#I hate embarrassing shit and yet I love characters in these awkward situations

[thoughtfulfangirling]

Indecent Exposure

Property: Gargoyles Characters: Goliath x Elisa Words: 3,634 Fics are for fun, so no I do not edit these or rework them. At least right now. My focus is just trying to write again despite very little motivation. This also means writing every silly little self indulgent scenario I'm inspired to contemplate. And that's what this was! Let's say that this is maybe between the first and second season? Still early on but not like, early early on. XD

The only light on in Elisa's apartment at this moment seemed to be a lamp in her bedroom. Goliath made his way to the slanted glass, to-ceiling windows outside that room of her place. He had asked once about human dwellings and found they varied greatly in size based on a number of different factors. The place she lived seemed quite small to him, but he was to understand that for the location and setup of this apartment, it was actually quite nice. Windows like this definitely did seem pretty rare, at least for spaces designated for dwellings. But, it was awfully convenient for his clan to have a place to land outside and large windows to enter through.

He tapped on the window before sliding it open in the way she had shown him. "Elisa?" He called, as he dropped into the room with the light on. He didn't immediately see her. He did hear some sort of fan running from behind a door connected to the bedroom that he knew did not lead to her living room. That was fine, as he was in no hurry. It seemed likely she was at home as there was light coming from under that door and light on in her room. 

Goliath turned his attention to the lamp, for it seemed to sit upon a bedside stand with a glass of water, a watch, some smaller items he didn't recognize, a piece of cloth that seemed to run in a circle, and a book. He picked this last item up: "Eyewitness Testimony: Civil and Criminal." It had several authors listed. He flipped it open and found that her bookmark wasn't very far into the book. Either it was a new book, or it hadn't caught her interest. He made sure the bookmark was firmly in place before flipping the pages to the start and beginning to read.

Goliath was just finishing the introduction to the novel when he heard a 'click.' He looked up from his reading to address Elisa, but words died on his lips as she emerged in the doorway.

She was mostly silhouette, given the light behind her was much brighter than that of the lamp in this corner of the room, which was opposite the door, but there was enough light for faint details to reveal that the figure in the doorway was naked, head bent to one side, a long piece of fabric being worked around the hair draped to Elisa's side.

Goliath's wings flew up as, startled, he made to block her from his view, knowing he had managed to violate her privacy. The lamp crashed into the wall as his wings opened and he turned away. He heard a startled cry behind him, but he didn't turn toward it, knowing what more he could see if he did. Instead he focused on recovering the lamp, half fallen between the corner of the room and the nightstand, looking like it may already be broken, but the light was still on. 

Goliath kept his wings partially raised, as much as the space would allow, to be a clear visual indicator that he was not looking her way as he fumbled the lamp back into place and began scooping up some of the smaller items from the stand that had been knocked down by the shifting of the lamp.

"Goliath?!" Elisa's voice was breathless and startled.

"I'm sorry!" Goliath said, closing his eyes and bracing his hand against the opposite wall. He looked up in exasperation and noted that parts of the windows, that didn't have the glare of the lamp and the room beyond, reflected the rest of the room. He dropped his eyes immediately, feeling a little dizzy. "I called out to you when I came in, but... I realize now you must not have heard me over that fan." 

He thought he heard a slight, breathless chuckle before he heard Elisa say, "You gave me quite a scare there. I wasn't expecting anyone obviously. Lucky I didn't have my gun with me; I was ready to shoot." And this laugh sounded more natural.

He heard her shuffling around, some drawers opening and closing. Needing to know what was happening behind him caused him to lift his eyes to the reflections in the window without thinking. Elisa's back was to him now, and the cloth hung loosely around her, covering her lower half but showing most of her back. He couldn't make out what she was doing except that she was hunched over slightly like she was looking down. He lowered his eyes again. He hadn't meant to look. It was a difficult instinct to fight, not keeping an eye on movement behind him. 

Goliath cleared his throat. "I should leave." But he didn't move immediately. To leave would mean to go back through the window and for the moment, that was where her reflection still was. 

"Goliath, it's fine. Just give me a moment; I'm almost decent."

"Decent?" He asked, for he saw nothing about her actions that would deem her indecent. He was the one who had intruded. 

"Covered up." She said in that way she did when she was explaining how a word was used colloquially without going into a long explanation. "There." She said, and he lifted his eyes to her reflection. It was even harder to make out fine details there than it had been when she was silhouetted by the room behind her previously, but it did seem she was wearing something at least. 

"You don't mind if I turn around then?" He clarified.

She laughed as she assured him it was safe-another odd phrasing, but he believed he caught her meaning well enough not to question. 

He turned around, and it seemed she had resumed the activity she had been doing as she came out of the room and rubbing down her hair with the cloth. She now had clothes on, but somehow he still felt like he was intruding. He'd never seen her in so little. Humans seemed to put a lot of importance on covering up their bodies, but she did not seem uncomfortable in the black, somewhat reflective shorts that seemed... well quite short. And the top, while covering her torso, only seemed to cling to her by little more than strings, with the neck looping low enough to reveal cleavage. And the way the fabric laid on her body seemed different as well.

"I was taking a shower. Between the water and the fan, it's hard to hear much outside of the bathroom." Elisa explained, finishing on the ends of her hair with the cloth. As she did so, she stepped back into the bathroom for a moment. "It's odd, I've never thought to ask you all about showering. You guys function like... well, like you're not magic. But I think you must be." As she emerged from the bathroom, she was without the piece of fabric she'd been using before and was using a much smaller piece that appeared the same fabric as her clothes to push back her hair from falling into her face. He'd seen similar hair pieces on women before, but they usually seemed to stop behind the ears and be of a rigid material. 

"What do you mean?" Goliath asked, though he found himself distracted now by something of a very different nature. Another thing he had noticed about human females was that their breasts, while very similar in relative size and shape to female gargoyles, seemed to have a different property. They didn't... move the same. There was a rigidity to them. But suddenly Elisa's were moving like those of gargoyle women.

"I haven't heard any mention of needing a shower or a bath from you guys since you've been in the clock tower. I think the sun must refresh you over night. That seems awfully handy." She stopped as she reached the other side of her bed, and as he opened his mouth to reply to her assertion, he found himself stopping at the expression she gave him. He realized, with sudden intense embarrassment, that she had caught his gaze. He searched her face for discomfort as he tried to figure out what to say. He couldn't read the expression. Discomfort is not how he'd describe it. Much of it was amusement, but he did see some color on her cheeks which he thought probably did mean he was making her uncomfortable. 

He looked down at her nightstand as an excuse to look away and noticed the book. He touched it. "Light reading before bed?" 

Elisa sat down on the corner of her bed, leaving space between them. 

"I try to keep learning." She said with a shrug. "You know Goliath, if you have any questions for me, I am always happy to answer what I can." 

This caused him to look at her again. She was offering to him to address what had just happened but leaving him with an out. He didn't know why he was so embarrassed all of a sudden. Curiosity was natural, and there was a lot he didn't know. Elisa had always offered to fill in gaps where she could. In his previous world, it did not matter much what he did not know of humans or their ways. But now, if they were to survive in this world, humans were all they had for their communities, if they were to have any outside of their small group. 

He gave a nod and turned more toward her, fighting off his discomfort at broaching topics that seemed taboo. "The clothes you are wearing." He started, but found he wasn't even sure what the question was he was trying to ask, or how to ask it. This was not embarrassment, just a lack in knowledge about human norms. 

"My pajama's." Elisa offered with a nod. 

"Pajamas?" Goliath questioned. This felt like a route that would get him answers.

"They're clothes we wear to bed. Well, that's normally how it's thought of, but honestly, many of us wear pajamas as soon as we get home. They're the most comfortable things we wear." She gave a wry grin. "If we decide to wear anything at all. Many people don't wear anything to go to sleep."

Which begged the question, if he had not interrupted her, would she have gone to sleep as he found her? Had she put these on for his sake? And if so, had she done so for his comfort or hers? He ignored these questions for the ones more relevant to interactions with humans more generally.

"So modesty rules do not apply in the home." It was a question, but he made it a statement to demonstrate that he was starting to understand, and that the conversation was going in the direction of providing answers to the things he was curious about. 

Elisa gave a shrug, which with new revelations, did make Goliath uncomfortable. He tended to see the differences between gargoyles and humans more than he noticed their similarities, which did not seem to be the case for all of his clan. One of the more distinguishing differences to him when interacting with the women, was this oddness about the breasts. It wasn't like he ever stared. It's just a thing he noticed once, and then they meant nothing more to him than the color of one's hair or width of their shoulders. But suddenly the similarities stood out to Goliath as he acutely felt how long it had been since he had looked upon a woman he found appealing in a more sensual manner. He could never deny his attraction to Demona, but now seeing her brought so many painful feelings that there was no room for something as simple as attraction.

As he wrangled with these thoughts, Elisa had explained the various settings and modes of dress common among humans. He was able to gather peripherally that he had always encountered Elisa when she was dressed for work or a practical night out and about. That pajamas, or PJs as she'd started to refer to them, were one of the most casual of attires humans wore, and the degree of how revealing they run tended to depend on the relationships they had with the people they lived with, if any. 

It made a certain amount of sense to him. He had just assumed humans were much more modest than gargoyles, and he would have to consider this new information. It certainly made some things he saw often on the streets make much more sense. 

"Something I said seems to have made you uncomfortable." Elisa suddenly said, and Goliath realized that as she finished an explanation, they had lapsed into silence. 

Goliath looked back at her and saw an expression of concern. "No. Not at all. I am merely... thinking. I am seeing that I have made many assumptions without realizing. I... understood less than I realized."

"Is that upsetting?" Elisa asked, drawing her legs up and wrapping her arms around them. It was a casual movement, but something about the movement or her posture belied a sudden discomfort she hadn't had earlier.

"No. Certainly not." Goliath replied, shaking his hand. He looked about the room. He had the urge suddenly to not seem to take up so much space, but his choices seemed to be to sit on the floor or on the bed, and after everything she had just said about homes and bedrooms and sleeping being the most intimate locations, he felt to sit on the bed might make her further uncomfortable. "I am more concerned, after what I learned, about your comfort. Does it... is it upsetting for you that I am here rather than your living room? That I saw you earlier naked?" 

Elisa laughed, and that tension she'd had a moment ago seemed to ease. Her uplifted legs moved to a crossed position, and she leaned forward. "What would you do if it did?" There was a playful note to the statement that suggested she was not, but humor sometimes masked that which made us most uncomfortable.

"Well, I could certainly leave immediately. Perhaps that is what I should have done right away. I... don't know about the other, but if there is anything I could do that would... ease any discomfort, I would hear it." 

Elisa chuckled at that, and Goliath found himself once again diverting his gaze. He found himself desperate to know what had changed about Elisa that she... moved different all of a sudden, but he had already stumbled into crashing into various sensitive topics. Though it was a relief at how remarkable Elisa was taking it. He wondered how grossly he had overestimated human modesty practices. 

"What?" Elisa asked, her tone serious again. "Something keeps making you uncomfortable. Is it too strange seeing me like this? I can put on more clothes if I've managed to make you uncomfortable. Perhaps I’ve assumed too much about a lack of modesty among Gargoyles based on the attire I've seen?" There was genuine curiosity in her voice, but also a hint of frustration.

"No." Goliath assured her. "We do of course cover sensitive flesh, but it is mostly out of comfort than modesty."

"Then it's to see a human naked?" Elisa asked, and again there was something in her tone he couldn't quite interpret. "You have such an appreciation for the arts that I assumed you would have at least seen nakedness in art and photography."

"I have. Yes." He interrupted. "It's none of those things." He sighed. "I apologize. You have done nothing wrong. I am the intruder here. You are not making me uncomfortable. I simply find that I am confused, but I do not need to understand everything."

"Goliath, where else are you going to find answers to your questions? I don't know everything, but it's not like you can ask your books a question and get an answer. I at least could ask a librarian and find books for you. Look. I promise, I'll tell you if you ask me a question I don't want to answer, but you have a right to understand this world you live in, and I've offered to do what I can to help you. If I don't want to answer myself, if it makes me uncomfortable, I can try to find books on the topic for you." 

Goliath sighed and readjusted his wings, uncomfortable. Elisa pushed some hair that had fallen over her shoulder back. She made to tuck it behind her ear, a gesture he'd seen from her often, but of course the piece in her hair already held the hair back from her ears. 

"I don't know how to ask about it without questioning you... you're," He gestured helplessly at her chest and then jerked his hand back, realizing how brusque that must appear. It was embarrassing, but a relief when Elisa let out a burst of laughter at the gesture. 

"Boobs? You want to know about boobs? Goliath, gargoyle women also have them. Or at least Demona does. Weren't you and Demona intimate before she went... well, you know." She shook her head in a manner that suggested she meant to say Demona was crazy. 

Goliath shook his head as if to clear it. "Gargoyle women yes, they do have breasts. But they... move differently than yours. Or, I thought they did." He felt a bit light headed. This was not a conversation he wanted to have, but yet he found he was desperate to understand.

Elisa tilted her head and gave him a confused look. "I'm not sure I follow. I can't say I've noticed anything notably different, though of course I haven't seen Demona's naked breasts. Is that what you mean? You have referenced your kind lay eggs, perhaps gargoyle women don't have nipples?" Her voice was pure curiosity, but after a beat, he saw color rise in her cheeks again. He was actually comforted by the sight. He realized that part of his uneasiness was how much more composed Elisa had been than himself through all this, when it seemed to him their roles should be reversed. 

"They have nipples." He assured her. "But when a gargoyle woman walks, her breasts move with the movement. When she laughs, they move. It's not something that seemed to happen with human women, only..."

Elisa had made a sound of understanding. "Mine have" she finished for him. She got up and walked to the set of drawers along the far wall from her bed. She pulled something off the top and tossed it to him. It appeared to be a top designed for a woman, only it looked like it was intended only to cover the breasts. He looked at it for a moment, then looked at Elisa again and raised a questioning eyebrow. 

"Typically before leaving home, we put one of these on. It's called a bra. It keeps our breasts in place. It can get uncomfortable to do a lot of physical activity without something holding the girls in place. It also prevents our nipples from being visible through our clothes." She gave a shrug. "For some reason, it's considered inappropriate to let them be seen in public." 

"But your men have nipples." Goliath commented on the discrepancy while setting the bra aside. 

"Yeah. It's pretty dumb." Elisa said, returning back to the bed and sitting back down, this time one leg crossed under her. She gave a sudden laugh and shook her head. "All this time, and you thought our boobs were just stiff." Goliath gave her an embarrassed look, and she shook her head in response. "No it makes sense! How would you know? It's crazy how seamlessly you all have become such a normal part of my life that I forget how strange sometimes mine must be to you."

Finally, Goliath sat on the bed. It bowed a bit under his weight, but seemed to hold fine. The tension finally had seemed to evaporate enough that it didn't seem like an invasive gesture anymore. "It has been a learning curve." He admitted. "And I can only thank you for your candor. I think even among gargoyle women, to ask them about their bodies as I did yours would not have been very welcome."

Elisa just smiled at him then shook her head. "I suppose you dropped in just for the peak show then?" 

"What? Oh no! I came to see if you wouldn't want to meet us in the park tomorrow. Lexington has finished another project and wants to show us. And I believe Broadway wants to ask you to track down some movie or other that he wants to see."

Elisa smiled. "I'll be there at dusk when you all wake up tomorrow. I have a pretty busy night coming up with some stake-outs we have to do, though I'd love to see what Lex has gotten up to. But I can check in with you all and see what movies Broadway's heard about now. 

Goliath nodded and stood back up. "We will be pleased to see you. Next time I drop in, I will make sure to announce myself clearer and wait for you in your living room." 

Elisa chucked and nodded. "Have a good night Goliath.” 

Goliath gave her a smile and a short bow before bidding her a good night as well and taking his leave. 

He supposed there was a lot he should consider now and think on, but as he took to the night sky, he found he didn't particularly care to keep contemplating on what he'd learned. It was good to know, but it was just enough that he did. 

[smoochkooks]

—chapter two: of peonies and broken promises

this is a part of my an ode to a broken heart drabble series.

pairing: jeon jungkook/reader

genre: unrequited love, best friends to (?), heavy angst, future smut

word count: 1.4k words

summary: you are twenty-four, hopelessly in love with your best friend and the smell of peonies still makes you nauseous, just like it did eleven years ago.

previous || next 

Jungkook's apartment is an epitome of him.

Wherever you look, you spot a piece of him. A single, wooden shelf in the living room where he placed all his analog cameras, because he loves photography. The replica of Van Gogh's Starry night hanging just above the navy blue couch, because he loves art. White walls of his bedroom decorated with movie posters; among them the newest addition to the collection: French Parasite poster you remember him buying recently. He traded stupid amount of money for it and you'd scold him for doing so if you didn’t know how much he enjoys cinematography.

Staring at this back as he makes coffee, you almost forget why you came her in first place. It's trivial: the latest software update on your laptop made it work more sluggish for some unknown to you reason. Jungkook has always been good with technology (hence his degree in digital art), helping you fix things on your laptop whenever the issue isn’t too complicated for him to deal with it on his own.

You feel a little embarrassed, asking him for help again (as if he wasn’t installing a new antivirus software for you a few weeks ago) but Jungkook beat you to it, assuring you it was absolutely fine before you could recite a round of apologies upon entering his apartment.  

It’s just the way he is – the kindest, most selfless person you have ever met. Helping others seems to be etched into his brain for good.

“Here you go,” he says, placing a cup coffee in front of you. “I still haven’t quite figured out how the coffee machine works so I hope it doesn’t taste like shit.”  

You smile, wrapping your fingers around the cup. Jungkook is a tea person, something he most definitely took after his mother, who has a separate cabinet in the kitchen filled with various kinds of tea. That’s why it’s so funny to you that somehow he insisted on buying a ridiculously expensive coffee machine a few months ago when he moved into his new apartment.  

You wish you could focus on the delicate scent of his blueberry tea. You wish you could let yourself be overwhelmed by the aroma of your freshly made coffee. Anything.  

Instead, all you can process is the intense, nauseous smell of the peonies standing right before you.  

They’re definitely new, wrapped up prettily and ready to be gifted to someone special. Jungkook notices your lingering gaze, and clears his throat.  

“Soojin's coming later today. They’re her favourite.”  

He didn’t need to give any explanation to you. It’s his life, his girlfriend, his plans, her favourite flowers, her perfect boyfriend. You’re just you. Yet for some unknown to you reason, he felt and urge to mention it anyway.

“I didn’t peg you for the gentleman type.” you say to break the awkward silence. It’s anything but true, so Jungkook snorts in response.

“Aish, I always give you a single red rose for your birthday, Valentine’s Day and Women's day as well! And we know each other for eighteen years!” he reasons, somewhat defensive.  

You force yourself to grin. “I know, I know. I was just fucking with you,” He huffs and takes a sip of his tea. As soon as he does that, he regrets it, muttering “Shit, it’s hot.” under his breath. “Soojin's lucky to have you.” you add.

Despite coming off as a confident person on daily basis, Jungkook gets insecure too.  

You remember vividly the look in his eyes when he told you he didn’t deserve her. It was right at the beginning of their relationship, they were still getting to know each other and Jungkook couldn’t possibly understand why out of all the boys Soojin could date, she had chosen him. A digital art major who liked talking about cinematography and ate ramen at 2am in the morning when he couldn’t sleep.  

Back then, you wished he could see himself with your eyes. For you, he was far more attractive than any guy you saw on campus. For you, he was talented, hardworking, passionate. No doubt Soojin fell for him.  

But Jungkook was twenty-one back then. He lacked self-assurance he has now. It irritated you that he viewed Soojin as some sort of goddess who took pity on him.  Although a lot has changed since, he still could quite literally kiss the ground she walks on.  

You watch as a small tingle of blush covers the apples of his cheeks. Pink, just like the peonies standing before you. Pink, just like the flowers you hate so much.  

11 years ago

June was beautiful that year. You spent most of your time after school in Jungkook's garden, seated by the wooden table and doing your homework.  

His mother besides tea, loved planting flowers. And June was the month of peonies. There was so many of them, invading your senses with their sweet yet nauseous smell.  

Jungkook was scribbling something in his notebook. You doubted it was anything Math-related, judging by the quick and harsh strokes of his pen. ‘’Do you know Sana?” he asked out of the blue, startling you.  

“That new girl from Japan? What about her?”  

“Jimin says she has a crush on me.” he answered, his eyes still glued to the paper. You noticed he was sketching some anime character's angry face.

Your eyes involuntarily widened. “How does Jimin know that?”  

“Dunno. He told me he heard some girls talking about it in cafeteria the other day.” Finally, he dropped his pen and looked up. His brows were furrowed and he had a sour look on his face. “I don’t want her to have a crush on me.”  

At that, your heart started beating faster. You were just fourteen and yet already so stupidly in love with your best friend. “Why?” you asked before you could stop yourself.  

You knew girls were checking out Jungkook here and there. He was a top athlete, had good grades and had grown at least ten centimeters taller over the year. He also had let his mother (and you) convince him to cut his hair shorter lately, getting rid of the emo fringe he was sporting for the past six months. Of course some pretty girl like Sana would have a crush on him.  

Somehow, Jungkook had always been oblivious to that, or at least you thought so. This was the first time he decided to talk to you about it.  

He sighed, looking away from you as if he was embarrassed all of a sudden. You could swear you saw his cheeks flush. “Because I don’t even like her. You’re the only girl I can stand being with.”  

Now it was your turn to blush. As best as you could, you tried to ignore the funny, giddy feeling in your chest. “You know you'll have to marry some girl one day, right?”  

“Then I’ll ask you to marry me,” Jungkook said and for the first time since he had started this conversation, he actually looked you in the eye. When he saw your shocked expression, he mumbled, “Maybe in like… ten years or something. Once we are out of college.”  

You snorted, nudging his side. Despite the butterflies fluttering in your stomach, you regained your composure. “Do you think I will put up with your for that long?”  

“We know each other since we were six and you haven’t run away yet. Besides, I’m the only boy you aren’t scared to talk to.”  

“Hey! That’s–Maybe it’ll change in the future! Maybe–”

Jungkook ignored you and instead thrusted his pinky finger in your direction. You stopped speaking right away. Pinky promises held little significance yet for some reason, you felt like it was a serious situation. And if the determined look on your best friend's face was anything to go by, he thought the same.

“If we don’t find anyone worth giving our heart to by the time we are twenty-five, let’s get married. Promise?”  

You were astonished, to say the least, staring at this hand with wide eyes. You were only fourteen back then and to hear something like that from the boy you loved was like a teenage dream come true. You replied with blind devotion. Because there was only one, good answer to such question.

“Promise.”

You are twenty-four now, hopelessly in love with your best friend and the smell of peonies still makes you nauseous.  

[jinpanman]

It's You

pairing: hoseok x fem. reader (+ lowkey yoonjimin)

word count: 14k

genre: pg15, fluff, friends to lovers au, teacher au, coworkers au

warnings: a lot of awkwardness, excessive blushing, drinking, some non-explicit nsfw (dirty thoughts, brief mention of boners, hoseok blurts out wanting to put babies in you😌)

synopsis: An accidental confession throws your years-long friendship with Hoseok into disarray.

a/n: my first finished fic in 2 years!!!!! WOW. from what started out as a literal dream months ago to a 3k monster of illegible scribbles to a 9k mess to this. thank you to the BSH members for being amazing and helpful and oh so wonderful. thank you to Connee @writerly-love​ for being so lovely and encouraging uwu she writes so check her out y’all 💖 and the biggest BIGGEST thank you to my beta reader Melissa @hauntedlilies​ for doing me the biggest solid and helping me with 31982 things in this fic. you have been the best help and your advice and commentary is invaluable to me. thank you for encouraging me and thank you for loving my idiot characters! she draws and writes btw. check her out!!💖 i hope you enjoy this story, dearest reader 🥺🌱 (edited 05/2021)

yoonjimin drabble: It’s You 2.0

Is it normal to be so endeared watching your students jumping with excitement around your colleague?

You love your students, you do. Why else would you have become an after school teacher?  Sometimes, though, there are days when you’re scrambling to come up with an activity hours before the kids flock in from their day class. It’s tiring to always have to be on your toes in order to meet the needs of your students—which change at the switch of a light every day!—but it’s a welcome weight in your life. 

You’re thankful that you don’t have to do it all on your own. Every other week you collaborate with other teachers at the school to foster friendship and camaraderie outside of your student’s usual age range. Today your class is combined with Hoseok’s, and they are all too excited to see their favorite Mr. Hobi. Not that you blame them.

Hoseok claps his hands, drawing the attention of your students whose loud chatter lowers to a hum, albeit still excited. The students flock to him like little ducklings to their mama and you absolutely cannot help but giggle at the sight. He has such a natural chemistry with children and choosing a life as an educator fits him so well. 

Your eyes wander to where your colleague is situated in front of the class. He instructs the students to raise their hands along with him and together they stretch for a good minute. His face is scrunched in a goofy smile as his head tilts, causing his glasses to slip down his nose. Would he mind if you walked over to fix his glasses?

The herbal tea he brought you before class warms your hands as you stand in the back to observe. The steam from the cup brings out a lovely smell of peppermint which you inhale happily. Despite being a strong advocate for coffee and knowing next to nothing about tea, he somehow knew the exact type of tea you liked to drink. You take a long sip and listen to him entice the children with one last hour of fun before they have to go home.

“Okay kids! Today we’re gonna make the ground really pretty for everyone to see tomorrow morning! What do you say?”

They all cheer and he directs them to stand in two orderly lines in front of either of you by the front door while he hands you a bag filled with chalk sticks of varying colors. You raise your brows in curiosity.

“Last minute decision?”

He scoffs and hands a chalk piece to the next student in line.

“No!” You raise a brow at him and he sighs in resignation. “Fine, yes. But no one needs to know that, okay?”

You both laugh in complete understanding of the teacher struggles. Oh, the simple life of a child; so easily amused by a little piece of chalk.

“Teacher, teacher! Come look!”

One student pulls you away from your bad attempt at a portrait of Grumpy Cat, the greatest cat to have walked the earth. You walk over her and she points out something she drew on the cement.

“Look! It’s you and Mr. Hobi!” she exclaims in excitement while jumping up and down.

Sure enough there are two clumsily drawn stick figures. You assume the one with glasses is Hoseok since he’s donned a pair of round glasses today, paired nicely with his red flannel. You applaud her artwork, thanking her for drawing you so nicely, when another student comes up from behind you and squints at their peer’s drawing.

“That looks like Mr. Hobi and his girlfriend!” they say.

“No! That’s not his girlfriend. That’s Ms. Y/N!” she stomps in defiance.

The two students argue until they both yell for Hoseok to come over. Their loud commotion gains many of the other student’s attention and they all seem to watch on with curiosity. He casts a puzzled look at your direction to which you shrug, not entirely sure what your students are trying to prove. When he’s standing beside you they both shoot rapid fire questions.

“Mr. Hobi, who does this look like?”

“No, no! Mr. Hobi, who do you think these are?”

“Do they look like you and Ms. Y/N?”

“No, do they look like you and your girlfriend?”

“Do you even have a girlfriend?”

The other students have somehow flocked around you during this squabble. They giggle and you hear a unison of audible gasps in approval and join in on the questioning.

“Yeah! Do you? Do you?”

Hoseok stands there like a deer caught in headlights, not knowing what to do. His eyes flicker over to you, silently begging for help. Both your students are normally well behaved and usually do well not to ask personal questions about information you don’t voluntarily share. You can’t fault them for forgetting to be polite in the heat of the moment. They are children, after all, so you do your best to redirect them.

“Hey hey, why don’t we let Mr. Hobi speak before you ask any more questions, okay? Remember what Mr. Slug says?” 

They slouch over and robotically recite Mr. Slug’s motto about letting other people take a turn to talk but their eyes still glimmer with hope. It’s clear Hoseok doesn’t know what to say. As much as you want to laugh at his skittish stance, you know it won’t do to leave your fellow teacher hanging. The laughs can come later when the kids are gone.

“Alright, kids why don’t we—” You start to change the subject to shift their attention elsewhere when a student behind you speaks up.

“Ms. Y/N you have to help us!”

The other students join in and echo the plea to find out who Mr. Hobi’s secret girlfriend is. You cup your hands around your face so no one can see you mouthing to Hoseok—earning several groans from your students—and exchange silent communication with him. The easy smile on his face tells you that it’s okay to humor your students today, so you begin to laugh with your students and egg him on.

“Mr. Hobi, please, please, will you tell us?” you ask, putting on a half hearted puppy face and clasp your hands together to appease your students.

You swallow back a snicker at how his face morphs into embarrassment. So maybe this isn’t what he thought you’d pull, but his reaction was worth it. You tease him and poke at his reddening cheeks.

“Ahh, you don’t need to do that,” he mumbles from his pouty lips.

You pull away before he can snatch your hands. Your students laugh at your antics and chant “Mr. Hobi has a cruuush!” You chant along with them in good fun, giggling at your friend’s increasingly flushed face. He seems to finally find his senses and holds his hands up in defeat.

“Alright, alright! Calm down and I’ll tell you who she is.”

The students jump in place, cheering for their victory. His gaze lingers on you, but you think nothing of it, instead donning a shit eating grin. The children waddle in even closer, eager to hear what he has to say.

“Okay, well she’s this really, really pretty lady who likes cats a lot.”

“Ooh, like Ms. Y/N’s cat she drew?” one student interrupts and points to the striped cat you have yet to finish.

“Mhm! Just like her cat.”

“What else? What else?”

“She also doesn’t like coffee at all and makes fun of me for drinking it.” You raise your eyebrows and nod your head in approval. Whoever this lady is, you like her already.

“What does coffee taste like?”

It’s clear he didn’t expect that question and fumbles with trying to explain what coffee is to five and six year olds. You rub at your cheeks, aching from having been smiling for so long. It’s impossible not to smile when you’re around Hoseok. Simply being near him has always been enough to get you to smile.

“Tell us more about your girlfriend please!”

You hadn’t expected them to still be after that and you laugh at their boldness.

“Yeah, c’mon. Who’s this secret lady who hates coffee as much as I do?” you ask cheekily.

“Ah,” he looks away and scratches at his nose. “Well she’s—” 

Just as he’s about to reveal more about this mystery woman, the dismissal bell rings. He clicks his tongue and cackles at the disappointed faces all around him.

“Oh well! Guess you’ll have to wait ‘til next time, kids. Let’s get back to class.”

The students moan and groan but they comply and head back to the classroom to be picked up and go home.

It’s become routine to walk out to your cars together any time your classes are paired. Today is no different. Hoseok waits for you by the door, hair tousled from running after students and long sleeves rolled up his arm, revealing a black watch wrapped around his delicate wrist. As he fiddles with his phone, the rings on his fingers glint under the afternoon rays that sneak through the classroom door sidelight.

“You took your glasses off,” you nod your head at the glasses now tucked inside his shirt pocket. “They looked good on you.”

“Ha. Nice as they are, wearing glasses for too long hurts my ears.”

“Aw, poor baby,” you coo and reach forward to rub his ears. 

He grumbles and swats your hand away. He pushes open the door and motions for you to go first. You think back to the earlier fiasco with the children and wonder how is he still single? Having known him for many years prior to working together, you remember many interested suitors, both men and women alike, trying their hand at wooing him. You can’t think of a single person who doesn’t like him, or at least have a begrudging respect for him.

Outside of your job, you also know he’s the life of the party when you meet up with your friends. Your mind briefly wanders to what it would look like if you were coupled with him. Maybe you’d drive home together and wind down after a long day at work. Then you’d change out of your work clothes, cook a meal together and dance while you’re waiting, maybe even cuddle in bed together until you fall asleep. You’re thinking dangerous thoughts and you take a mental note to chastise your inner conscience when you’re alone.

“So,” you clear your throat and pretend like you hadn’t just imagined a particular fantasy about the man walking beside you, “since the kids brought it up, now I’m actually really curious.”

“Oh man, not you too,” he groans and rubs a hand over his face.

“Hoseok, come on! We’ve been friends for years now and you know what, I don’t remember you ever dating? At least not seriously. Is there anyone you’re interested in these days?” You see the hesitance on his face but you press on. “You know me, Hobi. You know I won’t tell anyone. Not even Yoonji.”

Yoonji, half of the reason why you and he are friends in the first place. The other half being her twin brother, Yoongi. You met Yoonji in your first year of university, and through her you met the crazy bunch you now call your friends. Hoseok and Yoongi had been friends long before college. Once you and Hoseok became acquainted through the twins, you’d bonded over the mutual suffering dealt by them. It had been easy to get along with him, and it didn’t take long at all to move up from acquaintances to friends. You were more than happy when you found out you both had been hired and placed at the same school after university.

He shakes his head at your request. “Nah, you wouldn’t know her anyway.”

“Okay, see! So there’s no problem in me knowing! ‘Cause I don’t know her.” You bump shoulders with him and tug at his arm. “Look, if you really don’t want to tell me, I’ll drop it. I promise. But I really am curious about the person who’s stolen Mr. Hobi’s heart.”

You’ve stopped in front of his car and now there’s nothing to distract him from your pleading face. You do your best not to look like a wide-eyed crazed cat lady and more like the pleading Puss in Boots. You hope it’s working.

“You really wanna know?”

“I do! But only if you’re comfortable telling me.”

“Promise you won’t run away when you find out?”

You’re puzzled by the shift in his demeanor, in the way his voice has dropped to nearly a whisper, but you nod anyway and extend your pinky finger out to him. He brings up his hand to wrap his pinky around yours. You’re taken aback by how seriously he’s taking this, but you wouldn’t do anything to betray his trust. He waits for a few seconds, then nods, seemingly satisfied and stuffs his hands inside his jean pockets.

His eyes are downcast and with a heavy exhale he says quietly, “It’s you.”

You blink. Then you laugh. And you can’t stop laughing. The nervous energy rolls off of you in peals of inappropriate laughter. It isn’t until you see he’s frowning—an expression that doesn’t cross his face often—that you try to reign in your nerves and calm down. 

“You got jokes Hoseok!” you say, trying to lighten the sudden sour mood.

“I’m not trying to be funny. I—I like you.”

Your residual giggling immediately subsides when you realize he really is serious. A wave of confusing emotions wash over you. You’re shocked, you’re confused, and you’re in denial. This can’t be happening. Your mouth opens and closes repeatedly as your brain flips through your dictionary of words to try to understand what you’ve just heard.

Frustration spills out of his lips when you remain mute. “It’s you! I want you! It’s been you for years. Is that not what you wanted to hear? Are you satisfied now that you know?”

Wait. What? 

Your mind still hasn’t caught up and all you can do is stare at him. You catch a quiet "fuck” escaping his lips as he roughly rakes his fingers through his already messed hair. He gives you one last glance before he dashes into his car. Seeing him leave finally gets your tongue working.

“Wait.” You try to grab his arm but he’s already shut the car door. “Wait Hobi, I—I’m sorry. No, no wait please!”

He drives off without a single glance back.

You have never felt like the shittiest person to exist on this planet until now. You survey the lot to make sure no one witnessed this scene and are relieved to find no one. You scurry into your car, forcing back the hot tears that want to come out. 

You don’t deserve to cry after being so cruel. Even if it was unintentional. You scramble for your phone as soon as you’re strapped in. The screen immediately unlocks once your face is in view and you swipe on your best friend’s number starred at the top of your contacts list.

Yoonji picks up after the third ring and her voice drawls out through the speaker, “Did Hobi finally spill the beans, ‘cause thank fucking god.“

You briefly register that you can hear Yoongi in the background talking to another man whose distressed voice sounds vaguely familiar. Blinking your tears away, it takes a second for Yoonji’s words to sink in and you are, for the second time today, at a loss for words. You’re out of the parking lot when your voice finds itself but your brain has yet to catch up, still stuck on those three words that came out of Hoseok’s mouth.

"Wait, wait, wait. Yoonji. You knew? About him? But—wait. How did you—why didn’t you know—er, tell me?” Your free hand flies wildly in the air as you drive.

“He’s not exactly subtle about his feelings for you, you know. Do you not remember last month when you complained about wanting milk tea and he immediately dropped everything to personally drive to a shop 10 minutes away to get you one—a large one, might I add!—with ‘for miss beautiful’ written on the side of the cup?” 

“He does that for everyone,” you mumble into your phone.

“No he does not. You’re just a dumb squirrel and apparently he’s attracted to dumb squirrels.” You don’t need to see her to know she’s pacing mid rant and examining her freshly manicured nails like the princess she is. You wish you knew how she had the funds and time to repaint her nails every other week.

“How come I never noticed?” you ask, pointedly ignoring the squirrel jab.

“Again, you’re a dumb squirrel—”

“What am I gonna do? I didn’t mean to make him feel bad about confessing to me. I feel like such an ass,” you whine into your phone, once again ignoring her insult. You roll your eyes at the fake sounds of her humming in thought. She enjoys making you antsy beyond belief way too much.

“Yoonji! Stop teasing me please!” Your face contorts into the best puppy face you could muster, and you’re sure the driver next to you is giving you a weird look.

“Ew, gross. I can feel your puppy eyes on me 70 miles away. Stop it.”

Worth it.

“Well first of all,” she begins, “you were an ass. How would you feel if you confessed to someone and the first thing they do is laugh? That was shitty of you, babe!”

If you weren’t driving, you would have hung your head in shame. “Yeah, I know…”

“Mhm. At least you know.” As much as she loves you, Hoseok’s her friend too. You don’t blame her for not comforting you. “Anyway, you could go about this several ways. One, let him down easy. Or two, open your eyes and realize you feel the same way. Or three, avoid him for the rest of your life and run away to a convent to make certain you’ll never see him again.”

You whine again, just as pathetically as the first time. “You’re not helping! Those are all impossible!”

“Fine, fine.” She sighs into the phone. “So answer this for me then. Do you like him?”

And that there is the million dollar question. Do you like him? You’ve never given yourself the luxury of seeing him in that way. He was obviously a very attractive man with an equally captivating personality. Yes, he may have made your heart flutter at least a dozen times in the time you’ve known him. Okay, so maybe more than a dozen… 

And yes, you may have indulged in one or two fantasies about what it would be like to date him but you never allowed your mind to wander farther than a few innocent thoughts. You valued your friendship with him far too much to divulge in selfish daydreams. You reveal as much to your friend.

“Babe, all I can tell you is that knowing Hoseok, he’s probably at home wallowing in despair and embarrassment and will probably hate himself for making you uncomfortable. Aaand drinking himself silly because he’s stupid.” 

You hear Yoongi snort in the background.

“B-but I’m not—”

“So go tell him yourself then!”

“Ah Yoonjiii..” you whine... again.

“Figure it out, bitch! I gotta finish painting my nails now. Love youuu!” She hangs up before you can wail her name once more and you’re left to stew in your feelings for the rest of the evening.

The following day, Hoseok doesn’t show up for work. Or the next. By the third day, you’re tempted to ask your supervisor if he still even works here. Okay, so maybe you’re overreacting a little bit. Maybe Yoongi would know if he was still alive, but then he’d pry into why you’re asking in the first place and you’re not ready to answer any questions. 

You’ve just gotten home and your shoulders droop heavily. You have yet to receive any news or texts from Hoseok since he left you in the parking lot that day. It didn’t help that the kids were exceptionally testy today.

Your mind is riddled with worry, but rather than for yourself, you worry about him. Actually if you’re being honest, you’ve been thinking about him endlessly since then. You hope he’s taking care of himself. You want to apologize. You need to apologize. This realization is what helps you to make your decision. 

With a sudden blaze of courage, you grab your purse off the couch and head out to the bus stop just a street down your place. It takes about thirty minutes with one bus transfer that leads you directly to his apartment complex. You’ve been there many times and while you know the route by heart, this visit feels like a whole new experience.

Your feet know exactly where to go and how many steps to take, leading you out the bus, into the apartment complex, and up the elevator until you’re standing in front of his door. You stare at his door and a brief flash of doubt rings alarms in your head. You ring the bell before you can overthink your actions. A few seconds later his voice chimes out from the speaker box.

“Who is it?” 

His voice sounds very tired. Has he not been sleeping well?

“Hello?” He tries again.

You lightly slap your cheeks, bringing yourself back. You weren’t even aware you had frozen up.

“Hey, it’s me. Um, Y/N.”

No answer.

"Can we—can we talk?”

Again, you are met with silence.

Your fingers twiddle with the hem of your shirt, unsure of your next move. You came all the way here on complete impulse. You don’t do well when you don’t have a plan. And right now, you have no plan, which is ironic, considering you’re a teacher for young children who require a level of spontaneity every day. 

You’re itching to escape but your feet remain wooden against the pavement. You bend your head down and glare at your legs, willing them to move goddammit. You nearly find the will to finally bolt when you hear the door creak open. Your head whips up and you immediately seek out his face. You come eye to eye with a disheveled looking Hoseok hiding behind his door. His bleary, sunken eyes follow you warily as you take a step forward and blurt out his name, but before you can get another word in he addresses you.

“Look, I don’t need a pity party okay?” He pauses to slink further away from the already small opening through the door. “Especially from you. It was a mistake and I’m sorry that happened. I shouldn’t have told you like that and I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. That was a bad move.” 

You open your mouth and breathe in, ready to counter his allegation but he puts a hand up, an unspoken request to continue talking uninterrupted. “I just need a few more days to clear my mind. I can’t promise I’ll be okay soon but—”

You interrupt him anyway.

“I’m not saying no Hobi,” your voice is meek but you mentally pat yourself on the back for finally finding your voice.

“Wha—what? What did you… er, what do you mean?”

“I,” you pause to collect your thoughts but alas, when you have no plan your brain goes haywire and your mouth rambles away without your permission. “Well, first I want to apologize for forcing you to talk and for not taking you seriously. I really didn’t mean to disregard your feelings or make fun of you. You didn’t make me uncomfortable at all actually! It’s just that… no one’s ever—I mean, I didn’t think you saw me in that way and, well, I mean I always thought you were cute. You’re so handsome and dreamy and you’re funny and when you smile your eyes crinkle into little moons and your hearts a smile. I mean! Your smile, it makes a heart and I love it so much and I, um, but I didn't—I mean I don’t know why you even like me in the first place.” You laugh nervously, anxiety rising up inside you like bile at not being able to get the words out right.

A warm hand wraps around yours and you’re bewildered. He’s opened the door just big enough to let his hand out to hold yours. He’s the one hurting and yet he reaches out to comfort you when you showed the slightest unease. If anything, he should be lashing out at you right now. The warmth in his eyes tells you he has no intention of doing that. His thoughtfulness and care towards you, even after you hurt him, causes your heart to stutter and you fight on despite your nerves.

“I don’t know what I’m doing and I’m still not sure about my feelings but I’m willing to try? If you are too? I don’t really know how to do this, but—but I’m willing to explore whatever this could be with you. And I’m not saying you have to consider my feelings because that isn’t fair to you. You can absolutely tell me to fuck off and I won’t bother you again. Um, yeah I think—I think that’s it.”

God, you can’t wait to get home so you can punch your pillows for rambling so much! You stand there, staring at the side of the door so it looks like you’re looking at him but you’re really not. Your halfhearted smile slowly dwindles into a tight lipped smile the longer he stays silent and you’re wondering if now’s a good time to skedaddle.

“Okay, got it. I’m sorry Hoseok—” You turn your back to him, completely prepared to walk away with your tail tucked.

“Can I hug you?”

You whirl around and blink owlishly at him and stutter embarrassingly so. “What?”

“Can I hug you?”

“I mean, y-yeah? I guess?”

You’re dying internally over how your voice squeaks and inflects into a higher, unsure tone. He pushes the door open and pulls you by your hands into his arms, effectively drawing you away from your internal conflict. The feeling of his warmth around you sends your heart into an unfamiliar tangle of emotions. 

Hoseok has always been the best bear hugger. He believed hugs revealed what a person was like, and his preference for full hugs definitely conveyed his desire for physical contact with the people he loved. This hug, though, was different in the way that he held you so close to him, with his face nuzzled in your hair. You breathe in his scent that’s brought you comfort throughout the years and wrap your arms around his waist. You feel his arms tighten and pull you closer into him. You pray the stuttering heartbeat felt between the two of you isn’t only yours. 

After a long minute of silence—which somehow felt like one hour and one second all at once—he murmurs close to your ear, “If this is you giving me the okay, then I’m not gonna hold back anymore and I’m going to pursue you honestly. And… hopefully show you that my feelings for you are sincere.”

You let out an involuntary squeak much to your horror and hide your face into his chest, not trusting yourself to speak. You feel the shake of his shoulders as he laughs, the puff of breath tickling the back of your neck, sending a pleasant shiver down your spine. He eventually pulls away from your hug but instead of letting go, his hands reach down to hold your own and he looks down at you with shining eyes. His face paints a tender gaze and the combination of how he smiles at you has you bashful so instead, you focus on the way his thumb rubs against yours. It only sends your heart into further overdrive.

“It’s late.” His voice is soft as he speaks to you. "Did you drive here?”

You shake your head no. Then you gasp and tilt your head in mild bewilderment.

Okay but why didn’t you drive? Are you dumb or are you dumb? You try to convince yourself you took the bus to save Mother Earth. Not because you were in such a hurry to see him that you forgot you have a car.

“Let me drive you home then,” he says and squeezes your hands.

“No, no it’s okay. I can get a taxi!”

He shakes his head in disapproval. “I can’t let you do that. It’s dark out now and I’d feel much better if I take you myself.”

“Hobi, I’ll be fine. I promise!” His brows furrow and you bring your arm up to flex your bicep. “See, look! I’m a strong girl.”

He’s entirely unimpressed and rolls his eyes. “Look, either you let me take you home or you’ll have to sleep over tonight. I don’t want you going home by yourself.”

“Eh?” Well, you certainly weren’t expecting that. You’re a deer in headlights thinking about a night alone with him. Nope. No way. Nu-uh. Vetoed. You won’t survive. Especially not after your almost-kind-of-but-not-really confession. 

You sigh in defeat and bow your head.

“Fiiine. You can take me home, I guess.”

He grins and while you’re pouting that he won this trivial argument, your heart is whistling a happy tune at seeing a smile grace his face once again. You wait outside while he grabs his wallet and keys. When he reemerges from inside his house, he gestures to his left.

“Ready to go?”

“Mhm!” You motion for him to lead the way and you follow after him.

The car ride back to your place is quiet, save for the low ambiance of his music playing on the stereo, but it’s a comfortable silence. You have more questions you want to ask. There’s still a lot you want to know, but you figure you’ve both had enough of a surprise tonight. You trust that there will be many opportunities in the near future to ask.

Once he’s parked his car outside your apartment, you turn to thank him and bid him goodnight only to be met with an empty seat. He’s already outside, waiting for you.

“Hobi you didn’t have to come out!” you protest as you exit the vehicle. “It’s cold!”

He only hums in response and walks with you to the front entrance. You’re half expecting a goodbye hug, considering he’s out here with you, and you’re surprised to feel your chest swirl in disappointment that he does neither of those. Instead, he takes a step away from you and the words that leave his mouth bring you a comfort you didn’t know you needed.

“We’ll take this slow, yeah? I don’t expect you to know how you feel by tomorrow or even next month. I’ve waited this long. I can wait a little longer.”

He strokes your cheek, lingering in front of you for a few more seconds. He leaves you with his touch etched onto your cheek. You fall asleep with the sole thought that you wouldn’t mind falling for Jung Hoseok.

The following morning feels like a daze and you’re on autopilot for the rest of the week. Before you know it, it’s your biweekly get-together with your gang. You’d gained a chaotic but solid group of friends in your college days. While the group has slowly decreased over the past two years after graduating, your bond is still as strong, even if you don’t meet as often as you used to.

It’s Hoseok’s turn to host this time and you’re freaking out. You recount every conversation you’ve had with him this past week at school. The both of you made a point to only talk about school related topics, very obviously ignoring the elephant in the room. The only thing that’s changed is the rate of daily text messages between the two of you. You now awaken to “good morning texts.” Throughout the day, you send each other “this reminded me of you” texts and end each night with “how was your day?” texts. Your heart is slowly becoming conditioned to jump any time his name appears on your phone screen. Today is no different. Your heart is racing at the thought of finally seeing Hoseok outside of work.

[Y&Y’s Minions Group Chat]

Taetae: aye bro heads up im bringing some juice w me

Taetae: yknow. for us nonalcoholics.

Hobibi: 👍

Yoonji(min’s Wife): weak ass bitch 🙄

Taetae: Shut up or im not bringing jimin with me 🥱

Min Suga: she just punched me cause i laughed man wtf

Taetae: 🤣🤣🤣🤣

You: LOOOLLL it’s what you deserve

You: also tq for bringing juice taetae 🤧 idk if i can handle another of jimins mystery concoctions 😩

Taetae: that’s what you got hobi for right?

Hobibi: Exactly ;)

Min Suga: right. like he can hold his alcohol????

Hobibi: also can yall actually come on time so we can start our movie early?

Hobibi: dude i’ve gotten better at drinking tghank you very much

Yoonji(min’s Wife): sorry what im jared 19

Min Suga: she lies. shes putting makeup on for Park

[IMG_2831 delivered]

You: lmaaaoooo you got called out babe!!!

Yoonji(min’s Wife): fuck you min yoongi. find ur own ride there bitch <3

You snort reading through the messages. One day someone’s gonna fight and you have no doubt Yoonji will be one of the contenders. You’ve already resigned yourself to the role of her babysitter, knowing full well you’ll be tending to her every whim and command the day it happens as well as the following day of her recovery. Your phone pings again. 

It’s a separate text message from Hoseok.

Hobibi: i can’t wait to see you beautiful :)

You gasp audibly and your face heats up instantly. You’re grateful there’s no one around to hear you. What should you text back? You’re still unfamiliar with the Hobi who flirts. He is flirting, right? You fumble with your phone, heart racing a mile a minute, texting a (hopefully) flirty reply back when Yoonji’s winking selca takes over your screen. You drag your finger across the Accept button and her voice drawls out from your speaker.

“I’m heeerre!! Come outside so we can get wasted tonight!”

You snort and hang up without replying back to her. As soon as you plop into the passenger seat she thrusts a bottle of alcohol into your hands.

“Drink.”

Apparently, her idea of calming you down is with some pregame booze. 

It doesn’t help.

When you arrive at his apartment, you attach yourself to Yoonji’s back, but she was having none of that. Her shared telepathic powers with her equally chaotic twin brother draw them together as soon as they’re in the same room. You squeak at having been left behind and follow her, intent on hiding behind her the whole night. 

In hindsight, maybe you shouldn’t have blindly followed after your friend because the person accompanying Yoongi was none other than his best friend who also happened to be the man you were trying to avoid… which wouldn’t have worked anyway considering this was his home. Yoonji drags you out from behind her and you’re given no chance to pretend like you weren’t hiding. 

You shoot daggers into her boobs, praying that her boobs will swell and explode right in front of Jimin for outing you like this. You clear your throat and straighten out your shirt, then exchange greetings with the two men, feigning nonchalance. You don’t mean to but your eyes flicker down Hoseok’s figure. His hair looks freshly dried and curls around his face in the most beautiful way. A thin blue crew neck sweater hangs off his shoulders and hugs his torso just right, but when do his clothes not fit him well? It’s cut low enough to just tease the outline of his collarbones and it doesn’t help you with your already heightened nerves. You gulp and lower your gaze. For some godforsaken reason, he decided it was a good idea to roll the sleeves up and expose his forearms. You’re on your way past his hips when—

“You look beautiful tonight.”

Oh dear, did he catch you staring? 

His voice draws your gaze back to him and you find him looking right at you with a shy smile that flutters your heart. A compliment from him would usually have elicited a laugh and a “thank you Hobi.” Now, it evokes a stutter and a burning face. It’s a change the twins catch onto quickly. They exchange knowing glances which neither you nor Hoseok see, too busy staring at each other.

And then you’re colliding into each other.

“Oops!” Yoonji cackles and raises her glass to her brother.

"My bad. My hand slipped.” Yoongi raises his own and clinks his drink with hers. They take a sip and completely ignore the two frozen statues beside them.

“Hey, what do you say we go say hi to the soulmates?”

“Right on my sweetums. Let’s go find your loverboy.”

“You’re disgusting and also you’re wrong.”

Yoongi forcefully links arms with his sister and they shuffle away still bickering, meanwhile you and Hoseok are a blushing mess, locked in each other’s arms. His hands burn pressed against your lower back and you pull yourself away from him. You ignore the way your body screams at you for leaving his warmth. Your eyes flit around, looking at everything except for him. And then it lands on a sliver of skin peeking out behind his sweater that had risen up in this blunder.

Wait. This is bad. Don’t focus on that. 

Focus on your annoying best friend. Yeah… this is all her fault.

“Sorry Yoonji’s such a pain in the ass.”

“Understatement of the year.” He snorts and readjusts his sweater back down. You bite back a pitiful whine and suddenly you have no idea who you’ve become.

“They’re both menaces. Remind me never to have them in the same room again.“

You laugh at the truth in his words and then it’s back to a dead silence. One you’re not used to, especially not with him. He rubs the side of his arm and clears his throat.

"Um, well, you know, if being here makes you uncomfortable it’s okay to leave. My feelings won’t be hurt. Or I can just, I don’t know, not talk to you tonight? If that’s what you want?”

You wince at his offer.

“No!” you say immediately, wanting to remedy his misinterpretation of the nervous waves radiating off you. “I wanted to come! I… well, as nervous as I am, I wanted to see you?”

He lets out a dry laugh. “Oh, right. I could definitely tell from the way you hid behind Yoonji as soon as you got here.”

You force out a weak laugh at having been caught. Should you apologize or yeet yourself out of this situation? Thankfully, he makes the decision for you.

“Why don’t we go say hi to Tae and Jimin? Since you just got here.”

You swallow the apology that hangs on your tongue and nod slowly. You walk in silence to where the rest of the gang is gathered. Yoongi and Jimin are engrossed in a conversation about the latest EP released by their favorite duo RM and JK. Meanwhile Yoonji is making very no-so-subtle heart eyes at Jimin while Taehyung is chatting away about something she obviously has no interest in.

You’ve known Jimin for a few years and he’s only just started coming along this past year to your meetups with Taehyung, his childhood friend. He integrated so well into your little group and you all were quick to adopt him and dub him as the Resident Giggly for how beautiful his laughs were. His bubbling personality also somehow snatched the Resident Shady’s heart, despite her always denying it. You decide to do your friend a solid and save her from Taehyung’s ramblings. It’s definitely not to distract yourself from the Resident Smiles beside you.

“Hey Taetae!” you call out to the broad shouldered man who turns around, bright eyed and smiley. You notice a cup in his hand that you hope is just juice. He doesn’t drink often but when he does… Well, you certainly won’t want to be present.

“Y/N you’re here! Finally someone who will listen to me!” He pulls you into a side hug.

You laugh. “That’s ‘cause she’s too busy making goo goo eyes at—oof!”

Yoonji shoves Taehyung who still has his arms draped around your shoulder. He trips and sends you nearly toppling over as well. An arm wraps around your waist to steady you. Hoseok pulls you to his side, a safe distance away from the two rowdy ones.

“If you both know what’s good for you, you will shut up or else!” she hisses between her teeth. The blush growing on her cheeks tells you otherwise, though.

“I love you too, Yoonji poo!” Taehyung teases and pinches her cheeks.

She slaps his hands away, scowling. Then her attention redirects to you and you don’t like the way her eyes have turned alight. She nudges Taeyung and nods her head at you and Hoseok. He looks at the pair of you and his lips turn up into a sinister smirk.

“Well, well, well. Wouldya look at that?” You don’t like that both his and Yoonji’s smug faces are now focused on you. “So anyone wanna tell me when you two became a thing?”

You and Hoseok share a confused albeit nervous look. It’s then you realize how close you are to each other and you don’t hate the close proximity.

“You do realize you have your arm around her, right hyung?”

It’s not until he points it out that Hoseok realizes he never let go of you. The arm that rested around your hips tears away from your body and falls back limply to his side. Yoonji snorts at how fast he let you go and you try your best to hide your disappointment, calling upon all the times you’ve had to school your face of irritation at work.  You note that he doesn’t move away though, and his hand ghosts yours with every breath he takes.

“Don’t be mean Tae,” you scold him and push him away.

“It’s not like that. We’re not a couple.” Hoseok’s strong protest wavers at the last word and the way his ears redden don’t do well to support his claim. Your face flushes at his word choice.

“Who’s not a couple?” Jimin pops in, hands propped around Taehyung’s shoulder.

Taehyung eyes Yoonji and says with a smirk, “You and Yoo—mmph!”

Yoonji pounces on Taehyung and slaps a hand over his mouth. In typical Jimin fashion, he falls to his knees, laughing at their bizarre antics. As much as those two clashed, you knew they loved each other a ridiculous amount. You tug at Hoseok’s shirt sleeve and ask if he wants to get a drink.

He nods in agreement. “Yeah, let’s go before they strike again.”

The two of you share a laugh and head into the kitchen where two glass bowls are filled to the brim with dark liquids. The smell of alcohol reeks from the one nearest you and you nearly gag.

“Did Jimin make this?” you scowl and point accusingly at the punch bowl with a dark red liquid sparkling dangerously. You hope alcohol doesn’t spread through air particles because if it does, the other punch bowl is surely spiked by now.

“What did you expect?” He chuckles and hands you a glass cup.

You grab the ladle laying beside what you hope is the nonalcoholic drink and pour into your cup.

“Hey, so um… about earlier,” he mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck, “er, sorry about that. I didn’t even know I was still... touching you.”

“Ah, no it’s okay. I didn’t know either actually.” You take in a breath and brace yourself for what you’re about to admit out loud, “To be honest, I kind of liked it.”

You hear him take in a sharp inhale after your confession and you wonder who’s blushing harder. Probably you. You hand the ladle to him and hold your breath when his fingers graze yours.

“I’ll keep that in mind next time.” He recovers quickly and winks at you. Your recovery rate is much slower and his wink only sets you back further. “So, um, I’ll let you catch up with everyone. I gotta go set up for the movie anyway. I’ll see you later, okay?”

He briefly reaches his hand to brush against your cheek, then leaves you alone, starstruck in the kitchen, to be the good host that he is. The rest of the night goes off without any other hitches. Plenty of laughter is shared between the lot of you. Jimin may have tried to spike the literal juice bowl a few times, but both Taehyung and Yoongi dragged him away each time. 

Throughout the night, you find yourself unconsciously scanning the room for Hoseok only to be met with a pair of brown eyes already looking at you. Each time you make eye contact, you both blush and look away at having been caught staring. Each time it happens, your friends turn around to stick their fingers in their open mouths and fake a gag.

You’re on popcorn duty as the evening begins to settle down for the “movie” part of movie night to finally start. You emerge from the kitchen with three large bowls with freshly popped and buttered popcorn. You sigh with resignation when you see only two available empty seats. One next to Hoseok on the love seat and one in between Yoonji and Jimin. You absolutely are not ready to be in such close proximity with Hoseok for the next two hours, but you also don’t want to cock block Yoonji. 

Although she’d never admit it to anyone, you knew she harbored a secret crush on Jimin. Anyone else outside your group and they wouldn’t know any better, but every one of you except the object of her affections knew those faux mean jabs and rosy cheeks were reserved for Jimin and Jimin only. You have a suspicion that he felt the same way about her with the way he always seemed to apparate in whatever room she’s in just to giggle at whatever she says or does. You can’t wait for the day they both stop toeing the line and confess to each other.

You pass out two of the three bowls of popcorn and peek over at Yoonji and Jimin. Jimin’s leaning over the empty seat, phone outstretched to show something to Yoonji. Their voices are hushed but you can see her lips curled into a dopey smile. Right, no cock blocking. Your gaze flickers to where Hoseok is seated. Okay girl, you got this. No time to be a chicken or Taehyung and Yoonji will never let you live it down.

Your leg collides with his when you sit down and your poor heart is once again fluttering. Should you let it stay there or should you move your leg? Why are you suddenly so self conscious about every move you make around him? The answer was obvious but let a girl stay in denial, please.

Unbeknownst to you, the man sitting next to you was going through his own inner turmoil. Should he act like his usual self? Should he be chill? Should he try to flirt? He wants to put his arm around you, but what if he came on too strong and scared you off? Before the both of you noticed, the film was already ten minutes in, popcorn in your hands untouched.

“Hey, Hobi! Y/N! If you two aren’t gonna eat your popcorn, pass it on!” Taehyung shouts over the movie with a mouth full of popcorn.

He pulls you out of your thoughts and you grimace at the way the light from the television makes the butter grease around his mouth shimmer in the dark room.

“You’re disgusting. Swallow your food before you speak, you heathen. And for the record, we aren’t sharing.”

Hoseok grabs the bowl from you, smushes it into his chest, and grabs a large handful shoving it into his mouth as if to prove a point. Several pieces of popcorn fall out of his hand back into the bowl. In his haste, he gets grease all over his outer mouth. Your mind dares to flash a dirty thought about the lubricant on his lips and you cup a hand over your mouth. 

Oh god. 

Your brain really just went there. 

You make a point to ignore the way your body heats up and instead reach over to wipe the oil off his mouth with a swipe of your thumb. He looks at you quizzically and when you lock eyes you both freeze. His eyes grow comically wide, his jaw locked mid chew.

Hold on. Did you just touch Hoseok’s mouth? With your thumb?

“Gross.” Taehyung grumbles at the sight of you and turns away to focus back on the movie.

You pull away quickly and shift in your seat. “S-sorry your mouth was dirty and, um, well, sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. Um… thank you.” He wipes off the remainder of what you miss with the back of his hand and offers you a sheepish smile. And with that, you fall into another silence, popcorn once again forgotten. 

Great. Back to square one.

By the time the end credits roll out, everyone is dead asleep save for you who remained wide awake thanks to your very imaginative and hyperactive brain. You decide to disregard the awkward cloud that hung over you and Hoseok tonight to figure out all your sleeping arrangements. It isn’t unusual for everyone to crash at the host’s place, drunk or sober, so it shouldn’t be too much trouble. You arch your back off the couch and stretch your tense body, letting out a soft moan as your muscles loosen up.

“Hey, Hobi?”

When you don’t get a response you look over to find him leaned against the couch with his eyes closed and lips scrunched in a small pout. His chest raises rhythmically and you feel bad for having to wake him. You’re nearly tempted to push back his hair to get a better look at his sleeping face. You scoot closer to him and shake him by the shoulder while softly calling his name. He jolts slightly and his eyes flutter open, scanning the room until they fall on you. Your breath hitches in your throat seeing his eyes slowly light up with recognition.

“Hobi,” you try again, voice quiet so as not to disturb him, still in a state of slumber. Your hand rests on his arm and you can’t find it in you to remove it.

He calls out your name, tenderly, carefully. You bite your lip to hide the way it wants to curl into a smile at the way he whispers your name. You don’t realize how close you’d gotten to him until his hand moves a mere inch to rest atop yours. You twist your hand up until your palms are touching. Your fingers instinctively curl around the slots between his own. You feel his fingers twitch but neither of you makes a move to actually embrace, instead reveling in the way both of you vibrate with warmth.

“Sorry I woke you. I just figured you wouldn’t appreciate having everyone drooling all over your couch and carpet tonight.”

He shifts in his seat so that he’s sitting upright and squints at the fallen figures scattered around the room. Then he shrugs.

“Who gives a fuck. Let them sleep there.”

You giggle at his remark and nod in understanding. It would only be too much work to try to move them and you definitely did not want to deal with a drunk and sleepy Yoongi.

“Why don’t you go sleep in your room then, and I’ll see you in the morning?” You take the popcorn bowl laying haphazardly on his lap and set it on the coffee table in front of you. 

“No, no. You go sleep there. I’ll sleep here tonight.”

You scoff. “You don’t need to be a gentleman, my dude. This is your house, it’s late, and we both need to sleep.”

“You’re exactly right, it's my house. My house, my rules. And I say that you’re sleeping on my bed tonight. I won’t let you take the couch.”

“Hoseok!”

“Do you want to share it with me then?”

Your words die in your mouth and you gape at him. He nods and says, “That’s what I thought.”

“Oh my god, you are insufferable. Fine, take me to your room. Wait.” Your ear begins to burn as soon as you blurt out that sentence, the insinuation not lost on you. Oh god, why did you have to say it like that? “I mean, uh, er, I’ll just go by myself.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. C’mon, I’ll take you.”

If he’s flustered by your request, he doesn’t show it. Instead he helps you up from the love seat and leads the way to his room. Despite having been to his house many times, you’d never actually seen his bedroom. There was never a need to go in there and now the first time you’re going in is after you find out he likes you. It’s a lot to process.

His room is a lot cleaner than you thought it’d be. The first thing to catch your eye is a shelf filled with a mixture of figurines and music albums. You appreciate that he hasn’t abandoned his likes and hobbies for the sake of appearing more mature. Beside it is a desk littered with books and paper scrap, presumably for work. In the left corner of his room rests his bed; a thin wool blanket lies unmade at one side.

“Sorry my room is so messy. I didn’t think anyone would be sleeping in here tonight,” he says as he rummages through his drawers.

“If you call this messy, you don’t wanna see my room,” you mutter.

He says nothing back until he finds what he’s looking for. He calls your name and tosses a large shirt and gym short your way.

“You can change into those. I think they’ll be comfier than what you have on right now.” He turns away and scratches the back of his neck. “Um, I’ll, uh, let you do your thing and, um, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Thanks, Hobi.” You reach out for his hand and squeeze it. He’s blushing again. You like it when he blushes. Maybe you’ll have to initiate this more often. Holding his hand, that is.

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, beautiful.” The giggle that escapes from your lips causes his heart to soar. He looks at you standing in the middle of his room and smiles. It’s something he’s only dreamt of and he knows it’ll be a portrait etched into his memory for a long while.

You wait until he’s closed the door behind him to soak in the feel of his room. This is the room where he sleeps in, where he changes in, where he… Nope. Not gonna go there. You strip off your clothes and discard them in a pile by the bed. The shirt he gave you is thankfully oversized and you decide to forgo the shorts. No one’s going to come in tonight and you loathe wearing pants to bed. After climbing into Hoseok’s bed, you’re hit all at once with his scent. Fuckfuckfuck. He smells good. Your brain seems to manage only that one thought. Again, it’s a lot to process.

Does he have a side of the bed he prefers to sleep on? Does he have a preference at all? Does he sleep fully clothed or… You gasp at yourself and shake your head. Bad thoughts. Unnecessary thoughts. But not unwelcome thoughts. You spend the next while thinking back on the unexpected turn of events that transpired the past two weeks.

Hoseok has been a continuous and pleasant presence by your side. What was once only brief greetings in passing easily evolved into a comfortable friendship. As easy as it was to befriend him, your relationship never became stagnant. There was always something new to learn about each other and it didn’t bore you to talk about topics you’d already previously discussed. It definitely helped that he was just as eager to talk with you. Now you know part of the reason why he seemed to like being around you so often. Not that you’re opposed to it.

Your mind wanders back to earlier this evening when his hand rested on your hip. It was such a foreign feeling but you liked it a lot more than you anticipated. If you think really hard you can still feel his touch. You lied when you told him you didn’t know. You felt everything the moment he put his hands on you, from the way his bicep flexed against your back to the way his fingers absently circled your clothed waist. Almost like it was meant to happen. You can’t stop the smile and warmth that spreads on your face and you roll around the bed, squealing into your hands.

“Bye teachers!” Your last student waves goodbye as they leave with their older sibling.

You both wave back and resume cleaning up the classroom after your last activity. There’s not much left to do thanks to the children helping to clean up before it was time for them to leave. You grab a disinfectant and wipe down the snack table while Hoseok neatens up the rows of desks and chairs.

You may be a bit distracted at the bright blue striped collar shirt that pulls taut at his chest whenever he pulls his arms back. He has at least three buttons undone, not that you’re counting. You’re wiping until the table suddenly disappears beneath your hand and you nearly fall on your face. You catch yourself just in time and move onto the next table, pretending as though nothing happened. He clearly saw you though, if his snickering in the corner is anything to go by.

“I’m about done, Hobi. How ‘bout you?” you ask him as you shove the last of your paperwork into your work bag.

“Yep! I’m good to go.”

He’s fidgeting by the door when you finally grab your bag and walk towards him. His eyes are downcast and worries at his lower lip, but you don’t press him about it. Instead, you nudge his shoulder and motion for him to leave with you.

When you exit the building, he asks, “Are you doing anything this weekend?”

A smile creeps up on your face. “No plans. What’s up?”

You already know the answer and your heart rate is picking up the pace from the anticipation. He curls his pinky finger around yours, eliciting a contented sigh from both of you. He hums thoughtfully and swings your hands around as the both of you walk to the parking lot at a leisurely pace. Neither of you seem to be wanting to leave this moment just yet.

“If you’re not busy, I’d like to take you on a date tomorrow.” His voice is firm and unwavering.

Your smile only broadens. “I think I’d like that a lot.” 

He nods shyly and his face beams at your reply.

“So I was thinking—and if you think it’s a lame idea please tell me!—but I was thinking, since you’ve recently started a rock collection, maybe we could… go to the river and find you some rocks? Maybe you can help me find some rocks too?”

You didn’t think your smile could grow any bigger. It’s been a few weeks since his accidental confession and you were truly moving at a snail’s pace. Not that you weren’t grateful for it. It’s really allowed for you to take the time to evaluate your friendship and your newfound feelings for the man walking beside you. You’re stealing glances at him more often these days, thoughts straying to how he’s doing. Your phone’s found a new activity, consistently vibrating with text notifications from him. He makes you happy.

You’d been waiting for him to ask you on a date. Yes, it’s the 21st century and no, you don’t need no man to make the first move, but you still wanted to wait until he initiated it. You’re almost surprised by his date suggestion, but you know Hoseok. The wonderful man has always been thoughtful and considerate of his friend’s passions and hobbies. You just didn’t expect him to be so in tune to your interests. Knowing he was aware about your current rock obsession causes an eruption of butterflies and giddiness to flutter in your chest.

“Oh, wow! You’re full of surprises, Hobi. Of course I’d love that! Maybe we can even have a little picnic afterwards.”

“I think I’d like that a lot,” he echoes your previous words. “So, it’s a date then?”

“It’s a date.”

He still hasn’t let go of your pinky finger by the time you reach your car which automatically unlocks from your near proximity. The day still has so many hours until sundown and already you’re buzzing with excitement for tomorrow. Neither of you have stopped smiling since you left the classroom and you decide to give him a surprise of your own.

“Close your eyes for me?”

He raises a brow at your request but complies and shuts his eyes. You wave your hands around his face to confirm they really are closed. Once you’re certain, you grab onto his shoulders for leverage and tiptoe upward to plant a kiss on his cheek. With a teasing smile, you rush into your car. He jolts, eyes shooting back open at the sound of your car door closing. Giggles escape your lips, watching him standing in a daze. You wonder if he’s as out of breath as you are, despite not having done anything cardio related.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Hobibi,” you say as you reach across the opening to poke his nose.

His lips curve into a lopsided grin and he moves to brush his lips against your finger. You shiver at the sensation. He starts walking backwards to his car and brings 2 fingers up to his forehead to salute you.

“See ya, beautiful. I’ll call you tonight?”

Your heart leaps at how hopeful he sounds. “I’ll be waiting, handsome!” 

You wait until he’s inside his car, wave goodbye one last time, and then drive off.

By the time he walks you to your apartment after your date, the moon has risen high in the sky and encompasses the both of you in a faint glimmer.

Today had been the perfect day to go to the river and you both spent hours crouching in the river bed, your faces nearly touching the water in order to see the rocks clearly. It had truly been a wonderful date and you came home with a good handful of small river rocks to add to your collection. 

You love that this wasn’t a conventional first date. It did, however, bring a different type of first date anxiety because of the fact that you were already friends. Sweet Hoseok didn’t let the nerves take control though. He’d pulled you into the cold water with him as soon as you got there, effectively washing away all worries. You shared plenty of laughs and water fights today. You’re still damp from spending so much time in the river and while the evening breeze should have sent goosebumps all throughout your exposed skin, you’re instead filled with a cozy warmth merely being in the warm and calming presence of Hoseok. 

“I had a great time today, Hobi. Thanks for taking me out to find cute rocks.”

“And thanks for making me wet,” you add for good measure. You snicker under your breath when he chokes on air.

“Oh my god. Um, you-you’re welcome. Your rocks are just as cute as you! Um, and thanks for packing us delicious food.”

It’s entirely too amusing seeing him flounder at your brazen declarations. You liked this shy Hobi. Actually, you’ve come to find you like a lot of different Hobis. The one who brings you tea every other morning at work, the one who walks you to your car even when you’re not teaching a class together, the one who has recently started calling you every night just to say goodnight, the one who blushes any time you compliment him, and most definitely your favorite: the one who has given you a beautiful friendship as the foundation of this newfound relationship with one another.

You have always loved how his smile seemed to shape into a heart. A beautiful physical display of the love he so eagerly and openly shares with the world. Here in this moment though, you know this smile was only for you and you are suddenly so eager to kiss those heart shaped lips. You sigh happily and reach up to smooth down Hoseok’s wind blown hair. You clasp your arms around his neck and bask in the stillness, soaking in the memory of his glowing face under the moonlight.

“Don’t forget to take care of your rocks, okay?”

“Yes, Ms. Y/N.”

“Gross. Don’t call me that,” you scrunch your nose in distaste and push him away. “You can go home.”

He laughs again and grabs your face to plant a kiss on your forehead. “I’m glad you had fun. Go rest up, okay?”

Okay, so maybe you were kidding when you pushed him away. He moves to let go but you grab onto his shirt and lick your lips in anticipation. Maybe you weren’t taking conventional steps and yes, there is that unspoken social rule not to kiss on the first date but you don’t care. 

Some time halfway into the day, you were swept in a sudden wave of acceptance—of your feelings for this man, of toeing the line between friends and potential lovers. For the remainder of the day you were plagued with thoughts about how kissable his lips are. Splashing him with water until he was soaking wet did not help your dilemma. You zone in on his lips and surely he picks up on your cues because he removes your hands from his shirt within seconds and keeps them clasped in his hold. Your eyes quickly shoot up to glower at him. He chuckles and swipes a thumb across your lips, his expression mirthful.

“Let’s take it slow, yeah?” An echo of what he had said that fateful night in front of his apartment.

You quietly grumble in understanding, knowing he was right not to rush into this, earning you a beautiful laugh to slip from his annoyingly beautiful mouth.

“I won’t say no to another kiss on the cheek though,” he teases.

You scoff at the audacity. “You’ve lost that right. Goodbye!”

He laughs at your outburst and learns forward for another kiss on the forehead. With a final wave goodbye and a heart ready to burst, you head inside. In hindsight, you should’ve known Hoseok’s a glutton for “taking it slow.”

Tonight you’re at his apartment to Netflix and chill. Literally.

It’s been several official dates—and many more unofficial ones in between—throughout the three months since your first date. Many cuddles, many accidental boners pressed against your thigh during said cuddles (leading to some awkward repositioning and pretending it never happened), and many kisses shared all around your faces save for your lips. You’re cuddled up against him tonight watching a rerun of Running Man when you’re hit with a pang of need that you’ve become intimately familiar with these days. 

You want to kiss him. Every time you get too close, though, he’d move away. You try not to let it get to you. You really do. But it’s hard not to feel the sting every time you’re rejected. You know he likes you and he knows you like him too. Amidst these thoughts, your mind drifts back to the day you finally confessed that you liked him too. You suppress a laugh thinking about how much of a blubbering mess he’d been. You just wish you knew why he didn’t seem to want to kiss you.

Thinking about all the times he’s rejected your advances completely kills your mood. You unconsciously pull away from him and scoot closer to the other side of the loveseat. Tears are pooling under your eyes and you’re blinking furiously, willing them to disappear. You don’t mean to suddenly feel this way and you certainly don’t want to ruin the good atmosphere tonight. 

Hoseok laughs and comments on something in the show but you can’t bring yourself to muster up fake enthusiasm. You feel something rub against you and you flinch until you realize it’s Hoseok pulling you back to his side. His face is masked with worry and he rubs your arms in a comforting motion.

“Hey there,” he murmurs. “What’s wrong?”

You shake your head and adjust your posture on the couch. His eyes furrow at your lack of response and he pauses the show. He shifts to face you and holds your hands.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

You bite down on your lip, willing yourself not to cry. You’re usually not embarrassed to cry. In fact you’ve cried many times in front of Hoseok, but those were different times. You don’t want to scare him away. Of course, your body never does like to listen to you. Your chin quivers without your permission and it was like the dam broke. Hoseok’s frown only deepens and he immediately scoots closer, cupping your face in his hands. Your eyes flutter close, completely embarrassed that you’re crying in front of him.

“Oh god, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cry.” You try to move away but his hands hold your face firmly in place, wiping at your tears with his thumbs.

“Baby, don’t apologize. If you really don’t wanna talk about it I’ll drop it. I will. But you know that I’ll make time to listen to you whenever you’re ready, right?”

You take in a deep, shaky breath. The pet name doesn’t help with your already frazzled emotions and you whisper, “No, it’s…we—I can talk.”

He doesn’t speak, instead waiting for you. You’re tempted to ask him to forget it and pretend you’re okay but you know if you never address this, you’ll continue to be stuck in this limbo and you don’t know how much longer you’d be able to handle it. Might as well be direct about it. Beating around the bush never did anyone any favors.

“Why don’t you want to kiss me?” Your voice cracks and comes out weaker than you meant it to. The following seconds are completely silent. You can’t even hear Hoseok breathe. His lack of reaction causes fresh tears to fall down your face.

“I’m sorry,” you both say.

“I-I thought we’re good now, you know? And, I don’t know, I figured that since we—”

“Wait. Wait, baby let me speak first. Please?”

You hiccup and nod your consent. His thumbs stroke both sides of your face, continuing to catch your tears. His brows are still wrinkled and you want nothing more than to smooth them out.

“I’m sorry,” he says again. “I didn’t realize it was hurting you this much and I’m sorry I didn’t notice… I know it’s selfish of me and it’s not a good enough excuse but to be honest I don’t think I’d be able to deal with it. And I’m gonna sound really corny but I just know if I kiss you once, I’m scared I may never want to stop and if… or when you decide you don’t want me anymore, um,” he pauses to lick his lips and laughs nervously. 

You flinch at his words. Was he still holding onto that? Your heart now aches for an entirely different reason. It hurts that he still thinks you’re unsure about your feelings for him. Has he been stressed about that all this time?

Before he can go on, you push him until he’s resting against the couch cushion. You swallow down your insecurities. It’s something you can come back to later. Feeling bad about him not wanting to kiss you holds little value when he’s been worried about this for god knows how long. His hands fall from your face and you maneuver yourself until you’re straddling him, giving him no chance to look away from you. It’s true that he liked you first and that he had longer to realize his feelings for you but you knew what you felt for him was genuine. You were in this for the long run and tonight you want to make it very clear to him.

“Hobi.” 

It’s your turn to hold his face in your hands. His eyes glisten with unshed tears and your heart lurches. “Do you still think that I don’t like you? That I don’t want you? I’m sorry I must not have been a very good girlf—” You stop yourself barely in time. You didn’t mean to let that slip. You’ve yet to establish your relationship with Hoseok, and you didn’t think it was a good time right now. Your blunder didn’t seem to be lost on him though, as you feel his heartbeat race against your chest and his grip that found purchase on your hips tightens.

“I may have been unsure in the beginning, and it may have been new to me at first but my feelings for you now… I love being your friend but you know what? I also love getting to know this other side of you. This side of you that only I get to see. I like when we pretend that we accidentally color code our clothes at work. I like it when our students and our stupid friends tease us. I like that you send me ugly cat memes and that I can send you stupid tweet screenshots. I like it when you come home with me to cook dinner for us. I like all of it.”

You pause to give him some time to let it sink in. He’s staring at you with so much longing and hope that it almost scares you, but you know you yearn for him just as much. If this goes well, maybe you can be scared together.

“I don’t want to go back to being just friends, Hobi. I want to keep exploring life with you.”

His palms are hot against your hips and his breathing becomes erratic. You lean into him until you’re certain he can feel your heart beating at the same frantic rate as his.

“Do you feel that?” He nods. “You do this to me. And... as for my daily problem down there,” you flush, looking down at where you’re connected below the waist. You look up to see him just as flustered, “is because of you too.”

“Loving you... falling in love with you is so easy.”

You feel his breath hitch at your implied declaration. And you realize your mistake too late. Was it too early to say it? Is it too late to take it back? He makes no move to say anything so you attempt to do damage control. In the form of distraction.

You lean even closer into him, pressed flush against his chest until your lips brush against his earlobe, knowing full well this was his weak spot, and say softly, “So there’s this guy I’m into. He’s really tall and handsome. He likes to drug himself up with caffeine every morning and will one hundred percent drop 200 bucks for limited edition shoes without a single thought. Can you guess who it is?” You don’t give him a chance to reply. “It’s you, Hobi. It’s you and only you and I really, really like you.”

Your confession is honest and true. What happens next is entirely unexpected and you would have fallen off his lap if not for his firm grip on you. He practically lunges at you and before you can process it his lips are moving roughly against yours. You had always thought your first kiss with Hoseok would be soft and slow, much like how he’s moved throughout your budding relationship, but no. He kisses you with a hunger you didn’t know he was capable of. He nips at your bottom lip, earning him a soft groan from you.

“What are you doing to me?” he murmurs into your lips.

You don’t respond. You can’t. Your brain is still trying to catch up and process what just happened.

You pull away from him and you blurt out dumbly, “Oh my god you’re kissing me.”

He laughs contentedly and nestles his face in the crook of your neck. He plants a faint kiss, causing you to shiver against him.

"You drove a hard bargain. I couldn’t not kiss you after that.” A quick peck on the lips. “And for the record, I really, really like you too.”

“Kiss me again, Hoseok.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Epilogue

The wind tries to steal your hat away but you hold onto it before it has a chance to fly off. It’s a breezy day today and your boyfriend had the absolutely brilliant idea to teach you how to longboard.

This brilliant idea ends up being him skating down steep hills at the park while you walk in the grass behind him. You had shouted at him several times to slow down or he’d end up hurting himself but of course in typical male fashion, he ignored you every time.

You’re in the middle of firing a comeback at Yoonji’s most recent text about how gross you and Hoseok have become now that you’re a couple when you hear a cry from your boyfriend several feet away. He’s going down a rather steep hill when the wind picks up sudden speed. Loose gravel breaks his smooth run and you watch in horror as he loses balance and tumbles onto the pavement. He hisses as his skin skids against the rocks.

“Hoseok!”

You stash your phone into your purse and run to him. As you get closer he schools his pained expression, in an attempt to hide any pain he may be feeling.

“I’m fine.” He attempts to reassure you before you can start fretting over him.

You immediately kneel down in front of him, ignoring him and grab his hands to assess the damage.

"You shouldn’t have gone so fast,” you scold as you rip out a few alcohol wipes from your bag. You’ve heard one too many horror stories about people injuring themselves falling off skateboards, so you’ve learned to keep several wipes and bandages handy when you found out Hoseok owned a few of his own. You carefully wipe down his scuffed palms and arms. You worry about his knees too but that’s something you’ll have to take care of at home.

He silently drinks in the image of you kneeling between his splayed legs, tending to his barely-there wounds. His heart may very well burst right there. You blow on his hands and flick your eyes up briefly to find his face mere inches from yours, looking at you with such a fond look.

“Ah, babe you’re too close to me,” you mumble shyly and lightly push him a few more inches away.

This only prompts him to lean in even closer until your foreheads knock together and his nose bumps with yours. It’s been several months since you had the “kiss talk” and made your relationship official. It’s been several months and yet your heart is still sent into a panic when you catch him staring. It’s barely your fault that you react physically when he makes you so nervous. You squeak and push his face away from you, causing him to fall over. His chuckles morph into a gruff wheeze as he falls. Embarrassment momentarily gone, you fuss over him again.

“Hobi! Oh no, I’m sorry!”

He lunges for you and pulls you down on top of him. Unfortunately for him, you didn’t expect him to grab at you and you brace your legs for your eventual fall.

“Oof! Oh god!” He exclaims in pain.

He recoils from you and grabs his crotch, rolling away into a fetus position. “Oh god, baby please be more gentle with me! I won’t be able to put my babies in you if you break me!”

You both freeze from his declaration. You, more so in shock, and he, in mortification. You’ve certainly had your fair share of heavy petting and make out sessions since that night at his place… Okay, fine so you can’t keep your hands off each other for even one day and you kiss every chance you get, but you have yet to go any farther than that with one another. Your sanity has been slowly dwindling the longer you go without knowing how he looks and feels. Hearing him basically say he wants to cum inside you in the near future has you perking up instantly. You watch as his eyes grow comically wide and he immediately sits up, pain forgotten.

“Oh shit shit shit. I said that out loud didn’t I? Oh god. I’m sorry I didn’t—I didn’t mean to—I mean it’s—I know we only just started dating and we haven’t even talked about sex yet and—I’m sorry. Oh my god.” He buries his head in his face, ready for the earth to swallow him whole.

You tug at his shirt and focus intensely on where your fingers are fumbling with his shirt and mumble barely loud enough, “I wouldn’t be opposed to it, you know?”

He swears he feels his dick twitch. Great. It’s not broken. Awesome.

When he doesn’t respond you continue on, “W—well not right now!" 

He snorts. "Obviously not. We’re in public, silly… Unless you’re into that? I mean it’s not my thing but I’m willing to try it if you want us to—” Your eyes widen at his bold declaration and slap a hand over his mouth to prevent him from finishing that sentence. You can’t lie though, the idea has you quivering on your knees.

“Hobi!” You hiss. “I meant not for a few months!”

His eyebrows raise and you’re quick to fix it. “I-I mean next year?”

You feel his lips curl into that awful smirk he fancies anytime he turns you into a blubbering mess. Then you feel something thick and wet against your palm.

“Ew! Hobi!” You pull your hand away from him. He leans into you, tongue still out, and licks your lips before you can shrink even further away. You don’t have the energy to protest again, too engrossed on how good his tongue feels.

“Don’t tempt me with the patience game because we both know I’d win.” He grins when you pout at him because you know he’s right. “I can’t wait to explore this new territory with you, baby.” 

You flush at his remark and stand up to create some distance to prevent yourself from doing something stupid.

“I need to find your skateboard,” you breathe out and run away from your cheeky boyfriend. 

“Longboard!” He corrects you and watches your figure trail away from him.

Hoseok muses how he got so lucky that you, the one he’d been pining after for years, actually reciprocates his feelings. He picks himself off the pavement to help you find his longboard. He thinks he’ll hang it up somewhere in his apartment later today as a commemoration of this lovely date. And he definitely can’t wait to get home and find out how long it’ll take for you to break underneath him.

a/n 2.0: HI ISN’T HOBI HOBI JUST A DREAM???? i hope you liked this fic 🥺 pls share your thoughts with me💗 my asks and dms are always open 💕 like.....always.... <<3333

(gif credit: @jengkook)

[pandoraborn]

Cruelty of the Beast - Part 6

( previous. )

Characters: c!Tommy, c!Wilbur Word count: 1896 words Content: wilbur soot & tommyinnit are siblings, reference to abuse, reference to torture, reference to death, healing, wilbur makes amends,

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

Wilbur’s walking too fast for Tommy to keep up, he has to actually jog just to remain a step or two behind the man. It’s not hard to figure out where they’re going; they’re easily headed for some beach.

Tommy doesn’t want to be here. He wants to at least stay in the cabin if he’s to stay put anywhere, but Wilbur had given him a shovel and an axe and told Tommy to follow. There’s never much of a choice with an order like that.

Wilbur also hasn’t spoken to Tommy in close to an hour now. The trek is long, but it’s also a torture all on its own. Tommy doesn’t do well with silence, fearing that Wilbur is silently judging him or sizing him up. He feels very much like he’s marching toward his own demise.

He very well may be.

Keeping his gaze down, Tommy tightens his grip on the handle of the shovel, trying to keep focused on staying right behind Wilbur, ignoring how much his legs are hurting.They’re passing by abandoned portals, portals they could easily light. The idea that there would be paths waiting for them on the other side is a far-fetched idea though; they’re too far out from any sort of civilization.

After what feels like forever, Wilbur finally stops. Tommy stops next to him, peering out at the water. It’d be so easy to craft a boat and sail out toward escape, but that would just be more isolation and loneliness. The potential escape isn’t worth that.

“Grab as much sand as you can carry in your inventory,” Wilbur explains. “We’re going to have to make another trip, possibly to a desert, but this is good enough.” He offers Tommy a smile. It’s reminiscent of the old Wilbur, the one that ran L’Manburg with all the pride and charisma he used to possess. There are shades of it again, but not enough to induce an illusion that this is good. Nothing about this situation is good. Ranboo and Dream had also disappeared some time ago, and there’s no telling when they’ll be back.

“What are we grabbing sand for?” Tommy asks to fill the silence. He’s already at work, grabbing sand and filing it away into his backpack. It’s messy and coarse, already getting into his shoes. “This already sucks.”

"Explosives,” comes the casual reply. Too casual for Tommy’s liking. He’d already had an idea, but the fact that Wilbur wants them both to fill their inventories, and then make a second trip scares Tommy. Narrowing his eyes, he pauses in his digging to lean against the shovel.

“Why are you doing this Wilbur? Why do you and Dream want to hurt everyone so bad? Why am I even here?”

“Instead of me answering those questions, can I ask you a few questions instead?” Wilbur too pauses, pressing his hands together as he studies Tommy with a pensive expression. “Please, be as honest with me as possible, alright?”

“No promises.” A nod signals for Wilbur to go ahead, however.

“Are you happy with your life right now?”

It’s a very pointed question that has Tommy flinching back. Instinct would have him deflecting or changing the subject entirely, but Wilbur looks like he’s waiting patiently for an answer. This isn’t the revived Wilbur, this is the one that had been Tommy’s closest friend for the longest time... brothers, even.

Part of him is tempted to lie, but that would be pointless. They’d talked endlessly in the void, with Tommy bitching every moment he could about how unfair his life had become. Wilbur knows him far too well.

“No,” Tommy finally mutters, turning away. “I’m not happy, but you knew that.”

“Is there anyone, any single person you trust and want to go back to?”

Tommy thinks of Tubbo, then of Puffy. He and Tubbo are still too awkward around each other, not having had a proper conversation since the final showdown with Dream. Sure they’d spoken a few times, but nothing deeper than arguments over where to live.

Puffy had made some promises, but he doesn’t know her from Sam, and Sam had broken his promise completely. With his shoulders slumping, Tommy shakes his head. Everything about this conversation is fucked up, and they both know it.

“Are you afraid of me?” Wilbur’s not ending his line of questioning anytime soon. This is the one question Tommy doesn’t really want to answer.

“Yes.”

“I see.” Wilbur falls silent as he turns away, going back to the task of gathering sand into his own backpack. The silence stretches between them, and Tommy feels it like a cold sweat on his back. It’s just as piercing as Wilbur’s questions, just as numbing as the afterlife. Silent, too, if the ringing in his ears is anything to go by. Even the lapping of the waves isn’t enough to snap him back to reality.

“Do you remember when we were younger?” Wilbur finally asks. The silence doesn’t snap Tommy back, but Wilbur’s voice does. Always a source of calm, always there to keep him grounded. It’s aggravating, this effect Wilbur has over him. Annoying and comforting at the same time.

“I don’t remember much anymore, Wilbur,” Tommy responds. “I remember wars and death and everything I worked for going up in smoke.”

“You don’t remember you and me?” Wilbur’s facing him again, wearing that ugly serene smile on his face. “You don’t remember how I used to read to you?”

“Vaguely.” It’s a dismissive answer, because Tommy wants to squash anything friendly out of his mind. The less he associates with Wilbur, the sooner they can end this game and he can go back home to his dirt house. “That was a long time ago, Wil.”

“It was our favorite activity.” Wilbur actually sounds sad. Tommy can’t tell if it’s acting or genuine, but he’s being drawn in anyway. Part of him wants to throw his arms around Wilbur and comfort him. A strong, loud part of him is already moving closer.

“I remember our favorite book was ‘The Hobbit’,” Wilbur continues. “I also read the Lord of the Rings trilogy to you a couple of times. You were so cute, hanging on every word. Simple times, Tommy. The best times.”

“I don’t have any best times,” Tommy snaps. “Like I said, I remember lots of wars. Lots of fighting and people dying. You died. I died, and now you kidnapped me. Why are you trying to butter me up? Wilbur this is so fucked.”

“I know. I messed up Toms. I messed up so many times, especially with you. Even now, I know what I did was cruel and stupid. I promise, if you give me one more chance, I’ll make it all up to you. No more pain, no more agony. You’ll have a support system-”

“Do I have to remind you of Dream?” Tommy snarls. His voice cracks as he speaks. “He’s the one who fucking killed me, remember? He had me exiled, he tortured me. And you come in like you know exactly what all took place!”

“Tommy I was dead. Had I been able to stop him, I would have. You know I would never condone anyone hurting you. I don’t like that you’ve been hurt the way you have been. I hate it more than anyone, trust me!”

“You still died and left me alone. If you weren’t so selfish, neither of us would be in this position! My life went to shit ever since you died, you don’t get to stand there and tell me you hate it.”

“I wasn’t good for the server. I wasn’t good for you. I thought that if I was gone, things for you would improve. I thought you would’ve won, that Dream wouldn’t have hurt you, or that your friendships would be strained.”

“Stop, stop!” This is embarrassing. Tommy’s crying, standing there in front of Wilbur and sounding like a petulant child. “Stop talking! Stop making me relive everything, okay? You weren’t there, you don’t get to act like you know what happened. It was shit. Everything was shit, everything is still fucking garbage, and now I’m stuck living with the one person who hurt me, thanks to you.”

“Toms. My Tommy...” Wilbur has tears of his own in his eyes. With his shovel falling into the sand, he gathers Tommy in his arms. Tommy doesn’t resist, because everything about this hug means something. It’s an actual, loving hug, and not a ploy at manipulation. He can feel it in the way Wilbur is holding him, rocking bath and forth with tiny hiccups. “Tommy I’m so sorry I hurt you. I’m so sorry you were hurt and cast aside by everyone. I’m here now, alright? It’ll be me and you, just like it’s always been.”

Tommy sniffles as he leans into Wilbur. He’s not returning the embrace, but Wilbur feels so warm. It’s been so long since anyone had hugged him like this, or just loved him. He wants to savor this feeling.

“All your long years we’ve been friends,” Wilbur whispers. “Trust me as you once did.”

“You want me to let it all go?” Tommy finally wraps his arms around Wilbur. “I don’t even know what to let go of.”

“All the pain, Tommy. “All the pain, trauma, abuse. All your attachments. Even the memories. With us, you won’t hurt anymore. Dream won’t touch you, and Ranboo is your friend. I’ll be your brother, okay?”

“...let it all go...” Tommy relaxes more into Wilbur’s embrace. Slowly, his arms come up to rest against Wilbur’s back. “Let everything I had go, right?”

“I’m here again. I won’t leave you. I promise you Toms. Tommyinnit, gremlin child. Vice President, and my best friend, brother...”

“Don’t overdo it now,” Tommy jokes under his breath. It earns a chuckle from both of them. The laughter helps him feel normal, like maybe everything really will be okay. This doesn’t feel like an indoctrination, really. Wilbur isn’t evil. Maybe he’s got some misguided beliefs, but Tommy missed him. There’s no one that can fill the void in his heart like Wilbur can.

“Point is, it’s you and me against the world,” Wilbur continues. “We won’t count the other two yet, so we’ll stick with just us, alright? When all this is over, I’ll read to you again. Any book of your choosing.”

“Will you read me The Hobbit again?“ Tommy pulls back enough to blink slowly at Wilbur. His vision is still wet with tears, but he’s cheering up. “And maybe we can watch the movies together?”

“Absolutely. Anything for you, alright?”

“Then I trust you.”

“And?”

“And...I’ll stay by your side.” Tommy nods.

There are matching sighs from the pair, with them looking awkwardly at each other for a moment. Then, with a blush, Tommy picks up his shovel again and preparing to dig up more sand.

“I still don’t get why we have to do this,” Tommy grumbles.”

“Tell you what, after we get back to the cabin, I’ll let you blow up the surrounding area. You’ve earned yourself a few explosions to vent your anger.”

His excitement is barely contained, with him moving faster and shoveling even more dirt. Okay, the situation as a whole might still be fucked, but Tommy can’t resist playing with fire. As a treat.

[itsamejin]

trash ||  taehyung fluff/angst

Part 2

Summary: Taehyung and you are friends with benefits, but you’re having a hard time maintaining this secret relationship when a close friend of yours starts falling in love with him.

Warning: Suggestive themes, mentions of alcohol and casual sex, cursing and crude language/humor

Genre: Fluff, Angst, fwb!au, college!au

Word Count: 6,589 Words

—

Taehyung and you were never one for relationships. You knew it, he knew it, the long list of lovers you two had could attest to that fact the most. You two were notorious for the number of people you slept with, not that it was any of their business anyway. 

It wasn’t like you intended to be with him. In fact, your initial impression of him was that of annoyance. Taehyung would flirt with you shamelessly during parties and often referred to you as his “rival”. With the nonstop back and forth between you two, your mutual friends were easily agitated with how you played hard to get. They had to admit, though, it was hilarious seeing Taehyung insist on taking you out on a date, only for you to insist that he should rot in hell.

This went on for a whole year, so it only made sense when the second year of university came around and you had decided to cave in to his boyish charms. It was meant to just be a bit of fun with nothing tying you down to each other. You’d have sex at his place, and his place only, and never speak of it to anyone on campus.

No one knew of your escapades and frankly, it was easier that way. Your friends were sure you hated him and his friends were sure he’d never have a chance. It was the perfect arrangement. They didn’t have to know about the late nights of sneaking into his dorm room, the times he helped you escape from the campus guards at the crack of dawn, or even hiding you in his closet when his friends came over for a surprise visit. 

As far as you were concerned, this relationship would stay a secret.

—

You didn’t need to be Einstein to know that Taehyung was hooking up with another girl just as consistently as he was fucking you. It wasn’t a shocking fact, but you had your regulars besides Taehyung too. It was just the way he described her that surprised you. 

“She’s like the total package y’know?” he said after a particular night of companionship which led you tangled up in his arms on his couch, naked and panting. “Sucks she has to waste it all on me, but she’s a nice girl. Might have to end it quickly before I catch feelings.”

Taehyung caught feelings way more often than you did. It was easy for him to get attached to girls, unlike you. Most of the men you slept with were ready to leave by the next day so liking someone you hooked up with was rare. Taehyung must’ve really taken a liking to this girl with the way he was stroking your hair, as if in deep thought over his own words.

You’ve never met her, but you knew she had to be pretty. Every girl Taehyung had his eyes set on was beautiful, yet you knew he played favorites. After almost every night you spent at his place, he’d reveal that you were his favorite girl, and while you didn’t really take that as a compliment, you’d always reply that he was your favorite too. The two of you sprawled out on his couch sipping the whiskey you poured before he fucked you, it was almost like trash acknowledging trash.

“But I don't think anyone could replace you,” he muttered into your hair, taking one long gulp of his drink.

You shook your head.

“I can name four other guys that I could hit up instead of you,” you teased, not really believing your own words.

Taehyung looked at you seriously and set his glass down. You did too.

“You sure about that?” he asked lowly, caressing your bare calf with his fingertips. You giggled at the sensation.

“I don’t know,” you said playfully. “Why don’t you show me why you’re my favorite, Tae?”

He gave a small scoff and practically pounced on you, pushing you down onto the couch without a moment of hesitation.

—

Now him fucking another person wouldn’t have normally been a problem since Taehyung’s women came and went like the wind most of the time. There were instances where he’d claim that he found “the one” and then text you just minutes later asking for you to come over. The thing was, though, the girl he was messing around with- who he talked so highly about- just happened to be your roommate, Hana. Cute and innocent Hana who would never hurt a fly. 

Taehyung didn’t know this fact since you’ve never invited him over, but it was a downright horrifying experience when you had caught him making out with her on Hana’s bed. You had made things worse unknowingly, by also bringing over a boy from the club you were partying at earlier.

“What the fuck am I looking at right now?” you shuddered, attempting to cover your eyes from their frazzled state. You did not want your image of Hana to be tainted by someone like Taehyung.

“Oh my gosh, I thought you were sleeping over someone else’s!” Hana screeched, covering Taehyung’s body with her blanket. Of course, he had to be shirtless.

“I thought you were visiting family!” you shouted frantically.

The tension in that room was suffocating and you couldn’t shake the fact that Taehyung was the one who made it more awkward. He had pulled away from Hana pretty quickly, but he glared so viciously at the boy you were holding hands with just earlier. His death stare was evident to everyone in the room.

“Yeah, I think I should go,” your date said, not quite remembering his name. Whoever he was left hastily and you were left to stare at two deer in headlights.

“[Y/N], this is Taehyung,” Hana said, flustered. “I think you guys already know each other, though.”

You tried to suppress your laughter at the way Taehyung’s face changed so easily when the guy you were trying to hook up with had left. Now he just wore a smug look on his face. You didn’t really know where that came from, though.

“Yeah, but we’re not in really good terms,” you lied, trying to hide your own embarrassment. "In fact, I’m sick to the stomach just looking at him.”

Taehyung grinned, knowing that you were just trying to not come off suspicious. 

“Well maybe another time, huh Han Han?” he said, nuzzling into her neck but keeping his eyes on you. You rolled your eyes at the nickname and his obvious glances. Taehyung never stopped being a dick, even in these situations.

Hana only nodded and stood up, helping Taehyung put on his shirt and jacket. He also had to... zip his pants back up. Taehyung had winked to you on his way out, which went noticed by Hana who glared at him slightly. She softened the glare when she saw that you had no reaction to his lame attempts to flirt. You were far too used to Taehyung’s stupidity to really be fazed.

“Nice to see you too [Y/N],” he said huskily before exiting the dorm. He for sure was going to get caught by the campus guards downstairs and you’d look forward to hearing him complain about it the next time you see him. You laughed as soon as he left, wiping a stray tear from your eye. Taehyung had really dug himself into deep shit this time.

“Taehyung? Really, Hana? When you can do so much better?” you cackled. “I am so disappointed in you.”

It was true after all. Hana was the typical good girl type and came to college with the sole intent of studying and getting her diploma as quickly as possible. You admired her for that. She was a motivated student with clear goals in her life, while you were more of the “enjoy life in the moment” type.

It definitely came as a shock that Hana was able to fall for Taehyung like so many other girls had; it was obvious in the way she blushed. You cooed at how cutely she was reacting. You’ve never seen her so flustered like this with anyone else. It kind of made your heart clench, though, and not it a good way.

“[Y/N]~~,” she whined, pouting lightly. “I’m so stupid. He asked me for my chem notes and instead I gave him my first kiss. I’m such an idiot.”

You laughed even louder, falling to the floor. Classic Taehyung move, he never changes. You could list ten other girls he used the same tactics with.

“Hana, it’s okay I’m not judging you,” you said, grabbing a nearby chair to bring yourself back up once again after a few more giggles escaped your lips. “Actually I am, but don’t worry too much about what I think.”

You patted her head as you walked past her, collapsing onto your bed. You were extremely drunk before you came into the room and you needed that laughing session to finally start sobering up. The guy you were about to bring in wasn’t even that cute anyway, you sighed.

“You know walking into that mess actually kind of saved me,” you said, languidly. “The guy I was about to fuck didn’t have a big dick.”

Hana gasped at your word choice and slapped your thigh.

“[Y/N], you’re so crude!”

You smirked at her innocence. It wasn’t like you’d actually seen it, you just felt it earlier in the club while you were dancing. Nothing to write home about.

“You were literally sucking faces with the Kim Taehyung just seconds ago,” you yawned. “I will not accept any form of criticism from you.”

She chuckled lightly and played with her fingers. Sure, maybe you were being a hypocrite for teasing her especially when you and Taehyung were fuck buddies, but you already knew your standards were low. It was almost expected of you to get together with him eventually. 

You never thought Hana would be into a guy like Taehyung, but then again, it was the classic bad boy and good girl story. Some part of you was envious, but you couldn’t help but want to cheer her on. They felt like the main characters of some romantic drama you’d binge-watch, only to be pissed off when the second leads (who were much hotter) would be forgotten in the script. You shook your head in disappointment. Hana deserved so much better than Taehyung.

“You know he’s fucking other girls right?” you said, sitting up and looking at her seriously. “He’s a bad person, Hana.”

She pouted but nodded slowly. Something tells you that she doesn’t mind.

“Yeah, I know,” she said sadly. “It seems like all my friends have been with him at least once, but I can’t help but feel like I’m special? I don’t know. Sometimes he doesn’t even ask for homework when we meet up... We just talk, y’know? He’s so good with his words, [Y/N]...”

Hana took a seat next to you and winced at the smell of alcohol that radiated off of you. You couldn’t help but feel bad for Hana. She was falling for the oldest tricks in the book because she was so naive. You didn’t want to have to see her get hurt by a guy that was passing college from copying other people’s homework.

“Hana, I’m gonna tell you this in the nicest way possible,” you said, facing her but making sure your nasty breath didn’t make its way towards her. “No girl is special to Taehyung. He does things like that to get in your head and make you want more. He’ll throw you away when he gets what he wants from you.”

“But-”

She tried to speak yet you cut her off. You didn’t really know what motivated you to speak so badly of Taehyung, but you did so anyways.

“He’s exactly like me, Hana,” you continued on. “We’re both fucked in the head when it comes to romance, love, and all that shit. And do you remember how I described myself when we first met?”

Hana sighed, obviously not wanting to repeat the derogatory words you’d said about yourself so long ago.

“Trash,” she muttered silently, looking at the floor. She felt guilty just for saying it.

You smiled and ruffled her hair. She only furrowed her eyebrows in response.

“Just be careful, okay?”

“It’s just Taehyung,” Hana chuckled. “How much damage could he do?”

—

Hana didn’t seem like she wanted to take your advice because you caught Taehyung and her everywhere on campus almost everyday. You saw her tutoring him in the library, walking to class with each other, and even sharing an ice cream cone! Just how badly did Taehyung need to pass Bio-Chemistry this quarter?

You felt mean thinking such things but you couldn’t help but be doubtful of Taehyung, especially when he was still meeting up with you every weekend in his dorm. You’d have thought they were dating if you didn’t know any better, but there you were, in his bed naked for the second time that week. Sometimes you wondered what was going on in that stupid, beautiful head of his.

“Are you sure you should still be seeing me?” you asked him, head buried in his chest. You could hear his heartbeat so clearly on nights like this.

“You caught feelings or what?” he teased, taking a stray eyelash out of your cheek. “That would be a big problem wouldn’t it, [Y/N]?”

You rolled your eyes and turned around to face the wall.

“I’d be caught dead before that happens,” you whispered, snuggling into his arm underneath your head. Taehyung traced circles on your waist, mesmerized on how wonderful your skin felt against his.

“Why should we stop?” he asked, tilting your head towards him to meet his eyes.

“Hana,” you replied back curtly. There was no malice in your voice. You just stated her name as if it was a fact. Taehyung only sighed in response.

“Means nothing,” he muttered, nuzzling into your hair. “You’re still my favorite.”

You clicked your tongue at his harsh words, but you couldn’t help but feel relieved. Maybe there was a chance that you two could still have this... relationship without adding any more complications. Deep down, you were proud that he still considered you his favorite, even if it might not have meant anything to him.

“Just go to sleep, jackass,” you whispered, dozing off at the sound of his steady breathing. You felt safe in his arms.

Taehyung wanted, so desperately, for you to notice that he had said that while sober. It was meant to be a confession, no matter how vague it might have been. 

Before he could talk any further, though, you were already sleeping soundly against him. He’d have to save it for another day, Taehyung thought. He leaned down and kissed your eyelid, which fluttered a bit at the contact. Taehyung chuckled.

“What did I do to deserve you?” he whispered, wishing you could hear him.

—

You entered the campus restroom, fully intent on just touching up your makeup, but a cramping sensation in your gut had you rushing into one of the stalls to relieve yourself of the pain. 

As you were about to flush, you heard the clacking of stilettos outside of the stall and you could recognize that noise from anywhere. They were girls in your marketing class, the ones who were in the brink of failing but managed to seduce the TA last minute to get passing marks. You respected them, honestly. If only they didn’t hate your guts.

“I heard [Y/N] and Tae are seeing each other,” the girl with red heels said. You winced at the nickname she gave him. She got dumped by Taehyung a year ago and couldn’t keep her nose out of his business since then.

“No fucking way,” the black heels responded, clearly applying lipstick as her words were somewhat distorted. “That’s like an STD waiting to happen.”

The two of them had started to cackle and you had to admit, that was a pretty good joke. How they found out was unknown to you. Taehyung must have let it slip or something. You’d make sure to give a talking to him later about it.

“No, but get this,” red heels started, “You know that small girl, Hana?”

Black heels girl nodded, you recognized the motion through the sound of her dangling earrings.

“Taehyung managed to get in her pants too and they’re like, kinda serious. Like, about to date serious.”

Black heels gasped over-dramatically and dropped her lipstick into the sink. She picked it up but was still very much shocked.

“But isn’t [Y/N] and her like, super close?” she asked. “Does Hana even know?”

The girl with red stilettos clicked her tongue thrice as if disapproving what her friend was saying.

“You know [Y/N],” she said with a sigh. “You think she cares?”

Her words stung more than you thought. Did people really think of you that lowly? Did they really think you’d betray your friend like that? 

But then again, weren’t you betraying Hana? She liked Taehyung so much and here you were, banging him every weekend with very little consideration towards her feelings. You clenched your thigh with your fingers until you were sure it would leave a bruise. Should you have told her that Taehyung and you were fucking behind her back?

“Well, it’s none of my business anyway,” red shoes continued. “Those two will get what’s coming to them.”

Even as the two left the restroom, you contemplated on their words further, wondering if they were right about you. Somehow your heart felt heavy at the thought of it all. Were you a bad person?

—

You couldn’t shake off the guilt that tugged at your heartstrings every time you saw Hana get ready for a date with Taehyung. You wanted to seem interested everytime she asked for your opinion on her clothes, but you just couldn’t get those words out of your mind. Would those girls tell Hana if they got the chance?

The emotional torment hit the hardest when you sat on Taehyung’s floor, him playing with your fingers as you rested your head on his shoulder. You had both ventured off to the weird parts of Youtube, watching couples explain why they broke up with each other on his phone. It left a sour taste in your mouth.

“Could you imagine being that hungry for attention that you’d broadcast something like this to millions of people?” he chuckled. “Like just break up behind the scenes, no one cares enough about your love life to want a 40-minute video on it.”

You weren’t really paying attention to what he was saying, but was more focused on the several notifications that popped up on the screen from all of Taehyung’s other hookups. You recognized their names easily. Yumi, Jiseo, Sarang, etc. Even your phone didn’t quite blow up with messages like him.

“I feel bad for people in relationships,” you replied eventually. “Like why would you willingly put yourself through that torture?”

You expected him to laugh like usual, but he stiffened.

“Is being in a relationship that repulsive to you?” he asked genuinely.

You nodded in response.

“Fuck relationships,” you said curtly, watching the girl on the screen start breaking down into tears. Taehyung only shrugged.

“I don’t know. I’d like to be in a long-term relationship eventually, even if it hurts in the end.”

You nodded in understanding, but you didn’t quite have the same philosophy.

“Monogamy is weird to me,” you said half-joking. “Maybe when I’m 60 and the possibility of having kids is out of the question.”

Taehyung laughed this time, dropping his phone on his lap on accident. He turned towards you and kissed the top of your head.

“Well, you’d still be hot by then,” he teased. You punched him lightly on the thigh.

You two sat there, enjoying each other’s company silently when another notification rang from his phone. He picked it up, and to your surprise, he answered almost immediately. Taehyung shut his phone off, but before he did, you caught sight of the Caller ID.

Hana. 

You wanted to ask what she sent him, but you didn’t feel like it was your place. Instead, you looked up into his eyes and kissed him deeply. You didn’t know what led you to kiss him, if it was the jealousy or your insecurities, but you couldn’t bother to pinpoint the reason as his hand traveled underneath your shirt. He gently grasped your waist and laid you down softly. There was a bed right next to you two, yet you chose to stay on the floor. As his hand traveled lower and lower, you couldn’t help but get lost in the enigma that was Kim Taehyung.

—

You rolled around your bed, trying to find a comfortable position to fall asleep in, but nothing felt right. Hana was at her desk, doing God knows what at 2 a.m. in the morning, and kept the lights on.

“Can you turn off the lights, Hana?” you whined lethargically. “I can’t sleep.”

Hana nodded back in response, but you couldn’t see her.

“Yeah, let me just finish this up.”

You sighed and attempted to cover your head with a pillow. You just wanted to dream for goodness sake. You heard her smack something on the desk and she stood up rapidly. You sat up to see what was going on and was met with Hana’s elated expression.

“It’s done!”

She held up her little project to you and you squinted to get a better look. It was a small poster-board with big red lettering. It said, “Kim Taehyung, will you be my boyfriend?” 

You wanted to cringe at the sight of the bright words. It felt very high school but it was very Hana of her. Your guilty conscience ate you up once again at the sight of her sparkling face. You didn’t have the heart to tell her your real thoughts.

“I know you probably think this is childish,” she muttered, blushing. “But Tae said he never got asked out with a poster back in high school so I thought it was a cute idea! I should stand out from the other girls with this, right?”

The way she asked so innocently made you want to cry right then. She had looked so excited, so full of life and love to give Taehyung something that seemed meaningless to you. She even called him ‘Tae’ in that soft voice of hers. You used to go on and on about how Taehyung didn’t deserve Hana, but you were starting to think you were the one that didn’t deserve him. You’d never even think to have come up with something like that or anything romantic for that matter.

“Is it too cheesy?” Hana asked shyly, looking for some comforting words. She was starting to feel nervous with how silent you were being.

You could only give her a brief smile and a nod.  It was her first relationship after all, there was no need to discourage her.

“It’s the right amount of cheesy for a guy like Taehyung,” you replied halfheartedly, which went undetected by Hana.

She looked relieved as she set it back down on her table.

“Thank God. I just hope he says yes,” she said, finally closing the lights. 

More than ever, you felt awake. Your eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but your heart rate did not slow down at all. It felt like you needed to take a sprint outside to get this feeling of apprehension out of your system. Your palms clammed up and your throat felt constricted.

You couldn’t do this to her anymore, you couldn’t watch a girl so clearly in love with Taehyung be brushed aside for someone like you, whose feelings weren’t even clear to begin with. You heaved out a deep sigh as you collapsed your head back on to the pillow. Desperately, you were searching for a way out of the situation you dug yourself in.

You’ve definitely regretted sleeping with some men in the past, you just didn’t think Taehyung would be one of them.

—

It should’ve been way easier breaking things off with him, but Taehyung purposely made it difficult. Each time you’d bring up Hana’s name in conversation, he’d shut your mouth with his lips. He started to initiate sex more frequently and it felt like he wasn’t even trying to hide you as a lover from his friends anymore. You had confronted him about red heels girl knowing about your secret relationship and only shrugged in response.

“She asked me why I haven’t been texting her so I just told her I was always with you,” he replied back nonchalantly. Needless to say, you did not sleep with him that night.

Nothing seemed like it was going according to plan and your feelings only got more confusing as the days passed. Taehyung had started buying you meals whenever you came over and even set a blurry photo of you as his lock-screen. What was up with him really?

Hana had still yet to confess her feelings, so you were glad that you had some time until you could cleanly cut yourself out of Taehyung’s life. 

Today would be the day, you insisted, but the way he stared down at your lying figure, biting his lip, your mind went blank from any thoughts. You couldn’t even form coherent words as he buries his face onto your chest; he was just too good at this for your own sanity.

“C’mon you can’t be done already, huh?” Taehyung softly whispered into your ear, playing with the ends of your hair as you recollected yourself from another round. You groaned.

“Tae really. We need to talk,” you tried to sound serious and ultimately failing as he planted soft kisses on your neck and collarbone.

“What’s up with that?” he teased. “You sound like a concerned girlfriend.”

You rolled your eyes at him. He always made weird jokes like that. He’d say questioning shit like ‘girlfriend’, ‘wife’, and ‘honey’ so often that you had tuned it out after a while. The words somewhat held more meaning now, though, since you were planning to end your friends with benefits relationship that day.

“Well, actually I am concerned about something,” you said, pushing him off of your body to lay next to you instead. You sat up straight. He propped his head under his hand and looked up at you intently. You swore you saw stars in his eyes. God, how did he manage to still look so irresistible?

“What’s up with you and Hana?” you asked, directly making eye contact with him. His face had turned sour quite quickly but then changed to that of satisfaction. He adjusted his position a bit so that he was closer to you.

“Why? You jealous?”

You scoffed.

“No, dumbass,” you said, punching his shoulder lightly. “I’m worried about her. Not you. You’re like, her first love.”

He left out a soft sigh and rubbed one of his eyebrows with the back of his palm. Taehyung always did that when he was put under stressful situations.

“Okay and?”

You rolled your eyes. Truly, he was trash.

“Do you not remember your first love, jackass?” you said, searching for your bra at the side of his bed while still maintaining eye contact. “She deserves way more than what you’re giving her right now.”

Taehyung shook his head and pulled you towards him, stopping your search for your underwear. Your back was against his chest and his lips directly on your neck. You felt his breathing on the enclave of your shoulder.

“So who’s the unlucky girl that deserves me then?” he whispered onto your skin. 

You shuttered, feeling slightly ticklish. You couldn’t believe he was flirting with you even in a situation like this. If it was any other night, you’d have swooned and let him take you once again, but it was nearing 4 a.m. and the guilt was engraved deeply in the back of your mind. You did the one thing that could separate him from you momentarily and elbowed his stomach, sitting up again. 

“It’s not me either, dick,” you chuckled at the way he clenched his core in pain. “If you want to keep seeing her, I need to cut ties with you. I might have done some messed up shit behind people’s backs in the past, but she’s a good friend. I can’t keep hurting Hana like this without her even knowing it.”

Well, it was easier getting those words out of your mouth than expected.

You didn’t bother to look at Taehyung’s face as you stood up from the bed, finally finding your bra on the other side of the room. You’d definitely miss Taehyung’s king-sized mattress and the expensive ass wine you’d drink together, but it had to be done. For the first time in your life, you were walking away from a situation that could get you into trouble. 

You could feel his eyes on you as you searched for the rest of your clothes, managing to get fully dressed in a matter of minutes. He had put on his boxers and sat on the edge of his bed, eyeing your every move.

“Hey, I know you might miss me,” you teased, pinching his cheek lightly. “But, I don’t want to get caught up in any more drama, alright? Hana’s a good girl, maybe you could finally settle down-”

He cut you off, grabbing your wrist and pulling your face towards him. Maybe your heart had skipped a beat for a second there, but that giddy feeling was soon replaced with annoyance at his next words.

“And you? Are you gonna settle down?” he asked with a growl that he only ever brought out on... rough nights. You couldn’t help but laugh at how seriously he was taking this. Maybe he wasn’t lying when he said that you were his favorite fuck buddy.

“Unlike you, I haven’t met a Hana to tie me down just quite yet,” you said, releasing yourself from his grip. “No Prince Charming has ever swept me off my feet.”

You said it with a wink, but those words didn’t sit well with Taehyung. Who exactly was he to you?

“I’ll just stop meeting Hana then,” Taehyung shrugged. “We don’t need to end what we have going on just because of another girl. I could cut her off easily.”

You stared at him for a bit as you combed through your hair and then busted out in laughter. Taehyung furrowed his eyebrows at your reaction.

“Tae, no offense, but you actually can’t do better than Hana,” you shook your head, still laughing at his words. “Do you know how hard it is to come by a girl like her? Like, she’s so good for you. Hana could actually change you, you know that?” 

It seemed pathetic that you were hyping up Hana so much and you could tell Taehyung was starting to get annoyed by it to, but you couldn’t help it. Hana was really better than you in so many aspects. Who were you to try and monopolize Taehyung all to yourself? Who were you to discourage her from pursuing a relationship with him? The right thing to do was to give her a fair shot with her first love.

You walked towards the pair of heels you had left near the bedroom door and slipped them on carefully.

“I could change for you too, [Y/N],” he murmured softly. “If you just ask, I would.”

You blinked at his words but continued to put on your heels. Was he drunk? You just came over after some light studying, you were sure he wasn’t intoxicated. No matter how hard you tried to ignore the rapid beating of your heart, you couldn’t get rid of the guilt that sat in the back of your throat.

“Tae, you and I both know we can’t change each other,” you said finally managing to get your heels on after grabbing the wall. “We’ve been doing this for months and we still manage to find time to fuck other people when we have the chance. Does that sound healthy to you?”

You tried to ease the tension of the conversation, but Taehyung was making it extremely difficult to switch the atmosphere into something more positive. He was angry with you, you could tell by the way he clenched his fists together and looked down at his feet. What did you even do to elicit a reaction this severe?

“Tae? What’s wrong?”

All he did was shake his head in response, not looking into your eyes. You sat next to him, putting a comforting hand onto his lap.

“Tell me. I’m all ears,” you said soothingly. 

He heaved in a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Would you hate me if I said that I’d stop fucking other people if I just had you?” he asked slowly, trying to gauge your reaction without directly making eye contact. You were still for a second and finally, some things had started to click in your head. Your palms started sweating. 

Finally understanding his words, you pulled your hand away from Taehyung’s lap and scoot a bit farther away from him.

“Tae, I wouldn’t be able to do the same for you,” you said straightforwardly. It was best to be honest in situations like this.

He shook his head and finally lifted his eyes, but he looked in front of him instead of at you.

“And what if I told you I was okay with that?” he gulped.

You sat their stunned, not really knowing what to say in response. Truthfully, you were frightened about the implications of his words. What would this mean for you two? For this no strings attached relationship? It all just felt too overwhelming at that moment.

You stood up, grabbing your purse from the floor, and was about to head to the door until he stopped you by the wrist again. He dragged you back to stand in front of the bed where he sat.

“I don’t want Hana, [Y/N],” he said, tears forming in his eyes. “I want you. Only you."

Your heart raced at his words and turned around to face him. As you stood there, staring down at him, you realized how weak he really seemed at that moment. It hurt you to see him like this, but then again, you  should have expected this reaction. He had gotten clingier with you the past few weeks and you were an idiot for not realizing earlier.

Sometimes it was obvious that Taehyung was the more sensitive one out of the two of you, that he was a bit more skeptical of his lifestyle choices. There were times when you’d seen him genuinely heartbroken after getting slapped by girls he’d broken things off with and how he’d send apology texts to the ones he hurt the most. You weren’t like that- more of the type to ghost, the type to block. You couldn’t make an exception for Taehyung, not when Hana was at the dorm preparing her confession of love to him any day now.

“Please stay,” Taehyung croaked, burrying his head onto your long sleeve.

“I can’t Tae,” you said, softly pushing his hand away. “You know I’m not that kind of person.”

Taehyung had started tearing up, his lips forming a scowl. It was the first time you’d ever seen him show such sorrowful emotions. You smiled sadly at him. It felt like you were murdering someone with the way the guilt had completely overtaken your whole body. Staying with him would break Hana’s heart, but leaving him would break Taehyung’s.

In the end, you lose either way. 

You grabbed a handkerchief from your purse and dabbed the tears away from his eyes.

“I can’t hurt Hana anymore,” you replied. “And I don’t want to hurt you anymore either. I’m sorry.”

He had started to sob and you handed the piece of cloth to him so he could wipe the tears off himself. You prayed that you wouldn’t regret letting him go, but knowing you, you probably would.

“It was fun being with you,” you said, carefully, not wanting to push any more buttons. “And maybe if I was a different person we could be something more, but...”

You couldn’t really find the energy to finish your sentence as you watched him cry into the handkerchief. Your heart was hurting so, so much. You wanted to take him into your arms, tell him that none of it was his fault and that you’d do anything just to see his twinkly eyes and bright smile once again. But you were reminded once again of that beautiful expression Hana had when she finished her poster-board for Taehyung, how they looked cruising through campus on their bikes with matching helmets. They’d make a great couple, you thought to yourself. Hana had the emotional availability that Taehyung craved for. This was the right thing to do, you thought.

“Let’s stop seeing each other,” you said with a conviction that only a person who was used to saying those words could muster confidently.

He looked up at you with disdain, scrunching his face in pain. He had never had his heart torn quite like this before. Taehyung wondered then if this was how all the other girls felt when he’d leave them. He realized, at that moment, that he might have deserved having his heart broken.

“Please stay,” he said again, his words distorted from the crying.

You shook your head and turned the door knob.

“I can’t,” you replied, tears threatening to spill over as you exited the room.

—

You left his dorm at 4 a.m., successfully evading campus security once again. When you walked towards your own dorm building, you couldn’t help but cry your eyes out. No other break up with the guys in your past had hurt quite like this one, even if you two were just fuck buddies. You didn’t even care about the worried glances people gave you as you passed by, you just wanted to drown in in your sorrows.

You opened the door to your room and Hana was there, reading a book. You composed yourself rather quickly, wiping away your tears before she could notice. Your cheeks were still noticeably puffy, though.

“Where were you?” she asked, taking her eyes off the page she was on to look at the wall clock in the room. “It’s so late, dummy. I stayed up to make sure you were okay since you weren’t answering my calls.”

You gave a fake chuckle.

“You know me,” you teased lightly, with a smile that didn’t quite reach your eyes. “Another weekend means a new guy.”

She groaned in response.

“I literally can’t wait until you settle down and be all whipped for someone,” she sighed, turning a page on her book. “That way I can actually make fun of you.”

You choked back a cry and took off your heels, collapsing onto your bed.

“I doubt that’ll happen,” you whispered, before drifting off into sleep.

When had it become so easy for you to lie?

—

A/N: This was so much fun to write!! I really wanted a realistic depiction of a friends with benefits au so I hope this turned out okay. Let me know if yall want a part two!! I wanted to ask this question to you guys: is [Y/N] a bad person? The [Y/N] in this reminds me a lot of myself so hopefully yall dont dislike her too much LMAO Any suggestions for upcoming stories are welcome. Please let me know how you feel about this, I feed off of compliments and criticisms <3 Much love 

[mediocre--writing]

The Only Aussie I’d Fuck

Luke Hemmings x Reader

Word Count: 3K

Summary: Luke’s girlfriend, Y/n, is a famous actress she’s been begging him to watch her show and he’s finally caving, watching with his band mates, but how will Luke feel at her and her co-star’s on-screen relationship?

Warnings: Despite the title, this isn’t smut, a few mentions of making out but no smut. 

All the boys sat crowded around the television as the screen was being switched from Cable to a streaming service.

It was unlikely that the boys would just sit around a TV when they weren’t touring, since they usually wanted to do things they weren’t allowed to on tour, like spend time with loved ones or, the least likely thing they would actually get to do on tour, have a good night's sleep. But this was a special occasion, Luke’s girlfriend, Y/n, had been practically begging him to watch her show for the past few months, and he wasn't ignoring his girlfriend, he just never really had the time to. 

She had wanted to watch it with him, something that she had expressed multiple times to him on the phone, but she was busy filming the next season of the show somewhere in the mid-western US, Nebraska, he thinks. It was some sort of horror/comedy/teen coming of age thing that she never really explained other than she was in it and alluded to him a time or two. 

Luke was immensely proud of her and all that she had accomplished, when they met in 2014, he never thought that they’d both become who they were today and they never imagined the relationship that grew between them, especially a healthy relationship, given their current occupations that set certain restrictions on their capabilities on getting together in person. 

They fit together well, where he was introverted to an extent, she would push him out of his comfort zone, and vice-versa depending on the situation. They both understood each other on different levels, they both had a really creative and artistic side, yet they also enjoyed the quiet peace of being home just laying in the quiet; sans Petunia’s toenails tapping on the hardwood floors as she roamed about the house aimlessly. 

All the boys settled in to watch, given they were all close to Y/n as well, for she had gone on the american leg of the Sounds Live, Feels Live and Meet You There tours with them and bonded with the boys, gaining three more friends, real friends, not some snobby stuck up bitches that she worked with regularly. These were normal, down to earth boys who understood more than money and fame and could take a joke. 

Luke snapped a picture of the screen and the boys and their load of snacks and sent it to Y/n, proof that he was actually, finally, watching it, something she’d been begging him to do for far too long. 

As the show loaded and began to play, Michael nudged Luke’s shoulder a few times as Y/n’s face came into view, showing her sitting in a classroom gnawing on the eraser part of her pencil. 

“Look at our girl” Ashton said as they all watched the screen with more attention than they ever gave at a business meeting.

The show was set in a private-school like setting, all the kids wearing white and navy blue uniforms. The whole scene had a white noise, disturbed only by the slamming of a book, which made Y/n’s head shoot up to look at the teacher. She had a kind of glare to her eyes as she stared at the older man, who looked very displeased at her attention focused on her daydreams rather than school. 

“Ms. Carter, what was I talking about a moment ago?” 

“Dinosaurs!” She said with confidence. 

“This is a calculus class, Ms. Carter, detention,” 

“Aye, Aye captain,” She saluted him, causing him to shoot her another glare as she smirked and high fived a few people around her. 

The scene changed as she was now walking through the hallways, towards a crowd around the bathrooms, “What’s up, Maggie, we watching people piss or something?” 

A girl, who Luke distantly remembers Y/n complaining about at some point, begins to speak, “There’s a new hot guy in the bathroom and some girl said that he’s from a different country.” 

“We live in fucking Nebraska, who the hell would move here? People move away from here, not to here.” 

“Just wait, I swear he had a weird voice!” Another girl said from the group. 

“Was it anything like yours? Because if so we may need to fumigate the place” Y/n snapped at her. “What’s his name? Or do you know nothing other than his ‘weird voice?’” 

After her statement, the boy came out to see the small group of seven-ish girls standing near the boys bathroom. 

“Hey you! What’s your deal?” Maggie yelled at the boy.

He turned, showing his TV-perfect face scrunched in confusion, “What'd ya mean?” 

“Where you from, why are you here, what's your deal?” Maggie spat at the poor boy who was blushing redder than a firetruck. 

“I’m Oliver Hunnington and I’m from Sydney, my dad got a job somewhere here and so I’m here too.” He shrugged, looking far too uncomfortable with the situation

“Sydney like as in Australia?” Maggie asked with a raised eyebrow, to which he nodded and ducked his head in embarrassment at the herd of girls staring at him like raw meat. 

Y/n’s character stepped up with a hand held out to him, “I’m Savannah Carter, and you look like you’re about to shit your pants so do you need help finding your classes or are you just generally terrified of women?” 

The boys chuckled at the statement, thinking of how Y/n had said something similar to Luke the first time they met, the boy was blushing so bad he looked ready to pass out.

“Little bit of both, not gonna lie,” He chuckled, to which she grabbed his hand, looked him in the eyes with a smirk, and led him down the hallway, the girls hooting after them, Y/n turning to playfully glare at them.

The first episode just established the basic plot, it ending with a threatening scene of some gloved hands cleaning a bloody hammer as screaming is heard in the background, the end credits rolling as the next episode begins to load. 

The show was good, it wasn’t like the cringy ones that have creepy staring contests that were meant to be intimate, and the comedy wasn’t forced, it was just generally sarcastic, and it was actually enticing to watch, not just another boring Riverdale-type knockoff. 

Y/n’s character had made a few flirty remarks at Oliver, mostly jokes about eating him alive if he’d let her and asking him if he’d ever done...things with girls, which were awkward scenes but funny nonetheless.

She had teasingly trailed her fingers down his neck and shoulders a few times. There have been a few make-out scenes between her and a few other characters, most of them being guys though there was a point when she kissed Maggie, but those scenes only caused mild discomfort for the boys, three of which had been eyewitnesses to her and Luke’s make-out sessions every once and awhile. 

Her character was so different from the Y/n they knew, Y/n was kind and soft and would bake them cookies when she felt like it and she would never force anyone to do anything. Her character, Savannah, however, was sexual and not at all the socially anxious Y/n they all knew too well, Savannah had an air about her that couldn’t be ignored and practically begged for attention. 

They were on the seventh episode, they were gonna end on the fifth but they got intrigued by the plot and decided “just one more” which was really just an excuse, though they knew none of them wanted to actually stop the next episode from playing. 

The show is all about a person who is going around and hurting people, but never killing them, just slow torture, but you don’t know who they are and nobody can figure it out, and one of the characters involved with the main characters in the first episode was attacked by the masked person, so they all get involved; Savannah, Maggie, Oliver, and the other, more minor, characters in the show. 

Another character, Jess, an innocent girl who was a class below them and looked up to Savannah to guide her, so she became like a little sister and helped them all figure things out because she was really smart. 

Oliver and Savannah got really close too. She would always make sexual jokes at him and make him uncomfortable just so she could see him blush and have his hair fall over his face as he looked down in embarrassment. 

The scene the boys were at now consisted of them being at a party, Y/n’s character and Jess being in a bedroom looking for anything suspicious, while they talked idly. 

“Do you ever worry what this all could mean for your future?” Jess asked.

“What do you mean?” Savannah asked, stopping her searching and leaning on the bed.

“Like what if something happens and things go wrong and… i don't know what if someone thinks we are the ones doing… all this?” 

“Listen honey, I hate to tell you this, but my only goal in life is to get that cute little Aussie downstairs to pin me down by my neck and fuck me so hard that I can taste it, so if you’re asking me for advice about the future and shit, I’m really no help at all, kid,” Y/n’s character said with a smirk as she returned to looking for whatever she was looking for before. 

Calum, who had just been taking a sip of water, choked on it as all the boys looked up to Luke, who was staring wide eyed at the TV with a prominent blush across his cheeks. 

Michael and Ashton, who had moved to the floor in front of Luke and Cal on the couch somewhere between the third and fourth episode, were wiggling their eyebrows while Calum turned around and rubbed his hands over his back as if he were making out with someone, making Luke flush even more than before. 

A weak “Stop,” could be heard but the boys just laughed at Luke as they returned to the show. 

They ended up finishing the series that night, since there were only 11 episodes and they had to finish it then or else they would never be able to find the time to sit and actually finish it. 

It ended with Y/n’s character being attacked by the masked killer guy, but surviving and finding out that it was Jess’ dad who was behind the attacks, and he was manipulating Jess to get information on people going against him.

Savannah and Oliver ended up having their little moment, which gave the boys another reason to make jokes at Luke. 

The scene consisted of her grabbing his silky looking shirt and pulling his face to hers, whispering, “Is that a telephone pole in your pants or are you just happy to see me?” 

“Well maybe I was promised a chance at something and now I finally have the perfect moment to get it.” 

“Then come get it, we don’t have all day,”

He shoved her into the wall by her hips and reached a hand up to her neck, “We have as long as we want,” 

She smirked and the scene was moved to an overview of the city, turning into a map, then a big, red X was placed over the house that it had zoomed away from, then the credits rolled. 

The boys decided that, since it was roughly 4 am anyways, that they’d all just stay the night, especially since they were gonna meet at Luke’s and have brunch together the next day anyway. 

Ashton and Michael ended up knocking out on the floor, Calum curled up in a chair and Luke took the couch. 

--

The sun rose only a few hours after they had fallen asleep, which didn’t disturb their sleep in the slightest, but the knocking on the door sure did. 

KayKay and Crystal had been knocking on the door for at least ten minutes before Crystal tried to call Michael, who didn’t answer, so she called Luke, then Ashton, but neither of them answered either. 

Calum was woken up by the buzzing of their phones, so when his phone rang, he answered with a groggy voice, and had to pull the phone away from his ear at the sound of excited squeals, “Thank God!” Crystal said, “Let us in, we've been here for half an hour and it's COLD!” 

Calum chuckled as he walked to answer the door, kicking Michael and Ashton’s backs as he walked by, causing them to stir in their sleep. 

Cal let the girls in and the other boys woke up soon after, getting semi-ready for their brunch, which was looking to be more of a lunch as they took forever to wake up and get ready-- the boys claimed it was payback because the girls always took far to long to get ready.

The boys told KayKay and Crystal about how they finally watched Y/n’s show, to which they made a few remarks of “What took you so long?” and “Isn’t it great?!” and “Damn, I wanted to watch Luke’s face when she made the Aussie jokes at Oliver!” 

When they finally were about ready to leave, there was a knocking on the door, each of them looking around in question since their whole group was already here. 

Given it was Luke’s place, and he was still getting ready, they had a silent debate on who would get the door before Crystal’s eyes widened almost comically and she shot up to go to the door. 

Michael made a face at her as if asking “What the fuck?” but made no verbal response to her actions until there was loud squealing heard from the door. 

Luke came down the stairs as the guys rounded the corner to see the door when they saw Crystal jumping and hugging someone--Y/n.

Luke came the rest of the way down the stairs and shoved through his friends, towards his girlfriend, and picked her up just moments after she had escaped Crystal’s death grip. 

“Hi Bubs,” She whispered into his curly hair, which made him hold her even tighter than he was before, Crystal had taken a secret picture of the couple hugging (which would soon become Luke’s phone wallpaper). 

The hug lasted a bit longer than it should have, but they hadn’t seen each other in person for over four months, so the rest of the group ignored it for now, especially since they were just hugging and not having a fun little make out-sesh in front of them like they had a tendency to do every now and then. 

Luke set her down and looked into her eyes, which were filled with happy tears that had yet to fall, “When did you get back?” 

“I took the weekend off to come see you because I don’t have to work until Tuesday next week and I really wanted to see you and then you sent me the text last night and I wanted to watch the show with you even if it was cringy for me. Then I realized that I really, really needed to see you and so I booked a plane ticket and it left at like four this morning and I’m really tired but I'm here and I’m with you.”  Y/n barely breathed as she explained herself, but Luke just fell more and more in love with her, if that was possible.

Luke put his hands against her jaw as if he was going to kiss her but he just looked into her eyes and smiled, a big toothy grin that took up his whole face and made her smile too, tears dripping down her cheeks freely now as they hugged again. 

After their hug, he invited her to come to brunch with them unless she was too tired, in which he would stay at home with her, but she agreed to go to brunch because she hasn’t eaten in almost 12 hours and “might drop dead of hunger soon” if she didn’t eat soon. 

They went to a smaller cafe for a lunch/brunch thing where half of them got waffles and the others got hamburgers or pasta. 

They joked and laughed for a few hours, basking in being together as a group for the first time in forever. The boys recounted tales of touring that the girls may have missed and also complimented Y/n on the show they finally watched, to which she shoved her head into Luke’s shoulder in embarrassment, but thanked them nonetheless. 

They all hugged Y/n, as it would likely be the last time they’d see her that weekend, then they all drove to their respective homes. 

--

When Luke and Y/n got inside, Luke grabbed her waist from behind as she squealed, “Put me down, Bubs!” 

He ignored her and just walked up the stairs to his room and threw her onto the bed, causing her to squeal again. 

“So are you saying that you don’t want me, a hot Aussie, to pin you down by the throat and fuck you?” She groaned, not an erotic groan but one of annoyance as she looked up at Luke who was also giggling at her reaction. 

“I hate you! I really do! I really, really hate you! I swear to god, Hemmings, I can not stand you!” Her cheeks became hot as she shoved her head into the pillows.

Luke just giggled as he laid down next to her and pulled her in by the waist and cuddled into her like a koala, “I love you, you know that?” 

“Matter of fact I do know that, and I love you too,” She said, “but I don’t love you when you use my character’s dialogue against me, hurts my heart a little bit, not gonna lie,”

He pushed his bottom lip out in a pout, “Well I’m sorry, how bout we cuddle then we can just watch something on TV or nap, because I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t fall asleep til after 5 and you had an early flight, so I feel like i’m gonna crash soon.” 

“Fine by me, bubs,” She took a deep breath, inhaling the way he smelled as if it were the last time she would be with him and she snuggled her face into his chest a bit more, electing a giggle from him, “Fine by me.”

“I’m still the only hot Aussie you want to fuck though, right?” Luke asked quietly, looking down at her.

“Of course you are, you’re the only Aussie I’d want to fuck, you big baby,” 

They both giggled for another moment and Y/n drifted to sleep, soft snores coming from her parted lips as Luke could almost see the small velvet box sitting in his underwear drawer that he couldn’t wait to give her soon, really soon.

[wastelandlovingscenarios]

One time when Deacon and I went to a gas station or something and he said "great, I've been holding it in for mile" or something like that. Now I'm wondering how exchanges like this go when companions need a bathroom break. Peeing is easier since they're guys but toilets aren't always available so they'd probably have to pop a squat in the wastes lol. I bet it's super awkward to tell sole they "gotta go" when they're newly recruited and don't know each other very well 😂(1/2)

I can already imagine sole just fucking with them by saying dumb shit like "don't forget to wipe" or "make sure you give it a few shakes before we go"😂. (I know, I'm immature😁) Anyway how do newly recruited companions(+Preston) handle bathroom situations out in the wastes? Bonus if sole messes with them a bit while they just kinda stand around on look out and waits for him to finish his business lmfao😭. (2/2)end

??? idk if i don’t play fallout enough but i never noticed these little dialogues ?? 😭 i’ve always wondered how the characters in fallout use the restroom cs god knows that they can’t hold that bitch in all day. i just wrote this based off of my opinion. thank you for requesting! i hope you don’t mind that i kept it somewhat general. ❤️

i removed nick from this scenario because i doubt he’s physically able to use the restroom anyway.

-

Danse:

danse is very, very embarrassed to use the restroom anywhere besides the prydwen, the cambridge police station, or the boston airport. he just thinks having his pants down in the middle of a forest or an abandoned restroom leaves him vulnerable to many hazards that could occur at any given second, so he’d absolutely refuse to use the restroom until the next safest destination. he’d try his very best to hold his business in, refraining from showing any signs of discomfort so sole wouldn’t question him. if he really couldn’t hold it in any longer, he’d shyly call out for sole who would divert their attention immediately towards their now blushing companion. “yes, paladin?” they would watch as his eyes traveled everywhere but at them. “i, uh, need to use the restroom.” sole would let out a small, “oh”, before looking around and pointing at a red rocket station nearby. “cmon, lets get moving. don’t want you to piss your pants on me halfway through the mission.” he would grumble, his face growing more crimson at soles comment, “that was highly unnecessary, soldier.” they would only let out a hearty chuckle as they made their way towards red rocket. he’d quickly do his business and be on his way out, avoiding eye contact with sole for a few moments. they would laugh at his behavior, only causing the paladin to blush more. maybe he shouldn’t have left cambridge.

Deacon:

deacon is the opposite of danse. he’s far from embarrassed with using the restroom, knowing that everyone needs to do their business. it was a part of human nature after all, so why would he be ashamed? besides, let’s face it, he’d probably fart in sole’s face for all we fucking know. if they made a stop at somewhere with a restroom, he’d probably tell sole that he was gonna go take a bathroom break and make some stupid exaggerated fart noises with his mouth while he was in the restroom. if they were no where near a restroom and he couldn’t hold it in any longer, he’d simply point to the bushes nearby and notify sole that he was gonna drop a big one as a joke. they’d laugh, nudging him on the side. “make sure to wipe, im sure there’s some stray leaves there to assist you.” they teased, watching him head over to the bushes. he’d push his glasses up before shrugging playfully, “i dunno charmer, last time i did that, got a huge rash on my ass that wouldn’t go away. carrington had to check on it every week to make sure it didn’t get worse.” sole rolled their eyes, facing forward so they can keep watch. they didn’t know if it was a lie or truth but then again, they wouldn’t be surprised if it was either.

Hancock:

hancock’s probably also not embarrassed with using the restroom. maybe he’d be more conscious if he was dropping a number 2, but a number 1 was nothing to him. he’d prefer to use the restroom in privacy but he also wouldn’t really give a fuck using it in the wilderness if there was no other option. hell, he couldn’t care less if someone snapped a photo of him shitting in a hole. if he were to approach sole about it in the middle of nowhere, he’d keep it calm and casual, simply telling them he needed to go take a piss. sole would nod at him with a teasing smirk, “make sure to give it a few shakes before you go. we wouldn’t want anything leaking down there.” hancock laughed before winking at sole. “that’s not the only thing that leaks through there.” sole would blush, not used to his flirtatious and provacative comments yet but would friskily shove him further into the forest with a small chuckle. “go before i change my mind about keeping watch and let the yao guai’s eat you themselves.” he’d still keep that stupid smile on his face as he walked in deeper. “love the enthusiasm, sister/brother.”

Maccready:

he hates having sole around whenever he needs the restroom, whether in the wilderness or in a more secure area. he knows it’s a normal thing to do to get through the day but he can’t help but feel shy whenever he needs it. the thought of someone being around while he’s doing his business doesnt sit right with him, so majority of the day, he’ll either suck it up or do it when he knows sole will be distracted for a bit or sleeping. he probably would never bring it up himself, even if he really needed it. eventually, they would notice his discomfort while they were in the middle of no where and ask if he’s okay. “i’m fine. just need the restroom but i can wait.” he’d lie, trying to act as normal as he possibly could. “you can go, you know. i won’t judge,” he watched as sole raised a brow, an amused smile playing on their face, “we smell like shit already, i don’t need you adding onto it.” maccready would blush profusely and cross his arms like a child throwing a tantrum, “shut up, you’re not helping.” they would shrug and continue walking ahead of him, “fine. suit yourself, i doubt there’s a bathroom around. we’re probably like a thousand miles away from the nearest toilet.” eventually, mac wouldnt be able to hold it in any longer and would scurry off to the trees nearby to which sole laughed at. he’d glare at them childishly, “i’d like some privacy, please.” sole would turn around, much to maccreadys comfort and kept watch, “whatever floats your boat, mac.”

Gage:

when i say this man doesn’t give a fuck, i absolutely mean it with all my heart. if he has to piss at the top of trinity tower, then so be it. he’s not shy at all with announcing his needs to go use the restroom and would just go without notifying sole majority of the time. he wouldn’t care if he knew sole for a day, week, or 50 years from now, he would still do his own business anywhere and everywhere he wanted to. there would be at one point of their relationship where sole wouldn’t even have to ask where he’s going, they would just naturally know by instinct. their only request was to do it as far away as possible from them, to which gage obliged. some days, sole would pull out a joke before he headed to his destination, “make sure the radroaches don’t bite your ass, wouldn’t want to treat that.” he’d scoff before slinging his rifle over his shoulder, returning their joke with another. “doubt it’d be like that boss. the smell will have them runnin’ instead.” sole would snicker, wiping off the bloodstains off of her switchblade. of course gage would say something like that.

Preston:

naturally, preston is often shy about it but isn’t afraid to confront sole. he knows it’s unhealthy to hold it in and wants to ensure that he doesn’t get himself sick from doing it, so he tries to use it whenever he feels the urge to. the only time he’ll really hold it in is if they’re being attacked or in a dangerous situation. preston is fine with using restrooms in buildings, but will absolutely refuse to do his business in the wilderness. there’s just no absolute way he’ll do that, he’d rather just hold it in until they reach the nearest building. if he were to confront sole about it, he’d just shyly request that they’d stop by the nearest building with a restroom to do his business. sole would flash him a grin and accommodate his needs, looking at their pip boy for the nearest area. preston would probably thank them the whole time for going through the trouble just to ensure his comfort but they’d wave it off. before he’d enter the restroom, sole would look over their shoulder, a shiteating smile plastered on their face, “know how to aim or you’ll make it rain.” he’d blush embarrassingly but awkwardly smiled back as an attempt to be polite, “i’ll, um, be sure to, general.” they’d chuckle and gesture for him to go do his thing.

[shitty-marvel-fan732]

Boyfriend?

Author’s Note: 

Hello my friends! This is my first ever Loki x Reader oneshot, so I hope I didn’t do too poorly! This fic was beta-read by the wonderful @twentytwohearts​! 

If you end up liking this fic, let me know with a comment or reblog! I am taking requests for Loki as well as several other marvel characters, and if this fic inspires you, feel free to send one in!

Summary: Y/N and Loki have been getting closer for several weeks, but he’s still very ambivalent about their relationship status. Toss in a Stark party and an over eager fan and what will happen? 

IDEK y’all, I’m shit at summaries. Just…read it lol. 

“Mmmmm,” I hummed non-committedly as some older man in a suit more expensive than my entire life was worth continued rambling on next to me. I shifted uncomfortably in the ridiculous heels that Wanda had insisted I wear tonight, mentally groaning at the way they pinched my toes. I could already feel the blisters forming over the calloused soles of my aching feet.

 I was stuck at one of Tony’s famous parties, forced into a dress and heels by an overly zealous Sokovian, and hating every second. To add insult to my injury, I’d been caged into a conversation with one of the most boring, awkward men I’d ever met in my life. I couldn’t be sure exactly how long it’d been, but I did know it had been too long. I’d been subjected to literal torture, on multiple occasions, and even so I was sure this was worse. 

He seemed innocuous enough at first – albeit very awkward. He was thin and tall, with a slightly receding hairline and an air of a man that made more money than I could possibly fathom. As soon as I unintentionally made eye contact with him from across the crowded room, his face lit up like a Christmas tree. He immediately made a beeline over to me with all the excitement and grace of an overexcited labrador puppy. He’d launched into conversation instantly, chatting eagerly about my abilities and past as if he had lived it himself. It was more than a bit creepy really how many details he knew about me and my life. 

At first, I was polite – smiling and nodding along with him as he animatedly spoke, all the while internally wishing to be literally anywhere else. I supplied as little as possible to our little chat, desperately hoping he would run out of steam and leave. But after what felt like hours, it was clear he wasn’t going to take the hint. I finally determined it’d been long enough, so I tried to gracefully leave the conversation. 

Unfortunately, all my attempts  fell on deaf ears. Though I was certain any sane person would’ve understood how uncomfortable I was based solely on body language, the eager man was evidently unaware of my obvious attempts to end our interaction, verbal or otherwise. He was either the most socially inept dude to have ever lived or the most persistent fan I’d ever encountered. Personally, I was beginning to think it was a bit of both, but regardless I was more than ready to leave politeness behind and tell him point-blank to fuck off. If it hadn’t been for Tony’s lecture beforehand about not doing exactly that, I probably would have done it already. 

Eyes scanning the room, I desperately looked for a way out of the encounter. After a few seconds my eyes fell upon Steve’s sympathetic gaze. 

Cap and I had known each other for a long time, and he knew as well as I did that if I didn’t find a socially acceptable way out soon that I’d resort to less than polite tactics to remove this dude from my side. He nodded once at me in understanding, before excusing himself from his own conversation and disappearing into the crowd. 

“So, I don’t know if I’d mentioned it or not yet, but you look really really good tonight,” the red-faced man standing next to me said loudly, pulling my attention away from Cap. Though internally I was screaming, I simply shot him a polite thin-lipped smile. 

“You did. Thank you once again,“ I replied shortly. He had, in fact, mentioned this multiple times tonight, and I was beginning to feel my patience run dangerously thin. He was evidently not fazed by my facial expression nor the irritated tone of my voice, and only smiled wider at my response. 

Fortunately for me, his next comment was cut off by the sudden presence of another body pressed to my back. At first I tensed, unsure of the contact, but felt myself relax as I recognized the familiar feel of leather armor-clad arms wrapping themselves securely around my waist. 

“I’ll never understand how you mortals can have spoken a language your entire lives and still not have an adequate grasp over its use,” Loki interrupted smoothly, breath fanning my ear as he spoke. I had to bite down on my lower lip to keep from laughing at the look on the poor man’s face as he realized who was standing behind me. 

” I– uhm. I’m sorry, what?“ the man stuttered out, confusion and fear overtaking his features. 

“Good. You said my dearest Y/N looked ‘really good’ tonight,” came Loki’s smooth reply. “Now, perhaps there is some kind of midgardian norm that I am unaware of, or maybe you have some sort of deficiency that’s affecting your eyesight? Nevertheless, I would feel remiss if I did not mention how many different adjectives there are to describe Y/N at this moment: radiant, elegant, sublime, exquisite, just to name a few among the many there are. Hundreds more I’d wager, but of all the words in the dictionary you chose ‘good’? Hm.”

The man’s face visibly paled as the Prince spoke, and I could feel the irritation and possessiveness seeping from his body with each word he spoke. His body tensed against my back and I could instantly tell that he was growing angry and impatient with the man before us.  My hands came to rest over the tops of his; I began gently rubbing soft circles into his flesh in an effort to soothe him. Though I secretly adored the praise and affirmation of his feelings, I’d promised Tony not to cause a scene, and I was certain that promise extended to Loki as well. I’d spent the better part of my evening desperately trying to be good, and I’d be damned if I was going to let all that effort go to waste simply because a certain dark-haired Asgardian couldn’t control his temper. Thankfully, I felt the tall god lean slightly into my touch, his tense form relaxing gradually.

“I’m so sorry…I had no — I didn’t know that he was your…that you were his…” the man floundered and I began to feel a twinge of pity for his clear distress. 

“Boyfriend?” I supplied with a small chuckle. The man nodded frantically, however his reaction was overshadowed by the Asgardian behind me. I felt Loki tense in response to my words, and I turned my head to see his beautiful face distorted into a grimace.

Of course. 

I’d been so thankful for his presence I’d clearly forgotten about his seeming discomfort with the label. Loki clearly despised the term, and never failed to make his feelings known.Though in the past months I’d grown exceptionally close to the god of mischief, he and I had never truly spoken about our 'relationship’. 

  Much to Loki’s discomfort, I often referred to him as my boyfriend. In turn he referred to me as “dear Y/N,” “my pet,” “love,” or something of the like. Though it didn’t bother me at first, I was beginning to feel very insecure at his seeming inability to label our relationship. Each time the word was brought up he always reacted just as he was now: visibly uncomfortable and dismayed. 

With every scowl, every look of disgust I felt a tiny pang in my heart that was only growing larger with each instance. Tonight was no exception, and I felt my face physically drop in response to his reaction. My palms began uncomfortably sweating, and I detangled myself from his arms as nonchalantly as possible. My thoughts were clouded with a haze of disappointment. The room began to feel too busy – the voices all seeming to scream directly into my ear and the air thick and suffocating. 

Suddenly feeling ill, I muttered an excuse and began to walk away from the two. No longer caring about how I was seen, I walked quickly through the crowd of people and out into the hallway. I braced myself against the wall as I stopped for a moment to catch my breath. My head was spinning with disjointed thoughts as I took deep breaths of the cool air. I pulled the God-forsaken heels from my feet roughly, desperate to give myself some degree of comfort as I slowly came back to reality. I leaned my head against the wall in exhaustion – my mind practically screaming taunts of embarrassment and shame. 

When Thor had first arrived unannounced to the tower with the trickster in tow, the team and I had been largely skeptical. However, in time Loki proved himself to have indeed been “rehabilitated,” and after a while Steve and Tony had allowed him to start going on missions with the team. Slowly but surely the two of us began to bond; at first it was over his fascination with my abilities and our mutual love of literature, but as the weeks went by I found myself developing feelings I didn’t quite understand for the lanky god. To my extreme surprise, I began to feel that my affections were reciprocated. The last few weeks had been wonderful– the two of us had fallen into a natural rhythm of spending time together, both on missions and otherwise.

Reflecting back on our time spent together, I felt the tiny pang of insecurity grow larger in my chest, filling me with feelings of shame and embarrassment. Clearly, Loki didn’t feel the same about our relationship as I did, if it could even be classified as such. And why should he? He was a Prince – a literal god – and I was just a lowly mortal. I was a fool. A pitiful, lovestruck girl that fell for someone who would never love her the same. It was depressing really. I chuckled humorlessly as I realized how sappy and teen-novelesque my situation had become. 

“Love?” his voice drifted into my ears, effectively pulling me out of my thoughts for the moment. I kept my head hung low and eyes trained on the floor. The knots in my stomach tightened their grip at the usually welcomed sound of his voice. My mind only raced faster as he approached me and my heart beat wildly out of control. 

I felt familiar, soft fingers hook their way under my chin as Loki gently lifted my face to meet his. His expression was one of irritation – likely lingering from the interaction with that insufferable businessman – but his green-blue eyes swam with a much gentler sort of feeling. Though he rarely showed true emotion on his face, his eyes were a different story. Impossibly deep and full of secrets, they always betrayed his true feelings. I’d become close enough to the lanky god in the past weeks that I was able to decipher those emotions with stunning accuracy. Currently, his eyes exuded feelings of concern and affection. 

“Are you alright?” he questioned gently. I exhaled lightly. 

“I’m fine.” I muttered, eyes turning downwards once more. Loki’s eyes sparkled with slight amusement as one of his brows quirked upwards. 

“So bold of you my dear, to attempt to withhold the truth from the god of lies,” he teased, lips curling into a lopsided smirk. 

All the feelings of embarrassment and shame abruptly shifted within me at the sight of his smug face. Internally, my overwhelming sadness was turning to anger and resentment quicker than I could control. 

“I’m not lying!“ I snapped, brows furrowing and body practically jumping away from his. His expression morphed from amused to concerned instantly, forehead crinkling in confusion. 

“Is this about that infuriating man back there?” he questioned, confusion and worry evident in his tone. “If so, please don’t trouble yourself any longer over the matter. I think I’ve made it perfectly cle–”

“He was sweet Loki,” I grumbled stubbornly, cutting him off. Although I had absolutely no desire to return to a conversation with him, the man was clearly well-intentioned. I’d actually forgotten all about him – but I couldn’t stand to hear Loki make some excuse for my poor mood.

He recoiled slightly at my display of irritation, surprised. I’d never interrupted him before and it was obvious he was even more perplexed than before with the unexpected outburst. Never one to show weakness, his face abruptly shifted to his typical expressionless mask. 

  “Sweet? You didn’t seem to think so whilst he was harassing you before, now did you?” he questioned cooly. “I know your face well enough by now, dearest Y/N, and your eyes were practically screaming for assistance.”

I scoffed, arms coming to rest petulantly across my chest. 

“Well if you know me as well as you claim, then by all means you should have no problem understanding why I’m upset,” I huffed, hoping he took the bait and simply asked why I was upset. Instead, I was infuriated as I watched a sly grin make its way across his handsome features. 

“But I thought you weren’t upset sweetling?” he grinned. He looked extremely proud of himself – clearly ecstatic to have coerced me into admitting that I’d lied, even though he’d known so since the start. 

Ordinarily I adored his intelligence – delighting in hearing the inner workings of his mind – but right now his display of wit combined with the smug expression he was sporting made my fists tingle with the urge to punch him straight in the face. I could feel my face burn red with anger at the sly remark and my eyes narrowed into near slits. 

“Oh, shut up Loki,” I snapped. “Clearly, we both know I’m pissed." 

"Then by all means, please enlighten me, because I evidently don’t understand,” he taunted. Though his words were laced with his trademarked contempt, I could see the twinge of concern still evident in his eyes. The small indication that he seemed to care about me caused all the feelings of sadness and insecurity to bubble back up to the surface. I sighed, taking a breath to steady myself before deciding to just dive right into what was sure to be an extremely awkward conversation.

“I don’t understand you! Or – I guess – I don’t understand us. What we are. I mean, are you ashamed of me because I’m not from Asgard or something? Or do you just not feel the same way I do? Oh god, I’ve completely misinterpreted everything haven’t I? I’m so stupid, I–” I babbled quickly, words slurring together with speed and face flushing. 

Loki’s soft hands came to rest on my arms, effectively cutting off my panicked ramblings. His facial expression was a strange mix of pity, fear, and confusion that I’d never seen before. I felt tears begin to prick the corners of my eyes and a burning sensation overwhelmed my sinuses. I cast my eyes downward once more, suddenly filled with self-pity and feeling extremely exposed. Loki was having none of that – his gentle fingers came to rest under my chin, pulling my face back up to meet his gaze once more. 

“Why in all the nine realms would you think I don’t feel the same?” he mused softly, brows dipping lower with concern and fingers gently caressing my face. “Have I not made my affections clear?”

“Well, you tell me, Loki. When we’re alone I think I know where we stand, but then there are incidents like tonight that make me think differently. I mean, you visibly cringe when I refer to you as my boyfriend…" I started, frown deepening at his visible recoil at the term. “See! Just like that, what is that? Do you not consider us together? Are we not, oh god, I dunno exclusive?”

Loki sighed, removing his hands from my face and rubbing his face tiredly. He looked like a parent exasperated with their child. Though I was pretty sure that wasn’t his intention, the small action reignited the spark of anger and resentment I’d felt before, and the overwhelming urge to punch him in his stupid handsome face returned abruptly. 

“You know what, whatever. I don’t care what you refer to me as anymore Loki. Better yet, just don’t refer to me at all,“ I spat, turning angrily on my heel and stomping away. 

I didn’t make it more than a few steps before I felt a hand on my bicep and I was twirled back around. Suddenly I was chest to chest with an extremely pissed off looking god. Never one to back down from confrontation, I glared definantly into his face. His eyes were almost eerie, a stormy mix of blue and green that reminded me of a sea just before a hurricane. His expression was nearly unreadable as his face searched mine – mouth set in a thin line and dark brows furrowed in anger. 

“You truly think so little of me and of yourself that you assume that I am embarrassed by you?” he practically seethed. “Darling, I could never and will never be embarrassed by your presence in my life. Do not mistake my reluctance to use trivial, midgardian terms as a reluctance to share my infatuation with you.”

My eyebrows wrinkled in confusion, silently urging him to continue since I clearly was not understanding what he was getting at. He exhaled loudly, hand leaving my arm to run through his inky locks in another show of exasperation. 

“I don’t understand,” I muttered, still hoping to prompt him into further explanation. His eyes seemed to soften marginally as they swept over my face. I was beginning to feel nearly uncomfortable under the god’s heavy gaze, but (as was usually the case) I also felt the all too familiar feelings of butterflies in my lower belly that only Loki’s attention seemed to stir. After an immeasurable length of time, he sighed once more, soft fingers parting from his sides to come to rest on my body. One of his hands reached down to latch onto the curve of my waist firmly. He pulled our chests flush with one another gently. The other fluttered delicately to the side of my face, thumb rubbing small circles into the soft flesh. My own palms came to rest across the smooth planes of his armor-clad chest – an action my body took without having to consult with my mind first. 

“Dearest, I think I should first apologize for the way my actions have made you feel,” he started gently, voice low in tone and volume and words practically dripping with affection and remorse as he looked down at me. “Never in all the time I’ve spent with you have I noticed any signs of your discomfort; if I had, we would’ve had this discussion much sooner.”

I swallowed thickly, unsure of where he was going with this. Though I wanted him to get on with it and just tell me how he felt, part of me wished I’d never brought the subject up to begin with. Feelings of indecision and doubt made their home in the pit of my stomach as I waited impatiently for him to continue. 

“As you know I often, shall we say, struggle to make sense of the customs and norms here,” he continued. “Though I’ve read vast amounts on the subject, I can’t seem to quite grasp the ‘normal’ way of life here – especially when it comes to your people’s courting traditions.”

I felt my wrinkled brows quirk upwards in surprise, not expecting the conversation to turn this way. My heart hammered so loudly in my chest with anticipation, I was sure he could hear it. If he could, he didn’t let it show. His gaze never wavered from my own – grey-blue eyes swimming with vulnerability as they surveyed my face. 

"As you’d probably expect, things are done much differently on Asgard. What you refer to as 'dating’ we call 'courting’, and the expectations and labels wildly differ. We call our partners  'Kærasti’ when speaking of them to others and 'elskan mín' when speaking with one another. Both of which translate loosely to 'my darling loved one’,” he explained softly. 

A short intake of breath nearly brought me out of the trance I’d felt like I’d been under the entire time Loki had been speaking. His gentle words and piercing gaze had been almost hypnotic; I’d spent the better part of the last few moments wholly enthralled by the smooth timbre of his voice, savoring the affection he radiated with each word. The words  'elskan mín' filtered its way through my ears into the fog that was . Though still foreign to my ears, I knew I’d heard the phrase before. 

“And, if I’m correct, the customary term for partners on this realm is 'boyfriend/girlfriend’?” he questioned gently. I nodded dumbly, still in too much of a daze to properly form words. “Ahh, and you see therein lies my problem. Why should I devalue my feelings for you with such a loose, meaningless term? I much prefer the ones used back home. Terms that are more…descriptive of the state of our partnership.”

I was still moderately struggling to process what was being said, my mind consumed mostly of observations on his voice and eyes. But as I struggled to decipher his words, a realization struck me like a bullet. I suddenly realized where I’d heard the term 'elskan mín' before. It was in another lovestruck trance, memories a million miles away from this dimly lit hallway that my ears had picked up the endearing phrase for the first time. 

Spoken in hushed murmurs by the very same god that was explaining the meaning to me now. 

Spoken to me.

A blush began to creep its way up my neck at the stark realization, mortification the likes of which I’d never experienced before crashing over me like a tsunami. Whether he truly was a mind reader (I hadn’t ever been truly convinced that he wasn’t) or if my reddened face and sheepish expression had alerted him to my obvious embarrassment, he seemed to understand immediately. The hand that had been softly caressing my hip gave me a small squeeze of encouragement. Even with the affectionate gesture, the urge to bury myself as deeply into the floor as possible was still raging in my chest. 

“Oh,” I squeaked. His eyes sparkled with amusement and his lip curled into his dazzling smirk. 

“I gather, based on your reaction tonight, that you made the incorrect assumption that I was – what – disgusted by the idea of a monogamous relationship?” he asked plainly, getting straight to the point. Once again I nodded silently, my mind still too overworked to speak.

My face was burning with embarrassment, and I buried my head into his chest in a vain effort to hide from his amused gaze. Loki chuckled – the vibrations reverberating through his body and tickling my face. I couldn’t see his expression from my position, but I could picture it perfectly in my mind. The skin around his eyes was very likely crinkled from the size of his smile and his eyes a bright, clear blue lit brightly with a sparkle of amusement. The mental image alone was enough to send happy butterflies swirling around in my stomach, despite the lingering embarrassment. His arms left my sides as he chuckled – one closed itself around my back, pulling me securely against his chest, and the other came to rest on the base of my neck. His long fingers gently entangled themselves in the hair at the base of my head. His cheek found its home on the crown of my head, and I could feel his smooth lips gently place a kiss there. I shivered lightly at the sensation, embarrassment fading a marginal amount at the comforting embrace. 

“Well, as thoroughly enjoyable as I find your sheepish state, I think we should clarify things,” he murmured softly against my hair. I hummed in agreement, waiting for him to start. 

“My love, I truly am sorry that I ever made you doubt the feelings I have for you,” he whispered, causing yet another blush to break out across my face. “But I hope it’s enough that I tell you now. I am so infatuated with you, my dear Y/N, I do not care to hide that fact from anyone. I would tell anyone the same – especially irritating men like the one you were chatting with tonight. The hesitation you perceived has absolutely nothing to do with my affections for you, nor does it indicate a desire to be free from labels. I simply loathe the overly simplified, descriptionless terms that are the norm on this planet. But if it makes you happy, I’m sure I can –”

“No!” I blurted, cutting his next statement off completely. My head rose from its place nestled in Loki’s strong chest and my hands balled into fists atop the thick armor covering his chest in an effort to gain his attention. My eyes searched his, and based on the surprise and confusion evident in his pale blue irises, I would wager that I looked at least a little crazy in this moment. It wasn’t like me to interrupt him while speaking and this was the second time in mere hours that I’d done so. My neck warmed marginally as I spoke up, the now familiar feelings of embarrassment rising within me once more as I looked upwards at the amused expression on Loki’s handsome face. I shoved the embarrassment back down, steadying myself with a deep breath before I spoke. 

“Sorry. I just – I don’t want you to change the way you act around me, at all,” I stammered, confidence deflating slightly as I realized I didn’t actually quite know what I wanted to say. He wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion, eyes roaming across my reddened face in search of answers. “I mean, it’s okay with me, whatever you choose to refer to me as. As long as I’m the only one you refer to.”

His face broke out into the devilish smirk that made my knees go weak. I suddenly had slight trouble standing upright. Luckily for me, his strong arms were still wrapped around my frame, and he had no qualms about holding me tighter in his embrace. He pulled me closer to his body with one arm as his other snaked its way up to the side of my face. Loki’s thumb rubbed gently across my mouth as we gazed at each other, making my head go cloudy with memories of his smooth lips pressed against mine. He leaned down so close to my face that I could feel the warmth across my lips from each breath he took. The feelings of affection and anticipation curled themselves in my belly with such intensity that I almost missed his soft voice as he replied. 

“Are you sure elskan mín?” he whispered, tone teeming with an off-character level of uncertainty. Though his voice made him seem unsure his body reacted as it always did when we were alone.  His lips were so close to mine now that I could feel them brush teasingly against me with each tender word. I felt my brain short-circuit at the brief touch. Though there was still so much to be said, so much to discuss, I couldn’t handle the irritating distance between us for another second. So I grabbed the sides of his face and pulled his lips down to mine in lieu of a response. My fingers traced aimless patterns across the smooth planes of his sharp jawline as our lips tangled in an all too familiar dance. 

Though we’d shared more than our fair share of kisses in the past months, this one felt different somehow. Each place his hands touched felt like they left a trail of fire in their wake and the way his lips moved against mine felt almost possessive. My entire being felt like it was floating on pure air as we kissed, and I felt extreme disappointment when I had to pull back to breathe. Evidently, Loki did not share my need for oxygen, and he continued to place small kisses across my face. Through my labored breathing and the love-filled haze that was clouding my thoughts I was still able to internally swoon at the sweet action. Typically, Loki was just as he appeared to be: calm, self-assured, and reluctant to express his affection, lest he become vulnerable. But it seemed that he wasn’t too concerned with showing his vulnerability at the moment, and the feeling of his soft lips roaming across the skin of my face and neck caused the butterflies in my belly to swarm with glee. 

Eventually he slowed his affectionate attack, and his forehead came to rest against mine. We stood like this for an immeasurable amount of time, eyes closed, neither of us speaking a word as the muffled sounds of the party filtered in from the hall. I smiled, elated as my eyes fluttered open and I drank in my favorite sight – Loki, at his most exposed. His eyes were still closed, breathing slightly ragged, a small but genuine smile gracing his thin lips, and the normally creamy skin of his cheeks blotchy with patches of pink. There was no greater feeling in this world than seeing him in such an utterly blissful state and knowing I was somehow lucky enough to have been the cause. 

“Yes.” I whispered gently, hesitant to break the peaceful cocoon that we’d encased ourselves in. Loki’s eyelids opened lazily, revealing the pale blue color that I’d come to dream about. 

“Yes?” he repeated questioningly. I giggled lightly at the look of slight confusion that painted the handsome god’s features. 

“Yes, I’m sure,” I explained patiently. A flash of understanding passed his face at the statement, and his face broke out into yet another knee-buckling smile. He leaned his head down towards mine – no doubt about to capture my lips in a sweet kiss. Though my body was screaming against the movement, I ducked my head backwards to avoid his kiss. His brows furrowed in confusion, the creases on his forehead deepening at the amused giggle that escaped me at the sight. 

“I am sure, but can you do me one favor?” I asked innocently. His face remained puzzled as he slowly nodded. His hands resumed their previous ministrations, smoothly running down the length of my body and back as we stood. 

“Can you not make a face like you’ve smelled something bad when someone uses the word boyfriend? Cause I don’t care how cute you are, I am never going to be cool with that,” I requested semi-jokingly. Loki merely blinked for a moment, a stunned look on his face as he took in my words. I felt a tingle of insecurity pass through my chest at his reaction, but waited patiently for a response nonetheless. 

After what felt like hours, the look of stunned confusion passed his features as his most genuine, face-splitting smile took over. He chuckled as he pulled me closer into his chest – the sound sending waves of relief through me as I snuggled readily into his embrace.

“Duly noted, my love.”

[angelliev]

Lover Boy - JJ Maybank x OC - Part Ten - He Needs to Know

Word Count: 3.1K

Summary: Rafe Cameron has made a shocking confession to Aria, who stings him with her venomous words, and now she must suffer from the consequences. Meanwhile, JJ shows Aria just who she belongs to.

Warnings: Smut, cursing, fighting, Rafe being Rafe, and I guess public sex?

A/N: Oh my god, I need myself some JJ. Writing this made me weak in the knees.🤤 Hope you guys enjoy and thank you for your support with the following, liking and especially the reblogging. (Not my GIF. Credits to the owner. I don’t own the show or the characters.)

Lover Boy Series Masterlist

The pogues. They are by far better than the kids at kook academy. I let the days pass by as I continue to go on many of their adventures and be with JJ. I feel like I’m on top of the world. I have these amazing friends and loving boyfriend. We’re all excited for Spring break that’ll be coming up in a couple of weeks. None of us know what we want to do yet, but I’m pretty sure we’ll have fun no matter what. Tonight, we’re planning on going to the outdoor movie the county is hosting. I’m waiting for the takeout to finish cooking, as of now. The pogues had all decided on having Chinese food during the movie. That’s when he walked in…

“Takeout for Rafe Cameron.” His voice echoed in my ears. I couldn’t even look at him without anger and hot steam spewing out of my ears. I try to hide myself behind a nearby magazine, not wanting to start an awkward conversation with him.

“Aria?” Satan fuck me in the ass. Why? I huff. “Hello, Rafe.” I mutter. “It’s been a while. How have you been?” He asked taking a seat next to me, much to my dismay. “What do you want Rafe?” I asked not wanting to beat around the bush. “I’ve been meaning to ask how Jennifer is doing.” This bitch.

“Like you care.” I muttered angrily. “Excuse me?” He asked slightly astonished. “I know what you did to her, so don’t act like you still care about her. You abused her and cheated on her with her best friend. She’s been gone for months, and now you want to ask me about her?” I look at him with pure hatred.

“What I did was wrong. It was mistake. I should’ve been a better boyfriend to her. I’m apologizing now. Doesn’t that count?” He slung his arm on the back of my chair, making me grimace. “If you’re only talking to me just to redeem yourself, you came to the wrong person.” I scoffed. “That’s not why I’m talking to you.” He denied. “Then why are you talking to me Rafe? What is so important you have to bother me?” I tap my feet anxiously, hoping the order would be ready soon.

“There’s something I wanted to get off my chest. I did like Jennifer at one point. I really did, but there was just something missing in our relationship, so I looked for that missing thing elsewhere. It then occurred to me that, perhaps I dated the wrong girl, and she was right in front of me all these years.” I can’t believe he has the nerve to be talking about Samantha being the right girl for him. I just roll my eyes and take a sip of my delicious mango coconut Boba tea. Hehe

“It’s always been you Aria.” Dafuq? Before I knew it, I’m choking on my Boba once again. Tapioca pearls in the back of my throat, tea shooting out through my nose, tears in my eyes, the whole nine yards. I gain concerned looks from nearby customers, employees, and Rafe. I grab some tissues from the box before spitting the tapioca pearls into the tissue. I decided to spare the people of having to see me launch tapioca pearls across the room. Why does this shit always happen to me?

“She’s fine. Just choked on her drink. Go back to enjoying your meal everyone.” Rafe smiles as he waves off the peering eyes. “Here you go miss.” The kind woman hands me the bags of food. “Thank you.” I quickly take the food before speed walking out of the restaurant, towards Sarah’s car, both embarrassed and confused. Kie and Sarah looks at me bewildered as I place the food in the passenger’s seat. “Aria! Wait! Talk to me!” He yells. “I have nothing to say to you!” “Will you just stop and listen to me?” He grabs my arm.

I don’t know what came over me when I smacked his hand away. I can hear the girls gasp in the car. “What the hell is wrong with you? You think that just because my sister is gone you can try to make a move on me? Did you really think I’d go out with you? After everything you’ve done to her? You put my sister through hell. Well news flash, I will never love you. And for your information, I’m already taken by someone who loves me more than you ever would.” I spit. I almost felt guilty when I saw the pain in his eyes and heartbreak, but then I remembered how he made Jennifer feel that way every day. It’s time he had a taste of his own medicine.

I slam the car door shut. Sarah shifts between gears, Rafe’s fists slam down on my window. “You’ll fucking regret this slut!” His voice can be heard as we speed off. “What happened in there?” Kie asked astonished. I kind of remain silent for a minute, while the two girls wait for an answer. “Rafe said that dating my sister was a mistake, that he should’ve been dating me all this time. That it’s always been me.” I mutter angrily. Their eyes nearly pop out of their sockets as they process what I just said. “I’m sorry on the behalf of my jackass brother.” Sarah apologizes still fazed.

“It’s fine. I’m not going to let him ruin our evening. Let’s just forget about it.” I continue to look out the window, embarrassed by the whole situation. I still can’t believe he had the nerve to say that, after everything he has done to my sister. I can’t even imagine myself with Rafe. I’d rather take a knife to my stomach, than to choose him over JJ. Do I even tell JJ? He’d go crazy. Probably do something stupid, yet I’d hate to lie to him.

We arrive at the park where they’re about to start the movie. I see the boys set up our stuff near a tree, a little ways from the crowd. I see JJ smile when he sees my presence. I couldn’t help but return it. He approaches ready to say something, but I don’t give the chance when I place my lips on his in a sweet kiss. This seemed to take him by surprise, but that didn’t stop him from returning the kiss.

“Get a room!” John B yelled before tossing a fortune cookie at us. I swear John B is the ultimate cockblocker. JJ pulls back, his cheeks dusted slightly pink. “What was that for?” He asked with a cheeky smile. “I just love you.” I play with the ends of his hair. “Awe, I love you too babe.” He pecks my lips. “Everything okay?” He asked concerned. “Yeah, just Rafe being Rafe.” I roll my eyes. “What the hell did he do to you? I swear to god I’m gonna,” I shut him up with another kiss, after seeing the fire rage in his eyes. “Easy tiger. He just said something stupid and meaningless.”

“What did he say?” His eyes are desperate for an answer. I sigh. “He said he should’ve been dating me instead of my sister this whole time.” JJ’s jaw clenched at the words. “I rejected him, which seemed to really piss him off.” I roll my eyes. “Good. Let him be.” His lips find mine in a more possessive kiss. “Alright lover boy. C’mon the movie’s starting.” I lead him to our blanket against the tree. There he wraps me up in his arms, where I relax as the movie plays.

The movie goes on, still holding everyone’s attention, well except JJ’s. He grows bored by the movie. He begins to trail his lips down my neck seductively, making me giggle, when he starts nibbling on my ticklish spot. “What are you up to?” I asked, trying to concentrate on the movie. “Babygirl I’m cold.” He smiles mischievously against my skin. His hands makes his way under the blanket. “Thought you might warm me up.” His hot breath against my ear makes the warmth in my southern region grow. He unbuttons my jeans, before his hand cups my cloth covered crotch, making me whimper.

“Shh, we don’t want any peering eyes, unless you want to give everyone a show. I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you dirty girl?” It took everything in me not moan right there for everyone to hear. The whole idea of us being caught at any moment only seemed to turn me on even more. His long fingers easily slip through my warm velvet silky folds. I can feel the coolness of his rings brush against my walls, definitely glistening as he thrusts them in and out of me. Tears pool in my eyes at the immense pleasure I began to experience when he curled his fingers, never failing to brush against my g-spot. “God, you look so sweet with that flushed face, glossy eyes and wet lips. Those pretty lips of yours would look amazing around my cock.” I bite my lip, suppressing a moan.

“I bet Rafe can’t make you feel this good. He wishes he could fuck you like me. He wishes he can be in my place. Maybe I should invite him over one day. That way he can watch as I fuck you hard into the bed. That way he can see the way your pussy grips onto my dick perfectly. I want him to hear you moaning and screaming my name to the top of your lungs. I want him to know your mine when he sees my cum gushing out of you. And I won’t even give him the chance to touch or fuck you the way I do.” I felt the familiar coil in my stomach begin to form. “He needs to know that I’m the one who popped your cherry. He needs to know that your flower only opens up for me. He needs to know that I was your first everything. That I was the first one to kiss your luscious lips, the first one to make love to you, the first one you’ve fallen in love with. He’ll hate the idea knowing that whenever someone asks you about one of your first experiences, you’ll always be thinking of me first. It would kill him to know that you’ll never forget me. That I’m always on your mind. That I’m always in your body. That I’m always a part of your soul. And most importantly, he needs to know that I love you with a burning passion.” His words melt my heart. “That’s right babygirl. Cum for me.” He says in a hushed tone, before placing his hand on my mouth. My eyes roll to the back of my head and I bite my tongue as sinful whimpers escaped pass my lips.

His fingers and rings glisten in the moonlight. He forces my lips to open, before inserting his fingers into my mouth for me to taste myself. He uses him other hand to pull down his pants and boxers, his member springs out poking me. Before I have time to say anything, he sinks myself down on his throbbing erection. I was expecting him to move, but instead he just sat there content with the blissful warm state we were in. “What are you doing?” I asked confused as to why he’s not erratically thrusting into me like usual. “I told you I was cold. Thought you could keep me warm.” He smirks before laying one last kiss on my shoulder, before turning his attention back onto the movie, as if nothing had happened. My body wanted more. “Let’s get out of here.” I suggest. “But we’ll miss the movie.” He says innocently. “Please, I want you.” I plead, earning a smirk from him.

Moments later we’re in the back of John B’s van in the empty parking lot. Kissing ferociously as he pounds into me, bodies rocking together like waves. The van moves with us and our hot breaths fog the windows. Our lustrous moans, skin slapping and sweet whispers are the only things that can be heard.

Lurking in the darkness, were peering eyes full of rage watching their every move. Rafe Cameron had heard everything. A dagger went through his heart with every word that left JJ’s mouth, knowing that everything he had said was true. The angry young adult marched his way back to the Jeep, slamming the door shut on his way in. “Damn, who knew that Aria Prescott had a thing for the notorious pogue king?” Topper commented. “Aria Prescott the pogue slut. Girls like her will open her legs for any dirty pogue. Especially JJ Maybank.” Said Kelce. Rafe was shaking out of anger. “Let’s go Topper. We have a couple more stops to make.” Rafe says sinisterly.

Later…

The cool night air breezes past our bodies, as I sit comfortably on the back of JJ’s motorcycle, my arms wrapped around his body. I’ll never grow tired of these bike rides. He stops by my house, out of sight. I reluctantly get off the bike, before removing the helmet. My hands gently grab a hold of his face as I pull him in for a passionate loving kiss, which he gladly returns, pulling flush against his body. “Goodnight JJ. I love you.” I say after pulling away. “I love you too.” He pecks my cheek. “Sweet dreams babygirl.” He never fails to make me blush. “Drive home safe lover boy.” I blow him a kiss, and he shoots me a wink. He stays there until I reach my doorstep, before driving into the night.

I close the door behind me. I couldn’t find a way to wipe the smile of my blushing face. I was caught in a daydream as I walked towards my room. I hadn’t even noticed my father’s office door was open. “We need to talk.” His voice pulled me out of my dreamy state, startling me. “Sit down.” His tone is serious. I nervously pull out the chair before taking a seat. My father’s serious eyes never left me. His burning gaze begins to intimidate me. “I don’t know what has happened to you Aria. You were always such a good girl. You never disappointed me. You were pure, obedient and respectful. The outer banks have tainted you. Ever since we moved here, I wondered what could have caused you to act out in such rebellious behavior. Now I finally have my answer.” He takes a sip of drink.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, voice laced in fear. He doesn’t answer. He opens his drawer pulling out a yellow envelope before tossing it to me. My shaky hands reach into the envelope, grasping its contents. I pull out a note that says, “Thought you should know who your daughter has been seeing lately.” I pull out the photos. My heart sinks down to my stomach when I see them. Pictures of JJ and I. Naked in the back of a van, completely exposed and connected in every possible way. Our lips crashed together. Eyes full of sinful lust and everlasting love.

I couldn’t find the strength to form any words as I stared at the pornographic photos. For a moment I forgot how to breath. “You disgust me Aria. I’m ashamed to call you my daughter.” His venomous words shoot me. “Please let me explain.” I look up at him with desperate eyes. “Oh, do please explain to me as to why you’re having sex with JJ Maybank, of all fucking people. I can’t believe you fucked someone like him. Do you think I want to see my daughter with a dirty pogue?!” “You don’t even know him!” I protest. “He’s a fucking pogue Aria! I don’t need to know him to know what he is. He’s a troublemaker. A hustler. A thief. A heartbreaker. He’s just like his father!” His words make me angry.

“He is nothing like his father! JJ is so much more than that!” I defend him. “And how would you know that?” My father challenged. “Because I love him!” I confess. My dad shakes his head. “You’re too young to love him Aria! You don’t know what love is!” “Yes I do! We taught each other how to love! You don’t know anything about our love!” “You stupid fucking girl. He’s just playing you! He doesn’t love you; he loves your money and the sex is just a bonus!”

“That’s not true! It’s so much more than sex! We laugh together, cry together, play together and so much more. We’re soulmates!” I declare. My dad scoffs. “So, what was your plan? Get married to him, let him knock you up and have his kids? Is that really the kind of future you want for yourself?” “I’d more than happy to carry his children! He’s the love of my life and I plan on being with him for all eternity!” I yell.

“Well get used to disappointment, because you are never seeing that boy again. Not as long I’m alive! You’ll be cutting him off completely and not even saying goodbye!” He demands. “Like hell I will! I’m not just going to leave him! You can’t make me!” I protest, my heart beats fast. My father grabs me by the arm before dragging me to my room. I thrash and hit with all my might. I throw myself to the floor. “For god’s sake! Stop fighting me!” He yells before throwing me into the wall of my bedroom, earning a painful groan from me. He slams the door shut. The click of the lock echoes through my ears. My fist pound on the door repeatedly as I scream. “Open this fucking door right now! You can’t do this! You can’t hold me hostage!” He ignores my screams and pounding on the door. He ignores the sobs erupting from me.

I sit there in my own pool of tears as I sat there trapped in my room. I pinch myself, hoping that this was all just a nightmare. That I’d be waking up soon, preferably in JJ’s arms. What I give to see him right now. I wish I just stayed on the back of his bike. I wish he could hold me right now and tell me everything’s okay. I wish he was here to kiss my tears away. “JJ…” I softly whisper to myself, clutching onto one of the many pictures of us. In this one, he holds me close in his big arms as he kisses me so lovingly. I let the memory cloud my mind. I let myself imagine that day, instead of remembering where I am now.

[rainbowwing251]

Curiosity Tickled the Cat (Super Smash Bros. Tickle Fic)

A/N: I know I might be called “cringy” for doing this, but I’m doing it. I’m posting a fic a Lee!Shulk, but with a twist.

In this fic, Shulk is going to be part cat. In my headcanons, this means that he will be a normal person (or rather Hom), but he’ll have cat ears and a cat tail, and will exhibit some cat-like behavior. Other than that, he isn’t any different from his normal self.

You likely know the drill about romance and NSFW, so I’m not going to include those messages here.

Finally, I should let all of you know ahead of time that this is my first attempt at writing a fic like this (not a tickle fic, but a fic with a character that is part cat). I’m likely going to make some mistakes in my portrayal of cat Shulk, so I hope you can forgive me for that.

Well, here goes nothing… let's begin.

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

Neither Cloud nor Shulk had any idea as to how they got into this situation.

For some reason that was never explained by Master Hand or Crazy Hand, the latter of the two hands decided to use his infinite power to transform some of the fighters into animal/Pokemon hybrids (only Red and Leaf got the latter). Cloud didn’t know who got turned into what hybrid other than Shulk, and to be honest, he’d rather not know.

Shulk was unfortunate enough to get caught up in the mess, and he was turned into a cat hybrid. As soon as he saw his tail and ears, he ran from the crowd that was in the middle of the Smash Colosseum, fearful of the humiliation that would've followed had anyone seen him. He ran into his room to hide, and not even two minutes later, he heard a knock on his door. Trembling as he opened the door, he found his “brother” on the other side of the door. The two of them stood in shock for thirty seconds before Cloud broke the silence.

“Shulk? What the hell happened to you?”

Shulk nearly ran out of the room in shame, but he knew that the merc wouldn’t insult or judge him for something that he didn’t have a say in, so he explained what happened.

“I see… Did Crazy Hand tell any of you guys why?”

“Nope. He didn’t even try to explain anything to us.”

“What about Master Hand?”

“He couldn’t even begin to explain Crazy Hand’s actions.”

“Hm… Well, this is an awkward situation…”

“I know…”

The older blonde noticed the apologetic look in the younger’s eyes.

“You alright?”

“Not really… I’m-“

“You don’t have to apologize.”

Shulk’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. Was he really that easy to read?

“But I- I just- I know that you don’t like cats, so-“

“I never said that I disliked cats.”

“But you never said that you liked them, either…”

“True.” Cloud admitted, “I’m kind of… neutral towards them, to be honest.”

Shulk’s cat ears twitched in curiosity, causing him to blush as he asked his next question, “So you don’t like them… but you don’t hate them, either, right?”

“Yes.”

“Oh…” Shulk pondered Cloud’s answer for a bit, then felt his ears and tail droop as a sudden feeling of sadness came over him, “…does that mean that you’re indifferent towards me at the moment?”

“No. I’m just saying that I don’t care if you’re part cat or not, it’s not going to change my view on you.”

“O-oh!” He knew that statement was coming, but nonetheless, he still couldn’t help but blush again. The blush darkened as he felt his ears and tail shoot straight up.

Cloud couldn’t help but laugh a little when he saw that, realizing that he was enjoying this more than he initially thought he did.

“You’re rather expressive as a cat, huh?”

“No, I’m not!” Shulk felt his ears twitch a little, and his blush grew even darker as a result.

“You definitely are.” The older male took a few steps towards him before he spoke again. “Hm… how would you react if I did this?” He reached his hands out and scratched behind the heir’s cat ears.

“Wh-wait, what are y-you-“ The younger male was cut off by his sudden urge to purr, and he tried his best to fight it. Unsurprisingly, he failed, letting out a quiet, happy-sounding “mrrrrr”.

“So you can purr...” Cloud observed, concealing the fact that the purrs were melting his heart, “Now what would happen if I scratched behind your actual ears?”

He slowly moved his hands down to the back of Shulk’s Hom ears, which resulted in a shudder.

“You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, that just… felt good, I guess?”

“I’m not surprised.” Cloud began to scratch behind his “brother’s” normal ears. “You like it when someone massages your scalp or neck.” He was about to follow up with a complement, but a light snicker tumbled out in between Shulk’s purrs.

“Oh? Is the cat a bit ticklish~?” The merc allowed himself to slip into his tickle monster persona, chuckling at the fear that flashed in the eyes of his soon-to-be victim.

“No! No, I-I’m not! Can you even tickle a c-cat?”

“You sure can, but they can’t laugh. However…” Cloud wore a sinister grin as he pushed Shulk onto the bed behind them and pinned him down by his wrists. “That only applies to normal cats, not cat-Hom hybrids. How unfortunate for you~!”

“Nonononono! Brother, don’t!”

“But I want to know if you’re a ticklish little kitten!” Cloud nearly let out an uncharacteristic whine as he teased the younger blonde.

“I’m not a kitten, and I’m not ticklish as a cat hybrid!”

“Is that so? Very well then, I guess you wouldn’t mind if I did… this!” The older blonde scratched at Shulk’s cat ears again, but this time, it was far less relaxing and far more tickly. The noise that came out of the poor hybrid was a mix between a purr and a giggle.

“Mrrrrhehehehehehe, no! Nohohohohohohoho! Clohohohohohohohohould!” “Huh, would you look at that!” Cloud leaned in a bit before he delivered his next tease, “Someone lied to me~”

“Ihihihihihihihihihi- Ihihihihihihihihihi’m sohohohohohohohohorry!”

Cloud’s grin grew at the apology. “Apology not accepted~ You know you shouldn’t have lied to me, and yet you did it anyway.” He sped up the tickling a bit as soon as his hands landed on his sides, clearly trying to use those tickles as a threat. “Am I going to have to punish you for lying~?”

Shulk let out a series of mewls that mixed in with his giggles, “Wahahah-wahahahahahait, thihihihihis ihihihisn’t thehehehe punihihihistmehehehnt?”

“No, but if you want, I can punish you right now. Is that what you want~?”

“Nahahahahahahahahawo!” Shulk’s protest came out as a mix of a whine, a meow, and a laugh. He started kicking when Cloud’s fingers moved a little too close to his stomach.

“Hey, hey! What are you doing?!” Cloud slowed his tickling down to a stop and returned to his normal personality, confused as to why Shulk’s reaction was so violent. Sure, he tried to kick his way out of the merc’s tickly hands on multiple occasions, but right now? It seemed as though something was different. Very different.

“Is he somehow more ticklish than before?” Cloud found it hard to believe. Shulk was already ticklish enough to the point where he would start squirming and giggling as soon as someone got their hands on him. They didn’t even have to tickle him if they wanted to. They could just leave their hand there!

Cloud loved to take advantage of this, and would often place his hand on Shulk’s stomach just so he could hear him laugh.

“Wait, his stomach… That could answer my question… or rather, two questions.”

“B-brohohotheher?” Despite the fact that Cloud had stopped tickling him, the scientist had a few giggles left in his system.

The merc didn’t say anything and instead glanced down at Shulk’s belly.

“Whahahat are you looking at?”

Shulk followed Cloud’s eyes, and all of the giggling ceased.

“Wait, Cloud, don’t!”

“Hm? I’m not doing anything, am I?” Cloud briefly looked up at Shulk’s face before his vision went back down to the younger man’s stomach.

“K-kind of! Why are you l-looking at my stomach like that?”

Cloud felt a tinge of embarrassment and tore his eyes away from the Hom’s weak spot, “I want to ask you something.”

“Y-yes?” Shulk did not like where this was going, but decided to hear his “brother” out anyway.

“Someone in my homeworld told me that cats dislike belly rubs, but they never told me why. I think this might be my chance to find the reason.”

Shulk’s typical whimper was replaced with a pitiful-sounding meow, which only riled him up more. “B-brother, please don’t…”

“Hey, try to relax, okay? It may not apply to you, but neither of us will know the answer until we test it. Wouldn’t you do the same if I was a cat hybrid?”

The heir tried to respond, but his words got stuck in his throat.

“I’ll be gentle, I promise. If you get overwhelmed, tell me to stop, okay?”

“O-okay…” Even with the promise of mercy, Shulk still felt nervous. And he had every right to be, because as soon as Cloud’s hands made contact with his belly, he broke down in laughter and started kicking again.

“NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO! IHIHIHIHI CAHAHAHAHAHAHN’T TAHAHAHAHAHAHKE IHIHIHIHIHIT!”

“But I haven’t done anything yet!” Amidst the loud laughter that poured out of Shulk, Cloud told himself, “I think I found the answer to my questions”, as the younger male’s laughter got louder and louder.

But he still had to prove to himself that his hypothesis was correct, as Shulk would say, so he wiggled his fingers on the skin above Shulk’s navel. The action produced a small shrill that made Cloud recoil in surprise.

“Shit, did I hurt you?!”

“Sohohohorry, I-I couldn’t help it! It t-tihihihickled so bad!”

Cloud nodded in understanding, “Ah, I see… So I was right…”

A faint glimmer of innocence shone in Shulk’s eyes as he calmed down and tilted his head in curiosity. “Right? Right about what?”

Seeing the glimmer in his “brother’s” eyes made Cloud’s brain malfunction for a split second, but luckily, he was able to regain his composure before the heir noticed.

“I’ll explain later. For now…” Cloud allowed his voice go lower as he slowly transitioned back into his role as the ler, “I think a certain kitty is looking for belly rubs~”

The younger male accidentally let out a meow that sounded a bit too excited for his liking, and he hit Cloud’s arm with his tail repeatedly when his “brother’s” hands touched his tummy.

“What’s the matter? Why are you hitting me with your tail, hm~?”

Shulk’s answer came out in between giggles, “I’m sohohohohorry! Ihihihihihihi can’t hehehehehehelp it!”

Cloud put on a sinister smile, “I know, you’re just nervous.” He laughed at the blush that formed on Shulk’s face before he continued, “Either that, or you are showing affection. I’m not sure which assumption is the right one, but I’m thinking that it might be a combination of both~”

“Hohohohohohohow w-would yohohoho know thahahahat?”

Shit, he had said too much. Cloud avoided the question by gently rubbing Shulk’s stomach with one hand and lightly scratching at the sensitive skin with the other. The poor Hom fell into hysterics almost instantly, letting out a loud screech before he burst into laughter.

“NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! WHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIY DOHOHOHOHOHOES THAHAHAHAHT TIHIHIHIHIHICKLEHEHEHEHEHE SOHOHOHO MUHUHUHUCH?!”

“Because you’re such a ticklish kitten~!” Cloud changed tactics as he used both hands to scratch at Shulk’s belly, “I hope you can handle this for a bit longer, because there’s something that I want to test out real quick.”

Almost as soon as his second hand started scratching, both of them were being pulled away, and just as he expected, Shulk put his arms up in the air.

Cloud fell into a laughing fit of his own as he replayed the short scene in his mind, “Yehehehehp, you’re ahahahaha cat hybrid alrihihihihihihight!”.

“Hohohohohohohohohohohohohow?” The younger boy asked, still feeling the tingles that radiated through his core.

Cloud struggled to maintain composure as he spoke, “You put your arms up lihihike a kitten when I pulled my hands away!”

Before Shulk could respond to that, Cloud resumed his attack on his stomach. “AHAHAHAHAHAHAH NOHOHOHOHOHO! NOHOHOHOHOHOT AHAHAHAHAHGAHAHAHAHIN!”

Just like before, Cloud quickly stopped, and Shulk put his arms up again. This was repeated several times until the older male switched tactics again and blew a raspberry onto the scientist’s belly. The only sound that followed was a loud scream that sounded like a cat screaming in fear.

Shulk never told him to stop, but at this point, Cloud knew that he couldn’t take another minute of tickling, so he ceased the raspberries and sat up, ending the tickles for good. Meanwhile, Shulk struggled to regain control of his laughter, his breathing, and his twitchy ears and tail.

“You alright?” Cloud asked, voice full of concern.

“Yeah… I’m fine. A bit… overwhelmed, but I’ll be… okay.” Shulk replied in between his heavy breaths as he sat up. “Can I… ask you some questions?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Shulk waited until he had caught his breath to shift over to the older blonde and rest his head on his uncovered shoulder, “Okay, first, what happened to you being nice to me?” He asked, a slight pout forming on his face.

Cloud couldn’t help but laugh at the pout, “I suppose I got a little carried away with the tickling. Sorry about that.”

“A little is an understatement, but don’t worry about it. I forgive you.” The heir wrapped his tail around Cloud’s arm. “Second, do you know why that tickled so badly?”

“Not sure, but I think it has something to do with your increased sensitivity to tickling.”

“Wait, are you serious?! I’m somehow more ticklish than before?!”

“I think so, and if that’s the case, your increased sensitivity might have something to do with you being a cat hybrid.”

“How?” Shulk lifted his head off of Cloud’s shoulder so he could tilt it again, “How does being a cat hybrid affect my ticklishness?”

“Cats are more sensitive to touch than humans are, but I don’t know how sensitive they are on certain parts of their bodies.” Cloud gave the younger male a quick tickle under his chin, earning himself a light giggle, “I wouldn’t be able to tell you whether or not a cat is more ticklish on its chin or its stomach, for example. What I can tell you is that cats will react to your touch if you tickle them. Like I told you earlier, they can’t laugh, but they can react to tickling in other ways. Some might purr, and some will try to scratch your hand. There’s more to it than that, but I think you get the idea.”

“Oh, that’s really interesting! And a good way to transition to my last question…” The sparkle of excitement that once lit up Shulk’s eyes gave way to a mischievous glint.

Seeing that look in the “brother’s” eyes, Cloud tensed up, trying to disguise the nervousness that had begun to take root in his mind, “And that is…?”

“Why do you know so much about cats? I thought you were neutral towards them.”

“Well, I kind of implied it earlier, but someone taught me a few things about them.”

“But why would you need all of that information?”

“Uh…” The merc was dangerously close to having his secret revealed, and that made his face turn bright red from shame. However, as much as he wanted to lie again to protect himself from further embarrassment, he knew that the heir wouldn’t judge him, so he told him the truth. “I… wanted to get closer to some of the cats in my homeworld…”

He heard Shulk giggle, and he was afraid that he had humiliated himself. He was only slightly relieved when he heard his response, “You’re such a hypocrite.”

“What?”

“You punished me for lying about my ticklishness, and yet here you are, lying about your feelings towards cats. That’s not fair!” Shulk said with a whine and another pout.

The shame disappeared as Cloud chuckled, but he couldn’t respond to the scientist’s statement in time before something poked his ribs. He quickly realized that it was Shulk’s tail.

“What are you doing?” Cloud questioned the other, trying and failing to grab the fluffy appendage.

“Oh nothing~ I’m just thinking of something.” Shulk said playfully, a tone that Cloud knew to be dangerous.

“And what is that something, if I may ask?”

Never had he regretted a question so fast. In no time, Shulk pushed him onto his back and went to town, tickling his underarms with his hands and his ribs with his tail.

“Revenge~” Shulk said menacingly, letting out a pleased hum as Cloud fell deeper and deeper into hysterics.

For the next several minutes, the cat hybrid tickled his “brother” until the older blonde fought back and initiated a tickle fight. By the end of the fight, they were exhausted (especially Shulk, since he lost the tickle fight), and as they recovered from their intense laughter, Shulk thought to himself, “Maybe being a cat hybrid isn’t so bad…”

[laceymorganwrites]

He´s a good guy

Word Count: 2,895

Pairing: Tendou x fem!reader

Warnings: swearing, hurtful words, SPOILERS FOR THE MANGA, Semi is an asshole (Semi stand don´t come at me)

A/N: this is a mess, idk how this happened, i seriously have no Explanation 

Summary: You, a former Manager for Karasuno´s VBC graduate with your classmates and run into Tendou at college

Graduating was weird, you had to admit. It felt like a part of your life was over just like that and yet you weren´t sad about it at all.

Instead you were looking forward to college, finally being able to chase your dreams and do the things you´ve always wanted to.

You were sad to leave all your friends and especially the volleyball club you and Shimizu managed, you were lucky to have found Yachi before you graduated, she did a great job too.

But still, it was hard for you. You got very attached to them, being very empathetic.

Especially the first years were your most treasured students, not that you´d ever tell them that. They just brought so much energy and that seemed to really help the team, everyone was suddenly so much more motivated, everything was coming together.

And then it was over just like that.

You tried to stay in contact as much as possible, but that wasn´t always easy since studying and exams were harder and more time consuming than in high school.

Besides, the club was busy as well.

Before starting college, Daichi, Suga and you decided to be roommates since you would attend the same college. Asahi wanted to study abroad.

Luckily that worked out, all three of you took part time jobs to make sure to be able to pay the rent. You worked throughout the whole summer, saving up enough for a nice place near campus.

The last week of the break before starting college was spent in moving in, you underestimated how much time it took to get all of your stuff and to figure out everything else that was important.

You were all so proud when you managed it and everything was done.

While Daichi was studying to be a police officer and Suga to be a teacher, you were majoring in music. In the past you were pretty insecure about your abilities to sing and play instruments, but your friends and even your teachers motivated you to chase your dream, they convinced you to just go for it.

And you were glad they did since it was what brought you the most joy in life.

Still, you had to take more classes than just music to pass and get the major, which wasn´t the nicest thing in the world. Especially not the exams.

Daichi, Suga and you were all together in the same psychology class and in one of the first lessons you were assigned partners for a project.

That´s when you met Tendou. Sure, you noticed him before, how could you not? He caught your curiosity since he was so quiet and read JUMP. But you never had the guts to talk to him, being too shy to just intrude him like that, asking what his favorite characters were, now, that´d just be awkward.

So you didn´t. You were glad to be partnered up with him since you hoped you could get to know him that way.

Daichi and Suga noticed him too ever since the first lesson, but they couldn´t put a finger on it. They of course knew who he was, but it was strange to see how different he was from the boy they played against back in high school. They wondered what the cause of that change was.

“Hey, um...Tendou-san, was it?” you approached him after the lesson to discuss the project, Daichi and Suga closing in on you.

He nodded, feeling anxious, he knew he shouldn´t have attended college. It was just like when he was a kid, people were staring at him again, but why did it bother him again? Maybe it was because he didn´t have any friends anymore, he hated new places like this. He was better off on his own, couldn´t bear the looks people gave him, for fuck´s sake, it was as if he could hear their thoughts about how weird and creepy and ugly and hideous and utterly disgusting he was and goddamn, he knew. He fucking knew already. All of the confidence he worked up so hard in high school was suddenly gone again and it dragged him down more than he´d like to admit.

“Hey guys, you wanna go to the library together? We could maybe do a study group together” Suga smiled.

“Oh yeah! That´d be great, let´s go” you answered, smiling back and slightly touching Tendou´s shoulder to which he reacted jumpy.

You quickly apologized, the four of you walking to the library together.

“Man, the world sure is small! I never thought we´d see you again and now we´re in the same class” Daichi laughed, addressing Tendou. “Wait...you know each other?” you were pretty confused.

“Oh yeah, he used to go to Shiratorizawa, we played against their team when you were sick” Suga explained and you nodded knowingly.

“Aw man! I wanted to see that game so badly, I can´t believe how unlucky we were sometimes” you whined, getting sympathetic looks from your friends.

“You guys really gave us hell, we barely won” Daichi chuckled, reminiscing about how hard it was to beat them, with players like Ushijima and Tendou on their team.

“Yeah, it was so unfair too, with Ushijima as your ace and all your tall players and you… argh… you really made it difficult for us” Suga added.

“What position did you play?” you asked Tendou who hadn´t said anything to this point.

“Middle blocker” he said quietly.

“Like Hinata and Tsukki” you giggled.

“They are nothing in comparison to him!” Suga groaned to which Tendou blushed a bit in embarrassment, he wasn´t used to getting compliments.

“I wouldn´t say that… Wakatoshi was the true star of the team, he´s the one who deserves the praise, not me” Tendou mumbled.

“Don´t sell yourself short, we had a lot of trouble because of you. You were amazing at blocking, it was like you always knew where we were gonna be before we knew it ourselves and you were so fast...it was incredible” Daichi smiled at him widely.

“Aw, damn, I wish I could´ve seen that! Do you still play?” you asked to which he shook his head.

After that you started working on the project, setting up a group chat for your new study group.

You met up every time when there was homework or a new project, well, when everyone of you had time.

The last part proved to be quite difficult for you personally because you were busy with your band project in your music class.

Still, you somehow managed to do both.

You were in a band with Semi, at first you didn´t like him, his silent nature irked you, it seemed like he was always judging you, but over time you learned to appreciate him. He was very hard working and you two worked well together.

Actually you talked about doing the band after college too, you liked the idea.

In the course of the next months you got closer with Tendou too, getting him to talk more and exchanging opinions on the recent JUMP volumes and other things that interested you two.

It was fun hanging around him and it was true, like Suga and Daichi said, he really was quite quirky and open when he felt comfortable around people, it was nice seeing him be himself around you, it made you feel special.

You had worries at first that you texted him too much, replied too much, annoyed him or were boring to him. Luckily he was always quick to respond to you as well, texting you just as much which made you happy and when you told him that you felt you weren´t worth his time, he couldn´t disagree more.

Tendou told you how amazing you were, how you were the first person in a long time he didn´t scare off, how he could talk about everything with you, no matter how stupid it was, how you would laugh at his jokes and it made him so happy because nobody laughs at his jokes, Semi always tells him to shut up, Semi´s his roommate by the way. Oh you know him? That´s amazing, maybe you should hang out sometime!

And that´s how you ended up in this situation. It was very awkward to say the least.

You knew what Semi thought of Tendou, only that you didn´t know it was Tendou at the time. You thought it was obnoxious how Semi always talked about his annoying roommate, he got quite rude talking about him, stating what a child he was and that it was no wonder that all girls ran away screaming from him, that nobody ever would want to be with him and that he only lived with him because he had no other choice, because he was scared what would happen if he told him how much he disliked him.

You shrugged it off at first, but knowing now that he was talking about Tendou the whole time made you fume with rage. How dare he talk about him like that? Tendou was such a sweetheart, he was so kind and funny and fun to be around. You loved his antics and quirks, the little tunes he sung throughout the day about random things stuck in your head all the time.

Hell, you even had a chant together about your favorite ice cream.

How could anyone not like him?

“SemiSemi, that´s (Y/N)! I told you about her, remember?” Tendou was so excited that you were coming over, he even cleaned his room for you.

Semi sighed, hoping he´d just shut up for one fucking second. He should´ve never agreed to this. Honestly, he felt so bad for you to be in the same class as this creep, he should´ve said he had band practice or something and dragged you along.

“Yeah, you never fucking shut up about her, of course I remember. And she´s my bandmate, so I know her already. But I told you that too” he groaned, you didn´t like his tone at all and shot him a glare.

The tension between them made you really uncomfortable and you wished you and Tendou could go somewhere else.

Somehow the fact that he seemed to talk about you made you blush, you had to admit, you had a giant soft spot for him, or a crush as Suga put it.

“Why are you always so mean to me?” he whined, you could see the sadness in his eyes, this wasn´t fair.

“Because you´re annoying as fuck. Like, seriously, you never stop talking and it´s driving me crazy. I don´t care about your stupid magazines and whatever other weird shit you´re into. Honestly, I wish we never met!” Semi yelled at him, he was enraged, so furious and you never heard him raise his voice like that.

His words hurt Tendou, you stood up and wanted to confront Semi, but he just kept on going.

“I don´t even get why they let you into high school! Just look at you, you´re disgusting! I always hated you, like everyone else. How can we not? You´re still the same fucking weirdo from your childhood, you haven´t changed, no matter what people tell you. You wanna know why people tolerate you? Why they smile at you? Why they even bother to be nice? Because you fucking scare them. I bet even your own mother can´t look at you, hell, she probably still is ashamed of ever giving birth to such a hideous monster” he spat, Tendou was crying at this point, his words struck something deep inside of him, returned his childhood trauma to the surface and left him shaking.

You rushed to his side, grabbed him by the arm and left to go to your own place.

You didn´t utter a word to Semi after that ever again.

Tendou was still crying when you arrived at home, Daichi and Suga left a note saying they were at the gym and would bring take out later.

You gently sat Tendou down the couch and wrapped your arms around him, pulling him close to you in a soothing manner.

His heart calmed down at that, but his sobs continued as he allowed himself to hug you back, desperately clinging onto you and crying into your shoulder.

You cradled his back until he stopped, you sat there for a while and he was still shaking when there were no tears left.

Tendou couldn´t speak, he was too shaken up by Semi´s words, he was asking himself what he did wrong, what he did to deserve this. A little voice in his head told him that Semi was right about everything he said.

“Satori?” you softly called out his name, making him look at you. The broken expression in his eyes broke your heart.

“I´m so sorry, you didn´t deserve this. Please don´t listen to what he said, don´t believe one single word of it. You´re wonderful and that´s all that counts. You´re such a great person, he would never understand that, so please believe me and not him. He had no right to bring up those things, he did it all to hurt you and yet he called you the monster. I can´t believe I was in a band with that asshole...I´m definitely reporting him tomorrow!” you got worked up but you couldn´t help it, nobody came for Tendou like that. Not on your watch.

He looked away when he started crying again, his shoulders slouching. You noticed how small he looked, how frail and hugged him again.

“There will always be people like him, but there will also be people like me, people who like you a lot. And people who think you´re amazing, people who know that chocolate ice cream isn´t always the same and people who know that manga aren´t just magazines and anime aren´t cartoons and cup noodles somehow taste real good even though they shouldn´t. There will always be people who look forward to text you, who smile like an idiot whenever you reply to their texts, who look forward to seeing you every day in psychology class, who want to binge watch Naruto with you, who want to try out that weird complicated looking cake recipe you found, who want to make you happy no matter what...” you talked so much you didn´t even realize what you were saying, somewhere along the lines you thought he wasn´t listening and got bolder with your statements but he was listening closely.

You weren´t quite finished but you noticed his weight pulling away from you and stopped talking to see him smile at you dreamily.

It made your heart flutter.

“My mom was right” he giggled, continuing after seeing your puzzled expression.

“I told her about you and she said you were someone really special and when I talked more about you, she agreed that you were super cute and when I told her that I like you, she said that you liked me back because you and I are made for each other” he didn´t care about how cheesy it sounded, his mother was always right. She was right about him getting friends, about him being able to be happy.

You smiled at him, this certainly wasn´t what you thought your confession would look like, but this wasn´t some chick flick.

“Your mother´s a smart woman, then” you smiled at him, making his eyes light up. He nodded at that, smiling widely at you.

He was staring at you lovingly, unsure of what to do, he´s never done this before, he never liked someone the way he liked you…

“Satori? I really wanna kiss you right now, is that okay with you?” you softly caressed his cheek, he was melting into your touch and nodded, hooded eyes looking up at you in anticipation.

You slowly leaned in, grabbing a hold of his head, massaging his scalp as you pressed a soft kiss on his lips, making him moan surprised.

This felt good, he could do this all day, even though he had no idea what he was supposed to do.

With shaking hands he pulled you into a hug, he liked hugging you.

You deepened the kiss, swiping your tongue along his lips, earning a gasp and slipping your tongue in to play with his. He smiled into the kiss, relishing in the new feeling he liked very much.

“(Y/N), we´re back, we got food” Daichi announced and Suga snickered when he saw you and Tendou.

“Well, hello you two lovebirds, about time!” he smiled. Ever since he saw how you two looked at each other he wanted to see where this would go.

“Sorry, we didn´t mean to interrupt” Daichi chimed in, he too was glad to see that you ended up together. Tendou was a good guy despite what the others thought.

“It´s alright, what kind of food did you get?” you pulled away from him, still having an arm around him.

He blushed, being embarrassed by being caught like this.

You went ahead and explained what happened earlier and asked if it was okay that Tendou could stay with you, of course Daichi and Suga agreed.

You watched a movie and had dinner together, cuddling with Tendou the whole time and the next day you reported Semi and he was banished from college.

[scorlettimagines]

Scared of Heights: A Harvey Kinkle Imagine

Request from @just-danishgirl​: Hiii ✨☺️ it’s me again, may I request a Harvey Kinkle imagine to the Driver Era song “Scared of Heights”? I personally think it sort of suits Harvey’s character? 😅 your writing is beautifully and incredible 🥰💕💕

Absolutely adore this song! Hope this is okay for you lovely, and enjoy x

Want to hear the song? Find a link to it just below:

Scared of Heights

I want it bad It does me good Hey, I don't need no shit from you

You had to be living under a rock to not notice the way Harvey Kinkle looked at Y/N Y/L/N. It was impossible not to notice the way his eyes followed her with such love, heartache in every glance as she spoke to him. And he knew full well how it looked, knew that the entire school probably realised that he was head over heels in love with her.

It was unfortunate that she didn’t.

Harvey had never wanted something or someone as badly as he wanted Y/N. He wanted all the things that came with being with her, the smiles, the laughs, the jokes. He wanted to do all the things they did in the movies; to kiss her in the rain, hold her hand as they walked down the corridor together, to tell her he loved her in the moment they were about to lose everything.

But instead, he pretended to listen as she spoke to him, lost in her eyes, her smile, the passion in her voice. He pretended not to notice the knowing grins he got from his friends when Y/N said his name several times, snapping him out of his daze.

“Earth to Harvey? What do you say, Dr C’s tonight? Work on the English project?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

He spent the rest of the day preoccupied with thoughts of the evening, of it just being him and her.

It's 'cause I'm sad It's a bad excuse Because I know I don't need you (Yeah, yeah) Because I know I don't need you (No, alright) “Hey, what’s going on with you?” Harvey looked up as Y/N shut her English textbook, highlighters scattering over the table with the force of it. She was looking at him with those eyes that he had fallen in love with the first time he met her, those eyes that he wanted to look at him like he was the most important thing in the world.  

“What do you mean?” He tried to laugh it off, moving a stray lock of hair out of his face.  

“I don’t know, it’s just you’ve been acting really weird lately. Like right now, for example. I’m pretty sure you haven’t been paying attention to a single word I’ve said.” 

Harvey found himself getting defensive, a sure fire way of her knowing he was lying.  

“I have been listening.” 

Harvey wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself when Y/N reached across the table and put her hand on top of his. It wasn’t quite the handholding he had imagined, but he still found himself intoxicated by the feeling of her skin on his. If only there weren’t the pitying looks to go with it.  

“Harvey, if there’s something going on, you can tell me. If you need to talk-” 

Harvey stood up, his chair sliding backwards. “I’m fine. I don’t need anything.” 

And with that, he left. Still I can't get enough of the good stuff Give me one more time Harvey wasn’t quite sure what had come over him back at Dr C’s. As far as he could remember, he had never been angry at Y/N, never shown aggression towards her at all, but yet, the accusations that he wasn’t coping were enough to send him over the edge. As he walked home, he found himself mulling it all over in his head, talking to himself as he asked the questions that he’d been waiting a hell of a long time to ask.  

“Why can’t you just see that I’m in love with you? Everyone else knows so why don’t you? What’s so difficult about it all Y/N?” 

It was infuriating, and for the first time in his life, Harvey found himself hating her for it. But none of that hatred was enough to suppress the love he felt for her, instantly feeling guilty that he had left her back at Dr C’s, probably completely unaware of what was going through her friend’s head. But he didn’t turn around, knowing that if he went back to her, the truth would come spilling out of his mouth, and he wasn’t quite ready for the embarrassment of her turning him down just yet.  

So he thought of her eyes again, of her smile, of her laugh, all the things about her he couldn’t get enough of. They were the last things he thought about before he went to bed, the first things he thought about when he woke up.   

As always. But I'm never satisfied, yeah Keep my feelings on the side, yeah Getting high until I fly, yeah But now I'm scared of heights

The next morning was the beginning of the weekend; a whole two days away from Y/N, where Harvey could focus on his art, on other things than how much he loved her and how much she didn’t love him back. He could also use the two days to think of an excuse for his behaviour last night, his feelings for her never far away. But for the moment, for this Saturday morning, he would think about other things that made him happy.

That was, until his Dad shouted up the stairs at him.

“Harvey, there’s a girl here to see you. Y/N something or other. Says it’s about an English project.”

Shit.

Harvey’s heart sank. He fumbled around for a little bit, pretending he was looking for something so he could have an excuse for why he was taking so long which wasn’t that he was finding the words; trying to think of what he would say to Y/N when he saw her.

“Harvey!”

Okay, no more messing around then. Harvey stood at the top of the stairs, suddenly aware of what a long way down it seemed to be. But he was sure, even then, the drop would be over in seconds, far too soon for him to face Y/N.

Okay, here goes.

Keep on telling me it's fine, yeah And now I'm hanging for my life, yeah Getting high until I fly, yeah But now I'm scared of heights

When Harvey eventually reached the bottom of the stairs, he turned into his front room and found Y/N standing there, a sympathetic smile on her face. He almost laughed when he saw the English book in her hands, her excuse of coming round to finish the project believable to a tee.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

If Harvey had been her boyfriend, he would have kissed her then and there. He would have put his hands on her cheeks and held her to him so tightly, as if he lived in fear of losing her. He would have re-enacted the perfect movie moment and he would have made it memorable for the both of them. He would have felt his heart soar above the clouds, would have felt Y/N pull him back to reality, his lifesaver until the very end. He wouldn’t have felt the fear that he did now, the fear that made words fail him. A sorrowful look in his eyes was apology enough for Y/N.

“What happened last night,” she began, “it was totally my fault. I shouldn’t have pressured you. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay. Just know that I’m here for you if you need me.”

Harvey didn’t bother retaliating, a sad smile on his face appearing instead.

“Thanks, Y/N.”

Y/N smiled back, and held up the English book in her hands. “Now, don’t we have a project to finish?”

As she sat down at the table, her back to him, Harvey fell for her all over again, for her ability to make any awkward situation disappear, making him laugh in her attempts to return back to normal, to diffuse the tension instantly. He couldn’t help the next words that came out of his mouth.

“God, I love you.”

THE DRIVER ERA MASTERLIST

HARVEY KINKLE MASTERLIST

MAIN MASTERLIST

[silver-wield]

(1/3) Agreeing with the 🌼 anon. That blogger didn’t use “woman empowerment” but she did use “female assertiveness”, and she’s actually an abuse victim herself. Only problem is that she seems to invalidate people who’ve had different abusive/uncomfortable and toxic experiences with behaviors like Aerith’s. I think she raises some good points about the use of the word “abusive” in fandom spaces, but her assumption that the people speaking out haven’t suffered abuse is what makes me critical.

(2/3) She’s recently talked about how Tifa forced Cloud to do things as well. I’m of the opinion that the two situations are largely different for a variety of reasons. Cloud never outright tells Tifa “no” and has it ignored. His grumping is often just a front. With Aerith, on the other hand, he’s consistently uncomfortable. Forced to take little to no pay for his work, faced with people who don’t take no for an answer, and is prevented from leaving by Aerith intercepting him.

(3/3) I said “prevented from leaving” when I should have said she exhibited some truly stalkerish behavior and jumped out at him in the darkness from an alley as he was trying to go. It’s not exactly shining behavior on her part. Especially when she then delays his leaving even more. I think it’s strange to grasp for a lot of people because Cloud doesn’t put up more of a fight, but I also think some manipulation tactics were put into play.

(4/5) Anon who agrees with 🌼 again. The issue has been bothering me a bit because she does raise a good point: why doesn’t Cloud ask anybody else for help? I was wondering if you could answer that question (no pressure, of course). What bothers me the most is that this blogger keeps assuming people are mentioning this as a way to justify hating a character. She implies that the people speaking up haven’t experienced abuse and that they only know it as an abstract concept.

(5/5) That’s incredibly damaging to a lot of people. I myself liked Aerith as a character once I got to know her better, and actually ship her with Cloud (I’m a multishipper), but there’s no ignoring that Aerith acts very strange in chapter 8, at the detriment of Cloud’s consent, comfort, time, and stability. The fact that so many people have spoken up about this isn’t a coincidence. People with bad experiences are coming out and getting disregarded. That shouldn’t be happening.

Apologies for the long post 😅 I hope you don’t mind. I’m pretty impassioned about this issue, honestly. Because I do actually agree with the blogger on multiple points, but find that she seems to keep missing the issue and hurting other people in the fandom. Cloud doesn’t need to be held at gunpoint to be put into an uncomfortable (and possibly dangerous - he doesn’t know Aerith all that well) situation. She’s right about how certain words are misused, but she’s dodging the heart of the issue.

Honestly, it’s exhausting how these people take concepts they don’t understand and slap them on shit that’s the exact opposite like if they scream they’re right enough people will believe them. 

It takes as long as your browser and typing speed to look shit up.

Assertiveness is the quality of being self-assured and confident without being aggressive.

WITHOUT.

Assertiveness is not gender oriented, so what the fuck even are people blabbing about now? Female assertiveness? Gimme a break. Being assertive is a character trait. Some people are naturally assertive, while others need to learn how to stand up for themselves. Like a particular spiky haired protagonist.

Aerith’s not assertive, she’s pushy because she doesn’t respect Cloud, and respect is part of being assertive. Being able to get your point across without being a douchebag about it. Like how certain people are constantly screaming how they’re right and dragging everyone else through the mud. Those people aren’t assertive because assertiveness is a positive trait. It implies confidence in oneself and one’s ideals. There’s no need to be a dick to people because they believe in their viewpoint and see no reason to pull others down. 

Ex: I’m both assertive and can be a dick because one of my other traits is petty bench, but on the whole I’m assertive without activating that petty bench mode until people piss me off because I operate on a respect and respect alike policy. If people come to me and give me shit then they shouldn’t expect flowers in exchange. 

Back to the thing.

Aerith talks over Cloud, ignores his opinion, bullies him into doing what she wants “this is the plan, Cloud, and you’ll learn to love it” and deliberately ignores the fact he says no. That line creeps me tf out and it obviously does Cloud too because he literally steps up to her and says “what?” in an aggressive voice. Cloud has a limit and Aerith was very close to going over it. 

Cloud. said. no.

And guess what? Cloud’s not assertive. Not for himself. Not until he’s pushed beyond normal means.

He couldn’t say no to Jessie, despite not being happy about the job. He couldn’t refuse to help Aerith, despite not wanting to fight Reno -- he knows how tough Turks are, he’s not an idiot -- and then he got compensated with a date that made Reno call him a weirdo (and he never accepted it either, so Aerith’s yet another person in sector 5 who took him for a fool). So, yeah, no goddamn wonder Cloud’s reluctant to argue when Aerith could ruin his hard won reputation inside of an afternoon. He says “That wasn’t the deal” when she tries to force him to stay, but can’t keep insisting when that doesn’t work. Because Cloud is shy af. Were people not paying attention to the promise? To CC? That’s real Cloud and real Cloud makes up the core of soldier Cloud. He’s a shy, awkward boy who could barely speak to his crush. He didn’t get along with others because he’s introverted. He’s quiet and reserved. Just because he kicks all the ass doesn’t change that about him. 

Cloud isn’t a talker. Everyone knows this about him. It’s a canon fact. So, not being a talker, being reserved, quiet, introverted, unable to speak up for his own sake when he wants something that together showcases someone who isn’t good at standing up for himself. He tries. He tried so hard to refuse Aerith, but he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He either got lost trying to get home or he put up with the pushy girl who keeps making him do shit he doesn’t want to. He sighs and pulls faces and doesn’t look happy. He wants to go home. He still said no several times to her whenever she tried to waylay him further. She didn’t care about what he wanted. That doesn’t make her assertive. It makes her the asshole because she has no respect for him.

People think that because he called Jessie desperate that it meant he wanted to stay with Aerith. That he’s capable of speaking up for himself. Nope With Jessie, he’d had a long ass day of work and longer ass night, been excluded by both Barret and the Avalanche trio, made to break into Jessie’s house (which doesn’t sit well with Cloud’s actual moral compass), then did a bunch more difficult shit fighting off Shinra and then literally jumped off the plate. Okay?! Cloud had a long ass day and it was like 4am by that point and he was tired. Anybody tries to say after that much work they’d be nice Imma call them a goddamn liar. 

Aerith refused to tell Cloud the way home, absolutely prevented him from leaving, made him do a bunch of work for shitty or no pay, belittled and insulted him, then barricaded the hallway so he couldn’t escape and stalked him to the exit when he escaped. He literally pulls a yessh face after reluctantly agreeing to let her show him how to get home. And then when they get there she withholds vital information for how he can actually get into the sector (or did people not notice him saying the giant gate was shut too?) until she gets what she wants out of him. And he sighs. Again. He has no say in anything because Aerith doesn’t listen to anyone but herself. The only reason he starts being nice to her is she tries to get info about Zack out of him and Cloud’s a nice guy who feels sorry for her. He knows he’ll never see her after this (or did people also misinterpret that reaction to Elmyra? Probably, since the only person he’d want to make a normal life with is Tifa, so being told he can’t is gonna get a reaction duh), so why be a dick to a girl who’s obviously upset about her boyfriend? Literally the second he saw Tifa -- barely even saw her because he knew that was her from the back of her head, her shoulder and hands -- he ran to her. He forgot Aerith even existed. But, sure, please do focus on the fact that he respected Tifa enough to do as she asked after an entire goddamn day of being disrespected by someone else. He’s not gonna treat Tifa the way he was just treated by Aerith. He actually cares about her.

And what did they think the message in Stand Up was? It’s not about dancing ffs. Andrea’s telling Cloud not to be afraid to be himself. That means speaking up for himself too, not about being real Cloud, which is a message he wouldn’t even understand at that point because he’s soldier Cloud and not aware of real Cloud. Andrea figured out Cloud right away. He saw a boy who’d do anything for the woman he loved, even let himself get pressured into something he’d be embarrassed by. That’s what stand up means in relation to Cloud. 

Tifa never forced Cloud to do anything. She asked him to go with her to collect filter money, then immediately backtracked when she realised she’d have to pay him for that too. Cloud agreed and smiled at her. She also let him keep all of the money they got, which in the end gave him a grand total of 2150 gil, not the 2000 he was promised, so they overpaid him to make up for the delay.

She also asked him after the first quest “what do you want to do now?” and he said “Dunno,” so she made a suggestion. There’s no force behind that. He could refuse and go take a nap or something. She spent the day getting him work and helping him with that work, so much so that he was fully prepared to split the fee with her. Unlike with Aerith. 

I could go on and on about this because I’ve gone over that chapter so many times. I don’t just replay odd chapters to get stuff, I replay the entire game, so I get to see the development of everything as it unfolds and see those connections between things that I overlooked before because I was too busy looking at something else. People think because they spend umpteen hours in sector 5 that Cloud did too. Nope. Cloud was there for around 11 hours before he left.

It was morning when he woke and since in December the sun would rise around 8am, that’s the earlier possible time that it could’ve been. In fact it could’ve been later. Cloud and Aerith spend several hours getting back to the sector so that it’s close to dinner time when they arrive. She then makes him do odd jobs for a few hours and then they eat and Cloud has a nap -- because he literally has a dream. You know, that thing people keep clinging to. He can’t dream if he’s not asleep. When he wakes up it’s dark and since it’s past dinner time, it’s around 6-7pm when he escapes and makes for the sector 6 exit. And that’s chapter 8. 

Chapter 9 takes around 4 hours for them to complete. They spend a couple of hours fighting in the coliseum, then Cloud messes around while Aerith’s getting ready, which from Madam M seems to take around an hour. That leaves the rest of the time for the honey bee inn show, getting Cloud changed, walking to Corneo’s and the bit in the dungeon. Then they get dropped in the sewers. 

Do you see how little time Cloud actually spent with Aerith? He’s known her for like 15 hours total before he reunites with Tifa. And people think he fell in love with her? Ew. Even Disney knew better than to try that. 

[pandoraborn]

Cruelty of the Beast - Part 8

( previous. )

Characters: c!Dream, c!Tommy, c!Ranboo, c!Wilbur Word count: 2136 words Content: the end, seeing the dragon, discussion of good vs. evil, ranboo starts to remember a little more

-----------

The next several days blur together. Ranboo and Tommy aren’t able to find any time alone anymore, because their days from wake up are filled with mining for resources and farming even more. They also include trips to the nether multiple times a day. Each night the two teens can barely finish their dinners before collapsing into a sound sleep in their bunks.

The upside to this is that there’s no room to think much about their situation. Though, if Ranboo were to be honest, he’s starting to enjoy the routine. It’s nice, having something to do each day. He no longer has to question anything bad that might happen to him.

He does keep Tubbo and Michael in the back of his mind. He hopes they’re both okay, though he also hopes Tubbo isn’t sending out search party after search party. He hopes he can slip away soon to meet up back in Snowchester, but with the way this new life is going, that thought is unlikely.

He wakes slowly one morning. His back and muscles ache, and Ranboo wishes he had a way to alleviate the tension, but he’s not about to ask the others for help. He only trusts Tommy, he still doesn’t know how to feel about Dream and Wilbur.

When Ranboo finally sits up, he finds he’s the last one to rise. Tommy’s awake and cooking sausages, Dream is mixing apple juice, and Wilbur is handing Ranboo a plate of food.

“Good morning,” Wilbur says softly. “You don’t look so great.”

“We’ve been busy,” Ranboo mutters. He takes the food though, eating slowly. He decides if Tommy’s the one cooking, then it can’t be all that bad. “How long until we’re going mining again?”

“We’re not going today,” Wilbur says. He offers Ranboo one of his quiet smiles. This time, Ranboo finds a little bit of comfort in it. Mostly, he wants to believe they finally get a day to rest, which means tonight he can sneak-

“Do you want anything for the pain?” Wilbur continues. “You look sore.”

“I’m fine,” Ranboo mumbles. He shakes his head as further confirmation and resumes eating. “Thank you though.”

“If you’re sure.” Wilbur pats him on the shoulder before walking away to take over for Tommy. “Toms, go eat. We have plenty of food.”

“I’m starving,” Tommy complains. “Five sausages doesn’t feel like enough!”

Wilbur starts laughing. “You act like we’re starving you.”

“You are,” Tommy counters. “You’re only giving me five sausages.”

“Tommy, they’re huge. You barely even need three!” Wilbur laughs. “I haven’t eaten yet, I’m stealing your portion.”

“See what I mean?” Tommy stumbles toward Ranboo dramatically, collapsing on the floor by his feet. “Ranboo, when I perish, please call Dream a bitch for me. Honor my legacy.”

Ranboo looks up toward Dream, now curious to see how he’s going to handle this. He expects a snarky comment, but he’s surprised to hear Dream laughing.

Yeah, okay Tommy. I guess I just won’t share this freshly made apple juice with you. I”ll just share with with Ranboo and Wilbur instead. You can keep your water.”

Tommy’s up in a second. “Okay fine. You win, but only because I’m thirsty. Not because I actually want anything from you. You’re still a bitch and I hate you.”

“Tommy, come get your food,” Wilbur interrupts. “I’m giving you four.”

“And pancakes.”

“You have three.” Wilbur hands Tommy his breakfast too. “Sit by Ranboo and eat. We have a present for you two today.”

Ranboo pauses to look up again. Wilbur had said they weren’t working today, but he hadn’t gotten confirmation on why. “A present?” Ranboo asks.

“Yes,” Dream says. He holds up a pitcher. “Aside from the fresh food, we’re going to take you two on a field trip.”

“We’re going back to the SMP, I knew it!” Tommy pumps his fist before clutching at his plate. “Shit, my breakfast!”

“No, it’s not that easy.” The grin fades from Dream’s face. “Look, Wilbur and I did some talking over the past couple of days, and we both agreed we fucked up, so we’re going to include you both more in our plans. We want to gain your trust.”

“Dream, I wasn’t kidding earlier when I said I hated you,” Tommy says. His shoulders seem to deflate. “I would trust Bad over you, and Bad’s got that egg shit going on, and he’s already tried to kill me a few times.”

“I know.” Dream offers a smile that almost seems to mirror Wilbur’s, but it doesn’t quite make the mark. “Tommy, if Wilbur trusts me-”

“Wilbur trusting you has nothing to do with me,” Tommy cuts in curtly. Ranboo silently cheers him on. “It’s going to take a lot more than an ‘I’m sorry’ for me to even think about forgiving you. Everything else is most likely not going to happen.”

Dream throws his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. I won’t push. But we do have a treat for you.”

“What’s the treat?” Ranboo asks. He’s ready for the awkwardness to die out. His curiosity is overwriting any other tension he might be feeling, and for once, he’s glad he’s curious. “What’s this field trip?”

“We’re going on a quick trip to the end,” Wilbur says. He plates his own food and sits down in the middle of the cabin. “Ranboo, I know Dream showed you the location, and I know you told Tommy, but we’re going to take a visit there today.”

Tommy swallows thickly. “Any particular reason why we need to see a dragon? What if it eats us?”

“It won’t. We’ve already taken precautions with ensuring our safety.” Wilbur nods toward Dream. “We’ll be perfectly safe when we see it. Now please, children, hurry and eat. You’ll love this, I swear to you.”

---

It takes no more than another hour for them to finish eating (and the apple juice is actually pretty pog, in Tommy’s words). When they clean up and dress for the day, Ranboo holds Tommy’s hand tightly as they make their way toward the campsite and end portal. He’s grateful that Tommy is squeezing just as tightly; glad that Tommy is finding comfort in him just as much as he finds comfort in Tommy. That’s the biggest silver lining in this situation, is they still have each other.

They peek into the hole again, and Ranboo’s stomach churns. He still doesn’t remember digging this, but he has another flash, Dream’s voice echoing in his head, whispered words of praise. The hallucination is gone as quickly as it came, but Ranboo feels a certain sort of peace settle over him.

There’s a ladder that leads down. He must’ve missed it last time he was here, but it’s there, and Dream’s already climbing down slowly, with Wilbur right behind him. Giving Tommy’s hand one last squeeze, Ranboo pulls his hand back and follows suit. He doesn’t want to go down, he doesn’t want to actually confront what he’s done, but Tommy is silently nudging him forward.

“It’s okay Ran, we’re in this together.” Tommy’s voice is a whisper that is almost too quiet to be heard. But the comfort is still there. Tommy’s reassuring him, Tommy’s forgiving him...

That means something.

With a nod, Ranboo climbs down the ladder slowly, keeping his gaze up to watch Tommy. It’s a long climb down, and the ladder is creaking under each step. It feels like any second the ladder can break and they’d all plummet, but a blink later and he’s at the bottom.

He looks back up, and the surface seems way too far above them. There’s only a tiny sliver of light, the rest is shrouded in darkness. Well, except for the portal room, which is well lit.

“Set your spawns,” Dream instructs. “We aren’t taking any chances.”

“I thought you said you took precautions,” Tommy accuses. “We should be safe.”

“We took precautions for the dragon, not the various endermen that live here,” Dream clarifies. “Also, when we dip through, please stay close to us.”

There’s a drawn out silence as the two teens lie in the nearby bed. Ranboo immediately latches onto Tommy again, aware of how sweaty Tommy’s hand is. He doesn’t mind though, because they’re now following the two adults through the portal. There’s no telling what they’ll find on the other side.

What Ranboo isn’t prepared for is how big the dragon is, or how beautiful the void is. It’s an endless...he would describe it as a night sky. His eyes widen as he stares in awe around the nearby area. There are so many endermen...

The end is nothing like what he’d imagined; he’d pictured something desolate and empty, but now that he’s here, amazement and wonderment replace any feelings of apprehension. Ranboo is staring up into the endless inky sky, jaw agape.

“...boo?” Tommy’s voice is distant, cutting into his trance. “Ranboo, you still with us?”

“Huh?” He tries to shake himself, but he’s staring up again, still too lost in a pleasurable daze to focus on Tommy.

“Ah, shit.” Dream’s voice cuts into his thoughts next. “I forgot about this. He’s half enderman, this is like, his homeland. Hey, Ranboo, come here.”

He feels an arm slide around his shoulders, pulling him flush against another body. Only now does Ranboo pull himself out of his trance to focus on Dream, who’s waving a hand in front of his face. He shakes his head a few times, letting reality sink in. Rather than feel embarrassed, he holds onto that peaceful feeling. Everything else that had been eating away in the back of his mind is all but forgotten about.

The group moves closer. Ranboo finds comfort in Dream’s closeness, and up ahead, he can see Tommy holding Wilbur’s hand. When they’re close enough to see the dragon, Ranboo’s eyes widen again.

Wilbur and Dream hadn’t been kidding when they said they’d already taken measures to protect themselves. They’d set up several beacons that seem to trap the dragon in a large circle, on one island. The group is just outside the circle, but they’re all staring up with the same expressions of awe on their faces. Ranboo looks over at Tommy, pulling away from Dream to move closer.

He takes Tommy’s hand again.

“Wow,” Tommy breathes. Ranboo watches him with a smile on his face. “Ranboo, I never thought I’d say this, but this is really fucking cool. Look at it!”

He does. There’s no denying now that this dragon would cause an apocalypse in their main world, but for some reason, while in this realm, he doesn’t feel any sort of worry. He really does feel like everything will be okay.

“Wilbur?” Tommy’s voice interrupts his thoughts.

“Yes child?”

“This is the coolest thing I’ve seen since you kidnapped us.” He moves closer to Ranboo, pressing a hand to his back. Ranboo sighs and leans against Tommy. “If Ranboo and I like it, does this make us the bad guys?”

“Silly Tommy.” Wilbur laughs and reaches over to ruffle Tommy’s hair. “You ask adorable questions.”

Another faint memory stirs deep within Ranboo. A faint memory of a conversation. Not with Dream, but with Wilbur. It comes on so strong that he almost blacks out.

-

He’s in Pogtopia, with the ghost of Wilbur before him. Wilbur had been brought back for a limited amount of time thanks to an ancient spell. He has questions he can’t go to Dream about.

“If I’m working with Dream and he’s hurting people, does that make me a villain?”

“That’s such an antiquated train of thought. No one is a villain, and no one is a hero. We all simply are. Everything serves its purpose and every end justifies the means.” Wilbur tilts his head to the side to smile at Ranboo. “I died for a cause, and it caused this massive avalanche of events. Would you fault me for all of it?”

“No. You did what you had to do, in the end.” Ranboo can feel his lips stretching out. “Just as Dream is doing what he has to do.”

“Then we’re not the villains in this tale, are we? We’re simply working toward a cause.” Wilbur puts his hand on Ranboo’s shoulder. “Don’t focus so much on good versus evil, because everything can be twisted to suit a different set of morals, even if you have the best of intentions.”

“You’re right.” Ranboo smiles at Wilbur. “I trust Dream.”

“Good lad. Keep trusting Dream, he’d never lead you astray.”

-

Ranboo comes back to reality. Only a couple of seconds had passed, but he feels like he’d been drowning in surfacing memories for hours. Wilbur is still playing with Tommy’s hair, and he’s still speaking.

“Of course we’re the villains,” Wilbur continues. “We always have been.”

[gifti3]

honey

ayy im back again with another jjba and game crossover! I’ve had this idea for awhile and I’m finally getting most of it out of my system now!

It’s pretty much huniepop but with jjba characters, and Bruno is your love fairy! so yea warning this is 18+  ——

Summary:  You’ve never sexted before but no worries cause your love fairy Bruno’s here to help!

——

You sat on your bed, staring at your phone, putting every single brain cell  to work. You were texting one of the many people you were currently fooling around with.

Bruno places his chin on your shoulder as he reads what you’ve typed so far.

He tuts at what he sees. “You aren’t very good at this…”

You huff. “Well, it’s not like I’ve ever sexted before!”

And you were only in this situation because of this man–er fairy!

You had met him about 2 weeks ago in the lounge bar near your apartment. That day had been stressful and you decided to go out to unwind and maybe meet someone new. Unfortunately, the moment you had arrived in the bar, your body decided to get cold feet, as usual. So you sat at the bar and began ordering drinks, keeping to yourself.

You had only been two drinks in when a man had approached you–Bruno. He had a disguise on, but you hadn’t known that at the time. The way he approached you was kind of strange, but you weren’t complaining. In fact, you were grateful since you were planning to stay in the same bar seat the whole night. 

He tried to flirt with you, but you totally failed at properly reciprocating. However, he still smiled and looked at you for a couple of seconds. “I think I can make this work.” 

After uttering that strange and somewhat curious statement, he left. You simply shrugged it off and continued to drink to help get over your disappointment.

You were sure you wouldn’t see that same man again, but later the next day he showed up in your room! Wig gone and with intricate, lacy looking wings, he looked like something otherworldly and straight out of a fairy tale. 

That day you learned that he wasn’t actually a man but a fairy, a love fairy to be more specific. He told you he was there to help you seduce as many people as possible and get into their beds as quickly as possible.

It was a strange experience, to say the least, and you were honestly still trying to completely process it.

You focus on the message on your phone, back in the present.

Bruno chuckles in that stupid attractive way that makes you feel kind of giddy. He flitters his wings before moving away from you. “Okay, let me help then.”

He snaps his fingers and you start levitating about a foot off the bed. 

“B-Bruno?”

The man doesn’t reply as he positions himself in the spot you were sitting. Once he’s settled, you float down and land on his lap.

You wiggle a bit on top of him. “What are you doing?”

“Helping you, amore.” He gently pulls you against him. “Now let’s start over.” He deletes everything you typed so far.

“I’m not going to just do this for you outright, but I’ll try to push you in the right direction. I still want you to learn.”

You groan. It really felt like you were being tutored at times.

“This person doesn’t know how to be subtle. What would be the best approach for someone like this?”

You think for a second. “Uh…to be straightforward too?”

“No. Well not yet. Try teasing them first, it’s more fun that way.” As he finishes that thought, he smiles mischievously and begins dragging the fingers of one of his hands along your side, giving you goosebumps.

You gulp and try to ignore the fairy’s caresses and type something simple. “Is this okay?”

“Oh? What exactly do you mean by that winky face,” Bruno reads.

You feel embarrassed hearing it out loud .

“That’s cute, but it could be better.”

You pout, something you were doing a lot ever since Bruno appeared in your life. “This is too hard Bruno.”

Bruno was still touching you. It was a nice feeling but distracting. “It might seem like that at first, but you need to keep going.”

You try again and type ‘oh ur going to give it to me? how exactly?’

Bruno hums approvingly. “Good. How would my cute human like it?”

You blink. “…I guess slowly?”

He places his chin on your shoulder, looking pleased. “I’ll be sure to remember that.”

You stare at your phone screen so you wouldn’t have to make eye contact. You could feel your heartbeat picking up in your chest and you knew he could feel it too. 

Bruno tended to act like this when he got a bit too excited but today he didn’t seem to be trying very hard to hold back.

Your phone vibrates in your hand. “Bruno you’re supposed to be helping me,” you complain.

“I am amore. I’m just taking a more direct approach.” He looks at the reply you had gotten on your phone screen.

as fast as you want it ;p

“So they like it when you lead. Tell them exactly what you want…Maybe throw a pet name in there too.”

You did as he said and, when he gives you the okay, hit send. Bruno was really good at his job when he wasn’t messing with you. All this was second nature to him.

His lips brush lightly against your ear. “Do you like it when I call you pet names amore?”

Before you could reply, your phone vibrates again. That was quick. You raise your eyebrows as you read the extremely explicit message. “Holy shit.”

“They’re probably gonna start wanting pictures soon so we might as well beat them to the punch. But I’m assuming you’ve never sent nudes.” He paused for a moment. “I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re 100% sure.”

“I want to,” you say.

“Okay, you should keep it a little tasteful. It’ll definitely drive this person crazy.” Bruno starts fiddling with your bra before unhooking it. “Take this off.”

With some awkward movements, you remove your bra from under your shirt and toss it to the side.

Bruno goes back to caressing your sides before moving his hands onto your chest. He softly drags his fingertips across your hardening nipples.

You close your eyes and completely relax against him. You hated when he teased you like this but it felt good.

“Don’t get too relaxed. You still need to send a picture.”

Slightly frowning, you open your camera app. Your texting partner won’t be able to see Bruno so you don’t bother moving from your comfortable spot.

You snap a photo of yourself, your nipples pushing against the thin fabric of your shirt.

You type a short message.

“You’re quickly improving,” Bruno said.

You take that as an okay to send. 

Bruno presses a kiss on your neck and you shiver when you feel him lick a stripe up your neck.

Bruno purrs. “You taste fantastic.”

He places his hands near your inner thighs. “I bet you taste even better here.” He hand moves towards your warm center and you spread your legs wider for him.

Your phone vibrates but you really couldn’t find it in yourself to check.

Bruno nips at your ear. “What do you think you’re doing? Don’t keep any of your targets waiting.”

You reluctantly look at your phone. You had received a lewd photo. Definitely, much more revealing than yours. “W-What do I do now?”

“What do you think of the picture they sent?”

You decide to be straightforward. “Well, they have a nice body and it makes me feel excited.”

“Reply with something similar to that,” Bruno says.

After you send the reply, Bruno suggests you remove your bottoms and helps you pull them off.

The moment you’re back in his lap his hands are back on you. Bruno massages you through your blue panties. You push your hips insistently against his hand.

“You should send a photo of yourself like this,” Bruno tells you.

You purse your lips. This was beginning to frustrate you, but you hurry and take a photo of yourself, making sure to angle the phone to mainly focus on your lower half.

A wet spot was beginning to form on the blue cloth.

You type i hope blues ur favorite color ;) and send.

Bruno laughs at your message. “Are you sure you haven’t sexted before?” He pushes his hands past the elastic band of your underwear.

He brushes his fingers against your slit before spreading you open and teasing your wet entrance.

Your entrance clenches, begging for more friction and heat.

You turn your head towards Bruno’s face, desperation in your eyes “Please, more.”

“What exactly do you want more of? I’m just helping you with your sexts.”

If you could think more clearly you would yell at him. But apparently, Bruno was feeling generous today and moved his fingers to your swollen and sensitive clit and begins rubbing.

“I like how little it takes to get you like this,” he says huskily into your ear.

You moan in reply.

He stops his movement and slowly pushes a finger into your entrance. His other hand cups your breast and begins kneading. 

He kisses your cheek and you turn your head towards his. He presses his soft lips against yours and you immediately let him push his tongue pass your lips. You could feel him grinding his hips against your ass.

He slips another finger in and begins to thrust into you faster. The sound of him pushing against your wet walls filling your quiet room.

Soon enough you begin repeatedly tighten against Bruno’s slender fingers–the warm feeling in your lower stomach beginning to overwhelm you–and pull away to catch your breath. 

Your back pushes against his firm chest. “C-Close, don’t stop.”

“Where are your manners tesoro?.” He sounded a bit out of breath himself.

“Pl…Please Bruno”, you say before he could edge you.

“That’s better.” Bruno’s other hand begins rubbing against your clit and with a couple more thrusts of his fingers your body tenses, toes curl, and you moan as your climax washes over you.

Bruno’s fingers continue to work you through your orgasm, thrusting in and out of your throbbing pussy.

As you come down, you try to slow your breathing.

After a while, Bruno breaks the silence. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that…I got carried away. You need to answer your messages.”

You couldn’t care less about that right now.

And yea you might have just came, but you were already ready to keep going and you needed–wanted to be closer with this satyromaniac.

You turn towards him on all fours. Your hand moves up his thigh nearing the obvious bulge that had been pressing against you.

Bruno softly grabs your wrist “Sorry y/n but you haven’t earned this yet.” His face seemed like he was internally struggling.

He gives you a peck on the lips before moving from off the bed. He looks at his watch. “And there’s some business I need to attend to. You should answer those messages.”

With a final “Stay sexy and keep it classy” he was gone.

You stare at the now empty space. “You bastard!”

Keep it classy your ass! Crossing your arms, you fall back into your bed. 

You look at the multiple messages you had not been paying attention to.

i wish i was there with you

can i come over right now??

…hello?

Oops. Well, you’d make sure to make it up to them later.

You sigh.

That fairy really blue balled himself.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #337

“if i showed you my soul, would you cover your eyes?”

What's your favorite brand of chips? I like Lays best. Are you a good painter? My Painting teacher when I was in college last said I did wonderfully, but I definitely beg to differ. Before buying a car, do you usually test drive it? N/A Have you ever written a poem and then read it aloud? No, but a teacher has. It was so fucking awkward; it was very pacifist, the topic being about war, and it had some depressing tones of death; there was just silence at the end of it, and I still don't know if it was shock or "what the fuck, she's messed up." There was this one guy that went, "Nobody is going to clap at that?", though, which I thought was pretty nice and reassuring. Do you like pineapple? Yeah, I do. Have you ever met your favorite author? I don't have a favorite author. Have you and your best friend ever liked the same person? No. Do you have any freckles? Not on my face (though oddly enough, I did as a kid?), but on random parts of my body. How many different languages can you say goodbye in? English, German, and then Spanish. Do you like or hate the smell of fish? I hate it. Have you ever been to Sea World? As a child, yes. I'd never go as an adult. Do you know someone who suffers from short-term memory loss? I don't know how this is actually diagnosed, but my memory is absolutely fucking nightmarish, almost exclusively in short-term situations. I can remember the most obscure events from my childhood, but not what I said to you five seconds prior. I'm rather sure my medications have made it worse over time. Have you ever read any of John Green's books? I got like, one chapter or less into The Fault in Our Stars before the book got replaced with the Wings of Fire series, so I never finished it. Are you a protective person? I'm an immensely protective person over those that matter to me. Have you ever experienced an earthquake? No, thankfully. I'm terrified of earthquakes. What's one thing that makes everything in life worthwhile? The fact that to our proven knowledge, this is the only one we'll ever experience. What type of waffles do you like? (Plain, blueberry etc..) I prefer plain, but I can eat chocolate chip ones as well as blueberry and strawberry. Have you ever seen the show Wife Swap? Yeah, I actually quite like it. Do you like chicken or beef better? Or do you not eat meat? Chicken, I think. I eat meat, but wish I didn't. What brand of dish soap do you use? Dawn, usually. Do any of your neighbors have dogs? Yes, and they never shut up. Do you believe in fortune tellers? They're money-driver bullshitters. Have you ever been to one? No, and judging by the fervor in the above question, I hope you can tell I never would do so and thus monetarily support them. Do you like regular or chocolate milk better? Chocolate, of course. But I love normal milk, too. Once again, wish I didn't, though. Forcing a cow to constantly reproduce to lactate is pretty fucking cruel. Growing up, did you listen to country music? I actually did. Do you normally wash your hands in warm or cold water? If it's just a quick wash, it's usually cold because our water takes quite a few moments to warm up. However, if I'm looking to thoroughly wash my hands, it's gotta be relatively hot. Do you believe in mediums? I see them in a worse light than I do fortune tellers, so... Like sure, manipulate grieving people for profit, sounds great. Have you ever been to one? Obviously not. Have you ever dated someone on the football team? No. Do you have a gazebo at your house? No. Do you like tomatoes? Solely when straight from a garden and on a bacon and mayonnaise sandwich. Otherwise I am noooot a fan. Are you a competitive person? Not very, but there's a tiny spark in me, really when it just comes to photography. I hate it. Google or Bing? Does literally anyone use Bing? What's your favorite brand of bottled water? Essentia. Do you have any ceramic animals in your house or outside? Ummm I don't think so. Have you ever given someone flowers? Yes. What is something you might eat with a hamburger? Fries or mac and cheese. What is a sport that you’ve always wanted to play, but never got a chance to. None. What is a fruit that you might eat in the morning? A banana. Who might you send a selfie to? I don't send selfies to anyone. About how many pages is the longest book you’ve ever read? I THINK it surpassed 1,000? At least in the high hundreds. Who would you call first after getting engaged to tell them the news? Probably Mom. Around what time do you start feeling tired enough to go to sleep? Truth be told, it's usually arouund 7-8. I rarely make it to 9:00 nowadays. What trends do you refuse to give in to? I don't even know what's trendy right now. What subjects in history interest you most? As dark as it is, I find the Holocaust interesting to learn about. Are you superstitious in any way? No. How do you get rid of anxiety? What a relevant question, being in a partial hospitalization program right now. Coping skills that help me are doing deep breathing, mindfulness exercises, and a little jerk back to reality is splashing freezing cold water on my face. It also helps to talk it out with somebody, just get my feelings into words. Then if it's a true anxiety or panic attack, I have my "emergency" anxiety prescription. Are there any items of jewelry you never/rarely take off? My lip and tragus piercings never do, and I always wear two rings. Do you find yourself correcting people’s grammar often? Not really, no. It just seems rude and snobby to me, honestly, if it's not in an educational setting, like helping someone with an essay. Correcting someone in your average conversation is just... unnecessary, imo. Now if you're talking like in surveys and stuff, I definitely do in questions and such, but I don't point it out. Gummi worms: Yay or nay? Yay, love 'em. What do you do when you have ‘me time’? I only ever have "me" time, so what I always do... Do you lack common sense sometimes? I have a horrible lack of common sense, shit's embarrassing. Have you ever poured glue on your hand just to peel it off for fun? No. How do babies make you feel? "Nervous. They’re so damn breakable." <<<< Mood. Would you/Have you milked a cow? No, and I'm not interested. What really gives you the creeps? #!: seeing a baby move inside its mother's stomach. It will actually make me scream and/or cry because it just grosses me the fuck out. Whale sharks' mouths also creep me out big time. Do you ever eat leftover pizza cold? Yeah, I love cold pizza. When you're wanting a midnight snack, what do you normally get? We normally have cashew bars that I like if I'm really hungry. Which cartoon character would you want to keep as a pet? Obviously Pikachu. My niece loves Pikachu anyway, so she'd be ecstatic to see a real one. Or well, maybe I'd go for an Eevee. Not as dangerous with electricity and all but just as cute and small. Do you like marshmallows? Yeah. If you had the opportunity to live forever, would you take it? No. It would ruin so many factors of the temporary nature of life. Things would lose meaning, get old and boring, it'd be much easier to take advantage of things... There are many reasons why I have no desire to live forever. Hell, I even wonder if I want an afterlife for those same reasons. Did you ever really believe in Santa Claus? As a little kid, yeah. Do you like quesadillas? I like cheese, chicken, and shrimp ones. What's the greatest/most influential song you've ever heard? Ozzy's "Life Won't Wait." Do you prefer to pull off band-aids slowly or quickly? I tend to do it slowly. What was the last thing someone told you that had you at a loss for words? Uhhh I feel like Sara said something, but I don't remember what. What was the last health scare you had? Ugh... I'm kind of living in one now. As my legs have been worsening, I'm becoming increasingly concerned I'm eventually going to need a wheelchair for "walking" longer distances. And mind you, "long" for me is probably short for the average person. My knees do nothing but crack incessantly and burn when I use them, and they frequently feel like they're going to give way, and in a few rare instances, have. It's my own fucking fault for not sucking it up and exercising with my mom in the room, so I'd like to move on. What is your favorite filling for a piece of chocolate? Caramel. Do you enjoy the sound of birds chirping? I do. If applicable, what’s your favorite drug, and why? I don't do drugs, so. What was the last TV show you binge-watched? Avatar: The Last Airbender with Sara. Would you rather eat burgers or tacos? Definitely burgers. I don't like tacos. Did your mother change her maiden name when/if she got marred? Yes. What was the last job you applied for? Did you get the job? Deli worker, and yes. Do you use TikTok? No. What decorations do you have in your bathroom? None. Our bathroom is pretty small. Well, the one we use, anyway. The one attached to the master's bedroom isn't cleaned up yet, but we'll use it in case of emergency. What year was your favourite band formed? (Before people think I'm smart, no, I looked the dates up, haha.) Well Ozzy was Black Sabbath's vocalist, and the band formed in 1968, but Ozzy became a solo artist in 1979. What's your favourite fruit? Strawberries. Have you ever had an out-of-body experience? No. Do you prefer gory horror films or the psychological ones? I prefer psychological. Are you easily paranoid? Yeah. Do you have a favorite obsession? Meerkats and Mark are kinda tied, haha. Are you a workaholic? No. Have you ever given a tattoo before and would you like to? No and no; that would be an awful idea, given I have bad tremors in my hands. Have you ever seen the movie Labyrinth? I actually have not. Would you rather be called pretty or hot? Pretty. Have you ever gotten a serious injury at school? What happened? No. Have you ever performed in front of my large group of people? Yes; I was a dancer for many years. Have you ever fundraised? If so, what for? You know how Facebook recommends making fundraisers for a charity of your choice for your birthday? I've done that for the Trevor Project and two charities for ovarian and pancreatic cancers. Are you wearing earrings right now? Ugh, no, even though I want to be. The first holes in my ears are just too stretched for normal earrings because I wore heavy ones too often, and I just don't have nice earrings. I still want to get very small gauges to put in the stretched holes. Name a singer whose voice makes you swoon? Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump can do that, holy shit. "America's Suitehearts" does it for me, man. Y'know, when his voice goes all deep. Do your pets follow you when you walk around the house? My cat Roman is quite literally my shadow. Where I go, he goes. What do you do online? I seem to only exist online, really, so I've got a lot on my plate to choose from, yet I'm still bored half the time, haha. I'm essentially always watching or listening to YouTube, I play World of Warcraft for varying amounts of time depending on the day, I scroll through deviantART, check KM periodically, do surveys obviously, "work" at the wikis I contribute to, wander around on Facebook... idk, that's all I really do at least semi-regularly online. Haha oh, wait, I also check Craigslist like... every day for tarantula and hognoses even though I can't currently get either. Let me dream. Do you have any scars on your face? I have a couple on my chin from when I fainted and busted it open. What countries were your grandparents born in? In the US. What was the most damaging relationship (romantic or not) that you’ve ever been a part of? Ultimately, with Jason, because of how it ended. The relationship itself wasn't at all damaging to me, but the breakup shook my entire fucking world. When in your life was your self-esteem at its lowest point? Self-esteem? Now. I'm very unhappy with my weight going back up, my body is just in poor health in general, I'm not employed, not in school... I just feel like a lowlife. Who was the last person you cut out of your life? Do you regret it? I want to say my sister's mother-in-law. Sure don't, considering she revealed her disgusting support for conversion therapy. I'm civil around her in person, but I kicked that woman off my Facebook so fucking quick when I saw that shit. Who is the most attractive person you know personally? That I know personally... I would say Alon, but I haven't seen even a picture of her in forever. Summer, though, shares selfies frequently, and by god is she gorgeous. I know a lot a lot of beautiful women, asldkjf;awe. It's funny that I'm blanking on men, at least involving people I still "know"/are somehow present in my life. Would you rather look older or younger than you are? I'm fine looking my age. Have you ever dated someone who was very vastly different from your “type”? No. What is the biggest project you’re currently working on? I suppose you can count an RP plot as a "project." I'm procrastinating so bad on it because it is going to be A LOT of writing. Is there a person from your past that you wonder about frequently? Who? Take a shot in the dark for me. Who knows you best, excluding romantic partners? My mother. What are your thoughts on human creation? I believe we evolved. How many people have you had sex with? One. Have you ever had a yard sale? Yeah. Have you ever been surfing? No.