#I intended to be asleep an hour ago but got carried away

[myname-isnia]

“Okay how about a little writing before bed? I haven’t opened the doc in 2 weeks, might as well at least edit what I have already”

*pumps out 1000 words in an hour like it’s nothing*

???????

[mirajaneswritingshenanigans]

You’re My Person

Fandom(s): Vincenzo Series

Pairing(s): Vincenzo Cassano x Female!MafiaReader

Summary: A surprise visit. A night of drinking. What could could happen?

Disclaimer: I do not own any character mentioned in this work. Every character and scene belongs to the writers, producers, and directors of Vincenzo. I am simply borrowing dialogue and characters to create this work of fiction.

A/N: Y/N-Your Name. This was a request, I hope y’all enjoy it. ✨-Stands for a time skip. I made Vincenzo a much softer character than he actually is because we love a soft Vincenzo. @acupnoodle​ I really hope I did your request justice and that you enjoy this piece of work.

Warning(s): Out of character moments?, Alcohol consumption, a bit of teasing, open ending?

Word Count: 4,833

Vincenzo had been away from Italy for a few months now. When he left you told him not to worry you’d keep everything in order for him. With Luca’s help of course. In this world Vincenzo and Luca were the only two people you could truly trust and rely on. When you heard that Luca would be going to Korea, you knew what you wanted to do.

“Please, Luca.” You stopped Luca in the hallway, blocking his path. “Take me with you. I want to go too.” “Y/N, I’m not going for pleasure. I need to deliver what Vincenzo has asked for.” “I hear what you’re saying, you can leave me at the airport and I’ll find him on my own. I won’t get in your way. Just don’t tell Vincenzo about my arrival.” You pouted at Luca. He sighed heavily and ran his right hand through his hair. “Fine. You know the rules. Do not distract me, stay out of trouble, do not bring unnecessary attention to yourself, and always make sure you aren’t being followed. Understood.” Luca said giving up on saying no to you. “Understood!” You responded excitedly. “Go pack, we leave in fifteen minutes.” Luca told you.

About an hour later the two of you were on a flight to Korea. While the flight attendant made the announcements they mentioned that it would be an eleven hour long flight. The plane you were on wasn’t as crowded as you had thought it would be. You looked around at the passengers surveying them and your surroundings. You didn’t see anyone you recognized or anyone that would recognize you, so you began to relax a little.

“You do know that I can’t just leave you alone at the airport, right?” Luca asked quietly. “Why not?” You gave him a puzzled look. “Vincenzo would kill me if he found out I did that to you. Instead I’ll take you to where he is. You can surprise him first, then I’ll deliver the items.” Luca replied to you. You laughed a little at his statement but nodded your head in agreement. When it seemed like the conversation was over you decided to get comfortable and sleep. Because what else were you going to do for eleven hours.

Time had seemed to fly by, no pun intended. It seemed like you had fallen asleep not even five minutes ago. You yawned and stretched the best you could in such a small space. “Here already?” You asked as you stood up next to Luca. “You slept almost the entire flight. Did you know that you talk in your sleep?” Luca asked with a smirk as he grabbed his brief case and your carry on bag. “I do not.” You playfully smacked his arm. He only shook his head and lightly laughed at your antics. Your face grew warm trying to think of what you would be saying in your sleep, and hoping that you didn’t say anything embarrassing. You silently followed Luca off the plane and into the airport terminal.

At one point Luca had to stop before the two of you got separated in the crowd. You had gotten distracted by your thoughts and wasn’t paying attention to where you were going. When the two of you made it to luggage claims you saw your suitcase right away. After grabbing it and turning to see Luca grab his, you followed his lead.

“Luca, why didn’t we take our private jet?” You asked him curiously. “Simple, I didn’t want our enemies to notice that we both left Italy. It’s best that we never bring that chaos to Korea with us.” Luca explained as he held the exit door open for you. “This way.” Luca directed the two of you to a black SUV sitting in the pick up lane. “Way to stick out.” You teased him. Luca rolled his eyes as he opened the trunk door. “It was the only rental vehicle they had available when I set everything up.” He told you as he put all the bags into the vehicle. You glanced inside and noticed someone sitting at the driver’s seat. You turned to Luca with a skeptical look. “Don’t worry. I trust this man.” Luca said when he noticed the look on your face. He closed the trunk door and walked around to the passenger side. “I trust your judgment.” You told him as you walked to the door behind his seat. Once the two of you were buckled in the driver began to drive away. Luca told the man where to go. The car ride to the plaza was silent. You stared out the window taking in all the sights and buildings passing by. After awhile the SUV came to a stop in front of a building.

“This is the suite you’ll be looking for.” Luca turned to hand you a piece of paper. You took it from him and stared at it a moment before opening your door to get out. Luca followed your lead and got out as well. He knew you were able to get the bags yourself but he silently offered his help when he noticed how nervous you looked. “Just so you know, I’m only here to deliver this briefcase to him, nothing more.” Luca told you in a reassuring tone. You nodded your head as you took your luggage from him. “All I ask is, try not to get hurt during your visit.” Luca told you as he stretched his arm up to bring the back door down to close it. “I’ll be with Vincenzo, you never know what could happen, but I’ll try my best.” You said before walking off. “I’ll see you later.” Luca yelled out his window as the SUV drove away.

It took you a few minutes to find the office. But you found it and became overwhelmed with excitement. Before opening the door you calmed yourself down so that you could quietly sneak in. You silently set your luggage down beside the door when you stepped inside. Luckily enough for you Vincenzo was the only one present at the moment and he was distracted by watering the plants that lined the shelf by a window. “Long time, no see.” Your voice broke the silence making Vincenzo jump a little. He would only do that when he was too lost in his own thoughts. “How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me.” Vincenzo playfully scolded you. “And how many times do I have to tell you to not get so lost in thought.” You retorted. Vincenzo rolled his eyes. “Also good to see you too.” You smiled at him and leaned against the table you were standing next to. “It’s good to see you.” He tried to hide the smile that graced his features. Truth be told he was happy to see you, because of all the people to miss he missed you the most. However he would never admit that out loud to anyone.

“Now that we took care of that…” You turned your attention to the man and woman that had just walked into the room. The woman’s words trailing off when she noticed your presence. Eyeing you suspiciously. “Mr. Nam, Cha-young, this is Y/N. She’s a close friend of mine from Italy.” Vincenzo stepped away from the plants to stand next to you as he spoke. You smiled and waved at them. “It’s nice to meet you.” Mr. Nam stated politely. “Hm, since it seems Vincenzo trusts you, I’ll trust his judgment.” Cha-young told you. “That’s fair enough.” Was the only response you could think of. You felt that it would take time for her to warm up to you. “I’ll grab everyone a cup of tea.” Mr. Nam announced as he walked off somewhere in the office. You decided to take a seat at the table. Vincenzo and Cha-young following your lead. Before Vincenzo sat down he caught a glimpse of your bags beside the door.

“Do you have a place to stay?” Vincenzo asked. Your face grew warm when you realized you hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I’ll figure it out.” You told him. “Here we are.” Mr. Nam said as he set a cup down in front of everyone, before taking a seat with his own cup. “No need to figure it out. You’ll stay with me.” Vincenzo stated as a matter of fact. You hid the smile that graced your features behind the mug you sipped from. “Are we expecting any more guests today?” Mr. Nam asked curiously. “Well, Y/N is a surprise guest. However Luca said he’d be stopping by sometime soon.” Vincenzo gave you a look as he spoke. You could tell that he figured out how you got here.

“So, Y/N do know what Vincenzo has been up to here lately?” Cha-young asked, putting all the attention on you. You nodded. “I have a bit of knowledge of what is going on. Has something to do with a chairman and a company named Babel.” Cha-young nodded her head at you. Vincenzo looked from you to Cha-young. He could tell that although she had seemed to be pleased with your reply, she also seemed wary of you. He silently hoped that would change soon because he felt that may cause problems for all parties involved.

Before anyone could say anything else Luca walked into the office. Vincenzo stood up from the table to greet him, and to direct him back out of the office. Wanting to speak to him for a moment alone. His actions left the three of you in awkward silence.

“Is she causing trouble already?” Luca asked as Vincenzo closed the door behind himself. “No, her presence is just a surprise to us, especially me.” Vincenzo crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall. “She found out about my trip to Korea. She begged to come with. It was either I leave her alone there and allow her to create chaos out of boredom, or bring her with.” Luca said with a smirk. Vincenzo nodded, knowing full well the havoc you create when you’re bored. “Here, everything you asked for.” Luca said as he handed the briefcase off to Vincenzo. “I’ll be sticking around a few days, just in case I’m needed.” “Good idea. I appreciate it. Don’t worry about Y/N, she’ll be staying with me.” Vincenzo stated. Luca nodded his head before walking away to wherever he had decided to stay.

“See, this is Jang Han-seo, he’s not the real chairman.” Vincenzo saw Mr. Nam showing you pictures and explaining the entire situation when he walked back into the office. “I’m still pissed at Jun-woo.” Cha-young stated angrily. “That sort of betrayal would make me angry too.” You looked up from the pictures to Cha-young as you spoke. You noticed how she relaxed a little and nodded at you. You took her gesture as a good sign. “I see you’re getting brought up to date on what’s going on.” Vincenzo set the briefcase down on his desk before taking a seat at the table. “I figured that you wouldn’t mind. Seeing as she’s a close friend of yours and could possibly help us.” Mr. Nam said. “You’re not mad about it, are you?” You asked him with a small pout. “Not all. I prefer this opposed to you sneaking around and getting into unnecessary trouble for it. Just to gather the information that you wanted.” Vincenzo said. “You know me so well.” You responded. “Will you be willing to help us, if we ask for your help?” Cha-young asked you. “Of course. While I’m visiting, I’ll help in any way possible.” You replied with a smile. Mr. Nam continued on for a few more hours. Cha-young and Vincenzo chiming in every so often.

✨✨✨✨

“We should stop here for now.” Vincenzo suddenly announced. “We’ve covered the basics for today. We’ll gradually get you fully caught up as the days go by.” Vincenzo stood up from his chair and began to help Mr. Nam organize and put all the documents away. “So, what should we do now?” You asked Vincenzo. “Why don’t we go out for dinner.” Cha-young suggested. “Sounds perfect!” You said in excitement. Mr. Nam silently shook his head in agreement. Vincenzo was silent for a moment “fine, but first we take your luggage to my place.” He looked at you when he mentioned the luggage. You nodded at him. “We’ll wait for you in the car.” Mr. Nam said as he put on his coat and headed out of the office. Cha-young smiled before leaving with him, having put her coat on the moment she mentioned dinner.

Vincenzo made a gesture for you to follow him. He had grabbed your bags on the way out of the office. You silently followed behind him. Curious on where his place was. Of course it was within the plaza so you didn’t have to go too far. As the two of you walked together, he talked about the other tenants. He also filled you in on the gold and getting help from a man named Cho Yeong-un. You tried your best to remember all the names he was mentioning and what everyone did. When you finally made it to his place he opened the door and allowed you to step inside first.

“What’s that noise?” You turned to Vincenzo. You could hear a light tapping and it piqued your curiosity. “I’ll show you.” Vincenzo said as he motioned for you to follow him. You were surprised that he was still rolling around your luggage. You followed him into what you assumed was his bedroom. He set your bags beside his dresser before walking over to the window. Moving the curtain aside you were surprised to see a pigeon tapping on the glass. You curiously watched him grab a small bag of bird feed before he opened the window. “This is Inzaghi. We have an agreement of sorts, it’s why he comes around.” Vincenzo said as he spread some bird feed feed on the ledge. You nodded and decided to wave at Inzaghi. “That’s adorable that you care for a pigeon.” You told him in a teasing tone. “Come on, they’re waiting on us.” Vincenzo said as he rolled his eyes and closed the window. You lightly laughed at him as you followed him out of the room and then out of the apartment. It took a few minutes for the two of you to walk to the car. Mr. Nam was driving, Cha-young sat in the passenger seat. Vincenzo didn’t seem to mind at all. When the two of you got to the car he opened your door to let you in first. Once Vincenzo was in the car Mr. Nam drove away from the building.

✨✨✨✨

The restaurant the four of you had decided to go to seemed like a semi fancy place with a relaxing atmosphere. Even though you were feeling a bit jet lagged you still tried your best to enjoy yourself.  You joined in on the conversation here and there. Aside from that you mostly stayed silent and observed. You were eyeing Vincenzo for several moments. Looking at the way his hair wasn’t slicked back, the way his posture seemed relaxed, and of course that smile of his. It had been a long time since you had seen him like this and it made your heart skip a beat. Your face grew warm when he noticed you staring and he raised a brow in your direction.

“So, how long do you plan to stay?” Cha-young asked. “Hm, I didn’t really think about that to be honest.” You replied. “Are you in the same line of work as Mr. Cassano?” Mr. Nam asked curiously. “That sounds like a loaded question. The only answer I can give is, I can neither confirm or deny that information.” You said. Vincenzo smirked at your statement. “That’s fair.” Cha-young said.

“Fancy seeing you here.” You turned in the direction of the voice to see Jun-woo with Choi Myung-hee beside him. You glanced over to Vincenzo when you noticed that Jun-woo’s words were directed at him. You could see Vincenzo tense up instantly. “I figured this establishment wouldn’t be up to your standards.” Vincenzo said. He looked up to Jun-woo with a glare. “You’re new. What’s your name?” Jun-woo turned his attention to you. “None of your business.” You replied annoyance clear in your voice. “Oh, fiesty. I like that. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll figure out who you are. See you around.” Jun-woo said to you. He winked at you as he walked away. Choi Myung-hee eyed you curiously as she followed behind him.

“Good thing we already finished eating, because seeing him would have made me lose my appetite.” Mr. Nam said. Cha-young grunted in agreement with him. Vincenzo looked like he was about to get up and cause a scene. Before he could stand you grabbed his arm and looked up at him. “Don’t, you reacting is exactly what he wants.” You told him. Vincenzo looked between you and Jun-woo. He sighed heavily before relaxing back into his chair. He glanced at the exit one last time to see that they had left. Cha-young and Mr. Nam shared a surprise look with each other. This was the first time they had witnessed someone tell Vincenzo to stop and he actually listened.

✨✨✨✨

A week had gone by since you first arrived. There had been many moments that shocked everyone around Vincenzo. You were used to being one of few that Vincenzo would actually listen to. It seemed like the tenants weren’t used to it though. They had always witnessed Vincenzo do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. You were currently talking to Mi-ri about her hacking skills. Vincenzo was sitting at a table with Mr. Ahn, Cha-young, and Mr. Nam.

“I think it’s cute how you listen to Y/N.” Mr. Ahn suddenly said. Vincenzo turned his gaze to him and raised his brow. “No, he’s right. I’ve noticed she’s the only one that you truly listen to.” Cha-young said in a teasing tone. Mr. Nam tried his best to hide his smile. “Are you done?” Vincenzo asked. “You’ve got to admit that listening to her has helped you stay out of trouble.” Mr. Nam chimed in. Vincenzo leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

“Why so gloomy?” You asked when you sat down at the table with them. Mi-ri had to leave due to an appointment. “Ah, come on. We’re just teasing. No need to be so gloomy about it.” Cha-young said with a mock pout. You smiled at Cha-young. You knew exactly why he was being teased. You decided to lean forward and poke Vincenzo’s cheek. “Turn that frown upside down.” You told him. You gently pressed your finger by the corner of his lip. Making it look like he was half smiling. Vincenzo softly pushed your hand away. “You know I can get away with murder right.” His tone was casual. You only laughed at his statement. “Of course we know.” Mr. Nam said.

Vincenzo rolled his eyes as he stood up. “I’ll be in the office.” “Now, you aren’t going to do something that Y/N would tell you not to, are you?” Mr. Ahn said with a smirk on his face. Vincenzo didn’t respond instead he kept walking. Leaving you with the others laughing a little.

You had stayed with them for awhile longer before you went back to the office. You smiled to yourself as you made your way there. You noticed that the sun had set. In fact it looked like it had set at least two hours ago. You hoped Vincenzo was still in the office. He would have texted me if he decided to go home. Wouldn’t he? You thought to yourself. When you finally made it there and opened the door you were pleased to see him sitting at his desk.

“Oh, good.” He turned his attention to your voice. “Are you here to tease me as well?” Vincenzo asked. You only shook your head no at him. Walking around his desk to stand next to him. You rested one hand on the back of his chair and the other on his desk. Leaning forward slightly to see what he was looking at. “Huh, seems boring.” You turned to face Vincenzo. You jerked back as your face grew warm. You hadn’t realized that the two of you were close enough to bump your nose into his.  He didn’t jump the way you did. Instead he showed you a soft smile. You weren’t sure what to think of that reaction.

“So, do you think you’ll ever return to Italy?” You asked, changing the subject. “Eventually. When I’ve completed everything here.” Vincenzo said. He noticed how you were looking anywhere except at him. He stood up from his desk. “Why don’t we head home.” Vincenzo said as he stepped away from his desk. You knew he meant his apartment but you couldn’t stop yourself from saying “home is in Italy. With Luca” with a pout gracing your features. “Home can be here too. With me.” Vincenzo said, directing you to walk beside him. You barely heard the last part of what he said because he had said it so softly.

You walked quietly beside him as the two of you walked to his apartment. You did miss Italy, but it seemed like Vincenzo was beginning to settle in Korea. You glanced at him a few times. You did notice that he had become a bit softer. That wasn’t a bad thing, but considering what he does, if he becomes too soft it could cause problems. “I can feel you staring.” Vincenzo’s voice brought you back to reality. Not realizing that you were still staring at him, you hadn’t intended to do that. “Sorry.” You said. Vincenzo turned his attention to you only to notice that you were looking straight ahead.

“Oh, look. We’re here.” You said. Vincenzo smiled and shook his head at the way you were acting. He pulled the key out and opened the door. Allowing you to step inside first. “So, I was thinking we eat take out tonight. Have a few drinks. Just relax.” Vincenzo said. “That sounds perfect. It has been a long week.” You told him as you plopped down on the couch. “All right, I’ll order for us. And also grab the drinks.” Vincenzo said as he turned towards his kitchen area.

✨✨✨✨

A few hours had passed since the two of you came home. At this point you were a little drunk and currently snuggling up against Vincenzo on the couch. “No, don’t leave.” You whined when Vincenzo tried to get up. “Y/N, I’ll be right back.” Vincenzo tried to reassure you. He hadn’t drank as much as you did. “Fine. Don’t take too long.” You said with a pout. Vincenzo was finally able to stand after you unwrapped your arms from around him. He smiled down at you before walking off.

After about five minutes he had come back with two bottles of water. You shook your head at him when he attempted to hand one bottle to you. Instead you pulled him onto the couch with you. He laughed a little when he finally got comfortable with you snuggled up against him again. He had forgotten how clingy you become when you’re drunk. However he didn’t mind. You didn’t drink too often anyhow, unless it was with him or Luca. Poor Luca had experienced your clingy behavior once. Except when you clung to him you had said that he’s not Vincenzo but he’ll do. Luca of course didn’t take that personally because he understood your feelings for Vincenzo, even if you hadn’t admitted them to him yet.

After about twenty minutes had gone by he decided to glance at you. Noticing that you were beginning to doze off. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.” Vincenzo gently said to you. “I don’t wanna. I wanna stay with you. Right here.” You replied to him. “You’ll be in pain if the two of us pass out here.” Vincenzo tried to reason with you. You slowly raised yourself to a sitting a position to look at him. He lightly laughed at the way you were pouting at him. He found it to be quite adorable. You tried to stand up but stumbled and fell back on the couch again. “Hang on.” Vincenzo said as he leaned down to lift you. He made sure to hold you close to his body as he carried you to his bed. With the intention to let you sleep comfortably on the bed while he took the couch.

When he made it into the room and gently lay you down, you grabbed his wrist before he could walk away. “Stay with me, please.” You looked up to him as you spoke. Vincenzo only nodded and made his way to the other side of the bed. When he laid down beside you, you decided to curl into his side. He smiled to himself as you finally settled against him. After a few minutes he felt your breathing level out, showing the sign that you had fallen asleep.

Vincenzo was beginning to doze off himself until he heard you speak. He glanced down at you with a puzzled look. “You’ve no idea how much I’ve missed you.” You mumbled. He noticed that your were completely asleep. He had no idea that you sometimes talk in your sleep. In fact you didn’t even know. “How am I supposed to tell you that I love you more than a friend?” He raised a brow when he heard you say that. “Because I truly do love you.” You snuggled up closer to him when you said that. In turn Vincenzo held you tighter. He gently kissed the top of your head. “I love you too.” He whispered back, even though he knew you wouldn’t hear him. He decide that he would tell you what was said in your sleep in the morning.

✨✨✨✨

You groaned as you began to open your eyes. When you turned over you came nose to nose with Vincenzo. At the moment he was still fast asleep. You smiled to yourself as you moved a little to be able to look at him. He looked so peaceful as he slept. You wished that he had always felt that way. “I can feel you staring.” Vincenzo said in a groggy voice. “Sorry.” You whispered to him. Instead of replying to you he decided to pull you onto him as he rolled over on to his back. “Vincenzo, what are you doing?” You laughed as you settled on him. “Felt like having you close to me.” He glanced at your face as he spoke. “Did you know you talk in your sleep?” The way he looked at you in that moment made your face grow warm. “I do?” You questioned. He responded by nodding his head yes.

“Tell me, what do you feel towards me.” Vincenzo said. His voice was gentle. Your eyes grew wide realizing what you might have said. You sat up beside him quickly and hid your face in your hands. “I confessed didn’t I?” You uncovered your face and looked over to Vincenzo. He rolled over on his side. Leaning his head on his arm to look at you. “Based on that look, I’d say I did.” You said softly. “So, tell me while you’re awake.” He said. “Fine. I love you. More than just a friend. More than a close friend. Happy?” You said in a rushed tone. For a moment you thought that was a mistake because he silently stared at you. You watched him with suspicion as he moved to sit up, facing you.  

Instead of saying anything, he gently pulled you onto his lap. Leaning in for a kiss. That wasn’t what you had expected, but you happily accepted it. The kiss was gentle but still firm enough to show that he had reciprocated your feelings. After a few moments you pulled away from him sighing happily. You looked into his eyes searching for any lie. All you saw was just how much love he held towards you.

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” He asked softly. “Vincenzo, with what we do for a living there was never a good time.” You admitted with a sad smile. “But here, even with the chaos you’ve gotten yourself into, I can tell you’ve become comfortable. You leaned forward, resting you chin against his shoulder. “That much may be true. However, it wasn’t like that until you arrived.” You sat up again to look Vincenzo in the eyes again. “You’re my person. You’ve always been my person. I just never knew how to tell you this.” Vincenzo admitted. He sat up more with a look of concern as he wiped tears from your cheeks. “Sorry, they’re happy tears.” You said and laughed a little. Vincenzo only nodded before pulling you in for a hug.

“Does this mean I get to wake up beside you every morning?” You asked him. “Of course it does.” He replied softly. “Guess we should tell Luca to send over more clothes for me.” Vincenzo laughed softly at your statement.

Main Masterlist

[softquietsteadylove]

Dear!

The Mermaid AU is absolutely amazing! Can you write some cute fluff? Maybe Gil is cooking for Thena while she's examining his house further and asking questions about all of his stuff.

🖤✨ Hugs and much love!! ✨🖤

Gil turned down the stove burner with their seafood chowder to let it simmer. Cliche or not, Thena really did like any recipe he had with any form of sea life in it. Even just seaweed soup seemed to whet her appetite.

He kept one ear trained on the living room while he was cooking. Thena had fallen asleep on his shoulder on the boat ride home, leaving him to carry her inside. He had initially thought about putting her in his bed, but he wanted her a little closer. He wanted to know a little more certainly that she really was safe here, with him.

She had been strung up in a net just a few hours ago, after all.

He had gotten her to the couch, pulled his shirt on over her head for when she split her tail later on, laid a blanket over her. Her skin still had red marks on it from where she had been thrashing against the net's hold, but he assumed she would heal those up for herself.

He still wasn't sure if it was the right move to keep her on land with him, but he had to admit that it pleased the more selfish part of him--the part that wanted to keep her close so he could protect her. If the only ways to protect her were to keep her with him or send her away, he definitely had a preference between them, even if he still believed that the other method would have been just as effective.

Gil chopped up the celery, the last vegetable he was adding, hoping it would stay a little crunchy while absorbing the creamy soup. Thena was fascinated by plenty, but especially loved crunchy foods. She said she had always wondered what it would be like to take a bite of coral - like a parrotfish - and that this was much better.

He blinked as a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind. "You a Cuddlefish, now?"

Thena pressed her face further into his back.

"Hey," he whispered, raising his arms up to try and turn around in her tight embrace. He manged it somehow, bringing his arms around her delicate waist. "You okay?"

"I'm sorry," she all but whimpered into his shirt miserably. "What if that man comes after you?"

"It's okay," Gil assured as best he could, rubbing his hand over her arm. "As long as you're safe, that's all that matters to me."

Thena just sighed, still clinging to him, as he found she was rather prone to do whenever she had her legs on. "What are you making?"

"Chowder--it's a creamy soup, and I added lots of fish for you," he smiled. She was still burrowed into the front of him, but he couldn't imagine how much she was reeling from being caught like that...no pun intended. "Are you hungry?"

She nodded. "They offered me some fish, but..."

Of course she hadn't wanted to eat in front of her captors. Gil kissed the top of her head, "do you want a little snack while this finishes?"

She finally pulled her head up to peek at him.

"I got more of those dried sardines," he drawled, attempting to tease a smile out of her. He had discovered that she loved the dried little fishes that crumbled to the touch. Maybe they were like a bag of chips, or popcorn to her.

Thena finally managed a smile, small and fragile, but real. He could practically imagine her tail wiggling in delight. "You did?"

"Just for you," he promised, tapping her nose as she released him to hunt for her new favourite snack food. "Cupboard?"

Thena looked around herself for a second before reaching out and just barely pressing her finger to one of the many small doors lining the kitchen.

"Good, top and on the right," Gil nodded. He was all too happy to encourage her exploration of his home--a human home.

Thena moved her hand from the bottom cabinet to one of the ones above the counter. She pressed her fingertips to each door one at a time, until she was at the end. She looked at him, and after receiving a nod, she opened it delicately.

The first one she had ever tried she had ripped right off its hinges, assuming it would have some resistance to it. She had apologised in a panic but Gil let her watch him screw it right back on with a spare hinge--no harm done. She liked watching him use tools.

Thena pulled out the crinkling bag of little fish with a bright grin, showing off her fangs. She ripped it open, inhaling like someone might with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

Gil was enchanted by just the sight of her.

She closed the cupboard door again and came back over to him, looking infinitely more comfortable with her hand wrist deep in the bag, shovelling sardines into her mouth. "What is that?"

"Hm?" Gil looked around him, moving his hand slowly until he could find what exactly she was asking about. "The stove?"

She nodded.

"Hm," Gil paused; how to explain the entirety of an oven. "Well, most houses have them now. They used to just be a metal shell you could build a fire in. But now we can use electricity and gasoline to make much smaller, more controlled fires so we can cook with them."

"You like cooking," she surmised as she took a seat at the table, her favourite spot from which she could watch him work. "You're good at it."

Gil shrugged with some modesty, not that it mattered to the woman who was used to snatching fish as she swam alongside them and tearing into them raw. "I've always liked cooking. It always makes people happy and brings them together."

Thena tilted her head a few times. Gil was comforted by the sight of one of her many personal habits. "It does make people happy, doesn't it?"

Gil nodded, coming to sit down with her. He was honoured when she offered a small pile of her precious snack. He would be worried about her ruining her appetite if he had any concept of how much she could and couldn't eat. He picked up a few in his fingers, "do you eat meals together?"

She considered his question, knowing he was referring to when she was among her own underwater. "If you're hunting together, you'll eat together, but we don't go to an effort to gather for it."

Gil had plenty of curiosities of his own about her, but with most of his larger questions answered by now, he had started asking the little things. The questions that seemed almost silly to ask, but that always made him happy to know anyway. "Do you eat while you swim or do you, like, find a little resting place?"

Thena shrugged (which she had learned from watching him and Sersi). "It depends on what you catch, I suppose. If you have somewhere to be, you then just eat as you go."

"That makes sense," Gil agreed, finishing off his little pile. He smiled as Thena immediately replenished it. He looked up at her with a grin, "you feed me, I feed you?"

She rustled the bag on her lap. "It seems only fair."

Gil pinched a few more morsels between his fingers. "Would you share stuff with your brother?"

Thena immediately let out a loud groan and rolled her eyes.

Gil couldn't help but laugh. "You sound like Sersi did when she was younger."

Thena tilted her head at him, her hair tumbling over her shoulder. "I don't understand that--you seem like so much better a brother than Ikaris."

Gil shrugged, smiling at the topic with love - and exasperation - built right into it. "Yeah, but you don't get along as well when you're younger. When we were kids, it seemed like everything I said annoyed her."

Thena tilted her head a few more times at him. "But she loves you."

Gil beamed. "Yeah, she does--and you always know your sibling loves you, no matter how much you fight. I like to think I was a pretty good brother to her when we were younger."

"I'm sure you were," Thena muttered with absolute certainty, digging into the bag with a renewed fervour. "I think I had to fight Ikaris for everything when we were hatchlings."

That was a cute term for when they were kids. "Siblings fight a lot, I guess."

Thena sighed, though. "We were maybe...more aggressive than some our age."

Gil snorted. He could already imagine his beautiful Angelfish hissing up a storm at her own brother over the littlest thing. "You liked annoying each other?"

She smiled faintly. "I suppose so. And for all his grievances, I admit that there are worse brothers one could have. I can't imagine it at the moment, but I'm sure it's true."

Gil laughed. She certainly sounded like someone who very - very - reluctantly loved her brother despite his faults. "Does he like sardines too?"

Thena gave him a smile that showed off all of her teeth, "hates them."

Gil stood to stir the stew again, "then those are all for you. I'll always have them in the house, too, if I'm not around to cook for you, okay?"

Thena looked from him to the fridge. He had also explained the concept of leftovers, and that she could open any of the containers in there and eat anything she found.

He didn't tell her anything about heating anything up. Something about the idea of Thena and electricity just...made him uncomfortable.

"It's ready!"

Thena looked up at him with a smile as he set down a bowl in front of her, positively heaping with seafood and with a little nori sprinkled on top. "Thank you, Gil."

He blushed. She looked so cute, sitting there with her legs crossed at the ankles, his shirt sleeves billowing around her tiny arms that usually had scales dotted along them. "Anything, anytime, Angelfish."

Thena gave him a grin that he had come to learn was her feeling mischievous, "am I not a cuttlefish, now?"

"Cuddle-fish," he corrected with a grin of his own. She seemed humoured, although her smile turned faintly shy as she looked down at her food. He picked up his spoon and poked at his serving, "that's okay, though. I like having my very own Cuddlefish."

[percabeths-blue-cookies]

In My Heart Is a Christmas Tree Farm

Here’s the ao3 link

Summary:

Annabeth, Conner, and Travis plan on going home for the holidays, but Annabeth dreads having to face her parents and their opinions on her relationships, work, and just life in general. She intends on getting someone to go with her for the trip to pretend to be her boyfriend so she won’t have to suffer all Christmas vacation listening to her parents complain. That’s when she meets Percy…

-Chapter 4-

Annabeth decided to pack in the morning. So as she’s rushing around the house at 6:00 in the morning she calls Conner and asks what time they are meeting at the hotel.

“Oh and by the way Conner I forgot to tell you, Percy bought a ticket with us and he’s going home with us.”

“Oh yeah Chase? So is her your boyfriend now? Yall have known eachother for litterally three days.” Conner says

“No Conner he’s just pretending to be my boyfriend so my parents will stay off my dick this Christmas.” Annabeth says as she pulls a few of her shirts out of her closet.

“Ok Chase I’ll see you in a bit.” He says and hangs up.

Annabeth: meet us at the airport at 9:00

Coolest guy ever to exist: okie dokie I’ll see u there

Annabeth decides to pack six full outfits. Once she’s all packed she decides to have a little breakfast, which includes leftover Chinese food from three nights ago.

After she eats she throws on some black leggings, a cream colored sweatshirt, a puffer jacket and a scarf. She ends up braiding her hair because she ended up not having enough time to manage her wild curls. As she grabs all of her bags she calls an Uber to take her to the airport. Once she arrives at their gate she texts Conner

Annabeth: lmk when you two are here.

Conner: ok we’re about two min away.

She puts up her phone then sees a mom and two children running up to a man and gives him a hug. She was so focused on the family of four that she dint realize Percy had walked up to her.

“Whatcha lookin at” he whispers

“Oh my gosh Percy don’t do that” she says swatting his arm.

“Sorry” he says with a smirk “so when are Conner and Travis gonna be here”

“They should be here any minute.” Annabeth says looking around

She finnally sees them walking toward Percy and herself

“You guys ready?” Travis says checking his watch.

They go through security and find their gate and some seats.

“Hey I want some coffee Percy you want some?” Annabeth says getting up

“Yes please.” He says with a smile

“Okay I’ll be right back.” She walks toward the nearby small Starbucks that had a line going out toward another gate. She decided to order it on her phone and walks back to where they are sitting.

“Where’s my coffee?” Percy says when she arrives

“Oh there’s a lot of people so I decided to order it on my phone and it’ll tell me when it’s ready.” Annabeth says.

After about ten minutes she gets a notification saying that their coffees are ready. As she gets up Percy gets up too

“It’s fine I’ll get them myself.” Annabeth says as she starts walking.

“No it’s okay. You paid for them so I insist on carrying my own coffee twenty feet away. “ he says laughing.

“Hey thanks again for coming. You didn’t have to but you did, and that means a lot to me. Plus if you didn’t my parents would be up my ass the entire time we would be down there.” She says once they grab their coffees.

“Of course Annabeth, I’ve only known you for like two days, but it seems like a lot more.” He says with a smile

Once they sit back down and sip their coffee they see a time stamp saying that their flight will be bording soon. Once they finally make it on the plane and sit down Annabeth is wide awake. She got the window seat and Conner was in the middle seat with Travis in the aisle seat. Percy got a ticket more towards the back of the plane. It was only a three hour flight so it shouldn’t feel like that long.

Somehow only 15 minutes into the flight, both Travis and Conner were asleep. Conner had his head on Annabeth’s shoulder. She felt bad shoving him off so she just let him sleep there. Annabeth grabs her notebook out of her carry on bag and starts getting some work done.

Finally after what felt like an eternity they land and they get off the plane. It was hard trying to find Percy with all the other people rushing off the plane but somehow she spotted his dark hair. As they walked out of the airport themselves coldness hit her. At least she still had her puffer jacket on and scarf.

They called an Uber and made it to there neighborhood.

“I guess Percy and I have to stay with my parents?” Annabeth says desperately.

“Guess so Annabae, it’s okay though maybe with Percy here they won’t be such assholes.” Conner says as they get out of the Uber.

“Thanks Conner, that makes me feel so much better.” She says sarcastically

Percy grabs her bag and sets it on the concrete for her. Connie and Travis depart from them and head to their parents house while Percy and Annabeth walk towards Annabeth’s childhood home.

“Okay now Percy we have to make it believable. They have to think that we are hopelessly in love.” She says with a laugh

“Okay wise girl, it won’t be too hard.” Percy says as they walk towards her house.

Before Annabeth could think too much about the words he just spoke, he rings the doorbell.

Her step mom opens the door

“Annabeth how nice to see you.” She says with a fake smile

“Hi Susan” Annabeth says

“And who’s this?” Susan says gesturing to Percy

“This is Percy, my boyfriend.” Annabeth says “Percy this is Susan, my stepmom”

“You finally have a boyfriend Annabeth?” Susan says with a laugh

“Apparently so” Percy says

“Well come inside you two.” Annabeth’s step mom says.

As Annabeth and Percy carry their bags upstairs to Annabeth’s childhood room she says “oh shit I forgot. I guess that we have to sleep in the same bed.” With a blush.

“No worries. I figured we would have to.” He says, setting their stuff down on the floor.

“No way Annabeth is this you?” He picks up a picture of Annabeth and Conner from Annabeth’s 8th birthday . Annabeth’s two front teeth were missing and she had birthday cake all down her shirt.

“Oh my god, I forbid you from making fun of any of the pictures you see of me here.” Annabeth says

“Whatever you say wise girl.” Percy says

They settle in for the night and get ready for bed. Annabeth lays down in bed once Percy is in the shower. She pretends to be asleep once he comes into the room so she doesn’t have to face the awkwardness of sleeping next to him.

Eventually she falls asleep. Sometime in the middle of the night she wakes up. She realizes that Percy’s arm is around her waist and Annabeth is pulled up against him. Annabeth feels somewhat comfortable though, so she ends up falling back to sleep.

[randomshyperson]

Wanda Maximoff x Reader - Angrily in love

Summary: Wanda and Reader are on the run after a mission goes wrong, and they do not have a good relationship. When Wanda is approached in a diner by strange men, Reader confronts them. And some other things. Based on prompt from stay-casual, thanks again dear.

Warnings: Language; All fluff, but also humor. enemies stubborn idiots to lovers.

Words: 3.002 K ////// Read on AO3

Marks > @stay-casual @mionemymind @wandamaximoffpuppy

You and Wanda didn't get along very well.

Which was a problem since you were running away together.

It all started two and a half weeks ago, and honestly, you would blame Steve if anyone asked.

You were both assigned to an infiltration mission into a drug trafficking headquarters in Mexico. It was not your typical job, but there was evidence of Hydra involvement.

And so you and Wanda were team partners, and everything was going very well, until she pissed you off for some reason, and the two of you started to argue. Maybe you miscalculated the impact of your words, because the second you call her "angry little witch" Wanda used her magic to push you, but before you could think of fighting back, there were about fifteen rifles pointed at both of you.

Disguise completely blown, Wanda was quick enough to get you two out of there, and with the entire country on alert, you needed to keep a low profile until it was safe to return to the compound.

So now you were forced to deal with each other's company, and you broke your cell phone when Natasha sent a emoji and a message telling you guys to enjoy your vacation.

At this moment you were driving the van that you managed to steal from the barracks before you left, while Wanda slept in the passenger seat. You reached out to turn on the radio for a bit, but when you started humming the music, it stopped playing. Looking quickly to see what had happened, you let out an incredulous sigh as you saw the familiar red light dissipate in the air.

- I'm sleeping. - Wanda grumbled, and you frowned in irritation as you turned on the radio again.

- Not my problem.

The music started again, but then stopped. You let out a angry whimper.

- Be quiet. - She said without opening her eyes.

And then you turned the sound back on. And Wanda turned it off. And then you did it again. This went on for three minutes, until you hit the brakes, and Wanda opened her eyes with the sudden movement.

- My God, what is your problem? - She shouted, and you ignored the honking sounds behind you as you took the keys off.

- You know what, Maximoff? - You replied angrily, unbuckling your seat belt. - You're driving now.

You dropped the key in her lap, and got out of the vehicle. Turning around, you opened the back door of the van and climbed in. You heard Wanda grumble angrily as she jumped into the driver's seat, but you just leaned against the wall of the van and closed your eyes. A minute after she started the car, you heard the sound of the radio.

Ignoring the urge to break the equipment, you decided to fall asleep.

//-//

Driving for about three hours, Wanda finally parked the van. The lack of movement woke you up, and you yawned lightly as you stretched.

You heard the door open and close, and caught a glimpse of Wanda's red hair as she walked away from the van, so you got out next.

It was a motel, and judging by the amount of cars in the parking lot, it was decent enough to not have diseases in the sheets.

You hurried to catch up with Wanda, and when she entered the reception area, she didn't hold the door, and you almost hit your face on the wood. Swearing softly, you then entered.

- Good evening. - You heard her greet the receptionist, who didn't look very pleased to serve more people. - Two rooms please.

- Sorry, honey. - He said chewing on a small stick between his teeth. - We only have one spare room.

- Wait, what?

- It's the season for Los Muertos, senorita. - clarified the man, and seeing Wanda's expression, he added. - All the places will be crowded with tourists, you are lucky to find anything available around here. - He says with a fake disappointment in his voice.

Wanda let out a sigh, while you were distracted by the fish in the aquarium on the premises.

- It's okay, Wanda, you can sleep on the couch. - You tease without looking at her, but she ignores your comment and hands the money for the room to the receptionist.

- Have a nice stay. If you want something to eat besides the minibar, there is a dinner behind the pool area. - The man says as he hands over the key. Wanda doesn't smile, and leaves the place, you lightly tap your fingers on the aquarium while smiling at the fish before following her.

You two walk to the room in silence, and you sigh as you enter, observing the place. It was simple, yet cozy. The redhead commented softly "thank god" when she notices that there are two beds, and threw the bag she was carrying on top of one of them, before walking to the bathroom, while you start looking for the remote control.

//-//

Two days sharing the same room, and you were surprised that you hadn't killed each other yet. There were a few arguments, mainly over having to share the television, or the delay in the shower, but otherwise things were going pretty well.

It was lunchtime, and you had just used the street phone to try to get in touch with Natasha when you saw Wanda leave the room in the direction of the dinner. She gave you an angry look before she left, and you rolled your eyes before following her, after all, you were starving.

- Why are you following me? - she asked angrily as you walked beside her.

- I'm not following you, I'm going to lunch. The restaurant is not yours. - You retort, and she rolls her eyes.

- God, and you have to have lunch with me now?

- Who says I'm having lunch with you? - you retort impatiently. - I intend to sit fifteen tables away.

- Great!

- Great indeed! - You retort as she opens the door and hurries inside, taking a seat at one of the first empty tables. You curse softly to yourself, and then enter the restaurant.

Unfortunately the only empty table you can find is the one in front of Wanda, and you can see her staring angrily at you. You smile wryly in her direction, and she waves her middle finger at you. But then the waitress approaches, and she looks away. You scold yourself for holding your gaze on her longer than necessary, and then you are served next.

The restaurant was considerably crowded, there were many groups of diverse people eating together, and you noticed that there were also truck drivers, and families, and even young people your own age. Fortunately the service was very good, and soon you were having some fries and meat.

You were finishing your milkshake, slightly distracted by the newspaper that was left on the table for the customers, when a sound of male laughter caught your attention.

Two men, considerably older than you, approached Wanda's table, both exchanging mischievous laughs.

- Come on, let's ask her out. - You heard one of them remark with a chuckle. And then you were already getting up, anger boiling in your chest.

- Hi there, sweetheart, what's your name?

- I'll give you five seconds to leave before I shove my shoe up your ass! - you shouted before Wanda could answer anything. Both men looked at you with a mixture of surprise and disbelief.

- Who the hell are you? - One of them sneered, but you shoved him hard enough to make him realize that you were no ordinary girl as he stumbled backwards, his eyes flashed with fear.

- Leave her alone.

The man stumbled backwards poking his friend in the chest, and they both gave you a angry look before leaving. The restaurant was bubbling over with small comments, but you exchanged a glance with the waitress and she didn't seem willing to kick you out for this.

You turned to Wanda next, and she had a very annoyed expression on her face.

- Fine, Wanda, what is it? - you asked impatiently when noticing her face.

- I don't need your help. - She retorted angrily. - I can handle these things just fine on my own.

- Wow, you are really ungrateful. - You sneer, crossing your arms. You look around for a moment, and notice that men in the same profile are still assessing Wanda from afar. You feel your body boil with irritation at the malicious looks they cast at her, and you stare back at them, a murderous expression on your face. They exchange a startled look and you wait for them to stop looking before turning your attention to the redhead - Can I sit with you?

- Excuse me? - she asks angrily, but doesn't even wait for you to answer. - No way! Piss off!

- You are so annoying. - You grumble before going back to your desk.

But you're not even hungry anymore, feeling a strange irritation at the tip of your stomach as you remember the way the men looked at Wanda, so you take the last sips of your milkshake and stand up again. Wanda pretends you don't exist as you walk past her table, and you roll your eyes at the childishness.

- Good afternoon. - You greet the cashier with a smile. - Sorry for the mess. The idiots were harassing my...colleague.

The cashier smiles, accepting the money you gave her. Then she frowns at the amount, and you clear your throat when you say to include Wanda's table bill as well, and she just nods in agreement.

- She's a pretty girl. - The cashier comments as she separates the money. You make a noise of agreement, without really paying attention. - She seems like the kind of girl who breaks not only boys' hearts.

She gives you a suggestive look, and you blink in surprise, averting your eyes and feeling your face heat up.

- Thank you. - You grumble as you get your change.

Leaving the restaurant afterwards, you chide yourself for immediately looking for Wanda through the windows. Turning your head forward, you go back to your room.

//-//

Wanda really got annoyed with your little scene in the restaurant, and didn't talk to you when she came back to the room, not that you were complaining.

And then it was time for her to watch some stupid program, and you left the room, because you were not in the mood of arguing about who's turn it is to watch.

You thought about getting a drink, so you returned to the restaurant, which at this time was considerably emptier.

The cashier from earlier was now serving tables, and smiled at you when you sat down at the counter.

- What will you have, dear? - She asked.

- A hot chocolate please. - You asked, leaning your elbow on the table and your face in your hand. With your free hand you tapped your fingers lightly against the counter.

It didn't take long to get your order, and you and you got a little pensive when the waitress returned, wiping the counter beside you.

- That was quite a scene earlier today. - She comments with a smile. You laugh, slightly embarrassed, but willing to talk.

- Yeah, sorry about that.

- No problem, sweetie. - She comments. - Young people are always so nervous when jealous.

You choke in surprise, feeling your face heat up.

- Jealous? I wasn't...

The waitress giggles, placing the cloth on her left shoulder.

- It's all good, child. - she says. - My husband used to be jealous of truck drivers in this region too. And with a beautiful girlfriend like that, I imagine it's hard for you.

She remarks with a smile before going to serve another customer, and you widen your eyes in surprise, feeling your face very warm.

Then you spent the next five minutes frowning, repeating how absurd it was that anyone would insinuate that you were jealous of Wanda, until the waitress was back again, serving you a doughnut that you didn't ask for but accepted anyway.

- Just to clarify. - You start between one bite and another. - I am not jealous.

The waitress giggles, arranging a few things on the counter.

- I also noticed that you two sat at separate tables, reminded me of my Miguel. - She says with a smile. - We used to fight so much that he would sleep on the balcony.

You laugh lightly, running your hand through your hair.

- But you know, all the fights were just an excuse to get each other's attention. - She says, leaning her hands on the counter in front of you. - To this day, I still believe he would leave the key off the key chain just to hear me grumble and squeeze my butt when he apologized. - She says with a smile that makes you laugh.

And then she is pouring you some more chocolate, and you are ignoring the growing nervousness in your stomach at the thought of her insinuations that you and Wanda were like a couple fighting.

- Rosa. - You call out after reading her name on the badge, she looks at you curiously. - How... How did you know you were in love?

- During a fight, of course. - She says, laughing. - We are in high school, and we had a fight during a soccer game. It was so hilarious. We started fighting about who would play the penalty kick for our team, and one of our classmates tried to get into an argument with me, and Miguel punched him in the nose, yelling that no one could fight with me but him.

You widen your eyes in surprise, but then laugh, finding the story a bit absurd. But the waitress has a nostalgic look in her eyes, as if she is missing something, and you frown.

- What... what happened to Miguel?

You watch her smile slowly die, and something in her gaze change. And then you cough uncomfortably, feeling a pain in your stomach.

- My Miguel was trying to improve our life when the German agents arrived. - She said in a somber tone. You stumbled out of your seat, trying to breathe. - The avengers had no right to take him away from me.

Fucking great, you thought wryly as you felt your throat closing. You stumbled out of the restaurant, falling to your knees. You think you saw a red light before you lost consciousness.

//-//

Something was moving, and it took many minutes for you to realize that it was the surface you were lying on. And then you slowly opened your eyes, blinking as you progressively tried to regain awareness.

- Finally, spitfire. - A female voice commented with irony, and you were startled to see Natasha sitting beside you. You tried to sit up in bed, feeling your body ache to do so.

- Damn it. - You complained of pain, and then you realized that you were on a spaceship. - Wow, how did I get here?

- By being the worst field agent. - Nat scoffed lightly, getting up from her seat to get you some water. You noticed that you were in the medical compartment of the ship. When she handed you the glass of water, you let out a satisfied grunt, drinking it all quickly.

- Let me guess, that lady really poisoned me. - You say, handing the glass back, and Nat sits down beside you on the bed, laughing lightly.

- Seriously, you went out on a simple recognition mission, and now you have shooting, escape and poisoning in your report.

You laugh before you ask.

- How did you find us anyway?

- Wanda, of course. - She tells. - I think you collapsed and she wrecked the whole place. We arrived before the Mexican government arrested you two. Also, the waitress will be questioned, but I don't think she knows much.

- Wait, what do you mean by wrecked the whole place?

Nat laughed, shrugging her shoulders.

- You know how Wanda's magic gets when she is nervous. And well, she was very nervous.

You nod, looking away, feeling a warmth in your cheeks and chest. And then Nat is getting up again.

- Well, I have to tell Steve that you are awake. You've had enough sleep so join us when you can. - She comments with a smile before leaving.

When you look down you notice the needle marks on your arm, where the antidote was probably placed, you sigh slightly.

You stand up, realizing that you feel almost no discomfort in your muscles. Before you can move toward the other room however, there is someone coming in.

- You're really awake. - Wanda comments seriously, stopping in the doorway.

You laugh lightly, deciding to tease her.

- Ah, yes. And I heard that you lost your shit when you saw me pass out. It's touching, really.

- And you are still a complete idiot. - She retorts as she approaches.

- Yes, and yet you still love me.

- I do.

- Wait, what?

But then Wanda advances on you, kissing you on the mouth. It takes a microsecond for you to overcome the shock, and kiss her back with your hands on her waist. You both sigh against each other's mouths, and when air is needed, Wanda pulls her face away slightly.

- Don't ever do that again. - She says breathlessly.

- I didn't choose to be poisoned, you know. - You retort with mild irony. Wanda rolls her eyes smiling as she lets her hands go up to your cheeks.

- I don't want to lose you, even if you are an annoying jerk. - She says and you laugh lightly.

- Thanks for the compliments, dear. It helps my self-esteem. - You reply with irony and Wanda laughs, stealing a few kisses from you.

- Don't be such a crybaby. - She jokes, but something in her eyes changes. - You're also brave, and funny. And sweet, and infuriating attractive.

- Wow, this is turning me on. - You mock lightly, stroking her back and making her laugh. And then you're stealing kisses between your giggles, until you rest your foreheads together. - Just for the record, even though you are a temperamental annoying little witch, I am completely in love with you.

Wanda nods smiling, kissing you again.

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

In Your Arms ~J.M.

A/n: This wasn’t a request that inspired me to write a lot, so I didn’t, but I hope y’all enjoy this sweet little short! It’s been in my drafts way too long and I want to get more of these done so I can get to recent requests :)

Request: “...jack Morton x male reader where the reader is human of the pack and he always sleeps on the couch until the pack comes home. Jack thinks it’s adorable and carries him to his room and maybe they have a sleep talking conversation like reader:“no I have to wait for jack.” Jack:”why” reader:”because I like him”...”

Word Count: 1800+

MASTERLIST

Listen, being a werewolf in a human world is hard enough especially when it comes with a whole new world of secret societies and magic and literal demons and magic and endless rules that you have to learn and oh did I mention ACTUAL MAGIC?

It is exponentially harder when you make things worse by shoving a human into that world.

Y/n didn't have a werewolf ability to defend himself, or heal him when he got hurt. He didn't have magic... which you know thinking about it now, might be a good thing. He'd rather be useless than be part of the Order.

That was the problem though, wasn't it? He had chosen to be useless. That's what he was now.

I mean sure,  he'd read the books Jack had given him enough times to memorize them, and he was getting used to playing doctor. He was also getting really good at helping in small ways. Helping Hamish grade papers, or doing one night of homework for Lilith, or passing some messages around when Randall forgot because he was busy with supernatural stuff. He was great to talk or rant to, and all of the Knights had been utilizing the very nice ability to go off to someone who actually listens. Sure, he had fallen into a habit of taking notes for the Knights in the classes he had with each of them, if they missed. But... that was just school stuff. Sure it took off a lot of the pressure in the long run (a lot more than he probably even realized), but if they died what the fuck did school mater?

When Jack almost died after the whole meltdown with Silverback a while ago, it had really pushed Y/n into gear. He was a lot faster at responding to things; a lot more eager to help; and above all, the single most annoying person ever when it came to asking about going along to showdowns to play backup.

The others simply refused again and again, and, again and again, he would end up sitting in an empty room as he pretended to focus on whatever task he had given himself to kill time before the worry got to him and he just curled up on the couch ad stared at the ceiling. Worry ate him alive for several hours, and then he'd fall asleep. Most of the time because things always went far later than intended, but also sometimes because between being a student, having a job, scrambling to cover for your friends too, and spending several hours emotionally exhausting yourself with unimaginably high stress levels, one simply passes out.

As Y/n's falling asleep became more and more of a habit, things started to get complicated. Because the thing was, he always fell asleep waiting, so he would be in the Den's living room, uncomfortably scrunched on the couch. They'd left him there a few times and he always woke up sore and aching. They'd tried to wake him up a few times and, half delirious, he had overly emotional reactions. After he had broken down into tears at how happy he was to see all of them alive and then been so embarrassed he hadn't talked for three hours the next day in pure shame, they had decided against the waking him up method. Which only left one option: one of them carried him to bed.

Lilith had tried, but the size difference between her and Y/n was big enough that it was jst awkward for her. She was small (even though she'd never admit it). She's end up waking him up, or dropping him, and that was the last thing they wanted.

Hamish had also tried, but he was really awkward and didn't know how to let Y/n get comfortable in his arms while walking around so that he wouldn't wake up, so Y/n often would. Then it would be super awkward as they just stared at each other. Their relationship was too brotherly and rigid to make room for touching it seemed.

Of course Randall had given it a try, and he was actually fairly good at it, but as much as he was big enough to actually carry Y/n, and at ease enough to let Y/n stay asleep, he wasn't good at maneuvering, which often left him pinned under Y/n when he actually put the sleeping boy to bed. Which lead to a lot of them cuddling. Which, while that was chill and platonic and fun and stuff, made Jack super jealous.

Oh yeah, Jack had a HUGE crush on Y/n, so it only felt right that eventually everyone left it up to Jack to take Y/n to bed. He could pick Y/n up, carry him to bed, and put him in an actual bed without any problem.  Y/n didn't know this was happening. He had gotten used to everyone taking turns carrying him to bed, and they hadn't said anything so he assumed they'd just gotten better at it.

That's probably why on one particular night, he didn't simply assume that he was talking to Jack when he was picked up and began to be carried to bed.

That night was different, because Jack and Y/n had plans to study. Jack had an important test the next day and he and Y/n had the class in common, so Y/n had volunteered to stay up a little later to go through what Jack had missed. It had gotten derailed when Jack had been called away for Knight business, but Y/n had only written it off and told Jack that he'd still be there when it was over and they could continue if Jack was up for it. Unfortunately, it was one of the really time consuming ones, and Jack didn't get back until well into the night.

Dutifully, Y/n was asleep on the couch. His face was contorted oddly. Even asleep, the couch was uncomfortable enough to leave him with a permanent frown, even if it was soft since he was asleep. Jack wasn't surprised though - the couch was so small it barely fit two people on a good day, so sleeping on it was not a fun time.

Considering all of that, Jack thought it incredibly adorable that Y/n found a way to fall asleep on it anyway. They had told him a hundred times to just go to sleep in his bed, but he had refused time and time again. He had insisted that he needed to be as accessible as possible if nything went wrong. If they needed him, he had to be close. He insisted that it was best to be on the couch, and had sworn that he was trying to get into the habit of not falling asleep. But he always did, and he always ended up in the exact same situation. Not that Jack minded. It gave him a prime moment to hold his crush.

He scooped Y/n up now, smiling as the sleepy boy's head fell on Jack's chest. He sucked in a small breath but then settled. Jack chuckled to himself as Y/n pressed his nose into Jack's shirt, burying his face to get closer to the closest source of warmth since he didn't have a blanket. Jack began to carrying him to the stairs to head upstairs, but was stopped when Y/n's foot caught just a second on the doorframe. See, earlier Jack had hurt his arm. Due to werewolf healing it was almost fine, but it was still quite sore, and the tug on his shoulder when Y/n's ankle caught on the wall, forcing his leg into Jack's shoulder... Well it wasn't a big enough pain to make him drop Y/n or shout or anything, but it was enough to startle Y/n just a little bit awake.

"Wh- what?" Y/n mumbled, blinking heavy eyelids as he tried to look around. Jack winced, feeling guilt rise. "What happened? What did I miss?" His words were slurred, and it was obvious that he was barely conscious.

"Nothing," Jack reassured, hoping Y/n would just go back to sleep. If he knew Jack was there he would insist on staying up and helping. It would be nice and much appreciated - since Jack really did need help - but more than Jack needed help, Y/n needed sleep. He had been crashing on the couch for a reason; he was exhausted.

So Jack immediately rushed to soothe, "Nothing happened, just hit your foot on the wall by accident. Go back to sleep."

Y/n huffed, a whine in his voice when he argued, "No put me back." Jack tried to swallow a smile. It was adorable seeing a sleepy, whiny Y/n and that on top of his sleepy voice that was low and grumbly and kept cracking and having the boy in his arms, Jack was having a hard time not feeling a bit giddy.

He tried to keep his head on a little longer though. He needed to get Y/n to bed. "And why do you NEED to go to bed?" He teased lightly.

"I have to wait for Jack," Y/n mumbled, trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes. "We have plans."

Jack's smile turned warm. He thought about telling he who he was, but if he did then he'd NEVER get Y/n to sleep, so he decided to lean into the misconception that he was no in fact himself. "Jack will understand. It's late, you need to sleep."

"No," Y/n insisted with a firmer voice. He tried to struggle, but it was genuinely so pathetic that only a few seconds later he was still.

It made Jack wonder what Y/n was so desperate for though. "Why not?"

"He has a test tomorrow," Y/n explained with a soft irritation. "He needs help."

"You don't have to help him," Jack reminded softly, feeling suddenly guilty for some reason. Had he made Y/n feel obligated to help him?

"No I don't," Y/m agreed. "But I want to."

"Want to what?" Jack joked. "Stay away with a loser like him and lose sleep you need?" He had reached the top of the stairs now, and was headed to Y/n's door.

Y/n just rolled his eyes. "He's not a loser, but he does need help, and I can sacrifice a little sleep to help him with something he really needs. Making small sacrifices liek that is just what you do when you love someone."

Jack froze. WHAT?

When it was quiet for a long stretch of time, Y/n finally succumbed to the tiredness and his soft snores vibrated against Jack's chest. He cleared his throat and shook his head, opening the door and putting Y/n to bed. When he left the room, closing the door behind him, he came out with the biggest fucking grin he had ever worn.

Y/n like him back.

They had a lot to talk about tomorrow, and none of it had anything to do with a stupid test Jack no longer remembered. Because he loved Y/n too, and that's all he could think about right now.

Sorry Miss Styne.

[duskyskz]

50/50 - Chapter 1

Warnings - Toxic relationship, verbal/physical assault (NOT with main pairing), eventual smut but very very slow burn, boxer minho, trust issues reader, development on dom/sub dynamics, sex education to a degreedetailed tags to come with individual chapters.

After the final straw in your patience and self confidence leads you to moving in with your neighbour, you spend months unlearning bad habits and opening doors you shut yourself out from in your last relationship.

Word count: 5.5k

Minho watched as you picked up the corn cob, placing it gingerly in the basket on your arm, moving onto asparagus sprouts. How own hands are empty, not yet having decided on the groceries he craves that week. Instead he watches, from the irritated skin on your wrist to the focus of your eyes as you inspect potato bags in the next stall over. He’s just a neighbour from the same apartment complex, he’s seen you a handful of times at most before the current week yet since he started noticing your steps he can’t seem to stop.

You breathe out heavily, adjusting the basket on your forearm and he stills, frowning when you readjust the woven handle once more along your arm. There’s a coloured faintness there, and traces of fingerprints that make his stomach twist inside out uneasily. He knows your name, as of a few days ago. It looks like it aches. It’s still an urgent boundary to cross, what he’s about to suggest.

“You could stay the night with me, if you want. If that’d be easier.” He’s only a step behind you, having followed you quietly down most of the farmers’ market now. The sunhat he recognises you from by now bounces among the sea of hagglers on a wednesday morning. “I know fights in relationships can be rough, so if you need a place to crash for the night, my couch is free.”

You wish you could tell him how much you cannot possibly do that, but Minho’s offer is so innocent and well-intended you don’t have the heart to outright decline. “Thank you, Minho, but we’re fine. I’ll be alright.”

He doesn’t need to read into your smile to understand the rejection, trying not to let it phase him at the implication you’d be going home again that night. He knew better than to ask if you needed help carrying your bags after the first time he’d offered and your knuckles turned white.

“Alright. But you know my flat number if, right? If something happens.”

“If something happens.” You promise, and leave him with a nagging sense of discomfort as your dress fades into the morning crowds.

***

You don’t think of doing it as you enter the concrete building block and pass the elevator to the staircase. It would be too inappropriate, too out of the question to even consider. A night at another person’s house? At another man’s house, even more so! No way would you consider breaking a rule like that. You couldn’t step out of line like that. Yet as you passed the third floor, one you now knew held the possibility of the unexplored, you hesitated for a moment.

No, surely it wouldn’t be worth the scolding you’d get after. Would you even be able to sit still for an hour, without twitching? The handprint shaped bruise on your wrist still aches dully with the weight of the food basket as you open the door to your shared apartment two floors higher. You no longer notice the relief that sags your shoulders when you realise the house is empty apart from your own presence. You take in the respite of silence while unpacking the vegetables, trimming the corn cob for stir fry later in the evening. It's followed by bamboo shoots and chicken breast, which you’ve just about got simmering when the front door clicks open.

You hear him before you see him, taking as long as you can to plate the food before turning to face the man you shared a home with. He doesn’t return it, eyes glossing over you to inspect the dinner plate you slide before him.

“You know I prefer rice noodles.” He tuts out, frowning. His feet come up to rest on the other chair, but you weren’t going to sit at the table anyway, opting to linger by the counter. “And beef, your chicken sucks.”

He chews loudly, groaning as if to make sure you’re aware of your culinary inadequacy, but his face never lifts from the plate. He wasn’t wrong, really. Your cooking was barely edible enough to provide nutrition and you didn’t know how to make it better.

He keeps talking still, even as his pointer finger comes in contact with your forehead to accentuate his point with a harsh poke that makes you lean backwards against the counter top.

You don’t apologize. It’s better to not make any noise, you’ve come to learn, keeping your head toward the floor and body still and you’re almost impressed with yourself when the plate is thrown into the sink by you with a piercing clatter, not caring if the porcelain splits

The food is half eaten, but you don’t comment on the waste either. You’ll eat alone later, but the mess makes your exhaustion rear its head again when you think of cleaning it.

You know it’s no longer love that stops your words in your throat. The fluttering in your heart froze up into apprehension first, then fear and indifference. The physical alterations hurt, but they were only skin deep. They only lasted a few days, and once the ache faded you wondered if you felt the pain at all. The verbal attacks, that made your head hurt more. But you stopped talking back, because then they stopped faster.

The door slams again, rattling the walls loud enough to make a point of your boyfriend’s absence and shining light on all your failures as a partner. He wouldn’t be back tonight, or maybe even the night after that. You let your knees turn to cotton, slumping to cold kitchen tile. You don’t clean up the noodles in the sink. You’re not hungry enough to eat your own portion.

In a burst of conflicting emotion, you feel yourself stand and head to your bedroom. Maybe it’s the tiredness that made a home in your bones, maybe it’s the stress rattling them every time you’re in his presence, watching your step and calculating his every action before it happens. Maybe it’s the lack of all of that when you push your partner from your mind and let your heart betray you for a second to think of softer brown eyes instead, living in the flat two floors below you. It’s some twisted amalgamation of it all, probably, that makes you pluck your mascara from the bathroom, alongside a toothbrush and (on second thought, in case of emergencies) minimal changes of clothing into your backpack. You haven’t had use for it in a few months, not having gone further than the main streets of your own town in that time. It still fits enough for a weekend trip, and the weight of it hangs on you heavier than the clothing you packed would allow.

Would you really do it?

Minho could be mad at you for changing your mind, and maybe you couldn’t take that. You’ve developed a defence mechanism for one person, but could you for another so quickly? If his voice raised at you, you’re sure you’d cry on the spot like you used to the first few times in this house, too. But maybe you wouldn’t have to, maybe he wouldn’t even be home after you’d rejected his offer. He had no reason to be home, so you’re just going to check and confirm there really is no chance and no hope of you escaping this hellhole, that’s it. Your hopes would be rightfully crushed and you’d return with your tail between your legs, clean up after dinner, and head to bed like the fool you are.

Locking the door after you, as your housemate didn’t bother to, you trudge down two flights of stairs to the last door down the corridor, marked with a cat-paw print welcome mat and burgundy painted door. You knock twice with shaky fingers, and the sound is so light you wonder if he’d have heard you even if he was home at this late hour.

“Jisung, I said not tonight!” There came a shuffling from the other side of the door, and you were seized with fear of facing the other possibility - that Minho was no longer considering you’d come by, as you told him you wouldn’t, and he’s going to yell at you for ruining his night. The thoughts lurched forward at you as his footsteps grew louder, pounding in your head so loud your eyes blurred so instantly you couldn’t focus on the door opening and Minho’s silhouette against his low living room light.

“Y/n?” His response comes stalled too, letting a beat of silence pass between you as no words left you. He wasn’t shouting yet, so you took the chance to apologize as quickly as you could before the situation worsened. Your limits were thin tonight.

“I’m sorry, I know I said I wouldn’t come and that’s really stupid, I’m sorry.” Your thumb dug into the strap of your backpack at your feet. “It’s really late so I’m sorry if I woke you -”

“No, it’s okay.” Minho protests before you can word your final ‘sorry’, moving aside to reveal the rest of his hallway. “I wasn’t asleep yet. Come in.”

And that’s it. You expected more, to be honest. Some kind of questioning at least, scrutiny at your visual (and mental) state.

You don’t enter right away, thoughts wooshed out of your head. You don’t even think if he’d scold you for leaving the door open so long, but Minho just waits in the hallway, giving you space to cross the threshold of his home when you’re ready, watching as your expression blanks once the door closes behind you and he has to ask if you need help for you to take off your shoes and break out of the thought train. You hang your coat among his, after asking if he’s okay with that, and doing the same for your shoes. You hold your bag close, resting it on your lap as you sit down on your neighbors couch.

Minho looks the same as he did this morning, grey hoodie and equally nondescript jeans with a pale wash ending just below his ankles. He hangs around the hallway a few meters away from you, and you can tell he’s thinking about what to say before he voices his thoughts.

“Did something happen?” You hadn’t expected him to be so direct. You didn't consider this scenario beforehand, so you couldn’t answer instantly. “You said you’d come then. If something happened.”

“I’m not sure.” You decide to answer truthfully, though he may be unhappy with the vagueness of the statement. “Nothing out of the ordinary happened tonight, so…” You let the sentence trail off, but he knows the implication.

So I’m not sure why I came.

“That’s fine. Nothing has to happen for you to visit a friend.” Minho accepts your hesitance easily, and you’re instantly grateful for his keen senses. “It is late, so I’m not sure if you ate yet?” You shake your head. “I have some lunch leftovers I was going to heat up if that’s okay with you, though.”

Lee Minho was a glorious cook. Michelin level, you’d go so far to say, had you ever been to a Michelin star restaurant in your life, but you were convinced he’d qualify. Turns out his leftovers consisted of seared steak, grilled vegetables and an assortment of flavoured rice balls, which he served you with cucumber salad you saw him purchase at the market earlier that day. This was more elaborate than any meal you’d attempted to cook in your life, and you’d tell him so were you not so occupied devouring it. Minho didn’t think you noticed him glancing at you across the table, but the amazement in your eyes filled his heart entirely. He’s seen you look content, happy even on days he’d catch you by the vegetable stalls and spark conversation despite your brisk pace.

After he’d washed up, insisting you remain seated (which filled you with visible unease, to both his amusement and greater concern) you were forced to address the trickiest part of the night. You’ve had sleepovers before, but never with a boy. Never as an adult.

Stunning you for the second time that evening, Minho seemed to harbour no such fears.

“You can sleep in my room if you’d like, and I’ll move to the couch for tonight; but if you’re not comfortable with that, I’ll bring some blankets out for you into the living room.” The ease with which he approached the subject settled into your own head, and you nodded at his suggestions.

“I’d like to sleep here, please.” You pat the couch you’ve gravitated to after eating, quickly becoming the centerpoint of the apartment to you. Minho leaves for the few minutes it takes him to prepare a fresh duvet and pillow cover and you take the moment of isolation to break through the dam of thoughts clawing at your brain since arriving an hour ago. You weren’t sure if the time went by rapidly or dragged on. You only let yourself take in minimal information about the situation - taste of the food, the colour of his kitchen tile, the fabric of his clothing and softness of his living room rug. Small, manageable pieces of the greater dilemma you didn’t want to give attention to yet.

Midnight air mingles with your sigh as you lean back on your hands and tilt your head toward the window. Minho kept his curtains open for a glimmer of the nightlife. There wasn't much to see from the 3rd floor, but yellow light still flickers over rooftops and storefronts.Your musings are cut short when a mountain of bed covers drops beside you, delicately placed at the opposite end of the sofa. He must have switched off the other house lights on his way back, letting only the shy orange lamp illuminate his profile.

“The bathroom is on the left in the hallway, and my room is at the end of it, the last door to your right.” You note his directions in your head, nodding to show you’re listening. “Alright, I - I’ll let you sleep.”

“Goodnight, Minho. Thank you.”

He lingers by the doorway, balancing from one foot to another with an unfocused gaze. You don’t budge as he watches you, though he doesn’t seem to realise he’s staring at your feet, then your hands and face until your eyes meet halfway.

“I’m glad you came here. It’s good that you’re here.”

You don’t know how to reply to that statement, so you don’t say anything, and Minho leaves you with another soft goodnight and a flood of anxious thoughts.

***

Night fell rapidly, so much that when you switched off the remaining lights and laid to sleep. You were so stressed it made your head hurt, but the emotional toll made exhaustion greater, and you fell asleep within an instant. Minho’s duvets were plush, so big and fluffy you couldn’t see your own hand when you pressed down on the sheets. As you faded in and out of coherency throughout the night, a weight appeared by your feet. Too tired to be alarmed, you opened your eyes only when the warm pillow stood up, patting its way over to your stomach. It purrs against your cheek, whiskers tickling your nose as you blink back at it. It’s not surprising Minho has a cat - you’d picked up feline mannerisms in his behaviour before. It was endearing, now seeing the same slow blink in the eyes of the creature responsible for his habits.

It nudges its little head into your raised palm, rubbing against your hand. You give into the request happily scratching behind its ears, urging it to lay down next to you so you both could go back to sleep. The cat’s long body gives you something to focus on, easing the remnants of nerves from your brain.

***

You wake up more rested than you had been in weeks, despite pressure cramping your shoulder from the small couch you’d slept on. The living room is warmed by morning sunlight, though you’re not sure what time it is yet. You have no missed calls, and just one message from a student confirming the time of your session today. Creaks resound when you stretch, straightening out your bones from the night . The cat is nowhere in sight, but Minho must already be awake by the sounds coming from the adjacent room and you’re struck with embarrassment that he may have seen you sleeping. He would have walked right past the room, and since no door stood in the wide archway, he probably saw you drool right onto his pillowcase.

You consider sneaking out right then, grabbing your possessions and darting out the hallway, but you couldn’t leave without thanking him for letting you escape yesterday and for feeding you.

“Oh, hello.” The cause of your inner turmoil dips his head through the doorway, wiping his hands on a dishcloth. “How did you sleep?”

“Good, thank you.” Your knees bump against each other as you sit, patting down your hair. Minho looks well rested too, though his own hair isn’t combed yet and he’s not dressed to leave the house. Grey shorts this time with a plain white shirt hang off him, and he looks perfectly at home like that, humming a greeting at the floor when the cat you’d nestled into last night curls around his feet. White and ginger patches cover it’s fur, it’s belly a pure cotton shade as it rolls onto its back at your feet.

“You already met Soonie, right?” He laughs, pointing at your sweater, and belatedly you realise light-coloured cat hair clings to every inch of the fabric at your front.

“He came in to sleep here last night.” You pick at the frizzy hair to no avail. “I’m sorry if it got on your duvets, though…”

“It’s fine, my bedroom is covered in hair no matter how much I brush them out.” He joins you on the sofa next to the bundled bedsheets, placing the cat gently on his lap. Soonie makes himself content atop his legs, white paws dangling from the side. “I made breakfast for when you’re ready, and if you need to shower - I’ll grab you some towels.”

A shower did sound good, so you accepted his offer eager to strip from the clothes you slept in. Sweat was already making your sweater cling to your skin, and the cat hair combed through the fibers wasn’t doing the itching any favours. Not wanting to use up too much of his hot water, you rinsed yourself in record time. You packed your toothbrush, but not any shampoo, so you skipped out on washing your hair - taking Minho’s shower gel would be too much. You didn't want to go too far in his hospitality, and now he even cooked for you twice.

How could you repay that?

How were you supposed to make that worth his time?

You turned off the water then, not wanting to let your thoughts make you stall in the hot stream. You skipped out on wearing your sweater again, clothing yourself in the vest you had underneath and the pair of jeans you had last night. Feeling lighter now that the grime of sleep was washed from your skin, you looked around Minho’s bathroom before exiting. It was plain for sure, but accents of his personality lingered in the kitty paw-print of the shower mat, mint-scented shower gel and matching shampoo-conditioner set.

You’d never dwelled on whether Minho was a 3-in-1 shampoo user or not, but the knowledge he had dedicated creams and gels for each job reassured something inside you. It suited him. Yet the knowledge felt intimate, as if seeing the brand responsible for his mint and tea tree scent was encroaching on a level you weren’t supposed to know about as his neighbour.

You stood just beside the kitchen entrance, watching Minho set different dishes around the table top. Every flat inside your complex had similar layouts, so you were already familiar with the structure of his home. Still you watched, accidentally memorising the cupboard he stored his cups and cutlery.

“You can sit down, you don’t need to wait.” You faced his back, but he must have felt eyes burning on him. You sat down quickly, considering his words. Minho didn’t seem to mind a lot of things. It was unusual, being made aware of just how much instruction you relied on in unfamiliar settings.

And Minho smiles so much. It sets all your self preservation nerves on edge, analysing for underlying motive in his movement and sentences. You could clean his house if he asked, and replace the ingredients he used for your food. That would be the least you could do, and you’d settled on going about it as soon as he left for work - if he would leave. You had no idea what he did with his life apart from keeping you company on morning grocery hunts. But he was just so darn polite! He asked if you wanted any hot sauce, offered to butter your toast, even cleaned your dishes for you (again) that you had no idea what he could expect in return.

“Hey,” He calls over from the sink, “Give me a list of things you like so I can plan dinner later.”

“Why would you need that?” You still, glancing away from his mug collection.

“I only know you like courgette and hate leeks,” Wiping his hands on his jeans, he leans against the cupboards looking at you intensely. “And...you will be here for dinner, right?”

Would you be here that long? You weren’t expecting to. You’d go back two floors above and clean up the spilled noodles from last night, as your partner would have not, regardless of whether he’d returned home or was still out doing his mystery business. Minho frowns when you don’t answer, crossing his arms as you bow your head. You don’t want to anger him now, but how could you stay here any longer?

“Why would you want to go back there? It’s bad for you to be around that.” You know that, both at surface level and deeper - but how were you supposed to disappear? Sourness spread through your bones when you unearthed the feeling. You’re really scared - and you have been scared for years, but you never considered the feeling as such because opportunity never presented itself to escape. To admit you had to escape from something would be to admit you feared it, that you had been hurtt. You don’t know if you’re ready for that process.

“I don’t have anywhere else I can be, I still have things at that house, I can’t just leave.”

“You can.” Minho contradicts you immediately. His voice is level, gentle and coaxing, even though a strong resolve trembles in it. “You can stay with me as long as you want to. You don’t have to pay rent or anything, since I don't have a spare room but you can take my bed or stay on the couch if you like. Stay here for a few days, just - to feel better. It’ll make you feel better.”

He’s come to sit across from you, enough to give you space but enough for you to see worry lines around his eyes as he speaks. “I’ll give you space if you need it, just let me know if I can make things easier for you.”

“I’ll have to go grab a few of my things, I only got bare essentials yesterday.” Minho perks up right away, as if no tension hunched in his shoulders just seconds prior. It’s not as hard to agree as you thought it would be. You’re terrified, yes, of a step you know won’t end here. But you’re also more rested than you’ve been in so long, and the strain of all the stress become routine for the past years that you’re willing to grasp any straw at breaking the cycle. And Minho was nice. Everything you’d read between the lines of his actions was kind.

“Okay. Let me give you my number so we can talk while I’m not here, and you know - if anything happens, call me.”

You did go to fetch more of your things, after reassuring Minho it would be best if you went alone. If someone else was home, you could pass off your absence as work-related - it would be harder to explain why you weren’t alone.

His presence would just cause issues, and he eventually agreed to leave you on your own after you promised you had his number saved. You would also pay rent, but about ⅓ of it - on his insistence you got no proper room but a living room couch, and at your insistence you’d be using his utilities and house space. Your neighbour - housemate?- had to leave to do his own occupations, but assured you he’d be back within a few hours to help you.

You thanked him again for everything before he left saying you’d send him a list of your favourite food when you were done packing, and you set about your own tasks. He’d left the house keys with you, making the point of you more likely to be home before him.

They weighed heavy in your hand, the implications of the trust in his gesture more than the object itself.

You didn’t have a lot to move, but the transfer still takes you a few trips up and down concrete staircase. The majority of your haul is books, your own towels and toiletries. You’d have to perform an impromptu closet clearout, quickly deciding which old pieces to keep and which were better left in the past. Since Minho’s flat was similar, but inhabited one person only, his furniture would be cast to contain belongings of one. Working from home meant you were spared the task of office clothing or showy pieces, so all you had to part with was a few aged sweaters. You grab your laptop, a selection of favourite cups and plates so you don't have to borrow Minho’s all the time - though was it really borrowing if you would share the house?

You hurry as much as you can, but it still takes three trips up and down to completely transfer all traces of your life to the flat below. By the time you’re done, you decide to clean the small apartament to make organisation easier. It’s rapid work when you focus and separate Minho’s laundry without thinking about it. Darks, lights, and the sparse touch of coloured denims among his closet. Then you hoover, and by the time you finish hanging up the damp clothing on the balcony, it’s a while past lunchtime.

The turning of a lock swipes tension over your shoulders before you recognise Minho in the hallway, shuffling off his running shoes and hoodie. You meet him halfway, wiping your hands on your jeans to rid the laundry moisture.

“Hi,” His skin is flushed as if he’d been running, sweat sticking to the baby hair around his forehead when he smiles to greet you. Minho looks worn out, shoulders pulled high and taught. His breathing is laboured as he walks into the house, and only when he passes the threshold does he release the air in his lungs to slump in one of the barstools. “Did you get your things?”

“I don’t have a lot, so it only took a few trips.” You nod, following him to the kitchen. “I put most of them in the living room for now, though…”

“That's fine, we can go through the drawers and make space for you after we eat.” He reassured you, seeing you tug on your sleeves. “You didn’t send me a list of things you like to eat, so I got things I remember you buying instead.” His voice lilts into a pout as he looks at you, lips jutting into a pout before reaching into the bags he brought.

A strange feeling climbs higher and higher up your throat with every item he stacks on the counter and you wonder how much he actually spent on just foods you like. It grows stronger when you recognise your coffee brand, the cookies you got last week as he bumped into you that morning. A selection of fruits you used in a cake you gifted him last month, and sundries to fill the cupboards with.

“I can’t cook.”

Minho looks up at your confession, pausing from arranging the food.

“I mean, my cooking is edible at best.” You elaborate, looking away from his face to his hands as you lamely explain. “I could never, uh, make it taste good.”

“I’ll cook then.” Minho nods, shelving the sauce jars. Your eyebrows pull together and he must have noticed your hesitance, turning on his heel towards you. “Or I can teach you, slowly.”

“You can help me cook, and I’ll show you how to season different foods. We’ll start with things you like, so you already know how they’re supposed to taste. Then we can go from there.”

You want to ask if he’s sure, if it’s not a bother to have you around while he works to have someone hover around him needing assistance, but you do want to learn - If your food could taste half as heavenly as Minho’s cooking did, you’d be content. So you agree and he cheers at you, excitement contagious. And before you know it’s coming, there’s a surge in your heart at the sight of him again that makes grinning back at him a thoughtless action.

Cooking with Minho is more eventful than you expected.

When you watched him before, he navigated the kitchen with a practiced ease that made your awkward stumbles all the more prominent.

“Where do you keep knives?” He hands you a small knife, it’s green handle foreign in your palm.

“My hands keep slipping…” You fumble with the peeled onion as Minho tends the rice, tipping in a spoonful of white wine. The sting makes your eyes water, hazing your vision of the offending white bulb.

“You need to hold it with your other hand so it stays still, like a claw.” His hair was still damp, but now the moisture was from the shower he took before starting your lesson rather than sweat. You could recognise the mint scent in his shampoo and how it spilled over to his clothing, and no matter how reasonably awful it should have smelled mixed with raw onion you were cutting and the steam of boiling rice, you couldn’t get enough of the sensation. Minho acts open around you, treating you like a friend he’s known for years rather than an acquaintance from the farmer’s market. Only a day passed since you entered his home yet you felt so seen in his eyes. You must have been testing his patience not being able to cut a straight carrot slice without his help, but he never raised his voice above a patient hum. Sure, he did laugh a few times when your cucumber sticks came out triangles rather than evenly cut stips, but even his humour came without bite. His laughter was never at your expense, and it was kindling your heart alight at an alarming speed.

Minho (and his flat) became comfortable to you rapidly, and in the passing days your interactions all came more naturally than the last. Minho would leave around noon and come home just after 7pm, looking like he ran a marathon while you’d finish up your studies and the few zoom tutorials you teach for extra income. Despite his initial apprehension, he was grateful you took on cleaning duties so easily - he still insisted on doing the dusting and cleaning his bedroom himself, but it made you feel better to have some kind of input into house upkeep when you couldn’t contribute in many other ways. In the mornings he’d pass by the living room and you try your ebay to already be awake to spare yourself the embarrassment of Minho seeing you drool in your sleep, and in the evenings you cook together. Minho insists on increasingly difficult recipes, and you try to keep up despite recurring failures.

Five days into your coexistence, Minho is late.

Of course, you’ve only been part of his schedule for a week, but his arrival never differed by more than a few minutes - the gym he worked at was just a few blocks down the road. Tonight you wait with your phone in hand as 8pm rolls around, thumbs hovering over the call button. He did tell you to call him in case anything happens, but did that go both ways? If something happened to him, would he let you know too?

You knew he would not.

You weren’t nearly as reliable in that department, and it’s not like you could do much else than call emergency services - something he would surely do himself if he could call you in the first place. You can’t quite bring yourself to sit on the couch, leaning against the doorway to the living room with your eyes on the front door so intently you almost forget to blink by the time the handle starts to turn.

The unlocking click echoes in the silence you’ve sat in for the past hour and you shoot up, straightening your posture when the door finally gives way.

“Min?”

A/N: Sorry this is a day late, I was exhausted yesterday when I got home so had to delay it a little bit but now we're started! As you can tell this will be an incredibly slow burn, but I hope you enjoy the ride and see the development grow because I promise the deeper build up is worth the wait.

Tags: @healinghyunjin @lizsvcks @glitteryskzstraykidsdream (can't tag for some reason;;) @changbinscypher @spilledtee @linours

[i-am-a-bad-influence-writes]

I hate love, but...

Pietro Masterlist - Full Masterlist

Summary: When you and Pietro met, it was right from the get go. However, love has done you wrong before and you have a hard time accepting that Pietro isn’t going to drop you and he’s more than willing to prove you that he’s staying.

Pairing: Pietro Maximoff x Reader

Word count: 2.7k

Author’s note: I wrote this in a few hours. I didn’t beta read, I don’t have beta readers to do it for me. Have fun.

Life moves fast with Pietro. He had kissed you when you said yes to a date because he got excited. He ended up in your bed after said date and didn’t leave for about a week. When he finally left, he asked you to be his girlfriend. It wasn’t intended. Pietro was just easily excitable and in touch with his feelings. He knew from the start that you were special but you aren’t as excitable as him. You’ve had your run-ins with love up to the point that it isn’t in the stars for you to end up with a partner. When you said yes to being Pietro’s girlfriend, you were already thinking of a way out that would leave you with the least amount of pain but nothing worked. You tried ghosting him but he’d just be at your door the second he thought you were taking too long to respond. You tried being rude but he chalked it up to you having a bad day and took care of you. You tried to flirt with coworkers to make sure he’d leave before you fell for him but he just swooped you away and asked if you wanted his attention that bad. No, nothing worked and now you’re over the edge. You’re falling and you don’t have a parachute but for the first time in forever, you are not scared of the landing. You’re not even sure if there will be a landing.

Two months in and Pietro spends more time at your place than he does at his room in the compound. When he’s done with work, he’s right at your doorstep. You feel like you’re happier. You know for a fact that you’re smiling more because your cheeks hurt almost every night when you go to sleep. Your hands are never cold because he’s always holding them and your bed is never empty, except for the times you fall asleep on the couch together. ‘Prinţesă?’ Pietro cranes his neck so he can meet your eyes as you sit in your reading chair. For the past hour, he tried to nap while you read. He never accomplishes his mission to nap unless you lay with him but he tries nonetheless. Most times, his napless rest ends up in him overthinking. He often overthinks prior decisions and actions. So, more often than not, Pietro’s napless naps end up in discussions about life or assuring him that he did well in the past. You are prepared to talk to him as you always are. You close your book and lay it on the armrest of your chair. ‘Yeah?’ ‘Hypothetically speaking, would you want to meet my sister if I asked you to?’ ‘If I said yes, would you actually let me meet her?’ A smile appears on his face as he lays back down. ‘She’s already on her way.’ He peeks at you, watching how your face turned from a cocky smile to fear. To be fair, your apartment is a mess and you want to make a good impression. ‘Don’t worry, prinţesă, she’ll love you,’ he assures you, ‘besides, she’s not staying. She’s just bringing over some clothes I left at the tower.’ You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding and grin. ‘Clothes hm? I can’t remember asking you to move in,’ you tease him. He motions for you to come over to him. As you get up from your chair, he grabs your hand and yanks you on top of him. You squeal when he does and gently hit his chest while you laugh it off. ‘You didn’t have to ask,’ he tells you, ‘I could tell you wanted me to stay.’ ‘You’re such an asshole,’ you smile and press your lips against his. His arms wrap around your body, holding you steady against him. Your hands move up into his hair. For some reason, they always end up there. His hair is just so soft and fluffy. But the blissful moment is short-lived. The ringing of the doorbell puts a quick end to the whole ordeal as you and Pietro exchange looks. Do you do it or me? ‘I can’t open the door if you’re on top of me,’ he tells you. ‘Oh, so you are going to open the door when I get off,’ you ask as you push yourself up. ‘That wouldn’t be logical because you would already be up,’ he explains to you. ‘Just say you’re lazy.’ ‘I’m lazy.’ You shake your head and get off the couch. ‘I’ll make it up to you.’ ‘You better,’ you warn him as you head over to the door and then it hits you. He wants you to open the door for his sister. How would she know who you were if he didn’t show her or tell her about you? ‘Oh you sly motherfucker,’ you mumble under your breath. Suddenly, you feel his hot breath on your neck. ‘Say that again and I’ll make sure you can’t walk tomorrow.’ ‘Your sister is at the door,’ you tell him, ‘you better behave.’ He shrugs and walks back to the couch. ‘She knows how I am. I have nothing to worry about.’ You watch him belly flop onto the couch and finally open the door. There stands a woman who looks nothing like Pietro. She’s shorter, a redhead, and just looks like a total badass. Now you’re kinda intimidated. ‘Hi, I’m so sorry for taking so long,’ you say with a smile. ‘That’s alright. You must be Y/n, right?’ You nod and shake her hand. ‘I’m Wanda. I’ve heard a lot about you.’ Pietro jumps up from the couch. ‘Don’t tell her that,’ he yells at Wanda. ‘Shut up Sonic,’ she snaps back and throws the duffel bag she carried towards him. He catches it with ease but pretends to be hurt by letting out a low grunt and falling back onto the couch. She turns back to you. ‘Can I come in?’ ‘Of course.’ You step aside and watch as Pietro’s face changes. He looks slightly terrified of his sister as she steps inside. ‘What? You’ve been gone for two whole months and I don’t know the girl you’re living with. If you thought I was just going to drop off your clothes and leave, you’re insane,’ she tells him and sits down on your reading chair. ‘Wanda, would you like tea or coffee?’ ‘No, thanks. I’ll be out of your hair soon. I just want to have a small heart-to-heart talk with my brother if you don’t mind.’ ‘Oh, of course.’

A month slowly crept by and Pietro never told you what they discussed in that heart-to-heart talk. All you knew was that Pietro was sulking for a while after Wanda left. You decided to give him space and try not to pry, thinking it was him finally pulling away from you and leaving you to crash from your fall for him. Maybe Wanda made him see you’re not a good candidate to be a girlfriend for a man like him. And yet, it didn’t feel right. ‘Pietro, can we talk?’ You watch the fear flicker behind his eyes as you sit down on the couch next to him. He turns his body so that you are facing each other and nods. You take a deep breath but before you can speak he asks: ‘Are you breaking up with me?’ ‘Wha-what?’ ‘You’ve been so distant and I thought-’ ‘Wait, no, I thought you were going to break up with me.’ He frowns. ‘Why would I do that? You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me.’ ‘Then why have you been so quiet?’ He doesn’t have a quick answer ready and though his words made your heart swell just a second ago, the silence is chipping away at it. ‘I’m not sure,’ he admits to you, ‘I guess I’ve been thinking more. About where I want this to go.’ ‘Did you figure it out yet?’ He shakes his head. ‘I do know that I want you to meet my family,’ he tells you, ‘the Avengers.’

You never expected you could be this nervous on an elevator. Not because you’re nervous to meet the Avengers. No, because Pietro keeps fiddling and telling you things he’s said a million times by now. ‘Tony has probably already done a background check on you so he’ll have some questions. You’re a woman so you don’t have to worry about intimidation from Captain America but I would worry about Natasha and Clint. They have taken Wanda and me in like they’re our parents. And-’ You press your lips against his and smile. ‘I know. I’ll be fine,’ you promise him and lace your fingers through his, ‘we’ll be fine.’ He smiles and nods confidently. The elevator door opens and you see a few people scattered around a fancy-looking room that has a bag, big cozy couches, a pool table, multiple other places to sit, and floor-to-ceiling windows. And the ceilings are pretty damn high. ‘Wow.’ ‘Ah, thanks, kid.’ You look in front of you to see Tony Stark approaching you. You show him a friendly smile and nod. ‘I’m Tony.’ You shake his hand. ‘Y/n Y/l/n but I’m certain you already knew that.’ ‘I did,’ he admits, ‘and Pietro probably already told you about me.’ You nod. ‘Lucky for you, I don’t have any questions for you. You seem to have a pretty cut and dry life.’ You stifle a laugh and nod. ‘Well, let’s meet the others.’ He offers you his arm but you decline and take Pietro’s arm instead. He nods at the gesture and shows you to the couches. ‘Everyone, this is Y/n Y/l/n, Pietro’s girlfriend,’ Tony announces to the group, ‘that’s Thor, Steve, Sam, Bucky, Natasha, Bruce, and Clint. You already know Wanda, right?’ You nod. After the talk you and Pietro had, Wanda came over again and stayed the night to talk you up to speed with some of the characters living at the compound. Just to prepare you a little. It had just been one day but she was so welcoming. ‘Nice to meet you,’ you say with a timid smile. Pietro shows you to a place to sit. You’re lodged between Wanda and Pietro. ‘So how’d you two meet,’ Natasha asks. ‘Oh, we bumped into each other in the park,’ you tell her, ‘he made me drop my coffee so he told me he’d buy me a new one to make up for it and at the end of the encounter I had his number and he had asked me on a date.’ You leave out the part of the kiss, just in case, Pietro feels a bit strange about it. It was a strange encounter. ‘Ain’t that adorable,’ Natasha grins, ‘first kiss?’ You look at Pietro who shrugs. ‘Does that mean he can’t remember or you don’t want to tell,’ Clint asks you. Wanda chuckles. She knows. She must know. Pietro probably told her. After all, she was the only one who knew about you all this time. ‘Well, I...’ Pietro looks at you again and then at the group. ‘I asked her out and I got a bit excited when she said yes-’ ‘You kissed her right after you asked her out?!’ You have never seen Pietro turn this red. Not even after that first kiss when he realized what he had done. You feel like you have to step in. ‘Just to be clear, I didn’t mind.’ Your eyes meet Pietro’s once again. He smiles back at you and a thought pops into his head. A thought he couldn’t prepare for and one that didn’t leave his mind the whole night. “This is it. This is who I’m meant to be with.”

Your head rests on Pietro’s chest, one arm and one leg thrown over his body, while he traces meaningless patterns on your arm. You’ve had a long day meeting the Avengers and answering all kinds of strange questions. You were glad you had Pietro by your side but as of now, you’re both tired yet unable to sleep. Pietro stares at the ceiling, seemingly deeply lost in thought while you admire his face. From the slight stubble on his chin to the moles and freckles on his skin. You try to memorize all of them. That is until you see him frown. ‘What’s on your mind?’ You ask but you are terrified of the reply. ‘Us.’ ‘Do you want to talk about it?’ He shakes his head and you feel your heart drop but you don’t move away. He has given you no reason to. ‘No, I just want to tell you something.’ You roll onto your stomach and rest your head on your hands, looking up at him as he moves back against the headboard a little so he can look at you while he’s talking. Something in the pit of your stomach is telling you that this is the make-or-break moment in your relationship. He either tells you he loves you now or breaks it off but he’s dragging the silence. He watches your eyes as they stare up at him filled with hope in the dim light of your shared bedroom. Soft moonlight falls through the sheer curtains of your bedroom. He always thought that was adorable, that you didn’t want thick curtains because you enjoyed waking up to sunlight. It’s something he didn’t think he’d enjoy but he does. In fact, almost everything you enjoy, he enjoys. Over just a few months, he learned to take things slow. He learned that he didn’t have to be awake every second of every day, that he didn’t always have to do things fast. You would read to him and he enjoyed it. He was able to really take in the words you read to him instead of rushing through the book like he usually does. Cooking with you is a domestic dream come through. It is never sexual in the kitchen, you take cooking too seriously for that, but the dinner table is a whole different story. And that’s another thing he learned to take slow. Sex. Making love. He never imagined sex and making love would be such different things from each other and with you, he learned that he had never made love before. When he would lay you down on your bed, he would take his time taking in every spot, every crevis, every mark on your body. He takes his sweet time with you and he loves every moment of it. In fact, ‘I love you,’ he states proudly, ‘and I don’t need another few years to figure out that I want a future with you. I want to wake up next to you every day for the rest of my life. I want to start a family with you and grow old together… You’re it for me.’ ‘Wow.’ You smile meekly, not quite sure how to respond. This is not at all what you thought he was going to say. ‘I didn’t know you thought about us like that.’ ‘How do you think about us?’ You take a second to think of your response and you watch him getting nervous like you had gotten before he spoke. ‘You know, I used to hate love before I met you,’ you tell him, ‘I had been broken so many times that I thought I would never find someone for me but then you ran into me and there was this spark. I had never felt that before and I was scared it was just me but you proved me time and time again that you felt it too. And I still fear that you might wake up one day and realize that I am not what you thought I was.’ He gently grabs your chin and lowers his face to brush his lips against yours. ‘That will never happen.’ You pull away, leaving him confused and a little scared. ‘I wasn’t done.’ A smile appears on your face. ‘I hate love, but I’ll make an exception for you.’ A bright smile appears on his face as he leans down to press a seething kiss to your lips. ‘I love you.’

Life moves fast with Pietro but you don’t mind.

[pips-fics]

ask: Hi 👉👈 if it’s okay can I request a hyunjin centric fic? where he’s feverish and emotional nd the others give him lots of affection and comfort 🥺🥺 I love your blog so much it’s so soft and feels safe and ahhh it makes me happy 👉👈 thank you and it’s okay if you don’t feel up to it !!

ask: hello! how are you? i just wanted to say that this is my all time fave blog :) i’m kinda new to tumblr so i’m not sure if that’s how u say it tho hahaha. are u down for requested atm? if yes, could i request a sick hyunjinnie with any caretaker (preferably bangchan). if u are not taking requests atm, then carry on with ur day 🌸✨💜

tw: vomiting, fainting

let us break ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

all idols are trained actors. a lot of people don’t realize it, maybe, but they had to be, to some extent. even before debuting, they learned by observation how to fake health, confidence, and calm - and beyond debut, it was happiness all the time. once, hyunjin found out that one of his best childhood friends was in the hospital, and then sang and smiled through a fansign without blinking an eye an hour later. he knew other idols who had endured much worse.

so yes, while hyunjin might not be entirely comfortable playing a role in a movie or a show, he was quite capable of faking it. maybe that’s why he was able to convince his group mates that he was okay right up until he collapsed.

he hadn’t expected things to get so bad. at first, he was just a bit congested - nothing he couldn’t pass off as allergies, really. once he’d gotten wrapped up in practicing, it had been easy to brush anything else off - like sweating, achy muscles, even nausea - as an effect of intense exercise. too easy, maybe, because hyunjin was not at all prepared for his vision to flicker with darkness or for his legs to entirely give up in the middle of dancing.

fortunately, he retained consciousness, but he wasn’t able to stand quickly enough to dodge minho as he moved to their next formation. the older boy tripped over hyunjin and tumbled to the ground with an “oof,” which was then followed by the chaos of everyone trying to figure out what had happened at once.

it was way too much for hyunjin’s fevered brain to process. he shut down, the sounds blurring into something entirely nonsensical, so hyunjin tuned it all out until a gentle hand on his back made him jump.

“hyunjinnie?” it was chan, wiping tears away. “can you tell me what’s wrong?”

hyunjin shook his head. “minho-hyung–”

“he’s okay,” chan said. “don’t worry.”

shuffling his feet awkwardly, minho nodded. “i know how to fall safely. it happens to the best of us.”

with the greatest of his greatest fears alleviated, hyunjin took a few deep breaths and looked around the room. besides minho, who was still standing nearby looking moderately uncomfortable, and chan, who was rubbing comforting circles on hyunjin’s back, the rest of the members were hanging out near the benches on the other side of the practice room. jisung was talking to their dance teacher while jeongin and changbin were messing with felix in what was probably a deliberate attempt at creating a distraction. seungmin was quietly observing hyunjin from a distance, concern written all over his face. distractions didn’t tend to work as well on him. hyunjin managed a smile in an attempt to be reassuring, but it didn’t seem to have the intended effect.

rather than relaxing, seungmin’s frown deepened, and he stood up and walked over, arms crossed. “don’t act like you’re okay,” he said, and hyunjin suddenly understood. he waved his arms around placatingly.

“i won’t - i’ll take today off, okay?” hyunjin caved easily. next to him, chan looked shocked, and not without reason.

three years ago, things would have gone down quite differently. things had gone down quite differently when hyunjin had been a trainee, and he’d woken up in the hospital with a very rattled seungmin at his bedside. hyunjin wouldn’t make that mistake again any time soon if he could help it.

that didn’t make it easy.

somehow the tears started up again of their own accord as hyunjin relented. “i’m sorry,” he said. “i– i’ll make it up to you all later, i know i’m behind with the dance, it’s just–”

this got the attention of the rest of the group, eliciting a scoff from changbin. “please don’t - if you do that, i’ll be even more behind than i already am.”

“give us a chance to catch up!” jisung added.

hyunjin shook his head. “but i’m supposed to be a dancer.”

felix bounded over and latched on to hyunjin’s arm. “you’re ahead of me, too. i think the only one you’re not ahead of is minho-hyung, and he made half of the choreography.”

minho nodded solemnly. “i cheated.”

hyunjin was too tired to feel better about himself, but too miserable to argue, so he just shrugged and avoided eye contact with everyone.

chan put a hand to hyunjin’s forehead, and nodded as if confirming something. “i’ll come back to the dorm with you, then - i could use a rest day, too, i think.”

with no room for argument, hyunjin decided not to bother trying, despite his misgivings about taking up chan’s time. also, out of all of them, hyunjin thought that chan could use the extra rest the most. by the time they arrived at the dorm, the guilt in hyunjin’s stomach was more or less consumed by an overwhelming sense of loneliness and fear.

he settled in to the living room, sinking into the couch and trying to repress his body’s violent shivering by wrapping himself in a blanket, though it wasn’t very effective. hyunjin was relieved when chan sat next to him, pulling out his laptop - as expected, not really taking a break after all, but hyunjin didn’t mind. he knew chan was busy, and liked to feel productive as often as possible. people relaxed in different ways, anyway. just like that, despite the growing ache in his stomach, hyunjin began to relax and drift off to sleep.

it wasn’t until chan moved to get up that hyunjin snapped back awake. he immediately latched on to chan’s arm.

“hyung, don’t leave me.”

the words were out of his mouth before hyunjin had a chance to consider them, and he immediately hid his face in the couch cushions in embarrassment.

“hyunjinnie,” chan said gently, brushing a hand through hyunjin’s hair. he didn’t sound annoyed, so hyunjin peeked up at him, and found him smiling fondly. “i wasn’t going to leave, just going to get some water. you want anything?”

hyunjin felt his cheeks redden, and let go of chan’s arm. he shook his head. “sorry, hyung.”

“nothing to worry about,” chan said.

being alone even briefly was unsettling to hyunjin, feeling as bad as he was. it meant being forced to take stock of his body, which meant confronting that he felt, somehow, even worse than before. his head was pounding, everything hurt, and his stomach–

his stomach flipped very violently, and hyunjin retched, leaning over the couch, a bit stunned. he swallowed back the vile substance that rushed up his throat with a whimper and scrambled to his feet.

he made it to the toilet just in time for his body to rebel again. this time, hyunjin was hopeless to stop it, and it wasn’t long before tears were rolling down his cheeks. his hair was sticking to his face, matted down with sweat and in some places vomit. hyunjin tried to push it out of his way, but his hands were shaking terribly, and the nausea was so overwhelming, it was hard to focus on anything else.

chan found hyunjin with his cheek on the toilet seat, expression vacant, past the point of caring about a mess. when he saw chan, his face scrunched up into a sad pout.

“hyung… i’m sorry…”

chan chuckled and shook his head. “don’t apologize,” he said quietly, moving to hyunjin’s side just as the younger man began heaving again. chan held hyunjin’s hair and rubbed his shoulder blades, wishing he could do more. he couldn’t help but wince at the way hyunjin’s muscles tensed beneath his fingers.

it took quite a while for hyunjin’s stomach to settle. for about 10 minutes, it was on-and-off puking, half his time spent bent over the toilet, and the other half bonelessly slumped against chan. by the end, he was so exhausted that chan was considering bringing a mixing bowl into the bathroom, just so that hyunjin didn’t have to put so much effort into moving.

finally, hyunjin let out a shuddering sigh - or maybe a sob - and curled up in chan’s lap.

“can i sleep here?” hyunjin mumbled, words slurred with exhaustion. some of the sick in his hair was beginning to dry.

“soon, jinnie. for now, let’s get you cleaned up.”

chan opted to give hyunjin a warm bath, and was pleased when hyunjin relaxed into it, half-asleep. he figured it was okay for the younger man to take a quick nap under chan’s supervision. by the time hyunjin was clean, chan was reluctant to wake him. just as he was about to, hyunjin’s face scrunched up, and he whimpered.

“hyunjin?”

“‘m sorry,” he mumbled, fresh tears slipping down his cheeks. “i’ll do better…”

chan shook him gently, and hyunjin’s eyes flew open. “i’m sorry, i–” he cut himself off with a gasp, taking in his surroundings slowly. “channie-hyung?”

“hey, buddy,” he said, speaking softly. “you okay?”

hyunjin was breathing in short, quick gasps. his eyes darted around the small room, as though searching for something. he blinked quickly, and looked back at chan, who offer a smile.

“it’s just us, you know?”

drinking air as though its supply was dangerously limited, hyunjin nodded. “i know, yeah, i just… hyung, i’m ruining your day off.”

chan shook his head immediately. “what are you talking about, jinnie? you know i’m here because i want to be, right?”

hyunjin bit his lip, trying not to cry. his fevered brain was not being kind to him. chan’s words were too genuine to deny, though, so he nodded, eyes closed. he felt chan’s arms wrap around him, hesitant until hyunjin hugged him back.

“jinnie, you’re allowed to be human. you’re allowed to hurt. it’s okay.”

something there caught him off guard. something broke, something that had been built up, something that had protected hyunjin for a long time. a little snap. it hurt, realizing he’d closed himself off without realizing it, and holding back tears was a lost cause, but then - that was kind of chan’s point.

why hide them?

so hyunjin cried, broken a bit, but held together by one of his best friends - his family. he let himself break a bit more - just as much as he needed - and didn’t flinch when the rest of the members came home. he let them in through a little crack of a doorway, let him hold him and remind him of who he was, and he began to heal.

——

no reader survey this time, too tired and my computer is breaking but please feel free to send in any thoughts you’d like to share, about the fic or otherwise!

——

feel free to send more asks! / rules

[keilemlucent]

daddy keigo: christmas special

mostly sfw, suggestive content

warnings: daddy kink, christmas, gift-giving, keigo getting a wittle weapy, uwu

...

hello! better late than never, here’s my little christmas drabble for the day. enjoy loves!!!!

...

“Daddy, come on, I gotta get up!”

You hoped Keigo would be unsuspecting, as it was quite early in the morning for you to be hauling yourself from bed. How hard would it be to convince your mostly-asleep partner that you just needed to piss-- obviously, there wasn’t anything else going on.

Keigo grumbled, wings fanned out and rippling in his sleep as he reluctantly let you go from his arms. 

“Get back here soon,” Keigo said into the pillows, eyes still shut and body still slack. “Miss ya’, little bird.”

Your heart squeezed with glee as you gave him a final kiss before beginning your mission.

...

Keigo had been spoiling you. Gifts, treats, and presents for the past month as Christmas loomed. Despite all of the many treasures he purchased for you on the spot, a large pile of well-wrapped gifts had been appearing under your tree as the snowy month has gone on. Whenever you tried to worry about it, insist to Keigo that, “I know you’re my daddy, b-but isn’t this a lot--?”. 

He was always quick to quiet you, quick to hush you with greedy hands and knowing words, “You’re daddy’s good little bird, and daddy knows best.”

He did know best, you trusted him and knew that he did, but that didn’t mean you didn’t have your own plans for the holidays up your sleeve. The compulsion to make this holiday a particularly special one ran strong, as this was your first holiday together and able to celebrate it properly.

You flicked on the bathroom light and shut the door from the outside, hopefully fooling Keigo in his sleepy-state. Slipping into the guest room, your dropped onto your tummy, fishing with open hands under the bed. One by one, you pulled out wrapped gifts, one you’d collected and hid over the past several months, well and secretive. 

Keigo was kind enough to help you have an existence that didn’t require a job, not now at least. You’d dropped your full-time position sometime ago, after thorough discussion and a lot of internal turmoil. Keigo was more than happy to provide, feathers ruffling at even the opportunity to truly provide for you in such a way. Being home more meant Keigo could stop by at nearly anytime in his tumultuous schedule for a bit of welcomed and easily-given affection.

It also gave you time to spirit away during the day and gather presents and supplies for the holidays. 

You had an allowance to spend, one that you’d greedily gone all-out with in the weeks prior. There were more than enough enchanting markets and places to wander and gather from.

...

Pulling out the last gift, you carefully, quietly, began padding to the living room and positioning your new parcels under the tree. They joined the stacks already there, fineries and kindnesses Keigo had amassed. 

He deserved his own, of course.

You wondered how he did it. Keigo was one of the nations best heroes, who had the world on his shoulders most hours of the day, yet he still managed to make time for you, have energy for his little bird and all of your whims, so often mutually held. 

You wanted to spoil Keigo as well. 

He deserved it and you decided to provide if you could.

Once you arranged everything as you liked, you clicked the lights on and finished your own preparations. Slipping into a soft two-piece set (coordinating with one for Keigo, wrapped under the tree) and knit stockings that you settled at your mid-thighs, you started slipped away once more to make coffee.

Notably, it was early for you to be awake, especially after such a... long night before. Once or twice while you were on your knees arranging the gifts, you nearly gasped at your residual aches and pains. But, it was all worth it, even with your soreness and sleepy eyes.

It caught up with you as you yawned in the kitchen, patiently waiting for the gurgling coffee machine to finish brewing.

You gaze went wide as arms looped around your waist, clasping between your ribs. 

“Thought ya’ said you were coming back to bed,” Keigo whined against your neck. “Not making coffee. It’s too early, we need more sleep.”

You let a smile play on your lips, one he wouldn’t be able to see. 

“But I wanna open presents,” you whined, facing him with a spin and nuzzling your nose into his. “... Please?”

Keigo rose to his full height, eyebrows raised and looking as stunning as ever. Despite the bedhead and T that littered his shoulders the neck, he was still as effortlessly gorgeous as always.

He gave you a grin, golden and glowing and all for you, “Greedy, and this early too?”

You pushed out your bottom lip, giving him a sweet frown, “It’s Christmas, Kei’, please?”

Keigo dropped a quick and sharp slap to your outer thigh, one that had you falling against him with a yelp.

“Only because you’re so cute.”

He has no idea.

...

And Keigo didn’t. 

You dragged him by the wrist to the living room, decorated and fragrant with the lingering smell of evergreen and cedar candles. He slowed as the tree, something not-too grand but decorated with a hodgepodge of shared and crafted ornaments, came into view. 

Reverently, you watched his expression shift. He was most honest through his wings.

His hand squeezed your own, thumb rubbing yours as his wings fluttered a few times behind him, unbridled and unhindered in your presence (no pun intended.)

His gaze was glued to the extra stacks of gifts, done up with your own glimmering wrapping paper and handmade bows, “... What?” 

You couldn’t contain yourself any longer. 

You tugged him to the tree, dragging him down to the soft fabric at its base. Keigo was still somewhat frozen, almost rigid in your grip. Swallowing down any potential anxieties, your shifted so your knees touched, parallel.

“I am a little greedy, but I mostly wanted to surprise you,” You beamed, grabbing one of the most flimsy gift from the top of the stack. “You should open to this one first.”

Keigo’s gaze was still wide and owlish as he accepted the parcel from you, “... Why?”

“Look and see, daddy. I think you’ll like it.”

...

And fuck, did he. 

It was a simple set, just a soft long-sleeve and bottoms, lightly patterned with faint stars and moons. Still, Keigo noticed immediately as his gaze flickered from the fabric stretching over your thighs and the bundle he held in his hands.

“They... match?” Keigo wondered aloud, unable to stop the way his jaw fell open.

You beamed even brighter, if that was possible, “They do! So we can match today, and that’s just one of the things I got you!”

And Keigo got it. That entire fucking mountain of presents that rivaled the one he’d amassed for you belonged to him. 

He must’ve been staring at his, mouth still agape, for sometime.

Your wobbling voice pulled him from his stupor, “... Is t-this okay, daddy?” 

Keigo perked up, breath catching as you pawed at your face, eyes shining with little tears, “I wanted to surprise you, but I-I understand, t-this is a l-lot--”

“Hush,” Keigo quieted you, trying to keep his voice firm and authoritative enough while his wings flexed and trembled behind him. He gave his own shaking breath, tsking under his breath, “My little birds been planning and hiding such a big, precious secret from me? And got away with it? I’m impressed.”

You sniffled, tears already drying, “I was r-really sneaky. You had no idea.” 

He didn’t. Keigo had hardly noticed any sneaking around, and surely what he had picked up on, he didn’t connect to the sweet pile of gifts you acquired for him and the matching fucking pajamas--

His breath caught in his throat, eyes welling with his own tears, rare and precious. 

You wiped a bit of wetness off his cheek with a thumb, giving him a little, ever-attentive smile, “Do you want to change into those? Then we can open the rest?” 

Keigo tugged you forward, into his lap, thighs over his own to tuck you cheek into the crook of his neck, “I’d like that a lot, little bird.”

(You took care of him, as much as he took care of you, even if it was more implicit.)

And he hoisted you over one shoulder, starry loungewear over the other, carrying of with a flourish of high giggles and excitement for the day. 

[sif-the-tsunami]

When I Was His Wife

“Well I was looking forward to/ staying here forever/ ‘cause you asked me to/ Didn’t think I could do better/ So I settled down/ in this ten cent town/ it’s about to break me.” These are the Best Years of my Life- Pistol Annies

This is the follow up to “When You Fall Apart” Which is one of my favorites that I’ve written.

(there is Sy just carrying the weight of all of my own internal chaos)

A/N thank you for everyone who encouraged me to write this, I adore Sy as a character. He seemed like someone who could pull off the impossible. I made some choices in here that not everyone will agree with. Tell me I’m wrong in the comments an we can discuss it there.

Pairing: Sy and Josephine

Warnings: again all of them. discussion of infidelity, Discussion of child loss, discussion of unprotected sexual intercourse, headbutting, day drinking, self medicating, therapy, swearing fealty on ones hunting knife, discussion of knife play, I’m probably missing something

 Everything is going below the cut this time to save anyone who doesn’t like this kind of stuff from unpleasantness.

word count just shy of 7.5K

Thank you to @inlovewithhisblueeyes for letting me bounce ideas off of you, love you sweet girl

tagging: @oddsnendsfanfics @willkatfanfromasia @rocket44 @feralrunaway @littlewrenofrivia​  @summersong69​  @coffeebooksandfandom​ @klaine-92​ @nothingright​ @cavillsim​ @watery-lane​ @above-average-ass-bitch 

unbeta’d

I slept for the next two days, Mama only woke me up long enough to drink some water once she started worrying about me. She managed to wrangle my out of my clothes and into one of Daddy’s shirts we got him that she left in the drawer. My phone was dead, but thankfully Mama and I had the same kind so I could charge it today. What fresh hell was going to be waiting for me on my digital leash? I lay there for a while, the murmur of conversation in the other room was comforting. Mama left a fresh glass of water some time recently, it was still chilly with only a little condensation forming around the sides. The ache in my chest was almost unbearable. The hole in my heart was Syverson sized, being sober made the edges of that abyss feel even more raw and pronounced. I don’t know if my liver could handle me drowning my sorrow much more, but I would give anything to not feel it. I need to make this feeling of worthlessness go away.

When I finally decided to rejoin the land of the living, Mama and my brother Teddy were talking at the kitchen table, discussing about if they should come with me to go get my things or if I should call the sheriff’s office to be monitored. I stayed behind the corner long enough to let them finish what they were going on about.

“If I know Jo well enough, she’s going to need someone to keep her from burning the whole house down with him in it tied to a chair,” my brother chuckled. “She’s been taking care of herself for years. You should have seen how she handled one of these girls who came up to us once on Post.

“Jo was loading up the car when this prissy little thing came walking up, she must have thought she was some kind of hot shit. You would have been so proud of her Mama, the girl said to her that she had been sleeping with James during their deployment. All Jo said back to her was ‘You’ve both been back for something like three months, right, have you seen him since?’ Little Miss Hot Shit stuttered and said ‘Well not yet,’ like she had been really holding out that he was going to. ‘He doesn’t have my new phone number.’ Jo just tiled her head to the side. Smiled at her real sweetly and told her, ‘Baby girl, he’s not going to. He knows how to find you. You were just a rental car to him, sweetie bell. Ford Fiestas are fun as hell to ride but let’s be honest, you aren’t going to pick a Fiesta over the Mercedes Benz you have at home. You aren’t the first and you sure as hell won’t be the last, now go on and get out of here before I ruin the rest of your day like you tried to ruin mine.’ One of the other officer’s wives came up to her and said she was amazed that she handled her so well without breaking Miss Prissy Pant’s face. She just said ‘I’m too pretty to go to prison, Kathy.’ And we hoped in the car. You raised one tough lady, Mama.”

“How many times has that happened, Theodore, I need to know.”

“She has only told me about four women meeting her face to face. The two pregnant girls who got knocked up to get out of their deployments, Prissy Pants, and one who thought that James was in love with her. She evidently broke down in tears on the tarmac when Josie jumped into his arms and he swung her around. But she would get letters tucked into the windshield of her car for months whenever he returned from deployment.”

“You two kept this from me for years, why?”

“Jo said that this was her problem, don’t you remember how you handled it when her first boyfriend ran out on her on prom night? She cried to you and Dad, and you just told her that no one is worth weeping over. She’s just been trying to make you proud, Mama. Daddy might have known because I know they had a really nasty fight about a month before he died.”

I walked out after that. Mama’s eyes were red, “Good morning, baby, do you want pancakes? Bacon and eggs? What do you want, Darlin’?”

“Coffee would be a good start.” I rasped. “Can I use your charger?”

“It’s right here. Cream and sugar?”

“Black as my sense of humor, please Mama.” I said, Teddy chuckled again. I reached over and squeezed my brother’s shoulder. “Hey, I’m glad you’re here.”

“I got to look after my little sissy.” He replied using what he called me growing up. “So what are we doing to get over Jimmy?”

“I was thinking tattoos and day drinking?”

“Atta’ girl, Josie. Fuck that douche canoe.”

As soon as my phone was able to turn on, it sat on the counter vibrating for the next five minutes.  Six missed calls from James. And seventy text messages. A few from stores I shop at, but the majority were from my husband.

“Ugh, I just don’t feel like dealing with this right now.” I said as my mom put my coffee in front of me.

“Just leave him on read. I doubt he’s hurting for company.”  Mama said, in almost a snarl. I looked through a few messages. The last one was from this morning. Sweetheart, I’m worried sick about you, I miss you. Please talk to me?

“Ted, do you want to go with me to Walmart so I can get a couple day’s worth of clothes, I am just not ready to go back and I can’t live in Daddy’s old shirts.”

“Of course, we can get some booze while we are there.”

“Get yourself a bathing suit while you are there, honey, its going to be beautiful today and you can go for a swim.” Mama added.

I texted James back finally as I finished my coffee. I’m sorry I worried you, Sy, I have literally been asleep since I got here. I’m not ready.

I understand. I’m sorry, I should have seen how much I’ve been hurting you. I swear to God, I really do love you. Please, let me know what I can do for you.

Yeah, you should have, James. You should have seen how bad you’ve been treating me. You can drop off the face of the earth, that’s what you can do for me, I think spitefully. Thankfully, Mama washed my yoga pants and tank top. It would have to be alright for now. My brother let me wear one of his extra flannel shirts he kept in the back of his car. An hour later, Ted and I were at the store, picking up chips, dip, and cheap champagne. Mama loved mimosas, so I thought it was the least I could do. I grabbed a couple of sun dresses and a bikini, if I was going to be gone for a few days, I was going to come back home looking refreshed, radiant even, and not like the hot pile of garbage I was feeling like. I made a small detour to the cosmetics department, got myself a couple of face masks, hair dye, and sun screen.

“Really? Dark brown, Josie?”

“That’s as close to my natural color as I can, I’m tired of the blonde highlights. I think after this I might just let it come in. Grays and all. Who ever loves me next is going to have to just deal with me as nature intended.”

“I’m proud of you. Do you think you will leave him for good?” He said, Ted has always been very protective of me.

“Well, I certainly can’t leave him for evil, can I?” Making him laugh. One the way outside there was a truck near the front of the store with a sign that read “Puppies for sale.”

“Teddy, we need to see these puppies.” I gasped. Walking up to the truck bed I saw the sweetest little German Shepard puppies. I reached in and they all started flopping all over the place trying to get pets and love. Maybe a puppy was exactly what my hurting heart needed. We haven’t had a dog since Aika passed away. It was looking like I would never have a baby but maybe this was the kind I needed. Puppy snuggles would definitely make that Syverson shaped hole less painful.

“I’ll buy you a puppy if you divorce James.” Ted said to me, half joking.

“Shit, I can afford the puppy, pay for the divorce.” I jest back. “How much for one of the precious babies?”

“$500 a pup, mom has a pedigree, but daddy was the neighbor’s sneaky bastard.” The woman also petting the puppies said. “Mama is in the front if you want to meet her, daddy is very friendly as well.”

I start laughing uncontrollably. With tears in my eyes, I ask if any of the puppies are girls, and she pulls   out a beautiful little one with floppy ears and the biggest smile I had ever seen on a dog. Oh yeah, she was meant for me.

“I’ll take her, do you take checks?” I think I’m ready to start healing.

*****

“Josephine, that son of a bitch you call your husband is here to see you.” Mama shouts from the house. It’s Sunday afternoon now, Teddy and I have exhausted all the snacks and mimosas hours ago and now we were sobering up by the pool. My new baby girl is laying next to my sun chair, chewing on her bone, wearing a pretty pink collar.

“Well, might as well let him out here.” I shout back.

“Are you sure, I can kick his ass to the curb if you want me to, baby.”

“Its okay Mama, I can handle him myself.” Sy walks out in the back yard a couple minutes later. I’m guessing Mama threatened to stick him in a meat grinder.

“I deserved that.” He said, looking thoroughly admonished. “You changed your hair, it looks really good...

“Oh bless your heart, James. That’s not even half of what you deserve.” Ted spoke up before he could finish, not moving his face towards him. He lay there in his swim trunks and dark sunglasses.

“Oh great, all three of you have been drinking. I can tell this is going to go well...” James sighed. “Who is this cutie pie, did your Ma get a new dog?”

“She’s my dog, her name is Stella Rosa.”

“I don’t think anyone asked you to come, Colonel Sanders, what are you doing here?” Ted snapped.

“Hey, I got this, okay? I’m a big girl, please, go in the house. The fuck are you doing here James?” I lift my sun glasses up.

“She’s a very sweet pup. Yeah, you are a good girl for your mama, aren’t you? I came to see you. I want to bring you home, baby, I miss you.” He’s checking out my fresh tan in my new bikini. Subtly, but he does it.

“I’m not ready. I’m not even ready to talk to you. Why would you think that I even want to come home?”

“I don’t know, I asked myself that the entire drive here. I don’t know what I’m even going to do with myself when I go home alone. Pussycat, I can’t begin to think of life without you. I know I fucked up. And I know I can’t take that back. You asked me the other day what I kept that was special just between us. I should have answered you then. All those nights where you fell asleep with your head on my chest, the evenings laying in the back of the truck looking at the stars after driving around trying to find the best nachos in town. And, baby, no matter where we go, yours are always the best. No one else ever got moments like that. You are the only woman I want to slow dance with in the middle of the night.

“You are the only person in the world that I would wait four hours in the freezing cold to get the best brisket in Austin for because you were craving bbq when we were still, you know...” He paused. I don’t think he ever stopped blaming himself for what happened. His knees were never the same after that accident, and usually whenever he stood up from kneeling, they clicked and popped painfully. He leaned a little closer spreading his legs and reached down to pet Stella. She seemed a little leery of him. It is easy to be cynical given the circumstances, but there is something about the way he is talking to me, I haven’t heard him be this earnest in years.

“When was the last time you were with someone other than me?” I can’t bring myself to look at him. I keep my eyes anywhere but on him. My body aches so badly for him to just wrap his arms around me. I miss him.

“When I got held up in Kuwait for two weeks in December...”

“December? You mean when you missed my fucking birthday. Goddammit James...” And the ache is gone. My heart shattered again. He’s going to make me cry again.

“Hey, it was after your birthday, and it was a hate fuck because I was mad that I broke yet another promise to you.”

“That doesn’t make it better.” I snap. “How many that deployment?”

“Just the one. And she’s someone who I knew was more discreet because we had that arrangement before.”

“I swear on my Daddy’s grave that if you are lying to me right now, I will end you Syverson. You couldn’t have waited a few more days?”

“I had no idea when I was going home. We boarded that fucking plane three times and had to turn back because there was a problem with it. I was two seconds away from tearing apart the first Private that so much as looked at me sideways. It felt like, at the time, the less terrible choice.”

“They sound both pretty shitty to me. You are a fucking adult James, you have to be able to control yourself or at least be responsible for your actions. If this is what you think love is, I would rather you hate me.” I stand up. Stella wags her tail excited to get away.

“Josephine, please...” He grasps my wrist, not hard, but there wasn’t anyway I was going to be able to get out of his big hand.

“Please what? Please stay so you can keep treating me like this. There are some people in this world who have no problem playing second or third fiddle, they are just thankful they are in the band. But I deserve to be your first chair, or I don’t want to play at all.”

“Mama wants to know if the jackass is staying for dinner.” Ted shouts at us.

“He going!” “I’m staying!” we yell over each other. He’s not looking at me, he’s not even looking at the pup. His eyes are somewhere else, mentally for a second he is somewhere else also.

“Baby…  I… You have always been my first chair. There is no one else on earth like you. I have never done anything with these women as an act of love. It was always been, and I mean always, just a way to scratch an itch. Every time I was gone, every time things got bad, getting to come home to you was the thing that keep me going, Jo. You have been my safe harbor for the worst parts of my life.”

“James… That doesn’t excuse what you’ve done. You aren’t the man I fell for anymore. This isn’t healthy.” He let go of my wrist, and rubs his face. Those beautiful eyes of his have seen so much. For the first time I think he actually looks… broken. Is this the remorse I have been wanting to see? I try not to keep scores, especially when it comes to my loved ones. But for the first time since things went sour, he looks like I hurt him as much as he has hurt me.

Maybe there was love between us once. However there are just two broken hearts for now.

“Come on in the house, I can at least feed you before I send you back.”

“I think I will just go,” he says it quietly. “I don’t want to be a burden on you.”

“Don’t be like that, I am still cooking like I’m making dinner for you, so its way too much for the three of us. Come on in, I made carnitas.”

“I’ll be in, I just need a minute.” He refuses to let me see him cry if he’s not waking up screaming, even after all this time. Whenever we could have a healing moment, he pushes me out. I went inside, and started setting the table.

“Are we poisoning his tacos?” Teddy asked me.

“That’s not the worst idea I’ve heard today.” Mama interjected.

“No, and don’t start anything. He’s eating dinner with us, don’t either of you make him feel bad. I already did that.” Sy walked in at that moment, those blue eyes of his rimmed with red. He looked defeated. The four of us ate our dinner in silence. There was a time where he would have made some kind of comment about eating me out when we had tacos. He looked at me once during the meal, I think he remembered it too. He offered to clear the plates when were all done and sat in uncomfortable silence. The cockiness I had grown accustomed to over the years was gone.

He carried himself like this when we lost our baby, he can’t take that kind of humility. At least not with me.

“Sy...” I waited until the others were out of the room. “Do you still want me to come home with you?”

“Not if it means all we are going to do is get a divorce. I can’t see you every day knowing that I will never get to be yours again. I let them do a lot of terrible things to me over the years, but that… that I can’t handle.” His voice cracked. “If you want out, I will give you everything you ask for. I won’t fight you. But please, give me a chance to fight for you.”

“I don’t think you are exactly in a position to make that that request.” I lean against the counter across the room from him.

“No, I’m not.” he half smirked, “I don’t deserve you.”

“Look, I’m not saying that this can’t still all explode in our faces. But I miss my best friend and that has always been the best part of us. It will never be the same as it was before, it can’t be. However, if you are willing to work with me, I am willing to see if we there is any salvageable. If nothing else, we both need therapy very badly. We can’t just shrug this off. The second that it goes back to where we were, I’m gone.”

“Okay. I’ll do it.” He sniffs hard, and his breath is broken up, tucking his arms against himself. Usually its in authority, this time hes just trying to hug himself. I gesture him to come over and I hug him. He wraps his arms around then envelopes me. Leaning his head on mine, he whispers “I’ll do whatever you want, my darlin.”

I told my mom that I would be going home, she sighed at me. “Do you think this is the best idea?”

“I don’t know, Mama. I think I just want some closure. I told him if he so much as sneezes out of line that I’m gone. Forever. There will be no more chances.”

“Well, baby, I trust you. You are always welcome back here if you need to get away.”

While I’m packing my stuff into the shopping bags I had, I hear a sudden crack and Sy groans then swears. “yeah, I deserved that too.”

“What the fuck did you just do, Theodore?” I yell coming out. Ted was still holding my husband’s hand, and Sy was holding his face. “Did you… just headbutt him?”

“Yes, I did. My sister my might be willing to move past your mistakes, but I’m not. However, I’ve always been the petty one in the family. Hurt her again, they will have to dig your nuts out of your chest cavity, do we understand each other?”

“Yep, perfectly.” Sy grimaced. There were very few men that he would not retaliate against. Teddy, at 6’5, and years of horse wrangling, was one of them. Sy was build like a brick shit house, but so was my big brother. I thought we were old enough to not resort to violence, I have been wrong before.

My probably, potentially, soon to be ex-husband put mine and Stella’s things in the back bench of his truck. I held her in the crook of my arm as I climbed up in the cab. He gently shut the door for me, I noticed his shiner was going to be pretty gnarly in the morning.

He climbed into the other side as I set little Stella down on the floor. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it was a cheap shot, I’ll be fine. At this point, I don’t want to rock the boat with your brother and Ma. She tore me a new asshole before I got outside today.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t changed your mind, say to hell with me and that I’m not worth the hassle.”

“Josephine, I might not have made the appropriate effort to show you how much you mean to me, but you are worth it.” The Syverson shaped hole in my heart roared. Why couldn’t he have been this way all along?

We talked about the girl at the movies, and how she was one of his new officers. She might have come on to him, but he never engaged with her outside of work related things. He told her several times that he wasn’t interested but she was persistent. I halfway apologized for trying to decapitate him with a tequila bottle. He acknowledged that this was a long time coming.  This was the most we had talked about anything deep for months. I don’t know if it was too little and too late though.

The rest of the drive home we made a plan of action. He would move into the office and would stay in there until I invited him back into my bed. We would start couple’s therapy as soon as we could. He would also start seeing a therapist individually. Before we got into town I also told him my final request for our reconciliation. I wanted to see other people. I had been with him since I was nineteen, I have never faltered in my devotion to him. I wanted to see if he was really the one for me.

When I got home, I poured out the rest of my alcohol, save for a bottle of champagne I was saving for our anniversary. He took Stella outside to go potty and came back singing her name “Stella bella, who is a good girl? Your Mama picks good puppies, yes she does. Good girl, Stella bella.”

Stella came prancing back to me with her tail wagging happily. He walked up behind me, and grazes the backs of my arms gently with his knuckles, leaning down to kiss my neck. “Not yet, Sy. I don’t want us to complicate things more than they already are.”

“Josie, what do you mean?”

“I don’t want to have sex with you until we start therapy.”

“So you want us to stop having sex, sleep in separate rooms and at some point you want to start seeing other men.” He starts nodding. He lets out a deep sigh and closes his eyes. “Okay, it that’s what you want to do. I was thinking about getting my stuff out of the bedroom so I can try to get some sleep. I love you, Pussycat. I’ll see you in the morning.” And with that, James went to bed. He was snoring on the couch in the office by the time I went to go lay down.      

****

It took us three weeks to get into see a couples therapist. It felt a little validating about my decision that we shouldn’t sleep together until we have really decided to try or not. She had me stay behind and talk with her for another half an hour the first time we met.  She asked me why I wanted to save my marriage with Sy if he’s hurt me for years.

“I don’t rightly know,” I told her. “Maybe its because when we are good we are so damn good. Before we were married, I was warned, I knew that things happened overseas and I shouldn’t take it personally, he’s just a man and not a saint. I never have had a doubt in my mind about if he’s been faithful when he’s been here until recently when a woman he knows started acting weird around me. The love we had was so passionate, like sometimes he thought that if he couldn’t put his hands on me I would disappear. I don’t think I will ever find someone who can love me like that again.”

The therapist suggested that he starts getting treated for PTSD and anger management while we all were working together. I would also have my own separate sessions to work on my own issues. It took a few months but I started seeing small differences in how he was handling things at work that pissed him off. He was able to defuse himself more easily. He became more open with his feelings. I think it helped that we both stopped drinking. We could be a little volatile when we had a pitcher (or three) of margaritas.

There were days with our sessions where we leave emotionally exhausted and not speak to each other the rest of the day, some of them ended in peals of laughter, others where I would cry for most of it. We discussed the infidelity at great lengths. I don’t want to rehash the details but it was definitely one of the bad days. But it seems that the root cause was him using the only the other women for comfort after fairly traumatic events. It’s why it only happened on deployments. He needed to feel something other than pain.

The lack sexual intimacy between the two of us made James start to get creative to initiate closeness between the two of us. He started helping me make dinner on the weekends, or he would bring me my coffee in the morning the way I like it. Mama and Teddy started coming over occasionally for suppers. It was nice to have the house filled with laughter. We started talking again like when we first started dating. He would take the time to go with me grocery shopping.

He started asking me out on dates again. Myself, him and Stella would drive out to the country, with a picnic basket that he would even prepare himself and we would go star gazing like we used to. I loved seeing the effort, but that hole still ached in my chest the whole time. The pieces should have all fit together, but here I was still not sure I could commit to him for the rest of my life.

On one of these dates, he asked me what I thought about him retiring. He had been in for almost nineteen years at this point and had far exceeded is expectations for being in the Army as an officer.

“I kind of just want to sell off all our extra shit and buy a really nice Air-stream. We can pull it with my truck. Just travel up and down the continent, I know you always have wanted to see the Northern Lights, we can just go anywhere. Me, you and Stella would visit where ever we could find a parking spot.”

“That sounds nice, Sy.” It came out a little half hearted.

“You don’t sound convinced, sweetheart.” He said, started sounding concerned.

“Hun, I don’t want to have a fight right now, so please just let me get this off my chest.” I sigh. And then I told him about the pain in my chest that I’ve had since my night in jail. That sometimes, like tonight, it was only a dull ache. That other times the edges are still so sharp that it feels like the pain was going to swallow me whole. He sits up, jaw dropped.

“Why haven’t you told me this before? I… Jo… son of a bitch.” He groans. He lays back down, the same defeated tone came back that I hadn’t heard since Mama’s house. “I’m trying my best, Josephine, but I feel like I have one hand tied behind my back… you will never love me again, will you?  I can grovel, and beg. I don’t know what else I need to do. I know what I want to do, but it will just hurt you more.”

“What do you want to do, Sy?”

“I want to kiss every part of your skin, remind your body that I worship it. I want to pin you to the wall of our hallway and make love to you. I want to go to sleep with my nose buried in in your hair, and wake up sliding inside of you. I have since you came home. Hell, I always want to do that with you. But that can’t be the only thing that keeps us together.” He looked over at Stella sprawl out.

“I didn’t say this to hurt you, hun. I just wanted to be honest with you.”

“I know, I… just don’t want to cause you more misery. I really thought we were, you know, heading back in the right direction.”

“We have been, and honestly, I think if we threw in the towel now, it would cause more harm than good.” I say as the tears well up in my eyes. For the first time since I was taken away, I straddle his hips. He sits up and I place my hands on either side of his face, then lean in to kiss him. He kisses me back with the same hunger. I missed him. The ache dulled a little until he pulled away.

“Let’s get going, Jo, I want you so fucking bad. I want to take you here and now, I want to make you scream my name and damn anyone who catches us. We need to stop this, the agreement was that we wouldn’t. Fuck I’ve missed how you taste.” He said before stealing one more kiss.

*****

The next week was awkward to say the least, the therapist was pleased about the kissing and that I opened up. She said that it was possible that the pain would go away, but that he and I needed to remember that it was like I was grieving. In the mean time, we should continue to take it slowly because we both needed to be sure. The following few days he was distant, and the ache returned in full force.

With his PTSD treatments, he was having less nightmares. It was the best thing I could ask for. There were still times where he would yell in his sleep but they had become farther and farther apart. It was a night after he had his individual treatment, he had come home talking about how he felt the night of my breakdown. He came home and told me a little bit, how he had never seen me so angry before, thrashing about like a caged animal. He hated himself for pushing me there. That night, in the darkness of the small hours, I woke up from being dead asleep hearing him say my name in a panic. He then repeated sounding more and more scared. “Josie, oh my god, Josie, no. I’m sorry Jo, I didn’t mean to. JoJo!”

I rushed into the office, he was jerking violently in his sleep about on the couch. I turned on the light near his head. When these dreams happen, his eyes were usually opened, it creeps my out every time. I start to gently wake him up, saying his name and touching him as gently as possible. It took a few moments but he came back to me.

“Jo, Jesus fuck, you’re alright?”

“Of course I am, sweetheart, what happened? I’m right here, I’m okay, you are okay, everything is okay.”

“I dreamed we were back in the kitchen, you were under me. Screaming and whipping about. I had to restrain you more then I accidentally broke your neck and you died in my arms. It felt real, baby, I was holding your body and then the sheriff came and that’s when you woke me up. Oh my god. I fucking can’t. I can’t anymore. I need you, Josie. If something happens to you, oh fuck.” I have never seen James sob like this. He pawed at me until I was wrapped in his arms. I slipped my arms around his neck and held his head to mine. His sobs were hard. We sat there until he let it all out.

“Come on, big man, let’s get you into bed. Come with me. I’ll stay with you all night.” He nodded at me and followed me to the bed we used to share. I wrapped him up in our fluffy blankets. He snuggled into me and was asleep in moments. I stayed there in his arms until he woke up. The Syverson shaped hole hurt less that night.

When he woke up he started crying again. He held me and started kissing my face. “Thank god. I thought you coming to me last night was another dream.”

“No baby, I’m here.” He sniffed hard and squeezed me closer to him. We went back to sleep for a few more hours and when we got up for the day he moved his things back into our bedroom. We might not have started other marital acts but we both started sleeping better having the other person in bed. It had been almost six months we started trying to reconcile.

*****

It had been an interesting couple of months while we started the transition for him to retire. Soon it was only a matter of days. The dates had continued, the kissing had continued, but something was keeping me back from being able to say that the next step was what I wanted. Therapy continued, and we would be seeing her for the next few months. Before I left my private session she asked me if I had given myself a deadline. She was concerned that I might keep dragging it out and that would just make both of us miserable. I told her I had an idea and that I planned on pulling the trigger soon.

Sy’s superiors were setting up a retirement ceremony for him, followed by a dinner with the upper chain of command. He wasn’t looking forward to it, Sy just wanted to be out and done. He came home one day while I was watching a show based on a book series I had read when we first were married. The redheaded Scot swore fealty to his wife, offering to pierce his own heart with a dagger if he should ever rebel against her again.  

“What’s this you’re watching?” He asked.

“Outlander, it just picked back up again from a season break. It’s pretty damn close to the book.”

“So is this what the ladies like these days, men in kilts offering to off themselves if they fuck up?”

“Women have liked men in kilts since I can remember. Why do you think we go to the Renn Faire every year.” I wink at him. “But yeah, I’m sure that does it for some people.”

“Well shit, Pussycat, it’s the only thing I haven’t done.” Sy walked out of the room and came back with his favorite hunting knife. It had been his dad’s once upon a time. The handle was made out of buck horn. In his warn and dusty uniform, he knelt in front of me on the living room floor. His beautiful blue eyes looking into mine, “Well, this isn’t iron, and it definitely isn’t holy. However, I will swear on it either way. Josephine, you are the only woman I have ever loved, you are my best friend, and I adore you. I will never do anything to make you doubt that love or loyalty again. If I ever do anything that makes you feel like you are less than the beautiful, smart, incredible, sexy creature that you are, you can sink this right in my heart. I will even hold it there for you so all you have to do is press it right in.” He finishes with a tongue click as an exclamation.      

“James, you didn’t need to do this. You know I am weird about grand gestures.”

“No, I think I do. I said my vows to you on our wedding rings and I wasn’t able to keep it. But, I will never break this one. If I can earn your love back, I will never do anything to make you regret giving me this chance to be your man.” He still held the knife against his chest with one hand, and placed my hand over his with the other. “So what do you think, baby girl? We still have a long way to go, but I can’t think of anyone else I would rather struggle with.”

“I think you just put yourself in a position that I could just end you now if I wanted to.” I say with my usual sass.

“Yes, you could. I don’t think you will though.” He said smiling, his voice was husky and deep as usual. I love that easy smile of his.

“Is it wrong that I want to get on your lap and make out with you while I hold this against you.” His eyebrow raised. “Maybe more than just make out with you.”

“Oh, don’t you tease me now, sweet thing. I don’t want to start anything you won’t finish.”

“Who said I won’t finish it, Colonel Syverson?” His eyes grew as big as dinner plates.  

“Wait, do you mean it?” He choked.

“Yeah, I do mean it.” I laughed. Before I could get up, he had hiked the skirt of the dress I was wearing up to my hips, pulling me to the edge of the sofa, revealing that I had skipped a certain garment that day. “I had an idea for after supper, but if you want we can do this now…. Oh fuck I’ve missed this.”

Before I can even finish my sentence, he was going to town with his tongue on his favorite part of my body. He remembered everything that made me squeal in delight. From the lack of sex on both of our ends, he was able to get me off easily. My body was desperate for his touch. He stopped once my body was trembling, kissing one of my thighs from my apex to my knee. He suddenly grunted and bit down on a tender part. He started panting and kissed the spot he bit.

“I’m sorry, sugar, I didn’t want to only last for two or three thrusts. Fuck, I have missed this pretty pussy. You taste so good.” He had a handful of his own cum and looked around for a tissue. Without a word, I grabbed his hand and licked it clean, keeping eye contact with him the entire time. He moaned out and then stood up. He took his shirt off, and lifted me up off the couch. I knew this hurt his back and knees but I wasn’t about to chastise him for wanting to be romantic. He carried me like we were on our honeymoon back to the bedroom. He lay me down as gently as possible then finished stripping himself. I took my dress off leaving myself exposed to him in a way that I haven’t in almost a year. Sy joined me on the bed, open and vulnerable to me. I loved those thick thighs and torso of his, he always eclipsed me.

“Hello ladies, nice to finally see you again.” He purred as he licked and sucked on my nipples. He leaned to one side and massaged my breasts with one of his hands. “Glad to see you that you missed me too.”

Before long, I could feel his erection pressing against my thigh. He spread my legs and rubbed himself against my opening. He leaned down and kissed my neck before sliding himself inside of me. I moan his name as he gently started making love to me. Bearing his weight on his elbows, he kissed and nipped at my neck.

Breathlessly, he told me how much he missed my body, how much he loved me, how lucky he was to have me. As his tempo increased, he started to whisper in me ear.

“Josephine, tell me what you are.” I looked at him confused. “You are my wife, I want you to tell me that you are my wife.”

“I’m your wife, James.” I tell him as lovingly as possible.

“Louder, baby.”

“I’m your wife.” I said loud and clearly. The Syverson shaped hole in my chest is gone, finally. Replaced with the warmth of knowing we were going to be able to survive this.

“Even louder, Jo.” I yell it out and he thrusts harder and deeper. “Keep going, beautiful, I want the whole neighborhood to know.”

I screamed it as he started pounding me harder, building his orgasm. As my own starts its crescendo, I screamed his name and arched my back as he pulls my hips down on himself and spilled into me. He lay down beside me, twitching and jerking a little. He kisses all the parts of my skin that is available to his reach.

“I think we should order a pizza for dinner tonight,” He says after a few minutes of catching his breath. “So we can stay in bed and make love again.”

“Or, and hear me out. I put my dress back on, you get dressed and we go out for sushi with your cum dripping down my thighs. What do you think about that?”

“Shit, I missed you being a damn freak like that. Do I we get to have more fun tonight if I say yes?” He chuckles, then kisses my hand, “I still want you to ride me with my knife pointed at me some time tonight.”  

“Aren’t you scared I’m going to cut off a nipple or something.”

“You, with a knife? To be honest, cutting off my nipple is the least of my concerns. How do I know if this just isn’t a whole plan to lure me into complacency with sex and sushi, then you just murder me in my sleep.” He rolled onto his back and whined for a second, but got up. He put on a pair of khaki shorts and a black Metallica t-shirt as I got into my dress again.

“God damn woman, you are so fucking sexy.” He tells me as he opens the door on my side of the truck and leans down to kiss me again. As I climb up he give my butt a little tap just like he used to and closes the door for me. The ache I’ve been feeling these long months has subsided. Sitting across the cab from me, holding my hand, he asks if we want to go look at travel trailers this weekend. For the first time in a while, I feel like everything is going to be alright.

[jovialyouthmusic]

A not so creepy Halloween Tale

So - I don't do scary, life's too short. But after writing a fluffy fic about Drake's birthday in my 'Two's Company' TRR AU I wanted to go a little further. So here's a tale about celebrating Halloween in Cordonia. All fluff...

Tagging - I've tagged anyone who liked, reblogged or commented Drake's Birthday Bash. Please let me know if that's unwelcome.

Word count 2247

W/N I hope to post three chapters, the final one on Halloween itself. No warnings, all fluff. This brings together my 'Two's Company, Three's Allowed' AU and 'Protect and Serve'. It features King Brad (Liam), Duke Drake Walker and MC Lucy Valois plus Bastien Lykel and his LI Sophia - plus all their children.

Halloween in Cordonia Part 1

King Brad of Cordonia got out of the SUV in front of Valtoria Manor. The air was crisp and cool and leaves scudded across the courtyard before landing in the water of the fountain. He loved autumn, and made a note to take a walk along the nature trail the next day with Lucy and the children. He wondered if Luke and Molly were asleep yet, as when he texted Lucy on his way back from the airport she hadn’t answered. His son Luke was five and had just started school, and Drake’s daughter Molly was in the grip of the ‘terrible twos’ although in between tantrums she was a sweet playful child. He pictured them all scuffling through the autumn leaves, the children wrapped up warm in woolly hats, scarves and mittens.

The guard assigned to him, a relative newcomer called Haufmann, fetched his luggage out of the back of the car and handed it over to a member of staff that came out to greet them. Since his car accident some years ago when Lucy had discovered she was pregnant with Luke, Brad wasn’t allowed to drive alone. He suffered from a temporary loss of memory and it took some months for him to fully remember his past with Lucy.

Brad frowned at the lack of a warm welcome from his family, but told himself that they were probably busy with the children’s bedtime routine. Lucy would be reading them a story, Luke sitting up in bed listening attentively, eyelids growing heavy, while Molly sat on her mother’s lap, nestled comfortably and head nodding. He wondered if Drake was helping, as he hadn’t come out to greet him.

‘Thankyou Haufmann, Cook said there’s be some dinner for you when you’re ready, just go to the kitchens and she’ll see to it. You don’t need to check in for work until the morning.’

‘Thank you, your Grace.’ Haufmann bowed stiffly. ‘I’ll just put the car back in the garage.’ Brad followed in the steps of the staff member carrying his cases back inside. He’d been away for a week visiting various European countries, fostering diplomatic ties and negotiating trade agreements, and was looking forward to destressing.

In the hallway the only person to greet him was the majordomo, Grace.

‘Welcome back, your Majesty. I hope your journey was smooth.’

‘It was uneventful. Where’s her majesty and the duke?’ She coloured a little.

‘They’re upstairs settling the children. They’ve had quite a…’ she started to say something, but Brad was already halfway up the staircase, taking them two at a time. He strode along the corridor to Luke’s room and pulled up as Lucy tiptoed out of the room adjoining, her back to him.

‘Boo!’ he said softly, stepping forward and putting his arm around her waist, intending to nuzzle into her neck and kiss her. However, Lucy jumped violently and screamed. A wail went up from behind the door at the sudden noise.

‘Mummyyyyyy.’ Molly’s voice came, and Lucy rounded on Brad, shrugging his arm off and slapping his wrist.

‘For fuck’s sake Brad, look what you’ve done! It’s taken me half an hour to get her to settle.’ She hissed. Drake skidded out into the corridor from Luke’s room to see what was going on. Doing a double take, he stared at Brad and Lucy for a moment before turning back to the room.

‘It’s alright Luke, your dad’s here.’ He called back softly. ‘He gave your Mum a bit of a surprise.’

‘Daddy!’ came Luke’s voice. ‘You’re home!’ He appeared at the door in his pyjamas, hair tousled, and ran forward to throw his arms around him. Drake leaned on the doorway, slumping with a look of resignation and exhaustion before drawing his finger across his throat pointedly. Brad guessed that Luke’s bedtime hadn’t been plain sailing either, even though it was later than his little sister’s. Molly wailed for her mother again and she glared at Brad before turning back to the little girl’s room, her tone changing.

‘It’s alright sweetie, Papa Brad just scared Mummy. Everything’s fine.’ She disappeared and Brad ruffled his son’s hair affectionally before extricating himself and crouching down to his level.

‘I’m so glad to be back, son.’ He said ‘Be a good boy and settle down quietly and I’ll give you your present in the morning.’

‘A present?’ his eyes lit up, but behind him, Drake shook his head violently as Luke bounced with excitement. Too late, he realised he’d just delayed bedtime again, and it would be a while before he would be sitting quietly with Lucy and Drake with a glass of wine or whiskey in hand, if indeed either of them would welcome him at all after disrupting the children’s routine.

‘Only if you go back to bed quietly.’ Luke looked at him sceptically and he held his breath.

‘Okay Daddy.’ He said. Luckily he was showing all the signs of taking after his father and developing into a sensible and considerate boy. Being big brother to Molly was all part of that too. ‘Just one story first.’ He pleaded. Drake rolled his eyes and opened the door behind him, ushering Brad in with a wide gesture, following it with a salute.

------

In the end, Brad reaped the rewards of the lengthy bedtime process that Drake and Lucy had already suffered, as Luke fell asleep halfway through the story. He got up carefully and tiptoed out, closing the door gently behind him. Drake sat outside, back to the wall, his hair looking more unkempt than usual.

‘I don’t know how he fell asleep to a story about vampires. When did he get that?’ Brad asked, and Drake shrugged wearily, nodding toward Molly’s room and motioning him to keep his voice down.

‘School has brought a whole slew of new experiences, not all of them positive. Luke learned all about scary stories and Halloween this month.’ Lucy emerged into the corridor and held her hand out to shush the two men while she listened at the door. Satisfied that it would stay closed for some time, she advanced on them and grabbed Brad’s arm. He yelped in pain at her tight grip, and she yanked him along the corridor toward the stairs. Drake tried to turn back toward his bedroom, but she gave him a scathing look that warned he’d better follow her for whatever she was planning.

She marched them downstairs to the lounge, where Brad decided it was best to remain standing as she paced the room, hand to her forehead, lost for words. Drake stood motionless beside him for a moment before starting toward her placatingly.

‘Lucy, it’s not Brad’s fault…’ he started, but she rounded on him and he clamped his mouth shut before she changed focus to the king.

‘You – do you know nothing about bedtime?’ she started. ‘Why didn’t you just wait downstairs until we’d done?’

‘I thought…’ he began, but Lucy was in full flow.

‘Thought?’ she snapped. ‘You claim that you thought about what you were doing when you grabbed me in the corridor?’ She raised her index finger and waved it in front of his face. ‘Molly had only just settled and you pulled that stunt.’

‘I’m sorry…’ his voice trailed away as she went back to pacing the room. He decided enough was enough before she could start on him again. ‘Lucy I truly am sorry that I scared you. Yes, I was thoughtless, and I should have asked Grace what was going on before I went upstairs.’ Drake shifted uncomfortably beside him. Brad stepped toward Lucy and placed his hand gently on her arm.

‘I missed you so much, Lucy – and the children. It was unbearably dull and lonely. I’d give a month of bedtimes instead of having to be apart from you all for one day.’ He expression softened a little and she sniffed defensively.

‘Be careful what you wish for.’ She said shortly.

‘Forgive me. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.’ She put her hand to her forehead wearily, visibly softening and sighing deeply.

‘Oh Brad, I’m sorry too. We’ve had such a time these last couple of days.’ Drake peeled off toward the drinks cabinet and Brad heard him selecting something and pouring it out, but he kept his focus on Lucy.

‘Why don’t you tell me about it?’ He drew her to the couch and sat her down, where Drake handed her a glass of wine. She took it gratefully as Brad sat next to her. She sipped and sighed, closing her eyes briefly.

‘It all started when Luke brought back some artwork from school. They’d done a project on Halloween, and naturally Molly was curious. Then they were playing quietly in the nursery when Molly started crying.’ She sighed, looking into her glass wearily.

‘It turns out Luke told her a ghost story.’ Drake said ruefully. ‘She didn’t like it at all.’

‘You let them play without supervision?’ Brad said accusingly.

‘You can’t watch them twenty four hours a day.’ Lucy snapped ‘I just stepped out to get Molly a drink…���

‘You didn’t send a member of staff?’ Lucy glared at him.

‘You know I don’t like to keep asking them to do things. We’re lucky to have people at our back and call. You still take your staff for granted.’

‘That’s true, but…’ he was lost for words. He’d had a privileged upbringing and having people round to do things for him was ingrained, no matter how much he tried to be independent. He sighed.

‘So what’s the damage?’

‘We’ve told Luke not to tell her scary stories, but she picks up on everything. She’s afraid of the slightest thing and takes twice as long as usual to get off to sleep.’

‘And she has nightmares.’ Drake added wearily. ‘Don’t expect her to be in her own bed all night. The only thing that calms her down from a bad dream is to cuddle up with Lucy.’

‘So don’t expect any personal time with me.’ Lucy added. ‘Even if she doesn’t wake up, I don’t have the energy. I could sleep for a week.’

‘I’m sorry you’ve had such a tough time.’ Brad said, putting his arm around her shoulder. She leaned into him. ‘I’ll have a word with Luke, though I’m sure you’ve both handled him as well as you could.’ Lucy yawned.

‘Well I’m sorry we’ve not welcomed you back with open arms. I need sleep – ask cook to make me a hot chocolate…’ she paused and shook her head. ‘Now I’m taking it all for granted.’

‘I’ll make it myself.’ Brad said, kissing the top of her head. ‘Go up and I’ll bring it when it’s ready.’ He let go of Lucy and she got up wearily, stooping to kiss him on the cheek before turning to Drake for a hug. When she’d left the room, Drake gave him a wry smile, and when he’d come back from making the drink for Lucy he went to pour a whiskey. Drake was already drinking himself, a sure sign of stress. He leaned toward his friend, elbows resting on his knees.

‘Hey man, how was the trip? We were a bit too preoccupied to ask.’

‘It all went well, but I was telling the truth. It was boring and lonely. I wish I’d been able to take you all, but it would have been unsettling for the children.’

‘Now Luke’s at school it’s difficult to make plans, I know.’ Drake replied. ‘I can see the advantages of private tutors now.’

‘You know I’d far rather Luke mixes with children his own age rather than stay isolated at the Palace like I did. Hopefully by the time he’s old enough to rule most of the responsibilities of monarch will be undertaken by an elected Council.’ Brad asserted. Although Drake had grown up at the Palace, he and Savannah had attended the school in the capital while Leo and Brad had been privately tutored up to University level.

‘Same goes for Molly - and by the way, Luke is all excited about trick or treating. All his school friends’ll be going door to door dressed up and asking for sweets.’ Brad frowned as he took a sip of his drink.

‘That’s a security nightmare. What have you told him? We can’t risk exposing him like that, even with a full detail of the King’s Guard.’

‘We’ve been non committal, but he wants to know. I said I’d talk it over with you. It’s a tricky one, because Molly’s gotten hold of the idea of dressing up and getting chocolate too.’ Brad sucked his breath through his teeth.

‘It wasn’t really a thing when we were their age so I’m not sure what to do. I’d better sleep on it. Talking of sleep, what shall we do? If Molly’s getting into bed with Lucy, what about us?’

‘I’ve been going back to my room once she makes an appearance. You can cuddle up for a while but I think it’s best to leave the girls to themselves.’

‘Let’s hope this doesn’t go on for too long.’ mused Brad. ‘Or they won’t be having any more brothers or sisters.’

‘I’m bushed coping with these two.’ Drake grinned. ‘And we have staff to help us. I wonder how Bastien and Sophia are coping with the twins?’ Brad looked thoughtful.

‘I wonder – I think you just gave me an idea.’

@sirbeepsalot @fluffyfirewhiskey​ @dcbbw​ @kingliam2019​ @katedrakeohd​ @texaskitten30 @camillemontespan @twinkleallnight @karahalloway @mom2000aggie @secretaryunpaid @angelasscribbles @tinkie1973 @neotericthemis @walkerdrakewalker @tessa-liam @gkittylove99

[fanartfunart]

More Time & Time Again/ OoT Timeloop. (I think this is just a multichapter fic now) Link is helping his younger self out when the boy asks about his own adventure. Link recalls how he failed to change the future. (Tw for death mentions/implied death, fire/destruction, injury and angst.)

Time & Time Again & Part 2

Ao3

-

"How do you know all this?" The Kid asked, holding the Megaton Hammer uncertainly.

Link just smiled, "I went on a journey like yours a while ago....In retrospect, the hammer wasn't too hard to use compared to this one sword that was like, twice my height at the time."

The Kid glanced at Navi with wide, excited eyes. She frowned, "No."

"If I found a sword that big though-"

"Stick to the hammer right now," Navi sighed, giving Link a side eye.

He restrained a chuckle and leaned over to his younger self. In a low whisper he said "I'll give you a tip to getting a sword from Biggeron when she isn't watching."

The Kid pumped a fist and Navi zipped over to gently bop Link's head. "Don't give him ideas."

Link laughed, "I'm not! The idea is all his!"

Navi glared. Probably internally cursing the technicalities of them being the same person.

"Actually though, can you tell me about your adventure?" The Kid asked, tilting his head.

Link frowned. (He was small again, placing the Master Sword back in it’s pedestal. His legs still felt shaky from finally, finally having defeated Ganon.) "Maybe later. ...Besides, you still need to practice with that hammer. You do not want to pull a muscle using that thing... Trust me."

The Kid hummed, and shifted back into a readied stance with the hammer. He grinned "If I win will you tell me?"

"Who said anything about winning? It's practice, not a game."

"Sounds like you're scared you'll loseee, Grasshopper."

Link's eyes narrowed and he grinned, "Oh its on Shrimp."

"Wha- We're the same height!"

-

Link could’ve sworn he’d rigged this game so he wouldn’t lose. Link guesses he’s always had a habit of succeeding despite all logical odds out of sheer determination. He also blames the fact that Navi was helping Little Link and that was just unfair. He sighed as he stared up at his younger self’s near manic grin, laying on the ground.

“Story time!” the Kid said, putting the hammer down and holding out a hand to help him up.

Link accepted the boy-teen’s hand, defeated. He walked over to a nearby crate and hopped up to sit on the edge. The Kid followed and plopped himself in the grass, watching attentively.

He couldn’t tell the Kid his actual story, so he’d have to make up something. He hummed, “...Where should I start?”

“The beginning?” The Kid offered, laughing.

The beginning of his real story was complicated. Was it when the Great Deku Tree sent Navi to him? Or, with that adventure a closed book, was it when he returned to his time, to grow up as he was supposed to?

“Right... Well, when I was younger, I knew a princess in Termina... She saw that an evil man... uh, her uncle, would be king soon and no one believed her... She had asked me to help her.”

-

He skidded to a halt as he spotted the King and...Ganondorf. His heart pounded in his chest as he stared at the Greudo King. Images of his beastly transformation overlapped with the man currently in front of him.

Link dashed forward, past the guards and into the castle itself. He heaved his breaths as he took the most obvious path to the main hall. He didn't even stop to admire the original architecture of the building that would be transformed into Ganon's Castle.

"Who let this boy in?" The King asked, gesturing at him. "This is a private meeting."

Link swallowed, "Where’s Zelda?"

"Are you one of her playmates? Are you lost?"

He shook his head. He stared at the man, balling his hands into the skirt of his tunic.

"He appears overwhelmed," Ganondorf said, oddly soft, "Let him gather his thoughts."

-

Link shrunk away from Ganondorf’s full attention. He partly expected Navi to start speaking for him... The silence of her absence echoed like the quiet before Ganon burst from the rubble of the castle. His heart began a drum beat of “Danger, danger, danger,” in his ears.

He ran. Link ran past the crackle of fire echoing in his mind and behind his eyelids. The distressed shrieks from Zelda, unable to help, ringing in his ears.

“I stood in front of the current King, with evidence of the man’s plans in hand, and explained what I knew...” Link said, wishing that had been true.

“What? Already? You didn’t even get the big sword yet!”

“Oh, but you see...The King didn’t believe me. Put under a curse by the evil man. He was merely a puppet... But the evil man wanted more than the throne.”

-

He took in panting breaths as he stood in front of Zelda. The royal garden a soft earthy type of quiet. The twitter of birds promising calm. He closed his eyes briefly.

"Link? You're back already?"

He nodded and gasped for breath, "Ganondorf... is going to... get into the Sacred Realm."

Zelda's eyes widened, "Are you sure.... Oh... The Ocarina?"

With a nod, he let gravity take him and he plopped onto the ground.

"We must stop him then!" Zelda announced with determination.

Link smiled warily.

They had sat for hours. Zelda planned out how to deal with Ganondorf with the little information Link had been able to provide the words to explain. Exhaustion catching up with him, Link eventually fell asleep. His head on her shoulder. Her voice guiding him to kinder dreams than he'd had in a while. Even before starting his quest.

-

“The princess allowed me to sleep in one of the rooms in the castle. Although she probably didn’t need to since I usually ended up sleeping outside anyway... Got used to it. Sleeping in the big bed just felt too strange.”

“The princess seems really nice.”

Link nodded, “She is....” he sighed, “But, before we could implement our plan-”

-

He woke up to a muffled thunk. Link sat up and groggily wandered to the noise. He hadn’t thought about picking up his sword. He faltered as he noticed Ganondorf and a Gerudo woman bringing in a set of barrels.

Ganondorf turned to look at him and raised a brow. "Child. What are you doing up?"

He pointed to the barrels, brows furrowed.

"Ah, they are a gift to your King."

"It's night," Link forced out. Voice raspy. His glare strengthening.

The Gerudo King walked over to him, dramatic strides intimidating and imposing. Link scrambled to stay out of arms reach of the man. Ganondorf halted. "I get the sense you and the Princess don't like me too much."

Link distinctly regretted not grabbing his sword. His hand itched for something to hold, to protect him. "You're going to hurt people." He said in a harsh whisper, curling his fist.

"You sound so sure.... Why?"

Link looked away and took a step back.

"I don't intend to harm you, child."

"You killed the Great Deku Tree." Link hissed, feeling tears prick at the corners of his eyes.

"Ah. I didn't expect one of you to come out of that forest. Do you plan on speaking to the king? Tell him I killed a tree? I don't think he'll quite believe that... And if he did, it was one tree, do you think he'll care?"

"I'm not going to let you get into the Sacred Realm! You won't get Zelda or I to open the doors for you-"

"The Princess can open the doors?" Ganondorf grinned, "Thank you, young one, for that insight. I would have thought that particular goal lost without the Kokiri Emerald.... Now I can simply move on."

Link's eyes widened, he turned to run to Zelda. To get his sword. To do something. Ganondorf was fast. Especially so now that Link was small again. He never hated being small before this moment. He writhed against Ganondorf's grasp on his arm. He yelled and twisted and kicked.

"Stop it. You'll wake everyone up." Ganondorf snarled. He huffed, "I do hate doing this to a child but you give me no choice." He spoke in a language Link didn't understand. With a sharp jolt in the back of his head, he felt the energy sapped from him. He dropped to the ground. He felt wooden. Like a doll.

Ganondorf picked him up with ease. Dropping him over his shoulder. "It shouldn't kill you. Don't be alarmed. It took significantly more work to kill the Great Deku Tree."

Link's eyes widened. He hit Ganondorf weakly, struggling with the rest of his might. Ganondorf gave him a curious look, seemingly surprised he had even this much fight in him.

He was deposited in the bedroom the princess had given him. "Do try to get some rest, boy.... You'll need it." The door shut and locked.

Slowly, everything went dark.

-

"He cursed you?!"

Link nodded, "I later would realize that the reason I managed to stay awake as long as I did was because I had my own magic.... I had learned some spells before, but found out I could no longer do them."

The Kid frowned, "That's terrible!"

"I learned more later, it didn't entirely sap my aptitude for magic." Link glanced at his own hands. "I don't know... I don't need them as much anymore."

-

Zelda shook him awake. She shoved him to the floor in her urgency.

She pulled him up and before he was truly aware of his surroundings, he was being lifted by hands much stronger than Zelda. Link squirmed, the sleepiness draining from him quickly.

"Link wake up! Please!"

He groggily reached out to her. She gasped "Oh thank the Goddesses."

"Impa!" Zelda cried out. "My father! Where is he?"

"We don't have any more time to spare. I'm sorry Princess. We must leave. Now."

Link gasped. No no, this shouldn't be happening. It shouldn't be happening at all.

Impa ran. She remained surprisingly dexterous and agile despite carrying both children.

Link watched over Impa's shoulder as Ganondorf appeared from the door. His sword was stained red. He grinned and took large, striding steps after them. Impa threw Zelda up onto a horse. Link squirmed out of her grasp before she could toss him up with her.

"Link!" Zelda shrieked, "What are you doing?"

He took out his sword and gestured towards the gates.

"You can't!" She cried, reaching towards him. "You... you could-"

Impa spurred the horse on before she could finish. Link closed his eyes to dash out the image of Zelda's panicked face.

-

"I... never saw the Princess again for a long time after that."

Link nodded, "Eventually."

The Kid stared at him with a deep sadness. He knew he probably resonated too deeply into truth. He would have to change more in his story.

"But you did see her again. Right?"

-

Link tumbled to the ground, ignored. Ganondorf grabbed his own horse. Link roared in fury and made a leaping strike.

Zelda's scream echoed in the distance as Ganondorf clashed against his sword, creating a slash across Link's arm.

Ganondorf pushed him back before he could complete his attack. Knocking him several feet back. He scoffed, "I don't have time for you, child."

Link winced as he scrambled to a stand, listening to the clop clop of hooves. Legs shaking, he raced to the Temple of Time. He knew Ganondorf would be back. He hid behind a pillar, and waited. He could still stop it. He would just have to stop his past self from opening the doors! That could work.

-

"I ran to get the King's Mask before the evil man could. With that, he could rule the kingdom as he saw fit. Masks have great power in Termina, as symbols and sometimes magical items." He explained.

"Oh cool." The Kid leaned forward, "I wonder if any of the masks I had as a kid would be important to people in Termina..."

-

Link looked down with a soft smile, "Some of them, maybe. But anyway.... the mask was... gone, by the time I got there."

The boy ran in just as he expected, the Ocarina of Time still gripped in one hand. Link attempted to dash after him, only to he grabbed from behind. A large hand muffled him. He kicked and squirmed and bit. All it got him was a tighter hold.

“I should’ve known the royal family would send someone through time to stop me.” Ganondorf whispered to him, “I didn’t expect a child. Although, perhaps that’s all they have left.”

Link growled and knocked his head back, hitting Ganondorf’s chin. He was dropped unceremoniously. Scrambling to a stand, Link readied his sword, glancing at the spiritual stones in their places.

“Really?” Ganondorf huffed, “You think that little tumbtack will stop me?”

Link glared.

-

Ganondorf summoned his magic and Link dodged out of the way. “Hm, you learned. Good to know.” Ganondorf walked past him, and Link ran forward to attack, but was yet again thrown back by a dismissive smack. Everything after that was a hazy blur.

Link woke up to the crackle of fire and a burning sensation on his left hand.

Link was quiet for a moment, feeling the oppressive smoke and heat suffocating him. Imagery of Castle Town on fire flickering behind every blink.

The Kid frowned at him, "Are you okay?" He whispered.

Link nodded, tracing the shape of the triforce of courage on his hand. He didn't quite know how the time travel worked with the sacred relic. He glanced at his younger self. He had it too, didn't he?

"Grasshopper?"

Link took in a breath and straightened his posture, "Right. Right. I'm fine. But um. Can we finish this another time?"

The Kid nodded. He stood and stretched. "...Um, quick question... If you don't mind... Why did you leave Termina? You grew up there. And you said it's doing fine now-"

"I was looking for an old friend... Now I just want to help people here."

"Oh. You're a nice person." The Kid concluded.

"...I've been told that." Link said softly. He ruffled the Kid's hair because he knew it would annoy him. "But! It's getting dark and if you don't go back home and rest, I'm gonna go find Sheik and he'll make you sleep."

The Kid gasped in indignation. Then blinked. "Wait you can find Sheik? Really? How!?"

"Oh my Goddesses, go sleep!"

"Is he here!? Is he following me or is he just going to places I need to be before me?"

"Forget Sheik, I will drag you to the forest."

The Kid laughed, "Okay, okay."

[bonny-kookoo]

Soulmates (JJK x Reader) ☁️🔞💜

✨ Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Reader

✨ Genre: Angst, Breakup AU, Idol AU, Smut, fluff/romance

✨ Warnings: Breakup, crying kookie because that needs to be a warning, arguing, shouting, some mean things being said, safe sex because we wrap it up even if we’re sad friends, vanilla sex, it’s just basic lovemaking y’all what do you think this is, hopeless romantic Jungkook, jk is super bad expressing his feelings and kinda petty

✨ Summary: Jungkook always told you that you were his soulmate. But sometimes, soulmates aren’t meant to be, are they?

Jungkook had a nasty habit.

And it was that every time he thought he was right, he became selfish. And no, not in any cute kind of way. He would start to chase his own tail in a sense; completely blocking out any kind of other opinion than his on a topic. It lead to the shouting match you both had now; his voice considerably louder than usual, a whine to his tone that in no way was intended to be charming. No, the way he drawled out certain syllables was to only further make sure you knew how upset he was.

"What do you want me to do!" He yelled, looking at you with a gaze that you knew could easily guilt-trip you into giving in. But this time he needed to be an adult, you needed him to understand your side of the situation as well. "I can't just make everything disappear and make everyone forget my face." His eyes were still hard. "They'll figure it out anyways, I don't get why we have to hide it anyways!" He groans out, as you sigh, a headache incoming.

"Because it would be the end, Jungkook." You argue back, voice however in no way as loud and stern as his was. "I'm not telling you that you have to be an actor onstage, but I'm asking you to leave our problems and arguments Off-Stage Jungkook. Everyone on twitter got concerned why you were so serious during your stage!" You said. Because this had been the main issue at hand. He have had a concert just a few hours ago, but you weren't able to attend it. The reason had been that some staff members forgot to pick you up from the airport due to some problems that had come up last minute. You had been understanding, simply ending up taking a cab to yours and his shared apartment, watching his performance via livestream instead. He'd sounded upset over the phone, frustrated even, yet you had tried to reassure him that it wouldn't be his last- you would always be there the next. What did upset you however, was how he had been openly upset onstage about it. He seemed agitated, serious, and not his usual self, which had lead to not only his bandmates scolding him, but also you. You had simply asked him to remember that fans couldn't know what happened away from the cameras. They didn't know, and they had no hand in it either- he was being unfair by punishing them with his behavior. But his habit of growing hostile when critic got too personal blasted everything out of proportion, now ending in the situation you had in his kitchen.

"Well, I'm not gonna go up there and be all happy while I don't even know if you're safe!" He barks back. "You're just as important to me as the band, as my job, can't you appreciate that?" He whines, and your eyes become even more upset.

"Jungkook, I do appreciate it, but it's also what I'm scared of." You say, and he furrows his brows. "You can't do this Jungkook, please. I told you I can wait, I'll wait forever, but this is a limited time. I want you to enjoy it fully, without responsibilities, because they'll be there soon enough. I want you to be with your band 100%." You say, and he suddenly grows quiet.

"You sound like you're breaking up with me right now." He wonders across from you, his voice now eerily low and considerably less loud and angry. You can't look at him.

"I don't know if I should." You answer him, and his eyes suddenly widen a bit, glistening as the tip of his nose turns red. He's close to crying, you know it. But you have to do what's best.

"Don't." He says, hands balling into fists before he nervously wipes them down his sweatpants, suddenly on edge. He's always like this whenever he's unsure of what he's supposed to do. It's quite endearing, if it wasn't because of such a matter. "You- We'll find a solution, I shouldn't have, you know, gotten so upset-" He starts, but you shake your head.

"Please, let's just.. not." You mumble, and you still can't look up at him. "I'll uhm.. I'll sleep on the couch, okay? I try and be gone tomorrow morning." You say, and only now do you move, trying to get out of the kitchen, as he suddenly embraces you from behind, his large body shaking as he struggles to form a coherent sentence through his tears.

"No no I didn't mean it-" He apologizes, even though there is nothing there to say sorry for. "I'll be better, I'm sorry, I won't do it again-" He chokes out, but you hesitantly grab his hands, trying to unravel his arms around you. He holds on tight, like a toddler not wanting his mother to go and leave him alone. It somehow feels just as heartbreaking to you. "Don't go, I'm not letting you, please stay.." He begs, and it reminds you of a tamper tantrum your friends kid held in a store a few weeks back.

"Jungkook please, don't.. don't make it so hard." You say, trying to be brave but ultimately failing as you have to swallow hard to keep your own feelings locked. At least until you're alone. You finally manage to get out of his hold, as he stands before you, eyes red and cheeks wet with his tears as his bottom lip trembles visibly.

"Are- you serious?" He asks, voice higher in pitch as he struggles to keep it steady. "You'll leave me alone like that?" He almost accusingly says, and you sniffle.

"You're not alone Jungkook, you're never alone. You shouldn't even be here, you should be sleeping at the dorms like you used to. I'm just pulling you away from the band, and its not fair! I have no rights to do it, I'm being selfish, I'm now interfering with your work as well, Jungkook, don't tell me you're this blind." You say, as he looks at the floor, caught red handed.

Jungkook dries his nose on his sweater sleeve as he swallows. "I'll.. go and sleep at the dorms then. You uhm.. can take the bed." He mumbles, as you nod, even though you probably won't be able to. "Are you.. will you.." He starts, and you nod with a sad smile.

"My promise still stands." You say. "If you'll still want me then, I'll wait until this dream is over." You say. He nods, biting his lip as he grows unsure again. He doesn't know what to do, if he should hug you, or not, kiss you, or not, hell he doesn't even know if he can look at you now. So he simply nods again, shuffling away as you stay put, listening to him putting his shoes on, as the door shuts after he leaves.

Only then does it hit you.

And only then, do you let yourself cry, sob as you scream and fall to the ground, letting it out.

As he sits in the living room he once felt so familiar in, he notices how alienated he feels. It's awkward as Jimin and Suga look at him, unsure what they should say. Only now does Namjoon come into the room, surprised to see the youngest. "What's going on?" He asks, and Taehyung gives a bottle of water to Jungkook, as the youngest mumbles his answer.

"We broke up." He says, and everyone seems to grow sad at it. They really liked you, even though everyone had been wary at first; you had proven to them however, that you were genuinely in love with Jeon Jungkook, and not only the Jungkook of BTS that made headlines if he only did as much as sneeze in public. His money didn't matter to you and neither did his fame- yet they had all feared this outcome. "She said uhm.. she doesn't want to interfere with my work so.."

Suga nods at this, and sighs. "Mature choice." He says. "Shows she cares about you." He concludes, as Jimin seems to want to argue. Jungkook shrugs. "But I think a lot of it came from you." He speaks, as he looks at the youngest, who furrows his brows. "Think about it. It was your choice to spend your time at your private apartment rather than here so you could be with her. You get upset when she doesn't text you, and fuss over her if she gets hurt." He explains, as Jungkook suddenly feels as if he's being scolded again, huffing as he slids into the couch with frustration. "But that's who you are; you invest yourself 100% if you find something that makes you happy." Yoongi puts his phone away.

"That's totally helping, hyung." He grumbles out, as Jimin throws one leg over the other.

"I think what he's trying to say is that you have to find a good balance." Hoseok says as he sits down as well. "You always give it your all, and thats great, but it wont work long-term. Split your time equally, make space for a piece of everything instead of trying to carry it all at once." Jungkook sighs, as he feels his eyes sting again.

"Well, doesn't matter anyways." He huffs out, as his voice chokes up again. "Guess at least PD-Nim will be happy." He grits out before he begins to cry again, everyone at loss on how to comfort the youngest of the group.

Jimin chimed in at that, gently scolding the youngest. "Now thats unfair." He says. "He's not gonna be happy over you being upset Jungkookie." He scolds, and Jungkook looks down at his hands in his lap.

He knows hes being petty and childish right now. He knows things like these happen. He knows that you love him, and that you're probably just as upset as he was.

But he was heartbroken as well.

And he hates it.

It takes him a while to figure it out.

It takes him to break down during a concert in front of thousands as he realizes its the first ever since your breakup; as he remembers that no, this time he won't go home to his own apartment but he'll share a room again. He won't be rubbing his sweaty hair teasingly on your neck to hear you laugh and yell at him to stop. He won't be getting to hold you through the night after he'd made sure you both felt close and satisfied before he'd fall asleep with you.

It takes for him to cover a heartfelt song with your name on the tip of his tongue, making fans fawn over the emotional tune in his voice as he let's go of his pent up feelings through the only thing he knows he's good at; music.

But he eventually figures it out.

BTS is granted a small hiatus, a moment to breathe, as he immediately knows what he wants to do with the time he'd been gifted. He visits his parents, tells them about you and his plans, and feels even more motivated as he finally returns home into his private apartment, previously owned by him and you. He wonders how many nights you'd fallen asleep in front of the TV waiting for his live concerts to be shown. He sits down, grabbing his phone, as he calls your number, secretly wondering if you've changed it.

You didn't.

Nothing is being said at first, until he speaks. "Hey."

"Hey." You answer, unsure.

"I've made time now." He says, and you sigh on the other side of the line, saying his name as you're ready to argue, before he stops you. "No no no not like that, aish.." He runs a hand over his face, hair longer now as he thinks about what to say next. "Long term. I.. Yoongi-hyung said that I'm merely growing up, and that that includes changing, but-" He starts, and his voice is a bit raspy from slight overuse from recording another cover earlier that day. "I wanna grow up with you, not away from you. I wanna change, but I want to change right next to you I-" He stutters a bit as he grows nervous. "I don't want to wait until this dream ends Y/N.." He says, throat closing up as he thinks about how you maybe changed your mind. He can't give up like this, though. "I want to live this dream with you." He finishes, and its quiet for a moment. Until he hears you sniffling.

"You're stupid." You say, and start to laugh as he does too.

"Where are you right now?" He asks, and you sniffle again before you can answer.

"Crying at Hangang bridge, what about you?" You chuckle, and he smiles at no one in particular.

"Can you.. Can I pick you up?" He wonders, picking at the ends of his sweatpants' strings. You agree, and he gets up immediately, grabbing his jacket, a mask, and his cap as a disguise.

The door hits the wall with a loud noise, making Jungkook hiss a bit as he's a bit startled by the noise, before he simply resumes in kissing you feverishly, not caring much about any damage might done as he closes it shut behind him. He slips out of his shoes and picks you up with ease after you've discarded yours as well, stumbling a bit with you in his arms as he laughs on the way into his bedroom, your arms safely around his neck in fear he could drop you.

He'd never.

He makes sure your back meets the mattress softly as you both shuffle out of your jackets, his cap meeting the floor somewhere as he unhooks the mask from behind his ears, the fabric having been moved to rest under his chin anyways, simply to be able to kiss you silly. He shrugs off his coat as his hands help you to throw your shirt over your head, his body crawling over yours as his hands move over your skin. He's in heaven, absolutely insane for your touch as your cold hands slip under his oversized carhartt shirt. He wonders for a moment how he could ever make it work without you, without your presence, your touch, your love and care for him. He's happy he doesn't have to, glad he was able to pull you back towards him, as he leaves open mouthed kisses along your neck, carefully cupping your breasts until he unhooks your bra, helping you discard the piece of underwear before he places a few kisses on their bare skin as well, relishing in the feeling of them, warm and soft in his palms.

"I love you so much." He mumbles onto your skin as if to tattoo the words underneath it, to keep them safe inside your flesh never to be forgotten by you.

"I love you more." You humm against his lips as his meet yours, his grin making his eyes crinkle at the sides as he helps you get him and you out of the rest of your clothes. He moves away for a moment to get a condom, before he jumps back on the bed in a manner that's almost too childish considering what you're about to do, but somehow it's so undeniably Jungkook that you simply laugh, closing your eyes as your head falls into the wrinkled bedsheets below.

"Impossible." He answers a little late, as he slips on the safety over his length, kissing you again as he carefully slips inside you, breathing out a sigh of relief at the feeling of your warmth around him. "You feel like home." He humms out, a rough grunt escaping him as he begins to move his hips, years of dancing experience making it easy for him to find a rhythm perfect for you both. You still smile.

"You're so cheesy." You huff out, as you look at him, his hair falling downwards as your hand instinctively reaches for the back of his head, pulling him onto your lips again, hooked on his taste as he needily bites your lower lip, sucessfully opening your lips to grant him access. A younger, more innocent version of him would've thought of this sloppy and intimate way of kissing as weird and maybe even gross, but his current version couldn't care less. He'd do anything to feel close to you.

So he doesn't care that your juices make your bodies slippery, that his sweat starts to collect on his temples, or that the sheets underneath you two would probably have to be washed. It doesn't matter, because he's with you, he's holding you' he's inside you- nothing could make him stop now.

When he reaches his climax, spiling into the condom inside you, he reaches between you two, inked hand finding your most sensitive spot as he eagerly moves his fingers over it, making your whine and whimper as you come undone as well, clenching around his sensitive cock as he breathes heavily, letting his head rest on your shoulder as you both take a moment to collect yourselves.

He laughs after a moment, slipping out of you with a slight hiss at the sensitivity, before he heavily rolls onto his side, taking a deep breath before he groggily heaves himself into a sitting position, discarding the condom before he flicks on the bathroom light with a click, the sound of gushing water soon filling the apartment as he filled the bathtub with warm water, carefully opening a drawer where some of the bathsalts and soaps were kept, before he puts some in, gentle smell meeting his nose as he smiles softly. He tucks some of his hair behind his ear as he steps back into the bedroom, corners of his mouth still turned upwards as he spots you still laid out on his bed. "Come on, let's take a bath, yeah?" He humms, as you smile sleepily, letting him carry you into the bathroom where he sits you down in the tub, returning into the room after he'd put the sheets into the hamper in the bathroom, and put new ones onto the bed, ready for when you both would return.

He steps into the tub, sitting behind you as he leans back against the cold tiles, you in his arms as he sighs. "I mean it, you know." He says as takes the loofah from the side, gently moving it over your arms as he carefully cleans your skin. "I'll balance it out better. I promise-" He says, as he moves your hair away from your neck over your shoulder, kissing the top of your other. "I'll be better. I promise." He concludes, before you move, turning around as you return his soft gesture, moving the soapy sponge over his skin as well as he watches you with fond eyes.

"Okay." You say, and almost laugh as his eyes widen, brows shooting up into his hair as he grins, moving forwards to hug you tight, uncaring for a moment that the water slightly spills off the sides, making him look at it in surprise for a second, before you both laugh as he lathers your face in sloppy kisses.

"Thank you!" He repeats. "Thank you- thank you- You won't regret it, I'll be good, promise!" He says, and you smile at him.

You know he's gonna keep his promise.

You're happily chewing on your snack Jungkook had bought you earlier, as your head rests on the crook of his neck, your legs thrown over his lap as you sit on his thigh, his hands clicking the mouse and typing on the keyboard as he adjusts some stuff. He'd invited you to spend some time with him at the studio, only if you wanted to of course, and he did tell you it would probably be boring. You disagreed, even now- sure, you weren't doing anything, but it was interesting to see him produce songs. He clicks to save his project, before he shuts down his computer, leaning back in his chair as he groans, head falling backwards. "Done?" You ask, and he shakes his head.

"Not quite, but I shouldn't be working anyways." He says, as he pulls his phone out of his jean pocket, checking something before he playfully slaps the side of your bottom. "Alright, up up, we have a camper van to pick up and some bags to carry love." He exclaims, and you smile. He'd decided after a bit of brainstorming to take you on a small trip to jeju Island, having managed to get in contact with some people to be granted access to a more private campsite, so he could spend his small trip as safe as possible with you. He'd post any picture of the scenery and him later, after the trip- he knew how easily his fans could pin point where he was from past experience.

As he locks the door of his studio, he walks down the hallway with your hand in his, mindlessly, as if it's second nature for him to hold it anywhere he goes with you. Its charming, how he doesn't even notice he's doing it anymore.

He even opens the car door for you while he talks, again not noticing it at all as he simply continues what he's doing, driving you both to your now officially shared apartment. He'd had a talk with his bandmates about him and the dorm life- and they had all agreed that it was okay if he wanted to move in with you. As long as he'd spend enough time with them to not end up growing apart again, they were fine with it. After all, he was growing up, and that also meant for him to grow more independent.

He put the bags into the back of his car, a rented Palisade, as he drove you both to the airport, the plane you both board taking you to Jeju in a mere hour. A cab takes you two to the rental service where the campervan was already waiting for you two. He smiles as he moves everything into the van, thanking the guy providing some explanations on how things work, before he sits in the drivers' seat, you climbing in beside him on the passenger seat. He grins for a moment before he turns on the engine, driving off as you smile as well.

You don't know how the future is gonna go for the two of you. You're sure this wasn't the last hurdle you would be facing, but you're more sure than ever that you would manage it somehow. You'll make it work. You know that.

Because at the end of the day, you're still his soulmate. And they'll always find a way to be together.

Thank you for reading everyone, and please stay safe and healthy!

Love, Bonny. (C)2020 Bonny-Kookoo. Please do not repost, translate, or edit my content. Thank you very much.

[windblooms]

topaz devices | ch. 01

if zhongli isn’t a the brightest individual blessed by the archons, then he’s socially inept, and spends his days stuck behind a desk as the heir of wangsheng incorporated.  frustrated by seeing his best friend burn through his days like paper over a bonfire, childe decides that if there’s one thing worse than a permeant desk job, it’s being converted into a corporate machine in one’s mid-twenties.  and he’s not going to let that happen to zhongli. 

gender-neutral reader x sugar daddy!zhongli.  modern au, slow burn.  chapter 1/?.  2213 words.

as usual, zhongli awakens a minute before his morning alarm goes off.  

and as he lays on the daybed, adjusting to the faint lighting of the moon that floats through the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office, the first thing he does is reach for his phone.  but when he pats down the area beside him, then above his head, and feels nothing, he begrudgingly props himself up on his elbows, and blinks the final bits of sleep out of his eyes.

this isn’t the first time he’s fallen asleep at the office.  admittedly, it’s probably over his hundredth, since he’s found it more practical to crash near his workspace than drag himself three floors up to his room.  but, oh, where did he leave his phone?  zhongli glances around, eyes no longer bleary; it’s not on the coffee table next to him, nor on the floor between it and the daybed, and for a split second he believes he left his phone at the tea station across the hall. 

and then it chimes with his alarm on the marble floor just before his work desk.

“ah,” he sighs to himself, voice still somewhat choked from the morning.  as the tone plays, he runs both of his hands through his hair, pulling back his bangs before letting them fall to the sides of his face, and takes a glance around his office: he vaguely remembers staying up until four in the morning to finish scanning over a forwarded contract, and the three empty cups of caffeinated tea that surround his desktop computer can attest to his commitment; there are reference binders on his desk that zhongli hadn’t put away after using, likely too engrossed in the project to tidy up as he worked, and the most damning evidence of his corporate devotion is easily the fact that, well – 

“conference in one hour,” his phone alarm is interrupted by the sound of its virtual assistant voice.  “conference with,” it continues in robotic fashion, “mrs. ningguang at seven-thirty-a.m.”

– he had scheduled an impromptu meeting after he finished reading said document.  as in, he intended to follow through with a meeting arrangement on less than four hours of sleep.  as in, arranged a meeting when it was three in the morning.  

as in, he also expected others to attend the conference on a four hour’s notice.  

such is the way of wangsheng incorporated, an institution where everyone involved is asked to sell their soul to the matriarch, all for the prosperity of her company.  the matriarch in this case being, of course, zhongli’s mother.

 “conference with,” his virtual assistant repeats, and zhongli hauls himself up from the daybed and onto his feet, padding over to his phone before swiping over the screen to silence all of his notifications. “mrs. ninggua – ” beep.

he inhales, stretches his arms, and then gazes out to the liyuen skyline. 

the horizon is still dark, with only hints of warmth leaking onto the expansive blanket of night.  below, however, the streets are illuminated by commuting vehicles and establishments opening for the day.  from his place on the higher floors of the company building, zhongli can only imagine the hum of life – he’s much too far up to actually hear anything.  

it’s at this moment he realizes that the last time he’s actually stepped foot out of the building was over a week ago – and a grimace becomes his first expression of the day.  archons, he didn’t think he was that busy, but begins mentally count the days regardless.  yeah, 9 days.  zhongli’s frown deepens; knowing himself, it’s probably also been 9 days since he’s left his floor on the building.

as much as he would like to leave, though, the company is more important to him.  until there’s a convenient time for him to take a break, he’ll keep working.  it’s what he’s always done – it’s what he’s good at.  

so he inhales once more, as the skyline is washed with violet.  exhales.  

the clock reads six thirty-three. 

. . . 

it’s around four in the morning when childe decides that zhongli is officially insane.

who the fuck arranges a meeting in the dead middle of the night?  granted, he’s only zhongli’s secretary, so it’s not like he has to take part in it – the gripe here is that he’s the one who manages zhongli’s entire schedule.  so when zhongli goes out on his own, arranging things without telling him first, that’s when the issues start.  

childe receives the conference notice just as the other executives do (while on a comfortable date with his bed); reading zhongli’s attached note with gunk wedged in his eyes and a screen flashing blue light directly into his irises makes him think – 

there’s no way zhongli’s in the right state of mind.  and after three whole years of working with him, others would think that childe’s used to his mercurial behavior by now.  but he would give himself more credit, insisting that he’s not that deep into the corporate mentality to put business before rationale – but maybe it’s the luxury that comes along with being a secretary and not anyone more important.

now, where was he?  oh, yeah.  plotting exactly which words to tell his boss when it’s an acceptable time in the morning.  

that means grumbling obscenities until he falls back asleep, brain power exhausted.  that means waking up at an appropriate time (read: six), rolling out of bed, then heading to the tea bar, and concluding that, well, this is just how zhongli operates.

as in, he can’t be angry at his best friend for long.

ceramic cup in hand and bedhead as thick as a haystack, childe recalls two things that were previously clouded by his indignance: one, that the business life is all zhongli’s ever known, even when he was a kid (that much was made obvious when he couldn’t even list out how many hobbies he had the first time they met).  two, the fact that, when asked, zhongli didn’t know which would be worse between losing stock investments or entire contact with the outside world. 

sheltered is probably the closest word childe can think of, but zhongli isn’t stupid either.  maybe socially inept is the better way to describe him – not like it cripples his personality entirely though.  he’s got some redeeming qualities – childe tells himself to think positively of zhongli for the entirety of his stroll down the hall towards his office – but stops short once he opens the door and realizes that, well, 

“three,” childe mouths incredulously, nearly dropping the ceramic in his hand.  “three cups of tea from last night alone?”

“good morning to you too.”

childe doesn’t have much time to gawk.  he would drag his face down with his fingers if his hands weren’t occupied, but knowing zhongli, he wouldn’t even make note of his dramatics.  absorbed into his work first thing in the morning – and childe, looking down at himself, isn’t even dressed properly.  just a dress shirt and pants, while zhongli has already decked himself out in a full-piece suit.

that’s what happens when zhongli decides that his office is where he’s going to live.

“you know,” childe starts, sighing for good measure.  the ginger makes his way over to zhongli’s desk, replacing the three cups with one of fresh tea.  glaze lily tea, to zhongli’s preference.  “staying up late isn’t good for your health.  especially when you’re high on caffeine six days a week.”

well, duh.  the words come out dumber than he intended, but it gets the point across.  it’s not childe’s job to sound intelligent, only that he knows how to manage someone else’s schedule.  

it takes a few seconds for zhongli to respond, as his fingers are busy typing away at the keyboard.  drafting another email, most likely.  in that time, childe hooks his fingers through the handles of the three cups zhongli had downed the previous night, preparing to carry them out.  “i do what i need to get things done,” the workaholic counters.  his eyes don’t leave the monitor for a second, and childe has half the mind to think that he’s a robot.  “we’ve talked about this before.”

zhongli’s not wrong, but childe’s face sours nonetheless.  “i can’t have the heir of the company sabotaged by his own toxic work ethic, and insist that you take a nap whenever possible, my liege.”

his dramatics doesn’t earn him any points.  he worries briefly that zhongli’s already gone into his own world, only able to be hauled back to the surface once the sun is far gone, and his eyebrows furrow.  but now bent on getting a constructive response from zhongli, he refuses to budge from his spot across the desk.  

almost as if he’s uncomfortable, zhongli looks up.  childe knows he’s not actually peeved, and that the brunette is just thinking of what to say.  three years of working for him taught him as much.  “if i have time to, then i will.”  the young heir averts his eyes towards the screen before meeting childe’s again.  “thanks for your concern.”

if childe were any other person, he would believe zhongli.  zhongli speaks without a falter in his voice – as if it weren’t already as smooth as velvet – and his eyes are resolute when locked onto his.  but he’s not someone else, and the closest individual to a friend that zhongli has.  it would be a disservice, both as a friend and coworker, to leave zhongli to his devices.  so childe doesn’t relent.  it’s his turn to be stubborn and set in his ways. 

he places the cups back onto the desk, and the other man looks up curiously, just in time to see childe’s eyes narrow.  “i mean it, zhongs.”

and, with just as much performative sincerity as before, zhongli says the same thing he always does, with a straight face and empty eyes.  “i do, too.”

“no, you don’t.”  childe’s scowl is as deep as his concern.  he wasn’t joking earlier when he said that zhongli would be murdered by his own obsession with work – “responsibility,” as the younger of the two would insist, but he’s blind to his own persistence, and time has made that blatantly obvious.  “i know you have a meeting soon, so i won’t stay long.  i don’t care if we’ve talked about this before,” he rushes his words, determined to get them in before zhongli quips, “it doesn’t make it any less important.”

a pause.  zhongli’s typing has halted and is instead replaced by silence.  hell, he even folds his fingers together on top of the keyboard, as if telling childe that he finally has his full attention.  but the void in his eyes hasn’t changed: amber, clouded with vermillion, and burning in coals.

childe assesses him sternly, extending the stillness of the moment, before proceeding.  “i’m going to block out your schedule tonight after eight, and we’re going to have a talk.”

zhongli tries not to look fazed.  to his credit, he really, really tries, but his posture bristles just enough to cue the secretary in on his client’s displeasure.  “no, i’m not going to watch over you for the rest of the night to make sure you sleep,” he reassures just as swiftly, half-teasing and half-serious, “but we are going to make some plans.”

both of childe’s hands are flat on the desk as the two of them regard each other.  although zhongli is the taller of the two, his position in the office chair gives childe the height advantage in the current situation.  “after you get enough rest this week, i’m going to get you out of this building,” childe vows to zhongli.  neither of them blink.  “you’re going to walk on the streets and breathe fresh air.  you’re going to spend time with people your age and eat at a restaurant.  you’re going to have fun.” 

it is at that moment, when zhongli’s face falters as if he’s being spoken to in python when his input is java, that childe realizes that he has no strategy, and that he’s just saying the things that he wants for zhongli: he refuses to believe that zhongli will continue to regard this room, conditioned with with frigid air and tailored to each tile on the floor, is his only future, and instead wants his 25 year-old boss to have some semblance of life in his days instead of bleeding through each, only to tear through the next.

childe had the choice to dream towards the life he currently lives.  on the other hand, zhongli never did.  inheriting a multi-million dollar company, especially being the son of the ceo, outwardly sounds like the opportunity only the archons could bestow.  childe would have thought the same too.  

until he realized that predestination sucks, and that zhongli is too good to wither his youth away behind a desk.  

childe has exactly thirteen hours to come up with a plan.  from the thoughts floating in his head, it can turn out in one of two ways:

one: zhongli is integrated back into society and lives a happier, more animated life than what he currently has. 

two: childe loses his job.

[toomanystoriessolittletime]

Playing with fire

Summary: August Walker was the new chief of the fire station in town. He could have every girl in town. Except you. Because you didn’t want to be just another number in his long list of conquests. But just once wouldn’t matter... right?

Pairing: FiremanAU!August Walker x Nameless OFC

Wordcount: 3.3k

Warnings: Smut (dirty talk; unprotected sex; oral)

A/N: I did it! I finished my entry for @evnscvll​​ 3K challenge. The next time I pick Firefighter AU and Beyonce’s Ego somebody please slap me. Anyways. Hope you enjoy

Masterlist

Taglist in reblog

It's on, baby, let's get lost

You don't need to call into work 'cause you're the boss

For real, want you to show me how you feel

“It’s almost 11,” Beth called from the front of the store.

“And?” You called back, distracted by the task of refilling some of the pints at the display counter.

“It’s friday,” she clarified, impatient.

“Oh…” You hummed, picking up your mug of coffee as you head outside.

It was a hot summer day. The little ice cream parlor you opened last year would probably be filled to the brink most of the day. So you allowed yourself these 30 minutes every Friday to relax and dream. Dream about the firefighters across the street that were doing their weekly workout routine outside, whenever the weather allowed it.

“He’s back,” Beth whispered as you sat down next to her.

“Who?”

“Oh you know fully well who I’m talking about.” She rolled her eyes, hiding her grin behind her glass. You turned your attention to the other side of the street, your eyes going straight to him, even if he had his back to you.

August Walker was the chief of the fire station and was well known for his strict methods and his endless charm. To you, he was the guy who did everything to get into your pants, despite your frequent rebuttal.  You were better than that and refused to to be just another number on his very extensive list of conquests.

It was almost as if he knew you were talking and thinking about him, because he turned around, catching you looking at him. August winked, making you sigh and look away. It was your turn to hide your smirk behind your mug.

“I don’t get it. Why don’t you just let him rail you?” Beth asked.

“Please keep in mind you’re still talking to your boss,” You replied, even though you knew it was pointless.

Yes, Beth was your employee, but before that she was also your best friend and immune to your mood. She had been down on her luck when you decided to open your own store so it made perfect sense to hire her. She was so excited when you told her you wanted to sell self made ice cream that it was impossible not to hire her on the spot.

“Well, boss,” she started with a teasing smirk,  “I want an answer to my question.”

“Look at him,” you pointed out, turning your gaze back to watch him.

“I am looking at him.”

“He could have anyone. He knows exactly what he is doing to the ovaries of everyone who has some around him. He walks like his dick needs his own postcode. Yes, he is hot. But the way he just… Carries himself, like the world is at his feet? I’m better than that.”

You could hear August shouting across the street at his firefighters making pushups. A part of you hoped that he would join them, so you had some nice images you could fall asleep to tonight.

“Oh shit.” Beth cursed next to you. August had pulled off his shirt, and joined the work out.

“And you’re saying no to that?” Beth asked. You bit your lip as you watched him, crossing your legs and feeling your core pulsating.

“I am.” You gulped.

A knock minutes after you closed the store made you sigh.

“We’re closed.” You shouted from the back, returning your attention to the task at hand just when you heard another knock.

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” you groaned, dropping the dish cloth on the sink and moving to the front of the store. Beth had left an hour ago, but you still wanted to make sure everything was spotless before you head out. You froze at the door when you saw him standing outside.

August Walker in the flesh.

From the moment he set residence in your little town, rumours about him started flying. Some said he was a criminal still being searched by the CIA, which you thought was ridiculous, but you knew he was released from prison before coming here

He never told you why he had been imprisoned, you weren’t that close, but you two talked a lot. When it was just the two of you, sometimes he would let you have a glimpse of the man behind the facade he built around him.

Yes, he was the cocky, overconfident leader of the firestation, who knew exactly what he had to do to get what he wanted. Yet, when you didn’t give him what he wanted, you seemed to become a challenge for him and those August couldn’t resist.

“What do you want, August?” You asked, cleaning your hands on the apron you were wearing.

“You have some ice cream left for your favourite fireman?” He asked grinning.

“I don’t know. Did you bring Carl?” You shot  back, with a smirk.

“Ouch.” His hand flew to his chest over his heart. You rolled your eyes before you opened the door. He leaned down, kissing your cheek as he walked past you and waited for you to close the door. You watched him as he walked in, wearing only sweatpants and a Tshirt, leaving little to the imagination. He knew how handsome he was, and he made sure to let the outside world know.

“Don’t you have some work to do? Some fires to extinguish?” You asked.

“I did have to actually save a cat from a tree today.” He said.

“You did not.” You laughed.

“Yes I did.” He leaned over the counter as you came back with a cup full of vanilla ice cream.

“I only have vanila left.” You said looking at him.

“Oh sometimes I really like some vanila.” He smirked.

“I might be tiny, but I am going to throw you out if you keep that up.” You rolled your eyes.

“I’d really like to see you try.” He looked at you, and the air seemed to be thicker. You looked into his eyes, your focus on his lips for only a tiny second before you busied yourself, portioning some ice cream for him.

You didn’t want to be another number on August long list of women he slept with. Yet you could feel him looking at you, undressing you with his eyes.

“There you go.” You whispered, pushing the bowl of ice towards him.

“No sprinkles?” He hummed. Looking up you gulped. He somehow got closer to you, his face only inches from yours. His tongue dared out, wetting his lips and you sighed.

“Why won’t you let me kiss you? Just once?” He breathed. You gulped, mesmerized by his oceanblue eyes, when you shook your head, and took a step back.

“Because you are going to break my heart.” You sighed. “You can keep the bowl, close the door behind you, yes?” You asked, not waiting for his answer as you turned around to walk back into the kitchen. You heard him sigh, the door closing behind him.

Bumping your head repeatedly against the wall you sighed.

When you got back to front you saw him walk away. Shaking your head you frowned when you saw that he must have forgotten something on the counter. It was a map of the city. Some buildings were circled red. Shrugging you took the map, intending to give it back to him the next time you saw him.

I consider myself lucky, that's a big deal

Why?

Well, you got the key to my heart

But you ain't gonna need it

I'd rather you open up my body

You felt watched the minute you stepped into the bar. It took almost an hour before you found out why. At the other end of the room sat August. He nodded at you once you caught his eyes, making your sigh internally.

“What’s going on with you?” Beth asked. She had nearly demanded for you to go out together. If you wouldn’t let August fuck you, she needed to find someone else. Her words not yours. Arguing with Beth was a losing game, so you put a dress and some heels on and just went with her.

“He’s here.” You said as you looked at her.

“Who?”

“Mr. “My Ego is as big as my dick””

“Oh and how would you know that?” Beth grinned, waving once to where August was sitting before she looked at you again.

“Because there’s no way he’s not big.” You took a sip from your Gin Tonic.

“So you have given it some thought?”

“My conscience has some very detailed ideas of just how.. gifted he is.” You mumbled.

“You had a sex dream with August?” She said a little too loud, causing some heads to turn towards you.

“Maybe a little louder. I think he didn’t hear it.” You groaned.

“Just… let him fuck you. Sex does work without feelings, you know?” She said encouragingly. Looking at her for a moment, you didn’t know if it was the alcohol or you just fed up with fighting against what was there between August and you. Emptying your glass you jumped from your seat.

“How do I look?” You fidget with your dress.

“Perfect.” She winked. “I’ll open up tomorrow. I don’t wanna see you until the afternoon.”

Usually I'm humble

Right now, I don't choose

You can leave with me

Or you could have the blues

“Are you following me, Mr. Walker.” You asked, making sure to sway your hips on your way over to him. He looked good with his buttoned up black shirt, the sleeves rolled up over his elbow.

“I would say yes, but that would make me a creep, wouldn’t it?” He asked, making you chuckle. “No. I was actually supposed to meet up with an old friend, but apparently I was stood up.”

“Oh and we can’t have that, can’t we?” You bit your lip.

“What are you suggesting?” He asked, bringing his bottle of beer to his lips, his eyes not leaving yours.

You leaned down, your hand on his shoulder, your lips against his ear. “Follow me and find out.” You whispered, kissing his cheek before you turned around, not even trying to hide your grin. You weren’t even out the door, when you felt hands on your hips.

“Your place or mine?” He whispered against your ear.

“Which one is closer?” You shuddered, his hand wandering down your body.

“Mine it is.” He growled against your ear, one of his hands on your stomach, pushing you against his chest. You could feel the hard outline of his cock pressed against you, making you moan quietly. You didn’t question that he seemed to know where you lived.

“I can’t wait to have you screaming my name.” He mumbled, nibbling on your ear. You melted against him, your panties becoming uncomfortable damp, as your mind took over, thinking on just how he would feel inside of you.

He talk like this 'cause he can back it up

He got a big ego

Such a huge ego

Turning in his arms your answer died on your lips as his crashed down on yours. It felt like something clicked. Holding onto him, as he deepened the kiss you didn’t care that you were standing on the sidewalk, making out like teenagers.

“Fuck.” He whispered against your lips.You opened your eyes, not even noticing having them shut in the first place. A whistle behind you made you look away from him, biting your lip.

“Your place. Now” You whispered.

“Fuck, August.” You cried out, your hands clutching the soft sheets of his bed.  As soon as the door to his apartment shut behind him he had dragged you to his bed, stripping you off your clothes, before he buried his face between your thighs. He had you coming on his tongue in minutes, not giving you a chance to catch your breath when he pushed two of his fingers into your core, making you moan his name.

You were on the brink of an orgasm again, when he stopped, pulling his fingers out.

Panting you looked up at him.

“You gonna cum on my cock the next time.” He growled. Slowly pushing yourself up, you kneeled on his bed. He was still fully dressed. You helped him with the buttons of his shirt, your lips kissing up his chest with every bit of skin underneath, until you pushed it off his broad chest. There were scars on his chest. You would ask about them some other time.

His hands worked on the fly of his pants, before he pushed it down, revealing what must have been the biggest cock you had ever seen. That he was going commando wasn’t a big surprise to you. Biting your lip you reached for it, your hand barely closing around it, pumping it slowly.

“Fuck.” He hissed, throwing his head back.

“That’s gonna be one tight fit.” You joked, wondering how he would fit.

“Oh sweetheart. I’m gonna be gentle.” He breathed, kissing you quickly. “At least the first time.”

“So there will be a next time?” You asked, crocking your eyebrow. You rubbed your thumb over his tip, spreading the precum, before you brought your thumb to your lips, tasting the salty essence.

“I’m never gonna let you leave these walls.”

Pushing you down so you were laying on your back his body covered yours as he kissed you deeply. Your hands wandered up his back, disappearing in his hair. You gasped, as you felt his cock at your inner thigh.

“Fuck me, August.” You groaned against his lips. Desperate for him to fill you. He reached for this bedside table, opening the first drawer. He brought the foil package up to his lips, ripping it open. You felt yourself shivering beneath him as he rolled the condom over his cock. The tip teasing your entrance.

“I have waited for this…” He whispered, slowly pushing in.

“Jesus….” You moaned, feeling him go deeper. “Oh he can’t help you now, Sweetheart.” August grinned, biting his lip. He was still pushing in, and it felt so good.

“So fucking tight.” He groaned, stopping when he fully nestled inside your core.

“Move.” You whimpered.

“Sure?” He pressed.

“Yes. Fuck me.” You sighed, one of your hands on his ass, urging him to move. He bottomed out, thrusting back in, making you cry out.

“Yes…” You groaned. He began to move faster, pushing himself up, so he was kneeling between your legs, watching you.

“Better than I imagined.” He groaned. Bringing one of his hands down he began to rub your clit.

“Harder. Please, fuck me harder.” You gasped, your whole skin on fire as he brought you closer to the edge. You reached a hand over your head, grabbing the headboard as he pumped into you harder.

“So fucking perfect.” He growled. His other hand pinched your nipple, making you jump and cry at the same time.

“You gonna cum for me? Cum all over my hard cock?” He asked. He rubbed quick circles over your clit, not waiting for your answer, as you felt yourself cuming again, your legs shaking, warmth floating through your body.

“Yes. Just like that. Fuck.” He fucked you through your orgasm, making it last until he pulled out, pulling out the condom and shot his cum all over your stomach.

“Fuck…” He groaned, pumping his cock. You waited until he opened his eyes, before you swooped one finger, in his cum, making a show out of licking it from your finger.

“Jesus…” He groaned. You grinned.

“Oh he can’t help you now, sweetheart.” You teased, your laugh turning into a moan when he leaned down and kissed you senseless.

Against all odds, and everything you thought of him, it wasn’t just a one time thing. August and you were inseparable, much to the distraught of everyone around you. Beth caught the two of you fucking in the bathroom of your ice cream parlor once, and teased you endlessly about it.

There was still so much you had to learn about him. He never talked about his past. He once said he was ashamed of it, yet somehow you felt like there was something dark about him, the more time you spent with him. You couldn’t point out what, so you never said something. He would talk to you when he was ready.

You on the other hand were an open book to him. Not that there was much to know in the first place. And you caught yourself staying over his place more and more. Missing his presence in your house. Somehow he wasn’t a big fan of your place.

“I’ve been meaning to ask…” You began, hoping on the kitchen counter next to where he was preparing some dinner. He looked at you.

“Why are there pictures of building all around your apartment?” You asked. You’ve been asking yourself this question for a while now. Two of the buildings you saw on pictures in his office had been burned down in the last weeks. There seemed to be a fire raiser on the loose since the beginning of the years.

“We’re updating the fire security on a couple of buildings in the city…” He answered.

“Do you think they will catch the guy?”

“I don’t know. I hope so.” He sighed, before you felt his hand on your thigh, sneaking under your bathrobe.

“And what are you up to, Mr. Walker?” You grinned, the many questions you still had forgotten.

“I think I want a taste of dessert first.” He whispered, before he parted your legs and got on his knees.

It was about 6 months of you two dating when he asked you to move in with him. You had laughed, but stopped immediately when you saw the serious look on his face.

“Oh you were serious.” You said.

“Of course I am.”

“But August…” You sighed, walking over to where he was sitting at a table in your little cafe. You put your hand on his shoulder, sitting down on his lap. You thought he smelled like fuel, but you didn’t question it.

“My house is much bigger than your place. And we both only have been dating for a half year. Let’s give it a bit more time.” You said, kissing him softly. He sighed against your lips, his arms pulling your closer.

“Okay.” He whispered back.

Yet when he came back from a job a couple days later, a frown on his face, something felt off.

“What happened?”

“It’s your house.” He sighed, walking over to you.

“What about my house?” You asked, now frowning yourself.

“Someone burned it down. We tried everything but we were too late. It burned down completely.” He said. All colors left your face.

“What?” You croaked.

“I really tried. We really tried. I’m so sorry, Sweetheart.” He sighed. You could feel the tears running down your face, sobbing when his arms put you against his body. He still smelled of smoke.

“But… All my stuff… Oh god… Where am I gonna live?” You asked against his shirt.

“Stuff you can replace. And… I already asked you if you wanted to move in.”

“But...” You sniffed.

“We can talk it out later. Now you need a place to stay..” He said, kissing your hair.

“You’re serious?” You asked, looking up at him.

“Of course. Move in with me while you figure this out.” He said softly.

What other choice did you have really?

“Okay.” You nodded.

Later that night when you were sound asleep in August arms you didn’t see his smile. His whispered words of love as he looked down at you. You didn’t know that it was him who burned down your house. Or all the houses in the city. And you never would. Because August Walker finally got what he wanted. You.