#I just like the slowburn they have that they grew up together and are completely comfortable with each other | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

caxde · 2 years

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dazed and confused | eddie munson x reader

summary you work on Hawkin's music shop, and Eddie is a regular costumer. Your friends (Steve and Robin mostly) help you to gain confidence and flirt with him.

word count: 8.1k (i think is the longest oneshot ive ever done, yikes)

warnings fem!reader (but i think i didn't use pronouns so u know ;) ), fluff, like lots of fluff, mutual pining, yearning etc, slowburn strangers to lovers, idiots in love!!!, use and metion of beer and cigarretes. english is not my first language so I apologise if there’s some mistakes, not proof read!!

“You might actually have fun” He said for the millionth time, following you around as you restock the shelves.

“Oh, I dunno Harrignton.” You answer, glancing quickly at him. “Doubt I’ll do.” You remark, keeping track of what you needed to get from the back, you counted and scribbled down on your little notebook.

“C’mon, just a couple hours, if you’re not having fun I’ll drive you back home myself.” You were getting slightly annoyed at him now, he could have chosen any day to come and mess around at your job, but as it turned out, Saturday was your busiest day, and it was release week for a lot of musicians, December approaching as it were.

“Dude, seriously, you can come in here and annoy me, but please not today?” You begged as you walked behind the counter, leaving him waiting as you disappeared for a few seconds crouching down at the boxes and picking up a promotional poster that you begged your manager would let you keep.

“If I leave, will you agree to come?” You scoff away at his question and the only response you received was him messing his hair up.

“Why do you insist on me to come?” You demand, daggers shooting away at him. “Take Robin! Robin loves parties.” You say, truly meaning it, hoping he would listen to you.

“Robin finally has a date!” He announces as a proud father, and you almost drop all the vinyls you were holding.

“Shit! Really?” You ask with your face in complete glee, a smile growing in between your cheeks.

“Yeah! Vickie asked her after she dumped that blonde dude, so, I need a wing-woman!” He explains, almost screaming even if you can tell he was aiming for a whisper, he was so excited it got to the best of him.

“Why though?” You still didn’t understand why he wanted you there.

“Okay, jesus…” He finally admits, sounding defeated as he walks behind you, you needed to restock more vinyls in the rock and metal section. “Nance is gonna be there… And… You know…”

“Oh…” You said as you realized that he needed a little push to get the one that got away back. “Wait, didn’t Nancy dump you at a party?” You demand as you walk back to the section and start organizing the pressed music into different artists.

“Well yeah, thought it would be kinda nice to-'' He cuts himself off, shaking his head and locking eyes with you. “Please?”

“Jesus Christ….” At that moment he knew you had agreed, and his smile grew bigger. “Yeah, ‘kay, but you owe me, like… big time!” You shout at him, finger raised and everything, he smiled and nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, I’ll pick you up a six-pack or whatever you wanna.” He says as he’s leaving.

“Or you could actually buy something for once!” You scream at him, too far away to actually hear anything you’re saying to him. “Asshole” You mutter under your breath.

Keeping your brain focused on the task at hand, you looked at the bands that you had in front of you, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Metallica and Led Zeppelin. Your finger tapped the last one’s cover, thinking if you needed to get more stocked. And how in love you were with the last album. You were gonna buy yourself a copy as soon as you could. So you took a little bit longer to actually put them together, making sure everything looked nice and was easy to find, as you spin rapidly to get back to the counter, your body slams into someone else’s.

“Shit, sorry!” You say as you look up at this boy’s face. You froze on the spot.

“S’okay, wasn’t looking.” He says, grabbing your arm, pushing you back , looking at you, making sure you are okay. His brown eyes looking directly at yours. Long curly hair framing them. “You okay?” He asks, inclining his head slightly to the right.

“Ah, yeah, yeah. Great. Um, if you need help with anything…” You stumble as you talk, you have only seen him from afar, never actually spoke to him, you didn’t even know his name. Only thing you knew was this, he came every Thursday and looked if you had anything new, so it was shocking to see him on a Saturday .

He didn’t talk much when he checked the things off, biting his lower lip, he would nod and search for the money you asked for.

“Actually, do you have the um… Perfect Strangers cassette? You know it’s-” You feel bad from cutting him up, but you get excited for a second.

“Deep Purple? Yeah!” You say, happy to help him, he smiles at you and you can’t help your face as you copy his expression. “Great album…” You whisper as you relook at the shelves.

“Yeah, I Know, I lent it to a friend, and I don’t think I'll ever get it back, so…” He explains, as he follows you, you chuckle at his explanation as you nod.

“Happened to me with Mötley Crue’s Too Fast For Love '' You say to him, at which you see him smile to himself. “Aha!” You let out as you see the little cassette, you point your feet to reach when you feel him behind you, arm higher than yours, chest closer than before, your cheeks growing red at an alarming rate as he grabs it before you, and you look up at his hand, three silver rings decorating his fingers.

“I got it” He says, once you turn to him. He smiles as he messes with his hair, and when he realizes that he’s a little too close to you for a stranger, takes an apologetic step back, and signals you to go first, bowing his head low. You whisper a thanks as you walk to the register.

“Do you… Um.. want anything else… uh..?” You ask, hopping he introduces himself, so you can stop referring to him in your head as hellfire boy

“Um, Eddie.” He says, you smile as you hear his name, he does the same as he looks at you.

“Do you need anything else, Eddie?” You ask, cheeks flushed pink and a smile on your face.

“No, no, that’ll be it.” He says, searching for his wallet in his back pocket. You nod, and as you grab a little bag for his cassette, you leave a Deep Purple patch in the bag, a little gift for him.

“Okay then, here you go.” He left a ten dollar bill and before you could give him the change he gestures a no with his head, smiling as he does so.

“Keep the change, and thank you.” He says grabbing the bag, giving you one last look.

“See you!” You say.

“Yeah, see you.” He says, as you watch him leave, biting your lower lip containing your excitement.

You were retouching your make-up in the passenger's seat, nervously fussing as you tried to apply mascara over the speed bumps.

“Jesus Harrigton! Don’t wanna poke my eye out.” You say to him, as he slows down for once.

“Sorry!” He says again. “Don’t know why you’re so nervous now…” He says under his breath, stopping at a red light, at which you take advantage of and draw in your waterline, black.

“S’nothing.” You mumble, evidently lying. You can feel his questioning stare and you chuckle. “What?”

“Someone’s happy…” He teases, as he leaves the red light you see him smiling at himself. “Oh… did he finally talk to you?” He says teasing you.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about…” You whisper, dismissing his tone and smudging your eyeliner a bit, playing with your hair next.

“Oh come on! I saw him in the shop eyeing you!” He says, you can’t help but smile.

“Damn it Steve!” You confess in between laughs. He parks his car as you continue. “He did… he’s nice..” You admit, playing with your ring nervously as you wait for him to stop the car.

“Did you… I dunno, introduce yourself? Ask for his number? Flirt a little?” he keeps teasing you as he leaves the car, six-pack on his left hand. You slam the door shut as you let out air.

“I panicked, only got his name…”

“God you’re bad at this.” He chuckles, as he gives you an opened beer bottle.

“Welp, you are supposed to teach me so…” You tease back, taking a quick sip.

“Fuck off…” He says, opening one for himself, walking up to the noisy house.

“I did give him a little gift, and he tipped, so maybe he’ll remember me next time…” You say looking at the floor, drinking a little bit more. Getting more nervous as you saw more and more people hanging about the place you were going.

“Sure he will, you’re unforgettable!” He says sarcastically. You show him your tongue in a teasing response.

It really wasn’t your scene, corny music, people making-out as soon as you opened the door could be seen, you really wished Robin was here, so you could speak to someone when Steve inevitably disappeared with somebody else. He walked to the kitchen and you followed him, you could see him searching for her, and you couldn’t resist but to tease him, whispering loverboy to his ear, he playfully punched you. But as soon as he saw her, he was left speechless.

“You really like her, huh?” you asked him, eyes in the opposite direction.

He nodded as he looked at you. You smiled, happy to keep watch in the kitchen.

“Go!” You said to him, he moved his head no and looked at the ground, playing nervously with his hair.

“No, no– I ah… Leave you alone?” he mumbled as he tried to keep his cool.

“It is okay Steve.” you reassured him. “You go talk to Nance, I’ll make sure the beer is drinkable.” You say to him ironically, he chuckled and muttered a thank you to you as he left.

You nodded at the two idiots.

You knew Nancy still liked him, so you enjoyed seeing the two idiots in love talking to each other, from afar. It was also fun to tease him back.

So you did as you promised, you stayed put with a drink in your hand, and when it finished, you refilled, holding onto hope that Steve won’t be long, and proven mistaken when twenty minutes pass. You grew bored of Bowie’s music, not that you didn’t like “The Rise and Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars” but you had been playing that for two weeks over at the shop, courtesy of his new movie he starred in, and you just needed a break. As you searched for a distraction, you saw an abandoned packet of Camel on the kitchen counter, jackpot.

You could smoke it right there, but some fresh air would keep you more refreshed and awake.

So you stumbled your way across, walking through the maze of drunken people, or couples grossly making-out. Hopefully, the back door was open and nobody was blocking it, so you could breath in the cold air, your beat up cropped Zeppelin shirt wasn't that much help against the cold, but you didn’t seem to mind, it actually felt kind of nice, to be able to feel the warmth the cigarette left in your fingers.

Red cup in one hand, cigarette in the other, you looked out at the yard, and almost dropped them both.

He was here. And he was looking curiously at you. He smiled as he waved to you, and you did the same, dragging the smoke out of your fingers, and as you see him approaching you can’t help but mutter shit to yourself.

“Hey” He says, lips parted from the cold, rosy cheeks for the same motive contrasting his pale skin.

“He-hey” You mutter, readjusting your voice, since it’s been a while since you spoke out loud.

“What are you doing here?” he says, hugging himself, leather sleeves poking out of his jean vest.

“I, um. A friend needed some luck…” You say vaguely, not believing that he was actually speaking to you, and not really caring why he actually was doing so.

“Oh, he around?” He said, looking behind you, moving his head around, your eyes fixated in his neck.

“Ah, no. He left with the girl a while ago. Hopefully he actually gets lucky this time…” You say more to yourself than to him, at which you catch him chuckle, and you smile in replay. And you can’t help but look at him again. You get lost in his chest, more importantly, in a newly stitched up patch, he notices you looking at it and smiles at you.

“Found it in a bag…” He says looking at you, grin in his face. “Thank you, for it.” He continued.

“Thought you might like it.” You admit, your cheeks were getting warmer, despite the cold that surrounded you.

“I do, thank you stranger.” He said, as he winked at you, you nodded, words failing you in that moment.

“You’re welcome.”

“What you drinking?” he asks, reaching for the cup, and you let him take a sip of it, sight locked in his lips. “Mmh, nice.” He says, getting closer to you, offering his arm. “Wanna get more?” he asks. At which, you take his arm and head inside, not really believing that it was really happening, or what was actually going on.

“Enough about my date! I wanna hear about yours!” Robin’s voice comes through the speaker of your telephone, you laugh in shock.

“What date?” You ask, and for whatever reason she laughs at the question.

“Oh come on” She says, ironically, you can tell she’s moving her head side to side. “Steve told me you weren’t alone when he came down” She whispers, and your hand reaches your eyes, shame in your heart.

“God dammit Robs… He’s so nice… And it wasn’t a date, ‘cus a date would mean that he asked me out, which he hasn’t, and honestly, I think he was just trying to be nice ‘cus stupid Steve left me alone with people I don’t really know.” She was laughing again, you were getting flustered at the memory of him.

“Or maybe, he wanted to get to know you, you know?”

“I dunno… Don’t wanna create expectations and then…”

“Yeah, yeah…” She finishes for you. “Well, tomorrows a Thursday, so maybe you’ll see him again?” She asks with teasing in her tone.

“Yeah, maybe.”

It had been months since you had such calmness in the store. So much so, you were the only one working today, could choose the background music, and since everything was clean, stocked and organized, you could just enjoy the moment.

Perfect stillness.

So you crouched down to the little crate that you hide behind the counter labeled workers shit. You roamed through it, hoping to find something that would catch your eye, passing from album to album, admiring every cover art, because you quite literally had nothing else to do. As you emerged back up, you had a dilemma in front of you, and you let your head rest in your hands as you looked down at both albums. Rumors by Fleetwood Mac was an exceptional album, you had no doubt about it, but… Led Zeppelin’s self titled one was eyeing you.

“Where to start, where to start…” You sang to yourself as you thought, completely lost in possibility.

So it really shouldn’t surprise anyone, that his voice surprised you enough to jump as he spoke, making you both laugh.

“No music?” He said before you jumped, and after a quick chuckle and apology he continued. “Sorry, I meant… You always have music playing.” he came back, and with him, your pink cheeks and nervousness.

“I.. Well yeah, but I usually just agree to whatever my colleague wants, and I almost never have the choice so now I don’t really know what to start with…” You explain to him, fast, almost rumbling as he smiles at you, big brown eyes looking tenderly as he does so.

His hands find their way over the counter, close enough to yours to make you unconsciously bite your lower lip, as your eyes follow them up. Hands, wrists, arms, shoulders, neck, long hair, eyes. His head looked down, as his fingers moved to grab the album on the left, focused as he read what they had inside, while the only thing you could actually focus on were the veins in his arms.

“Didn’t think you liked Fleetwood…” He mumbled, you leaned closer, without really thinking about what your body was doing.

“Well, Steveie’s voice… She truly is magic.” You whisper, more to you than to him. He lights up as his eyes meet yours, smiles in both your faces.

“Wouldn’t really know…” He confesses, pulling his body closer, forearms resting atop of the counter, whispering to you. “Haven’t really given them an opportunity…” He says, eyes travelling from your eyes, to your lips and neck. Even if you were nervous about having him that close, you were so happy to be able to talk to him about music! of all things… You were just really enjoying the moment.

“Well, you gotta.” You replay with a shy smile, your eyes completely lost in his. He nods as he taps the vinyl.

“You got ‘em in cassette?” He asks, and as you nod you pull back a bit, looking at your shelf. You had it saved in case someone called <<Lauren>> would pick it up, but it's been three months and she hadn’t, so you decide to rip the post-it off and throw it in the thrash. You feel his sight locked on your back, and that might be why you move slower, or why your waist turns more than it needs to.

“There you go.”

“Thanks.” He says, reaching for his wallet. You put your hand forward, signaling a no with your head as you smiled softly at him.

“On me.” You say, pushing the little plastic box to him. He smiles as he reaches for it, fingers touching yours, electricity between both of you.

“You don’t have to…” He says, still holding it, brushing your index finger, eyes still locked with yours.

“I want to.” You reassure him.

He nods, and mutters a thank you. You look at him as he starts to leave and you go back to the vinyl, taking it out of its envelope, when you hear his sneakers turning around.

“When do you get off?”

“8.30.” You replay, shocked at the question.

“You’ve got plans?”

“No”

“Wanna come to The Hideout?” He says, and you could swear he was the one getting flushed. “My uh… My band plays there at 9.30” He adds, your smile grows bigger. “We usually do it on Tuesdays and its a smaller crowd, but he got an offer to play today.” He says excitedly, rumbling like you do. “You can tell your friends” You can see him getting nervous, just like you did when he first approached you. “Or you know-”

You cut him off.

“I’ll be there.”

“So, it is a date?” Robin said once you arrived at the small bar.

“No, I mean I don’t think so…” You replay, your eyebrows furrowed, as you looked at her smiling, teasing face.

“But he did ask you?” She continues, with the same tone.

“Well, yeah, but… y’know, a date is like, only two people, and you talk to the other person, and get to know them, right?” You try to rationalize, as you ask for help by looking at her. “I mean, he probably was just being nice, or… or friendly? Like, y’know, I gave him a tape so he invited me and a friend to come around…so technically… not a date?” She didn’t give you an answer, she just shrugged her shoulders and laughed, heading to the entrance of said bar, you followed her, not any calmer, not one bit.

“Or he just wanted to show off, leave you impressed and then ask you out.” She says as you reach the actual bar, and as you push her shoulder in a friendly punch, she stumbles into a blonde girl you can’t really see, so you apologise, until you see Robin’s smile grow bigger in her face. “Well hello…” She muttered.

“Hey cutie.” Vickie. You smiled at the sight of them, pure adoration between their eyes. They took a bit of time to eye one another until they remembered you were there, and you couldn’t help but laugh at them.

“God, you two are cute…” You say, as they giggle back at you. “Do you idiots in love want anything?”

“Nah”

“We’re good, thank you!” Vickie says, finally looking at you, at which you nod.

You walked back to the bar, glancing at your friend, and a smile on your face. You were incredibly happy for her, she had been patient, and she deserved it more than anyone, and Vickie seemed so nice…

“Waddu want, sweetie?” The bartender's voice snaps you back into reality, and you quickly look at him.

“Ah, yeah, sorry.” He nods, and so do you. “Um, just a beer, please?” You say, maybe a bit too low you realize, but he seemed to understand you just fine. You reached into the inside of your jacket pocket, and once you had your wallet in your hand and looked at the man handing you the beer he shakes his head no.

“Already taken care of, sweetie.” He says, pointing at Eddie on the stage, waving hello at you. You blush a little bit as you salute him with the bottle, mouthing a small cheers to him, and he smiles back with a thumbs up.

“Thank you” You say to the bartender, and he nods in response. You walk back to your friends as you check the time on your wrist, it was about to start. “Hey, d’you wanna get closer?” They both nod, and you march on, and surprisingly, and even if the venue wasn’t that big, it was packed tonight, so you decided to stay in the third row, where you could be more comfortable, and still have room to dance.

“Oh shit, almost forgot.” Robin said, grabbing your elbow. “Steve gave me back your camera, says it should work now.” You smile as a thank you. The kids had begged you to trust them with this project, and hopefully they did a good job.

“Is it loaded?” You ask, eyeing Eddie in the shadows. Light still not on. Robin nodded in response and you got back to admiring him.

When the lights did finally light up, you were amazed. His arms were in full display, tattoos visible, and so were his veins, as he grabbed his guitar with force. The light bounced around his skin, making him look more defined than you had ever seen him. Just some hours ago you had seen him, but truly never like this. He ditched his usual Hellfire shirt, and wore a black button up, held together by the last button, so the red light that the stage had travelled down his chest, and what was worse, he was smiling. He was smiling directly at you.

So you spent the rest of the gig taking pictures of him, as he looked at you, and on occasions, Robin photographed you smiling at him.

“You really are their mom, huh?” You tease Steve as he hangs around the counter, waiting for the lunch club to actually pick what they want.

“Shuddup.” He says, slightly annoyed, a smile on his face as he looks back at them. “And I prefer being called a babysitter, thank you so much.” He answers, nodding his head, making his hair bop up and down.

“Okay… Babysitter Harrington…” He scoffs with a short laugh, as do you. You look down at the photos again, the kids developed them for you and you were in awe. And yeah, they had a million questions that you avoided.

“So…?”

“What?”

“Oh come on, you're smiling at them!” Steve points as he says so, grabbing one of the photos that shows a very happy you looking at him on the stage.

“It’s nothing” You mumble, trying to not give it any importance, covering them with a piece of paper.

“Oh, fuck off. You might be able to bullshit Henderson or Wheeler but not me.” He declares, looking at you. You could tell that he won’t stop annoying you until you open your mouth. “And besides, Robin told me some things. I mean she was more focused on the whole Vickie of it all, but y’know”

“Yeah, I know. They really look happy Steve…” He asks you to continue with a raised eyebrow. “I just don’t wanna make a fool out of myself. He was just being nice. Not a date. Just him inviting me to his little gig.” As you say that you can’t help but recall him, in the stage, absolutely adoring the applause and praise he got, and how he soaked the light red up, making him look angelic and demonic at the same time.

“Look, maybe he does want to ask you out, but he's too shy to do so?” He asks, looking at you, reassuring with a little tap on your shoulder. “Like you…”

He gets interrupted by a little curly haired kid wearing a snapback.

“You guys talking ‘bout Eddie?” Dustin asks, raising his eyebrows at you.

“Hello to you too kid.” You answer in return. “What is it gonna be Henderson?” You ask, in your customer service voice as he hands you over a little tape. “Huh, didn’t take you for an Iron Maiden fan Dustin.” You say as you scan it.

“Well…” He starts to explain as he reaches for his pocket. “It’s actually a present, y’know, an end of campaign gift for our DM.” He says excited, as he raises his eyebrows.

“Oh, nice.” You smile back at him. “Sure he’ll like it.” You reassure him, even if you didn’t understand a word that came out of his mouth.

“Yeah, Eddie said he loves this band!” Mike adds up, having found his way into the conversation, with another tape in his hand.

“Oh, Eddie the um…?” They all nod, knowing what you were going to ask. “He actually already has this one…” You say with an apologetic look in your face.

“Shit. You sure?” Dustin asks.

“Yeah, he ordered Somewhere In Time two weeks ago, and paid for it, he’ll probably come and collect it today or tomorrow.” You say as you turn the monitor to the kids, who stare with awe at the amount of data collected.

“You keep track of him?” Mike asks, accusing you of something.

“What? No.” You spit back at him. “I’m just good at my job.” You say as you stick your tongue out at him. “You could get him some uh… Black Sabbath, y’know?” You ask as the two little kids nod at you. You take a second to run to the back of the store and grab some of the ones that you still had to restock. “So one Seventh Star to go.” You say as you hand it to them, who look incredibly nervous now. “What? I can give you guys more options if your not-”

They cut you off as they snatch the tape out of your hands and throw the bill at you as they run out of the store.

“Who raised you?” You ask more to yourself than anyone else, as you're left there, in awe and shock, looking at Steve for some answers.

“Your boy just got in.” He says as he nods to him, who was heading to the hard-rock section. “See ya!” He says as he runs to reach the little kids.

You’re left alone and feeling completely speechless. Asking yourself a million questions about what has just really happened, but too focused on getting your job actually done, even if you were just distracted.

So you recovered the box in the back with everything that you had to restock, being interrupted by a soft smiling Eddie standing at the counter, tapping along at the song that’s playing in the background.

“Hey Eddie.” You salute him, shyly, leaving the box on the counter.

“Hey stranger.” He said back, a smile growing bigger.

“I’ve got your tape, hold on.” You say as you look for it on your shelf.

“No rush.” He says, locking his eyes in you, watching patiently as you head back, and he really was looking at every detail of you, from the way that you walk to the way that your hair moved as you did so. He was blushing now.

When you come back with it, you find him with the photo that Steve had in his hand, smiling as he looks at it, looking back at a very flustered you.

“Oh…” Is the only thing that you manage to say.

“You look good…” He mutters, with a whisper of a voice.

“I um… thanks!” You answer, not really sure what to do next. So you leave the tape down and uncover the rest of the photos. “I took some of you and… Robin, well, the tall girl that was with me also took some and uh well… Wasn’t gonna really show them to you ‘cause they're kinda bad but-” He cuts your rambling with a chuckle as he looks at all of them.

He’s smiling with his teeth, blushing and stroking them softly, his ring decorated fingers passing through them.

“They are good. You make me look amazing.” He praises you.

“Well, you are.” You say before realizing what you were actually saying.

Once you did, your face was warmer and for sure showing colors.

He smiles and you do the same, with a soft laugh as your eyes lock once again, his body resting completely on the counter now, dreamily looking at you, back and forth between your eyes and your lips.

“Thank you…” He says, grabbing the tape. A moment of silence, not awkward but comfortable, is shared between the two of you. “What is… what’s this song?” He asks, and you're left in shock.

“You gotta know T.Rex…” You say back to him, as you see how he shyly moves his head no, burying his face in his hands in shame. “Eddie!”

“I’m sorry! I don’t…” He says back at you, biting his lower lip.

“Oh come on… D’you know, Jeepster?” No he lets you know. “Okay, how about um…Sinister Purpose by Creedence Clearwater Revival?” No again. “Jesus… Led? You know Led Zeppelin?”

“Yeah, I know them.” You sigh in relief.

“Dazed and Confused?” You ask him, it being your favourite song.

“I kinda feel like that, yeah.” The palm of your hand reaches your face in frustration.

“It’s a song…” You whisper, as you chuckle and he laughs as he apologises. “My favourite actually.”

“Then I’m sure it’s a good one.”

“That’s not enough!” You let him know, flustered in all kinds of ways. “D’you know what, I’ll make you a tape, so you can actually know them, and maybe you’ll like them.” You say as you get lost in him for a second too long.

“Okay then, but, you’ll listen to it with me.”

“Okay, sure.”

“Grate, pick you up tomorrow when you close.” He says as he leaves with the new Iron Maiden tape under his hand.

And it suddenly dawns on you, that did sound like a date.

Finally, the last lady left the store.

And the usual relief that you were used to feel when closing time came around, became a weird excitement.

So, as a distraction or a routine, you did what you usually did once you were left to your own devices. Change the sign to closed, dial the volume up, and sing at the top of your lungs as you sweep the shop.

You would normally have to do inventory and whatnot, but your co-worker Carla had already, she even closed the register, begging you to let her go early because she had a hot date. Of course you said yes, not wanting to tell her that you might have one too.

Because, as usual, you were looking at Eddie’s proposition practically.

You had gifted him a Deep Purple Patch, so he was nice to you at the party.

You had given him a tape and he invited you to see him in The Hideout. (And bought you a beer)

You had offered to make him a tape with your favourite songs and he said he wanted you there when he heard them.

So technically, he was just being nice.

But then again, people that are just friends don’t really do things he did.

Steve and you were just friends, and he never drank from your cup. Eddie did.

Robin and you were just friends, and she had never blushed when you complimented her. Eddie did.

Steve and you were just friends, and he never made you blush so much your face became like a tomato. Eddie did.

You grew frustrated of making stupid lists in your head, so you really tried to focus on what you were actually doing, to little to no use.

So you focused on the lyrics, mumbling along them, screaming the occasional phrase that you enjoyed, dancing around and using the broom as if it were your personal microphone stand.

So when you heard a little laugh, you jumped, almost falling to the ground. Broom touching it.

Eddie had sneaked in, and had surely enjoyed the little show you had going on, dancing around not really caring, and he laid there, standing close to the entrance door smiling at you.

“Sorry!” He said, with an apologetic gesture. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s alright! I was just um…”

“Dancing” He finishes, resting his weight on a shelf, arms crossed in his chest, looking you up and down as you squad down to retrieve the fallen object. You nod with your cheeks pink, not really knowing what to say next, a comfortable silence, broken by his voice once again. “You need help?”

“Oh, um.. no don’t worry, it’s just this corner I’ve got left.” You say to him, really trying not to get distracted by the way his arms look, tensed up, with his veins showing as his sleeves got caught up in his upper forearms. “I do have to go backdoor and grab my coat but it’s a second.” You say, as you smile wilde at him. He nods as he starts walking to the counter.

“I got it.” He says. Before you can tell him not to bother, he’s already in the back rummaging through as you hear him humming to himself.

You try to finish your work before he gets out, and for whatever reason, maybe he’s distracted by the amount of unreleased material you guard, or maybe in a more mundane manner, he is just truly admiring your jacket, and picturing you wearing as he has seen multiple times from afar, he does just that, finding you in the back of the counter, turning the computer off and turning the stereo off, making sure you were missing nothing.

His hands travel to your waist, squeezing it softly, his cold hands in contact with your warm skin, you feel the tingle that the goosebumps leave your skin, electricity flying between both of you.

You turn around surprised, almost tripping over him in a flustered reaction, you let out a soft moan that escapes your soft lips. He smirks as he sees you, close to his body, and your chest agitated, in contrast to his calm demeanor.

“Your jacket” He whispers, lips to your ear as you turn to look at him, before you’re locking eyes to one another.

“Th-thanks.” You manage to say, not knowing how to ask, being this close to him.

If you were being honest, you had pictured his home a million times, each of it different to the last one, but you would have never guessed just how perfect it was for him.

A small trailer, fit with the strangest things that suited him.

A collection of mugs lives in the walls of the entrance, decorating the yellow walls, T.V turned off.

You were focused on the, each one different to the next, they didn’t seem to be in any particular order, but in an organized chaos that fitted him in an incredible manner.

“Those are Wayne’s mugs.” He says, as he watches you with a smirk in his face, as you admire them.

“They’re fun. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many mugs together.” He laughs as he looks at you once again, his sight lost in your figure and the way your body moves, standing finally in his living room.

You fidget with the tape as you look around, not sure where to sit or where to go, your body relaxes as you see him come closer to you, beer in hand offering it to you.

You nod as you take it, happy for the drink, excited for the company.

“If you wanna, I can bring the stereo here, I usually keep it in my room ‘cus Wayne finds it annoying but…” He shakes his head as he’s rumbling, eyes moving back, from the floor to you. “Whatever you find more comfortable I don’t wanna uh…” You smile back at him, relating to his rumbling.

You find that he’s not as intimidating as he shows to the world, you see his soft side, not really wanting to really push you into anything that would make you feel slightly uncomfortable or awkward or whatever that is the contrary of safe.

So you nod, as you lock eyes.

“I’m sure it's heavy, we can just go there, door open…” You say, letting him know your boundary for tonight.

He guides you to his room, an organized mess lies before you. A big hand-sprayed Corroded Coffin banner hanging from one wall, multiple posters, some you recognized from your own walls at work, some laid in your own room, a desk full of various things, from ashtrays (full and almost empty in rotation), to a mechanic’s manual lay around.

“Kinda messy, sorry…” He says, as he catches you looking around, amazed.

“No, actually… Kinda pictured you in a room like this.” You replay, playing with the tape in between your fingers, tapping it nervously.

Looking down at it, you realize you clearly had a favourite band. Side A being filled with different bands, while the whole of Side B is just filled exclusively with Led Zeppelin.

You're getting embarrassed that he might hate it.

“You okay?” He asks as he notices you, frozen in the spot, looking down at the mixtape.

“Uh, yeah… Sorry… Just realized this might be shit.” You say, apologetically, raising your shoulders up.

He moves his head no as he smiles at you, approaching as his teeth show, hair brushing his cheeks.

“You’re overthinking.” He says, touching your fingers as he grabs the tape, spending more time than he needed to in doing so, enjoying your touch and the warmth you leave in his skin.

The closeness doesn’t make you nervous, or produces butterflies, it actually calms you down. You feel as if he is a safe-space, not a reason for your anxiety to run through, and as you realize this, you can’t help your lips to widen your smile, eyes locked in his touch.

“Is this one of yours?” He asks as he flips the tape, the cover was one of the photos you took on his gig. Him. Standing in all his glory. Low cut black shirt framing his torso, tattoos poking out. His eyes looking directly at the camera, directly at you. As he smiles, guitar in his hand.

“Yeah, thought you might like it…” You see as he nods, a pink colour creeping in his cheeks.

“You really make me look like a Rockstar…” He whispers back, as he moves to the stereo, and you clock three various sized amps in his room, so you giggle a little at the sight of them, he turns to you, tape still in his hand. “What?” He asks with glee in his face.

“Am I gonna go deaf with…?” You ask as you point to them, he shakes his head no as he looks at them, chuckling as he does so.

“Ah, no… No. They’re ah, one’s for the gigs, the big one is. The middle one has something that’s broken inside but it makes this cool reverb effect so we sometimes use it when we’re messing around, y’know.” He begins to explain, excitedly as he points and walks over to each one of them, smiling brightly at you. “And this little boy is the one that I actually use for the stereo. I mean it's smaller but it sounds amazing…” He says as he slaps it with a familiarity of having done this a thousand times. Maybe when it doesn’t work that well you think.

So you nod, as you take a sip of the beer, sitting down in his bed, comfortable sheets to your touch.

Sinister Purpose filled the room.

The bass line that you adored made you move your head up and down at a very surprised yet attentive Eddie. You could see how his brain was centered in the lyrics as his hand tapped along his tight, mimicking what accords were being used.

And you did what you could never help yourself to stop. You whispered the words, coming in and out of song, enjoying it, maybe a little too much.

“Sinister Purpose…Knocking at your door… Come and take my hand…” You continued as it was finishing. Enjoying the final riff, relaxing into his bed, taking another sip. He walked right where you were. Sitting next to you, clinging the bottles before he sips his own.

“Not my usual, but it's a fun one.” He says, as you smile at him, nodding to his words.

“I know but shuush, T.Rex’s coming!” You say excitedly. Tapping your hands to the rhythm

Jeepster was now playing, and you used your beer bottle as if it were a mic, fooling around making him laugh, once he learned the chorus, he would match your words, messing around with you. Swinging both of your heads, laughter filling the room.

He didn’t know the first part of the verse, so he would shut up, looking, or in a better match of words, adoring you as you delight him.

“The wild winds blow… upon your frozen cheeks… The way you flip your hip… it always makes me weak!” You start, and you see him smiling, as he mumbles the next lyrics, not really following along with the rhythm, even if your ring is marking it against the glass bottle.

“‘Cos you’re my baby… ‘cos you’re my love… Oh girl I’m just a jeepster for your love.” Laughter and giggles coming from both of you, truly enjoying the moment, teasing one another, really meaning what you were singing even if the other was obvious to it.

As the song was drawing to a finish, he started to give you his review.

“It’s a really dovey-lovey song, isn’t it?” He said, with his eyebrows raised, locking his eyes on you, hand resting in your lap.

“Well, yeah. But it’s catchy. You were singing it!” You contradict his words by nudging him in his chest. As you do so you realize how truly close he is. His thigh was almost touching yours, yet his hand rested in it, electricity escaping from it. Your chests were in each others direction, eyes locked, undivided attention and, why not say it, adoration, clear for one another. “Besides, I am like that…”

Your eyes darting away from him, looking down at your beer. Nervousness of having him close, or maybe to open up, you decide to take another big mouthful of it.

“What do you mean-” You interrupt him.

“Oh, I think you’ll really like this one!” You say excited.

Children of the Revolution starts slowly.

And you see him tapping along on your thigh, as he's enamoured by the atmosphere that the bass and guitar create. His eyes locked on the amp.

“That…” He whispers as Marc Bolan’s voice fills the room. “Is awesome.” He finishes as he looks back at you.

“Yeah, kinda reminded me of you, y’know…” You whisper as you play with the paper tag of the bottle, sowly peeling it off. “They won’t fool you, children of the revolution…” you smile as you so slightly twist the lyrics to fit him, and he shyly smiles in return, his teeth showing. A soft giggle escaping his lips, his body relaxing more, touching yours now.

“You…” He doesn’t find the right words for everything he would like to say, so he resigns with letting his thumb stroke your thigh in a repetitive pattern.

It’s not only goosebumps, or warmth or electricity this time. But a sense that his hands belong in your body that fills you up.

No words needed, you are aware that you both feel the same way.

The Chain starts playing softly, and you see him smiling now.

“Well, that one reminds me of you…” He says, looking at your eyes, though his flicker to your lips for just a moment.

“They hated each other when they wrote it.” You replay, absentmindedly, whispering.

“Well, I could never hate you…” He whispers back. His hand stopping the repetitive stroking pattern, frozen in place, fear in his eyes that you could ever think that.

“Good…” You say, placing a lock of hair away from his face, touching it ever so slightly. “I wouldn’t-” He cuts you off.

“I know.” He finishes, as he guides your body to his chest. A warm embrace shared between the both of you, your heart beating louder and faster in anticipation to everything you wanna say and do to him, but you are trapped under his weight. Enjoying the way he holds you, just as nervous as you are, you feel he is. A private moment, an intimate one at that.

The tape clicks. Pulling you both away from the moment. Demanding a turn to its other side, so he breaks the hug, standing up as he readjusts his pants, your eyes following his hand and his movement. Staring at him, all of him.

Finally, your favorite song starts filling the room, and as Dazed And Confused starts, you see him smiling.

The suggestive bass line moves him to extend his hand to you, and you naturally accept it.

Robert Plant truly feels like he’s whispering in both of your ears, as you begin to slow dance.

“Dazed and confused for so long it's not true…Wanted a woman, never bargained for you”

You feel his hands traveling to your lower back, holding you closer than ever before, smiling as he does so. Yours lost in the back of his neck, playing with his curly wilde hair.

“Can I ask you something?” He whispers into your ear, his voice shaking as he does so.

“Yeah.”

“What do you do when you meet someone you like?”

“Tryin' to love you, baby, but you go on hurtin' so…Soul of a woman was created below”

“Well, I talk, and I drink, and I make them mixtapes and free music and hope they’ll eventually like me back…” You whisper to him, moving your head away from his chest so you can look at him in his eyes, a declaration. You bite your lower lip in nervousness. “What do you do?”

“I wanna love you baby, but you do me so bad…The worst little woman I once ever had, I've got to quit you baby”

“I uhm… I go to their workplace, hope they notice me, make them laugh and invite them to my gigs and…” He can’t bring himself to finish his words. He hadn’t been looking at your eyes, but was distracted, lost in your lips.

So when he dipped down to finally close the distance, you gladly let him, finally kissing him. Not in a rush or in desperation. But in total adoration and care.

Truly in love with one another.

You spent the rest of the tape kissing as you danced together, in no rush, both of you knowing this was just the beginning to a long story.

if you enjoyed (i I really hope you did), please reblog! i promise it makes a difference

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blossomwritesthings · 1 year

Text

𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝? 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. | 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞

pairing: minho x fem!reader (afab)

genre: veterinarian!minho (this includes a few of the skz members working in his clinic). client!reader. hurt/comfort. angst. fluff. smut - MDNI, 18+ only. reader pov. strangers to lovers au. slowburn romance. lots of pining.

content & warnings: explicit & strong language. very thematic elements. minho is reader's vet. reader is now his past client. the guys have a party for the next few parts. drinking alcohol and getting drunk/tipsy is mentioned. humor/fluff placed throughout. also, smut is coming very soon. :))

word count: 2.1k

summary: dr. lee minho is known throughout your area as the city's hottest veterinarian, and he's also the very man that's been taking good care of your two cats for the past three years. but one day, you're thrown down a dark path of heartache when the cat that you've grown up with - nyx - is diagnosed with an acute form of bone cancer. burdened with the hardest decision of your entire life, you come at a crossroads of what to do. and throughout it all, minho is the single most person who continually stays by your side.

a/n: originally, I was going to do weekly updates for this, but since I'm almost finished writing the rough draft and I just couldn't wait to update it until next week, here is another chapter for you guys haha! 😂 this one is on the shorter side of things, but I assure you that the next few chapters will be quite worth it!! 🥸 also, I just finished writing the first smut scene for this (there will be a total of 2), and holy fuck, I keep going back and reading over it because it's just THAT HOT!! 🥵 I think you guys are really going to enjoy it haha! 😩

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ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ʀᴇᴘᴏsᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ sɪᴛᴇs (ᴛʜɪs ɪɴᴄʟᴜᴅᴇs ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴs). ©ʙʟᴏssᴏᴍᴡʀɪᴛᴇsᴛʜɪɴɢs ⤐ ᴀʟʟ ʀɪɢʜᴛs ʀᴇsᴇʀᴠᴇᴅ

The alcohol definitely helped. It burned like acid as it slid down your throat, coating your tongue in a mix of sugary, synthetic peach and apple. By your second bottle of soju, you were feeling loose and relaxed.

But still, you were constantly aware of Minho. And where he was concerning you.

Ever since your… talk on the couch earlier that night, he had practically avoided you. Instead deciding to hang out with Chan and Jeongin, as they played a few drinking games together at the nearby kitchen table.

You, on the other hand, were caught up in a heated Mario Kart match between Jisung and Seungmin. Every time you lost - which was a lot of the time - your eyes would flit over to Minho, whose back was turned towards you as he leaned over the wooden table.

And you couldn’t help but notice how, as the night grew on, and he downed more liquor, the zipper at the front of his chest started to migrate south. At the beginning of the night, it was been closed pretty tightly, only offering a sliver of skin. But now, it was halfway down his sternum and offered a clear view of his sculpted pecs. There was also the fact that the chocker clinging to his neck accentuated his face- giving way to cheeks that were flushed with drink and pretty red lips that were wet with beer.

It took everything in you to yank your focus away from all of… that, and instead direct your mind to the game that you were playing. Because honestly, it wasn’t fair at all.

How he had dressed up for the night - perhaps for you, even - just to completely dismiss you the moment you had some alone time with him.

And you wanted nothing more but to take that little zipper and pull it down, bearing all of his chest to the cool air of the living room. You wanted nothing more but to kiss up the length of that smooth, thick neck, before stopping and playing with those plush, perfect lips.

Alas, all of your wants were left in vain, as the night drawled on with more alcohol and more greasy food, and more loud music. Yet still, Minho made no move to near you. Not like he had when you first arrived - when he had looked so eager to get close to you.

The flip had been switched inside of him, and all at once, he no longer gave two shits about you.

Maybe that was for the better after all…

“C’mon Ji- you totally cheated right there!” Seungmin’s yell caused you to shake out of your… angry and horny daydreaming.

Jisung turned to his friend with wide eyes, a deep frown painted across his lips, “I did not! That shortcut is known by everyone- I didn’t glitch to the finish line.”

“Ah cut the bullshit and just fess up,” Yongbok laughed from the sofa, where he was playing a complicated card - which Hyunjin had practically begged to play - with Changbin and Hyunjin. Currently, Changbin was winning. Much to Hyunjin’s demise. “We all know you’re the worst cheater around.”

“Hey! I wasn’t the one who completely skipped the second lap!” Jisung exclaimed, shooting an accusatory glance Seungmin’s way. The younger man was busy taking a long swig of his glass that was full of a Bloody Mary. Jisung turned to you then, motioning with his head for you to back him up.

You crunched on a few chili-flavored tortilla chips. “Uhm- yeah, Ji, you kinda did cheat… but to be fair, so did Seungmin.” Jisung gave you an elated high five before picking up his controller again and controlling the main menu to another round of races.

Seungmin leaned over and rolled his eyes in a non-threatening way, “Thanks for letting me outta that one, Y/N.”

“Anytime.” You winked, laughing under your breath at the state he was in - hair messy and cheeks puffy from soju. They were all in a similar state, the liquid courage running through them and making them loud and unruly and fun all at the same time.

“I’m bored.” You heard Jeongin complain over to your left, where he was playing beer pong with Chan and… Minho. “I hate beer pong.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, munching on a cold piece of pizza that he had been nursing for the last half hour.

“You only hate it because you suck at the game,” Chan muttered, as he threw one of his balls forward. It quickly skirted off the table and into the distance of the kitchen. At his words, Jeongin burst out into a hysterical, drunken fit of laughter.

He was doubled over in delight, having to wipe tears from his eyes as he watched Chan pick up his stray ball, “Oh yeah, and you’re one to talk…”

The entire time, Minho was silent. He filled up more plastic red cups with beer, otherwise playing the game in near silence. You didn’t know if he acted so at every one of their parties, but by the way that the boys were giving him peculiar looks throughout the night, you supposed his moodiness was out of character.

It seemed like, the more alcohol he got into his system, the quieter he became. During dinner, he had been laughing with the guys - still ignoring you, but at least he was participating in the night. But then it got later and later, and he just… shut down.

You did not doubt that his change in demeanor was because of you. He was perfectly fine before you walked in. Before you just had to fucking ruin it-

“Why don’t we watch that new sci-fi movie I’ve been telling you guys about?” Hyunjin chimed in, right after he had finished his card game, where the results ended in Changbin being the sole winner. “I could use a break from the… games.”

“Because you lost?” Yongbok taunted the older in that low voice of his, wiggling his eyebrows playfully and earning a shove from Hyunjin.

“I’m sick of playing Mario Kart anyway, so I’m down for a movie,” you chimed in, throwing your controller down onto the carpeted floor much to Jisung’s protest, as he was trying to show you a shortcut for the race you were currently in.

Changbin leaned back in his place on the couch, stretching out with a loud groan, “It’s decided then- movie night here we come,” he leaned over to the coffee table and took a long drawl of his cup that was half full of vodka. “Min, can you grab that big bag of popcorn that you always have stashed in your kitchen?”

Your eyes flitted over to Minho then, trailing on the way that he looked at Changbin with an annoyed kind of light in his eyes. “And what am I, your servant?” He practically grumbled out. His icy tone did something funny to you, caused something to loosen deep within your soul and rattle around in your veins.

Changbin replied to him, but his words were lost to you as you noticed Jisung and Seungmin looking at each other, seeming to send a message to one another without even saying a word.

And your heart stopped then, as you focused on Jisung’s mouth, and how his lips formed a single word.

Y/N.

He was saying your name.

Why were they suddenly talking about you?

Then Seungmin was tipping his head to the side, gesturing somewhere off to the side with a cryptic frown and your stomach was doing somersaults.

“I’m going to the washroom, don’t wait up for me to start.” You said to no one in particular, hastily standing from your spot on the floor and practically running to the nearby bathroom.

It took a good splashing of water to your entire face for some of the sense to get knocked back into you. Your mind was racing a mile a minute, heart in tandem with the momentum.

Because what the actual fuck?

What was going on?

The night had been going well - it seemed like the guys were enjoying their time together with you and everyone was in a happy mood.

Everyone except Minho.

And sure, you noticed how the guys kept giving him odd looks throughout the night, at his quietness and chilly attitude to everyone and everything.

But it had never occurred to you that they were perceptive enough to know that his change in mood had been because of you.

Suddenly, it felt like everything was crumbling down around you- the small bathroom walls shrinking and shrinking until it was hard for you to breathe.

You knew you shouldn’t have come to the party.

Knew it was going to be awkward, with the guys and… him.

Trying to be the optimist, you had decided to go because you thought it’d be a fun way to connect with your old acquaintances again. That maybe, you’d get a chance to grow closer to Dr. Lee.

Then, the dynamics were shifting and he was turning on you and everyone was aware of it, and fuck-

It was so damn embarrassing.

But deep down, you didn’t want to be a coward.

You had already run away from all of your feelings - about the clinic, Nyx, and Minho - before.

Hell, you had tried to run away from him again only a week before.

You didn’t want to run anymore.

You wanted to stand your ground. Wanted to fight for something- for anything that you truly wanted.

And right then?

All you wanted was to finish the night out strong - wanted to have a good time with your friends. Wanted to try and push thoughts of him out of your mind, even if it seemed quite impossible.

So you took a deep breath, examining yourself in the bathroom mirror for a few seconds. Silently giving yourself an inner-pep talk. About how you weren’t going to allow some stupid drama with him to get in the way of your night.

When you stepped out of the bathroom, the living room lights were dimmed and the loud hum of a movie's intro was buzzing around the entire place. As you slinked close to the couch, you came to terms with the… seating situation. Jeongin and Changbin were taking up either of the armchairs, meanwhile, the rest of the guys were curled up in various states on the sofa. And the only free space for you was in the corner, right beside him.

But fuck everything, because you weren’t going to let it affect you.

As you squeezed into the space, Chan leaned over Minho and handed you a cold can of beer and a bowl that was spilling over with popcorn. “Eat up darling, we got plenty where that came from.” He laughed, flashing a pearly-white smile your way before he was out of your sight again.

You could physically feel Minho stiffen at your side. By the way that Chan had called you ‘darling.’ He had used such a term of endearment before, but just seeing Minho’s reaction to it forced your heart to race even harder than it already was.

Placing the full can of beer down on the nearby coffee table - you were already feeling quite tipsy, so you weren’t up for any more liquor - you nuzzled into the plush cushions of the sofa. Even with your curled-up state, you could sense the heat radiating off of his body. It came in droves, washing over your entire form and warming that frigid, rattling part inside of you.

And as you sat there, your body began to relax into the cushions, and your eyes drooped shut every few minutes. You tried your best to stay awake. Tried your best to stay alert, in case anything… happened. But everything proved to be too hard.

The exhaustion from the long work week was finally catching up to you, as you lay there, tucked underneath a fuzzy blanket.

So fucking close to him. But not close enough. Not nearly.

Perhaps that’s what caused the sudden sleepiness to infect your mind.

The pain, the heartache, of being so near yet so far from what you truly wanted was entirely too tiring to deal with anymore.

You had already been battling such feelings for years.

And all at once, you realized that you couldn’t do it anymore.

It was just… too much.

So instead of facing anything at the moment, of taking action, you did the only thing you could manage right then.

You closed your eyes,

Allowing yourself to melt into the fuzziness of it all,

In the comforting presence at your side - even if he was still sitting rod straight and completely focused on the movie.

And then, the darkness finally won over, and you were whisked off to dreamland.

To be continued...

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wheredidhiseyebrowsgo · 2 years

Note

hiii

do you know about any looong slowburn sterek fics preferably with smut? optional magic stiles👀

hehe thank you❤️

Hi anon. @kevaaronday made this list for you.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words by isthatbloodonhisshirt (25/25 | 434,625 | Explicit | Sterek) “I apologize.” The cop finally looked back up at his face, seeming thrilled. “It’s just—it’s been so long. And we finally have you.”

That was a bad word. Not found.

Have.

Stiles wrenched his hand free and took a step back, but before he could even think up a gameplan, he felt a prick in his neck and jerked away, reaching up to slap one hand against it and twisting in the same moment.

One of the others had come up behind him while he hadn’t been paying attention, and his vision began to swim even as his eyes caught sight of the half-empty syringe the guy was holding.

Put Down in Words by paintedrecs (31/31 | 203,776 | Mature | Sterek) “Oh,” Stiles said, his voice coming out low and breathy, “fuck me.”

“I don’t think that’s on the syllabus, but we can check to see if there’s a spot open in any of his classes,” Scott said, grinning.

“This isn’t an actual professor, though,” Stiles insisted, unable to resist brushing his thumb over the sharp line of the man’s bearded jaw. He was laughing at something off-camera, the shot taken in three-quarters view, his coat collar casually rumpled and opened to reveal a sliver of a simple grey t-shirt. The whole thing was deliberately calculated to lend him a more accessible feel, and god help him, Stiles was falling for it.

When Stiles signed up for Dr. Hale’s intro to history class, he had two goals: knock out the credits his advisor was bugging him to complete before he graduated, and spend a few hours a week daydreaming about his sexy professor’s salt and pepper beard.

Derek, a few months away from turning forty and not sure when his life had started feeling so damn lonely, had never encountered someone like Stiles before. Bright-eyed, sharp-tongued, determined to throw Derek’s carefully cultivated world into disarray…and absolutely the last person Derek should be falling in love with.

Most (Im)Proper Proposal by Welsh_Woman (72/72 | 200,136 | Explicit | Sterek) Stiles Stilinski has not seen his childhood friend for going on ten years when Derek Hale insists on meeting him in a barely reputable inn to make a rather startling proposal…

The Hollow Moon by thepsychicclam (10/10 | 180,079 | Explicit | Sterek) It's the summer after Stiles' first year of college, and he's working a crappy job and dealing with nightmares and anxiety - but he's okay, he swears. He makes it through most days without too much trouble. Then, a certain werewolf comes back into town. Which Stiles doesn't care about, nope, not at all.

After two and a half years, Derek returns to Beacon Hills with his small Pack. Though he tried to move on, something just kept drawing him back to Beacon Hills, he's just not sure what. Now, he figures he can start building something like a life - but he keeps getting distracted by Stiles Stilinski of all people.

Teenage Love Song by HaleHathNoFury (26/26 | 155,834 | Explicit | Sterek) Stiles is sick and tired of how much he fucks up. His dad is disappointed, his step-mom judges and his step-brother can do no wrong. It's not that he doesn't love them, he just gets so tired of being different. Now he's being moved lock, stock and barrel to Beacon Hills aka the town his mom grew up in so they can go live in his grandma's house and his father can get him back on the straight and narrow.

It's going to suck.

B.E.A.C.O.N. by Mythological_Compendium (43/43 | 140,691 | Explicit | Sterek) "What better situation could there possibly be? We'll be pretty much stuck together, we can talk, drink and maybe later even…”

A scoff. “What? Have reunion sex?”

He shrugs. “It's been four years.”

Same Old Song and Dance by Halevetica (91/91 | 125,721 | Explicit | Sterek) Raised in the hunter life after his father was killed, Stiles hates werewolves. So when he lands a contract to kill the alpha of the pack that killed his father, he's elated. Until he runs into complications. The alpha is smart and strong and playing a game Stiles can't figure out. When secrets are revealed and new enemies made, Stiles must decide for himself what side he's on and who he can trust.

Bruises and Bitemarks by orphan_account (27/27 | 121,566 | Explicit | Sterek) Biologically, Stiles is weak. When he presented as an omega, he knew that to be the truth but that never stopped him from running his mouth as a defense mechanism. However, it could only save him so many times before he ended up pissing off the wrong person. After he's attacked in the parking lot outside of school, Stiles realizes he can no longer protect himself with just pure wit and sarcasm. When the attack lands him in the hospital, his dad forces him to pick between two options, report the alphas who attacked him or join a kickboxing gym run by omega rights activist and alpha, Derek Hale, a man Stiles has been in love with for many years.

Strip by Fessst (23/23 | 117,194 | Explicit | Sterek) "Singletail whip. Your favorite, isn't it?"

Red. Stiles felt nauseated as he bent over the bench. Red. The tremble only increased when his wrists and ankles were secured with leather straps. Red. He heard the Dom behind him give a sample crack of the whip in the air. Red. This would likely pierce his skin. So fucking Red.

"What's your safeword?"

Red.

"Stiles?"

"The... the stoplights, Sir."

Stiles's first introduction to the world of BDSM was a complete fiasco. You see, he had a crush on this ridiculously hot Dom and might have slightly exaggerated (ahem, lied blatantly) a few things on his questionnaire. Five years later the two meet again under a different set of circumstances.

A rare Alphahole by Fessst (27/27 | 110,538 | Mature | Sterek) Weed sale goes wrong and leaves Stiles with a dilemma of either facing prison or enrolling himself in Beta Rehabilitation Program for the next 6 months.

Anything beats prison, right?

Well...

Once he finds out that his assigned Responsible Alpha is the asshole who landed him in trouble, to begin with, Stiles is not so sure anymore. Especially since he has to fucking marry the guy!

the trees call your name by spaceprincessem (2/2 | 107,656 | Mature | Sterek) “That was a long time ago,” Derek finally said, his face falling into its usual cool facade.

Stiles felt like he had been punched in the gut. Two worlds, right? Except, it had never really been two worlds at all. If they lived in two worlds, Stiles wouldn’t feel this unexplainable ache that ran deep in his bones. It had always been one world, with water slipping into the cracks, until there was an ocean between them. Stiles was always caught in the riptides, dragged out to sea where he was left to drown, sinking below the surface as Derek grew further and further out of his reach.

“Yeah,” Stiles agreed, forcing his lips to turn up in the corners, noting the slight crack in his voice, “long time ago."

aka the high school friends to lovers ranch au that no one asked for, but the one that i wrote anyway. This fic is finished, I will just be posting it in two parts!

Far From Any Road by doctorkaitlyn (28/28 | 103,835 | Explicit | Sterek) Stiles Stilinski is a young, chronically sleep-deprived detective who's manipulative and morally dubious at best. He's fairly certain that, in the years since he started working for the California Bureau of Investigation, he's seen most of the horrible things that the world could possibly throw at him.

But that's before a body turns up in an alley in Beacon Hills, brutally tortured, with a symbol burned into its back. It's quickly followed by a second and third, and when Stiles is unable to find any hint as to who the culprits might be, his father decides to bring in some outside help.

His name is Derek Hale, and he too has seen some truly horrible things, only some of them on the job.

Stiles hates him immediately. But Derek may be their only hope for solving the case, so Stiles reluctantly agrees to accept his help.

As it turns out, neither of them have seen anything close to the depths of human depravity that await them in the woods and down the back roads surrounding Beacon Hills.

All a Pack Needs is a Little Spark by thornconnelly (21/21 | 82,884 | Mature | Sterek) Fork in the road fix-it that basically changes everything starting... an hour before the show actually starts. idk.

Stiles has a premonition that he NEEDS to go into the forest on a random night and saves Laura before Peter can kill her. Stiles doesn't know what he's gotten himself into, but he decides to help out the stray dog he finds in the woods, and then ends up joining a werewolf pack... as their Spark... because apparently he's got magic.

What ensues is my whole-hearted desire for the Hales to have nice things.

#teen wolf #sterek #stiles stilinski #derek hale #magic!stiles #anon

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letstrywritingmaybe · 1 year

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Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let's spread the self-love🫶🏻

I’m curious to know your personal favorites! I’ll treat it as a fic-rec hehe

You are so cute! I love you! 🩵

Hm… this is a tough question cause I guess it depends on the day and what I’m feeling. I mean all my stories are honestly the same in terms of my ship being together and it ending happily, but the journey and the way I choose to tell it can differ. What exactly are quintessential lots of love fics? I guess currently I will go with these (I’m only doing Det Co ones cause I know you’re in this fandom, plus I don’t write enough for my actual otps in other fandoms)

In no particular order cause I don’t really have a true top five:

I Can Make Your Heart Race: They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, so then what’s the way to a woman’s? Obviously you have to get her heart racing. In which scare tactics does little to impress a scientist, instead it backfires on the detective. Well, maybe not completely. Rated G (ShinShi)

It’s really short, but I find myself thinking about this fic some days. Maybe cause it is a fix it fic of sorts since my heart will never keep the canon ship in tact, and it’s fluffy with the potential for more. They’re my most slowburn ship and it kills me

I Hate Accidents, Except When We Went From Friends To This: Post Black Org and Permanent Antidote. A month-long look into the relationship of Shiho and Shinichi. Written with prompts from flufftober on tumblr. Rated T (ShinShi)

I was actually proud of how I was able to follow not one, not two, but 31 whole prompts! Even though every chapter is super short, but still. I’m the worst at following prompts, so I got excited I was able to get through this and keep my brand of fluff

Lo Lo Love Me: The change from fighting to be Shinichi again, to being her Edogawa. Or the fic where Shiho becomes a little delusional.

“You’re not him.”

“I am.”

“No, you’re not Edogawa Conan. You’re Kudo Shinichi.”

Rated T (CoAi but technically it’s ShinShi)

Truthfully my ending for this verse is just the first chapter, this idea wouldn’t die and I still find myself thinking about it some days. I think I ended it too soon but also don’t think I should’ve added to it beyond the first chapter. So yes I still think about revisiting it all the time

You Belong With Me?: It’s a matter of principle. She was here first and they grew up together for goodness sake! Of course people can change their minds, but she waited patiently for two years with the title as his girlfriend, so how can it be over just like that? It’s not fair. Rated T (ShinShi told from Ran’s pov)

Who would I be if I didn’t include a song fic? And yes while I love that this love affair with this fandom began with Folklore Twist, but I really do have some strong feelings for Ran. And it’s all because of projection, so yes I want better for her and I want her to be her own knight in shining armor and let my queen be the one who gets the romance story book ending for once

A Day Out With The Kids: An impromptu date holds no weight against an already established play date with the Detective Boys. It doesn’t stop Kaito from wooing Shiho anyway, even with the children’s attempts at sabotage. Converting these CoAi shippers to board the kaishi ship may not be as difficult as one might think. It’s a good thing Kaito’s great with kids. Rated G (KaiShi)

I couldn’t resist okay, yes I know my most popular fic is probably one that’s rated E or even my fuck the childhood friends to lover fic. And yeah I do sometimes go back to those verses, but some days kaishi owns my entire heart. So yeah, I had to include one even though I know it’s a crack ship

(A bonus/ honorable mention would be the Fleeting Feelings verse. I would be unstoppable as a multishipper, but alas I’m not.)

#cynful thoughts #this took me way too long to do #I mean yes I love my fics and I do reread my own shit but idk it depends on the vibe!#I’ve been so focused on commenting I have not thought about my own writing #so I’m way behind on the July prompts and other WIPs… oops

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walkingdaryls · 4 years

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what i honestly think it would be like to date loki

btw to those who have sent me requests...i see you! i promise. i’ve just been a bit unmotivated at the moment. so here’s this for now i guess LMAO

lemme just say right now...actually getting to the point of dating loki would take a long time

a LONG TIME

the enemies (but not rlly enemies) to allies to friends w tension to yearning / crushing on each other to lovers type thing

i mean have u seen how loki grew up??? he has major trust issues and doesn’t get close to people

i think it’d take a few years of extreme slowburn, arguing, and yearning w one another until feelings actually start to show

loki wouldn’t be afraid of staring - or eye contact, tbh

you’d just be sitting at one of tony’s famous parties, feeling slightly out of place while standing amidst a group of people avidly telling their own stories (let’s be real...it’s mainly tony talking)

and for just a quick second you let out a small comment that earns a couple grins and chuckles from the people around you

the conversation moves on, but you can’t help but feel loki’s intense gaze on you

and he doesn’t look away for a good ten seconds

or maybe you’ll just be eating dinner and loki will carefully watch you with soft eyes from across the table

he analyzes everything about you...

the way you raise a quizzical eyebrow, the way you avert your gaze away from him when his flirty comments make you nervous

the way you flip the pages of your book gently

the way your body just naturally leans into his touch

he notices everything.

everything.

loki most definitely is not a PDA person in my opinion . like at all

but the one thing he ALWAYS does. like ALWAYS, is have one hand placed gently on the small of your back

as a way to always somehow be touching you, and letting you know he’s there

(and ofc letting everyone else know)

but when alone, i honestly do think that touch is one of loki’s main love languages

he’s always touching your mf NECK

you don’t know why, and neither does he

but he’ll just come behind you and gently brush any hair to the side, and run his chilly fingers down your neck

or he’ll place a gentle kiss on your neck’s sweet spot after anything (after a heated make out session, after saying good morning, after dinner, ANYTHING)

he’s a neck guy ok i’ve decided

i also feel like loki is the type to act all macho and tough but he’ll be like

“actually, my dove, i guess you could paint my nails. i guess we could match. only green, though”

also this is a lil NSFW but loki is 100% INDEED A GOD NOT ONLY IN THE STREETS, BUT IN THE SHEETS AS WELL

he puts his powers to good use if ya know what i mean

seriously though, he worships you. WORSHIPS YOU. not only your body, but your mind, heart, and soul as well

anything intimate he goes into with pure passion because he believes it intertwines your souls together even more

ALSO i literally believe that loki, in the late hours of the night, while you two are sleepy in each other’s arms under the dim moonlight, will braid your hair gently

he’s quite good with his fingers

in more ways than one

after kissing you, loki likes poking you gently with his nose, then completely leaning into you, and pulling you into a tight embrace

i don’t see him as a huge cuddler while sleeping, but he ALWAYS is either holding your hand or having his arm/hand on you SOMEWHERE at least

always touching u!

now i know this is kind of depressing, but there would definitely be fights occasionally between you and loki

sometimes loki cant watch his tongue, and you end up storming out of the room in tears

or even if it’s something about him going out on missions and doing reckless shit and you’re TIRED OF IT

and he gets too defensive and you both end up stressed out and w raised voices, so you just storm out

but he never. EVER goes to sleep mad at you. he did it once and woke up feeling terrible and vowed to never let you two go to bed angry

by the end of the night, he’s kissed you wherever you’ve got tears falling, and whispers “im sorry, my dove” “forgive me, please”

you guys kiss a lot

like a lot

loki loves going on walks with you. it’s just something you’ve both normalized in your day to day routine together

you like to call loki “shakespeare” bc mf can be so dramatic sometimes and recite goddamn poems to you out of nowhere

but you honestly love it

LMAO sometimes i feel like during a make out session loki will just softly bite your ear for no reason

the first time u were like??? but you’re into it

you and loki out in public literally look exactly like that one picture of natalia dyer and charlie heaton

ya know...the one of them walking hand in hand on the streets, resting bitch faces, dressed all in black, big ass sunglasses, sharing earbuds

you guys truly are that couple

i feel like “mirrors” by justin timberlake just fits the relationship vibe. do u know what i mean?

BATHS TOGETHER. ALL THE MF TIME. he just loves skin on skin

loki loves you so much

like loki iS SO reserved around people (other than you) but if someone asks about you he will literally spill his heart out, talking about how you are truly an angel sent from heaven for him

he only has eyes for you. forever and always

soulmates

#imagine #avengers imagine #loki #loki laufeyson #loki odinson x reader #loki x reader #tom hiddleston x reader #tom hiddleston #marvel imagine #x reader

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pale-fairytales · 2 years

Text

Domestic Au SkyStar fluff part 1

AHAHAAAA DOMESTIC AU HEADCANON TIME AGAIN SkyStar fluff edition

I don’t know any specifics about this domestic au but I’m loving the actual fuck out of it. I feel like it’s a mix of angsty and fluffy, and maybe for this specific version of a domestic au, I’ll make a post to flesh out the specifics bc I feel as though it’s domestic with a twist??? Anywhoozles have some head canons uwu (plus a ficlet <3)

Love languages: Starscream= primarily Physical touch; Skyfire=equally quality time and acts of service

I feel as though Starscream has been incredibly touch starved for a long time, which prompts him to be very touchy. I think there’s specific conditions ofc tho; such as, he will be more touchy-feely with specific people than others and this is very much a trust thing. I feel as though pre-war/in a no-war universe Skyfire would be very very high up in the list.

some of these headcanons may also be character exploring but my assumption is this; Starscream’s upbringing either involved a lot, a lot, a lot of physical touch as affection and so he naturally just craves it a lot, or he grew up with so little of it that it makes him seek (hehe) it out desperately, despite never wanting to admit how much he wants/needs it.

Skyfire reads as a people pleaser to me. From what I’ve gathered he’s incredibly mild-mannered but wants very badly to be wanted. I feel as though his past isn’t touched on much (another note; I’m slow at consuming transformers content but I feel like he doesn’t appear much in many verses and he is grossly underrated and I will die for him) so my headcanons go as such; Being a flier in a society that puts emphasis on functionism/class, and given his impressive size, I feel as though he feels a need to belong. He wants to make other bots happy because it makes him happy.

Skyfire and Starscream meet while studying some specific sciencey subject in this au, and think they won’t run into each other again once they complete their studying/certification, until BAM they wind up scientists in the same lab. Instant besties when they realize how much they actually have in common.

It’s such a slowburn relationship and so blatantly obvious that they’re slowly becoming a thing that the people closest to them are just waiting for the announcement that they plan on becoming conjunx endurae.

They absolutely go feral to defend each other no matter the au, fight me

Skyfire isn’t violent, really, but it’s a general rule of thumb not to mess with Starscream or he will act. Vice versa, except Starscream can and will make life hell for anyone who hurts Skyfire’s feelings.

Skyfire calls Starscream, “My starlight” but also uses names like “dear” or sometimes the more playful “Screamer”

Starscream doesn’t seem the type to use too many pet names strangely? I feel like he could come up with one very quickly, but he just chooses not to use them. He sticks with calling Skyfire things like “Sky,” or “Sweetspark” or “Darling.

If cooking is a thing in this au, Skyfire’s your guy. I mentioned in another post that I thought Starscream wasn’t the greatest cook, but I feel like they, together, are a good match bc Skyfire can cook very well, while Starscream inevitably knows how to make it fancy/suited to the occasion/will know what wine to pair with it.

Things Pining Skyfire does that just make sense: memorizes Starscream’s favorite (cybertronian) coffee (or tea, I can’t decide which one he would prefer) order to surprise him with, makes sure to organize the lab in a way that isn’t too hard for Starscream to access (he’s happy to help but he knows it’s frustrating), plans little scientific expeditions for them to take and chooses really pretty or intriguing places. Every place he chooses, he chooses more with Starscream in mind.

Things Pining Starscream does that just make sense: purposefully rearranges the lab so that things are harder to access so he can ask Skyfire to pick him up to reach things (it becomes an unintentional, mutual thwarting of courting attempts that they laugh over later), asks questions in Skyfire’s area of expertise toward the ends of their shifts in the lab so they can spend a few more minutes talking. Sometimes accidentally disassociates and fantasizes about a future with Skyfire as Cybertron’s greatest pair of scientists.

Pseudo/not-officially-dates-but-they’re-both-pining dates they go on; Stargazing. Visiting planetariums. I imagine their little pseudo dates are more lowkey. I also feel as though Skyfire is a secret partier but not like, a wild crazy partier; more that, in private and with the right people, he becomes a bit less shy, and a little more loosened up/fun-having. I feel as though he and Starscream sometimes meet up for a drink or two.

#transformers skyfire #transformers starscream #transformers skystar #headcanons #fluffy headcanons #shipping #you don't understand they live rent free in my head #the hyperfixation has been REAL #I'm not very good at writing these two yet

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vrisrezis · 4 years

Text

Aot crush and relationship hcs

Tw as I talk about suicide for reiners bit

- liking you makes him guilty (if you’re a soldier that is) and he doesn’t completely know what to even do about the situation

- as stares at you quite a bit and is self aware it’s obvious and tries not to too much

- you’re special to him

- probably tries to bring you along home with him and bertholdt before he even confesses he likes you but it probably works in his favor

- he honestly wants to marry you, a thought in his head before he even confesses his feelings

- not a blushy boy all the time but whos to say he can’t? You can totally make him blush

- when he finally decides to confess, he’s quite nervous about it but hey.. he’s lost a lot that was important you guys don’t have much time left

- a part of him wished he never became the armored titan so he’d have a longer time with you but at the same time if it weren’t for that he wouldn’t have met you (again if you’re a soldier but ok)

- if not hey it’s fine, he got to know you growing up and had a bigass crush on you that was so obvious that porco would purposelessly flirt with you to piss him off

- in a relationship, hugs and cuddles are quite often from Reiner you make him all soft and he’s such a cuddly man look at them big arms

- he’s the best hugger and cuddler tbh

- even if it looks weird, he likes to be the small spoon sometimes, just to be held and feel safe and protected for once

- he’s just so used to protecting you, which he loves and insists on doing but sometimes just wants to feel safe and protected by you

- likes patting your head

- gabi adores you so much, you guys are besties at this point

- gabis just really happy Reiner could find somebody to care and love for, it’s about damn time

- does not like you fighting, but if you have to then you have to

- will spoil you and buy you whatever you want, he does it cause he wants to spoil you though...

- when gabi finds this out you know she’s coming along for your dates more often to just get something

- dates are as often as you and Reiner can have them, which is more than most of the characters I’ve written for already

- you being with Reiner comes with a lot of emotional baggage that he doesn’t wanna put on you, he’s put it on a lot of people and he’s gotten a lot of people killed (who died in order to protect him such as bertholdt and ymir and etc)

- just be there for him, he doesn’t need you to understand he just needs somebody to not see him as a complete piece of shit so he can feel less guilty about it

- he has so much guilt :(

- so much to the point he doesn’t wanna live in this life anymore, but you being there makes it easier for him to have a will to live, for you

- at this point in his life he goes along with whatever you want

- he hates the idea of being separated from you at all

- yeah he’s a clingy boy in his adult years because he knows his time is coming up

- when he dies he says he wants you to look after gabi

- while the idea of dying sooner makes him feel better, can’t say he likes the idea of leaving you though he is constantly at a conflict between whether he’s happy to be the armored titan because he gets to protect you, die sooner etc or if he hates it cuz he can’t live longer to be with you and actually grow old with you

- even with his short life span, he wants to marry you

- it’s his final wish

- deep down Reiner wishes you could’ve started a family ;(

- he tells you to forget about him when he dies and start a family though tbh

- he loves you so much

(S4 eren does not exist, the reason for that is the whole reason he became a shit head, I won’t spoil for the non manga readers or those that aren’t caught up with the manga, but yeah)

- this blushy boy can’t help the nervousness he feels around you and doesn’t always know what to say around you

- you make him at a loss for words honestly which isn’t like him

- he thinks about approaching you often, but he gets so tongue tied

- mikasa usually has to do the talking and we all know she isn’t the most talkative gal ever

- he might try to impress you, even in his titan form he tries to impress you

- especially if it’s early on and it’s a new development he’s gonna wanna show it off

- doesn’t like being babied (as shown with mikasa) so he might wanna be the one to protect you and do things for you

- would die at being complimented or touched in anyway by you

- people don’t give him enough credit, he’s lost his mother, he has lost other people he grew to care for, he’s a protective boy and is scared to lose you or fail you

- he is oblivious to any feelings that might be returned

- he is usually one to cling around often as well

- he feels comfortable being vulnerable and crying in front of you

- but he still wants to seem like he at least knows what to do and he can protect you and whatnot but truth is he’s really scared he’ll fail you like he did with his mother and hannes

- this will be a slowburn for a longtime unless you say something eren is a loser with this shit

- even with armin and mikasas encouragements he is scared to tell you

- so he simply asks you questions to see if he can get any indication that you love him back, or at the very least like him

- it takes awhile since he’s dumb but when he gets an answer he wants, he asks you out

- being in a relationship with eren means him constantly being at your side and attached to you at the hip

- if not soulmates why always together ??

- FR though

- he likes having an arm around you if you’re shorter, let’s not forget as an adult he’s 6’0

- kisses your cheek often

- jealousy is also often, he has a lack of confidence compared to others sometimes but it’s nothing that’s an issue or anything

- you teach him what freedom really is, the freedom to love somebody in full, unconditionally, the freedom to have that feeling and it being the most amazing feeling

- play with his hair, he loves it

- not so much when it starts to get really long just cuz it gets knots sometimes but brushing his hair and putting it up it always nice and he appreciates it

- can we all agree he looks better with his hair up

- forehead kisses if he’s taller, it’s likely to be a newer development since he was quite shorter/average height back then

- while he hates being babied, he will let you take care of him if he really needed it

- but mainly likes taking care of you

- neck kisses don’t have to be a sexual giving hickeys thing and eren is living proof since he loves giving cute neck kisses

- likes to grab your hands and just kiss em

- first of all, keep in mind this man is like in his early/mid 30s and now like almost 40

- he’s not gonna have this schoolboy crush, he thinks it’s childish

- at least that’s what he says

- he can be caught staring at you often, very often

- like he’s so obvious damn, but it looks like he’s glaring at you

- only hange and Erwin can tell that he likes you with his stares gonna be real!

- finds excuses for you to be around him, maybe that’s having you in his squad now, maybe it’s helping him clean, whatever it is he’s getting you

- so maybe in his own way clingy

- he often talks to you in a similar fashion that he does with Erwin and hange, somewhat more “casual” in Levi’s terms, or kinda “teasing” as teasing as a levi can be and it not sounding like teasing

- deep down worries for you often and is protective, eren is already protective enough because of who he has lost just think about Levi he literally loses everyone

- tries not to be overwhelmingly protective, it can be annoying and would make him obvious

- also if you think it’s impossible to make him blush think again all you gotta do is hug him, he doesn’t even hug back but still!

- eventually decides you could die at any moment, life is short, especially in this world

- so he just asks you out and gets it over with

- so now you date!

- it’s hard not to worry for Levi with the constant bullshit he goes through, but it does feel nice to have somebody worry about him so he takes it

- he just doesn’t like the idea of you worrying about him too much since he’s supposed to be humanity’s strongest, he wants you to have some hope/faith

- likes patting your head, doesn’t matter how tall you are compared to him

- nobody would have the balls to call him short except for you

- we all know he isn’t good at his emotions but he will allow himself to be soft and vulnerable when y’all are alone

- doesn’t tolerate pda

- he also keeps the relationship mainly secretive because you could become a target, he doesn’t care if eren and the others know though

- likes kissing your hand a lot, or your neck/collarbone

- totally into pressing your foreheads together he finds it nice

- he at least can hug back now but that takes a long time lol

- Yes. you can squish his cheeks. Will he be extremely annoyed? Yes. Will he do anything about it? No.

- he’s so soft for you? God

- has nightmares about losing you often, so you share the same room so he feels better knowing you’re alive next to him

- or you comforting him back to sleep works

- will buy you things if he can, likes spoiling you when he can but not toooo much

- if you suggest turning into a titan he says no

- while a part of him is like yeah a guaranteed 13 yrs he also is like no he wanna spend the rest of his days with you he cannot allow it

- yeahhhh so maybe he’s got some naive hopes, but this time he thinks he can achieve them and finish this shit ... he can only hope

- not enough people write for my best boy, sad day ;(

- him with a crush though? Let’s be real he blushes quite a bit it annoys him though especially if you ever comment on it

- you just make him all mushy and god he loves you so much

- hand on his smushed cheek with a goofy smile and just stares at you, this happens all the time

- Sasha loves to remind him of that like everytime he does it

- very defensive of you, if anyone disrespects you they are catching these hands

- so it is likely fights with Jean bc he disrespected you (even if he was joking) are often

- he always tries to make you laugh, especially when you’re going through a rough time. He wants to see you smile and laugh and hates seeing you sad at all

- probably flirts with you, but he makes it sound like a joke so it’s hard to take him seriously

- he’s protective if he has to be, he’s not as strong as others but he can hold his own very well. (He’s canonly the fastest or at least one of the fastest, so he can get you out of situations fast)

- is overall even more goofy around you than he normally is because he just wants you laughing

- he can be clingy even while just being friends, often finds excuses to hang around you

- gets teased a lot by Sasha and Jean about his rather obvious crush

- sometimes he just daydreams about you so if anyone hears him sigh dreamily or zone out they know it’s cuz he’s thinking about you

- like seriously daydreams about you so much, the only time he isn’t is when he’s around you (which even then it still happens sometimes) or during like fights where he could die at any moment

- would die at being touched physically, or being complimented

- he will be like “yeah ofc I am haha ;D” in a joking way, but he is dying on the inside

- gonna be real confessing takes a longer time than anyone on this list like even eren and Reiner because he is so scared of rejection and losing the friendship you have he holds it so close to him

- it’s extremely important since it’s not often he ever likes somebody? Plus you make him feel the happiest he’s ever felt like? Honestly he cannot do without you man

- when he finally does (thanks to Jean and Sasha pushing him to do so) he’s a blushing mess

- dating him though is wonderful, he’s attached to you at the hip, you guys are always together he hates being separated

- it’s annoying for everyone else though

- if you’re not around for some reason he doesn’t stfu about you

- he gets sad when you guys are apart ;(

- cheek kisses are often since they’re easy to give (it’s likely he’s shorter than you so just... easy cheek kiss... or because of the huge burst of height he gets as he ages he’s extremely taller and again cheek kisses are easy)

- loves hugging you, or just having his arms engulfed around you in some way

- terrible pickup lines? Absolutely. He’s mainly joking but sometimes he’s being serious

- before he’d do anything to make you laugh it’s even moreso now that you’re dating

- hand holding is often

- he is good at comforting you if need it

- would like to just be held after a tough day

- likes to hug you from behind

- loves kissing your hands <3

- my god if anyone is blushy it is Jean but I think we know this based off his interaction with mikasa

- cannot stop staring at you, at least Connie has some control and is just not aware of it. Jean is aware of his staring but has no self control.

- unlike Connie who has the confidence to jokingly flirt Jean doesn’t have that confidence. Acts like a cocky bastard but actually isn’t.

- probably says he made a move, or that he’s going to but hasnt and everyone knows it

- gets extremely nervous around you, palms sweaty, knees weak (arms are heavy)

- if you ever got hurt, protective mode (especially if it was to protect him cuz Christ he will lose it)

- scared to lose you, he lost Marco he doesn’t wanna lose you too

- he loves you so much, its come to the point where he can’t live without you. If you died he wouldn’t know what to do and he would probably go crazy without you around

- he’s always worried about you and watching out for you

- probably really jealous even before dating you, he’s constantly worried other people will have a better chance with you (if he noticed somebody else likes you he is all on that, he knows)

- he will try to impress you, also because of his jealousy but still. He wants to prove he can be good for you romantically

- so he’s constantly playing up how strong he is until you kick his ass in a fight

- however despite how nervous he gets around you, after some time he eventually is kinda himself. He doesn’t wanna seem like a dick around you so he acts overly nice but eventually you get close enough to where he can be himself

- likes to tease you sometimes

- probably calls you an idiot, especially if you are one or act like one at all. He don’t mean it but you know that.

- eventually will confess, because he’s sick of Sasha and connies teasing and lame attempts to be wingmen

- they’re so obvious abt it btw Sasha will just be there like “hey Jean y/n looks very cute today don’t you think so?” And Connie just nudges him, “yeah tell them how cute they are today, I think they look adoraaable” and he’s like “yes you’re very cute today” and then they just leave and make it awkward for you both

- when he tells you how he feels he’s stuttering so much, it’s painful

- dating Jean is still awkward, he’s still nervous but moreso that he might fuck up somehow and you’ll break it off with him

- eventually yeah, cuddlebug

- loves hugs

- clingy af

- mans can cook, you already know he cooking you something as much as he can

- loves giving you forehead kisses if you’re shorter, if not then cheek kisses are cool too

- before you dated he’d probably try to nervously compliment you and just stutter and die inside, in fact there was a time he didn’t talk to you at all because he never knew what to say

- he tries not to impress you as much but still does and is a jealous boy but less jealous cuz you’re dating him

- he needs constant reassurance

- he’s such a sweetheart deep down he is willing to do so much for you

- still calls you an idiot or any other nickname but more comfortable with it now that you’re dating and likes teasing you

- also eventually tells you how much he loves and cares for you, and tells you the extents of his love

- he loves always being around you and gets annoyed when Sasha and Connie tag along but you probably don’t mind

- he loves you though so he’s like . Ok

- he’ll follow you wherever you go tbh

- he’s also a blushy boy at times, especially if you’re in close proximity in some way

- complimenting him? Do you want him to pass out?

- I feel like people act like he’s overly mean to his crush but I don’t think he’d be mean. He’d try really hard to get along with them to the point where he might act like he likes the same stuff they do

- he’s clingy in general w/ you. Honestly not being around you for even a little feels like forever. Sometimes it’s just months before he can see you again, that hurts him ;(

- he’s such a softie deep down I can’t

- super protective as well (again I think everyone in aot is but mannn porco is so protective)

- he has seen some shit he knows what happens to people and he doesn’t want it happening to you

- very loyal to you tbh

- will find any excuse to touch you physically even if it puts a blush on his face, the first time he did he died but still... he liked the feeling and doesn’t ever wanna miss that feeling

- wraps an arm around you “casually” and “friendly” like all the time

- since him and pieck are pretty much always together, now it’s the three of you that are always together

- pieck finds it sweet though, and loves that he has somebody he could care for as much as he does

- ofc she tries to wingman, whenever he’s not around she asks you what you think of him. If you think of him as something more or what

- it’s because of one of your talks with pieck about porco does she finally encourage porco to tell you how he feels

- it takes awhile, he’s mainly worried of rejection or that he’ll lose you while you’re dating

- when you’re dating though, an arm around you at all times. If not holding your hand. (Ofc if you’re not currently discussing important matters)

- but yeah doesn’t mind pda, just not too much

- holds your hand if he is not having an arm around you

- kisses you like a lot, ofc when nobody else is around (or just pieck is around) but yknow

- he’s clingy, likes spending alone time w/ you but again wouldn’t mind if pieck was there

- gabi loves aww’ing at you guys and tbh so does pieck

- it does embarrass him sometimes but he loves you so he deals with it

- speaking of love he loves to remind you how much you mean to him and how much he loves you, he is not making the mistake of not letting you know how much he adores you

- teases tf outta you, like Jean would call you nicknames like idiot or something but he adores you too much for mean nicknames

- to make up for it he has pet names

- he’s also pretty jealous too btw

- make him feel better with lots of smooches

- he likes squishing your cheeks, surprisingly doesn’t mind if you do the same to him =)

- when cuddling he puts his face in either your chest or neck and peppers little kisses there

- pickup lines .. yeah they’re so bad he doesn’t care as long as they make you either blush or laugh

- low key just ... gently holds you, he loves u so much he’s so soft

#aot #aot x reader #attack on Titan #attack on Titan x reader #snk #snk x reader #porco galliard #porco x reader #porco galliard x reader #jean kirschstein #jean kirschtein headcanons #jean kirschtein x reader #connie springer #Connie x reader #Reiner x reader #levi ackerman #Levi x reader #eren yeager #Eren x reader

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clefairymuke · 3 years

Text

regrets | chapter fifteen

prev. chapter | next chapter

pairing: levi ackerman x reader

themes: enemies to lovers, slowburn, angst, fluff, smut

tw: violence / explicit sexual content

word count: 1663

Monotonous.

That was the best word you could come up with to describe the past week. The days lulled on without change as you unfortunately pined after Levi, who still seemed to pay you no mind -- but today would be different. You had formed a hypothesis. It was lofty, optimistic guesswork with no actual backing, but it was a hypothesis nonetheless. If you placed the right kind of pressure on Levi, then he would admit exactly what you wanted to hear. Your sadness about the situation, as melancholy typically does, had turned to spiteful anger; you needed to prove him wrong. Even if it amounted to nothing, even if you were left with sadness yet again.

"You want me to what?" Jean asked you in a whisper, face drawn up in disgust. You laughed at him before retraining your eyes on the back of Levi's head. His hair had been cut recently. It looked nice.

"Come on, Jean. It won't be that bad. It's just for a few days at most. I'll hate it just as much as you will. It's a game," you replied just as quietly. Despite his protests, you knew it wouldn't take too much convincing. He cared about you too much to tell you no. You gave him your most sincere puppy-dog eyes, watching the disgust on his face morph to a mix of disappointment and amusement. Score.

"I'll do it," he conceded, laying his forehead in his palm. You knew it wouldn't take much effort. Your plan, albeit a little childish, was what you had deemed a sure-fire experiment to test your hypothesis. Hange would be proud.

Levi, as careless as he may seem, irrefutably had anger as his foremost emotion. He was quick to it, and he wore it well. With such constant anger came many things: a gentle side well-contrasted by the rough exterior that ruled others' perception -- proven true; a likely mix of mood swings and impulsivity -- also relatively evident; and, most importantly, a tendency toward jealousy -- completely unproven but heavily suspected. You relied on that suspicion to make sense of the mixed signals he had given you.

You'd been considering it for days; after a while, you grew weary of being ignored. It beat down on you like a rain shower, leaving you to helplessly question the meanings of fleeting moments within the confines of the infirmary. Being unsure was decidedly the worst part. An explicit yes-or-no answer was annoyingly required to calm your racing mind -- accepting his words at face value was impossible.

You followed the outline of his jaw with your eyes as he spoke to Hange, who was sitting at his side. He always looked so well put together. You fantasized about his hair in disarray and his clothes hanging loose -- how he looked on the morning after the night you spent together. You had long grown past embarrassment; every self-pitying thought soon became validating as the nights in the infirmary consolidated into your definition of Levi. You were sure, entirely, that this newfound attitude towards you was all for show. Otherwise, how could someone so callous become so gentle?

His collected gaze was aimed anywhere that wasn't at you. Jean's stories of certain stolen glances when you weren't looking were enough to assure you that he wasn't as unbothered as he seemed. Sometimes you wished you could catch his eye just to send him a soft smile -- to remind him that the two of you weren't just unreasonably disliked acquaintances. You were almost tired of being mad at him; unfortunately for him, however, you were quick to anger, too.

When you were dismissed to training, you weren't slow to get up. You tossed your tray atop the stack of others and made your way out the door, other scouts surrounding you to form a crowd. Jean put his arm around you when you found yourself outside the door; but, instead of swinging it casually around your shoulders, he slid it snugly around your waist. You watched as he shook his head, eyes rolling so hard you were sure they'd come out of their sockets.

When you looked back, you swore for a moment that you met a pair of narrowed grey eyes.

---

The training exercise was your least favorite of them all: the insufferable wooden-titan practice you'd done a month or so before. You fell in line with the rest of your comrades, your gaze traveling to Levi's stance atop a tree branch. He was leading this exercise, and although it was better for your experiment, it was hard to ignore how hard he had been on you. Slack didn't seem to be in his vocabulary. You wanted to do well.

You all lied in wait for his go-ahead, your hands positioned over the triggers on your gear. It would be your first time using ODM again; luckily, legs weren't really necessary. You looked forward at the back of Bertholdt's head, knowing Jean stood a few feet behind you. Last time you finished -- third? Maybe second? You were confident you could do it again.

You saw Levi travel towards the middle of the group of trees for a better view. "Alright," he called, several yards away. "Go."

It only took a few seconds to realize you were rusty when you fell to the middle of the group. Jean had already passed you, along with Connie and Sasha. Nearly a month out of training had done more damage than you thought. You fought to stay ahead of the curve, your eyes failing you to glance at Levi's disappointed face. You made eye contact for a split second, your chest swelling against your will. A lift of his eyebrow forced your line of sight forward as you narrowly missed a tree branch. He scoffed, loud enough for you to hear him. How embarrassing.

Whether by luck or underestimation, you were surprised that several scouts remained in the exercise when you landed. Levi had moved towards the edge of the trees now, so you could still see him from your place in the grass. You wondered if he knew, and if he had glanced your way, too. Your plan relied on the fact that he had and would again.

You waltzed to where Jean stood, away from the others and sipping from his canteen. You slid your hand into his, fingers interlocking as he gagged playfully. "Your hands are sweaty," he said, discomfort clear in his tone.

You laughed, squeezing his hand. "Yours just feel greasy. Have you washed them recently?" The two of you continued joking back and forth as your eyes darted over your shoulder at Levi. You told yourself that acting as if you didn't even notice him would be the best way to go; it was difficult, though. You wanted to gauge every reaction as clearly as you could -- that's how experiments work, right?

You caught him staring for the very first time. When you met his eyes, his gaze did not falter. He simply lowered one eyebrow inconspicuously. You looked away as quickly as you could to hide the triumphant grin spreading across your face; he had seen, and he didn't look happy. The experiment, though, was not yet complete. You wanted more.

As the last few scouts landed, you and Jean took a seat, hands still interlocked in the clammiest, most uncomfortable form of physical affection you had experienced to date. To make matters worse, you decided to lay your head snugly in the slope from his neck to his shoulder. Of course, you and Jean were not strangers to physical affection, as most close friends weren't. Nonetheless, the connotation behind the prolonged hand-holding and casually romantic cuddling was uncomfortable at best. You were lucky he couldn't tell you no. Another strike of luck was that everyone was used to seeing the two of you close and comfortable, and it would be difficult to anyone not intently watching to notice a difference; were there any downsides to having a male best friend?

"Is he looking?" you whispered nudging Jean with your shoulder.

"I don't know," he whispered back, "I'm facing the same way as you."

You snorted. "No shit. Just look around. Don't make it obvious."

You felt his head turning, looking both ways out at the scouts that surrounded you. "Okay, yeah. He's looking. He didn't even look away when he saw me. He looks pissed."

You smiled. Your hypothesis was not far from being proven true; you just needed another push. "You're not going to want to do this," you told Jean, trying to hide the mischievous grin overtaking your face.

"I'm not doing it. No way."

"Jean, please!"

"Nope. Not happening."

"It'll only last a second," you said in the most convincing tone you could muster.

"This is a stupid plan," he answered, a sigh of concession building in his lungs. You had won, yet again.

"Just kiss me. Fuck, it's only once."

And so he did. He tasted like the disgusting soup you had eaten for lunch. It lasted only a couple of seconds, but you were subject to the time-slowing force that only came from ecstasy and torture. This time, it was the torture kind. When he pulled away, you forced a grin for show. Through your teeth, you said, "I think that was the worst thing that's ever happened to me. Ever."

He laughed, squeezing your hand. "It couldn't have been worse than what just happened to me. Remind me to wash out my mouth with soap later." You looked over your shoulder to see Levi still staring, his jaw set in anger. What could be more satisfying?

When you were all dismissed from the exercise, you were sure to walk slowly as you and Jean swung your conjoined hands back and forth. Surely real couples don't hold hands this long, you thought; this much sweat can't be comfortable. Before you saw him, you heard Levi's voice at your side.

"Get cleaned up and get to my office. I need a word with you."

Had it really been this easy the whole time?

#AoT #levi aot #aot fic #attack on titan #levi attack on titan #attack on titan fic #levi x reader #levi smut #levi angst #levi fluff #levi ackerman x reader #levi ackerman #snk #snk fic #snk x reader #shingeki no kyojin #slowburn #enemies to lovers #levi

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chocosvt · 4 years

Text

⚬ pairing: prince!seokmin x fem!reader ⚬ word count: 12,690 ⚬ warnings: none. ⚬ genre: enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, angst, teasing, some slowburn romance, superfluff toward the end.

✧✎ synopsis: the time has come for prince seokmin to meet his arranged marriage, which forces you to confront a strange predicament: if you truly hate the prince, then why does the thought of him being with someone else hurt this badly?

✧✎ a/n: yeah... i’ve wanted to write some prince!lsm since his excalibur pictures. evidently, i am very late! i hope u enjoy nonetheless :-)

Hiking up the long, heavy layers of your dress, pale and coloured like lilacs, you retrieved a small carving knife that had been clandestinely strapped against your outer thigh. Buried a few feet away from you in the grass was a smooth, palm-sized piece of beech wood, which you quickly picked up before walking back to the bench. You sat down horizontally, stretching out your legs and taking up as much space as possible whilst you started carving down the edges of the beech wood, flicking away the occasional shavings.

It was only to kill time as you waited for the royal gates to open. That night, the King and Queen were hosting an annual, celebratory dinner to commemorate the newest anointment of pages, otherwise known as the fresh grouping of students who would serve the knights and learn about their duties, specifically how they protected and served the kingdom. It was a true honour: you had been requested to cook in the royal kitchen, and the younger apprentice your mother hired at the bakery, Chan, was going with you.

He was notably excited and couldn’t sit down, instead pacing in front of the tall, wooden gateway into the castle grounds. This would be his first time seeing the royal family’s abode from the inside, and if he was particularly lucky, he might get to meet the Prince. To him it was a big deal, but you couldn’t care less. At even just thinking about the Prince, you started pressing your knife harder against the beech wood, gritting your teeth as a larger piece curled off and fell into your lap. Lee Seokmin, he was the Prince.

You absolutely hated him.

“What on earth do you think you’re doing, child?”

The sunlight that glinted against your face was interrupted by your mother, who had her hands sternly placed on her hips, glaring down at you in sheer disapproval.

“Give me that.” She quipped whilst scowling at the blade. “This instant.”

Rolling your eyes, you sat up properly on the bench and dusted the cream-coloured shavings off your lap. She never let you do anything, and when you were in close proximity to the castle, she became even more rigid and hawk-eyed. You gave her the knife which she hastily folded up, watching her pocket it inside a pouch on the front of her white dress.

You still held onto the beech wood.

“There is no reason to bring a weapon into the King and Queen’s home. I should not have to reprimand you like this once more. Behave in the way I have taught you.”

Suddenly, there was a loud command you heard echo from the turret, and the tall, wooden gateway into the castle grounds began pulling apart. You heard the clink belonging to the iron chains and the cracks in the elderly oak. Chan stumbled backward, leaving sufficient room for the gate to open. Unlike the apprentice whose eyes were glimmering in awe, you had to swallow the bitter taste in your mouth and put on your fakest, most convincing expression of content. It was going to be the longest night of your life – even longer if you had to eat supper with the Prince.

Just before you were guided into the royal family’s abode by the caterers, you swiftly pulled up the side of your dress and tucked the piece of beech wood between the garter belt at your thigh. Then, you rushed to stand beside Chan.

“Excited, are you?” You asked him.

He tucked a strand of dark brown hair behind his ear, practically bouncing in his place. “It is my biggest wish to sit down with the Prince! To cook for him is already a sure pleasure.”

You couldn’t help but huff at the apprentice’s enthusiasm. He should consider himself lucky he didn’t know Seokmin the way you did.

Time passed quickly, and it was almost two hours into preparing the onslaught of fruit, meat, vegetables, and grain required to make the celebratory supper. The royal kitchen was much larger than the small, quaint space you operated back at the bakery, where everything was tightly shoved together and you knew each crevice like the back of your hand. You were working up a sweat as you kneaded a large, thickening dough. Once you were satisfied, you floured a wooden roller and began flattening it out, using a tin can to cut perfect circles.

You told Chan to put the tray in the clay furnace and keep an eye on the rising bread.

“Where are you going?” He immediately inquired upon watching you untie your apron, hanging the splattered fabric on a hook jutting from the stone wall.

“It’s quite hot. I’m stepping outside for a few minutes. No more than that.”

The young boy nodded and proceeded to follow your orders, keeping a watchful eye on the dough that would soon become crispy, warm pieces of bread. You slipped into the long corridor that led outside. There was still a noticeable heat in the evening air, though it was much less overwhelming compared to the kitchen, packed with fires and bodies and steam. A soft, glowing pink tinted the sky, and you were surprised at how little clouds there were.

Just to be certain, you felt underneath your dress for the piece of beech wood, relieved to brush it against your skin.

A distant sound captured your attention, somewhat like the noise of steel slashing against steel. Walking along the side of pillaring cobblestone, the noise grew louder, accompanied by indiscernible, muffled shouting. You stepped around the small wildflowers sprouting from the grass, keeping as silent as possible upon approaching the corner that ended at an iron gate.

Sparing a cautious glance between the bars, you looked into a large courtyard covered with sand. There were two young men sparring against each other, competitive but lighthearted in their expressions and the nature of how they operated their swords.

It was none other than the Prince himself, Seokmin, against his lifelong accomplice, Jeonghan.

You plucked your head back and inhaled delicately. The unique airiness of Jeonghan’s laughter reverberated into the evening, summer air, joining hymn with the sharp steel. You peaked through the iron bars again. Seokmin was still buried in his hefty silver armor, a layer of chainmail hanging from his shoulders. Expertly, he caught the underside of Jeonghan’s sword with his own and twisted the weapon from his friend’s hands, which dropped against the sand with a soft thud. Jeonghan stumbled backward, panting heavily.

“For God’s sake, I surrender!” He laughed, dusting off his shiny armor.

Seokmin slid his sword back into the sheath at his waist, smiling triumphantly.

“You squander each attempt at defeating me. Have you just lost another bet with my blacksmith?”

Jeonghan bent down to pick up his sword and huffed, “it could be so.”

“You are inclined to become a beggar,” the Prince teased, “thankfully, tonight’s feast shall leave you with plentiful portions to take to the streets.”

There was a small, stone fountain bubbling beneath an overhang in the courtyard. Seokmin allowed a generous cup of water to form in his hands before splashing it along his face, the droplets streaming down his amber skin that had been caked with dust. Once he cleared away the grit, he ran a hand through his hair, pushing back the long, black curls.

He smirked at Jeonghan and uttered something to him you couldn’t decipher as they removed their chainmail. You studied him intently, feeling the warmth in your chest welt into disdain and anger.

“What are you doing all the way down there?!”

You jumped, sensing your flesh bristle. Turning around, you saw Chan standing at the doorway with his brow furrowed, probably wondering why you never returned to the kitchen. Not wanting to draw attention to yourself, you hurried toward him and away from the courtyard, praying that neither the Prince nor his friend heard Chan’s shouting.

“Was there somebody out there? Who was it?” Chan immediately pestered you with questions.

“There was no one.” You told him whilst entering the kitchen, heaving a great sigh of relief upon seeing your bread removed from the clay furnace, the bread perfectly golden and risen in small domes.

Chan seemed skeptical, but he knew you were infamously defensive, so he didn’t investigate.

“Have you started the pastry for the cherry pie?” You asked him after setting the grain aside.

“No,” Chan replied, “I heard it is a favourite of the Prince. We must prepare it attentively.”

“Of course. Now, ask that lady over there if we can use her pie pan. We will start immediately.”

In complete honestly, you’d rather prepare any other dessert – even the chocolate soufflés, which were arguably difficult to perfect. However, you yet again bit your tongue and helped the eager apprentice remove the pits from the ruby red cherries, which landed in a wicker basket just at your feet. Every moment or so, you were tempted to leave behind a pit, entertaining the tiny thought that it could be inside the slice served to the Prince. You knew if that happened, neither you or Chan would be allowed to return to the castle.

It wasn’t so much skin off your nose, but Chan would definitely be disheartened.

You made sure to thoroughly clean all the cherries.

The dining hall was absolutely packed. There were rows of young pages standing at the table, hardly able to contain themselves as they stared glossy-eyed into the fresh cooked meals and desserts. No one had sat down yet, not until the King and Queen took their seats.

The Queen, swathed in the long, shimmering silk of her violet robe, observed the hungry crowd gathered before her. She was an alluring beacon, just like a porcelain doll, and the sapphire gems embossed in her crown glinted against the central chandelier. As you were specifically requested by the royal family to cook, you were granted a seat at the table, in between your mother and an anxious Chan who kept stealing glances at the Prince, standing next to his father. You refused to look at Seokmin, even when you felt his gaze trace the side of your face.

Suddenly, the Queen grabbed onto a sumptuous chalice and lifted it high in the air. She began making a toast to the newly appointed pages, congratulating the start of their journey. You copied your mother and reached for a silver goblet next to your plate, which had been prefilled with cold, dark purple wine. Everyone applauded her speech. Then, the King took over.

It was hard to pay attention, until you heard a particular name leave his mouth.

“As we continue the great customs of our ancestors who built this impenetrable kingdom, a new fate has arrived for Prince Seokmin.”

You flicked your gaze toward Seokmin, your heart hammering in your chest. His father set a hand on his shoulder, covered by a velvet, royal blue robe.

“Our son is at the rightful age to marry. After ample negotiation with the neighbouring and prosperous village of Markarth, their Lord has granted permission to his daughter, Lady Adelaide, as a possible contender. She will visit us on the summer solstice. I am prideful, and honoured, to announce this marvellous news alongside the blessed anointment of our pages.”

Instantly, you felt lightheaded, and you had to place the goblet back down on the table in order to avoid spilling the expensive wine. You knew this day would come eventually, but to hear that an arranged marriage was already brewing left a horrible taste in your mouth. The King shook his son’s shoulder with an honest pride, though Seokmin simply pressed his lips together and dipped his head slightly, acknowledging the announcement. You felt sick to your stomach. The thought of eating your beef wellington rendered you unable to even look at its outer pastry.

“Let us not dismiss the efforts of our valuable cooks, who prepared this rustic meal.” The King continued, staring in your direction.

He then praised the name of your mother, you, and Chan in specific. Everyone’s goblet remained in the air. Their gazes smeared across your flesh like wet ash.

“Is there anything you would like to say before we commence our feast?”

Your mother was ready to speak, though you managed to cut in before her.

“P-Pardon me, your Majesty, I am unbelievably humbled to cook for you tonight, but at this time I wish to be excused from the dining hall. May I part?”

Chan turned to look at you as though your hair were entangled in flames, and your mother grew notably tense. The atmosphere in the room was awfully palpable, like a thick balm that made it difficult to breathe. You could feel the pulse in your fingertips. The King then lowered his head to the Queen, and they briefly exchanged a whisper, seemingly coming to a verdict they both agreed on. Asking to be excused from a royal supper seldom occurred, if ever.

“If that is your wish,” the King said, his voice stern, “then you may part.”

You stepped away from your chair, making sure to bow toward the royal family. Seokmin was staring directly at you, his face looking hardened, cold.

“Thank you,” came your tiny response, “I hope you are delighted by the food.”

In the centre of the royal garden was a magnificent water fountain that came alive at nighttime, small, paper lanterns floating in its pool and glowing a solacing orange. You lay on your back, atop the fountain’s wide stone ledge, listening to the gushing water and staring up at the crescent moon. Everyone was still eating inside the dining hall. When you listened very intently, you could hear the faint notes of the live music. You didn’t regret leaving the supper, but you did regret not stealing a tiny bread loaf or even some fresh blackberries from the fruit baskets.

Your stomach was aching, hungry.

Reaching down to tug up the side of your dress, you pulled out the beech wood you spotted in the grass that afternoon. You had wanted to carve something into its surface with your knife, though you weren’t sure what, and it definitely wouldn’t be possible until your mother returned the blade to you. As you held the smooth nature above your face and pressed your thumbs into its cream face, you were overcome by a new, frothing wave of anger. Seokmin was preparing to get married. The beech wood nearly split in two from your iron grip.

You hated thinking that at one point in your childhood, you genuinely liked the Prince, and harboured this flat-out embarrassing crush on him. So did everyone else, but Seokmin certainly didn’t help your malleable heart in pretending that he liked you back. You remembered it clear as day: Jeonghan, who was much smaller at the time, came bounding up to you, teeming with excitement and using his squeaky voice to tell you that Seokmin wanted to kiss you, and that you needed to meet the Prince by Peace River in the forest.

Of course, you obliged without even having to think, and your friends spent the whole morning twisting small bluebells and buttercups in your hair. When you arrived at Peace River, Seokmin was waiting for you, standing in a patch of sunlight that cut through the trees, wearing a long, silk red robe in addition to his silver crown. It was the most nervous you had ever felt in your entire life, and you remembered feeling dizzy as Seokmin gazed down at you with a sweet look in his honey eyes. The two of you leaned in closer, closer, closer…

And right when you felt his lips ghost yours, Seokmin took a step back and you heard a huge fit of laughter erupt from the thick brush in the background.

Seokmin’s friends came stumbling from their hiding spots, some holding their stomachs with how hard they were cackling, others wiping a tear from their eye, all whilst you experienced a shock bottom out in your gut. The realization that everything had been a ruse gave you a tough, metaphorical slap across the face. Jeonghan had to lean against a tree trunk as he gripped his stomach, and a familiar burn stung your cheeks upon remembering the words he coughed out, something along the lines of, “you truly thought the Prince liked you?!”

The worst part was that Seokmin didn’t say anything, he just looked at you sadly. Since then, your contempt for Seokmin blossomed, and he didn’t hesitate to bite back.

Not wanting to break the beech wood, you lowered it from your face and slid it back between the lace garter hidden beneath your dress. When you glanced at the moon, you noticed that a small, orange ball was floating above you. Sitting up, your eyes widened at the sight of numerous orange dots, glimmering all throughout the garden. You recognized them as fireflies, which had always been one of your favourite things about the night. Occasionally, you and Chan would catch the small bugs in mason jars and release them by Peace River.

One fluttered close to your face, so you stuck out your finger hoping it would land. But, out of nowhere, you heard someone walking in the grass and immediately plucked your finger away, instead peering through the moonlight where you spotted a silhouette. Once the figure came into the aurora of the water fountain, you felt your stomach drop. It was none other than the Prince himself. He was no longer wearing his royal robe, just a white poet shirt with the deep, v-shaped collar left unbuttoned, and some black capris. He wasn’t even sporting any jewelry apart from a silver bulb through his right earlobe.

“Why must you act with such blatant disrespect?” He was quick to scold you for leaving the dinner. “Could you have not sat down? Stayed out of honour and given your untouched portions to the beggars?”

You scoffed. “Do not ridicule me like one of your pages. I was asked to cook, and so I did. No more, no less.”

Seokmin huffed, blowing the black curls away from his eyes. “You were invited to eat as well.”

“I fulfilled my principal duty. There was no reason to stay.”

“You could have at least eaten something. A wedge of pie, a peach clove. For heaven’s sake, there was bread at the entryway.”

Unwilling to stay seated and argue, you stood up from the fountain and brushed off your dress, no longer paying attention to the fireflies that illuminated the garden. Of course you wished you took some food; your stomach was collapsing in on itself, though you would not admit it.

“Why are you so concerned with my meals?” You snapped. “Should you not return to your private quarters and get well rested for the summer solstice?”

After mocking his arranged marriage, you couldn’t bear to look Seokmin in the eye. For some reason, a lump got caught in your throat and you felt a hot surge push against your tear ducts.

“Judging by your poor temper, it is you who needs more rest than I.” The Prince shot back.

You couldn’t stand there any longer. Biting harshly into your bottom lip, you attempted to brush by Seokmin and exit the garden. Instead you would find the gateway and wait until your mother and Chan arrived before leaving the castle grounds. There was food back at the house anyway, you assumed maybe some milk pudding, or sunflower seeds. It wouldn’t satiate you, but at least quell the hunger pangs until morning. However, when Seokmin grabbed your elbow you immediately flared, releasing a sharp yelp as he held you in place.

“And where do you think you’re off to?” Seokmin growled, lessening his grip on your arm and leaning in close to your face. “Come with me. I must give you something.”

Peering into the Prince’s dark brown eyes, you snarled, “what?”

He was close enough that you could see the tiny scar on the bridge of his nose from when he and Jeonghan had chased each other with fireplace pokers. You thought about looking at his lips, pretty and pink, but refused to break eye contact. The Prince didn’t say anything, just tugged you through the garden, between the thorny rosebushes, the intricate strings of bleeding hearts, and huge pots of pastel, cotton hydrangeas. To your surprise, Seokmin guided you back into the kitchen you had occupied just a few hours ago.

Then, he opened a wood cupboard and pulled out a polished, bright silver tin, which he thrusted into your arms. You peeled the lid open and saw that the tin was filled with raspberry glazed Danishes, to which the fragrant smell of flaky pastry and berries caused your mouth to water.

“S-Seokmin, I—,” you were going to reject him.

“I am not doing charity work for you. It is the custom of our celebratory suppers to not let any guest leave unfed, or pained by hunger.”

He looked at you with a cold expression, and his tone deepened. “Now, you may wait at the front gate for your companion and mother. It is not your place to wander around my castle. I could have you arrested.”

You welcomed his threat. “I anticipate such a drastic measure if it ensures I’ll never have to see your face again.”

Seokmin didn’t look half as amused. He moved in close to your ear, his breath hitting your skin as he uttered inimically, “leave.”

During the walk home to your village quarters, Chan had already shoved an entire pastry into his mouth, licking the raspberry jam off his fingers. Your mother was eager to know who gifted you such an expensive tin alongside the Danishes. Not wanting to admit your confrontation with Seokmin, you churned up a white lie about how they were a present from another cook.

“Certainly?” She seemed quite surprised. “That is a rare gift. To my knowledge, tins with that level of embroidery are only seen inside the castle. Perhaps that cook quite liked you.”

At the early stretch of dawn, you felt someone grasp your shoulder and shake it roughly, until your eyes pulled open, groggy and blurred. You were sitting up in bed, looking bitter. Chan was next to you, and whilst he wore an apologetic expression, you could sense there was a degree of urgency to his actions.

“What’s the matter?” You hummed, digging the heel of your palm into your eye.

Just outside the windowpane, you could see the calm sunrise and feel the morning, serene warmth through the glass.

“Your mother told me to wake you, that we should head to the bakery immediately.”

As you stumbled around your bedroom, fitting on a pair of degrading, sandalwood slippers before patting your face down with cold water from the well, you were wondering why it was so important that you attend the bakery, that your mother would need to send Chan to fetch you. Still dressed in your nightgown, you left the house alongside the young apprentice and hurried down the quiet road, passing all the tiny markets and apparel shops. As soon as the bakery came into view, you gasped, for a pearl blue carriage was stationed outside, paired to a stallion with silk, white hair. It grazed at a patch of grass and honeysuckle.

There seemed to be a crowd gathered inside the bakery, which only further piqued your curiosity. Chan couldn’t help but stroke the horse’s brilliant fur, which glowed like an amber pool due to the sunlight. You had only taken a measly step or two inside the bakery until jamming to a halt. Right before your eyes, speaking to your mother across the counter was perhaps one of the most pristinely-dressed, elegant girls to ever grace your kingdom. Her dress was long and flowing, a dark green forest jade, accented with gold lacing and a slim pair of gloves that stretched high up her arms.

Chan appeared equally stunned, for he thudded into your backside and stood staring at the girl like she was a rare type of crystal. Almost immediately, you noted the petit, twinkling tiara sitting on her head. Before she could even introduce herself, you knew exactly who she was.

“Lady Adelaide.” You heard Chan whisper to himself.

It immediately dawned on you that the summer solstice had finally arrived. The second she noted your presence at the door, her congregation of guards stepped back, allowing her to approach you. Without a second thought you bowed your head politely. She smelled like fresh clusters of jasmine and her voice was harmonious.

“I apologize, it wasn’t my intention to startle you or your apprentice,” (Chan’s face flushed a shy pink) “I heard from a guardsman of mine that your mother’s bakery is nothing short of wondrous, and I knew I had to stop here before I meet with your kingdom’s Prince.”

You stuttered straight through your teeth, “t-that’s wonderful. P-Pleased, we’re absolutely pleased to serve you, Lady Adelaide. We will prepare anything you desire.”

“Certainly.” Chan agreed.

“I’ll have to spend some time looking over the pastries,” she said jovially, “right now, I am truly awed by how delicious everything appears. My decision will come shortly.”

“Of course.” You responded, rubbing your clammy palms against your dress.

Whilst Lady Adelaide carefully inspected each pastry through the glass, your mother had pulled you and Chan into the kitchen, where she made sure it was clear you show your utmost respect toward the kingdom’s potential princess. Chan still wore a sticky blush on his cheeks, and you could tell he would be about as useful in the kitchen that day as a rock.

“No matter what she requests, we shall honour her needs and prepare it.” Your mother said. “Remember, this could be Prince Seokmin’s wife.”

You felt a streak of envy and wanted to slap yourself.

Once Lady Adelaide made up her mind, your mother re-entered the front shop with a wide smile. Chan started washing his hands in the pail of fresh water.

“Why was I not born the Prince?” He huffed petulantly. “She is truly the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Does everyone in Markarth have such a face?”

“Oh, cool it, would you?” Came your sharp response. “Our duty is to operate a bakery, not fall in love.”

You didn’t mean to sound so harsh, and you tried desperately to bite your tongue as you fastened on your apron and pulled up the sleeves of your nightgown. The young apprentice wasn’t lying, she was a true and glorious spectacle, one that would surely appease the King and Queen once they saw her next to their son. However, you weren’t keen on entertaining such a sight, and you dismissed it from your head whilst Chan went to the house front and helped your mother collect Adelaide’s dessert.

A week after Lady Adelaide’s arrival at the kingdom, you happened to find your pocket-sized carving knife inside a bakery drawer. You were absolutely relieved to discover it, and took advantage of your mother’s recent departure to slide it back against the garter belt wrapped around your thigh. For the time being, she was occupied at a different village, visiting her sister.

Chan worked on kneading a mound of sourdough, his sleeves rolled high up to his elbows and a cloth tied around his head, pushing back his growing brown hair. You decided to take a break from the kitchen heat, patting him on his shoulder just before you disappeared.

“Huh?” He mumbled, not bothering to look up from the dough, “where will you be?”

“Peace River.” You told him. “I will be taking a short swim.”

The piece of beech wood was already slipped inside your sleeve. Ever since Seokmin gave you that silver, embroidered tin, you placed it on your bedside table and stored the wood inside.

“Shall I fetch some extra help in the mean time?” Chan asked, lobbing the dough onto a wooden serving board.

“Sure. Why not ask your companion from the academy? Seungkwan is it?”

“Yes.” Chan nodded.

You picked your way through town until you arrived at the pathway that lead into the forest. The dirt was padded down by a century of footsteps, animal paws and wagon wheels, though the soft grass that grew next to it tickled up past your ankles and bloomed with small, purple flowers. You loved walking through the forest, hearing the noises of the village become increasingly muted, replaced by tree branches that gently rocked against each other in the breeze as well as the sweet songbirds.

Upon reaching the river, you sat down on a rock just in front of the grassy bank and pulled out your carving knife. The river created a bubbling waterfall, and whilst you took hold of the beech wood, deciding what to carve, you listened to the trickling sounds. Still unsure of what to scratch in the wood, you continued shaving down its edges until the piece lost its rectangular shape and became more oval. Once you were satisfied with its rounder appearance, you brushed the wispy flakes from your lap, deciding it was time to test the river.

You removed the layers of your dress until you were in nothing but your undergarments, the sunshine that rained between the leaves warm against your skin. After wrapping the beech wood into your clothing, you set the fabric behind a strawberry bush, though left your carving knife folded and sitting on the rock. The river water was cold, but not freezing, and for a few moments you stood knee deep with your eyes closed, allowing the quiet breeze and sunrays to mellow your heartbeat. Then you proceeded to wade in further, until the water lapped up against your chin.

As much as you longed to enjoy the cool river, there was one problem that arose after a few minutes of swimming.

You heard distant galloping becoming closer and closer, accompanied by the rattling of metallic armour and conversation. Not wanting to make your presence known, you paddled beneath the overhanging rock that created the waterfall, the downpour completely soaking your hair whilst the heavy scent of moss stuck to the stone. You were curious as to who could be arriving at the river. Carefully, you peeked around corner of the overhang.

You felt your blood turn to ice.

It was Seokmin and Adelaide. Her arms were wrapped around the Prince’s waist as he held onto the reins of his beautiful, caramel horse named Apple. You remembered the mare’s name because you were the one who suggested it as kids. Seokmin shook the reins once more, and Apple walked closer to the river, already beginning to graze at the sweet grass lining the bank. Seokmin seemed to be educating Adelaide about the river, though you really had to strain to hear what he was saying. He hopped down cleanly from the horse before assisting the Lord’s lady.

She was no longer wearing her jade dress, but a white gown with many ruffles at the skirt. Her eyes were wide and sparkling whilst she examined the forest. Seokmin set a hand on her waist, gesturing to something in the trees you couldn’t see. The Prince was standing in a patch of sunlight just like he did on that summer day when you were children, waiting to kiss you—well, more like humiliate you, but his amber skin still shone the same, and the way the light reflected off his broad, silver armour depicted just how much he’d grown since then.

Closing your eyes, you listened intently for his words.

“Everyone who visits this river is known to experience a beautiful sense of peace, and calm, hence, why it is known as Peace River.”

Adelaide pressed a kiss to Seokmin’s jaw. “I have never seen such a tranquil sight. Oh, Prince Seokmin, it’s beautiful!”

Whilst Apple continued nipping at the grass, Adelaide squatted down next to the river and let the water gush between her fingers, covered in opal and amethyst rings. She was crooning about how pretty the gems looked beneath the current to Seokmin, though you noted the young Prince wasn’t exactly listening. Something caught his attention – your carving knife, which you left sitting on the goddamn rock. Gulping heavily, you watched as Seokmin picked up the blade and inspected it closely. Immediately, you swam away from the corner when he began squinting around the clearing, as though he were attempting to spot the knife’s owner.

The worst part: Seokmin knew who that carving knife belonged to. He knew it was yours, for he offered it to you, a gift from his blacksmith, a few days before the horrible kissing incident.

When you gathered the courage to peer around the corner again, you saw Seokmin help Lady Adelaide back onto Apple’s saddle. He still had your blade in his hand, to which you watched in complete shock as the Prince ordered his horse onward, deeper into the forest. You cursed him relentlessly under your breath. That bastard, he just took your carving knife! When you only discovered its whereabouts no less than half an hour ago! Boiling with fury, you left the river, threw on the clothes over your wet skin, and marched back into town with your beech wood.

The next time you saw the Prince, you weren’t going to let him off easy.

It was the night of the Super Moon Festival.

Raised high amongst the depths of the vast, black sky was the crater itself, bright, shining, and larger than ever. A chilly wind had turned the air quite nippy, and whilst Chan sat next to you, tentatively sipping a warm jar of gold, apple cider, you were simmering in complete bitterness. You had always embraced each festival, especially the Super Moon Festivals, which promised ample fortune unto the kingdom in addition to a prosperous summer; however, that night you couldn’t force even the slightest elation.

Prince Seokmin still had your carving knife.

A great deal of folk had concentrated to the village square, where the celebration was most vibrant. Certain people had linked arms, dancing to the live music, whilst others were releasing paper lanterns of different colours and shapes into the night sky. There were plenty of drinking games, festive food, and buzzing conversations entangled throughout the square. You were shaking your leg, watching intensely as the Prince and his friends were gathered by an old wagon in the far corner, drinking tall tins of frothy ale, laughing loudly into the crisp, cool air.

Suddenly, Chan nudged your shoulder.

“Is everything alright?” He asked. “Why do you continue staring at the Prince?”

You peeled your gaze from Seokmin, though the contort of your features remained. Lady Adelaide was nowhere to be spotted. There were rumours that she would be arriving later, that the band would play a special slow song, just so she could share a dance with the Prince.

“I must speak with him.” You replied.

Chan wrapped his cold hands tighter around the apple cider, casting you a peculiar glance.

“Why is that? Has he done something?”

You knew you couldn’t wait forever. Seokmin’s tightknit ensemble didn’t look like it was going to thin anytime soon, and if you allowed the night to end, you would have missed your chance.

“Be right back.” You uttered sharply to the young apprentice as you rose from your chair, leaving Chan to sit alone with his drink.

He could only gaze after you in a thick confusion. It was definitely nerve-wracking to approach the Prince so boldly, especially when he was swathed by his closest friends, all whom lived inside the castle or carried high profiles in the upper scale village. You almost walked straight through a dancing couple on your march across the large square, though you tried not to let any crumb of doubt or intimidation thwart you from retrieving your carving blade. Without a word, you shoved your way between the muscular bodies, ignoring their surprised scoffs.

Seokmin’s eyes were almost as wide as the moon when you stood before him. He stopped leaning against the wagon’s tall wheel and left his half-finished ale on the ledge.

“Return it to me.” You stated simply, holding out your palm.

“Who the hell is that?” One of his friends chided, clearly not amused that you just pushed through their private celebration only to speak rudely at the Prince.

Seokmin’s brow furrowed. “Return what?” He responded.

His acting utterly irritated you.

“Do not behave so obliviously,” you barked, “come with me, now.”

Wrapping your fingers through the collar of his shirt, you attempted to pull Seokmin away from his companions. Understandably, they were not willing to lose their royal member so easily, which prompted Jeonghan to grab your arm. It came as a slight surprise to you when Seokmin snapped, “do not touch her,” causing him to withdraw his grip, his expression paling. The Prince ensured his companions that he would return soon, only to follow you down a quiet alley, away from the colourful celebration and boasting music.

Folding your arms over your chest, you glared at the boy.

“I want my knife returned.”

Straightening out his collar that you had noticeably crumbled, the Prince scoffed, a smirk trudging across mouth.

“You should not leave any personal property out where it could be discovered.”

“You knew it was mine and yet you still took it.”

“So you were watching me, is that it?” He had the audacity to smile.

In order to contain your fulgurant anger, you clenched your fists tightly at your sides.

“Indeed I watched you take it! Now give it back!”

“Do not get so ahead of yourself.” Seokmin flashed a devious smile, one you wanted to wipe clean from his snide expression.

He reached into his pocket, and beneath the frosted moonlight, you saw him reveal your precious carving knife. You traced his fingers as he unfolded the silver blade and admired the mahogany handle, etched with the smallest, intricate embellishment. If you were swift enough, you could snatch the knife from his hand, but you weren’t sure if the risk was calculated. The Prince gently pressed the pad of his finger to the point, hardly issuing any pressure.

“This did not always belong to you.” He stated simply.

“I know that,” you quipped, “but you decided to gift it to me. So it no longer falls under your property.”

Seokmin blatantly ignored your rebuttal. Instead, he folded up the blade and dared pocket it right before your eyes. You gaped at him.

“Why were you at Peace River?”

“What?!” Feeling completely bewildered, you couldn’t help the loud air of your gasp.

He asked again, “why were you at Peace River? Were you hiding somewhere?”

“That is not your business!” You barked.

Seokmin seemed to adapt your hue of disproportionate awe.

“It is not my business?” He took a step forward, though you didn’t shy from his advance. “I am your Prince. You shall answer what I ask of you.”

“Why do you care why I was there? Should you not focus on the wonderful time you had showing around your dear lady?”

The young Prince’s face didn’t exactly soften upon your reference to Adelaide, rather there was a subtle shift in the nuance of his gaze, where something murky tinted the surface. It was difficult to pinpoint, but you almost swore that mentioning Adelaide had made Seokmin unhappy. To make the matter more confusing, he was clearly examining your features, from the curve of your lips to the arch above each cheek, you were like a memory he could never lose.

Your heart started beating faster, and you felt dearly flustered.

“I-I was only swimming,” you answered him, “that’s all you must know.”

You hated your body for betraying you, for submitting, for twirling itself in a moonstruck loop at the mere thought of Seokmin needing to commit your face to memory. Wanting to feel angry again, you tightened your voice.

“Now, I answered your question. I have pulled you away for one thing and one thing only: my knife. I do not care that your blacksmith crafted it for you, that it was once yours before it was mine. You gave it to me. I want it back.”

“Mind your manners,” the Prince scolded, his eyes turning icy, less forgiving, “I cannot oblige when you create such a fuss.”

Digging your nails in deep to the fabric of your dress, you exhaled shakily.

”I am going to lose my temper, Prince Seokmin. I want my blade, now.”

He took a step toward you, so close you could smell the rich ale on his clothing. His voice had lowered an octave, to which you swallowed coarsely and had trouble locking eyes with him.

“First, you rudely interrupt my friends and I. Second, you speak to me informally, with no respect, not even bothered to fake it. Third, you drag me to this alley and refuse the command of your Prince to summon an ounce of manner. Clean your mouth, or forget the knife.”

Your jaw clenched, and you started to grit your teeth. Seokmin was not exactly fond of the fact that you wouldn’t make eye contact, therefore he placed a light hold on your chin with his index finger and thumb, tilting your head toward him.

“Look at me when I speak to you.” He growled.

A concerning heat infiltrated your body; however, gulping back the rage that burned against your throat, you pulled down his hand, looked straight into his eyes and hissed, “you do not deserve my manners, but for the sake of the situation, may I please have my knife returned, Prince Seokmin?”

He reached into his pocket.

“I am shocked someone so ill-mannered is permitted to live in this kingdom.”

Cocking your head to the side, you watched the boy reveal your carving knife.

“I could effortlessly say the same for you.”

Seokmin handed you the blade, studying you intently whilst you picked up the side of your dress in order to return your prized possession between the thigh garter. Even in the darkness, his cheeks had noticeably pinkened.

“Enjoy the remainder of your night.” You gave him an exaggerated, distasteful bow before walking down the alley, away from the village square. “Do not keep Lady Adelaide waiting.”

The young Prince didn’t bother responding, only chewed into his bottom lip as you disappeared from his sight, his heart beating uncharacteristically fast.

Somehow, you and Chan had ended up back in the royal kitchen.

It was in light of a specific request pitted by the King and Queen, in which they desired you to cook a delicious dinner for Prince Seokmin and Lady Adelaide as they enjoyed their umpteenth date together. You attempted to avoid the situation last minute by faking a dry cough and sore throat, though your mother was far too intelligent to let any elementary performances fool her, resulting in yet another attendance award at the castle. Chan was excited as usual, evident in the small curl to his lips whilst he cleaned his hands in a bucket of well water.

“I never understand you,” Chan said, “why are you never content to visit the castle?”

Tying an apron at your lower back, you simply huffed in response to the young apprentice, not willing to reiterate the whole spiel about your childhood mishap as well as the years of hatred that nurtured it. You knew you seemed ungrateful, stuck-up, but it wasn’t anyone’s business.

“It is not something to concern yourself with,” you told Chan, taking his place at the bucket of cold water, “I am going to cook their meal, and that is all. No more, no less.”

“When do you think we will receive their menu?” Chan asked.

“Whenever it is given to us.”

The royal kitchen was indubitably stocked with produce that could cater to any dish, it was just a matter of awaiting the particular meals Lady Adelaide and Seokmin were keen on eating. Still, you had to agree with Chan, there was an anxious density to the room whilst you prepared your stations, hoping that at least some form of authority would enter the kitchen to update you.

Chan opened a cupboard and found a burlap sack of cherries. He grinned, “do you think Prince Seokmin will want to eat cherry pie again?”

“Beats me,” you shrugged, “maybe he’ll desire a pineapple upside down cake.”

“That sounds complicated.” Chan admitted with a frown.

You chuckled, “he’s complicated.”

“Who’s complicated?”

Suddenly, the Prince appeared in the entryway to the kitchen, dressed in a long, garnet cape that draped around his shoulders, embroidered with a dazzling gold thread. His hair, usually left in its black ringlets, had been groomed neatly from his forehead. His crown looked heavy, precious and incomprehensibly expensive. Both you and Chan were stunned by his abrupt appearance, to which the apprentice dropped a pile of tins he’d been removing from a cupboard. They clattered across the stone floor, and his cheeks turned red.

Whilst the young boy quickly picked up each tin, you cleared your throat.

“N-No one. We were speaking about no one.”

Chan hurried to stand beside you, and he bowed immediately.

“Greetings, Prince Seokmin. Must I say it is a complete honour to cook for you and Lady Adelaide tonight. I shall put forth my best effort.”

“I am pleased to hear that,” Seokmin said, commending the boy’s display of respect, “I have arrived to deliver the menu Lady Adelaide and I would like to eat.”

The Prince then handed Chan a scroll, which had been tied shut with a tasseled, red string. As Chan busied himself in opening the paper to glean its request, Seokmin glanced you over from top to bottom. You shot him a transient glare.

Folding your arms over your chest and titling your head to the side, you announced, “we will bring your food as soon as possible.”

“Is everything well with you?” Seokmin inquired, raising an eyebrow.

Chan looked up from the unwound scroll nervously, clearly noting the palpable tension.

“Yes, Prince Seokmin. I feel brilliant.” Your tone was drier than chalk.

Some twisted part of you hoped that the Prince would pull you into the corridor, scold you for behaving so blatantly disrespectful, lean in close to your face with a fire that turned to glistering copper in his eyes. You wanted him to grip your chin like he did in the alleyway and demand you meet his gaze. In a bizarre sense, you craved to argue with him. However, Seokmin didn’t engage in anything of the sort, and a vacant feeling encompassed you whole.

“I must return to Lady Adelaide. We will be seated on the outdoor terrace, second level.”

“Yes, of course,” Chan chirped, “I will bring your appetizer shortly.”

“May it also be known that the furnace next to you Chan has not been properly cleaned from a previous service. Do not try to light any fire, or the residue could burn you.”

Chan glanced at the stove warily whilst you released an impatient sigh.

“You should really get going, sire. It’s never polite to make your lady wait.”

The Prince chuckled, and a bold smirk illuminated his face.

“Have you ever been left to wait, darling?” He asked, biting his bottom lip.

After blowing a tuft of hair from your eyes, you folded your arms over your chest and caught the young Prince in a piercing stare.

“Why must you know? I don’t kiss and tell.”

Chan had not a clue as to what sort of exchange was unpacking before him, he only knew that his presence seemed unbelievably trivial, like a dust mite. You couldn’t deny how satisfactory it felt to wind Seokmin tighter than a wire spool, attempting to snap him somehow, hoping he’d bite back brazenly.

His professional composure was teetering, you could see it. And yet, the Prince was able to sweep away his desires to bicker with you.

“Aren’t you such a well-behaved little girl?” He dug slyly, the backhanded compliment imbuing a strange rush in your blood. “I have no further business here. As I said, we are seated on the second level terrace.”

The second Seokmin parted, his beautiful cloak fluttering behind him, Chan nudged your shoulder with a big pout on his lips.

“Are you trying to get us banned from the castle? If so, you might just succeed.”

Stealing the scroll from his hands, you urged him to relax.

“Trust me,” you sighed, “I would get banned before any other soul here. Even before the cook who caused a fire hazard.”

You had great trouble focusing in the kitchen, and it seemed like your brain contained no interest in cooperating with the rest of your body. Chan noted your lack of composure and intervened on multiple occasions, a concerned expression covering his face.

It was stupid, shameful, but for an unbeknownst reason you could not stop envisioning Seokmin and Adelaide enjoying their supper together on the pretty terrace. You imagined his soft, attentive eyes tracing her lips whilst she spoke, his hand reaching across the table to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear’s cusp, the evening sun dappling the sky golden and peach-rose. It lit a terrible feeling within your lower gut, a feeling that upset you beyond belief, made you want to run from the kitchen and bury yourself beneath mounds of bedsheets.

The thought of Seokmin marrying Adelaide, sliding that white diamond ring upon her finger, having to watch them parade around the kingdom completely and utterly in love; you hated it, and you kept losing your concentration as that bitterness consumed you.

“They seem to be enjoying everything.” Chan confirmed with a satisfied smile toward the end of service. He just returned after collecting their dishes. “At last, we can begin dessert!”

However, the boy quickly picked up on your temperate, distracted face.

“What’s the matter?” Chan grabbed your shoulder gently. “You look so upset.”

“I’m fine,” you dismissed him with an apathetic air, brushing his touch away, “will they be eating the cherry pie as you assumed? I have already prepared the crust.”

“Yes…” Chan leaned in rather close to examine your face whilst he hummed in response.

“For heaven’s sake, child—what are you doing?”

“S-Sorry,” he immediately backed away, “I-I thought—your eyes just looked so glassy.”

“I have already stated my wellbeing. Now, please get to making the filling so we may get this pie in the furnace.”

Chan grabbed the burlap sack of cherries from the cupboard and dumped them into an apple basket. He then submerged the basket in a water pail, making sure to clean the fruit until they were glistening and shiny. Together, you removed the cherry pits in order to create the sweet, sticky filling which smelled exactly like summer. Chan let you tend to setting the furnace flame whilst he leveled out the pies; however, you’d forgotten about the unusable furnace.

As you got down on your knee and reached into the underbelly of the oven with the starter flint, it was too late for Chan to make a reminder. Once the bright spark touched that mysterious residue, a gigantic flame bloomed forth and licked up the furnace walls. The second your hand felt such an incredible singe of heat, you released a loud cry and crawled away from the glowing oven, your chest heaving at the intense, searing pain that sizzled deep into your flesh. Chan was gobsmacked. He dropped the small butter knife in the pie filling and bent down whilst you tossed your head back, cursing at the pain.

“Oh God!” Chan looked paler than a snowflake. “Y-You have been burned! O-Oh no… this- this is awful! What should we do? H-Here—”

The boy helped you to your feet and brought you close to the water pail.

“Submerge your hand in this,” he offered anxiously, wiping away a bead of sweat from his forehead, “I need to alert someone of this. Are you okay? Do you believe you might faint?”

“N-No…” you gritted between your teeth whilst heavy tears streamed down your cheeks, “just get somebody – anybody. I-It hurts terribly…”

The boy rubbed your back as a sweet gesture before he left the kitchen.

“I shall return as quickly as possible! I promise!”

Unfortunately, Chan had sparse luck encountering anyone from the castle. The sole person he could think of alerting was Prince Seokmin. Whilst he was not eager to interrupt his dinner with the kingdom’s potential princess, Chan was far too concerned with your agonizing pain as well as the poor condition of your hand. He knew you needed medical assistance immediately, therefore he burst through the doors in a panic and stumbled onto the terrace, where Prince Seokmin and Lady Adelaide gave him a puzzled, somewhat undesirable look.

The young apprentice steadied his breath. Once he began informing them of the situation, he couldn’t help but note the overwhelming concern that engulfed the Prince’s face.

“I must know where the nearest nurse is located. She needs assistance and I promised I would return quickly!”

Lady Adelaide wiped the corners of her mouth with a cloth, and looked to Seokmin. Her eyes, brushed with a shimmering, metallic gold, widened beneath the evening light as the Prince stood from his chair and threw down his cutlery.

“You have left her alone? Where is she?” He questioned the apprentice.

Chan licked his dry lips. “P-Please, stay with Lady Adelaide. I-I just need to know wh—”

“Does she remain in the kitchen?” Seokmin interrupted him.

He stepped fairly close to Chan, the young boy tilting his head back in order to meet the serious gaze of the Prince. Admittedly, he felt rather intimidated.

“Yes, she is. But you mustn’t abandon Lady Adelaide. I can—”

“I will take care of her,” Seokmin replied sternly, “stay with the Lady if you wish.”

Without another word, the Prince pushed Chan aside and disappeared quickly through the terrace doors, leaving him alone on the beautiful terrace with Adelaide. She didn’t appear entirely thrilled to be abandoned in the midst of a romantic dinner, indicated by the uncomfortable expression that coloured her face. Instead, she tucked the hair behind her ears and pressed her smooth lips together tightly, staring out into the flossy, pink clouds, a calm breeze blowing through the air. Chan swallowed the rock in his throat, squeezing his hands nervously.

“I-I’m sure the Prince will return in due time.” He stuttered.

Lady Adelaide nodded, stiffened, unamused.

“I guess I will just have to wait.”

Standing at the pail whilst your marred flesh scorched beneath the water was a sensation unlike any other. Your bottom lip kept quivering, and your whole body trembled in an attempt to digest such an intense pain. Footsteps reverberated outside the kitchen, to which a hope flourished that a medical professional would be arriving alongside Chan – yet, the person who entered the room was completely disproportionate to what you’d been expecting. It wasn’t that you didn’t want his help, it was just going to be difficult to accept it.

Seokmin left his crown behind on a countertop and stood next to you.

“Let me see it.” He urged as your hand twitched in the water.

Rubbing your tears off on your shoulder, you rasped, “w-why are you here?”

“Because you’re hurt,” Seokmin replied firmly, “and whether you like it or not, I am going to look after this. You should have your hand beneath running water.”

“W-Where is Chan? I w-want him here t-too.”

“He remained with Adelaide.” The Prince sounded impatient.

“W-Why did you not stay with her? Why did you even come when you cannot stand me?”

Choosing to ignore your questions, Seokmin grabbed your wrist, pulling you to the back of the kitchen where he knew there was a well. Suckling back the thick tears and runniness in your nose, you let Seokmin guide your injured hand beneath the cold water he started pumping from the ground. It splashed onto the stone floor, trickling in all directions.

“S-Seokmin—,”

“Just keep quiet for one minute,” the Prince snapped, “I know that is strenuous for someone as verbose as you, but right now, allow me to take care of you, alright?”

For an unprecedented time in your life, you legitimately heeded Seokmin’s words and kept your mouth shut, deciding it was not worth the energy to act so bitter. Whilst the running water succeeded in cleaning any sediment from the wound, the sensitive flesh stung and flared to a degree that was impossible to ignore, leaving you unable to suppress any small sobs and whimpers. If not for Seokmin holding your hand beneath the water, you would have withdrawn it immediately.

You pushed your face into his chest, your tears wetting his clothing. Seokmin shushed you softly, attempting to keep you calm.

“I know it hurts, but you’re doing so well, okay? A minute longer darling, I promise.”

You felt Seokmin’s chin sit on top of your head, and you only pushed your cheek in further against his strong chest, smelling the faint concoction of a luxurious perfume on his amber skin. Somehow, the pain became more bearable when his honeyed voice touched your ears.

“H-Has it been a minute now?” You sniffled.

The cold stream of water that once gushed from the spout diminished. Whilst the floor was rippling with a wide, wet circle, your hand felt less seared, less like a piece of charred meat.

“Mmhm, it’s been a minute,” Seokmin said, “how badly does it still hurt?”

Glancing at the wound imbued an intense cloud of nausea.

“I-It’s throbbing, a-and stings. Should we not wrap it?” You blubbered.

Seokmin brushed his fingers along your warm cheek, removing the new tears.

“Not immediately, angel. If the flesh is too fragile, the cloth might pull up more layers of tissue when it is removed. There should be an ointment station, over here—,” the Prince placed his hand against the small of your back, and you followed him toward a counter, “if the correct gel is in here, my hope is that it soothes your skin. Afterward, we will wrap it cautiously.”

Your injured hand was shaking too much, so you had to grasp your wrist tightly in order to centre it to one place. Seokmin opened a drawer filled with small, glass ampules. He picked between them carefully until coming across the correct ointment, a clear gel that had a strong, plant-like scent when he pulled out the tiny cork. Smearing the glistening gel onto his fingertips, the Prince then asked to see your hand. Knowing it would sting, you clenched your teeth.

“I’m not being too rough, am I?” Seokmin asked, concentrating on softly massaging in the vital ointment.

Exhaling stiltedly, you shook your head. “It’s getting better, I believe.”

“This is quite deep,” he remarked, scooping up more of the gel, “why on earth did you use the furnace upon my instruction not to?”

“I was not thinking about the furnace.” You admitted, biting down into your cheek.

Seokmin couldn’t help but chuckle.

He had just finished applying the cool gel, which gleamed on your skin and sunk into the damaged tissue. Additionally, stuffed somewhere in the drawer was a compact spool of bandage that the Prince started unraveling, until he tore a perfect strip to delicately wrap around your hand. Your heart began racing and heat stippled your face as the boy finally looked up from the injury. His eyes were so unbelievably gentle, his lips the colour of roses. It reflected a painstakingly familiar memory, in which you could almost hear the river running in the background and feel the pleasant sunlight warm your arms.

“Then what was on your mind?” Seokmin questioned.

His voice was low, and he stared unabashedly at your mouth.

You didn’t think – you didn’t want to.

Instead, you pushed to the very back of your skull every malevolent thought you once harboured toward the Prince and shut your eyes, envisioning yourself within a dream. You pressed a short, soft kiss against his mouth.

There was a moment’s pause where Seokmin realized the situation.

Suddenly, he cupped the sides of your face in his tender hands, urging you forward again, his lips brushing yours in such a gentle manner that a shiver tingled down your spine. It was far from a single, fleeting kiss. Each time your lips pressed together, you would linger for a moment longer and fall deeper into the other, losing all sense of the world around you. A molten warmth expanded in your chest as you felt Seokmin’s tongue make a soft prod at your bottom lip, encouraging you to sigh blissfully into the kiss. He smiled at your quiet noises.

What was happening to you? You struggled to control your own functions. Seokmin was eliciting a powerful feeling that yearned for you to continue kissing. His slender fingers drifted from your face to your hips, and he pulled you tighter against his body, each kiss revealing the other’s burning want and secret desires. As you suckled slowly on Seokmin’s tongue, listening to him purr, there was a rich, unique taste of cider. It prompted you to think about dinner, about Chan who’d gone looking for a nurse, about Lady Adelaide.

As soon as her face entered your mind, something switched off inside you and your blood transformed into cold liquid.

“S-Seokmin,” you murmured, disconnecting the sweet pressure of your mouth to his, “I-I... I don’t think we’re in our right minds.”

Your eyes began filling with water whilst you gazed at his pink cheeks and the pretty swell to his lips. The boy grabbed both your hands with a concerned expression, holding them against his chest where you felt his heart beat.

“What do you mean, angel?” Seokmin whispered. He then planted a kiss much too affectionate against your forehead, in which your eyes only grew more watery. “I haven’t anything to drink if that’s what you’re implying.”

“N-No.” You shook your head and looked into his eyes, swallowing back the dreadful taste of pain, of a relationship you could never have, of a boy you could never have. “We cannot do this... t-this is not just...”

“Wait—” Seokmin stuttered when you pulled away from him, “where are you going? We can talk about this.” His voice trembled slightly, heavy with sorrow.

“Stay with me, please.”

But there was nothing he could say or do that would cement you to your spot.

An overwhelming wave of emotion surged through your body, and you knew you had to leave the castle grounds unless you wanted the royal family to see you explode into a mess of hot tears and incoherency. Whilst you slipped through the kitchen door, you bumped into Chan who just returned from the second level terrace, his eyes growing wide when he noted the dreadful shadow that hollowed your countenance. The boy swallowed thickly, for the next person to enter the hallway was Lady Adelaide herself, who did not look pleased at the wait.

“A-Are you o—”

“I cannot stay here,” you told Chan in a quick jumble, “I am going to the house. Please, take care of the dessert if you can manage.”

Lady Adelaide stepped aside, allowing you to escape the corridor.

Everything felt like it was collapsing around you.

It was nighttime as you sat in your bed, a candle flickering on the windowsill whilst you examined the neat bandages that enveloped your hand. You couldn’t sleep. Chan was sent home early from the castle by Prince Seokmin, and he attempted to check on you with plentiful knocks to the front door; however, you didn’t possess the right spirit to answer him and instead covered your teary face with the bedsheets until he left. You were infuriated at yourself for kissing the Prince. Inside, your heart felt mercilessly torn up and shredded.

Continuing to look out the window, you were intrigued by a fluttering, orange orb that eventually paused on the leaves of a tall sunflower. It was a firefly.

Quickly, you reached for the silver Danish tin on your bedside table and pulled out the carving knife in addition to the small, smooth disc of beech wood. It was difficult to make incisions in the wood with an injured hand, though you simply bit your lip and didn’t allow the pain to phase you. Making tiny scratches with the fine, sharp tip of the blade, you spent the next hour, maybe more, carving a tiny firefly into the beech wood. When you looked back into your drawer, you spotted a silver-beaded chain, and an idea instantly shaped in your head.

You decided to make the wooden emblem into a necklace.

From the kitchen, you could hear Chan speaking with a new ensemble of customers who entered the bakery, the sound of their abundant coins rattling across the countertop and the apprentice’s cheerful tone as he wrapped their food in wax parchment. You hadn’t spent much time behind the counter that day, for your mood was no better than a cat who’d just been stuck in a thunderstorm. Chan advised you to stay in the kitchen instead. Since that morning, you’d either been making loaves of banana bread or staring into space.

There seemed to be an unsettled atmosphere about the kingdom. Most if not always, it indicated there was a problem at the castle, some sort of dispute amongst the royal family.

Whilst you waited for the loaves in the furnace to rise, you put your head down on the work bench and gazed at the stone floor. You had never felt so off-kilter. The fact you couldn’t do much more than mush bananas and whisk together a batter only added to your melancholy. After burning your hand, you were rather useless in the kitchen, though Chan had a much politer way of wording it whenever you attempted to help him with anything the least bit complex. You wouldn’t be surprised if he replaced you with Seungkwan in the near future.

Once the aromatic, sweet scent of the banana bread thoroughly encompassed the kitchen, you checked on the tin and decided it was time to remove it. Letting the bread sit next to an open window, you heard more muffled conversation through the door.

Suddenly, Chan had slipped into the kitchen. His expression was awfully nervous, to which an unpleasant feeling began brewing your lower gut.

“Your presence is needed at the counter.” Chan said flatly.

“Why is that?” You smiled. “I thought you preferred me locked up back here until closing.”

When the apprentice didn’t return your warmth, you knew there was something wrong.

“You are really needed at the counter.” He urged. “I will cut the bread, okay?”

“O-Okay…” You responded in a puzzled manner, allowing Chan to slip around you and grab a butter knife from the drawer.

Walking out from the kitchen was equivalent to getting a slap in the face, a splinter between your toes, a hard poke in the eye – basically anything undesirable constituted the situation you just introduced yourself to. Prince Seokmin stood on the opposite side of the counter. It appeared as though he recently returned from a valley trip with a congregation of other knights, for he was dressed in his heavyset armour and Apple was tied to a post outside shop.

Seokmin brushed his hair back and smiled at you.

“I know you are surprised to see me, but—,”

“No no no,” you shook your head and gripped the counter tightly, your legs feeling like thin jelly, “you cannot be here, y-you cannot—”

“I have to speak with you.” Seokmin said.

Your eyes flitted toward a metal bucket sitting in the corner.

“Not right now,” you spluttered quickly, “I have to refill the water, for our kitchen.”

The Prince frowned. You were surprised he wasn’t swathed in his usual entourage, that his closest companion, Jeonghan, was nowhere to be seen. Whilst you scooped the bucket from the floor and rushed toward the bakery doorway, Seokmin knew you were only using it as an excuse to avoid him. What else could you do? Your heart was far too fragile.

“This is just as much an inconvenience to myself as well as you,” the Prince announced very staidly, “you know this conversation must happen. Why bother avoiding it?”

Seokmin followed you through the doorway, where Apple was grazing at a patch of honeysuckle in the grass. You refused to look back at him.

“Exactly! It is an inconvenience that can easily be avoided if you return to the castle.”

Marching behind the bakery, you threw the metal bucket on the ground and kicked it under the well, pumping it full of cold water. .

“I refuse to return. Not until we talk about what happened!”

“Maybe I do not want to entertain that idea!” You let go of the handle, instead whipping around, facing the persistent Prince. “It was a mistake! That’s it!”

Seokmin shook his head. “Why are you so hostile? Why can you never discuss anything without starting an argument?”

You didn’t bother suppressing your scoff. “Have you ever noticed the only person I treat with such hostility, is you? Has that ever crossed your mind, Prince Seokmin?”

“Of course I know!” He quipped whilst frustratedly dragging a hand through his curls. “It has always been that way! That is why I always have to scorn you, since you behave so bitterly!”

“There is no one but yourself to blame.” You hissed, sensing the water prickle at your eyes.

The Prince looked stunned, for his mouth dropped open. “You still hold onto that memory so vehemently?”

At even the slightest reference to that humiliating, summer day forever engrained in your past, the heat flooded your eyes and you were completely helpless to stop the first tear from rolling down your cheek. There was no doubt, since that incident your hatred for Seokmin had completely blossomed, and in response to your poorly controlled anger, the Prince was left no choice but to respond with just as much belligerence. The ground between you grew terribly thick brambles and spikes, until it was impossible to even be in the same space without getting hurt.

Yet, if your hatred was exactly what you claimed it was, then your kiss with Seokmin should have never happened. Hatred was merely a dark, sinister form of passion, and no matter what circumstance, passion always lived inside your heart.

Wiping the tears away with the sleeve of your dress, you shook your head. “You humiliated me in front of half the royal’s children! How could I ever dismiss that?”

The Prince furrowed his brow. “That was ages ago. We were exactly that: children. Children can be stupid and say stupid and do stupid things!”

“I just don’t understand why you pretended for so long,” you whimpered to Seokmin, tightly clenching your fists, “if you never even liked me from the start…”

“I-I wasn’t pretending… I just couldn’t… I-I…” The Prince struggled to elaborate.

Suddenly, he could no longer look you in the eye, and a raspberry tint flooded his cheeks. You gulped, a dizzying sensation infiltrating your head as you willed your heart to stop beating so vivaciously.

Seokmin took a step closer toward you, an anxious colour to his face.

“If you just let me explain what I came here to tell you,” he murmured, “then perhaps we wouldn’t be at each other’s throats so adamantly.”

You folded your arms over your chest and pressed your lips shut. The silence was daunting, but at the same time you realized the bickering would lead to endless circles.

The Prince summoned a breath of courage and met your wet stare.

“I refused the marriage to Lady Adelaide. She will return to Markarth before the sunset. I only told my mother and father this morning.”

Slowly uncrossing your arms, you blinked at Seokmin in complete shock.

“S-Seriously?” You stammered, sweat tainting your palms.

“I had to,” Seokmin sighed, his eyes trailing the grass, “because of what happened with u—”

“I did not ask you to refuse her as a bride!” You hiccupped, salt glimmering at your tear ducts. To be the reason the kingdom’s next marriage crumpled apart, you couldn’t bear it.

“I know you didn’t!” The Prince retaliated, his voice booming. “Do you not think I am already aware of the great misfortune and trouble my decision brings to our kingdom? I did not refuse Lady Adelaide because we kissed – I refused the marriage because I do not love her, and it would be an utter disservice to both of us if we cannot reciprocate our own hearts.”

You bit down strictly on your bottom lip. It absolutely boggled your mind that Seokmin felt no love toward Lady Adelaide, when everyone who saw her fell head over heels. Whether it was her beauty, wealth, or the perfect sweetness of her character, everyone in the kingdom had something positive to say in regards to their potential princess. Maybe you had not gelled with her in the same manner as everyone else, but you knew this marriage had been anticipated since the day Seokmin was born, and the fact such a monumental celebration would have to be pushed back created a recipe for tension.

The Prince set his hand on your shoulder, squeezing softly.

“That is what I had to tell you,” he spoke in a much gentler tone, “it was not my intention to anger you, or make you this upset. But I have to remain honest with myself…”

“W-What are you saying?” Sounded your trembling, unsteady breath.

The sunlight splashed into Seokmin’s eyes, igniting them in a blazing copper. You felt swelteringly hot as the boy brushed against your cheek with his fingers before he leaned in close to your face, still damp with tears. You couldn’t concentrate on anything apart from the low velvet of his voice and how sincerely he admired you.

“I’m saying that I’m in love with you.”

Just before you entered the cool balm of the river, you spent a few moments stroking Apple’s caramel mane and picking berries from the nearest thicket to feed her. For such a strong, firmly-built horse, she was delicate in nature, just as you remembered her from your childhood. You ran your palm along the coarse side of Apple’s fur, scratching lightly so her ears would twitch, before hearing Prince Seokmin lilt your name. When you looked to the river, you saw him grinning at you, his black hair soaking wet and pushed back from his forehead.

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to stand there for an eternity?”

“No,” you replied, “I was just looking after your horse.”

“Trust me, Apple gets pampered more than I do.”

Rolling your eyes, you finally grabbed the pale lilac hem of your dress, peeling the material over your head and letting it fall into a ball on the grass. In nothing but your undergarments, Seokmin gazed at you fondly, watching how you carefully waded deeper and deeper into the river until your toes could hardly scrape the smooth pebbles. Afternoon sunlight spun between the canopy of leaves overhead, which dappled the calm peaks in the water, making them sparkle. Seokmin swam closer to you. He was truly breathtaking as the rays caressed his amber skin and danced in his eyes like a honey fire.

The boy’s fingers brushed your thighs, urging you to wrap your legs around his waist and drape your arms over his wide shoulders. He held you tightly, his lips forming a lovestruck smile.

“Will your anxious mother not worry as to why her son has been out for so long?” You couldn’t help but tease him.

“I told her I would not be back for supper. At worst, she’ll send Jeonghan as my scout.”

“Do you think he could keep his mouth shut if he saw us together?”

Seokmin titled his head back with laughter, and you could see his perfect rows of teeth. “I have little certainty,” he admitted, “but Jeonghan would keep a secret if I forced him to.”

“That is reassuring to hear.” You replied with a smirk.

It was best to give the kingdom ample time to recover after the displeasing news of Seokmin’s cancelled marriage with Adelaide rapidly spread. She was supposed to be his first choice, his destiny as the King and Queen preached with every ounce of their souls. Furthermore, the royal family would definitely not be mirthful to discover that Seokmin had rejected Adelaide because his heart beat for a childhood crush from the lower village. That was unheard of, unfathomable, and rather unorthodox, which caused you and Seokmin to keep your relationship a secret.

At times there was pressure, there was great difficulty and frustration, but neither you or him could keep away from each other. You didn’t have to be married, or live in his sumptuous castle where everything was either expensive silk or encrusted with some sort of precious gem. It was quite simple: you just wanted to be with him – the environment wasn’t important. When you began seeing each other, you realized that on the summer day of your childhood where the Prince had humiliated you was a shtick orchestrated by his friends.

In actuality, Seokmin always had a crush on you, though at the time, the tender strings of his heart were easily pulled by them, and what could have been the start of a relationship ended up in years of bickering, unnecessary hatred, and repressed emotion. Cupping a hand against Seokmin’s damp cheek, you leaned in to kiss him softly. You smiled against his mouth upon feeling his hands squeeze your thighs.

“Can I give you something?” You then asked in a quiet voice.

The Prince nodded, allowing your feet to touch the pebbles again.

“Of course, angel.” He complied.

Together, you left the river. Whilst Seokmin started petting Apple’s shimmering coat, you picked up the dress on the forest floor and reached into one of its pockets, brushing the beaded chain with your fingers. When Seokmin turned around and saw you holding a necklace, his eyes lit up in a marvelous fashion and an endearing smile beamed from one corner of his mouth to the other. It was the beech wood necklace, in which you had carved a small firefly in order to complete the pendant.

“I carved this from a piece of wood I discovered outside your castle, on the day Chan and I had to cook for the pages. At first, I had no idea what to make of it, but then I decided on a firefly.”

Seokmin admired the pendant up close. It felt wonderful to see him examining it with such an appreciative light in his gaze. The Prince connected the chain around his neck, to which the wooden oval sat between his prominent collarbone.

“I-I thought I should gift it to you. And, whenever we must be apart, you can just think of this necklace, and the comfort that comes from a firefly’s glow.”

Suddenly, the boy’s hands were atop your hips. He pulled you in close against his body, still gleaming with water droplets, and pressed a deep kiss to your lips. You could sense just how much ardour and warmth was laced into the contact, and a dense heat scattered beneath your cheeks. He tasted like the sugar powder and strawberries you ate before visiting the river.

“It’s beautiful.” Seokmin whispered.

He pecked your mouth again sweetly whilst you felt a gentle breeze blow throughout the forest, causing the tiny hairs on your damp skin to stand sharp. You cozied yourself closer into Seokmin’s chest, smiling like a foolish romantic at his words.

“Thank you, my love. I will hold onto it forever.”

✧✎ a/n: okay when i started writing this i THOUGHT it was going to be so short, like at most 4-6k, but then i was at the 6k mark, only halfway done, and i realized it was going to be another ‘wish’ situation lol. i’ve never written a royalty!au before so i felt like i was reaching into the dark a little bit jsefhwef but i hope it was still pleasant! as always i treasure all ur guys feedback so pls don’t hesitate to leave ur th0ts!! i haven’t written for seok in ages and it felt super nice to give him a lengthy fic! contrary to nobody’s belief - this was not inspired by owl city lol.

#seventeen scenarios #svt fanfic #seventeen seokmin #seokmin scenarios #lee seokmin #seokmin angst #seokmin fluff #seventeen fanfic #seventeen fluff #seventeen angst #svt x reader #enemies to lovers

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constant-eggs · 3 years

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I’ve been seeing a lot of posts about William on Supergirl from fellow Supercorp shippers, so I wanna talk a bit about Kara and Lena’s love interests and how they are viewed, and also about racism in the show and fandom. This has probably been done to death but I’m new to the fandom — I binge watched the show over the winter and just started using Tumblr in a real way about a month ago. So anyway, back to the men:

There’s the major three: James, Mon-El, and William. Jack is cool too — he should’ve had more than two episodes which is part of the issue I’m going to get to, but he never got to be a major player.

So let’s talk about James. Now, I liked him a lot, particularly in season 1. Of the three main love interests for Kara, he was the only one who (season 1) writers took time to establish as a character separate from her. He had hopes and a backstory (of course), and his own idealism that usually uplifted and sometimes contradicted with Kara’s. He was honest, and vulnerable, and when he made a mistake (like calling Superman against Kara’s wishes) he grew from them. Because he respected Kara, and himself. Now the chemistry between Kara and James for me felt good — it wasn’t earth shattering — but it was typical in what I’d come to expect from a heterosexual pairing. And I would argue that had the writers not done a complete 180 on Kara’s feelings for James in S2 and had let them keep growing together as characters, that the chemistry and relationship could have been really good. But they didn’t because as the writers themselves said, they’re ‘in the drama business.’ So having a healthy, supportive partner for Kara wasn’t their priority, James was sidelined, and then they never figured out what to do with his character from that moment on. Also, I do think that race played a part in the writers’ decision to change direction with their relationship, and it’s...disheartening.

Now real briefly on James with Lena: it reminded me a lot of Laurel 1 and Oliver — when they talked about each other to other people— I believed that there was love, but when they were together, I didn’t see any real spark. Even their drama wasn’t particularly interesting — so I won’t even get into it. But it’s been long enough in this post for me to get to the point of it: the fault of the deterioration of James as a character lies with the writers. They chose to sideline him, have his values constantly shift, and have his character development stagnate post S1. He could’ve had interesting stories as Guardian, could’ve worked more closely with Kara when he replaced Cat Grant, or any number of things. But his potential was squandered. And if they were so dead set on having a male love interest for Kara, he was their best option of the three.

Mon-El and Kara had chemistry. To me, it was very much sibling chemistry in nature, which is kind of funny considering that in the comics he was a pseudo brother to Superman. To be clear I’m talking about Kara and Mon-El and not Chris and Melissa who are married, because they aren’t their characters. That’s how I think he should have stayed — as an antagonistic, shallow brother type who slooowly became decent through character growth and not specifically to become Kara’s love interest. But the handful of times Mon-El did the right thing — rebelling against his parents, trying to be a hero etc. it was because he liked Kara. How boring is that? As a love interest he was subpar — and he continued to be a liar. I don’t hate him like some fans do — and I’m well aware that he was a shallow partner who owned other people on his planet, and a habitual liar. I also see that this show is fantastical in nature where I am rooting for Lena after nearly mind-enslaving the entire population just last season. And also in a universe where a primary hero — Oliver Queen, was a serial killer (as are Laurel 2, Sara Lance, and Mick Rory to name a few). So that isn’t the main reason why I don’t like Mon-El for Kara. I just feel as early Kara felt: She deserves so much better than him.

What is there even to say about William? He’s essentially the audience in character form — the chorus in an Ancient Greek play telling us how we should feel about whatever action he’s being sidelined from. If they wanted him to be endgame, he should’ve been introduced bare minimum a season earlier to give him a fair shot. He needs to be better integrated in the fold, and at this point there isn’t a lot of time to do that well.

I’m making this post though because I don’t agree with some of what I’m seeing in fandom. Yes, I too dislike Mon-El as a love interest for Kara, but I’m not going to yuck someone else’s yum. Same goes for William and James. If you see something romantic, that’s okay. If you’re a multi shipper, that’s okay too. I was into other Arrowverse shows when Karamel and Supercorp animosity was at its highest and saw some of what went on and now I see some people uniting over their mutual dislike for William. But his underdevelopment as a character is once again entirely on the writers and execs. Not Staz Nair. And @motorcyclegirlfriends has a much more nuanced post about how race plays into characters being empathized within fandom and the screen time they are allotted by writers and directors. https://motorcyclegirlfriends.tumblr.com/post/649196192472924160/what-a-lot-of-the-nice-fellow-fans-dont-harass

We shouldn’t be tearing down actors of color or characters of color out of frustration over (potentially/hopefully) queer (white) characters. We should instead be asking for them to have more well rounded stories, just as we ask for better LGBT rep — the two aren’t separate. If Supercorp doesn’t become canon it won’t be because of the subpar heterosexual romances they were given. It will be because the writers see the love story they’ve created, inadvertently or otherwise (even doubling down on it in S5) but chose to ignore it. I really hope that isn’t the case. Us fans deserve more complex, messy slowburn romances, and Supercorp could be up there with She-Ra as one of the best ever portrayed. Here’s to hoping.

#supergirl #supercorp #james olsen #mon el #william dey #lena luthor #kara danvers #let’s be real lena gets the screen time of a co lead #which I love but give me more #kelly olsen #brainy #m’gann m’orzz #j’onn j’onzz #nia nal #and yes william dey if he is going to be the endgame love interest

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flowersandcorpse · 4 years

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She’s Optimistic (Not Me) Ch.2

This is a Corpse Husband fic. Chapter Two actually. If you missed chapter one, don’t fret. I’ll leave the link below :) Feel free to comment, share, and send me questions. I love hearing from you all.

Genre: Slowburn, friends to lovers, angst, pining

TW: abuse, mental and health complications

Chapter One

Alice.

It was a name Corpse just couldn’t shake. It had been a couple of days since he’d last seen her. Her warm skin pale and her shoulders hunched over. It wasn’t like they were close or anything. Corpse spent his days alone, fingers slaving away at his keyboard as he scrolled through his hundreds of emails. It was his job, he knew that, to read them all; every fake horror story or regurgitated creepy pasta someone thought they could pass off as their own. But everytime he he started to scan an email, his mind wandered back to that morning.

To the girl in the baggy clothes and smeared mascara. There was something about her that was almost… familiar?

Fuck. Corpse winced at the thoughts coursing through his head. They were clouded, no muddled with images of Alice. Her eyes were swollen, red and bruised like her knees. It was obvious she had been crying, obvious there was something fucking wrong. And Corpse just stood there like a dumbass.

I could’ve said anything. Could’ve done anything, but instead I just…

Corpse clenched his fist and closed his eyes. He didn’t want to finish that thought. Didn’t want to admit that he was… attracted to the crying girl; baggy clothes and all. If he wasn’t sure before, he was definitely aware of how fucked up his mind was. There Alice stood. Messy hair, bruised skin, and wet eyes, and all Corpse could do is wonder if she was just as screwed up. She reminded him of him, but smaller, maybe a bit stronger. Perhaps a bit sweeter. Definitely smoother… and warmer.

God, he breathed in sharply, just how warm are you, Alice?

He knew it was wrong, but in the moment he just felt so goddamn lonely. Corpse shut his eyes and let his imagination run rampant. Thoughts of him. Thoughts of Alice. Thought of them together. His body trembled under his touch and he found himself a shuddering mess; his hair curling against his forehead.

Corpse’s voice was laced with rasp. He hadn’t talked much to anyone today and for that his voice was deeper, darker; it had more bite. There was moment, just a couple of seconds, right before Corpse rolled over to his side, where he forgot he was alone. The feeling of hopelessness dissipated leaving only Corpse with a tender feeling in his chest. He thought back to a year ago. He laid in the same place, but that time around he wasn’t alone. She was there. Soft Emerald eyes, and red hair.

“Stop,” Corpse gritted out. He couldn’t think of her while he was doing this.

But it was too late. He threw his head back as he imagined her blushed cheeks.

“Fuck,” he whispered a little quieter. “What is this shit?”

It was almost cruel how suddenly it had all happened. Corpse lived his life in constant search for any distraction away from… her. And yet she managed to find him. Every goddamned time. It was her. Always her, bargarging into his head just when he thought he had gotten enough of her twisted grasp on him.

“God,” He cried out, dropping his hand. “I’m a joke.”

A joke.

A freakshow.

That’s how he felt. Completely wrong. His breath hitched and his chest tightened, but this time he wasn’t focused on how he was feeling or why he was feeling that way. He was just thinking of Her, his ex. If I can even call her that. If I… could even call her anything.

And he began to cry. Low and guttural, his sobs shook throughout his body leaving him cold and weak. He flung his hands into his hair and tugged at his roots. It didn’t hurt. Not the way he wished it did, but there wasn’t much he could do. It took everything in him not to scream.

In the coldness of his apartment, Corpse shuddered to the sounds of his own breath. In. Out. In. Out. In… Hold.

When he held his breath he could almost fade into a different reality. His brain would cloud with fog and he could drift off to where he wanted. Like lucid dreaming, but instead of sleeping he was shutting himself off. Letting his body enter into panic mode as it scrambled to send oxygen to his brain. If he was focused enough he could stop breathing entirely, he was sure of it. All it would take is one breath, one minute of him allowing himself to slip, and he would drift into the cold numbness he had grown accustomed to.

It was 9pm now. The sun had set and he was surprisingly alert. His stomach grumbled to the ticking of his clock.

“Great.” He mumbled to himself.

He knew for a fact there was no food in his fridge, with the exception of a half drunken health shake and maybe some cheap wine coolers. It dawned on him he would have to leave his home to get something. And even though his stomach sunk to his feet as he threw on his heavy outside jacket, he knew he couldn’t put it off. Not for another night.

Corpse made his way to his apartment door and just as he swung open the creaky wood, a small figure stumbled back, knocking into his door frame.

Alice.

Corpse stared at her, lanky limbs and daring stare. He noticed how she held his gaze. Almost as if she was searching for something, anything, in his soft eyes. Corpse’s cheeks held the faintest of blush from earlier. His eyes were no longer wet, but as Alice scanned his face, it was obvious there was pain hidden behind his nonchalant demeanor.

It was the only obvious thing about him actually.

There he stood, she mused to herself. Talk, dark, and mysterious. Corpse felt the tips of his ears burn the longer they stood that way.

“Hey.” He gritted out. “Is everything okay?”

“With me? Yeah…”

Corpse cocked his head at her response. It was in his nature to be apprehensive, and the longer she peered into him, the more he felt like slamming the door in her face and retreating. But he didn’t. He didn’t realize it at first, but he had something to prove. Not to Alice, but to himself.

“So what?” he smiled. “You just here to say ‘hi’”

“Something like that.”

“Well,” he laughed lowly. “Hey”

“Hey-”

“Invite me inside.” She rushed out. Her voice grew louder as she said it, eyes locked with his. The words were enough to send Corpse into a fit of laughter. The noise booming through the apartment hallway.

“What? I don’t even fucking know you?

“So?”

“So.” Corpse was taken aback. Was this girl completely off her rocker. “I- I don’t think that’s a good idea?”

Alice sighed quietly to herself. She looked nervously at him; a strange urgency in her eyes.

“For some reason you don’t strike me as someone who’s scared of bad ideas?”

“I’m not.”

She stepped closer and this time Corpse really got a good look at her. Her cheeks weren’t blushed and her eyes weren’t wet and puffy from tears. She looked effortlessly neat. Almost untouchable. Corpse looked away as if he was some reckless child and she was made of porcelain. It was clear to him now. She made him nervous, uncomfortable, restless. He hadn’t felt that way in what felt like forever.

In all honesty, he had forgotten what that feeling felt like. But as she took another step closer, her stare facing his chest, he decided he wanted to explore the feeling. Porcelain girl be damned. He looked down at her, his face inches away from hers.“You can come in.” he whispered lowly. “If you want.”

Seconds felt like hours. The air was thick, the weight of Corpse’s words resting heavily on Alice’s shoulders. She took a step closer, her breath hitching to match his.

She did.

#corpse x reader #corpse #corpse husband #corpse fanfiction #corpse party #corpse fanart #corpse husband fanfic #corpse fanfic #youtube #corpse fic #roses for corpse

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sleeperswakewriting · 3 years

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i just thought of a new prompt omg rivetra skating partners au??? IMAGINE THE SEXUAL TENSION??? THE SLOWBURN FROM BEING SKATING PARTNERS TO FRIENDS TO LOVERS 🥺👉🏻👈🏻

saw this tweet and imagined them sm: https://twitter.com/oyimpian/status/1383173356774699012?s=21

Omg anon, thank you for showing me this. I have 0 knowledge about figure skating but I do love watching it! I was totally listening to the Yuri on Ice soundtrack writing this. I don’t think I would be the best person to write a full fic, but I hope this 2k ficlet works! Routine and outfits based on this performance!

They had kissed more times than she could count. It had always been the same in their five years of working together--orchestrated, chaste, but just enough acting to dazzle the crowd and judges.

And tonight would be their last.

Petra tightened the laces of her figure skates, making sure not to snag the nylon of her stockings from her freshly manicured nails. She checked herself in the mirror; ginger hair locked neatly into a bun for the maneuvers they would be pulling off later, and her deep red velvet dress twirled around her hips. It was one of the most daring outfits she had ever performed in, with the back almost completely exposed and and the front neck cut a deep v-neck with the mesh layer.

She took a deep breath as memories washed over her, wondering where the time had gone. It had only seemed like just yesterday when Petra met her grumpy skating partner, Levi, and she had wanted to knock him off the ice from their initial meeting to his brash attitude. However, they performed the tryouts at their coaches’ requests, and not only were they physically compatible, she had latched on to his crude sense of humor and found his company enjoyable.

Sure, it took them awhile, he would frequently get irritated at her when she would lose her footing or not stick a landing, and she would throw him a few choice words whenever he dropped her, which wasn’t often, but the minute his hands slipped and she came crashing down, tempers flared. They were both good at what they did, they were hand selected by the top coaches in their country, and with talent, came ego.

Unsurprisingly, their common work ethic served as a guidepost for their mutual partnership over the course of the five years they had been working together. Petra was relatively newer to the competitive figure skating scene, only doing some solo competitions but felt that she could accomplish more with a partner. Levi was in a similar boat, about to retire since he had gotten bored, but when his coach Erwin suggested a partner he said, why not?

Except it had been disastrous, with Levi mouthing off to each of his partners, and not to mention that they all commented on his height. It wasn’t a huge sore spot because he had been used to it, but the fact of the matter was, no woman wanted to be lifted by a man who was 5 inches shorter than her, so he resigned himself to retiring until Erwin suggested that he meet up with Petra Ral, a new, but talented skater who was 8 years his junior.

Not only was she shorter than him, but they were able to move in time with one another and were able to wordlessly read each other’s movements. It was an intimate type of connection, one that their mutual partners over the years had questioned time and time again, but they both reassured their partners and more importantly, themselves, that their feelings were completely platonic.

Or so had Petra thought until Levi told her that after this year, he would be retiring. He was getting older and he was looking at other career prospects, like possibly coaching, but valued their companionship over the years. He said the words with such a precise staccato that Petra even wondered if he cared at all since he took her out to dinner after practice to tell her.

It was then that her heart broke. She assumed it was just from losing her skating partner, that was a common occurrence in their field, but as the day of their last competition grew closer, Petra knew it was something more.

The way his hands pressed into her waist was no longer a section of choreography, but a gesture that made her heart flutter. His concentrated stormy look when they breathed in time with one another, preparing to execute a synchronized dance, was now filled with an electricity when their blades scraped their ice.

This routine in particular was special; it was from Moulin Rouge, one of her favorite movies and the first part of the routine was sensual and filled with lust. They had spent hours upon hours perfecting each and every single lift, and they had barely any time to see family and friends from the hours they put into their routine. Truth be told, they spent the most time with each other, and the action of hanging out after work wasn’t even strange, it was expected, as they alternated who picked the restaurant for the night.

There was a knock at the door, and Petra shouted, “Come in!” as she already knew who it was from the three steady raps.

Levi entered, looking handsome in his simple black outfit to compliment her own. He took her in and nodded appreciatively as the weight of the next hour hung heavy over them.

“You ready?” He asked, hand outstretched.

Petra smiled, used to the familiar words and routine they had as she took his hand and he led them out for their warm up lap around the rink with the other couples.

They had their routine down pat--they always kept their gazes locked on each other during warmups, not wanting to let the other couples distract them. Hands danced across each other’s bodies as muscle memory took over, going over their routine in bits and pieces and letting themselves become reacclimated to the ice for the day. Petra had often thought that she was becoming more used to skating than walking for the amount of time she spent dancing with Levi, and she flexed her back as they spun in time, hands locked onto each other.

Feeling satisfied with their warm up, they exited hand in hand to the waiting room as they were the third couple to go. It wasn’t unusual for them to be physically close during competitions, Petra was always nervous as hell, and even though Levi had a cool and fixated composure, competition day nerves also stirred inside him. Better to face them with each other, and they sat on the bench, looking absently at the TV as the announcer gave their routine opening speech.

Petra bit the corner of her lip. “Levi, I know we’ll have time for this later, but I wanted to let you know how much your partnership has meant to me over these last five years. I almost want to retire since you won’t be with me anymore,” she laughed airly, but fell silent at his narrowed gaze.

“Don’t do that, you have a whole future ahead of you,” he said in a clipped voice, eyes fixated on the television. He squeezed her hand a bit tighter as he diverted his expression to the floor. “But the same goes for you, Petra. I’ll miss you a lot.”

She nodded, feeling more reassured by his words as she moved to lean her head against his shoulder as they watched the other couples perform. They didn’t say a lot, usually keeping their opinions for post-competition hang outs and replays, but Petra didn’t know if there would be any of those anymore.

“Do you think the other couples are like us? I feel like we’re so in tune, like we get each other. Like them,” she said nodding to the current pair, “You can tell they don’t trust each other from the way her muscles are so stiff during her lifts.”

“There’s no one else like us,” Levi replied simply, raising himself from the bench to do a few stretches. Petra did the same and admired the way lean body looked in his current outfit, back sinewy and his hair gelled perfectly into place.

The speaker announced them, and Petra’s heart wrenched that that would be the last time she would hear Levi Ackerman and Petra Ral and as they moved onto the ice, holding hands, eyes locking. Petra took a deep breath, and all was lost as soon as the music started.

The routine started with her straddling him from behind, and she effortlessly jumped as he took her, arms locked at her thighs and hers around his neck. He lifted her as they danced, and she twirled, eyes fixated on him as her center as it always was. Then came the synchronized dancing and Levi’s hands were at her bare waist, hands hot and precise as they spared no moment in moving and darting between them. He lifted her again, and their foreheads touched while they circled around the rink, not caring for anyone but each other.

That was Petra’s favorite part about the way they skated together--nothing else in the world mattered besides them. She could drown out the crowd with him by her side, it was just the music, the ice, and them, moving and breathing in time. He held her from under her legs, the action sending a pleasurable shiver throughout her body despite being touched there by him thousands of times, and as she descended they locked eyes as they prepared for their next big moment.

They let go, red and black speeding and twirling around each other but not quite touching. As the music reached its crescendo, Petra leapt into the air as Levi caught her from around the waist, and they spun as each other's center of gravity. Legs wrapping around his, she straddled his waist as they leaned into each other and kissed as the music went softer and moved to a more sensual rhythm. Her hand laced through his hair, feeling his fresh undercut and inhaled his musk and their lips moved against one another, sending ripples of pleasure between them.

Breaths heavy, they released their lips as the crowd went wild, and Petra unhooked her legs as Levi took her hand and they moved in time, parallel to each other. Her heart beat fast as Levi’s lips still hung against her own, the kiss much more passionate than in their practice kisses or former routines, but tried to push it from her mind as the finale was coming up.

The music built and ended as they both stuck their landings and bowed as the crowd cheered. Petra was crying, just realizing the magnitude of their last competition as she saw her face on the large screen and Levi sped over to her, taking her hand, his eyes also filled with moisture as he kissed her cheek and led them away to watch for their scores.

It always took a few minutes for the judges to get the scores together, and before Petra could say anything, Levi moved her against their locker and pulled her in for a searing kiss. Legs weak from their routine and the adrenaline, her knees wobbled and he caught her, hands at her waist as he brushed his tongue against hers, deepening the kiss as she returned it with fervor.

Breaths heavy, Levi pressed his forehead to hers. “I’m not imagining things, right? This kiss was different.”

Petra smiled between tears as she nodded, threading her fingers through his hair as she continued kissing him the way she had wanted to for the past five years.

“Hey guys, what are you doing? They’re just about to announce the scores--” Erwin walked in and smirked at the partners as they held each other, but broke apart as they heard Erwin’s voice.

Both blushing from being caught, Levi held Petra’s waist as he guided them back outside, neither caring too much about their scores since they both had won the biggest prize that night.

#rivetra #Levi x petra #petra x levi #petra ral #ask prompt #my fics

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familylightfox · 2 years

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Set Sail: Accepting

@chaosworthy asked:

💕 // for our bois

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

How did they meet? By complete accident in a random Zone. Arrow injured himself and Volt was on the run, but they had that chance meeting and it just grew from there.

Who flirted with who first? I’m pretty sure that was Volt.

Was it love at first sight or a slowburn romance? It was a slow burn but Volt was the one who fell first.

Did they start dating right away or were they friends before things became romantic? Friends first and evolved into the relationship they have now.

What was their first date? I actually have really horrible memory issues, but I remember one of their more important dates was one at Chirp’s that came with Arrow singing to him and if Volt could have fallen any harder, he would have.

What are their favourite things to do on date nights? Honestly I think it’s being able to spend time together.

Do they still go on dates after being together for a while? All the time. Although for them, the dates probably consist of walking/dancing on the beach or just grabbing takeout and watching a movie with Harmony.

What is their love language? Affectionate touches, kisses, cuddles.

Who kissed who first? Volt. XD

Who started the relationship? I know Volt was the one to try to initiate it, but knew Arrow was wary because of the current situation in his life. But after a certain incident with Dark, they talked about it and went into it together.

Monogamy or Polyamory? Monogamy.

Are they/do they plan on getting married? They’re both in the mindset of not needing some piece of paper to show how much they love one another.

Who proposed? Was it a yes or no? Technically neither have, but you could consider them married already. They act like an old married couple. ;p

Do they want kids? Who brought it up first? Volt had Harmony before they started dating, but they have talked a few times about expanding their family by adopting.

Do they already have kids, together or from previous relationships? See the above answer. Volt had Harmony but she considers Arrow her dad.

Do they have any routines/rituals in their relationship? Nighttime tea around bedtime.

How do they take care of each other when they are sick/hurt? Neither of them really get sick, but they tend to be very doting on a sick family member (aka Harmony). And the same is said when they’re hurt.

How do they like to spend time together? Anyway they can. Anyhow they can. With Volt running a leather goods shoppe in the village, Arrow spends time there when he’s working, otherwise you’re likely to find the whole family in the back garden.

What are their favourite non-sexual forms of intimacy? Kissing and cuddling

What are some of their favourite things about their partner? Volt loves pretty much everything about his partner. He’s also a bit partial to his singing voice.

How do they comfort the other when they are upset? Holding one another and just sitting together as the other either collects their thoughts or talks about it.

Who buys the other spontaneous gifts? Arrow more often. Volt tends to make things (food or trinkets).

What position do they sleep in? Any that allows them to be close to one another. Usually facing one another but sometime Volt is on his back with Arrow snuggled up against his side and resting his head on that fluffy chest.

Do they bathe/shower together? As much as Volt would love to, Arrow isn’t a fan of sharing the shower so he doesn’t.

Do they do anything else in the bath/shower other than wash? Since they shower and bathe separately, no.

How often do they fight? What about? They don’t fight. They’ve had one or two in the past, but that was because of the other hiding something.

Have they ever broken up? Nope.

Messy breakup, amicable split, remain friends, ride or die or til death do us part? I’m pretty sure we can say these two are a til death do us part. And neither of them are going anywhere any time soon.

#Ask The Hybrids #GUN File: Headcanon #Free As The Wind: Arrow #Your Love Has Called My Name: Arrow&Volt #chaosworthy

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swordofpevensie · 4 years

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Kissletoe (Peter Pevensie x Reader Fic.)

my masterlist is here.

warnings: slightly(?) angst. fluff. peter is such a baby. susan, edmund and lucy try so hard. it almost turned out to be a susan fic. it is sort of a slowburn. childhood lovers to idiots. communication is the key folks.

word count: 4456

a/n: aww this is my first fic and i'm so excited and i sincerely hope you like it. this fic is inspired by 3oh!3's song kissletoe.

happy christmas to everyone who celebrates it!

and my native language is not english, so if there is any mistake, feel free to correct me.♡

•••

❝𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓

𝑰𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒚

𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆.

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔

𝑼𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒐𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆

𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒕-𝒐𝒇-𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆

𝑺𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒅𝒐 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒔𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆?

𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰'𝒎 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖

𝑼𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒐𝒆

𝑶𝒏 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.❞

“Don't be so desperate.” Susan said when she entered the throne room, finding her elder brother sitting on his throne, alone. “She is coming home. She promised she would in her letter.”

“I don't know what you are talking about.” Peter said, watching his sister as she was approaching. “And I'm not desperate.”

Susan smiled as she sit on her throne. “I know you miss her. We all do. But she is coming. She always keeps her promises.”

“You know she didn't keep one promise.” Peter replied. His voice sounded sad.

“Peter,” Susan held her brother's hand. “You both were so young. You didn't understand what you were dealing with. You didn't know how serious love was and it required sacrifice. You shouldn't blame her. She thought she was doing the best for herself and we know she is happy now. Isn't it all that matters?”

“Yes...” Peter whispered. “I wish I could forget her, just like she forgot me. I wish I could be happy.”

“You don't know whether she forget you or not yet.”

“What do you mean?” Peter asked as he frowned. He was confused.

“It's Christmas.” Susan said merrily. “Miracles can happen any time.” She stood up to leave, ignoring her brother saying her name.

.*･｡ﾟ ༘✧

Walking in the hall to the throne room used to make you feel like going home because you knew you'd see your boyfriend. But now, it made you feel sick, you just wanted to disappear. You didn't know how things'd be and it made you nervous. You, a great fighter, a free woman, the former general of the Narnia army, had never felt such a big stress before.

You were about to give up and go back when you heard doors opening. You saw Susan and Lucy coming out of the throne room. Susan had a beatiful, big smile on her face as she approached you. You couldn't move. After those years, seeing her felt very strange and but amazing. Susan immediately hugged you as she said your name merrily. “I've missed you so much!” She said as you hugged her back.

Then you saw Lucy. She was a beautiful young lady now and you were amazed by these sisters' beauty. They grew up, they looked gorgeous and their smiles welcomed you home.

Lucy hugged you too. You did the same. “Oh, I can't tell how much I've missed you!” She said. You smiled and said, “I've missed you both too.”

“How are you?” Susan asked. “I hope you didn't have any problems coming here.”

“I'm good. The journey was good too.”

“Aw, I'm so happy to see you here, again!” Lucy said as she hugged you again.

You smiled at her words. You felt like all the stress left your body. Seeing them again was amazing. You missed them when you were away but you never understood how much until now.

“Come,” Susan said and grabbed your hand. “Let us show you your room so that you can rest and clean yourself up.”

“Okay.” You almost whispered as Lucy grabbed your other hand and they took you to your room.

You couldn't stop yourself from looking behind, expecting him to show up but he didn't. The sadness and disappointment crushed your heart.

.*･｡ﾟ ༘✧

You did as Susan told. You cleaned yourself up, rested a bit but most importantly, tried to not think about the past. You were sitting on the bed, combing your hair now. No matter how hard you tried, your brain kept betraying you, reminding you your memories in this castle, with him.

You both were young, he was nineteen while you were eighteen back then. You were in love, you still were sure about that but you both didn't know what exactly love was or it may require sacrifices sometimes. You two were just messing around, having fun, laughing, reading, fighting, training, playing together. Hugging, kissing, touching, loving each other. Your brain made sure you remember how soft his lips were, how gentle his touches were, how beautiful his words were, how he looked at you, how he smiled at you.

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. You hated remembering all those beautiful and precious memories when you were the one who left him and Narnia behind and ran away.

But you were scared, you knew that and it helped you to forgive yourself a little. When Peter asked and wanted you to stay with him, you were so scared. You didn't want to be stucked in one place, no matter how beautiful it was. You thought you both were too young to make such decisions but he insisted, he loved you and didn't want to let you go. You had to escape without saying anything to be free.

When Susan wrote and told you that she invited you to the Christmas Ball, you began to wonder if he would ever forgive you or want you back. You knew how bad you broke his heart but you couldn't stop wondering tough. Or would you stay with him this time? Would you keep your promise this time?

As your thoughts choked you and you felt you were getting stressed again, the door was knocked and you were totally, and thankfully, distracted. You opened the door and saw Susan, Lucy and Edmund.

“Welcome back, Y/N.” Edmund said as he smiled at you. “We've really missed you.”

You hugged him back when he hugged you. “I've missed you too.” You replied, smiling.

‘He could at least come and say welcome.’ You thought.

“Well,” Edmund said. “I'll leave you with Susan and Lucy. I have to check the preparetions.”

“See you,” You said. He nodded and left.

“Now,” Susan spoke. “It's time to prepare you for the ball.”

“Susan-” You attempted to say but Lucy interrupted you.

“You can't stop her, just give up already.”

You laughed at her words and did as Lucy said.

Once again, you realized how much you missed and needed them.

.*･｡ﾟ ༘✧

“Everything looks perfect.” You said, looking at the ball room. “Your decoration and preparetion skills have improved.”

Susan gave you a big smile. “You are still very kind.” She said. “You've always been. Do you remember the time I cut your hair bangs and you prentended you liked them because you didn't want to break my heart?”

“I really liked them!” You said, couldn't stop smiling.

“Oh, okay now you are lying!” Susan said as she hit your arm and you both started to laugh.

“Oh, Y/N,” Susan put her head to your shoulder. “We really missed you. Everything feels perfectly complete when you are here.”

“You'll make me cry, Susan.” You said. “But I really missed all of you too. And I know I never said that before but I'm really sorry. I'm sorry that I left you without saying anything. I should've let you know or at least write a note. Also, thank you for finding me and writing to me. Thank you for forgiving me.”

“I admit that I was mad at you, we all were but as we grew up, we understood you and believe me, none of us is mad at you or blame you for leaving.” Susan kissed your cheek. “You are always welcomed in Narnia, Y/N.”

“Thank you.” There was pain in your voice and Susan noticed that. Therefore she took your hands.

“Dancing is about to start, come with me.”

She took you to the middle of the room, where Lucy and Edmund were standing and talking to Mr. and Mrs. Beaver.

“Oh, Y/N!” You heard Mrs. Beaver's merry voice. “Welcome back my dear!”

You smiled and bowed to her.

“Look at her! Sweet, beautiful and kind as always. Welcome back, honey.” Mr. Beaver spoke. Seeing them made you feel so happy.

You thanked them both.

“You look magnificent, Y/N.” Edmund said, you turned to him.

“Thank you, Ed. So do you.”

“Do you know who else looks magnificent? Peter. Peter does look magnificent.”

You frowned at his unexpected words. Edmund smiled nervously and left without saying anything.

You looked at Susan and Lucy suspiciously. Susan pretended to be talking Mr. and Mrs. Beaver while Lucy just smiled at you but knew her well enough to understand that it was a fake smile.

“Okay,” You said to yourself and took a deep breath. They were up to something but you couldn't tell what.

The music started to play and before you could do anything, you realized that Susan and Lucy were gone. You were confused. Where and why did they go? You looked around and saw them. They were in line for dancing. Lucy was holding Mr. Tumnus' hands and Susan was holding Edmund's.

You gave them one of your ‘You'll pay for that.’ looks and decided to dissappear. You never liked balls, you never liked Christmas and you never liked dancing. You really needed to dissappear.

You turned around to leave the room but a body standing in front of you made you stop.

‘No,’ You thought. ‘Please, don't be him. No.’

But the body was his, you saw his face when you lifted your head.

You used to look face to face but he was taller than you now. And his chest was wide. You realized how massive he'd become.

While you two were looking at each other, you couldn't say anything. You didn't know what to say actually.

He seemed calmer than you. His face didn't change while you felt your face was burning and your heart was beating so fast.

“Y/N,” Hearing your name from his voice after those years made you feel strange, but good. It was like no one had said your name as correctly and perfectly as he did. You wanted to hear it again. His voice felt like home. “Hi.”

“Hi,” You said but it was more like a whisper. “Your highness.” You added as you bowed.

“You don't need to call me that, you know.”

Of course you knew. He never liked to be called ‘your highness’ or ‘your majesty’ by you or any of the Narnians. He didn't like to wear his crown around you because being the High King made him very nervous. You always thought he was too young to carry such burden but despite everything, he'd always been a perfect king.

You just nodded. You couldn't find enough strength in you to talk. You were scared if you opened your mouth, your honest feelings and words would escape.

“And welcome back.” He said. His voice was distant and you hated hearing it in that tone. It used to be joyful and completely in love when you were together. He always smiled while he was talking to you. His eyes always shined while he was looking at you. But now, you were like strangers and you realized that he gave up on you and forgot you, moved on.

“Thank you.” Your voice was low.

The rising voice of the music interrupted you while you were just looking at each other.

You looked around to find an excuse to leave but everybody was busy with dancing and you and Peter were the only who didn't dance. You knew he didn't like to be in balls so you hoped he'd leave.

You realized Edmund, Lucy and Susan were looking at you two. Also Mr. Tumnus and Mr. and Mrs. Beaver. Oh no, you realized everybody was looking at you because, obviously, you and Peter weren't dancing although it was a ball and it was time to dance.

Peter saw them too. He took a deep breath.

“Shall we dance?” He asked. “They want me to dance. They know I don't like balls, therefore they always insist until I dance.”

“Okay.” was your answer because the stress inside you was increasing incredibly.

You were scared of his touch because you knew it might wake your old feelings up and you didn't want to fall for him again. You did it once and the ending was bad because of you. You didn't want to suffer again.

But to dance, he put his hand you waist, you put yours to his shoulder and your free hands found each other. Your hand was inside of his big hand. The excitement in you kept growing, you felt your knees shaking. After all those years, his effect on hadn't changed at all. Your fears came true, you realized your feelings never faded away, they were always there, buried in your heart. You just tried to hide them, not feel them, ignore them.

You looked at his face but you saw nothing. Your heart was broken because it was obvious that the dance meant nothing to him. To be honest, you wanted to cry, knowing that it is your fault.

You gulped and looked away. Meanwhile, Peter's looks were on you. They were never off you actually, since the moment he entered ball room.

He missed you every single day after you left. There was a pain that he could never get rid of. The feeling of yearning sometimes drove him crazy. You were on his mind everytime. What were you doing? Were you safe? Were you healty? Were you happy? Did you miss him too? Did you forget him? Did you move on and love somebody else?

However, now seeing you and holding you again made him realize that he'd missed you much more than he previously thought. And his feelings were still alive. It was embarassing, or pathetic like Susan said, that after all those years you were apart, and although you were the one who left him and turned him into a mess, he still loved you. But his whole heart, whole soul, whole exsitence wanted you back. Because he finally felt complete when he took your hand into his and he didn't want to lose this feeling.

Although you did your best to look at somewhere else, his looks were on you and he never looked away. All he cared about was you. All he saw was you. He'd endure this ball just to be able to hold you and see you.

His eyes started to examine your face and your whole body. You'd changed, he could tell. You'd grown up, your face seemed older and wiser. You were still beautiful though, just like he remembered. And the aura of your whole existence, that strong and captivating aura, was still there. He loved it, he'd always did. Your selection of dress didn't change either. A dark green dress, simple but impressive and elegant. It was his favorite colour and he began to wonder if you wore this dress on purpose.

But his favorite change was that although you were taller now, he was taller than you. You used to look face to face but now you had to lift your head up to look at him and he absolutely adored that.

Despite this intense feelings he had inside, he was too nervous to show them. Because he couldn't see through you. Did you still like him or were you dancing with him just to be nice? Did you forget him and move on or did dancing with him make you feel something?

“I'm surprised that you agreed to come to a Christmas ball.” He said to break the tension in the air and his nervousness. “You used to hate Christmas.”

“I still don't like it.” You answered, at the same time he made your bodies turn. “But I didn't want to turn Susan down.” And I missed you so much, you wanted to add but you didn't.

“I see.” He said as he nodded.

“You hated balls too.” You said.

“I still do. Actually I was in my room but I was informed that Edmund needed me. That's the reason why I came here but Edmund seems a bit busy, dancing with our sister.”

“If you don't dance with me, I totally understand.” You tried very hard to hide your sadness.

“No, I didn't mean to imply such thing.” He said hurriedly. “I will be honest with you, Y/N. I'm happy that you decided to come back. I'm not bothered at all. Please don't think that I don't want you here.”

“You didn't even come to see me.” You said, obviously blaming him.

“I was too nervous.” There was a little smile on his face. “I couldn't leave the room. I'm sorry if I offended you. I assure you that I didn't do it on purpose.”

“Okay,” You nodded. “It is really good to see you again, and talk with you.” You were smiling too.

“I think so too.” He said. “Susan and Lucy missed you so much.”

“What about Edmund?”

“He also did.”

“Oh, it's good to know.”

He smiled. “And I also missed you too, m'lady.”

You smiled with satisfaction. “I missed Susan and Lucy too. And Edmund. Oh, I really missed Edmund.”

“Okay, okay,” He laughed. “I deserved that.”

“You absolutelt did.” You laughed too and it felt so great to talk and laugh with him again. At least he didn't hate you like you feared. You'd be glad to have his friendship. You just didn't want to lose him.

“I might have missed you a little.”

You had to look at your feet to not step on his foot. He was such a distraction. You almost forgot how to dance because of the excitement and happiness.

“A little?” He said as if he was shocked and he raised his eyebrows. “Come on! I deserve more than that.”

“Alright, I missed you as much as you missed me.”

“Oh, in that case, it must be so much.”

He panicked when he realized what he'd just said but the smile on your face calmed him down. He didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable because of his feelings unless he got a signal from you.

“How are you?” He asked to change the topic. “I mean, have you been good? Is there any problem?”

“I'm good.” You replied, looking at his curious blue eyes. “I've been travelling, seeing new places and meeting new people. I really enjoy my life, however sometimes I wish I could share this journey with someone. But solitude has never been a big problem for me.”

“I know,” While he replied you, made you spin around and then pulled you toward himself again.

You loved how your bodies moved in harmony, as if you'd never been seperated. You never stepped on his foot, he never did a wrong move. Everything was just perfect and for the first time in your life, you enjoyed dancing.

“You liked to be left alone when you first came to Cair Paravel.”

You smiled, remembering those days.

“And I remember someone was always interrupting my solitude, was always inside of my personal space.”

“I'm sure he had his own reasons.”

The music changed and you knew it was time to change partners. You tried to step back and move away from Peter but he held your hand and waist very tight. You looked at him, feeling confused and surprised.

He then realized what he was doing and immediately let you go.

You began to feel sick again. Every word he said, every move he made and the last thing he did had an effect on you, making your nervousness and confusion grow. You needed some fresh air and to be alone.

You left the room fastly and without saying anything.

.*･｡ﾟ ༘✧

You heard the door open.

“I knew I'd find you here.”

You weren't surprised that he found you. You and him used to come here to be on your own when everything was overwhelming.

“Y/N,” He was slowly approaching to you. He put his hands to the balcony banister, just like you did. “I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”

You didn't answer because you didn't know whether you were uncomfortable and upset or you felt very good and were mad at yourself because of that.

You watched the snow falling down from the sky. It was piling up on the trees which were decorated with golden and shiny balls. You were sure Lucy did all of this decoration. You'd helped her for a few times. The view was green, white and golden and you loved it, for the first time in your life. Maybe the reason was Peter, maybe you just missed Narnia too much.

“Do you remember how we used to play?” He asked with a soft voice. You knew he was anxious because he didn't get any answer from you, therefore he was trying to make you speak to see if you were angry.

“I do,” You replied. “And I also remember beating you.”

“You are mistaken, m'lady. I chose to lose to you.”

“Oh, you did?” You couldn't stop giggling. “Would you like me to remind you the truth?”

“Oh no, absolutely no.” He laughed and you felt butterflies in your stomach. “I don't want them to see their High King losing a snowball fight.”

“But you'd lose to the former general of Narnia Army. I think it wouldn't seem that bad.”

He heard the tease in your voice and it made him smile more. He loved to be able to talk to you again, like this. Playful, cheerful and totally easy going. Since your childhood and the moment you fell in love with each other, the communication between you had always been smooth. He listened you and you listened him with a beautiful smile on your face, all the time. That was one of the charasteristics of you he definitely loved.

There was, of course, so many things he loved about you, but the way you listened him, cared every single word he said and understood him was something else. He always thought you and him were so alike. You almost shared the same soul because you were very talented at empathizing with his emotions and understanding his struggles. He had never been reluctant or timid when it came to speak with you.

“Well, you may be right.” He answered you as he took a short breath to get rid of his thoughts that had been distcracting him.

“Who is the general now?”

“Oreius.”

“Oh,” You nodded. “He was an excellent warrior. It's not surprising that he is the general.”

“Yes,” He turned his hand and looked at you. “Y/N, look. I'm really sorry if I annoyed you with anything I did. I swear my intention was not to make you uncomfortable. I promised myself to be as neutral as possible. You may not like me anymore, you may have someone new in your life, or you may be bothered because of the things that happened between us. I am sincerely sorry, I really didn't want to bother you.”

“I've been on my own since the day I left Narnia.” You said. “In the way you mean.” Then you looked at thim, his blue eyes were already on you. “And it's alright, I'm sure I, too, have done things I didn't mean to.”

“Yes, yes you did. I mean, you couldn't stop looking at me throughout the dance.”

“What?” You laughed as you hit his arms jokingly. “Sir, I looked at a Christmas tree for minutes. I know I was able to stop looking at you.”

“Why don't you just admit that I look absolutely beautiful and charming tonight?”

“After all those years,” You said in a serious manner. “I realized that you, High King Peter, are not my type at all.”

“What are you talking about? I am totally your type!” His hands were pointing his face.

“No,” You shook your head. “No, not at all.”

“Oh, come on!” He objected to you but there was a smile on his face. He looked like a child who just lost a game and was objecting to the rules. “Is this a defense mechanism you use to stifle your desire to kiss me?”

You laughed at his words. “Peter, I am not kissing you.”

“But you should.” He pointed to the mistletoe which was hang up to the soffit of the balcony above you. “You know, we are under the mistletoe.”

“No, techinaclly we are-”

Everything happened too fast. He took a step back and meanwhile he held your waist and pulled you with him. You were now under the mistletoe. Before you could said anything, he kissed your lips.

You answered the kiss back. Actually, it was not your reaction, you didn't even think of kissing him back. It was your body's immediate reaction but you were glad that you were kissing him back. You missed how soft his lips were and how wonderful his kiss was.

He was the one to break the kiss. He looked at your face but you didn't let him say anything because you kissed him this time.

As your lips danced, you felt over the moon. After all those years you spent alone, despite the mistakes you made, you were rewarded. His kiss, his lips, his hands' soft touches on your cheeks, and shortly, everything about him was a gift to you. Maybe returning back to him was your Christmas gift. You met Santa when you were younger and he seemed like a man would do such thing.

“Peter,” You put your hands to his nape after breaking the kiss. “I know I broke your heart. I know I am mistaken and you have every right not to forgive me. But if you want to me stay, if you still feel the same, I want you to know that I'm willing to stay with you this time. I am ready to stay with you this time.”

His eyes shined and his blue eyes became brighter than a summer sky. A smile appeared on his face. You couldn't stop looking his lips whose color was like a fresh cherry's color now.

“My feelings have never changed.” His thumb caressed your cheek. “Y/N, of course I want you to stay with me. I want you more than anything.”

You smiled happily. “Then, I am staying.”

He kissed your lips again as he hugged your waist and lifted your body. You laughed when he spun you around.

While you two were busy with kissing and laughing, you didn't realize Susan, Lucy and Edmund watching you from the other side of the corridor. Thanks to the big glass windows of the balcony door, they'd been watching you since Peter came to talk to you.

“Yes!” Susan said merrily and excitedly.

Edmund and Lucy were just watching their big brother and smiling.

•••

hii loves! i hope you like it. please feel free to tell me what you think.

love, andrea. ♡

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