters.

🐴Genre/AU: ranch!au, slice of life!au, soulmate!au, cowboy!au + smut, humor, fluff, romance, slow burn and angst

🐴Rating: mature/explicit/R18 – this is mature/explicit content, so minors, please do not interact!

🐴Disclaimer: I do not own BTS or know them personally and this work of fiction is purely fictional and for entertainment purposes only. The actions and personalities described in the story do not reflect those of BTS— it’s just fiction. Also, if you would kindly read the tags/warnings before reading, that would be lovely: and if you don’t like whatever is described in the tags, just hit return and find something else to read. Thank you 🌸

🐴Chapter warnings: can you hear the wedding bells???? 💒 there’s fluff, so much kissing, so much love, explicit smut in the form of unprotected sex (slight impreg kink), oral (female and male), hair pulling, use of a degrading name (he calls her nasty a few times, but that’s it), dirty/sweet talk, praise kink, cockwarming, multiple orgasms, biting, exhibitionism (it’s not MC and Jimin this time, lol), there’s also a pregnancy. The smut is just nasty and dirty, but also very sweet and intimate (a lot of bodily fluids 🫣).

🐴Status: completed 🥳

🐴Word count: 18.2k (I’m so sorry, I got very emotional 😭)

🐴Taglist: @kookswifesblog, @kiki-zb, @babejinnie, @ownthesunshine, @allie-is-a-panda, @glllhjh, @bergandysam, @13-manggaetteok, @jeonsbabygirlsworld, @antisocial-mochi267,

*tumblr isn’t letting me tag you! There could be a lot of reasons for that, check out this lovely post about it.

🐴Now playing 💿 “My Heart’s Home (Drover’s Run)” by Rebecca Lavelle. [Wanna listen to the serie’s playlist?]

🐴Author’s note: wow. Okay 😭 I feel very emotional with this chapter. It’s a chapter that I have looked forward to writing for many months, since I outlined the whole story, and it’s sweet, it’s cute, it’s romantic!!!! Don’t come @ me, this is a romance story at its core 😭 I just feel sad that it’s ending now, because I truly love these characters so much and it has been so much fun putting them (and you, sorry) through hell and back. These characters will always have a special place in my heart, it’s sorta like with my characters from ‘Friendcation’ 🥹 Anyway, I’m rambling again— I just wanted to take some time to thank each and every one of you, both here on tumblr and on AO3. So many people, regulars even, have commented and engaged with me and this story and fucking shit, it makes me cry with happiness that some people actually like or even love this story 😭 I honestly never thought anyone would, when I outlined it, so it makes me so happy that someone out there loves this like I do. Thank you. Truly. I don’t have enough words to express how grateful I am to you 💖 This is actually the last ‘official’ chapter, so this is actually the end of the story. I’m going to write an extra chapter for you guys— chapter 20, but it will be an epilogue/Q&A thing where you can read what happens with the characters in like a year after the story has ended. There will also be answers to some of the questions you’ve sent in over time, so please look forward to it when it comes out some time soon 🫰

You can send in your questions for the characters or me here → Ask away 💜*

*for people on AO3 you can also participate if you want to, just leave a comment (guest/anon or not), and I’ll reply to that and I’ll add your question in the Epilogue💜

** this is the last call to send in asks that will feature in the epilogue. You’re still very welcome to send questions after, I’ll still answer future asks and comments! Thank you!

It’s been cross posted to AO3 if you prefer to read there. Wanna see the book cover?

← previous | s.masterlist | m.masterlist |  next (epilogue) →

“The eyes of a child See a long long way See the future see the past They see everything first and last I was that child Who rode these hills In my dreams I see the stars In my dreams I always will Ride these hills See in the morning I’ll hear the rain on the shed But other stars and other sunsets will hang above my head There will be different places different people But I’ll still be the same” - ‘My Heart’s Home (Drover’s Run)’ by Rebecca Lavelle

Jungkook’s black truck remains absent from the yard for two long weeks, and anticipation builds within you for his return alongside your sister from their honeymoon. The longing to reunite with them intensifies with each passing day, driven by a dual desire: one, the longing for their presence, and the other, an eagerness to share your plans to move in with Jimin, a significant step forward in your life that you’re bursting to reveal to them both.

As you gaze out of the living room windows, the glow of the television casting flickering shadows across the room, the familiar roar of an engine reaches your ears, a sound that ignites a spark of excitement within you. With a surge of anticipation, you leap up from the couch, the rhythm of your heartbeat quickening with a mixture of affection and giddiness at the thought of their imminent arrival.

“Jimin, they’re finally back!” Your voice rings out, echoing through the house as you dash through its corridors and burst out into the yard, your excitement palpable in every step. Behind you, Jimin trails closely, his presence adding to the anticipation as he follows from the kitchen, eager to join in the long-awaited reunion.

With an almost reckless abandon, you swing the door open, the anticipation too overwhelming to contain. You and Jimin rush outside, your steps quickening with each heartbeat, until your eyes land on the driveway, where, as expected, the familiar silhouette of the black truck awaits, a beacon of their return and the promise of reconnection.

You’re overcome with a childlike excitement, your heart racing with anticipation akin to a kid on Christmas morning, as you eagerly watch the truck draw nearer, each moment filled with the promise of joy and reunion. Your eyes lock onto the familiar sight of it parking next to Jimin’s blue truck.

With bated breath and a heart brimming with anticipation, you eagerly observe as the truck’s engine fades into silence, and the doors swing open, revealing the figures you’ve been yearning to see: your sister and Jungkook.

Every second is precious as you dash towards your sister, your steps propelled by a surge of longing and affection. You collide with her in a heartfelt embrace, the warmth of reunion enveloping you both as you murmur, “I missed you,” the words laden with the weight of your longing and love.

“Hi,” your sister’s voice emerges slightly strained by the force of your hug, yet filled with the warmth of genuine affection. As you envelop her in your embrace, you draw her closer, reveling in the familiarity of her natural scent, a comforting reminder of the bond that binds you together.

Jungkook stands beside her, his face radiating joy as he juggles two bags, his eyes lighting up at the sight of you. After exchanging warm greetings with your sister, you turn your attention to him, enveloping him in a tight embrace, the warmth of your reunion filling the air with a palpable sense of belonging.

Jimin joins you, stepping up beside you with a warm smile as he extends his greetings to your sister and his brother, his smile genuine and welcoming, mirroring the happiness that fills the air.

“Did you have an amazing honeymoon?” You inquire, granting them a moment of privacy as you observe their radiant faces. The subtle sun-kissed glow on their skin sparks curiosity within you, prompting thoughts of the exotic destinations they might have explored during their time away.

“It was so wonderful,” your sister shares, her smile radiant as she recalls their time away. Her eyes sparkle with the memories of relaxation and adventure.

Jungkook releases one of the bags and sweeps a hand through his tousled black hair, a contented smile gracing his lips. “It truly was,” he affirms, his voice tinged with a hint of nostalgia as he reminisces about the cherished moments shared with your sister.

“Where did you go?” Your curiosity brims over, unable to contain your eagerness any longer as you hang on the edge of anticipation, craving to unravel the mystery of their honeymoon destination.

“We traveled to a tropical island,” your sister reveals, her voice laced with a soft smile that speaks volumes of the cherished moments they shared. In the glint of her eyes, you catch a glimpse of the love and sweet memories woven into every moment of their adventure.

“That sounds so lovely. You can tell us more about it inside, Jimin has made breakfast,” you exclaim with a warm smile, nodding towards the house where Jimin has prepared a meal. With a shared sense of excitement, you and Jimin assist them with their luggage, eagerly ushering them back into the cozy embrace of home.

Inside, you carefully set their bags down in the hallway before kicking off your boots, the anticipation of the delicious breakfast Jimin prepared propelling you into the kitchen. Together, you assist each other in carrying the aromatic dishes to the dining room, where you swiftly set the table and pull out chairs, eager to indulge in the meal. As you all settle in and begin to eat, a serene silence envelops the room, broken only by the rhythmic clinking of utensils against plates.

As you steal glances at Jimin, your heart swells with affection, his presence a constant source of comfort and joy. Turning your gaze to your sister and Jungkook, their happiness radiates, igniting a flutter in your chest as you bask in the warmth of their contentment, a tangible reminder of the bonds that bind you all together.

“I’m dying to know, what were your favorite island adventures? Just spare me the details about how much you fucked,” you jest with a chuckle, pushing your empty plate aside. As you watch them, grinning like lovesick fools, you can’t help but feel a pang of envy mixed with genuine happiness for their shared bliss.

“We mainly just relaxed on the beach, and Kookie ate a lot of food,” your sister laughs, her joy infectious as her smile reaches all the way to her eyes, reflecting the carefree happiness of their tropical escape.

“We also went swimming in crystal clear water and hiked in nature, but that’s about it,”Jungkook chimes in with a grin, punctuating his words with a refreshing sip of water. His smile holds a trace of the exhilaration experienced amidst nature’s embrace.

“How have you guys been? Was it easy to manage both ranches?” Your sister’s voice brims with genuine curiosity and delight, her eagerness to catch up evident in the lilt of her tone.

“Yeah, it was manageable, especially with all the support we had,” you affirm with a nod. “But there’s something important we’ve been meaning to discuss with you,” you continue, your gaze drifting to the table below as a hint of nervousness tingles through your veins. It's a strange sensation, considering your eagerness to share the news and hear their thoughts on the matter, as well as their own plans for the future.

Your sister’s initial surprise doesn’t go unnoticed, but before she can voice her thoughts, you interject gently, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad.” With a reassuring smile, you gather your courage to continue, “Jimin and I have been talking, and we’ve decided that we want to take the next step in our relationship. We want to move in together, right here, at Bell Ranch.”

Your heart races in anticipation as you lock eyes with both Jungkook and your sister, the weight of your announcement settling heavily in the air. Sensing your nerves, Jimin’s hand seeks yours, offering a reassuring squeeze that anchors you in the moment, a silent reminder of his unwavering support and love.

Both Jungkook and your sister share a knowing chuckle, their eyes sparkling with a mix of affection and playful mischief, as if they’ve already anticipated this moment and are delighted by your decision.

“That sounds amazing. You should absolutely go for it,” Jungkook beams, his voice laced with genuine happiness. “In fact, we’ve been meaning to discuss something similar with you,” he reveals, his words tinged with excitement.

You raise a quizzical eyebrow, your curiosity piqued by Jungkook’s cryptic statement.

Your sister leans closer to Jungkook, their connection palpable as she intertwines her fingers with his over the table, a radiant smile gracing her lips. “We’ve been thinking about it for a while,” she reveals, her voice filled with excitement. “We want to take the next step too, move in together. At Bora Ranch.”

Laughter erupts around the table, filling the room with infectious joy until tears well up in your eyes—tears of pure, unadulterated happiness that overflow with the overwhelming love that you feel in your chest.

“That’s absolutely perfect,” Jimin’s smile widens, his touch gentle as he runs his fingers tenderly over your arm, his eyes alight with a warmth that mirrors the sentiment shared among all of you.

“We just need to move our stuff then,” you say with a smile, turning to Jimin and pressing a kiss to his lips. The news of your sister and Jungkook’s plans fills you with a sense of relief, especially since Bora Ranch no longer feels like home, not after the fire. In that moment, as you embrace Jimin, you realize where exactly home is for you, and honestly you’ve known for a while now, and it’s not a place—it’s wherever he is.

“Absolutely, let’s make it happen in the next couple of days,” your sister exclaims with a radiant smile, enveloping Jungkook in a tight embrace as if to solidify their excitement and determination.

“Let’s make it a team effort,” you suggest with a warm smile, leaning your head against Jimin’s shoulder for support. The idea of everyone pitching in to help each other move fills you with a sense of love and familiarity.

A brief, serene moment hangs in the air as you all bask in the warmth of love and excitement. However, as your sister and Jungkook exchange hesitant glances, a sense of anticipation hangs in the air, as though they are on the brink of revealing something significant yet are unsure of how to broach the topic.

“What’s on your minds?” You inquire, a note of concern creeping into your voice as their prolonged silence becomes increasingly conspicuous. Their lingering gazes, fraught with unspoken tension, only serve to heighten your curiosity, compelling you to seek answers to the unspoken questions hanging in the air.

Your sister straightens her posture, a flicker of nervousness dancing in her eyes, though they still sparkle with underlying happiness. Meanwhile, Jungkook’s smile broadens, his eyes shimmering with affection as he tenderly squeezes your sister’s hand.

Your sister draws in a deep, steadying breath, her smile revealing a mix of nervousness and unbridled joy. “Here’s the thing,” she begins, her voice quivering with anticipation. “You’re about to become an uncle and aunt,” she announces, the words tinged with the excitement of impending parenthood, setting the room abuzz with anticipation and elation.

Your eyes widen in realization, the weight of your sister’s words sinking in as your heart swells with overwhelming love. Emotions surge within you, threatening to spill over as tears well up once more, their intensity hitting you with a heavy force. Glancing at Jimin, you find his expression mirroring your own astonishment, his happiness palpable as he shares in the joyous revelation.

Your voice trembles, tears pooling in your eyes as you lean forward over the table, barely able to contain the flood of emotions welling up inside you. “Are you... pregnant?” You manage to whisper, the words laden with anticipation and a surge of overwhelming emotion.

Jungkook’s grin stretches so fucking wide, you fear his face might split in two, his infectious joy radiating throughout the room. Your sister nods, her smile beaming with happiness, though her eyes glisten with tears yet to fall.

“I am,” she confirms, her voice ringing with both certainty and a hint of wonder, as if she’s still coming to terms with the beautiful reality of impending motherhood.

Jimin envelops you in a tight embrace, his arms a comforting sanctuary as tears cascade down your cheeks, each drop a testament to the overwhelming rush of emotions coursing through you. The damp trails mark your shirt, but in this moment, you couldn’t care less about the stains. Amidst the tears, you’re consumed by an indescribable sense of happiness and boundless love, knowing that you’re surrounded by those who cherish you unconditionally.

“No, why are you crying?” Your sister asks, her voice catching with emotion, tears mirroring your own as they trickle down her cheeks. 

“I’m just overwhelmed with happiness for you guys, congratulations,” you beam, feeling a swell of joyous emotions engulfing your chest. “These tears are pure happiness,” you add, your smile radiant and genuine, as you revel in the shared joy and anticipation of the precious new life joining your family.

Jimin’s embrace tightens, his affection palpable as he presses a tender kiss to your cheek, his silent gesture speaking volumes of his love and support in this moment of shared happiness.

“We found out during our honeymoon, and we just couldn’t wait to tell you,” Jungkook’s voice brims with pride and happiness, his words resonating with the excitement of this newfound journey into parenthood.

“I couldn’t be happier for you both, congratulations,” Jimin’s voice quivers with emotion, mirroring the heartfelt sentiment that permeates the room. In this moment, it’s evident that the overwhelming flood of happiness is shared by all, binding you together in celebration of this joyous news.

You nestle closer into Jimin’s embrace, thoughts swirling in your mind like autumn leaves in the wind. You’re aware of his desire for children, a notion that’s taken root in your own heart, especially after everything with Deiji. The idea of parenthood with Jimin fills you with a mix of anticipation and uncertainty. You want to witness him step into the role of fatherhood, yet you grapple with your own insecurities about becoming a mother.

Despite these apprehensions, you sense a growing readiness within yourself, a quiet confidence that whispers of your eventual readiness for motherhood when the time is right. And now, with the news of your impending aunt-hood, you’re struck with the realization that this journey alongside your sister’s impending motherhood might just serve as the perfect trial run.

Though the child won’t be your own, you’re eager to observe, to support, and to glean insight into the complexities of parenthood. It’s a chance to test the waters, to discover if children truly fit into the tapestry of your future dreams and aspirations.

“I’m going to be an aunt,” you announce proudly, your voice catching with tears and overwhelming emotion. Jimin enfolds you in his embrace again, his presence a comforting anchor amidst the whirlwind of feelings. With each reassuring squeeze, he reminds you of the unwavering support and love he always provides, grounding you in his steadfast embrace.

“This thing’s a beast!” Yoongi grunts, his voice strained with exertion as he joins Jungkook in lifting the hefty dresser from his room. 

As they maneuver the bulky dresser down the stairs, Jungkook’s laughter fills the air, a lighthearted counterpoint to the laborious task at hand. While the rest of you have pitched in by packing his belongings, your sister watches eagerly, her desire to help palpable. However, Jungkook remains adamant, refusing to let her lift even a finger, his protectiveness extending to the safety of their unborn child. You can’t suppress a chuckle at the sight, finding it both endearing and slightly excessive given her early stage of pregnancy. You wonder if Jungkook will extend his cautious approach to other activities, maybe even her beloved horseback riding.

In no time, you’ve managed to load Jungkook’s belongings onto the trucks and horse trailer. As you survey the now empty room, save for his bed, a pang of nostalgia washes over you. The stripped-down space feels oddly unfamiliar, a stark contrast to the warmth and personality it once exuded.

With the trailer securely locked, you step outside, relishing the fresh air after the exertion of heavy lifting. Taehyung’s smile beams at the group.

“Now that Jungkook is moving out, can I get his room?” Taehyung’s inquiry is met with a wide grin, his eyes alight with anticipation as he eagerly awaits your and Jimin’s response.

“Do you really want to sleep in that bed? You know they’ve had sex on it a lot,” Jimin jests, a playful grin dancing across his lips. Jungkook simply shrugs, his own smile acknowledging the undeniable truth in his brother’s jest.

Taehyung groans audibly, his frustration evident in the tone as if he’s contemplating a drastic measure like clawing his own eyes out. “I know,” he concedes, his voice laced with determination. “But trust me, once I’m through with it, that bed will be practically brand new. Fresh sheets and a thorough deep clean— it’ll be like sleeping on a cloud.”

A chuckle escapes you involuntarily. Taehyung’s innocence is endearing, prompting a gentle giggle to bubble forth. “I don’t mind you living with us,” you admit with a warm smile. “But the final say rests with Jimin,” you tease lightly, casting a playful glance in Jimin’s direction.

Turning to Jimin with an eager glint in his eyes, Taehyung poses the question, “Can I live with you guys?”

Jimin’s grin widens, radiating warmth as he responds, “Sure. As long as you don’t mind the occasional noises.”

Taehyung emits another groan, his tone tinged with humor. “As long as I’m not witnessing any reenactments of last time, I’m all in,” he quips with a playful eye roll.

Jungkook halts abruptly, his hand hovering over the truck door handle, his curiosity piqued. He strides over to you with purpose, his expression a mix of confusion and intrigue. “What’s this about reenactments?” He inquires, his gaze flickering between you and Taehyung.

Your sister sidles up beside you, her curiosity evident, and you can’t help but offer a subtle eye roll, already anticipating the impending discussion with a mix of reluctance and amusement.

“Yoongi and I walked in on them doing it on the couch,” Taehyung utters with a deep groan, his hand instinctively covering his eyes as if attempting to shield himself from the memory once more.

Jungkook erupts into laughter, giving Taehyung an affectionate pat on the back. “I’m sorry, but let’s face it, we’re all a bit... horny around here. Can’t say you should be too surprised to catch an eyeful or an earful now and then,” he quips with a grin, breaking the tension with humor.

Taehyung lets out an exasperated huff. “I still believe intimacy should stay behind closed doors. You guys are some serious exhibitionists,” he retorts, shaking his head in disbelief.

Laughter erupts among the group, but amidst the mirth, Taehyung’s observation strikes a chord. While you don’t relish being watched, there’s a truth to his words. You and Jimin have a knack for choosing semi-public settings, a fact you’re now forced to confront.

As you pile into the trucks and embark on the journey to Bora Ranch with Jungkook’s furniture in tow, the anticipation of a new chapter fills the air. Upon arrival, a collaborative effort ensues as everyone pitches in to unload his belongings. Once completed, it’s your turn to pack your own possessions for the move.

As you gather your belongings, you find yourself with mostly pre-packed bags and suitcases filled with clothes and the few remnants of decor salvaged after the fire. Among them are the cherished photos Jimin gave you, snapshots of your childhood that hold precious memories. Opting to leave your bed behind, you realize it’s a symbolic gesture as you prepare to share Jimin’s bed permanently, marking a new chapter in your lives together.

“She doesn’t have as much stuff as Jungkook,” Taehyung remarks, gesturing toward your modest collection of bags. It’s true; compared to Jungkook’s substantial furniture, your belongings seem minimal. But within those bags lie not just clothes and essentials, but memories and hopes for the future, making them weightier than they appear.

“I’ve been thinking,” you start, sweeping your hand around the room, still filled with furniture you got after the fire, “and I don’t feel any connection to this new stuff. It’s like it’s just here, not really a part of me. I’d rather start fresh with Jimin, with pieces that mean something to both of us.”

“I’m sorry,” Taehyung says, his tone tinged with understanding, though you’re not sure why he’s apologizing. Maybe it’s just the acknowledgment that things have shifted, that change is inevitable. Like the seasons, feelings change with time, and you’ve come to accept it. This ranch will always hold a special place in your heart, it’s the first place you called home, but you’re eager to forge a new path with Jimin— to create a home that’s uniquely yours.

“It’s okay. I’m excited about living with Jimin, and now having you as a roommate,” you say warmly, enveloping Taehyung in a hug, a genuine smile playing on your lips.

“I gotta ask you something. You’re not a screamer, are you?” He asks, a hint of apprehension in his voice, his expression betraying his worry.

You chuckle, teasingly responding, “Well, I guess you’ll have to find out, won’t you?”

He groans dramatically, adding, “I might reconsider moving in and just staying in the guest cottage.”

Jimin’s laughter fills the room as he playfully adds, “That’s up to you.”

As you descend with your bags, Hoseok and Yoongi join in, shouldering your easel and paintings, a colorful procession of creativity weaving its way to the waiting trucks.

“Do you paint?” Taehyung asks, his curiosity piqued as he catches sight of your easel being carefully loaded into the truck. 

“Yeah, it’s my work,” you respond with a proud laugh, a touch of confidence in your voice. The smile on your face reflects the satisfaction and joy you find in your art.

“Wow, that’s amazing! I had no idea,” Taehyung exclaims, his enthusiasm clear as he grins at you. “We’ll definitely have to chat more about it—I’d love some tips! Painting’s a passion of mine too.” His excitement is infectious, prompting you to smile back and nod in agreement, already imagining the creative conversations and shared insights to come.

“I’m going to fetch Mikrokosmos,” you announce with a smile, making your way to the stables to retrieve your horse. As you greet her in her stall, she nuzzles you affectionately, sensing the journey ahead. You lead her out with her halter, guiding her down the yard toward the waiting horse trailer. Mikrokosmos steps in without hesitation, a testament to her trust in you. You secure her safely with a quick safety knot on her halter, ensuring she’s comfortable for the ride.

Once again, you all pile into the trucks and make your way back to Bell Ranch with your belongings in tow. The journey is filled with a sense of camaraderie, and upon arrival, your friends and family pitch in to help you unload. 

You carefully guide Mikrokosmos out of the trailer and lead her into one of the paddocks next to the stables. Once inside, you release her, watching as she eagerly trots away, basking in the freedom of the open space. 

As you take in the serene scene, you catch sight of Yoongi and Hoseok making their way inside to grab some cold beers. As the work wraps up, the sky is painted with hues of twilight, and the sun dips below the horizon.

Jimin, ever the gracious host, fires up the grill, the sizzle of the barbecue adding to the evening’s ambiance. The inviting aroma of grilling food wafts through the air, promising a satisfying meal to cap off the day. The scene feels like the perfect conclusion to a day of teamwork and togetherness, as you all prepare to share a delicious dinner under the night sky.

Jungkook joins his brother at the grill, their teamwork evident as they skillfully tend to the sizzling meat and vibrant grilled vegetables. When you return to the porch, the savory aroma envelops you, the smoky scent of the food teasing your senses and making your mouth water in anticipation of the feast to come.

Jimin sets a relaxing ambiance by playing soft music on the speakers, the melodic tunes complementing the twinkling stars overhead. This serene setting envelops you in a sense of comfort, surrounded by love and the warmth of friendship and family. As Jimin serves everyone food, you settle in to eat, savoring the delicious meal while sipping on a cold beer and refreshing water. 

Yoongi breaks the serene silence with a knowing smile and a playful glint in his eyes, asking, “So, how’s married life treating you?”

Jungkook chuckles, a playful tone in his voice. “It’s pretty much like ‘regular’ life,” he remarks, using air quotes and a lighthearted grin to convey the experience of married life.

“But we love it,” your sister adds, her voice brimming with happiness and love, the warmth of her sentiment echoing in the glow of her smile.

A smile tugs at your lips as you imagine the day you’ll marry Jimin, the thought filling you with a rush of anticipation and warmth. You turn your head towards him and lean into his embrace, finding comfort in his steady presence. As you rest your head against his strong shoulder, you share a tender smile with him, a silent promise of the beautiful future you both envision together.

Resting your head on Jimin’s shoulder, you watch as your friends and family chat about everything under the sun. Occasionally, you join in, but you mostly listen, soaking up the joy and familiarity that fills the air. The comforting blend of Jimin’s musky scent surrounds you like a warm embrace, filling you with love and serenity. The gentle rhythm of his heartbeat against your body harmonizes with your own, the two of you perfectly in sync, a quiet yet powerful reminder of your deep love.

For a moment, you close your eyes and let yourself truly savor this idyllic scene with your friends and family, the sounds of laughter and conversation swirling around you. As you bask in the warmth of this perfect moment, a profound realization washes over you: you’ve been granted everything you once dreamed of. The rift with your sister has healed, something you once thought impossible. You’ve rekindled your relationship with your childhood friend and crush, and soon you will marry him. The sheer serendipity of it all feels almost surreal as you reflect on how life has brought you full circle.

In the two years since your return, your journey has been marked by a whirlwind of experiences—mistakes, challenges, and triumphs. Each one has played a vital role in molding you into the person you’ve become. These moments of growth have paved the way for your present strength and resilience.

The infectious laughter of those around you envelops your ears, amplifying the love and warmth that fills the air. This moment holds a unique magic, one that you can’t quite put your finger on but know instinctively is special. It’s your first official day living with your fiancé, and as each day passes, you draw closer to the dream of calling him your husband. The anticipation of the future mingles with the beauty of the present, creating a moment you’ll cherish forever.

You eagerly anticipate the day you’ll exchange vows and begin your life as a married couple. The thought of your wedding day fills you with joy and excitement, knowing that it will mark the start of a beautiful, lifelong journey together.

Jimin guides the truck to a stop in front of the jewelry store, silencing the engine with a twist of the key. The building’s polished windows reflect the bright sunlight, hinting at the treasures inside as the two of you prepare for a special moment in your lives.

“Is this where you got my engagement ring?” you ask Jimin, glancing at the golden band with its stunning purple gemstone on your finger. You lift your gaze to him, your heart racing with anticipation as you smile, cherishing the beautiful memory of how he proposed to you in the muddy rain.

“Yes, I did,” he confirms with a soft smile. “And I have a feeling we’ll find the perfect wedding bands here too.” Leaning across the center console, he gently cups your face and pulls you in for a deep, sweet kiss that fills you with warmth, his affection radiating through every touch.

You savor the touch of his soft lips on yours, the way they fit perfectly against yours, as if you were made for each other. 

“Come, love,” he murmurs, pulling back with a lingering smile. He opens the door and steps out, waiting for you as you follow suit.

Outside, Jimin takes your hand in his, the warmth of his touch sending a rush of affection through you. Together, you walk toward the store’s entrance, feeling a sense of anticipation. Jimin opens the door for you, the soft chime of the bell welcoming you into the world of sparkling jewels and possibilities.

Your eyes are met with an array of displays, each one showcasing exquisite jewelry in various metals and vibrant gemstones. The dazzling assortment leaves you momentarily unsure where to focus your attention. Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sheer variety, you turn to Jimin, trusting his experience with the store to guide you through the selection process.

A woman elegantly dressed in a black pencil skirt and crisp white blouse approaches you with a welcoming smile. “Hi, how can I help you?” She asks, her gaze briefly resting on your intertwined hands. As she meets both of your eyes, her expression lights up with recognition. “You’ve returned!” She exclaims, her gaze lingering on Jimin's face as a hint of familiarity crosses her features.

You offer a hesitant smile, the sense of familiarity between the woman and Jimin making you feel slightly nervous. Jimin, however, greets her with a friendly smile and a nod, acknowledging the recognition.

The woman glances at you with a knowing smile. “I take it she said yes, and she loves the ring?” she asks, her gaze settling on you as she sees the engagement ring on your finger.

You smile and nod, acknowledging the woman’s question. The conversation feels a bit strange, being discussed as if you weren’t present. Despite this, you try to remain polite and gracious, eager to continue with the task at hand and find the perfect wedding bands.

With a gentle smile, she says, “Congratulations! Are you here to find the perfect wedding bands today?”

Both you and Jimin reply in unison, “Yeah!” 

Your simultaneous response triggers a burst of laughter, easing the slight nervousness you felt as it dissipates into the air. 

The woman guides you to a display filled with a stunning array of rings, predominantly wedding bands in various styles and materials. “These are our selections, and there are more on this display right here,” she explains, pointing to a neighboring case. “Take your time to browse and let me know if you see something you like,” she adds with a warm smile before stepping back to give you some privacy.

You both nod in acknowledgment, turning your attention to the two displays she indicated. The sheer variety of rings is a bit overwhelming, leaving you unsure of what you want—or what Jimin might like. Seeking his opinion, you turn to him and ask, “What do you like?”

Jimin offers you a warm smile as he surveys the selection. “I think something classic,” he muses, his gaze skimming over the array of rings. “Nothing too flashy, just something timeless that suits us both.”

You nod in agreement. “I think that’s the way to go—something classic and timeless.”

“Yes, I like that idea,” he agrees. Together, you browse the display of rings, taking in the classic gold bands, sleek silver options, and even some adorned with delicate stones. The variety offers a range of choices, each with its own unique appeal.

Your eyes catch on something that stands out—it’s not a traditional classic band, but there’s an intriguing charm to it. You point it out, intrigued. “What about this one?” You ask, indicating a wedding band with a unique design. The band blends classic and modern styles, featuring intertwined silver and gold in an elegant twist, creating a captivating visual effect.

“I know it’s not the traditional style, but there’s something so beautiful about it,” you say, your voice thick with love and affection as you admire the ring’s unique design.

“It’s beautiful—almost like a blend of classic and modern,” he says with a smile, squeezing your hand gently. “I really like it.”

“Do you think this is the one?” He asks, his eyes shining with anticipation. You nod enthusiastically, your smile beaming back at him.

“Yeah, I think that’s the one.”

You signal to the store lady, who promptly approaches and carefully removes the ring from the display. As she hands it to you, you turn it over in your hands, examining it closely. The smoothness of the metal and the intricate twist of silver and gold seem to encapsulate the unique blend of your relationship. This ring feels like a tangible symbol of the fusion of your love for each other, and its perfect balance fills you with certainty.

Jimin asks the store attendant with a gentle smile, “Would it be possible to have them engraved?”

She nods enthusiastically, a joyful smile lighting up her face. “Absolutely, what would you like engraved on them?” She asks, her excitement mirroring yours as you prepare to add a personal touch to your chosen rings.

“Our names and the date we first met as kids,” Jimin explains, writing down the details on a piece of paper—your names, the meaningful date, and your ring sizes—and handing it to the store lady. 

The store attendant’s face lights up with a bright smile, her happiness evident as she absorbs the details. “That’s incredibly sweet,” she remarks, her voice filled with warmth. “Were you childhood friends?” Her eyes glisten with emotion, touched by the story of your enduring bond.

“Yes,” you both respond in unison, leaning into each other with smiles that reflect your history and deep affection.

“I love it,” she says, her voice brimming with warmth. “I’ll have the rings ready for you in a couple of weeks. I can ship them to you by mail if that’s alright?” She asks, her tone filled with genuine care for your special request.

“That’s perfect,” Jimin agrees with a nod and a warm smile. He completes the payment for the rings, and the two of you make your way back to his truck, holding hands and looking forward to the future together.

As he gazes at you with such intensity, you can feel the depth of his love, as though you are his entire world. It’s a moment that takes your breath away and leaves you with a profound sense of gratitude. The anticipation of marrying him swells within you, making your heart race with excitement for the future you will build together.

The door swings open abruptly, and Jungkook strides into the living room, momentarily disrupting your cozy evening with Jimin. You’re sprawled on the couch, sharing a relaxed moment while watching your favorite dating reality show, which the two of you often enjoy critiquing with playful banter.

You hear Jungkook’s groan and immediately shift your attention to him, taking in his furrowed brows and anguished expression. Concern washes over you as you watch him take a defeated seat next to Jimin, his body language revealing that something is weighing heavily on him. The lighthearted mood in the room shifts, and you brace yourself for what's coming next.

“What’s going on, Kook?” You ask, your voice laced with curiosity and a touch of apprehension. Jungkook’s defeated demeanor has you on edge, and you hope whatever is troubling him isn’t as serious as it seems.

Jungkook groans once more, sinking deeper into the couch with a look of exasperation. “It’s your sister,” he mutters, his tone heavy with frustration or concern.

At the mention of your sister, you flinch, an instant jolt of concern propelling you to move closer to Jungkook. Practically crawling over your fiancé to get a clearer view, you urgently ask, “Is everything alright? Did something happen?” The worry in your voice is undeniable as you brace yourself for his response.

Jimin lets out a grunt as you inadvertently put your hands and most of your weight on his thighs. He shifts beneath you, making room for you to get a better view of Jungkook while you’re practically sitting on him. Despite the sudden pressure, Jimin’s presence provides you with the stability and support you need as you focus on Jungkook with concern etched across your face.

Jungkook shakes his head, his expression a mix of frustration and amusement. “No, it’s nothing serious—just the pregnancy.”

Frustrated by Jungkook’s vague response, you reach out and grab his shirt, pulling him closer with a determined glint in your eyes. Your face inches away from his, you hiss, “If you don’t tell me what’s going on right now, I’ll make it so this will be the only child you ever have.”

Both Jimin and Jungkook recoil slightly at your intense threat, the weight of your words hanging in the air. Jungkook exhales a huff, his expression a mix of surprise and reluctant amusement. “Wow, that’s quite the threat,” he remarks, attempting to diffuse the tension. “I was going to tell you, just calm down.”

You roll your eyes in exasperation, releasing your grip on Jungkook’s shirt. As you settle back into your spot beside Jimin, you relax against him, resuming the comfortable lounging position you had been in before the interruption. 

The moment of tension dissipates, but your curiosity about the situation remains.

“Talk,” you demand, the edge in your voice leaving no room for misinterpretation. The seriousness in your tone serves as a clear warning that Jungkook should tread carefully to avoid provoking your anger.

“Well, Jessi’s been dealing with nonstop nausea, and her mood swings are off the charts,” Jungkook begins with a frustrated groan. “One minute she’s furious, the next she’s in tears, and then suddenly she’s super emotional and wants to be intimate all the time. It’s a rollercoaster, and I’m struggling to keep up.”

You and Jimin both burst into laughter, relieved by Jungkook’s predicament and thankful that there was nothing seriously wrong. The shared humor lightens the mood, easing your earlier tension and allowing you to relax back into the couch, reassured by the knowledge that Jungkook’s concerns were more about the trials and tribulations of parenthood than any serious issue.

“She’s pregnant, Kook. Those things happen to some pregnant women,” you say with a shrug, your tone gentle as you offer some reassurance to Jungkook. Leaning into Jimin’s comforting touch, you nuzzle your head into the crook of his neck, finding solace in his embrace as you reflect on the challenges your sister is navigating.

“Maybe, but I’ve never seen her like this before,” Jungkook admits, a mix of concern and frustration coloring his voice. “She’s so emotional, and she seems so fragile when she’s usually so tough,” he adds with a sigh, grappling with the unexpected transformation of your sister.

“Just hang in there—only seven more months to go,” Jimin reassures Jungkook with a gentle pat on his back. 

“You and Jessi will make it through this together.” 

“So, is this your escape from her wrath?” You ask with a chuckle, a playful smile on your lips. Your teasing tone lightens the mood a bit.

Jungkook buries his face in his hands and lets out a groan. “Yeah,” he admits, his voice filled with a mixture of frustration and resignation. 

“She was crying because the dishwasher wouldn’t start,” Jungkook begins, and you can feel a flicker of anger at the thought that he might have left your sister in distress. But then he continues, “And when I tried to fix it, she got so mad at me and told me to leave.”

Jungkook appears slightly emotionally drained, and you can understand why. Your sister has always been a strong-willed, independent person with a quick temper—traits that pregnancy may have intensified. You can’t help but feel relief that you don’t live with her anymore, though you sympathize with Jungkook’s predicament.

“I’m sorry,” you say, trying to balance humor with understanding. “But I’m pretty sure she didn’t mean for you to actually leave the property.” You let out a soft, empathetic laugh, your voice tinged with melancholy. “Why not head back and give her a hug? It might be just what she needs right now.”

Jungkook nods in agreement and rises from the couch. “You’re probably right,” he concedes with a resigned sigh. “I’ll head back and apologize.” 

“Catch you later, Kook,” you and Jimin chime in unison, exchanging a playful glance. You gaze up at Jimin’s face as you rest against his shoulder, tracing the familiar patterns of his cute moles with your eyes and feeling a warm sense of comfort.

“Do you think I’ll be like that too when I’m pregnant?” You ask Jimin, your question hanging in the air between you. You can feel his heart rate quicken, a sign of his sudden nervousness or excitement at the thought. He shifts slightly, turning his head toward you and pulling you gently away from his body to meet your gaze. His eyes lock onto yours with a tenderness that speaks volumes, as if searching for the right words to offer reassurance or express his own thoughts about the possibility of starting a family together.

“When you get pregnant?” Jimin echoes your question, a hint of uncertainty coloring his voice. His curious gaze locks onto yours, as though he’s trying to grasp the full meaning of your words. His expression suggests he’s unsure whether he heard you correctly, leaving you with a sense of anticipation for his reaction.

You bite your lip and give a nod, confirming his question, “Yeah.” 

“You want to have kids with me?” Jimin rephrases the question, his wide eyes shimmering with the hint of tears. His joy is palpable, his beaming smile nearly breaking free as he processes the profoundness of your admission.

“Yeah, I told you before. I’ve been thinking about it more. I want to have kids with you,” you say, your smile soft and sincere as you cup his face with your hand. “A little one with your beautiful eyes, your full lips, and those adorable cheeks,” you add, your voice filled with affection. “And they’ll inherit my amazing personality too,” you tease playfully, imagining the perfect blend of your best traits in your future child.

Jimin begins to sob, tears streaming down his face as he struggles to steady his uneven breathing. Your heart aches seeing his emotional response, and you gently wipe away his tears with a comforting touch. “It’s okay, love,” you soothe, your voice soft and reassuring, offering him a sense of calm and safety as he processes the moment.

“I’m just so happy,” Jimin says, his voice breaking as he chokes back tears. “To know that you truly want kids... I was never sure if it was something you really wanted or if you were just saying it to make me happy. I would never want you to feel pressured into this, you know that, right?” His eyes glisten with a mixture of love and happiness, reflecting the depth of his emotions.

You nestle closer to Jimin, kissing him deeply as you whisper, “Oh, Jimin, don’t worry. The thought of having kids with you fills me with so much love. Just imagining a little one with your beautiful eyes and infectious smile running around lights up my world.” As your lips meet his, you savor the connection, even tasting his salty tears. In this moment, your love for him overwhelms you, making everything else fade into the background.

“I’ll go find Tae and let him know dinner’s ready,” you announce to Jimin, Yoongi, and Hoseok, who are already settled at the dining table enjoying their meals. 

You step outside, heading down the yard towards the stables where the light still glows, suggesting Taehyung might be there. It’s the most likely spot to find him, and as you walk, the evening’s cool breeze adds a calming touch to your purposeful stride. The stables, with their comforting familiarity, seem like the perfect place to begin your search.

As you step inside the stables, you’re met with an unexpected chorus of grunts, moans, and heavy breathing. The sudden sounds catch you off guard, causing your body to freeze in place. A blush quickly creeps up your cheeks, spreading to your ears as you process the intimate noises.

You grapple with the shock, as your heart races, realizing you’ve just walked in on an intimate moment. It’s a strange mix of embarrassment and disbelief, feeling like an uninvited guest in a private scene. Then it hits you—the irony of their choice to be so bold in such a public setting like the stables.

Despite the initial shock, you decide to proceed further into the stables, taking careful, deliberate steps down the aisle. You make sure to create noticeable sounds with your movements, whether by deliberately stepping harder or shuffling items along the way. This way, you aim to signal your presence and give whoever is there a chance to respond or adjust to your unexpected arrival.

“Tae?” You call out into the room, your voice echoing through the stables. Almost immediately, you hear the sound of shuffling, followed by grunts and the soft murmur of curses. 

“What?” Taehyung grunts from where he’s hidden among the hay. The sound of his voice elicits a mischievous smile from you as you imagine the flustered scene you might have interrupted.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry,” Ara’s voice reaches you, carrying a note of embarrassment and guilt. You sense her distress, but you take it in stride, not overly concerned by the situation.

“I just wanted to let you know that dinner’s ready,” you announce in a matter-of-fact tone as you turn to leave. “Come down whenever you two are finished.” 

You can’t help but chuckle, the irony of the moment not lost on you. “You really are a hypocrite, Tae.”

As you hear more shuffling and rumbling noises behind you, you can’t help but shake your head and close the stable doors with a sense of amusement. The absurdity of the moment strikes you, and you laugh so hard that your stomach begins to ache from the intensity of your laughter.

“It’s been ages since we went for a ride just for fun,” you say with a smile as you and Yoongi trot through the lush green landscape. The freedom and simplicity of the moment bring a sense of nostalgia and joy, reminding you both of the simple pleasures that life offers.

Yoongi chuckles, a rare glint of lightness in his eyes. “Yeah, it’s a nice change of pace,” he says, his tone carrying a hint of appreciation for the moment.

You urge your horses into a gallop, with Yoongi on Holly and you on Mikrokosmos, the rush of speed and the exhilaration of freedom washing over you. The wind plays with your hair as you give the horses free rein, allowing them to kick up dirt and race to their heart's content. This moment of wild abandon brings a thrill that makes your heart soar and brings you closer to the essence of being alive.

You’ll never tire of this feeling—the sensation of flying and floating as you ride your horse through the open air. The caress of the wind on your face as you gallop through nature is an experience unlike any other, a rush of freedom and exhilaration. Even though you don’t currently need healing, the simple act of horseback riding has always been a source of peace and rejuvenation for you. It’s a therapy that soothes your soul and brings you back to your center.

You and Yoongi ride for a long while, enjoying the tranquility of the journey, until you approach the edge of a dense forest. Together, you guide your horses to a halt, stepping down and allowing them to graze on the lush green grass around you.

As you take a seat on the soft grass, the serene surroundings envelop you. The shade of the forest offers respite from the sun, and the sounds of nature—rustling leaves and distant bird calls—create a calming backdrop. It’s a moment of perfect harmony with the natural world, a peaceful interlude where you can fully absorb the beauty and stillness of your surroundings.

You settle down next to Yoongi, and you take a moment to savor the quiet companionship you share. The simplicity of your friendship brings you a deep sense of contentment, and you can’t help but feel immense gratitude for the day you met him. His presence is a constant source of comfort, and you appreciate the easy friendship and understanding you both share.

For a moment, you exchange a knowing look with Yoongi, a silent understanding passing between you. There’s no need for words—you both feel the same deep sense of appreciation for this quiet companionship. You cherish how you can simply be in each other’s company, enveloped in the serene embrace of nature, without the need for constant conversation. The unspoken bond you share is a rare and beautiful thing, a testament to the strength of your friendship.

Yoongi suddenly turns to you, his expression a mix of anticipation and nervousness. “I’m going to ask Hobi to marry me,” he confides, his voice carrying the weight of the monumental decision he’s about to make. His eyes lock onto yours, searching for your reaction, and you can sense the depth of his emotions—love, excitement, and a hint of apprehension.

You’re taken aback by Yoongi’s revelation, but simultaneously, it’s not entirely unexpected. You’ve observed his growing interest in the idea of marriage over the past few weeks, noting his thoughtful questions and contemplative musings on the subject. His decision to propose to Hoseok feels like a natural progression, given the depth of their relationship and his recent reflections on commitment and partnership.

You envelop Yoongi in a tight hug, a warm smile lighting up your face. “You absolutely should. I’m so happy for you, and I have no doubt he’ll say yes.” Your voice carries genuine excitement and encouragement, affirming Yoongi’s decision and offering him your full support.

Yoongi chuckles as you hold him close. “I hope so too,” he says, his voice filled with warmth and a touch of nervousness. “I really love him more than anything.” His words reveal the depth of his feelings for Hoseok, making the moment even more touching and heartfelt.

You nod, your expression earnest. “I know, and you both deserve all the happiness in the world.” Your words carry a deep sense of conviction, affirming your belief in their love and your wish for their future together.

You release Yoongi from the hug and lean into his shoulder, offering him your silent support. 

“You too—have you thought about when you want to get married or what kind of wedding you’d like?” Yoongi asks, his curiosity evident in his tone. He’s genuinely interested in hearing about your plans for the future, showing his investment in your happiness and his desire to share in your excitement.

You let out a thoughtful sigh. “I’m not sure yet. We’re leaning towards something small and intimate,” you admit, your voice thick with love as you chuckle. “Honestly, I just want to marry him already, but we haven’t set a date yet. Maybe it’s time we do.” 

“I understand completely. If you need any help at all—setting a date, picking out invitations, choosing your dress, anything—you know you can count on me,” Yoongi offers warmly, pulling you into a supportive hug. His reassurance and willingness to assist in the wedding planning process highlight his genuine care for you and his desire to help make your special day as perfect as possible.

“You’re my best friend, and I want you to have the most perfect, happiest wedding day,” he continues, his words brimming with sincerity and affection. As you hear his heartfelt sentiment, you suddenly feel a few tears on your hand, realizing how much his support and friendship mean to you. In response, you wrap your arms around him even tighter, embracing the depth of your friendship and the love you share.

“Jimin!” You call out excitedly, rushing through the house and into your bedroom with a package in your hand. Your enthusiasm makes you push the door open with more force than intended. Your heart races with love and anticipation, as you can’t believe the moment has finally arrived—your rings are here.

Just as the jeweler had promised, the rings have arrived a few weeks after you and Jimin selected them together. It’s been a month since you made your choice, and now the moment you’ve been eagerly waiting for is here.

Jimin groans, still caught in the haze of sleep as you crawl onto the bed beside him. With a gentle touch, you shake him awake, your excitement palpable as you prepare to share the moment with him.

“What is it, love?” He asks, his voice heavy with sleep as he slowly comes to. His groggy state doesn’t dampen the affection in his tone, and you can tell he’s ready to listen despite his drowsiness.

“It’s our wedding rings! They’re finally here,” you exclaim, your smile radiant despite the early hour. You can’t contain your excitement, and the joy in your voice is infectious. The thought of holding your rings brings a sense of happiness and anticipation that overshadows the sleepiness of the morning.

Jimin’s eyes snap open at your words, fully awake now. His gaze locks onto the package in your hands, then shifts to you in your silky nightdress. As he runs a hand through his tousled blonde hair, he bites his lip in anticipation, his excitement mirroring yours. 

“Now that the rings are here, maybe we should talk about what kind of wedding we want,” you muse as you stretch out beside Jimin. 

Jimin chuckles, his smile warm and affectionate. “Yeah, we’re not exactly known for our planning skills,” he admits with a playful tone. 

“It’s okay,” you reassure him, locking eyes with Jimin. “But let’s take some time now to discuss it so we can make plans.” The love in his eyes is overwhelming, and you feel like you could lose yourself in them. 

With a soft smile, you run your hand over his bare skin as he lounges on his side. “Do you still want to keep the wedding intimate and small?” You ask, your fingers tracing gentle patterns, the warmth of his body a comforting presence against your touch.

“Yeah, I do,” Jimin responds with a smile, his eyes twinkling with warmth. “We don’t have a big family, and I just want our closest friends and family there.” He lets out a soft giggle as your playful touch lingers on his torso, enjoying the intimacy and lightheartedness of the moment.

“I want an intimate wedding too,” you say, pulling closer to Jimin as you share your thoughts. “If we just want our closest loved ones there, why not have the wedding soon? Everyone is already here.” Your suggestion brings an exciting immediacy to the conversation, hinting at the possibility of a heartfelt, spontaneous celebration of your love.

Jimin’s eyes light up with realization, and he nods, his excitement palpable. He bites his lip thoughtfully, a lovely smile spreading across his face as he processes the idea. The notion of an intimate wedding with your loved ones already present clearly resonates with him.

“You’re right. Why wait?” Jimin responds, his voice filled with eager excitement. You watch as his body trembles slightly, a visible manifestation of the anticipation and love that courses through him at the thought of marrying you sooner rather than later.

“Today?” Jimin’s body radiates love and anticipation, and his infectious excitement mirrors your own. You can’t help but break into a smile as you straddle him, looking down at the person who means everything to you. In that moment, you’re overwhelmed by the thought of marrying him right then and there, the desire so strong it fills your heart to the brim.

“Today,” you reaffirm, your voice filled with conviction and exhilaration. Your heart races, almost bursting from your chest with the overwhelming love you feel. The realization that you might get married today sends a thrill through you—you’re ready and can’t wait to take this monumental step.

You surge forward, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss that lasts for minutes. Your lips begin to ache from the intensity, but you barely notice—it feels too good, his taste intoxicating, his touch igniting a fire within you. You savor every moment, lost in the connection, in the depth of your love for him.

“Wait, we don’t have an officiant,” you suddenly realize, your excitement giving way to a moment of concern. “And on such short notice, how can we find someone out here?” Your disappointment is clear as your heart sinks at the thought of delaying your wedding plans. The longing to marry Jimin as soon as possible, now that you have your rings, feels urgent and immediate.

“Yeah, we need an officiant,” Jimin agrees with a groan, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “I’ll ask Yoongi if he knows anyone who can help us out.” His quick-thinking response offers a glimmer of hope, suggesting a possible solution to your dilemma.

“We’ll ask him together,” you say playfully, running your fingers teasingly over Jimin’s chest. Reluctantly, you slide off him and get out of bed. “Come on, let’s get dressed.” Your voice carries a mix of anticipation and mischief, hinting at the adventure you’re about to embark on together as you prepare to speak with Yoongi.

Together, you hastily dress, the thrill of your mission adding a sense of urgency to your movements. You rush down the stairs and make your way outside, heading straight for Yoongi’s cottage with excitement propelling your steps. The anticipation of making your spontaneous wedding plans a reality fills the air.

You knock on the door, expecting a quick response, but when none comes, you decide not to waste any time. “Forget it,” you mutter, pushing the door open with determination. Your eagerness to speak with Yoongi outweighs any hesitation about barging in unannounced, driven by your desire to make your wedding plans a reality.

Yoongi and Hoseok are still asleep when you enter, and you briefly regret interrupting their rest. However, you remember that Yoongi told you to seek his help with your wedding planning, so you press on. With Jimin behind you, you approach Yoongi and gently poke his face to wake him. “Yoon, wake up,” you whisper, trying to rouse him without causing too much of a disturbance.

Yoongi grumbles, slowly stirring from sleep.

“What?” He mumbles, his voice thick with grogginess. His half-asleep state makes him sound less than enthusiastic, but the familiar tone in his voice reassures you that he’s ready to hear what you have to say.

“Do you know anyone who can officiate our wedding?” You ask, a bright smile on your face as you observe Hoseok stirring awake beside Yoongi. 

Yoongi groans, his voice heavy with sleep as he mutters, “Yeah, I know someone.”

“Great, just give me their number, and we’ll leave you alone,” you say, trying to minimize the disruption of his sleep. Although you feel a twinge of guilt for waking him, you reassure yourself that he would be up soon anyway, hoping your request doesn’t cause too much inconvenience.

“You already have it,” Yoongi grumbles, his voice still thick with sleep as he turns over in bed to face Hoseok, who is now fully awake. 

“What do you mean?” Jimin asks from your side, his curiosity evident in his voice. He looks between you and Yoongi, trying to understand the situation.

“I got ordained a couple of weeks ago, after our wedding talk,” Yoongi explains, still facing away from you as he speaks. His words catch you off guard, a pleasant surprise as you realize he anticipated your need for an officiant. This unexpected gesture of support and forethought from Yoongi fills you with gratitude and admiration for his thoughtfulness.

“You did?” Your eyes widen in surprise and your heart swells with love for your best friend. The unexpected gesture leaves you feeling incredibly grateful and touched by Yoongi’s support. You can’t help but feel an overwhelming urge to hug him and show your appreciation for his thoughtfulness.

“I had a feeling you might want to elope or have an intimate ceremony,” Yoongi says, his voice still heavy with sleep. “Let me guess—you want to get married today.” Despite his groggy state, he sits up, turning to face you. His bare chest is on display, but you focus your gaze on his slightly puffy face, your excitement building as his words confirm he understands your plans.

“Yeah, we do,” Jimin confirms, his hand reaching out to find yours, intertwining his fingers with yours. The touch is intimate, a silent affirmation of your shared desire to get married today. 

“I’ll marry you to each other. That was the whole point anyway,” Yoongi says with a casual, dismissive tone, but his voice is thick with love. His intentions are clear, and the smile playing on his lips confirms his genuine happiness for you and Jimin. His commitment to officiating your wedding adds a special touch, turning the moment into one of deep affection and anticipation.

“Thank you so much, Yoon,” you say, your voice filled with gratitude as your eyes well up with tears. Letting go of Jimin’s hand, you wrap Yoongi in a heartfelt hug. The warmth of his body and the friendly pat on your back from his hands offer comfort and reinforce the depth of your friendship. 

It’s a touching moment of friendship and appreciation for Yoongi’s willingness to play such an important role in your special day.

“No problem,” Yoongi replies, giving Jimin a playful thumbs up behind your back. “Now, off you go so I can properly wake up with my boyfriend.” His words are lighthearted and teasing, infusing a touch of humor to the moment and subtly hinting that he wants some privacy with Hoseok.

You chuckle and release Yoongi from the hug, offering him a grateful smile. “Yes, of course! Sorry for the intrusion, but thank you so much,” you say, your tone lighthearted and full of appreciation. 

Your smile is radiant, a reflection of the overwhelming happiness and love you feel. You can’t possibly contain your joy as you grab Jimin’s hand and pull him outside, eager to share your excitement and anticipation for the day ahead. Your enthusiasm is contagious, and Jimin’s grip on your hand tightens, ready to embark on this special journey with you.

“I can’t wait!” you exclaim, your voice brimming with giddiness as you practically bounce around Jimin. Your excitement is palpable, and your energy is infectious. In response, he wraps his arms around you and pulls you close, giving you a deep, passionate kiss that conveys his own eagerness and love. 

The embrace feels like a promise of the beautiful day ahead and the many more to come.

It feels as though your souls are intertwined in a beautiful dance, swirling together in perfect harmony. The overwhelming love you feel fills every corner of your heart, making you ache with anticipation to marry Jimin. The closeness between you, the way your hearts beat in sync, makes it clear that this is the love you’ve always dreamed of.

Jimin gently pulls away, locking his gaze with yours. “Now we just have to call everyone,” he says with a smile, his excitement evident. “But let’s have some breakfast first.”

You nod, your heart fluttering with love as you and Jimin walk back to the house hand in hand. Together, you grab something to eat while you look at your phone, deciding who to call and invite. You start with your sister, eager to share the good news. When you tell her, she yells in excitement before breaking down in happy sobs, promising that she, Jungkook, and the rest of your friends will come over right away. 

After finishing your meal, you seek out Taehyung to share the exciting news about your wedding taking place later today. When you tell him, his face lights up with happiness and anticipation. He can’t wait to attend the ceremony and celebrate this special day with you and Jimin. 

“Love, you don’t have a wedding dress,” Jimin says, his eyes filled with concern over the oversight. But you smile, brushing it off. The lack of a wedding dress doesn’t bother you in the slightest; your focus is on the joy of marrying Jimin and celebrating your love with those closest to you.

“I don’t need a traditional white wedding dress,” you reassure Jimin, your excitement evident. “I already have the perfect dress.” With that, you pull out the flowery dress Jimin bought for you two years ago, a dress that holds sentimental value. The sight of the dress brings back fond memories, and you know it will make your wedding day even more meaningful. Jimin’s gift now becomes a beautiful symbol of your love and the journey you’ve shared together.

You watch as Jimin’s eyes fill with tears, mirroring your own emotional response. “I don’t care about tradition,” you say, your voice tender and sincere. “I care about you, and I love this dress that you gave me.” Your words convey the depth of your affection for Jimin and the sentimental value of the dress.

Jimin sniffles as he walks over to you, wrapping you in a heartfelt embrace. “I fucking love you,” he says, his voice thick with emotion. 

You chuckle softly, the intensity of emotion between you two almost tangible. “I love you too,” you respond, your voice full of warmth and sincerity. 

Jimin pulls back slightly, a playful glint in his eyes as he asks, “Should I wear a suit?”

“You can if you want, but my only concern is that you’re comfortable,” you say with a mischievous smile, wiggling your eyebrows playfully. “I’m going to be ripping your clothes off at the end of the day anyway, so it’s up to you.” Your teasing words make Jimin burst out in a giggle.

You take your time getting dressed and applying makeup, stealing a glance at Jimin out of the corner of your eye. You watch as he slips on his suit and hat, the ensemble bringing a smile to your face. He looks undeniably dapper, though in your eyes, Jimin would look good in anything. 

Hand in hand, you and Jimin walk out of your bedroom and descend the stairs, the anticipation building with each step. As you reach the living room, you’re greeted by the sight of your family and closest friends, all gathered and dressed up, their faces beaming with joy. Your eyes meet those of your sister, Jungkook, Taehyung, Namjoon, Seokjin, Yoongi, Hoseok, Soo-ah, Ara, and Ha-rin, all of them warmly smiling at you and Jimin. The warmth and love in the room envelop you both, creating a perfect setting for the special day ahead. 

Your eyes begin to well up with tears as you take in the sight of your family and friends gathered to celebrate your special day. You start to understand why your sister was so emotional on her wedding day—the overwhelming sense of love, support, and unity is almost too much to contain. The realization of how significant this moment is fills you with a deep, heartfelt joy.

“Where do you want to get married?” Yoongi asks, his eyes reflecting genuine interest as he addresses both you and Jimin. The question holds a sense of anticipation, as though he’s ready to help make your dream ceremony a reality wherever you choose. 

“Outside in nature. We have to ride there on horseback,” you announce with a pleased smile, grabbing Jimin’s hand as you envision your dream wedding. The thought of saying your vows surrounded by the beauty of the natural world, riding to the ceremony on horseback, fills you with excitement. 

“You’re lucky we’re all on horseback,” your sister grunts, gently caressing her growing belly.

“And you had no issue letting her ride a horse?” You ask Jungkook with disbelief, clearly surprised by his decision. His choice seems at odds with the usual precautions he has taken during her pregnancy, and you can’t help but express your astonishment.

“She’s a grown woman and a skilled rider. I’m not about to argue with her on that,” Jungkook responds, his voice confident as he defends his decision. His mischievous smile reveals his trust in your sister's abilities and his decision to respect her autonomy. 

“Damn right I am,” your sister retorts with a grin, grabbing Jungkook’s hand and leading him outside. 

You hand the rings to Yoongi, your trust in him evident in your gesture. “I want you to present them to us when the moment comes,” you tell him, entrusting him with a crucial role in your wedding ceremony. 

Yoongi takes the rings from you and carefully places them in the pocket of his black jeans. His deliberate action reassures you that the rings are safe with him. 

“Let’s get you two married,” Yoongi announces with a grin, leading the way to the stables alongside you, Jimin, Taehyung, Namjoon, Seokjin and Hoseok. As you prepare to saddle up, you can feel the anticipation in the air, the group united in the shared excitement of the day ahead.

You gently pat Mikrokosmos on her head as you tack her up, leading her out of the stables. As you meet Jimin outside, your hand instinctively finds his, and together you guide your horses toward the house where the others are waiting. 

You gallop out to the perfect spot, the wind rushing past you and your companions. There’s a serene, unspoken understanding between you all as you ride. The silence that envelops you adds to the magic of the moment, as you take in the breathtaking beauty of the open land and the anticipation of the ceremony to come. 

The only sounds are the rhythmic hoofbeats and the gentle breeze.

As you finally approach the spot, your heart swells with recognition and joy. The intimate clearing, framed by trees and shrubs with the majestic mountains as a backdrop, feels like a scene from a dream. Fields of bluebonnets and wildflowers you’ve yet to identify create a vibrant, fragrant carpet. You guide Mikrokosmos to a gentle stop and gracefully dismount, allowing the breathtaking beauty to wash over you. For a moment, you stand in awe, absorbing the serene landscape, as Jimin and the rest of your loved ones arrive, matching your shared sense of wonder.

Taehyung takes in the surrounding nature, his expression curious. “What’s so special about this place?” He asks, his gaze sweeping over the vibrant wildflowers and picturesque backdrop.

“This is where we had sex for the first time,” Jimin reveals, his hand tenderly caressing your cheek, sending a thrill down your spine. 

Taehyung grunts and rolls his eyes, a playful smirk on his lips. “You guys are so gross,” he teases, but there’s an undercurrent of fondness in his voice. 

“I think it’s incredibly sweet and romantic,” Soo-ah chimes in, walking up to you with a warm smile on her face.

“After what I heard you and Ara do in the stables, I don’t think you’re one to talk,” you retort, a playful huff in your tone. Your teasing jab at Taehyung immediately silences him.

The group chuckles together, their laughter echoing through the serene surroundings. Yoongi steps forward, positioning you and Jimin face-to-face while your friends form a supportive circle around you. Meanwhile, your horses graze quietly in the background.

You can hardly contain your excitement, your body trembling with joy and love. The setting holds a special place in your heart, as it is deeply meaningful for both you and Jimin. The sheer perfection of the moment and the location fills you with gratitude and anticipation, knowing that there couldn’t be a more fitting or beautiful place for your wedding.

“Are you ready?” Yoongi asks, his voice soft and warm. His gentle smile is filled with genuine affection, and his eyes sparkle with love as he looks at you and Jimin. 

You both nod, grinning like fools in love—because you are. The anticipation swells within you, knowing you’re about to marry your childhood friend, your longtime crush, your soulmate. This moment is the culmination of a beautiful journey, and your hearts are ready to take the next step together.

Jimin removes his hat and hands it to his brother, a casual yet deliberate gesture. As he runs his hand through his hair, you can’t help but be drawn to him, knowing how that move always gets your heart racing and turning you on.

Yoongi takes a deep breath, smiling warmly at the gathered guests. “Welcome, friends and family. We’re here to celebrate the union of these two wonderful souls. Today, we’re witnesses to their commitment to love and their choice to spend their lives together. Let’s share in their joy and support them on this beautiful journey.” His words set a heartfelt tone for the ceremony, inviting everyone to join in the celebration of your love and dedication to each other.

“Jimin, you’re up first. I hope you prepared some vows,” Yoongi says with a chuckle, eliciting laughter from the rest of the party. You don’t mind the light-hearted banter; in fact, it helps ease the slight nervousness coursing through your veins. 

Jimin’s soft smile grows wider, showcasing his perfect crooked teeth and those endearing dimples. “My love,” he begins, his voice filled with affection. “I’ve loved you for so long, since we were kids, and my love for you has only grown stronger. Sometimes, the intensity of it scares me, but I know that with you by my side, there’s nothing to fear. Together, we can face anything, and my love for you feels transcendent, ever-growing and evolving. I know I’m flawed and have made mistakes, but your unwavering love has been my anchor. I’m so grateful for you and your love. I promise to cherish you forever, to fill our days with happiness, adventure, and boundless love. I’m excited to share my life with you, to build a family with you. All my love is yours, and it always will be.” 

His heartfelt vows resonate deeply, conveying his profound commitment and adoration for you.

As you hold Jimin’s hand, a wave of emotion washes over you, making your hands suddenly feel sweaty. Gazing into his soft brown eyes, you see a world of love and devotion reflected back at you. His eyes speak volumes about his boundless affection for you, and you can’t help but feel a lump form in your throat. The depth of his emotions stirs something profound within you, filling you with an overwhelming sense of love and gratitude.

Jimin smiles at you, his eyes brimming with tears of emotion. You watch as a few slip down his cheeks, his vulnerability touching your heart. Your instinct is to reach out and gently wipe away his tears, but you resist, allowing him to fully experience this profound moment. 

Yoongi turns to you with a gentle reminder, “It’s your turn,” his words prompting you to take the next step in your vows. His supportive gaze encourages you, and you take a moment to gather your thoughts and emotions. 

You chuckle nervously, mustering all the love you have for this incredible man. “Jimin, my love,” you begin, “I’ve loved you since we were kids, but my love for you developed slowly over the years. It took me time to realize my feelings, but they’ve always been there, just waiting to be unlocked. I love you with all my heart; you are my soulmate, and I adore your heart, your soul, and your kindness. I love you so much that it should be illegal, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, building a family together.”

You pause as tears begin to flow, overwhelmed with emotion. You clench his hands in yours and continue, “With you, I’ve found my home. Home is where my heart is, and my heart is with you.” Your heartfelt vows touch everyone present, the intensity of your love clear in every word you say.

Jimin starts to lean in for a kiss, but Yoongi playfully interrupts, placing a hand between you. “Wait, the rings first,” he chuckles, and the rest of the party joins in the laughter. 

You take a deep breath, steadying yourself as Yoongi asks if you want to marry each other. The anticipation builds, but when you both say yes, your heart swells with happiness. Yoongi hands you your rings, and the exchange of this symbol of your love and commitment fills the moment with significance and emotion. 

Jimin takes your left hand in his, carefully sliding off your engagement ring. He transfers it to your right hand, placing it gently on your ring finger. Then, with deliberate tenderness, he slides the wedding ring onto your left hand, his movements slow and precise. Once the ring is in place, a surge of happiness washes over you. You gaze at the beautiful ring on your finger, admiring the way the silver and gold intertwine perfectly. The design symbolizes your unity, reflecting your journey together and the depth of your love. 

You examine the ring in your hand, its engraving catching the light—a delicate inscription of your name and the date you first met. The thought that you both carry each other’s name with you on your rings fills you with warmth and a sense of deep love.

You take Jimin’s left hand, your touch gentle but steady. As you find his ring finger, you slowly slide the ring onto it, your movements deliberate and heartfelt. The moment feels sacred, the symbolism of placing the ring on his finger marking the beginning of your new life together. You watch his face light up with joy, and you know that this exchange of rings signifies not just your love, but the promises you've made to walk hand in hand for the rest of your lives.

When the ring is securely on Jimin’s finger, you both lift your gazes to meet each other’s eyes. The moment feels charged with emotion, as if the world stands still for just the two of you. Then, you turn your head to Yoongi, seeking his next words to finalize the ceremony. Your anticipation grows as you await the moment that will officially seal your union.

“Yes, yes, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss,” Yoongi declares, his tone almost nonchalant, as if he can hardly be bothered. But you know the truth—his words carry warmth and a deep sense of joy for you both. His casual delivery brings a touch of humor and charm to the ceremony, and the affection in his eyes reveals just how much this moment means to him.

You grin widely as you lean in to kiss your husband. This kiss feels different, charged with a new sense of intimacy and commitment. Shivers run through your body as you feel giddy, overwhelmed with joy and happiness. 

As your lips meet, you don’t pull apart. Instead, you stay locked in the kiss, savoring the love. Jimin holds you tight and pushes you back gently, making you hover in the air as he deepens the kiss. The embrace is both tender and passionate, sealing your vows with a kiss that signifies the start of your new journey together.

Your friends and family erupt in cheers, catcalls, and applause, filling the air with their excitement. They shout congratulations and well-wishes, creating an atmosphere of celebration and joy around you. Their enthusiastic response amplifies the happiness of the moment, making you feel truly surrounded by love and support as you and Jimin share your first moments as a married couple.

Jimin lifts you back up, and you both pull away, gasping for air before bursting into laughter. The moment feels lighthearted and full of joy. You lace your fingers with his, feeling an overwhelming sense of love and devotion. It’s as if you can’t get enough of him, your heart overflowing with affection for your husband.

“Congratulations!” Yoongi says with a beaming smile, and the rest of the party echoes his sentiment, surrounding you and Jimin with hugs and kisses. You’re showered with love and affection from all sides, your heart swelling with gratitude. As tears of joy stream down your face, you realize how truly blessed you are to have such supportive and loving people in your life. This outpouring of emotion makes the moment unforgettable, truly sealing the beauty of your special day.

“I’m crashing at Jessi and Kook’s tonight,” Taehyung declares with a playful grin, hugging you tightly. “Because I know you two are gonna do nasty things I’d rather not hear or see.” His teasing tone brings a lighthearted touch to the moment, and his affection for you is clear in the way he holds you close.

You can’t help but burst out laughing at Taehyung’s comment—it’s true, and everyone knows it. The anticipation of getting home and fuck the shit out of Jimin, your husband, fills you with too much excitement. You’re eager to rip his clothes off and lose yourself in the passion and intimacy of your new life together.

After spending a few moments catching up with your friends and family, you and Jimin say your farewells. You mount your horses, waving goodbye to everyone as they prepare to ride back to Bora Ranch. The journey home to Bell Ranch with Jimin feels serene and special, as you reflect on the incredible day you’ve had and the future that lies ahead. The ride back allows you to savor the peaceful moments together, anticipating the start of your new life as a married couple.

You and Jimin race across the open fields, urging your horses forward as excitement pulses through you both. The wind whips your dress around your thighs, but you pay no mind—you can’t wait to get back and have sex with your husband once you reach the sanctuary of your home.

When you arrive back at the ranch, you ride straight up to the stables, untack your horses, and settle them comfortably in their stalls. The moment you’re done, you and Jimin turn to each other, the anticipation palpable. Your lips meet in a passionate kiss, unable to contain your desire any longer. 

You push Jimin against a stall, your eyes locked on his as you let out a low, throaty growl. “I want you, Jimin,” you whisper, the words dripping with desire, as your breath mingles with his. 

When you look into Jimin’s eyes, they are completely dark with desire. The intensity of his gaze sends a rush of arousal through you, and you can feel the heat between you two. There’s no doubt that your panties are already soaked, your anticipation for what’s to come pushing you closer to the edge. 

“Shit, I want you too,” Jimin pants, his breath hot and heavy as you touch him through his pants. 

You lean in close, whispering in his ear, “Let’s do it on the bed, like old married people.” 

Jimin chuckles, allowing you to lead him out of the stables and back to your house. The playful anticipation between you two is palpable. Once inside, you pull him close and knock his hat off before kissing him hungrily.

Your lips move from his mouth to his neck, planting kisses and gentle bites as you moan against his skin. 

Your hands glide eagerly over Jimin’s chest as you attempt to unbutton his shirt, but your impatience gets the best of you. Instead, you tear the shirt open, buttons flying to the ground as you reveal his toned chest. The sight of his exposed skin makes your breath catch and your lips part in anticipation, licking them as you prepare to feast your eyes and hands on him.

You swiftly pull the shirt off Jimin, leaving him shirtless in front of you. His bare chest and the desire in his eyes make your pulse race. In response, you reach behind to unzip your dress, letting it gracefully slip off your body and fall to the floor. 

Jimin’s eyes widen in astonishment as he gazes at you standing before him in just a bra. “You weren’t wearing panties this whole time?” He asks, his voice filled with lust and a hint of surprise. 

You chuckle softly, enjoying Jimin’s reaction to your revelation. Moving closer, you tease him by running your fingers playfully over his pants, feeling his dick pressing against the fabric. 

With a sultry tone and a smoldering gaze, you draw out the words, “No panties today,” savoring the look of desire in Jimin’s eyes. You bat your eyelashes flirtatiously and bite your lip.

“My nasty girl,” Jimin murmurs, his voice thick with a blend of lust and love. His hands grip your hips firmly, drawing you closer to him. As he moves in to kiss your neck, he adds a playful bite, promising a purple necklace as a mark of your passion. 

Jimin’s breath brushes against your ear as he pants, “I want to fuck my wife.” 

The raw desire in his voice sends shivers down your spine, igniting an electric anticipation within you. 

“Then take me to bed and fuck my brains out,” you moan, the intensity of your desire for Jimin nearly overwhelming. Your voice is laden with lust and love, and your chest feels like it's about to burst from the sheer force of your emotions. 

Jimin’s strong hands grip your hips firmly, lifting you effortlessly. Instinctively, you wrap your legs around his waist, holding on tight as he carries you through the house and up the stairs. nst yours fuels your desire, promising a night of unrestrained passion and closeness.

You feel Jimin’s heart pounding against your chest, the rhythm a sweet symphony to your ears. When he playfully tosses you onto the bed, you burst into laughter, feeling a rush of excitement. You spread your legs, allowing him to see just how wet you already are for him.

“Fucking hell. How long have you been like this?” Jimin exclaims, his voice filled with astonishment and desire as he takes in the sight of you. 

His gaze shifts down to his pants, noticing the wet stains there. “You’re dripping,” he remarks, a mixture of surprise and eagerness in his tone. 

“I just can’t wait for my husband to fuck me,” you say, your voice dripping with desire. As you teasingly touch your clit, Jimin lets out a groan, a blend of frustration and intense lust. 

You move to the edge of the bed where Jimin stands, your eyes locked on his. With a deliberate, teasing smile, you unzip his pants and pull them down along with his boxers, revealing his neglected, hard cock. It springs free, standing tall and proud, a bead of precum glistening at the tip.

The sight of him makes you lick your lips in anticipation. Without hesitation, you grab his cock and wrap your lips around him, surprising him with your eagerness. 

Jimin’s taste is intoxicating, and you can’t get enough of him. You eagerly take him into your mouth, sucking him with a fervor that makes him moan with pleasure. The sounds he makes—obscene and raw—intensify your desire, fueling your passion for him. 

You moan around Jimin’s dick, the vibrations sending shivers through him. His hands find purchase in your hair, his fingers tenderly stroking your cheeks as you hold his gaze, the intimacy of the moment building between you. As you look into his eyes, you can feel him twitch in your mouth.

“Love, I’m seriously not going to last long, and I want to come inside you,” Jimin tells you, his voice filled with urgency and desire. He gently tries to pull you away, his hands on your shoulders, revealing just how close he is as he tries to pull you off his dick.

You release Jimin’s cock and look up into his lustful eyes, your own gaze filled with longing and confidence. “I want you to come more than once—we have all the time we need, love,” you say, a playful edge to your voice. 

You wrap your warm mouth around him again, this time with more urgency and speed. Your cheeks hollow as you increase your pace, your tongue expertly teasing his frenulum. The sensation makes him gasp for breath, his hands finding your hair and pulling on it gently, a sign of his overwhelming pleasure. The combination of your soft tongue and the intensity of your actions sends waves of ecstasy through Jimin, his grip tightening in your hair. 

Jimin grunts above you, the sounds of his pleasure intensifying. You look up at him, taking in the utterly overwhelmed expression on his face and knowing he’s close to his orgasm. Determined to push him over the edge, you stroke the part of him that doesn’t fit in your mouth as you try to take him deeper.

You feel his dick hit the back of your throat, but you relax your jaw, focusing on breathing through your nose. 

As you continue to pleasure him with your mouth, you reach down with your other hand to play with his balls. The added sensation makes him throb instantly in your mouth, and you respond by moaning even more around him. 

Jimin moans your name as he pulls his cock from your mouth. With a few strokes, he releases his warm, white seed onto your face, while you stick out your tongue, eager to catch some of it and swallow. 

He grunts, panting for air, as he empties the last of his release. As he relaxes, you move in to tease the head of his dick with your tongue, playfully licking it like a lollipop. 

Jimin whimpers softly from overstimulation, but his gaze is filled with love and adoration as he looks at you. “My nasty girl,” he murmurs, his voice laced with affection. “You look so beautiful with my cum on your face.” 

He reaches behind you and deftly unclasps your bra, allowing it to fall to the floor. As the fabric slips away, a trail of his seed runs from your face down to your breasts, and he groans at the sight.

He gently pushes you back onto the bed and straddles you, his now softening cock brushing against your skin. You don’t mind; in fact, you savor the intimate moment, the closeness of your bodies, and the tender weight of him on top of you. His gaze locks with yours, filled with affection and desire.

Jimin shifts his position, moving off the bed and sitting down. He then pulls your body closer to him, positioning you so that your pussy is right in front of his face. His eyes light up with hunger and admiration as he takes in the sight of you.

“I’m gonna taste you now, wifey.”

His words send a wave of desire through you, causing your pussy to clench in response. A moan escapes your lips, and you find yourself yearning for the touch of his lips and tongue on your most sensitive spot. 

He wastes no time, immediately diving in with his tongue. His skilled lips find your clit, sending waves of pleasure through you. You instinctively wrap your thighs around his head, resting them on his strong shoulders for support. Meanwhile, your hands grip the sheets tightly, holding on for dear life as he works his magic on you. 

Slurping sounds echo through the bedroom, creating a symphony of intimacy and pleasure. Although he’s just begun, you already feel swept away by the sensations he is creating. The intensity of his touch leaves you feeling overwhelmed, as though you're already on the edge of an orgasm.

His tongue vigorously licks your clit, and you find yourself lost in the pleasure he’s giving you. Your wetness amplifies the sensations, making every touch feel intensely magnified. Each stroke of his tongue sends shivers through you.

Jimin’s hands gently part your folds, his touch both tender and purposeful. He lowers his head, his tongue making its way inside you, exploring with an intense, focused attention. The sensation of his tongue entering you sends waves of pleasure through your body, and his expert movements ignite a fire within you. 

“Jimin!” As Jimin’s tongue enters you, you can’t help but scream his name, your voice echoing with a mix of pleasure and overwhelming lust.

The soft muscle of his tongue skillfully dives in and out of your entrance, exploring you deeply as far as his tongue can reach. His nose brushes against your clit with each motion, creating an intoxicating combination of sensations. The precise rhythm of his tongue, paired with the stimulating touch of his nose, drives you wild with pleasure, pushing you closer to the edge of ecstasy.

The pleasure is overwhelming as you feel a knot tightening in your stomach. Your orgasm begins to build, slowly but powerfully, taking your breath away with each wave of sensation. The anticipation of release makes your body tremble, your senses on high alert as you inch closer to the peak of release.

Jimin pulls away from your pussy, taking a moment to gaze at you. You’re flushed, sweating, and panting heavily from the intense pleasure he’s been giving you. His lower face glistens with your juices, evidence of your intense arousal and his passionate exploration. The sight of him like this, lost in the moment, is slowly making you lose your mind.

“Come on my face, love,” Jimin commands as he moves back to your pussy. He licks and sucks your folds, his mouth working you over with intense precision. One of his hands finds your clit, his deft fingers expertly rubbing the sensitive bud.

The pleasure is overwhelming as you feel your toes curl and your breath grow short and erratic. Your climax hits you like a freight train, the intensity taking you by surprise. You moan his name loudly, surrendering to the ecstasy as you come on his tongue and face. 

He licks you up with an eager intensity, savoring your essence as though he’s drinking you in. 

“Fuck, Jimin,” you pant, your voice laden with satisfaction and awe. Jimin finally pulls away from your now sensitive pussy, his lips lingering for a moment before he moves up beside you on the bed. As he joins you, his presence offers comfort and a sense of closeness, allowing you to bask in the afterglow of the intense pleasure he just brought you. 

Jimin hovers over you, his breath warm against your skin. As you notice his now fully erect cock, he leans down to whisper in your ear, “You made me hard again, wifey.” 

His words send a thrill through you, the playful intimacy of his tone making your pulse quicken. 

“Already?” you pant, a mix of surprise and lust in your voice. 

“Yeah, my wifey just drives me wild,” he groans, his voice thick with lust. 

Oh God, every time he calls you ‘wifey,’ your pussy clenches involuntarily. The sweet intimacy of the term sends a wave of desire through you, and you wonder if he’s aware of the effect it has on you.

Jimin lies down beside you, a playful glint in his eyes and a chuckle of lust escaping his lips. “Come and ride me,” he invites, his tone teasing yet filled with desire. 

Your whole body tingles with anticipation, and even though you’re tired and overwhelmed with lust and love, you find the energy to rise and straddle Jimin. You take his dick in your hand, aligning it with your entrance before slowly lowering yourself onto him. The sensation of him stretching you is intense, the smooth glide enhancing the pleasure for both of you. You savor every inch of him, and the stretch is oh so exquisite and intense. He fills you up completely, an intoxicating pleasure that makes your breath catch and your pulse race.

You brace yourself with your hands on his chiseled chest and begin to ride him, bouncing with a rhythm that matches your pounding heartbeat. The sensation of his cock inside you intensifies with each movement, sending waves of ecstasy through your body. As you shift your weight and grind against him, the pleasure deepens, drawing out gasps and moans from both of you.

“Fuck, my wife is so fucking hot,” Jimin praises, his voice heavy with lust as you ride him. Your pussy tightens around him, and you feel a powerful wave of arousal knowing how much he enjoys watching you take control. The sensation of him inside you is overwhelming, both physically and emotionally, and you know it won’t take much to push you to the brink of another orgasm.

His words of admiration intensify your pleasure, the feeling of his thick cock filling you up adding to your imminent unraveling.

“Jimin, you’re gonna make me come again,” you pant, your voice laced with both pleasure and exhaustion. Though your body feels tired, you continue to ride him, driven by the intense desire to reach another orgasm.

“Are you close?” Jimin asks, his voice thick with lust and anticipation. His intense gaze meets yours, the desire in his eyes mirroring your own. His question fuels your urgency, and you can feel your body tightening with the approach of another climax. 

You nod eagerly, biting your lip to hold back the pleasure, “Yes!” 

Jimin’s fingers find your clit again, and even though you’re sensitive, the sensation is intensely pleasurable. He rubs the nub with expert precision, sending shockwaves of ecstasy through you. The combination of his touch and the fullness inside you brings you to the brink, your body about to erupt like a volcano. 

The pleasure is overwhelming, teetering on the edge of being too intense to take. As you reach your peak, you scream Jimin’s name, your voice echoing through the room. Your climax ripples through you, every nerve ending on fire as your body tightens around his cock. The release is a burst of euphoria, leaving you breathless and utterly consumed by the ecstasy he brings you.

You catch your breath, your chest rising and falling rapidly as you steady yourself on Jimin’s chest. The afterglow of your climax leaves you feeling both tired and utterly full of love. His warmth beneath your hands grounds you.

“So good, my love. Now relax while I take care of the rest, wifey,” Jimin murmurs with tenderness. He turns you around gently and guides you back onto the mattress, his dick still nestled inside you. As he adjusts his position, he sinks deeper, eliciting a moan from you at the intensity of the sensation.

Jimin pulls your legs to the side, opening you up to him, and then begins to thrust his cock into you with a steady, powerful rhythm. Each thrust fills you deeply, his pace unwavering as he seeks to deliver intense pleasure. 

The hypnotic motion of Jimin’s hips captivates you, each precise movement drawing you deeper into the moment. His scars catch the light as they move with him, a testament to his strength and resilience. There's something truly magical about witnessing this intimate dance, the rhythm of his body resonating with yours. You can’t help but get lost in him, this man who is now your husband, the one who makes your heart race and your soul sing.

You feel as though you can barely withstand the intensity of the experience. It’s not painful—in fact, it’s the opposite. Waves of pleasure ripple through your entire body, creating a sensation that feels simultaneously like floating and drowning in ecstasy. The tingle is unusual, yet deeply satisfying, and you find yourself reveling in the overwhelming delight. The sensation is both exhilarating and surreal, leaving you craving more of this extraordinary feeling.

Jimin lowers his mouth to your neck, his teeth gently grazing your skin as he bites and kisses you. The sensation sends shivers down your spine, making you squirm beneath him with a mixture of pleasure and lust.

As he moves up to kiss you deeply on the mouth, the intensity of the moment heightens. The deep, passionate kiss perfectly synchronizes with his thrusts, amplifying the pleasure for both of you. His lips on yours, combined with the intimate rhythm of his body, create an electric connection that leaves you breathless and aching for more.

Your hands grip Jimin’s biceps firmly, drawing him closer to you. When he pulls away for a moment, you lock eyes with him, staring into his deep brown orbs. You see your whole universe reflected in them, and it fuels your desire for more—for everything he can give you.

You can’t take the distance for long, pulling him down to you again and kissing him with an intensity that feels like your life depends on it. The kiss is a passionate, all-consuming expression of your love and need for him, and it binds you even closer together in the moment.

“I’m gonna come soon,” Jimin pants as he pulls back from your kiss. His breathless voice conveys the intensity of his desire, the pleasure he feels evident in his expression, with the way that his nose is scrunching so cutely.

“Come inside and get me pregnant,” you pant, biting your lip and moaning his name.

Jimin’s eyes widen in surprise as he stares at you. “Pregnant? But you’re on the pill,” he blurts out, his expression a mix of shock and wonder.

You squeeze Jimin’s biceps tightly, your voice thick with both love and lust. “Not anymore,” you reveal, a hint of determination in your gaze. “I haven’t been taking them for a month.” 

The weight of your confession hangs in the air, and you can see the surprise in his eyes. 

For a moment, Jimin remains completely still inside you, his eyes locked with yours, reflecting disbelief and a touch of awe. The depth of your confession catches him off guard, and you can see the range of emotions playing across his face. The intimacy of the moment deepens as he processes the significance of your words, the silence charged with anticipation and the weight of what this decision could mean for your future.

“I said I wanted your kids. I wasn’t joking. Now fill me up with your seed, Jimin.”

He slowly starts to move again, his breath coming out in short, measured puffs. Running a hand through his hair, he bites his lip in a mix of concentration and desire, his expression shifting from disbelief to raw, intense passion.

You feel the coil within you tighten rapidly. The pleasure builds swiftly, spiraling out of your control, and you find yourself unable to hold back. Without warning, the coil snaps, sending you crashing into another climax. You clench tightly around his cock, a moan of his name escaping your lips as you surrender to the wave of ecstasy that consumes you.

“Shit,” Jimin groans as your walls tighten around him, hugging his cock close. He thrusts into you a few more times, each movement charged with intensity, before he releases inside you, filling you with his seed. 

Jimin huffs above you, his breathing heavy as he pulls his sweaty bangs away from his face. A wide smile stretches across his lips as he gazes down at you, and you return the smile, your heart overflowing with love. He leans down to kiss you tenderly, his cock still nestled inside you, giving occasional twitches that make you chuckle.

His groan reverberates into your mouth as he whispers, “Wifey, I love you.” 

His voice is husky with emotion, and you can feel the depth of his affection in those simple words. The tenderness of the moment, combined with the enduring intimacy of your bond, envelops you both in a wave of warmth and love.

You chuckle softly, your voice filled with warmth and affection. “Hubby, I love you,” you say, your words a playful echo of his. 

Jimin gently pulls out of you, savoring the moment before he falls to your side, resting beside you. 

You feel some of his seed trickle out of you, but the sensation is a natural part of the intimacy you share, and you embrace it without concern. Turning onto your side, you face Jimin, and he mirrors your movement, meeting your gaze with tenderness. The simple act of being close to him fills you with warmth and satisfaction, the afterglow of your love making soothing your body and soul.

He notices the lingering traces of his seed on your face and gently brushes it away with his fingers, chuckling softly. “You still have some semen on your face,” he remarks playfully, his touch light and tender. “But you still look incredibly hot.” 

“And I’m sorry about your neck—it’s kinda purple now,” Jimin says with a chuckle, his fingers lightly tracing over the tender spot. You move closer to him, your hand finding his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath your touch. 

“I don’t mind,” you reassure him with a loving tone and a gentle smile. Your words are filled with warmth and acceptance, conveying that the marks are a sign of your closeness and shared passion. 

“We should probably clean up,” Jimin suggests, beginning to rise, but you stop him with a firm squeeze of your hand on his bicep.

“No, please just stay here with me. We can take a bath together later,” you plead, your voice soft and filled with affection. Jimin sees the warmth in your eyes and smiles, giving in to your request. He settles back down beside you, wrapping an arm around you. The comfort of being close and the promise of a relaxing bath later creates a sense of serenity, allowing you both to enjoy the moment of rest and closeness.

“You know, your vows were really beautiful,” Jimin says, his voice gentle and filled with exhaustion, love, and happiness. His words carry the depth of his appreciation for the heartfelt promises you made to him, reflecting the strong emotional bond you share. 

“Thank you. So were yours,” you murmur, leaning in to capture his plush lips in a tender, lingering kiss. The soft press of your lips expresses your appreciation and love, deepening the intimate bond between you and making the moment all the more special.

Jimin gently runs his hand through your hair, his touch soothing and affectionate. “What you said about home—I think you’re right,” he says, his voice soft and filled with contemplation. 

You give Jimin a questioning look. “Which part?” you ask, curiosity evident in your tone. Your eyes search his face, eager to understand which aspect of your heartfelt vows resonated most with him. 

Jimin takes a deep breath, filling his chest with the love that lingers in the air between you. “Home is where my heart is, and my heart is with you,” he says, his voice filled with emotion. His words echo your own from earlier, emphasizing the profound bond and shared understanding you have found in each other. 

“Oh, that part,” you chuckle, seeing Jimin’s eyes well up with tears once more. Your heart swells with affection as you lean in to kiss him. The soft brush of your lips against his ignites a cascade of tender, heartfelt kisses—one after another, until you lose count of how many times your lips have met. 

With your hands, you cup Jimin’s cheeks, feeling the warmth of his skin against your palms. His musky scent envelops you, filling you with a sense of deep contentment and love like you’ve never known before. Your heart seems to beat in perfect sync with his, an unspoken rhythm that binds you together.

His eyes shimmer with tears, but you find solace in the fact that you have each other. The unbreakable bond between you brings a profound sense of peace. You know with certainty that you will share your lives, facing whatever comes together. This bond is more than just love; it’s a soul-deep recognition that you have married your true soulmate.

Author’s note(2): Thank you so much for reading! 🌸 I would very much appreciate it if you reblogged the chapter, if you liked it ✨ A small review or a comment would also mean a lot to me, and even a like. But please, don’t be afraid to let me know what you think; your kind words makes me extremely happy 💜

Remember the Q&A that is coming in the Epilogue— if you want to send in some questions for the characters, you can do it now (in a few days I’ll write the epilogue) → Ask the characters (or me), anything ❣️

← previous | s.masterlist | m.masterlist |  next (epilogue) →

[olderthannetfic]

The ace asks about how asexuality and being aromantic is increasingly seen to mean "has sex and romance like a normal person" reminds me of the time I accidentally deeply angered an author. She had the tag 'asexual character' in her fic's tags, but since it's a 300k word long fic involving a lot of characters, it wasn't clear who that referred to right away. I left long comments on each chapter, talking about what I liked, sections that hit really hard, lines that I loved, etc., as I always do. (I like to ramble IRL and I can't turn it off even online.) At the halfway point of the fanfic, during a long comment about the OCs that helped flesh out the oft-mentioned but barely explored organizations and companies in the world of canon, I said that I hoped This One Specific OC or That Other Specific OC would turn out to be the asexual character, as I saw in them echoes of myself and a friend of mine (we're both ace).

She had never responded to a comment of mine before, but she did for that one... to yell at me about how the main character OC was aroace, actually. This was apparently supposed to be obvious since the word ace was used in the tie-in prequel fic, which I had held off on reading because the author's note mentioned it would have spoilers if you hadn't read the whole main fic. The character in question has a relationship not remotely different from any of the cishetallo or cisqueerallo relationships presented in the text. She develops a snarky sarcastic friendship with someone she finds visually beautiful and impossible to look away from, gets to know him a little, watches movies with him, they get into urban fantasy danger which they help each other through, they fuck and do so extremely regularly, and she has past exes who she also did all of this with.

And I was, apparently, a bigot with internalized aphobia and negative attitudes towards women who have sex because I didn't look at her and go, "Ah, yes, an aroace!" She informed me I was forcing unrealistic stereotypes no one adhered to onto ace people by thinking aces had to be a certain way and by refusing to see that

Her angry reply was so long it took three AO3 comments to send to me, and it didn't really make me convinced I'd misread the situation. It just made me convinced this wasn't an author I wanted to read more fic from, because 1. this is a lot of anger, holy crap and 2., I really think this is an excusable mistake on my part. I saw no signs this character was in any way different from any other couple in the fic beyond that she and her love interest didn't get to know each other's backstories as much and instead bonded more through experiences they shared, which in my opinion is not something that can be linked to any sexuality or lack thereof.

I feel like there's a moral in here. Like, authors, as a fellow author, I get that it sucks when someone else doesn't see the characters like you do, or misses something you thought was clear, etc. I get that it's frustrating. But don't rip into someone who's been gushing about every chapter of your fic individually just because they didn't catch one thing. I failed to realize one character's sexuality. That's not the same as hating you, the character or the writing.

Mostly I remember that incident as the day I stopped asking questions in my long comments. A sea of gushing does not make up for a mistake and the best way not to make those is to not ask if a tag relates to a character or line.

--

Oof. I mean, sure, there's a diversity of experience. Everything is a spectrum. Yada yadda. But if two labels become entirely indistinguishable, what's the point of even having them, much less getting mad when people can't spot the difference?

[midethefangirl]

i’m weak, so what’s wrong with that (reworked)

🏷️: fade to black, bireena, reference to toxic masculinity, and there was only one bed, touch starved bi han, author wrote this instead of sleeping 🤪💀💀

a/n: as noted in the previous version, this is inspired by @ladybug023 spy!Sareena headcanons. gotta give honour to whom it is due.

I know I said I’d upload this a few weeks back and I apologize for the delay. I was wrapping up my finals and I’ll be graduating this week, thank God! 🥰

enough of me rambling about my life, lol, I found myself rereading the previous version and I found myself cringing and I wanted to rework this. I just hope this turns out to be better than its predecessor.

again, I apologize for the delay and yeah, that is it from me.

tagging: @livingdeadgirly

word count: ~3.5k words

also on AO3 (if you’re like me and you despise reading long text on Tumblr)

“Stay still,” she said firmly, lightly pressing the warm wet cloth on his arm, cleaning up the slight gash on his upper arm.

A slight wince left Bi-Han’s lips, a glare on his face as he stared back at the woman before him. His eyes narrowed at the sight of her - her black hair with the white streak tied back to avoid them getting in the way and her face fixed in concentration. She was the reason why they were both here, in the first place - in this little shack in the mountains, hiding from the Tengu.

“You do not command me, woman,” he sneered and her head snapped up to meet him. Her eyes narrowed back at him before she rolled them.

“Maybe you should tend your injuries yourself then,” she gave him a sarcastic smile and almost then he was about to snatch the cloth away from her until she sent him a stare that read ‘are you serious?’

With a huff, he gave in, staying rooted. How can a woman be so infuriating and yet so intriguing? Even more so, how could he be so weak to fall for his protégée?

“We would not be in this situation if you had not chosen to defy me,” he changed the subject and she stared back up at him again.

She looked like she was about to say something but she bit on her full lower lip before turning back her attention to his arm. Almost then, Bi-Han wanted to reach for her head and feel her lower lip with his thumb.

So fucking pathetic and weak.

“We’d have been dead by now if we went with your plans, Bi-Han,” Sareena finally replied. “The Tengu are more advanced than what we had believed and they could have killed us both.”

He quelled the urge to protest even though he knew she was right. They were severely underprepared and lucky to have escaped with only a few injuries.

“We barely escaped with a few wounds, your plans would have our heads on a pike, Grandmaster,” her eyes rolled at his title. Okay, maybe not his title as his father, Zhāofēi still ruled the Lin Kuei.

Yet, he despised how his protégée held his soon-to-be title with contempt. It was a shame he could not punish her for that or even get rid of her - a doing of his father’s meddling. That she was his student was a headache on its own and another machination of his father.

Sareena had walked into the Lin Kuei, defeated a few initiates and managed to win over the hearts of everyone, including his father. For as long as Bi-Han could remember, Zhāofēi was not a man easily swayed by gimmicks and he would know that being the oldest son of the grandmaster.

And yet, all it took was her stepping in to take down her opponents for Zhāofēi to recruit her and place her under his tutelage.

“All done,” she announced finally and he snatched his arm away from her before turning away. “You are unbelievable, you know that?”

He did not need to maintain eye contact to know exactly what her facial expression was right now. He could imagine her supple lips pouting and her eyes narrowing at him as she carried that questioning look on her face.

How can anyone be this infuriating and yet pleasing to the eyes?

He could not lie to himself as much as he wanted to deny it, no matter how much. Those feelings he had kept hidden for the past two years of being her master threatened to break through the walls he had carefully built for years.

Bringing her along with him on this mission was a bad idea. Yet, he could not defy the grandmaster, not even if said grandmaster was his own father.

The relationship with his father has always been tense even before Sareena walked her way into the clan but the tension grew even worse the moment his father insisted on him taking her under his tutelage.

It seemed to be that despite the passage of years, the old man would keep on prioritizing outsiders over his own son.

First, it had been that orphan, the guilt of being partly responsible for the deaths of his family had clouded the judgment of an old man. That same guilt had led to him opening his home to Tomas, not just making him a member of the clan responsible for him being an orphan, but also adopting him as one of his sons.

Even a younger Bi-Han in his teenage years could see how fucked up that decision was on Zhāofēi’s part but he knew better than to question his father. Instead, he had distanced himself from Tomas.

Zhāofēi may have brought him in, made him wear the Lin Kuei insignia but Bi-Han had sworn to never acknowledge him as one of them.

It was so laughable how history repeats itself with Zhāofēi forcing another outsider on him and unlike Tomas whom he could keep his distance from, there was no way he could do that with Sareena.

He had tried every method in the book, from being not just literally but also metaphorically cold. He had even made sure his training was as tough as it could be, after all, he was infamous on the Lin Kuei for not holding back.

To his chagrin, Sareena could hold her own against him, although with a few bruises on her body as evidenced by her visits to the medical room.

To make it worse was this tight feeling in his chest that almost had him breathless each time she stepped into the trading room. That and that feeling which threatened to choke him each time he saw Tomas around her.

Tomas might believe he was hiding his feelings but to anyone who had eyes to see, they were so glaringly obvious that a blind man could see them.

As much as he hated to acknowledge the existence of the gray-cladded assassin, Bi-Han knew when to give the honor where it was due and Tomas was a formidable warrior in his own right. The man had been born without powers of his own and came into this clan a whimpering weakling after the old man had brought him in.

That had not stopped Tomas from training extra hard to prove himself, even to the point of using the ancient books and consulting the clan’s elders to acquire his own powers. If that was not dedication in itself.

But hell, was Tomas too obvious with his attraction towards Sareena. At best, Bi-Han could describe him as a pathetic puppy pining after its owner for a grain of attention. It was just annoying and pitiful to see. Like it is pitiful seeing you pant after her as well.

At least, he knew how to keep those feelings buried deep inside. Until now…

It had to do something with this stupid cramped up shack they found themselves in as a temporary source of shelter. He could only pray to some god out there, probably Liu Kang, that he made it out without succumbing to his weakness.

“Bi-Han.”

And there was his kryptonite at the foot of the door, her hand on the handle. She had an eyebrow raised at his earlier distraction. He could already tell that she had some witty remark in her arsenal by the twitch at the corner of her lips.

“Being distracted is not a good look for the future grandmaster.”

And there it was.

He scoffed, looking away from her. The door creaked slightly, immediately alerting him as he turned his attention towards the source of the sound.

“And where do you think you are going?”

“To patrol. I thought it would be best if-.”

“The Tengu would not find us here,” he cut in before looking up at her.

“You are so unbelievable, Bi-Han. Way too confident that the Tengu would not sniff out our location faster than a bloodhound,” she countered, defiant as usual and it grated on his already frayed nerves.

He was already on his feet faster than he could process it, his frame right in front of her.

“Must you always defy me, Sareena? Do you get a kick from this drivel?”

His stance coupled with his gravelly voice would have intimidated a clan member of a less position. But the woman before him did not seem phased by him and had quite the audacity for someone who was supposed to be his protegee.

“I may be your ‘disciple’ but that does not make me a blind follower of yours, Bi-Han. You cannot just assume we are out of the Tengu’s radar because we are in the middle of nowhere,” she shot back and he let out a huff of annoyance.

As much as he hated to admit it, she was right and it made him turn away as he muttered under his breath, “I will keep patrol and you stay here for the meantime.”

“But your injuries-,” she protested but Bi-Han could already see that from afar as he cut in.

“Will be fine, Sareena. Do not waste your time arguing with me,” he added with a warning tone and he watched her features relax as she pushed lightly at him.

He stepped aside, his eyes tracking her movement from where she was to the bed.

“Since you insisted, grandmaster,” she shrugged, taking her seat on the bed which was weirdly comfortable for one in a little cabin in the middle of nowhere. “Wake me up when it is my turn to take over patrolling.”

He said nothing, letting out a grunt as he made his way outside. It was the least he could do for now.

What was the mission again? Sareena found herself sighing as she melted into the comfort of the bed she laid on.

As much as she wanted to indulge in its comforting embrace and fall asleep, her mind kept on reminding her of how limited her time was. Quan Chi had to be growing impatient, given the kind of man he was.

Aside from the constant reminder of a certain Outworld sorcerer, there was the fact that this day also had to mark five Earthrealm years of Ashrah leaving the Netherrealm.

Being the closest to Ashrah, Sareena had been the first person the former had revealed her plan of leaving to, even extending the offer for her to escape the Netherrealm with her.

“Do you not want to see realms beyond the fiery skies?”

There were occasions when Sareena pondered on why she had declined. Maybe it was the fear of the unknown that held her back, after all, the Netherrealm was what she knew her whole life.

And there was Quan Chi ruling over the Netherrealm like the tyrant he was. The moment Ashrah had left, he had sent out fellow sisters to assassinate her. Given that none of them returned, it was safe to say that they had met their ends at Ashrah’s Datusha.

It had gotten to the part where the Sisterhood of Shadows dreaded being the ones called on to assassinate Ashrah. Aside from the likelihood of being killed in self-defense, Ashrah was still a sister regardless.

Even if she had made the conscious decision to turn her back on the Sisterhood, even if Kia forbade the rest of them from uttering her name, even if Ashrah was forced to have her sisters die by Datusha’s blade.

Five years had passed and now, Sareena found herself in the same position as she believed Ashrah had been those years ago. It had started so slowly like a seed planted in the ground of her heart and allowed to take root before germinating.

Yet, a lot of things hung in the balance, one of them being that she was a spy. She had infiltrated the Lin Kuei under Quan Chi’s commands, the sorcerer forcing her to choose between this or being ordered to assassinate Ashrah instead.

The sadistic smile that floated on the bastard’s smug face was enough to send chills down her spine. It was no secret that she and Ashrah were the closest and for Quan Chi to use that to blackmail her was a low blow.

Despite that, Sareena valued her life more than anything and had made the choice to infiltrate the Lin Kuei without second thoughts. If it mean not being killed by her own sister, then she had no qualms.

Yet, her conscience kicked right at her heart as the years went by. Initially, she had believed that her mission would be a flight through the Netherrealm but it turned out she had not considered the fact that she would get attached to the newfound family she had come to love in the Lin Kuei.

Despite it being her first day after getting initiated into the clan, Tomas had been the first to reach out to her. Then, Cyrax who was also known as Bontle Mohutsiwa had extended a hand of friendship towards her.

Coming from a dog-eat-dog world where the only person she had trusted on an intimate level was Ashrah, encountering these people posed a whiplash to her - a cultural shock.

She had found a new home which she knew would not last long. Not when they would eventually find out the truth of why she was in this clan. She dreaded just the thought of it, the thought of betraying them and the thought of proving Bi-Han’s suspicions right.

It was no secret that he looked down at her with disdain, the way he manhandled her like she was some obstacle to be eliminated.

Sareena had believed that it was understandable why he hated her. Tomas was also in the same boat as she was - they were both outsiders but in comparison, Tomas seemed to fare better as the worst he could get from Bi-Han was a cold silent treatment.

Maybe his disdain for her was not unfounded, she was a spy after all, although he did not know it yet. The truth always had its way of coming out.

The sound of light footsteps was enough to snap her out of reverie, her back almost against the wall as soon as Bi-Han walked in. The scowl on his face almost melted off as he shut the door behind him.

Wasting no time, Sareena’s feet were on the floor as she got down the bed when his raspy voice drew her attention.

“Just where do you think you are going?”

She paused, her eyes staring back at him in confusion.

“It is my turn to patrol, I believe so?” Her tone dropped with a hint of sarcasm as she asked, goosebumps forming on her arm as the temperature of the room dropped down a few degrees Celsius, her sign that that had not gone unnoticed.

“You’d be wasting your time, the coast is clear,” he dismissed with a wave of his hand.

“Still, I-.”

“Were you destined to be a pain in my ass?” He argued, his pointer pointing straight at her and Sareena could feel her blood boiling as she fought the urge to roll her eyes.

“Were you destined to always be…this?!” She shot back at him.

No doubt, he had taken an offence to that as his nostrils flared in fury, “And what is that supposed to mean, Sareena?”

Deciding that this was now or never, she squared her shoulders, also taking a dominant stance as she stared right back at him.

“Why do you hate me so much?”

“Why do you hate me so much?”

All the fight in him seemed to have left his body at that question, his brows furrowed at that question. He had expected any kind of question but that.

Why did he hate her? Did he even hate her anymore at this point? He scoffed, turning away from her. Maybe he did hate her.

He hated her for how weak she made him; he hated her for how she drove him to the point of insanity. He hated her for how she dominated his every sleeping and waking thoughts.

There’s a thin line between love and hate, someone had once said and Bi-Han had sneered at that quote, pondering on the nonsensical drivel of it all. Yet, he found himself an embodiment of that very quote.

This was a bad idea. Every part of this, from his father placing Sareena under his tutelage to the old man asking that he took her with him on this mission.

One, she had openly defied him in front of an enemy clan - the Tengu and fair enough, she was right to do so but that had bruised his ego in a way. His healing injuries throbbed as a reminder of that.

Two, he had made the error of thinking he could control himself around her and not succumb to his weakness. The fact that they were both in this shack with tensions running high and thickening the air just drove his point home.

“You know what I think of you?” Her voice broke through his thoughts and he slightly turned his head towards her. He wanted to shut her up, telling her he couldn’t care less what she thought of him but he stayed rooted anyway. “I think you are a coward.”

And there it was, his fists clenching in fury.

“You like me,” she continued and his heart rate accelerated like that of a man on adrenaline rush. “You think you hate me so you can push me away.”

She knew.

“Don’t resort to those delusional thoughts to make yourself feel better,” he sneered, turning to fully face her.

“I’ve seen weaker men fight for their love, grandmaster. Men who would burn the world for the ones they love. You, on the other hand, not even the Tengu-,” she pressed on and that was it from him as the last bit of control snapped like a delicate thread holding the two parts of a rope together.

She let out a yelp as his hand gripped her by the neck, tilting her head back as his lips met hers in an aggressive kiss.

For the first time, Bi-Han felt the tension flee his body, his hand leaving her neck now as the initial aggression was toned down for something else.

A groan escaped him the moment he felt Sareena’s hand roaming his chest and the other moving to let his dark hair down. She had taken over, her lips moving against his until he felt himself pushed down on the bed.

That was new and his clouded mind was the reason why he stared in confusion, his body feeling strangely warm despite the cryomancy that ran through his veins.

His eyes made contact with Sareena’s, her face looking more serene than his with a smirk on her lips. The only thing betraying her seemingly calm composure was the slight heaving of her chest as she straddled him.

“Lost for words, grandmaster?” She cooed, her use of his title not posing a source of aggravation to him for the first time.

He was indeed lost for words, panting like he had just ran a thousand miles. He definitely looked pathetic in her eyes yet that did not bother him a bit.

Her hand crept up to his neck and the irony was almost laughable at this point considering he had first kissed her with a neck grip in a kind of power move.

Her lips met his again, her hips grinding against his and he could already feel his length hardening just from that.

She pulled away from him, a short chuckle bubbling from her throat.

“I have barely touched you, Bi-Han,” she whispered, her hand now moving down to his crotch and his breath hitched as his body shuddered. She hesitated, staring at him, “Do you want this?”

He wanted to growl out in frustration, why was she asking him? He had kissed her first, the fact that she was touching him should be enough proof of his consent. Besides, he could not trust his words.

“Just- fuck, yes,” he groaned. It was his first time doing something like this, another side effect of him focusing on his being the next-in-line.

At least, his inexperience did not seem to drive Sareena away as her hand was back where he needed it to be.

“First time?”

There was a teasing glint in her dark eyes and if not for the heady lust which clouded his mind, he’d have glared at her. Maybe he did because she teased him even more with a gentle squeeze which made his breath hitch.

“I’ll be gentle, if that is assuring,” Sareena stared down at him, her hands leaving him momentarily as she reached to pull off her clothes.

At that moment, Bi-Han felt like a teenager all over again. The thrill of the mission always had the blood rushing through his vessels but this was an odd but not unwelcome feeling that had him going through what might as well be an adrenaline rush.

Maybe he could give in to his weakness for this one time.

a/n: ...so, how did that go? I hope to also rework out of control soon, hopefully, that will not take three weeks for me to do that (let us just hope) and if you want to be on my tagging list, please, let me know. and as usual, constructive criticism is welcome and thanks again for reading. 😄❤️

[ashdoesfandomarchieved]

like lets talk about kudo count.

in several fandoms i've seen blogs complain about the fact that they don't get enough comments/kudos on their fanfiction. which is a reasonable cause for upset (i suppose, i don't really suffer from terminal need attention syndrome), but the second you start making your fanfiction about the engagement between you and an audience of readers is the minute you've lost a game that doesn't even exist.

fanfiction is nonprofit. it's supposed to be fun. when i see a creator in the same fandom as me, writing for the same pairings, i don't feel this sense of competition that other blogs seem to have. i get FREE CAKE THAT I DIDN'T HAVE TO MAKE. that's literally the best possible outcome.

is it nice to get comments and kudos on your work? absolutely! you put effort into that fanwork, you deserve to have people look at it and tell you what they thought! but if you're just writing fanfiction for that reason i can absolutely promise you aren't going to have a fun fandom time.

people who think fanfiction is a competition die by my sword