#I hear that some no no things are allowed again maybe

[buckydeservesthebest]

Yeah, I understand the huge confusion and inconsistency within the script itself. If there are already a lot of plot holes within the plot itself, now in the story of Bucky who no Marvel executive is really fond of… 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

I agree that perhaps more than remembering the faces of all the people he was forced to kill, Bucky most likely remembered the Starks *after* watching the tape and *not* before. It is curious because it is clear that the VHS tape has no recorded sound, we don't hear the car crash nor the WS motorcycle, so that just means that what we are hearing is a flashback that Bucky is having right at that moment. I think this may be associative memory, that is, memories that manifest once an external stimulus related to that event is experienced.

Being honest, the first time I watched CW, before even thinking about whether Bucky actually remembered all the people he was forced to kill or not, I always thought that the line “I remember all of them” came more from guilt over the fact that Bucky knew he was used to hurt a lot of people, and not so much from the fact that he actually remembers all of that as such...

By the way, I find it interesting that the voices of the Starks sound like a recording, maybe it is to give the idea that we are hearing them from the tape, but again, the tape does NOT record sounds, so we can only conclude that we are watching a flashback of Bucky. Does it mean that this is how the WS hears and perceives everything? With an undercurrent of static? It's interesting because Shuri also describes the mind control Bucky was subjected to as a kind of static in the hemispheres of his brain. So this further reinforces the idea that not only did Bucky not exist as the Winter Soldier, but that the WS was all the while in a state of near unconsciousness all the time, or rather the little consciousness a person has while sleeping in REM sleep...

As you rightly say, it is somewhat complicated to say what the Winter Soldier can remember (or is allowed to remember) and what he cannot. Just as he couldn't remember Steve from his first mission in the Fury assassination, nor Natasha, Sam, etc. But he does retain memory of, for example, some skills he learned as the Winter Soldier, such as the Russian language, handling certain weapons, etc.

Well… studying a neuroscience course recently (thanks to Bucky) gave me a little insight into certain interesting things, for example like the fact that according to The Wakanda Files, Shuri says that the Winter Soldier's program is a REM sleep trance, a sort of sleepwalking in which the Winter Soldier experiences REM sleep while awake. That is, once the mind control is in use, the Winter Soldier has the brain activity of a person having REM sleep. And interestingly, this mental state is the most efficient for the brain to store and apprehend information. So if we take into consideration that Bucky would never have cooperated with Hydra to be trained as one of their agents, all the WS training would have to have occurred only when the mind control was already taken over by the WS, i.e., in the REM sleep trance. Meaning that the Winter Soldier learned in an analogous way that people who wear headphones while sleeping learn X information (such as a language), in a state not conscious but unconscious.

Interestingly, the amnesia that Bucky suffers from, anterograde, dissociative (produced by a mental health related cause, and can be triggered by traumatic events, abuse and other serious sources of psychological distress) and neurological (caused by brain damage), does not usually affect procedural memory (information about motor and executive skills), just as a person with global amnesia does not necessarily forget how to ride a bicycle. Or for example in the case of dissociative amnesia of someone who had an accident in an elevator, they forget the accident itself but do not forget to watch out for elevators.

Bucky's situation with the ETC that caused extensive brain damage, and C-PTSD, makes it really complex to be able to say precisely when he can remember something and when he cannot…

So my theory is that I totally share the idea that the Winter Soldier retains no memory other than procedural memory (that of motor and executive skills, which functions more at an unconscious level compared to the other types of memory), and not any episodic memory. That's why I believe that if he couldn't remember Steve from a previous mission, in which there were no intermediate ETC sessions, there would be no way he could remember the other WS.

I wouldn't necessarily say that the Winter Soldier remembers the period between missions as such, but rather that recognizing the whole process of being subjected to ETC is more muscle memory than anything else, and part of the programming that forces him to obey whatever his handler orders him to do.

My theory is that the Winter Soldier only follows the orders of whoever uttered the code words, just as in CW we saw him follow orders only from Karpov and not from any other Hydra agent, or just as Pierce was the only one seen giving him orders. as well as Zemo.

I think there is a reference to this in TFATWS when Zemo told Selbie that he would give her the code to control Bucky and he would do anything she wants (please, let's ignore for a moment the disgusting backstory of what that could have meant... ughh). I think if it was known that the Winter Soldier only serves Hydra, there would have been a mention that no one but a Hydra agent could make use of him.

(Yes, I'm fully aware that Spellman is totally ignorant of Bucky's history, I mean, he himself admitted that he only watched CW and EG to write the TFATWS script. But unfortunately, all the change to the known canon of Bucky, like the fact that WS wasn't active until the 1960s, so that it's now since 1951, now exists, and unfortunately we can't change it...)

Personally I do consider the tie-in books canonical, because they are all written by members of the production itself, and many times they explain certain concepts or ideas that were part of the movies or TV shows, but which we didn't realize (for example, Bucky's restraint chair in CW was constantly electrocuting him to prevent him from using his metal arm… horrible… I know…)

Of course I always take into consideration the opinions of the actors because at the end of the day, they are the ones playing the characters, especially Seb who no doubt holds Bucky in high regard. But there have been a couple of occasions where even his opinion has struck me as inconsistent with Bucky as a character, like recently in some of his interviews for Thunderbolts, he has called Bucky “anti-hero” or “antagonist”, when well… this is not true...

So, my real final theory is that Bucky only remembers (maybe not all, but a considerable amount) the faces of the people he was forced to kill as the Winter Soldier, or maybe some other vague details, but not in a lucid way but rather in the same way you remember a dream (or rather a nightmare), as a fuzzy and confused memory. And well, if we remember that all the Winter Soldier's programming is as REM sleep trance state… then I guess this makes sense…

In fact at one time, Seb also made a comment about Bucky's experience being like waking up from a dream…

Or well, if we don't get technical, and take the line “all of them” to mean not literally 'all of them', but everyone (many or few) that Bucky could vaguely remember at the time, then what Seb said wouldn't be technically incorrect either... 😬

“That line was an interesting moment. At the time, the choice I was making is that [Bucky] had realized there was no way he was getting out of there, and someone was gonna die, whether it was gonna be him, Steve or Tony. When he says that line, to me, it was a turning point — he was, like, ‘Okay, I know what you want me to say, and I’m just gonna say it.’ When someone comes at you over and over again, and they can’t hear you, they can’t see you’re pleading with them, you’re trying to figure out how to get through to them and they just won’t accept it, at some point you just give in, and you go, ‘that’s right, that’s what you want.’ Of course [Bucky] didn’t remember them all.” —  Sebastian Stan

[eliasmelody]

He Doesn’t Say I Love You, He Says…

Tag: RAFAYEL x f!reader, Mutual pinning, fluff, short fic Warning: grammar & spelling

“Oh how sweet is time for allowing you and I to live in the same lifetime.” - Love and Wine

✦.────────── ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗ ────────── .✦

You let out a soft chuckle, unable to hold back your amusement. He turns his head slightly, his eyes locking onto yours with a curious expression.

You two just emerged from the ocean, the cool waves retreating behind you as you step onto the shore. Dress clings to your skin, heavy with seawater, droplets cascading down in shimmering trails.

Rafayel drapes a towel over your shoulders, the fabric cool and slightly rough against your damp skin. He moves with quiet focus, gently patting away the seawater clinging to you, his touch careful, almost hesitant.

"What’s so funny?" He asks, his voice laced with curiosity.

You shake your head, still grinning. "Nothing. Just… you."

His brows raise slightly, intrigued. "Me?"

You nod, but you don’t elaborate. The words are there, lingering just behind your lips, but saying them out loud feels like crossing a line you’re not sure you’re ready to step over.

"Oh, how weird destiny is…" You murmur, a hint of wonder in your voice.

Taking a moment to admire him, a warm smile spreading across your lips. There’s something about this moment, as if the universe had conspired to bring you both here, right now.

"Out of all the infinite roads I might have taken, fate has led me here…"

Eyes soften as you gaze at him with quiet admiration.

"To you."

He holds your gaze for a moment, his eyes widening slightly as your words sink in His lips part slightly, as if to respond, but no words come. Instead, he exhales a quiet, breathless laugh, one of disbelief, maybe, or something deeper, something he isn’t ready to name.

A faint flush creeps up his cheeks. After a brief pause, he dares to glance at you again, his eyes flickering with something soft and uncertain.

"You say that like it’s a good thing." He murmurs, his voice quieter than usual, almost careful.

You tilt your head, smiling softly. "Isn’t it?"

His throat bobs as he swallows, his gaze searching yours, as if trying to find some trace of hesitation, some sign that you don’t truly mean it. But all he finds is sincerity, steady, unwavering.

And that terrifies him.

Because if destiny really did lead you to him, what happens if he isn’t meant to keep you?

But as he looks into your adoring eyes, something shifts. He doesn’t like hearing "Happy Birthday." He’s lived too long, heard it too many times, it lost meaning long ago. But you… you make it feel different.

You don’t just speak the words. You give them weight. You give him meaning in a way nothing else ever has.

And for the first time, he isn’t afraid of destiny.

Because if fate brought you to him, then maybe, just maybe, it intends for you to stay.

And that thought doesn’t terrify him at all.

"You should know that a Lumerian never parts with their greatest treasure."

Because no matter what destiny has planned, no matter what twists and turns the future holds…

"And I would sooner let the ocean take me than lose you."

Because you are his fate now, his most precious treasure, one he’ll never let slip from his grasp.

✦.────────── ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗ ────────── .✦ Art work and char: belong to Infold Game ✦.────────── ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗ ────────── .✦

Our Shayla 😭💜 Small fic cause school is back baby

[mullermilkshake]

Hide and seek

Things get hot and heavy before the eve of the next game. The players vote to stay.

Frontman!Satoru Gojo x Fem!Reader x Frontman!Suguru Geto (Squid game au) Request by @vampir-queen Tags- MINOR DNI, Smut, PIV sex, semi-public sex, readers a virgin, murder,misogyny,mentions of threesomes/ejaculation/creampie, voyeurism, lets be honest Satoru and Suguru have definitely fucked, canon-typical violence, blood gore, kind of torture

Part three

Suguru laid up in his bunk after the final vote for the third game, he should have been elated. Yet the niggling feeling he had didn't leave his mind entirely.

Where had Satoru gone, and where were you exactly? 

He hoped he’d get a chance to spend time with you before the next game. Your little innocent face making him think about settling down often.

Maybe he should get away from these games and find himself a wife who took care of him, and in turn, he would take care of her.

He was an accomplished lover and he could imagine the sort of faces she’d pull when he did his duties as husband. Then, he thought about your pretty face, and how that would look.

Suguru turned over and fiddled with the sheet on the bed in the deepest thought he’d been in since entering. He could admit that he sort of liked you, but more in a ‘like to fuck you and run’ sort of way.

You had debt in your name, and though it wasn’t by much, it was still an inconvenience to him financially.

He had overheard once that Sukuna was married. Suguru wondered who was dumb enough to go with a grumpy old man such as him and actually make it legal. Would she be as dramatic and twisted as he was? Or perhaps she would be the innocent type like you who would most probably do whatever she was told?

Who knew? If there was one thing Suguru learnt from the brief reflection, was that he just wanted to get laid, a quick fuck to tire him over and help him sleep.

Lights out was fast approaching, Satoru and you were still nowhere to be found. So he got up and asked to be taken to the toilets, to relieve himself before the night started. 

Suguru barely opened the door when an old man marched out, folding his arms and cursing to himself about respect or something.

Then he heard it. Moaning, excited huffing and natural slapping of wet, sweaty skin.

“You like that?” A loud smack echoed around the restroom.

“Yes- yeah, I really do- oh god.” A breathless woman, clearly fucking in one of the stalls.

Suguru wanted to pay it no mind, consciously fighting his inner monologue to give the guy a handshake for getting lucky. He took a piss and tried his best to ignore the distorted moans, the water from the sinks sort of blocking it out.

And when he turned to leave he heard it again. “This pussy is mine, you hear me? Fuck, I wish Suguru could see this-“

Hold on a second… is that Satoru?

He tiptoed over and got as close as he could before his shoes would be visible under the door. The idiot got lucky enough with someone, though Suguru had his hunches, because unlike Satoru he wasn’t an idiot.

Satoru had gone missing. You were missing too. It wasn’t difficult to piece it together.

Well, fuck.

“I’m… oh my- I’m going to-“ your moan hit his ears, that sweet innocent drawl turned filthy.

You were most probably thinking that tomorrow was going to be it, that tonight was the last night before death. Suguru simply wouldn’t allow it, he would make sure you got through it, because he wanted some of what Satoru was having.

But for now he wanted to ruin it, because he was a dick.

He knocked and waited for Satoru’s lazy retort. “Fuck off. This stall’s occupied, if you couldn’t hear.”

Suguru snorted and stood closer so that his shoes were visible now, then knocked again.

“Jesus - I’m trying’ to get laid here, can it wait?”

He heard you whispering to him, audible only just barely. Satoru responded again. “Look, I’d be happy for you to join, but the lady ain’t up for that so get out of here.”

“Ten minutes until light’s out, Satoru.” The bathroom stall went quiet when Suguru spoke for the first time.

“Shit, that’s you?” Satoru laughed, the sound of skin on skin sounded again, your little moans were stifled but still there. “Open the door will ya?”

“What? No, I don’t want people seeing me like this, I’m embarrassed already.”

Satoru cooed and whispered back, “Don’t worry, Suguru’s like a brother to me, it won’t be weird, I promise.”

Suguru could hear you were uncomfortable, but decided not to comment on it, not if it gave him material to keep burned in his memories. And what a sight too, you half naked, sat on Satoru’s cock like the most comfortable seat in the house.

Now, Suguru had seen Satoru’s cock plenty of times, just like he had seen his too. Plenty of threesomes when times got boring in between games in their little town. Plenty of pretty girls, and what’s a little quick fuck with a girl in between amongst friends?

“Hey man, you good?”

He nodded and folded his arms, standing out of the bathroom stall looking in. “Can’t complain, but I came looking for you when you disappeared.”

“Sorry, got caught up in this, can you give us five? I wont take much longer.” Satoru continued to fuck you, though you wouldn’t dare look in Suguru’s eyes.

There was nothing to be embarrassed about, the human body was beautiful, Satoru’s included and Suguru would never judge someone getting off in the midst of murder and bloodshed.

He wondered, would you take him into the toilets too? He could only dream.

“Yeah, just be back by lights out, or the masked guys will come looking.”

“You got it.” Satoru slammed the stall door shut and Suguru left the bathroom, wandering back to his bunk and the mindset to fight off the hard on he was currently battling with. He could just go and jerk off when the lights went out, tonight was safe enough before the special game tomorrow, but he wanted to savour it.

To savour you. 

If Satoru had you, then Suguru automatically wanted you, it was just a thing that happened between Satoru and Suguru regularly. Like brothers or bratty children that wanted everything the other had.

He thought about how Satoru would finish, would you be risky and let him come deep inside you so that you were dripping come light’s out? Or perhaps you were a prude and made him come all over your tits or ass so it dripped all over the tiled floor for the masked soldiers to clean up.

Oh… now that was disrespectful. Something Suguru admired.

He’d ask Satoru about it later.

Once in bed, Suguru closed his eyes and never bothered to wait for Satoru to come back, slipping into sleep quickly before the usual boring music woke everyone up for the impending game.

Which game would it be today? Hide and seek maybe… or what about the other one? Suguru’s favourite, a game he came up with actually.

Only one way to tell.

“Mornin’.” Satoru climbed off his bed and joined Suguru down by the stage, awaiting the square mask to accompany them inside. “Man, I slept like a baby.”

“I bet you did, you sly dog. How many attempts did it take to get her in that stall anyway?”

“None.”

Suguru did not expect that, not from you of all people. “None? You mean-”

“Yup.” Satoru was incredibly pleased with himself by the grin on his face. “She propositioned me, and she’s a freak too- she put it under the guise that she was scared of dying today so she wanted me to take her virginity.”

“She was a virgin?” Holy shit, Suguru missed a few chapters here. “Fuck, how did you get so lucky?”

Satoru shrugged and watched as the large cool double doors opened for the soldiers to enter. “What can I say? I’m just one hell of a dreamy guy.”

“The next game will start shortly-”

Suguru ignored the soldiers. A virgin, you were a fucking virgin- how were you a virgin? “Lucky? That’s a one in a million.”

Fuck.

“Morning you two.” You appeared out of nowhere, your player jacket zipped up all the way this morning. 

“You seemed chipper today.” Suguru was making polite conversation as they entered the set of staircases leading to the game hall.

“Um… I mean- well I got some sleep. So I think that’s why.” 

Yeah, not because you had your brains fucked out by his best friend. Satoru wasn’t even trying to hide it, much to your own shyness, looking around every so often with his arm around you blushing and twiddling your fingers.

“Oh right, yeah, I’m sure that’s why.”

As they approached the doors to the game room, Satoru leaned into Suguru away from your prying eyes. “Hey, how do you wanna do this today?”

“I’ll take her this time, it’s my turn.” 

Satoru pouted. “Aw, what? But I’m on a roll here.”

The audacity. “Yeah, and you got to fuck her last night, give me some slack.”

“You coulda joined if she was into it, but she said no, what could I do?”

While Suguru did agree that it was your choice, he hated the carrot being dangled that close to his face and he couldn’t dive in head first to try it.

When the doors opened, the room was littered with furniture and Suguru could tell immediately what it was. He invented it this way. Large sofas and table tops, chairs and bed frames set up in an almost surreal way, tilted and twisted in the ground into sections. Comfortable enough to hold two people at a time.

“Welcome to the third game. The game will be played in pairs. The game is, The Floor is Lava. All players will stand on the ground until the countdown of twenty seconds begins, then players will need to find somewhere off the ground to remain while the floor becomes lava. There will be six rounds. Those who fall off, or if there are more than two people in the specified safe area, the players will be eliminated.”

“Oh god…” You looked around too, clinging to Satoru’s arm like you were rubbing it in too.

Luckily for you, Suguru knew the way around this game like the back of his hand.

He squeezed between you and Satoru and took your hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe this round, I used to be the best at this game when I was a child, right Satoru?”

Satoru just grumbled. Suguru relished it.

“Really? You’d do that?”

“Of course.” Suguru smiled as sweetly as he could and waved Satoru off. “See you on the other side, Satoru.”

He grumbled and wandered off in the crowds with his hands in his pockets. You were indifferent to his departure and observed the forming pairs and hung close to Suguru.

“So how should we go about this?”

“I repeat, welcome to the third game. The game will be played in pairs. The game is-” 

Suguru took your hand and held it firmly. “Stay with me at all times, if we climb on something, I’ll make sure no one gets on with us. That’s how we do this. But relax and do as I tell you and we’ll be just fine.”

“Alright then.”

The first round began once everyone was in pairs, the creepy music played that Suguru chose himself and each pair walked around the room anticipating the countdown that went off at random intervals.

Twenty seconds ticking away and Suguru pulled you over to an upturned sofa stuck in the ground at an angle. The part of the lava being on the floor had been misleading, though true. The floor was out of bounds and totally uninhabitable when it counted down to zero.

No shooting in this game.

You held on and Suguru watched, the panels in the floor opening completely which caused several people to disappear. The drop down into the pit was a massive one, fully set with punji sticks for added measure for the depravity Suguru held.

Satoru enjoyed breaking people down to nothing, Suguru enjoyed eviscerating them, making them suffer under the guise of conserving ammunition. Sukuna had been amused by that, he seemed to enjoy the punji sticks and was adamant to get a camera installed to watch as the players landed on them.

All Suguru had to do was keep you on a solid piece of furniture to get through the next five rounds.

After the numbers of the deceased players were called, the floor reset itself and the music began again. You climbed off first and slipped your hands in his for the time being, watching the countdown clock to go off at any second. 

“You’re doing great, just keep focused, can you do that for me?”

You nodded and zipped your head around for a piece of furniture when the timer started. You ran over to a table this time, not the best when it was slippery, but it would do. Once you climbed on, another player came over and yanked you off of it by your hair.

Suguru’s eye twitched, it was part of the game and there was nothing against the rules. However he wasn’t about to die for some dumb loser who couldn’t  get their life in order. Not at all. So he yanked the man off and shoved him into another table close by. He kicked the other player he was with off, pulling you up in the process just as the timer clicked off.

The men fell to their deaths and two other select pieces of furniture disappeared into the pit when there were more than two people on it.

Should have listened to the rules, they aren’t exactly difficult.

As the numbers died down and the final round approached, people were getting more desperate, frightened, and Suguru grew more excited.

Seeing people fight each other for survival fascinated him, he also wanted to see how you would fare too at some point.

But after he got a chance to fuck you.

Look at you now, clung to a sofa for your life. You were just begging to be fucked again. 

And where better else to be holed up in the bathroom during the special game tonight?

Perseverance, and he’d get rewarded.

Part two <- -> Part four

DISCLAIMER - I do not own any of the characters of Jujutsu Kaisen, or anything from Squid game. This is a work of fan fiction and is absolutely not representative of the views or intentions of the original creator(s).

Also please don’t post any of my work without permission thank you!

[georgiapeach30513]

With Your Touch, Part 9

Summary: Lloyd has a decision

Pairings: Lloyd Hansen X Reader

Rating: explicit

Warnings:  explicit language, explicit sexual content, D/s dynamics, restraints, unprotected sex, creampie, teasing, 18+ ONLY

Word Count: 4.2K

Previous

Series Masterlist

“Lyla Bee,” you smile at the sweetest little baby you’ve ever seen. Her head turns to look at you. Her mostly gummy smile with two bottom teeth cheeses up at you. Lyla’s cheeks squish up so high that her eyes are squished as she giggles.

You give her smooshing kisses onto her cheeks over and over again, “Tell daddy good morning.”

“Lalalalalalala,” she repeats over and over again before cracking herself up in laughter. Looking back up before turning back towards you.

“No, tell daddy good morning.”

“Mamamamamamamamama,” more repetitive syllables, but not what you want her to say.

“You gotta tell daddy good morning.”

“Da!” She squeaks, smiling at you before looking back up. “Da! Da! Da! Da!”

“That’s my girl! You said it!” You can’t stop kissing over her squishy little cheeks, ready to cry at her being able to screech Da! Turning back towards the front you smile at your phone, “Good morning, daddy. Me and this sweet Lyla Bee had a late morning, huh?” Lyla jabbers along with you, telling her side of the story. Smart angel baby.

“But today we’re going to plan her first birthday, and I’m not taking no for an answer. I don’t care if it’s just us two and the baby girl, we’re having her a beautiful birthday. You could always invite Ari,” you know when he gets a chance to watch this video he’s going to be cocking up an eyebrow. He both loved and hated when you brought up his partner in crime.

“Tell daddy bye. We’ve got to make some breakfast for this bumble bee. Ooh! Note, maybe we should do a bumble bee theme for her birthday. Ooh, since daddy thinks you’re the queen bee, maybe that should be your theme,” Lloyd chuckles as he watches the video. You had said bye, and now are off on a tangent talking about her birthday that she wasn’t allowed to have because he didn’t want her to get older.

It had nothing to do with not allowing people to celebrate his daughter, and everything to do with keeping her this little and cute. And you look positively delectable being a mom. The things he wants to do with you once Lyla goes to bed is animalistic. He has claimed you in every way that he can think of. And your obedient self trusts him to not hurt you. Both physically and mentally. That thought fills him with so much pride and need for you.

He’s unaware if you know exactly how much power you hold over him, nor does he care. He doesn’t think you have it in you to be a manipulator. You hold the power, but you also guard it. Are protective in your way for Lyla and him. He’s never had someone be protective of him, and it makes him feel — things. Things he can’t fully comprehend.

“Are you watching that again?” Lloyd locks his phone, and glares up at Ari. His giant friend just smirks as he looks at him. “Oh, you’re acting like seeing that fine piece of ass with your daughter doesn’t turn you on?”

“She is a fine piece of ass, but she’s more. That’s not why I’m…”

“Yeah, you’re in love with her. You don’t have to tell me. It’s quite obvious, and I won’t say anything to anyone else. Your secret of being in love is safe with me,” Ari is aware that it’s not a prideful thing, it’s a protection thing for you and Lyla. The less people knew, the less you became a target, “What’s this I hear about sharing her with me.”

“I didn’t say that,” Lloyd glares at him. “It was a heat of the moment pillow talk.”

“Talking about my dick to your girl seems a bit weird, no? How is my dick making it into your pillow talk?”

“We are talking about our daughter’s first birthday. Not what I say to make her squirm,” Ari starts to open his mouth, and Lloyd makes a buzzing sound, holding up one finger. “Eh! If you can’t contribute to the plans of Lyla’s party, I want you to keep your flopping jaw closed.”

Ari chuckles, shaking his head. The teasing is definitely over. Lloyd can be funny when he gets flustered and pissy, but when it comes to you and Lyla, he’s insufferable. “So what are you going to do with Roman?”

“I want him to see just how in love, respected, and safe his daughter is,” Ari’s interest piques as he lifts his brows, and leans closer. “He thinks I am only using his daughter for sex, and while the sex is impeccable, there is more to us than that. And one day that beautiful woman is going to walk around with me, and I’m holding Lyla, and the other hand is on her swollen stomach. Roman will see the two of us in love, and realize that his daughter is worth more than he ever could have imagined, and that’s when I will destroy him. I will make him regret the day that he ever thought he or any man could make her feel inferior.”

Your submission should always be a choice, and not a demand of fear of retaliation. Roman was a bastard that treated you as a commodity. The Verb was a prick for thinking he could lay his hands on you. It didn’t bother him in the slightest that you hadn’t thought of a viable way to dispose of him. Maybe it’d do The Verb some good to see you growing with Lloyd’s seed. Give you something that he never would have been man enough to do.

Maybe seeing you happy could do him some good. Lloyd takes a deep breath as he leans back, “I’ve got the perfect idea.”

“Are you going to show The Verb a sex tape of you and your gorgeous Dolly?”

“Why are you calling her gorgeous?” Lloyd’s eyes narrow as he leans in closer to his friend. “She is.”

“I noticed,” Ari’s grin turns devilish as he leans back in his chair. “Just ravishing.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Oh, no. I saw you, heard you. Those teasing words. Are you looking for a third so early in your relationship?” Ari’s chuckle rumbles out of his chest as Lloyd rolls his eyes, and turns in his chair. “I mean, if you need help showing her how to get stuffed.”

“I don’t.”

“Then don’t offer what you won’t deliver,” the two men sit in silence for too long as Lloyd stares at nothing at all, and Ari just smiles at his friend. His irritation quickly turns into visions of Ari just watching your wrecked face. You are too much of a good girl to ever let him touch you, weren’t you? But making him watch you, Lloyd might be able to get on board with that.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?” Ari asks, interrupting Lloyd’s thoughts.

“What?”

Ari nonchalantly shrugs. It is long past having this conversation with Lloyd. He couldn’t keep you and his daughter, and live this life. Lloyd has more money than he could ever want. Investing smart. Everyone knows the high life he enjoys having, he needs that security. “In five years, where are you in life?”

His eyes go blank. Visions of you, Lyla, another toddler girl, and a swollen belly dance in his mind. He’s with you every day. Away from the city, away from the killing and uncertainty. Just his family.

“Yeah,” Ari interrupts Lloyd’s train of thought, and he gets a pouting glare. “Just as I suspected. You realize the risk you give both of them by continuing this life.”

“This is what I know. And I didn’t ask for them — this.”

“Neither did they. But isn’t that how the best love stories start? Unexpected and raw, but also real?” Lloyd sighs, nodding his head. Yeah. It truly was the best love story. Completely unexpected, and the two of you knocked him off his feet, and made him feel things he never thought he would.

”Have you ever asked her what she wants? Surely she doesn’t just want to be an au pair,” Lloyd grunts. It’s the tenth time Ari has pissed him off in one conversation. “I’m sorry, a mom. What if she wants a bookstore, a flower shop, a…”

“She can have it,” Lloyd says with no hesitation.

“A coffee shop that the mister and missus run together. Lyla, busy helping when really she's just playing. A cute little baby bouncing around in a swing because you two can’t stand the thought of being away from each other. Or what was it you wanted to do when you were a boy? A professor,” Lloyd scoffs, rolling his eyes at the stupid ideas of a too young boy. Life happened, and he just rose up the ranks of the life of crime.

“I’m sure your pretty little wife would love to see you bend her over a desk. Punishing that pretty ass before you fuck her stupid.”

“Get out of my fucking fantasy,” both men release an airy laugh. Lloyd looks at the desk in front of him. He couldn’t continue on with this life. “I could do it, you know?”

“I know you could. Just as much as I can join your freakish little fucking games with your girlfriend. And I do mean fucking,” Ari gives Lloyd a wink, who returns the gesture by throwing a pen at him.

“Shut up.”

“You brought it up.”

“I was teasing her. Seeing her get all embarrassed and heated is,” Lloyd glares at Ari. “Oh, shut up! I like to see her squirm.”

“You have a sick need to humiliate, but she likes it,” Ari shrugs. Who is he to judge yours and Lloyd’s kink.

“Yeah, you don’t get to come home to her fucking a copy of my dick while I eat dinner,” his eyes grow distant again. Imagining his favorite show to watch while he eats. Seeing you get off, while simultaneously begging for his real cock, and to just fuck you is the best form of entertainment.

“You should invite me over one night,” Lloyd’s foot goes in between Ari’s legs. Connecting to the seat of his chair, he pushes the chair back causing an uproar of laughter from Ari. “You really are a bastard.”

“You offered!”

“I wasn’t serious.”

“It’s just new. You’ll change your mind,” Ari chuckles as Lloyd walks away from the conversation. Annoyed. Intrigued. Irritated. Turned on? No. Definitely not. Maybe not. Maybe a little.

——

Lloyd opens the door to his home, and quickly turns the alarm back on. It is too quiet. He worked late. Really it was having time to think about what Ari had questioned him about. Being your cute self, you left a dinner plate in the fridge. He isn’t hungry. Just hungry for you.

With a bit more gusto in his step he heads towards your bedroom. He’ll check on Lyla after he wakes you up with an orgasm. It’s been such a long day, and he could use something sweet on his tongue. The peaceful sound of your sleep sounds plays softly under the door.

Now, he could burst through the door, and wake you up with fear. He could crawl up the bed, and plant himself between your thighs, or he can make a trail of kisses up your body before he melts into you. Forgetting the work he does while basking in your warmth. It didn’t matter to him what he did because it was going to be with you.

Opening up the door, he slinks closer to the bed. Starting to peel off his clothes, until the most perfect and beautiful sight he’s ever seen comes into view. Lyla tucked so close to your body while your arm drapes over her. Cuddling the baby into your body. It’s cruel he didn’t get to fall asleep with the two of you.

Seeing just how quickly you took her into your life, and made her yours eases his darkened soul. You didn’t birth her, but you are the most integral part to her raising. He has missed so much time with her, and you. And each day he chooses to live in this life is another day that he misses his family. One day could potentially miss everything. The risk of the job is becoming too real for him.

He could miss her first sentences, her first steps without assistance, her personality coming through. He might miss out on her first day of school, the first person to break her heart, the first date. He shudders thinking of that aspect. Lloyd could risk the possibility of making more adorable babies with you. Forgoing the chance to have a family with you. The ability to give her siblings. It’s a risk he isn’t fully willing to take anymore.

He had too much here. Right in this bed is his life. Not the money, the thrills, the heavy rotation of women. This is the most comfortable and fulfilled he’s ever been. It isn’t worth it anymore. Ari is right.

“You could put on your pajama pants and get in the bed with us.”

“You could meet me in the shower.”

“Lloyd, the baby is sleeping,” playfully he sighs. He’ll take a quick shower, and get back to you. It isn’t worth it to stay away from you. Or her. How did he get here? To a time where he got excited about going home, or wanting to get to work late because he is too busy spending extra time with his girls.

His mind is set. He doesn’t need the job. Investments have been made. He can live an honest life. Maybe. The two of you could have a store. Or do absolutely nothing for a while. Just enjoy each other.

Stepping back into the bedroom, he slides into the spot behind you. His arm moves over your hip, and he lays a hand on Lyla. Her lips pucker out a bit before wiggling close to you, and you give her a kiss to her forehead. “You smell good,” you hum.

“Stop wiggling your ass on me.”

“But you’re warm, and smell good.”

“If you want to keep snuggling our daughter, you better quit. Because I will make you take her to her room, so I can fuck you long and hard,” gasping, you peek behind you to look at him. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s not a threat.”

“Fine,” you exhale, starting to close your eyes again. It just feels so much more comfortable when Lloyd is in the bed with you. There’s a rightness to it.

“Is there anything you wanted to do before you got here with us?”

“An art gallery,” whispering, you give Lyla another kiss. It’s a simple answer, and if Lloyd did any light digging into your college degree, he’d know you wanted a life in the art world.

“I will buy you an art gallery,” you snort out a laugh, and his hand moves from Lyla to your breast, and he pinches your nipple. You bite your tongue to not make too much noise. “I’m serious. What if I let all this go? It’s just you and I. A very chic art gallery. Lyla growing up around this rich and creative life.”

“You’re serious?” Did he really say what you think he said? Give it all up.

“Yeah. I don’t think I can continue to be away from you. I’d like to think we’ll have another baby bee or two. I can’t do that if I’m dead. I don’t want to continue to bring all this ugly fear and possibilities into our home. I have enemies, and lots of them. I put you and our children in danger. I can’t have both that life and you. And it’s you and her that I have to choose.”

Lloyd’s face buries into your neck. Nipping along your sensitive skin. Feeling at ease with his decision. He’d get everything situated. He’d give you your dreams, since you have given him his. Being out of this life, and everyday with you, just makes complete sense.

“You sure you don’t want to put Lyla Bee in her bed?”

“No, hers seeping. And hers is really cozy and comfy and warm on her mommy.”

“I love hearing you talking like this,” he shifts slightly, placing his mouth at the shell of your ear. Exhaling just enough to awaken your core, “But I will wake you up with my dick inside you.”

“The baby,” your voice trembles as you try to remain still. You just never know with Lloyd. It’s what makes him so exciting.

“I’ll get her all cleaned up, fed, and in her own bed. I know why you have her in here with you. My needy sweet girl. You are so touch starved, and I love giving you attention. Especially touching you,” how are you supposed to fall asleep now? How can your body get turned on that quickly, and now how are you going just left to drift off. “Get some sleep. You’ll need it.”

“You can’t say things like that, daddy.”

“Shhh…”

Frustrating. He can whisper those things in your ear, setting you on edge. Making sure you wake up horny and ready to take him. Fine. You’ll just wait for when he gets Lyla fed and asleep in her own bed. Like he could be stealthy enough that you don’t wake up with them.

—

You failed.

You failed miserably. You slept through Lloyd waking up, and tending to Lyla, getting her in bed, all while you slept. “Lloyd! Untie me!” His grin turns sinister as he shakes his head no. “Daddy,” you make your voice weak, hoping it entices him to do just that. Not being able to hold him is just cruel.

“Don’t daddy me. You earned this. Do you remember your safe word,” narrowing your eyes, you nod once. “Then say it,” you wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “There’s my stubborn girl.”

His boxers are so tented. Straining from his hard length, and if he’s just going to stand there, making you drool over his cock that is pressing so hard against its confines then he is cruel. Your lower lip puckers out as you look down your body. At least you’re still dressed. “Daddy.”

“How much does she need me,” the infuriating thing about this man is his need to talk about you instead of to you. His knee presses into the mattress and yanks your thighs apart before crawling in between your legs. Noticing the glint from his knife too late as he cuts away your satin shorts, and moves up to your shirt. He could have just unbuttoned that. But why would he do the easy or normal thing? No, he just likes to cut them off.

“Shh, I’ll buy you some more,” he whispers, running the blade down the middle of your body. The icy coolness from the metal leaves chill bumps in its wake.

He peels the shreds off you, and drops them onto the floor, before his darkened eyes peer up at you, “No panties?” Your response is a glare. Wishing he’d just get a move on it. “Hmm,” he settles between your legs and gazes up at your weeping cunt. “What has got her so wet? My, my, my. She is soaked. I wonder if it’s me or just being tied up. Or,” he glances up at you with a murderous smile.

Sticking his tongue out, he licks a strip up through your center, moaning in satisfied hunger. “I knew it,” he does it again, but keeps his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he pulls up. A string of your arousal connects the two of you as he keeps those blackened eyes on you. “You’re ovulating.”

You shake your head no with a smile. He’s crazy. Insane. You are on birth control. “Are you so filled with lust you don’t even remember what we decided?” Oh. That. “We decided you would stop taking your pills. Now, here’s where we are now. The chances are higher for you to get pregnant. Before we get started, and you’re filled with desire and not brains, do you want me to come in your cunt, on you, or your mouth. It’s a big decision, I know.”

It is a big decision. Because his warmth inside of you feels so good. He snaps his fingers, “Don’t go into that space. You’ll get fucked regardless. But where am I putting my cum?”

“I don’t — I don’t want to decide.”

“Then I’m wearing a condom.”

“Why?”

“Because you aren’t in the right mind frame to make this decision. You’re acting on just your body‘s feelings,” he’s right. But there are other options of birth control. It doesn’t have to just be pulling out.

“Come in me, and then a morning after pill,” Lloyd nods towards the dresser. Of course he’d have one ready. “You’re not questioning me?”

“Why would I?” Yes, you get the contradiction. You stopped birth control, and now are using an alternative. But you just can’t think past wanting to feel him. “When you’re not tied up, and spread eagle, maybe you’ll think differently. But you just want me to fuck you and fill you with my seed, huh?”

“Yes, daddy.”

“I do really like looking at this pussy though. She looks gorgeous, all wet, and ready to take me. Lyla is dozing off with her lullabies playing and you are just ripe for the taking.”

“So take me,” your threat or warning, whichever, is enough for him to position himself. Lloyd runs his aching, throbbing cock through your folds, while you stare at him sheepishly. “I can’t touch you.”

“I just enjoy seeing you squirm,” he responds before crashing into your warmth with no warning. Leaving your head to lean back as the utmost pleasure of having his length fill you up with a sharp pain. Taking him is a hard task. “Don’t you ever get used to me, Dolly,” he grunts before pulling out, and spearing hard back into you.

You whine as he bottoms out. Jerking on your restraints as you try to ground yourself with his body. “It’s a bit of an effort,” he starts to pull out again, and slams into your wet heat. Your toes curl at such a harsh intrusion, and you want more. “But I still think your pretty little cunt was made to take me.”

His hips piston into you quickly. Over and over he pounds into your body, and you can’t do anything, but take it. Take his heavy cock. Take every inch of him. Every jolt of his body pushing into you, you take. “Such a good sweet girl. You’re not even arguing with me. You like my cock too much, huh?”

“Uh huh,” with that admission he fucks into you so hard you feel him in the depths of your soul. His body becomes one with you. The most vulgar way that you can think of to accept that the two of you are one. You are a team, never to be split. Together forever. This is the man that you will live for and die with. The man that will burn the world down if it means saving you and his family.

He’s it.

He’s everything.

And yes, you do take him so well.

Even the slight tinge of discomfort feels amazing as your cunt stretches to accommodate him. You will get to experience him, this life, a new life, all of it forever. Have more adorable babies. Have a life you’re happy in. A life you’ve dreamed about. Away from the violence and secrets. A life that you’ll be okay with raising a family. A life different than the one you were raised in.

This is it.

All you’ve ever wanted.

Right here in this home.

Right here in your body.

“Stay with me, Dolly. Don’t you go all dumb before I come inside you.”

“Daddy, I love you.”

“Love you, too, baby,” he’s so deep into your body, you feel his head swell as he empties his load into you. “Mmm,” you sigh as his warmth fills up your swollen pussy.

He leans forward to kiss on your forehead, while his hands undo your cuffs. Your arm drop free, and you pull him close to you. His lips still press warmly against your cheek as he starts to pull away. “Don’t go.”

“I was getting the pill.”

“It can wait,” he shuffles to lay beside you, but pulls you on top of him instead. “It can wait until next time.”

“That’s not how it works.”

“Then don’t worry about it.”

“What — changed your mind?”

“Just this once. Once a month,” his brow cocks up, and he smiles. “Once a month you get to have unprotected sex. The rest of the month, you pull out,” he says your real name, but you cover his mouth. “Unless you don’t want to. Then you can wear a condom,” Lloyd shakes his head. “Would you be okay with it if I happened to get pregnant?”

“Dolly, I’m okay with whatever you want to do. My life is yours, and pretty sure it has been since the first moment I saw you. I’m all yours. However you want this to go. Just don’t tell me to go away.”

“I’d never.”

And you wouldn’t. Not ever.

He is yours, and you are his.

And with your touch, you changed his entire world. His entire being.

Forever.

The End, friend. Or is it...?

Next

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[xxcallmemaryxx]

*gasping for breath*

my liege! a- a letter!! from,, the village!

*cautiously, u take the note, opening it slowly*

scrawled in a hurried hand are two words that chill u to the bone: vampire vessel

u know what u must do

👀🙏

So this is the coolest way anyone has ever requested something and it literally tore me right out of writers block. So thank you!!

Vampire Vessel under the cut ~

Vampire Vessel who spent weeks watching you. Always in the shadows. Always hidden. Always just out of sight. It was a life he was accustomed to. Always getting so close yet never being allowed contact. Ever. He’d been around long enough to know that his safety, and his family’s safety, prioritises all else. No matter how deeply he feels, or how long he’s dreamed of something, if it impacts his safety he can kiss it goodbye. He still remembers the way ii looked at him when he realised where Vessel was going the first time.

“Leave it alone.”

“… leave what alone?”

“You know what, Vessel. We are safe here.”

“I just want to see.”

“… Do not be seen.”

Vessel knows ii has a weak spot for him, he takes advantage of it, but the way ii looked at Vessel before he slipped out the door was pleading. He can’t help his curiosity, he’s been alive for so long that new people tend to make him careless. He was honest when he said all he wanted was to see you. Just a look. To see what you were like. What colour your eyes were. If you had anyone with you. It’s not every day someone new moves into these woods. It’s quite rare. He likes to know things. To know what’s going on outside the manor. To know if he and the guys needed to be more careful than they already were. And truly, that was his intention the first time he came to visit you.

He can’t say the same now. He’d be lying.

It’s been a month. And he never stopped coming to see you.

It’s been a very long time since Vessel has been genuinely interested in someone new. He’s never known his teeth to ache like the way they do when he watches you. He’s never known his throat to close up like the way it does every time you unknowingly meet his eyes in the dark through your kitchen window. He’s never known the urge to run away from a human who wasn’t actively hunting him like the way he feels with you. Because your presence within these woods makes Vessel feel like he is being hunted. And what terrifies him more is that despite that, he can’t stay away from you. He wishes no harm upon you. He wishes no trouble upon you.

But he yearns.

He wants to feel your human skin under his frozen fingertips. He wants to hear your heart race every time he looks at you. He wants to feel the way your breath stops every time he gets close. He sits by your home for hours just watching you live. Watching you exist. He’s beyond fascinated. He’s forgotten a lot about human behaviour, but he’s just obsessed with the way you choose to be. Every time he spends the night with you, he occupies a sturdy tree branch just far enough away to be shrouded by shadows, but close enough for him to still see and hear you.

ii has tried to steer his obvious desire towards something safer. Thinking maybe he’s just hungry and is getting restless. He forces Vessel on hunts with him or sends iii out to mess around with him for a bit, to blow off some steam or get whatever it is out of his system. But every other night the manor is void of Vessel. No matter how recently he’s eaten, or how much like his normal self iii and iv can pull out of him again, he always ends up back up in that tree with his eyes glued to your every move.

Vessel can never just leave it alone. Despite iis warning.

Because long after you’d gone to bed, Vessel couldn’t bare to part with you. He sat up in his tree, with a lap full of sticks and twine he’d made himself. And for hours he worked his long practiced skills and crafted a small gift for you. A dream catcher, in the shape of a heart. It was small, but beautifully put together. He debated leaving it for you the whole time he was making it. Weighing up if it was worth the hell he’d have to pay should any of the guys find out. But as the sun started to peak over the horizon he didn’t think twice. Jumping down from his tree, he hung it off your front door handle and took off back to the safety of the manor.

He tells himself that he technically did keep his word to ii. He hasn’t been seen.

But if ii finds out what he did this morning, Vessel knows ii would find a way to give him human life again just to kill Vessel again himself.

.

.

.

Thank you reading!!

I hope I did this ask justice but just know this isn’t the last of vampire vessel. He will be back.

[yjw1a1]

The Space Between The Unsaid | PSH

PAIRING. Park Sunghoon x female reader. GENRE. contemporary romance, coming of age, drama and angst WORD COUNT. 6481 WARNINGS. angst and reader is lowkey annoying. DISCLAIMER. I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR THE WORK I WROTE, SO PLAGIARISM IS NOT ALLOWED HERE. all the credits to the owners of the photos. Please be kind. :) SUMMARY. Y/N has spent her whole life playing a role—perfect daughter, untouchable socialite, the girl everyone admires but no one really knows. As the only child of Korea’s most celebrated actor and a former supermodel, she’s been raised in a world where appearances matter more than reality. But behind the curated image, Y/N feels like a ghost in her own life—trapped in a cold house, wearing a name that doesn’t feel like hers Then there’s Sunghoon.The boy next door. The only real thing in her world. From the moment they met as children, Sunghoon has been her anchor—her escape. In his home, filled with warmth and chaos, Y/N learns what it means to belong. But as they grow up, the lines between them blur. Sunghoon watches, caught between wanting to save her and knowing she doesn’t want to be saved. The weight of everything unspoken between them threatens to crack because Y/N grows tired of playing pretend. And maybe, just maybe—he’s finally tired of pretending, too. Because some love stories are quiet. Some never get the right words. But some, no matter how long it takes, refuse to stay unsaid.

DATE RELEASED . 03.02.2025

Y/N KNEW SHE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE OUTSIDE. She could still hear her mother’s voice echoing in the back of her mind Don’t ruin your dress. Don’t go where people can see you like that.

Like that. Like a child. Like someone who didn’t belong to the world her parents had built.

But right now, she didn’t care.

Her fingers curled around the handlebars of the tiny pink bicycle, the one she had found abandoned in the garage when they moved in. It wasn’t new. It wasn’t hers. But for some reason, she liked it.

She had never owned anything that wasn’t perfect before. She tried to lift it upright, arms trembling slightly from the effort. It was heavier than she expected, and her shoes slipped against the smooth pavement as she struggled. Still, she didn’t stop.

Until the front door swung open.

“What are you doing?”

Y/N flinched.

Her mother’s voice was sharp, like it always was when she caught Y/N doing something she shouldn’t be. She stood in the doorway, arms crossed, beautiful and cold all at once.

“That’s not yours.”

Y/N swallowed hard, quickly letting go of the bike, as if it had burned her.

“I know.”

Her mother sighed. “Come inside. You have your etiquette lesson in twenty minutes.”

And just like that, the door closed again.

Leaving Y/N stranded in their driveway. 

She let out a quiet breath, fingers tightening into the fabric of her dress.

She hated this house. She hated the way the glass windows made it feel like a museum, not a home. She hated the way her father was never there and how her mother only spoke to her when she needed to. She hated the way everything was supposed to be perfect, but it never, ever felt right.

Most of all, she hated that she hadn’t even tried to argue.

That she never did.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t hear the footsteps approaching.

“Hey.”

Y/N gasped, turning sharply.

There was a boy standing a few feet away. He was around her age, taller than her but not by much, with dark hair that fell into his eyes and a jacket that looked too big for his frame.

She had never seen him before. But when she followed his gaze, she realized—he had been watching.

Watching her struggle. Watching her mother scold her. Watching her freeze instead of fighting back.

A sudden wave of embarrassment crashed over her. She hated being watched.

The boy hesitated, then nodded toward the bike. “Do you want help?”

Y/N stared at him.

Most boys she knew only talked to her because of her last name. Because of her parents. Because they wanted something.

But he didn’t look at her like that.

He just… looked at her.

Like she was a normal seven year old girl standing in the driveway of a house that didn’t feel like hers, struggling with a bike that didn’t belong to her.

She bit the inside of her cheek, her fingers twitching slightly at her sides.

Then, finally—she nodded. The boy stepped forward, easily pulling the bike upright.

Y/N didn’t know why, but the sight of it—the way he helped her so casually, so effortlessly, like it was the easiest thing in the world—made her chest feel strangely tight.

She swallowed. “Thanks.”

He shrugged. “It’s my younger sister’s. She won’t care.”

She blinked. “Your sister?”

He nodded, pointing at the house next door. “We live there.”

Y/N glanced over.

His house was smaller than hers, a little older, with a front yard full of toys and a porch light that flickered faintly in the dim evening. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t polished.

But it looked warm.

And for a reason she didn’t understand, that made her chest ache.

She looked back at him, studying his face carefully, like she was trying to figure out if she should say something else.

Then, without thinking, she smiled. Not the kind of smile her mother taught her—the polite, camera-ready one. A real one. The boy seemed surprised at first. Then he smiled back. 

“I’m Sunghoon, by the way,”

And just like that, Y/N met the first real person in her life.

She didn’t know it then, but years later, she would look back at this moment—the pink bicycle, the cold house, the boy next door—and realize:

This was the day Sunghoon became the only safe thing she had ever known.

Y/N had never been inside Sunghoon’s house before.

She had spent years watching from afar—the warm light spilling from the windows, the way laughter echoed through the halls, the way his mother called for him and his younger sister, Yeji, as if their names were the most precious things in the world.

It was different from her house.

Her house was always too quiet. Too pristine. Too much like a place people admired, but never really lived in.

But tonight, for the first time, she was here.

And she was terrified.

“Just sit,” Sunghoon said, nudging her toward the couch. “Yeji’s excited to see you.”

“I barely know her,” Y/N murmured, hesitating.

“She doesn’t care. She likes you.”

That was hard to believe. Yeji had always been a blur of energy—tiny, loud, and endlessly curious. Whenever Y/N had seen her before, she had been running after Sunghoon, demanding piggyback rides or showing off her latest bruises like they were trophies. She was the kind of child who lived freely, without hesitation.

The kind of child Y/N had never been allowed to be.

A small voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Y/N?”

She turned.

Yeji was standing in the doorway, her dark hair pulled into two messy pigtails, eyes round with excitement. She was holding something in her hands—a coloring book, worn at the edges, its pages filled with crayon scribbles.

“Will you color with me?”

Y/N blinked.

Color?

She had never been allowed to color. Her mother said it was messy. A waste of time. Something only children with too much freedom did.

But when Yeji grinned at her, bouncing slightly on her toes, something in Y/N softened.

“Okay.”

The younger girl let out a cheer, dragging her toward the coffee table. She opened the book to a half-colored picture of a castle, then shoved a handful of crayons into Y/N’s hands.

“You can be princess pink,” Yeji declared. “I’ll be sky blue.”

Y/N looked down at the crayon between her fingers. It was slightly melted at the tip, broken in the middle. Imperfect.

But for some reason, she liked it.

She hesitated at first, unsure of how to start. Her hands hovered over the page, fingers stiff, her mind flooded with the echo of her mother’s voice. Neat lines. No mess. No mistakes.

But when Yeji began scribbling away with no regard for the lines at all, laughing at the way her blue crayon clashed with the pink rooftops, Y/N felt something in her chest loosen.

She pressed the crayon to the page and let it glide across the paper.

The world didn’t end. No one scolded her. Nothing was ruined.

She exhaled.

And she kept coloring.

Sunghoon’s parents walked by a few minutes later, pausing when they saw her sitting cross-legged on the floor beside Yeji, completely focused on filling in the castle walls.

“She’s sweet, isn’t she?” Sunghoon’s mother whispered to his father.

His father chuckled. “I always knew she was more than just that fancy house next door.”

Y/N’s face warmed, but she kept coloring.

After that night, everything changed.

Y/N started coming over more often.

At first, she told herself it was just to return the coloring book Yeji had let her borrow. Then it was because Sunghoon had offered to help her with her math homework. Then it was because she had nothing to do at home, and sitting alone in her room made her feel like she was suffocating.

Eventually, she stopped making excuses. Sunghoon’s house became her escape.

She sat with Yeji on the porch, helping her braid her dolls’ hair. She let Sunghoon’s mother fuss over her, feeding her warm bowls of rice and soup when she claimed she “wasn’t that hungry” (even though, deep down, she was). She listened to Sunghoon and his father bicker over soccer matches and let herself laugh when his mother smacked them both with a dish towel.

It was loud. Chaotic. Messy.

And she loved it.

One afternoon, Yeji grabbed Y/N’s hand, dragging her toward the backyard.

“Come play!” she insisted. “We’re playing tag, and you’re it.”

“I don’t know how to—”

But Yeji had already taken off, giggling as she ran through the grass.

Sunghoon smirked. “She’s fast. You better catch up.”

Y/N hesitated.

She had never played tag before.

She had never run through the grass in bare feet, never let herself laugh just for the sake of laughing, never felt like she was allowed to be young. But when Yeji turned back and stuck her tongue out, teasing her, something in Y/N snapped. And for the first time in her life—she ran.

She chased after Yeji, her laughter ringing through the air, her lungs burning in the best way possible. Sunghoon’s parents watched from the back porch, smiling at the sight.

“She’s different when she’s here,” his mother murmured.

His father nodded. “Like a kid.”

“Like she’s home.” And maybe, in a way, she was.

It happened so naturally that Y/N didn’t even realize when she started calling Sunghoon’s parents Auntie and Uncle.

It slipped out one evening when she was helping set the table, laughing at something Sunghoon said. She had turned to his mother without thinking.

“Auntie, do you want me to grab more napkins?”

The room went silent. Y/N froze. Her throat tightened. She wasn’t supposed to say that. She wasn’t supposed to—

But then, Sunghoon’s mother smiled. “Of course, dear,” she said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

And just like that, Y/N wasn’t just a guest anymore. She belonged.

Yeji started calling her unnie—big sister. She would crawl into Y/N’s lap during movie nights, curling against her like she had always been there.

Sunghoon’s father would ruffle her hair when he passed by, teasing her about how she was “too serious for a kid” but smiling when she finally let herself joke back.

Sunghoon’s mother made sure there was always an extra plate at dinner, even on nights when Y/N didn’t come over—just in case.

And when Y/N went home at the end of the night, stepping back into the cold, empty house next door, she carried their warmth with her.

She didn’t say it out loud. But in her heart, she knew. This was her real family.

Being the only child of Korea's hottest actor and stellar model, Y/N had always been the center of attention. Even in high school, when the rules of popularity became more complicated— it wasn’t just about who you were, but who you were willing to be.

People gravitated toward her without hesitation. They laughed at her jokes even when they weren’t funny, clung to her presence like it meant something. She was the kind of person everyone wanted to be close to, even if they didn’t know why.

And she played along. She always did.

She let them love the version of her they thought they knew.

Meanwhile, Sunghoon stayed exactly the same.

He had his small group of friends, the ones who didn’t care about school dances or lunch table politics. The quiet, antisocial types who spent more time talking about their pokemon cards or some new meme that only they found funny. They kept to themselves, content in their own world.

They had no reason to interact with Y/N.

And yet—Sunghoon was always there.

Despite everything, despite how different their worlds were, despite the fact that neither of their friend groups understood it, Sunghoon was the one person who had never drifted from her orbit.

He didn’t try to belong in her world.

And somehow, that’s what made him feel like the only real part of it.

“Why do you even hang out with him?” 

Y/N heard the question more times than she could count. It always came in some variation—curious, teasing, sometimes even pitying. People never understood.

Today, it came from Gia, one of the girls who had attached herself to Y/N sometime in sophomore year. She had asked the question before. But this time, Y/N could tell it was different.

“You know, you don’t need to be with people who bring your status lower. You’re doing charity work Y/N!”

Gia’s gaze flickered toward the far side of the cafeteria, where Sunghoon sat with his usual group—heads down, engaged in conversation, completely detached from everything happening around them. 

Y/N barely hesitated before responding. “Because he’s my best friend.”

Gia snorted. “Seriously?”

Y/N just shrugged, unfazed. She didn’t expect her to understand, when she too was no different from the people in her fathers and mothers circle. 

Gia leaned in slightly, lowering her voice like she was about to tell a secret. “You know he doesn’t fit in with us, right?”

Us.

Y/N smiled, but there was something in her expression—something sharp, something knowing.

She leaned back in her seat, gaze steady. “Maybe I don’t fit in with you, either.”

Gia blinked.

She opened her mouth, like she wanted to argue, but something in the way Y/N said it—the way she held her gaze, unshaken—made her stop.

And just like that, the conversation ended.

Later that day, after school, Y/N found Sunghoon leaning against the gate outside, waiting for her like he always did.

She didn’t have to ask why.

She didn’t have to say anything at all.

He glanced up as she approached, shifting Y/N’s backpack onto his other shoulder.

“Let me guess,” he said, voice dry. “Someone asked why you’re still friends with me.”

Y/N grinned. “Bingo.”

Sunghoon rolled his eyes. “And? What did you say this time?”

She gave him a look. “The usual. That you’re secretly in love with me, obviously.”

Sunghoon scoffed, shoving her lightly as his ears turned pink. “Shut up.”

She laughed, bumping her shoulder against his before they started walking together, falling into step like they had been doing this for years. Because no matter what changed—the people, the expectations, the shifting lines between friendship and something more—Y/N and Sunghoon never did.

And maybe that was the problem.

Because some friendships were supposed to fade. But there's never did.

And that meant it was only a matter of time before it either broke apart completely or turned into something else entirely.

Sunghoon had always known Y/N.

He had known her as the quiet girl who pressed her fingers into the fabric of her dress when she was upset. The girl who colored outside the lines with Yeji like it was the first time anyone had let her. The girl who smiled at everyone like she was perfectly fine, even when her house felt more like a museum than a home.

He had known her before everyone else did—before she became the kind of person people worshipped in high school, before she learned how to belong to a world that wasn’t built for her.

And maybe that was why it hurt so much.

Because he also knew the version of her that no one else did. The one who kept choosing the wrong guys. The ones who didn’t deserve her. The ones who made her feel like she had to prove something.

It started with Minjae.

Sunghoon knew from the moment he saw the guy smirking at Y/N in the hallway that it was going to be a problem.

“He’s a dick,” Sunghoon said bluntly, watching as Minjae leaned against Y/N’s locker like he owned it.

Y/N sighed, stuffing books into her bag. “You say that about every guy I talk to.”

“Yeah, because every guy you talk to is a dick.”

She rolled her eyes. “You don’t even know him.”

Sunghoon scoffed. “I don’t need to. He’s the kind of guy who thinks girls are collectibles. You’re just the rarest one he’s found.”

Y/N stilled for half a second before shaking her head. “It’s not that deep, Sunghoon.”

But Sunghoon saw the way she looked away. The way her fingers tightened around the strap of her bag.

And a few months later, when Minjae stopped texting her back, when she acted like she didn’t care but refused to talk about it—Sunghoon wasn’t surprised.

Because this was how it always went. The pattern didn’t change.

In college, Jisung, the musician, was next. He played guitar, wrote songs about girls, and never answered her messages until after 11pm. Then there was Taehyun—the business major with expensive cologne and cold smiles.

“You know, I’m starting to think you like assholes,” Sunghoon muttered one night, arms crossed as he watched Y/N stare at her phone. She was waiting for a text that wasn’t coming. Again.

“I don’t—” she started, but Sunghoon gave her a look, and she groaned. “Okay, fine. Maybe I have bad taste.”

Sunghoon snorted. “Maybe?”

Y/N shot him a glare. “Shut up.”

Sunghoon leaned back against the couch. “You could do better.”

She let out a humorless laugh. “Says who?”

He frowned. “Says me.”

Y/N stared at him for a long moment. Then she shook her head. “I don’t need saving, Sunghoon.”

“I never said you did.” His voice was quieter now. “I just think you deserve more than this.”

Y/N forced a smile, but Sunghoon could tell it was fake. “It’s just how things are, Hoon.”

And for the first time, Sunghoon realized—she actually believed that. She wasn’t picking these guys by accident.

She was picking them because she thought this was what love was supposed to feel like. Like something she had to earn. Like something that was never really hers to keep.

And Sunghoon hated itl He hated that no matter how much time passed, no matter how much she grew, a part of her was still that little girl standing in the driveway, holding onto something that wasn’t hers.

Y/N felt the air shift.

She hated when he looked at her like that—like he saw through everything she tried to pretend wasn’t there. Like he could pull apart the walls she had spent years building.

So, she did what she always did when things got too real.

She changed the subject. “Anyway,” she said, stretching out on the couch like they hadn’t just been having a conversation about her terrible taste in men. “My dad’s company is hosting a gala this weekend.”

Sunghoon raised an eyebrow. “And?”

Y/N gave him a look. “And I need a date.”

He let out a short laugh. “And you’re asking me?”

She shrugged, playing it cool. “You clean up okay.”

Sunghoon scoffed. “Wow. What a compliment.”

Y/N smirked. “I’m serious, though. You should come. You always used to come with me since we were six, and it’s been a hot minute since you’ve been to one.”

Sunghoon leaned his head back against the couch, exhaling. “That’s because I hate them.”

She nudged his leg with her foot. “Come on. Free food, expensive drinks, and you get to see me in a dress that costs more than your rent.”

He gave her a look. “You suck at convincing people.”

Y/N gasped dramatically. “Excuse me, I’m extremely persuasive.”

Sunghoon rolled his eyes, but she could see the corners of his mouth twitching like he was trying not to smile. He didn’t answer right away, though.

Instead, he rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know, Y/N. Work’s been kind of crazy lately.”

Y/N paused. Sunghoon had been busy. Busier than usual.

His job had been demanding more of his time, and even though he never complained, she could tell he was stretched thin.

Which meant, She shouldn’t push him and just let it go.

But instead, she nudged him again. “You don’t have to stay long. Just come for a bit. Keep me entertained. Prevent me from dying of boredom while old men talk about box office numbers.”

Sunghoon sighed, tilting his head to look at her. She knew she was winning. Finally, he exhaled. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Y/N grinned. “That’s all I ask.”

Y/N had convinced herself he wasn’t coming.

She had checked her phone earlier in the night, almost instinctively, and there were only two more hours left of the gala, but there was nothing. No messages. No missed calls. No Sunghoon.

And maybe that was for the best. Y/N sighed leaning against the side of the balcony. The gala is still in full swing behind her—inside, the music is soft and elegant, the people even softer, pretending she don’t notice the flashing cameras catching her every move. But out here, on the rooftop balcony, the air is cold, and there are no cameras. No curated performances. No audience.

Sunghoon didn’t belong here. Not in a room full of people who only knew how to love things they could use. Not in a world where everything was polished on the surface but rotting underneath.

She had spent years pretending it didn’t bother her. That she didn’t care. That the weight of always being wanted—for her name, her beauty, her family—wasn’t suffocating her.

So when the producer’s hand slid onto her waist, she couldn’t move. When his fingers traced slow, deliberate patterns along her back, she didn’t flinch. And when he leaned in, his breath warm against her skin as he whispered something she didn’t even process—the smile pressed on her face felt automated.

Because that’s what she was supposed to do.

She was supposed to smile. Supposed to let it happen. She was supposed to pretend like it didn’t make her stomach twist with something dangerously close to nausea.

And then—

A hand wrapped around her wrist. Firm. Steady. Familiar.

Her breath caught. Before she could react, before she could even see him, the warmth of Sunghoon’s grip pulled her back—out of reach, out of the producer’s hold, out of the moment where she had almost let herself disappear into nothing.

She turned sharply, and there he was. Sunghoon.

Standing between her and the man she had been too afraid to push away.

She couldn’t even process the look on his face. Not anger, not jealousy—just quiet, seething disbelief. Like he couldn’t believe her. Like he couldn’t believe she was letting this happen.

The producer’s hand fell away, a flash of irritation crossing his face as he looked Sunghoon up and down. Disinterested. Unimpressed.

“And you are?” the man asked, tilting his head unamused.

Sunghoon didn’t even blink.“Someone who knows she doesn’t want this,” he said, his voice calm, but sharp enough to cut.

She felt something in her chest tighten.

The producer scoffed, shaking his head as if Sunghoon were nothing more than a minor inconvenience. “I don’t recall asking you.”

Sunghoon smiled then, but there was nothing friendly about it. “That’s because I don’t care.”

And just like that, the power in the room shifted. The producer let out an annoyed breath, muttering something under his breath before taking a step back. Not worth the trouble.

Not with Sunghoon’s gaze burning into him like a warning.

And then, they were alone.

Sunghoon was still holding her wrist. Not tightly, but firmly enough that she could still feel it.

For the first time that night, she let out a breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding.

But when she looked up at him, his expression was unreadable.

Not relief. Not comfort. Just disappointment. 

“You’re overreacting,” she blurted out before she could stop herself hugging herself, as if it put more space between the walls she placed between them

Sunghoon leans against the railing, watching her pace in front of him. She’s still in her expensive gown, still wearing diamonds in her ears, but her mask has finally slipped. Her arms are wrapped around herself, and her expression is sharp, defensive.

She’s ready to fight him, even though he’s not sure why.

“You’re overreacting,” she repeats, the words clipped. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

Sunghoon exhales sharply, shaking his head. “You let that guy put his hands all over you,” he says. “And you laughed like it was nothing.”

She lets out a breathy laugh, not amused in the slightest. “Oh, please. That’s what you’re upset about? He’s a producer, Sunghoon. You can’t just—”

“I don’t care who he is,” Sunghoon cuts her off, jaw tight. “You looked uncomfortable, and you didn’t do anything about it.”

Y/N scoffs, turning away. “What did you want me to do? Make a scene? Give the tabloids something to talk about?”

“I wanted you to respect yourself,” he fires back, stepping closer, once she stepped away. “I wanted you to stop acting like you have to let people treat you like—”

“Like what, Sunghoon?” she snaps, spinning around to face him. Her eyes flash with something dangerous, something almost like betrayal. “Like I don’t belong to myself? Like I have to be something I’m not just so people will keep loving me?” She lets out a sharp breath. “Newsflash—that’s my whole life.”

Sunghoon stills.

She’s angry, but more than that, she looks like she’s about to break apart at the seams.

Her whole life has been about control, about perception, about playing the part that everyone expects of her. And Sunghoon? He’s the one person who’s never asked her to be anything other than herself.

And right now, that feels like a threat.

“You don’t get to be mad at me,” Y/N snapped, arms crossed, eyes flashing. “You’re not my boyfriend.”

Sunghoon exhales sharply, running a hand through his hair. “I know that.”

“Then why do you care so much?” she presses. “Why do you always act like I owe you something?”

He’s silent for a long time. Too long. Long enough for the anger in her expression to shift into something closer to panic—like she knows she’s about to lose something she never really acknowledged was hers in the first place.

“I don’t act like you owe me something,” he finally says. His voice is softer now, but somehow that makes it worse. “I just… I’ve spent years watching you hurt yourself. And maybe that’s my fault for sticking around so long.”

Her breath catches. “Sunghoon—”

“I love you,” he says, and it’s not a confession, not really. It’s just the truth. A truth that’s been sitting between them for years, unspoken, unavoidable.

“But I can’t be the only one who wants this,” he continues, shaking his head. “I can’t keep waiting for you to choose me.”

She doesn’t know what to say. For the first time in her life, words fail her.

Sunghoon lets out a quiet, almost bitter laugh. “I’ll always be here,” he says, stepping back. “But I can’t keep waiting for you to be ready to love me back.”

Then, for the first time since they met as kids, he turns and walks away first.

Y/N doesn’t think.

Her body moves before her mind catches up, feet clicking against the polished floor as she lunges forward, fingers reaching as she grabs his wrist.

“Wait.”

Sunghoon stops. His shoulders tense under the dim rooftop lights, his breath slow and controlled, but she can tell by the way his fingers twitch at his sides—he wasn’t expecting this.

She wasn’t expecting it either, but suddenly, she’s terrified of letting him leave.

He turns slightly, just enough for her to see the side of his face. His expression is unreadable, but she knows him well enough to notice the cracks beneath the surface. The clenched jaw. The way his lips press together, like he’s bracing himself for impact.

She swallows, her grip tightening for half a second before she forces herself to let go.

“I’m sorry.”

The words are soft, barely audible over the muffled sound of the gala behind them. She sees the way his brows twitch, the subtle flash of something unreadable in his eyes.

But he doesn’t say anything.

So she keeps going.

“I don’t—” Her throat is tight. She exhales sharply, pressing her fingers against her temple as if that will stop the whirlwind of emotions threatening to tear through her. “I don’t know how to do this, Sunghoon.”

Silence.

She lets out a quiet, almost bitter laugh, hugging herself. “I don’t know how to be loved like this. I don’t know how to choose something when I’ve spent my whole life being told who to be. And I know that’s not an excuse, I know that’s not fair to you, but—”

Her voice wavers.

Sunghoon exhales through his nose, his fingers flexing slightly before he shoves his hands into his pockets.

“But what?” His voice is quiet now. Steady.

She lifts her gaze, eyes searching his like she’s hoping he’ll have the answer for her.

“But I don’t want to lose you.”

The confession leaves her lips before she can stop it.

Sunghoon inhales sharply, his gaze flickering with something she can’t place.

She looks away. “You’re right,” she says. “I let people treat me like I don’t belong to myself. I let them decide what I’m worth, what I should be, who I should love. But you’re the only person who ever made me feel like—” Her breath catches, fingers curling into the fabric of her dress.

“Like what?”

She squeezes her eyes shut. “Like I don’t have to pretend.”

The words feel raw, ripped straight from the part of her she keeps locked away. And for the first time in years, she’s not sure what he’s going to say next.

Because if he walks away now—if he lets her go—she knows she’ll never find the courage to say this again.

Sunghoon doesn’t move for a long time.

Then, slowly and carefully, he turns. His gaze finds hers, searching, cautious, as if he’s trying to figure out if she means it this time. And for once, she lets him see the truth. She’s scared. She’s messy. She’s figuring it out as she goes. 

After everything—after Sunghoon’s words, after her own confession, after the way his fingers tightened around hers—Y/N should have felt something shift.

But the city below was still loud, the gala behind them still glowed with artificial warmth, and the weight pressing against her ribs hadn’t disappeared.

She exhaled, slow and measured, her fingers still laced with his. It wasn’t tight. He wasn’t holding her there. She could let go if she wanted to.

She didn’t.

Sunghoon was watching her, his expression unreadable, but he hadn’t pulled away either. The silence stretched between them, and for once, she didn’t try to fill it with empty words.

She had already said too much.

“Do you want to get out of here?”

His voice was quiet, careful. He wasn’t asking as a demand, just… giving her an option.

For the first time in a long time, someone was giving her a choice.

She should have hesitated. She should have thought about what leaving meant, about the cameras, about what people would say, about the questions her father would have when this made headlines in the morning.

Instead, she nodded.

Sunghoon’s gaze lingered for a moment, like he was making sure, before he turned—hand still in hers—as he led her away from the balcony. They moved through the shadows, slipping past clusters of people too preoccupied to notice, and down the back staircase that led to the service entrance.

It was colder out here. No marble floors, no curated lighting—just the sharp scent of the city, the distant hum of traffic, and the occasional flicker of cigarette smoke from a waiter taking a break near the dumpsters.

It was the kind of place she wasn’t supposed to belong in.

But right now, it felt more real than anything inside that ballroom.

Sunghoon finally let go of her hand, just long enough to shrug off his jacket and drape it over her shoulders. She blinked at him, startled by the casual intimacy of it, but he didn’t say anything.

Didn’t even look at her.

He just stuffed his hands into his pockets and nodded toward the street. “Come on.”

Y/N followed.

They ended up at a small café a few blocks away—one of those twenty-four-hour places that smelled like burnt coffee and had chipped Formica tables. The kind of place Sunghoon used to take her to when they were kids, when she’d sneak out of her house just to feel like she had control over something.

Back then, he used to tease her for wrinkling her nose at the chipped mugs and sticky floors. But tonight, she didn’t say anything.

She just sat across from him in the worn-out booth, hands curled around the mug of tea he had ordered for her without asking.

The steam curled between them, and for a while, neither of them spoke.

Then, finally—

“Did you mean it?” Sunghoon’s voice was steady, but something in his expression was careful.

Y/N stiffened. “Mean what?”

His gaze didn’t waver. “That you don’t want to lose me.”

She opened her mouth. Closed it. Her fingers tightened around the mug.

She could lie.

She could say she didn’t know what she was talking about, that the moment had gotten to her, that none of it mattered.

But she had done that before.

And this time, when she looked at him—really looked at him—she could see it. The line between patience and letting go. The quiet resolve in his posture, in the way his jaw tightened, like he was bracing himself for an answer he wasn’t sure he wanted.

She had spent her whole life playing roles for other people. But Sunghoon had never asked her to be anything except honest. So this time, she didn’t run. She didn’t pretend.

She just swallowed against the tightness in her throat, meeting his gaze as she whispered “Yes.”

Sunghoon exhaled, his eyes flickering with something she couldn’t quite place.

Three weeks of pretending nothing had changed. Three weeks of slowly pushing him away. Three weeks of answering Sunghoon’s texts like normal, of showing up when he called, of slipping into old rhythms because she didn’t know how to step into something new. 

But it wasn’t the same.

Because now—every time he looked at her, every time he spoke, every time his fingers brushed against hers like he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to touch her anymore—she felt it.

The words she hadn’t said. The ones sitting at the back of her throat, burning like an open wound. She should have said it that night.

Should have said it when he looked at her in that awful little café, waiting for something—anything—that would make staying feel worth it.

But she hadn’t.

Because Y/N had spent her whole life being loved for all the wrong reasons. And the thought of being loved right—of being loved the way Sunghoon had always loved her—was terrifying.

Because it meant risking everything.

But now, as she stood outside his apartment, fingers curled into fists at her sides, she realized—

She was going to lose him anyway. If she kept waiting, if she kept hesitating, if she kept expecting him to read between the lines—He was going to leave for real this time.

And she couldn’t let that happen.

Before she even processed, her hand was curled and she was knocking on his apartment door. 

It was late, and for a second, she thought maybe he wouldn’t answer. Maybe he was asleep. Maybe he’d see her through the peephole and decide he didn’t care anymore.

The door opened.

Sunghoon stood there in a hoodie and sweats, his hair slightly damp like he had just showered, and for some reason, that made it worse.

Like this wasn’t some big dramatic moment for him. Like he had already decided to move on.

His brows furrowed. “Y/N?”

Her chest tightened. She swallowed, forcing herself to breathe.“Can I come in?”

A pause. Then, after a long moment—he stepped aside.

She walked in, arms crossed tight, shoulders curled inward like she was holding herself together with sheer force. She felt Sunghoon watching her, felt the weight of all the things left unsaid pressing down on the space between them.

She turned to face him. “I—” She stopped, exhaled sharply, then tried again. “I don’t know how to do this.”

Sunghoon blinked, clearly caught off guard. Confused. “…Do what?”

Y/N let out a small, humorless laugh. “This. Us.”

A flicker of something unreadable crossed his face. “There is no ‘us,’ Y/N.”

Her stomach twisted. “Sunghoon—”

“You made that pretty clear,” he continued, voice quiet but firm. “That night. And every day after.”

She clenched her jaw. “That’s not fair.”

“Isn’t it?”

Silence.

She hated this. Hated how distant he felt. How careful his words were now, like he was holding himself back. Like he was already halfway out the door.

She had never been afraid of losing anything before. But she was afraid of losing this.

Y/N took a breath. And then, before she could talk herself out of it—

“I love you.”

The words landed between them, soft but sharp, cutting through the space like a blade.

Sunghoon stilled.

For the first time since she walked in, really stilled—like he wasn’t sure if he had heard her right.

She swallowed hard, her hands trembling, curling them in and out, as she forced herself to keep going.

“I love you,” she repeated, quieter this time. “I— I don’t know what love is supposed to look like. I don’t know how to be good at it. But I know that I don’t want to spend another second pretending I don’t feel this way.”

His lips parted slightly, his expression unreadable. Y/N felt something crack inside her chest.

Because he wasn’t saying anything. And maybe she was too late. Her breath hitched, and suddenly she felt small, like the walls were closing in, like she had just ruined everything. She turned quickly, heading for the door.

But before she could reach it, a hand wrapped around her wrist.

Firm. Steady. Familiar.

Her breath caught.

“Say it again,” Sunghoon murmured, voice barely above a whisper.

She swallowed hard, eyes burning. “…What?”

His grip tightened ever so slightly. “Say it again.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “Sunghoon, I—”

“Y/N.”

She inhaled sharply, turning back to face him. And then, with her heart pounding against her ribs—

“I love you.”

She felt the way his fingers twitched against her skin. The way his breath caught, just for a second.

Then, before she could second-guess it—Sunghoon pulled her in. Not gently. Not carefully. Like he had been waiting for this for years.

Her hands fisted in his hoodie as his lips crashed into hers, all warmth and desperation, like he was making up for lost time.

She let him. Because she had spent her whole life pretending. And for the first time, she didn’t have to.

NOTE: AHHHH it's been so long since I've posted any of my own writing, well to be exact this is my second time. I hope you guys enjoyed this little AU, because my first writing was a drabble and this one is a oneshot. I'm not too sure when I will be posting again, but this was fun lololll, but thank you for the read. I appreciate reblogs and reposts, and your feedback too! i hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading!

© yjw1a1

[revserrayyu]

3.1 Amphoreus thoughts [part 1]

***Spoilers ahead*** for everything covering the first trial, the fight at the grove and the quick bathhouse scene after, so don’t read any further if you haven’t finished. At the time of writing this I’ve completed the full story quest so be wary if I mention any details that may happen later.

Having us start off with Mydei’s pov and allowing us to use him in a couple fights was so cruel, if only because I spent quite a while getting distracted by his presence and simply admiring his.. everything. His voice actor did such a fabulous job this patch too.

I think it’s kinda endearing how fond his is of his mother and so ready to defend her at any moment. His father on the other hand, not so much.

So, it turns out it really was him that Phainon went ahead and “stabbed.” I figured it was during the trail, but the silhouette threw me off a bit so there were times I thought he was maybe just fighting himself instead.

No harm done however, not because Mydei is immortal or this whole fight is dreamlike, but because Phainon didn’t really hit him.. or Mydei blocked it off to the side. Either way, it’s something I didn’t while watching but yeah, it’s clear that sword didn’t even slice him.

I know people have their concerns when it comes to Aglaea, but the more plotting we hear of her off to the side, the more I enjoy her. I mean, it’s not entirely bad to believe that Phainon would fail his trail sense it just makes more sense for Mydei to own the coreflame of Strife given his lore.

On a less serious note, seeing him chat with some of the kids at the bathhouse and sorta scolding them from being away from their parents was cute. Who knew our tough king could be good with kids? This makes the whole situation of the 3.1 banners kinda funny since we got this tall, strong and handsome as heck man running alongside being Tribbie, Yunli & Huohuo, who are all on the smaller side.

I gotta say that whomever was voicing Mydei’s mother totally nailed it. The anger in her voice was spot on.

No offense to Castorice, but if I woke up and had literal death staring right back at me, I’d be terrified and probably pass out again right there. But huzzah, the notorious Penacony question makes its return.

ot gonna lie, but I’m actually quite pleased with Hyacine’s model. I didn’t have any strong opinions from the few teasers we saw of her previously, but she’s real cute in-game. She’s 100% gonna be an Abundance unit though, yeah? There’s no way a nurse could be anything else.

The amount of hate I see for Mem simply because the thing is pink is wild. I’m starting to enjoy them more and more and I always love catching whenever they’re able to actually speak words.

I can’t wait to learn more about whatever kind of history there is between Aglaea and Anaxa. We see them interact very briefly towards the end of the patch, where he forgets she’s even around and her thinking of him as an annoying child, so the tension is definitely there. I can only imagine how many times she threatened to end him if she treats Anaxa worse than us.

Well, too bad! Rules are made to be broken, ANAXA.

The way they worded this moment of disappointment was funnier to me than I could’ve anticipated.

It must be because the scholarly type of vibe I get with Dr. Ratio, but I originally thought Anaxa was going to be this self-centered guy, but at least he cares enough to put himself at risk for everyone else at the grove. With the mention of alchemy before and “equivalent exchange” now, I can’t help but think of FMA.

So we saw this image last patch too but it’s clearer now that Cyrene was killed by the Flame Reaver. It’s fair to assume she was a Chrysos Heir because of the golden blood, yea?

I know death is Castorice’s whole gimmick and her primary weapon is a scythe, so I wasn’t really expecting some ooze/poison/whatever we’re calling this stuff to appear. If it was shown in a previous trailer, then I don’t remember. Also love how we cycle through all our weapons. We saw the lance earlier while fighting alongside Mydei, we see us pulling out the feather-pen and Mem later on, and now we have our trusty bat back with us.

The Flame Reaver takes no time sending some powerful slashes our way, knocking everyone back in pain and we somehow manage to get those close to Castorice, even holding her up, without triggering her deadly curse? That’s concerning.

I’ve seen her combat, I’ve heard about the passive and I know Castorice is gonna be such a broken unit.. but I just don’t have it in me to pull when her banner drops next patch. She just.. doesn’t appeal to me at all? I enjoyed her more this patch than in 3.0, but that’s it. I see all the purple, the butterflies and the scythe and it just makes me miss Seele more, so to heck with meta, I wanna pull for my favorites! (I regret not pulling for her back in 1.4 each and every darn day.)

I know Cerces was sorta controlling Anaxa here and giving him some extra power to damage the Flame Reaver, but this arrogant smirk is doing something to me. Although Erudition units are probably my favorite, do I really need another wind dps if my E3 Feixiao exists? Who knows.

I remember last patch they said that Trianne only had enough power to launch a couple more century gates, so you bet I got hella nervous whenever a new one was opened. She really came in clutch to save us though.

Returning to the holy city and informing people that their relatives perished during the attacks at the grove was rough, but I’m like 95% sure this old man was voiced by the same dude who did Tiernan back in Penacony.

I like that they do mention the contact we made, but it’s a shame we don’t delve much into how we managed to survive holding death’s favorite daughter in our arms. I suppose there’s plenty time to learn more about this girl next patch when her banner drops. It’s bound to happen again anyway, so long as that one scene of Castorice coming to shield us with open arms in the Nameless Faces trailer actually happens.

Well, I’m so incredibly glad you had some quiet time to yourself without any life threatening chaos to deal with, Dan Heng.. how about next time you take the lead hm?? I volunteer you to be the protagonist next patch.

To think they would hold a silly challenge to see who would stay in the hot baths the longest right after returning from Phainon’s failed trial. It’s even better hearing how he claims Mydei only won because the guy is wearing less clothing.

Sorry to say this but I haven’t a clue on what y’all see with Aventurine and Ratio, but this is a guy pairing that I can get behind. The bickering these two constantly have going on and their endless competitive rivalry is fantastic.

And we’re gonna stop here for now. I think I’m good for only two more posts. Thankfully this parch seemed shorter than 3.0 and I can get a head start on jotting everything down sooner since I actually took a day off of work. (yes it’s because I was excited for Pokemon Day.)

[darkchemistryfanboy]

ok so this is my proposal for a Reverse Robins AU that's actually a Reverse Batfamily AU because Duke and the girls deserve some swapping too.

The typical joining the batfam timeline goes like this:

Dick-> Barbara-> Jason-> Tim-> Steph-> Cass-> Damian-> Duke

So let's swap

Duke:

both of his parents are severely incapacitated via rogue attack

since he grew up relatively normal, and has two parents he very much love and are technically still alive, he becomes Bruce's ward

the light to batman's darkness

overall very sunny personality but with some darkness one could explore

you can have his teenage angst phase start due to the awakening of his powers

no metas in Gotham and all that

so he goes to his own city and becomes his own separate vigilante

Damian

ok so this might be a little bit of a stretch but hear me out

he meets batman already trained and capable

and older than the current sidekick

also, his stance of killing may make him a kinda separate thing from batman

like, definitely not his sidekick

especially assuming this Damian is already a teen by the time he meets Bruce

it's not exactly the same, but near enough

his career ending injury could be related to the LoA

and instead of going hacker, he could go doctor

idk, think about it

Cass

ok this one's pretty easy

young child is found feral in the streets and gets adopted

she becomes the second signal or whatever name duke chose

and she is basically a really great child: appreciative of everything, actually goes to school, and so on and so forth

and then lady Shiva shows up

Shiva challenges her to a death match, Cass wins but refuses to kill her, since that's her mother, and gets killed for her troubles

now for her vilain arc it'd be a little different than Jason's

but I think it could happen

first she kills Shiva and steals her title

and when she does she has some epiphany about how some people will never regret the things they do

and she could become an assassin

killing the people who are truly horrendous, who she can clearly see are doing evil and regretting nothing

Steph

ok so while she would probably not grab Cass's/Duke's name, she would definitely be going out

and Batman gets PTSD seeing this small young vigilante going out and putting herself in danger

and tries to stop her

but Steph is too stubborn enough to actually stop

eventually he allows it but only on strict supervision

and maybe this is where she becomes the Signal III or whatever

at some point her father figures out who she is and while she's dealing with that she gives Tim the title

you could play on the fact that she's clue master's daughter and make her develop her detective skills

maybe enough that when Bruce "Dies" and Tim tells her of some suspicions she leaves with him to investigate

becomes Spoiler again and finds Bruce

Tim

ok so this one is kind of a stretch but just hang on

Tim, like always, is a fanboy

but since there's no Dick, he never figures out who Batman is

but he still loves the bats

and figures with all his money there's definitely something he could do

so he starts heading out to the streets, aiming to help

the others don't take him seriously because they see him as just a batman fanboy

so he has to struggle and try and fail and try again to be considered part of the team

he only becomes a part of the team when he becomes signal in that Steph fiasco

due to not being trusted, he starts a gang war, and Leslie fakes his death

he spends a year around the world, building his sense of identity and acting as a vigilante

and when Bruce disappears, he thinks something's fishy

and he keeps the name

Jason

this one fits way too well

Jason either never steals the tires or steals them quickly enough to never get caught

he continues living as a street kid, stealing, being a snarky asshole, and helping the alley kids when he can

he could become some sort of informant for the bats, as well as an opportunistic vigilante

as in never actually going out intending to stop crime, but ending up doing it when possible

he brings crucial info on cases, also stopping muggings, and becomes closer and closer to the batfam

eventually, being one of the biggest informants of the city, and an incredibly smart kid, he gets enough info to figure out the Bats identities

and Bruce adopts him

he decides to go out and save as many people as possible

he also has a very strong moral code

his father was forced into being a criminal by being excon, so he recognizes that sometimes you don't have a choice

he also is against excessive violence, since breaking bones, while it may not kill, it puts you in excessive medical debt and that's way too shitty

he and Cass argue constantly about this

Barbara

ok so this is the stretchiest one of them all

so try and stay with me

young Barbara, trained my a cop for self defense purposes, decides to go out and use her abilities for other people's defense

the batfam catch her, and snitch on her with her dad

while she is grounded, she manages to hack into their comms and uses this opportunity to try and annoy the batfam into letting her become a vigilante

eventually Bruce "dies" Steph and Tim leave, and Duke becomes batman

left with half his backup gone, and realizing there is no way he can keep Barbara sealed by herself with only Jason for help (Cass is an assassin, Damian can't go out into the field, and the rest are either Bruce or looking for him) he decides to make her the fifth signal

she's snarky at the fact they stopped her from helping people for so long mirroring Damian's attitude

Dick

this one is easy with some changes

the flying graysons get murdered later, with Dick being in his teens

instead of going full vigilante, dick joins the we are signal gang, and eventually becomes part of the batfam in a similar way to Duke

naturally, he names himself Robin

of anyone has some ideas to add or improve on this prompt, feel free to do so (respectfully), also if someone writes a fanfic please tag me, I'd love to read this story

also this was inspired by a post by @too0bsessedformyowngood , so you should definitely read that

[terrortwinunicorn]

Wepa! It's A Wedding

Damian's POV

I woke up the next morning to see y/n nestled beside me, still lost in dreams. Today, we would be telling the last part of our Angelo and Ginger wedding story, but obviously, knowing Demi, she'll want to hear about y/n being Sandy and me traveling across the state to be at her opening night performance, Bruno and Claudine's fortieth wedding anniversary, and Angelo's fourteenth birthday party. We still had so many more memories to share.

Y/N moans lightly and not her normal morning her joints are stiff moan. It's not even the moan I earn while we make love. It's her something bad is happening moan. She whimpers in fear before she let out a blood curdling scream. Her eyes flew open and she sat up so quickly she gave me whiplash. She's panting and tears were streaming down her face.

I quickly sat up and wrapped her in a hug. She hugged me so tight that I felt the breath temporarily leave my body as her body slammed into mine. She is crying uncontrollably and shaking, and I rub her back.

"Baby, what's wrong? What was the dream about?" I asked.

"It was him again. He was chasing me but it was different. He hurt you and Luis; I had to watch him do it," she cried. "He then grabbed me, throwing me to the ground and he, he, he, he," she starts to hyperventilate.

"Shh. You're safe," I soothe "He is in jail remember?" I remind her gently. She nodded but didn't say anything "And besides I would kill him with my bare hands. He would never get near you," I kissed the side of her head laying back down and holding her "I promise you. He will never be able to get near you."

"I, I, I, I, I'm so sorry Luis," she cries as she holds me close.

"It's okay, amor," I kiss the top of her head. "How about you and I take a relaxing bath? It's only seven. Maybe a warm bath will help calm you down."

She shook her head. "No. Just hold me," she sniffles.

"Okay. I will just hold you," I said. She snuggled into me. She sighed and it sounded like she allowed the weight of the world off her shoulders.

"Gracias amor de mi vida," she whispers, her fear slowly seeping into the air. I continue to hold her and rub her back. I kiss her forehead as she holds onto me.

"Eres bienvenido, amor de mi vida," I said as there's a knock on the bedroom door. "Enter," I said.

The door opened and Demi poked her head around it. "Everything okay? We heard the most terrifying scream."

"Everything is fine. I just had a bête noire," y/n said quietly as we still laid in bed.

"A what?!" asked Demi entering the room.

"Bête noire," y/n laughs lightly, "It's French for black beast. Black beast is basically a being invading your dreama causing a nightmare," she explains as Demi sat on the end of y/n's and my bed.

Demi put a hand on my foot, probably thinking it was y/n's, and squeezed it. "My God y/n, your foot is HUGE!" she said.

"Sis that's my foot," I said.

"Sorry," Demi said making the oops face as she removed her hand.

"My foot is here," giggles y/n as she wiggles her foot under the covers.

Demi put her hand on the correct foot and squeezed it. "You okay?" she asked, y/n.

"I'm fine. I am very lucky to have Luis here this time," y/n pats my chest.

"Do you have those *bête noires* often?!" Demi asked.

"Not as often as I used to," Y/N admits. "But they do reoccur, especially around the same time every year. Luckily, Luis isn't as busy with house shows anymore."

"We all aren't. House shows are few and far between now," said Demi "Which is nice because we actually have some down time."

Y/N nods "I like it because I get more snuggles," y/n grins as she snuggled into me.

"That's one of my favorite things too. Plus, I get to spend each night practically with you in my arms," I said, kissing y/n's forehead, making y/n sigh softly.

"I will give you two some time," said Demi "You want me to make breakfast?"

"How about we go out for breakfast for a change?!" I asked.

"Can we go to Delicioso Desayuno?" asked y/n, sitting up and looking down at me with a huge smile.

"What is Delicioso Desayuno?" asked Demi.

"Only the best Puerto Rican breakfast outside of Luis's or Mamá's," said y/n looking at Demi.

Demi laughed lightly "I'll take your word for it," she said.

"They have the most amazing tortilla de plátano, quesito, and they have the second best mofongo after Mamá's," said y/n licking her lips, and I can tell whatever fear she had was now gone.

I chuckled "Let's go before you start to drool," I said sitting up.

Y/N subconsciously wipes her mouth "I'm not drooling," she said.

"I know that, but you're about to. Let's go there, get you your amazing tortilla de plátano, and quesito," I said, kissing her cheek.

"I'm going to let Matt know we're going to breakfast," Demi said, standing. "I'll give you two time to get ready."

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Delicioso Desayuno

I parked the car and we all exited y/n's SUV. I took y/n's hand as we walked to the entrance of one of y/n's and my favorite restaurants. We actually stumbled upon it years ago when we first moved to Orlando.

"I think you two are really going to enjoy it," y/n said as I opened the door, ushering y/n through before allowing Demi in, and I followed Matt in before rejoining y/n.

"I do too," I said, lacing my fingers with y/n's as we walked up to the counter.

"Cuántos?" asked the greeter behind the counter. (How many?)

"Cuatro," I said. (Four)

The greeter grabbed four menus and silverware and led us to a table. He set down the menus and silverware.

"Your waiter will be with you shortly," the greeter informed us.

I held y/n's chair. "Gracias, amor," she said as she sat.

"De nada, mi hermosa esposa," I said as I sat beside y/n while Matt held the chair for Demi.

"Thank you, Babe," said Demi as she sat across from me. Matt sat beside Demi, and across from y/n.

"You're welcome," said Matt as the waiter walked over to the table.

"Hello. My name is Shawn. I'll be your waiter today. Can I start you off with something to drink?" he asked.

"Coffee," said Demi and Matt together.

"Orange Juice," said y/n.

"I'll have the same as the beautiful lady to my right," I said smiling at y/n as Shawn wrote down our drink orders before hurrying off.

"So," said Demi as she began studying the menu, as "Before Your Love" by Kelly Clarkson plays over the restaurant's speakers. "When are we going to hear about the wedding?"

"We can start after breakfast," I said. "Or," my attention is drawn to y/n, who was singing quietly but loud enough for our table to hear.

Demi smiles softly as y/n begins The Power of Love by Céline Dion. She is absolutely absorbed in the menu, she doesn't realize she's singing.

"Does she?" Demi asked quietly as Matt looked over the top of his menu. His eyebrows raised but he smiled nonetheless.

"Nope," I said as y/n sings along with the song, "She's doing better. Otherwise, she wouldn't be singing."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here," Y/N said as the waiter placed her juice down.

"Just drink your juice, Shelby," I laughed.

Y/N glanced over at me, a small smirk on her face. "Clever M'Lynn," she teased.

I let out a hearty laugh before kissing her forehead. "Doing better, Babe?" I asked.

She nods as 'I Swear' by All-4-One began. Y/N and I both started laughing. Demi and Matt were looking at us like we had gone bonkers.

"This was supposed to be the song that played while," y/n began, "You'll see. It's part of the wedding."

"Then can we start?" begs Demi.

"After breakfast. On the car ride back home. For now, let's talk about something else, like how you two will be leaving after today's story, allowing y/n and me to have newlywed time," I interject with a raised eyebrow.

"I think that's fair," said Matt. "They literally had their wedding night alone. We have been at their place for nearly two weeks."

"Okay. But I still want story times," said Demi.

"As long as you limit the interruptions," y/n smirks.

Demi opened and closed her mouth. "Fine," she grumbles.

"Then we can make Tuesdays story times. Since you work Mondays, Demi, Matt goes to work on Wednesdays, and Luis works Fridays. And weekends are date nights for Luis and me," says y/n.

"Sounds fair," I said "Especially since I have to travel on Thursdays for the following day."

"Sounds fair to me too. You come home early on Tuesday. We have dinner together, whether it be at the Martinez's or our place," said Matt, and y/n giggles lightly beside me.

"What?" I asked.

"The Martínez's," she grinned. "I still can't believe that."

I smiled. "Me either," I admitted.

"Te amo, esposo," she said, cupping my cheek as I rest my forehead against hers.

"Te amo, esposa," I said, pressing a quick kiss to her lips.

"You know you two make me have to see a dentist on the daily with all the sugar you two dish out," Demi teases playfully.

Y/N giggles as she looked at Demi. "Sorry Sis," she said. "But what can I say," she looked at me before placing her hand on top of mine. "I can't help myself."

"Sugarpie Honey Bunch," I chuckled and Matt and Demi exchanged glances before they shrugged.

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We ate breakfast and had small talk about how odd it was that Demi and I were no longer travel buddies. How working on Fridays made it hard for Y/N and me to have little weekend getaways unless she came with me. The conversation was light and easy.

As we approached y/n's SUV, Demi ran ahead to the car, with Matt hanging back with us as y/n and I walked hand in hand, after y/n had gotten sick by the entrance and puked in a bush by the corner of the building where she had run to.

"You okay?" Matt asked y/n as he carried the leftovers. Demi was busily unlocking the SUV and getting it started so we could just get in and leave.

She nods, but I could tell she was not doing too well. The nausea was brought on quickly, as was the tossing of her cookies all over the bush.

"That poor bush," mutters y/n.

I chuckled, "Babe, I think it's been through a lot worse than you upchucking on it. After all, this is Florida." Y/N gave me a weak smile as I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "Let's go home."

She nodded as I helped her into the SUV. She buckles as I got into the driver's seat.

"You okay y/n?" asked Demi.

I pulled out of the parking spot and headed down the road.

Y/N nodded, "Fine. I don't know what happened. I normally can eat tortilla de plátano without any problems. But today," y/n paled, "Luis, stop the car!"

I slammed on the brakes and quickly pulled over as y/n unbuckles before she opened the door and spilled her guts onto the pavement below.

"Babe," I said placing a hand on her back. She shook her head.

I glanced into the rear view mirror and saw the comcern etched across the faces of Demi and Matt.

"Y/N?" said Demi.

"I'm fine," she said as she sat back up and buckled "Can we just go home? I wanna change into comfy clothes and walk down memory lane well this portion of memory lane."

"Of course," I said, taking her hand and lacing our fingers before kissing the back of her hand. "Thank God we got ginger ale at home."

Y/N sleepily looks over at me and nods; when she was ill, it took everything out of her.

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We arrived back at our place, y/n's and my place. She went upstairs and took a shower before changing into something more comfortable.

"Feeling a bit better, amor?" I asked as I opened my arms. She sat beside me and snuggled into me.

"A bit. But I would feel better listening to you tell the story of Angie and Ginger's wedding," she said, laying her head on my chest before draping her arm across my torso.

"Okay," I said, kissing the top of her head as she snuggled even further into me, a content sigh leaving her lips.

Demi brought in some ginger ale and saltines for y/n. "Here you go, sis," she said before sitting beside Matt. "Alright, time to finish the story."

"Thank you, sis," said y/n taking a sip of ginger ale.

"You're welcome," said Demi, as she settled back into the sofa.

"Okay. Fourth of July fell on a Monday in two thousand and five," I began.

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Monday, July 4th,2005

Y/N and I woke up the same way we fell asleep. Tangled in each other's arms and stark naked.

"Mm,Morning," I said as y/n's eyes fluttered open.

Y/N settled into me "Morning," she murmured as I kissed her cheek.

"How did you sleep?" I asked.

"Well after we fucked?" she blushes "Like a baby. Your dick is definitely a good pacifier."

I chuckled but blushed "Thanks," I said kissing her cheek again "But we have to get up, dressed and over to the Ottomanos in hour."

"Mm. What if I want to spend time here with you?" she murmured as she grabbed my hand, kissing the palm.

"As much as that sounds like heaven on Earth, we are part of the wedding," I said as she snuggled into me more.

Y/N grumbled lightly, "Fine," she said as we untangled ourselves.

We reluctantly got separate showers and dressed before heading downstairs, where Pops has made homemade sausage and egg sandwiches.

"Those are so you can eat and run," said Pops.

"Thanks," we said.

"I will see you two later at the wedding," said Pops "Your garment bags are hanging up by the door."

"Thank you Señor Martínez," said y/n.

"You're welcome y/n," Pops said.

"Luis, I will meet you later. I have to go over to Bruno and Claudine's because Ginger and her bridal party need to be at the venue to get our hair and makeup done." She kissed my cheek before grabbing a breakfast sandwich and left.

"Luis, before you go, I need to talk to you," Pops said, gesturing to the chairs.

"What's up, Pops?" I asked as I sat down.

"I don't know how to start," he said.

I gulped "Is everything okay? Are you sick?" I asked.

"No. I'm fine. Perfectly healthy," he said but paused as he massaged his temples. I know he was trying to figure out how to tell me what he needed to say. "It's about last night."

"Last night?" I asked, suddenly feeling as if the air had been ripped from my lungs.

"Yes. I, well I heard you and y/n," he said.

I felt my heart leap into my throat. "You heard us?" I asked.

"I did. Were you two at least safe?" he asked.

"If you mean did we use a condom? Then yes we were safe," I said slowly "Pops don't let y/n know you heard us. I will let her know."

"Fine by me," said Pops "But you better head to the Ottomans now."

"Okay. I will see you at the wedding then," I said.

"See you at the wedding," he said.

I walked from the kitchen to the front door, grabbing my garment bag before leaving the house.

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I arrived at the Ottomano residence just as y/n and Bianca were leaving to get on the limo bus.

"Hey there," I grinned, "Got a sec?" I asked while taking Y/N's hand.

"Uh, now?" asked y/n. "Luís, I kinda gotta get on the bus," she gestures to the bus as Bianca climbed onto it.

"It's kinda important," I said.

"Okay. What's wrong?" she asked, her demeanor changing. "I know I heard your pops stop you from leaving."

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah, that's why we need to talk. I'm just going to lay it out there. Pops heard us being intimate last night."

"He what?" asked y/n all color instantly draining from her face.

"Pops heard us having sex," I said.

Y/N let out a breath of air that sounded like she was deflating a balloon. She swallowed hard before looking at me. "So he heard us. Was he? Is he upset?"

"No. He just wanted to make sure we were safe," I said, "I reassured him we used protection."

"Good," said y/n as Bianca calls y/n's name from the bus. "Luis, I gotta go. I will see you at the end of the aisle."

"You will," I smiled before she pressed a kiss to my cheek and ran down the stairs to the bus.

I jumped when a hand was slapped on my shoulder. I spun to see Salvatore. He was already in his tuxedo. He was the best man..

"Hey, everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"Good, then get in here. You have to get dressed. We have to be at the venue shortly," said Salvatore.

"Oh okay," I said.

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Arriving at Serenity Springs where the wedding and reception were being held, the place was abuzz with activity.

Angelo and those standing up for him, myself included, were led to the groom's quarters. The wedding was taking place outside at the gazebo in the center of the gardens.

I am lost in my own thoughts when I get a poke to the ribs. I looked around; it's Angelo.

"Bro where did you go?" he asked.

"Nowhere and everywhere at the same time," I said, buttoning my shirt cuff. "How are you?"

"Nervous but thankful this is almost over especially I can finally tune out Karen," he said.

I snorted back a laugh. "But you still have to put up with her. She's, after all, your mother-in-law after you say I do and Layla's grandmother."

"Don't let her hear you say the g word. She'll eliminate you where you stand," said Angelo, as Salvatore helps him with his tie.

"Heaven forbid she's recognized as a grandmother. Is that why Layla refers to her as Karen?" I asked.

"Yup. Layla calls Ma and Pops Gammy and PawPaw, but Karen and George?! They're Karen and George; neither one wants to be referred to as grandma and grandpa or anything else that makes them sound old," explained Angelo.

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"They sound great," Demi said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Karen and George nearly had a stroke when Layla had her daughter, Tegan, last year. They said they're too young to be great grandparents," y/n murmured as she snuggled into me. I rubbed her arm and she sighed contently.

"Does Ginger allow grandma?" asked Demi.

"She does. And Claudine is Nonna," y/n explained.

Demi's eyes teared up at Nonna. "How sweet," she said with a smile.

"You okay?" asked y/n.

"Yeah. I just love that Tegan has a Nonna too," said Demi.

"Teagan is lucky to have Claudine," y/n said.

"She is," I agreed.

"Back to the story!" said Demi.

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The guys and I were watching the guests arrive and being seated by the wedding planner's assistants.

"How many people are coming?" I asked Angelo.

"On my side one hundred. On Ginger's side? Only two hundred and fifty," said Angelo.

"Three hundred and fifty people? Holy fuck," I said.

"Yeah. Hence why Ma and Pops said, if you want that many people, you should pay for the wedding," said Angelo.

"And they actually agreed to that?" I asked.

"You have never seen Ma angry, have you?" said Angelo.

"No," I said.

"Let's say it's not pretty," said Angelo as we are led outside to get ready to head down the aisle.

The wedding planner's assistant lined us up: Angelo at the beginning with the officiant, Salvatore behind them, and I was behind Salvatore, with six other men behind me.

The wedding planner's assistant taps Ginger's brother on his shoulder, signaling for him to start down the aisle, as Four Seasons began playing.

After Ginger's brother, Harrison, there were two friends of Angelo's from his work: Daniel Hartman and Jack Lauren. Then, his cousins on his mom's side: Ezra Grant, Keegan Grant, and Jeremy Dugan, and then me.

As I walked down the aisle I spot Pops and he gives me a smile and quick wink. I give him a smile and a quick nod. At the top of the aisle I stood in front of Jeremy who is 5'9" so the height difference was noticeable and I caught Karen out of the corner of my eye looking like she sucked on a lemon.

I shook my head, trying to hide a smirk as I saw Karen lean over to George, gesturing to me, and he nods as he mumbled something to her.

The first to come down the aisle were friends of Ginger's: Laney Hilton, Mallory Madison, Jayne Carrington, Michelle Graham, Ashlee Prescott, and Catherine St. James. They wore dresses of aquamarine. That's when my eyes fell on y/n at the top of the aisle. She looks gorgeous in the spaghetti strap, tea-length (so I'm told) A-line dress.

"Wepa," I said under my breath as Salvatore leaned back.

"She is gorgeous, isn't she?" he asked. I just nodded as my eyes were on y/n and y/n only.

Salvatore chuckled lightly as he moved back, and I caught y/n's eye as she winked at me. I felt my cheeks grow warm, so I knew I was blushing. I quickly winked and mouthed, 'You look gorgeous.' She blushed lightly and mouthed back, 'You look caliente.'

Once Ginger's best friend Tiffani Chance walked down the aisle, the song swelled into the wedding march. Ginger appeared at the top of the aisle. George had refused to walk Ginger down the aisle, so she stood there alone. I saw Angelo let out a slow breath as Layla waved at Ginger.

"Hi Mommy!" Layla called out, making everyone chuckle.

Ginger waves and blows Layla a kiss. Angelo quickly wipes away a tear. I caught y/n out of the corner of my eye. She smiles brightly as she dapes her eyes with a tissue.

Once Ginger made it to the top of the aisle. Ginger stopped.

"Who gives this woman to be married to this man?" asked the officiant.

George grumbled as he stood "Unfortunately her mother and I do," he said before sitting.

The officiant looks at Ginger and Angelo who both signal to continue.

"If anyone can show just cause as to why these two should not be wed, let them speak now or forever hold their peace," the officiant started.

We all looked at Karen and George. They kept silent so Angelo took Ginger's hand and helped her up the stairs of the gazebo.

"We are gathered here today to join Angelo Michael Ottomano and Ginger Alison Fitzpatrick in holy matrimony," the officiant continues, "Angelo, do you take Ginger to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," said Angelo.

"Ginger, do you take Angelo to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?" asked the officiant.

"I do," said Ginger with a smile as tears began to fall.

"Angelo and Ginger have chosen to write their own vows," said the officiant, and Karen scoffed in her seat. Y/N turns her head, and I see the fire light in her eyes.

"Stuff it, Karen," y/n defiantly spats. "Let them do this. It's their wedding, not yours!" Karen looks at y/n, and y/n stands her ground. "Try me!"

Karen huffs and settles back in the chair. I smirk and cover my chuckle with a cough, as does Salvatore.

"Angelo and Ginger face each other and join hands," said the officiant. They did as they were told, "And begin when you want."

Angelo nods to Ginger telling her to go first.

"Angelo, when we met on the first day of kindergarten, I never imagined I had met my future husband and the father of my beautiful daughter. But today, as we stand before family and friends exchanging vows. I am the happiest I have ever been. Not only do you provide me with endless love, but also endless laughs and blessings. You make me happy and I honestly can't wait to walk into this new chapter in our lives. I love you more today than I did yesterday and I will love you more tomorrow than I do today."

Ginger smiles and I catch y/n dabbing her eyes. She looks at me and I wink at her. She blushes lightly as she looked at Ginger and Angelo as he took a deep breath.

"Ginger, you're the love of my life. When we met in kindergarten, I will admit I had the worst case of puppy love. As we went through the years and our bond grew closer, so did our love. I knew you were my forever. Now today, as we pledge our love to one another, I'm looking forward to the next chapter with you beside me. I love you, Ging," said Angelo.

"The rings please," said the officiant as Tiffany and Salvatore hand him their respective rings. He placed them on his book before holding one up, "The ring is a symbol of undying love. It has no beginning and no end. Angelo, please place this ring on Ginger's left hand and repeat after me..."

"Ginger, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness," said Angelo, sliding the ring onto Ginger's finger.

"Ginger, place this on Angelo's finger and repeat after me..."

"Angelo. I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness," said Ginger sliding the ring onto Angelo's finger.

After that, Angelo and Ginger turned to the officiant. "What God has joined together, let no man put asunder. By the power invested in me by the great state of New Jersey, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Angelo, you may now kiss your wife," said the officiant as Angelo gave Ginger a sweet kiss before the officiant pressed on. "It's my pleasure to present to you the new Mr. and Mrs. Angelo, and Ginger Ottomano."

Angelo and Ginger turned to the guests, who rose to their feet, applauding, while Karen and George didn't. Angelo and Ginger had their hands interlaced as the processional music began. They walked down the steps before getting Layla from Mrs. Ottomano's lap. The small family walked up the aisle.

Salvatore offers his arm to Tiffany, and she laced her arm through his. I was up next, offering your name my arm, and she smiles at me as she laced her arm through mine.

"By the way, Squish, you look breathtakingly gorgeous," I whispered, as we walked up the aisle followed by the rest of the wedding party.

"Pookie, you're looking pretty caliente," she whispered as the wedding planner and his two assistants directed us to a small garden.

I chuckled as we got ready to take more photos while the guests had a cocktail hour. After about an hour or so of taking photos, we headed into the venue and to a small room to await introductions.

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The Reception....

Y/N and I are waiting with the rest of the wedding party. The DJ was hyping up the guests before introducing us. "Gettin' Jiggy With It" by Will Smith began.

"Introducing the wedding party," began the DJ, "Harrison Fitzpatrick and Laney Hilton," as they enter the ballroom. This continues until "Luis Martinez and y/n y/l/n." Y/n and I enter, dancing and laughing.

After Salvatore and Tiffani are introduced, we lined up to create a gauntlet: guys on the left, girls on the right. We raised our hands, creating an arch as the DJ began 'Celebration' by Kool and the Gang.

"Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Angelo and Ginger Ottomano!!!!!!" the DJ announced as Angelo and Ginger ran down the gauntlet and onto the dance floor, with the wedding party joining them as we all danced.

After the burst of energy we head to the wedding party table set up just behind the Sweetheart table for Angelo and Ginger. Y/N sat between Salvatore and me. To my left was another bridesmaid, Catherine St. James.

"Today has been fun," said y/n as she took a drink of water.

"Well, you certainly made it entertaining by putting Karen in her place," I smirk, as does y/n.

"That's why it's been fun," she laughs as she gives a sarcastic wave to Karen, who was staring at us.

"Y/N, stop," I playfully scold.

"What? I was waving to our dear Karen," she giggles as she brings the glass of water to her lips again, taking another drink.

I smirk and chuckled, "You are having way too much fun with this," I said.

"Moi?" y/n said, feigning innocence.

"Yes you," I said nudging her playfully.

"The bar is open," announced the DJ.

"You want your jack and coke?" I asked y/n.

"Actually, can you turn that into a piña colada? Because why not?" she quipped.

"You want two? One for each hand?" I chuckled, and Y/N's smile was like sunshine.

"Nice Garth Brooks nod, Luis," she chuckled, "but let's not go overboard, one is plenty!"

"One piña colada on the way," I said, kissing her temple before standing up.

I walked to the bar.

"What can I get you?" asked the bartender.

"A piña colada and Jack on the rocks," I said.

"You got it," he said, and went to work making the piña colada.

I felt a tap on my shoulder before a hand went down my back grazing my ass. I smirk thinking it's y/n.

"Cou-" I turned to see Lucia. "Oh, it's you. Never heard the term 'keep your hands to yourself'?" I asked.

"Oh you love it and you know it," coos Lucia as she took a drink through a stirring straw.

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe if it was y/n, I would, but you?" I raised an eyebrow. "Not so much. So what do you want, Lucia, besides wanting to grope me?"

"Oh Luis. Weddings are romantic," she coos as she runs a hand down my chest while I grab her wrist gently.

"For people who are together, which we are not."

"Oh, you're still on that? But silly, we are," she reaches up to touch my cheek, but I quickly step back.

"Don't touch me!" I said, looking at Lucia.

"But Luis," she pouts, "you used to like when I touched you." She steps forward as she reaches up to touch me again, but her hand is knocked away as y/n stepped in front of me.

"Lucia why don't you take a looooooong walk off a very short pier," sneers y/n.

Lucia scoffs as she placed her drink onto the bar "And if I don't?" she said stepping into y/n's space.

Y/N smirks as she expertly grabbed the nearly full drink Lucia sat down "I don't know you still might get a little wet," said y/n as she raised her hand and dumped the liquor onto Lucia's head. Lucia screams "next time Lucia leave Luis alone or you will be shoving a toothbrush up your ass to brush your teeth."

Lucia huffs as she walks away from us. Y/N turned to look at me. I chuckled, "You're a spitfire, do you know that?" I asked as the bartender set down our drinks.

"I've been told that," she remarked, as she sipped her piña colada, clearly enjoying the gossip.

I grabbed my jack on ice before kissing her forehead. "Let's get back to the table," I said, putting an arm around her waist, ushering through the stream of people that are waiting to get their drinks.

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After dinner, it was time for the dances. First up was the first dance. Karen nearly hit the roof since Angelo and Ginger chose 'I Swear' by All-4-One as the song for their first dance.

Y/N gives me a nudge and points at Karen, laughing, "She's gonna lose it; she's not thrilled about them picking 'I Swear' for the song."

"She's turning a nice shade of red," I chuckled.

Layla wonders onto the dance floor watching her parents sway to the song. Angelo and Ginger stopped and Angelo picked her up. They began dancing again. Y/N raised her camera taking a picture of the moment. I see the tears rising in her eyes.

"Crap," she murmured, using her cloth napkin to dab her eyes.

"You okay?" I whispered to her.

"Yeah. The moment just got to me. Lo siento," she said.

I smiled and said, "You've got nothing to feel bad about. I think it's sweet too," giving y/n's temple a kiss.

Y/N smiles at me before the DJ begins calling the wedding party. "Luis Martinez and Y/N Y/L/N," he called as I stood buttoning my suit jacket. I offered Y/N my hand, who smiled as she placed her hand in mine, standing. I led Y/N to the dance floor.

The DJ began 'You Had Me From Hello' by Kenny Chesney. I took y/n into my arms and we began dancing to the romantic ballad.

"Y/N?" I said as I glanced down at her.

She looked up at me, her gorgeous green eyes meeting mine. "Yes?" she said.

"Thanks for helping me out earlier," I said.

"You mean with Lucia?" she said. "No worries. I saw she wasn't getting the hint. No one comes after my bestie," she touched my cheek before caressing it with the side of her thumb, "I will always have your back, Luis."

"And I, yours y/n," I said.

"Siempre," she said with a smile, holding up her pinkie.

"Y para siempre," I said, hooking my pinkie with hers.

I bent down and kissed her forehead as we continued to dance. The song eventually ended and we walked back to the wedding party table as we watched Angelo and Mrs. Ottomano have the mother-son dance.

"Claude looks so happy and sad at the same time," y/n said.

"I know," I said draping my arm across the back of y/n's chair.

"I hope one day she can dance with you at your wedding, Sally," y/n said looking to Salvatore.

"One day, y/n. One day," Salvatore smiles.

"And I can't wait to dance the night away," y/n smiles "Especially with you," she looks at me "because obviously you're gonna be my plus one."

I felt my cheeks warm and knew I was blushing "That sounds like an amazing time," I said.

Salvatore chuckled "Y/N you're gonna be my best woman," he said as y/n turns to look at him a smile painting her lips.

"Really? Honestly thought you would ask Angelo to be your best man," she said.

"And have him plan my bachelor party? You have met him, right? God only knows what debauchery he would plan," he said. "You would at least take my wishes into consideration."

"Then it would be my honor," she said as Salvatore kissed her forehead.

"Luis, promise me you will be my plus one?" she begs as she turns to me.

"He will be a groomsman y/n," said Salvatore "He will be at your side," he nudges her.

She grins before looking at me. I raised an eyebrow, "Are you serious?" I asked.

"Deadly," said Salvatore. "We have known each other since you were thirteen," he said. smiles "I consider you one of my friends."

"Well then yes. I would be honored when you do get married to stand up for you," I smile.

"Fantastic," smiled Salvatore as did y/n.

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"And when Salvatore married Giovanni a few years ago we kept our promise," I said.

"And what was awesome about it is that Claude was just as happy dancing with Sally as she was dancing with Angie at his wedding. But Sally's wedding is another story for another day, mi amor. We got sidetracked," y/n laughs lightly.

"You're right. How about we skip to the garter toss and bouquet toss?" I chuckled. Y/N tilted her head up and smiled at me.

"I don't think they wanna hear that," giggles Y/N.

"Hi Demi Bennett-Adams. Pleasure to meet you," said Demi, extending her hand.

"Hi Demi. I'm Y/N Martínez, pleasure to meet you," Y/N giggles.

"I would very much love to hear about the garter and bouquet tosses," Demi said with a giant grin.

"You would?!" y/n teases. "I couldn't have guessed."

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"Single gentlemen come to the dance floor for the garter toss," said the DJ.

I stood up along with a couple of the other groomsmen, Ezra Grant and Jeremy Dugan, as did some of the guests. We headed to the dance floor as one of the wedding planner's assistants set a chair on the dance floor, just as Angelo led Ginger onto the dance floor.

Y/N and some of the other girls from the wedding party stood off the side of the dance floor as the DJ began Dancing In The Streets by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas. Angelo knelt in front of Ginger. Y/N covered her eyes as she knew Angelo would do something stupid. Y/N peeked through her fingers causing me to chuckle beside Ezra.

Angelo smiles at Ginger, gently lifting some of the material of her tulle skirt and placing it underneath. Y/N smirks lightly as she glances sideways at Karen, biting back a laugh as I turn to see Karen turning beet red. I quickly move from my spot over to Y/N.

"She is about to blow," I chuckle as y/n snaps a picture of Karen with her digital camera.

"I know, and I love it!" y/n giggles as I put an arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head.

"I can see," I smirk as she glances up at me.

"Luis, you can't tell me you don't," she says, elbowing me lightly as she snaps a picture of Angelo underneath Ginger's skirt. Claudine was cradling a thankfully sleeping Layla. "Thank God Layla is asleep."

I nodded, "Yeah," I said as I tilted my head. "What the fuck is he doing?" before looking at y/n.

"With Ange? I’m not ready for that rollercoaster," she chuckles, her smile making my heart do a quick tango.

I smile with a nod "That's true," I said as Angelo finally emerged from underneath the skirt with the garter in his mouth.

"Get your game face on for that garter! If I snag the bouquet, you’re on garter duty," she joked, giving me a playful nudge.

“Okay. Okay,” I said, putting my hands up as I chuckled, heading back to the group of guys getting ready to catch the garter. I stood behind them once Angelo turned his back to us.

"One. Two. Three!" said Angelo before throwing the garter over his right shoulder. I caught it. I see you cheer as it landed in my hand. Angelo laughed as I held up the garter.

“Now all the single ladies!” calls the DJ. The run for the bouquet became like a herd of elephants. I caught y/n as she was knocked off kilter.

“Thanks, Pookie,” she said with a smile as I set her back on her feet.

“De nada, Squish. Now catch that bouquet,” I kissed her forehead as she joined the group of single ladies.

I stood aside, watching Ginger shine on the dance floor to 'The Bitch Is Back' by Elton John, while Karen looked like she was ready to throw a tantrum!

Ginger faked throwing the bouquet a few times. A few of the girls knocked Y/N forward lightly, but she caught herself. I let out a breath of relief as I knew she wasn't hurt. When Ginger finally threw the bouquet over her head, it sailed right into Y/N's hand. Her mouth dropped.

“WOOOOOO!” yells y/n, holding the bouquet over her head. I chuckled as she ran over to me. “I did it, Pookie!!!”

“I can see that,” I chuckle.

“Now you,” she taps me with the bouquet on my stomach, “get to,” she taps me with the bouquet on the chest, a smile on her lips, “to put the garter on me!” She taps me with the bouquet on the shoulder as I put a hand on her hip.

“Better get ready,” I grin at her before Ginger and Angelo pulled us onto the dance floor.

“Let's go!!!” laughed Angelo as Ginger got y/n to sit onto the chair.

The DJ began playing "Hey Mr. DJ (Keep Playin' This Song)" by Backstreet Boys.

I began chuckling as Y/N blushes, covering her face as I caught her doing her "sexy dance" to it one Summer night in 1998, when I looked into her bedroom window at the Ottomanos from my bedroom as they looked into each other's rooms. I hooted, and she ducked under the window sill.

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“Please tell that story at some point!” said Demi.

“That was the summer of 1998; we will get to it eventually,” y/n giggles lightly as she sat up. “Babe, continue. I have to use the bathroom.”

“You okay?” I asked.

"Fine. I just have to pee,” she said, kissing my cheek. “Excuse me.”

I watched as she left, and I quickly turned to Demi and Matt.

“Where was I?” I asked.

"Getting ready to put the garter on y/n,” said Demi.

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As the bass of the song filled the ballroom of Serenity Springs, I began dancing, making y/n start giggling as she punched my shoulder while I got on my knees in front of her.

“Luis Berrios, you're trouble,” she shouted at me, but no one but me heard her.

“The best kind of trouble, y/n y/m/n,” I smirk.

She rolls her eyes before I kiss her cheek, and then I begin putting on the garter on y/n's leg. I felt my heart skip a beat as she looked me in the eyes while I do so. She winks at me. Once on, I stood helping y/n to her feet, and she began dancing to the song.

The DJ was watching y/n as she moved to the song, as some of the guys in attendance began cat calling and yelling 'Hey Mr. DJ keep playin' this song for me'.

“Dance floor is opened,” says the DJ as he began 'Kiss' by Prince. The wedding planner's assistant removed the chair, and y/n quickly threw the bouquet to Jaymes as he sat at the nearest table. Then, she grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the floor.

“I take it we are dancing?!” I said into her ear. She bit her lip and nodded as she began grinding against me. “Squish, remember our parents are here! Y/N, at least half of the guests on Angelo's side are your family!”

“And?” she asked looking at me as the dance floor was full of couples bumping and grinding “We are over eighteen!”

“Okay, fair,” I said as the DJ began "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" by Prince. Y/N squeaks as we began dancing, and Y/N was singing along.

Salvatore and Jaymes joined us on the dance floor and Salvatore and y/n began hopping and bopping along to the song. I continued to move as y/n bounced back to me as Salvatore was to her right and Jaymes was to my left.

“Pookie let's have fun!” she said as we groove to the instrumental interlude of the six minutes and twenty-nine seconds song.

“You’re right!” as the song picks up in tempo before 1999 by Prince began. I chuckled as Angelo played this non-stop from January first nineteen ninety-nine to December thirty first nineteen ninety-nine, as he made sure it played at his New Year’s Eve party that y/n also was at.

“Sally, did you arrange this Prince tribute?” giggles y/n as she leans towards Salvatore.

"Duh! It's Prince!" laughed Salvatore.

“Your reception better be non stop Prince and Michael Jackson songs!” she laughs.

“You know that's right Mio piccolo tesoro!” says Salvatore.

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“That night went on forever. Poor Pops stayed until the very end. After all, he was y/n's and my ride home,” I said, as y/n had rejoined us a while ago but had fallen asleep on my chest.

“Mm. That was one of the most fun weddings we ever attended, at least until Sally and Gio's,” she murmured as she stirred awake.

“But another story for our Tuesday story nights,” I said, kissing her forehead. “But for now, I think it's time we go to sleep.”

“I'm kinda sad to see this story end,” said Demi with a small frown.

“I know but we have Tuesdays to now look forward to. So first Tuesday where will it be our place or yours?” I asked looking at Demi and Matt as y/n sat up and stretched as "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World" by Prince plays softly in the background.

“It only seems right to host you two,” said Matt.

“I agree,” said Demi glancing at him before looking at us. “Next Tuesday we host you two.”

“What do you want us bring?” asked y/n.

“Just yourselves,” said Demi.

“Mm. 'Kay,” y/n yawns.

“Let's get to bed. We will, after all, be saying goodbye to our guests tomorrow,” I said.

“Like we agreed,” said Matt.

And just like that, the story of Angelo and Ginger's wedding week was officially over. But Storytime Tuesdays was only beginning.

Tag List: @eringobragh420 @magicalbuttertarts @madhatterbri @keekee-23 @loki69zowens @caramara3 @bloodlinesbabe93 @miss-kuki-nz @surdelcielo @elaineoneill570 @hotwheels1108 @violetpenguinkris @southerngothicpunk @silassstingy @beccalynns-world @twistedprincess-92 @80sprincess1 @hardcoredisneynerd @brideofinfamy @mzv11 @bangchansmami @mamis-girly

I hope you all enjoyed the Another Storytime series. Stay tuned for more in the Best Friends Series. 💜🖤

[btswit7]

Naked cuddles

JJK ONESHOT

Pairing: bf jk/ gf reader

Wc: 809

Warning: talks about the female character having big breasts, fluff.

A/n: so I am @gukksweets7 I had to delete that Tumblr for some personal reason but I just forgot to make all the posts private before deleting that account so I might post all those fics here or maybe not.

For now enjoy this small oneshot as I was really having trouble getting started after a month.

The apartment is cozy as always. Finally after dinner when you go to rest on the bed the only thing that goes on your head is when Jungkook will come into the room and you'll get to cuddle him.

It's hard for you to wait. Currently, you are lying on your side of the bed all alone, waiting for Jungkook to come in from his gym which is in the house.

The creaking sound of the door snaps your head towards it knowing who it can be.

“ You didn't sleep yet?” The voice comes as Jungkook walks a few steps closer allowing you to look at him as his body gets illuminated by the small table lamp which is on.

He is only wearing his sweatpants. His buffy, sweaty chest on full display but right now you want something else.

“ Kook, go quickly, take a shower and come” you say knowing well he won't sleep before showering.

“ Why?” He asks with mischief in his eyes as he bends down towards you on the bed. His face is so close to yours.

You place both your hands on either of his cheeks, later placing a peck on his lips, you say, “ please, can I get cuddles?”

“ Awhhh.. definitely, coming soon” he coos and then proceeds to go to the bathroom.

It's been 20 minutes since Jungkook has entered the bathroom. The sound of the shower keeps coming from the attached bathroom to the room. But, you are fast asleep. You were very tired after your office so of course you couldn't keep up for long when you were lying on the bed itself.

Suddenly a pair of arms wrap around you, who is lying on her stomach, you get pulled in a warm embrace.

The light smell of shampoo, shaving cream and body wash fills your senses and the press of his cold skin to our body is enough to get you up.

“ Sorry sweetheart, didn't mean to wake you up” Jungkook says from beside you as your back is attached to his front.

Some time passes by in silence, just you both lying there. You are not sure how to ask but you want to ask. The last thing he could do is… deny.

“ Jungkook..” you call out for him to which he replies with a hum, his face buried in your hair.

“I was thinking about cuddling upper naked for a while.. uh so what do you think about it?” no response comes from him for a while. It was when you started regretting asking him that you heard him giggle.

“ How long have you been willing to do this?” He asks while turning you towards him.

“ I was not sure.. it was in my mind for a few days now” you say while copying his smile.

“ It's you who needs to get upper naked, I already am upper naked” he says giggling again.

“ Uhh yeah..” you say before holding onto your shirt and opening them in a go later putting it somewhere on the bed.

You meet Jungkook’s eyes while he meets yours, the giggle on his face vanishing somewhere replaced by him gulping. Although Jungkook has many times seen you naked but it's his first time he is holding you while you are just in your shorts, in his bed beside him.

You feel a sudden boost of confidence in you when you see how frozen he has gotten. You sit straight on the bed. Putting both of your legs on either side of his body.

Each of your hands hold his and slowly you let your chest meet his chest.

“ Ahhh… fuck” suddenly Jungkook welps all this being too much for him and that too coming from you!? Where is his innocent y/n?

You giggle and then place your head on the nape of his neck taking in his scent. His cold body from the shower is connected to your warm body. Jungkook seems to be frozen, his heartbeat so fast as you can literally hear him because of your head being attached to his chest.

“ Do you like it, kook?” You ask when you feel his hand slowly pat your bare back.

Heaven

“ Like? Y/n I love it, I never thought this would feel so heavenly” Jungkook says.

“ I never thought your boobs would feel so good against my chest, this is the best cuddle position of ours” Jungkook further adds, making you giggle but you have something more in your mind.

You lips place them on his neck softly sucking in his necks and peppering his neck with soft light kisses as more moans leave past his lips.

“ Wait– I will get turned on if you continue” he says as if you didn't know.

“ Shut up idiot and go to sleep” you say as you press yourself more in his body.

[silverprism-s]

to save a soul

this is just gonna be me yapping about the itasuku post canon/canon divergent fic that has been brewing in the back of my mind because im not sure if i'll ever write it. a mix of just general yap and some snippets. its not really itasuku in a romantic sense, but perhaps it could be...

~1.4k words, 1/?

the meat of this is that at the final moment Sukuna lets Yuji take him in. Yuji will get a chance to finally save him like he wanted to, like he wanted to do with everyone, but then things proceed pretty much the same, Yuji doesn't hear from Sukuna, he doesn't show up or do anything. No tricks, no complaints, just silence.

Yuji begins to wonder if Sukuna was ever there at all, if maybe he really did just fade away into dust. He and Megumi and Nobara all grow closer in the resulting time spent together, jujutsu society starts licking its wounds and building itself back up in a better, less lonely way. Things are going well, great even. Yuji is on a mission with Nobara and one of the new first years, they're probably third year students now, on the cusp of graduating. A lot has changed in his life, but it feels like he's missing something.

Nobara and the other kid are on the other side of the building fighting a curse that spits out a ton of small weak curses. The kid is strong, Nobara is capable, so Yuji was going deeper into the building to pound down the stronger main curse. He's exchanging blows, and dealing a significant amount of damage when all of a sudden he hears a too familiar voice, and the feeling in his cheek drains away. It had just been hit and had been throbbing.

"What is this trash?"

The presence is weak and yet heavy, disproportionate to the way Yuji feels his heart beating out of his chest. His chest is already heaving, this curse was giving him quite the workout.

"Sukuna?"

"What, brat?"

"Hah, I thought you were gone," Yuji wheezed out as he dodged another swipe from the curse. It's arms were evolving into something sharp, dangerous. An adaptable beast, oozing out feelings of hatred. "Welcome back," he punctuated his words with a black flash, the thrill of the heat and the excited pounding in his chest forcing a grin onto his face.

"I don't need a welcome from someone as weak as you," that rattling, growling voice answered, and the numbness in his cheek faded as quickly as it had appeared.

"Don't get shy on me now, Sukuna," Yuji complained as he nailed the curse with another black flash.

The curse's body quaked beneath the force, its disgusting skin cracking open. Bright green liquid splashed out, flecks of it coating Yuji's face. Irritating but nothing compared to that winter. Another hit, no black flash this time, just raw cursed energy, has it swelling up and bursting. Yuji just barely covers his face in time. In the back of his mind, he feels a roiling satisfaction at the exorcism that he's never felt before. It boils and burns and yet is warm, comfortable.

"Shit, that's new," Yuji remarks to empty air.

The source of the warmth must be from Sukuna. Yuji has never felt this way in the years that he's been a sorcerer. If not for the small, immutable spark simmering, Yuji would almost wonder if Sukuna's appearance had just been a trick of his mind.

He'd expected him to show up again by now. It's been weeks, he's even done at dozen missions since. Nothing. The small spark remains, that piece of cursed energy that felt both familiar and unfamiliar. A piece of himself, and yet not. This wasn't new, Sukuna had lived in Yuji for at least half a year. Really, for longer, since apparently Sukuna has been here for the past two years. Yuji doesn't feel Sukuna since that mission last month until he's visiting Gojo's grave. Somewhere along the way, it became a habit. To visit Gojo's grave, and his grandfather's.

They weren't in the same place, so he usually visited about a week apart, depending on how busy it was. As he was standing there, allowing the bitter winter wind to nip at his face, Yuji felt his cheek slowly growing numb again. Not the one facing the wind. That was how he knew.

"What a disappointment," that once careful voice rumbled out. It didn't feel sincere. "We could've had so much more fun."

It was one thing to have the ire of Sukuna directed towards himself. Yuji could tolerate that. He could roll with it, take it. Gojo couldn't be here to defend himself though.

"Funny. You say that, but I remember how you talked to him after cutting him in half. That didn't sound like someone who was disappointed."

"Tch. Brat."

And then he was gone again. It was just Yuji, the bitter wind, and his sensei's grave. There hadn't been any bite in Sukuna's words, like there used to be. The insults rang strangely hollow.

Things continued that way for awhile. Sukuna would show up when Yuji was alone to insult either him or something that caught his eye. Something like a picture of Megumi and Nobara, his homework going over the Heian era history, which Yuji was quickly learning hadn't been recorded properly, if Sukuna was telling him the truth. He'd spend time complaining about specific generals or curses. Never spoke about his own life though.

"It sounds like you were really bothered by this guy," Yuji answered as he noted down the things Sukuna was saying in shorthand.

"Nonsense. He was still a weakling, a mere gnat. I quashed him."

"Right, I have the year written here."

"That's wrong. They're two years too late."

"Two? Seriously?"

The feeling in Yuji's cheek quickly returned as Sukuna's mouth and eye disappeared, closing away. Immediately after, as he was rubbing at the scarred skin, Megumi knocked at his door, entering the room. His blue eyes were darting around the room quizzically.

"Who were you just talking to? I heard two voices?"

Shit. Yuji hadn't said anything about how Sukuna had remained. It hadn't crossed his mind before now. Yuji's stomach curled with the secret.

"Oh, I was, uh, I got a call from the window from our last mission," Yuji lied quickly. Megumi didn't really look convinced but it seemed to work, dragging his focus away from what Yuji had been talking to before he walked in the room and the conversation moved into something else. It was a relief.

"He seems weaker."

"Who?"

Sukuna first answered with a rumbling growl, one that Yuji could feel in his bones. Then: "Fushiguro Megumi." Yuji simply hummed in response, flipping the page in the latest WSJ magazine. "Why? are all sorcerers in this generation soft now?"

"Sure," Yuji agreed as he sat up slightly. This week's update was getting exciting. If only Sukuna would leave him alone and stop chattering.

"Hmph. How boring. At least you seem to have kept up your skills."

And, that was weird. Sukuna complimenting Yuji was weird. How could he go from insulting Yuji's whole being whenever given the chance to complimenting him in a single afternoon?

"Er, thanks."

Sukuna was dissatisfied with this response, frowning with his small mouth before disappearing again. God this was fucking weird. He should tell someone, shouldn't he?

The next thing that changed was Yuji's dreams. The atmosphere felt more real, and also more distant from reality. Similar to the moment he had with Sukuna all those years ago. There were never any people, he could wander the whole school campus and see no one. Leaving to go into the city of Tokyo didn't change that. All of it was empty, but everything was still functional. The trains would still run, you could still pick up food from the food stands. Yuji felt bad just taking it, so he'd leave money for them on the register. Maybe it mattered, maybe it didn't.

Sukuna was never around in these dreams, physically. Not like that day. Sometimes Yuji could feel his presence in his mind, lurking. That was unsettling. He wondered how long until Sukuna would actually show up. There was a feeling that... he could, he was just choosing not to. Or perhaps he wasn't strong enough to show up.

Yuji tried to ask, once, but Sukuna's mouth and eye disappeared immediately, and he didn't show up again for a week, leaving Yuji's dreams feeling even more hollow then before.

to be continued, most likely... :3 i'd love to chat about this if you find it interesting, please feel free to comment, rb or send asks~!

[akatsuki-tia]

"like, even putting aside tsuna altogether and how they should care to take into account his wishes on the matter, why would they be happy with the prospect of officially becoming mafia? tho the way the scene is framed they're solely being happy for tsuna here, and still the question remains because why would they be? don't they know tsuna at all??"

Was thinking back about this and I just had the thought that maybe, that's exactly why?

Hear me out:

These kids? They know Tsuna, actually. They do. They know how little he wants to have anything to do with Vongola Decimo’s seat. They know how little he wants to have anything to do with the Mafia business. And above all, they know how much of that distaste comes from how much he wants to keep them away from it.

Tsuna loves them. And they know this. Just like they know how much it has to eat him, that he’s the very reason they’re being put through so much danger. The reason they’re no longer free to choose their path in life for themselves. The reason, after the Future Arc, why in one timeline, they wound up dragged in a bloody war for his sake and paid their pound of blood (their family’s or their own) for it. The reason why they’ll keep spilling it until this life kills them. They know how much Tsuna has to hate himself for it. Of course, they know. They love Tsuna just as much as he does them.

And that’s exactly why.

They smile, they rejoice over being dragged into this bloody life, they never allow themselves to be anything but happy about it. Because the alternative? If they let themselves curse their situation, resent it, fear it, who will suffer the most from it?

Tsuna.

If they let the situation upset them, if they let it show, Tsuna will be the first to see it. The first to take it to heart. Just think about how much it already pains him to put them through all these hardships when he thinks they like it. Think about how much worse it would be if he thought it actively made them unhappy. Think about how much farther Tsuna would go to fight it.

And if he fights it, what are his options?

Try and brute force it? Against Vongola? The strongest Mafia Family in the world? I believe we can all imagine how bloody the consequence could get if it pushes Vongola to finally decide to stop playing nice. But the thing is, they know that Tsuna would, if he thought there was no other option. For their sake, he’d do it in a heartbeat.

If not that, then would he push his friends away? Give up on the very bonds they all held so dearly, somehow try and find a way to cut ties definitely so they can live freely, away from all the pain he would bring them? Would they lose him, because of the same love that brought them together?

At the end, the 10th Gen’s choices were this: They hurt Tsuna with their lack of support for his desire to keep them all away from the Mafia, leaving him isolated in a fight they ought to fight with him. Or they hurt him with their desire to keep away from the Mafia, leaving him isolated by his own crushing guilt, and facing the risk of seeing him hurt in ways they won’t be able to protect him from and potentially having him shut them out, losing him completely.

And so, we have Ryohei always ready to wave away his sister’s worry with a laugh and assured front so she won’t have to fear for him. Takeshi so used to put on a smile by fear of finding himself alone. Hayato, who’s been hurt countless times by rejection and is terrified to see it happen again. Even Chrome, who is much the same as him. Mukuro who knows exactly how far the Mafia will take cruelty to reach their own ends. Hibari, who despite appearance, does care.

Is it any surprise that they made this choice at all?

And yes, some of them might have taken the ‘Be unbothered by being dragged the Mafia' thing and transitioned to ‘Be absolutely delighted to become part of it’ to overcompensate, but they’re maladjusted kids presumably repressing a lot of trauma and negative feelings. Could they have gone about this better? Most probably. Do they know better? Debatable. I think they should be given some slack.

Anyway, that’s my take on this. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

[ID: Three panels from the manga Katekyo Hitman Reborn, showing Gokudera Hayato, Sasagawa Ryohei and Yamamoto Takeshi. They say “Woah—!!”, with bright and happy faces while smiling widely. /End ID]

this is their reaction to reborn letting them know about the upcoming inheritance ceremony, and it made me think of that ask i got about how frustrating it can be that the 10th gen seemingly has no problem being/becoming mafia even if it’s the last thing tsuna wants. and i actually didn’t remember this scene, but seeing this it’s only fair to wonder if they do, in fact, even care about tsuna not wanting to become mafia, yeah.

but honestly this reaction feels kind of off to me? and a bit–well, not necessarily ooc, but also not the type of reaction the natural progression of the story should have led to, because they’re literally right out of the future arc here, and we all know how that one went. tho gokudera is one thing because being mafia is all he’s ever known, and becoming vongola, let alone the leaders of vongola and all that it implies, is the best thing and happiest ending that can happen to him, and he still projects that on tsuna and assumes he must feel the same, but yamamoto? whose dad was killed in the future because he was mafia? who was forced to give up on baseball (i.e. his civilian life), even if it was only temporary, so he could give his best trying to make things right again? and ryohei who was so mad (and scared) about tsuna involving kyoko in the mafia any more than she had to to the point he punched him?

like, even putting aside tsuna altogether and how they should care to take into account his wishes on the matter, why would they be happy with the prospect of officially becoming mafia? tho the way the scene is framed they’re solely being happy for tsuna here, and still the question remains because why would they be? don’t they know tsuna at all??

(and not quite relevant, but it’s interesting that hibari’s reaction isn’t shown, and in fact he disappears from the conversion entirely from this point onwards. and i know it’s likely just hibari being hibari and not considering himself part of the group and so not considering himself concerned by any of this but like… interesting.)

[akanethefox]

Posting my Hatterene from 2020! I love my witches hairy and temperamental.

[tethrras]

anyway sue zhao i would have loved you better but i could not have loved you more

[gemharvest]

How many times can I go "I feel like ass but it's fine I'll be fine" until it becomes hollow to everyone around me. BHASJGFNJFGNK

[edge-oftheworld]

pretty sure I've mentioned it before but I have a weird relationship with live music. like it's nice and all, meeting other fans is amazing and I do enjoy being in the audience, but every time I think about how it's like the performer is putting on a show and blocked off from the audience in a way, it feels like it's been infested by capitalism and I don't like that. like it's no secret I'd rather be part of the band 99% of the time, that I hate feeling like a consumer, but I think I really just want to break down the barriers between the artist and the people who came because the same songs resonate with them. art is about connection in the end, and I think the tragedy of celebrity is the way the creator of the art gets shut off from building actual friendships with the people who feel the same ways that they do