#I had a lot of fun writing this and I might ever do a longer version 👀 if you’re interested

[floccinaucinihilipilificationa]

Hey hey hey may 31th anon! How's 2024 going? ☆ヾ(*´▽｀)ﾉ This year I have for you a leaked Sherlock season 5 image. Thinking of you!! And everyone!!

[loveinstreams]

silver + charlie adamo/hank mccain

“I should get you a ring.”

Hank almost crashed the car on the side of the road.

“What?” He squeaked. “The hell you’re talking about? “ He scoffed, giving Charlie the side-eye while trying to hide his confusion. The other man merely shrugged. “Well, he started, any proper gang leader has one. Makes them look rich and important and intimidating, especially if it’s one of those big chunky rings. Makes you wonder what kinda mark it’s gonna leave when he punches you, y’know?” There was a small grin over his lips and Hank mirrored it.

“Don’t think I wanna look like that fat Italian Don you used to work for.”

“Of course not. But to be fair I don’t think you’d pull it off even if you tried, shorty.” Hank tried to smack him with his hand, eyes on the road. He was still smiling though.

“Ok smartass, why the fuck would I wear a ring anyway?”

“It would help us I think. Make it seem like there’s more than just the three of us on those heists. Like you could have a whole crew behind your back ready to pounce.” Hank wanted to argue that they didn’t need to. That it was good enough like it was. Just him, Charlie and Rosemary against the rest of the world. But somehow Hank couldn’t bring himself to say it. Something in the way Charlie was staring at him on the passager seat. In the way he felt his palm sweat over the leather of the wheel at the thought of Charlie wanting to buy him a fucking ring.

“How do you even plan to get that ring?” He asked instead.

“Hummm, I have a few ideas.” He sounded like he was talking about something else than jewel robbery, somehow. Hank couldn’t figure what though, but who the fuck talks about stealing precious goods in that kind of voice? Hank tried to not to go down that train of thought.

“I don’t know, man.” He chuckled nervously. “Besides, what would Rosemary think?“ He shot Charlie a smirk, trying to joke, but the man just hummed pensively. “Guess I’ll have to ask her too.”

Hank didn’t know how he felt about that.

—

A few weeks goes by, they continue their business as usual and Hank had forgotten everything about that stupid ring. Until Charlie drops a little red box on the bed beside him one late afternoon.

“What is that?” He asks, looking away from the machine gun he’d been polishing.

“It’s for you, Charlie says, almost sheepishly, got it after our last job.” Hank shots him a questioning look. How the hell did you manage without me noticing?, he wants to ask, but then remembers Rosemary and how good she is to hide things from him. God dammit.

He puts down his gun and takes the little box in his hands.

“Go on.” Charlie whispers, encouraging.

Hank opens it.

It’s silver. That’s the first thing he notices. It’s silver and round and shines so fucking bright. When the light hits it just right Hank thinks it could blind someone. It’s not big though, it looks small and elegant, with no fancy design or anything. But it’s been polished in a way that makes it reflective all around.

“Here, Charlie says again after a few seconds of silence. Let me-“ He sits down besides Hank on the bed, taking the little red box from his hands and Hank cannot fucking talk, doesn’t know how to, because Charlie is pulling the ring out and taking Hank’s hand in his own and ever so gently he-

The ring slides perfectly on his finger.

“How’s it?” Charlie asks, almost whispering.

Hank moves his fingers, feeling the weight of it, how it hugs just right. How it just seems to be made for him.

“How did you-?” He can’t finish the question but Charlie winks. “Well I can’t tell you all my tricks, boss.”

They both snort at that, letting go a bit of the tension between them.

“Guess I’m gonna have to act a Don now.” Hank chuckles, still not looking at him. “Nahh, Charlie says, still too short for that.”

They fall in comfortable silence. Hank can’t stop staring at the ring, transfixed by its polished shine. The smooth surface twinkles when Hank moves his hand. Even here, on his calloused finger, the silver band looks pretty and…pure.

“Do you like it?” There’s something in Charlie’s voice, hidden behind his usual assurance. Shyness. Anxiety. Hank’s words are stuck in his throat again. He can’t talk about this, doesn’t know how to, doesn’t have the skills or even the fucking knowledge. He’s better with actions, gestures. Kissing Rosemary is always easier than telling her.

So Hanks nods. That seems to satisfy Charlie who grin, says he’s glad and starts to get up. Hank stops him by the wrist.

“Charlie-“ he starts, but the other man raises a hand to stop him.

“You don’t have to say it.” His smile has turned soft around the edges. “I know.”

He lets go, turning to the door and leaves Hank there with his silence.

—

The next day, when Rosemary sees the touch of silver on his hand she doesn’t say anything, but happiness is written all over her face. And when Hank sees the same warmth in Charlie’s eyes, he welcomes it and smiles back.

[denimbex1986]

'...“It’s fun playing bad, but actually he’s not,” the actor says, smiling as he reflects on his character, Crowley. “He’s a villain with a heart. The amount of really evil things he does are vanishingly small.”

...As it always has, “Good Omens” dissects the view of good and evil as absolutes, showing viewers that they are not as separate as we were led to believe growing up. Aziraphale and Crowley’s long-standing union is proof of this. The show also urges people to look at what defines our own humanity. For Tennant — who opted to wear a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Leave trans kids alone you absolute freaks” during a photocall for Season 2 — these themes are more important now than ever before.

“In this society that we’re currently living in, where polarization seems ever more present, fierce and difficult to navigate. Negotiation feels like a dirty word at times,” he says, earnestly. “This is a show about negotiation. Two extremes finding common ground and making their world a better place through it. Making life easier, kinder and better. If that’s the sort of super objective of the show, then I can’t think of anything more timely, relevant or apt for the rather fractious times we’re living in.”

“Good Omens” is back by popular demand for another season. How does it feel?

It’s lovely. Whenever you send something out into the world, you never quite know how it will land. Especially with this, because it was this beloved book that existed, and that creates an extra tension that you might break some dreams. But it really exploded. I guess we were helped by the fact that we had Neil Gaiman with us, so you couldn’t really quibble too much with the decisions that were being made. The reception was, and continues to be, overwhelming.

Now that you’re no longer bound by the original material that people did, perhaps, feel a sense of ownership over, does the new content for Season 2 come with a sense of freedom for you? This is uncharted territory, of sorts.

That’s an interesting point. I didn’t know the book when I got the script. It was only after that I discovered the worlds of passion that this book had incited. Because I came to it that way, perhaps it was easier. I found liberation from that, to an extent. For me, it was always a character that existed in a script. At first, I didn’t have that extra baggage of expectation, but I acquired it in the run-up to Season 1 being released… the sense that suddenly we were carrying a ming vase across a minefield.

In Season 2, we still have Neil and we also have some of the ideas that he and Terry had discussed. During the filming of the first one, Neil would drop little hints about the notions they had for a prospective sequel, the title of which would have been “668: The Neighbour of the Beast,” which is a pretty solid gag to base a book around. Indeed there were elements like Gabriel and the Angels, who don’t feature in the book, that were going to feature in a sequel. They were brought forward into Season 1. So, even in the new episodes, we’re not entirely leaving behind the Terry Pratchett-ness of it all.

It’s great to see yourself and Michael Sheen reunited on screen as these characters. Fans will have also watched you pair up for Season 3 of “Staged.” You’re quite the dynamic duo. What do you think is the magic ingredient that makes the two of you such a good match?

It’s a slightly alchemical thing. We knew each other in passing before, but not well. We were in a film together [“Bright Young Things,” 1993] but we’d never shared a scene. It was a bit of a roll of the dice when we turned up at the read-through for “Good Omens.” I think a lot comes from the writing, as we were both given some pretty juicy material to work with. Those characters are beloved for a reason because there’s something magical about them and the way they complete each other. Also, I think we’re quite similar actors in the way we like to work and how we bounce off each other.

Does the shorthand and trust the two of you have built up now enable you to take more risks on-screen?

Yes, probably. I suppose the more you know someone, the more you trust someone. You don’t have to worry about how an idea might be received and you can help each other out with a more honest opinion than might be the case if you were, you know, dancing around each other’s nervous egos. Enjoying being in someone’s orbit and company is a positive experience. It makes going to work feel pleasant, productive, and creative. The more creative you can be, the better the work is. I don’t think it’s necessarily a given that an off-screen relationship will feed into an on-screen one in a positive or negative way. You can play some very intimate moments with someone you barely know. Acting is a peculiar little contract, in that respect. But it’s disproportionately pleasurable going to work when it’s with a mate.

Fans have long discussed the nature of Crowley and Aziraphale’s relationship. In Season 2, we see several of the characters debate whether the two are an item, prompting them to look at their union and decipher what it is. How would you describe their relationship?

They are utterly co-dependent. There’s no one else having the experience that they are having and they’ve only got each other to empathize with. It’s a very specific set of circumstances they’ve been dealt. In this season, we see them way back at the creation of everything. They’ve known each other a long time and they’ve had to rely on each other more and more. They can’t really exist one without the other and are bound together through eternity. Crowley and Aziraphale definitely come at the relationship with different perspectives, in terms of what they’re willing to admit to the relationship being. I don’t think we can entirely interpret it in human terms, I think that’s fair to say.

Yet fans are trying to do just that. Do you view it as beyond romantic or any other labels, in the sense that it’s an eternal force?

It’s lovely [that fans discuss it] but you think, be careful what you wish for. If you’re willing for a relationship to go in a certain way or for characters to end up in some sort of utopian future, then the story is over. Remember what happened to “Moonlighting,” that’s all I’m saying! [Laughs]

Your father-in-law, Peter Davison, and your son, Ty Tennant, play biblical father-and-son duo Job and Ennon in Episode 2. In a Tumblr Q&A, Neil Gaiman said that he didn’t know who Ty’s family was when he cast him. When did you become aware that Ty had auditioned?

I don’t know how that happened. I do a bunch of self-tapes with Ty, but I don’t think I did this one with him because I was out of town filming “Good Omens.” He certainly wasn’t cast before we started shooting. There were two moments during filming where Neil bowled up to me and said, “Guess, who we’ve cast?” Ty definitely auditioned and, as I understand it, they would tell me, he was the best. I certainly imagine he could only possibly have been the best person for the job. He is really good in it, so I don’t doubt that’s true. And then my father-in-law showed up, as well, which was another delicious treat. In the same episode and the same family! It was pretty weird. I have worked with both of them on other projects, but never altogether.

There’s a “Doctor Who” cameo, of sorts, in Episode 5, when Aziraphale uses a rare annual about the series as a bartering tool. In reality, you’ll be reprising your Time Lord role on screen later this year in three special episodes to mark the 60th anniversary. Did you always feel you’d return to “Doctor Who” at some point?

There’s a precedent for people who have been in the series to return for a multi-doctor show, which is lovely. I did it myself for the 50th anniversary in 2013, and I had a wonderful time with Matt [Smith]. Then, to have John Hurt with us, as well, was a little treat. But I certainly would never have imagined that I’d be back in “Doctor Who” full-time, as it were, and sort of back doing the same job I did all those years ago. It was like being given this delightful, surprise present. Russell T Davies was back as showrunner, Catherine Tate [former on-screen companion] was back, and it was sort of like the last decade and a half hadn’t happened.

Going forward, Ncuti Gatwa will be taking over as the new Doctor. Have you given him any advice while passing the baton?

Oh God, what a force of nature. I’ve caught a little bit of him at work and it’s pretty exciting. I mean, what advice would you give someone? You can see Ncuti has so much talent and energy. He’s so inspired and charismatic. The thing about something like this is: it’s the peripherals, it’s not the job. It’s the other stuff that comes with it, that I didn’t see coming. It’s a show that has so much focus and enthusiasm on it. It’s not like Ncuti hasn’t been in a massive Netflix series [“Sex Education,”] but “Doctor Who” is on a slightly different level. It’s cross-generational, international, and has so much history, that it feels like it belongs to everyone.

To be at the center of the show is wonderful and humbling, but also a bit overwhelming and terrifying. It doesn’t come without some difficulties, such as the immediate loss of anonymity. It takes a bit of getting used to if that’s not been your life up to that point. I was very lucky that when I joined, Billie Piper [who portrayed on-screen companion, Rose] was still there. She’d lived in a glare of publicity since she was 14, so she was a great guide for how to live life under that kind of scrutiny. I owe a degree of sanity to Billie.

Your characters are revered by a few different fandoms. Sci-fi fandoms are especially passionate and loyal. What is it like being on the end of that? I imagine it’s a lot to hold.

Yes, certainly. Having been a fan of “Doctor Who” since I was a tiny kid, you’re aware of how much it means because you’re aware of how much it meant to you. My now father-in-law [who portrayed Doctor Who in the 80s] is someone I used to draw in comic strips when I was a kid. That’s quite peculiar! It’s a difficult balance because on one end, you have to protect your own space, and there aren’t really any lessons in that. That does take a bit of trial and error, to an extent, and it’s something that you’re sometimes having to do quite publicly. But, it is an honor and a privilege, without a doubt. As you’ve said, it means so much to people and you want to be worthy of that. You have to acknowledge that and be careful with it. Some days that’s tough, if you’re not in the mood.

I know you’re returning to the stage later this year to portray Macbeth. You’ve previously voiced the role for BBC Sounds, but how are you feeling about taking on the character in the theater?

I’m really excited about it. It’s been a while since I’ve done Shakespeare. It’s very thrilling but equally — and this analogy probably doesn’t stretch — it’s like when someone prepares for an Olympic event. It does feel like a bit of a mountain and, yeah, you’re daring to set yourself up against some fairly worthy competition from down the years. That’s both the challenge and the horror of doing these types of things. We’ve got a great director, Max Webster, who recently did “Life of Pi.” He’s full of big ideas. It’s going to be exciting, thrilling, and a little bit scary. I’m just going to take a deep breath.

Before we part ways, let’s discuss the future of “Good Omens.” Gaiman has said that he already has ideas for Season 3, should it happen. If you were to do another season, is there anyone in particular you’d love to work with next time around or anything specific you’d like to see happen for Crowley?

Oh, Neil Gaiman knows exactly where he wants to take it. If you’re working with people like Gaiman, I wouldn’t try to tamper with that creative void. Were he to ask my opinion, that would be a different thing, but I can’t imagine he would. He’s known these characters longer than me and what’s interesting is what he does with them. That’s the bit that I’m desperate to know. I do know where Crowley might end up next, but it would be very wrong if I told you.

[At this point, Tennant picks up a pencil and starts writing on a hotel pad of paper.]

I thought you were going to write it down for me then. Perhaps like a clandestine meeting on a bench in St James’ Park, but instead you’d write the information down and slide it across the table…

I should have done! I was drawing a line, which obviously, psychologically, I was thinking, “Say no more. You’re too tempted to reveal a secret!” It was my subconscious going “Shut the fuck up!”

[spinningwebsandtales]

Imagine Going On A Date With Hangman

Jake 'Hangman' Seresin X FemReader

Rating: T

Warnings: Teasing, mentions of an abusive relationship in the past, tooth rotting fluff

Word Count: 1.9k

Part 1: here

Taglist: @chaoticcassidy, @the-marshals-wife, @hotch-meeeeeuppppp

(A/N:) I have been lagging behind on my writing here lately as my artwork has been taking the majority of my time. I'm in the process of opening an Etsy store because all my creations are starting to pile up and I live in an area that people aren't interested in fandom things. So I'm taking matters in my own hands. But I am going to keep writing! Being able to write these fun imagines is something I love doing and won't give up for anything! So I'm going to try to write more and to my bestie who wanted a second part of the last Hangman imagine here is that date part you wanted! I have two more requests in store so keep an eye out! Until next time happy reading! ~Countess

The setting sun and crashing waves were your only companions as you sat on a bench outside The Hard Deck. You couldn't remember what really possessed you to agree to Hangman's request, and you were really questioning what had gotten into you as he was naturally late. You tapped your foot, glancing at your phone to see what time it was. You decided to give him a moment longer, before you gave up and went home. You had just placed your phone back in your purse for the tenth time when a pickup pulled into The Hard Deck's small parking lot. You rolled your eyes, knowing it was just another bar hopper when the driver side door swung open. Boots thudded against the ground as you lost yourself in the search for your keys in the bottomless purse you lugged around.

"Hello," the familiar voice cut through your grumbling.

"You're late," you hissed

"Fashionably," Hangman retorted.

Giving him a once over," No just late."

"If I wasn't so confident in myself that would have hurt my feelings."

"Confident and inflated ego are two totally different things," you crossed your arms.

"Sure," Hangman grinned. "Sorry I'm late it won't happen again."

"So confident that there will be a next time?"

"Absolutely."

You hummed, zipping back up your bag. You came all this way and waited this long. No sense in going home now when he just got here.

"Okay flyboy," you held out your hand. "Woo me."

Without hesitation Hangman took your offered hand, kissing your knuckles before leading you towards the passenger side of his truck and opening the door. Once you were seated in the passenger side, Hangman shut the truck door. Naturally he pumped his fist and raced around the front to the driver side. You couldn't help but laugh, though you did roll your eyes. Sliding the keys into the ignition and starting the truck, letting the diesel engine rumble for a few seconds you waited until Hangman started to shift into reverse.

"So what do you have planned for me this evening?"

He shrugged looking out the back window as he steered the big truck out of the parking lot. "I thought we might go bar hopping."

"Seriously?!" Any thought of you enjoying tonight and that Hangman would actually be pleasant for a change went out the window. Maybe you were having a moment of naivety that night you said yes. Now all those what if's and worrisome thoughts started to avalanche in your mind, until Hangman started to laugh.

"I'm joking," he coughed. "Don't worry I have a fun night planned.

"Now I'm worried what your definition of fun is," you retorted cheeks flushing red in anger.

"Lighten up sweetheart I won't do anything you don't want."

Your teeth began to grind and you were really starting to question your sanity. "Has anyone ever told you that they'd like to throat punch you?"

"I'm sure but they never voiced it,"

"Well let me tell you I really want to throat punch you."

"Good to know we're off to a good start tonight! First something to eat."

Despite being a storm of rage in the passenger seat from Hangman's teasing it didn't take long before he was able to ease you into a simmer. You watched the scenery go by while Hangman told funny stories from work. Though you drove these streets for years, you never really got to enjoy the sights as you were always too focused on the road to notice little details. Hangman could tell that you weren't really paying attention but it didn't stop him from talking. You had your arm resting on the center console, finger gently tapping to the music on the radio. He smirked to himself when he got caught at another red light.

"Are you listening," he asked.

You just replied with, "Hmmmm?"

"I'll take that as a no," he scoffed before glancing once more at your digits tapping even harder against the hard plastic. The stop light still glaring red in the night that was settling in, he eased his hand over yours, stopping your fingers movements before he interlaced your fingers with his. You jumped, quickly glancing over. Instead of saying a word at your shocked face he placed gentle kisses to the back of your hand. The light turned green, but he didn't release your hand as he drove on. You paid a little more attention to the conversation though your heart was pounding loudly as you kept glancing from the vehicles passing by to your hand swallowed by Hangman's much larger and calloused hand. You breathed a sigh of relief when the restaurant came into view and Hangman parked the truck.

"Stay," he demanded before hurriedly getting out and racing to your door.

You rolled your eyes but just waited. He opened the door with a flourish before offering you a hand to help you out. With you "safely" on the ground, Hangman slammed the door shut and locked the truck up. For the third time in the evening he took your hand, walking hand in hand to the entrance.

"You know you don't have to go so far for me," you said.

"Of course I do. You agreed to go out with me and I want you to be treated the way you deserve," he retorted still gripping your hand while he opened the restaurant door for you as well.

"Oh please don't make me gag with the goody two shoes act you cocky jerk," you laughed.

The hostess waved a server over as soon as you both walked in, cutting off Hangman's reply by leading you both to a table. You noticed that it wasn't an overly stuffy restaurant. You could tell by the smells coming from the kitchen that they had good food but it was still a comfortable enough atmosphere that you didn't have to worry about snobby rich people sneering at your comfy clothing choice. Once seated and your drink orders placed you raised the menu to start browsing. Usually you could decide what you wanted pretty quickly but tonight you were shaken by the way Hangman was acting so it was going to take you a minute to concentrate. The menu was suddenly slapped down onto the table. Hangman kept his hand pressed against the laminated paper making sure you couldn't hide behind it. You felt a little guilty for what you said before you both were interrupted just a moment ago.

"It's not an act," he glared. "I'm being genuine right now, just for you. I've wanted this for awhile and I don't want to do anything to mess it up. I'm sorry I was late. I was so nervous that I didn't know what I wanted to wear or where I should take you until last minute. I've been flustered since the moment you agreed outside The Hard Deck."

At the beginning you would have chalked it up to Hangman teasing you once again, trying to get under your skin. But the sincerity in his eyes made you realize that this wasn't act. He wasn't just saying these pretty words to get you to let your guard down so he could strike. He was being real and you wanted to melt into the floor as you now felt like an absolute jerk.

"I'm sorry," you mumbled fighting back the sudden tears stinging your eyes. "I shouldn't have been such a jerk to you."

"It's okay I really gave you a reason to be so defensive but I really want to try."

"It's not you," you sighed body shaking. You were about to continue on when the waitress came back and set the drinks down on the table. You hadn't even gotten to glance at the menu but without missing a beat Hangman ordered sending the waitress back off with the orders.

"Trust me I come here a lot," he grinned. "And you don't have to tell me. The Navy guys pretty much know some guy took advantage of you. We don't know any hard details but just know, we have your back no matter what."

Once again the pilot left you speechless, "Thank you."

He nodded leaning back in the chair he was sitting in. Without a second thought Hangman moved the topic to something else and in a matter of seconds he had you laughing and joyously conversing with him until the food made it to the table. And true to his world it was absolutely delicious and now you wanted to come back as soon as possible.

With full stomachs Hangman lead you back to the truck. The night had settled in fully before he once again held open your door. He didn't shut it immediately this time.

"Can I take you to a movie?"

"Absolutely!"

After the delicious dinner and a fun movie you realized that you didn't want this date to end. You couldn't remember the last time that you had enjoyed yourself so much. And if you could tell that Hangman wasn't ready for you to get out and leave in your car just yet.

"Think we can go take a walk on the beach for just a little while," you asked.

He perked up, eyes shining brightly he nodded.

You held your shoes in one hand and Hangman's hand in the other as the cooling sand shifted between your toes. The crashing waves on the beach sent little salty sprays in the air as little crabs scuttled by.

"I can't remember the last time I had so much fun," you breathed in deeply.

"Getting to fly is pretty fun," Hangman drug the toe of his boot in the sand. "But this is a different type of fun. I wouldn't want to share with anyone but you."

You faked a gag, "Ugh so sappy!"

He laughed," You have no one but yourself to blame. You shouldn't be so pretty."

"Oh puh-lease Hangman," you laughed. "You don't have to just say that."

He cupped your cheeks, hushing you immediately. Hangman stared down at you seriousness and a little bit of anger simmering in his gaze. You swallowed loudly, unsure of what to do in such a situation.

"Stop putting yourself down," you all but snarled. "You're amazing and I wish you could see it."

You never had someone say things like that with such conviction and it had you a little emotional. Hangman pressed his forehead against yours. Taking in your presence as your soft cheeks warmed his palms.

"I wish you could see yourself the way I see you," he whispered. Placing a tender kiss on your forehead, you shivered against the contact of his warm lips against your skin. Hangman leaned backwards taking in your face before pulling you in closer. His breath brushing against your lips. He leaned in closer, claiming your mouth with his. The beach a perfect backdrop as the waves made their crashing applause against the sandy beach that suddenly became your favorite spot. Seconds later Hangman parted from you before holding you tightly.

"Thank you," you melted in his hold.

"Can we do this again soon," he whispered afraid of the answer you'd give him.

"The dating or kissing," you teased.

"Both. Lots of both."

"I'm ready whenever you are flyboy."

Hangman squeezed tighter," So tomorrow?"

You nodded, "Definitely tomorrow."

[bunnywritesjunk]

Hiiii love got sent here by a lil birdie that told me you can fulfill my ghost x hybrid bunny reader request here 🥹💀💗

Honestly wanna know how ghost would handle a bratty bunny that’s going through heat, but is too stubborn to go to him about, when seriously he’s alway down to tame that insatiable lil beast inside of heerrr 😋🤞🏽

Thank you so much for writing anything period, seriously. 🐰💗

Hello my fellow bunny. I had a lot of fun writing this. I'll probably do more hybrid reader stuff if people request it. I feel like Ghost would be a bit of a meanie in this situation, he's a brat tamer for sure. I hope you enjoy!

Warnings: Heat, helping through heat, unprotected sex, Hybrid!reader, edging, bratty reader.

A helping Hand

Your ears twitched as the sun poured in through the window. You sat up in your cot rubbing the sleep away from your eyes. You sat up, your pajama shirt sticking to your bedding with pools of sweat. You padded off to your bathroom immediately hopping in the shower. Dull cramps in your lower stomach made you groan.

“Oh, not now. Please.” You pleaded with your biology.

You've been taking suppressants for your heat ever since you moved to this base. You gave your body a break and went off suppressants when you were on leave but this time something or someone had triggered your heat. You had a sneaking suspicion as to who it is. Being a weapons mechanic meant you didn't have to be around people very often. As long as a certain someone wasn't here you should be ok. You finished your cold shower and got dressed for the day. You tucked your ears under a cap and hid your tail in your pants. Although there were other hybrids on base, you didn't exactly want to display your rabbit features everywhere. You walked quickly to your station, avoiding any soldiers that might come your way.

You entered the weapons room and got to work. You had a few gun inspections to do. The real work wouldn't come until Ghost and his squadron came back from their mission. They were scheduled to arrive in two days, but you prayed it took them longer than that. Ghost would smell your heat, the embarrassment of having to ask him was too much. You weren't some needy bunny, you can handle your heat alone. After a few inspections were done you wrote up your paperwork for them the be cleaned and handed out for the next mission. Being engrossed in work took your mind off your impending heat.

First, you smelled him. The faint scent of Ghost. No, he wasn't supposed to be back yet. He slammed open the door unceremoniously placing all his weapons on the nearby table. Crap you kept your head down and hoped the smell of gunpowder covered your heat.

“Miss me, bunny?” You could practically hear the smirk in his voice. His wolf tail had a slight wag to it.

“You're back early, how was the mission?”

“Easy, mostly recon.” He sighed.

You gestured at the guns he put down. “I'll get those checked out for you.”

Ghost walked up to the counter you were behind and leaned on it.

“You had lunch yet?” He asked. You shook your head.

“Come on then.” He headed toward the door.

“I'm not that hungry, you can go without me.” You didn't meet his eyes.

“Hmm.” He slowly walked behind the weapons counter blocking the only exit.

“Is there something wrong?” He asked in a matter-of-fact tone.

“No, why would there be anything wrong?” You shrugged.

He leaned down to your level, his eyes peeking at you through blonde eyelashes. You backed up as far as you could only able to get a few more inches away from him.

“You're not a very good liar, bunny.” He stood up to his full height and walked out, leaving you flustered and hot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the day went by painfully slow. Your heat intensified after Ghost paid his visit. It came over you in waves, almost causing you to double over at times. You considered asking him for help many times but ultimately decided against it. After work was done you practically ran to your room. You'd already asked your supervisor if you could have the next few days off, explaining the situation. You opened the door and shut it quickly behind you before shedding your clothes off. Your tail ached from being hidden all day. Your fuzzy ears stretched out, one stayed straight up and the other folded down. You flopped down onto your bed eager to use your toys.

You reached into the drawer on your bedside table, only to find nothing. You sat up and searched frantically. Where did you put them? This is bad. You looked under your bed, in your bathroom, in your dresser, nothing. The frustration started getting to you. Your eyes welled up with tears as you looked. Your feet thumped in anger every time you looked and they weren't there. As you checked your bathroom for the third time a knock sounded at your door. You grabbed your robe as you were only in underwear and slipped it on. You stomped to the door and wiped your tears before opening it.

A skull mask was staring down at you. Ghost held up a familiar velvet bag and leaned on your doorframe.

“Looking for something?”

You reached up to grab the bag but he kept it out of reach.

“Give it to me, Simon!” You whined.

He pushed himself off the door and into your room closing the door behind him. The blonde shaggy tail wagged lazily behind him, clearly amused by your distress.

“Now, why didn't my bunny come to me for help?” He asked.

Your ears folded down against your head in embarrassment. “I don't need your help.”

He walked past you and put your toys back in the bedside drawer. He started taking off his gloves.

“Ok, thank you for returning them, you can leave now.” You said.

He placed his gloves on the nightstand. He turned to you, his eyes darkened. He stalked toward you slowly almost as if he was ready to pounce. You looked away from him but held your ground. He towered over you and tilted his head.

“You always were a little brat huh?” His words annoyed you.

Before you can give him a rebuttal he took his mask off giving you a full view of his scarred face. He grabbed your jaw roughly contrasting the gentle kiss he gave you. His tongue caressed your mouth open. Your knees weakened as he pulled you flush against his body by your waist. Your heat urged your body to submit, but your mind wasn't there yet. You pulled away breathlessly. He still had a firm hold on the side of your face.

“I don't need your help, Simon.” You said once again quietly.

Simon's golden ear twitched in annoyance. “Right.”

He picked you up by the hips and wrapped your legs around his waist. He walked you to your bed, embarrassment written on your face. He laid you down on the bed, pressing his hips into yours. You whimpered at the friction he created. He leaned down to nibble and suck your neck making you squirm. His hand made its way past your robe and into your panties with ease. Your wetness made it easy for him to dip his fingers into you. You gasped at the intrusion, practically melting into the mattress.

“Don't need my help, but you're so wet for me, Bunny.”

“I bet you were gonna think of me anyway.” Simon purred into your ear.

You moaned weakly as he worked his finger into you, his thumb circling your clit gently. His nose grazed your own, taking in the look of ecstasy on your face. Your orgasm came quickly and with force. Simon knew exactly what buttons to push to get you shivering under him. He unsheathed his fingers from you and popped them in his mouth, tasting your slick.

“Tell me what you want.” He demanded.

“ I...Simon..." You whined.

“Tell me, Bunny.”

You covered your face muffling your words.

“I can't hear you, love. Speak up.”

“Please help me.....through my heat....”

“That's more like it." He purred.

He opened your robe and slid your panties off. In his haste, he ripped them a bit and you whined. You ignored your small protest and worked on your bra removing it expertly.

“I'll buy you some new ones.” He said quickly.

Ghost shed his clothing and flipped you over on your stomach.

“Ass up.” He tapped your hip.

You got on your knees arching your back deeply to present yourself to him. You wiggled your ass eager to have him inside you. He used a hand to steady your hips and slid his tip in between your folds. He slowly pushed himself into savoring the way your walls clenched around him.

“Ohh, you feel so good, Bunny.” He growled.

You were almost incoherent, the daze of your heat clouding your mind. You pushed your hips against his trying to get more friction. Simon bottomed out into you and started thrusting into you hard. He kept his pace slow at first, slamming his hips into yours. His tip grazed your cervix in a deliciously painful way. You whimpered every time it did. As his pace sped up, Simon's sighs turned into grunts and moans. He enjoyed watching your fluffy bunny tail bounce as he rammed into you.

“You take me so well.” The praise he gave you made your walls flutter.

He reached around your leg to rub your clit. Your moans got more desperate and guttural as your second orgasm approached. He slowed his movements ever so slightly to drag your pleasure out longer.

“I wanna cum Si, Please.” You whined.

“Only when I tell you, Bunny. You know the rules.” He grunted out.

“And since you didn't come to me first, you need a little bit of a punishment hmm?” You could hear the smirk in his voice.

His thrust slowed, still keeping them firm. His hips slapped against your ass rhythmically. Your moans got higher pitched, his edging did a number on your heat-ridden body. Your legs trembled underneath you, the stimulation becoming more intense by the second. Luckily he didn't torture you for long.

“Cum for me.”

Simon's pace sped up and you came almost instantly. Your vision was fuzzy as you collapsed onto the bed. He bent down and caressed your head as you recovered from your orgasm. Simon rubbed your ear lovingly.

“I'm not done with you, Bunny.”

[howcouldmuffin]

Drought.

In a relationship with him feels like being in hell, so you shouldn’t ever go back there again.

PAIRING : Modern!Gwayne Hightower x Fem!Reader

WARNING : NSFW, Modern AU, Toxic Relationships, Open Relationships, Mentions about the use of alcohol and drugs, Sex Content

AN : I had a lot of fun writing drama for these characters, and as always, I hope you enjoy this piece. Love.

please be kind to me English is not my first language.

You glance at your watch again. It’s 8:14 PM, and there’s still no sign of your boyfriend. Not even a shadow. How many times has he been late like this? You feel like crying right here in the middle of the café, but it would be pointless.

After sitting a while longer, you see the person you’ve been waiting for rush into the café. There’s a red mark on his neck, clearly a kiss, and he smiles at you without the slightest hint of guilt. You’re furious at his attitude, as if he has no idea how much you want to scream at him.

“Sorry I’m late, babe.” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “Kiera wanted help picking out her outfit for the party tonight.”

Seriously? He’s using the new friend he met just a month ago as an excuse, when you’ve been telling him about this movie for half a year. Heaven help you, you’ve never felt so invisible.

“I told you not to be late, but you still managed to do it.” you say sternly. “I should have never expected anything better from someone like you, Gwayne.”

“I’m sorry.” he replies. “Why don’t you go see the movie alone? You should’ve known I’d be late anyway.”

“The tickets are with you, idiot.” you snap, gathering your things from the table and standing up to leave.

“Oh, and Alicent asked me to remind you about dinner with her family tomorrow. Make sure to pick her up before you go.” With that, you walk out of the café, fuming that he can’t even manage his time between his friends properly. Prioritizing is clearly not his strong suit.

Before long, you realize that tears are streaming down your face. You didn’t want to cry over this again. Realizing that you might not be important to him hurts deeply, and lately, your conversations with him have dwindled. You barely even talk on the phone anymore. Are you two still even together?

"Really? I can't believe he's late all the time, but when it comes to family dinners, he's always punctual." Alicent, says.

"For heaven's sake, was he late again?" Rhaenyra adds.

"And what am I supposed to do? He's just like that." you grumble. "It would be nice if he could show up on time more often." As you finish speaking, you notice your classmate walking into the cafeteria, and since there are a few things you need to discuss with him, you quickly get up and walk over.

"Theo, do you have a minute? I wanted to talk about Professor Flint's assignment." you say. You've been paired with him for group work several times, and besides Rhaenyra's group, he's probably the person you're closest to.

"Sure! But let me grab a coffee first, then we can head to the library to chat."

"Sounds good, I need to return a book there anyway." you reply. "I'll be right back, I just need to grab my bag." Theo nods in agreement, and you quickly head back to your table to get your bag. You find your boyfriend sitting there, chatting with your friends. Ignoring him might not be the best move, but you're not in the mood to talk to him right now.

"Where are you going?" Gwayne asks.

"I'm working with a friend." you reply, reaching for your bag, but he grabs it first. "Gwayne, give it back, my friend's waiting."

"The guy with glasses?" He holds your bag behind him, refusing to give it back.

"Yes. Now, can you return my bag?"

"I'll give it back if you agree to have dinner with my family tonight." he says, clearly more concerned with getting his way than with your schedule. You can't believe you agreed to date this guy.

"I have work to do this evening." you say, trying to grab your bag from behind him, but he doesn't let go easily. "Gwayne!"

"Come on, there's still time to finish Professor Flint's assignment. You should come with us." Alicent chimes in, trying to persuade you on her brother's behalf. You sigh deeply before finally agreeing to go with the two siblings. At last, you get your bag back.

"If you're late to pick me up, you're not getting away with it."

It's another time you find yourself waiting for him at this restaurant. Today is your birthday. You’re hoping he’s just caught up with something or stuck in traffic. You don’t want to think that he might have forgotten this important day. You glance at the watch on your wrist again.

There’s less than an hour before the restaurant closes, but the person you’re longing to see is still nowhere to be found. Maybe waiting a bit longer won’t hurt. Maybe he’s just busy and is on his way to you.

“Excuse me, our restaurant is about to close. Would you like to take the remaining food home?” a waiter asks, noticing that the food on your table has barely been touched.

“No, thank you.” You nod, stand up, and leave the restaurant, unsure of what to say or do next. Just as you step outside, you see your boyfriend approaching the restaurant, and you decide to walk away before he can see you—but unfortunately, he catches sight of you.

“Don’t go, babe! Wait!” He hurries over to you. “I’m so sorry, I forgot about our date.” he says, stopping right in front of you.

“Do you even remember what day it is today?”

“What day?”

You take a deep breath. “It’s my birthday.”

His face immediately falls. Damn it. Tears well up in your eyes, and finally, they start to spill over. Seeing this, he reaches out to wipe your tears, but you push his hand away.

“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, babe. I messed up, I know.”

“Is that all you can say, Gwayne?” you cry.

“I just thought you usually celebrate with your family or your friends—”

“So is it wrong that I wanted to celebrate my birthday with my boyfriend? Is it wrong that sometimes I can do things on my own, but I just wanted to do it with my boyfriend? I’m your girlfriend, Gwayne. Am I still your girlfriend?” you sob, your voice trembling as the tears run down your cheeks.

“Maybe the importance I give to you, I just thought that—” you hiccup.

“No, babe, no. Don’t say that,” he says, stepping closer and trying to hold your face to make you look at him.

“I just thought… maybe we should go back to being just friends. That would match the level of importance I seem to have for you.”

He tries to hug you, but you push him away. He starts to say all sorts of things, but you’re not ready to listen to any of it. You’ve cared about his feelings too much, to the point of neglecting your own. You’ve prioritized him too much, more than yourself. You just need a break. You just want to stop this for a while.

It's been weeks since you last replied to any of his messages. You avoid him every time you see him in the hallway, and you've been hiding out in your room, not going out with friends. You know this isn't the right way to handle things, but you just don't want to face him or anyone else who might ask you about him.

You find it incredibly difficult to accept that you no longer have any status with Gwayne. It's hard to pretend that you don’t care about him anymore, even though you still love him deeply. But you're hurt by the way he treated you, hurt by the lack of importance he placed on you. It feels like you're dying a little inside every time you see his face.

“Do you really think avoiding him is a good way to deal with this?” Rhaenyra asks, as she listens to the professor's lecture in class. “Alicent told me he’s been going out every night, coming back drunk and smelling like women’s perfume every time.”

“What are you trying to say, Nyra?” you turn to her. “If he can forget about me quickly and finally live the life he wants, then that’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

“Don’t you know? He calls out your name every time he comes home, and he asks about you whenever he sees us.”

“Why don’t you just answer his questions for your friend?” you reply. “Just tell him whatever. He’ll be fine without me, even if he’s not sleeping with me anymore.”

“But—”

“The professor is going to ask a question, Nyra, if you don’t stop.” you cut her off. She goes quiet, turning her attention back to the lecture, just as you said.

After class ends, you rush to pack up your things and wait for the right moment, when everyone is leaving the room, to sneak out and avoid your ex, who is waiting for you outside.

“Get dressed. I’m picking you up tonight.” Rhaenyra says suddenly. “You can’t miss the party tonight.”

“But—”

“If you don’t come, I’m not talking to you again, ever.” Then she walks away, leaving you with no room to argue.

You glance at the mirror in your room. You're wearing a fitted grey mini dress under a thick black jacket, paired with patterned black tights and black high-heeled boots. Your hair is beautifully curled, but you still decide to bring along a red hat.

Rhaenyra was right. Hiding away and staying in your room forever isn't the right way to handle things. So, you decide to take a step forward, an important one. But before you can think too much about it, your phone buzzes with an incoming call from Rhaenyra. She must be outside your house by now. You answer the call and tell her you're coming down. After one last check in the mirror, you wish yourself good luck.

When you arrive at the party, the music is overwhelming, mingling with the voices of countless people indulging in drinks or something else to escape into their imagination. Nyra leads you to a sofa in the middle of the party, where people are already waiting, including Gwayne.

"You're late." Alicent says. "And once again, you're the most stunning person here." She looks at you and invites you to sit beside her on the sofa. Your ex has been staring at you non-stop since you walked into the room, making you more than a little nervous.

"I'll go get us some drinks." Alicent says, getting up and walking away. You silently hope that Rhaenyra won't leave you alone too, but fate always has a way of testing you.

"Well, I'm going to grab something to eat." your friend says. "I'll bring something back for you." And with that, she walks off.

Now, it's just you and Gwayne left sitting there, exactly as you'd feared. He moves over to sit next to you, and you slide away until you're at the edge of the sofa, but he just moves closer. You eventually stop trying to get away.

"You look amazing tonight." he compliments you. "So stunning that I'm completely blown away."

"Thanks!" you reply curtly, picking up your phone and pretending to do something, though you have no idea what app to open. It’s hard to think straight when someone is staring at you so intently.

"Can you please stop staring? I don't like it."

"Okay, okay." he nods and looks away. "Want to dance to a song?" He turns back to you. Seriously? Can't he take a hint that you’re not in the mood to talk?

"No, and don't follow me." You stand up and walk around the party, receiving smiles from some people who then turn back to their conversations. What's so interesting about your relationship anyway? You wander around but don’t see any sign of your friend.

You decide to grab a drink and something to eat. The party is still in full swing, with everyone riding high on hormones. Some are even close to throwing up, but thankfully, you dodge them in time. Eventually, you find a quiet spot where you can use your phone without being disturbed.

After a few hours, you notice that the crowd is thinning out, and you start spotting your friends. You decide to step out onto the balcony for some fresh air. Looking down, you see the pool area filled with intoxicated people, some of them passionately making out.

You hear someone walk up beside you. At first, you don’t pay attention until you notice the eyes watching you.

“Nice night, isn’t it?” Gwayne says, pulling something out of his pocket.

“You smoke?” you ask. “Since when did you start smoking again?” Your concern slips out before you can stop yourself.

“For a while now.” he replies.

“You quit before. Why start again?” you turn to him, not understanding why he’d want to hurt himself like that.

“No one’s around to stop me.”

“Then stop yourself.”

“Why don’t you come back and stop me?” He leans in closer, and closer still. You don’t move away like your mind tells you to, but you don’t respond to him either. When his lips meet yours, your body responds instantly, craving the familiar taste. You can't deny how much you want him too.

Not sure what kind of new beginning you want, you lean in and kiss him passionately on the bed. As you settle around him, you hold his face gently, ensuring he remains close to you. Slowly, you grind against him, feeling the firm pressure beneath your hips, your movements deliberate and intoxicating.

Gwayne squeezes your hips, it makes you cry out, seals with his mars on your buttocks, you gently rub his neck to the abdomen tightly with his muscles and stiffness under your hips.

He took his hand off your butt to the area of your chest. “No bra?” He rubbed his finger around your nipple. It made you moan a little. You slowly move yourself from him and move down to the bottom.

“It's very hard” you stroking the center of his torso, touching it slowly and knowing the suffering caused by yourself.

“It's just like this with you.”

“Lie” you swipe down his pants, his cock almost bounces off your face.

Even if you see it often, it's not used to its size.You slowly use your hand to rub it up and down slowly, his voice moans a little before kissing it around the head and using your tongue to lick at that point over and over again, using your hand to rub it up and down faster than the same rhythm before you suck it a little and use your tongue to play with it again.

“That's it, baby.” You speed up your hand more and more and more of your ton to lick around it. He finally cums out in your mouth. He took a tissue paper by the bed to support it for you to spit it out.

“Good girl.” as you're dealing with yourself, he kisses your neck and then chases after your collarbone, and makes a kiss mark on your body as if it were a work of art.

Gwayne slowly pushes you to lie down on the bed. He pulls your dress up to your waist. He plays with the crevice in the middle of your body. You open your mouth. He knows your body too well.

He finally pulls out your panties and tights slowly and it makes you very horny, he uses his hands to separate your legs and lick to your cunt, fingering your clit, your moaning is loud all over the room.

He starts to fuck you by inserting his finger, from the first finger to the second finger, you feel the pressure, but it also feels really good, he starts to move his finger in and out more quickly, and his tongue licks your clit, you grab his head, expressing your feelings.

He makes you like going to heaven, your hips are slowly rising along his mouth and fingers, you finally twitch and orgasm, he licks every drop that comes out.

“You're so sweet.” he said. “next to start entering the real game, beautiful.”

He took off your dress and squeezed your chest slowly and licked it to your nipples intently, you could feel the hardness dragging along your crevices, it almost lost your mind, you opened your mouth and moaned to the heaven he gave.

He slowly put it in. "It's very tight." Your moaning is both coordinated. His cock went deep in the point that will definitely make you can’t walk. Your legs are shaking and losing control. But your consciousness is almost no longer left. It's all white in your opinion.

His hips hit your hips and it's getting faster and faster. Your eyes meet, and with a shared, unspoken desire, you both lean in and kiss deeply once more.

The lewd sound is loud all over the room. Your legs are intertwined. Hold the one above you tightly. He broke the kiss and moved down to leave a mark on your neck, one that everyone will definitely notice tomorrow.

"Gods! Gwayne-" His speed was faster, he grabbed it to your waist and grabbed it, slamming fearlessly in pain.

“Together” you nodded in response to him, he finally cums, he pushed his hips even deeper and his seeds flowed into you, you and he kissed again, a fiery and intoxicating embrace that left both of you breathless.

You get up, your legs visibly trembling. You slowly adjust your outfit and head to the bathroom for a personal moment. Before long, you come out and put your underwear back on where it belongs.

“You should stay here.” Gwayne says as he puts on his shirt. “I really want to hold you.”

“No, we’re not anything.” you reply.

“Do you want me to show you again?”

“Gross, Gwayne.” You decide to lie back down on the bed.

“What’s better than falling asleep with sweet dreams and holding my girlfriend?” He lies down beside you and hugs you tightly.

“I’m not your girlfriend.”

“Then forgive me, and we can get back together.”

“I’ll never forgive you until you change, Gwayne.”

“As you command, princess.” He kisses your cheek, and you both fall asleep.

[writella]

Trinkets; The Gifts of Gold He Gave You

Synopsis: A detailed record of all the special objects Daryl has found for you while hunting, riding, supply gathering, and living in the various places he has in the new world. These objects often lead to sweet moments of kindness, joy, and understanding between the two of you, deepening your connection. Although they are things others might not think much of— they were simply small gestures or trinkets after all— you believed these memories and mementos to be gifts of gold; they would shine in your mind forever onward.

Details: Daryl Dixon x fem!reader, mutual pining, kisses, lots of love and ♡ sweetness ♡ (true self indulgence at its finest), but there are also descriptions of trauma, abuse, and self-hate. Though other than that, it’s nothing else except Daryl being an endearing friend and future loverboy to you. This travels across the plot and setting of season 6-8, but it might not be a perfect fit. Lastly, even though these can be read anthologically, I did write them in a storyline as if there was an order in which Daryl gives or does these things with the reader as their relationship grows, so some past trinkets might be mentioned in the next story, but it truly isn’t too big of a deal; this is one you can have fun with! ♡

Author’s Note: My dearest reader, this one took much longer than I intended, but I think it’s because I put so much of my silly heart-filled imagination into it— truly one of my favorites to write thus far. I’m just so happy to give it to you. Feel free to read these all at once, one at a time, or pick the ones that best fit who you are. with love, writella . ♡ ⋆ ☽

Trinkets moodboard & visualizer here!

Trinket No. 1: The Ribbon ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚ ⟡.•

A Bow from a Bowman

Daryl was out on a hunt one morning when he found it. It’s like he was compelled to pick it up, he did it without even thinking. It was nothing, honestly: kind of silly really, and flimsy, slightly covered by grass blades— it was dirty and discarded. But there was something about it, something tender… it reminded him of you, even though in some ways still, he hardly knew you at all.

It had been over a month since Daryl came back home to Alexandria; just a month since you entered what was supposed to be your new home. But also a week or so long journey it had been to unexpectedly find you and bring you back.

He remembered it well: you were covered in dirt, tired and hungry, running for your life from the past group you were with. He was going to let you go and mind his business— you looked scared of him anyway when you crashed into him. But most importantly, he had just lost his crossbow, his bike, and maybe even a little bit of his dignity to Dwight who stole them. He didn’t feel like getting tricked again, especially since it takes a lot to trick him; he wasn’t letting that happen again. Especially not the day after. And most especially not for a seemingly young and innocent-looking girl like Dwight’s wife, Sherry or that kid they were with, Tina.

But then, he heard the yelling, the hollering, the men– they wanted you, and none of it was for the right reasons. Very wrong and scary reasons they were indeed, ones he would soon come to understand were things you’d never want to live out or discuss again. He understood that feeling, so he stayed. He hid behind a tree. He decided to help again. Who knows of your innocence, but what was definitely true was that you were a lost and lonely girl in the woods. He knew a thing or two about those unfortunately, those stories ended badly.

Sad enough, the hiding and helping— or attempting to— led him to become a prisoner with you and your ‘group.’ He barely got scraps of food, and every night was just another day of seeing your tears, your face in a permanent state of desolation and misery; staying ever silent even when you were yelled at— even when you were forced to do things you didn’t want to do. You looked scared and small.

It was only when you all reached a hospital, one you burned to the ground just to get away from them, that Daryl saw the fight in you. You didn’t even ask for his help and he tried to save you, but in the end, you saved him. A silent soldier, you were. He returned the favor with the least he could do: he took you home.

And now there you both were. You sat by Rick’s fireplace. No one was home yet, and you had just put Judith down for the night. Daryl found you there on the floor with a book. He quietly sat near you. All you two said was hello.

And this was normal, actually– the being around each other, showing up unannounced, sitting beside each other– talking or not– or you, trying to help him with whatever work he was up to. He tried to fight it at first, but it became a regular thing. It’s what helped Daryl get to know you, and you to him.

You were equally as fierce as the fire you created not long ago, but just as gentle. Just as desiring to smile and create friendships. He knew that now. And he— he was just as rock solid and straightforward as the crossbow he once carried, but just delicate. Just as easily hurt and as quick to hide, yet so deeply desiring of loyalty and acceptance. You know that now too.

It’s still so soon, but you admired him, so deeply. You wanted to learn from him. You thought he was strong, and you wanted to be strong. All that anguish and pain and he came out a fighter, a leader.

Little did you know that is exactly what he thought of you. He went from seeing you cry yourself to sleep every night to becoming the kind and generous friend you were to almost everyone you met. Always offering to care for Judith, or allowing Carl to come to you to talk, or learning about guns and shooting with Rosita. And of course finding a way to go on supply runs, or learn to hunt, or fight walkers with Daryl as much as you could. As always, he pretended not to care that much, but he did. He couldn’t help it. He values his independence, but it was nice that there was someone who wanted to be around him so much. And he admired you for his own reasons as well: You’re someone who fills others up with lightness when such dark things have happened. He felt like that every time you two we’re together. He wanted to learn from you too.

As he sat there, thinking, he wondered if maybe that’s why he thought of you when he saw it. Maybe it was the brightness and softness of it, despite finding it on the ground, despite it being dirty. He cleaned it up, and it still shined, that’s like you but… he was still unsure. Maybe it truly was nothing, maybe it was stupid.

He looked to his side, watching your figure for a moment as he decided what to do. You were on your stomach, laying on the small rug that sat in front of the fire. You were continuing the chapter you were on, paying little attention to him. He only said ‘hey,’ after all. And you did wave back, you asked him how his day was, but all he gave you was a typical response, ‘fine,’ he had said. You thought maybe this visit wasn’t about talking so you left it. And all of this was typical anyway, for Daryl to come by Rick’s, or for you two to sit in peaceful silence, but then you started to see him fidget in his spot in your periphery, like he couldn’t decide how he wanted to sit, hands adjusting his jeans, moving things in his pocket.

“Do you wanna go to the porch?” You thought maybe he was reaching for a smoke. “I can put on the baby monitor…” He just shook his head at the suggestion.

You decide to move to the spot next to him, leaning your back against the wall. “Did something happen today?” Your voice was soft as you tilt your head, trying to reach his eyes.

“No,” he shook his head again, he was facing forward. “It’s just…”

“What?” You asked calmly.

He found it hard to speak, “Just- just brought something.” He reached into his pocket one last time, his hand in a fist as it made its way closer between the two of you until he started to release his fingers from his palm slowly.

It was a ribbon. A pearly light pink one. Just scattered in his hand. “It’s stupid,” he grumbled quietly, trying to shove it back down his pocket, but you stop him.

“Wait,” your hands gently cupping the other side of his and then you pick it up, letting him go. You wrap the ribbon around your finger and you tie it into a bow, examining it in your palm now. “This is for me?” Soft disbelief enchanted your voice. You made sure not to sound too excited or too surprised. You didn’t want to scare him, especially since he replied with:

“It's nothin’.” He was feeling slightly embarrassed.

“It's so nice,” your voice continued in its understated tone despite your smile becoming uncontainable. You couldn’t help the way your lips were curling upward, it was even hurting your cheekbones to try to make your teeth shine through a little less— Daryl Dixon just gave you a gift. And it was a little pink thing at that. Perhaps miracles are real. “It's perfect,” you say, “I can wear it in my hair.”

“It's stupid.” He repeated, brushing you off, but you saw right through him. Daryl doesn’t do anything for no reason at all.

“It's not.” Your words are so kind as your interject, “You know, sometimes it's the smallest things that mean everything. They become our favorite things even.” Your lips pressed together, forming another smile as he meets your gaze, “Like your vest that needs to be patched up.”

“It's fine,” he almost sounded defensive. It made you laugh.

As messed up as it is, it truly was fine. It was his and he loved it; that made it so. And he didn’t only have the vest, he also had his cut-up button-downs, and those ties he laced on the bottom of his jeans— you knew those were probably because the pants available didn’t always fit all the time, but nonetheless— these were all things that made him and his clothing unique from the others. Even in the apocalypse, Daryl was one of the few that maintained a personal style. You couldn’t help but love it. He could, and often always was, the guy covered all in dirt and grim and blood but he still had something about his look that was simply just him.

You missed that. Having those personal touches, and now here Daryl was with this. The simplest thing, but he brought it for you. It was your special piece, your special something. It truly was perfect.

“C’mere,” Daryl gestured, taking the ribbon from your hand and moving your shoulders so your back faced him. He undid the bow and cuffed your hair, he actually almost yanked your head with the way he gathered the ponytail, honestly– he forgets his strength, but you said nothing. Only giggling slightly, but you were mostly quiet. You tried to keep it down, afraid he might stop if he thought you were making fun of him. You wanted to reel at the closeness for as long as you could. You couldn’t believe the fact that he was doing something so domestic— you almost couldn’t breathe. He tried to detangle some pieces with his fingers and then he tilted his head to the side to leave some shorter pieces out at the front. He didn’t know what he was doing and he probably was doing it badly, but he tried his best to be delicate. He’s never touched you like this before. Every time his fingers accidentally brushed against your ear or your neck he relearned just how soft you are. And every feeling of his skin almost made you shiver; like when someone whispers in your ear, it always feels so sensitive, traveling down until you feel it everywhere. His touches felt like that. You always end up feeling his everywhere. He’s entrancing, filling you with hearts and stars.

Finally, he ties the ribbon into a bow right at the top of the ponytail he created. He’s done. He lets go. They shapes and colors fade. Everything is cold again.

But to him, everything looked warm and vibrant. Looking at you was a sight so sweet and so gentle among all this dark wreckage of the world— it was precisely how he saw you: the way the ribbon now laced around your hair looked like an angelic embrace.

You turn to him, “Thank you, Daryl.” Your smile is so sincere, so lovely, there might as well be a halo and hearts invisibly drawn all around you.

A moment passes as you continue to look at each other and your heart jumps. He’s still looking directly at you. There are moments that he looks away and you can’t help it, the bashfulness creeps up on you two, but he’s giving you all his attention; it feels great. You decide to take the chance, you can't help yourself, you hug him, you have to. It has been so long since someone gave you something. So long since someone thought of you so specifically and intimately.

He’s caught off guard, his hands don’t wrap around you until a few seconds later, but when they do, they are sure, and tight, more sure of it than you surprisingly.

You breathe him in, giggling again, “I’m surprised you smell this good.”

“Fuck you.” It makes you laugh just a bit louder, it’s the nicest ‘fuck you,’ you’ve ever heard. Its tone has a hint of sincerity in tandem with humor in just the same way you delivered your line. He shakes his head, “You’re silly.”

He lets you go and you turn away, but it’s only just a little. He watches how the ribbon lays right where he put it again, seeing the side of your face light up with your rosy smile as you sway your head. You’re trying to not make it obvious that you want to feel the wag of the bow and your hair back there so you do it slowly, it just feels so cool and so pretty. You liked it so much. You didn’t even know what it looked like yet, but it already made you feel more like yourself. Like a part of you that had left before this world began— it fit well like a missing piece finally snapping into place. It was your unique touch and he found it for you. He did it for you. Just for you.

For me, you repeated it in your mind, he found it just for me.

Trinket No. 2: The Lesson ō͡≡o˞̶ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Turnpikes, Gunshots, and Dreams

You had asked and asked for weeks with no let up. It made you start getting creative with your pleas: “You know, Daryl, we really should be teaching each other our skills,” you had insisted, sarcasm lining your voice. No one else in the group knew how to ride yet they were doing just fine, but you were incessant, “You never know what kind of situation we’ll be in where we might need it… I could die,” your hands raise as your voice does, “and your bike could be my only escape but I wouldn’t even know how to ride it!”

He would always just stare at you blankly, ignoring you, especially when you got dramatic like this right before you two were leaving. “Get on or stay,” he would say, “go help Rosita or somethin’.”

You’d grit your teeth and get on regardless.

But then one day, one lucky, lucky day for you— it was your earnest approach, and your silly smile, and sun-filled eyes that got the best of him as they looked up to meet his darker ones. “Please,” you said, stretching out the word, it was just as cheesy as your smile. He looked back at you from his front seat as you continued, “I just want to feel capable and- free… I don’t know,” but you did, you meant it and felt it from deep inside you. “To know I have the option I wanted to… I… I didn’t really have those before.”

He was still for a moment and then he nodded, restarting the ignition. You guessed that was another no until you started to ride past the walkers that lined the outer gate. “An hour,” he said, his eyes forward as the trees became a blur to both of you, “then we gotta get work done.” You wrapped your arms around him tightly, you only used to cup his waist or hold his shoulders, but you felt fearless today, head leaning against his back and neck, arms hugging around his torso. He finally said yes.

As time went by, you had gotten comfortable with completing your drills. You learned the controls, how to shift gears, how to waddle and power walk with the bike, operate the clutch, throttle, and lift your feet up, riding on a straight path all by yourself. Turns were still hard though, and the fact that Daryl always insisted you think about the worst-case scenario wasn’t the greatest either. He’d look you dead in the eye, his voice clear and unrestrained from his usual grovels as he said, “If a herd is comin’, or people are shooting, or if there’s something tryin’ to crash into you, you need to think about how you’re going down. Decide on what won’t fuck you up completely, then do it. ” He always got way too close to your face without realizing it in those moments, his finger almost crashing into your nose as he vigorously pointed to get the idea across.

“If something goes down, I’m not arguing,” you say. “You'll be in front.” You meant it, your voice was quiet, you understood.

But really, you didn’t: “If something go down, either of us should be able to do it.” He paused to make sure you got it this time, “That's the point.”

As if you didn’t already sense it, this was the first time you absolutely understood that Daryl was serious when he decided to do anything. Full commitment. Start to finish. You said you wanted to learn, that you wanted to be capable, then that’s exactly what he was going to teach you. You would take it seriously too.

Soon enough, Daryl allowed you to ride out of the gates of Alexandria first instead of switching off after you got a few miles out. You were getting better. So much so that today would be a different day, he explained. Daryl wanted you to ride to the Hilltop. This would be the longest distance you’ve ever rode. A whole 23 miles. But before you guys got there he would steer you in the direction of a turnpike: he wanted to practice speed, and most crucially for you, right and left turning.

His weapons and guns were strapped to his lower body, some on his thigh holster, and a machine gun over his back, all just in case, and his hold on your waist was fixed as you rode. It made you feel like a child and such a little teenager all in one with how excited you would get. Not only were you becoming skilled at riding a whole fucking motorcycle, but you were the one he was holding onto this time and it was the longest amount of time he was holding you at that.

As you reached the turnpike, he guided you around the semi-circular road. Continuing on, you saw a few walkers in the distance. He told you to speed up, there was enough space on the road and there were only four of them, they were far away anyway.

You looked back at your surroundings, other than those four, the road was pretty clear other than some broken down, discarded cars. This accidentally became a lesson on tight turns and swerving too.

Some of your turns were abrupt as you tried to go around the cars, it made you nervous. You knew it was okay not to be perfect, but it was still a little stressful to make mistakes when a master was watching behind you.

“Relax,” he’d tell you, sometimes putting his hands over yours on the handles and helping you out. “You got it.”

You went on and as the walkers approached closer, an idea arose. It was probably irresponsible, but you joked anyway, “Daryl,” you whisper-shouted with fake suspense, getting his attention. “We’re on a mission. Got to take those guys out before they get to Rick!”

He chuckled a bit, shaking his head. He leaned in closer as you leaned forward, gaining speed. One arm wrapped around your hips in totality, hand placed firmly there as the other reached for his gun, extending his arm out as you two got closer to the walkers. You two turned to face them as Daryl pulled the trigger: one shot each, straight in the head, “Got ‘em.”

You gasp, your laughter sounding so wild and fun and unrestrained in a way it hasn’t been heard by either of you before. “Is it bad if I say I hope we find another one?!”

“No, that was fun,” he agrees understatedly, trying not to fully give in. You couldn’t even see his face, yet he was trying to hide a smile.

And you were too. It was all too much honestly. You were balancing riding and having Daryl right behind you, holding onto you, trusting you to do something he’s never let anyone else do before; and you just proved you both could probably kill it in a high stakes situation. Well, maybe not, this was very, very low stakes, but still, it made you believe. You decided to ride the high, quite literally as you kept going, shouting back: “Imagine us in battle?”

Oh, wait— your grin fades slightly, you immediately regretted it after you said it. The point of this life was to try to find a way to live, not always fighting to survive. Maybe that wasn’t the best thing to say.

The silence makes you feel like an idiot until Daryl speaks up, both hands now on your hips, thumbs pressing into your back, “If we were in battle,” he almost whispers into your ear, “we’d be their worst fuckin’ nightmare.”

You feel your smile practically reaching your ears. “We’re a team,” you say, the humor coming back to your face now, the shine in your teeth reflecting the sun as it always does. “A dream team.”

A dream… Maybe. You definitely were at least, but that is a thought he doesn’t let come to the forefront. He let it go. But it was true… something about you felt unreal to him. The way you wanted to be around him this much, so interested in the things he does; he still didn’t get it, it almost felt unbelievable. He wondered when it was going to stop. When he would wake up. He didn’t want to wake up. The thought grows, he can’t avoid it now: you are a dream. One he didn’t even know he wanted.

Trinket No. 3: Lucky Charms ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Flying Away With You

You gasp excitedly, “The Eiffel Tower!” You hold the bottom up to the light as he still holds the top. “Nice,” you say with bright eyes, “I found the Statue of Liberty in the mom’s jewelry box and a few others that weren’t on her charm bracelet.” You showed him the mother’s sterling silver and he showed you the daughter’s that he found. “I guess they were traveling family… or wanted to be.” You feel a heaviness behind your eyes after you say it.

You loved collecting these charms, but sometimes there was a sadness to it. Like you were collecting other people's tokens, little pieces of their personalities and their stories, keeping it as your own. It almost felt invasive. But it was something that you and Daryl did together. You liked that. Another thing that made you feel close to him… Maybe this was like keeping their memory alive? You may not have known them or know what happened to them, but you were giving something that they loved new life. The charms did make you happy, after all. Especially because it was Daryl that got you into it. But it was also you who got Daryl into it too.

You both can recall the first day it all started: He found it incredulous that you cared more about a little piece of jewelry you saw in the dirt rather than the bigger thing that was right by it: the deer Daryl just shot, the one that you two had been tracking for what felt like hours.

His face twisted up to you as he collected his bolt from the body, “We just caught a deer, and you’re lookin’ at that?”

“We just caught a deer for the first time in months and this was right by them… it’s literally good luck!” You held the gold sun charm to the actual light source it was designed after, “Look at us… Lucky charm, dream team, remember?” Your smile was just so wide after you said it, he let his slight irritation go. It was easy actually, he was always taken aback by that smile. It still wasn’t that long ago when he thought you weren’t the type to do so, like him most of the time. He had only seen you sad, but now, I’m Alexandria, you just glowed. Eyes and an essence as bright as the sun, and that smile, all teeth and just as pearly as the moon… The charm was perfect for you and it needed its match. Maybe a star too. He would find it.

He still remembers where he found those. He came across a silver crescent moon necklace discarded on the floor of a girl’s bedroom. It was simplistic, like one or those expensive necklaces that shouldn’t even be that expensive because of how small it was, but it was a perfect charm size, and it shined, there were no scratches. In the other girl’s room in the house, probably the younger sister, there was a charm bracelet on the desk. It was kind of childish and clunky, like one you could get in those supermarket toy vending machines. He took the first charm he touched and removed the clasp from it for your moon. It was hard to do it with his fingers on something so small and dainty but after a few tries, he managed.

As for the star, he found it on a walker in the woods. It was a little girl, it almost made him feel bad to do it because he knew you’d feel bad about it, but her and what looked like her mom and dad went straight for the two rabbits he just caught, ripping their skin, eating them. He shot them all in the head. The thud of their bodies to the ground only seconds apart. Oh well, were his thoughts, their fault for messing with his catch. After that is when he noticed the gold charm bracelet on the kid’s wrist. It was different from the one he saw last time in that other girl’s room, it wasn’t a fake toy, it was more refined. Maybe they were a well-off family.

There was a star was at the center. It’s all he wanted, but he thought you might want to see the others she had too— they were all nature themed, he kind of liked it— so he tried to take the bracelet off but it wasn’t working. The thing fit her wrist perfectly and the bracelet clasp was stuck so, in typical Daryl fashion… he just chopped the girl's hand off.

Kind of gross, and he would definitely have to keep the red off of everything now, but the star charm was gold, it would match the sun charm and the moon would stand out at the center, he assumed. He thought it could look nice… and beggars can’t be choosers in the apocalypse anyway. After he took the bracelet he discarded of the hand, tossing it to the ground like it was nothing. (He’d leave that part out if you asked for the story later). Now that he had the bracelet, you would also have a gold owl, a bunny, a bird, and if it couldn’t get any better, there was a deer charm too. That’s what was most important about the account anyway.

That night, Daryl crawled into your bedroom from the window while you were asleep. He placed the star and moon on top of your journal that was on your desk, and after that, he left. That was it. He just wanted to surprise you. He’d give you the rest later. You only realized he did it and how he did it when you closed your window that was slightly left open the next day. There were scuff marks on the window sill. They were from his shoes.

After that it became a game; a little side quest. Like how people would count red versus blue cars or shout ‘punch buggy,’ when they are out with their family. An activity that took you out of your boredom, or really, for you in the apocalypse, it was an activity that made you feel oddly sane again, since you always dealt with the insane everyday anyway.

That was what today was about. At least on the down low; at least after you found anything of value for the community; at least to you two. You guys had found what seemed to be a wealthy neighborhood a while ago, when you passed that turnpike. The houses there were so big there, but all you had was his bike at the time, nowhere to put supplies and you were expected at the Hilltop, you couldn’t stay and look around.

It had been a little while after that and you had a plan now, a few Alexandrians backing you up with cars. You two finished your portion of houses to sweep and now you were waiting on the others, sitting in one of the house porches. That’s why you both were showing each other your finds from this place and the others.

You continued to hold the Eiffel Tower charm in your hand, “Maybe we should go to Paris…” Your voice was wistfully, then a quietness lingered in the air, it made you laugh awkwardly, releasing the tension. Your suggestion was one of those silly things you say where you mean it, but you pretend it’s just a joke, knowing it won’t have any outcome. “All of us, I mean,” you do mean it, but at the same time you we’re just talking about him right now. “That would be nice.”

“What would I do in Paris?” He asks it while he fixes his weapons, you’re sitting back, looking at the trees. He thought it was a ridiculous idea. He’s never been anywhere. He hadn’t even been to Virginia or D.C. before this and there’s no way he could go anywhere else now.

“Well I guess we’re never going to know unless we find out… you can eat!” You laugh, “You do like eating.”

He snorts, “Who knows if there’s food left there.”

Pessimist. “Again— we’re never going to know unless we find out.”

“Have fun tryin’ to become a pilot,” his drawl comes out strong on that last word. “Or a plane.”

“I guess that’s the next charm we need to find, an airplane or a captain’s hat. I am a pilot… or I can pretend to be.” There’s that smile again, “I can do anything.”

“Bet you could.” He meant it.

You nod, your next words making you laugh at yourself, “I’m Barbie.”

“Better,” he mutters. You can barely hear it. You don’t know if it was real so you say nothing until—

“We’re going to travel the world some day, Daryl.” You say it so surely, breaking the moment of silence, “We’ll find a way.” As long as we’re together. As long as you want me.

That’s all you wanted, truly. Even if this world really couldn’t take you to Paris, or New York, or anywhere out of Virginia. All you wanted was him. All you wished and hoped for is that he wanted you… but did he? You still weren’t sure.

Trinket No. 4: The Flower and the Photograph 𓇢𓆸

Back Pocket Memory

You two were almost near Alexandria, only a few miles left to drive. “Do you think we can just sit down over there before heading back?”

Daryl continued driving, “Dangerous to leave a good van with supplies just put.”

You pointed to the clearing you were referring to ahead. The trees were sparse in that area, it might have been a meadow, but you didn’t know the difference. There was a little pond near the center. “Can we just drive the car a little bit closer? Just for a few minutes?” You look up at him, your eyes doing that little sunshine thing as it always does, “I just want to sit in the grass,” you say, putting your hand out the window, feeling the wind through your fingers, “the sky feels so nice today.”

He huffs, but does as you ask. “Get out,” he says, gesturing to you to walk over to the area you pointed at. “Pick your spot.” You run over and he follows. You have this wonder about you, it was almost childlike, but not childish, more— sweet, innocent perhaps.

You jump down to the ground and cross your legs on the grass, looking out at the pond. Daryl parks the car a little behind you and comes out to sit on the hood. His legs spread, knees almost to his chest, his elbows lay on there, arms extended.

You look at him, “You’re really not going to sit down?”

“If someone comes up behind us and steals our shit then that’s gonna be your fault.”

Fair. You gesture at him to move over and you sit to his side on top of the car.

As you settle, you close your eyes and you raise your face to the sky. Feeling the warmth of the sun on your closed eyelids. There was a majestic kind of wind that blew in the air today. It made everything look effortless, especially Daryl.

His ever-so disheveled hair had pieces flying on both sides, brushing some parts out of his face, and pushing others in. As always, it was just enough that they didn’t completely cover his eyes. How does that always happen? Thinking about it makes you giggle lightly as you look at him.

“What?” He asks, becoming a little self conscious.

You shake your head, your eyes looking at him kindly, hoping to ease his nerves. “You just look nice.” Your voice was silvery and sweet as you said it.

You get up and skip toward the pond, picking a flower and coming back to him. You sit down and try to put the tiniest white flower behind his ear.

“What’re you doin’?” He tries to swat it away, playfully hitting your other hand that tries to hold him in place and he takes the flower from your other hand. He successfully places it behind your ear instead. “Better,” he says.

As he looks at you, he notices light pieces of your hair frizzing up at the top from the wind, other pieces at the bottom still moving around slightly. It didn’t look bad, to him, your hair looks more like that invisible halo he sees when you’re around, and with that flower in your hair, you look like a true angel or maybe even a fairy with all the greenery surrounding you. You’re just lovely.

You give him a closed smile, your head falling to your knees. “Pretty day,” you sigh contentedly.

Pretty girl.

Handsome man.

Then a thought comes. Your smile turning to a grin.

“What?” He asks sharply. He knows the look you get when you’re up to something at this point.

You grab your backpack from your side, slowly bringing out the polaroid camera you found earlier today.

“No,” he pushes the side of your face, already detesting the idea.

“Daryl,” you whine.

He says it straight this time, “No.”

“But…” your eyes trail his face for a moment before continuing, “you just look… I don’t know. It’s like I said, you just look so- nice.” There’s other words you could use, but you don’t, not yet. “I just think it would be nice to have a nice picture. All we take pictures of is the houses and work. It’s boring and a waste.” You pause, “Daryl… Please?”

He rolls his eyes, grumbling, “You first.”

He’s glad no one was around when these moments happened. Someone might think you had him completely whipped. His brother definitely would think so if he was still around. Daryl was almost embarrassed of himself because of it. But you don’t ask for much. Other than the bike thing, you really didn’t. You trusted him and you were patient. You went along with his plans and you could sit for long car rides and periods of time in quietness if that’s what he wanted. You never pushed him to tell you his story. He only knew a part of yours circumstantially and he didn’t push you for more details after he brought you home, so you did the same. He could feel you wanted to ask more questions, but he also saw you stop yourself, move on, you were creative with your conversation topics: you asked him about what the best thing he hunted was, or what his favorite things were about your friends. You were so gentle with him. Maybe you could get him to do almost anything you wanted without you even knowing, but it was worth it for someone like you.

You look down shyly, “I’m not good at pictures,” you admit.

“You’ll look fine.” He wanted to say something else, but he didn’t. You’re so alike, more than you know.

He tilted your jaw with his thumb. It was too quick for you to melt into it but the feeling lingered, it made you buzz with excitement and it was easy to smile after that. He looked through the viewfinder, seeing you do that pretty sunny smile, matching the yellow bud of the white flower. He clicked the button. Beautiful.

You snatch the camera instantly, “Your turn!” You were too eager but you didn’t care.

You take the flower from your hair and bring it toward him. He sucks his teeth, saying your name as he does so, “No!”

“Yes, Daryl!” You push it over his ear, but not before he pushes you knee, just to do it. He didn’t even know why he was fighting, he knew he was letting you have your way right now. “Look,” you sound like a school teacher, “very nice.”

You even out some of the frizzy parts at the top of his head, the light wind was still blowing through it, it was futile so you left it, he looked great anyway. A perfectly imperfect mess.

He crossed his arms over his knees and looked into your eyes. You held the camera to your face and snapped the shot. “Beautiful.”

You stare at him for a moment longer. If anyone else was here that could see those all to familiar hearts and stars around you and in your eyes, it was so hard to hide. “I’m keeping this,” you said, placing the polaroid delicately in your back pocket. He said nothing, he wasn’t going yo let you know he cared about a dumb picture. “Okay, thank you for indulging me,” you start, taking the flower from his ear, “let’s go home.”

Later that night, past one am, he came through your window again. But this time you saw. Your head was almost covered by the blankets, your eyes slightly open. He didn’t even look in your direction. Maybe he wanted to be quick.

You saw him go into your bookbag. It was hanging on your desk chair. He took the picture out. He wanted it. He wanted your picture. The one that matched yours of him. Maybe this was something. Maybe he did want you.

You closed your eyes quickly when he started to turn around, then watched as quietly as you could as he neared the window, starting to climb out but not before he placed the polaroid in his back pocket, just like you did. Now you both had a piece of each other, forever.

Trinket No. 5: The Music Player and the Wish on an Eyelash ⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻ ♬♪

Never Fade Away

It’s official, in all the ways it possibly could be: Alexandria was truly your home. More time has passed: you live in a house, you have a job, you have family— it’s your friends. In some ways things are better than they have ever been… yet you still think about the night and the dark just as much as you used to. You tried to hide it, you wanted to be grateful and you were. But the things that used to happen to you, and the people that hurt you… they still lingered like ghosts when night came.

In the closed and guarded walls of your community, you hoped night could be a time and place that was peaceful. But thoughts of an attack, thoughts of losing your first real home, it left you apprehensive and paranoid of what could happen in your vulnerable state. And when you close your eyes, sometimes the past visits your dreams. It all felt inescapable.

It makes you so fearful that despite keeping your window’s curtain open, a battery-powered lantern resides practically glued to your nightstand— always on when the sun goes down. You knew it was a waste of a resource, but at least you kept it on low, at least when you woke up in the middle of the night, closer to morning really, you remembered to turn it off— the sun making its way back around soothed your nerves; it was always that initial getting-to-sleep part that made you need it anyway.

And of course, you’ve tried to calm yourself down at night using different methods to see what stuck: You do read— your neighbors were always kind enough to lend whatever books were in their houses— and you did daydream— letting your mind wander to happier, more wondrous places when you wanted to escape— and it did help sometimes, but on other nights, it wasn’t enough.

You miss watching tv in bed. There was something about the buzz of the box, and the voices of humor and romance and relatability that miraculously took you away, and helped you stop thinking, even allowed you to drift to sleep… it was a luxury you didn’t have anymore, and not only did you not have that luxury, you also had an overabundance of dead or deadly issues to worry about. It all haunted you.

You sat with your back against the headboard of the bed. You’ve yet to put on any night clothes. You had already read the next chapter of your book, and you would have read another, and possibly another after that, but tonight you knew it would have just kept you awake as something to do instead of worrying about sleep. You were tired though. That’s why you stopped, but you also weren’t ready for trying to catch sleep that wouldn’t come.

Part of you hoped Daryl would stop by, but he doesn’t always, and he probably won’t tonight. Some nights he’s out until the next day or the next week, who knows how far he went this time, you didn’t go with him and he left too quickly to ask. It had been a few days since you saw him last.

When he was here though, he did start to make it a habit of stopping by to see you, especially when it was time for Alexandrians to settle into their homes for the night. He stopped being so quiet through the window and only dropping things off. He would start coming through the door. It was just a light chat for a couple of minutes at first, then there were the times when he stayed an hour or two. He always sat on your floor, by the window, or by the door. You never understood why until you insisted he sit in your chair by the closet. It was only until a few more visits later you realized the chair's light color becoming just a bit visibly darker. It was soot and hard work and the air, he worked outside all day and usually visited before he called it a night. You made sure not to mention it, you just cleaned it yourself. No need for him to feel embarrassed.

Besides, you didn't mind, anytime he walked through your door or jumped in from your window, that was his chair, at least that’s what you called it in your head. You liked that. You liked that after he brought you home he didn’t move on and let you be. In his defense, you didn’t let him be either, but he could have always distanced himself if he wanted to, told you no, but he didn’t.

You two have gotten so close quite quickly. You both felt it and you didn’t know why, but at the same time, you did. It was something left unspoken, even in your mind, always on the side toward the back of your brain. That part knew you could fall in love with him, but why admit it to yourself if the other person might not feel the same? You were still feeling that way. Despite all the moments you’ve shared thus far. His silent nature was endearing at times, but it could also be a very confusing gripe of yours. There were moments when you knew exactly where his mind was, but there were other times when you simply did not. Especially when it came to you. Daryl always gave you just enough, and maybe tonight, it would be nothing at all.

At least that’s where your thoughts resided until you heard the creak of your door slowly pushing inward.

Daryl’s hand holds the doorknob, meeting your eyes as he steps in further. Your window casting just enough light on his face.

“Hi,” you meant to be clever, ask him if he knew how to knock, but only wistful, subdued surprise is all that came out in your one-word greeting.

“Hey,” he replied, it almost seemed like he was surprised too, you couldn’t tell it from his voice but from the way he cut the word short. “Didn’t know if you were awake.”

You laugh somberly, “You didn’t?”

“Didn’t see you in the window.”

His voice is low, your house is quiet, and people are asleep in the other rooms. You match his tone with your own quietness, “Right,” you say. The window did hit the bed end, not the top. But he knew you were a late sleeper. He even came and sat with you for longer the night before he left because you had told him about it— he knew, he had to, but you didn’t question it.

“Um,” he’s looking down, “Was just gonna leave somethin’.”

He starts to walk to your nightstand but you stop him, your hand reaching out, not touching him, but it’s just enough to pull him to your gaze. “You’re gonna leave without showing me?”

Daryl positions himself toward you and you sit up. Gingerly, he takes something small out of his front pocket, it was covered in one of his bandanas. He looks at it for a moment, almost unsure before placing it on the bed, right in front of your lap.

It was an MP3 player. One of those slim rectangular ones with a digital rectangular screen to match and a big circular button with the controls covering the bottom half. There were some small scratches in the screen corners and some dent marks in the back. The arrow buttons were starting to fade too, but he handed you some headphones out of his back pocket as you continued to examine it, it must have worked.

You look up at him, eyes wide, shining just a bit in the dark just like the little silver miracle that was in your hands. You remembered having one of these, the thought made your lips curl, a light open-mouthed smile forming as the nostalgia set in.

You move closer to the edge of the bed, the sky illuminating you more in your semi-darkened room. You place your hand on the other end of your bed, “Come,” you say as your tap the spot. He’s hesitant before he finally accepts the invitation, sitting down. You would have insisted anyway if he didn’t.

You flip the switch on the side then and the music starts instantly in your right ear where you set one of the earbuds in. You tried to put the left on him, but he shook his hand, “You listen.” You let him be for now, you were too excited to see what the previous owner was into.

The songs are scattered from different decades, but what you notice the most of as you skip through were various 90s and 2000s rock, pop-punk, pop, and the like. There was Nirvana, but also Fiona Apple to Blondie, and even Elvis. It was a little all over the place, really. This definitely had to be a teen’s in the early or late aughts. You thought maybe Carl would like this. There was even some stuff that you were sure had to have come out in 2010, right before the apocalypse began… Another kid who wouldn’t get to spend the rest of their teens, or young adulthood, or adult life like they were supposed to, like you were supposed to.

Having these thoughts while Aerosmith’s Fly Away From Here played was not helping, especially since it made you think of your lost family, and those from your found family that were gone now too, so you decided to skip, but the button seemed to fidget. You tried again, then again, even touching the screen. You accidentally made the shuffle icon come onto the bottom corner.

“Don’t like Aerosmith?” Daryl read it on the screen, but he also recalled the melody, even from just the soft buzz produced by the headphones, the volume was accidentally turned all the way up, you set it down.

You give him a light smile, “Aerosmith’s fine. Just have to be a little more careful with this, I guess.”

You continue to press forward to see what else is there until you shriek, color coming back to your face as you shake your head at the memory emerging as you listen. “Oh my god, my sibling used to love this song when we were younger.” It was Avril Lavigne’s Girlfriend that was playing. “We used to put on the radio or look up the music videos on the tv and dance. They loved doing that…” Your voice was soft, both sweet yet desolate, “I knew all the popular songs and all their favorite songs whether I liked it or not.” You giggle, “I can lie this one is fun.”

You knew Daryl would probably scoff, but you lightly place the left earbud near his ear for a few seconds so he can hear what you’re talking about.

“Definitely a chick’s.”

“‘Chick’?” It was funny, and you did laugh, but you still decide to protest, “It’s just one song and…I don’t know, I think it’s a pretty eclectic mix of artists…” You continue to press forward as you ask, “Were there kids? Or- did there used to be?”

“Based on the rooms.” He nods, “Boy and a girl.”

“Hm,” you say curiously, flipping through the songs: the next one that played was by Linkin Park, then Alanis Morisette… you wondered if the kids shared it or shared interests. Suddenly, the player starts Lit’s My Own Worst Enemy. Your eyes are starlit as you gasp, “Oh, this one is so you.”

This time you fully push the headphone into his left ear, turning the volume all the way up as the first verse plays, his face is fixed, “This ain’t me.” There is silence as the music continues and he scorns, “You think I used to just get drunk all the time?”

“Daryl,” your laugh is light, “no.” It was a ridiculous thought and he should know it, but nonetheless, you console him, “Of course not.” Your hand reaches forward onto the bed, nearing where his own resided, but not touching. It saddened you to see Daryl always react like this to small things. He was never judgmental, but he was always so quick to believe others would judge him. “Maybe not that part,” you smile, slightly mischievous, “but- okay, this-” you sing-speak along lightly, remembering to stay quiet, “it’s no surprise to me I am my own worst enemy, cause every now and then I kick the living shit out of me- that's you! That's literally you.”

He shakes his head, ‘Whatever,’ the gesture says with his grunt.

“No, you’re actually a little bit self-deprecating, I think. At least internally.” You continue, “Oh, and this part— I didn't mean to call you that- you see?” You say, humor still in your smile, “That part is you.”

Daryl gives you another small grunt indicating ‘no’ as he shakes his head again. “If I say something to someone, then I mean it. Wouldn’t say it if I don’t.”

“Well, you also mean a lot of what you don’t say,” your eyes trail to the side. You knew that didn’t make sense, but it did to you. There was a part of you that was still in denial of your feelings or if there was a possibility he had any for you either. You’d never see him talk or treat anyone in a more than friendly way– or whatever Daryl’s version of friendly was. You wanted to protect yourself by not admitting you adored him, even to yourself, but really, you knew. And there was the way he kept giving you these things, these little moments: the ribbon, the picture, the charms… It made that smaller part of you that believed something was there, glow and warm inside your heart.

You look at him, there was a sorrow placed on both of your faces, but he just looks at his hand that is placed on the bed through his hair, the one that's so close to yours. “You really don’t think there is anything you don’t regret saying?” Another song passes, you didn’t recall it, but then the playlist shifts to something slower, it’s the Beatles. “I just think you keep a lot inside… It’s okay though. But it is just something I notice.”

Normally, a comment like this or something similar to it would sound trite and judgmental, there are a lot of things people don’t talk about now, but you say it with understanding, a little sad because you can’t help it, but your voice is kind, like gentle fingers through his hair, evening it out; a voice that shows you care, you see him and respect him even if you do want more. “It’s okay,” you whisper as Paul McCartney’s voice sings softly, “I’m not half the man I used to be, there’s a shadow hanging over me.” It felt like he was speaking right to Daryl as he continued to look away from you.

It’s moments like this where he wants to say it all. The sad stories from his childhood that he has never been able to tell anyone before. Stories about his brother… the bad, yes, but even some of the good ones. He knows he could talk to Rick if he wanted, or Carol. His group was loyal to him as much as he was to them– he knew that, but they probably wouldn’t care to hear about Merle, it would probably make them angry to be reminded of all the bad things he’s done to them. He wouldn’t blame them. In many ways, and for more reasons then all of them, he will always be angry at his brother too. This is why he didn’t even like to let himself think about the past, but in other ways, it still sucked. It makes him feel alone, like talking about himself or his brother or the past was just a gateway to hurting himself and scaring others, scaring you.

You wipe him away from those thoughts even though you didn’t even hear them, your voice pulling him out of his trance, “Things are harder now, Daryl, but I think you’ve only gotten better.” There is still so much you don’t know, but nonetheless, it’s like you can read his mind.

“This is the only me you know.”

“And even then I don’t think you’re the man I met when you found me… We’re definitely not the same people.” Your hand is just inches from his fingertips now. “We all have things to improve on, even if we think we’ve already grown up. I think that’s a part of growing up actually… just realizing that you never do, or at least not entirely. You’re always going to continue to grow.” Your words linger in the air as the next song starts, it’s Paramore, it’s The Only Exception— something still laced with melancholia but it has a sweet gentleness to it. It's just like you. This is how you were trying to be with your words. “It’s better if you allow it though, or work toward it instead of against it, I think.” You laugh at yourself then, “But I'm far from perfect so I should really stop talking.” Blush creeps onto your cheeks, you’re hopeful the night’s light doesn’t show it too much.

He wishes he could tell you he thinks you’re perfect, or at least something close to it. At least for him. You truly were like an angel. Maybe Radiohead is on this too.

The chorus continues to play, leading to the song’s ending and his jaw tightens. It’s annoying that you were right, your words from before echo to him. They weren’t nonsensical, he did get it: he does mean the things he never says as much as the things he does, but no one will ever get to know. Not that everyone has to, but maybe for you, maybe just a little, maybe you can be the exception. And he can tell that you’re trying to me: who carries around a silly little ribbon anyway? Or who keeps their window open almost every night, even on cold nights? He felt like he was failing you. Maybe these gifts and these small moments weren't enough. Maybe they were just trinkets; meaningless, giving you false hope for a love he couldn’t provide.

You both hear the outro, “Oh, and I’m on my way to believing,” and his heart pangs at that. Maybe he doesn’t have to fail, maybe he can try, at least right now, “It’s just…” he speaks up, his voice clears, “It made me think of you when I saw it.” He was talking about the mp3, “That’s why I brought it back… You’re always humming under your breath. Now you can stop annoying me with the same old thing.”

Your eyes roll, but you aren’t mad, in fact, you can't help that it makes you smile. “Oh, okay, Daryl,” you say through quiet bits of laughter.

“Also thought it could help you sleep… I dunno.”

You nod intently at his words, “Thank you,” and that wistfulness in your voice returns. “That's really kind.”

He nods back. He’s so gruff and straight-faced all the time, but was it bad to say that there were moments when you can't help but see him as adorable? He was always trying not to meet your gaze through his hair, and it was always messy like a kid’s, just like when you took that photograph.

Muse’s Starlight starts playing as you brush some of the hair out of his face. It's an awkward transition, but it's what you get from accidentally pressing shuffle so many times. In the end, though, the words make it seem perfect for the moment. The singer spoke of desire and escape, about missing loved ones and wanting to keep someone special, someone that's like starlight, close by. You understood that. He did too.

You giggle lightly, “Daryl, you- you have something…” You point at your face in reflection of his.

“What?” He wipes his nose.

“No, it's- it’s here,” you say, taking your finger to lightly catch the eyelash that threatened to slip away from his face and onto the bed. “Make a wish,” you whisper. Your face is nothing short of innocence and wonder.

His snorts, “I’m not doin’ that.”

“Daryl,” you eyes widened with apparent prodding and pleading annoyance, but your words still have a sense of amusement to them, “I think we need all the luck we can get.” Your head tilts as you say through your smiling teeth, “I’ll do it with you…?”

“Fine.” He can’t help that your squeal makes his lips curl but he’s trying to hide it.

“You have to really do it.” You turn the music down, it's in the background now. Your usual sun-filled eyes are currently wide like the moon as you look into his, coming closer to his face.

He nods, “Okay.”

“Promise?” You sing.

“Promise.” He meant it, he even closed his eyes before you to prove it.

You closed your eyes too, “Okay, I’m trusting you.” Squeezing them tightly, you whisper, “Think about what you want, and then I'm going to count to three and we blow.”

Instantly, your heart foolishly thinks of Daryl. You know you could be thinking about the safety of your group, the stability of Alexandria, or hoping that the threat everyone feels coming subsides into nothingness, but all your thoughts are just of him. It makes you feel like a silly little girl, waiting for that big romantic confession of love that you dream about, the one that will probably never come.

I wish for you, you think. You can’t help it, you can’t say anything else, this is the only thing that’s true, I just wish to stay by your side, forever.

The song echoes your hopes too, I’ll never let you go if you promise not to fade away.

You agree, never fade away, please.

“Okay,” you say softly aloud, “1… 2… 3…” And then your wish flies into the air. You two stare at each other afterwards, eyes starry like the sky from your window.

You wished for each other.

Trinket No. 6: Scars, Marks, Tattoos, and Internal Wounds ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

The Things I Only Trust You to Know

It’s another night. Another visit. It wasn’t intentional this time, but your curtains were drawn. They’re almost never drawn, at least not completely. The window was still open though, the night’s breeze ruffled them backwards. Daryl became concerned, so he climbed up, opening the window wider and pushing the curtains to the side to get through.

He saw you crying.

Hearing the thud of his boots stomp lightly to the ground triggered you to turn, body facing the closet as you were curled in your bed. You didn’t want him to see you. “I’m tired tonight, Daryl.” Your voice was low, you tried to keep in neutral. For the most part you were doing well, but it was still obvious you weren’t fine— he saw your face before you covered it.

He sat down on the edge of your bed, his legs hitting by your feet. He didn’t feel like asking if you were okay if you were going to lie and say no. “You can tell me to go if you want,” was all he said, rubbing your arm as he did and then let go. You starting sniffling involuntarily because of the touch. You realized you were holding in a breath, the shaky exhale came out louder than you wished it did. “I’m sorry,” your voice blubbering. You were embarrassed. You hadn’t done this in front of him since before he brought you home.

“Don’t gotta be.”

“I feel stupid,” you say under your breath. You’re still trying to hide your face.

“Stop.” He puts his hand over your body now, on the bed, and he faces you. “What’s wrong?”

You shake your head slowly, looking at him, “I don’t know how to say. I can’t-”

“Just say it,” he said calmly.

You felt heat rising from your throat, it was like the words were trying to come out, but it felt scary to do so, it made your teeth grind against each other. Your head shakes harder, “I don’t think I can.”

He brings a hand to your face and wipes some of your tears with his thumb, “What would you tell me?”

You would tell him to speak, that it’s okay, you both knew it. The thought makes you sit up in your bed, tears still running down your cheeks, but you were going to try.

“You’re just going to get annoyed,” you wipe some of your tears with your wrist, “think I’m dumb, like a little girl.”

“You’re not dumb,” he spoke over you before you finished.

You pause, you shake your head again. The words are on your tongue but you just feel so bad and so embarrassed to admit it. “Sometimes I just…” your voice hitches and your hands goes to your head, more tears fall, “it’s just one of those days, I guess.”

One of Daryl’s hands goes to your shoulder and your upper back, he pats you until it quickly becomes a soft, swaying motion.

Your voice doesn’t go above the lightest whisper as you try to start again, “Sometimes- I just look at myself and I-” a sob erupts from your throat and tears roll much quicker, “I know you’re going to think I’m stupid, but sometimes I just wonder if anyone could love me.” It doesn’t even feel good to finally admit it, but you continue, “I feel like there’s something wrong with me. Like maybe I’m not enough. Or I’ll never be.”

Daryl’s face heats up. How could you ever feel that way about yourself? How do you not see yourself as anything less than everything he’s seen in you since the day he met you? You’re not stupid. Never. He feels stupid for not seeing this in you. He feels stupid for it being so hard for him to tell you everything wonderful about yourself in the way you deserve.

He thinks for a moment, he wishes he was more poetic, but he wasn’t and there are still certain things he’s not ready to say. So he decides on something else as he calls your name, “You’re telling me you can’t see you’re a tough son of a bitch?” The phrase makes you laugh involuntarily through your tears, he always says it like it’s one word. “One that found a way to burn down a hospital and kill a bunch of dickheads in one go just to stay alive?” He huffs, “Prettiest arsonist I’ve seen.”

You gasped but it made you smile lightly, it was funny. “I’m not an arsonist! And it was only part of the building.”

“Coulda fool me.” He tilts his head, “But you’re also probably one of the best scavengers we got. And you’re a good friend.” His hand travels to your knee, “You’re really good at talkin’ to people… and to me.”

You try to let his words fill you up but there is still doubt. “I don’t feel like pretty and really good are the right words.”

“Then you’re wrong.”

You shake your head.

He doesn’t get it, “Well, what do you see that I’m not?”

Your heart beats ferociously, you don’t move, you’re hesitant, you don’t know if this is right, but there is a part of your that wants to. “Can I show you something?” You asked.

He nods.

It’s scary, but you decide to trust him, showing him the part of yourself you felt most ashamed of. The part of you that you thought was unloveable.

But he sees nothing shameful, nothing bad, he just holds onto it or another part of you, caressing you gently. “You’re perfect,” he says, shrugging as if his words aren’t a big deal, but he knows they are. This is the first time he doesn’t keep a thought like this in his head anymore. “There’s nothing wrong with you.”

He turns his back on you now, and he takes a breath, sighing deeply. You’re confused until he sighs and starts to speak; “When you were with those guys— and I know it ain’t the same, but— I know what it’s like. For people to use you.” He swallows hard, “I don’t like myself all the time neither.”

Your eyes widen. He was taking off his shirt. The first thing you see are tattoos, until your eyes travel to the other side, you see what he meant; the scars. “My dad. He was a drunk and a loser and an asshole.” Daryl's voice hitched, you couldn’t tell if he was crying or not, but you had never heard him like this before. “He did it to my brother too, Merle. But then he just left when he was old enough. Didn’t even give a shit that our dad was gonna do it to me,” there was anger in his voice. “He said he didn’t know,” and then he chokes on his words, “but how can I believe that? Thought it’d just skip a generation? He never changed. Neither of ‘em.” You wanted to hold him, but you didn’t know if it was too soon. He was still speaking, “Then when I got old enough, I left too. Some time later I started drifting ‘round with Merle, like that was gonna be any better… Two fucked up kids doing nothin’ with their fucked up lives.” His face turned to the side, you saw his profile, his eyes were red, “That’s what I did before Rick… You all were going to do good things with your life and I was gonna be nothing.”

“Daryl…” you were crestfallen, “I’m so sorry.” You held his arm, stroking it softly. “But you weren’t going to be nothing.”

“Yes, I was.”

“There is no thinking about what could have been. This is how life is. Maybe this was always going to happen,” your voice falters as you say it. “You’re not nothing. You’ve become everything to so many people.”

He turns his face back around and you look at his back again. It was difficult to look at, you won’t lie. Your heart sunk low, like it was being squeezed and brought down to the pit of your stomach to know that someone put him through this. Someone who was supposed to love him. Another tear escaped your eye at of the thought.

“Daryl,” you stutter meekly, “Is it okay if I hold you?”

His nod is so faint you barely see it, but he doesn’t say anything else so you believe it is a yes.

Your fingers ghost over his back until you let the tips of them finally lay on his skin.

His eyes wince and squeeze as he shutters despite your fingers trailing so tenderly. Your palm is now flat on his back as you move downwards and back up again. You kiss near his shoulder, right on the tip of his highest tattoo and then you wrap your arms around him, under his arms over his waist, and he holds your hands there.

You stay there for a long while, you don’t have a recollection of time. The moment feels like forever, although it is sad and you wished you weren’t discussing the things you were to get here, you don’t want it to end. “You’re the bravest person I’ve ever met,” you tell him.

It’s quiet until he says, “No,” disagreeingly, “You’re not brave just because you go through some shit.”

“But you still are,” you insist. “This happened to you and you chose to be the person you are now despite it. You became someone invincible.” You pressed him against you tighter, “I’m proud of you. Every day.”

Finally he turns around and takes you in his arms, your head now resting over his shoulder as your chests touch, closing the gap. You lay down on the bed and he stays on top of you. One hand plays with your hair and you continue to caress his back.

“I really like your tattoos,” you whisper, almost a giggle in your voice. “They look really good on you.”

He smiles a little. He never takes off his shirt so people barely see all the ones he has. He liked that you liked them. “Thank you,” he says.

“Do you want more? If you could?” You also want to ask why he got the ones he did, but the crying has made you sleepy and him being on top of you is making your mind hazy. “I wish I could,” is all you add.

He looks at you, “Maybe that’s the next thing we find.” He was talking about a tattoo gun, “That’s the kind of junk people don’t need now, we’ll look.”

He plays with your hair again, both your smiles are so innocent and lazy, you two would knock out soon, but it was nice to talk about something that used to be mundane for a moment.

“What if we do it and it turns out bad?”

“We’re not gonna find it tomorrow.”

“Right,” you say, moving on. “You know… I remember I used to be so scared of that stuff— needles and blood. I can imagine wincing just thinking about a needle touching me at the doctor’s… But now, I think that’s a pain I’d actually prefer… Rather than the other things we’ve gone through… If there ever was a choice like that.”

He agrees, “If there was a choice, I’d be covered by now.”

You two laugh at that, letting go of each other. Your bodies are on your sides, parallel to one another as you lay down. You’re on the side that faces the window and Daryl’s back is to it. He sees the moonlight illuminate your face because of it, the glow makes you look enchanting.

He wonders if you would get one— a tattoo, or another one, of this: of the moon; of the night where you showed each other parts of your bodies you wanted to hide, thinking they were flaws; of the night where you accepted each other fully despite it. Where he laughed and felt happy even after he shared something so dark. He almost never laughs or feels happiness in its totality, but with you, he does. It happened right now as he’s looking at you.

You see his face glistening in tandem with the white light that shines on you, it’s darker, but it’s still there. You were wondering the same exact thing.

Your eyes feel heavy now. They slowly flutter shut, but you try to keep them open. You don’t want him to leave. But he sees that your face dozing off, you’re tired, your eyes keep trying to close and close fully. He quietly gets up to go, but you stop him. Holding onto his forearm, sliding down to his hand. “Just stay,” you murmur, “please,” it’s light and dream-like. So he does. He doesn’t want to let go of your hand. He doesn’t want to let go of you.

You both stay at your sides, your intertwined hands at the center. He continues to look at you and you smile softly as your body finally allows your eyes to close shut. You drift swiftly to sleep. And he stays awake for a while longer, fixed on you and your slowing breath until sleep finds him too.

Daryl being right there, and you being right next to him, made everything infinitely better.

Despite it being vague on details, feel free to skip around areas of this one if you are not comfortable with reading about the reader being imprisoned at the Sanctuary.

Trinkets No. 7 & 8: The Second Ribbon and the First Kiss ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ જ⁀➴ -`♥︎´-

Confessions From a Broken Bowman and a Battered Beaut

It had taken a long while for you and Daryl to talk again after you escaped the Sanctuary.

The last time he saw you was through your tears as Negan’s men threw him in a van, your eyes bloodshot, wanting to scream and plead. He felt it was his fault that he didn’t fight harder; he felt that it was his fault that you were in there for so long; felt it was his fault that you were taken there in the first place. He couldn’t save Glenn— a burden he still carried so deeply, even after talking to Maggie— and that led to not being able to save you. He felt like he left you, not knowing you would have been in the same place he was if he didn’t escape before you got there. But what choice did he have? He didn’t know. And he doesn’t even know if it’s a good or bad thing to admit that in a heart beat, he would take another day of torture, of abuse and pain, if it meant he was with you, and you could make it out together. One more day for him would have been worth your days only adding up to one hand if it could. It would have been better than just waiting for you on the other side. Having to hide just so Negan wouldn’t find him and kill him and more of his friends because of it.

And even worse, what if he threatened Daryl with you instead? Especially since you were still there, with him. That’s part of the reason why Daryl wanted to blow up the Sanctuary. It would have just been one side. Just enough to cause the chaos you needed to run away from your captures and back home. You were fast enough, he knows you are, and you must have known all the exits by now. He tried to convince himself of it. Rick told him it was a bad idea, dangerous to do that to the workers, and most importantly to you— it too many what ifs if it didn’t work out— but what else was he supposed to do? He needed you out, and the Saviors to be gone. It felt like the only choice.

But then, Daryl saw your face. You got out, you didn’t need another fire. It must have been their first attack against the Sanctuary that helped.

Your breathing was so heavy when you finally stopped, you were running so fast, there were patches of dirt all over you, sweat dripping from your neck. It must have been fate that he, Tara, Micchone, and Rosita were right there on the other side, ironically trying to go back to the place you just escaped from.

All their guns were pointed in your direction. They heard the gunshots, they heard someone running. They instantly dropped everything when they saw that it was you.

It felt like the world turned in its full rotation in seconds, coming into a halt all in this moment. The woods, the running, the chance encounter— him; it’s like you were brought right back to the start.

He was speechless, stunned in a way he didn’t expect, mouth agape and yours the same. You didn’t know what to say and he didn’t know how to apologize in the way he felt he should, so you both just stood there. Tears started to well in your eyes. All he did in the end was look down.

This exchange of stares happened only in a mere matter of seconds until Rosita brought you in for a hug, cursing leaving even though she knew you didn’t have a choice, being so happy you were back, but for you it felt agonizingly long.

And for Daryl, it all felt endlessly hopeless. The reality that his plan probably could, or most definitely would have killed you sunk in. He was stupid for thinking that it could work. And seeing you in that wife's dress? A black bow tied to the back of your head? It was unbearable. He hates that he found it hard to even look at you.

The two other women welcomed you back, Michonne even looked teary eyed. The sight made some of your own tears fall because of it. She took you by the shoulder and Rosita took your waist, guiding you to the trunk. Tara went back near Daryl, she wanted to ask if their new plan at the Sanctuary was still a go but waited when she noticed Rosita sent a glare Daryl’s way. It honestly did more to Tara than Daryl. He didn’t even bother meeting her face, he was already punching himself for his silence, for his inaction. He just got in the driver’s seat and took off.

After that, you watched him, waiting to see when his eyes would finally meet yours, but he tried to avoid them as much as he could. The only time he spoke to you was to ask if you were okay when Alexandria fell and you were all in the sewers, and when he entrusted you to take care of Judith as he guided everyone to the Hilltop afterwards.

This treatment was excruciating, but you said nothing. You didn’t feel like yelling at him, you just wanted him. And there was no time between when you came back to right now when you could speak alone anyway if you did want to yell. If you asked why he probably would just shoved you off and you’d get more sad and upset than you already were, or maybe you’d pester, demanding some kind of answer and he'd be the one that might yell… no reason to fight in front of people, especially since there are so many other things to worry about.

But you remember when you finally got to the Hilltop, and how you saw the way he embraced Carol almost right after he saw her. You weren’t upset about that specifically. You admired Carol, even if you didn’t get to know her that well yet. You knew they loved each other, you thought they had a beautiful relationship… It wasn’t that. It was the fact that you fought all the way to get back to your family, to him, and it felt like it was all just so he could act like a stranger again. He didn’t even say hello when he saw you, or ask how you got out, or that he missed you. Maybe he didn’t. That was the real reason you said nothing. The thought broke your heart.

You could at least say that Negan talked to you, and didn’t keep all his feelings inside– whether they were real or not, you were only half sure somtimes– but your time at the Sanctuary, becoming a soon-to-be-wife, it was a hardship only you endured. No one would understand the humor of that sick joke, and it especially wasn’t the time nor would it ever be when everyone hated him and wanted to kill him so desperately.

The next day came by, you all prepared for the Saviors to attack at Hilltop. You were on a break, sitting in the cellar. It was dark, but it helped relieve you from the incessant heat that beamed outside.

Daryl was looking for you. This happened to be the third place he went around. He had just spoke to Rick, apologized for their fight. He felt awful that it took until after Carl passed for them to talk about it, and that his passing made Rick start to believe all the killing might be the only option like Daryl believed before. He still wasn’t sure what he felt now. All he knew is he couldn’t let you two go on like this any longer. It was time to talk to you.

As he opened the cellar door he kept it slightly open, letting the light emanate through.

He sits down next to you, bringing his knees up as he usually does. You don’t bother looking at him. Maybe he would just ask you to do him a favor like last time.

There is silence for a moment. He doesn’t know where to begin. All he decides to say is, “You got Judith here safe, I made sure Rick knew. Thank you.”

“You’re the one who led us here.” Your voice says quietly.

“You helped chop a lot of those walkers down in the swap.”

You sigh, not answering him right away. “This isn’t a competition.”

“I know,” he mutters.

Silence is all that hangs in the air again. With each second that passes it makes your throat swell, bubbling up to your tongue and brain as it usually does until you’re trying to hold back tears.

Daryl was feeling similarly. All his words were caught in his throat too, wanting to be said out loud but he can’t, it’s like someone is squeezing and choking him right there. And he can see your teary eyes, it could almost make his eyes match.

He says your name low and slow, “Do you hate me?”

You’re stunned at the thought. Your words are hushed but vehement, “How could you ever think I’d hate you?”

“I left you-”

“You didn’t know.”

“I could’ve fought harder when they put me in that van, you grabbed onto me and I still let them take me—”

You speak in between his words, “Why are you acting like you had a choice?!”

“—I could’ve went back right after they told me that’s where you were. Not leave you! I coulda done that.”

You shake your head, your voice a sharp whisper, “If you tried either of those things you would have been dead. Everything would be worse and this probably still would have happened.”

“I could’ve done something,” is all he repeats. Quietness fills the space again. You’re never going to agree on this. He’s stuck on what happened and you’re upset about what’s happening.

You breathe in shakily. He’s still finding it hard to look and it hurts, it makes you sad and angry.

Your voice becomes stifled, almost weepingly as you ask, “Daryl… Why can’t you even look at me? Why have you barely talked to me since I came back?”

His voice raises strainingly, “Cause I left you.”

Your voice cries as your head shakes again slowly, “You didn’t leave me, they took me. You left me now.” That makes him turn. You see his eyes, they’re puffed and the whites of his eyes are a faint red, and yours are still watery. “It’s not your fault.”

The backs of your fingertips brush against his cheek, feeling the bristles of his beard and you go down further, continuing to shake your head sadly, moving back to your face to wipe your own tears.

“Did they put you in that cell? Take your stuff?”

“Only the first time I came there. And then the two other times I tried to escape. After that I was sent to sleep with the other girls.” Your voice is quiet, “I don’t think it was the same for me like it was for you.”

“Did he,” he almost can't say it, “Did he hurt you?”

You knew what he meant. All you could do was shake your head slowly, it was a gesture of no.

He nods, his mouth fixed. Some relief is finally released from that, but this doesn’t change anything. They still took you away, they probably put you in a cell, they don’t deserve mercy. He wants to tell you that you all are still going to kill Negan and how he still plans on killing Dwight, but he holds his tongue. This wasn’t what being with you was about right now. His mind races with plans, just thinking of how to get close to them, how to commit the final act, until you speak, reading is mind again.

“I-” you stutter ashamedly, “I think- I know that my time in there has changed me and maybe I see things differently or know more than I used to but… it doesn’t change that I’m with you. I never let that go.” You whimper, “It just hurt when you didn’t say anything to me. Like you were disgusted by me.” You can’t help the string of sobs that come out.

“No,” Daryl holds your face close to his. The bottom of his palm reaching your neck, his fingertips extending over your cheeks, his thumb caressing over the area under and behind your ears. “I fucked up. I was going to try to blow up a part of the Sanctuary… even before I knew you got out… If you got hurt that would have been my fault. That would have been on me. I’d never see you again- Would’ve hated myself.” His voice hitches, it’s rasp so coarse and grating.

You hug him instantly. Your hands go under his arms and one of his goes in your hair, holding your head so tightly as it presses into his shoulder. He cries, “I’m sorry.”

“Stop” You breathe him in, “It’s okay.”

“It aint.”

“It doesn’t matter now.“ You wait a moment, telling him quietly into his neck, “I only want to be with you.”

“And what if it goes bad? What if I hurt you again?”

“We’re going to hurt each other, Daryl. What matters is we try and we stay. That’s it.”

He faces you now. His nose brushes against yours, your foreheads connect, it makes your eyes flutter shut. Your tears are drying the longer he holds you like that and everything feels so warm. Your heart, your brain, your cheeks and his fingertips against them. It makes you feel it again, that fearlessness— you kiss him. Gently touching his jaw, your chin moves upwards, your mouths opens, your lips twist so softly with his, you already can’t breathe, and then you let go.

As he looks at your face, he smiles, realizing he’s seeing the girl he used to know again. His sunshine girl with the stars in her eyes. They’re shining up, still half sad and glossy, but the bright lights are slowly coming back on. His dream is back. She’s real. You’re real. You’re trying, you’re staying, so will he.

He takes your neck and kisses you this time. His tongue slips in, you’re so surprised, you gasp into his mouth. It makes you both smile into the kiss. You come closer and he helps you into his lap, allowing you to lean in. His hands go to your waist and yours to his shoulders. Then one of his hands runs up to your hair and your opposite hand does the same to him. You want to touch each other everywhere now.

Then he feels the ribbon, the black one. It makes him stop.

You’re worried, “What happened?”

He holds the piece of hair that the ribbon is secured to, it’s only a little part, the rest of your hair is down, and he undoes the bow, discarding it to the ground. Your hair falls messily over your ears and down your neck. “You don’t need that anymore.”

Daryl pushes your hips and you sit on the floor again. He’s reaching in his pocket, and you can’t believe it, it’s another one. A dark ruby, maybe a silky burgundy one it was in color— it was another ribbon.

“How long have you had that?”

“Since I found the other one.” He shrugs, “I thought the first one was better.” This one had fraying on one end, unraveling just a bit.

You would have said that you could sew it later, but you didn’t, you said only what mattered: “It’s perfect.”

Daryl doesn’t argue. This is him trying, he takes the win.

He doesn’t know how to put it nicely in your hair, how you do it with the different styles, so he just wraps all of your hair in a ponytail, just like last time, tying it into a bow.

It feels like a gift, not just because he gave it to you and not because it looks like a decoration on top of one, but it is all of it— this moment, the conversation— it all feels like breathing new life into something you worried might be slowly withering and dying. You exhale, it felt so nice to feel him so close, to feel his fingers run through your hair, to feel his breath on your skin.

“Think maybe this suits you better now,” he says, and maybe it always has.

He leans back against the wall and you lay your head and back in the crux of his knees and chest. You look up into his eyes and he does the same right down at you. There was more work to be done, more fighting to endure, but for now, you lay there as if you were the only two in the world. In a moment of sweet understanding; in a moment of love. You could finally admit it to yourself now, you were absolutely and monumentally in love.

… I could go on forever ♡ perhaps this can be a mini-series where I post one when I think of another and you can feel free to request a trinket you think Daryl would give the reader and I’ll post it and respond or even write a blurb for it and add it to the list if it’s a good fit! Thank you for reading. ⋆｡°✩

[kissohee]

bestfriend!perv!anton x fem!reader ☆ nsfw ; wc : 700 ☆ short one-shot mdni!

Anton knows he's wrong, it may not seem like it but he does. He also knows he cant help the way he thinks of you. You're his bestfriend, so obviously it's occurred to him that thinking about you in the way that he does, is very clearly wrong. But to him that's also part of the fun. And you don't know, which just turns him on even more. You would never guess that shy & sweet Anton Lee, fantasizes about fucking you at the dead of night. You would never guess he thinks about you in the shower, or when he's watching porn, or every time he closes his eyes. and thats exciting to him. But he's also not much of a risk taker, unless he's extremely desperate.

Anton tosses and turns in his bed, struggling to fall asleep. You wore a skirt today and of course he struggled to keep his dick down every time he looked at you. And oh did he look a lot. He noticed the way your skirt wasn't long enough to cover your thighs, and how badly he wanted to bend you over the first surface he could find. The thought of you was keeping him up, quite literally. He was supposed to be sleeping, but between his thoughts and his boner, he was having too much trouble doing so. So he lowered his pants, freed his cock from his boxers and tried fixing his problem. His hand started pumping his cock, but he knew this wasn't gonna be enough. So he imagined that instead of his hand wrapped around his cock, it was your cunt, and you had that same exact skirt on. But for some reason, unlike most days, it wasn't getting him anywhere. He would normally just drop it and go to sleep if it wasn't working out, but his hard on was becoming too painful to just drop. He reached that level of desperation where he was willing to take a risk. Would it really be so bad of him to call you like this? Just so he could hear your voice? He concluded that as long as you didn't find out, it wouldn't. So using his other hand, he grabbed his phone and went to your contact before calling you. To his surprise, you actually answered. "Anton?" You called out to him sleepily, "It's 3 in the morning, is everything alright?" "Y-yea," he held down a groan, "Yea sorry, couldn't sleep. Thought maybe you were up." He tightens the grip on his cock, he already felt so much closer to release upon hearing you. "Oh," You paused, "Do you want me to talk to you or someth-" "Yes, p-please," He interrupted you with a whine. "Alright." He heard you shuffle in your bed, assuming you were getting into a comfier position before you started talking about something he wasn't fully listening to. He just needed to hear your voice without actually paying attention to the contents of the conversation. The longer you talked, the faster his hand sped up. Knowing there was a possibility you could hear every little thing he was doing on the other line, only made him want to cum more. He choked down his moans as he got closer to his release, the sound of your voice filling his head. "Shi-shit." He softly moaned as cum shot out of his cock and onto his stomach. His head ringing as he slowly came back to the reality that he was still on a call with you. The call was still going, but it was only silence from your end. Did he not realize you stopped talking? "Anton?" You say his name softly and he curses under his breath, thinking he was caught. "Are you okay?" "Oh yeah sorry, just saw the time. It's super late, I think I should go to bed now." He quietly lied, hoping you'd believe it. "Okay," You agreed before speaking again, "Call me if you ever need help with that again." You joked before hanging up, leaving Anton in the silence of his room. He looked at the cum on his hand and stomach, he might be just a little fucked up.

im a lover of perv!anton and needed to write about him immedeatly. this is my second writing woohoo! - 🐠

[commanderyes]

The Commander Says Goodbye

I’m not going to lie, I’m extremely anxious as i’m writing this, out of what these news could mean to a lot of people, and my heart feels heavy enough it could drop down my ribcage any minute from now and squish all my other organs. But I’ve been dancing around this topic for a long time now, and I think i’ve finally reached a point where i can’t ignore it anymore, for my own sake.

I hereby announce Commander Yes has come to an end.

As I’ve mentioned plenty of times before, here and to many other people, when I began this comic all the way back in 2018 I was in a really bad, really low place in my life in every sense of the word, and it was a spur-of-the moment decision to cheer myself up, because Path of Fire had just released and my enjoyment of the game had reached fever pitch and I had been playing Guild Wars 2 alone since as far as launch, and none of my other friends had ever really gotten into it. I guess I just, dunno, cried out into the big maelstrom of the community, one voice amidst millions, because i wanted SOMEBODY to look at what i did and revel in the nerdery with me.

And somehow the snowball began to roll and people wanted more and more of what I could do, and I was being actively reached out to, and, well, some time after that I landed my first ever job, I discovered a lot of things about myself, and I found myself in communities that welcomed me with open arms, and many of the people in there have since become among the best friends I could’ve possibly encountered, kindred souls who i’ve shared joys and sorrows for many years and who I can’t imagine living without anymore.

And all the while I kept making the comics, and with every entry posted every week I’d keep having people stopping to comment on them, and whether they were dumb jokes or personal takes on the story, they’d all share how much what I do kept hitting them in the kokoro, and to this day whenever I play anywhere in the game I still get people who recognize me and thank me for doing what I do. It was wonderful, it IS wonderful, and seeing that response motivated me to keep going, because what did still mattered to people, out there.

But I did always say I planned to keep doing these comics until I ran out of energy for them, and I think i’ve finally reached that point.

Because ever since I actually landed that job I’m exhausted and sleep-deprived every other day, so much so that I only have time to work on the comic on saturdays and sundays, and it gets harder and harder to just sit and draw, and at that point it was just more work, and while I still enjoy and play Guild Wars 2 a lot, it no longer consumes my time and attention like I’ve used to and i’ve been having fun with more personal projects, and honestly the direction the story is taking these days does not sit right with me and it’s hard to find inspiration in that, and this might be borderline selfish but every year I find people care less and less about the comics and it really takes a hit to you motivation when hardly anybody responds after you’ve spent a whole weekend trying to squeeze a five-page comic out.

And, well, I have been doing these for six years straight, and I think that’s a good run. I’m tired, and ready to move on, at long last. Let it be someone else’s turn.

But that’s the beautiful thing about this community, isn’t it? Even if I’m hanging up the hat, there are a whole lot of fantastic artists out there, as we speak, still cranking out works of art, deserving of all the attention they can get. And think of all the artists yet to come! For every story that ends, another story is just about to begin!

The world keeps on spinning, one way or another.

I’ll be closing my patreon shortly after this, but the reddit archives and tumblr blog shall remain for people to browse whenever they feel like (or until they both go in flames, i guess, what social media isn’t about to these days)

I still don’t think I ever was that much of a big deal, but all the same, to everyone who’s ever supported me and helped me be the person I am right now, to everyone who’s been there from the beginning, to all the devs of this game that has captured us for nearly a decade now, to all my fellow players and artists out there

Thank you.

See you out there, fellow commanders. Still the stars find their way.

[xomakara]

Our Love is Infinite

SUMMARY | You’re in a relationship with five guys that are utterly devoted to you. PAIRINGS | NCT '00 Line/Fem!Reader GENRE | just filthy smut, unprotected sex, fluff, mentions of threesomes, fingering, anal sex, oral sex (both male and female receiving), dirty talk, pet names RATING | Mature LENGTH | 14,672 words AUTHOR’S NOTE | And this is finally finished. Geezes, took me awhile. IDK if there’s really any plot in this. It’s more sex than anything. There’s mentions of threesomes but I haven’t wrote any of those scenes in here lol. Maybe I’ll write a part 2 or something for this. Hope you like it!

“So you and Jeno, huh?”

“Yeah, like he was really good last night.”

“I can’t believe I managed to kiss Jaemin.”

“Oh my god, you lucky bitch.”

You overheard the girls from a few tables down talk about who they've spent the night with after the NCT frat party. One girl was boasting about getting laid by Jeno. Another one claimed that she and Jaemin had kissed last night.

But you knew that wasn’t the case. Jeno and Jaemin were with you last night. You were sandwiched between the both of them, both taking turns fucking you senseless. The two gorgeous studs had given your pussy the best fucking it’s ever received.

You rolled your eyes, Yangyang sitting across from you as he laughed. “Seeing your reaction, seems like those girls are just telling made up stories.”

Haechan shook his head. “Don’t tell me…both of them were with you last night?”

Renjun let out a small laugh. “Of course they were with Y/N.”

Haechan patted you on the shoulder. “Mmm, baby. Jeno and Jaemin? At the same time? How are you feeling today?”

“I felt like I was almost torn in half.” You frowned at him, lightly squeezing his thigh.

“Awh, baby. Are you sore?” Haechan leaned over and kissed your forehead. He whispered into your ear, running his fingers along your jawline. You shivered under his touch. "Should we give you a break tonight?"

“Let's give Y/N a break tonight,” Renjun said, placing a kiss on your cheek.

Ever since you and Haechan started dating, your relationship and sex life has been very surprising. When Haechan was open to the idea of sharing you with his friends, it changed everything. No longer were you just his girlfriend, you were their girlfriends too. While you might not get to spend your whole time with Haechan anymore, you do get to enjoy each other’s company. For the most part, you guys are all exclusive to each other.

At first it started when you and Haechan caught Renjun sneaking looks at you while you weren't looking. When you asked why he kept staring, he told you that it was because he thought you were cute. As it turned out, Renjun had never dated anyone before and it took a lot for him to finally make a move. Haechan and you invited Renjun over to hang out, where you gave him your number so he could call you later.

When you got home that day, you looked at Haechan, questioning what to do next. Haechan chuckled and said he was fine with it if you wanted to date Renjun. Of course you agreed, wanting someone new to share your bed with every once in a while. Renjun seemed like a fun guy and being around the two of you makes him happy. It made you happy to know that there would be another man in your life that would treat you well.

Plus sex with the both of them is pretty awesome too. They're both quite skilled in the bedroom, leaving you satisfied more often than not. Not only did you start having threesomes with the two of them but you also have regular sex with them alone.

Yangyang was thrown into the mix when Renjun introduced him to you and Haechan. Like everyone else, he was attracted to you right away. He and Haechan hit it off right away and Yangyang saw an opportunity to pursue you. The two started spending a lot of time together, becoming best friends quickly. Haechan and you came to trust Yangyang and eventually you invited him to join in on their threesomes with you.

You were surprised when Jeno and Jaemin showed interest in you. It made sense though. After hearing all the sexcapades between you, Haechan, Renjun and Yangyang, you weren't surprised if Jeno and Jaemin wanted in on it as well. And hey, the sex was great so far. You would be lying if you say you didn't enjoy having Jaemin's dick deep inside you or letting Jeno slide in and out of your ass. So yes, you welcomed their advances with open arms. Plus, they weren't going to be some random people trying to enter your lives. They're already your friends.

This arrangement was a win-win situation for everyone involved. Everyone gets what they want. You got more dick. Haechan got some friends and you were happy to have a group that made you happy.

"Where is Jeno and Jaemin?" Renjun looked around before spotting Jeno's car in the parking lot. "They're always here early."

Jaemin entered the restaurant first, wearing an oversize t-shirt and sweatpants. He spotted Haechan standing behind you, greeting him with a hug. "Hey, sorry guys. Someone forgot to wake us up this morning."

Jeno pointed at you, smiling brightly. "Can't blame you, Y/N. The fuck she put us through last night."

You shrugged, turning to face the boys. "It was fun."

The rest of the guys filed into the restaurant, all talking amongst themselves. Jaemin turned towards you, giving you a small smile. "Did you sleep okay last night? We didn't hurt you or anything, did we?"

"Nah, I'm fine." You answered, sticking out your tongue. "Even though I felt like I was being torn apart half way through. But don't worry, I still enjoyed myself."

Jaemin smiled, nodding his head. "Good. 'Cause we plan to do it again soon."

Everyone exchanged glances before beginning to chuckle.

"Well, get in line since I plan on having her to myself." Haechan said with a wink, his hand on your thigh. "It's been awhile since I had some one on one with my sweetheart."

Your heart sped up. It's been awhile since you slept only with Haechan ever since you got multiple boyfriends. Haechan was your everything and even though he does get possessive sometimes, you love every bit of it. His kisses, his cuddles, the way he makes you feel so special. Although you had other boyfriends, Haechan was the one you loved the most. Having multiple lovers couldn't change that. Haechan wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Yangyang frowned. "I want some love too. Kind of jealous right now."

"Come on, don't be jealous." Renjun said, giving Yangyang a friendly pat on the back. "Remember that Haechan and Y/N have the most intimate relationship since they've been together since the start. It's just normal for her to spend most of her nights with Haechan."

Jeno leaned over, putting a hand on Yangyang's shoulder. "Come on, bro. You know how close they are. They've been through thick and thin. If anyone knows what they're doing, it'd be Haechan and Y/N."

"Ahww, my poor Yangyang." You pressed a small kiss on his cheek. "I still love you."

"Hmm, I love you too, dumpling." Yangyang nodded, returning your peck.

After finishing their meals, everyone gathered outside in front of their cars. It seemed like no one was leaving any time soon.

"I'm heading home." You announced, hugging Yangyang goodbye. "See you guys later."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Haechan called out, catching your attention. "Why don't you come back to my place instead?"

"Ahh..." You moaned, biting your lip. You hated to refuse Haechan, especially when he asked you something like this.

Haechan bent down, whispering into your ear. "Please, baby. I miss you."

"You're such a big baby," you muttered, your arms snaking around his waist. "Hmm, why don’t I spend some time with the others for the rest of the week and then you can have me all to yourself on the weekend. Deal?”

“Sure, whatever works for you. I love you.” Haechan chuckled, shaking his head. “I know in the end, I’m your favorite.”

“I love you too, Haechannie.” You kissed him. “You’re always my number one.”

Just as Haechan was pulling away from you, you turned around to face Renjun. Renjun was leaning against his car, grinning from ear to ear.

"What's so funny?" You asked, shooting a look at Renjun.

"Nothing, just looking at my two favorite people. Always have been, always will be." Renjun held your gaze with affection. Wrapping his arms around you, he gave Haechan a nod. “Y/N deserves the world. Sure this relationship with five guys and their one girlfriend is weird but it works.”

“That’s true, it really does work.” You murmured, resting your head on Renjun’s chest. You glanced at Haechan, seeing him smiling proudly. Before you knew it, Renjun wrapped his arms around both of you. You pulled away from Renjun, gazing into Haechan’s eyes. “Thanks for bringing these guys into our lives.”

“It’s nothing, baby. I’m just glad I could bring them closer to you.” Haechan leaned in, kissing you gently. Renjun, Yangyang, Jeno and Jaemin exchanged smiles.

Yangyang then let out a small cough to get everyone's attention. “We should really decide on a schedule to split Y/N’s time.”

Jeno leaned against his car. “I think Y/N should get more time with Haechan since they’re the main couple.”

“I second that idea.” Haechan chuckled.

Jaemin folded his arms over his chest and nodded. “Agreed.”

Renjun walked closer to Haechan, wrapping his arm around his shoulders. “What do you think, Y/N?”

You tilted your head slightly. “Well…if you guys think it’s necessary, then I don’t mind either. I trust you guys with my life and vice versa. Besides, if you guys all spend time with me during the weekdays, I can spend the weekends with Haechan. That sounds fair enough.”

“So how about…” Haechan started. “Y/N has Yangyang on Mondays, Jeno on Tuesdays, Jaemin on Wednesdays, Renjun on Thursdays?”

“And leaving you Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays?” Renjun suggested, earning chuckles from the rest of the group.

“Yep, sounds good to me.” You agreed. “But I also get the option to have threesomes, foursomes, or a gangbang on any given day.”

Everyone laughed while you flashed your pearly whites at Haechan. Haechan sighed, grabbing your chin, turning your face towards him. “Don’t tempt me, baby.”

“Yeah yeah, take me now!” You shouted, falling backwards onto the hood of Renjun’s car. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

“Oh, but it will take awhile to satisfy you. Let’s give you a little break.” Renjun groaned, tugging on your arm before dragging you closer to him. He grinned, pulling away from you and sending a loud smack onto your butt. “Later, kitten.”

You shook your head, wiping off your tears from laughter. “Whatever, you can’t resist me. I’m irresistible.”

Renjun growled at you playfully, nuzzling your neck with his nose. “Haven’t you heard, kitten? Nobody can resist you.”

Haechan let out a laugh. “Since we settled on a schedule and it’s Sunday, why don’t we give Y/N a break tonight and start tomorrow?”

“Hmm, that sounds reasonable.” You mumbled, leaning your head against Renjun’s shoulder.

Renjun chuckled. “Kitten, if you didn’t listen to Haechan when he first suggested this, then we wouldn’t be in this situation. Don’t worry about it. We already have an entire family of our own. Nothing compares to that. We’ll never leave you behind. Not ever. I promise.”

“Good. Then it’s settled. Everyone here will be responsible for taking care of you every single day. So, rest well today, baby.” Haechan gave you another kiss on the lips before placing his hand on your cheek. “I love you, sweetheart.”

You grinned at Haechan, brushing a strand of his black hair behind his ear. “I love you too, baby.”

The six of you stood there for a few moments, smiling at each other before you finally pulled away. After a quick goodbye, you headed back to your apartment building, walking in front of everyone else.

"See ya guys next week." You waved as the six of you parted ways.

When you got back inside your apartment, you took a deep breath before slowly closing the door. The air seemed different somehow. Maybe it was because you knew that the next few days would probably change everything again. But you were excited for this new development, even though it had its downsides. This was definitely going to be interesting.

You glanced at the photo on your wall once more. A couple of years ago, the six of you had gone out to dinner together and took pictures. It wasn’t the most professional-looking picture in the world but none of you cared about that.

For the first time, you smiled genuinely as you gazed at the photo, imagining what the future would hold for you and your five boyfriends.

Monday

It’s Monday and today is the day you get to spend with Yangyang. He promised you that he would give you all the time you wanted today.

"Thank you for waiting." You murmured, approaching the table. Yangyang was sitting at the opposite end, smiling brightly.

"Hey beautiful." Yangyang greeted, getting up and wrapping his arms around you. "How was your night?"

"It was alright." You admitted, resting your head against Yangyang's shoulder. "I ended up spending the night watching movies."

"Sounds boring." Yangyang teased. "Although I'm glad that you spent time alone with me."

"Mmm, thank you." You purred. "It was nice being by myself but I missed you."

Yangyang nodded. "Are you sure that you want to have me all to yourself today?"

You shrugged, lightly smacking Yangyang's lips with yours. "There's no reason not to. Why would you even ask that?"

"You're in a mood." Yangyang smirked.

"That's the understatement of the year." You sighed. "Have you decided where you wanna go today?"

"Well…" Yangyang scratched the back of his head, ruffling your long hair. "As a matter of fact, I did. Do you wanna go to the park?"

You nodded. "Of course I wanna go to the park with you!"

"Great, let's get going then." Yangyang pulled you up, holding onto your hand tightly. "Ready?"

You nodded before pulling away and heading towards the door. Once outside, you both paused for a moment. There was something magical about strolling around in the park during a beautiful summer afternoon. Yangyang, of course, noticed this immediately and couldn't help but pull you closer to him.

After walking around for a bit, you both eventually sat down on a nearby bench, enjoying the peaceful scenery around you. You rested your head on Yangyang's shoulder while he placed his head on top of yours, quietly staring at the flowers in the garden nearby. "This place is really pretty." You whispered.

"Yeah." Yangyang nodded. "Every time I come here, it reminds me of when we first met. How much things have changed since then."

You giggled, nodding in agreement. Things certainly have changed between the two of you since the two of you became lovers. It was almost like you had a whole new life ahead of you, filled with new opportunities, possibilities and people who mattered. Although your relationship with Yangyang had begun as an innocent one, you still made memories together that would last a lifetime.

"You know, I'll always be grateful to you." Yangyang stated softly. "From the very beginning, you showed me kindness. No matter what kind of person I am, I could never forget how you accepted me without hesitation. Because of you, I found the courage to believe in myself again. For a while, I forgot what it felt like to truly feel alive. Thanks for helping me find my happiness again."

"Yangyang…" You hummed, running your fingers through Yangyang's hair. "You've helped me too."

Yangyang snorted, pulling you close to him. "Yeah right, dumpling. I know Haechan has done more than everyone since he’s been there from the start. And trust me, I'm thankful to have such wonderful friends like him. What do I do that's special?"

You giggled, shaking your head. "Not everything has to be spectacular to count as special. Your actions are enough to convince me that I chose the right guy."

"Heh, good point." Yangyang grinned, hugging you tighter. "Anyway, do you have anything planned for tonight?"

"Not really." You answered truthfully.

"Why don’t we go back to your place then? We don’t need to have sex or anything. I just want to spend time together or whatever you want.” Yangyang squeezed you. “We can fall asleep in each other’s arms too, if you want.”

You couldn't help but blush at Yangyang's suggestion. Tonight was a perfect night to do some private snuggling.

"Yangyang, that sounds great." You exclaimed, jumping up. "But are you sure you want to stay over tonight?"

"Absolutely." Yangyang reassured you. "What do you say?”

You shrugged, turning towards the park entrance. "Let's go then. Let's head home. I'm kinda tired."

Yangyang followed closely behind you, continuing to whisper sweet nothings in your ear. Once inside your apartment, you both stopped in the middle of the hallway. Neither of you said a word as you walked towards your bedroom, leaving the rest of the apartment dark. Yangyang pulled off his shoes, removing his jacket before walking further into your room. "Shall we cuddle?" Yangyang asked as he pulled you towards the bed.

"Yes, please." You responded quickly, fluttering your eyelashes at him.

"Hmm, naughty girl. Come on, let's cuddle." Yangyang lifted you up, carrying you to the bed.

Once on the bed, you turned around and cuddled up next to Yangyang, facing him. Yangyang was caressing your back tenderly, smiling lovingly. "I love you so much, Y/N." Yangyang whispered in your ear. "Thank you for loving me."

"I love you too, Yangyang." You replied softly, tightening your grip around Yangyang's waist. "Now cuddle me some more."

You didn't have to tell Yangyang twice as he buried his face in your neck, whispering more sweet nothings in your ears. "Do you have any regrets about us being together?"

You shook your head. "No, not at all. In fact, I think I made the right choice."

Yangyang chuckled. "Good to hear. Now let's enjoy this little moment."

"Sounds good." You laughed, snuggling closer to Yangyang.

Soon, your lips began to touch each other. You kissed Yangyang softly, making soft sounds as you tasted him. You gently nibbled on Yangyang's lower lip, sucking lightly as you felt Yangyang lean in towards you, kissing you passionately. His hands traveled to your backside, cupping you tightly, rubbing your skin with excitement. You broke away from your embrace, gently pushing Yangyang onto his back. "Yangyang..." You breathed heavily. "Let's… do it.”

“Do what?” Yangyang questioned.

“Please… fuck me.” You whispered, slowly taking off your clothes. “If it’s okay with you.”

“Is that what you really want?” Yangyang teased, licking his lips as he stared at your body.

“Yes, please.” You whimpered, moving closer to Yangyang.

Yangyang let out a small laugh. "Alright, we'll do it." He kissed you once more before rolling you over onto your stomach. He lowered himself to your side, kissing your butt gently. "It feels so nice to be able to have you all to myself. Even if it's only on Mondays."

"I know that having to share me with four other guys sucks sometimes." You commented with a sigh. "But I'm happy that you can spend this time with me."

"You're right, baby. They mean a lot to me too. But I'm glad that we're able to be with each other now." Yangyang hugged you tight. "In fact, I'd like to make this time even better."

"Yangyang…" You moaned as Yangyang continued to rub your ass cheeks. "Please… fuck me."

Yangyang kissed your cheek, grabbing onto your thighs. "You really want me to fuck you, huh?"

"Y-yes, please… fuck me." You gasped, trying to contain your arousal.

“Sure thing, dumpling.” Yangyang responded. “Just lay back and relax.”

You moaned softly as you laid down on the bed, watching Yangyang remove his pants and underwear before climbing onto the bed. He looked so handsome, lying down naked and exposed, looking incredibly sexy. Yangyang looked up at you, a huge smile on his face. "Are you ready, my sweet dumpling?"

"Mmmm, yes." You moaned, blushing slightly as Yangyang started kissing your stomach. "I can't wait."

“Don’t worry, baby. I’m gonna make you cum so hard.” Yangyang whispered, slipping two fingers inside you. Yangyang started moving his fingers in and out of you, feeling every single inch of you. "Even though you have five boyfriends, you’re still so tight."

You could only moan at Yangyang's words, already having a strong orgasm building up. Yangyang continued his ministrations, teasing you mercilessly as he kissed your breasts, nipping your nipples playfully. He moved his mouth to your left breast, sucking on it as his fingers slid deeper inside of you. After a few minutes of pleasing you, Yangyang climbed on top of you, licking your entire body before moving down towards your core. He licked his way down to your thighs, dipping his tongue into your wet folds.

Yangyang kissed you gently, kissing your thigh and backside, causing you to moan loudly. "Oh god Yangyang, please…”

"Relax and open up for me, my sweet dumpling." Yangyang panted. "Trust me. It will be worth it."

With that, Yangyang leaned forward and placed a kiss on your clit, sending shockwaves throughout your body. You grabbed onto the sheets below you, feeling Yangyang run his tongue across your sensitive flesh. With his fingers still inside of you, Yangyang circled your clit rapidly, feeling you shake underneath him.

"Ahhh…" You gasped, gripping onto Yangyang tightly. "More, please… More."

Yangyang groaned, knowing exactly what you wanted. Moving his finger in and out of you, Yangyang continued circling your clit as he inserted another finger inside of you, massaging your g-spot and causing you to explode violently. You bucked wildly under him, squirting all over Yangyang’s face. Yangyang removed his fingers from you, licking up all of your juices. You tried to calm yourself down, breathing heavily as you laid there.

"That was incredible." Yangyang breathed. "You taste so good."

"Oh my god," you panted. "I can't believe I squirted like that."

Yangyang smirked, leaning down to kiss you gently. "As I said, it will be worth it."

Yangyang lifted himself up and looked at you, running his fingers through your messy hair. He leaned down to plant a passionate kiss on your lips, licking your tongue before returning to his normal position.

"You really came so hard." Yangyang stated, nuzzling his nose against yours.

"Ugh, don't remind me." You grumbled, covering your face with your hands. "I'm just so embarrassed that I got so wet and messy like that."

"I wouldn't call it embarrassing." Yangyang murmured, kissing your shoulder. "Your orgasms are absolutely beautiful."

"What does that even mean?" You groaned. "And why am I not surprised?"

"Come on, it's true." Yangyang laughed. "It takes quite an amazing woman to squirt all over someone’s face. So thank you for being my amazing woman, dumpling."

"Stop being silly, Yangyang." You sighed. "But thanks."

Yangyang snickered, licking his lips. "Well then, shall we continue where we left off?"

"Yes, Yangyang." You groaned. "Yes."

Yangyang reached for your hand, pulling you close to him. He grabbed onto your hips, grinding his dick into your body. You moaned, closing your eyes and relishing in the warmth of his dick pressed against your pussy.

Yangyang kissed you deeply, moaning softly as he felt your heat enveloping his dick. He could feel his penis throbbing as you moaned softly in his ear, his erection growing harder by the second. As Yangyang kissed you passionately, he gently thrust his dick inside of you, letting you take all of him in. You moaned again as Yangyang kissed you. The feeling of his dick stretching you out was almost indescribable. Every time he thrust into you, Yangyang grunted softly. Your lips met once more as Yangyang penetrated you, slamming you against the bed.

You could barely hold onto your sanity as Yangyang continued thrusting into you, feeling every single inch of him move within you. He began moaning as well, feeling every single inch of you wrapped around him. You could tell that he was enjoying every minute of this, moaning louder and louder as he continued thrusting into you. You couldn’t help but start screaming out as he increased his speed, grinding his dick against you. You clenched your fists, panting hard as he kept fucking you.

Finally, Yangyang grabbed onto your hips, thrusting faster and faster. You could feel your climax starting to build up as he fucked you relentlessly. Finally, you felt it come crashing down on you. Your entire body shook as you shuddered under him, Yangyang pounding into you as you screamed out. Your body quivered uncontrollably, crying out as waves of pleasure ran through you.

"Shit, Yangyang!" You cried out, throwing your head back as you felt your orgasm sweep over you.

He grabbed onto your arms, holding onto you as you continued coming. He thrust into you once more, gasping as he watched your face contort in ecstasy. After several moments, he withdrew his cock from you, allowing you to breathe. He placed kisses on your forehead, resting his chin against yours.

You finally calmed down, feeling him stroke your hair.

"Wow…" You sighed, staring at the ceiling. "That was… wow."

Yangyang laughed softly. "I told you it would be worth it."

"It was definitely worth it." You agreed, grinning up at Yangyang.

Yangyang pulled you close to him, nuzzling his nose against yours. "This is how we should be spending our Monday nights, dumpling."

"Yeah." You sighed. "You're right."

The two of you fell asleep in each other's arms, cuddling after such a wild session. Even though you'd taken part in sexual activities together countless times, this particular moment seemed particularly special to you.

Tuesday

It was easy to fall asleep after a full day of fun and laughter. You had gotten plenty of sleep after spending all night in Yangyang's arms. You opened your eyes slightly, hearing footsteps coming towards the room. Without opening your eyes completely, you spotted Yangyang walking in, stopping at the foot of the bed.

"Good morning, dumpling." Yangyang greeted, planting a gentle kiss on your forehead.

You sat up in bed, smiling. "Morning. What time is it?"

"Around 7:30 AM." Yangyang informed you. "When I woke up this morning Haechan let himself into your apartment so he could work on something this morning in the living room. Jeno also stopped by and is making breakfast. He’s in the kitchen making coffee and food right now. I already had my breakfast since I need to head out to my morning class.”

“Oh…” You nodded, rubbing your hands across your face. “Alright, see you later.”

"Okay." Yangyang leaned forward, kissing you on the lips gently. "I love you, dumpling."

"Love you too." You smiled.

"Give Jeno and Haechan my love." Yangyang kissed you again before moving back towards the door. "Take care, okay?"

"Okay." You echoed, leaning back in bed. "Bye bye, handsome."

Before he left, you heard the door open and close. For a second, you thought that someone else might have come in but after lying still for a while, you realized that you were the only one in the room. Rolling out of bed, you walked out of your bedroom and remembered that Jeno was cooking breakfast.

Padding into the kitchen, you wrapped your arms around Jeno, face pressed into his back.

"Ah, you're awake." Jeno remarked. "How are you feeling today?"

"Wide awake now that you made me food." You smiled, hugging Jeno tightly. “You’re a lifesaver.”

Jeno chuckled. "Don't worry, it’s my job to take care of you on Tuesdays. You owe me big time for all the times I had to come to your rescue."

You shrugged. "I love you too, so it's fine."

"Aw, you're too cute." Jeno winked, patting your head affectionately. "The food should be ready soon, so why don't you go wake up your number one? It won't be too long before we're eating."

"All right." You agreed, hugging Jeno again before letting go and walking towards the living room.

When you entered the living room, you noticed Haechan curled up on the couch, with his laptop open on his lap. From the way he was leaning back, it looked like he fell asleep while working. Taking a seat beside Haechan, you glanced at his screen and saw that he was doing some research for one of his papers. You chuckled, placed his laptop on the coffee table and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Wake up, love.”

Haechan slowly turned his head towards you, blinking rapidly before his eyes focused. “Ugh… sorry… sleepiness.”

“Don’t apologize. I bet you worked hard to finish your paper in time. I’m proud of you.” You smiled, leaning forward to give Haechan a kiss on the lips.

Haechan returned your kiss, his hand coming to caress your arms. He whispered, “I wish it was Friday and the weekend already. I want to hold you again, hug you tightly.”

“Me too.” You sighed. “But today is Jeno’s day.”

“Hey, you two!” Jeno popped his head into the living room, pulling you both out of your thoughts. “Breakfast is ready! Come and eat.”

“Okay, let’s eat.” Haechan stood up and went to the kitchen, joining Jeno in preparing your meal.

“Thanks again for cooking.” You whispered, placing a soft kiss on Jeno’s cheek.

Jeno chuckled, returning the gesture. “Anytime, princess. That’s what I’m here for.”

You walked to the kitchen, followed closely by Haechan. After washing your hands, you grabbed a bowl and spoon and went to sit down at the dining table. The three of you ate breakfast before cleaning the dishes and putting them away.

As you finished tidying up the kitchen, Jeno called out from the living room, asking you to join him. You followed Jeno back to the living room, sitting down on the sofa while Haechan took a seat on the floor in front of the couch.

"So, did you sleep well last night?" Jeno asked.

"Yep, very well. Had a lot of fun talking with Yangyang." You told Jeno. "We just talked and cuddled.”

“I know you had sex with him too, baby.” Haechan muttered, eyes twinkling with mischief. “You're always craving for a dick in you.”

“Maybe I’m just waiting for the weekend for you to fuck me.” You said to Haechan teasingly. “But yes, the sex was good.”

“As long as you were satisfied, babe.” Haechan burst out laughing. "But can you patiently wait for the weekend for me to fuck your brains out?"

"I'll try my hardest, love. Not a guarantee though. But until then, today is Jeno's day." You leaned forward to give him a kiss. "You know I always love you Haechan."

"And I always love you too, my love." Haechan said tenderly.

You returned Haechan's smile before looking at Jeno, who had been quietly observing the scene between you and Haechan with a smile on his face. "Speaking of which, I forgot to ask you. Do you have any plans today?"

Jeno paused, giving you an apologetic look before shaking his head. "Sorry princess, nothing interesting happening today."

"That's fine. Just hang around the house with me. Or maybe go shopping with me?" You suggested, giving Jeno a pleading look. "If you get bored, we could watch movies or play games."

Jeno bit his lip. "Y/N, you can't possibly be bored if you're with me."

"Of course not." You scoffed. "I would never be bored with you."

"Mmm, if you insist…" Jeno smirked, giving you a light kiss. "We can spend our day in bed if you want."

"Look at you two flirting in front of me." Haechan chuckled. "Just stay in bed with him for the whole day. Don't bother going out anywhere."

Jeno kissed you passionately, tugging on your shirt before running his fingers through your hair. "Should we?”

"Yes." You moaned, wrapping your arms around Jeno's shoulders. "Just stay in bed and don't stop kissing me. It's only Tuesday. Haechan, forget class and stay in bed with me too.”

“I wish I could, baby.” Haechan chuckled, getting up off the floor. “Today is Jeno's day. So I will take my leave first. I love you and I’ll see you this weekend.”

With that, Haechan left the living room, leaving you alone with Jeno. He stared deeply into your eyes before giving you another deep kiss. As he pulled away, he murmured, “Ready to spend the rest of the day in bed with me?”

"Mhm." You agreed, resting your head on his chest.

Jeno wrapped his arms around you, running his hands through your hair and caressing your scalp softly. After staying like that for a while, he whispered, “Do you remember when we first met, babe? When you accidentally walked into the lecture hall and tripped over me because I was laying down there?”

“Yes.” You mumbled, closing your eyes as you recalled the events of that fateful day. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” Jeno continued. “I was trying to take a nap before my lecture. And you came walking in. My heart almost skipped a beat when I saw you walking towards me. All I could think about was wanting you, making you mine. I wanted to take you home at that moment but then I found out that you and Haechan were dating."

"You were jealous." You giggled. "That’s cute. I thought you hated me at first."

“At first I hated you. I was angry because I lost out on a chance to make you mine." Jeno admitted. "But after I found out how much Haechan loved you, I calmed down. I knew that you would choose him instead of me."

“But you're here now, Jeno." You smiled. "Haechan might still be my number one, but don't think that you're not special to me. You all are special to me. I'm lucky to have you all in my life."

“You’re right. We are all special to you." Jeno sighed, running his hand through your hair. "And we do care about you. I should be glad that Haechan is so open about sharing you with other men. At least he has good taste in choosing people to share you with. Even though you and I weren't together yet, you shared your body with me without hesitation. I was surprised at first, but later on, I got used to it. Whenever I see Haechan fuck you, I feel happy. To see him make you moan and scream. He's very passionate when he fucks you, especially when he's holding you in his arms afterwards. He hugs you tight and strokes your hair. It makes me melt every time. Seeing him like that reminds me of how much he loves you. I wanted to be like that for you."

You gazed at Jeno intently, marveling at how sweet he was being. There was such sincerity in his voice and eyes that you couldn't help but become emotional. "How could anyone not fall in love with you?"

Jeno closed his eyes, smiling as he ran his thumb along your jawline. "It’s hard to describe. But whenever I’m with you, everything seems brighter and more beautiful. Everything is perfect. No matter how bad my day is, you manage to make me forget everything else. I hope that we can stay this way forever. This perfect world where nothing ever goes wrong."

He tightened his embrace around you before whispering, "I love you."

You closed your eyes, knowing that this was a moment worth remembering. And that this was a moment worth repeating. This moment where everything seemed so right, so perfect. You opened your eyes, gazing at Jeno lovingly.

"I love you too." You whispered. "Now come make my Tuesdays as wonderful as possible."

Jeno smiled brightly, leading you out of the living room and heading straight to your bedroom. He tilted your head up and softly pressed his lips onto yours, brushing your teeth gently before deepening the kiss. His tongue teased yours playfully, swirling around and inside your mouth before finally entering.

You felt your stomach tense as Jeno continued to explore your mouth with his tongue. Moaning loudly, you pulled back, throwing your arms around Jeno's neck. You lifted your leg up, wrapping it around Jeno's waist as he stood up, pulling you along with him.

"Shit, you're so hot and sexy." Jeno groaned, lifting you up in his arms. "My legs are so tired."

“They need to rest anyway.” You laughed breathlessly, leaning against Jeno as he carried you to the bed. “Now, lay me down.”

Jeno laid you down gently, pressing a series of kisses on your skin as he started undressing you. You looked at him lustfully as he slowly peeled off each piece of clothing. Every single inch of your body was exposed, sending waves of excitement through your system. His face glowed with desire as he lowered himself, staring at your naked body with admiration. His eyes moved over your torso, tracing every curve and crevice of your skin before moving downwards to your breasts.

Your nipples hardened under his gaze as he stared at them, causing you to shiver. Unable to resist, you reached for Jeno's hair, stroking it seductively as he continued to look at your breasts. He licked his lips hungrily before reaching for your nipple, pinching it lightly. Your body arched upwards instinctively, trying to seek more stimulation. A satisfied growl escaped from Jeno's throat as he continued to pinch and twist your nipples. You whimpered with pleasure, arching your back even further.

Jeno glanced at you briefly before lowering his head, sucking your breast roughly. His teeth dug into your flesh, eliciting another shriek from you. With that, Jeno switched his focus to your other breast, nibbling on your erect nipple again as he increased the pace of his movements. Your entire body was throbbing with desire by now, your clit already wet and swollen.

Moaning louder, you spread your legs wider, giving Jeno more access to your pussy. “More…”

Jeno complied immediately, taking his time to lick your clit and tease your g-spot with his tongue. You felt yourself nearing orgasm already, letting out soft cries as you tried to suppress your moans.

His teasing made you cry out again as your body convulsed uncontrollably, shooting a river of juices all over the place. You fell limply onto the bed, panting heavily as you listened to Jeno moaning.

“Fuck. I can’t believe I squirted again.” You panted.

Jeno grinned, crawling on top of you. He pushed his cock against your entrance, stretching your muscles slightly as he thrust forward. You groaned, feeling the head of his cock pushing past your inner walls. His shaft slowly slid in and out of you, stretching you even further.

“God, you’re so tight and hot.” Jeno groaned, running his hands up and down your sides. “It feels so good having you wrapped around me like this.”

You nodded in agreement, gripping Jeno’s hips tightly. “Don’t stop fucking me.”

Jeno smirked, tightening his grip on your hips. “Oh no, I’m just getting started.” He grunted as he slammed his hips forwards, making you squeak with surprise. He began pounding your pussy vigorously, his eyes locked on yours as he gave you all of his attention. The sight of him looking at you intensely caused your heart to race faster than ever before.

Each stroke became harder and faster as he picked up speed. His rough breathing echoed in your ears, mixed with the sound of his cock sliding in and out of you. Every inch of your body was drenched with sweat by now, your entire body trembling violently.

A low groan escaped from Jeno's lips as he pumped you harder and faster. Each thrust sent a jolt of pleasure through your body, causing you to bite your lip and hold back any noise you may have made. You could feel his shaft twitch inside you every time he plunged into you, sending ripples of pure ecstasy throughout your entire body.

Jeno released a string of curses as he slammed his hips into yours repeatedly, his pace becoming erratic as he grew closer to climax.

“Fuck, princess.” Jeno gritted his teeth, pumping your pussy furiously. “Are you close?”

“Yeeeesssss.” You cried out, wrapping your arms around his neck and grinding your hips into him.

The sensation was intense as Jeno continued pounding your pussy relentlessly. Sweat dripped down his forehead, creating little rivers down his cheek as he continued to stare at you hungrily. You could tell that he was nearing his peak as well.

“I’m gonna cum.” Jeno groaned, shaking his head wildly as he continued to pump your pussy.

“Cum inside me!” You yelled, slamming your hips backwards. “Fill me up!”

Jeno's entire body trembled, as if his entire body was going through some sort of spasm. His face contorted into an expression of utter pleasure, which caused your heart to skip a beat. He bit his lower lip before suddenly slamming his hips forward once again, making you gasp as his balls exploded.

Hot white liquid splashed onto your skin, filling you up with every single drop of his seed. Your insides turned molten hot as Jeno kept pumping your pussy, spilling every last drop of his load inside you. You were left gasping for air, completely drained as Jeno collapsed next to you, collapsing in exhaustion.

After a few moments of catching your breath, you glanced down at Jeno's naked body. Every part of his body was flushed red with perspiration, glistening from the numerous streams of sweat that had accumulated on him. His breathing was heavy as he lay beside you, completely spent.

You leaned in towards Jeno, planting a gentle kiss on his lips before burying your face into his neck. He groaned softly, closing his eyes as you held him closely. His arms encircled your waist protectively, causing you to smile fondly.

“That was amazing.” You whispered, resting your chin on his chest.

Jeno didn't reply, only snuggling closer to you. Both of you remained silent, lost in thought. Eventually, you drifted off to sleep, feeling content as you cuddled against Jeno's side.

Wednesday

Wednesday rolled around and you laid in Jaemin’s arms on the bed, resting comfortably in his embrace. The two of you had spent most of the day watching TV shows and chatting. At one point during the day, Jaemin and you got carried away while playing Uno, making each other laugh hysterically when neither of you could see the cards you were drawing anymore due to your laughter.

The entire time you stayed in Jaemin’s arms with him softly stroking your back. There was something about the way he did that made you feel so loved and cherished, like nothing would ever change between you two.

Jaemin rubbed your shoulder as you talked about your days. “What happened with Yangyang on Monday and Jeno yesterday?”

“Yangyang and I just hung out, took a walk around the park and just cuddled in bed that night.” You answered, looking up at him. “And yesterday, Jeno made me breakfast and then we just stayed in bed all day.”

“Did your days end with sex?” Jaemin raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile on his lips.

"Why?" You asked, arms wrapping his neck. "Is my Jaemin jealous?"

Jaemin laughed, burying his face into your hair. “No, my little bunny. No jealousy here.”

He nuzzled against you affectionately before lifting his head again, gazing into your eyes. “We’ll always have some great days together. Right?”

You sighed happily, raising an eyebrow. “I suppose… But there will also be those bad days, won’t there?”

Jaemin placed his index finger on your chin, tilting it upwards until you looked at him. He smirked. “Well I hope those bad days don't include me."

"They probably won't…" You nodded, turning towards him, allowing your arms to wrap around his shoulders. "Who's to say that I won't have bad days with the other guys?"

"If you do, just come talk to me about it. I promise I'll make sure you're okay and things get better for you. You know how much I care about you, my sweet bunny."

You smiled at him, snuggling closer to him. “Thank you, baby.”

"Anything for you, honey." Jaemin grinned, holding you tighter against him.

For a moment you both were quiet, content with where you were at and what you were doing. Then suddenly you sat up straight, giggling. You leaned up, pecking his lips. “Oh, what do you say we go out tonight? There’s this new restaurant that I want to try.”

Jaemin glanced at the clock on the wall, grinning happily as he laid down. “I’ll get ready quickly. What should I wear?”

You giggled as you watched Jaemin scramble to get dressed. Once he was finished, he leaned over, kissing you passionately. “See you soon, bunny.”

As soon as he closed the door behind him, you turned to look at the mirror on the wall. Your reflection appeared distorted as you gazed at yourself intently. You couldn’t help but grin widely, remembering how good it felt when Jaemin had touched you earlier today. It was funny how things had changed between you and Jaemin since the first time you met him. Then, you were nothing more than a random student that walked in on him masturbating in the bathroom during a frat party you attended with Haechan.

Of course, back then, you hadn’t known anything about Jaemin, and you would have never guessed that he would turn out to be such a great friend. Now, you were practically inseparable with him. You were pretty sure that Haechan and your other boyfriends wouldn’t mind if you brought Jaemin into the relationship. He was a close friend of everyone, particularly Jeno, so it was just a matter of time before he became your boyfriend as well.

That thought made you giggle once more. In fact, you had already made the move on Jaemin a few times, surprising him when you broke the news to him that he had been ‘accepted’ into your harem. However, Jaemin didn’t take it too badly. To be honest, Jaemin seemed kind of excited about being accepted into your harem. Maybe it was because it meant you cared enough about him to let him join. Whatever the reason was, you were happy. Everything was perfect right now, and you knew you would only continue to improve. And even though there might be days when you didn’t feel very confident, there would always be someone who would help you feel strong.

Pulling on your clothes and checking to make sure you had everything, you met up with Jaemin in the living room. The two of you greeted each other cheerfully before heading downstairs together.

While waiting for dinner to arrive, you and Jaemin sat across from each other, talking about random stuff. You were about to bring up Jeno when the waiter arrived with their meals. You silently thanked the waiter as he placed the plates on the table before leaving. After collecting our utensils, the two of you started eating.

“So, about Jeno.” Jaemin said after a while, spearing a piece of meat on his fork. “Did he fuck you good last night? Was my baby satisfied?”

You let out a quiet moan as you chewed, pretending to ignore his question. “He did fuck me really well, though. Very much so.”

Jaemin smiled, leaning forward slightly. “Tell me everything. How many times did he penetrate you? Did you take his load in your mouth or your pussy? Or both?”

Taking a deep breath, you cleared your throat, knowing that you shouldn’t be getting excited by these questions. Still, you couldn’t stop thinking about what happened last night and how good Jeno made you feel. You tried your best not to show it, continuing to talk to Jaemin as if you didn’t hear him.

Jaemin glanced at you again, raising an eyebrow. “Y/N? Are you okay?”

Sighing softly, you shook your head, hiding your face behind your menu. “Yes, Jaemin. I’m fine. Just thinking about… something else.”

“Yeah, right.” Jaemin chuckled. “That ‘something else’ is obviously about what you and Jeno got up to last night. Why are you still blushing? It's okay to like it. I just want to know─”

“Jaemin, baby,” you looked at him. “How about I show you after dinner when we get home?”

Jaemin leaned back, chuckling. “You are so naughty. So insatiable, little bunny.”

The two of you finished dinner and headed back to the apartment, the sound of your footsteps echoing down the hallway. The lights were dimmed as you opened the front door and stepped inside. Jaemin followed you inside, locking the door behind him. As you shut the door, he began to undress, letting his shirt fall to the ground.

You blushed slightly, taking off your jacket and putting it aside. In a moment, your dress came off as well, revealing your lacy bra and thong underneath. While the silence hung in the air, you grabbed a throw pillow and laid it flat on the couch. You patted the seat next to you, Jaemin coming to sit. Smiling sweetly, you stroked his chin. “Are you okay with me having sex with Jeno?”

“Yeah, of course I’m okay with that.” Jaemin replied. “Besides, I’ve seen plenty of you and Haechan naked and fucking, remember?”

“Mmm…” You licked your lips slowly, biting your lower lip.

Jaemin smirked. “Oh my, this should be interesting.”

"It won't be long until we're all having sex together." You grinned mischievously. "Then everyone will be having lots of sex."

"Won't that be wonderful?" Jaemin chuckled.

“And my Jaemin can finally have some happy family days.” You giggled.

Jaemin rolled his eyes. “My own family?”

"Jaemin." You scolded, trying to pull away from him. "We’re all adults.”

“Well, in that case…” Jaemin smirked. “Let’s start a new family. With little bunnies running around.”

Laughing, you moved your hands to run down his sides, caressing his abs gently. You pushed his boxers down slightly, admiring the smooth skin on his torso. Gently nibbling on his earlobe, you lightly trailed kisses along his jawline.

"Behave, little bunny." Jaemin warned.

"Ooooh, I'm being bad." You giggled. "Tsk tsk."

Before you could move any further, Jaemin picked you up and set you down on top of him, locking his arms around your waist.

"Jaemin!" You exclaimed, struggling to get away.

"Now behave, little bunny." Jaemin chuckled, his lips capturing yours. His tongue teased yours playfully, causing both of you to moan softly. As he pulled away, you began kissing his neck.

"God damn it, you tease." Jaemin groaned, pulling you tighter against him.

As he began tracing his fingers down your spine, his hands rested above your ass, your breasts pressing into his chest. Leaning forward, he pressed his mouth against your collarbone, nipping and sucking on your skin. As you moaned loudly, a wicked smirk crossed his face.

Reaching behind you, he gently slid the straps of your bra down, exposing your breasts.

"Y/N." Jaemin groaned, licking his lips. "These are very beautiful."

A low growl escaped your throat as Jaemin ran his tongue along your breast. Grabbing them, he began to massage them gently. Using his thumbs, he circled your nipples before lightly flicking them with his tongue. They hardened instantly, eliciting a loud moan from you.

“Good girl.” Jaemin murmured, gazing down at you lovingly. “I like hearing you moan like that.”

As he began to suck on your nipple, his hand went to the small of your back, sliding down to your waist. Leaning down, he kissed you passionately, sending shivers through your body. For a moment, the only thing you heard was soft moans and grunts escaping your lips as Jaemin sucked on your breast.

Suddenly, he pulled away, his lips trailing down your stomach to your navel. He sucked on it gently, swirling his tongue around the edges. Another moan escaped your lips as you grabbed onto his shoulders tightly, desperate to hold on.

Suddenly, he stopped and stood up. Standing behind you, he wrapped his arms around your waist, placing his hands on your ass. He squeezed them firmly, pushing his hips forward slightly.

Your heart raced as you leaned back into him, feeling him push against your backdoor. Looking back, you could see him giving you a devilish smile. He gently pressed against you again, causing you to wince slightly as the head of his cock entered you.

"It's alright, my little bunny." Jaemin reassured you, stroking your cheek softly. "Just relax. It'll be fine."

"Jaemin, you're so big." You whimpered. "I don't know if─"

Jaemin placed a finger on your lips, silencing you. Taking a deep breath, he continued pushing forward, entering you completely. You moaned loudly, biting your lip as the pressure on your anus increased.

Jaemin bit his lip hard, panting heavily. "God, you feel amazing. Can you feel my dick filling you up?"

"Mmmm…" You nodded, smiling. "It feels so good."

His fingers left your cheek, trailing down your neck. Slowly moving upward, they cupped your breast, gently squeezing them as his other hand gently pinched your nipple. You moaned loudly, pressing your hips into his groin.

Panting loudly, Jaemin lifted his hips slightly. "Does my little bunny like that?"

"Ahh… yes." You groaned. "Please, keep going."

"Like that?" Jaemin whispered in your ear.

Shivering slightly, you nodded, leaning your head against his shoulder.

Gazing at you lovingly, he started thrusting harder, your moans filling the room. With every thrust, he would kiss you, gently holding onto your ass. At one point, he suddenly tightened his grip, bringing you to your knees as he kept thrusting in and out of you. A high-pitched moan escaped your throat as he continued pumping into you, you bucking your hips forward in response.

"Jaemin…" You whimpered. "I need you to cum inside me. Please."

“What do you want, little bunny?” Jaemin whispered seductively in your ear. “Do you want to feel me come inside you? Do you want to feel me fill you up with my seed?”

“Yes, Jaemin! Please! Cum inside me!” You screamed.

Jaemin let out a low moan, the veins in his neck standing out as he pumped his hips faster. Keeping one hand on your hip, he used the other to stroke your clit, bringing you to climax in no time. Feeling him tense, you knew he was about to release his sperm inside you.

"I'm going to cum inside you." Jaemin whispered. "All over your ass. Fill you up with my seed."

With that, he let go of your waist, placing his hands on your shoulders and driving himself deeper into you. One final thrust sent him shooting inside you, both of you screaming as he filled you. His moans filled the room as he let out several short bursts of cum inside you.

"Fuck." Jaemin gasped. "That was amazing."

"Me too." You moaned, burying your face into the pillow. "I love you, Jaemin."

"I love you too, Y/N." He mumbled quietly, his lips brushing against your hair. "Thank you for allowing me to be with you tonight. You've made my dream come true. I know that Wednesday nights with you is something that I'll always treasure."

The two of you stayed silent for a while, soaking in the blissful feelings that lingered between the two of you. In no time, you were lying there, cuddling with him as you both drifted off to sleep. You didn't notice the bright light shining through the window.

Thursday

Thursday arrived and you were at Renjun’s and Haechan’s place watching movies. Haechan told you that he was staying late at work but Renjun would be home.

You loved spending time with Renjun. Renjun was obviously great in bed but that wasn’t why he was your number two. If Haechan was ever busy, Renjun would always be there to comfort, keep you company and if your libido was acting up, he'd be more than willing to help relieve that pressure.

As you sat beside Renjun, he took your hand in his, gently stroking your palm. You looked at him lovingly, smiling softly.

"I missed you, Y/N." He smiled. "Today has been boring without you."

"Hmmm… Renjun." You purred, wrapping your arm around his shoulder. "If you want to keep me entertained, maybe you could fuck me later."

"Fuck." He mumbled, grinning sheepishly.

You giggled, moving closer to him. Kissing his cheek, you crawled across the couch to straddle him. Resting your head on his shoulder, you sighed contently. After watching a few movies, Renjun pulled you close to him, resting his chin on your head. The movie had ended and the rest of the night would consist of cuddling.

“You’re going to spend all night hugging me, aren’t you?” You asked.

“Yup.” He smiled, stroking your thigh. “After today, I wanted to make sure you knew how much I appreciate you.”

Smiling softly, you traced circles on his chest. “I appreciate you too.”

After a while, you shifted positions, rolling onto your side to face him. Nuzzling his neck, you softly kissed him on the lips.

"Renjun…" You said softly.

He looked at you with sleepy eyes. "Hmm?"

“Can I ask you something?”

His gaze softened. "Anything."

“How do you really feel about sharing me with Haechan and the others?”

"It makes me happy to share you with the guys." He replied simply.

"Why?" You asked.

"Because I like seeing you happy." He said, his voice sounding genuine. "Seeing you happy makes me happy. And it also feels good knowing that you have other guys who will care for you when I can't. Just like how in the beginning, I took care of you when Haechan couldn’t.”

A wide grin spread across your face. “You mean it? You actually like sharing me with them?”

"Of course." He replied confidently. "I never once thought otherwise. They treat you right and they are fun to hang out with. I trust them. I’m kind of happy that Haechan was so open sharing you with me, much less the others. I mean, most people might not like the idea of their significant other sleeping with someone else. But they never tried to force you into anything or become overly possessive. They are all respectful of each other’s relationship to you. I don’t know what we would do without our little harem. I love you too much to allow you to suffer alone. Sharing you with the guys allows us to continue having a relationship with each other while taking care of you at the same time. I like the idea of a bigger family, especially since the five of us are like brothers anyway."

Staring at him lovingly, you felt your heart melting at the sincerity in his voice. Suddenly, you felt his lips pressing against yours. Your heart skipped a beat as you returned his kiss. Lifting your hand, you grabbed the back of his head, pulling him even closer to you. You brought your other hand to cup his cheek, gently caressing his jawline. After a while, Renjun broke the kiss, resting his forehead against yours.

"I love you, Y/N." He whispered, cupping your cheek tenderly. "I love you so much. More than I ever thought possible."

"And I love you, Renjun." You said softly, nipping his lower lip.

Wrapping his arms around you, he slowly pulled you on top of him, letting his hands slide down your sides. Once he reached your hips, he gripped them tightly, urging you to grind yourself against him. Bringing your mouth back to his, he kissed you passionately, his tongue finding its way past your lips. For a moment, you felt overwhelmed by passion. Your entire body throbbed with desire, making you feel weak in the knees. Grinding yourself against him, you began moaning as his kisses grew rougher.

Pulling away from you, he smirked before sitting up. You followed suit, sitting on his lap, facing him. Leaning forward, he kissed you on the neck, causing goosebumps to form all over your body. Continuing his onslaught on your neck, he trailed kisses along your collarbone, causing you to squirm. Tugging at your shirt, he lifted it over your head. Next, he tugged off your bra, causing your breasts to bounce free. He moaned as he lightly pinched your nipples. Gently biting your breast, he sucked one nipple into his mouth while rubbing the other one with his thumb.

You moved your hands down his chest, running them over his abs, tracing small circles over his belly button. Kneading his skin gently, you felt him moan loudly as you slid your hands under his pants. Moving down his legs, you ran your fingers along his inner thighs. Moving down further, you wrapped your fingers around his length, teasing the tip of his cock. As you circled the base of his shaft, you could feel him shudder. Glancing up, you saw a look of lust on his face. Returning his stare, you licked your lips, drawing his attention to them.

"Oh god, Y/N." He groaned. "Are you really gonna do this? Right now?"

Looking up at him, you gave him a shy smile.

"Yeah.” You replied, slowly sliding your fingers around his cock, causing him to jump. “Do you really want me to stop?"

“No.” He grunted, grabbing your wrist. “I want you to suck me off. Right here. Right now.”

You gave him an innocent smile, kneeling down in front of him. Placing his cock in between your lips, you gently took the head of his cock into your mouth.

Letting out a sigh, he closed his eyes. Slowly sucking on his shaft, you took his length deep into your mouth, feeling it hit the back of your throat. Taking your time, you ran your tongue along the underside of his cock. Using your hands to hold his ass, you forced his cock deeper into your mouth, using your hand to squeeze his balls, causing him to cry out in pleasure.

Moaning loudly, you tightened your grip on his shaft as you went faster, circling the base of his cock with your tongue. Pressing your teeth harder on his shaft, you slowly increased the speed of your sucking. Soon enough, he started moaning louder, thrusting his hips upwards, encouraging you to go faster. You could feel his cum building up, pulsating at the tip of his cock. Taking him deeper into your mouth, you closed your lips around his shaft, allowing the first drop of cum to drip into your mouth. Sucking gently, you slowly took more of his cock into your mouth until you swallowed his whole load.

Dropping your head, you let his cum roll down your chin, dripping off your chin onto your breasts. Closing your eyes, you felt a sense of satisfaction wash over you as you heard Renjun let out a satisfied moan. His hand came to rest on the back of your head, massaging your scalp as you continued sucking his cock. Eventually, you pulled away, resting your head on his thighs.

He looked down at you with adoring eyes. Looking up at him, you made eye contact, locking your gaze with his. Gazing into his eyes, you noticed the gleam in his eyes, causing your stomach to flutter with excitement. His eyes seemed filled with longing, mixed with desire.

"Y/N..." He breathed. "What are you doing to me?"

Smiling, you rose to your feet. Running your fingers through his hair, you tilted his head upwards.

"I'm just doing what I love." You murmured, leaning in to kiss him.

"Well, if you keep doing things like that, I won't be able to stop myself from fucking you." He said, giving you another peck on the lips. Pulling away from him, you quickly took off your shirt and skirt, leaving you completely naked in front of him. Inching closer to him, you felt his breath on your skin. Feeling him moving behind you, you waited anxiously for him to finally touch you. With one quick motion, he flipped you onto your stomach, positioning himself behind you.

Slowly lowering his body onto you, he kissed the back of your neck, gently caressing your shoulders. Once he was positioned properly, he leaned forward, kissing your shoulders and back, causing goosebumps to appear all over your body. Leaning forwards, he began licking your shoulder, working his way towards your neck. As he kissed you, his left hand came to rest between your legs, rubbing you through your panties. While his hand played with your pussy, his tongue traced patterns on your back, sending shivers throughout your body.

Kissing you passionately, he let out a growl, placing his weight on top of you. Kissing your ear, he whispered in your ear.

"Y/N… I need you so bad."

You turned around, meeting his gaze. Sliding your arms around his neck, you ran your fingers through his hair. Wrapping your legs around his waist, you brought him close to you. Taking your face in his hands, he pressed his lips against yours, opening your mouth to his tongue. For a moment, you allowed him to explore your mouth with his tongue, feeling your arousal intensify as he teased you with his tongue. Biting your bottom lip, he broke the kiss.

"Hurry up and fuck me, Renjun." You whispered seductively.

Bending down, he buried his face between your legs, moaning at the taste of you. Leaving wet trails on your thigh, he ran his tongue up your slit, gliding up and down your lips, tasting every inch of you. Sticking out his tongue, he swirled it around your clit, eliciting a gasp from you.

Breathing heavily, you could feel your body heating up, sending tingles all over your body. Getting up onto your elbows, you watched him lick your pussy with such intensity. Panting, he brought his mouth closer to your clit, slipping a finger inside you, swirling his finger around your hole, making sure you were well lubricated. Once he was confident that your pussy was sufficiently wet, he stood up, positioning himself above you.

Pushing your hips upwards, you wanted to feel his cock penetrate you. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed your waist and moved you underneath him, aligning his cockhead with your entrance. A few short thrusts later, you could feel his cock enter you. Groaning loudly, he pushed forward, burying himself fully inside you. Letting out a loud moan, he pressed his hips into you, making you feel his cock swell even more. Tightening your muscles around him, he bit down on your shoulder, increasing the pressure of his thrusts. Feeling his cock swell again, you wrapped your arms around his neck, grinding yourself into him. Gasping, he thrust once more, making you cry out in pleasure. This time, instead of biting down on your shoulder, he placed his lips against your ear.

"Tell me how good it feels." He said in a ragged whisper.

Feeling his cock throbbing inside you, you opened your mouth, looking straight into his eyes.

"So fucking good…" You managed to say, biting down on your lip as you let out a moan.

"Oh god…" He groaned, slamming his hips into you again and again.

Each thrust caused you to cry out in pleasure. Sensing your orgasm approaching, he picked up his pace, driving his cock deeper into you with each thrust. Unable to contain yourself any longer, you cried out, coming hard around his cock.

As soon as you came, he threw his head back, releasing his seed inside you. Reaching down, he took one of your hands in his, bringing it to his mouth, kissing it softly. Wrapping your arms around his neck, you held him tight as he finished filling you with his cum. Keeping his cock buried inside you, he lowered his head and gave you soft kisses on your cheek and neck. Eventually, he got off of you, lying next to you. Gently stroking your hair, he looked into your eyes, letting out a sigh.

"Wow, Y/N." He said, smiling sheepishly. "That was incredible."

Wrapping your arm around his waist, you brought his head towards you, planting a kiss on his forehead.

"Yeah, it was." You said with a giggle. "But don't worry, we'll definitely do that again."

Friday

You woke up the next morning to find Renjun's spot empty. Sitting up, you rubbed your eyes, looked at the clock and noticed that it was about 8am. He probably had morning classes and didn't want to bother you. You got up out of bed and made your way to Haechan's room to see if he was there.

You found him lying in bed still, so you slipped in bed next to him. As soon as you lay down, he wrapped his arms around you and snuggled into you. Resting your head on his shoulder, you smiled at him.

"Good morning." You said.

"Good morning, sunshine." He replied, pulling you closer to him. "How was your night with Renjun?"

Leaning up, you kissed him on the cheek. "It was amazing. But now I just want to spend time with you."

Chuckling, he shook his head. "Silly girl. You've been spending all your time with the others. Don't you miss me anymore?"

You giggled, wrapping your arms around his neck. "As much as I love them all, I miss being with you the most."

Pulling you closer, he leaned down and planted a gentle kiss on your lips. After breaking apart, he brushed his lips across your nose, before pressing a kiss on your lips.

"You know you're always welcome in my room." He said, bringing his lips to your ear. "Especially when you look like that."

Shivering, you smiled, placing your head on his chest. "You always know how to make me blush."

A few minutes passed by in silence as you cuddled with Haechan. The last thing you heard before falling asleep was Haechan whispering 'I love you' in your ear. It was such an innocent, yet romantic gesture. A part of you wanted to hear more words of love from him but another part of you couldn't wait to fall asleep in his embrace.

After waking up from your nap, Haechan was still sleeping soundly. Feeling slightly hungry, you got up and headed to the kitchen for some breakfast. As you grabbed some orange juice from the fridge, you felt someone come up behind you. Turning around, you saw a sleepy Haechan leaning against the door frame, rubbing his eyes. He looked incredibly cute in his pajamas, making you smile.

Walking over to the counter, you poured yourself a glass of juice, taking a sip as you turned back around. Before you knew what happened, Haechan came up behind you and gave you a light kiss on the lips. Your body immediately tingled as you leaned back against him. You pulled away after a minute or two, grinning at him.

"Mm… Haechan, why don't we get dressed and go grab lunch together? There's a really nice little cafe near campus I think we'll both enjoy." You suggested.

Grinning, Haechan nodded. "Sounds good. Let me shower."

"Why don't I join you?" You asked.

He groaned, closing his eyes. "Baby, you're so damn tempting…"

You laughed and grabbed his hand, leading him towards the bathroom.

After showering, you and Haechan went to have lunch at a small, but adorable café. It wasn't very crowded today since it was early afternoon and not many people were out.

When they placed their order, Haechan decided to take charge and lead you outside. The weather was perfect, clear skies and only a slight breeze blowing. Grabbing each other's hands, you and Haechan started strolling through the university grounds, chatting away. He was telling you about one of his math classes, while you told him about one of your writing classes. Every once in awhile, you'd stop to smell flowers or examine trees. In fact, you even took the time to sit down on a bench and look up at the sky. Haechan watched you intently as you did this, watching you smile as you stared at the clouds.

As Haechan spoke, your mind began to wander to different memories of him. From your first date, to your anniversary, and every moment in between. In those memories, he would always be smiling. And as you thought of these moments, you felt yourself getting teary eyed. Wanting to avoid any embarrassment, you quickly wiped your eyes and turned to face Haechan. Taking your hand, he smiled at you gently, making you return his smile.

Pulling your arm close to you, he leaned down and softly kissed your forehead. "There's no need to hide your emotions, love. Cry if you need to."

Feeling overwhelmed by his kind words, you let out a soft cry and buried your face into his shoulder. Haechan rubbed your back gently, giving you comfort until you stopped crying. Pulling away, he held you in his arms for a moment before speaking.

"Are you okay?"

Nodding your head, you smiled at him. "Yeah. I'm sorry, I guess I just got caught up in memories of you."

Smiling widely, he pulled you close to him again. "Well that makes me feel good."

Feeling safe in his arms, you rested your head on his chest, looking up at the blue sky. Listening to the sounds of birds chirping and squirrels playing, you could feel Haechan's heart beating steadily. It was as though the feeling you got from listening to his heartbeat was stronger than the warmth coming from the sun. You tilted your head upwards, looking at him. His cheeks were slightly pink, likely due to his emotions. Lifting your hand, you gently touched his face.

"What are you thinking about?" You whispered.

Giving you a slight smirk, he answered, "You. Of course."

Laughing lightly, you replied, "Is that all?"

Haechan shook his head, holding your gaze. "I'm thinking of all the times we've spent together. All the good times, bad times and everything in between. I've been thinking about the way you brighten my day. The happiness I feel whenever I look at you. That rush of adrenaline that comes from seeing you in my arms. The love that grows deeper every day."

Pausing for a second, he added, "And you make me want to do crazy things."

Closing your eyes, you swallowed hard, knowing what he meant. When you opened your eyes again, you saw Haechan staring deeply into yours. Your breath hitched as you became completely mesmerized by his dark brown eyes. Slowly raising your hand, you slowly traced your fingers along his jawline, moving up to trace his chin and then moving down to touch his lips. Taking a deep breath, you closed the distance between you, meeting his lips in a tender kiss. Looking at each other lovingly, you pressed your bodies together, molding yourselves to each other. With your lips parted, your tongue gently caressed his lips, eliciting a moan from Haechan.

"We should wait until we get home, baby." He whispered against your mouth.

Taking a step back, you sighed sadly. "Yes, but it's going to be hard."

Haechan chuckled and squeezed your hand. "Don't worry. We can hold each other all night long."

Snapping out of your daze, you pulled away and grinned at him. "Promise?"

Hearing your tone, Haechan's expression changed slightly. The affectionate look on his face was replaced with a soft, caring smile. "Of course, Love."

Smiling, you placed your hands on either side of his face, bringing his lips to yours once again. "You're my number one Haechan. Yes, I love the other guys too but I'm always going to love you the most."

Bringing your arms around his neck, you pulled him in close. The rest of the day passed by quickly as you talked about how the rest of your week went, laughed about your stories from college, and shared countless kisses and hugs.

Later that night, you and Haechan laid in his bed talking. He was cuddling with you as you wrapped your legs around his waist. Glancing over at him, you could tell he was struggling with something. So you waited patiently for him to bring it up.

Finally, Haechan spoke up. "Sigh...baby, I've been meaning to ask you something. About us. Us, you know..."

Nervously twirling your fingers, you looked up at him. "Yes?"

Staring into your eyes, he smiled. "How do you feel about all of us living together? You, me, Renjun, Yangyang, Jeno and Jaemin?"

Taken aback, you remained silent for a moment before answering. "Do you really mean that? Like all six of us? For real?"

He nodded, smiling happily. "Absolutely. I want to share my life with all of you."

Laughing, you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him closer to you. "Okay! Well, we'll talk to the other guys tomorrow and figure out a solution."

Smiling, Haechan hugged you tightly. "I love you, Haechan. More than anything."

Smiling back, you kissed him softly on the lips. "I love you too, baby."

Running your hands through his hair, you tugged on it slightly. Leaning down, you brought your lips to his, planting a passionate kiss on his. He returned the kiss eagerly, pulling you close to him. In response, you rolled onto your back, bringing Haechan on top of you. Wrapping your arms around his neck, you smiled as you gazed up at him. He grinned back, running his fingers through your hair.

Reaching down, he undid the buttons on your shirt, peeling them off of you. Laying you down on the bed, he removed his own shirt, tossing it aside. Moving his attention to your pants, he unbuttoned them, sliding them off of you. Next, he slid your panties down, revealing your smooth pussy. He took a deep breath as he reached out to you, touching your wet folds. Moving his hand in small circles, he began fingering you roughly. You moaned loudly, bucking your hips upwards. Unable to control himself, Haechan thrust two fingers inside of you.

"I find it so hot that the others have access to your body." He breathed. "Just imagining them all enjoying you, makes me want to fuck you harder."

"What do you want to do to me when we all move in together? Do you want to fuck me in front of everyone?" You whispered, looking up at him with desire in your eyes.

A wicked grin formed on his face. "If you allow it, I definitely will."

"What if I want everyone to fuck me while you watch? Would you like that, Haechan?" You smirked, wiggling under him.

Smirking, he said, "I would. As long as I could see you being taken by another man, the more I would want to fuck you myself."

Wrapping your legs around his waist, you ran your nails down his back. "Wouldn't you want to fuck me while they fucked me too?"

Kissing you passionately, he responded, "Oh yes. All night long. Over and over again."

Rolling over onto his back, Haechan reached out to you, grabbing your hand. Pulling you next to him, he pulled you into his arms, kissing you deeply. Gazing into your eyes, he whispered, "Do you know how badly I want to fill you up with our cum? To taste all of us mixed together? To make love to you until neither of us can move anymore? I want to experience it all with you, baby."

Leaning in, you placed your lips to his ear, nibbling on it gently. "I want that too, baby."

In response, Haechan gently stroked your hair, his eyes filled with adoration. Kissing your cheek, he whispered, "But until then, let's enjoy us. Right now, I want to explore your body. Slowly taking you to heights you've never imagined possible."

Chuckling, you lifted your hips, positioning his cock near your entrance. Leaning forward, you captured his lips in a passionate kiss, slowly licking his bottom lip. Releasing his lips, you glanced up at him seductively. Gazing back at you, Haechan wrapped his arms around your waist, lifting you onto his throbbing erection. Taking you in his arms, he lowered you down onto him. Feeling the warm, tightness of your pussy surrounding his dick, he let out a moan of pleasure. Slowly moving his hips, you felt him push deeper inside of you. Both of you gasped loudly as he penetrated you fully. Raising his head, he gazed deeply into your eyes, letting out an appreciative sigh.

"God, I missed this." He murmured, kissing you gently.

Looking into his eyes, you moved your lips towards his ear, softly nibbling on it. "I missed you too, Haechan."

Wanting to hear him say it again, you ran your nails down his back. "Baby, I love you so much."

Moving his hips faster, Haechan lifted you higher and pushed you down harder. "Love you too, Baby." He moaned.

Shaking his head, he murmured, "You drive me crazy."

With his hips still moving rapidly, he pulled your hips into his, intensifying your penetration. Your juices glistened across his shaft as he pulled out slightly and plunged back inside of you. You rode him feverishly, moaning softly. Bringing his hands up to your ass, he firmly grabbed it, spreading you wider apart. Holding you there, he drove himself even further inside of you.

Holding you tighter, Haechan growled low in his throat, grinding into you even harder. Your juices dripped down your thighs, leaving behind a trail of your sweet nectar. Groaning, Haechan rocked his hips forwards, causing your hips to bounce violently. Your clit rubbed against his pubic bone, sending a surge of pleasure throughout your body.

"Fuck, baby. I'm gonna cum soon." He groaned. As you continued riding him, his breathing grew ragged.

"Fuck, Haechan. Cum inside of me." You whispered hoarsely, pushing yourself down harder on him. Feeling his balls tightening, Haechan thrust forward, giving you all of his warm, sticky cum. Moaning loudly, you tightened your grip around his shoulders as you came, bathing Haechan's shaft in your fluids. Shuddering with pleasure, you collapse on top of him, feeling him pulse inside of you. Finally catching your breath, you kiss him deeply, savoring the taste of him in your mouth. After laying in his arms for several minutes, he pulls you close to him. Smiling at you, he pulls you into a hug, burying his face in your hair.

"I'm so happy right now." He whispered. "So incredibly, unbelievably happy."

Leaning in, you lightly kissed his forehead. "Me too, Baby. Me too."

Continuing to lie in each other's arms, you stared at the ceiling, both lost in thought. Before long, you fell asleep, cuddled closely to Haechan.

Saturday

The next morning, you and Haechan met the others at a coffee shop nearby campus. While Haechan bought everyone drinks, you sat down at a table to talk.

Once everyone arrived, you cleared your throat, getting everyone's attention. "So Haechan and I discussed it last night and decided that, well, that this is probably the best option. To live together."

All of them looked surprised and confused, except for Haechan. He smirked and crossed his arms, clearly enjoying himself. Smirking right back, you continued, "Now, we obviously need to find a place that will fit all six of us."

Everyone looked around, discussing possible options. It didn't take long before someone suggested moving to one of the group houses. This sparked a debate between everyone. Some liked the idea, others weren't so sure. Finally, after hours of arguing, everyone settled on renting a house together.

While they worked on the details, you ordered more coffee for everyone. Staring off into space, you couldn't help but imagine the future; living with the boys in your own place. You could see yourself cooking dinner for them every night, sitting on the couch watching TV, walking to class together. You pictured how easy it would be to fall asleep next to Haechan every night, waking up in the morning to cuddle.

It made you excited just thinking about it. As much as you loved the closeness you felt with Haechan, having all of them under one roof would be an amazing experience. Plus, having them around you at all times would ensure you never lacked for male companionship. If you wanted to try some sex toys out, you could easily show it to Jeno and Jaemin. Or you could come to Yangyang when you wanted some advice on writing. You could go shopping with Renjun and Haechan or have fun making puns with Jeno. It seemed like the possibilities were endless.

You glanced over at Haechan who was sitting across from you. Smiling at him, you gently stroked his cheek with your thumb.

"Haechan?"

Glancing at you, he asked, "Can I say something?"

Chuckling, you motioned for him to continue. "Go ahead."

After taking another sip of his drink, he stood up and walked towards you. He leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on your lips. "Thank you for doing this. I love you more than anything."

Smiling, you leaned in to give him a small peck on the lips. After pulling away, you said, "I love you too, Baby. And don't forget about how much I love all of you."

Pulling you close, Haechan smiled as he looked at all of the guys. "Thank you all for coming today. This means a lot to both of us. Thank you."

Jaemin cleared his throat, giving you a smile. “If I may add…the past few weeks as your boyfriend has been amazing. I know we’ve all been friends for years. Thanks for allowing me to be one of your boyfriends, Y/N. I might have joined the relationship later compared to the others but I’ve never felt more loved than now. I will give you the world since you deserve it.”

Jeno let out a smile. “I second his feelings. Thank you Y/N for also letting me be your boyfriend. Jaemin and I are the newer ones involved in this relationship but seeing as how everyone seems to accept us easily, I’m glad I came across this opportunity. I promise to always treat you well.”

Yangyang nodded. “Y/N deserves the world. I hope she’ll live happily forever after. Also thanks for giving me the chance to be your boyfriend. I haven’t been feeling so well lately but I think you brighten up my days. You’re always there to cheer me up and comfort me when I need it.”

Renjun rubbed your shoulders gently. “I agree with the rest of them. Thank you Y/N for taking me in. I promise to always protect you, love you, and make you happy. As much as possible, I’ll try to fit you into my busy schedule because you mean the world to me.”

Haechan grabbed your hands, kissing each one of them individually. “Thanks for taking me in as your boyfriend. From the very beginning, you were nothing but nice and understanding towards me. Heck, you didn’t even have to agree to this idea that I put out there. But it meant a lot to me knowing that you would let me into your heart despite my faults. I promise to never disappoint you. I love you so much, Y/N.”

You were touched by their words. Hearing the love in their voices, you could feel yourself blushing. Turning to the others, you gave them all big hugs. After taking a deep breath, you said. "I love you all so much. Now let's get started with finding our new home!"

[m1ckeyb3rry]

── THE GLASS PRINCESS // SIX

Series Synopsis: You wake up in a strange room with no memories, broken glass at your bedside, and a prince named Zuko as your only chance at figuring out who you really are.

Chapter Synopsis: Two separate encounters with two different Firebenders yield revelations of the sort you are unprepared to face.

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Zuko x Reader

Chapter Word Count: 8.4k

Content Warnings: complicated relationships (strangers to friends to lovers to enemies to strangers to lovers to enemies to lovers), amnesia, alternate universe, lots of secrets and lying and mystery

A/N: i have been writing like crazy recently AHAHA but anyways apologies in advance to anyone expecting anything different from this 😫

“I’m so sad that the break is over. It wasn’t nearly long enough,” Jia-Li said as the two of you returned to your room for the first time since you had left it for Ember Island.

“Our beds look a lot smaller in comparison to the ones on Ember Island,” you said. Jia-Li snorted.

“That’s for sure. And did the room shrink while we were gone?” she said.

“It definitely looks like it,” you said. “At least we don’t have class until tomorrow.”

“Do you think Ty Lee is back yet?” she said. “We should go to the market. It’ll be fun.”

“I should probably do some reading so that I’m ready for tomorrow,” you said.

“Don’t be a spoilsport! I doubt you forgot anything in the short time we were gone, seriously. You’ll be okay if you skip out on reading for one day and come enjoy yourself with the rest of us,” Jia-Li said.

You gave the stack of books on your desk a longing look before nodding firmly, knowing Jia-Li was right, and furthermore that Ty Lee would agree with her. It was just as important for you to socialize as it was for you to study hard, and going to the market wasn’t so time-consuming that it would leave you unable to do anything for the rest of the day.

“Alright, but only if you don’t complain about me reading tonight,” you said. “The book I’m on currently is really interesting.”

“What’s it about?” Jia-Li said.

“The history of Ba Sing Se,” you said. “Since I was found there, I thought that learning more about it might spark some memories in me. All things considered, it’s not as boring as one might expect. The chapter I’m about to start is on the royal family and the construction of the palace.”

“To be honest, I don’t see how you find that so fascinating, but if that’s what you like, then who am I to stop you? Sure, you can leave the candle burning a bit longer in order to finish your chapter if we get back too late,” she said.

“Thanks,” you said. “You are the best roommate ever.”

“You flatter me,” she said. “Open up, Ty Lee!”

“What if Kaho is the one at the door?” you said, grabbing her hand to stop her from continuing to bang on it. Jia-Li huffed at you.

“She’s not going to be back until the evening. Don’t you remember how much she was bragging about having to stay late to submit her official reports from the meeting and all of that?” she said. You let go of her hand, for you did remember that. Once freed, Jia-Li continued to knock.

“Coming!” a muffled voice said, and then the door was swinging open to reveal Ty Lee, who was standing on her hands for some reason. “Ursa! Jia-Li! What are you guys doing here?”

“We wanted to ask you if you would come to the market with us,” you said, twisting your neck so that she would come into proper perspective. To your chagrin, it did nothing but make you dizzy, so you gave up and decided to just look down on her upside-down visage.

“Sure!” she said, rocking herself onto her feet and standing properly. “How were your breaks?”

“They were good,” Jia-Li said. “Very relaxing, but way too short.”

“We did see you at one point,” you reminded her. Ty Lee giggled.

“Right, at that stupid party! I heard you guys ended up partaking in the festivities, if you’re catching my meaning,” she said.

“Yes, that’s right,” you said. Jia-Li grinned, flames dancing in her palm before she curled her fist and extinguished them.

“It was fun,” she said. “You were on to something, Ty Lee. It was exactly what we needed.”

“Jia-Li’s brother was not happy with us when he found out,” you said. “But it’s fine. He’ll make up with her, I’m sure, and as for me…it’s fine if we never speak again.”

“Onto the next,” Jia-Li said. “It’s alright. You win some, you lose some.”

“Exactly,” you agreed. “What about you? What were you up to when you weren’t on Ember Island?”

“Strategizing with Azula, mostly,” Ty Lee said. “You know, she killed the Avatar around when Zuko took over Ba Sing Se.”

“Really?” you said. Ty Lee nodded.

“Yup, I saw it myself! He was about to go all glowy-white-eyes on her, and she just shot him with lightning before he could,” she said.

Killing an Avatar as a normal person was unheard of, and Princess Azula wasn’t even a master yet. She was clearly a prodigy, but you knew from Ty Lee that she was still training, though her training was so advanced that it was theoretically impossible for normal Firebenders such as Jia-Li and even Kaho to accomplish. The fact that she had done something as legendary as defeating an Avatar without full mastery of her element spoke to her skill and talents, and you swore then and there to never get on her bad side.

“That’s insane,” Jia-Li said. “I always knew she was on another level from the rest of us, but I didn’t realize until now just how large that skill gap was.”

“Mhm, but for some reason, she’s gotten to be crazy paranoid recently. She’s convinced that he’s not really dead, and she’s been losing sleep over it,” Ty Lee said. “It’s tainting her victory, and she’s been meeting with Mai and I nonstop on what we should do in case he proves to be alive.”

“It’s better to be prepared than not,” you said. “Though she probably doesn’t have much to worry about. If the Avatar was alive, he probably would’ve made himself known, don’t you think? I doubt it would be easy for an Airbender to hide himself, especially not one as powerful as the Avatar surely is.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling her, but she’s still worried,” Ty Lee said. “So my break was mostly work, except for that one weekend on Ember Island.”

“That’s a shame,” Jia-Li said.

“Next break, I’m going to sleep the entire time,” Ty Lee vowed. “Every day I’m at the school serves as a reminder of why I dropped out in the first place, and I need my body and aura to recover from this kind of environment.”

“I always forget you did that,” you said.

“Why’d you come back?” Jia-Li said. “It’s obvious you hate it here, and you have a place in the palace already, so it’s not as though you’re going to climb the ranks socially by attending.”

“Simple! I’m here to keep an eye on Ursa!” Ty Lee said. “Not that she needs it, but Prince Zuko asked me to come along and help her acclimate to the environment of the academy, since we weren’t sure if she’d be able to handle it or not.”

“That’s a lot more logical than you suddenly developing a passion for the scholarly pursuits, which is what I had previously thought was the reasoning,” Jia-Li said.

“I don’t think I’ll ever develop that,” Ty Lee said, wrinkling her nose. “I’ll leave the academic stuff to Ursa.”

“Me, too,” Jia-Li said.

“Hey, come on, guys. Reading is fun,” you said, though it was obviously unconvincing, as both of them made faces at you. “Or not, I guess.”

“Let’s stop talking about school, please,” Ty Lee said. “It’s bad enough that we have classes tomorrow. We don’t need to ruin our free time by thinking about them now, too!”

“It’s not a problem for me,” Jia-Li said. “Maybe Ursa will have some difficulty, though.”

“Shut up! No, I won’t!” you said. “You won’t hear me speaking about school for the rest of the outing.”

“Does that include whenever you drop your random little factoids to explain whatever’s going on at any given time?” Jia-Li said.

“Hopefully not,” Ty Lee said. “I’d be way too confused without her narrating everything.”

“True,” Jia-Li said. “Okay, you can talk about those, but no more explicit mentions of the academy. Or of reading. Or of other things along those lines.”

“I already agreed!” you said. “Honestly, you guys have such a low opinion of me. Anyways, do either of you have anything specific to get at the market, or are we just wandering around?”

“Maybe I’ll get a new hair ribbon, but I’m not particularly attached to the idea, so I’m alright no matter where we go,” Jia-Li said.

“I don’t have anything I need, so we can go look at the hair ribbon stalls if you want, Jia-Li,” Ty Lee said.

“It’s the same for me,” you said. “Besides, it’s not like I really have money to spend, which means I’ll just admire the different shops, so I have no particular preference for where we go. Lead the way, Jia-Li; you’d know the market best, anyways.”

“Ty Lee probably knows it pretty well, too,” Jia-Li said.

“Nope, I ran away to join the circus, remember? I haven’t been here for a while! Even when I came back to the palace, I was always with Azula and Mai, and they’re not really the type to enjoy walking around the market, so it’s been a bit,” Ty Lee said.

“Then it really is up to me,” Jia-Li said, straightening her shoulders and nodding firmly. “Follow me, girls!”

You and Ty Lee marched after Jia-Li as she strode towards a stall decorated with hair ribbons of every shade. Some were patterned the way Kaho’s was, whereas others were solid-colored, like the one Jia-Li tended to wear. All of them were beautiful, richly made and finely dyed, and you could not help running your fingers over a few of them in appreciation.

“What do you think of this one?” Jia-Li said, holding up a red ribbon that had white flowers embroidered on it. “The one I have right now is so plain.”

“It’s very nice,” you said.

“I like it!” Ty Lee said. “You should get it.”

“Do you think so? Let’s see. How much is this for?” Jia-Li said. As she began to argue with the merchant about the price, you found yourself wandering off, observing the hustle and bustle of the marketplace, the different vendors and their goods, the mothers with their little children rifling through their purses full of gold coins, the serious soldiers standing at attention in uniform — and the not so serious ones with their helmets off and tucked under their arms as they talked to each other. Though the market was so large in scale, it was more like a collection of small, intimate snapshots of domesticity than a grand, epic portrait woven together out of perfectly conjoined parts.

There were so many different stories happening at once. People cried and laughed and argued and bantered on these streets. They lived their lives, unknowing of what would happen to them next or what those at their sides were going through. It was one of those mundane sort of miracles, the sort that were so commonplace that nobody would find them miraculous unless they stepped back and thought about them for a moment.

“Did you hear the news?” someone said to you. You tilted your head at the woman, who had her hand held in front of her mouth politely. “Apparently, there’s a prisoner on the loose!”

“What? In the capital?” you said. She nodded.

“Word has it that he deserted the army during the fall of Ba Sing Se and was promptly captured by Prince Zuko, who sent him to prison. But now he’s escaped! It’s all so frightening,” she said. “Be careful. You’re a student at the academy, aren’t you? My daughter is in her first year there, so I recognized the uniform. You should hurry back to the campus — it’s much safer there.”

“Thank you for the warning,” you said. “I hope you stay safe as well, madam.”

It had been an odd encounter, but for some reason, it wasn’t the random nature of the conversation that made you uneasy. Such things happened at markets, and especially because you apparently went to school with her daughter, it made sense that she had approached you. No, it was the story itself that you were worried about.

The History Mistress had never mentioned anyone deserting the army, besides the former General Iroh. That meant that this escaped prisoner, whoever they were, must’ve been some foot soldier so unimportant that they were not even worthy of the simplest sentence in your lectures, but that begot another question — how had a simple foot soldier escaped a Fire Nation prison?

The haggard man in front of you walked with a limp, and the exposed skin that you could see was littered with scars. Unlike what you would’ve assumed, though, the scars were clearly not from burns. They were cuts, deep lacerations that stood out red and furious against his arms, his neck, his ankles and even his face.

He must’ve been in a terrible battle, but for some reason, no one paid him any mind. The crowds parted around him before melting back together, like he had never been there in the first place. It was only you that followed, you who was entranced, matching his every step with your own. There was some burning desire in you that needed to follow him. You couldn’t place it, couldn’t understand its origin or any part of its existence, but you just knew you had to fulfill it. So you went after the man, growing steadily closer and closer until you could hear what he was muttering to himself.

“Gave everything…fought for that damn prince…what does it get me? Going to kill that girl. Going to kill that girl. What does it get me? Gave everything for that damn prince. Going to kill her. I have to kill her,” he said, over and over, repeating the same phrases on loop.

“Excuse me, sir, but are you alright?” you said when the two of you reached a dead end and the man stood still, facing the wall, continuing to say the same breathless things.

“I knew it,” he said. “I knew someone was following me. We Soldiers of Agni, we know these things.”

“Soldiers of Agni?” you said. The man still did not turn around, pressing his hands against the stone wall and resting his forehead against it. “They’re all dead, sir. They fell during the invasion of Ba Sing Se.”

“And don’t I know it!” the man said. “We gave everything for that prince, and what did it lead us to? Death! Death, you foolish girl, all of my comrades are dead! I’m the only one who survived that wench’s onslaught, but instead of being treated as the hero I am, I was renounced as a traitor. Prince Zuko took my status as a Soldier of Agni away, and he threw me in some dungeon to rot. Tell me how that’s fair!”

“I think you’re confused, sir,” you said, stepping away from him, questioning your own instincts for landing you into this situation. Because this was definitely the prisoner that the woman had been talking about, and since that was the case, you were almost certainly in danger. “Prince Zuko would never do something like that. He is a kind and just person. He even saved me!”

He spun around. “He saved — you!”

Before you knew it, there was a blast of fire heading directly for you. You barely leapt out of the way and readied yourself to fight, but even if the prisoner was telling the truth and he really had once been a Soldier of Agni, his reflexes and musculature had faded during his time locked away. No matter how much he tried, nothing but wisps of smoke escaped his hands, and he shouted in fury before rushing at you.

“What are you doing?” you said as you began to run as well.

“I’m going to kill you!” he said, his voice breaking as he did so. “You took everything from me, so I’m going to kill you!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” you said in distress. “I’m just a student at the Royal Fire Academy! I haven’t taken anything from anyone!”

“Is that where you are now, you sly witch?” he spat. “It wasn’t enough for you to destroy us all? You have to infiltrate our nation, too? Get out of here, scum!”

“What are you saying?” you said.

“My comrades are dead because of you,” he said. “I’m in prison because of you. I have to — I have to get justice. If that Agni-damned Prince Zuko really did save you, if he really is just letting you walk around and pretend to be one of us, then the Fire Nation is doomed. I have to do what I must for my country! In the name of Fire Lord Ozai, I will kill you, once and for all!”

“Huh?” you said. “I was a prisoner in Ba Sing Se! I don’t have the faintest clue how I could’ve killed your comrades.”

“That’s rich, coming from you. You don’t have to lie in front of me. I was there, wench. I know what you really are,” he said.

“And what might that be?” you said, skidding to a stop before you crashed into a wall and turning to face him, getting into the hand-to-hand combat stance that you had been trained to adopt at the academy.

“The—” Before he could finish, his eyes widened, and then he was falling over. It was Ty Lee; she had jabbed her fingers into his pressure points in a quick but familiar succession, and now she was standing over him, disapproval etched on her face.

“Ursa! There you are!” Jia-Li said, rounding the corner and almost tripping over the fallen man. “Who is that?”

“He’s an escaped prisoner,” you said. “He claimed he used to be one of the Soldiers of Agni.”

“I thought they were all dead, though?” Jia-Li said.

“They are,” Ty Lee said. “He must’ve been rambling about nothing.”

“Definitely,” Jia-Li said. “What Soldier of Agni would just faint like that for no reason?”

“It wasn’t exactly for no reason. I used my chi-blocking to take him out!” Ty Lee said.

“Chi-blocking?” Jia-Li said as the man groaned, beginning to wake up.

“It’s a pretty useful skill,” Ty Lee said. “All sorts of applications. It can temporarily take away bending, incapacitate people, and more! It’s the way for nonbenders like me to level the playing field and stand a chance even against the strongest of benders.”

“That’s why you aren’t afraid of Kaho!” Jia-Li said.

“Yup!” Ty Lee said.

“Who are you girls?” the man said groggily, pushing himself to his feet.

“I thought you knew who I was?” you said. “You said so yourself!”

“How would he know who you are?” Jia-Li said.

“No idea, but he seemed pretty sure just a second ago,” you said.

“For some reason, I think I do,” the man said. “But I don’t know how or why. There’s just a blank spot in my memories. I can’t — I can’t remember anything.”

“That’s strange,” Jia-Li said.

“He must’ve hit his head when he fell,” Ty Lee said.

“Right,” you said, though when she stooped over to pick the man up and bring him to the nearby soldiers, you narrowed your eyes at her.

You knew that chi-blocking sequence. You knew it well, because Ty Lee had used it on you before, still used it on you even now. You had never questioned it much, never found any merit in doing so. Ty Lee was infamous for being an airhead, so you had always put the strange ritual down as another one of her oddities. But what if it wasn’t? There was no way that the man had hit his head hard enough to forget everything so quickly, especially not when he had been so confident only seconds prior.

The more likely scenario was that Ty Lee had somehow blocked his memories when she had blocked his chi. It made the most sense, but if that really was the case, then what motive did she have to do the same for you? It was uncomfortable thinking about it, but you couldn’t stop the question from reverberating around your mind for the rest of the day.

Was Ty Lee the reason you didn’t remember anything?

That night, when Jia-Li was asleep and you were getting ready to settle in bed yourself, there was a knock on your door. Quickly blowing out the candle and making sure that the door was locked, you leapt into your bed and pulled the covers over your head, squeezing your eyes shut and pretending to be fast asleep.

“Ursa?” It was Ty Lee. “Are you awake?”

You knew what she was there for. It was about the time for her to — if your assumption was correct — block your chi, and possibly your memories. You had never protested, and you didn’t want her to grow suspicious of you in case that led to her taking even more drastic measures, but you also knew you had to avoid her for the time being if you ever wanted to remember who you were.

Just for a couple of days. You only had to stay away from her for a couple of days, and if nothing changed, then you would return to her side and act as if you both were friends once more.

“Are you and Ty Lee fighting?” Jia-Li said the next morning. You were currently suffering from a massive migraine, massaging your temples as you tried to block the light from hitting your eyes, but you managed to shake your head in the negative.

“No, we’re not,” you said. “Why?”

“You didn’t talk to her all morning, and you sat next to me instead of her, the way you usually do. I think she was a little sad about it,” Jia-Li said.

“I just have a really bad headache,” you said.

“Do you need to go to the infirmary?” Jia-Li said. “If you can’t handle class, I’ll tell the Etiquette Mistress. You’re already her favorite pupil, so she shouldn’t mind.”

“No, I’ll go,” you said, knowing that it was of the utmost importance that you didn’t go anywhere alone. It would be an opportunity for Ty Lee to chi-block you again, one you did not need to create, not if you wanted your experiment to be successful. “I’m sure I’ll get over it with something to drink.”

Yet, despite the cups upon cups of water you chugged, it didn’t do anything to dissipate your headache. It was like there was someone pushing on your brow, crushing your head together, the heaviness seeping down behind your eyes and into your jaw. You thought you might be close to implosion, but there was never a moment of relief. The pressure just kept mounting and mounting until you really did wish for someone to take a hammer to your skull and break it open so that you could finally be freed from the pain.

“Ursa, Jia-Li,” Kaho said as you entered the classroom, her voice filled with venom. “I can’t believe you’re daring to show your faces today.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” you said, far too preoccupied with your migraine to temper your irritation with your usual politeness. “We’re students at the academy, the same as you, Kaho.”

“I thought you might be ashamed of yourself after your performance during the break, at Ember Island,” she said.

“What performance?” you said.

“You destroyed my house!” she said. “I know you all did. You and that group of losers from the beach, whoever they were. My brother told me all about it.”

“Your brother’s the biggest fool I’ve ever met,” you said. “Followed closely by Ruon-Jian. Neither of them recognized the prince and princess even when they were right in front of them.”

“Don’t call my brother a fool,” she said.

“It must be a familial trait,” you continued.

“Ursa, what are you doing?” Jia-Li said.

“I have way too much of a headache to deal with her squealing right now,” you said harshly. “Chan is an idiot and we helped destroy her house. It’s true, but it matters little to me, and I wish she’d just go and wallow in her misery somewhere far from where I am!”

“You’re playing with fire,” Jia-Li fretted. “Quite literally.”

“Can you just leave me alone for once, Kaho?” you said.

“You think you’re so much better than me, don’t you?” Kaho said. “You’ve taken my spot as the top student, and you’re favored by Prince Zuko, so you believe that makes you my superior. But there’s one thing that you’ll never have.”

“And what might that be? An insufferable attitude, or a particularly hideous—” you were cut off by Jia-Li slapping her hand over your mouth.

“She doesn’t know what she’s saying,” Jia-Li apologized. “The migraine is making her delirious.”

Kaho ignored her, staring directly at you, the anger which she was so well-known for blazing to life in her irises. It was the same way she had glared at you after defeating that one underclassman in an Agni Kai. It was the same way she glared at you every time you corrected her in class or got a better result than her on an exam. It was the same way she glared at you whenever you received a letter from Prince Zuko while in the dining hall.

She hated you. You had known this for some time, but you had never understood it until that moment. Kaho despised everything you were, but more than that, she despised that she was jealous of you. She was used to everything going her way, and yet, here you were, a girl who had no memories and no background and no bloodline, taking without difficulty everything that was once hers.

It should never have been yours. To Kaho, you were nobody, a girl from rubble who stole everything from the rightfully deserving. And now here you were, insulting her in front of everyone, clearly rising above the place she had designated for you in her mind. It was an offense of the highest order, and in that instant, you came to the conclusion that you would not escape unpunished. Kaho would no longer allow you to walk over her without retaliation.

“Firebending,” Kaho said. “That’s what I have, and I will always, always be your better, because you can’t even bend.”

“Maybe not,” you said, swallowing and then deciding that if you were already doomed, you might as well have the last word. “It makes it more embarrassing for you, though, doesn’t it? That a nonbender has beat you so thoroughly in everything else? That you can only cling to your bending to maintain your sense of superiority?”

“That’s it,” Kaho said. “You know what I’m going to say, don’t you?”

“You’ve really done it now, Ursa,” Jia-Li groaned. “Don’t even think of asking me to be your proxy. I don’t have a death wish.”

“I do,” you said. “And I’ll save you the trouble. I challenge you to an Agni Kai, Kaho.”

If an Agni Kai was declared, classes were suspended so that the school could watch. Though they were so brutal in nature, they were actually encouraged by the administration, as they served to weed out the weaker students, leaving behind only the strongest, the best of the best.

At present, the field where you and Kaho were going to fight was utterly cleared, though staff and students alike gathered on the edges to watch the event. It had been anticipated for some time, this clash between the two top students of the academy, even if one of them couldn’t Firebend.

“You’re seriously not even calling a proxy?” Jia-Li said.

“Who would I call?” you said, rolling your shoulders. “She’s beaten every girl at this academy already, and I’m not about to beg the prince to save me.”

“Let go of your pride for once and do exactly that!” Jia-Li said. “You couldn’t even take me in a fight, so you can just forget about facing Kaho.”

“Actually, she can manage,” Ty Lee said grimly. You didn’t know where she had come from, but there she stood, her face set, her posture stiff. “Ursa. I don’t know why he said it, but for some reason, Zuko seemed to think that you were strong. Stronger than the rest of us, in fact.”

“He told me as much,” you said. “I don’t know why he said it, either, but for some reason, I don’t think he was lying. At least, he seemed to really believe it, which means there must be some thought behind it all.”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a prodigy with weapons on par with Master Piandao himself!” Jia-Li said. “Against someone like Kaho, you either need to be a bender or have unusual skills the way Ty Lee does. Can you claim either of those things?”

“I don’t know, Jia-Li,” you said. “I don’t think so. Yet I have to do this all the same. She’s gone unchecked for far too long.”

“And you’ll be the one to check her?” Jia-Li said, throwing her hands up in the air. “I wish you had just gone to the infirmary like I had told you to!”

“Let’s go, Jia-Li,” Ty Lee said. “It’s time. Good luck, Ursa.”

Another pang. You forced yourself to smile through the pain, not wanting to show weakness right when you were about to get into a fight. Ty Lee smiled back, though Jia-Li did not muster the same energy, wailing despondently about how she was going to lose another roommate as Ty Lee dragged her off the field.

“This is your last chance, Ursa,” Kaho said. “If you fall to your knees and grovel, if you accept your place in this world, and if you renounce your ties with the royal family, then I will spare you.”

“I cannot do either of those things,” you said. “And you cannot ask me to.”

“I will not be gentle,” Kaho warned. “I was kind in my last Agni Kai, so perhaps you think that you will get off in a similarly unharmed way. If that is the case, then I want you to know that you are wrong. I will burn my victory into your skin so deeply that you can never look into the mirror without being reminded of the day you angered the wrong person.”

“My head is already full of pain, nearly to the bursting,” you said. “What is one more wound? Do your worst, Kaho. Even if I lose today, I will still have won in the end.”

“And how is that?” Kaho said. You grinned at her.

“Because I’ve shown everyone else at this academy exactly the sort of person you are,” you said. “You can’t beat a nonbender at anything else, so you have to challenge them to an Agni Kai in order to cling to the last threads of your former glory. You’re really very pathetic, and no matter how thoroughly you burn me, you can’t change that.”

“Did no one ever teach you to hold your tongue?” Kaho said, taking a deep breath, fire flickering at her fingertips.

“Certainly, at some point, someone must have,” you said. “But I shouldn’t know when or who or what the purpose of the lesson was. Don’t you recall that I have no memories?”

No one could say that Kaho wasn’t talented. The way she used her Firebending was like an extension of herself, as brutal and efficient as her clinical personality. It wasn’t that she was incredibly powerful — she just did not waste even a drop of energy, focusing her entire being into her forms, which were done with a clear accuracy that was difficult to dodge.

She punched a lick of fire at you, deadly hot, the air shimmering in the aftermath of it as it dissipated into nothingness, barely avoiding singing the edges of your clothes. You employed every trick you had learnt, for the longer you could draw out the fight, the worse it looked for her.

It was a game that you could not win. It was a game you were destined to lose, but — and maybe this was your past knowledge speaking — you had to play along. The outcome was determined, but you still had to play.

“Why did you come here?” Kaho screamed, her careful control slipping the more times she missed burning you. It was like her words drove a knife through your head, and the only reason your faltering was not a fatal blunder was because she, too, was growing more and more errant in her strikes. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“You’re the one trying to immolate me!” you said, sweat pouring from your brow, your shirt sticking to your collarbones and your pants clinging to your legs. “Why don’t you raise that question to yourself?”

“You!” she said. “Why are you speaking so elegantly? Are you mocking me?”

“Of all the things, you choose to criticize my manner of speaking? Your sense of prioritization is as horrid as your personality,” you said.

More fire. This time, the hem of your shirt did catch alight, but you put it out before it could reach your skin, so it didn’t count as a first burn. It did, however, mean two things: you were getting tired, and Kaho was losing even more of her composure.

“You came here,” she said. “I was alright before! But you came here and decided that everything I had was yours. My place in society, my standing in the school…the happy ending I was born to inherit has all gone to you!”

“Happy ending?” you said. “Do you think I care about something as superficial and fantastical as that? I don’t even have a beginning! Have you ever taken a second thought about your hatred? You can choose the direction of your life, Kaho. Whether happy or sad or anything in between, you know who you are. I do not have such a luxury. You resent my friendship with the prince, but if I do not have him, I have nothing left of my past! I helped destroy your house, yes, but at least you have a house — and it was only one of many. I don’t even have a shack in the woods to call my own!”

“Exactly,” Kaho said. “You should be begging on the streets, yet you are here. But no longer. No longer will I allow you to exist beside me, as if we are equals.”

Your eyes widened as her words sank in. This wasn’t just an Agni Kai anymore. She would not stop once she burnt you. It didn’t matter how completely; you had been wagering that you could eventually heal from whatever she inflicted on you. But, according to Kaho, she was not planning on you ever healing. She was planning on you dying.

Without Kaho’s fire, the air was almost cold. Goosebumps raised on your bare arms, though whether it was from chill or fright, you were not sure. Kaho was incredibly still, her eyes closed as she inhaled deeply, centering herself, drawing strength from the core of her bending — her breath. Everyone else was silent, though you thought you could hear someone, perhaps Jia-Li, repeating a prayer to Agni frantically, begging him to protect you from Kaho’s wrath.

You did no such thing. There was a voice in your head, whispering past the pain, telling you that Agni was not your god. You could not pray to him. You could not pray to a lord of destruction. You could not pray to the deity who had ruined your home.

You did not question this voice, though by all rights it was contrary to the little you knew of yourself. You were a Fire Nation soldier. Agni had not ruined your home, he had saved it. He was the one whose banner you had fought under. He was the one whose name you had been tortured in. He was your patron.

No. He was not. He was Kaho’s. He was Zuko’s. He was Jia-Li’s. But you were not a Firebender. You were something else. What? It was inexplicable, but your bones resonated with that truth as the effects of Ty Lee’s continuous chi-blocking began to crumble, your headache finally alleviating as you had your first breakthrough.

Kaho opened her eyes, and then fire gathered in her palms. You stood your ground this time, rooting yourself into the dirt of the field, and as a wave of fire rolled towards you, destroying everything in its path, you cringed back and screwed your eyelids together but refused to move. This time, you would not move.

Right when the blistering temperature got to be too much, it was cut off, asphyxiated before its source could reach you. Then Kaho was hurling insults at you, calling you a mongrel, a filthy half-breed, a daughter of mud. You cracked your eyes open, wondering why she did not attack you once more, why she had ceased her assault at the instant before she would have won for certain.

There was a large wall of stone erected before you, shielding you from Kaho, impenetrable by even the hottest of fires, which certainly she did not possess. That wall had not been there before, and the names which Kaho was calling you suddenly made sense — because you had created the wall. It was yours.

You were an Earthbender.

Within seconds, every single person that had borne witness to the Agni Kai was slumped over on the ground, including Kaho herself. Ty Lee used her momentum to flip over the wall, dropping to her feet before you and crossing her arms.

“You knew,” you said. “The entire time, you knew.”

“No,” she said. “Not exactly.”

“You’re the one who’s been blocking my memories, though,” you said. “Right? You would block my chi so that I couldn’t remember my past or use my Earthbending.”

“That’s right,” she said, bowing her head. She seemed apologetic, but nothing resembling pity filled you. The only emotion you could muster was disgust.

“Why?” you said. “What could have convinced you to do something like that? I thought we were friends, Ty Lee. Was that all a lie? Were you only staying close to me so that you could keep suppressing my memories?”

“No!” she said. “That was the reason at first, but I like spending time with you, Ursa. You really are one of my friends.”

She reached out as if to embrace you, but you took a step backwards so that she could not. She pulled back as if you had wounded her.

“My name isn’t Ursa, is it?” you said. “Who am I really, Ty Lee? Tell me the truth.”

“I have no idea,” she said. “He didn’t tell me anything about you. He just said it was for the best if you didn’t remember anything. I was so afraid the whole time, I thought Azula might be angry if she found out, but he was always so kind to me when I was younger that I thought I owed him at least this one favor…”

“Who?” you said. “Who is he? Who demanded you keep my memories from me?”

She gave you a miserable look. “Zuko.”

“That liar,” you said. It wasn’t just anger for the specific betrayal; there was some old rage quivering in you. You hated him. You hated him. You couldn’t say why, but you hated him. The ground shook, and Ty Lee glanced around nervously, but you paid her no mind. “He lied to me! He pretended like he cared, but the whole time, he was the one who did it! It’s his fault that I’m like this!”

“Don’t be angry,” Ty Lee pleaded. “I’m sure he had a reason. Just talk to him, and I’m sure he’ll explain!”

“Explain?” you said. “I don’t want to hear his explanations. I want him to pay for what he did!”

Another stake driven into your mind. It was your chi, you presumed, chipping away at the place where your memories were stored. There was still nothing concrete, but a sense of claustrophobia was creeping over you. You weren’t supposed to be here. You were supposed to be somewhere else. You were supposed to be doing something, but Zuko — Zuko had snatched you away from that fate.

“Ursa,” Ty Lee said.

“Stop calling me that,” you said. “It’s not who I am.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what else to call you,” she said, clearly near tears. “Please calm down for a little bit. I blocked everyone’s chi in time; no one will remember this happened, so take the moment to settle and think things over. There’s no rush.”

“You can’t just do that,” you said. “You can’t keep blocking people’s memories at whim. They’re not yours to play with like that. Anyways, won’t they remember again? Are you really going to go around once a week and block everyone’s chi?”

“I was quick enough, and it was a small enough memory, that just one time will be sufficient,” she said. “No one will know what you’ve done, and I promise I won’t block your memories again if you stay.”

“I can’t trust you,” you said, straining with all your might to drive the stone wall back into the ground. “I’m sorry, but I really can’t.”

Dust flew up everywhere, but once it cleared, the field looked placid and undisturbed — barring, of course, the scorch marks left in the wake of Kaho’s attacks.

“What are you going to do now?” she said.

“I’m going to my room,” you said. “You can go ahead and tell Zuko I can Earthbend again. I’m sure you’ve been keeping him updated this entire time, so I won’t stop you.”

“He’ll want to come visit you,” Ty Lee said. And, because you did not want her to get in trouble, because despite what she had done there was still fondness for her buried deep within you, you only sighed and then nodded.

“Then he’ll do just that, I’d expect,” you said. “Goodbye, Ty Lee.”

You weren’t sure if she knew what you meant by the farewell. Maybe she did. For her own sake, you hoped she did not, or at least that she pretended that that was the case. She had in the end only been a tool of Zuko’s, so though you did not forgive her, you did not hate her, either.

Perhaps by a stroke of good fortune or perhaps by design, Jia-Li did not return to the room before dinner. This allowed you to collect your meager possessions, shoving them in the bag you had brought with you to Ember Island. Changing out of your uniform, you bit your lip before placing it in the trash. It was beyond salvaging, and besides, your time as Ursa was over. Now, you had to leave behind the life that the prince had created for you and figure out who you were, what your own life was like.

Fastening a cloak over your shoulders and tossing the hood up over your head to further disguise yourself, you slunk through the dormitory, staying in the shadows and hiding whenever people passed. In that manner, you managed to escape detection, reaching the academy’s aviary before anyone noticed you.

“Bian,” you whispered to your messenger hawk. She was instantly awake, cocking her head at you. You shook your own at her in the negative. “I don’t have a letter for you. There’s no one left for me to write to. I just wanted to tell you something: I’m leaving.”

Even if Bian had once been meant to be Prince Zuko’s, you had difficulty thinking of her as anything but yours. She was your friend, yourhawk, and though she was of the Fire Nation, of your time as Ursa, you could not let her go without saying farewell first, the way you would with the rest of it.

“I can’t tell anyone else,” you said. “It’ll just put them in danger. I can’t even say bye to Jia-Li. She’ll think I just ran away for no reason, and she was too loyal of a friend to deserve that, but I cannot implicate her in my defection from the academy. She’ll be the first they question, and I don’t know that she’ll lie convincingly enough to escape suspicion. So, then, when she says she has no idea where I’ve gone, she has to be telling the truth.”

Bian cooed at you; well, maybe calling the throaty sound cooing was being generous, but there was no other way to describe it, and the sentiment was the same. She was trying, in her own way, to comfort you, and you extended your arms to her perch so that you could rub the soft, tiny feathers of her cheeks.

“Thank you for being my hawk,” you said. “Be good for whoever owns you next — unless it is the prince, in which case I give you full permission to bite his fingers whenever he tries to give you letters.”

With that, you turned around, your hands dropping to your sides as you walked, then ran out of the aviary. If you turned around, you would cry. If you turned around, you might not ever be able to leave, so you sprinted until you reached the stables where the various animals belonging to the academy were kept.

Passing by the sleeping dragon moose and the corral of komodo rhinos, you ducked into the stall of one of the mongoose lizards. Throwing its saddle on, you patted it on the forehead.

“I’m sorry,” you said, swinging on and kicking it forwards. “I promise you can go home once you get me out of the capital.”

The mongoose lizard was fast, but more than that, it was stealthy and could traverse many kinds of terrain. Scuttling through the campus, it climbed the walls at your direction, though it was obviously unsure, as it had been trained not to leave the academy, even when given the opportunity.

Looking up, you saw a shadow cover the moon briefly, and you furrowed your brow as the dark shape came hurtling down towards you. The mongoose lizard continued to dash through the streets of the capital, and you used your hands to shield your face from the incoming projectile.

You needn’t have. At the last moment, it flared its wings, landing gently on your shoulder, careful not to dig its talons into your flesh despite the subsequent loss of balance.

“Bian?” you said. She nipped your shirt collar like she was chiding you for daring to leave without her. You laughed in relief, scratching her crest. “Oh, my dear Bian. I should never have tried to go without you. Thank you for finding me.”

She hopped off your shoulder, sitting on the pommel of the saddle, surveying the terrain with the regal bearing of a figurehead. With her at your side, you weren’t quite as lonely, and though it was selfish of you, you were glad that she had made such a choice, that she loved you enough to follow you away from the comfort of the aviary.

You traveled for a while at top speed, but once the mongoose lizard began to show signs of fatigue, you reined it to a stop. Whistling for Bian, you slid off of the beast. It made a clicking noise at you, and you smiled at it.

“Thank you,” you said. “You have done your job well. You may go back now.”

Without hesitation, the mongoose lizard spun and headed in the same direction it had come from. You didn’t wait, either; the palace certainly had methods to track you, so it would be a folly for you to stay in the same place for too long.

When the search began depended on Jia-Li. If she reported your disappearance immediately, then you were in trouble, but you sensed she would not. You had a habit of coming back to the room later than her, so she’d likely not realize you were gone at all until she woke up and saw your bed had remained undisturbed the entire night.

That left you with a window of time in which you could eat and sleep. After that, you had to walk to the nearest village and appropriate a new mount that could get you even farther from the academy and the capital and Prince Zuko’s grasp.

“It’s just so strange,” you said to Bian as you made a small fire using kindling, the way you had been taught in the academy. “If I’m an Earthbender instead of a former Fire Nation soldier, then there really is no explanation for any of it. Why did he abduct me? Why did he order my memories to be subdued? What significance did I hold?”

If she knew anything about the heart or mind of her former master, she did not reveal it. Rummaging around in your bag for the bit of food you had scrounged up while packing, you chewed on it pensively before pulling out the book you had been reading.

Opening to the page you had left off on, you promised to only finish the chapter on the royal family before you went to sleep. Maybe it was foolish to sacrifice any of the precious little rest you could get, but you longed for something to soothe your mind, and you thought that reading, as a familiar habit, might accomplish that goal.

The last ruler of the Earth Kingdom was the 52nd Earth King, born Kuei. He is famous only for his ineptitude. Ascending the throne at the age of four, he was a puppet monarch for much of his life, until the day he was deposed of by Prince Zuko and the Fire Nation forces. 

For some strange reason, there was a lump in your throat reading about the 52nd Earth King, as if he was someone that you greatly missed. But that was not even the oddest thing — it was the next passage that made you truly gasp. Memories upon memories poured in as you read and reread the paragraph, which was more of a footnote than anything.

The 52nd Earth King also had a younger sister, though no one ever saw her. A nonbender like the king, Princess Y/N remained shut away in the palace her entire life, reputedly for her own protection. Because of her fragile and essentially invisible status, her own subjects mockingly referred to her as the Glass Princess.

She, along with her brother, was killed during the fall of Ba Sing Se.

[nyarlathotep-thecrawlingchaos]

OmfffffGGGG the fun I had writing this chapter GUYS—

I mean start to finish, I've been giggling like an idiot the entire mfing TIME

Well, alternating between giggling like an idiot and snickering deviously like a witch huddled over a cauldron but that's neither here nor there

Of course we have banter between Garp's dippy ass and Bogard's far more poised and reasonable demeanor, but also

BUT ALSO—

No

i cannot

I can't spoil it I cannot I will not I must not I shan't it would be positively rude in all honesty i will not—

Just———muffled screaming

Look I'm sorry in advance I had way too much fun with this

even mihawk is done with my shit at this point

Flight Risk

Young!Mihawk x Marine!AFAB!Reader

Ch. 4 of who even fcking knows at this point honestly, five? Six? Fifty? Whatever just let me vibe

Brief summary of The Story So Far: Your mission, as a Marine and Zoan type devil fruit user (gray parrot), is to gather intel on Dracule Mihawk, a pirate on the Grand Line who has become a thorn in the Marines' side over a relatively short period of time. Your first recon mission, while more or less a success, left you wounded and your commanding officers more divided than ever over the operation at hand. You have since arrived at Marineford to complete your training for the mission, and gods only know where things might go from here....

Previous chapter, First chapter, Next chapter

SFW for now, but not in later chapters

No Trigger Warnings in this chapter. Possible future Trigger Warnings for imprisonment, mild torture (definitely psychological, maybe physical)

Tags: Enemies to lovers, eventually NSFW, idk maybe more later Word Count: 4,832

Taglist: @i-am-vita thank you so much you have no idea how much this means to me

♫♬Halloween Blues - The Fratellis♬♫

Well, I'm gonna make ya love me, gonna make ya wish that you'd never been born

Now ya wish you'd never met me, I could be the joker that you couldn't shake off

It was agreed upon by all parties involved that not a word would be spoken of your ill-advised “test” at Kuraigana Island to anyone but Fleet Admiral Sengoku. The brunt of the chastisement fell upon Garp and Bogard, as the commanding officers overseeing the mission; and while you were scolded yourself for getting far closer than your orders had suggested you should, you were still commended for providing valuable new information.

The Marines were now aware that Kuraigana Island was home to a population of large primates, of undetermined size or intelligence but with enough intellect to use basic weaponry.

The Marines were also now aware that the presence of Dracule “Hawk-Eye” Mihawk on the otherwise abandoned island was confirmed, and that the volatile pirate had most likely set up at least a temporary base amid the desolate castle ruins.

You were permitted to keep in contact with your mother over the following months of your training as promised, with the stipulation that your letters would be screened to ensure you didn’t relay any confidential information to outside parties. As such, you wrote your final letter aboard a small unmarked vessel bound to pass by Kuraigana Island perhaps four months after the first, and had handed it over to Bogard to scan over.

Hi, Mom!

I’m still doing great, I promise. Training has been exhausting but I’ve learned a lot, and it’s been a breath of fresh air to be among people that actually seem to like me. My commanding officers are a little annoying, but I guess they’re okay. I trust them.

This will be the last letter for a while since I’m being deployed. You don’t have to worry, it’s nothing serious and I’ll be fine, I just won’t be somewhere that I can receive any mail. You can still write me though, and I’ll be able to reply the second I get back to my base. I don’t know exactly how long that will be, but the tentative estimate is two months. It could be sooner, but it could be a little longer.

Love you, and give my love to all our feathery friends.

“Ten minutes out,” said Garp, sitting against the railing with a doughnut hanging out of his mouth as he finished filling out the remainder of the paperwork he had put off until the very last minute.

“‘Commanding officers are a little annoying, but I guess they’re okay,’” Bogard read aloud, lowering your letter to glance down at you with a wry look.

“She’s not wrong, you’re pretty damned irritating,” said Garp. Bogard lowered his eyes to the vice admiral sitting on the deck of the ship, lifting an eyebrow.

Garp only raised his doughnut with a nod and took another bite before returning to his report. Bogard huffed out a sigh and folded the letter, turning his gaze to you as you paced back and forth across the small deck. The vessel was little more than a sloop, designed for no more than one or two people to sail on their own, sturdy enough to withstand the unpredictable weather patterns of the Grand Line but far less advanced than the standard Marine vessel. You barely noticed his gaze upon you, staring down at your feet as you paced, counting the nails in the deck boards in a futile attempt to keep your mind clear from the quickly approaching start of your mission.

You stopped in your tracks the moment Bogard cleared his throat to get your attention, lifting your head sharply and standing at attention.

“A…at ease,” he said slowly, watching you shuffle your feet and fold your hands behind your back. “Your letter will be sent once Garp and myself return to Marineford,” he assured you. “Once you have left this ship, your own contact with the Marines will cease for a period of no less than two months, unless you are forced to make emergency contact. Emergecy contact will only be employed—”

“Under the circumstance that my own life is in immediate and unquestionable danger,” you responded immediately, to which Bogard gave a curt nod.

“Correct,” he agreed. “There will be a covert Marine presence at every island neighboring Kuraigana. Should you require rescue, the closest vessel will be able to arrive within twenty-four hours.”

“She won’t need it,” Garp chimed in through the last bite of his doughnut, and in a rare break of his iron composure, Bogard reached into one of his overcoat pockets and threw a pen at him in response. You watched as Garp caught it and used the implement to sign his name at the bottom of his paperwork before flicking it across the deck of the ship. “Have a little faith, Bogard. We have at our disposal a trained weapon of subterfuge.”

Garp wrapped his hand around the railing behind him and pulled himself to his feet, strolling over to your side and clapping you on the shoulder.

“Trained under our own supervision,” he went on proudly, while Bogard closed his eyes and heaved a slow, impatient sigh, waiting for him to go on. “Who has already provided us with more up-to-date information on the target than anyone else in our ranks—”

“—I’m still not saying your impulsive little test was anything but idiotic—”

“—and humbly declined to take credit for any of it,” Garp went on , ignoring his partner. You jolted as he gave you a sharp pat on the back. “She’ll be just fine. Won’t ya, kid?”

“I’ll—perform my duties as expected of…” You trailed off into a sigh yourself when Garp rolled his eyes. “Yeah,” you said stiffly. “I’ll be fine.”

“See? She’ll be fine.”

Garp gave a firm nod, as if your word was more than enough to affirm your fate as solid fact.

And then his brow furrowed as he stared across the deck.

His eyes narrowed into a squint, and he turned his head the slightest bit, his hand lowering from your shoulder and back to his side,

“No…that’s not…”

By the time Bogard turned his head, Garp was already striding across the deck, extending a spyglass as he leaned over the railing and stared through the scope. He gave a growl of annoyance as he held the scope out behind him for Bogard to take. Your heart raced as you slowly crossed the deck to join them, your already thin resolve faltering when Bogard slowly lowered the scope to glance at Garp.

“This changes—”

“It changes nothing,” said Garp, jerking his head to look at Bogard.

You didn’t need the spyglass to see the foggy haze around Kuraigana Island past the railing, no more than you needed it to see the small ship docked near its southern banks. You couldn’t make out much about it, but you could see the one thing that mattered—it flew a black flag.

“Red-Hair,” said Garp. “I knew he’d be trouble. I told Sengoku, I told him—”

“Why the hell would he be here?” Bogard said slowly, looking back out toward the island. He glanced behind him, and held out the spyglass for you to take. You moved to the railing between them, holding it to one eye and shutting the other to look through it at the distant ship. “There’s no chance any information has—”

“No, there isn’t,” agreed Garp, as your vision adjusted against the magnification of the lenses. You scanned over the small ship, which appeared to be empty, before lifting your head to focus on its flag—a jolly roger, decorated with a pair of crossed cutlasses and a skull with three slashes across one eye.

“Red-Haired Shanks…?” you said slowly, lowering the scope, glancing between Garp and Bogard as they stared out at the ship. “Ah—three hundred million, two hundred sixty-two thousand berry bounty.”

“Sixty-three,” corrected Bogard absently, glancing at Garp. Garp remained focused, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the ship, his grip tight around the deck railing. “Vice-Admiral.” He glanced over sharply when Bogard spoke up. “This does change—”

“It changes nothing,” Garp growled firmly.

You didn’t particularly like the way Bogard leaned over the railing, holding his hat in place as he shook his head, staring at Garp with no small degree of trepidation. Your eyes shifted to Garp when he turned around to face you, frowning down at you thoughtfully,

“Or it could change things for the better,” he said slowly, letting out a small chuckle. “Well, lass. This is your call. Seems more than just Mihawk might be docked at the island ahead of us.” You nodded shortly to show you were following, waiting for him to continued. “Not much is known about Shanks as yet…to the masses.”

“Garp—”

Garp held up a hand when Bogard tossed a warning look at him.

“—but I have on good authority that he trained under Gold Roger himself.” Your eyes widened, flickering back toward the ship in question, as Bogard let out a growl of annoyance and stormed back toward the opposite side of the deck. “This is an unexpected turn.” Your gaze shot back toward Garp as he straightened out, folding his hands behind his back and staring down at you. “We can head back toward Marineford and go through all the meticulous to-do’s of officially changing our plans, spend a few more months buried in paperwork, or—”

“I’m going.” He raised his eyebrows, his lips already twitching toward a smile at the firmness of your words. “The Red-Hair pirates would be no more aware of who I am than Mihawk. There’s no point wasting any more time.”

“No, I guess there isn’t,” he agreed, grinning. He cleared his throat, cupping a hand around his mouth and making a show of calling across the small expanse of the deck to Bogard. “You might just be able to gather us a little more intel than we expeced. Hear that, Bogard? No need to delay!”

“No need to pull a muscle patting yourself on the back, either,” Bogard grumbled, just loud enough to ensure Garp heard him.

“Alright, kid,” said Garp, happily ignoring him as he leaned against the side of the railing. “We’ve got under ten minutes, so here’s the rundown.” He turned his head, looking out toward the ship moored just off the edge of the island. “Shanks, as I said. Captain, pupil of Gold Roger himself. Primary weapon is a sabre. Straw hat, bright red hair, difficult to miss. There’s Yasopp, the first man to join his crew, at the time he was regarded as the sharpest shooter in the East Blue. Dark skin, dreadlocks, carries a pair of flintlock pistols.”

“So...that’s his first mate?”

“No.” Your brow furrowed. “That would be Beckman. Dark hair, ponytail, built like a brick shithouse. Carries a flintlock rifle. He’s a damn good shot himself but he’ll use the thing as a club in close quarters. Lucky Roux, the cook, bastard’s probably as wide as he is tall…”

You listened closely to Garp’s continued colorful descriptions of the crew officers of the Red Hair Pirates—and the potential dangers they could pose to your health should anyone discover what you really were.

“Red Hair isn’t the brightest match in the box,” he went on, “but there’s a great deal of evidence that he closely rivals Dracule Mihawk in swordsmanship. Should the two end up fighting, you keep your distance. Otherwise, be exceedingly careful around Benn Beckman. He’s the idiot’s first mate for a reason and probably accounts for ninety percent of the collective brain cells of the entire crew. You’ll have to keep a close eye on him while you keep up your act. There’s no telling why they’re docked here, and it would be in your best interest to figure it out. If they’re going to be around for a while, keep your distance.”

“I...sort of doubt any of them are ornithology experts,” you said, frowning.

“As much as one might doubt that a species of unknown primates could learn to use relatively modern weaponry.” You turned your head sharply at the sound of Bogard’s voice close behind you—you hadn’t heard him cross the deck. Your frown deepened as he gave a pointed glance at the scar spanning nearly the entire length of your right upper arm. Garp, gestured to the other Marine pointedly at his statement, and you couldn’t deny that he had a point either. “You’ll keep your distance. Fooling one pirate alone is going to be a great deal easier and safer than attempting to fool an entire crew of them.” He turned his head to Garp. “This is still the most ridiculous mission I’ve ever had the displeasure of being involved in.”

“Ah, girl’s got her act down fine,” he said dismissively—and Garp wasn’t wrong about that. Your favorite part of your training by far had been simply flying around the massive base at Marineford, taking tally of how many of the staff and officers you could fool. The only individuals privy to the exact nature of your mission were Garp and Bogard, a small selection of admirals and vice admirals, and Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself. Your performance had been enough to levy a unanimous vote to go forth with the mission. “Your persona, cadet?”

“Gray parrot, previously the pet of a pirate crew that perished in battle, therefore comfortable around pirates in general,” you said. “Able to repeat a number of sounds and phrases that might be heard aboard a ship, capable of learning new phrases and words faster than most other similar species of bird. Particular disdain for Marines and may fly into a frenzy at the sight of their vessels.”

“See?” said Garp, clapping you on the back hard enough that you flinched. “I’d say we’ve got this in the bag.”

Bogard stared between the two of you for a moment, frowning, before shaking his head. “God help us all,” he muttered under his breath, lifting a hand to rub his eyes.

The final few minutes of the voyage were spent with Garp and Bogard grilling you about the small amount of information known by the Marines about Dracule Mihawk, about the quick briefing you had just received on the Red Hair pirates, about your memorization of the den den mushi numbers you were to contact in the event that your life was in immediate danger or that you found any information useful enough to wrap the operation up early. Garp gave a resolute nod as you neared your destination, around a mile and a half off the shore of Kuraigana Island, and Bogard gave a heavy sigh and a short nod in silent agreement—no matter how little he approved, you were as ready as you were going to be.

“Alright, then, cadet,” said Garp, his wide grin a direct contrast to his partner’s pessimism. “Bird mode, activate.”

“Must you call it that?” said Bogard, tossing a weary look at Garp as you gave a quick salute and immediately shrank down into your devil fruit form on the deck. You fluttered your wings enough to hop up onto the deck railing in front of them, and Bogard frowned down at you. “Best of luck,” he offered. “Should all go according to plan, we’ll see you again in no more than two months.”

He cringed the slightest bit when you raised your wing in another salute, squawking out over Garp’s snort of laughter, “Wind in your sails!”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Garp, waving you off. “Now shoo, bird. And no getting yourself killed.”

And once more, you found yourself flying out toward Kuraigana Island.

You made a high pass over the Red Hair’s ship, squinting down toward it as you soared overhead, and the cause of their mooring near the island became quickly clear—it appeared that there was work being performed on a few sizable cannonball holes on the port side of the vessel. You were surprised to see a handful of the crew on the beach near the edge of the forest, seeming to be laughing among themselves and having a grand time, the primates that had attacked you nowhere in sight. Lucky Roux was easy enough to pick out, exactly as Garp had described him—striped shirt and tinted goggles, easily as wide as he was tall, sitting against a tree and taking a bite out of what looked like an entire leg of lamb while another crewmate assisted in bandaging his arm.

Perhaps they had had a run-in with the local apes.

You took that as enough reason to remain vigilant as you flew high over the forest, scanning the treetops below for any signs of movement. It was a relief that there seemed to be none—if the Red Hair pirates had come in contact with the violent creatures, it seemed they had managed to beat them into submission. You considered how Garp had told you that no one had ever entered the island on foot and lived to tell the tale, and it sent a shiver over your spine to think that the crew might be that formidable.

The first signs of movement you witnessed came only once you neared the castle itself, and you nearly faltered in your flight.

Your target was directly below you.

Sitting on a broken piece of stone wall in the courtyard, clad in a white shirt with a ruffled collar and a pair of black pants, his hat sitting to the side next to him, his massive sword lying across his lap as he polished the handle. You slowly, cautiously circled lower, keeping a fair distance, your eyes remaining on the pirate. His mouth seemed to be fixed in a scowl, his posture tense.

You cautiously landed in one of the castle windows several feet away, side-stepping until you were perched in the very corner of the indentation, your gray plumage a perfect camouflage against the rugged stone, and the reason for Mihawk’s clear irritation became immediately evident as the sound of a nonchalant voice tore your gaze away from him.

“Nice place you’ve got here, Hawk-Eye.”

Shanks.

Garp’s description had once again been right on the money—his stringy scarlet hair was capped by a straw-hat, his hands tucked behind his neck as he paced across a pile of rubble that might have once been a wall, a long sabre tucked into his red cloth belt at his right hip. He hopped down to the ground as you watched, resting his elbow on the hilt of the sword as he stared up at the castle. “Be a shame if something happened to it.”

He reached over with his left hand, wrapping it around the handle of the sword, and you tensed immediately, prepared to take flight as he grinned and glanced over at Mihawk.

“Divi—”

Mihawk was on his feet in a flash, his sword extended out at arm’s length, the blade less than an inch away from Shanks’s neck, his sharp yellow eyes narrowing to threatening slits as Shanks lifted his hands up in mock-surrender, still grinning.

“Only kidding,” he said, taking a cautious step back from the edge of the black blade.

Mihawk eyed him with a venomous glare for a few seconds longer before pulling his blade back swiftly to his side and rolling his eyes, a growl of annoyance leaving him as he turned on his heel and stormed back over to the broken wall, sitting down once more. “Remind me of what the hell you’re doing here and precisely why you haven’t left yet?”

“Am I not allowed to visit my friends?” said Shanks, clutching at his chest dramatically in feigned offense. Mihawk ignored the redhead as he sat down heavily on the ground, grabbing a bottle of dark liquor propped up against the pile of rubble and working the cork loose. “Hey, it’s not my fault. This is where the Log pose pointed us. We needed to do a few repairs on the ship. Noticed your old rowboat moored nearby—”

“Rowboat,” Mihawk repeated under his breath, one of his eyes twitching the slightest bit.

“So what’s with the pissed off monkeys, anyway?” said Shanks, nodding toward the forest before taking a swig from the bottle and flicking the cork over his shoulder. “Few of them were damn near as good with a sword as you are.” Mihawk’s eyes shot toward him in a warning glare, and rolled away when Shanks gave a broad grin in response. “Train them yourself?”

“No,” he said shortly. “The humandrills were already quite capable with a variety of weapons when I arrived—”

“Aww, you named them?”

“I discovered the name among the historical documents in castle,” he said through his teeth. “It seems they learned to use weapons by watching their human neighbors before they managed to wipe themselves out. Perhaps,” he went on, before Shanks could speak up again, “your time would better be served overseeing the repairs on your ship so you can leave the moment they’re done.”

“Oh, the repairs are almost finished,” said Shanks, waving a dismissive hand. “Just waiting for the log pose to finish linking up.” He took a sip from his bottle, lifting his eyebrows. “Why? Aren’t you enjoying the company?”

“Oh, yes, immensely,” Mihawk responded dryly.

Your eyes darted between the pair of pirates amid their exchange, keeping yourself perfectly still in the stone windowsill. It was clear that Shanks, at least, was enjoying himself, and that they seemed to have some sort of history between them. It was equally clear that Mihawk would have very much preferred that his company take a long walk off the nearest short pier. He still kept his irritation in check, though whether it was out of any actual sense of camaraderie or he simply didn’t feel like wasting his energy fighting remained unclear.

Their exchange gave you an almost overwhelming sense of déjà vu, and you made a mental note to inform Garp and Bogard of it the next time you saw them.

“Oh, so grumpy,” Shanks commented, leaning back against the rubble behind him, stretching an arm out across one of his knees. “Why don’t you go take a nap, old man? I’m sure there are plenty of beds more than suited for someone of your positively regal manner.” Mihawk went on polishing the golden handle of his sword, not bothering to glance up. “Probably more than enough beds for any number of guests—”

“No,” said Mihawk coolly, still keeping his eyes turned down toward his sword.

“Oh, come on,” Shanks groaned in complaint, laying his head back. His mouth turned down into a despondent sort of pout, tilting his head to look over at the castle—and you tensed immediately, holding your breath, remaining still as a statue. “I’ve never even been in a castle before—”

“No,” Mihawk said again, louder this time, his yellow eyes fixing on Shanks with a firm gaze this time.

“You’re absolutely no fun at all,” Shanks huffed, lifting a small piece of stone from the ground and tossing it in his direction in a half-hearted manner. “You know, you’re going to die sad and alone one day in your desolate castle.”

“And what a peaceful end it will be,” said Mihawk disinterestedly, rolling his eyes back down to the sword across his lap as he buffed a rag across the gleaming blue gem at the end of the hilt.

“But not friendless,” Shanks added, completely ignoring him. He offered another broad grin. “I’ll always be your frien—”

“Would you just go away already?” Mihawksighed wearily, lifting his head and tossing the rag aside. “It’s abundantly clear what you’re attempting to do, and it isn’t going to work.”

“Oh, and just what am I trying to do?” said Shanks...and he seemed to bite his tongue for a moment, before adding in a cheeky tone, “...friend?”

“You’re fishing for a fight,” said Mihawk, gritting his teeth, briefly gripping the handle of his sword before releasing it from his grasp. “And I’m not in the mood.”

“Oh come. On,” Shanks groaned once more, leaning back heavily and pouting. “I’m bored. There’s literally nothing on this damned island except a pile of rocks and a bunch of trees and a particularly nice castle—”

“No.” Shanks gave a huff of irritation, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Mihawk. “Go off and play with the other monkeys if you’re so damned bored.”

“They’re already afraid of me,” he huffed, pouting like a child. He brushed a few unruly strands of hair away from his eyes, turning his gaze out toward the forest. “Stupid apes.” Mihawk only rolled his eyes, shook his head, and returned to the idle task of sword maintenance. “I’m frankly surprised you didn’t just slaughter all of them the moment you set foot here.”

“They make for a decent security system,” he said levelly.

“Or you’re secretly just a big softie—”

Shanks straightened out and gave another broad grin when Mihawk tossed a sharp glare at him...and then slumped back down in defeat when his supposed “friend” gave a heavy sigh and turned his attention back to his sword.

It went on this way for some time—Shanks continually poking and prodding, attempting to annoy Mihawk enough to coax him into a fight; and Mihawk persisting in the task of sword maintenance, running a whetstone across the already razor-sharp edge of the blade as he fought to keep his composure. The entire spectacle was rather like watching an excitable puppy yip at a surly cat.

You shifted your gaze to the edge of the nearby forest when Shanks looked over, the young captain waving once the rustling of the dense leaves gave way to a tall, broad-shouldered man in a black shirt, picking leaves out of his ponytail—no doubt Benn Beckman, from the description Garp had offered you. There was indeed a large rifle slung back across one of his shoulders, a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. He glanced toward Mihawk, before stopping just short of his captain, looking down at him.

“Repairs are finished and the Log Pose’s set,” he said, his brow furrowing when Shanks frowned in clear disappointment. “We getting off of this rock or are you still antagonizing the current inhabitants?”

“I am visiting with a dear old friend,” said Shanks, giving an indignant huff and crossing his arms. He rolled his eyes back over to Mihawk. “Isn’t that right, Hawkie—?”

“Call me that again and you’ll be leaving this island wearing your entrails as necklace,” said Mihawk coolly.

“See?” said Shanks, gesturing toward Mihawk. “We’re just catching up on old times.”

Beckman stared down at his captain for a long moment, frowning, his cigarette smoldering at the corner of his mouth. He finally shook his head and stepped back a couple paces, leaning back against a pile of stones and crossing his arms. “Alright,” he said. “Have fun.”

“Oh, I am,” Shanks assured him with a positively gleeful grin. He rolled his shoulders and took a drink from the bottle of liquor clenched in his hand, his eyes drifting back over to Mihawk. “Well, it seems our all too pleasant reunion may be drawing to a close, Hawkie—”

Shanks’s grin only widened when Mihawk lifted his gaze to glare at him, his hand gripping tighter around the whetstone.

Shanks seemed to bite his tongue for a moment, pursing his lips to suppress his growing amusement at Mihawk’s growing annoyance, before his expression spread back into a grin as he lifted his eyebrows.

“How about a little kiss goodbye—y’know, between friends and all—”

“That’s it—”

Mihawk was on his feet in a flash, tossing the whetstone away.

Shanks was on his feet just as quickly, a look of absolute glee brightening his features as he drew his sabre.

Beckman took a few casual steps off to the side, pulling his cigarette down from his lips to flick the ashes away, shaking his head, his hand tightening around the butt of his rifle almost imperceptibly.

And you, in spite of yourself, let out a tiny squawk of alarm at the entire spectacle...and quickly realized your mistake.

While Mihawk surged forward with his blade drawn, while Beckman kept his sharp eyes flickering between him and his captain, Shanks’s gaze flickered over toward the sound you had just let out.

And his eyes widened the slightest bit as his eyes met yours.

And he lifted his sword to block what would have been a deadly blow from Mihawk as he continued staring at you as you froze in the windowsill, your feathers ruffling out the slightest bit in response to the terror dawning over you.

Beckman also followed his captain’s gaze, lifting an eyebrow as he noticed your presence.

Shanks drew in a sharp breath, his eyes growing even wider, wide as the eyes of a child with a bottomless wallet in a candy shop. One single, almost breathless word left his lips as they spread into a delighted smile:

“Parrot.”

Next chapter link again, for your convenience

First chapter link again, for your convenience

[morgana-larkin]

Okay hear me out. Ik this might be alot like another prompt from another author but i love it and wanna see ur spin on it. Pure fem! Reader and melissa just dying to corrupt her and have some fun.

Hi! I think I know the exact fic you’re referring too! I’m so happy that you want to see my spin on it. And here it is! So much longer than I expected but I don’t think anyone will complain. Due to me being stuck in bed with a twisted ankle, I’ll be able to write another fic! Not edited in the slightest and I hope you like it!

On another note: Due to a bit of confusion about who I write for, I will add to my masterlist who I write for. Also, since I will be starting to write for other characters, I changed my taglist to a Melissa and Chessy taglist. If you want to be on my main taglist for when I write for Marilyn, Misty and Moiraine, then let me know!

Italian translations:

Dio mio - oh my god

Mia angelo - my angel

Bella - beautiful

Amo il tuo corpo e voglio rivendicarlo - I love your body and want to claim you

Il Suo Angelo (Her Angel)

Warnings: pure innocent reader, horny af Mel, smut, lots of teasing, fluffy Mel

Words: 8.6k (have fun! 😉)

You walked in the break room and made a beeline for the coffee machine.

“Wow kid, if you went any faster I’d think you’re a speedster or something.” Melissa said and you looked at her and chuckled. And at that Ava walked in and walked to coffee machine but then stood by it and waited till you were done.

“Caffeine is my saviour lately, I’ve been so stressed lately.” You told her.

“Oh girl, what you need is to get you some. Then all the stress will disappear.” Ava piped up and you looked at her confused.

“Some what?” You asked her and Melissa glanced over at you.

“Some sex.” Ava said, blunt as ever and you blushed.

“Oh um, I don’t know. I want my first time to be special.” You told her.

“You’re a virgin?” Ava asked and you nodded. “Girl, look at you, how have you not had sex yet?” And you blushed and looked down at the ground.

“Um, I- I don’t know.” You said and took your coffee and sat down at a free table near Melissa and Barb.

“Hey kid.” Melissa says and you turn to look at her.

“Ya?”

“Are you one of those people that waits until marriage?” Melissa asked and you blushed.

“Uh no. Just um never got a chance to and wasn’t really a big discussion or something that was talked about in my family.” You told her.

“Are you saying your parents never explained sex to you before?” She asked and you blushed and looked down at the ground. Melissa got up and walked over to you, you saw her heeled boots and leather pants and looked up at her face. “Are you uncomfortable with talking about it?”

“A little bit.” You admit and she smirked.

“You don’t have to be kid. Just don’t talk about it with the students as you’re not a sex Ed teacher. But we’re adults here, and it’s fun to do.” She tells you and your eyes widen at that.

“Melissa!” Barb says to stop her.

“What? It’s not like you’re a virgin.” Melissa says to Barb.

“Well I know but no need to traumatise the poor girl.” Barb scolds her and Melissa sighs then looks at you.

“How old are you?” She asks you.

“Um I’m 27.” You tell her and everyone looks at you with wide eyes. “What?” You ask everyone.

“You’re 27, you’re a virgin and uncomfortable with the discussion of sex.” Melissa tells you and your cheeks go red.

“It’s also a bit hard to find dates when you like women.” You say and she smirks.

“Alright I’ll give you that, but since you’re new to Philly, I’ll just tell you that it’s a little easier to find dates with women here.” Melissa tells you, leaning down towards you a bit and you unconsciously lick your lips and stare at her.

Melissa walks back to her seat and goes back to her phone like nothing happened, while you go back to your coffee.

On the outside, it seems like Melissa isn’t doing anything different, but on the inside, in her brain is another story. She saw how you reacted to her and she finds it very interesting that you seem so innocent. Maybe she can have some fun with you.

At the end of the day, Melissa passes by your classroom like always and sees you sitting in your chair, writing something. She goes over to your door and knocks.

“Hi Melissa.” You say when you look up.

“Hey kid. Whatcha working on?” She asks and you sigh.

“I’m a little behind on grading.” You say with a small pout. “The lessons are a bit difficult for them so I haven’t had a lot of time to grade since I’m answering questions most of the time.” And she nods, then an idea pops in her head.

“Maybe I could keep you company?” She offers and you freeze.

“Wh-what?” You ask her and she smiles.

“I could keep you company if you want.” She offers again.

“Oh that’s really sweet but I don’t want to inconvenience you or ruin your night.” You tell her and she smiles softly at you, you’re so sweet and innocent she thinks.

“It’s not a problem hon. I don’t have any plans tonight and it was just going to be a boring night at home by myself on the couch.” She tells you.

“Well I won’t force you to stay or go, but if you want to stay then I wouldn’t mind the company.” You say with a sweet smile.

She grins at you and then grabs one of the students chair and brings it your desk to sit right across from you. Let the teasing begin, she thinks to herself.

“So” she starts, after about 10 seconds of silence. “How come your family never discussed sex?” She asks and you whip your head at her and blush.

“Oh um. I don’t know, it just wasn’t.” You tell her.

“Sheltered life then?” She asks you.

“I guess a bit.” You say with a shrug and then get back to grading. Melissa leans forward and puts her chin on her hands and smirks.

“Have you ever had an orgasm?” She asks so casually. And you look up at her confused.

“Sorry, a what?” You ask and she tilts her head a bit.

“An orgasm hon.” She repeats and you look confused.

“What’s an orgasm?” You ask, and inside Melissa is beaming with mischief.

“An orgasm is a build up of pleasure when having sex.” She says and your face goes red. “And when it’s released, all the feel good hormones and emotions come with it.” She explains and you stare at her like a deer in the headlights. While she has your attention, she moves her arms down to be placed casually on the desk and leans forward. Her arms push her chest up a bit and with the shirt she’s wearing with a v-dip in the front, it gives you a nice view of her cleavage. Melissa pretends to be looking at the paper you’re grading, but she saw you glance down at her chest and lick your lips. “So you never touched yourself?” She asks and it takes a second for your brain to process that she spoke, and then another second to process what she said and you look at her confused again.

“What do you mean touch myself? Touch where?” You ask and Melissa is grinning.

“Touch yourself down there.” She says and points to in between your legs.

“Well I do when I go to the bathroom.” You say, confused to what she’s getting at.

“I meant, touch yourself… sexually.” She explains and your face goes redder than her hair.

“Wh-what? Why-why would I do that?” You say and sit up a bit straight.

“Because, it feels good.” She says with a shrug. “So you’ve never done that either?” She asks.

“No I haven’t.” You tell her and Melissa is beaming with excitement on the inside. Oh, all the ways she can corrupt you.

“So, your little innocent act isn’t an act at all. You’re actually a good girl.” She tells you and your eyes widen a little bit and Melissa notices the effect her words have on you. They say it’s the shy innocent ones you gotta look out for. And you are so innocent, it’s adorable, Melissa thinks.

Melissa stopped so that you wouldn’t be wondering why she’s suddenly curious about that part of your life…at least for today. She just carries on a normal conversation with you. Until the next day…

At the end of the day she stopped by your classroom again. “Still more grading?” She asks and you look up at her.

“M afraid so.” You say. “They’ve done 2 tests and a project in the past 2 weeks and I was starting to get behind but now I’m very behind.” You tell her and she walks in.

“Want some company again?” She asks and you glance up at her. You wanna say yes cause you are attracted to her but yesterday she asks a few questions and you’re wondering why it was on the topic that it was. But of course, your want for her to be close wins over.

“Sure, that’d be nice. Thank you.” You tell her with a smile. Instead of bringing a chair over, she sits on the desk closest to yours. You can’t help but stare as she sits with her legs slightly apart, a bit more than what is considered normal. And she’s also leaning back a bit with her hands on the desk.

“Have you been on dates? Been in relationships?” She asks and you let out a sigh of relief. Glad it’s not on the topic it was yesterday.

“Yes, I’ve been on a few dates. I’ve had one relationship but it didn’t last long. Like maybe 2-3 months.” You tell her.

“3 months and you didn’t have sex with her?” She asks and you groan very quietly.

“Why? Is that bad?”

“Well, not really. I mean it’s the people in the relationship that choose that. But typically people have sex within the first 3-8 weeks of a relationship.” She explains.

“She broke up with me because we didn’t have…you know. And because there was no discussion about it either.” You tell her. On the outside she was nodding in understanding, on the inside, she was smirking. You were so innocent you didn’t want to even say sex. God, she’s going to have a lot more fun with you. It helps that she’s attracted to you and you’re attracted to her.

Melissa got off the desk and leaned on your desk. “I’m not saying that you should have had sex with her, you know. It’s at your pace.” Even though she’s having fun with you, she wants to make sure that you don’t feel bad. You had a difficult time listening to what she was saying as her cleavage was right there. Melissa smirks as she catches on and she gets an idea. She goes to move her hands off the desk and straighten her posture but “accidentally” knocks a pen off your desk. “Oh sorry, I’ll get it.” She tells you and walks the 2 steps over and bends down. She makes sure to bend down so her ass was on display for you. When she bent down, she glanced very quickly at your reaction and you were staring right at her ass like she wanted. She stood back up and put the pen back on your desk. She wonders how else she can corrupt and tease you.

She does this for the next 2 days, just gives you little views of her cleavage, and ass if the opportunity presents itself.

On Friday is when she got a little more mischievous. She visits you in your classroom like normal as you're almost done grading all of the tests. She sits on a desk again and starts up a conversation with you. 20 minutes later and you finish grading with a smile.

“There! Finally finished.” You say and she claps.

“Congrats! Now they can stop pestering you.” She jokes and you laugh.

“Ya, first graders aren’t known for their patience.” You say and she giggles.

“Neither are second graders.” She jokes back with you and you laugh. You put the tests in a basket neatly to be handed back to them tomorrow and you stand up to get your things ready. Melissa gets off the desk and walks over to you without you hearing her.

Once all your things are in your bag, you sling it over your shoulder and turn around. You nearly bump into Melissa and you see her cleavage again. Melissa is smiling as she wore a push up bra and a shirt that makes her tits look amazing while still being appropriate for school. You tilt your head up and look at her. You then step to your left and try to psss by her but she stops you with an arm. She puts her hand on the board to stop you from leaving and she moves a bit so she’s in front of you with your back on the board. Your face goes red with the close proximity and you don’t know what to do.

“M-mel- Melissa? What are you doing?” You stutter out and she smiles.

“Nothing hon. Do I make you nervous?” She asks you and your cheeks turn pink.

“A little bit.” You admit nervously.

“Hmm, and why do I make you nervous?” And you don’t know how to respond to that.

“Um, well I - you… um. You just do.” You settle on that and she smirks at you. You then duck under her arm and speed walk out of there. Melissa isn’t at all disappointed that you found an escape, she’s finding it amusing that you basically bolted out of there while trying to be subtle.

During the weekend, you thought about how close Melissa was to you and then you for some reason felt a wetness between your thighs that only happened one other time before and you’re not sure what it meant. You googled it and most of them say it’s a result of getting turned on and you decide to ignore that fact and try to focus on other things. Try being the important word. Your thoughts keep shifting back to Melissa and her perfect cleavage, her perfect ass, the close proximity, her amazing smile and almost glowing hair that’s perfect for her. You rub your thighs together and then you freeze, why did you do that? And why are you wet again? All these thoughts keep your weekend busy. And then you wake up Monday morning and prepare for another week. Maybe now you won’t have thoughts of Melissa that makes you feel weird things. Oh were you wrong.

You went in the break room and there Melissa was, glasses on and she’s leaning slightly to the desk, writing something. Her perfect cleavage on display and she looks really pretty with glasses on. With or without glasses she looks pretty. You try not to stare at her and go to the coffee machine.

“Hello dear. How was your weekend?” Barb asks you and you turn to her. You go to answer and then you see Melissa smiling at you and your mouth stays slightly open for a couple seconds. And then you remember you were asked a question.

“It-it was good, just a relaxing weekend. Got all my grading done last week so I pretty much just enjoyed the weekend.” You tell her and she smiles at you. You then glance at Melissa and she winks at you, your cheeks turn pink a bit at that.

“That’s good to hear dear. You deserve a stress free weekend.” Barb tells you.

“Thank you. Ho-how was your weekend?” You ask her and she goes into explaining her day out with Gerald. She tried listening but you saw Melissa smiling at you, at some point she took off her glasses and put the tip of it in her mouth. And to top it off, she crosses her arms in a way that pushes her breast up and you lose all brain function. All of that happens in the space of 3 minutes but it feels like much longer. “What about you Melissa?” You ask her when Barb is done.

“It was good, hon. Like you I stayed home, and de-stressed.” She sends you another wink when Barb isn’t looking and you widen your eyes a bit.

After you go to your classroom and continue out the day. When all your students leave, you pack up your things and hear someone come in. Although you know who came in as you recognize the sound of her heels, Melissa.

“Hey hon.” She says and you turn around as she’s walking in.

“Hey Melissa. I don’t need any company today as all my grading is done.” You tell her, you were a littl disappointment, you were starting to like spending that time with her.

“Oh, that’s unfortunate. It was a nice little routine last week.” She tells you and you nod. She walks towards you a bit more until she’s 2 feet away from you. “Want to know more about my weekend?” She asks with a deeper voice and you shiver a little bit. You think she didn’t notice as she didn’t react or say anything but she did notice.

“Um sure.” You tell her with a slight stutter.

“Well as I said I stayed home and de-stressed.” She began and you nodded. “Well want to know how I de-stressed?” She said and she walked towards you and you walked back a bit until you ran into the chalkboard. She pressed her body against yours a bit, leaned towards your ear and whispered the answer. “I imagined you in my bed, underneath me. Then I put my hand between my legs, I fingered myself and rubbed my clit until I had an orgasm. And I said your name when I did.” She tells you and then pulls her head back and looks at your face.

Your mouth is slightly open in shock, your eyes wide, cheeks flushed, your breathing deepened, and you rubbed your thighs together. Melissa is smiling at your reaction.

“Hmm, you know you’re cute when you react like that.” She tells you as she tucks a lock of hair behind your ear. Your still frozen in shock and don’t respond to her. She gently strokes down your arm with two fingers. “Hmm, you’re so innocent, hon. Do you like it when I think about you like that?” She asks, and your cheeks turn red.

“I-um…I-you… uh, um, like…” you stutter and she smirks at you.

“Oh hon, did I make you speechless?” She asks with mock sympathy. She knows exactly what she’s doing to you and how she affects you and she’s enjoying it. “Why don’t I make it up to you hm. How about on Friday after school, you come over to my place and I’ll cook you dinner.” She says and you’re speechless again. “You can nod or shake your head as an answer.” She tells you, deciding to take a little bit of pity on you. You nod your head and she smiles. “Perfect.” She tells you. She grabs her phone and presses a couple things then looks at you. “What’s your number?” She asks and you look at her confused. “So I can text you my address.” She explains and you gulp. You then muster up enough courage to give her your number. She then sends a text and your phone vibrates in your pocket with a notification. She looks at you with a smirk. “Hope that’s not the only thing you have that vibrates.” She says and you look at her confused. She decides to not explain it and instead reaches for your phone, she slides her hand down you a bit, sticks her hand a bit in your pocket and wraps her hand around your phone and tugs it out. She then slides her hand up between you both and hands you your phone. “You can look up what I meant. Search what vibrators are for.” She tells you with a wink and then she walks out with a sway in her hips.

You stare at her ass as she walks out, completely mesmerized. At home you look up vibrators and your face goes red at what it says they’re for. She said a sexual innuendo and it went right over your head with your lack of knowledge on the subject.

The rest of the week goes by normally. Melissa doesn’t have an opportunity to drop by your classroom as she’s busy. She still sends winks your way when she can. And she bends over for you to see her cleavage when you’re looking, especially in the break room. And when she walks away from where you are, she sways her hips more so you can stare at her ass moving. On Friday she stops by your classroom briefly at the end of the day.

“Hey hon.”

“H-hi Melissa.”

“Just wanted to make sure you’re still coming over tonight.” She tells you.

“Of-of course. I’ve heard great things about your cooking and wouldn’t miss the opportunity.” You tell her and she smiles.

“Well good, you won’t be disappointed. A meal you won’t forgot.” She tells you with a slightly deeper voice and winks after. You feel your mouth dry and in between your legs get wet and you gulp.

“Do-” you squeak out then clear your throat as your mouth was dry. “Do you want me to bring anything?” You ask her and she walks closer to you and puts a finger under your chin.

“Hmm, just need to bring your pretty self.” She hums and you blush. You forgot how to English for a second and decide to nod in reply. She smiles at you and hums again. “Good.” She says and sways her hips as she walks out. She stops when she reaches the door, puts her hand on the doorframe and glances back at you. “Show up at 6, don’t be late.” She tells you and winks. She then continues walking to her car, leaving you in your classroom, stunned for a minute. Your body then remembers how to work and you walk to your car to get home to change.

You get home and strip out of your work clothes. You suddenly don’t know what to wear, she said it wasn’t a date but you want it to be a date, and want to impress her as you have a crush on her . You then decide to put a robe on and video chat your older sister.

“Hey you, what’s up?” She says when she picks up.

“Hey sis, I need your help. So I have a crush on a coworker. And she invited me over for dinner to her place. She never said it was a date but I still want to impress her.” You explain to her and she chuckles.

“So you need help choosing an outfit?” She asks and you nod. “Alright, show me what options you were thinking of and I’ll let you know if it’s a yes or no.” She says and you nod. You spend the next 20 minutes showing her your clothes as she said no to everything you were thinking of wearing. You then settled on an outfit you both agreed looks good. You then thank her and she makes you promise to tell her all about it tomorrow, and hangs up.

You then shower, blow dry your hair, and brush your teeth. You put on your outfit, which is a cute dark purple dress that stops mid thigh, with a small v-dip and black stockings, with small heels that are black, and a fancy black sweater to complete the look. You then quickly curl the bottom half of your hair then keep it all down. You then apply a bit of purple eyeshadow, some mascara and tinted lip balm. You realise it’s time to go and you grab your purse and head to her place.

You arrive at 5:57 and you take a minute to breath and calm your heart down and give yourself a small pep talk. “Ok remember y/n, she’s a coworker and friend. She may be your crush but try and keep all thoughts of kissing her out of your head.” You say, then let out another breath before getting out and walking to her door.

You knock on her door and she opens it with a smile. You should have added more to your pep talk then just thoughts of kissing her. As she’s wearing a low cut red shirt, that shows her cleavage more than the shirts she wears at school does. She also has on black leggings and her hair up in a ponytail with her bangs framing her face perfectly. You stare at her and forgot to say anything as your brain is busy processing the outfit.

“Wow, you look nice angelo.” She tells you, and if you paid any attention to her eyes you would have noticed her pupils are a bit blown as her eyes roam up and down your body.

“Th-thanks, so do you.” You say and she smiles.

“Thank you.”

“What did you call me?” You ask her

“Angelo, it means angel.” She says and you smile. “Come on in.” She tells you.

“Are you sure? Your mat says go away.” You say with a smile to show her that you’re joking and she giggles.

“That’s because I only let a few people come inside.” She tells you and you blush. You had no idea that you were one of the select few that she’s invited to her house. You nervously step inside her house and she closes the door behind you and you take your heels off.

“Wow, you have a lovely home. Not at all what I expected.” You tell her and she laughs.

“Oh ya? And what did you expect to see?” She asks you as she leads you to the kitchen.

“I don’t know to be honest. I haven’t figured you out yet. But I guess one that has a little less, homey feeling I suppose.” You tell her and she chuckles.

“If it makes you feel better about your expectation, I have about 5 bats hidden around the house.” She tells you and you smile.

“Now that does sound like you. I’m honestly less surprised you have bats hidden than I was about what your house looks like.” You joke and she giggles.

You enter her kitchen and you’re immediately surrounded with the smell of dinner and your stomach grumbles. “Now are you too innocent for wine or do you drink that?” She asks you with a slight smirk but she’s also curious.

“I do have a glass from time to time. Mostly at family gatherings. Which is about 4-5 times a year.” You tell her and she smiles.

“Well is it alright if I pour you a glass?” She says and shows you the bottle.

“That’s my favourite!” You tell her and she beams.

“Really? Mine too.” She tells you and pours some in a glass for you. “I knew you must have good taste.” She says and hands you a glass.

“Thank you.” You tell her and you both clink your glasses together and then take a sip. Then the oven dings and Melissa puts down her glass and walks over to it. She slips on an oven mitt, opens the oven and takes out the food. You see the food and you have no idea what it is but it looks good. “Wow, that looks amazing! What is it?” You ask her and she smiles at you.

“It’s skillet chicken cacciatore.” She tells you and you smile.

“It’s Italian?” You ask her and she nods. Wow, Italian accent is beautiful, you think.

“You think I’m beautiful when I speak Italian?” She asks you and you realise you said it out loud and you blush.

“Did I say that out loud?” You ask her and she nods with a smirk.

“Is there a translation for the last word?” You ask.

“For cacciatore?” She asks and you nod. “Yep, it means hunter.” She tells you and you look at her confused. “I don’t know the story behind the name. That’s just what it’s called and you don’t ask questions.” She tells you as she puts some on 2 plates and you laugh.

“Alright then. No questions, got it.” You tell her and she tells you to bring the wine and guides you to the dinner table.

You two sit down and then you take a bite and you let out a moan at how good it tastes. You look over to see Melissa holding her glass with a smirk.

“What?” You ask her.

“I knew I would like how you sound when you moan.” She tells you then takes a sip of the wine.

“Where else would I make that noise?” You ask her.

“In bed.” She says so casually as she cuts up a piece of the chicken. “When someone or yourself is giving you pleasure.” She tells you and she slides her foot up your leg. You choke on the food as you swallow, from her foot touching you like that or her comment, you’re not sure. She leans back in her chair and takes a bite of the food with a smile on her face.

You watch as a bit of sauce is at the corner of her lips and she licks it off with her tongue. You stare and she smirks when she sees you staring. You realise she’s looking at you staring and you sheepishly go and cut up a piece of food and look down.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed about staring at me. I know you find me attractive.” She tells you and you freeze. You were about to take a bite as your fork is right in front of your mouth and your mouth is open. The piece of chicken falls off your fork and lands in a spot with some sauce and some flies to your face.

“Ah.” You yelp as you were surprised and Melissa snorts.

“Here hon.” She says as she takes your chin and turns your head to face her. She uses her thumb to wipe off where it got you and it seems it got you a few times. She wipes off the spot underneath your eye, on your cheek and right under your bottom lip. Melissa freezes and keeps her thumb at your bottom lip and then she traces it. You have no idea what’s going on but you don’t stop her. You start breathing heavier and she pulls back and goes to continue eating. You don’t comment on it and just continue eating. Once you’re both done, you clear the table and give the plates a quick rinse as she puts the leftovers in containers and then puts them in the fridge. She closes the fridge door as you dry your hands.

“Thank you for dinner and the wine Melissa it was really go-” you’re cut off as you turn around and Melissa lips are on yours. You kiss her back after a second when your brain starts working again. She presses you into the counter and you gasp, Melissa takes the opportunity and slips her tongue in and tastes you. You put your hands in her hair and remember she has a ponytail and you whine. She pulls back and laughs.

“Are you upset I have my hair in a ponytail?” She asks and you nod with a pout. “Hmm, well you know, there’s an easy fix.” She tells you and she slowly slides the elastic down and then shakes her head a few times to put her hair in place. “There, better?” She asks you and nod. She smiles then goes back to kissing you. You immediately put your hands in her hair and she moans into the kiss and you pull back.

“Is that the kind of pleasure you were talking about for that sound?” You ask her and she chuckles.

“Oh hon, you have no idea the kind of pleasure I can give you that’ll have you moaning like crazy.” She purrs in your ear and you shiver. The wet feeling between your legs is back and you rub your thighs together and Melissa notices. “Are you turned on hon?” She asks and you widen your eyes. Oh so Google was right about what that means. You nod at her and she smiles. “If you want, I can help you with that.” She tells you.

“How would you do that?”

“Well it would require you to lose your virginity.” She tells you and you open your mouth in shock. “And before you ask, yes, that feeling between your thighs, your pussy is wet cause you’re turned on and it gets wet so it doesn’t hurt when something is sliding in there.” She tells you.

“Sliding in there? You mean like a tampon?” You ask and she giggles.

“You’re so adorable.” She says and boops your nose. “No, I mean like my fingers.” She tells you. “For straight sex, it would be that a dick slides in you.” She tells you and your eyes widen. “I’m not going to do anything you're not comfortable with. But my offer is still available if you want to take care of that feeling right here.” She says and taps on your pussy and you flinch and let out a small yelp. “Either me or your own fingers.” She tells you and you look at her eyes that are full blown. You cup her cheek and trace under her eye with your thumb.

“Where did the green in your eyes go?” You ask her and she smiles.

“My eyes are blown. It’s what happens when you get turned on and want to have sex.” She tells you and your breath hitches. “Your eyes are blown too.” She tells you and you blush. It takes you about 5 seconds to come to a decision about her offer. It took 4 seconds of being distracted by her face and then one second to come to a decision.

“I want you to help me with the feeling.” You said a little embarrassed and nervous.

“Oh hon, you’ll have to ask me properly.” She told you and you whined as she pressed herself against your body. “Come on, you can do it.” She told you as she gently bit your ear.

“I-I want to have…” and you paused. Melissa pulled back and looked at you.

“What is it hon? Why can’t you say the word?” She asked you.

“Because I grew up thinking that you shouldn’t think about it or say it.” You told her and she stroked her cheek.

“Oh hon, it’s not a bad thing to vocalise that you want sex.” She told you. “Come here.” She said and she lead you to her bedroom. “Go sit on the foot of the bed.” She says and you obeyed while she closed the door and then walked over to you. “Now I won’t do anything you’re not comfortable with, and I won’t touch you unless you want me too but I do want to show you what I look like under my clothes, ok?” She tells you, thinking maybe you’ll be more comfortable when you see another woman’s body naked. You nod at her and she smiles.

She pulls her top off slowly, exposing all the skin of her stomach and you stare at all the soft looking skin and can’t help but touch it. So you do. She lets out a yelp and you pull back thinking you shouldn’t have.

“No no, it’s ok baby. You just surprised me as my shirt was covering my eyes.” She tells you and puts your hand back on her stomach. You feel all over her and you want more so you stand up. You move your hand to the back and hover over her bra clip. “Go on baby. You can unclip it.” She tells you and you do and take her bra off. Then you pull back and look at her. And you’re surprised you don’t faint right there. She looked so, so…

“Sexy.” You slip out and she smiles.

“Thank you, baby.” She tells you and you don’t even care right now about your thoughts.

“Melissa.” You tell her and she looks into your eyes.

“Yes baby?” She asks.

“I want…” you start and she just looks at you, letting you take your time. “I want… I want to have sex with you.” You say and she smiles.

“Well ask and receive baby.” She tells you and she kisses you again.

She then travels down to your neck and starts sucking and you let out a moan. She then starts to slowly lift your dress up and then you pull back and put your arms up, allowing her to take it off. She then unclips your bra and takes it off and looks at you.

“You’re so beautiful, Bella.” She says, remembering you liked it when she spoke Italian. You let out a groan and rub your thighs together. “Hmm, is me speaking Italian a turn on for you?” She asks and you nod. She pushes you on the bed and straddles your lap. “Well then.” She says and smirks, then pushes you more on the bed. “Amo il tuo corpo e voglio rivendicarlo.” She says seductively while grinding on you and you whine. “It means, I love your body and want to claim it.” She says and you put your hands on her.

“I want you to claim me, Mel.” You tell her and she smiles.

“Mel hm, I like it.” She tells you and you blush. She attacks your neck again and you gasp. It feels incredible what she’s doing on your neck. She then trails down to your chest and leaves kisses all over it, worshipping your body as it should be. She then takes a nipple in her mouth and you see stars. She then remembers that you’ve never masturbated either, never touched yourself. So she thinks she should probably go easy on you so you don’t get too overstimulated. “If it becomes too much for you, then let me know, ok?” She says and you nod.

“Keep going please. It feels amazing.” You tell her and she smiles and goes back to your nipple. You continue to let out gasps and moans as she swirls her tongue around your nipples and sucking on them.

“I’m so honoured.” She says as she runs her hands all over your chest and stomach. “Not only will I be your first, but I’ll also be the first person to ever give you pleasure, and that includes yourself. I can’t believe you went this long without it.” She tells you and you buck your hips and whine. “Alright since you’ve never had it before, I won’t keep you waiting much longer. But just know, in the future, I will.” She adds and you look at her.

“So there’ll be more?” You ask her and she tilts her head and looks at you.

“I mean if you want.” She says cautiously.

“Of course, I’ve been attracted to you since I started.” You tell her and she smiles at you.

“Good, cause I’m attracted to you as well.” She tells you. “I can take you on a date tomorrow if you want.” She offers and you nod. “Alright now, time to make you feel good.” She tells you and gets off the bed and takes your tights off. “You looked so innocent and adorable in that dress and tights. But I think you look better with them both off.” She then puts her fingers on your underwear and looks at you, you nod at her and she takes your underwear off. She then looks at you completely bare for her and she smiles warmly at you. “You look beautiful.” She says with a hum and you smile. “You look even more beautiful with a smile.” She adds and you blush.

She then gets on her knees, pulls your body closer to the edge of the bed, then does a big lick up your entire pussy. You gasp out and she moans at your taste.

“You taste amazing, mia angelo .” She says and licks your entrance while you gasp and moan at the amazing way her tongue is moving on you. You can’t help but grab her hair and run your fingers through her beautiful red locks. You keep bucking your hips so Melissa pins you down and then slides her tongue in your entrance and you let out a loud gasp and she smirks. She then goes to your clit after she slides her tongue in and out of you a few times. As soon as her tongue connects with your clit, you arch your back off the bed, causing her to use more strength to pin you down. You start grinding on her mouth and she doesn’t have the heart to stop you from doing that. She knows you haven’t felt anything like this before and knows it can be a lot the first time. Not that she remembers her first time as it was about 30 years ago, but considering how it feels everytime she has sex, she can imagine how it must feel the first time.

You start to feel a build up in your stomach and you don’t know why. “Mel, why do I have a strangle feeling in my stomach?” You ask and she smiles. She pulls her tongue away but replaces it with her finger and continues rubbing your clit.

“Remember me explaining the orgasm build up?” She says and you nod. “Well that’s the build up. When it’s at its capacity you’ll let go and cum.” She tells you with a breathy voice. She wants to make sure she doesn’t overstimulate you without skin contact so she goes on top of you and looks at you while slowing down the movement on your clit. “I’m gonna stick my finger in you, it’s going to hurt a bit but that’s because your body isn’t used to it. I’ll go slowly but if it hurts too much or if you want me to pause but don’t want me to pull out then let me know ok?” She tells you and you nod. She then gets you to lay further up on the bed with your head on a pillow and she leans down on top of you. “Alright, ready?” She asks and you nod.

She then lines her finger up with your entrance and kisses you. She slowly slides the tip of her finger in and you gasp in the kiss. She then trails down to your neck so you can focus on her kisses on your body rather than the pain. She slides in more and sucks on your neck, you whimper a little bit but you don’t say anything so she keeps going. She slides it in all the way and she looks up at you while still sucking your neck.

“Do you feel pain mia angelo?” She asks when she pulls back and you nod. “Ok let me know when it goes away.” She kisses your neck and nipples for a few seconds and then you call her name.

“Mel, it went away.” You tell her and she nods. She then slowly pulls out then she slides back in again slowly. You gasp at the pleasure and you push her body closer to yours. She smiles at that and then goes a bit faster. You buck your hips to her body but can’t go very far as her body is pushed on yours, by you.

You end bending a knee slightly and accidentally put it between her legs, right up against her core, and the seam of her leggings touches her clit. She ends up doing a hard thrust by accident along with a “fuck.” From the pleasure and then asks you if you’re ok from the thrust.

“Can you do it again actually?” You ask her and your voice is very breathy at this point. She does a hard thrust again and you moan out at the pleasure. She then speeds up and does hard thrusts and your leg stays where it is. She grinds your leg a bit unconsciously and you notice and you smirk.

“Not so innocent now mia angelo.” She teases you when she notices your smirk to what you’re doing to her. She then pulls out of you completely and she quickly takes her leggings and underwear off. You go to whine at the loss of her finger when you see her strip in front of you then stare open mouthed at the sight of her pussy. She then goes back on your leg and sticks her finger back in. You moan out at the feeling of her finger, and then you feel her wetness spreading on your leg and you feel good knowing the effect you have on her.

“You feel very wet.” You tell her between moans and gasps.

“Yes mia angelo, that’s how much you turn me on.” She tells you and you smile. She puts her thumb on your clit when she feels her build up starting and knows it won’t take long. You say a little “aa” from her rubbing your clit and then she adds another finger in you slowly and you wrap your arms around her. You unknowingly press her down more on your leg and she moans out. The build up starts to get stronger and stronger in you and your legs start shaking and you’re breathing faster. “Just let your body do its thing and leg go when you need to.” She tells you when she feels your legs shaking. She’s close as well but wants you to come first.

A few seconds later you come with a high pitched gasp and she comes at the sight of you coming. She then stops and slowly and carefully, removes her thumb from your clit and pulls her fingers out. She then rolls over and lays down beside you, breathing fast. She then holds you in her arms while you shake as your body is trying to slow down your heart rate.

When your breathing slows down, you notice you put your hand on her boob unconsciously, then you squeeze it and rub your finger on the nipple. She lets out a whine and bucks her hip at that. You do the same to the other one and get the same reaction. She looks at you and sees you genuinely curious and interested in her boobs. You then go and lick one of her nipples and she lets out a gasp, you repeat the action and she moans softly. You then put it in your mouth and start sucking and licking. She bucks her hips and gasps. You pull back after a bit and you go to the other one.

“Mia angelo, what are you doing?” She asks before you get to the other one. “If you keep going you’re gonna make me want more.” She tells you and you put the other nipple in your mouth. You do the same thing and she moans and bucks her hips. “Angelo, please. I don’t think you realise how much you affect me.” She pleads and you look at her.

“Oh I do know actually.” You tell her and she looks at you going down her body and she whines. “You see, I felt you on my leg and how wet I make you.” You tell her and rub up and down her legs and feel how soft they are and you hum. “I also realised how much you teased me last week.” You say and kiss her thighs. You get close to where she wants you before pulling away and kissing her thighs again.

“Mia angelo. Stop teasing me.” She says and you look at her.

“Do you know how much I thought of you last weekend? Thoughts of you pushed up against me, and how wet that made me.” You tell her and she groans. You then slide up her body and come face to face with her. “I think it’s only fair that I do that to you.” You tell her and she whines. Of course, she thinks, they weren’t wrong when they say to watch out for the shy and innocent ones.

You then kiss her neck and she brings her hand down to touch herself. You notice it and don’t stop her. You kiss and suck on the other side of her neck and she slides a finger in herself.

“Are you making yourself feel good?” You question and she nods. You then grab her wrist of the hand that’s currently fingering herself and you make her pull her fingers out of herself. You then put her fingers in your mouth and you moan at the taste.

“Dio mio.” She gasps out as your tongue runs all over her two fingers. She definitely corrupted you, that’s for sure. You decide to finally give in and you move back down and put your mouth on her entrance. She bucks her hips as you connect your mouth to where she needs it. You then slip your tongue in her entrance and she squeaks out a moan. She starts grinding on your tongue and you moan. The sound vibrates on her and she gasps. “Dio mio, mia angelo. Your tongue feels so good.” She says and you smile. You then move to her clit and you slide a finger in her entrance. You move your tongue and hopefully you’re making her feel as good as she made you. She lets go of the sheets she was grabbing and grabs your hair instead. You add another finger in her and she screams out. You slide your fingers in and out of her and you love the way she feels inside, her wetness and warmth wrapped around your fingers and keeping you inside. You then feel her clench around your fingers and her legs start shaking. She then screams out as she comes but you don’t stop, too distracted by how she feels around your fingers and her taste. She continues grinding on your fingers and tongue as her build up is already starting again. She comes again not too long later and she then pulls you away. You pull out of her and climb up to lay beside her.

“Sorry, did I hurt you?” You ask and she shakes her head.

“No no, that felt incredible.” She says, trying to catch her breath. You beam at her words and she smiles at you. “Wow, I can’t remember the last time I came 3 times during sex.” She says and you blush. She wraps her arm around you. “Come here mia angelo.” She says and you snuggle into her. The two of you spend most of the weekend in her bed.

On Monday morning you walk in the break room a little weirdly but no one mentions it. Well not until Ava comes in and sees a hickey that you couldn’t cover due to how dark it was.

“Damn girl, did you get laid on the weekend?” She asks impressed and everyone except Melissa looks at you shocked. Melissa just continues on her phone.

“Maybe, what’s it to you?” You challenge back and Melissa snorts. You then go and sit down with Melissa and Barb as Melissa told you that you could this morning. Barb looks over to Melissa and sees Melissa wink and smile at you. Barb then sees a hickey on Melissa and she shakes her head at the two of you.

Ava sees Melissa’s wink and smile as well and then sees her hickey. “Melissa, I didn’t know you were into the innocent ones.” She tells her and everyone looks confused.

“And?” Is all Melissa says and everyone grins. Melissa then pulls your chair right beside her and wraps an arm around your waist and you lean into her.

Taglist: @esposadejoyhuerta

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@idonothingalldays-blog

@sexysapphicshopowner

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@ricejucie

@unicorniusfallapatorius

@a-queen-and-her-throne

@sleep-deprived-athlete

Let me know if you want to be added!

[natromi]

Can I request a one shot with where reader wake up Wanda with a breakfast in bed and kisses and flowers and romantic stuff for their birthday and Wanda forgot bc she was super busy with work but that's okay bc reader knows she's having hard time and all and she wants Wanda to just relax and and —

Do you have the vision ? Please please please 👉👈

Breakfast In Bed (For My Queen)

Plot: Wanda Maximoff might have forgotten her birthday, but you surely didn't! And you were prepared to make it the best ever, because she deserved breakfast in bed (like a queen), all the love in the world, and a couple kisses, of course.

Warnings: Too much fluff (Joke)

Writer's Note: I really hope I did the plot justice haha, I had a lot of fun writing this! Thank you for sending me the request!!

Word Count: 490

On a lovely Friday stood the sun, waking up from its slumber, a little hesitant as it wondered if it could stay hidden for a little longer. You, however, were up and ready as soon as the clock hit 8am, running silently, as to not wake up your girlfriend, as you went to the kitchen to cook her favourite food.

As soon as it was done, you went over to a counter, where you had hidden a cup full of freshly cut flowers from the night before. Wanda was a flowers kind of girl, you knew, always having a couple lying around everywhere in her home. Plants and flowers alike brought her a sense of freedom, and gardening was her relaxing activity.

Taking a look around, a soft hum escaping your lips as you imagined where exactly she would put the newly acquired flowers. Maybe on top of her office desk, or right next to your shared bed. What you did know was that they were her favourite colour, a vibrant red, and smelled delicious.

Making your way upstairs with the food and the flowers, you placed them next to the sleeping figure, crawling over to Wanda as you smothered her with kisses, murmuring soft “Good morning“'s and “Wake up“'s. A soft giggle soon escaped Wanda as she woke up, followed by a confused smile as she noticed the breakfast and the flowers.

"What's this for?" She murmured, a sleepy hum following the question, her gaze set on the pretty, no, beautiful flowers next to her. She had to admit she loved them much more because they were gifted by you, not bought from her own money (or stole from her neighbour next door), and that made them that much prettier in her eyes. You made everything better.

“Happy birthday“ You soon whispered, an excited grin as you helped her sit down to eat her breakfast. Wanda stared, still confused, for a couple seconds before she was reminded about her birthday. Despite having you voice it out, she didn't quite catch it until her face morphed into one of recognition, a nose scrunch following with another murmur.

"You didn't have to....“ She thought she didn't deserve to get a proper birthday celebration, when she herself had forgotten. But you understood, you knew she was a busy woman. After all, who didn't deserve a birthday celebration? Wanda deserved everything. Anything she asked, you would give her in a heartbeat.

You shook your head at her comment, but waited until she had finished her food, setting the plates and the flowers to the side as you snuggled to her side, the rest of the morning spent with kisses and hugs.

Wanda couldn't ask for anything more in her life, because you were her life, and you were more than enough to her. Nothing else would make her happier when you were next to her, supporting her all the way through.

[anthurak]

So I’ve been meaning to do a post on this topic for a while now, specifically ever since the release of the RWBY Volume 9 Epilogue short had me reevaluating one of my big issues with the volume. Namely this:

Just because a theory or take might work great for one specific character DOES NOT mean it works for the story as a whole.

You might have what feels like a great theory or take for this one character that could make total sense for them and could be great to see.

But ONLY for that character. Because this theory, as great as it might sound on paper, ignores drastic issues and effects that it would cause to OTHER characters or story elements or tone or themes that simply make it non-viable.

Essentially, it’s fandom tunnel-vision making you forget that nothing exists in a vacuum.

Alternatively, it could be taking issue with a certain narrative choice made for a certain character that might feel like it’s not living up to its potential or just being angry that your favorite blorbo didn’t get to do or be this thing you really wanted for them. All while ignoring that this writing choice could have been done to facilitate a much LARGER narrative goal.

So let’s talk about the end of Volume 9 and why I can no longer take issue with the choice to de-age Jaune.

Some might recall a post I did shortly after the end of Volume 9 decrying how Jaune was turned back to his young-adult age. How this felt like a typical ‘magic reset button’ that undid so much of the potential that ‘Old Man Jaune’ had and how it would have been so much more interesting to keep Jaune old and letting both he, the characters and the story explore and grapple with these changes. Essentially, a classic rant about ‘wasted potential’.

HOWEVER… after watching the Epilogue animatic, I get it. I get why CRWBY not only CHOSE to physically reset Old Man Jaune, but why they actually HAD to.

Because that ending scene with Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang and Jaune walking out of Raven’s portal, being reunited with their friends, seeing everything that Ruby’s message accomplished, and that overwhelming feeling of pure HOPE that the volume ends on…

That just wouldn’t have worked with Old Man Jaune.

CRWBY wanted to convey a feeling of pure HOPE and relief and optimism and an unambiguously HAPPY ending, and Jaune coming back as this old man so different from how his friends remembered him would have DEMINISHED that feeling.

As much as I like the idea of Old Man Jaune and don’t like the idea of this kind of ‘magic reset button’, I have to agree that turning him back to young-adult Jaune was the RIGHT choice for what Kerry, Miles, Eddie and the rest of team wanted to do for the end of Volume 9.

And I think there’s a lesson to be learned from that, you know?

That headcanonning might be fun, but if you’re going to be doing real serious theorizing about what you think or hope might ACTUALLY happen in a story, and perhaps even more importantly if you’re being CRITICAL as to what a story has already done, you have to keep a more holistic, ‘big-picture’ viewpoint in mind. Particularly for a complex, long-form story with a lot of moving narrative parts like RWBY.

[chimcess]

Waterlog || pjm (5)

Pairing: Jimin x Reader Other tags: Olympic Swimmer!Jimin, Ex Olympic Swimmer! Reader, Swim Coach!Reader Genre: Strangers to Friends to Lovers!AU, Coach!AU, Swimming!AU, HEAVY Angst, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, fluff, eventual smut, I'm so soft for these two it's crazy. Word Count: 10.8k+ Synopsis: After a car accident ends her athletic career, Y/N has slowly started rebuilding her life again as a high school swim coach. That’s until she gets a request from an old friend and finds herself back in the spotlight as the new coach of Olympic swimmer, Park Jimin. Warnings: ANGST, crying, mental health issues, talking about mental health, I'm so soft for them it's actually wild, angst, trauma, panic attacks, talks of panic attacks, talks of sex, k*ssing, I love them so much, jimin still the best boyfriend, small argument, insecurities, strong language, one bed trope, healthy relationship conversations, boundary setting, friends being friends, character has cancer, talks of character death (brief), dry humping, moaning, things are picking up A/N: I know I'm late again, but I have a lot of personal stuff going on in my life at the moment that had made writing challenging. First a breakup, then finding a new apartment, moving, and then waiting for my internet to get turned on. It's been hectic for me! But we are back. This was very lightly edited so I apologize in advance for any issues there might be. I will go through and edit this eventually, I just wanted to get it out for you guys!

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The drive to Jimin’s house was quick, the traffic not fully registering in my mind as I lost myself in thought. I had only ever been in love once before, and that had been a very different time in my life. I was no longer that same person, and the anxiety these new feelings were bringing up made me nauseous. I was not ready to say anything was certain, but I knew for a fact that I was falling hard and fast. 

The small suburb was nice with large homes. A few new modern builds stuck out like a sore thumb, but the area had still kept much of its original blue-American-suburban charm. Coming from Colorado, I was not used to seeing large front lawns or children’s toys left out after dark. Jimin was just ahead of me and I slowed down when his tail lights came on. 

The house was definitely brand new. I had never liked modern buildings, the architecture lacking the charm and personality I sought out when buying my own place in the Springs, but it suited the swimmer. It was difficult to make out much color, but I could tell it was mostly white with black accents on the front. Large windows took up a majority of the walls and a small balcony was above the front door. It was smaller than the other homes, but the yard was bigger than the rest, and a tall fence enclosed the back of the property. 

Taking a second to prepare myself for the rest of the night, I watched Jimin get out of Fiona and open up the two door garage at the front. He seemed to be in a rush, casting a few quick glances at my car as he paced back to the truck to pull it inside. I do not think he could see me looking back.

Picking up my phone, I called Hoseok.

“Everything okay?” He picked up, out of breath.

I smiled, “I’m okay. Promise.”

He had been extra worried about tonight. Out of everyone, Hoseok knew how huge this was for me. At one of our many late night parties I had told him that I could never love again, and that I never wanted to know that feeling again. If it wasn’t Namjoon then it could not be anybody. At the time he had reassured me, but as the years went on he had truly believed that I had completely closed off that part of my heart. To be so excited about someone had him cautious- even if he did poke fun at me most of the time.

“Why are you calling me then?” He asked.

“Just needed a bit of a pep talk,” I admitted, eyes still locked on Jimin’s truck. “I’m at his house. Feeling a little nervous.”

He hummed, “He seems like a good guy. Don’t think there’s anything you need to worry about. Just enjoy yourself.”

I sighed, watching the garage door close, knowing I would have to get out of the car soon. “I think I’m going insane.”

“Talk to me about it.”

Jimin stood by the garage door, looking at my car. I rolled the window down and waved, gestured to the phone, and managed a pathetic smile. He nodded, still watching me with a strange look on his face.

“I think I love him,” I mumbled, unable to look away from him.

Hoseok laughed, “You just figured that out? Baby, anyone with eyes and ears can see how you feel about the kid.”

“It’s been two seconds, Hobi. We barely know each other.”

“You don’t have to tell him anything,” My friend reasoned, voice nothing but friendly. “You’re all over the place right now, and you need to really think about how you feel. No one wants to hear someone ‘thinks’ they love them. Breathe. Relax. Enjoy yourself.”

As I steadied my breathing, I noticed Jimin’s face becoming concerned. He always knew when something was wrong, and it did not surprise me when he started walking across the front yard towards my car. 

“I have to go,” I choked out, panic bubbling in my chest with each step he took. “I don’t want him hearing us.”

“Otter-”

I hung up the phone and smoothed down my hair. My heart was running at a million miles an hour and my hands were shaking. I hated how worked up I got over nothing. Disgusted and discouraged, I forced a smile on my face and opened the car door. My phone vibrated, the sensation tickling my hand, but I chose to ignore it. Fake it till you make it, I told myself. The curve of Jimin’s mouth told me I was not fooling anyone.

“Everything okay?” He asked, coming to stand in front of me.

“Yeah,” I breathed, nodding frantically. In my panic, I did not see the curb and tripped. Jimin reached out to help steady me before I could fall. I shuttered. “Everything is fine. Hoseok just called to check in with me. Didn’t realize we were out together.”

The lie felt heavy on my tongue and Jimin’s eyebrows came together in confusion. He knew I was lying and it made the sinking in my gut all the more unbearable. Knowing I needed to get a grip, I stepped out of his arms and gestured to the house.

“Nice place,” I sounded like I had just run a marathon. “It’s very you.”

Jimin was quiet. Still trying to avoid talking about my odd behavior, I began rambling on and on about how much I liked the landscaping. The large bushes that surrounded the small front porch were a nice pop of color for the otherwise neutral paint job.

“Is that a gnome wearing a swimming ring?” I asked, squinting trying to make out the little figure in the darkness. “That’s so cute. Did your mom buy you that? I-”

“Y/N.”

My mouth clamped shut.

“What’s wrong?” Jimin asked, reaching out to caress my shoulder. “You’re not acting like yourself.”

I sighed, finally done hiding my very apparent discomfort. “Just really nervous about how I’m feeling.”

“Tell me about it?”

I looked at him and nodded, “Can we go inside? It’s really cold.”

“Of course, angel.”

The pet name made me short circuit long enough to get inside without saying another word. Were we on that level now? Would it be okay for me to start calling him sweet little names like that? Would he want me to? What would I even call the guy? Nothing seemed good enough. No words could ever be good enough to express everything that he was becoming to me. 

“I can take your coat,” Jimin murmured in my ears, hands already helping me shrug out of the dark wool coat. “Shoes go on that little shelf over there.”

“Thank you,” I absentmindedly replied, still dazed. 

What about babe? No, too conventional. Sweetheart? No, that was Joon’s thing. Honey? We are definitely not beating the old woman allegations with that one. That also rules out darling and sweetie. He’d never let me live that down.

“Feeling a bit better now?” He asked, hand on the small of my back as he led me further into the house. “You’re not shaking anymore.”

I had not realized how off course my thoughts had gotten. I got so swept up in him that everything else just faded away. Pleased, I smiled and nodded.

He chuckled, “Where did your mind go this time, angel girl?”

I giggled, giddy that we were keeping up the terms of endearment. 

“You.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you,” I leaned into his touch, melting in his arms as we walked. He finally wrapped me up completely, pressing me into his side with his hand on my hip. “I like it when you call me that.”

Jimin hummed, “What? Angel?”

I nodded, putting my head on his shoulder. It was a bit awkward but I dealt with the discomfort. I enjoyed being this close to him. Knowing that he seemed just as eager to be here with me was a bonus. 

“What do you think of the place?” He asked.

Blinking, I tried to disguise the fact that I had not been paying attention to a single thing since we walked inside. Letting my eyes wonder, I almost laughed at how accurate Jimin’s description of his house was. 

Standing in his living room, I marveled at how dark everything was. Black leather sofas, a dark gray fluffy rug, a flat screen, and a black iron fireplace were the stand out pieces. There were a few family photos on the mantle and a fake potted plant beside it, but other than that it was completely barren. It was just as sad and depressing as he said it would be, but instead of feeling disappointed it only made me smile. Everything in here was his and now I was included in that. 

“I love it.”

He laughed, squeezing me impossibly closer, “You don’t have to lie. I know it’s the quintessential bachelor pad.”

“I’m not lying,” I argued. “It’s perfect. Very you.”

“Even the dusty, ugly, fake Der Rose Jungkook got me as a housewarming gift?”

“Especially that,” I joked.

“Okay clown,” He laughed, pulling away from my side. “Go sit on the couch and I’ll make us some hot chocolate. Need to warm you up.”

Giving me the remote for the very large television hanging above the fireplace, Jimin promised to be back soon and left me in charge of finding something good to watch. After flicking through a few channels, I ended up settling on 21 Jump Street and ogled at Johnny Depp and Holly Robinson Peete. My dad and I used to watch the show together when I was young, and it brought me back to the few happy times that we had. I really needed to call him.

“Damn that’s a handsome man.”

I jumped, “Jesus you scared me.”

Jimin laughed, setting down two mugs on his coffee table. They were steaming hot and I decided to leave mine to cool off for a few seconds. Taking his seat next to me, Jimin was quick to throw his arm around my shoulders and pull his legs up onto the sofa. 

“Get comfortable,” He said, crossing his legs. “It’s just me.”

“Yeah,” I snorted, curling my legs up next to me and placing my head on his shoulder. “That’s the problem.”

“You’re being extra flirty tonight,” He teased. “I like it.”

I chose to stay quiet and watch the show. This was one of my favorite episodes. Hanson, Hoff, and Loki go undercover to try and solve a string of drive-by shootings between a couple of gangs, and Booker is trying to investigate a dirty cop on the force. I always loved the scenes between Johnny Depp and Holly the most. They were so cute together and the chemistry was crazy even though their characters never ended up together.

Jimin started playing with my hair, his fingers gently caressing my neck before scratching my scalp. It felt amazing and I relaxed even further into his side. After that episode was over, he leaned down and put his head on top of mine. Another episode came on, this was the second part to the previous, and I let my eyes close. This was really nice. And to think I almost let it all go to shit because I could not keep myself from spiraling.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” I mumbled.

“Don’t be,” He whispered back, placing a small kiss on the top of my head. “Never apologize for being upset.”

Taking a deep breath, I thought about what Hoseok had said. There was no reason to tell him anything right now, or at least, the “L” word did not need to come into conversation. Still, it felt wrong to keep him in the dark. Jimin was always willing to listen and I felt awful for lying to him earlier.

“I really like you and sometimes it scares me,” I admitted quietly. “I called Hoseok to see if he had any advice. Sorry I lied about that.”

He shook his head, “I’m not upset with you, angel. Sometimes they scare me, too.”

“Really?” I had never really thought about that before.

“Of course,” He chuckled, moving away to look down at me. I lifted my head in a rare act of bravery. “I don’t think you understand just how amazing you are.”

I smiled lazily, unable to look away from him. He looked so beautiful in this lighting. The tv on one side of his face, the darkness in the rest of the house casting a dark shadow on the rest of it. I noticed his head inching closer, eyes heavily lidded as he watched me, waiting for a reaction. Heart pounding, I did the only thing I could think of. I closed my eyes and tilted my head higher.

“You smell so good,” He murmured, lips brushing mine. “God, you’re so pretty.”

I opened my mouth to respond but was unable to get anything out before his lips were pressed against it. I breathed out through my nose and allowed myself to just enjoy it. His lips were so soft and plump, his upper lip just barely scratching my skin with peach fuzz, and chin ever so gently bumping against mine as we came together. 

My skin was on fire as he invaded every cell in my body until all I could think about was him. His hand gripped the back of my neck and pressed us together roughly, his tongue licking against my bottom lip asking to be let inside. There was nothing he couldn’t ask for now. I mewled embarrassingly when our tongues twisted together. Jimin groaned in response. 

“Is this okay?” He rasped when we pulled apart for air.

I replied by taking his face in my hands and pulling him back in for more. Jimin responded eagerly, gripping my neck tighter and holding me close. I hummed in satisfaction, leaning into his chest. His skin was on fire beneath me and I briefly wondered if his chest got as pink as his cheeks did.

Jimin broke away, dragging my body closer until I was practically laying on his lap, before guiding my mouth back to his. My lips were numb, swollen, and still begging for more. The show was long forgotten, the noise also like static in the background as I suckled on his bottom lip. Jimin whined, fingers twisting into my hair as he held me in place.

“Feeling okay?” He mumbled into my mouth, taking a second to catch his breath.

“Great,” I slurred, before shutting him up again.

I lost track of time as we sat there entangled in one another. Lips hardly able to feel anything anymore, I broke away and tried to calm my racing heart. Jimin took the opportunity to go for my neck, his plush lips delicate against my skin. I shuttered. 

I could feel my panties sticking to my folds, slick gently wetting my thighs as he continued his gentle assault on my neck. He never sucked hard enough to leave marks behind, but after a few moments I could safely say Jimin was a fan of teeth. They scratched my skin softly, tickling me in the process, before his tongue smoothed over any redness that might have popped up. Moaning, I tilted my head back and granted him more access.

“You’re so fucking hot,” He rasped, licking a long stripe up my neck before biting my ear. “So needy.”

I chuckled, the sound breathless. “Do you want to stop?”

“Fuck no.”

I giggled, kissing his cheek, “Such a boy.”

I nodded, kissing the underside of my chin before pecking my lips.

“I’m your boy,” He smiled lazily, kissing me again.

“Yes,” I agreed, unable to stop smiling as I cradled his face between my hands. “My good-looking boy.”

With one final peck on my chin, Jimin leaned back into the sofa and dragged my body down with his. Laying on top of his body, my eyes fixated on the tv. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was playing now, and I grinned. It was one of my favorite shows to watch when I had a bad day. It was nice to have it with me at this moment. A happy memory with my comfort show in the background only sweetened the already tender moment. 

“She should have been with Spike,” Jimin’s chest rumbled underneath me.

Getting more comfortable, I nodded.

“I kind of like that she decided to stay friends with them both. Tara and Willow were the power couple anyway.”

“Not a fan of Oz?” He started playing with my hair.

“I liked them, too, but for different reasons. The only other couple that comes close to Tara and Willow were Giles and Jenny.”

We were quiet as we watched, small kisses shared during commercial breaks, and I never felt the need to try and open my mouth. Nothing needed to be said when our feelings were so apparent. Hoseok, as usual, was right. I just needed time to breathe and think about things before running head first into a love confession. And if he said anyone with eyes and ears could see how I felt, then there was no real reason for me to say anything. Jimin already knows. He always did.

“God, I’ve always loved that DeSoto Fireflite,” I gushed, eyeing Spike's car hungrily. “The ‘59 model is sexy.”

“Why do you know so much about cars?” He asked.

“My dad’s a mechanic,” I explained. “He owns his own restoration shop back in Pennsylvania and I used to go over there all of the time. I almost ditched swimming to take over the body shop when he lost an employee.”

“You never stop amazing me,” He murmured, kissing the top of my head. “Has he found anything cool recently?”

I grew quiet. Truthfully, I had no clue. It had been almost two years since we last spoke, and I doubted he was looking forward to hearing from me. He had a new family. A new life. One that did not have the space for me in it. My silence must have worried Jimin because he asked if I was okay.

“We don’t talk anymore,” I replied. “He got remarried a few years ago and his wife doesn’t like me.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” I sighed, “It’s juvenile, really. He seems happy though, so I don’t push it.”

“They don’t deserve you. You’re too good to be treated like that.”

I laughed, eyes prickling with unshed tears. I did not talk about this often and it felt nice to get it off of my chest. For a long time Victor had been the person I looked to as a father figure, and we still keep in touch. He always calls for holidays and birthdays, checks in randomly, and asks me how I’m doing. He stayed with me through the worst of the damage, and only left Colorado when his daughter decided to move abroad for school. Denver was too expensive to justify the expenses and his new trainee was in Florida. I missed him a lot more than I ever realized.

“I made my own family, though. Couldn’t have picked better.”

Colorado would always be home because that was where pieces of my heart lived. Jin, Andy, and Hoseok were never planning on moving. Minho would be there as long as Tilly was, and she was around for Hoseok. I had a feeling Max would change that, and the two of them may end up starting a new adventure with Minho in tow. A trouple for the ages. That made me grin.

Michigan was starting to feel like my own adventure. New bonds and ties are formed with each passing day. Going back to Colorado helped to put that in perspective. It did not matter if I was there or not, because my family was, and I would always have a place there. Ann Arbor was different.

The person I envisioned myself spending the rest of my life with lived here, his family and friends becoming like my own, and I could never ask him to leave them. When Na-Yeon died someone would need to be around for James and the kids. When Jungkook and Darcy inevitably went their separate ways, he would need a shoulder to cry on. Taehyung and his panic attacks. Milo and his work stresses. All of it meant that someone needed to be around to bring them back to themselves, and I wanted to be a part of that in any way they would allow me.

“I’m really happy that I met you,” I told Jimin, eyes not truly focusing on the show anymore. “Being here with you- I couldn’t ask for more.”

A kiss on my head, “I feel the same way, angel.”

I fell asleep like that. Jimin had to wake me up a little after one in the morning to see if I wanted to sleep at his place. I politely declined since I promised the Andersons that I would be back for breakfast tomorrow and left shortly thereafter. I barely even focused on the ride home, tired and drunk off of the high of the evening. 

Calvin was awake when I walked through the front door. A plate of cookies in front of him, he held up a finger to his lips and pointed upstairs. Violet had been strict about his diet as of late. The last time he had gone to the doctor his cholesterol levels were slightly elevated, and we had been eating very bland, not all that great food ever since. I smiled sleepily, stealing a cookie for myself as payment. We would never speak of this night again.

Finishing up my cookie, I quickly peeled out of my clothes before heading into the bathroom to do my skincare routine. Exhausted, I was barely aware of the text I sent to Jimin before I climbed into bed. I was asleep before my head ever hit the pillow.

“You’re still not hitting your best time,” I spoke into my headset, looking at the stop watch in my hand. “We’re only at 90%. I want 92%.”

Jimin groaned, frustrated and tired. We had been at this all morning and he was not making as much progress as I hoped he would. I had prepared an 200s anaerobic training set so we could work on his endurance. For the last few weeks we were focused on speed and mastering his butterflies and turns. Now that we were feeling more comfortable training together I was moving onto those issues I had at the beginning. So far it was not going over well.

“This is bullshit,” He huffed, pulling his goggles up. “I’ve been at this for hours and haven’t done anything.”

I shook my head and fought to keep myself neutral. Training had become a bit challenging to work around given our new relationship status, but we both agreed to keep that out of our sessions. We had another date next Friday. He was refusing to tell me where we were going, the only hint being we would be going to Jungkook’s game, but the rest was a mystery. 

“You’re getting better,” I replied, holding the microphone closer to my mouth. I had woken up with a sore throat and could not speak loud enough on my own, so we were finally using my old earpiece to communicate. “You went from 88% to 90%. I think with some more drills we can get up a bit more.”

He went to put his goggles back on, but I told him to stop.

“We’re done for the day,” I said, rubbing my raw throat. “You’re getting angry and I’m losing my voice.”

He stared at me, glowering childishly, and crossed his arms across his chest. Lifting my head a little higher, I looked at him with an eyebrow raised. It was a challenge, one we both knew meant I was losing my patience. Normally he would back down at this point, tucking his tail between his legs, and going to the back to get changed. Today, it would seem, was not a normal day.

“No we’re not,” He said through gritted teeth, eyes narrowed. “I’m not where I want to be.”

“Yes. We. Are,” I made a show of emphasizing every word, tossing my clipboard onto the duffle at my feet. “Something is bothering you. If you don’t want to talk to me about it, that’s fine, but you’ve been acting like a brat all morning.” I ripped my whistle off my neck, bent down, and shoved both it and the stopwatch into the pocket of the duffle bag. Jimin was still pouting in the center of the pool. “I’m not arguing with you. I’m sick and you’re angry. Just go get dressed.”

My throat burned. I talked too much and had not given the sore skin time to rest. Rubbing my forehead, I breathed through my nose in an attempt to cool off. His attitude was really starting to piss me off.

Angry, Jimin made his way out of the pool far louder than necessary. I sighed when the locker room door slammed behind him. I got us off on the wrong foot this morning by being snippy and curt with my answers. His foul mood only made it worse. As training went on I had gotten back into the groove, my annoyance over being ill forgotten, but my bad behavior had obviously bothered him enough to keep him frustrated with me for the rest of the morning. It did not help that I never apologized. 

I took more time packing up my things today hoping that I could “bump into” Jimin before leaving. I tried to think of the right way to word my own frustrations without undermining what happened between us. I hurt his feelings, and I needed to take ownership of that. 

“Sorry for acting like an ass.”

I shouted, shocked, and nearly slipped on the wet floor. Rebalancing on the balls of my feet, I looked over to see Jimin standing at the locker room door. He was still wearing his cap but threw on a pair of shorts. 

“I thought you were taking a shower,” I rasped, all of the fire from earlier gone. 

“Me too,” He ran a hand over his face and leaned against the closed door. “Just felt wrong letting you leave like that.”

I nodded, swallowing thickly. My saliva irritated my throat more and I winced in pain. I really needed something to help with the pain. 

“It’s not just you,” I finally said, my voice cracking. “I acted like an asshole this morning and you had every right to be upset. I’m sorry I didn’t apologize, either.”

“Doesn’t mean I should have gotten all pissy,” He sighed, looking more relaxed now than he had all day. “I’ve always had a bad temper, but that’s not an excuse to talk to you like that. It wasn’t even that big of a deal.”

He was doing that thing again, the thing where he downplayed his own hurt feelings and redirected blame onto himself. Not wanting his mind to go down that rabbit hole, I walked over to him. I rarely went to this side of the room. I usually used the employee shower in the back since I felt less exposed, but Jimin never felt ashamed of his nakedness. The only reason he started putting shorts on is because he noticed how awkward I became.

“It’s okay to be mad at me,” I soothed, reaching out to take hold of his hand. “We both acted a little childishly. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”

Nodding, he leaned forward to rest his head on my shoulder. 

“I just feel bad,” He whispered into my skin. “You’re not feeling well and here I am making it worse. I’m such a dick sometimes.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him close. Despite our second date being postponed due to training and the charity event this weekend, the physical affection we showed one another only ramped up. Kissing was Jimin’s new favorite thing, and I hoped we could take it a step further this weekend. Even if he was cool with taking things slow I had come to find out that I was not. Maybe after a nice conversation we could fool around a little more.

“So am I,” My voice was almost gone. “Now, can we stop arguing and get breakfast? A hot chocolate is the only thing that’s going to make me feel better.”

He chuckled, lifting his head to look at me. He was no longer angry, eyes dancing, and I felt a surge of energy run through me. Sick or not, I would do just about anything to keep him smiling. Even if it meant doing the hardest thing imaginable: apologizing. Stepping out of my embrace, Jimin took hold of my hand and walked us back to my duffle bag. He always insisted on carrying it.

“I think a hot tea would be much better for a sore throat,” He mused, “But if it’s cocoa you want, well, who am I to stop you?”

Rolling my eyes, I leaned into his side, “Who’s paying?”

“Me,” He scoffed. “Obviously. Denny’s is way cheaper than putting gas in my truck.”

That made me laugh loudly, the pain in my throat forgotten. We had a rule between the two of us. If you didn’t buy breakfast then you were buying gas for the day. Jimin had taken extra time coming to scoop me up this morning since I woke up sick and refused to stay in bed. After a lengthy conversation about money, we both agreed that he could pay for all of our dates if I could split up other costs with him. While not happy about it, he conceded.

“And they say chivalry is dead,” I teased, rolling my eyes.

The gym was filled, always packed just before and after lunch time. The lull of the afternoon would carry over until around 6 and we had a decent sized group until closing. When Giselle opened up at 5:30 the following morning, the same group of guys were always the first ones in the door. I had spoken to them a handful of times and helped spot one of them once or twice, but that was the most of my interactions with anyone that exercised here. None of us really wanted to be bothered, and kept mostly to ourselves.

Giselle and Sam were chatting at the host stand when we walked by. Jimin was always nice enough to greet his staff, but never stuck around for too long. They were all friendly, and he was very good friends with Yoongi and Megan, but he was too focused on keeping up with his daily schedule to hang out. Despite being late to everything, Jimin was an extremely organized person and hated it when his plans were disrupted. 

“Where are you two headed?” The young woman asked, a genuine smile on her face as she glanced down at our hands. 

“Breakfast,” I answered. Giselle was easily my favorite person here, her only competition being Megan or Yoongi, and I always tried to make time for her when she was available. “Do you need something?”

She shook her head, “Not right now, but would you be okay with bringing in a case of the blue Monsters tomorrow? We just ran out and Yoongi is feeling it hard.”

I laughed and agreed. Yoongi was the resident caffeine addict on staff and would go through pot after pot of coffee during his shift. After Drew, the general manager, told him he was using too many of the Keurig cups, he had moved onto energy drinks. The Lo-Carb Monsters were his favorite, and I was not surprised to hear he was out. He bought a four pack every other day.

“I’ll DoorDash a few packs to the building right now. I owe him anyway.”

“Are you ordering from Busch’s?” Sam asked. 

I nodded, “Probably. I know they’ll have them. What’s up?”

“Can you throw in a couple of sushi rolls?” He asked, and my phone vibrated in the side pocket of my leggings. “I sent you $20. I totally forgot to pack my lunch and I’m swamped with sessions today.”

“Sure man. Spicy crab rolls?”

“You’re an angel,” Sam sighed. “Make sure you get plenty of rest. You sound like shit.”

“Thanks,” I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes. “See you tomorrow. I think Park will be riding solo tonight.”

Jimin chuckled, “I’m planning on skipping the gym tonight, too.”

We walked out of the building, hands swinging between us. The feeling was so familiar and yet so foreign. I had not dated since Joon’s passing and was severely out of practice, but Jimin made it feel easy. 

“You? Skipping leg day? Scandalous.”

Jimin laughed, sounding like sunshine. “And let my girl sit at home sick by herself?”

That shut me up. After learning I was a sucker for pet names, Jimin had gotten into the habit of using them to get his way. Feeling my face heating up, I forced a laugh as I let go of his hand and rounded the truck. My girl. It made me feel both terrified and comforted at the same time.

My girl…Angel…Angel Girl… I couldn’t pick a favorite.

“Do you mind if I come over?” Jimin sounded less confident now. 

I had barely noticed him starting the truck. Must have zoned out again. 

“I don’t have much to do,” I admitted. “My place is pretty boring.”

“You’re there,” He shrugged. “And you have a tv. I’m sure we can think of something.”

“Okay,” I hid my smile behind my hand and started to look out of the window.

Saline was very beautiful. At this time of year, many of the trees were barren but I knew they would look gorgeous in the summer. I frowned. I was set to be back in Colorado by then if I could not make up my mind about the move.

“Don’t get quiet on me, gran-gran,” I snorted. “You don’t blink when you zone out and it’s creepy.”

“I so do,” I laughed, turning to look at the pretty boy. “You are such a liar.”

That did nothing but make him laugh. “Might want to order those drinks, by the way.”

I thanked him for the reminder and quickly made a small shopping cart. I threw in a few extras. Coconut creamer for Skye, a new box of Hot Pockets for Drew and Dominic, and a large box of cookies and chips for the rest of the staff. Before I could check out, a page popped up of previous things I had ordered before and I quickly added one of those expensive bags of cookies. Those were Megan’s favorite and she had bought me two coffees this week. 

“Do you want anything?” I asked Jimin.

“Maybe some seaweed chips?” We were turning into the Denny’s parking lot. “Thanks, angel.”

I added in a few other items. Band-aids because I knew we were running low, more tea bags, the coffee pods Yoongi liked, and a few different packets of the candy for Giselle. She had such a sweet tooth it was a miracle she only had one cavity. It took me a bit longer to find Jimin’s favorite brand of seaweed chips, and I decided to toss in a few different flavors of the spicy ramen he loves to eat as well. Finally happy with my order, I checked out and messaged Sam that I secured his lunch. He sent me the sunglasses emoji as a reply.

“Earth to Y/N.”

I jumped, blinking rapidly, and saw a thoroughly amused Jimin staring at me. We were parked, the truck was off, and his hand was already on the handle. We both laughed but did not say anything else. If Jimin could be late all of the time then I could space out whenever I wanted.

“I’m so ready for these blueberry pancakes,” Jimin threw his arm around my shoulders as we walked. “What are you getting?”

I shrugged, “Hot cocoa and an omelet, probably.”

“An omlet does sound really good,” He mumbled to himself, holding open the door for me.

“That’s why I’m getting one,” I mumbled, pausing at the door to kiss him. “I’m thinking  ham and cheese.”

Jimin smiled, caught off guard by the gesture, “Shit, if omelets get me one of those then I’ll eat eggs for the rest of my life.”

I laughed, the sound echoing in the small entrance area. This Denny’s was always busy but I could see a few empty booths in the back. Perfect.

“You think I’m playing,” He continued, wrapping an arm around my waist as he grabbed a hold of the second door. “Breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I had to.”

I rolled my eyes, “You don’t need to live off eggs to get kisses, you big baby.”

“No,” He chuckled, swooping down and stealing a kiss of his own. “But it sounded really cool.”

The hostess smiled at our little exchange and I fixed her with a deadpan stare.

“Typical.”

She laughed, “Right this way.”

Hobi: Are you excited about the charity event?

Me: Park’s going to kill it

Hobi: Nervous about getting seen?

Me: Not at all. I doubt anyone there will recognize me anyway.

Closing the trunk of my car, I sighed. We were on our way to the charity meet, and Jimin was running a few minutes behind. Fiona needed to go to a shop soon and Jimin was driving her like she was going to explode any second. It was frustrating as I hated being late, but it was impossible to be angry with him. We had planned on leaving the day before the meet and getting a hotel room so we could both be as well rested as possible. 

To say I was nervous about sharing a room for the night was an understatement. Jimin had gotten a suite with two beds so I would feel more comfortable (his words, not mine), but the added security of separation did little to calm my racing thoughts. I was not planning on having sex this weekend, Jimin needed to keep his energy for the meet, but I would be lying if I said the thought had not crossed my mind more than once.

“Are you okay?”

Snapping out of my trance, I turned to find the man of the hour stood next to me. There was a large duffle bag around his shoulders, and his oversized hoodie only made him look even smaller. Smiling, he kissed my cheek in greeting. 

“Fine,” I breathed, smiling back. “Almost ready?”

Jimin nodded, “Just need to put this bag in the back. You didn’t forget any of your meds, right?”

He had been spending most of his time at my house recently and was well acquainted with my large pill collection. At first he had been concerned as to why I turned down taking medication for my illness back on Monday, but stopped questioning it so much when I told him about the other four pills I take daily. I always avoided taking extra stuff if I could.

“They’re in my suitcase.”

We were going to be in Allendale until Sunday. The meet was on Saturday, and while it was only a little over 2 hours away, I was positive Jimin was going to be exhausted after we were finished. This was an event super close to his heart and he had told me how nervous he felt about attending. Spending two nights seemed like a simple solution to deal with both of our anxieties, and even more so when I brought up my fears of being recognized and harassed. Jimin turned red with anger when I told him about my previous experiences with the news and promised he would never let that happen to me again. 

“I guess we should stop by my mom’s house on the way out,” He mused. “I know she wanted to come but she’s been really sick.”

Na-Yeon’s avoidance of treatment was finally beginning to take its toll on her physical health. I had hardly seen her at all since I came back from Colorado, and from what Jimin tells me she’s done nothing but throw up and sleep. James had told me that she was trying to stay alive long enough to see Jimin win an Olympic medal, but he wasn’t sure if that was going to be possible. I was hoping to speak with her myself and see if there was any way I could convince her to start her chemo back up again. It was killing Jimin to see his mother this way.

“I was thinking,” I handed my keys over to Jimin. “Maybe your mom and I could have a little girl’s day when we get back.”

“Why?” He chuckled, 

I shrugged. Trying to come off as nonchalant was better than honesty. I was not sure how Jimin would take my intrusion, but I still wanted to try it anyway. I loved Na-Yeon, and hoped that I could talk her out of her decision. There had been a time when I would have let myself die, too, but I was fortunate enough to have Andy fighting for me. I probably would have never walked again had it not been for her and Hoseok.

“Just want to be closer to her,” It was not a lie. I was dating her son and I wanted us to be like mother and daughter the same way I had been with Namjoon’s family. “She’s been looking a little down lately. Maybe getting out of the house a little might cheer her up.”

Jimin grinned at me, his expression soft. Leaning forward, he kissed my forehead. My chest warmed. He was always touching me as though I was made of glass.

“Have I ever told you how amazing you are?” He asked.

“Once or twice,” I replied, a giggling bubbling up my throat. “We should get going. Traffic is going to start piling up soon.”

Piling into the car, I relaxed into the passenger seat and took a hold of Jimin’s hand. He chuckled, pulled away to put the car into drive, and placed his hand on my thigh. I could feel a light layer of sweat on his palms. I put my hand on top of his.

“Are you sure you’re okay driving?” I asked him, tightening my grip.

“Yeah, angel,” He replied, smiling over at me. “I’m good. I like driving.”

“Still,” I argued, “You’re going to be swimming all day tomorrow. I feel bad making you drive, too.”

“Don’t,” He lifted my hand and kissed the back of it. His eyes never left the road. “I’m happy you’re here with me. All that other shit is just details.”

That shut me up. We drove in silence for the few minutes that it took to get to his parent’s house. I decided to stay in the car while he went to say goodbye. Jimin deserved some alone time with his folks, and I had sent a text to his mother this morning promising to send her a video of him swimming. All she cared about was making sure she could have a phone call with him when everything was over with. Na-Yeon missed watching him swim more than anything and it broke her heart that she was too ill to come with us today.

James waved at me from the front door and I returned the gesture with a huge smile. He had been so excited to see me after finding out about Jimin and I. James was extremely supportive and had already started to call me his daughter. I had yet to return the favor, but secretly loved it. Jimin would get so embarrassed, he’d turn red and scold his dad in Korean. Na-Yeon would watch them silently, but send me a smile and a wink when she thought no one was looking. Wedding bells were already sounding off in their heads.

I thought it would bother me more than it did. Instead, I felt calmed by their excitement. I had been really worried about the age gap between the two of us, but having our family and friends be so accepting had taken that weight off of my shoulders. 

Ne-Yeon’s little head poked out from behind her husband’s shoulder. She looked worn and had bags under her eyes, but her smile was just as big and beautiful as it always had been. Touched that she had thought to come and greet me, I got out of the car.

“What are you doing out of bed?” I teased, wrapping my arms around the frail woman.

She returned my hug with full force. It was concerning that her squeezes felt feather light. I hoped she was eating enough.

“Bodybuilding,” She joked, her voice lacking the usual spunk it carried. When I went to let go, she held me tighter. “Take care of him.”

I nodded, “I will.”

Jimin and I left a few minutes later. Na-Yeon was hanging off of him for as long as she could, her little arm wrapped around his waist as the four of us stood in their doorway. James and I never made physical contact, but Jimin always swore his dad preferred me to him. The older man was always smiling at me, his eyes sparkling brightly, and his mouth moving so quickly at times it was difficult to understand what he was saying. Today was one of those days and I struggled to pay attention to anything else.

“Dad,” Jimin interrupted Jame’s latest fishing story. “We have to go.”

James deflated.

“When you come back?” He asked me. 

“Sunday,” I replied. “We should be back for dinner.”

He smiled again, “I make daegusal-jorim for you. It’s spicy.”

I grinned. If I remember right, that was some sort of cod dish. James was always making some type of seafood since he was fishing constantly. Na-Yeon often complained about never eating any other meat. Jimin and I were always happy to indulge ourselves in his father’s cooking.

“I’m cooking,” Ne-Yeon said.

I looked at her, “Really?”

The last time I had eaten her food was Jimin’s birthday back in October. She made a huge pot of kimchi stew since it was her son’s favorite, and I remembered it being delicious. Sometimes Jimin would talk about all of his favorite foods he grew up eating, and 9 times out of 10 it would be something his mother had made him. Apparently, according to Jimin, his father could only cook fish. Na-Yeon, however, could make magic out of nothing. 

“Yes,” She insisted. “Need to celebrate my baby.”

Jimin flushed, his mother’s fingers pinching at his fat cheeks. “Mom.”

“I’ll try to get us back early enough to help you out,” I offered, checking my watch. “We really do need to go, though. Trying to beat the traffic.”

With a few hugs and a couple of kisses on the cheek, Jimin and I left. I had finally grown used to Jimin playing the radio while he drove, and I enjoyed watching him as he sang along. Catching my eye, Jimin grinned widely and serenaded me. He had a pretty voice, soft and sweet, and I felt my heart jump into my throat.

It was shocking just how comfortable I was in this car with him. Instead of staring out the window, watching the roads like a hawk, I was laughing and enjoying his presence. With the radio blasting, I opened my mouth and sang back. Jimin’s eyes widening, his voice growing more confident as he took my hand in his.

“With a taste of your lips I’m on a ride,” He giggled, squeezing my fingers.

“You're toxic,” I wiggled my eyebrows. “I’m slippin’ under.”

“With a taste of a poison paradise,” I leaned over and kissed his shoulder. “I’m addicted to you. Don’t you know that you’re toxic?”

Satisfied with myself, I leaned back in my seat and watched him sing. My actions only emboldened his own, and soon Jimin was singing his heart out in the driver's seat. His hand on my thigh moved closer and closer to my core only to slide back down when he realized what he was doing. Each time I laughed it off, but inside I was yearning for him to do more. Not in the car, I might have a real panic attack then, but possibly when we were in the safety of our hotel room.

The drive was quicker than normal. We had beaten the traffic by an hour and our impromptu karaoke session in the car made the time fly. The sun was just beginning to set as we pulled up at the hotel and Jimin was practically skipping inside. Making him happy was something I took great pride in, and my little performance in the car had made him radiant.

My chest puffed out when I caught the front desk receptionist eyed him hungrily. Her pretty eyes were unable to stop staring at the beautiful boy beside me. Hand in hand, we took our key card and made our way to the elevator.

When the doors shut, Jimin pulled me into his arms. I sighed in relief. He smelled so good, his chest warm and hard, and I could smell the faint hint of his after shave. It didn’t matter if we won or lost this event. Nothing was going to destroy the high I was on.

“I’m nervous,” Jimin mumbled, letting me go when the elevator dinged. “I know a few of the guys I’ll be swimming with tomorrow. They’re all really good.”

I nodded, “You’re better.”

“How do you know that?” I had never heard him sound so unsure of himself before. “I haven’t been competing like I normally do this season.”

“Because you’re Jimin Park,” I replied easily, the confidence in my tone unmistakable. “And I’m Y/N Y/L/N. We’ve both put in a lot of work and time into this, and you’re going to be great.”

“But-”

I shushed him. Taking the keycard from his hand, I swiped the card through the reader and opened the door. Behind me, Jimin breathed through his nose. It was a loud, defeated sound. Stepping into the room, I gestured for Jimin to walk inside and closed the door behind us.

It was a standard hotel room. A large queen sized bed was in the middle, a small love seat beside it, and a mini fridge beside the large flat screen hanging on the wall. The air was stale, like no one had been in here in a while, and I could faintly see fading stains on some kind in the dark carpet. I bit my lip. Maybe I should have gotten the nicer place Taehyung had suggested.

“5 Stars?” Jimin dead-panned, the little smirk on his face telling me he was joking.

I sauntered closer to him, hands resting on his chest, “Of course. Only the best for an Olympian.”

He sighed, wrapping his arms around my waist, “Thank you angel.”

Still feeling high off of his presence, I kissed his cheek.

“I was talking about me.”

“Yeah?” He mumbled, lips brushing my own. “You think you’re funny?”

I nodded, dazed, “Hilarious.”

“Ass,” He breathed, before finally kissing me properly. “Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?” Another kiss. Then another. Then another. “It’s distracting.”

“What should we do about that?” I choked out, chasing after his retreating face. “Where are you going?”

He giggled cheekily, eyes glittering mischievously. 

“We need to eat, don’t we?”

I rolled my eyes and huffed, grabbing the back of his neck with my hand. “Fuck the food.”

He pulled away again, his face far more serious now. All of the playful lust flowing through my vein was stopped dead in its tracks leaving a chill in its wake. Fearful I had been too forward, I immediately took a step back and shied away from him like I had been burned. Jimin noticed this and shook his head, reaching out to grab my hand. I let him.

“I want to,” He told me. “I’m just not ready for that yet, and I think you deserve better than some nasty motel in Allendale.”

I nodded, my understanding of his fears doing little to dull the sting of his rejection. I knew it was not a real rejection, he had just asked for more time, but my heart ached with the memory of him moving away from me. It made me feel disgusted. Still, I forced a smile onto my face and nodded. I hoped he could tell I was okay with his request. It was only the hurt feelings that made me want to run away and hide.

“I get it,” Even I could hear the sickeningly-sweet edge my voice had taken on and hated it. I was so bad at this shit. “We can take our time. Whatever you want.”

Jimin frowned but chose not to say anything. Pulling back from him, I wandered to the tv and picked up the remote. A home renovation show was on and I knew I would not be paying enough attention to the tv to care how awful the acting was. 

“What’s for lunch?” I asked absentmindedly, trying to come across more relaxed than I felt. “I saw a pizza place on the way in if you’re feeling it.”

Silence.

“Maybe something less greasy,” I mused, already feeling myself growing panicked. “Milo said there’s a really good Italian place not too far from here-”

“Baby.”

I stopped talking and looked at the pretty boy standing across the room. He looked so sad and it broke my heart. I hated it when he didn't smile. I hated it even more when it was my fault.

“Talk to me,” He urged, coming to stand beside me. He made no moves to touch me for which I was grateful. “I know you’re upset about something.”

I shrugged, “I take rejection about as well as anybody else, and I don’t want you to feel bad about it so I’m moving on. I know we’re both hungry so I’m trying to figure out food. I’m sorry if I’m being weird again.”

He nodded, smiling sadly. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings.”

I reached out to hug him. Jimin was happy to take me into his arms. I loved how safe and secure I felt in his presence. I was slightly taller than he was, my body made for swimming, but he never seemed to mind. Leaning down, I tucked my head underneath his chin and closed my eyes. Breathe, I told myself.

“You didn’t mean to,” I replied. “I’m sorry if I made you feel pressured or rushed into anything.”

He chuckled, “I want to have sex with you. Just not right now. Not tonight.”

I closed my eyes, “Later?”

That made him laugh. I grinned in response. My foul mood left with a kiss to the top of my head. We were fine. There was no reason to get insecure. We were fine. Jimin liked me. I liked him. That’s all that matters.

I adjusted myself and leaned my head on his. Jimin buried his face into my neck and left a few gentle kisses on the sensitive skin. I whined in response, curling into him. Jimin groaned, the sound strained. I felt it in my core.

“Definitely,” He rasped, giving my neck another kiss. “We need to stop before I change my mind.”

I giggled, pulling away from him. If he wanted space and time then I would give that to him, even if it meant making the both of us a little uncomfortable for the next two days. With the awkward moment behind us, we started planning out dinner and I was confident in our chances at winning tomorrow. Even though it was a charity event, we were both excited about the donation money going to the hospital where his mother received treatment. Jimin especially.

After our late lunch (we decided on pizza), we came back to the hotel. I was adamant that Jimin take the day off from swimming to preserve his energy for tomorrow. His old coach (asshole) had always forced him to swim at every possible moment, and would become angry and condescending when Jimin asked for time off. I swore the next time I saw Hamilton I’d give him a piece of my mind, but knew that I would ultimately leave him be. The guy was a slimeball and didn’t deserve my time and energy.

Crawling into bed that night, we talked for a few hours while a crime tv show played. Jimin enjoyed pillowtalk and I just enjoyed his company too much to tell him to stop talking. Once it was around ten, his eyes closed in the middle of a sentence and light snores followed soon after. That was another thing he was good at- falling asleep wherever and whenever.

I got out of bed a few minutes later, my mind too busy to go to sleep. As quietly as I could, I walked out of the hotel room. Jimin did not move an inch. 

Hoseok picked up after the third ring.

“Do you know what time it is?” He answered, fake anger in his voice.

“Yeah, 10,” I rolled my eyes. “Way before your bedtime. Are you free?”

Hoseok hummed, “Yeah. What’s up?”

I groaned, embarrassment creeping up my spine. I would have preferred to talk to Andy about this, but I knew she was working tonight and would not be free. Tilly was an absolute no go, and I did not feel comfortable enough with anybody in Saline to call them this late to talk about my dry sex life. They were all Jimin’s friends first anyway.

“Jimin says he’s not ready for sex and I’m trying not to overthink it. I need your advice, oh wise one.”

Hoseok laughed, “Dude, I can’t help you. My girl is the same way.”

Shocked, I tried to remember if I had ever heard about this mystery girl before. Then, it hit me. Andy had mentioned something about a blonde girl. She must be serious for Hoseok to casually bring her up in conversation. I wonder how long he’d been hiding her from the rest of us.

“Your girl, huh? And who might that be?”

Hoseok sighed, “I know it sounds crazy, but she’s a swimmer.”

Racking my brain, I tried to think of every blonde swimmer I knew of. MacKenzie Boyd was way too young, Rhonda Yara lived in Florida most of the year, and Brittney Powell was just not Hoseok’s type. That left Opal Simmons and Tove Alfson. They both lived in Colorado, both were fantastic swimmers, and both seemed like nice girls. Opal was the older of the two, so I was more inclined to believe that was who he was talking about, but this was all under the assumption that the girl was a professional swimmer.

“Do you remember Opal Simmons?”

I snorted. So I was right. Feeling good about myself, I nodded and told him that I did. She was pretty, but I remembered thinking she was unremarkable. She had been doing extremely well this season and swimming more than she ever had before. I had a good feeling about her run at this year’s Olympics. She had always swam in teams and this was her first time doing a solo season.

“How’d you meet her?” I asked, leaning against the metal railing across from the door.

“I went to go see Ozzie and she stopped by to talk to him for a few minutes. She took one look at me, smiled, and gave me her number. And you know I’m a sucker for a confident woman.”

“So you took her to the most expensive bar in Colorado Springs?” I joked.

Hoseok spluttered, “How’d you know about that?”

“Well international super spy,” I teased, “You blew your cover. Jin saw you and told Andy. Andy told me. I didn’t tell anybody.”

The swimmer groaned and I could not help but laugh at his expense. We were always like this. Teasing and joking around with one another. A few tender moments sprinkled in between. I remembered when people thought we were a couple simply because we were friends of the opposite sex, but I had never felt anything but sisterly love for the guy. We were always there for each other through thick and thin, and right now I was grateful for his crude sense of humor. Hoseok rarely took things seriously and I needed a bit of fun. It made my anxiety feel less scary.

“We had fun,” He defended. “She’s fucking awesome, man. You’re really going to like her. Next time you’re in town, bring your boy so we can go on a double date.”

“Will do.”

We had a momentary pause. That meant Hoseok was thinking. He tried to choose his words carefully when he was being serious, so I knew that meant we were going to actually start talking about the reason I called. He was far more easy going than I was, so I was sure Opal’s timidness did not bother him at all. I was the spaz of the group only being outdone by Andrea.

“Did he say why?” Hoseok finally asked.

I told him about what had happened this afternoon and the small moments before. The way he always stopped things before they could get any further. How kissing him sometimes felt like he was saying goodbye. How genuinely upset he was by my reaction to his constant pausing. Hoseok listened to everything before saying another word.

“Maybe he’s had something happen to him in the past,” Hoseok brought up. That was something I had not really considered before. “He just sounds a little scared and nervous. Not unwilling, just hesitant. You should talk to him about it. I mean really talk to him. That’s what I did with Opal and it made going at her pace seem less daunting.”

“So you don’t think I’m doing anything wrong?” I finally asked, voicing my fears from earlier. I could not tell Jimin that’s what I was afraid of, it felt too childish, but Hoseok was used to my ever present anxieties. “I really didn’t mean to invalidate him.”

Hoseok chuckled, “I think you’re doing just fine, babe. You just need to learn how to relax and let shit happen. He likes you. He told you he wants to have sex with you directly. Don’t let yourself ruin this, okay?”

I nodded, feeling a frog forming in my throat. It felt wrong to cry right now, but it was the most therapeutic way to handle how frustrated I was with myself. I was too old to act like this. Too strong and independent. This really should not hurt me the way that it does, and yet I could feel myself closing off again.

The door behind me opened and I startled, almost dropping my phone. Whipping around I saw Jimin standing there, no shirt and a pair of sweatpants hanging loosely around his hips. Dark hair a wild mess, he rubbed his eyes and tried his best to look more awake than he felt. My heart melted, some of the stress I felt moments before lessening. He was here. We were fine. I was just being overdramatic. I just needed to breathe.

“I have to get some sleep,” I told Hoseok, eyes never leaving Jimin’s body. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Talk to you then,” I hung up.

Jimin’s eyes searched my face and I could feel a few escaped tears on my cheeks. I felt small under his watchful gaze, but the gentleness in his eyes never wavered. I stood there stupidly, unable to move.

“Come back to bed,” His voice was soft. “I miss you.”

And because he made me behave like a good little lap dog, I crawled into that bed without protest. Pulling me into his arms, Jimin held me close and tight. I relaxed and let his body heat warm me up. I had not realized how cold I had gotten and shivered. Jimin kissed my nose and got comfortable.

“Don’t leave me,” He rasped, already falling back asleep. “Please?”

I almost cried again. He sounded so lost and defeated. Maybe Hoseok was right. Maybe something happened to him that made sex feel terrifying. What it could be I had no idea, but I hoped that with time he could help me understand. As desperately I wanted him to know me- I wanted to know him.

“I promise I won’t,” I whispered, kissing his chest.

His arms squeezed me gently before there was nothing but snores and the sound of the A/C in the room.

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