#I’m getting attached to June too

[spideyjimin]

Bloodlines entwined: X | jjk

⤷ having a baby alone was supposed to be easy. but an accidental twist of fate pulled you into a hidden world of werewolves, and ancient bloodlines. navigating your already complicated life becomes even harder as you uncover your past; one tied to a legacy you never knew existed. and in the middle of this chaos stands jungkook, the werewolf king… and the father of your child. 

—  pairing: werewolf!jungkook x female reader 

—  genre: strangers to lovers, parents-to-be au, royalty au, werewolves au, soulmates au, angst, fluff, and smut 

— rating: 18+ 

—  words: 15,033

—  warnings: teasing, strong language, swearing, mention of crying, sexual tension, mention of sexual frustration, mention of masturbation, mention of sex, dry humping, fingering, dom!jungkook, kind of masturbation, handjob, riding, penetrative sex, unprotected sex, nipple sucking, ass slapping, childbirth (please note that it might not be really accurate, I never gave birth so i don’t really know), screaming, crying, a lot of pain, blood, and mention of breastfeeding

—  author’s note: so this is it. this is the final chapter of this series 😭 i can’t believe this series is over, and it truly breaks my heart. i got so attached to this series and worked so hard on it. i’ve spent days building this universe, and the characters and thinking about everything. i can say that I feel proud with what i did considering that it’s the first time I build this kind of series, and to be honest, I never thought i’d write a werewolf au 😅 again, i’m very sorry for all the time it took me to release this part but it’s been a hell of a journey with my hand, but things are finally getting better ✨ thank you so so much for reading this chapter & series!! 🩵🩵 it meant the world to me 🩵 there will still be an epilogue after this part so we’re not entirely done with this series! 🩵

Chapter X: bloodlines entwined

SERIES MASTERLIST | previous | next

“I have some news to give you,” you announce as your eyes scan the classroom.

The little heads of your students are turned to you, and their little eyes are shining, excited to hear your announcement.

“I’m expecting a baby!” A smile grows on your face as you say those words out loud.

You haven’t said anything before because you were scared that something might happen to you or your little baby. But now that everything seems to be going just well, you feel like it’s about time your students knew. They are still very little, and very soon, you’re going to impose a drastic change on them. They need to get mentally prepared for that change.

“Where?” one of the students asks.

“The baby is currently growing in my belly,” you push up your shirt to show your baby bump.

Their eyes widen as they see your bump. Lately, you’ve been wearing larger clothes, sometimes even Jungkook’s clothes, as you wanted to be comfortable and hide your growing belly. For sure, your boyfriend doesn’t complain because he adores watching you wearing his clothes. Obviously, before you leave the house, he checks that you wear a bra as well. That would make you roll your eyes with annoyance.  

“And very soon, he will be out, ready to meet you,” you add while caressing your stomach.

“When can we meet the baby?” a little one says.

“Is it a boy or a girl?” a girl asks.

“Well, it’s a boy, and you still will have to wait a while before meeting him,” you gently explain. “He’s staying inside until June.”

“Oooh, it’s in a long time,” a little boy pouts. “It’s even after my birthday.”  

“I know, but around mid-May, another teacher will replace me because I won’t be able to continue to come anymore. The baby will be too heavy inside my stomach, and I will need to prepare to welcome him.”

They all nod, but you’re sure most of them don’t even realize the weight of your words. They will probably start crying when they understand you’ll leave for a while. That only thought breaks your heart. You love these little munchkins so freaking much.

“If you want,” you continue. “You can touch my belly and feel the baby kicking,” you suggest.

It might help them to understand the situation a bit more. As they stand up to walk towards you, you sit down on the chair to be at their level. Their small hands rest on your bump, and instantly, your little wolfy starts kicking. And then, an intense warmth spreads through your body. It’s your baby boy. He feels secure and safe, and he’s definitely enjoying feeling all this love.

“I can feel him,” one of the children screams with joy.

Their excitement and joy as they feel your son warms your heart. You only wish they could sense his energy the way you do because then they’d know just how happy he is. He may not be here physically yet, but his presence already feels so real. Looking at your little munchkins, your heart is overwhelmed with joy. This will forever be a moment engraved in your heart.

After that, you continued teaching them something new, and the day flew by quickly. At the end of the day, Jungkook waited for you at the school door. He has been doing this from the very beginning, and it’s honestly the highlight of your day. No matter what’s going on in the werewolf world, he finds the time to come pick you up at work. And that, you know it’s one of the many proofs of his love for you.

“I’ve something for you,” you say once you’re both in his car.

He narrows his eyes, seeming suspicious of what might be your gift.

 “What is it this time?” he asks, which makes you roll your eyes.

“By the way you’re looking at me, you’d think I always give you shitty gifts.”

“We never know with you,” he replies, lips twitching in amusement. “Could be a rock with googly eyes, could be an ancient family heirloom. There’s really no in-between.”

“You’re such a drama queen,” you scoff. “I think it’s time we officially retire ‘King Jungkook’ and go with ‘Drama Queen Jungkook.’ It suits you better.”

“I’ll inform the council during the next meeting and let you know afterward which title they chose,” he ironically answers.

This man is unbelievable. He’s always in for teasing you, but you know that it’s his way of flirting with you. And, well, you only love to tease him back. It’s also your way of showing him that you love him too. 

“You know what?” you retort. “Next time, you’re getting a leaf with ‘fuck you’ written on it in glitter.”

“That’s original,” he laughs. “I guess I’ll hang it in my study so everybody will know what kind of gifts my girlfriend gives me.”

You roll your eyes, but you perfectly picture him doing it. It’d be funny to see a damn leaf with ‘fuck you’ on it in his special room.

“Now, I definitely want to get you that instead of what I’ve with me,” you smile at him.    

He laughs softly but leans closer, eyes curious now.

“Alright, alright. Let’s see what you’ve got, troublemaker.”

You shake your head at the nickname with the brightest smile on your face. You reach into your bag and hand him a small, wrapped object. His big hands grab your gift before unwrapping it slowly. It’s a leather journal, similar to the one he currently has.

Jungkook has always had a journal where he writes down his own thoughts. At ten, his father bought him his first journal and advised him to lay down whatever would cross his mind. At first, he thought that he didn’t need it, but when the first shifts started to be a nightmare, he started writing what he was feeling. Over time, it helped him face his emotions and the world.  

Every time he reaches the final pages, he buys a new one. Once fully complete, he places it in the library of his study to keep it handy in case he needs it. Sometimes, he opens one to read what he felt on a certain day of his life. For example, he’s been loving to reread the moment he realized you were his soulmate.

It warms his heart that you notice he’s reaching the last pages of his journal. It means more than he can even express. Even though you’ve caught him writing in his journal, he never realized you’d pick up on the little details.

The leather journal fits perfectly in his hands, his initials embossed on the cover. For a moment, he’s quiet, just running his fingers across the material. It is the first one that has his initials on it, and it will forever be his favorite one. Then he opens it and sees your handwriting on the first page.

“It’s so cool when I’m on my own,” he reads out loud, voice dropping slightly, “but it’s warmer in your arms.”

He doesn’t say anything at first, but his gaze lifts to meet yours, eyes softer now. Being in his arms is now your favorite place, and it reassures you beyond comprehension when he’s near you. And when he isn’t around, the world feels so cold.

“That’s really beautiful,” he murmurs. “You wrote this?”

You nod, feeling just a bit shy, but the way he looks at you—the weight of affection and awe behind his stare—makes your chest tighten in the best way. You wanted to leave a little note in his journal to remind him that you love him. Writing ‘I love you’ seemed so cheesy and so not you. So you tried to find something, and that sentence only made sense.

“It’s stupid,” you mumble.

“No,” he says, shutting the journal gently. “It’s not. It’s you. And that makes it perfect.”

Jungkook places the journal on his lap before passionately kissing you. There isn’t a day that goes by when he doesn’t feel grateful to have your love. It hasn’t been emotionally easy since meeting you, but he has never felt as much peace as he has lately.

Jungkook has been working in his study room for the past two hours. You ignore what he’s working on in there. The silence spilling from beneath the door is almost suspicious, especially considering that he usually spends these hours on the phone with other werewolves or alphas. But tonight? Nothing.

You don’t think too much about it. You’ve got your own work to finish, after all, tomorrow’s class isn’t going to prepare itself. To stay focused, you put your headphones on, drowning yourself in calm music to avoid eavesdropping or imagining whatever Jungkook is up to. It works, but only for a moment.

Once your lesson preparation is finally done, you stretch your sore muscles and head toward the living room, which, unfortunately, is right next to his study. Now that your brain isn’t occupied anymore, the silence from behind his door becomes harder to ignore. It's like calling you, teasing your curiosity.

You scroll through all the streaming apps possible, trying to find something to watch. You land on Ghostbusters: Afterlife, but you can't focus. The movie plays in the background, but your mind is in the study with him.

It’s the full moon’s fault. It was just last night, and your senses are still heightened. You feel raw, aware of every little thing about him. It's like your body has its own will and is tremendously drawn toward him. You shift on the couch, trying to resist the pull.

But the longer the silence lasts, the more tempted you are to give in.

Inside the study, Jungkook sits at his desk, completely still except for the quiet turning of ancient pages. The books spread out before him are filled with old lore and scattered, almost-forgotten histories. Most of them are in a script so faded that it takes him a second to make out the words. But he's patient. He’s determined.

He’s been taking notes in the new leather journal you offered him earlier today, and he’s been carefully underlining passages that mention rare werewolves, those born between two packs. Even though it’s quite normal to have mixed werewolves, it’s not really common. It’s actually even rare. Usually, pack members marry within their own pack. It’s quite rare for members of two different packs to marry and have children.

Based on what he got to read and what he knows, mixed werewolves are stronger than ‘normal’ werewolves, even though they naturally choose one pack at birth. But he doesn’t find anything about their strength in the womb, which is what he’s looking for.

So, it feels like it confirms what he and his family believe: your son is different. Powerful. Maybe even something the world has never seen. And he is actually convinced that it’s because there hasn’t been somebody like him. He’s a mixed werewolf and son of a king, and a hybrid. This is all uncharted territory for him.

And he wants to understand this. Not to control it; never that. But to protect him and to be ready. Becoming a father is already significant, but becoming a father of such a special being sometimes frightens him. So, he searches for whatever he can find to help him be ready.

As he writes down another line, he pauses, his head tilting slightly. He can feel you just outside the room, trying your hardest not to barge in.

A small smirk appears on his lips.

He knows you’ve been pacing back and forth in your mind, throwing on some random movie to distract yourself, but he can still feel that post-moon pull lingering in your chest, just like it is in his. That magnetic thread between you two, tugging and stretching thin.

You want to come in.

He hasn’t moved. Part of him wants to see how long you’ll last.

Another page flips. His pen glides against the paper.

Ten minutes pass.

Then fifteen.

And then…

A soft shuffle.

He hears the sound of your bare feet on the floor, followed by the faintest creak in the hallway. You open the door, finding him in the middle of books and writing in his journal. At first, you decide to wait until he looks up, but he doesn’t. He just waits.

And then, finally.

“Are you gonna ignore me or is this your new hobby?” your voice rings out from the doorway.

“Took you longer than I expected,” he smiles without looking up.

“Were you testing me?” your eyes narrow, but you can’t quite hide the small smile appearing on your face.

“I was working,” he says innocently, then finally lifts his gaze to yours. “You were testing yourself.”

“So, what top-secret king business are you doing in here that’s more important than being with your gorgeous, pregnant girlfriend?” you walk in, arms crossed but amused.

He chuckles, patting the chair beside him. “Come here. I’ll show you.”

And when you sit down and see the open books, the mess of notes, and the carefully highlighted lines, something shifts. The smile on your face grows bigger when you realize he’s been using the journal you gifted him.

“You’re doing this for him,” you softly say, your eyes scanning the delicate handwriting.

Jungkook nods. “If he’s going to be something the world’s never seen, I want to be ready. I want to understand what he might carry. What he might become.” He pauses. “And,” he adds, voice low, “I wanted to give you a reason to come find me.”

You bump your shoulder into his, trying not to melt.

“You’re such a tease.”

“You love it,” he says before kissing your temple. “Now help me understand this strange old sentence that seems like it was written by a drunk werewolf.”

You chuckle at his words, but you gladly help him out. And for the next hour, the two of you read some more books, trying to decipher what the eldest wrote. It’s not easy at all, but thankfully, there are also more modern ones that are way clearer.

“What is this?” you ask when a sentence in an old book catches your attention.

“Oh, it’s written in the old language,” he explains.

“Old language?” you frown.

“Yep, originally, werewolves had their own language called Lunari,” he begins. “Over time, we learned the ‘human’ languages to blend in. For a long time, we still kept talking Lunari, but we slowly stopped. The royal family still learns to preserve it and to be able to read ancient books. We are the memory of the werewolves. Some of them still learn it by curiosity, but nobody really practices it anymore.”

“Wow,” this blows your mind. “So, you can speak Lunari?”

“Yep,” he nods. “But I’m pretty bad at it,” he giggles. “Mingi, on the other hand, speaks it very well.”

“Why didn’t you ever mention it?” you ask.

“I don’t know,” he shrugs with a crooked smile. “I guess I didn’t think it mattered much anymore. Nobody ever asks about it, and most days, I don’t feel very ancient,” he pauses for a moment, eyes softening as they meet yours. “But maybe I should’ve told you. It’s part of who I am. Part of what our son will inherit, too.”

“It’s okay,” you say, placing your hand on his shoulder. “But now I want to learn it too,” you smile.

His smile grows bigger, and his heart warms at your words. Even though you are part of this world, of his world, it still moves him that you want to be more involved in it. Learning Lunari will surely bring you even closer to this world.  

“Did your mother learn it?”

“No,” he shakes his head. “She’s never been interested in it, and for my father, it was the best excuse to get mad at her or to incite us to do silly things without her understanding anything.”

Jungkook is brought back to a couple of years ago. He was ten back then, his mother was pregnant with Mingi, and his father told him something he still remembers to this day.

“Your mom’s tired, so let’s not bother her,” his father whispered in Lunari as he got down to Jungkook’s level with a conspiratorial grin. “But if you sneak into the kitchen and bring me two pieces of cake, I promise to teach you the curse words in Lunari.”

Jungkook chuckles at the memory, his eyes bright with nostalgia. He still remembers how he discreetly waited five minutes in front of the kitchen to ensure his mom wasn’t there. And then, very very slowly, he grabbed two pieces of cake from the fridge. He then ran as fast as he could to bring them to his father, who was sitting in the same chair he’s sitting in now.   

He’d do anything to relive those sweet and funny moments with his father. They were so close.  

“He’d use Lunari to start little ‘missions’ with me. Mom didn’t stand a chance,” he shakes his head fondly. “It was his way of bonding. Of teaching the language without making it feel like a chore. He made it fun.”

Thinking about little ten-year-old Jungkook stealing pieces of cake for his father makes you smile.

“Well, I hope you’ll find creative ways to teach our son the language, just like your father did,” you smile at him.

“Don’t even doubt it, sunshine,” he winks at you. “Our son will master Lunari.”

“I really hope so,” you say.

Jungkook’s hands slide around your waist as you settle on his lap, his eyes gleaming with that familiar spark.

“And I’ll find creative ways with you too, sunshine,” he whispers, his voice low and velvety.

“Oh yeah? Like what?” you arch a brow, already amused.

He leans in, his lips brushing the shell of your ear, his voice dripping with teasing warmth.

“Well, Lunari’s a very physical language. There is a lot of body expression. Might need late-night lessons. Hands-on, of course.”

You let out a laugh, smacking his chest lightly. This is all bullshit. This is just Jungkook being flirtatious with you. You’re absolutely sure that this language isn’t physical at all.

“You’re incorrigible.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” he begins. “I’m just very committed to cultural preservation,” he grins, pulling you closer.

“Maybe you could already show me a thing or two,” you whisper as your fingers trace circles on his covered chest.

His hands on your waist instantly push your hoodie higher to reveal your baby bump to your boyfriend’s hungry eyes. He then tells you how ‘pregnant woman’ is said in Lunari, and it sounds beautiful. It definitely sounds like an ethereal language. How can it not be used anymore?

His fingers caress your stomach as his mouth finds yours for a heated kiss. Lunari words fall from his lips, and man, hearing him speaking in another language is hot as fuck. It’s just a massive turn-on. Why didn’t he ever talk to you about this language before?

“You’re so fucking hot when you speak Lunari,” you tell him, your eyes meeting his lusty ones.

“I’m always hot,” his tongue licks your lips.

“You’re so full of yourself, Jeon,” you clap back.

“Tell me I’m wrong,” his eyes are so damn dark that it almost makes you look away.

“Maybe you are,” you tease him.

His fingers move up to touch your heated face, the most devious smirk growing on his face.

“The heat on your face says otherwise.”

You roll your eyes, ready to leave his lap for being annoying, but his strong arms wrap around your waist, making it impossible for you to move. But it also allows you to feel his growing crotch against your leg.

“Where are you going, Jeon?” he teases you.

“I’m not a Jeon,” you hit his chest.

“Of course you are,” his voice takes a sweet turn. “You became one the second you got pregnant.”

This hot moment has suddenly taken a very heartfelt turn, making you pout. You can’t believe what he just said.

“And you’re a Y/l/n,” you tell him, your fingers ghosting over his sharp jaw.

“A proud Y/l/n,” he grins. “It’s even better than Jeon.”  

“You’re incredible!” you say.

His teasing and hot face suddenly becomes very serious.

“Would you like to take my last name when we get married?” he asks.

The question catches you a bit off guard because you never really talked about marriage. It’s like you already know you’ll get married one day, so there’s no real added value to bringing up the topic. But it’s still surprising to hear him talk about it.

The answer to his question seems quite obvious. His mother took his father’s last name when they got married, so you’ll have to do the same. These past few months, you got to see firsthand how traditional the royal family is. You’re not sure you’ll have much to say here. He’s the king, you’ll be his queen. Hence, you’ll take his name.

“Well, I guess I don’t have much of a choice,” you reply with a small shrug. “You’re the king, and I’ll have to take your name, right?”

Traditionally, the queen always takes the king’s last name. Every queen before you has carried the name Jeon after marriage. It’s common in many cultures, but your mom never took your dad’s last name. People referred to her as Miss Y/l/n, but that wasn’t technically correct—not that she ever seemed to mind.

“Not sure if you know this,” Jungkook says, “but in our culture, the wife doesn’t take her husband’s last name. It’s our way of keeping a connection to our original families, even after marriage.”

You pause, surprised. It actually makes sense. Maybe that’s why your mother never changed her name either.

“My sister is still Jeon Dohee, even after marrying Namjoon, and he never expected her to change it,” Jungkook says gently. “But things are different for the king and queen. Taking the king’s last name is symbolic. It’s how you're officially recognized as the queen. It's like being crowned in name. But I’d never want to force you into it. In my heart, you're already a Jeon. The name doesn’t make that any more or less true.”

In all honesty, you never once thought about what would happen to your last name the day you get married. But now that Jungkook brings it up, it seems weird. Your mother never took your dad’s last name, even though they married before your birth. So you’re not sure of how things will go once you’re married to this man. However, if he really and deeply cares about you taking his last name, you’ll just do it.

“I’ve honestly never thought about this before,” you admit, your voice soft. “But if it matters to you, if it’s something tied to tradition, I’ll gladly take it. Carrying your last name doesn’t make me any less of a Y/l/n.”

 “I might sound like a very old guy, but I’d honestly love for you to carry my last name,” his fingers tug a strand of hair behind your ear.

You offer him a sincere smile before pressing your lips to his. You rest your head on his shoulder, lips still tingling from the kiss. For a second, you silently just breathe him in. His hands soothe your back, and being here with him simply calms you.

When you started this whole insemination journey, you never pictured yourself living any of this. You thought you’d be a single mother, discussing the baby’s bedroom wall color with Lexi and Felix. Finding love was never part of the equation. Finding love was actually the last thing on your mind. But then, Jungkook appeared and flipped your world upside down.

“If someone had told me a year ago that I’d be having this kind of conversation, I would have laughed in their face.” Your voice is barely above a whisper. “I started this whole journey thinking I’d be a single mother. I was ready to do it alone.”

“With Felix and Lexi, you would have never been alone,” Jungkook whispers.

“I know, but I mean that I never expected the baby’s father to ever come into the picture. I never once thought that I’d be falling for someone. Let alone a king,” you chuckle.

Jungkook hesitates between giving a sarcastic answer and being serious. But he goes for the second option.

“Well, for what it’s worth,” he begins, his voice low and warm. “I never thought I’d be falling for my son’s mom. But how couldn’t I?” Your head lifts up to meet his gaze. “Your soul is the prettiest one I've ever met. And the second our lives collided, I didn’t want to be just the father of your child; I wanted to be yours. I wanted to come into the picture. I wanted you to let me in, even if I had to fight for it.”  

A smile grows on your face at his words, while your heart totally melts.

“Well, hate to break it for you, but you fought for it,” you both chuckle. “You even accepted that we took it slow when we were seconds away from making love.”

“Aaah don’t remind me of that,” he shakes his head. “I had to finish by myself in your bathroom, and I thought that I’d die before you’d even let me in life.”  

You roll your eyes because he’s always exaggerating.

“What?” he exclaims. “We were fucking with damn clothes and then, you threw at my face ‘Aren’t we going too fast?’.” He tries to mimic your voice. “I definitely thought our son would be born before you decided we weren’t going too fast.”

You still feel extremely sorry for what happened that day.

“But, well, good news, you convinced me that we weren’t going too fast before our son was born.”

“Thank God,” his hands move to your stomach to stroke it. “Not sure Jungkook Junior would have survived all this time.”

You roll your eyes once more.

“You’re such a drama queen.”

“Drama queen is my middle name.”

You laugh and shake your head.

“Let’s see if it will also be our son’s middle name,” you reply.

“With me as his dad, there’s no doubt about it,” he teases you.

You wrap your arms around him. Honestly, you simply can’t wait for your baby boy. You can’t wait to hold him in your arms and love him unconditionally, just like the way you love his father.

“You’re really proud of yourself, aren’t you?” you murmur, your voice dropping as your fingers tease the edge of his collar, nails grazing just enough to make his breath hitch.

Jungkook’s eyes drag slowly over your face, then down your body. He smirks, the corner of his mouth curling like he already knows what you’re about to do.

“When you’re sitting in my lap like that, looking at me like that,” his voice is already filled with lust. “yeah, I’m damn proud.”

You shift your hips just enough to feel the way his body responds beneath you. You already feel proud of yourself for turning him on in seconds, but well, you’ve been teasing each other for a little while already.

“I thought royalty was supposed to be humble.”

He leans in, his lips ghosting your jaw, hot breath brushing your skin. Shivers run down your spine as he does so, and damn, this man has so much power over you. He could make you come right here with his fingers alone.

“I’m the king,” he growls, voice low and rough. “I take what’s mine.”

Your pulse races. “And what exactly is yours, Jungkook?”

“You,” he says without hesitation. His hands slide up your thighs, fingers slow and deliberate. “This mouth. This body. Every soft sound you make when I touch you like this,” he presses you down against him, your breath stalling.

“Careful,” you whisper, but your voice wavers. “You might start something we can’t finish.”

His teeth scrape your neck, just enough to make your skin burn and make you gasp.

“Sunshine,” he murmurs, “I thought you already knew that I finish everything that I start.”

You gasp once more when his hands tighten around your waist, pulling you flush against him. Your fingers grip his shoulders as his mouth returns to yours, hungrier now, tongue sliding past your lips like he’s starving for you.

And maybe he is. Because the way he holds you, the way he kisses you, it's not just lust. It’s love, wild and unfiltered, carved deep into every heartbeat between your bodies.

“Do you even realize,” he mutters against your lips, “how beautiful you are like this? Carrying our son. Glowing like the goddess you are. Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

“Tell me,” you whisper, already breathless.

But Jungkook doesn’t tell you; he shows you.

You don’t remember when the kiss deepened, only that your hands are now tangled in his hair and he’s devouring you like he needs you to breathe. His chair creaks beneath the pressure of your bodies tangled together, his hands roaming like he’s trying to memorize every curve.

“Jungkook,” you gasp as he grips your hips and rocks you against him, his mouth trailing down your throat, leaving heat in every place he touches.

“Tell me to stop,” he mutters, lips brushing the hollow of your collarbone. But the way his voice sounds, low and hoarse, says he’s hoping you won’t.

“Why would I ever want that?” you breathe, tilting your head back to give him more access.

“You drive me crazy,” he says, sliding your hoodie up slowly, savoring every part of newly revealed skin. “You walk around here looking like sin and expect me to keep my hands to myself?”

“I didn’t say that,” you whisper, guiding his hand where you need him most. “I want your hands on me.”

His fingers brush over your clothed pussy, and a moan instantly falls from your lips. God, this feels marvelous.

“Good,” he growls. “Because I don’t plan on letting go.”

He kisses you again, this time slower, deeper. His hand slips beneath the waistband of your pants, fingers tracing your skin like he’s praying to something divine.

Your back arches as his name escapes your lips in a breathless moan, and it’s that sound that breaks whatever control he had left. He pulls you closer, anchoring your body to his like he wants to burn this into his memory forever.

And he will.

Because here, in the quiet fire of his study, you’re not just his lover. You’re the storm he chooses to get lost in. Again and again.

“Take off your pants, sunshine,” he whispers against your lips.

You don’t have to be told twice. You instantly stand up, removing every single piece of clothing left on your body. Jungkook does the same, not wanting to waste any more time. When he sits back down on his chair, his hand finds his tick shaft to lazily stroke it. He looks like pure sin like that, but man, you’d be lying if you say that it’s a sin you wouldn’t like to get lost in.

“You look so hot,” you tell him.

His eyes look up at you with pure filth in them.

“Don’t even get me started on how fucking hot you look, sunshine,” he says with a deep voice.

In no time, you’re sitting on him again. You remove his hands from his dick and guide them to your core that is craving his fingers more than ever. He instantly rubs his fingers against your folds, making you moan. You bite your lower lip, trying not to make too much noise, but it’s a lost cause.

“Fuck, sunshine,” he swears. “You’re so soaked.”

Your hands wrap around his cock, pumping it at the same pace of his fingers. Your gazes are locked in each other, his mouth opened as you pleasure him.

“Don’t muffle your moans,” he practically begs. “I want to hear every sweet sound you make.”  

“I don’t want the staff to hear us,” you admit, your breath hitching as his fingers work magic against your core.

A little chuckle leaves his lips before a mischievous glint appears in his eyes.

“Sunshine,” he murmurs with a smirk. “They’ve already heard us multiple times. At this point, I’d even say they take notes every time.

You gasp with surprise, your hands squeezing his dick. A strangled moan escapes his mouth.

“Jungkook!”

He just laughs and leans in, lips brushing your ear.

“What? I’m only giving them something to gossip about at dinner. ‘Did you hear yn again last night?’” He teases in a mock-serious voice. “‘Poor walls, they’re not built for royal passion.’” He continues.

One of your hands stops pleasuring him to swat at his chest, but he catches your wrist with a grin that spells trouble.

“I could always make it worse,” he murmurs, lips ghosting over your jaw. “Be louder. Give them a real show.”

“Jungkook,” you warn.

He kisses the corner of your mouth, then his lips move to your cheek, and then just beneath your ear. Each press of his lips is soft but promising something far less innocent. And honestly, you want him to ruin you, but you don’t want to make a lot of noise. It’s weird to imagine that the staff hears you while you’re making love with Jungkook.

“You sound like a horny teenager,” you laugh.  

One of his fingers slips inside your hole, his eyes glued to your face to catch your reaction. Your mouth hangs open while you try not to moan like a savage. Your hands leave his already hard shaft to balance yourself on his shoulders.

“It’s the yn effect,” he replies, his finger thrusting into you. “I could make love to you all day long and never grow tired,” he admits. “I’ve never felt like this before. I’m so damn addicted to you. And I want everybody to know it.”  

“Oh,” you moan while you shut your eyes. “Jungkook.”

“The way you moan my name,” he says while torturing you, “is the prettiest sound I've ever gotten to hear.”  

Without realizing it, you start bucking your hips, a trail of moans falling from your lips. You don’t manage to hold back even if you want to. This man knows how to pleasure you with only one finger.

“That’s it, sunshine,” he whispers against your ear. “Let them know how good I make you feel.”

His cock twitches due to the sight in front of him, his glowing, and pregnant girlfriend melting under the weight of desire. How on earth did he get so lucky to have you? What did he do to deserve you?

“Jungkook,” you moan once more. “I want to come around your dick,” you confess.

A grin grows on his face before he presses a gentle kiss on your cheek.

“As you wish, my queen,” his eyes look up at you while his finger stops torturing you.

His hands hold your waist while you eagerly sit on him, his cock splitting you in half as it makes its way inside you. The sensation is overwhelming, but more than welcome. Your walls curve and mold into the shape of his massive shaft. You grip onto his shoulders as he bottoms up. He stops once he has reached your cervix to give you both some time to adjust.

However, you don’t want to wait at all, so you clench your walls around him. His eyes open wide with surprise.

“Please move,” you beg.

“You could have just said it instead of torturing me,” he says.

“What’s the fun of it if I can’t torture you?” you tease him. “You can’t be the only one doing it.”

“You drive me insane,” he starts to move, slow and deep. “And I fucking love it.” His lips whisper against your ear. “But don’t forget who always wins in the end.”

And then, your man shows you no mercy. He thrusts up into you at an erratic pace, making you both moan incredibly loudly. On top of that, your skin clapping against his is also echoing in the room. Well, there’s absolutely no doubt that the entire household staff is aware of what you’re both doing.

Your breasts bounce, and Jungkook stares at how they perfectly move. He’s totally hypnotized by the way they move. He has noticed how bigger they’ve grown over the past few days, and he’s definitely not going to complain.

“Your breasts are so big now,” he whispers before burying his face in them.  

His mouth wrap around your left nipple and sucks it like there’s no tomorrow. This feels beyond overwhelming. His hard thrusts and his mouth on your nipple are too much. But you don’t care because the feeling is marvelous. It’s actually an exquisite torture, one you never want to stop.

“Blame it on the milk,” you manage to say.

“Eeeh, I’m not going to blame anything or anybody,” he admits against your nipple, his eyes looking up at you. “I’m the happiest right now.”

You chuckle, your fingers finding their way to his hair. Jungkook shows no mercy to you and fucks you hard and deep. Every thrust has you losing your breath and gasping when you inhale. You can only whine and moan, but Jungkook isn’t any better.

When you start clenching around him due to the growing wave inside you, his thrusts grow erratic. You know you’re extremely close to your orgasm, but you try to hold it back a little longer because you know that if you do it, it will taste even better when it hits you. You’ve gotten to experience it over the last times.

“Your pussy is so good,” he’s utterly consumed by lust.

His mouth leaves your nipples, and his hand slaps your ass which makes your hips buck. Honestly, you never thought you’d be into ass slapping, but man, every time he does it, you get wetter. He knows it, so he does it often.

But then, his hands hold your ass in place, and his feet plant in the floor so he can buck up, hitting your cervix so deep and hard that you’re squealing. He’s getting closer, you know it. You’re also very close.

“Shit, I’m so close,” you confess through moan.

“Yeah?” he asks. “Me too.”

Both of you are completely lost in pleasure, his thrusts now completely sloppy, while your moans are only getting louder. He slaps your ass once more, and without any warning, your orgasm hits you with an intensity you never experienced before. Fucking in a new place together with the extreme teasing must be the reason.

Jungkook follows you right after because of the way you’re pulsing on his shaft. His cock twitches before releasing his cum inside you. You wrap your arms around his neck to bring him closer while you both get down for your orgasms.

Your breathing is still shallow, your bodies still locked together, but Jungkook doesn’t move away. Instead, he buries his face in the crook of your neck, planting slow, open-mouthed kisses along your damp skin.

“I love you,” he murmurs, his voice still thick from the intensity.

“I love you too,” you smile, your fingers combing gently through the back of his hair.

A few moments pass like that—hearts beating together, sweat cooling on flushed skin—before he finally, gently pulls out of you. He grabs a soft towel from the drawer nearby, the one he always keeps just in case, and carefully cleans you up.

“You have a towel here?” you furrow an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” he shrugs as he now cleans his dick covered with his sperm and your juices. “I have to be ready in every room.”

“You’re unbelievable,” you roll your eyes.

“It’s not my fault I can’t keep my hands to myself when I’m around you,” he admits.

He wraps his arms around you like you’re the most precious thing in the world before you press a chaste kiss on his lips. You snuggle in his embrace, eyes fluttering shut as you feel safe, warm, and utterly loved.  

“We should get dressed before we get cold,” he whispers.

“I don’t want to move,” you pout.

“Me neither, sunshine, but we have to,” he says, standing up while still holding you tightly before putting you down.

Once you’re fully dressed, you head to the bedroom to fall asleep in each other’s arms.

Faster than expected, you’re in a special delivery room, pushing a baby out of your body. Jungkook is holding your hand while you scream in pain. Giving birth is quite painful, but you try to navigate your pain like the midwife told you. She’s even here, trying to help you.

Carrying and giving birth to a royal werewolf is kind of special. Werewolves don’t give birth at the hospital for many reasons. They give birth at home. However, the woman carrying the next heir gives birth in a place especially built for royal births. Apparently, it was built centuries ago on sacred werewolf ground. No heir has ever been born outside this sacred ground.

It’s a beautiful room, designed in a way that the woman could give birth in her human or wolf form. Everything in this space has been crafted with intention, from the smooth stones to the domed ceiling open to the sky, which allows the moonlight to flow in. On a night like this, under the Blood Moon, it casts a glow so red that it almost feels unreal. There’s no hospital beeping, no sterile walls. There’s just silence.

Well, except for your screams, Jungkook’s sweet and encouraging words, and the voice of the midwife who guides you through the birth. This is completely different from any birth presented on tv.

And even though you’re in pain, you find beauty in it. In this exact same room, countless queens before you stood, cried, pushed, and welcomed life. Jungkook came to life in this exact same room, which is very poetic. Every crowded werewolf king was born between these same walls.

This is where heirs are born. Where bloodlines continue. Where the old world and the new meet.

But tonight is even more special than any other night. Tonight it’s the Blood Moon. The moon is extremely red tonight, and it feels like the universe knew that the future king would be born tonight. The redness of the moon reminds you of the color of the Blood’s pack. The same pack that your son belongs to. Even the name of this type of moon alludes to the powerful pack of the royal family.

“You’re doing an amazing job, sunshine,” Jungkook whispers against your forehead.

You’re not exactly in the most glamorous position right now. First of all, you’re fully naked with your knees and hands on the floor and legs open. Anyone behind you is graced with the prettiest view in the world, but who cares? This is the position that helps you give birth to your little boy. This moment right here isn’t about being pretty, it’s about bringing a new life to the world. And all that matters is to be in a position that feels safe.

“I don’t know,” you start crying in pain.

“Hey, listen to me,” he says, his gaze locked with yours. “You’re pushing a little being from your body under a damn full moon and you’re doing it amazingly. It’s a lot of pain, I know, but you’re doing great.”

Ah yeah, the full moon. Normally, you should have already shifted, and both Jungkook and the midwife are expecting it at any moment. But so far, you’re still a human, and it seems like you’re not about to shift at all. You can feel it in your bones. Apparently, it doesn’t matter if you’re in labor. If it’s the full moon, you shift and give birth in your wolf form. It has happened to a lot of women.

The most surprising part, as well, is the fact that you’re not shifting under this type of moon. The Blood Moon is more powerful than any other moon, making it harder to shift. Even some Alphas struggle. Not Jungkook, though. This man definitely masters everything, which doesn’t surprise you at all.

“You can do it,” he smiles at you. “I believe in you, sunshine.”

Even though Jungkook doesn’t really feel the excruciating pain you’re experiencing right now, he’s trying to help you. This is a physical pain, one that he can’t comprehend as he’s not a woman, and because the bond doesn’t make him feel the physical pain. It’s mostly the emotional one. And that one, he feels it in every cell of his bones.

The midwife soothes your back, trying to comfort you as well. She told you she had three children, the youngest being fifteen today. Her second child was born during a full moon, and she had to go through the pain of childbirth and the shift. She thought she’d die. It was a pain like no other. She shifted during labor, and she gave birth to her daughter as a wolf. It’s definitely crazy, but you can only have admiration for this woman.

“You’re really doing great, yn,” she says with a soft voice. “Listen to Jungkook.”

“It hurts so much,” you say.

“I know, sweetheart,” Nari, the midwife, answers. “But very soon, your baby will be here with you, and the pain will then calm down.”

All you want now is for your baby to be out, but he’s been taking all his time to go down. It isn’t his fault; he’s actually also in pain. It isn’t just you; it’s him too.

Nari told you that babies suffer too during birth, and honestly, you never considered it, but it makes sense. When the waters break, there is nothing between you and your baby anymore. It’s literally bones against bones. And in the middle of that, your baby has to descend and move his little head to pave the way out.

The warmth that he usually gives you when you’re not well isn’t there anymore. There’s something else, and maybe that’s what accentuates your pain. You’re not sure. There’s just so much going on right now. Everything is over-stimulating. And this has been going on for hours now.

Five minutes ago, you reached the pushing part. Your baby is close; he’s almost here. It’s a matter of minutes or seconds before meeting your little boy. Before meeting the life you’ve been carrying for nine months. And honestly, that’s the part you’re the most excited for. That’s the part you’ve been waiting for since starting this whole insemination journey.

Your body is shaking under the pressure and the pain, sweat clinging to your skin, but your mind is solely focused on one thing. It’s on him. On your son.

You’re so close to finally meeting the little soul who’s changed everything. The one who’s made you stronger, softer, and more alive than you ever thought possible. You feel Jungkook’s hand caressing your face. His voice murmuring something low in your ear, something encouraging, but you can’t make out the words anymore. All you hear is your heartbeat.

And when the next wave comes, you push with everything you have left. Not just with your body, but with your heart. You push like it’s the last time you have to do it. Nari is behind you, trying to check on the progression, and then her words echo in your mind.

“I see his head,” she says with evident joy. “One more push, sweetheart.”

You’re uncertain if you have any strength left in you, but if one final push is what it takes, you believe you can do it. Every muscle in your body is trembling, your heart racing with pain and anticipation. Jungkook disappears from your line of sight, but he’s behind you now, steady and silent, ready to be the first one to hold your son.

The room feels suspended in time, heavy with energy. The world quiets. It’s just you, your body, and the tiny soul about to arrive.

Then it comes. The final contraction crashes over you like a tidal wave, fierce and unstoppable. Your hands clutch, your jaw clenches as you scream through it. You push, not just with your body, but with everything in you. With love, with fear, with fire.

And in that breathless moment, you feel it—your son sliding from your body, the final connection breaking. It’s more than just physical. It’s like a part of your soul detaching, only to be reborn in a new shape. He’s no longer just yours alone. He’s himself now. A tiny, living being. A legacy. A future.

For a brief moment, the room is filled with silence while Jungkook catches your son. This silence seems impossibly long for you, but extremely short for your boyfriend, who watches your baby with absolute wonder. The baby you’ve both been longing for so long.

Then, the silence is suddenly shattered by the sound you’ve been aching to hear—a cry. Sharp, strong, impossibly real. Your baby is finally here. Your baby has finally left your body after all this time.

Tears form in your eyes instantly. You don’t even realize you’re crying until your vision blurs. Jungkook lets out a sound; a broken breath, part laughter, part disbelief. He now holds your son in his arms for the first time since it all started.

“He’s here,” he whispers, his voice shaking. “He’s perfect.”

“You can turn around,” Nari tells you while she rubs your back.

With shaky legs and with the help of Nari, you finally sit, and when you finally get to see Jungkook with your son, your heart instantly melts. Your boyfriend’s eyes look up to meet yours, and he gets closer to you to rest your baby in your arms. The second he’s rested against you, his cries calm down, your warmth reassuring him.

You hold him extremely tightly against you. It feels surreal. It feels like you’re in a dream. Your eyes are glued on your son, and you never want to look at anything else than him. Tears keep running down your face, but this time, it isn’t due to the pain. It’s due to the extreme love and joy your heart is experiencing right now. You don’t even notice Jungkook standing next to you and looking at the two of you.

“Let’s place you in a more comfortable position,” Nari informs you.

Both she and Jungkook guide you to a little place behind you. You remain seated, but your back is now pressed against a soft material. Your legs are wide open, the umbilical cord still connected to your body. For a little while, you stay like this. Jungkook sits next to you, his impressive hands caressing the top of the baby’s head.

“Okay, it’s now time to push the placenta out,” Nari tells you.

She hands a pair of scissors to Jungkook to cut the umbilical cord. You never let go of your son, too scared that he might disappear if he isn’t in your arms anymore. But you have to hand him to his father because the placenta needs to leave your body. After a couple of pushes, it’s out. Now, your belly feels empty. There isn’t anything there anymore. And you feel a little pain in your heart. You got used to feeling your son inside you, and he isn’t there anymore. He’s in his father’s arms.

“How are you feeling?” Jungkook sits down next to you once more after Nari took your baby to check him up.

“Dead,” you honestly answer. “I’m destroyed and I feel empty too, but my heart has never felt this full of love.”

Jungkook’s hand gently strokes your thigh, and you rest your head on his shoulder. You close your eyes as you feel yourself slowly falling asleep.

“How does it feel now to be a father?” you ask, already half asleep.

“I became a father the second you got pregnant,” he says. “But now that I've gotten to meet our son, my heart is about to explode with love. I’ve never fallen in love this way.”

You’d like to say you’re offended, but you feel the exact same way. The second you laid eyes on your son, you fell in love with him. It’s a kind of love you’ve never felt before. It’s so pure and so strong at the same time. When you hear Nari getting closer to you, you open your eyes. She’s walking back to you with the brightest smile on her face.

“I’ll let you discover his pretty eyes,” she says as she places your baby in your arms.

Both you and Jungkook gasp when you see his beautiful eyes. Unexpectedly, he doesn’t have one eye color. He has two. One eye is blue and the other is red. He doesn’t belong to one pack only. He’s part of both. He’s a Shadow and Blood. 

“It’s so pretty,” Jungkook whispers. “I’ve never seen anyone being part of two packs.”

“Seems like he didn’t want to choose,” you smile. “He wants to be both at the same time.”

“And that’s why he’s already strong. He got the best of both worlds.”

“It’s a first time,” Nari intervenes. “Nobody has ever belonged to two packs, and I’m already so proud that our future king will belong to my pack,” her eyes meet yours, “to our pack.”

Nari is a Shadow. When it came to giving birth, you didn’t want just any midwife. You wanted someone who understood you, who spoke the language of your blood and instincts. Someone who could guide you not just medically, but spiritually too. If something were to go wrong, she’d know what to do. It gave you peace, and that peace is what brought you here.

“And let’s not forget he also belongs to the humans,” Jungkook adds gently. “He carries human blood too.”

You glance at him, heart swelling. Your son is already so special, not only because he’s your son. He’s a hybrid, a Shadow, a Blood, and a future king. A future king with roots deeper than tradition, broader than bloodlines. He carries so much already, and he’s only a couple of minutes old.

“Yes,” you whisper, your mind drifting to your father.

For a moment, you think about your parents. Your mind brings back your father’s smile and your mother’s warm laugh. They would have been overjoyed. Their grandson would’ve been spoiled with stories, hugs, and the kind of love only grandparents know how to give. You know they’re watching, wherever they are. You hope they’re proud.

Even though they won’t physically be present, they’ll be in your heart. And your baby boy is lucky to have Felix as his grandfather. He’ll grow up with him and will call him grandpa, but you know he’ll grow up with stories of your parents. Just like he’ll grow up with the stories of his grandfather, Taemoo.

“And what will be his name?” Nari asks, her voice cutting gently through the stillness.

You smile. The question lingers in the air, heavier than expected, not because it’s unexpected, but because this moment feels sacred. You hadn’t told anyone, not even your closest family. You and Jungkook decided early on to keep it secret, away from opinions or superstitions. This name wasn’t up for debate. It was chosen, not by trend, not by suggestion, but by instinct.

“Kai,” you say simply.

Nari’s eyes brighten, her smile wide and genuine.

“A unique name for a truly unique child,” Jungkook adds, pride clear in his voice.

You glance at your son, swaddled and sleeping peacefully, as if the world hadn’t just shifted around him. For the longest time, he was supposed to be Minho, a name you both adored. But the moment he made his presence known, strong and certain, you realized he needed something different. Something rare. Something that fits.

Minho was sweet. But Kai… Kai felt like destiny.

Maybe Minho will be the name of another son one day. But this boy? This boy was born under a Blood Moon, in a sacred place, with shadows and royalty in his veins.

Kai was always meant to be his name.

“It’s a sweet name,” Nari answers.

“Thank you,” you look up, your eyes meeting hers for a moment.

It’s extremely unreal to realize you just gave birth to the next king. It’s already surreal that you’re dating one, but now? Now, your blood runs through royal veins. Your lineage and Jungkook’s, once separate, are forever bound together in the heart of a child who carries both your worlds.

Bloodlines entwined, not just by fate, but by choice. By love.

After a little while, Jungkook carries you back to the main house while Nari holds Kai. You have absolutely no more energy left in your body. It’s like Kai sucked it all up while joining you. And your boyfriend doesn’t want you to make any more effort tonight.

“Can you please take care of him while I help her take a bath?” Jungkook asks Nari once inside.

“Absolutely,” she answers.

Jungkook’s arms hold you very tightly as he makes his way to the bathroom next to your bedroom. First, he lays you down on the bed and then disappears to turn the water on. You’re slowly falling asleep, and you’re internally battling to keep your eyes open, but it’s extremely hard. You desperately need to sleep.

Nari, on her side, is in your son’s room. It’s the room right in front of yours. You’ve prepared and decorated it before your baby’s arrival. To your eyes, it’s the prettiest room in this house.

When the bath is filled with hot water, your boyfriend comes back. A smile appears on his face when he notices that you’re in the exact same position.

“You haven’t moved,” he comments.

“I’m too tired, Kook.” You don’t even have the energy to say his full name.  

His hands remove the blanket covering your body before holding you once more. He lays you in the hot water, making you gasp as you feel it surrounding your sore body. Jungkook sits on the floor, his eyes filled with so much pride.  

“Thank you,” he whispers, his fingers tugging a strand of hair behind your ear. “Thank you for being such a wonderful and powerful person.” Your eyes look up to meet his. “Thank you for giving birth to our son. Thank you for making me a father,” his eyes are glowing like never before. “Thank you for making me the happiest man in the world.”

“You don’t have to thank me, angel.” Your hand finds its way to his cheek to stroke it. “We’ve done this together.”

“I feel so grateful to have you,” he says. “But now that you’ve given birth to Kai, I feel even more grateful. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m so damn lucky that fate made you my soulmate. Life before you felt tasteless. You’re literally my sunshine, and I’m so in love with you. Even more now that I got to witness this incredible moment.”

Something has changed in Jungkook, you can see that although you’re extremely tired and half awake. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but he’s definitely glowing. Tears start forming in your eyes as he pours his heart out for you.

“You’re going to make me cry, Jungkook.” Your hand never stops soothing his cheek.

“Marry me, yn,” he blankly says.

Your eyes widen, your hand instantly halting. Even though you knew it would happen one day, because of the soulmate bond, it catches you by surprise. You didn’t expect to hear those words on the day you’d deliver your son.

You always imagined the proposal to take place a bit later on, maybe in two years or something like that. You thought that it would happen around a romantic moment that Jungkook would have planned weeks before. He would bend down on his knee with a velvety box in his hand, and a beautiful ring would be on display.

“Jungkook…” you whisper. “Did you really just ask me to marry you while I’m floating half-dead and asleep in a tub, and bleeding?”

“There’s no version of you I’d love more than this one.”

You shake your head softly with a little smile on your face. Your boyfriend is being extremely adorable, and you feel so thankful to have him in your life and have him as your baby daddy.

“You should’ve waited,” you begin. “You should’ve waited a least a couple of days or waited until I felt like myself again.”   

“I couldn’t wait, sunshine,” he says, his voice low and steady. “What happened today…. I’ve never seen anything more powerful and more beautiful than you today. You brought our son into this world. You made him.”

He leans in, his lips brushing against your forehead. Your eyes instantly close to savor this moment.  

“Seeing you here after giving birth to our son, it just feels like it’s the right moment. Any other moment won’t ever feel as right as this one. You, looking like a sleepy goddess who just conquered the world, are exactly who I want to annoy for the rest of my life,” he smiles while you open your eyes again to look at him.

Jungkook brings your hand to his lips and presses a kiss against your knuckles, his warm mouth contrasting with the room's cool air.

Your heart swells in your chest, emotions flooding in all at once. You’ve just brought life into the world, and now Jungkook is looking at you like you hung the moon. After everything, after the hours of pain, fear, and wonder, his words wrap around your heart like silk, softening the sharp edges of exhaustion.

And it hits you all over again: this is your person—the one who’s seen every version of you and still chooses you wholeheartedly.

“Marry me. Not because it’s tradition or timing. Not because we had a child. Marry me because you're my home, and because we were written into each other long before we ever met.”

“You’re really going to ask me to marry you while I’m naked, bruised, and leaking all sorts of fluids?” You smile through your exhaustion.

“You make leaking look ethereal,” he grins.

You groan and laugh at once. “God, I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

And he’s right, you don’t. You love him with all your soul. You love him enough to say the one word that makes his whole world stop for a moment.

“Yes.”

His breath catches. He blinks once, twice, then leans in to kiss your temple like you’re the most sacred thing he’s ever touched.

“Say it again,” he murmurs, lips brushing your skin.

“Yes, Jungkook.”

He rests his forehead gently against yours.

“I’m going to spend the rest of my life thanking the moon for you.”

When you open your eyes, you’re graced with the prettiest view you’ve ever got to witnessed. Jungkook is holding Kai tightly in his arms and is rocking him while singing a lullaby. You never knew that you needed this in your life. For a brief moment, his eyes meet yours, and a wide smile appears on his face.

“Mommy is finally awake,” he sings to your son.

Nari stayed the entire night to help you out. It was more than a struggle to stay awake, and you actually fell asleep in the bath while Jungkook was cleaning you. But then, you woke up several times with your son’s cries, and you even started to breastfeed him after several failed attempts.

Jungkook woke up as well and made sure you’d fall asleep right after nourishing your baby. He wanted you to sleep as much as possible because you went through a physically traumatic experience. Your body needs to recover from it, and it starts with getting as much rest as possible. So basically, he was mostly the one taking care of Kai. And you’re absolutely thankful for that.

“She is the most special person in the whole wide world,” he continues. “She’s my lover and your mommy. We are both so lucky to have her.”

You can’t help but smile as you hear him sing. For a moment, your eyes take in the sight in front of you.

Jungkook stands shirtless, his chest rising and falling steadily as he cradles your baby against him. His strong arms cradle Kai with such ease, the quiet strength in his touch wrapped in a tenderness that steals your breath. It’s a contrast so beautiful, it tugs at something deep inside you. His hair is all over the place, and the faint dark circles beneath his eyes tell you everything you need to know—he barely slept last night, too busy taking care of both of you.

This sight feels like a dream you never knew you had. If this is how you’re going to wake up every day from now on, then well, you won the damn lottery. Honestly, you won it when Jungkook entered your life and showed you what true love is. Throughout those past nine months, he stood by your side, braved every storm with you, and held your hand through it all. Kai is lucky to have him as his father.  

“She’s the strongest woman I know,” Jungkook hums softly, his eyes still on Kai. “She brought you into the world with so much courage, and somehow, she still looks like an angel while doing it.”

“I probably look like a wreck,” you laugh lightly, your voice raspy from sleep.

His gaze meets yours, his smile softening. This version of you is one he never saw coming, yet he’s fallen harder than he ever imagined. To him, you're breathtaking. You’ve just brought life into the world, and despite the exhaustion etched into your features, he sees nothing but beauty and power.

“You look like the prettiest wreck.”

That causes your face to warm, and your eyes sting with the sudden wave of emotion. You shift slightly under the covers, your body still aching, but your heart overflowing. The postpartum period won’t be easy, you know that. It’s already quite painful to move in bed, but you have to take it slow. Jungkook is by your side; he even took some time off from his royal duties.

His mother, Jisoo, is actually going to step in to manage everything else while you and Jungkook settle into this new chapter. He won’t be fully stepping away from his duties, but for as long as you need him, you’ll be his only priority. He wants to help you, and he also wants to be a present father for Kai. There’s no way he won’t be present in the first moments of his son’s life.

Jungkook walks over to the bed, still holding Kai, and kneels beside you. Your eyes look down at your baby, who looks absolutely perfect.

“We missed you,” he murmurs.

“I missed you both too,” you whisper, reaching out to trace your finger gently along Kai’s tiny cheek. “I still can’t believe he’s here.”

“Me neither,” Jungkook confesses. “But it feels wonderful to have him here. I don’t want to ever let go of him.”

Your hand moves up to stroke your boyfriend’s cheek, and his eyes instantly flutter shut. His face leans into your palm instinctively, and it feels like your skin is the only anchor he needs. For a moment, neither of you speaks—there’s no need to.

Everything you’ve been through, everything you feel, lives in the quiet between your breaths. You trace the curve of his cheekbone with your thumb, and when his lashes finally lift, his gaze is soft and reverent, like you’re the most sacred thing he’s ever seen.

Your boyfriend then places Kai in your arms before he stands up and sits next to you in bed. Your eyes land on your baby. The most beautiful and perfect being you’ve ever seen. His tiny, round nose reminds you of his father’s. His full cheeks remind you of yours in that portrait your grandparents have. And in all honesty, you feel like your son looks a lot like your mom.

“He’s so perfect,” you whisper while your finger gently traces over his nose.

“He is,” Jungkook whispers near your ear.

Your boyfriend rests his chin on your shoulder, the two of you completely hypnotized by the little life you created together.

“He’s incredibly perfect because he takes a lot after you,” Jungkook’s words echo in your mind. “It almost feels like I didn’t contribute at all in here. He’s just a tiny and mini version of you. And man, that makes him even prettier.”

“He has your nose,” you answer. “And your eyes.”

“Only one,” he smiles.

It’s still so disturbing to have a baby with heterochromia, especially since the colors are extremely different. Red and blue.

“I’m not speaking of the color,” you shake your head. “I’m talking about the shape.”

“Other than that, he just looks like you.”

“I think he looks a lot like my mom,” you admit. “Remember the pictures my grandparents showed us?” Jungkook nods. “When I look at Kai, I see the one taken a couple of hours after my mom was born.”

Now that you said it, Jungkook can’t unsee it. Your son definitely takes after your mom, but your boyfriend is still convinced Kai is a mini version of you.

“But he also looks a lot like you, sunshine. When I look at him, all I see is you.”      

Slowly, Kai opens his eyes. Although it’s weird to see two eye colors, it just suits him. It makes him even more perfect.

“Seems like you’ve decided to shake our world completely, little prince,” Jungkook speaks out loud. “Being a hybrid wasn’t enough,” his finger strokes his cheek. “You also needed to belong to two packs,” he pauses for a bit. “You’re just like your mother.”

“We decided it was about time that things changed over here,” you answer with a bright smile on your face.

Your son’s eyes move from you to Jungkook, and it feels like he recognizes you. And then, out of the blue, you both feel the warmth Kai used to spread while inside you. His strong powers already echo around you, enveloping you in a protective shield.

“This little man is definitely going to change everything,” Jungkook says with evident emotion in his voice. “Look how powerful he already is.”

“He’s the result of bloodlines entwining,” you answer. “He carries the blood of Bloods, Shadows, and humans.”

Kai is living proof that mixing blood isn’t a weakness—it’s a strength. A strength that ancient werewolves tried to suppress. And the more you think about it, the more it seems that those old rules weren’t about protection—they were about fear. Fear of what could happen if bloodlines entwined. Fear of power that couldn’t be controlled. But now, with your birth and Kai’s, that fear looks small. Outdated. Because you both are proof that the bloodlines don’t need to be pure. They need to be united.

“In the end, keeping the bloodline pure only made us weaker,” Jungkook mumbles.

“And Kai is the proof of it.”

Kai’s birth was announced to the entire werewolf world within hours. The birth of the next king was celebrated across continents, and the Shadows bowed to the heir who carries their blood. The moment you heard it, you cried.

News of his heterochromia was also announced, marking him as the first werewolf chosen by two packs. A miracle. A first. His dual heritage surprised everyone, and now you’ll have to figure out what that means for his future. But that can wait.

Right now, all that matters is him. Your son. The tiny miracle you carried, birthed, and now hold in your arms.

Jungkook’s family and your family, meaning Lexi and Felix, are all gathered in the biggest living room of this palace. Instead of having your families come one by one to visit you and meet Kai, you decided to invite them all together. You’ve also done it because it’s going to be the first time humans and werewolves are together in the same room.

You also can’t wait to catch their reaction when they see Kai’s eyes. While pregnant, you explained this eye thing to Lexi and Felix so they wouldn’t be surprised when they meet your son for the first time.

Both you and Jungkook are head over heels over Kai. He’s been crying a lot, sleeping a lot, but he’s absolutely adorable. You’ve never been this happy. This journey as a mother has been going much better than you expected when you decided to get inseminated. Being a mother with a father by your side is even better than being a single mother. You get a shoulder to cry on when it’s too much.

When you and Jungkook enter the room with Kai in his arms, all the heads turn to look at you. A smile grows on their faces. Dohee’s kids aren’t present yet, but they’ll get to meet their cousin later on today. Both Felix and Jisoo take a step closer to lay eyes on their grandchild for the first time. You can see a tear running down Felix’s cheek, and man, it does make you feel emotional.

“Mom, Felix,” Jungkook begins, “this is Kai, your grandson.”

At that moment, Kai opens his eyes as if he knows he has to reveal himself to his family. They both gasp as they see with their own eyes the blue and red in their grandson’s eyes. They are totally aware of it because you told them when announcing your son’s birth. It’s something you couldn’t hide from them.

“It’s impressive,” Felix whispers as he gets closer to run a finger over Kai’s cheek.

It definitely makes you extremely emotional to see him become a grandfather. Kai is so lucky to have him as a grandpa because you know damn well Felix will cover him with so much love. Your son won’t ever get to meet your birth parents, but he’ll grow up with the person you chose to call dad.

“It really is,” Jisoo adds. “This little baby is already so special.”

Your son has been special since the day he was conceived. Born to a king and a hybrid.

“Let me see my nephew,” Lexi rushes to your side.

She holds your hand before squeezing it when she lays eyes on her nephew.

“Damn, he really took after you,” her eyes meet yours. “He’s as beautiful as his mom.”

“For once, you’re acknowledging my good looks,” you tease her.

“And it’ll be the last time,” she smiles. “But you both did a great job with this little munchkin. He’s really handsome.”

As Jungkook’s siblings gather around you as well, Kai suddenly shields you and Jungkook, trying to protect you from your own family. They all feel this invisible energy, even Felix and Lexi, who aren’t werewolves. His family struggles to fight it, and their urges to shift.

“It’s okay, little man,” you whisper as you caress his sweet little face. “They are family.”

It’s weird to feel his protective aura all the time. You’ve never experienced something so strong, but you’re so proud at the same time for creating this powerful person. Experiencing it during your pregnancy is one thing, but it’s a totally different now that he’s out.

“Wow, this little guy isn’t joking,” Mingi says. “He’s only two days old and already displaying his powers.”

Honestly, this scares you as well. Your son might be perceived as a threat, and some people might try to do horrible things to him. The first person that crosses your mind is Yuna. She never accepted his existence because of who you are, and because he’s the son of the man she still loves.

“Don’t worry, sunshine,” Jungkook speaks to you through thoughts. “We’ll protect him no matter what.”

“I know, but what if it’s not enough?” Your eyes look up to meet his.

“He seems to be proving he can protect himself and his loved ones.”

“But he’s so little,” you add.

“Look around, love,” he continues. “All these people love him and will protect him. I totally understand you, but I prefer to believe we will all protect him and never let anyone harm him. I don’t want to think negatively.”

Your eyes look at all the people in this room. You don’t doubt the slightest that they’ll do everything in their power to protect him. Jungkook’s family is one of the strongest in the werewolf world. People don’t really stand a chance against them, and they will most probably not stand one face to this little powerful being. But as a mother, you can only be concerned.  

Jisoo notices that you’re speaking through thoughts, but she doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t want to ruin whatever conversation you’re having. But she can tell you’re concerned about something. She guesses that it’s about your son’s strength.  

Slowly, Kai’s protection fades away.

“How can he do that? How can he know who to protect at such a young age?” Hyunjin asks, baffled.

“We’re not entirely sure,” you admit. “We know he recognizes me because I carried him for nine months. Maybe he hasn’t fully realized he’s no longer inside my body.”

“As for me,” Jungkook adds, “we think he recognized my voice, maybe even sensed me through the soulmate bond.”

“We also believe he recognizes us through blood,” you continue. “Like an instinct—he feels that we share the same blood. But that’s just speculation.”

“We read so many books about mixed bloods, and every one of them said something different.”

Felix helped you decipher a few of the more ancient texts. Thanks to his background in old languages, he managed to translate fragments that spoke of blood recognition—that mixed-blooded children can identify their lineage through something deeper than scent or voice. It’s wild to think about, but those same texts claimed their strength is tied to that very connection.

Everything is so uncertain with Kai, but as he grows up, you’re sure you’ll get to understand it better. Kai is unique, and until he has another sibling, no one else will be like him. Since Kai chose to belong to two packs, any possible child you might have will also belong to two packs. It’s something you've gotten to learn through those many ancient books. All mixed-bloods siblings choose the same pack.

“Well, we’ll learn with him,” Jungkook adds. “Kai is different in every possible way, so we’ll figure everything out through him.”

And you already know that it’s going to be a bumpy road. You’re in the dark with him, and you’ll have to navigate parenthood with his uniqueness. For sure, it won’t be easy, but you’ll have Jungkook by your side, and you’ll shower this baby with love. He’s never going to feel different, although he is.

With Felix and Lexi, he’ll learn to embrace his human side. With the Jeon’s family, he’ll learn to embrace his wolf side. With you, he’ll learn to embrace the best of both worlds. And with Jungkook, he’ll learn to embrace his destiny as the next king. Kai is never going to be alone.  

“And we’ll be by your side,” Jisoo says. “He’s never going to be alone with all of us.”

“Let’s not focus on that right now,” Felix says. “He was born two days ago, and we should celebrate him. He’s absolutely adorable,” his eyes look down at his grandson before he caresses his cheek. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, little man. I’ve been waiting for you for over a year now.”

It’s probably been almost two years since you started this insemination journey, and Felix has been there from the very beginning. Nothing went as planned, but in the end, your baby is finally here, which was the original plan. The project was to have a baby, and he’s here.

“I can’t believe I’m an auntie now,” Lexi says. “I’m going to spoil this kid and be the best auntie ever.” Her eyes look at Dohee. “Sorry, I’m just too fabulous.”

You roll your eyes before shaking your head with a smile on your face.

“You’re incorrigible!” you say.

“You’re starting a competition here, Lexi,” Dohee retorts to your sister, “and I’ll smash you. Kai will adore me more than you.”

The two of them are so silly, but you can’t wait to see how it will be once your baby is older. There’s no doubt he’ll love them both so much, although it’ll be different.

“Luckily, he only has paternal uncles and we don’t need to compete with anyone else,” Mingi chuckles.

“You’re all too crazy,” Jisoo says. “You’re going to traumatize this little one.”

“His parents are already doing that,” Hyunjin replies.

“Eeeh,” you say.

Jungkook raises an eyebrow and smirks, rocking Kai gently in his arms. You can already sense that he’s going to say nonsense. It wouldn’t be Jungkook if he didn’t do it. This man always has an answer to all, even if it’s bullshit.

“Excuse you all, but I am clearly his favorite. I’m the one with the good hair,” he says, flipping his hair dramatically like he’s in a shampoo commercial. “He was born obsessed with me.”

The room erupts with laughter, and you shake your head. This man is incredible!

“Delusional,” Lexi fires back.

“Absolutely tragic,” Dohee adds with a snort.

“That’s the sleep deprivation talking,” Mingi says, shaking his head.

“Jealousy isn’t a good look on any of you,” Jungkook shrugs, unbothered. Then he leans in toward Kai, voice soft but teasing: “Don’t worry, little prince, I’ll protect you from your dramatic aunties and uncles.”

After that, you spend the next hour with your family. All of them carried Kai in their arms for a little while. They are all absolutely in love with your little man, like you and Jungkook. Who can’t fall in love with him?

Once they are all gone, you place Kai in the little crib and sit down on the couch. You’re exhausted, dead, and very much sleep deprived, but extremely happy. This family moment filled your heart with so much joy and happiness.

“We did it,” Jungkook says. “We had the little baby we wanted.”

“And we found love in the middle of the journey,” you continue.

“That’s the best part of it all,” he chuckles.

Jungkook gently presses his lips to yours, kissing you with so much passion. Your fingers play with his hair at the nape of his neck while his hands land on your waist.

“Let’s have more handsome babies,” he whispers against your lips.

“Eeeh, give me some time to recover from this birth,” you answer. “And then, I’ll give you as many babies as you want.”

“Really?” his eyes sparkle, and he’s absolutely adorable.

“Yep,” you nod.

Jungkook’s grin grows wider. This man is up to no good. It doesn’t even surprise you because he’s always such a tease. But that’s how you love him so much.

“Dangerous words, sunshine,” he murmurs, voice low and teasing as his fingers brush slow, lazy circles on your waist. “You can’t just offer me a whole army of mini-us and expect me to behave.”

You laugh, your nose brushing his. To be honest, it feels great that nothing has changed between you two despite becoming parents. You were afraid that everything would become different, but except for the part that another person is living in this house, things are pretty much the same with Jungkook.  

“I said after I recover, Mister Drama Queen.”

He leans in closer, his lips grazing the shell of your ear now.

“I’ll try to behave, but no promises. You know what you do to me,” his breath is warm, his tone deliciously suggestive.

Your fingers tug lightly at his hair again, lips curling into a smirk. Of course, you know the effect you have on him, but you have still to recover from this birth. Your kid ripped everything inside you when you were pushing him out of you.

“Behave, or you’ll be sleeping on the couch. And Kai’s sleeping in our bed now, so good luck trying anything, Your Highness.”

Jungkook groans dramatically. It’s definitely weird for the two of you to have a third person in your bed. It feels so small now, but you wouldn’t change a damn thing.

“You’re evil. Beautiful, irresistible… and evil.”

You bite your lip to suppress your smile, fully aware of the effect you have on him.

“Welcome to fatherhood.”

Jungkook rests his head on your shoulder, your hands threading slowly through the softness of his hair, the two of you tangled in this hazy, post-baby bubble. The living room is quiet now, just the soft hum of nighttime settling in like the world itself is holding its breath for you.

“You really are going to make me work for those future babies, huh?” you feel him groan against your shoulder.

You giggle softly, your fingers still gently tangled in his hair.

“Parenthood’s a long game, mister. You better pace yourself.”

He pulls back just enough to look into your eyes, his thumb brushing the apple of your cheek, and suddenly, all the teasing fades. His eyes carry that look again. The same look you always fall in love with.

“I’d wait a lifetime if it means doing all of it with you,” his fingers trace invisible lines on your cheek.

And just like that, something inside you shifts. A rush of memories floods in. Memories of who you both were before this love, before the baby, before the chaos and healing and magic that brought you here. There were days when you weren’t sure you’d ever feel this full. But now, it feels like your heart has stretched to hold two lifetimes at once.

“You’re really trying to charm me right now, aren’t you?”

Jungkook chuckles. “Is it working?”

You lean in and press a soft kiss to his lips.

“Always.”

His arms wrap a little tighter around your waist, pulling you just close enough for your head to rest against his chest. You can hear his heart—steady, strong, and completely yours.

“Then let me be this version of me forever. Just a man in love with his girl and wrapped around her finger.”

You laugh into his neck, comforted by the heat of him, by the home you’ve built in his arms.

“Careful what you wish for, Mr. King. You might end up changing all the diapers.”

“Worth it,” he replies without missing a beat, planting a kiss on your temple. “For you? I’d do it all.”

You smile into his chest, letting yourself melt for just a moment longer. Being in his arms is your safest place. It’s where you belong now. There’s no other place you’d like to be right now. Being with Jungkook was always your destiny, and man, thinking about spending the rest of your life with him feels wonderful.

Very soon, you’ll probably get married, and hopefully, more babies will be added to the mix. You’ll get to witness Jungkook as a father and as your lover, something you’re definitely looking forward to. It feels like you can’t love him even more than you do now, but you know that tomorrow, you’ll love him more than you do today. It has been like that since the day you first met him at the clinic.

That day seems so far away when, in reality, it was nine months ago, but so much has happened since then. You've got to discover yourself. You’ve got to discover the truth behind your parents' relationship and death. You’ve got to meet your grandparents. And you’ve got to meet the love of your life.

Today, you’d like to visit your old self. The ten-year-old version of you who lost her parents. You’d hug her, hold her tight in your arms, and cry with her. You’d tell her that everything will go just fine. You’d describe your life and let her know that, one day, she’d be incredibly happy. Maybe she wouldn’t believe you because of the pain, but she’d eagerly wait for that day to come.

Life didn’t treat you well at some point, and you still have to deal with the pain and emptiness you constantly feel. But today, you have Jungkook and Kai. They won’t for sure heal you and fill that void, but they’ll ease the pain.

In the end, the tragic end of your parents has shaken the whole werewolf universe. Your presence alone changed an ancient law, and one day, you’ll get to wear a crown. One that Jungkook will place on your head. You know that if your parents had the chance to know back then what you’d become, they would have died in total peace. They’d have most probably been proud to know their grandchild would become king.

Kai is the result of many bloodlines entwining together. He’s the result of a love story between a Blood King and a Shadow hybrid, but he’s also the beginning of that love story. Without him, maybe today, you wouldn’t have met Jungkook yet. Maybe you’d even spent years before meeting him. It’s crazy to think that Kai is the reason you’re together today.

As you look at Jungkook and Kai, your heart swells with so much love and pride. A smile grows on your face as you reflect on your life. You reflect on what has been the past thirty years of your life.  

You survived. You loved. And now, you live for all three of you.

[onlymingyus]

Birds of a Feather

pairing; joshua hong x f reader

genre; smut (minors dni), fluff, crack

summary; You and Shua work together on a petition to get rid of the bird kid and then you fall in love.

warnings; university au, alcohol, drug use (marijuana), food/drink, betting, bad jokes, borrowed memes, simp!joshua, jealousy/possessive nature, irresponsible use of a hot tub and a friend’s personal space, slight dom!joshua, mild dom/sub dynamics, pet names, sex health/birth control talk, unprotected sex, breast play, pinning/man handling, dirty talk, oral (m & f receiving/giving), 69, scratching, crying, size kink implied, exhibition kink implied – as always I’m sure there is something I’ve left out.

w/c; 14.3k and some change

a/n; first of all thank you so so much to my dear @onlyhuis for proofreading this and thank you for literally being the reason it exists. this is based on a true story – names have been changed for privacy and it’s not completely true but bird kid should find a new place to live. thank you to @wonwussy for helping me come up with an amazing title, also without june, @highvern, @shuadotcom, and @horanghater just know this fic would have sucked majorly. thank you so much for helping me figure out my shit and adding so much to this.

before continuing remember reblogs are incredibly important and please read how to support me here

Joshua rubs the sleep out of his eyes as he leans his forearm against his door, looking down at the cute girl standing in his dorm room. You were holding a clipboard and had a look somewhere between serious and annoyed on your face.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you up.”

You hadn’t had the chance to meet every single resident in your hall but today you were making some very interesting discoveries. For example, apparently Eros lived just five doors down and he slept in late. Clearing your throat, you look down at your clipboard in an attempt to hide how shy his gaze is making you feel.

“I’m Y/N; would you sign my petition to evict the bird kid? I know that sounds harsh but just to get him to, like, get his own place off campus with his bird.”

His lips pulling up into a small grin, Joshua watches you start to ramble about your cause as you tap your pen against the paper attached to the clipboard. It seems you have several signatures so far. He had heard about this bird kid and he had also heard the bird in question several times.

“Sure, I’ll sign it. Anything to get him to stop letting the damn thing use the water fountain as a bird bath.”

Joshua watches as your eyes lift towards him again as he agrees with you. With the clipboard securely in his hands, you scoff in agreement, lifting your hands to express how important your argument was.

“Right?! It’s gross. I drink out of that fountain. I mean, I used to...“

Nodding, Joshua signs his name and offers you back the clipboard before resting his shoulder on his door frame. You watch his smile pull to one side before he furrows his brows and gestures over his shoulder.

“My roommate is still passed the fuck out but I’m sure he will sign too. Swing back by later and catch him when he’s actually breathing.”

Pulling the clipboard to your chest, you press your lips together, trying to keep your eyes on the man’s face even as you feel them being drawn to where his t-shirt was straining around his bicep. Clearing your throat, you lean back a bit and glance down at his name, whispering it to yourself before nodding and daring to look back up to find Joshua still watching you.

“Okay… I’ll do that, Joshua.”

Turning towards the next door, you pull your eyes from his handsome face even as Joshua leans out of his doorway to watch you, lifting his hand to wave.

“Good luck with your petition, Y/N. See you later.”

Groaning into his drool soaked pillow, Lee Chan forces himself to turn over and look towards his roommate, who was standing in the doorframe watching the hallway. He liked Joshua; if anything, the man was more like a brother than a roommate at this point but he was talking far too loudly for a Saturday morning.

“That has to be a girl if you are acting like a simp this early.”

Rolling his eyes, Joshua shuts the door behind him, turning towards the younger man and shooting him a look before reaching for one of the bottles of water and tossing it towards him. Despite usually having great eye to hand coordination, Chan hisses in pain when the bottle manages to meet his chest instead of in his hands.

“And? Your point? Drink your water; I’m sure you have one hell of a headache.”

Chan wasn’t going to argue with Joshua on that point. He did have a headache that could rival all other headaches. He couldn’t remember much of the night after their friend Seungcheol had shown him where the punch bowl was and challenged him to a “drink off.”

Reaching for the pain medicine on his nightstand, Chan groans, trying to open the bottle as Joshua watches, only to sigh and take it from his hands, doing it for him. Muttering a thanks, Chan takes the bottle back, leaning back onto his bed to take the medicine, looking up at the ceiling.

“Who was the girl?”

Pursing his lips, Joshua falls back on his bed, trying to hide the small smile on his lips, thinking about the short interaction with you and how cute you had been. It wasn’t like anything had even happened or that there would be anything that would come from it but it was nice meeting a new neighbor so to speak.

“Uh, she said her name was Y/N. She’ll be back around later. Told her you’d sign her petition.”

Chan’s brows furrow at Joshua’s words as he lifts his hand to wipe at his mouth, water starting to run down towards his chin.

“What? Why would I do that?”

“Because it’s not that big of a deal and you’ll agree with it. It’s about that dude who has a bird. Something about getting him to move off campus with it.”

Making a face at the mention of the bird, Chan feels his headache behind his eyes, even thinking about the squawking that could be heard late at night and early in the mornings.

“You’re right. I’ll fucking sign it. I’ll forge names. I’ll help the son of a bitch move.”

Taking back your clipboard once more, you smile at the girl who doesn’t seem to know when to stop talking. You were happy she agreed with your cause but you didn’t need to know every other complaint she had filed over the past month with Seungkwan, the RA.

“Totally, I get it.” Gesturing with your thumb over your shoulder, you offer her one last tired smile, “I’m gonna head back the other way, I have a couple of places I need to get on the way back to my room.”

“Yeah, sure. Oh, Y/N! When you talk to Seungkwan, you know when you file the petition... mention the water pressure again.”

Groaning under your breath, you just give her a thumbs up, hearing her yell bye at your back as you scurry off in the opposite direction. The more distance you put between her and you, the air feels lighter until you look back at your clipboard and read Joshua’s name, seeing your little star next to his name.

You weren’t sure why this man was making you so nervous – besides his good looks – but as you stood in front of his room, reading over the whiteboard attached to it, you blew out a breath. The messages on their board were cute, some funny, but for the most part, you could tell they were from friends.

I fuckin won last night you owe me dinner - Cheol

rescheduled studio for tuesday - jihoon (don’t call me and bitch)

Lifting your hand, you knock on the door next to a worn sticker of a tiger that someone had tried to peel off but failed at doing so. You swallow hard, running your thumbnail along the pad of your index finger as you wait, beginning to think that he or his roommate were out until you hear hushed voices and the sound of a thump like something hitting the floor.

Joshua throws one last look at Chan, who rubs the back of his head from the floor next to this bed, muttering an ow, before the younger man pushes himself back to his feet. He hadn’t said anything he thought was all that bad, just that Joshua looked like an excited puppy hearing a knock at the door. He hadn’t been wrong; Joshua had jumped up and started towards the door, only to stop looking panicked and check his hair in the mirror on the back of the door before Chan had spoken up.

Opening the door, Joshua takes a breath before licking his lips and smiling at you as if nothing had happened at all. Your eyes move past him to the other man, who grumbles, rubbing his ass as he finally gets back on his feet and looks towards the door to meet your eyes for the first time.

“Hey, is this a bad time? I can come back tomorrow or something.”

Stepping back and to the side, Joshua shakes his head as Chan’s eyes widen, finally getting a good look at you. It was starting to make sense—Joshua's reaction to you. If he had seen you first, he might be in the same predicament, but there was a bro code, and he was a good friend.

“Not at all, right, Chan?”

Hearing his name, Chan moves forward and gestures to you inside the room, quickly moving one of his shirts off the desk chair so you could take it if you wanted it.

“Nope, all good with me. Shua said you’d be back, about the bird dude, right?”

Slowly walking into the room, you look around before looking down at the chair that had been cleaned off for you. It hadn’t been your plan to come in and sit down but you weren’t going to say no when your feet were aching after walking up and down the hall for hours.

“Uh, yeah, thanks.”

Joshua watches you move to the seat, his eyes never leaving yours even as you close yours for a moment to relish in the feeling of the pressure being taken off your back and legs as you sit down. His eyes finally move to the clipboard in your lap as he moves forward, causing you to open your eyes to look up at him.

“Looks like you did well today. Can I see it?”

Humming out a response, you lift the clipboard towards Joshua, letting him take it from you along with your pen so he can turn back towards Chan, offering it to him. With the petition out of the way and Chan occupied with something else, Joshua grins, turning his attention back to you. His eyes move over your face and down the length of your body quickly as he tries not to make it entirely obvious.

“I tried; it was tiring. I’ll try to hit the other floors over the next couple days before I take it to Seungkwan.”

Nodding, Joshua purses his lips, gesturing his hands out towards you, causing you to look up at him as he does.

“We are pretty good friends with Seungkwan. Might save you a little time. I’m not saying to cheat the system but I can tell you are exhausted. I could also help you, you know, with the other floors.. Have some friends who live in those dorms.”

You weren’t sure why Joshua was willing to help you but you weren’t feeling like turning him down, even as Chan scoffed into a laugh while finishing filling out the petition. Glancing over his shoulder, Joshua turns only to jerk the clipboard from the other man’s hands, letting the two share a quick look before he smiles at you again, offering it to you much kinder.

“What do you think?”

Biting at your bottom lip, you glance towards Chan, watching him turn away from what was happening in front of him. Tapping your fingers on the clipboard in your lap, you smile and look away, feeling suddenly shy under Joshua’s gaze once again. His playful laugh is the only thing you can hear over the blood rushing to your head as your cheeks and ears go warm.

“Yeah, that’d be great. I can give you my number so we can coordinate where to meet and stuff.”

Rolling his eyes, Chan groans at the puppy love display in the same room as him. Sliding past Joshua, the younger man mutters a bye to you as you watch him slip out the door, leaving you alone with Joshua, whose smile just grows.

“Awesome, yeah. Don’t worry about Chan. He’s dramatic.”

Eyes still following Joshua, you watch him pick up his phone from his nightstand, returning to offer it to you. You can only shake your head, a small laugh slipping from your lips as you tap on his phone icon and add a contact for yourself after making a mental note of his artsy blue wallpaper on his phone.

“He’s okay. I mean… I don’t know what he was being dramatic about but I’ll get out of his hair so he can come back and chill.” Smiling up at Joshua, you offer him back his phone and say, “I like your wallpaper, it’s pretty.”

You’re pretty, is the first thing Joshua thinks of but he just smiles back at you, taking his phone and biting at his bottom lip.

“Thanks. Uh, he’s fine, really. Don’t have to worry about him, he’s a big boy. Just not used to seeing pretty girls in his dorm room, especially ones he’s not allowed to flirt with.”

You had started to take a breath so when Joshua speaks and says that you swallowed the breath, it gets stuck in your throat. Leaning forward, you cough, lifting your hand when he steps forward, asking if you are okay. Furrowing his brows, Joshua moves to take out a water bottle, opening the lid before squatting down in front of the chair and offering it to you.

“You sure you’re okay?”

Nodding, you take the water, taking a sip as Joshua watches you carefully. You were fine but you felt like an idiot. Your face was on fire from the coughing fit and embarrassment. How were you going to explain that you had just choked on air?

“No rush…  Take it easy. Another sip of the water.”

Lifting his hand, Joshua pushes your hair back, getting a good look at you and checking to make sure you were actually going to be okay. He could tell you were flustered and obviously embarrassed but there was nothing, in his opinion, that you needed to be embarrassed about.

“I’m alright. It’s stupid… I just tried to take a breath and it didn’t go well for me.”

You watch as Joshua smiles at you, his eyes kind and understanding despite the awkward situation. Dropping his hand to his knee, Joshua bites at his bottom lip once again as he tilts his head, studying you before nodding.

“Been there before. Feeling a bit better?”

Sitting back, you nod, taking another sip of the water as Joshua offers you the lid, letting you put it back on the bottle.

“Yeah, I’m good now. Fuck…I’m really great at first impressions.”

Standing up to let you do the same, Joshua takes in a sharp breath, watching you move towards his door. He knew he had just met you but he already didn’t want to let you go. He wanted to get to know you more and he wasn’t sure if just helping you with the petition was going to be enough.

“I, for one, am thoroughly impressed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Turning back to Joshua, you smile, letting him pull the door open, leaning his shoulder against it much like he had earlier in the day. You were staring at him again, letting your eyes move from his face, studying his lips, and moving down to his chest and over to his arms.

“Yeah, uh… I’ll text you in the morning. Have a good night, Joshua.”

Leaning his head back against the door, Joshua grins to himself, having known you were checking him out just as much as he had been doing the same to you. Maybe he had a shot at this.

“You too, Y/N.”

Y/N: I know it’s early but I was hoping to get started on the petition in about 30 mins on the second floor. You still wanna help?

The ding of his cellphone caused Joshua to groan before he reached out for the device, smacking at the nightstand a few times before actually grabbing it. Normally he would have ignored the message but today he remembered that he had texted you last night, making sure you had his number.

Cracking an eye open to look at his screen, Joshua winces at the brightness, blinking a few times before he is able to read the message and look at the time. It was 9 a.m., and he had gone to bed around 3 a.m. Of course you didn’t know that but he also wasn’t going to tell you no.

Joshua: Absolutely. Can we get coffee? 🙏

The message makes you smile as you sit on your bed, your stuff in a semicircle around you as you try to get ready for the day. Usually you weren’t too concerned with how much you dressed up around campus, especially on the weekends during the day, but today was different. You were going to be hanging out with Joshua Hong.

After your less than ideal first meeting with him, you decided to do some sleuthing to find out more about him, so now not only do you have his last name, but you also know his major, music, and that he has released a few songs on SoundCloud. You had even looked through his Instagram and swooned over many of his pictures, being overly careful not to like any pictures so he wouldn’t know you had been looking.

Y/N: Ofc my treat 😉

Still laying in bed, Joshua smiles at your message and the emoji. Were you flirting with him? A man could dream, couldn’t he?

Joshua: We will see who gets their card out faster.

Joshua had done his own investigation of you the night before but there had been less social media and more word of mouth as he sat in his friend Vernon’s dorm watching a few get more drunk than necessary. Lucky for him, Jeonghan had been at the little get together and he seemed to know everyone or at least something about everyone.

“Y/N Y/L/N, she’s a lit major. Really fucking cute, but you probably know that.”

That he did know, but if you were a literature major, that meant you were smarter than him.

“As far as I know, she’s available. Check her Instagram but... I’m pretty sure.”

Now, walking towards your dorm, Joshua was doing just that—scanning through your most recent pictures. Most were just selfies that he was having a hard time not liking, but a few had friends leaning against you, smiles on both of your faces. What he didn’t see was anyone who seemed like a romantic interest.

Tilting your head, you watch as Joshua looks down at his phone as he walks the few doors towards yours as you wait, your bag slung over your shoulder. He seemed distracted and it wasn’t until you felt your phone vibrate in your hand and looked to see that shuahong95 liked your photo that it made sense.

Pressing your lips together, you feel the warmth spread over your cheeks as Joshua’s eyes widen slightly and he hisses under his breath before looking up to see you looking down at your phone. You had already seen the notification. Fuck it, he thinks to himself, shaking his head. Joshua presses follow on your profile and slips his phone into his jacket pocket as he finally reaches your door.

The second notification pops up that shuahong95 has followed your Instagram, and you swallow hard, looking up as you see his shoes standing in front of you. A bit of a deer caught in the headlights looks plastered on your face; you can only offer him a small smile as he leans his head against the wall next to your door and smiles back at you.

“It was a cute picture. Couldn’t help it.”

Shaking your head, you laugh quietly—a bit manically, as if you were trying to figure out what reality was anymore—slipping your phone into your pocket. Joshua just watches you gauge your reaction, finding it even more adorable as the seconds tick by.

“I–yeah? Thanks…you’re really...”

You didn’t know what you were saying but it didn’t seem to matter to Joshua, as he grins at you for just letting it happen. When you sigh, letting the words die on your lips, Joshua laughs, reaching up to tap his finger on the tip of your nose, causing your cheeks to burn hotter than you thought they could.

“Adorable. Coffee?”

Right, coffee. You had said you would treat him to some before you got started with today’s work. Reaching up to touch your nose where Joshua’s finger had just been, you smile and look away to help calm yourself before clearing your throat and gesturing towards the exit.

“Sure, I’m surprised you were awake when I messaged. You seemed like a late sleeper yesterday, both you and Chan? Is that his name?”

Nodding, Joshua walks beside you, his eyes moving between you and where he is headed. You were exceptionally pretty today. It wasn’t just the fact that you had clearly put work into looking the way you did but that you were smiling and you were almost glowing in the morning light.

“Mmhm, Lee Chan. He’s been my roomie for a year. He’s a good kid.” Smirking, Joshua lifts his hand to rub at the back of his neck as he continues speaking, “Yeah, weekends we tend to party a bit so I usually sleep in a bit more than I would during the week but for you, I'll roll out of bed.”

He was very obviously flirting with you. You weren’t an idiot but what you were was flustered and smiling like an idiot. Turning your face toward Joshua, you press your lips together and nod as he opens the door, letting you go out first into the crisp morning air.

“Seems like you are enjoying university life a bit more than I am, Joshua Hong.”

You dare to look back up at the man as he smiles at you for staying by your side as the two of you make your way towards the local coffee shop located on campus. Clearing your throat, you furrow your brows and lift your finger to scratch at the scrunched up skin as you start to ask the question that has been plaguing you since the night before.

“Um, so yesterday you said something about Chan and it made me curious as to what you meant.”

Tilting his head, Joshua purses his lips, trying to remember what he had said about his roommate before you continue making his cheeks warm up this time.

“Something about how he’s not allowed to flirt with me? What did that mean? Does he have a girlfriend or something… or is there another reason?”

There were two thoughts running through Joshua’s mind the moment you finished your question. One, did you like Chan? Surely not…  You had spoken like five words to the kid and you had been flirting with him all morning. Two, how was he going to do this without just saying it? Fuck it.

“I don’t think he’s dating anyone. I don’t keep up with it, honestly. The last party, he was trashed and hanging out with some pretty freshmen but that’s not why I said it.”

Stopping in front of the stop, Joshua squints a bit from the bright sunlight, making you smile as he tries to think of the right words before he finally continues.

“I said it because he knows that I’m interested in you. There’s a code after all.”

You had half expected it but at the same time, there was no way you could have been prepared for someone like Joshua Hong to tell you that he was interested in you. Granted, you didn’t know each other all that well but you had eyes and desires. Pressing your lips together, you muffle a small happy sound, just nodding and looking down at the sidewalk as Joshua grins, reaching out to tilt your chin back up towards him.

Joshua watches your lips part slightly as your eyes meet his once again. You can’t help but lean into his touch as his thumb glides across your jaw for a few seconds before he finally lets go of your face and takes a breath. You had that deer caught in headlights look on your face again but Joshua was just enamored by you.

“After you.”

Your eyes finally move from the spot where Joshua had been standing when you feel the warmth from inside the shop and smell the coffee wafting towards your nose when he opens the door. Willing your feet to move, you whisper a small thank you to him as you slide by him and into the shop, glancing around it, seeing only a few of the tables occupied by students with headphones covering their ears as they stare at laptops.

Lifting his hand, Joshua places it against the small of your back as he quickly waves the other at the barista, who grins at him tiredly. You had seen the man several times when you had visited the shop but never really introduced yourself to him. Glancing at his name tag, you make a mental note of Vernon as Joshua and him share a quick secret friend handshake, making your head spin. You weren’t aware that people still did that.

“What’s up, man? The fuck you awake for?”

Vernon speaks before glancing to Joshua’s side and at you before he makes a sound like an oh and grins at his friend like he knows some sort of secret. Did all of his friends know he was interested in you?

“Going to help Y/N with her petition. Which, by the way, while we are here, do you mind signing it? It’s the one I told you about, the bird kid.”

Nodding, Vernon moves behind the counter, already starting on a drink, which you assume to be Joshua’s as the man asks him the question. You just watch mesmerized as the steam plums in front of his face and Vernon just leans back and smiles.

“Hell yeah. Always down to support a worthy cause. Really awesome for you to do something like that Y/N.” Taking a breath, the barista furrows his brows, snapping the equipment into place before he grins at you. “Hey, I’m Vernon Chwe, by the way. I’ve seen you around but we’ve never really talked before. You know what you want to drink?”

Joshua watches you smile at his friend. It was a kind smile and something that he was really starting to like about you—just how kind you seemed to genuinely be. The petition was funny on the surface but underneath it, you were legitimately trying to make a difference in the comfort level of those around you.

“It’s really nice to meet you, Vernon. Thank you for that, seriously.” Glancing behind him, you look over the drinks before pursing your lips and finally nodding, “Can I get an iced mocha?”

The man gives you a thumbs up, letting you turn back to Joshua, whom you find already looking at you like you hung the stars in the sky. You can’t help but laugh a bit, shyly glancing away from him and behind you just to make sure he was actually looking at you.

Joshua laughs, reaching forward to take your arms and pulling you back towards him as you look for someone else. There was no one else. There was only you right now and you were so damn cute, he was starting to lose his mind.

“Who are you looking for, pretty girl?”

The heat rises along your neck and across your cheeks at Joshua’s words as your laugh gets caught behind your lips. You hadn’t expected that either. Shaking your head, you whine a bit and finally sigh, meeting Joshua’s eyes as his fingers gently run along your forearms.

“Just who you might be looking at like that but...”

“You. I’m looking at you, silly.”

Vernon rolls his eyes and grins while watching his friend flirt with you. He had seen Joshua flirt with girls before but never like this and out in the open. It had been at parties with the intent of having a quick hookup. This seemed like something different.

Sliding the drinks across the counter, Vernon clears his throat, managing to get your attention first. You smile at him and step away from Joshua to take out your wallet as Joshua shakes his head and reaches over you to tap his phone against the card reader, hearing the beep.

“Told you we’d see who was faster.”

Joshua watches as you talk to each person you meet as if you’d known them for most of your life. With your clipboard in your hands, you extend it towards the boy as he nods along with your words, agreeing with everything you had to say before taking your pen to sign his name. You were good at this—talking to people and standing up for something.

Smiling at the boy, you wave at him before he glances at Joshua quickly to just keep it friendly with you, wondering if the person following so closely behind you was your boyfriend or not. Though you were beginning to wonder if that was something he was trying to shoot for or not, he had been standing closer and closer to you. His hand rested on the small of your back as he held on to your half finished drink, letting you talk to people about your petition.

“Awesome, so just like... Seven more doors this way and this floor is done. Are you sure you aren’t getting bored?”

Offering you your drink by just putting it up to your lips, Joshua watches you laugh and lean in to take the straw into your mouth so you can take a sip as he shakes his head. This was the opposite of boring to him. Yeah, the task wasn’t the most interesting thing in the world but the company was perfect.

“I’m great and I know at least three of the guys who live in dorms up ahead so I will actually be helpful today.”

Shaking your head, you lick your lips, drawing Joshua’s attention to them as he furrows his brows, finding himself wanting to kiss them. Joshua knew that was too fast. He knew it would probably freak you out, but, dammit, you were driving him crazy.

“You’ve been so helpful all day; are you kidding? You’ve made this fly by. Yesterday, I felt like I was doing this for like 30 hours straight. This is actually enjoyable with you hanging out with me.”

So you liked hanging out with him too. He was for sure letting that go straight to his head. You watch as Joshua’s pretty lips pull up into a smile and his cheeks get fuller, causing his eyes to almost close and make perfect half circles. You were starting to love that smile. It was a real smile and it made butterflies flutter around in your stomach like they were at a rave.

“It’s my pleasure, seriously. I’d like to hang out with you more… You know, not just doing this stuff. Maybe dinner? Movie? My friend’s are actually having a party next Friday. If you aren’t, ya know, doing something else.”

Joshua Hong was asking you out. Fuck, the butterflies were flying up to your throat and you were feeling a bit queasy with how excited you were. Grinning, you almost skip in place before starting down the hall towards the next door, causing Joshua to laugh and move to catch up with you.

“Y/N…What do you say? You wanna go with me? Maybe... see where this goes?”

Feeling his free hand on your bicep, you look back at Joshua, biting at your lip as you just nod before meeting his eyes. You almost didn’t trust yourself to say anything but the look on his face made you feel like you were melting. You hadn’t had anyone look at you like that before. You knew it was university and that people were meant to fall in and out of love but you could see yourself falling for Joshua hard and quick.

“Yeah, I'd like that.”

Sliding his hand along your arm, Joshua moves his fingers to your wrist, letting his fingers loosely wrap around it. He nods and takes in a breath, fighting the urge to either move his hand down to yours to take it into his or to lean in the few inches it would take him to claim your lips for a first kiss. Not like this. Not while you were standing in a dingy hallway while other students pushed past you, both trying to get to one of their only working showers.

Letting go of your arm, Joshua smiles and gestures forward, letting you take the lead once again until you reach the first door and he reaches past you to knock on it hard in a pattern that makes your head tilt. This had to be one of his friend’s dorms. One look at the whiteboard in front of you confirmed it as you read a message from Chan stating that “Choi Seungcheol is a huge dick” only for “is a” to be marked out and “has a” to be written under it in someone else's writing.

When the door in front of you opens, you instantly avert your eyes from the shirtless man in front of you, who curses and darts off to the side, muttering Joshua’s name under his breath. Standing behind you, Joshua slides his hand over your hip and laughs as he watches Seungcheol look around for a shirt, tugging it over his head before he comes back to the door.

“What? You always answer the door half naked like a caveman? He’s dressed now, Y/N; nothing will be burned into your memory for eternity.”

Sighing loudly, Seungcheol rolls his eyes and throws up his hands in confusion, gesturing to you before you look back at him and offer him a smile. You were cute; you were really fucking cute and Joshua had his hand on your hip. Fuck. You were off the table.

“Hi, I am so freaking sorry about that. I should have maybe said something, but I didn’t, ya know...”

Shaking his head and waving his hand, Seungcheol makes a scoffing sound and gestures for you both to come in.

“It’s fine. It's not like you saw anything important. I was just shirtless; just didn’t expect to see a pretty girl at my door with that knock. Just expected an idiot.”

Hearing his friend call you a pretty girl, Joshua shoots Seungcheol a look only to get back a shrug and a gesture in your direction as if to say, Well, am I wrong? You glance around the room and smile at Seungcheol once again before putting your clipboard against your chest and taking a breath.

“I’m Y/N, but Joshua just said that...  uh I’m here—”

“She needs you to sign a petition. You know that fucking dude with the bird who gives it a bath in the water fountain?”

Furrowing his brows at the whiplash of words being spit at him, Seungcheol looks from you to Joshua before laughing and nodding. He did know which guy Joshua was talking about. He had taken a video of the kid giving the bird a bath in that fountain and sent it to Seungkwan, which resulted in a bit of backlash on the kid but not as much as it should have.

“Yeah, of course. What’s the petition gonna do?”

Moving forward, you offer the clipboard to Seungcheol, explaining your cause and how it would work as Joshua watches you with his friend. Once again, he was mesmerized by you and how easy it seemed to be for you to pick up a conversation with just about anyone.

Taking the pen and clipboard, Seungcheol sits on this bed and works on filling it out between glaces between you and Joshua, a smirk lifting at one corner of his lips.

“Surprised to see you fighting for a cause, Shua.”

Narrowing his eyes, Joshua waits to see the proper lines signed before he steps forward, taking it from Seungcheol’s hands with a curt thank you.

“You shouldn’t be. Y/N was doing this alone… I just thought she could use some company.”

That explained it. The hand on the hip, him following you around like a love-sick puppy, that look in his eye when you moved anywhere in the room. Joshua Hong was whipped.

“Ah, I see. Just helping, Y/N out. What a good boyfriend, sorry friend. What are you?”

Groaning at Seungcheol’s words, Joshua rolls his eyes and moves to grab your hand as you try to defend him and yourself, only to be guided towards the door and out of the room as the man behind you laughs and apologizes.

“Shua! I’m kidding. You’re cute together, that’s all. Don’t go away mad.”

Slamming the door behind him, Joshua leans against the wall, glancing at you as his fingers start to slip from yours, only for you to close your fingers around his as you look up at him.

“You did ask me out, so he’s not that far off. I mean, you're not like my boyfriend, you know...” Joshua grins as you lower your voice, like it's a secret, when you finish your sentence. “Yet, we did say we’d see where it could go. Don’t be mad at your friends for teasing just because of me.”

Running his fingers along yours, Joshua sighs softly at your words before nodding. He couldn’t help but let his eyes move along your face, enjoying being this close to you. He could imagine how much he was going to enjoy getting to know you better and spending more time with you when there wasn’t some task in the way.

“You’re right. I’m not mad at him and I’m certainly not embarrassed, I just don’t want you to be freaked out by it or anything. Don’t wanna scare you off.”

With your bottom lip caught between your teeth, you let it go only to smile and shake your head as Joshua’s thumb moves in a circle along the palm of your hand.

“I’m not scared.”

You were scared as you stood in front of the mirror you and your roommate had haphazardly leaned against the wall. Your dress was short and your boots were borrowed. You could hear music quietly playing from Yeji’s laptop as she gives you a once over and a thumbs up.

“You look hot.”

Whining, you tug at the end of your dress and meet her eyes in the mirror as you tilt your head.

“You sure you won’t come along? I could use backup.”

Shaking her head, Yeji gestures at her laptop and laughs before offering you a sympathetic pout. She had already given up so much of her time today to help you get ready, not to mention letting you borrow her favorite boots to complete your outfit.

“I have to finish this paper before midnight or Professor Byun is going to drop me from the class. I wish I could come with you. It sounds like a hell of a lot more fun than a stupid research paper.”

Still whining, you move to Yeji’s desk, wrapping your arms around her from behind and granting yourself another laugh as she holds your arms and leans back against you. You had gotten lucky with your roommate. While so many others ended up switching after a year, you and Yeji had stuck together, and she was your best friend.

“If you finish it and want to get out of the room, just come out to the party. Joshua said there will be lots of people there and it will go until early in the morning.”

You feel Yeji nod against your cheek before she sighs and pats your arms to get you to let her go.

“I promise, but I also want you to just have a good time. Don’t worry about me. Go hang out with your boyfriend.”

Warmth was creeping along your cheeks again as you stood to your full height and moved to pick up your jacket, pulling it over your arms. Muttering, you pick up your phone, glancing over your messages, seeing one from Joshua about picking you up soon.

“He’s not my boyfriend yet…”

Even with the words spoken behind a whine and under your breath, Yeji can make them out and she laughs, feeling endeared by you. It was nice to see you happy and focusing on more than just school for once.

“Yet.”

A knock at your door causes you to take a deep breath as Yeji squeals excitedly, turning in her chair. She had met Joshua in passing a few times over the week but this felt different even for her. This was your first date with him, officially.

Joshua grins at hearing the quiet, happy squeals behind the door as he waits. He had been excited about this all day, to the point that Chan had left for Wonwoo and Mingyu’s house well in advance, leaving him in the dorm by himself to pace.

Taking in a sharp breath when the door opens, Joshua can’t help the way his eyes move over your face and then the length of your body in your outfit. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting but you had just surpassed them all.

“Shit…”

Yeji grins at the interaction. She watches Joshua stare at you, stunned, and how you shy away, whining at him to stop it. Shaking her head, Yeji sighs and finally waves at Joshua, managing to catch his attention.

“Have a great time. I expect her home no later than 9 a.m.”

Laughing, Joshua can’t help but shake his head. He wanted to tell Yeji that he could keep that promise but right now he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

“Uh…I’ll do my best.”

Your cheeks were on fire at the exchange between your best friend and Joshua. What were they even trying to do? Groaning, you mutter a goodbye to Yeji as she giggles, telling you to have fun before slipping your hand into Joshua's, pulling him away from the door as you shut it behind you.

“You look gorgeous.”

Linking his fingers with yours, Joshua looks over at you as he walks with you out into the chilly night air, feeling you step a bit closer to him. He could see you smiling even under the dim streetlights. Your smile could light up rooms so it was doing wonders for him right now.

“Stop it. You look great. How am I going to keep my date to myself?”

Laughing, Joshua shakes his head and leans his head back to look up at the sky as the two of you walk towards frat houses. You could both hear several parties already in full swing but none of them were where you were headed.

“I promise I’m not leaving your side. Besides, I’m more concerned that I might have to fight for you. When I invited you to this, I didn’t really consider who could be there or even where it was going to be.” Joshua sighs a bit dejected before glancing back over at you. “Most girls look at some of my friends, like Mingyu or Wonwoo, Cheol and I watch as our dates find someone else to talk to.”

Furrowing your brows, you come to a stop, forcing Joshua to do the same or to drop your hand. Looking back at you, he sees the disappointed look on your face and sighs once again, moving back to stand in front of you.

“Do I look like most girls to you, Joshua Hong?”

His smirk pulls at one side of his lips as Joshua watches you and how serious you look standing in front of him. He hadn’t said what he had to get some sort of sympathy from you, just as a true statement of what he had experienced in the past, but clearly you weren’t having any of it. Shaking his head, Joshua leans forward to brush his lips across your cheek before he speaks against your skin.

“No, you don’t.”

Closing your eyes, you try to stay still when Joshua kisses your cheek. You hadn’t expected it but you weren’t against it either. Smiling, you open your eyes as he starts to lean back, only for his eyes to drop to your lips before they lift once again to your eyes.

“I–okay…So don’t say things like that. I’m going with you.”

Your voice was quieter than you intended but Joshua just smiles, tightening his fingers with yours as he leads you up the few steps into the house that his friends were renting. The house wasn’t massive by the standards of the other major frat houses but for the available rentals, Wonwoo and Mingyu had lucked out.

Inside, you glance around, noticing a few familiar faces but many more that you had only seen while passing around campus. Joshua grins, sliding his hand from yours in place of putting it around your waist, keeping you close to him as he guides you through the house and towards the living room, where he waves at a tall, handsome man holding a red solo cup.

“Shua! You made it!”

You find yourself smiling at the man’s infectious enthusiasm as he moves through the smaller crowd to pat Joshua’s back and smile at you, lifting his brows.

“Course I did. Uh…Gyu…” You watch Joshua’s brows furrow as you look from him to the other man, waiting for the introduction before he gestures at you. “This is Y/N. Y/N this is Kim Mingyu.”

Offering his hand, you take it, letting the larger man encompass yours briefly before he looks back at Joshua and laughs.

“Wow…I owe Jeonghan fifty bucks. Fuck.”

Shaking his head, Mingyu walks towards the kitchen, leaving you and Joshua watching him a bit confused before the man at your side sighs and slides his arm back around you.

“Don’t know what that was about. Sorry…Clearly, he pre-gamed.”

You simply smile and lean in to kiss Joshua’s cheek, feeling the warmth spread across his face under your lips, before you pull back to meet his eyes.

“Don’t worry so much. I think they are just happy to see you here with somebody. If I had to take a guess.”

Furrowing his brows, Joshua swallows hard, his eyes moving over your face and down to your pretty smile before he lets out a breath and a laugh.

“Yeah? Think that’s what's going on?”

Nodding, you try to act as nonchalant as possible, feeling Joshua’s fingers pressing into your hip.

“Mhm. Between that and what happened yesterday with Seungcheol…”

Smiling, Joshua just shakes his head, trying to keep himself from doing anything stupid or too quick, as you bite at your bottom lip and give him such a sweet look of innocence. Seungcheol furrows his brows as he wrinkles his nose to the feeling of smoke tickling it. Vernon tries to pass the bong back over to him while Chan mutters to himself, sitting between them and looking at his laptop.

Joshua leads you through the living room, where Seungcheol looks a lot more relaxed than the last time you saw him. He grins at Joshua, pointing at him before letting his lips fall into a pout.

“Took you long enough.” Using Chan’s arm to sit up, Seungcheol groans to himself as he whines out his complaint to Joshua, knowing that usually he would be the buffer between him and Chan. “Do you know how much shit I have had to listen to Chan spew while I waited on you to get your ass here?”

Glancing from Joshua to you when Joshua lifts his hand and starts to speak, Seungcheol grins, finally seeming to realize you had joined his friend.

“Shit…Y/N. You came.” Pushing at Chan’s leg, Seungcheol pats a few times at the couch, getting lost in what he is doing before he looks back up at you and smiles a bit lopsided again. “Sit down.”

Shaking his head, Joshua watches as you laugh amused with high Seungcheol’s antics as Chan whines, having his laptop pushed on his lap towards Vernon, who was engrossed in his phone watching tetris competitions.

“We’re gonna mingle a bit first, Cheol. She might want a drink.” Glancing towards you, Joshua furrows his brows, realizing he hadn’t even asked. “Do you want a drink?”

Smiling at him once again, you glance around the room and towards the kitchen, before biting at your lip and pulling his attention towards it again.

“Sure, hang out for a minute. I’ll get them.”

Joshua starts to tell you he’ll get drinks but you let go of his hand and head towards the kitchen, where Mingyu yells your name, granting himself one of your pretty laughs. Seungcheol tilts his head with lidded eyes, letting his gaze lazily move down your legs before glancing up at his friend.

“She’s hot.” grinning, he leans his head back against the couch with a hazy smile. “If you don’t date her, I’m gonna shoot my shot. Still can’t believe you got her to show up.”

Slapping the side of Seungcheol’s head, Joshua listens to the man laugh as he leans forward to take another hit, letting out an exhale of smoke as he finally leans back on the couch. Lifting his brow in half annoyance and amusement, Joshua looks back towards the kitchen, seeing you smile at something Jeonghan was telling you. He wasn’t sure how he had managed it either.

During the week, Joshua tried to keep himself busy and on track but on the weekends, he allowed himself to enjoy everything that university life had to offer. He had good friends with cheap alcohol and decent weed. Joshua watched you snake your way back through the crowd, two drinks in your hand and a smile on your face, and Joshua realized now he had you to add to that list.

“I literally have no idea what’s in these cups. Jeonghan said it was juice and Soonyoung said it was death.” You laugh sweetly and Joshua swoons, not knowing if it was the atmosphere getting to him or you as you tilt your head and speak before you take a sip of one cup. “I like your friends, Joshua.”

Taking the other cup, Joshua takes a sip, recognizing the mixture of alcohols and various fruit juices as a Yoon Jeonghan special before making a face. You don’t seem to hold the same displeasure on your face but Joshua knows that can only mean that you might drink too much of it and regret it later, he would just have to keep an eye on you.

“Like it?”

Nodding, you tip back the drink, and Joshua’s suspicion is confirmed as you lick your lips, emptying your cup, and glancing back at the kitchen, causing him to laugh.

“Listen, there is enough alcohol in this to fuel a jet. One more and then we maybe…wander out to the hot tub.”

Glancing towards the sliding glass doors, you try to see where a hot tub might be but you aren’t able to see it from the living room, making you furrow your brows. Instead of questioning Joshua, you just laugh and tilt your head, feeling a bit shy about what you have to say next.

“You didn’t tell me to wear anything for a hot tub.”

He hadn’t. Joshua smiles, glancing down at his drink before taking a bigger gulp and nodding to your words.

“I didn’t wear anything either. We can just wear what we have... or figure it out.”

Your face was on fire but it could be the "juice.” You needed more courage to see where this was going. With your smile growing in size, you can’t help but laugh. Nodding, Joshua nods along with you before you feel your fingers slide along his before you head back towards the kitchen.

Seungcheol makes a face, trying to read what Chan was pointing at his laptop. He was trying hard to get him or Vernon to look at the screen and read what he had been writing for most of the night.

“No, ‘cause listen. If I say she breasted boobily, does that sound hot?”

Vernon blinks at his phone before looking over at the laptop and reading over the paragraph that Chan had been working on for over an hour before sighing heavily.

“I don’t know, man. It’s fanfiction. I think you can say whatever in hell you wanna say.”

Joshua furrowed his brow, a bit confused at the conversation, as he stood next to the couch. He wasn’t sure he had just witnessed as he watched Seungcheol stare blankly at the screen for a few more seconds before the man shifts his gaze back over to him and grins, seeming to remember he was there.

“Sit down, man. Hang out.”

Glancing towards the kitchen, where you were laughing at something Wonwoo was saying and back to Seungcheol, Joshua lifts his hand to scratch at his cheek before shaking his head. Seungcheol was starting to pout again and attempting to make more room on the three seater couch when Joshua shook his head.

“Maybe later.”

Patting Seungcheol on the shoulder, Joshua listens to the man whine as he walks towards the kitchen with his eyes fixed on you. Sliding his hand around your waist, Joshua feels you jump slightly, your eyes moving from Wonwoo to him as you smile.

“Hey, you weren’t coming back.”

You could feel your cheeks burning at Joshua’s attention but also the other eyes in the room as Wonwoo smirked at how jealous Joshua was acting.

“I was just talking to Wonwoo. He was telling me that you make some mean french toast apparently.”

Smiling, Joshua leans to kiss your cheek before glancing at Wonwoo and tilting his head.

“Camping stories?”

Wonwoo just grins, lifting his cup to his lips to take a sip before nodding and furrowing his brows.

“Thinking about planning another trip for the summer. Maybe Y/N will come with us this time.”

The idea of it made Joshua excited and nervous as he glanced to judge the expression on your face. You seemed intrigued as you clinged to his side, your smile once again lighting up the room.

“Sounds fun.”

It was sounding more and more like you were planning on sticking around with Joshua and his friends. Holding on to you a bit tighter, Joshua takes in a breath and gestures over his shoulder,  causing Wonwoo’s eyes to follow his hand before his friend meets his eyes again, only to smile.

“It does; hey, do you mind if I borrow the hot tub?”

A louder laugh from your right makes you smile as Mingyu slides back through the kitchen, picking up a fresh cup and pouring more of the juice into it as he shakes his head to answer Joshua’s question.

“Go for it, man. Just keep cum out of it.”

You make a face at the wording but Joshua just laughs, causing Wonwoo to meet his eyes and for Joshua to grow a bit more serious. Taking a step towards the doorway, Joshua picks up a smaller bottle, watching Wonwoo’s head tilt and his mouth start to open when he just grins and winks before turning to also pick up two shot glasses.

“Okay, got it. Hot tub is for relaxation only.”

Glancing around the backyard, you take the last sips of your drink as Joshua mutters to himself before making an “ah ha” sound. You gasp, watching strings of lights light up across the deck and into the trees near the hot tub, where Joshua stands grinning at you, looking pleased with himself.

“When it’s warmer weather, they throw outdoor parties or leave the doors open. I helped them hang up the lights.”

Joshua watches you glance around the lights, a smile on your face, before you once again look at him, causing his head to spin. He knew he was a goner when it came to you. You could tell him to jump on one leg and bark like a dog and he’d probably do it for you without many questions at this point just because you smiled at him.

Moving back towards the hot tub, Joshua whispers “tada” before showing you the smaller bottle of tequila and shot glasses he had commandeered from the kitchen. He grins as you laugh, moving in a bit closer to him to tilt your head. You watch as he sits the bottle on the side of the hot tub before he moves back in touching distance as you narrow your eyes playfully.

“And where did that come from? Just happen to keep bottles of tequila on you at all times?”

Wincing Joshua closes one eye as if he’s trying to think of something, feeling your hands sliding along his sides. Your laugh causes Joshua to smile and meet your eyes even as your fingers tug at the end of his shirt so your fingertips can brush over his bare skin just above his jeans. You had more courage and you weren’t going to let it go to waste.

“It was sitting on the counter. Wonwoo might yell at me later for taking it but all is fair at a party. Don’t have it on the counter if it's not up for grabs.”

Sucking in a breath, Joshua tilts his head as he feels your fingers sliding under his shirt along his back, lifting his shirt. You looked almost too pretty under the twinkling string lights and feeling your warm fingers running along his back as the chilly air also bit at his skin was intoxicating.

“You are killing me, Y/N.”

Laughing softly and sweetly, you trail your fingers further up his torso, making Joshua groan as he finally gives in, leaning back only enough so that he can tug his shirt up and over his head, giving you what you want. Your eyes move from his handsome face down over his toned chest and down to his stomach. You couldn't help yourself as you smiled, running your thumbs along the top of his v-cut feeling. Joshua takes in a deep breath, leaning his head back to look up at the night sky.

“You are so handsome, Josh.”

Closing his eyes, Joshua groans quietly to himself before looking back at your face as you give him that same innocent look that had been driving him crazy for two days. With his thumb and forefinger on either side of your chin, Joshua holds your face in place as he leans in to brush his lips over yours for the first time, listening to the sharp intake of breath get caught in your throat. It wasn’t a full kiss but it made you want to chase after one, and the way his fingers were holding you in place, all you could do was whine and press your nails into Joshua’s sides.

“Patience, baby.”

Plush lips caress yours and a large hand slides along your neck as Joshua finally gives into you, taking not only your breath but every thought in your head with his first kiss. You moan softly into his mouth as his other hand slides along your hip and down to grip at your ass, causing your brows to furrow.

Smiling against your lips, Joshua pecks at them once more before sliding his hand from your ass to your leg to slip your dress along your thigh as you look up at him.

“This okay? I figure you don’t want to get your dress wet. “

Nodding, you shrug out of your jacket, letting Joshua work the tight dress up your body and over your head, leaving you in your bra and panties as he works to kick off his jeans. You find yourself watching him shyly as you pick up your clothes and put them into a chair, your borrowed boots safely tucked away underneath as Joshua smirks at you.

You were stunning. You weren’t wearing anything special. There wasn’t any lace and nothing matched but it didn’t need to. It was perfect because it was you and he wanted more. He could just imagine being between your legs or kissing your breasts as he watched you move back towards him and the hot tub. Feeling your hand trembling in his as he helped you into the warm water, Joshua knew you needed a bit more time.

Taking in a deep breath, you smile as Joshua leans to press the button, causing the hot tub to start running and the jets to cause the water to bubble and roar around the two of you as he settles in near you. Steam rising from the surface, you watch him through it as he leans his head back for a moment before reaching for the bottle he had taken, cracking up the seal to pour each of you a shot, offering you one.

“To possibilities?”

Trying to hold back a laugh, you press your lips together and nod as Joshua laughs at your reaction. He knew it was a silly toast but it was what he wanted—a world full of possibilities with you. Tipping back your glass, you make a bit of a face to the taste and feeling of the burn as the alcohol runs down your throat. Joshua follows suit, letting out a breath before nodding and putting his glass back securely on the side.

You could feel that your head was lighter, your inhibitions were low as the drinks from the night had all begun to mix in your system. Joshua watches as you smile brightly, putting your glass very carefully beside his before you turn to look at him curiously.

“Truth or dare, Joshua Hong?”

Chuckling as you use his full name, Joshua moves his hand to run it along your arm as he starts to enjoy the buzzed feeling as his head tilts to your question.

“Truth.”

Biting at your lip, you can’t help but wrinkle your nose at his answer. You knew you were the same way when it came to truth or dare but you had pictured Joshua as a dare kind of guy.

“Mmkay. What was your first impression of me?”

Lifting his brows, Joshua laughs once again, realizing this was how this game was going to go. You watch as he reaches for the bottle of tequila, pouring another couple of shots, allowing you to grab your own. Hissing at the taste, Joshua narrows his eyes at you before smiling and pouring another shot a bit nervously.

“I opened the door and thought, Damn, what a pretty girl.”

Watching you smile and tilt your shot glass back, Joshua can’t help but smile as you giggle a bit to yourself. Reaching forward, Joshua wipes a bit of tequila from your chin, causing you to whine and lean into his touch.

“And I still think that, ‘cause you are so fucking pretty. Truth or dare.”

Feeling almost too warm, you lift out of the water a bit, only shifting yourself closer to Joshua, who takes a deep breath when your chest lifts from the water briefly. Moving his eyes from your breasts to your face, Joshua presses his lips together when he feels you almost sit on his lap as you purse your lips, thinking hard before speaking.

“I’ll pick truth too.”

Turning your attention back to Joshua, you are almost surprised to see him so close. Starting to apologize, you laugh, feeling Joshua’s hand slide around your hip to your back to keep you in place.

“You’re fine, right where you are. In fact…”

Sliding his legs apart, Joshua watches as you dip your chin under the water, feeling him shift his leg under your ass so that you can rest comfortably on his lap.

“Now…I’m curious what’s on your mind right now. So that’s my question. Tell me what you are thinking.”

Flexing your fingers, you try to figure out where to put them but feeling Joshua’s fingers sliding along the top of your panties at the small of your back, you can’t help but whine before resting your arm around his neck and your other hand against his chest. The feeling of being close to Joshua comes naturally, and you start to feel thankful for the water surrounding you, knowing that you were becoming aroused from even just sitting on his lap.

“Right now? Um…lots of things.”

Joshua grins, his free hand daring to caress your leg under the water, feeling your legs part instinctively for him even though he doesn’t do more than run his thumb along your inner thigh.

“Yeah? Tell me three of them.”

Sighing, you furrow your brows and shift on his leg, causing Joshua to rub his lips together at the feeling. He liked this too much, having you this close to him. Feeling your body press up against his and having your fingers walk along your skin as you thought of your answer.

“I was thinking about the camping trip and how that might be nice.”

Joshua smirks as you seem to stall in telling him anything he might actually want to know. It wasn’t that he disagreed with the sentiment; it was that he knew you had more on your mind. Nodding, he watches as you smile and avoids his eyes, letting your voice drop in volume so that you can barely be heard over the roar of the jets.

“And I was thinking about when you kissed me. About how I wanted you to–to do that again.”

Grinning, Joshua lets his eyes move to your lips and back up to your eyes as you stumble over your words. Leaning forward, he rests his lips against yours without applying pressure as you whine his name, pressing your fingers against his chest.

“One more, Y/N.”

You couldn’t think like this, not with Joshua’s lips hovering over yours and his breath warm against your face. Closing your eyes, you try to let yourself melt into his touch, enjoying the feeling of his fingers moving over your skin as you finally answer him.

“Just want you to fuck me. That’s what’s on my mind.”

Joshua’s lips press against yours firmly, his hand sliding from your thigh to your waist to pull you towards him tightly. He wasn’t being careful anymore, not when he knew what you wanted. Groaning into your mouth, Joshua furrows his brows, feeling you adjust your legs over his so that you are straddling him and are able to roll your hips down to grind over his hardening length.

“Fuck…” The word is drawn out on a breath when Joshua pulls back from kissing you to lean his head back at the feeling of your hips rolling over him. “Baby, that feels good. Feels too good.”

He was calling you baby again and your head was spinning. You smile, leaning to press a kiss to the column of Joshua’s throat when it’s exposed to you, drawing another groan out of the man’s mouth. Hands tighten on your ass and Joshua laughs out your name in disbelief, moving his head so he can meet your eyes.

“You are gonna make me break my promise about cum in the hot tub.”

Fingers dig into your skin under the elastic of your panties as Joshua takes a deep breath, calming down before he nods and glances over his shoulder towards a door, considering his next action.

“We are going in there. I wouldn’t wanna fuck you in here anyway. I wanna take my time with you.”

Biting at your lips, you laugh softly, sliding off Joshua’s lap as he stands and helps you do the same. You furrow your brows once you are safely back on the patio, feeling the cold air biting at your skin while watching Joshua collect your clothing and his own.

“What room is that? Should I get dressed?”

Leaning to kiss your shoulder, Joshua grins against your skin, shaking his head as he shivers just as much as you from the cold air. You feel him usher you towards the door, letting you open it, happy to find it unlocked.

“It’s Wonwoo’s room. We are just gonna…you know, borrow it.”

Blinking a few times in the dark as Joshua trips over a few things, muttering to himself before he finds a lamp, you smile, finally able to look around as he moves to the other door, locking it.

“And Wonwoo won’t mind if we borrow his room?”

Joshua drops the last of the clothes onto the floor before moving back over to you and sliding his hands up your wet back towards your bra clasp as he shakes his head. You can’t help but laugh as Joshua mutters about Wonwoo's understanding needs. You knew it was a weak argument but you weren’t going to go against it.

Running your fingers through his hair, you moan Joshua’s name as you feel his fingers tug at the straps of your bra, freeing your body from the garment. The room was much warmer than it had been outside but chillbumps were still spreading across your skin.

“You are so fucking beautiful.”

Joshua shakes his head mostly in disbelief at himself thinking about how you had been living on the same floor as him just five doors down all this time and he had clearly been an idiot or blind. Scratching his nails along the back of your arms, Joshua leans down to kiss the top of each of your breasts with a low groan to the soft feeling of your skin against his lips. He was already addicted to you and he had barely had a taste.

“Please…Josh–ah…don’t tease me.”

Smiling against your nipple, Joshua lifts your right breast, kneading at the soft mound before taking the bud into his mouth and sucking hard, feeling you arch against his mouth. Walking backwards, you hear Joshua whine, feeling you start to pull from him, causing him to have to hold on to your waist to keep your breast in his mouth. You don’t stop walking until you feel the bed behind your knees and you whisper to Joshua that you need to lay down.

“Mm, okay, wait. Don’t get the bed wet.”

You smile as Joshua moves to one knee, sliding his hands up your thighs and finally to your hips to tug your panties down your legs. Closing your eyes, you take a breath, letting it out slowly, feeling his lips move over your thighs until his hands reach your ankles.

“Lay down, baby.”

Helping you down, Joshua tilts his head, taking in every inch of your body as he feels his cock throb jerk behind his boxers. You were perfect in every single way. He wasn’t even sure what he wanted first. Lifting his hand, Joshua runs his hand over his mouth as your hand barely traces the curve of his shaft as you wait for him with a questioning look on your face.

“Just trying to think where Wonwoo might keep his condoms.”

When you smile, a quiet laugh falls from your lips. Joshua can’t help but mimic your smile, sliding his fingers into the top of his boxers and working them down his hips as you watch. Your brows lifting, you take in a breath before licking your lips, obviously hungry for what was in front of you, watching his cock bounce back up at attention as his boxers fall to the floor.

“I…I’m good. I have an IUD and I get tested. Unless you just want one.”

Taking a deep breath, Joshua takes one more long look at your body before focusing on your pretty face and shivering at the idea of having you raw. There was no way he was going to say no to that.

“Okay…No, I’m good. I get tested too…  Fuck, are you sure?”

Nodding, you lift your hand out for Joshua as he rests his knee between your legs, feeling the wet warmth of your pussy against his thigh. Lacing his fingers with yours, Joshua pins your hand to the bed next to your head as he lays over you, smiling against your lips and feeling your hips roll over his thigh.

“You are so wet, baby.” You whimper against Joshua’s lips, his teeth catching your bottom lip and dragging it out just slightly before he lets go with a groan. “I wanna eat you out so fucking bad but I also wanna fuck this mouth…”

Gripping his bicep hard, you dig your nails into his skin hard enough to leave small half moon divots, causing Joshua to hiss at your reaction to his words. Smirking, he presses kisses on your jaw up to your ear, speaking against it causing chillbumps to once again spread across your skin.

“You like that? When I talk dirty to you? Tell you what I wanna do to you.”

Nodding, you bury your face against Joshua’s hair, feeling embarrassed as he laughs and presses kisses on your neck. Leaning back on his elbow, Joshua looks down at you, watching you try to hide from him until he pulls his hand from yours to turn your face back towards him so he can run his thumb over your lips, causing him to groan quietly. He knew what he wanted.

Laying in the middle of the bed on his back, Joshua smirks at you as you sit back on your feet, watching him get comfortable. You smile as he slides the pillow from under his head and lifts his hands, beckoning you towards him, only to tell you to stop when you start to crawl on top of him.

“Uh huh…  I want you on my face; let me see your ass.”

His hand slides along your leg as you whine, unsure, but Joshua just nods and helps you get in position with your knees on either side of his face as you rest your hands on his chest. Running his hands along the back of your legs up to your ass, Joshua groans at all he can see in front of him before he grips your hips and pulls your pussy down to his mouth, running his tongue flat against you to get his first taste.

You gasp loudly, your nails digging into his chest, feeling his tongue running along your folds and pressing into your entrance for just a taste of the arousal that had already dripped from you. Leaning your head forward, you find yourself sliding your hips back and down over Joshua’s face and closer to his tongue as he groans, lapping at your clit, before sucking hard and making you cry out his name.

With each passing moment, you find yourself sliding further and further down Joshua’s body until you realize you could give him exactly what he wanted. Wrapping your hand around Joshua’s cock, you twist your hand and feel him pause between your legs, his fingers pulling you back towards his face as he lifts his head up to suck your soft folds into his mouth.

“Josh…fuck. Oh my god…  I’m getting so close. I want your cock, okay?”

You couldn’t hear what Joshua was saying as he groaned against your pussy; he was too far gone and too drunk to care but anything you wanted was yours. The moment you wrap your lips around his tip, Joshua has to let his head fall back and take a deep breath as he mutters your name.

A warm, wet mouth envelopes him as your tongue presses against the underside of his cock right up until the point that you can’t take a single centimeter more of Joshua before you pull back with a gasp. Tears start to run down your face even as you smile, feeling Joshua’s fingers parting your folds so his tongue can get right back to work, driving you closer and closer to your orgasm that was right on the cusp.

With Joshua’s cock buried in your mouth once again, you moan around him, only pulling back when you feel the overwhelming pressure take over you as your orgasm rips through your body. Resting your forehead against Joshua’s stomach, you whimper his name as your thighs shake almost violently at the feeling of his fingers slowly sliding from your tight walls and along each side of your clit.

Large hands run along your thighs and up over your back as Joshua tries to soothe you before finally managing to move you to his side so he can pull you into his arms and press his lips to yours. You furrow your brows to the taste of yourself on his lips but smile at the feeling of his hand gliding along your skin to your thigh, pulling your leg across his hip to keep you close to him.

“You okay?”

Nodding, you rub your lips together and laugh under your breath, feeling Joshua’s nose nudge against yours before he kisses you softly once more. You felt like jelly but you felt good. You wanted more. You needed him completely and you knew that he still needed more.

Joshua hums against your cheek, feeling your hand slide along his stomach and down towards his cock, resting against his lower abdomen. Your smaller hand felt good and your mouth had felt even better but he had felt your pussy around his fingers and on his tongue and he was craving it on his cock now. Kissing your cheek, Joshua smiles against your skin while dragging his nails along your thigh as you lazily stroke him and speak just above a whisper.

“Fuck me, Joshua.”

You feel him nudge his nose against your cheek as he rolls you on to your back, moving his body between your legs. You knew he was a large man but underneath him, you felt even smaller and vulnerable in the best ways. Arching your back, you moan softly, letting Joshua slide your leg once more along his up to his hip, causing your wet folds to separate once again.

“I was planning on it.”

Joshua sucks in a breath, watching your eyes close on a silent moan as he slowly works his cock into you for the first time. You were tight and the stretch was evident on your face. Your brows furrowed tightly, and you took a deep breath only when Joshua bottomed out and stopped to allow you time to adjust.

Resting his lips against your shoulder, Joshua groans, trying not to think about how tightly you are squeezing him or how much he already wants to cum as you scratch his back. Instead, he just takes a deep breath and turns his head towards you to make sure you are okay. You blink tears from your eyes at how good the stretch feels and nod to Joshua’s words, begging him to move, lifting your hips in order to get him to do something.

“Shh, fuck baby. I’m–shit…okay. I was gonna go slow.”

Shaking your head, you run your fingers through the back of Joshua’s damp hair at the nape of his neck, pulling his lips back to yours as you speak between kisses, feeling his hips finally meeting yours and sending your head towards the headboard with each deep thrust.

“No, I want it. Feels so fucking good. Please, Joshua.”

You were going to be the death of him. Hissing out a groan on your lips, Joshua moves to rest his forehead against yours as he gives you what you want and thrusts into you hard and fast, making you cry out his name. The sound of the music from the party was still loud enough to keep him from wondering if anyone might hear you but at this point, his pride was starting to hope maybe someone would. He wanted them to know how good he was making you feel.

“Yes–ha…fuck! Josh–”

Joshua had fucked other girls and had them scream his name but no one else had made his head swell and spin like you did. Every time you said his name, Joshua felt like he was floating.  He felt like he was sending you to the moon every single time he buried his cock in you. Even if that wasn’t how you felt, he knew that you felt like heaven and he could die happy after being between your legs and in your arms.

Feeling your walls tighten around him, Joshua groans your name, burying his face into the crook of your neck. He could tell you were getting close just from the way you were squeezing his cock but you were also pushing him over the edge. He had been skirting it and doing his best not to let go too quickly but with one last scratch of your nails along his back and a soft moan from your lips, Joshua’s body shakes as, with each thrust, he pushes his cum back into you.

“Please…” You listen to Joshua’s whine into a moan as he leans back to watch his cum drip out of you with each thrust. “Cum for me?”

Feeling his thumb press against your clit, rubbing small circles against the swollen bundle of nerves, you cry out Joshua’s name as your thighs begin to shake when he sends you back over the edge, spiraling into your orgasm once again. Joshua licks his lips, watching your face this time as you cum, his eyes fixated on your lips and how they fall open when you moan so loudly that he’s certain someone had to have heard you.

Carefully slipping from you, Joshua lays on top of you, enjoying the feeling of your fingers running through his hair as he catches his breath. He could hear your heart racing and how it was steadily starting to calm down as the minutes passed. He could hear your breath evening out and he could feel the dampness of your skin against his cheek.

“I need a shower. Fuck…”

Your laugh makes Joshua smile against your chest before he leans back to look up at you, leaning to press his lips to yours once and then again furrowing his brows. You could see the question on his face and feel his apprehension as he took a breath.

“I–yeah. Same. Are you wanting to leave? I can take you back to your dorm. I – cause you know this was fun. I’d like to see you again. You know more often...”

Smiling, you lift your hand to run your thumb along Joshua’s jaw as he stumbles through his words. You knew he was a smart man and by all standards, he ran with a pretty popular crowd at the university, yet he was acting like some high school boy with a crush after fucking you into the mattress.

“Yeah? That mean you wanna date me, Joshua Hong?”

Joshua’s lips pull up into a smile at your words before he lays his face flat against your breasts, realizing how stupid he must have sounded for you to have to even ask that. Of course, he wanted to date you. This was the most cliche thing he could have done but he wanted you. Lifting his head, Joshua nods and sighs, gaining back some of his confidence.

“Yeah, hell yeah. I wanna date you. Wanna take you out as much as possible and keep you in my bed the rest of the time.”

Laughing, you shake your head, feeling your cheeks warm at Joshua’s words this time. It all sounded perfect but there were a few hiccups in his plan.

“Mm, I accept, however...  I don’t think Chan would want me in your bed that often.”

Scoffing, Joshua starts to lean up on his elbow, ready to explain just where Chan can shove his opinion, when a loud knock at the door startles you both, causing you to gasp. Wonwoo narrows his eyes at his bedroom door, trying the knob once again, only to groan.

“Who the fuck–Shua! Are you fucking in my bedroom?”

Widening his eyes almost dramatically, you watch Joshua hold back a laugh as he slips out of bed and starts tossing you some of your clothes as he slips his own on.

“Of course I am. I appreciate your donation to the cause, Wonwoo.”

Another loud fist to the door makes you stifle a laugh as Wonwoo groans in frustration, leaning his forehead against the door.

“You son of a bitch. First you stole my good tequila and now you fuck in my bed. You owe me liquor and sheets. I am going to kick your ass!”

Pointing at the door that the two of you had used to come into Wonwoo’s room, Joshua whispers for you to sneak out that way as he carefully unlocks the other door and tiptoes towards you.

“Yeah yeah…  You know I’m good for it, man!”

Slipping out the door, you squeal when the other door opens and Wonwoo yells Joshua’s name, only for Joshua to slam the other and grab your hand, telling you to run. With a smile on your face, you keep up with him as he helps you weave through the side yard and out onto the street that you had taken to get to the party. Pulling you into his arms, Joshua laughs as you do, glancing back to make sure Wonwoo wasn’t following you, only to hear his phone go off with a barrage of texts.

Wonwoo: I will fucking kill you.

Wonwoo: You are dead to me.

Wonwoo: I hope she is at least dating you now, asshole

Wonwoo: You are literally disgusting and I hate you

Joshua runs his thumb over the screen with a smirk as he catches his breath before holding his phone up to get a good angle of you both. Leaning in, he kisses you softly as he takes a few pictures, a smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

Shua: [pictures attached]

Shua: Maybe I’ll put a ring on it too.

Wonwoo: 🤢

© onlymingyus - all rights reserved. Reposting/modifying of any fic, or pieces of original writings posted on this blog is not allowed. Translations not allowed

[loomiseater]

Quicke

warnings: smut ofc!, handcuffs, public sex, breeding kink if u squint, and first person.

Criticism is appreciated! I would love to know how I can improve on my writing.

A/N: I did not proofread this shit💀.

Tim Bradford x fem!reader

request page

masterlist

Written: September 2nd, 2023

Published: June 15th, 2024

Summary: Your husband wants a quickie.

Wc: 697

“Just a quickie, please baby?” He whined while dragging me into the bathroom. “No you have to do your work and I don’t wanna interrupt that” I explained trying to get away but he pushed me back to the counter. “Patrol can wait. I’m stressed and I need my wife’s pussy to calm me down” he said as I let out a laugh. “You are so unserious” I said as he rolled his eyes.

“And why would you wear a sundress? You know I can’t control myself whenever you wear those” he said while gripping my ass as I tried to hold in my moans. “You gonna let me get a nut or what?” He asked as I sighed and rolled my eyes.

“Fine” I said as he excitedly turned me around. He pulled my dress up and slapped my ass as I squealed. “Babe that hurt!” I complained. “No panties?” He asked while gripping my hair. “You gonna arrest me officer Bradford?” I teasingly asked as put the handcuffs on me.

“I’m gonna do more than that” he said while taking his belt off and pulling his pants down. “I love when you fuck me in your uniform” I said. “Oh yeah?” He asked while giving me a smirk. He shoved himself in me with no warning as covered my mouth with his hands. “Fuck you feel so good” he moaned as he was pounding into me. All you heard was the sounds of our skin clapping and Tim grunting here and there. “Your dick is too big!” I whispered yelled as he chuckled.

“I know baby but you can take it” he said as he angled his thrusts deeper. “Yes!” I shouted as he slapped my ass and started thrusting into me even faster. “Shut the hell up you’re gonna get us caught!” He said into my ear. “Fuckkk baby” I moaned as my eyes rolled to the back of my head. “Mhhhm you’d look so sexy carrying my kids” he said as I felt him twitch inside of me signaling that he was close.

“Yeah? Fill my pussy up with your cum daddy” I said as he started grabbing my boobs while sloppily thrusting into me. I started fucking him back as he was trying to catch himself. “I wanna have all your kids officer Bradford” I said as I felt him cum inside of me. “Fuck I’m cumming” he moaned as his warm seed was dripping out of me. As he was coming down from his high he snaked his hands around the front of my waist and started rubbing my clit. “Timmmmm!” I moaned. “What baby?” He asked while sucking on my neck.

“I’m gonna cum” I said as I felt that feeling in my lower stomach. He unhand cuffed me as turned me around and got on his knees as he started lapping um my juices. “Shit!” I squealed as I was rubbing the back of his head. He pulled away and said “I’m gonna milk this pretty pussy” he said as he attached his mouth on my clit. The feeling was amazing. I pushed his head deeper as I felt his nose touching my clit and him sloppily eating me out.

I lost it and came all over his face. “There you go mamas, such a good girl” he said while rubbing my pussy as I squirted on his face and he was enjoying it. He was still eating me out as I was squirting. My whole body was shaking due to the euphoric feeling. He placed one last kiss on my clit and stood up and sloppily kissed me as I could taste me juices on his lips. “You should taste yourself more often” he said as I giggled.

“Tonight..I’m gonna run you hot a bath” I started while rubbing his shoulders as he hummed “Then I’m gonna cook you dinner and after that you’re in charge for the rest of the night” I said. “I like the sound of that” he said while smirking.

“You better be prepared because I’m gonna fuck this pussy all night” he said while placing a kiss on the top of my boobs.

[smoothies-are-cool]

scott street

boyfriend! chris sturniolo x reader

summary: subscribers are convinced chris and his girlfriend broke up so they start making sad edits.

warnings: swearing, kissing, pet names (baby, ma, mama), mentions of y/n.

a/n: randomly got this idea, enjoy and please please read the author’s note at the end !! <3

november 1, 2020

halloween vlog with mom and y/n

“okay so, we have another special guest for todays video. chris’ girlfriend y/n!” nick exclaims as chris’ hand wraps around y/n from behind and rests on her stomach. y/n just smiles and waves at the camera.

february 12, 2021

guess the triplet by zoomed in pictures !!!

“chris wants to see if y/n can get some right so she’s gonna just go for fun.” matt explains as y/n moves to sit in front of the camera. chris stands behind her.

“alright.” nick says, turning his phone around to show a picture of someone’s hair. y/n squints her eyes to try and see the picture.

after a few seconds she giggles. “matt.”

“correct. next one.” nick smiles, swiping to the next picture.

the next picture showed an arm but in the corner of the picture you could see a little bit of a red t-shirt.

she immediately gasps. “chris! that’s chris.”

“how did you get that!” chris asks, his mouth open slightly.

“the red shirt. that was our first date and our first picture.” she tells him, looking up at him from her chair.

“well it’s safe to say y/n can tell us apart.” nick says, grabbing the camera.

june 25, 2021

baking pizza blindfolded with chris

“chris!” y/n giggles as chris starts playing with the flour on the counter.

“what baby?” he asks, laughing as well.

“stop playing with the flour.” she tells him as matt stands on the other side of chris.

march 4, 2024

sturniololvr

liked by 43,929

sturniololvr - i miss them.

12,741 comments

user - the last video she was in was the everyone relax video 😔

march 6, 2024

y/n ❤️:

*attachment one video*

this one has a little kick to it

chris baby 🫶:

y/n/n please stop sending me break up edits of us we’re literally still together.

y/n ❤️:

IM SORRY BABY BUT THEYRE LITERALLY EVERYWHERE

may 17, 2023

“chris can we talk?” y/n asks. chris’ mind immediately starts running millions of miles a minute. he thought she was breaking up with him.

“no!” he quickly exclaims. y/n gasps, realizing what was going through his mind.

“no baby i’m not breaking up with you.” she tells him.

“oh okay then yes we can talk.” he nods, walking closer to her, their chests almost touching.

“is it okay if i’m not really in the videos anymore? i really love being in them with you guys but the fans have gotten to be too much. i’ve tried to ignore them.” she tells him softly. chris’ face softens.

“of course, yeah. i’ll tell nick and matt in the morning.” chris nods softly.

“i’m sor-“ she begins to apologize.

“don’t even think about apologizing. i understand and i know that nick and matt will understand too. c’mere.” he says, pulling her into him.

march 13, 2024

chris makes matt and nick his favorite meal

“chris do you think i could be in today’s video? even for just like a second. i don’t like people thinking that we broke up.” y/n asks softly, just before the triplets were about to film a wednesday video.

“yeah mama, you’re always allowed in a video.” chris nods, a smile on his face.

“y/n come get your plate!” chris smiles at his girlfriend who was sitting in the living room. a happy smile spreads on her face as she walks into the view of the camera to grab the plate out of chris’ hand.

“thank you.” she smiles, quickly pecking his lips before walking back to the living room. she would usually eat at the table but the boys were currently using the table.

a smile stayed on y/n’s face as she scrolled through all the comments the newest video.

user - Y/N BABY

user - i can die happily knowing they’re still together

user - y’all are crazy

user - i missed her 😕😕

user - FAVVVVVV COUPLE THEYRE SO CUTE

a/n: hey guys !! sorry for being so inactive, this year has been so so crazy. for starters, i lost my great grandmother january first, and then i lost my great grandfather on february twenty third. a few months later, my older brother attempted and was put into a hospital, and now my grandfather has cancer that spread to his lungs and brain. on top of everything, i’ve been preparing for my aunt’s wedding (i’m a bridesmaid) and everything has been super stressful. i wanted to post something and let you guys know that i’ll be taking a break to take time for myself and to spend time with my family. i’ll still be lurking around on the app, commenting, reblogging, etc, i just won’t be posting any fics for a little while.

i hope you can all understand and i love you all <3 <3 <3

[rubyvhs]

you could be bad ch1 | dean winchester

SUMMARY. a wrong number has you winded for an entire month NOTES. okay guys, here’s my little baby, so excited for this. covers my ‘mistaken identity’ square for @jacklesversebingo TAGS. 1.5k words, angst, death. Series masterlist

june 

unkown: hey, i’m waiting outside.

you: great let me just get dressed

and ask what the fuck you’re doing outside my apartment

unknown: jo?

you: nop.

unknown: shit i got the wrong number.

sorry, total accident.

i am definitely not outside your apartment.

you: i would sure hope so.

and i also hope you find your jo friend’s number since you seem to be really great at keeping track of them!!

unknown: haha, very funny.

i guess this is an old burner phone or something, i don’t know how i messed that up.

you: okay well

keep me posted on your date anyway.

unknown: how’d you know it was a date? 

and why would you wanna talk to me again? this is breaking every rule for cybersecurity ever created.

you: i like living on the edge

also you kinda just give off those vibes 

unknown: i give off ‘date’ vibes?

you: yep. go get ‘em, tiger!

unknown: sammy, whrs my car

i swr to god if you don’t get me baby m gonna kill u

you: hi again

i am, in fact, not sammy. nor jo. 

you: did you die?

unknown: i should’ve guessed

sorry again, texting while driving isn’t a good idea

you: yeah it isn’t. you almost gave me a heart attack.

unknown: you don’t even know me.

you: i still don’t want you dead

unknown: how would you know? what if i was a really bad person?

you: … are you?

unknown: idk. i guess it depends on what you consider bad.

you: murder. i consider murder bad. 

unknown: then nah, haven’t reached that level.

you: then you’re an okay person, everything else can be looked past. 

so as i was saying, don’t fucking die.

also, how was your date?

unknown: so great that i was texting my brother on the way home hours early

you: sammy’s your brother?

unknown: sam but yes.

you: what happened?

unknown: there was an emergency with her mum so i drove her back to the bar. her mother wasn’t too happy to find out i’m the guy she was out with.

you: oh, that sucks. does that mean you’re not that good of a person? 

no offense lol

unknown: none taken, kinda true. i don’t think i’m tradition ‘take home to the family’ guy.

you: you’re a guy??

unknown: are you not a woman?

you: yeah, i am. wow, we’re learning so much about each other. next tell me what color shoes you’re wearing.

unknown: you’re funny

you: i can do stand up comedy if i try, obviously i don’t try though.

unknown: ah, of course, why would you.

wait, sammy responded.

you: go get ’baby’! 

cat? mother? sister? best friend? (i hope it isn’t a girlfriend) 

unknown: car.

and i’m on my way there.

dean, by the way.

you: dean?

unknown: my name. 

what’s yours?

you: i think a quick look at truecaller can do the trick. night, dean!

dean: gt door

you: now it’s just ridiculous.

it’s been three days since you last spoke to me and the first thing you ask is for me to get the door. i never took you for the rude type.

dean: sorry, just woke up.

you: ehh, don’t have to be. i’m actually super awake anyway.

why are you asleep? it’s nine.

dean: stayed up late last night.

going back to sleep.

you: night, dean!

dean: night.

dean: [1 attachment]

[ image description : a tanned hand holding onto a half eaten pack of cayenne beef jerky, with his shoes in the background. It looks like he’s in his car. on the top right corner of the picture there’s some handwritten text, very hard to read but roughly says ‘dnt frgt, bitch’. ]

you: be honest.

do you just not check your contact ever? 

go eenie meenie miney mo and press send? i won’t be mad, i just want the truth.

dean: shit shit shit.

i have no idea how this keeps happening.

you: it’s okay, i don’t mind.

dean: you don’t?

you: i’m actually very very bored right now so yes, i don’t mind. work is kicking my ass so thanks for the distraction.

dean: work?

you: yep! i sadly have rent. pa at my old uni.

dean: that’s fun

how old are you?

you: how old are YOU?

dean: yeah you might need to answer first.

you: no way

dean: fine, whatever. 36.

you: hi grandpa.

i’m twenty six.

dean: you’re only ten years younger.

you: and yet i’m wiser.

dean: now that’s just not true.

you: and how would you know? i’m very wise, ask any of my friends.

dean: and how many friends do you have?

you: so many.

like a whole 2.

dean: wow. impressive.

you: okay mr. stranger. how many friends do you have then?

and i’m not talking like people you like to have around i’m talking FRIENDS.

dean: two.

but i’m older, circle of friends thins with age, you’re still young.

you: honestly not that much younger, but yeah, i don’t know. mostly still have my sister though so that’s what’s matters. 

dean: yeah, i get that. 

you: you’re close with your brother?

dean: yes, we work together.

you: really? that’s so cool! my sister’s like four years younger than me so as much as i would kill to work with her, we’re not at the same level.

dean: sam’s four years younger than me too. but there isn’t much of a difference between us. at a certain age it’s all just the same.

you: i totally get what you’re saying.

okay, dean i need to go because said sister is screaming at me, but!! if i ever see you texting me cause of a wrong number situation again i will get so angry, okay?

dean: yes ma’am.

you: whatever, stupid.

dean: hey, saw your number in bobby’s phone today. you’re a hunter?

you: a what?

dean: you don’t have to pretend, i’m a hunter too. i know why you didn’t tell me but i would’ve though you heard of me.

you: okay… why? are you popular? notorious? i’ve never heard of you before you texted me, dean.

and how do you even know bobby?

dean: how do you know him?

you: a friend of a friend. and bobby’s a mechanic, what the hell is he doing with a hunter.

dean: sorry, i think it got it wrong. he used to hunt with my dad and i do it professionally now. but i would’ve thought you heard about my dad, i meant. him and bobby used to be close.

you: who’s your dad?

dean: john winchester.

you: never heard of him. i’ve heard of dean winchester though. 

dean: really?

you: yes. i mean there’s like a thousand deans so i didn’t wanna assume but bobby used to talk about you and sam. he’s always doing something for the two of you. 

dean: we hunt lots of wild animals, we usually need his help.

you: right. because bobby’s the most flexible person on the planet.

dean: research wise. we need him research wise. 

you: okay. what were you doing there? and why’d you just assume i hunt too? i already told you i’m a pa.

dean: i don’t know, i just assumed. me and sammy went to pick up some stuff for another hunt we’re going on next week.

you: in a few days?

dean: yeah, on monday.

you: be careful please.

and have fun, i guess. mostly be careful.

dean: we will. tell bobby i say hi when you see him next time.

you: will do. and i’ll also ask for baby pictures. 

dean: ha ha

you: isn’t it the craziest coincidence that you texted me? what’s that about? what are the odds we end up having a mutual friend?

dean: I know a lot of people, it’s not that crazy to me.

night.

you: night, dean.

you: [1 attachment]

[ image description : a stray cat sitting on your lap, her head snuggled into your shirt, your hand stroking her fur, the new pink nail set obvious on your manicured hand. under the cat is your mini skirt with see through tights. ]

dean: new leggings?

you: you asshole

isn’t she so cute?

dean: someone’s cute alright

you: not funny

you lost pic privileges.

also you’re working? and texting? 

when will you ever learn, dean.

dean: how about never? 

besides, you worry too much, i’m more than okay. 

you: tell sam hi for me and to keep an eye out for you because you’re going to get yourself eaten

dean: eaten?

you: wild animals are no joke.

dean: oh yeah, that’s what i heard too.

thank god i have you to tell sammy to take care of me.

you: take care please.

dean: don’t doubt it.

dean: i think you’re asleep.

that would probably make a lot of sense cause it’s three in the morning

but i guess i needed to talk to you

you: me?

dean: hey why are you awake?

you: cause i have insomnia 

why are you awake?

dean: just got home

do you actually?

you: no, just drank too much redbull trying to finish correcting these stupid papers. tell me what you wanted to talk about.

dean: yeah but i thought you’d be asleep

you: would it be better if i shut my phone off and wait for you to finish before i read it?

dean: no it’s fine

but you’re sweet for offering, angel

you: thank you

or whatever

dean: yeah, so you wanna hear it or not?

you: yes please

dean: remember jo?

you: your girlfriend?

dean: we tried going on one date but her mum didn’t approve and honestly i think she only liked me because of the whole off limits thing. she’s a great girl but our dads had problems so maybe it translated to how she viewed me. i’m not sure, i just know she’s gone now.

you: so you guys were together? ever since you texted me thinking i’m her?

dean: yeah. not together together, but i went out with her. i tried giving her what she wants but her mother is so hell bent on making her hate me and i don’t wanna bridge a gap between them. she’s her mother.

you: right because mums are the most important people in the world.

dean: i loved my mum.

i still think about her everyday.

you: oh dean, i’m so sorry. 

dean: it’s fine. anyway, how was your day?

you: was okay. i’ll go to sleep. good night, dean. 

dean: oh, night.

dean: ha, sam says he saw you at bobby’s

for the love of my impala tell me that it isn’t true. my baby brother could not have seen you before i did.

you: yeah, i met him. he’s really nice. told me about your contractor job. seemed really interesting. also told me about how you talked about me, mentioned that my name came up when you were asking for help with your car. apparently i’m a mechanic now.

dean: fuck, angel.

i’m sorry.

you: no problem at all.

dean: look i can explain everything. i promise.

you: no thanks

join my taglist. @daylighted @starrylanex @losers-clvb

[fandomgirlz01]

You Matter Most  Pt. 2

Evan “Buck” Buckley X Reader

Imagine on my fandom Instagram?: No  

Prompt or Request or Requested Prompt?: No

Style of Writing: Mini Series  

Edited: Yes

Word count:  5,635

Post Date & Time: June 6th 2024 at 12:31 AM

Ko-fi

Masterlist

Warnings here

You can listen to the story be read out loud here.

Summary: {Based off of S6 E18 Pay it Forward} When a series of freeway accidents lead to a big catastrophe, Buck must worry for his team as he rushes to help them all before it only leads to  an even bigger disaster. All while working on helping his team he worries mostly for his best friend who’s unconscious for most of it. 

Buck’s Pov:

We watch the van as it shifts for a few minutes before it starts to wiggle out of its spot. 

“Get back! Get back!” I yell out to everyone and soon everybody rushes to get out of the way. 

Hen groans as me and Eddie quickly push her away. The van now starts to roll and it rolls a full 360 before landing on the ground, making dust fly up around all of us as we all duck for cover. When we are clear of anything hitting us, me, Eddie and Hen all stop to turn and look at it. The ambulance shifts around now that the van isn’t holding it up and it’s only held by the rope I had tied to it. We all helplessly watch as the back doors fly open and Chimney comes flying out. He quickly grabs onto the back of it and hangs there, trying not to let go. 

“Chim!” Hen screams out in fear as she and Eddie take a step forward. 

“Hey, Chim! Chim, hang on!” I quickly call out from behind Hen and Eddie as I race back to the wreckage. 

“Hang on! Hang on, Chim,” I call out as I run through all the dust and cars. 

I quickly climb back up to where he is and I can hear him groaning as I do. He continues to hold onto the back of the ambulance as I grab the rope beside him and quickly jump over to him. 

“I got him. I got him,” I call out when I’m with him. 

I grab onto him and together we both climb to the side and away from the ambulance. Slowly, I start to scale down with him as he continues to groan out in pain. Soon we make it to the bottom and we turn around when we hear more sirens from other trucks. Chimney and I both sigh out in relief at the sound. 

“Dispatch. I’ve got firefighter Han, going back for firefighter Maysen now,” I use my radio to let Maddie know Chimney is okay. 

“Copy that,” Maddie replies over the radio, making me and Chimney smile at each other. 

“I got him! Come on!” I yell out as I pick him up and rush him over to the other paramedics. 

“All right. Let us though,” the other paramedics call out as they meet us in the middle with a gurney that I set Chimney on. 

“I think we’re gonna need a new gurney,” Chimney jokes as Hen comes up next to him. 

We all laugh as Hen and the others quickly assess him and get his wound wrapped up. He turns to me and pushes my hand away. 

“Go get her. I’ve got Hen. Firecracker needs her best friend. Go,” he tells me and I smile at the nickname all of us use for her. 

“Okay,” I finally agree, nodding before quickly heading back for the rope again. 

“Ravi, I’m going to need you to send down the band saw once I get to y/n. Can you do that?” I ask into my radio and pause as I continue to climb. 

“Yeah. You got it. Just let me know when,” he replies over the radio. 

I climb for a few more minutes before getting closer to the slab. I go to pull myself up onto it, but it shifts so I stop for a moment. Once it settles, I try again more carefully and finally I’m right next to y/n. I stay on my knees in hopes of not being too much weight and take in a deep breath at how bad it actually is. Once I’m more calm, I start to move the ruble away from her. 

“Ok, Ravi, send the bandsaw down,” I command through my radio. 

It takes a few minutes, but soon the bandsaw that’s connected to a rope is next to me. I quickly grab it and start to saw the rebar as close as I can to the cement underneath her. 

“Hen, do I pull her off or do I keep her attached?” I ask through my radio. 

“Is there a lot of blood?” she asks me back though the radio and I gulp before pressing down on the button again. 

“There’s a fair amount,” I push out my words as my throat starts to feel tighter.  

“Then yes, keep her connected. They’ll have to remove it at the hospital,” she replies through the radio again and I nod even though she can’t see me. 

I quickly saw as fast as possible while trying to keep it away from her skin. It takes a good few minutes of sawing back and forth at the rebar, but soon it comes apart. I can’t help but be thankful that the rebar wasn’t incredibly thick. With one last sigh, I throw the saw aside before gently moving her to the best position that I can. 

Next, I jump lightly off the slab while a couple other firefighters from the 256 come over. They take her from me as I carefully try to move her down by myself, cooing softly into her ear that I’m here with her and that she’ll be okay. After finally getting down, they place her on a gurney and I follow as they wheel her over next to Chimney. 

“Hey. You got her. How’s she doing?” Chimney asks as he lolls his head to the side to look at her. 

“I don’t know. She’s lost a lot of blood…” I inform him as I watch the other paramedics work on her and prepare her to be transferred. 

“This is Sargent Athena Grant. To anyone on scene. I have captain Nash of the 118 and a civilian. We’re trapped in the container at the bottom of the collapse,” comes Athena’s voice over the radio and we all pause to listen. 

“He’s pinned. We’re in need of an assist with extraction,” she continues to explain and Chimney sits up, ready to help. 

“No, Chim. Chim, stay,” I tell him, pointing at him as I start to head over while Hen and Eddie push him back down. 

Eddie, Hen and I rush over as I call out for Bobby. We quickly look around for any way in and I climb a bit to get a better idea of what needs to be done. 

“Hen, the door is completely blocked by debris,” Eddie voices to us as he leans against the container. 

“Dispatch? Dispatch, we’re gonna need heavy rescue on the lower level of the interchange. There’s no way we’re going to be able to move all this debris,” Hen speaks into her radio while Eddie tries pushing on the doors. 

We keep looking for a way in, but keep finding none. I climb back down and we keep trying, but still nothing seems to work. 

“118, be advised. Caltrans crew is on site, prepared to assist,” Maddie’s voice comes over the radio and we all stop to look around. 

Soon the crane drives over and I quickly reach out for some chains that were brought over. I loop the chains though whatever I can before the crane hooks come down. Once they get closer, I reach up and grab onto the first one I can reach and click it onto the chains. 

“Yeah. Okay, up, up, up! Go, go, go!” I yell out as I motion for the driver to go up. 

He does it and soon the slab of concrete debris is moving. I’m the first to rush in as it falls to the ground behind me and I open the door to the container with Ravi’s help. We immediately find them and with the civilian's help, Eddie and I lift the biggest piece of concrete off of Bobby. Once it’s out of the way, Hen and a few others come in with the airbag. Eddie quickly takes it out of the bag and shoves it under before grabbing the pump. He then starts to air it up, making the concrete lift off of Bobby. 

Once it’s high enough, we all move back and I grab Bobby’s hand. I quickly pull him out and a stretcher is waiting for him when I do. 

“I’m going with y/n. Hen, you got him?” I ask her and she nods. 

“Yeah. Yeah. Go with Firecracker. Me and Athena have Bobby and Chim,” she tells me and I quickly nod before running off. 

I quickly run over to her ambulance and they let me hop in with them before heading to the hospital. I hold her hand the whole way and force myself not to cry until I know more about her condition. Once at the hospital, they quickly open the doors of the ambulance and start to push her out. Just as we get out, everyone else seems to arrive as well. They push her farther into the hospital and I keep hold of her hand as all the others get pushed in as well. 

“We’ve got an abdominal puncture wound. Seems to have missed major organs,” Hen quickly explains about Chimney as they wheel him though first. 

“Already pushed two milligrams of morphine,” she shouts out, pointing to Chimney as they continue in and she spins back around. 

“This one’s got a couple of broken ribs, refused to take anything for the pain,” she explains about Eddie as she helps Athena walk him in. 

“I’m fine!” Eddie groans out through clenched teeth before Hen turns back around. 

“No. You’re not,” Hen sternly tells him before moving on to Cap as they roll him in next.

“Captain has a probable AC joint sprain, over a dozen lacerations and too many bone bruises to count. Aside from that, he’s in one piece,” Hen informs them as they continue to push Bobby though and she walks by his side. 

“Gonna take more than a couple tons of asphalt and a semi to take Cap down,” I comment as I walk in right behind them with y/n. 

“Thanks to you guys and LAPD’s finest,” Bobby tells us as he nods at Athena. 

“Just another day on the job,” Athena tells him before he too gets rolled off. 

“We’ve got another abdominal puncture wound, not really sure if it hit any organs. Had to leave the rebar in her side due to major blood loss and still unconscious,” Hen updates y/n’s nurses that had taken over from the paramedics right before they got to the doors. 

I keep a hold on her hand, not ready to leave her side. The nurses come to a stop, making me look up at them. 

“Sir. You’ll have to stay out here while she’s in surgery,” the paramedic tells me as he holds a hand up and my eyebrows furrow. 

“I’m not leaving her,” I disagree, shaking my head as anger takes over. 

“Sir. I promise we’ll take the best care of her, but you can’t come back into surgery with her,” he again tells me and I unintentionally let out a growl. 

“I am not leaving her. I can’t…” I petulantly fight back and he sighs, pinching at his nose. 

“Sir. You can’t. I’m sorry, but you have to stay here. Why don’t you get yourself checked out so you’ll be ok when she needs you?” he offers and I take a moment to think about it. 

“Buck. Let them take her back. She’ll be okay,” A voice speaks up as they grab onto my shoulder and slightly pulls me back. 

I turn to the voice and see Maddie giving me a sorrowful look. Before I even have time to say anything, my big sister is pulling me into a hug. I sigh and relax into the hug, gripping onto my sister's shirt. 

“She’ll be okay, Buck. She’s strong, remember? She’s not leaving you yet,” Maddie softly tells me as she rubs my back and I nod. 

“Why don’t you go get checked out and I’ll make sure you're the first to know if there’s any news?” she asks me and I hesitate, but agree. 

“Good. Umm, excuse me, ma’am. Can you please have my brother checked out? He’s part of the 118,” Maddie explains as she stops a nurse that was walking past us. 

“Sure. If you would just follow me this way, sir,” the nurse says and I again hesitate, but follow her when Maddie gives a nod. 

“I’m going to find Chim. When you're done, come find me, alright?” she asks me and I nod at her before turning and following the nurse. 

The nurse takes me back to a bed and has me sit down on it. She then proceeds to look me over and only takes a few minutes before smiling softly. 

“Well, Mr. Buckley, you only seem to have a very moderate concussion and very little cuts along with some bruising. You should be okay, just have someone be with you just in case,” she tells me and I nod as she takes off her gloves. 

“Am I good to go?” I ask her and she nods softly with a ’Hmm’. 

Once she gives me the okay, I pull back the curtain and head back out to the waiting room. I walk through the two double doors I’d gone through and find Maddie sitting and talking with Athena. 

Third Person Pov: 

After getting Buck to agree to get checked out, Maddie can breathe just a little easier. In her head she checks him off, happy that one of the three people she was most scared for is okay. She watches as he disappears with the nurse before rushing off to find Chimney. It takes her a few minutes, but finally she finds him and rushes over to him. 

“Chim,” she calls out to him as she comes up next to him on the stretcher. 

“Hey,” he tells her as he takes his oxygen mask off when he sees her. 

“Hi,” she tells him with tears in her eyes. 

“Don’t worry. It’s worse than it looks,” he jokes with a chuckle. 

“Oh,” he moans as he doubles over ever so slightly. “I’m fine,” he groans out after the wave of pain hits him and she rubs his shoulder. 

“Good. ‘Cause you’re not getting out of marrying me that easy,” she jokes back with a small laugh, making him chuckle. 

“Plus, I think we may have a new couple you’ll want to see when all of this is said and done,” Maddie comments and Chimney gives her a shocked yet hopeful look. 

“Really?” he questions and Maddie nods. 

“Ha. I called it! Hen owes me 50 bucks!” Chimney calls out before groaning in pain and Maddie laughs. 

“You two bet on Buck and y/n?” she questions with a raised eyebrow. 

“Well to be fair, we were just betting they’d be together by the end of this month, not that one would get hurt. But in all fairness, it worked out in my favor…” Chimney tells her as he bounces his eyebrows weakly and she laughs. 

“Oh…” she comments as she finally really looks him over. “Honey…” she whispers out as he grabs onto her hand. 

“I love you,” he tells her and she grins. 

“Love you, too,” she parrots him with a nod and he smiles at her. He lets out a breath as he lays his head back and she squeezes his hand. 

Maddie comes walking back though the waiting room with two coffees in hand just as Athena walks out one of the other members of the 118. Maddie rounds the chair and meets up with Athena in the middle. 

“So that’s everyone?” Maddie asks as she holds one of the coffees out for her. 

“Yep. All the 118ers have been released and sent home. Except for ours,” Athena informs her as they both take a seat. 

“Doctors think they can release Bobby tonight, though. And you?” Athena explains before pointing at Maddie, who sighs. 

“We have one more scan for Chim, if it’s clear, then tomorrow morning. You can guess how he took that news,” Maddie jokes even though she still worries for one more. 

“Bobby tried to roll himself into the elevator when I wasn’t looking,” Athena jokingly tells her and Maddie laughs. 

“You know they spend all of their time with the sick and injured, and yet…” Maddie starts trailing off at the end. 

“They are the worst patients,” Athena finishes off for her. 

“Still doesn’t seem real,” Maddie comments as she watches the news on the Tv in the corner. 

“That it happened, or that anyone survived it?” Athena asks and the mood becomes more serious. 

“Both,” Maddie tells her with a nod. 

“And they all can’t wait to get back out there again,” Maddie says, trying to lighten the mood again.

“It takes a special kind of crazy to want to live this life,” Athena jokes right back, making Maddie laugh. 

“Oh, by the way. Congratulations on your engagement,” Athena reverently tells her and Maddie smiles. 

“Thanks,” Maddie says with a smile before they clink their coffee cups together. 

“So, how’s y/n?” Athena asks after a minute of silence. 

“She’s doing okay, out of surgery,” Maddie starts to explain after sighing and shaking her head as she fights tears. 

“The rebar missed all vital organs thankfully. It did however rupture part of her large intestine as well as her small intestine. The nurse said y/n got lucky, that it pierced between the two almost perfectly, that’s why there was so much blood, but the doctor was able to fully repair any damage and she’s in the ICU now,” Maddie continues to explain but pauses a moment when she gets choked up. 

“They are saying hopefully she’ll wake up tomorrow morning and if she does, she’ll be in a regular room,” Maddie finishes explaining and takes a big breath of air in as more tears come up. 

“She’ll be okay. How’s Buck dealing with it all?” She asks, making Maddie chuckle. 

“How do you think he is? He wouldn’t even let go of her hand to let them take her to surgery,” Maddie explains with a roll of her eyes. 

“Sounds like Buck. Where is he now?” Athena asks as she looks around for him. 

“I sent him to get checked out too. He’s going to come find me soon hopefully. I’m going to try and get him to go home, but I don’t know if he will,” Maddie explains and Athena gives her a knowing look. 

“That’s going to be one tough mission,” she comments and Maddie nods just as Buck walks through the door.

Buck’s Pov: 

I sigh and rub my face as I walk over to Athena and Maddie. I stop just before them and Maddie pats the seat next to her. 

“So?” Maddie questions and I huff as I sit down next to my sister. 

“I don’t know why you had me get checked out. I just have a moderate concussion along with a few cuts and bruises, which I figured,” I inform her and she shakes her head. 

“It made you think about something other than worrying about y/n,” she tells me and Athena gives me a soft, sympathetic smile. 

“We’re glad you're okay too, though. You never know what could have been, especially with what you went through today,” Athena explains and I sigh before agreeing. 

“And the last few years… like electrocution, the engine falling on top of you… ya know only to list a few…” Maddie adds on with a roll of her eyes making Athena chuckle. 

“She is right you have been through a lot the last few years,” athen adds in her two cents. 

“Yeah. Yeah. I guess you're right. How’s y/n and Chim?” I ask Maddie and she sighs. 

“She’s out of surgery and in the ICU to be watched over. If she wakes in the morning, she’ll go to a normal room for recovery,” Maddie explains as she rubs my shoulder. 

“The doctor says she should be just fine. Just like I said she’d be. Chim gets to go home tomorrow morning maybe,” she continues and I go to get up, but she pulls me back down. 

“Where are you going?” she asks me with a raised eyebrow. 

“I’m going to be with her,” I remark in a matter of fact tone and she sighs. 

“No. You're going home. You need rest. Plus there’s no visiting in the ICU right now,” she commands and I shake my head before groaning. 

“No way in hell am I going home. I’ll stay right here,” I fight back and she gives me the same stern look that she’d give me and Y/n as kids growing up. 

“Buck. I will be here the whole night. I promise I will call if something happens, okay? Just please go home and get some rest. Plus, don’t you need to check in on Kameron?” Maddie questions and my eyes widen. 

“Shit. I forgot about Kameron. Yeah, I probably should, seeing as Connor probably hasn’t,” I groan out, rubbing at my face. 

“So, go home. Shower. Rest up a bit and then come back in the morning,” Maddie softly appeals to me as she rubs my back. 

“I can’t leave her though, Mads,” I speak with my voice trembling ever so slightly and my eyes filling up with tears. 

“I know, but baby brother you need to think of yourself too. I promise I will call right away if anything happens, okay?” she practically begs me and I sigh, nodding slowly. 

“Okay, but the MOMENT something happens, I am called…” I sternly tell her and she nods admittedly. 

“The very moment,” she promises me and I sigh, nodding. 

“Okay. I’ll go home then,” I agree, making Athena and Maddie give each other triumphant looks. 

“Okay. Try and get some form of rest,” she commands me as I stand up. 

“I’ll try, but no guarantees,” I promise her and she smiles, nodding softly. 

“All I ask is that you try, okay?” she asks me as she gets up too. 

“Okay…” I agree before she’s pulling me into a hug. 

I close my eyes and grip onto my sister a little harder, letting the comfort take over. She rubs at the back of my head and I hold back tears at the thought that she’s not the only one that does that. She pulls away and I open my eyes to look at her. She gives me a soft smile of encouragement before squeezing my arm. 

“She’ll be okay, baby brother. You just have to believe it,” she promises me and I nod, not trusting my voice at the moment. 

“Maybe by then Bobby will be released,” Athena comments and I just nod, unable to get any words out. 

“Buck. You’ve been through so much, so has she. She’s not going to let this be what takes her out. I just know it,” Maddie encourages me and I sigh, nodding as I wipe at my face quickly. 

“Okay. Ready to go?” Athena asks and I hesitate again, but slowly agree. 

Athena nods solemnly, then nods to Maddie before we both turn and start to walk towards the doors. We quietly walk to her patrol car and she unlocks it. Both of us get in and she starts the car up. 

“Do you want me to take you to get your car in the morning?” she asks me as she starts driving and I pause a moment to think about it. 

“If it’s not too much trouble, yeah,” I agree and she smiles softly at me. 

“It’s never too much trouble for you, Buck,” she tells me in a soft tone and I weakly smile. 

“Thank you, Athena. Really,” I speak in a reverent tone and she nods. 

She continues to drive for a little while longer before pulling up at my apartment complex. She parks the car and turns to me. 

“You take care of yourself, okay. I know you’re worried for our girl, but I know she’s strong. She’ll be awake before you know it,” Athena sympathizes with me as she reaches over and squeezes my arm. 

“I promise. Plus, I’ll probably have Kameron nitpicking all over me the second I walk through the door. I’ll be good,” I inform her and she smiles softly. 

“That’s all we ask, Buck. I’ll call you in the morning when I’m on my way to come get you,” she explains and I nod softly at her before getting out of the car. 

After closing her car door, I walk up to the entrance of the complex before going inside. Once I’m in, I walk over to the elevator and press my floor’s botton. As I wait for the elevator, I lean against the wall and let out a sigh while frustratedly rubbing at my face. The elevator finally starts to go up and I let out another puff of air as it feels like a forever ride. 

Finally the elevator comes to a stop and the doors slowly open. I let out one more huff at the thought that just this morning, she was walking these halls with me. I slowly walk down the hall, almost dragging my feet to my apartment, pull out my keys and unlock the door. The door clicks open and I turn the knob until I can push it open. 

The lights are still on when I walk in, making me confused so I walk a little farther in. Kameron sits on the couch watching some TV with a jar of peanut butter. She slowly turns to look at me and drops her spoon. 

“Oh my goodness, Buck. I saw the news. Is everyone doing okay?” she asks me and I pause before shaking my head. 

“Almost everyone is fine. Y/n’s the only one that got injured badly,” I tell her and she frowns, getting up to come over to me. 

“I’m sorry. I know you want to be with her,” she tells me as she pulls me into a hug. 

“I’ll see her in the morning. For now I’m nursing a concussion, so you’ll be in charge of keeping me up,” I tell her and she smiles softly as she nods. 

“Of course. I can do that. Hold that thought, I gotta go pee,” she informs me before rushing off and I chuckle, shaking my head. 

I sit down on the couch and immediately my mood falls again when I see the picture of us that sits on my coffee table. I gulp and pick it up, remembering the memory for a small moment before Kameron walks back out. 

“She’ll be okay, Buck. I’ve only known her for a year at most, but I know she’s strong,” Kameron comforts me and I sigh, nodding as I put the picture back. 

“It’s only been a few hours, but I miss her so much, Kam,” I cry out and she smiles sympathetically before sitting down next to me. 

“I know, honey. I know,” she sweetly tells me as she pulls me into a hug and strokes my head lovingly. 

“You’ll be a great mom, Kam. I’m glad I could help you guys have that,” I tell her and she giggles lightly. 

“You really think so?” she asks me and I pull back, nodding. 

“Look how you just comforted me. I know so, Kam,” I promise her and she smiles softly at me. 

“Well thank you, Buck. That makes me feel a lot less scared,” she informs me and I smile softly at her. 

“Of course, Kam. I can’t wait to watch your little family grow,” I again promise her and she swats at me. 

“Enough you big ol’ sap! I’m hormonal, you’ll make me cry,” she tells me and I chuckle. 

“Okay… okay… I’m done. I swear,” I tell her as I throw my hands up in surrender and lean back into the couch. 

“Let’s just watch some TV, yeah?” she asks as she picks up the remote and I just nod at her. 

It’s now been a few hours since I got home and so far I’ve done laundry, watched some mindless TV with Kameron, and done a little bit of cleaning. I even do some of y/n’s laundry for her, knowing how much she’d need clean clothes when she gets out of the hospital. Maddie texted a little while after I put the last load of laundry in. She informed me she took Chim home, but that she’s back at the hospital with y/n. Now I stand at the counter, doing some dishes as Kameron goes to the bathroom for the fourth time.

“Uh, hey, you… you doing okay?” I ask as I turn around from putting one of y/n’s cups into the cupboard as she comes out of the bathroom. 

“That’s the fourth time you’ve gone in the last hour,” I observe as she stops at the bottom of the stairs. 

“Well, I have a whole human leaning on my bladder,” she snarkily replies as she rubs her belly. 

“So the struggle is real,” she finishes with a sigh as she turns back to the living room and I turn back to another dish as she continues to the living room. 

“Ow?” she says after she lets out a hiss and stops where she’s at, grabbing onto the stairs with one hand as she holds her stomach with the other. 

“Uh… what… what was that?” I ask her in concern, stopping what I’m doing to look over at her. 

“Um, I don’t know…” she trails off before trying to start walking again. 

“Ow, ow, ow, ow…” she repeats over and over as she doubles over. 

“Uh… was it… was it a contraction?” I ask her as I jog lightly over to her. 

“Uh, I think so,” she informs me as she doubles over again and I put my hand on her back. 

“Um, I don’t know. I— I felt something earlier, but it didn’t feel like this, you know?” she explains as I lead her over to the couch. 

“It wasn’t that stro— oh, my God!” she continues before doubling over halfway to the couch as she screams out in pain. 

“Uh, okay, why don’t we have you sit down?” I calmly ask her as I point at the couch. 

“I’m gonna call your doctor—” I start to say but she cuts me off. 

“I’m in labor,” she informs me in a matter of fact tone and I reach out for her. 

“You—you don’t know that,” I say just as I hear the sound of liquid trickling. 

“My water just broke,” she says in realization and she stands straight again. 

“Something’s wrong. This is too early. This is too early,” she starts to panic and I quickly reach out for her again. 

“Um, okay, it is early, yes, but it’s— it’s not too early,” I rush to calm her as I hold onto her hands. 

“Let's sit you down, okay?” I calmly ask her and she nods, giving a small ‘okay’ of her own as I lead her the rest of the way to the couch. 

“Let’s focus on our breathing,” I gently command as she sits. 

“Okay… in…” I tell her before breathing with her and soon she starts to groan in pain. 

“You got it, you’re a pro,” I try to coach her though, but her groans only intensify. 

“Come on, it's okay. Let’s— let’s lay down,” I lightly command again as I grab her shoulders and guide her into a laying down position. 

“Go on, I got ya. Nice and easy. Nice and easy,” I tell her calmly as I lift her legs for her and guide them onto the couch as she gives a head nod as well as a small ‘okay’. 

“Okay, just keep that breathing going. In. There you go. You're doing great. Just breathe,” I continue to coach her for a few minutes and she seems somewhat calmer. 

“Uh, you know, I’m gonna call the paramedics. Just in case. Okay?” I inform her as I pull my phone out and quickly dial 911. 

“Uh, you’re doing good. You’re doing great. Don’t panic,” I try to keep her calm and possibly myself from freaking out as I put the phone up to my ear. 

“911, how can I help you?” One of the dispatchers pick up the phone. 

“I’m at 574 Grand Street. I have a woman in premature labor; it’s coming on fast,” I pause as the woman asks me some information while Kameron groans out in more pain. 

“Close. Minutes,” I inform her as she types up the information. 

“Uh, hey, hey, just stay calm, paramedics are on their way,” I tell Kameron as I quickly move the phone away from my mouth so I can try and calm her. 

“I’m gonna grab some towels and hot water. Just in case. You’re doing great,” I encourage her one last time before rushing to the bathroom and starting to grab the towels. 

“Buck!!!” she calls out for me and I rush a little quicker. 

“Hurry up,” she groans out in pain as she lays back on the couch again and I open the door so the paramedics can come right in. 

“Yeah. I’ll be right there,” I tell her before I rush around the kitchen for all the supplies I need. 

“Hello?” A voice calls out and I hear a light knock on the door as I finish filling a bowl full of warm water. 

“Wow, that was fast. She’s- she’s on the couch,” I call out over my shoulder as I keep my attention on the water. 

“Who?” The voice calls out again, making me turn to look at the door to see Natalia, the girl I’ve been going out on dates with for a while. 

I silently curse to myself, remembering we had agreed to talk before all of the events today. I stop the water and turn around to her. 

“Natalia… uh, hi…” I say awkwardly, pausing for a moment. 

“Buck!!!” Kameron shouts out and I quickly snap back into action. 

“What- what is happening?” Natalia asks and I quickly grab all the towels and the bowl. 

“I— I need your help. Come on. This way,” I inform her quickly as I rush over to Kameron and she follows me. 

As we quickly walk over, my mind races a mile a minute as I try to place all of my energy on Kameron. I try to keep back the thought of just wishing y/n were here right now and how I’m going to have to have a talk with Natalia, but it’s really hard to just focus. I don’t want to hurt Natalia, but after today I realized y/n is the one for me. How do I tell Natalia that? Soon, though, I’m pulled out of my thoughts and back into rush mode when Kameron yells out for me again. 

To Be Continued…

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[pahtoosh]

baba face

[image ID: photos of sebastian stan, chris evans, and various stuffed animals photoshopped onto a yellow background. sebastian stan is holding a round wolf stuffed animal and looking into the distance. chris evans is hiding a smile with a hand over his mouth. the stuffed animals include four frowning stuffed animals and one smiling one. /.end ID]

masterlist

18+

wc: ~2400 words

warnings: reader takes a little tumble

a/n: this was inspired by @angelbaby-fics ! Chloe, thank you for showing me your turtle and inspiring this whole piece! (side note: if anyone would like to talk about their stuffies, I would LOVE to hear about them!!

pairing: stucky x gn!little!reader

summary: sam gets a stuffed animal for reader that frowns like bucky! things get out of hand when the other avengers join in and buy reader way too many grumpy stuffies

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ

It all started when Sam came back from a mission in late June. The Avengers would sometimes bring back presents when they went overseas. They didn’t always have the time to stop by a gift shop but when they did, the gifts were always cherished and held a little closer when the Avenger eventually had to travel again. 

Two weeks before his mission, you had gotten very close with Sam. Your daddies asked him to watch over you one day and he gave you a whole adventure. He took you to a pottery painting studio, then the park, and ended the day with the best ice cream you’ve ever had. From then on, you were inseparable. 

During group meal times, you’d make jokes with him across the table. If you were allowed in the room for a meeting, you’d pass notes back and forth. Sam would also play with you during Tony’s summer parties; he was going to let you fly with redwing before Bucky marched outside and confined you to his hip for the rest of the night. You didn’t mind too much though, the sky probably wasn’t as comfortable as being held by Baba. 

Your attachment to Sam made this mission all the more difficult for everyone involved. You, because you missed your friend. Sam, because he missed your happy giggles and felt bad for leaving you right when he finally gained your trust. And your daddies because they had to witness you get sad every time something reminded you of Sam. 

Fortunately, the mission was going well and he was expected to return right on time. On his last day, Sam was looking both ways to cross the street when a stuffed animal in a display window caught his eye. He looked at his watch to see if he had enough time to make his flight, then quickly entered the store and bought the plushie because he knew you’d love it. 

On the plane, Sam sat with the plushie in his lap to keep it safe. It was still in the bag from the store, looking like an oddly shaped lump in a now wrinkly paper bag. When Sam returned to the tower, Steve was the first to greet him before you nudged your Dada out of the way to give Sam a bone-crushing hug. 

“I missed you, Sammy!”

“I missed you too, peanut.” He kneeled down and handed you the paper bag. “I gotcha something.”

You beamed at him. “Thank you! I love it!”

Sam laughed. “You haven’t even opened it yet!”

“I already know I’m gonna like it because it’s from you,” you said, matter of factly. “But okay.”

You opened the bag and gasped when you saw the plush. 

It was a soft turtle with a slightly slouched posture, but that wasn’t the part you were focused on. Your favorite part was the plushie’s grumpy expression. It looked just like Bucky. 

“HE HAS BABA FACE! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!” You screamed your gratitude while running circles around the trio of Sam and your daddies. Sam and Steve were barely holding in their laughter, meanwhile Bucky stood confused, but happy that you were happy. Despite his super hearing, he wasn’t sure if he heard you correctly. Did you say baba face? Or maybe you said bubble face?  

Bucky figured that this wasn’t something he needed the answers to immediately, so he didn’t ask any questions and resolved to watching you tire yourself out. 

The grumpy turtle became your new shadow. Everywhere you went, so did the plush. You’d have it tucked under your arm while running through the compound. During mealtimes in your home, the turtle would get his own chair and toy food. Outside, you kept your turtle in a drawstring backpack with the head poking out so he could see the world too. When your daddies carried you around, you’d make a silly game out of making the turtle mess up your Dada’s hair or bite your Baba’s ears. 

Even before giving you the turtle, Sam loved to boast about how he was your favorite Avenger(you didn’t have a favorite, but you didn’t have the heart to correct him on that when he kept giving you all of his attention). When you all played hide and seek, he bragged for three days straight about how you chose him to be your partner. Your attachment to the turtle only heightened his pride. 

He always asked you where the turtle was, knowing it couldn’t be more than three feet away from you. Sam made a big fuss about the turtle having his own seat at the dinner table and fell victim to your strength and contagious giggles when you pushed him out of his seat to make room for your turtle. Sam learned his lesson that day and didn’t fight for the turtle to have his own chair in the debriefing room. However, he did bring in an extra stool for the plush. Sam even bought you the very drawstring backpack that allowed you to take your new friend on your outdoor adventures. In private, he’d ask you about how the turtle was settling into his new home and gave him the gentlest kiss when you said the turtle needed more lovin’. 

The others all thought your friendship with Sam was adorable, but there was one person who saw this as an opportunity for some friendly competition. Natasha knew that there was room in your heart for more than one avenger bestie, so she devised a plan to take her spot. She had two missions in August–the first: survey a crime group that’s suspected to have ties with Zemo. The second: give you a gift worthy of four days of bragging. 

After successful recon, Natasha’s plane landed in the Avenger’s HQ. She turned in her paperwork that she completed on the flight home, then went to freshen up so she could give you your gift. Natasha found you cuddled up with Steve in the movie room watching some old cartoon. She knocked on the door.

“Got any room for a couple more friends on that couch?”

“Natty, you’re back!” You untangled yourself from Steve and ran to give her a hug. You looked behind her expecting to see more of the group. “Where’s the other friends?”

She held up a bag with the arm that wasn’t hugging you. “Your new friend traveled a long way to get here.”

You squealed and hugged Natasha again before accepting the bag from her hand and kneeling on the floor to pull out the tissue paper and free your gift. 

“You guys are spoiling them, you know that?” Steve asked, lightheartedly from the couch.

“Oh hush, how many hours of screen time have you given them today?”

Steve opened and closed his mouth a couple times, not expecting the question.

“Doesn’t count if the movies came from your time, right?” 

Any response from Steve was cut off by your cheering. 

“BABA OCTOPUS!! BABATOPUS!!” you held up the plush proudly like it was Simba. “Dada, look!”

“Oh he’s beautiful, baby.” Steve chuckled at the round, bright red octopus plush with a deep frown on its face. “What do you say to Nat?”

“THANK YOU NAAAT!” you yelled. Excitement flickered across your face once more, then you ran out of the movie room with the octopus securely tucked under your arm.

“Where are you going, baby? And no running indoors!” Steve shouted as he chased after you. 

You slowed for a bit, but kept moving at a swift pace. “I hav’ta show Baba my new friend!”

Natasha watched your little race from the movie room with an amused grin on her face. During dinner that night, she enjoyed the shocked look on Sam’s face when you pulled up with two grumpy plushies and pretended to feed the octopus before the turtle.

Sam turned to Natasha. “You have no idea what you’ve just started.”

She smirked. “And you have no idea what you’re getting into.”

Steve leaned over to whisper to Bucky. “We’re gonna need more space in the playroom.”

𓏲 ࣪₊♡

The competition expanded beyond Natasha and Sam. All of the Avengers were determined to find the next grumpy plush to win your heart. There was a penguin from Peter, a frog from Thor, a cat from Tony, and a panda from Wanda. Your collection was starting to get out of control. You desperately wanted to carry all of your plushies everywhere with you to keep things fair, but your daddies put an end to that when you tripped on the sidewalk while trying to push a stroller full of scowling stuffed animals. 

Bucky decided to help you create a system so you could fairly pick one plushie from the collection to carry around for the day. He made small slips of paper so you could write down their names and pull one out of a cup each morning. He brought his supplies to you while you were having an afternoon snack at the dining table. His heart broke seeing you with your knees bandaged up and the streaks of dried tears from the fall earlier today still on your face.

“Hi, Baba,” you sniffled.

“Hey, sweetie. What’s going on? You eatin’ your snack?”

“Mhm.”

“Why aren’t you eating at the kitchen island, baby? You always eat your snack there.”

You pouted and gestured to the plushies sitting around you. “I can’t fit all my friends there.”

“Oh I know, bubs. It must be so hard carrying all these guys around, huh?” He mentally scolded himself for leaving you alone during your snack. He should’ve known better than to expect you to stay put when your little friends were trapped inside the stroller. It must’ve taken so long to arrange the plushies around the table with your injury. 

You perked up at his next words. 

“Baba has something for you.” Bucky spread out the slips of paper on the table and placed a cup next to them. “You can write down the names of all your little friends on these papers and pick one name out of the cup to decide which one you’re walking around with for the day. Does that sound fair?”

You shrugged, “I guess I can do that.” You really would’ve liked a solution that allowed you to bring all of the grumpy plushies with you everywhere, but deep down you knew that it just wasn’t practical. You took the pencil that Bucky held out for you and started writing down your plushies’ names.

Your Baba lovingly kissed the top of your head and rubbed your back while you wrote. He loved watching you focus on a task. He almost didn’t notice what you were writing down.

Bucky squinted then blinked a couple of times, not believing what he saw. “Baby, why are you writing ‘Baba’ on everything?”

You paused and tilted your head back to look at him. “That’s their names. Baba Turtle and Baba Cat and Baba Bear and Baba-”

“Why do you call them that?”

“‘Cause look!” You picked up the grumpy frog sitting next to you and held it out for Bucky to see. “They look like Baba!” You hugged the plushie before setting it back down to continue writing. 

Bucky’s heart melted. His sweet, wonderful baby was so attached to these plushies that reminded them of him. His signature scowl that often got him into trouble brought them comfort. His friends even noticed and spoiled his baby rotten with even more of these toys. 

Bucky continued watching you work. He looked at the plushies differently now. 

𓏲 ࣪₊♡

Steve and Bucky were cleaning your playroom. Normally this would be your responsibility, but you had gone to bed a little earlier, and they didn’t want you walking too much with your injury. Steve was putting your plushies into their designated bins. He wasn’t harsh with them, but his efficient method of gathering an armful and plopping them down certainly would have raised an eyebrow from you. 

“Hey, go easy with turtle me,” Bucky teased. 

“Turtle you?” Steve asked. 

Bucky nodded proudly, then held the plush up to his face. “Don’t you see the resemblance?” 

“Whatever, punk. At least my face isn’t the reason we have a 50 gallon bin of stuffed animals.” Steve turned around and kept cleaning, completely missing the look of excitement on Bucky’s face. 

The next day, your Baba volunteered to pick up breakfast while Steve helped you get ready. Bucky stopped by a toy store on his way to the bakery. He’d seen this particular plushie before and knew that this was the perfect moment to get it for you. Not too long later, he was entering your home with bagels in one hand and your new friend in the other. 

Bucky hid the plush behind his back when he heard you and Steve walking towards him. 

“Hi, Baba!”

“Good morning, baby.” Bucky leaned down to kiss your forehead, then kissed Steve’s cheek as a thanks when he handed off the box of bagels. 

You hugged Bucky and couldn’t help but notice that one of his hands wasn’t hugging you back. 

“Baba, hug me better,” you whined. 

Bucky laughed. “Hang on, I’ve got somethin’ for ya.”

You gasped in excitement and took a step back so you could see. Bucky revealed the plush with a dramatic flourish, then somewhat nervously waited for your reaction. The stuffed animal had you in shock. It was a stuffed giraffe that stood with the most perfect posture. It had spiky hair, blue eyes, and a charming smile. You knew exactly who it was supposed to resemble. 

“IT'S DADA!” You squealed and graciously took the plush while running to the kitchen where Steve was. He was already making his way to you when he heard your scream. 

“Dada’s right here, bubba. What’s going on?”

You held up the plush while doing a little dance. “Look! It’s a Dada giraffe!”

Steve laughed then ran a hand over his face when he made the connection. You ran off to your playroom, saying something about “finding a Baba for this Dada” while your daddies shared a look. 

Bucky brought in Steve for a hug, patting his dumbfounded lover on the back. He playfully whispered in his ear, “We’re gonna need more space in the playroom.”

[patscorner]

CHAPTER ONE: BUY-IN

pairings: paige x oc

contains: pining, angst

word count: 2,575

a/n: okay, one chapter in. let me know what you guys think, my inbox is open. also let me know what you might like to see, the outline isn't set in stone. school has started so it might be a bit before the next chapter, but it's coming. enjoy!

My palms sweat as I dial the familiar number, one I’d memorized by heart. It’d been far too long since I’d called her, and I don’t really have a reason, so the bullshit ‘I’ve been busy’ excuse will just have to do.

=======================

JUNE 2023

“Hello?”

I clear my throat in an attempt to swallow the lump that magically appeared. “H-Hey, Azzi, uh-it’s CJ.”

“Who?” My heart dropped to my shoes as my brain scrambled to pick up the pieces of one word.

“I-uh..”

Azzi chuckles. “I’m just messing with you. What’d you need?” I let out a breath as I rub my head.

“Oh my god, I actually hate you, holy shit.” I laugh.

“Apparently, since it’s been, what, like three months since we’ve talked.” I could practically hear the eye roll.

It’s really not fair for me to ignore Azzi because, really, she hadn’t done anything but be my best friend.

Our best friend.

And maybe that our was the problem. Maybe that combination, the unity of the word, and everything behind it was a mistake. Maybe, letting her etch herself into the scrolls of my heart, so much so that the ink bled together. Maybe the missed cue of when mine became hers, and hers became ours, was poor oversight.

Maybe letting Azzi become collateral damage was where me and her went wrong.

I laugh it off, ignoring the pang it sends to my chest.

“Yeah, well, I have to mentally prepare myself to lose brain cells. Can’t let it fuck up my game.” I respond, earning a laugh from the brown-haired girl. There’s nothing like the nostalgia a sound can bring you. The memories and feelings, all hidden behind a single noise.

After she gathers herself, she sighs. “So what’s up?”

And suddenly, I remember why I’d called.

“Yeah, uh, there’s something I kinda wanted to talk to you about, before you hear it somewhere else..” I say, picking at my earlobe nervously.

“Ooookay… Is everything okay..?” her voice relaying softer through the phone.

I nod. “Yeah, it’s nothing bad. Or, at least, I don’t think..” I fall silent for a moment. This couldn’t be as bad as I’m making it seem, right? Right?

“Either way, I’d just rather talk about it in person.”

Azzi hums. “Yeah, yeah, that’s fine. Where do you want to meet?” I consider my options. I’m only in Minnesota to visit my family for about a week, and it’d take another day to get to Virginia… I would be back in time to move into my dorm. It’s inconvenient but doable.

“I could drive up to you in like a week, I’ll just meet you at your house.” I mutter thoughtfully.

“Wait, are you in Texas or Minnesota?”

“I’m about an hour out from Minny.” I answer, slightly confused.

“Oh, I’m here with Paige and the boys. We’re actually headed to the fair soon. You could meet up with us if you wanted.”

“Shit…uh, I didn’t think about them...” I mumble.

That’s a lie. Truthfully, every time I think of home, memories of the blonde flood my mind instantly. But then I’m reminded of what she’d done. How she ripped herself out of my chest like velcro, instead of carefully detangling herself, ridding herself off all strings attached. All for someone else.

For someone who used to be mine.

“Hello..? You still there?”

I shake my head to clear my thoughts. “Yeah, yeah, sorry. Uh, th-yeah, that’s fine.” I sigh, quickly trying to recover.

Azzi sighs through the phone. “Look, I still don’t know what happened between you two, so if you don’t want to come-” she amends.

“No! No, okay, sorry. I- just gotta change my clothes…” I say, biting my lip as I lie through my teeth. “I’ll just meet you guys there?”

I could practically hear Azzi smile. “That sounds good, just call me when you get there.”

After we say our goodbyes, I hang up. I groan as I throw my head back.

I’m always up to a challenge, but the thought of going and having to function around her, after all she’s said and done; after she’s ruined us before there even was an us, that might be more difficult than I’d thought.

It’s not like I have a choice, though. I’m gonna have to learn how to be around her every day, especially when the season starts.

_________

“Drew, bro, if you spray me with that shit one more time, I swear to god, I will beat your ass.” I glared at him as he hid behind Jose, who put his hands up in surrender. I should not have bought him that water gun.

I rolled my eyes as I turned back to Azzi, who kept looking around, then back at her phone, repeating the process. I kicked her in her shin. “Ow! Paige, what the fuck?” Azzi complains, rubbing her leg. “Who are you looking for?” I say, glancing around.

She looks back down at her phone. “Nobody. Just people watching.” I scoff. “Bullshit, are we being spied on, or what?” She shakes her head, looking up around once more. “Okay, bro, what’s going on? Who’s ass do I have to beat?”

Azzi rolls her eyes at me. “You couldn’t beat Ohio, let alone anyone else.”

I sit back in shock, putting my hand on my heart as I feign offense. “Okay, their defense was so unexpected. You can’t even put that on me.” She shrugged, looking back at her phone and standing up. “Where-”

“Bathroom.” she mutters. I watch as she practically sprints away. If only she did that shit in practice. I shake my head.

I open my phone and begin mindlessly scrolling through instagram, ignoring the thousands of times I’ve been tagged in pictures that I’d taken with fans today. Suddenly, I freeze.

It’s a post by the official UConn women’s basketball team. It’s a picture of CJ in her Texas jersey, the number 43 on the front. Her hair is in her signature bun, hair slicked back carefully, as she drives towards the basket. The caption reads “Welcome CJ West!”

What the fuck?

I’m in such a state of shock that when Azzi comes back, I don’t notice the figure next to her. I glance up at her, then back at my phone. “Yo, Azzi, have you seen this?” I look up at her again, and this time, I let my eyes flick to the person next to her.

CJ.

Forgetting what I’d just seen, my jaw drops as I take her in. She’s just as beautiful, if not more, as she was the last time I’d seen her. She’s wearing a basic casual outfit; a plain white crop top, paired with blue jeans, and gold jewelry that always makes her hazel eyes seem brighter. Or maybe that’s just how they look naturally.

“Oh, shit.” I whisper, clearly in awe. She rolls her eyes.

Fuck.

“Hello to you, too, Paige.” Double fuck.

That fucking voice.

I clear my throat, trying to recover. “Hey, CJ.” I breathe. The lighthearted air is swallowed by suffocating tension as I make eye contact with a stranger.

“Oooookay…” Azzi says, clearing her throat. “This is about as awkward as I’d thought it’s be…” she mutters. CJ looks at her. “I told you.”

I look between them. “What’s going on?”

Azzi looked at CJ expectantly, gesturing to her to speak. CJ rolled her eyes and huffed. “I-uh, I have news.” CJ glanced between Azzi and I. She cleared her throat as she picked at her earlobe, a habit she’d picked up when she was younger. I’d always hold her hand to stop her, and I want to do that more than anything right now. I think I’ve lost that right, though.

“I’m transferring to UConn.”

My eyes flick to Azzi’s who’s jaw drops. “Really? How-Why?”

CJ shrugs, trying feign carelessness. “Better environment, Texas heat ain’ my thing.” To the normal eye, CJ’s behavior could be seen as normal. But to me? I see the way her eyelids flutter, the hesitation behind her pretty lips, and the way her eyebrows raise just slightly. She’s a good liar.

Just not good enough.

I don’t say anything, though, not when she gets dragged away by Drew and Jose, not when Drew practically begs her to stay and hang out with us, and certainly not when she’s sat in front of me on the ride Jon chooses. I don’t say anything when the boys get swept away, and it’s just the three of us, like it always used to be.

It’s only when Azzi goes to the bathroom, leaving us alone for the first time in years that I say anything. “Try not to kill each other, please.” She orders as she scurries to the restroom.

It’s silent for a moment, and I can almost see the relief on her face when she thinks I’ll hold my tongue.

Unfortunately, I’m nobody’s peace.

“How long are you here for?” I ask, stuffing my hands into my black cargo pants. She looks up at me. “Uh-just for the week, gotta move outta my dorm, and it’s a long drive, so.”

I raise my eyebrows. “You driving on your own?”

CJ nods. “Yeah, I’ll just sleep in my car or something.” I shake my head. “No fucking way, bro, you serious? That’s like a twenty hour drive.”

She crosses her arms. “So? That’s how I got here.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not goin’ on your own.” I say. Truthfully, I knew she’d be fine on her own, but something about her driving back to Texas, just to go back to Connecticut, doesn’t sit well with me. I’m only concerned for her safety. Or at least that’s what I decide to tell myself.

She scoffs. “What, you’re gonna come with me?”

“I could, if that’s what you want.”

“That’s the last thing I want.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“It’s not. Didn’t even wanna see you today.”

I turned to her. “Seriously, dude?” She looks at me. “Yes, seriously.”

I roll my eyes. I know I hurt her. I know I fucked up. But that was three years ago. We were kids. I was eighteen. I can legally drink now. It’s been three years. How can someone be upset for that long? “You gotta get over it one day.” I say before thinking about it.

I regret it when I see a flash of hurt on her face. “Get over it? That’s easy for you to say, Paige.” she spits out harshly.

Ouch.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I say, even though I know exactly what she meant. “Exactly what it sounds like. You get over shit quickly.” She shrugs. Her nonchalant tone pisses me off more than the words. I take a step towards her. “I didn’t ‘get over’ anything. There was nothing to ‘get over’. You were just jealous-”

“Jealous?” She interrupts incredulously. “Paige, you stuck your tongue down her throat!”

“And that pissed you off. Hence, jealousy.” I shrug.

“You were my best friend! It’s not fucking jealousy, it’s betrayal!” She practically yells, taking a step closer, our toes almost touching.

“I didn’t betray anybody! I was drunk! She was drunk! And I apologized afterward!” I say, trying to ignore the way her scent invades my senses.

She laughs dryly, taking a step back. “Right, you’re right. Yeah, an apology fixes it all.” I blink. “Really?”

CJ stares at me. “You’re a fucking idiot.” she says, and the only emotion I can pick up is anger. “I know.” I whisper.

Just then Azzi comes out of the bathroom, looking between us. “Everything okay?”

“Yep.” We say at the same time, and Azzi raises her eyebrows. “Aaaalrighty then… Can we find the boys, I’m ready to go.”

I nod and begin to walk behind Azzi, but I don’t miss the way CJ looks at me. I’m no expert, but if I know one thing, it’s the gaze of someone who’s been heartbroken.

I know because I’ve seen it. I’ve seen it every time I’ve looked in the mirror for the past three years.

__________

“There’s no way you’re driving to Texas by yourself.” Azzi gapes from the corner seat of the booth. Jose convinced Paige to drive us to some random diner. She’s so easy.

I roll my eyes as I take a sip of my sprite. “Bro, you sound like Paige.” I grumble.

“The fact that I’m agreeing with her should tell you how fucking stupid you sound.” she said. I look at her in shock as Paige throws her head back, cackling.

Fuck.

That stupid fucking laugh paired with that stupid fucking smile makes it so fucking hard to be mad at her. Maybe I should let it go. It has been three years…

No.

Instead of entertaining the thoughts, I opt for kicking her shin instead. “What do you think that says about you, dumbass.” She immediately shuts up, and I roll my eyes as Jon almost spits out his Dr. Pepper.

“I’ll have you know I was AP player of the year.” She defends, eyebrows furrowed. I raise my eyebrows unimpressed. “Still holding onto that, huh?”

Azzi laughs, and Paige shoots her a look. “Can we get back on task, please?” That seems to direct all the attention back to me. “Driving to Texas? All on your own?” Paige says.

“Yes. Did y’all forget how I got here? I didn’t fucking speedwalk.”

“Yeah, but you’re gonna go to Texas, spend, what, two full days staying up late and packing up three years of your life, and then driving the… twenty-nine, thirty, hour trip to Connecticut?” Azzi reasons.

I blink. “Well, when you put it like that..” I mutter.

Paige rolls her eyes. “Dude, just let us come with you. We can drive you there, so your car isn’t sitting in the middle of nowhere-”

“Isn’t your car in Storrs?”

“And we can switch drivers. Stay at a hotel halfway there, and then drive the rest of the way the day after.” She finishes, ignoring my comment. Before I can answer, the waiter comes with our food.

As he sets the plates down, I look at Paige, just taking her in. She’s wearing a plain black hoodie, with some red, white, and blue shorts on. It’s not much, but she could be wearing a trashbag and still be the hottest motherfucker around. It’s almost disgusting how effortlessly gorgeous she is.

I wouldn’t mind having someone to help me get to Connecticut. It’s a long drive, and it should be an easy yes. The truth is, when she looks like that, and acts like this, and talks the way she does… I don’t know how I’m going to get through the season, let alone a road trip.

I watch her lips as she says a thank you to the waiter, quickly averting my eyes when she looks at me. When the waiter leaves, I look back up and roll my eyes at her poor attempt to hide her smirk. As much as I wanted to wipe the smirk off her face, driving alone to Texas sounded dreadful. Plus, Paige has an okay music taste. Might not be that bad.

“Fine. You guys can come with me to Texas.”

Azzi smiles, clearly satisfied. Paige grins like a madman, clapping her hands. “This is going to be fun.”

I roll my eyes for the upteenth time tonight.

What the fuck did I just get myself into?

=======================

taglist: @wintersstan @bueckerrss @lilia22hicks @fake-intelligences @girlokwhatever @pbloverr @breeloveschris-deactivated20240 @cosmopretty @hellokittyfeenie @averagelobotomyenjoyer @elliewilliamsthang @chelisbae @angelscovee @st4rrzynight @cherryswisherz

[elysian-hell]

Heir of Deception:

Rich! Yanderes x Tabloid Writer! Reader TLDR: Bitches be crazy and unfortunately you're a fish in a barrel. You write a letter to your contact telling her that you need out(and why) with hopes it's well received or received at all... >>>TW: allusions to obsessive behavior.

Dear June, 

I know you’re just my contact but I don’t know who else to write a letter to. I’ve been disconnected from all contact with the outside world-- I actually don’t know if I'll manage to get this letter out or if it’ll be intercepted. I know you stuck your neck out for me and sponsored me to do this whole investigation but I think I’m in way over my head. These college students are absolute freaks and I’m not cut out for undercover work. I need to get out. I’m afraid of the upcoming Summer break. I think if I don’t get out before then… I’m not sure how easy it will be for me to get back at all. 

These were the people we were supposed to get the greatest payoff on and now they’ve become the people I’m most concerned about. I should have never let myself get close or… attached, I guess. At some point I dropped the disguise and now it’s like I can’t put up a front anymore. They suspect I’m not who I say I am, but I don’t know what they want from me. If you are willing to send help. If you can send help. This is what’s happening:

Arthur Bradford, third in line of the Bradford family fortune. He started off as my tutor to help catch me up to pace in exchange to scrub a detention from his record. He is the most prideful and self absorbed person I’ve ever met. He berated me and scolded me constantly and at some point I snapped and started to give it right back to him. We had a back and forth going but somewhere along the way it became a tango of sorts. Arthur became more real, more open. I was able to scrape beyond the surface but I didn’t realize that in turn it left me vulnerable too. 

Something tells me that he caught on to the fact that I’m not really an heiress but he keeps going along with this ruse, this “tutoring." He’ll take up as many hours of my day as he can before I up and leave. His lessons will go beyond the curriculum to the point where I don’t even understand his goal. Something about this is important to him because if I miss a session? He will go into an absolute rage. Although, Arthur is also a great source of gossip on the other students but the more he shared the more wary I became. He acts like I should be able to trust him, hell… like he’s the only person I can trust, but the way my hair goes on edge with him sometimes. I can feel that something isn’t right. 

“Y/n, you’re so naive. I really hope that doesn’t come back to bite you. You’re lucky to have me.”

Clayton Bass, the only child to an oil tycoon family. He was used to rough and tumble American sports like football so these rich kid activities were an adjustment. He and I were two of the handful of students that signed up for archery (he had actually signed up for everything). There was practically a tail wagging behind him when he saw me enter the green with my bow. He recalled me as the Queen of Detention when we first met and quickly decided that the both of us should train together in this time. While I struggled to build the arm strength to keep my aim steady, Clay was all brawn and no agility. That’s what he asked me to call him, Clay. 

Soon I was invited to game after game and practice after practice. Sometimes I would politely decline or just not show up but Clay would always seek me out and persuade me to come with. If he saw me on the green he would just drape himself on me or hug me from behind, startling me mid-conversation. Clay would pick me up and spin me around, elated every time he saw me. I was becoming an immovable post in his day to day. It scared me though, knowing he can just physically overpower me like that.

“Where d’ya think you’re goin’? You aren’t leaving right? I need my lucky charm tonight.”

Hendrix Arison was not at all like I gathered from the articles. On the surface sure, but underneath was someone who was depressed and exhausted beyond his years. All of the indulgences were to try to fill some kind of void. The only way I could get close enough was to have a fling. We agreed there were no strings attached and met at his dorm after curfew. Sometimes afterwards he would sit there and hum tunes to songs I’d never heard of before, after a few times I started to add a harmony or beat. When I asked him what it was he almost looked ashamed. They were works in progress that his label would never let him release. Hen stopped humming after that, but I had it stuck in my head to the point where I asked him to record a demo just for me. He just stared at me with a look that I couldn’t quite pin and pulled me in close, only agreeing once I couldn’t see his face. 

When I realized that he was fast approaching being a washed out celebrity I decided to stop pursuing him. I suggested that we end our situationship and he was weirdly against it, offended almost. When I pressed he would scoff and say that he had a whole slew of back ups, but asked if we could still be friends. I agreed but… he was almost always around. It was like he was expecting me to beg him to come back, to stop playing hard to get. I think he’s losing sleep over it. Each day the under eye circles get darker and he gets a little more impatient. 

“Why are you with him? Are you serious? Jealous?! I’ve never been jealous in my life.”

Brayden DuMont was the heir to his parent’s first generation wealth tech industry. To tell you the truth? He is actually a genius. This guy knows machinery better than anyone I’ve ever met in my life. I truly thought he only tolerated my presence. We shared a math class where he and I would always sit next to each other for. Never even exchanged more than a hello here and there. I would try to compliment his work, even if it was never for the class. It was usually some sort of side project. Blue prints or something to tinker with. Nothing I could ever make heads or tails of but impressive nonetheless. After a while he would look over at my paper and tap some wrong answers and mumble corrections aloud. 

He was never around but there were always little improvements made in my life left behind. The only reason I knew it was him was because he would leave behind a sticky note the same color as he used in his journals. A new lock on my door for extra security. A headlight on my bike which I didn’t know he knew I had or used? And most recently a cute little robot to keep me company. I don’t really know what he does, he usually just wheels around my room chirping every so often. I’m not sure why he’s doing all of this for me. I feel like I’m losing my autonomy piece by piece-- this is sweet, but not helping. 

“All I need is you beside me, and you can’t even do that? Of course, I need you. Isn’t that obvious?”

Haruki Sato is probably the most dangerous on paper having family ties with the yakuza. You’d never know it by talking to him though. Haru was the first to offer me a tour of the campus when I arrived. We gravitated towards each other ever since. He was easy to talk to and the most grounded out of anyone else here. If he caught me looking stressed he would take me to the diner in town. Once or twice he’s found me crying even and he just sat down next to me and let me let it out. As much as he’s the one I understand the best, I also have a hard time pinning any motivation on him either. Sometimes our conversations were a dance where either one of us was trying to back the other into a hole. Luckily, I almost always got out of that situation in a draw. He knows there’s something up with me, but I try my best not to sweat it. 

He seemed to disapprove of my relationships with the other students, like he could see something I couldn’t. As time went on I was able to see outside that blinding charm to see how the other people would avoid his gaze or hurry around the corner once they caught him. Even more strangely, they started to do that to me too. When I finally cornered a smaller fish that I was close to getting a story on he nearly shook as he looked all around for something. All I was able to get out of him was Haru’s name before he sprinted away full speed. Far off in the distance was Haruki smiling, he took his hand out of his pocket and waved at me as if nothing alarming happened at all. 

“Let me handle this. I don’t want your pretty little hands getting dirty.”

Liam Pendelsen was the most normal rich person I had met at this deranged college. We talked about favorite books, tv shows, and games. We got food together. Sometimes we would lay on his bed and just shoot the shit until past curfew. Once I actually fell asleep in his dorm and had to rush back to the women’s dormitory before I was caught. He was nice enough to loan me one of his hoodies to fight off the early morning chill. It felt natural with him. He told me about his situation about his family and I started to feel guilty that I was lying to him this whole time. I decided that he had enough to worry about and my spilling his secrets wasn’t going to be one of them. I withdrew and thought that he’d fall into step with his other friends and I would just fade into obscurity. 

I was so wrong. I ate breakfast earlier to avoid him, he would find me to ask where I was. I would try and fill my time with other people... and Liam would just show up and join in like he was invited in the first place. I put a stop to our evening hang out sessions. Liam climbed the tree outside my window and let himself in to my room and waited until I got back. What's even more surprising? He was pretty pissy if I strolled back in late. As if the only person I should be out with at that hour was him. If I pushed too hard to pump the breaks on our friendship he would grab a hold of me and beg me not to. To tell him why and how he could fix it. It was like trying to save him from me by leaving him alone was breaking his heart in a whole other way. 

“No, you can’t! Why are you pulling away? I’ll change, just please, don’t go.” 

Professor Lysander is the teacher I spent most time with. He is my homeroom, English teacher, and advisor. He saw how I struggled to keep up and fit in and advised I start tutoring with Arthur. I think knowing he isn’t part of all of this elitist nightmare made me feel comfortable around him to let down my guard. Lysander was only a little older than me, a year or two. Something told me he was lonely too, at least in the sense that there weren’t people around that understood what it was like. I never told him about my real identity but he felt for me anyway. I started going to his house in town on Friday evenings for dinner. I learned about his ex-wife and how he inherited his home here. 

Rarely, I would spend the night in the guest room and he was always more than willing to share the space. I feel like this house is too big for him. Sometimes he would offer me to have dinner more often or to spend the weekend to enjoy downtown for once. I felt like I was getting too integrated into the household. I was putting away leftovers and photos of him and his wife on the fridge were replaced of polaroids of him and I. There was a rock in my gut that I just couldn’t remove. 

“You always have a room here. In fact, it’s yours. Your visits are really special to me.” 

If any of them catch wind of the other's behavior it is full on catatonic. They'd bicker at the least or throw punches at their worst. I try my best to keep them apart but there's only so many hours in the day and they want all of my time. I was losing sleep over figuring out how to handle them separately or together. I feel an ulcer coming on at this rate.

I thought it couldn't get any worse until it stopped. Altogether, it came to a halt. I was able to be around more than one of them without an altercation. It was a lot eerier than I thought. They mention that they want to take a trip this summer. That there's a villa by the ocean where we could all go. It sounds innocent enough but I don't think I can keep my cover if they have access to the internet unlike here on campus. But it's bigger than that too. Something tells me that if I go with them that something bad will happen.

And I don't think they're taking no for an answer.

Please. I'm begging you. Pull me out. Give me a signal if you can. I'll keep a bag packed. Until then...

Sincerely, -Y/n

[daylighted]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤBETTER BIRTHDAYS — vampire!dean

slowly, dean is learning to love his birthdays again, after going for decades without letting himself.

not what i intended to write, and not as good as i wish it was, but to be fair to myself i have sickness. and i'm NOT missing out on my beloved baby's birthday! if logistics don't make sense, i don't care. that's fiction baby! vampire!dean is just rent free so it was inevitable.

it wasn’t supposed to be possible.

it was one of those things that dean came to terms with when he’d been turned so long ago — a family? was not something that was personally in dean’s cards. he’d have an infinite life, yes, but any family he wanted would have to be made or created, and not in the way that he’d ever get a chance to hold something so small that was part him.

dean forgot often that the impossible seemed to happen a lot around him.

there was a moment when he thought that being with you was a fate destined for doom. but every step of the way, you’d helped convince him that decades of isolation did not equate to deserving said isolation, and slowly, he’d let you make a home in his heart.

you accepted him for what he was. you trusted him with all you had; let him into your heart, your house, and every room that was deigned yours. no secrets, you’d promised.

it was a promise you held true to, because on a day he’d always remember, june 27th, you’d sat him down and told him that you were pregnant. and, on top of that initial shock, you were three months along.

he’d used the word impossible over and over throughout your pregnancy. this was not something for dean to pour his hope into and get attached to. it had to be a mistake; it had to be a misunderstanding — something.

but on dean’s birthday, a day he refused to celebrate anymore because of how many he’d had, a day that you took into your own hands and made him celebrate anyway—

a little boy was born.

a son with his hair, his face, and your eyes. so human and so real that it stole his breath away, unable to breathe at all even if he wanted to try again.

and it only got more chaotic from there. the little boy was an absolute devil; just as dean had been before sam was born, and before his father sank into a depression that drowned both of them. cassius winchester was a little force with sharp teeth and an affinity for crawling after him everywhere that dean went.

everything about cassius was impossible. that was why he’d been given the name, after all; helmeted warrior, it meant, so nothing could take him, so nothing would try to. now that dean had him, it was not going to be so easy to pry him away.

it was cassius’s third birthday, which meant it was dean’s… he’d lost count, really. either way, it was an incredibly special day for you. your two boys, one grown and one anew, and while you didn’t fit the mold when it came to the family dynamic that your boys painted, you certainly made up for it with your enthusiasm.

“blood in the icing?” you’d asked dean the moment he stepped downstairs, cassius balanced on his hip. “would that make it any more edible for you? for cassy?”

dean, taken aback for a moment, raises his eyebrows. “what would you eat, then?”

“i’m sure a little iron in my diet won’t hurt me.”

his scoff is an amused one, his eyebrows furrowing when he feels a sharp nip on his fingertip. in cassius’s mouth is dean’s finger, gnawing on it like it were nothing more than a teething toy.

his lips quirk up. he hasn’t genuinely grinned in so long that it feels almost foreign all of the time to do it now, since he met you, and even more since cassius. “on second thought, it might not be a bad idea.”

you stop the stand mixer to glance up at them, your eyes glimmering with that look that dean always refused to address. so much love for one person always made him feel on edge, like one day it would all fall away, like everyone else he’d loved prior. his fears had never once deterred you. perhaps it was why he, too, loved you so fiercely.

“he finally learned how to use those little teeth?” you ask, circling around the kitchen island to stand in front of dean and cassius, your expression alight. “what a milestone, my love. and on your third ever birthday.”

it certainly was a milestone. cassius had not let up his biting, little pinches that were certainly going to leave his finger raw for a few hours while it tried to heal. already, dean was planning on tossing all of the teething toys in the house away; he did not care for them like he cared for dean’s pointer finger.

you press a kiss to dean’s cheek, cassius’s forehead, before turning back to the slightly/less-dusty kitchen again. it’d been practically gray before you, but you had to eat, didn’t you? the scattered leftovers of human and forest creature in the boxed refrigerator did nothing for you. but you stop quickly, your eyes widened when you spin back around.

“wait!” you say on a gasp, grabbing something from underneath the countertop. two somethings. very shiny somethings. you jog back up to dean, looping the string of one underneath his chin and planting the birthday hat securely on his head, and doing the same for cassius, albeit with a smaller one. “happy birthday, my boys.”

dean tries to not let it affect him so deeply. how long had it been since his birthday felt like something to be celebrated and not a burden? there were so many years of those feelings that he did not understand yet how to react in instances like this, in the sheer warmth that you and cassius’s joy brought to him.

you were well aware of dean’s affinity for privacy. he was reserved, had made a home in the reservation, and would not leave it, not when he was so comfortable. so you did not call upon his sired to come celebrate — especially not them, when he was only beginning to heal the self-deprecation that came from their being there.

you did, though, dust away his hallway of their paintings, and uncover his painting supplies again. it was special to him, after all, and a hobby he’d locked away for too long after realizing the solace he found in keeping memories forever was embedding him into the past.

the paints and the blank canvasses were neatly wrapped in your room, along with a smaller box — dean’s present pile. there were more toys wrapped in a pile next to it, toys that cassius was far too spoiled already to need, but deserved anyways.

dean is not amused by the blindfold you put over his eyes as you led him to your shared room. or really, he was incredibly amused, but not so much to find out that all it served for was a dramatic way to lead him to his gifts while cassius napped downstairs.

“there are much more fun things that we could do with this blindfold,” he grumbles from in front of you, “there are much more fun things that we have done with it.”

“it is okay to be selfish and accept gifts sometimes, dean,” you say back, lightly kicking open the door with your foot to guide him inside.

dean is at his most shy and timid, somehow, on his birthday. as if he could make himself invisible and shrunken enough to be forgotten about, as if this day was not as equally about dean as it was cassius. “you are well aware of how little birthday gifts i’ve gotten over these years, aren’t you?”

“that is why i’ve got you three today.”

he can’t see, but he can hear the rustling of wrapping paper. shifting around, moving him as you so please, until he’s sat on the edge of the bed, and you are sitting at his feet in front of him, can feel the warmth of your humanity seeping into his legs.

something heavy lands in his lap.

“you may take it off,” you hum, and dean is not surprised to see that when he does, you are wearing a smug grin that makes you all the more beautiful. “go on. open it. that’s why gifts exist; to be opened.”

“i have not gotten a birthday gift in a while,” dean says with a huff, lifting his eyes as he tears into the wrapping paper to meet yours, “but that does not mean i need the process explained—”

his words die in his throat.

his paints. the ones that created life out of people he’d long killed. his heart falters. his mind blanks.

“this—” you pat the biggest gift behind you; flat and hollow when your hand touches it, “is some of the canvases i found too. i was just thinking— well, about how you paint everything you love in case it leaves.”

dean can’t even find the words to respond. his eyes stay locked on yours with a vulnerability you rarely see. “but i’m not leaving. and cassius is not leaving. and i think a family portrait for the front entrance would look lovely, don’t you?”

his swallow is thick and unnecessary, but he feels the lump in his throat and simply can’t help it.

instead of addressing your words, or the paints in his lap, or anything, he looks at the third present sat in your lap. his voice is raw when it comes out. “what is that one?”

dean’s paintbrushes, he assumes. fits the theme, would complete the puzzle.

your lips curl in a little grin. “those are cassius’s building blocks and perhaps a toy train. i can’t spoil everything.”

the attempt at lightening the mood works. he sets the paints aside and leans forward, lifting your chin with one finger and reaching into your lap with the other of his hands. “i meant this, little devil.”

there is no explanation or comments from you this time, as he opens it. it was hasty, the way he tore in, feeling light and airy like he did as a child on christmas. it’d been a long time since dean had felt so free.

it was not paintbrushes as he assumed, though. for the second time in one evening, you’d shocked the words out of him.

impossible, his mind begins to repeat again, but it’s quieter. less insistent. the voice of his subconscious had already been proven wrong once before.

a pregnancy test with two lines sits in the little jewelry box you’d tucked it away in.

the lump in his throat is tight, heavier. his mouth opens, closes, opens again, and no words come out. dean is left holding a pregnancy test between his fingers like it might break, left staring at the one person who heard his cries for company and answered with a family.

a family. how long had it been since he let himself dream? of this, of you, of anything?

“i know it is yours and cassius’s day, but i figured…” you don’t even need to finish the sentence for dean to get it. this was something that he’d wanted desperately, a secret he shared only with you. his childhood was bleak and unforgiving. all dean wanted was a chance to start anew and make it better.

here it was, in the form of a stick and a woman and a toddler.

he is more ginger with the pregnancy test than he was with the paints. as much as he appreciated the sentiments being brought back up, painting sam and judas had pulled all of the fun and the peace out of the hobby. he had no intention of digging back into the part of himself that loved the art of creation, in any way.

but now, in his head, there’s the grant entrance of his manor. and above the fireplace is you next to him in acrylic, a little cassius painted onto his hip, and a little baby in your arms. it would be updated every time his children grew. it would be updated every year, maybe even, so he could have multiples of you in the dresses he loved so dearly, and to see the progression of his kids. his family.

the hand on your chin moves to the back of your neck, tugging you up and into his arms. his eyes close, breathing you in slowly. he’s always loved the warmth of your livelihood, and it felt that much more intense, knowing that there was another life now, too.

“you have a talent for making a man forget he doesn’t deserve this,” he whispers into your throat.

you grasp at the sleeves of his coat, the grin on your face evident even as its buried into his chest. he can feel it, the pull of your lips, your smiling mouth in his shirt. “i hope to foster that talent, then. to become an expert in bringing you a lifetime’s worth of better birthdays.”

dean doesn’t know how to tell you that these years with you have done plenty. this was all he needed — you and the family you brought to him — to have better days and better birthdays.

so he stays silent and holds you to him, letting himself slip away into this life that felt more and more like a wish come true with every passing day.

and it is only when the sounds of little footsteps start stomping up the stairs toward your room, toward his presents, that dean’s eyes lift up to meet the sleep mussed little boy babbling to himself — and the big brother t-shirt you’d had him in, only now noticed.

notes. i literally woke up just to write this quick asf & post it PLS. if it sucks my bad. i'm just a girl. happy bday my pookie beloved baby waby!!!

tags. @titsout4jackles @moonstruksandco @starzify @ultravi0lence14 @itzavahere @sagegreen17 @bruceewayne @jays-bonnie-on-the-side @deansbeer @blushpinkdoll @warpedless @sabrinasopposite @k-slla @deansbite @foolinthera1n @honeyryewhiskey @angelblqde @whyyouegg @bluemerakis @fallbhind @florchids @figthoughts @beausling @chevroletdean @mccartneyqp @bluestrd @sthefferrete @rubyvhs @tortureddarkstar @aileenunfiltered @frosttbitessam @theosaurous

[onlymingyus]

Birds of a Feather (teaser)

pairing; joshua hong x f reader

genre; smut (minors dni), fluff, crack

warnings; university au, alcohol, drug use (marijuana), food/drink, betting, bad jokes, borrowed memes, simp!joshua, jealousy/possessive nature, irresponsible use of a hot tub and a friend's personal space, slight dom!joshua, mild dom/sub dynamics, pet names, sex health/birth control talk, unprotected sex, breast play, pinning/man handling, dirty talk, oral (m & f receiving/giving), 69, scratching, crying, size kink implied, exhibition kink implied -- as always I'm sure there is something I've left out.

w/c; 14.3k (800 and some change -- this teaser)

a/n; first of all thank you so so much to my dear @onlyhuis for proofreading this and thank you for literally being the reason it exists. this is based on a true story -- names have been changed for privacy and it's not completely true but bird kid should find a new place to live. thank you to @wonwussy for helping me come up with an amazing title, also without june, @highvern, @shuadotcom, and @horanghater just know this fic would have sucked majorly. thank you so much for helping me figure out my shit and adding so much to this.

this fic will be released sunday 3/17 at 3 pm est to read it now subscribe to my patreon and click here

Joshua rubs the sleep out of his eyes as he leans his forearm against his door, looking down at the cute girl standing in his dorm room. You were holding a clipboard and had a look somewhere between serious and annoyed on your face. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you up.” 

You hadn’t had the chance to meet every single resident in your hall but today you were making some very interesting discoveries. For example, apparently Eros lived just five doors down and he slept in late. Clearing your throat, you look down at your clipboard in an attempt to hide how shy his gaze is making you feel. 

“I’m Y/N; would you sign my petition to evict the bird kid? I know that sounds harsh but just to get him to, like, get his own place off campus with his bird.” 

His lips pulling up into a small grin, Joshua watches you start to ramble about your cause as you tap your pen against the paper attached to the clipboard. It seems you have several signatures so far. He had heard about this bird kid and he had also heard the bird in question several times. 

“Sure, I’ll sign it. Anything to get him to stop letting the damn thing use the water fountain as a bird bath.” 

Joshua watches as your eyes lift towards him again as he agrees with you. With the clipboard securely in his hands, you scoff in agreement, lifting your hands to express how important your argument was. 

“Right?! It’s gross. I drink out of that fountain. I mean, I used to...“

Nodding, Joshua signs his name and offers you back the clipboard before resting his shoulder on his door frame. You watch his smile pull to one side before he furrows his brows and gestures over his shoulder. 

“My roommate is still passed the fuck out but I’m sure he will sign too. Swing back by later and catch him when he’s actually breathing.” 

Pulling the clipboard to your chest, you press your lips together, trying to keep your eyes on the man’s face even as you feel them being drawn to where his t-shirt was straining around his bicep. Clearing your throat, you lean back a bit and glance down at his name, whispering it to yourself before nodding and daring to look back up to find Joshua still watching you.

“Okay… I’ll do that, Joshua.” 

Turning towards the next door, you pull your eyes from his handsome face even as Joshua leans out of his doorway to watch you, lifting his hand to wave. 

“Good luck with your petition, Y/N. See you later.” 

Groaning into his drool soaked pillow, Lee Chan forces himself to turn over and look towards his roommate, who was standing in the doorframe watching the hallway. He liked Joshua; if anything, the man was more like a brother than a roommate at this point but he was talking far too loudly for a Saturday morning. 

“That has to be a girl if you are acting like a simp this early.” 

Rolling his eyes, Joshua shuts the door behind him, turning towards the younger man and shooting him a look before reaching for one of the bottles of water and tossing it towards him. Despite usually having great eye to hand coordination, Chan hisses in pain when the bottle manages to meet his chest instead of in his hands. 

“And? Your point? Drink your water; I’m sure you have one hell of a headache.” 

Chan wasn’t going to argue with Joshua on that point. He did have a headache that could rival all other headaches. He couldn’t remember much of the night after their friend Seungcheol had shown him where the punch bowl was and challenged him to a “drink off.”

Reaching for the pain medicine on his nightstand, Chan groans, trying to open the bottle as Joshua watches, only to sigh and take it from his hands, doing it for him. Muttering a thanks, Chan takes the bottle back, leaning back onto his bed to take the medicine, looking up at the ceiling. 

“Who was the girl?” 

Pursing his lips, Joshua falls back on his bed, trying to hide the small smile on his lips, thinking about the short interaction with you and how cute you had been. It wasn’t like anything had even happened or that there would be anything that would come from it but it was nice meeting a new neighbor so to speak. 

“Uh, she said her name was Y/N. She’ll be back around later. Told her you’d sign her petition.” 

Chan’s brows furrow at Joshua’s words as he lifts his hand to wipe at his mouth, water starting to run down towards his chin. 

“What? Why would I do that?” 

“Because it’s not that big of a deal and you’ll agree with it. It’s about that dude who has a bird. Something about getting him to move off campus with it.” 

Making a face at the mention of the bird, Chan feels his headache behind his eyes, even thinking about the squawking that could be heard late at night and early in the mornings. 

“You’re right. I’ll fucking sign it. I’ll forge names. I’ll help the son of a bitch move.” 

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[thiscityneedslessfog]

Isn’t it better to hide— (INCORRECT BUZZER)

Persona 4 has a theme of convenience and basically choosing when to actually pursue things harder or just stick to what’s convenient.

The idea of convenience and how it can be destructive begins at the very start of the game with the negative effects of Junes on the town—people flock away from what gives the town identity for goods that are cheaper and easier to find. And you notice that people keep talking about Junes, but for the most part the same people keep buying from there—though, there are a lot of reused models, Persona 4 likes to use details like Namatame’s truck to its advantage. You see the woman at Junes who wants cabbages is the same woman who talks about Yosuke in Rank 2 of his social link.

Rather similar to the lyrics of the original opening of Persona 4:

Loading, loading, loading, quickly reaching maximum capacity

Warning, warning, warning, gonna short-circuit my identity

That second lyric has a double meaning—it’s not just about the fear of Inaba losing its integrity, but about the kids. Another thing about Persona 4 is how is shows the desperation of teenagers to be accepted by those around them, and how terrified they can be of living as themselves. See Yukiko and how Konohana Sakuya calls her out on not changing her situation because it’s easier.

The Midnight Channel Killings and the true Midnight Channel Killer

Furthermore, the game gives out numerous red herrings as to the Midnight Channel Killer’s identity simply because they’re easier to accept than the truth.

Kubo just comes out and lies that he’s the Midnight Channel Killer. But it’s so obvious he isn’t, if you’re paying attention. He’s not on anything TV related when he’s found dead. Even if you’re not a Persona user you can suspect something’s fishy. I mean hell, the police are pissed off with Naoto because she realized something was wrong about Mitsuo Kubo being convicted as the Midnight Channel Killer—the cause of death was known. Saki and Yamano just died out of nowhere.

Speaking of Naoto, she’s definitely a part of this because she thought staying in the closet and acting as a guy was easier than actually living as herself—a girl.

Namatame gets mistaken for the Midnight Channel Killer because he was intentionally framed by the true Midnight Channel Killer—he was manipulated by him into thinking the TV world could be safe, and the kids are so enraged by Nanako’s death that half of them try to kill the wrong guy. He’s not anyone the group is attached to or anyone who holds power.

Not to mention Namatame’s role—how he averted his eyes and didn’t want to believe that what he was doing was dangerous, a move he later admits was cowardly.

And the real Midnight Channel Killer? He’s none other than Tohru Adachi, the dearest friend of your character’s father figure, Ryotaro Dojima. You’ve seen him genuinely playing with Nanako. And he’s a police detective, one of the people meant to be working on the case, which is why he flies under the kids’ radar for so long.

Speaking of him, this isn’t the only way Adachi represents the theme of convenience vs truth and identity. Adachi heavily implies he believes in fate, and that it’s the primary reason why he isn’t successful in life, ignoring his own self-destructive nature that burns every bridge people make to him.

Furthermore, I see a lot of people saying he accepted Magatsu-Izanagi as himself without fighting him and that’s why his eyes turned gold during his fight. I don’t believe this is true at all thanks to Izanami’s words about Adachi. She describes him as someone who chose to "avert his eyes from the truth." To just fully accept it is entirely against what we know of his character—he doesn’t want to believe he’s at fault for his bullshit. He wouldn’t ever accept that, he's too proud. That’s why he blows up when the kids confront him!

And Adachi’s tendency to blame everyone around him is him running from himself and his own self-destruction. What I’m saying is, Adachi never could have accepted Magatsu-Izanagi as a Shadow, especially since thanks to Izanami kickstarting Magatsu-Izanagi as a Persona early, he never had the chance! And he needed to accept him because of how much baggage he has!

Also… remember how Adachi’s eyes turned gold. That was Magatsu-Izanagi bugging out and overtaking him. And remember what Chie’s Shadow, Tomoe, said when Chie rejected her? And the fact that the Shadows overtake and kill the victims when the fog clears?

Adachi took the easy way out—got a Persona without confronting it as a Shadow, and he paid the price. And he used a way of thinking that made him take the easy way out. The idea that everything was out of his control, when it wasn't at all.

It also gets covered in some characters’ individual character arcs, like Kanji, Marie and Naoto’s links.

Like Kanji, who ends up learning about how clearing the air would make life one hell of a lot easier for him if he just put in the work to clear the air in the first place.

Marie is afraid of the truth awaiting her in her memories, as she pleads Yu to stop during her rank 2 because “there’s no such thing.”

It’s not really a wonder Izanami discusses it and seems so fixated on it, especially since she’s incomplete and only the wish-granting side of herself. She described throughout her dungeon the choices she made as only being for the sake of mankind. She even mentions it in her dialogue as a normal gas station attendant.

And she’s not exactly wrong about how people work, we do try to pursue what’s convenient in a desperate bid to make our lives easier, everyone wants to make their life easier and better.

But the game proves how the truth is better for you in the end. First of all, Google human achievements now—see how literally pursuing the truth has made our lives better. Medicine alone is a perfect example. We learned about various diseases that menaced humanity, researched them, learned the truth about how they worked, and created vaccines and medication against them so we could survive. But second of all, see how things and people change for the better.

First of all, there’s the obvious not taking Adachi and the Midnight Channel’s bait and killing Namatame. By not killing him, you get to actually take down Adachi—the true Midnight Channel Killer. Because Yu gets everyone to back off by explaining that he suspects Namatame isn’t the real MCK. Because he isn’t!!

Second of all, in the epilogue, Junes begins cooperating with the local businesses to preserve the integrity of the district and to not close its competition.

This actually makes the Shopping District come alive, and helps Inaba begin to prosper instead of being a stagnant, dying town that also got almost collectively thrown into the apocalypse.

And in the social links, pretty much everyone who decides to go the hard way and live as their true selves are happier. Naoto living as a woman instead of remaining closeted, and realizing that "the misogynists and those who look down on those younger than them will never be happy, so don't try to prove yourself to them--you're still a detective and what matters is you're doing something you love. And no matter what they say, you're absolutely great at it."

Kanji succeeding to help his family business after helping clear his reputation after the little boy empowers him to do so…

And how could I forget Teddie finally choosing to not hide who he is as a Shadow after so much turmoil about it because he thought hiding it would make the Investigation Team like him? And it literally awakening his Persona from Kintoki-Douji to Kamuy?

The story and the social links alike support this: The truth is what pushes people forward. Not hiding it. The discovery and acceptance of truth is the key to human progress and prosperity, and Persona 4 understands this at a fundamental level. It’s one of the key themes of Persona 4, alongside the power of trust and love. but those two are for different posts.

[in1-nutshell]

Hello teacher I'm just resending my request cause I remember you said some of the request you get from other followers disappears and I haven't seen the other request that I have send you when your request box was open

So I took the liberty of myself when your request box was open to copy and paste my requests so here they are

1.) Not too sure where this idea came from but I would like request a (our world buddy again) who happens to have a great fatherly like relationship with Prime Verse megatron who ends up meeting IDW Optimus who actually is her adopted dad he has the papers and data pads to prove everything and Prime megatron and his decepticons decided they were gonna fight IDW Optimus for custody of buddy and it ended somewhere along the line of Prime megatron ended up in the medbay completely unconscious and half of his army traumatized after they found out what an how angry a prime who is a father can really get (technically related to my story)

2.) Don't really know what to think for this one but what about IDW Bots meet G1 bots?

3.) Buddy from our world meet team prime and team megatron from cyber verse world? I would love that interaction

Oh and cyber verse starscream got really attached to her to the point he doesn't like sharing her attention which buddy has no problems with cause she knows why he is the way is. And maybe megatron and sound wave got attached too and devised plans to steal her and keep her the nemesis for a little while cause it's not everyday you meet someone who show so much affection

P.S feel free to write these last cause I know you are busy😃✌

This is a pretty big list, so I went with number 2, minus the Cyberverse part. I don't write for Cyberverse as of now.

Hope you enjoy!

Human Buddy from the real world meeting Team Prime

SFW, Platonic, Human reader

TFP

Buddy was starting to think that maybe the new coffee mixture they had made was really an elixir to travel dimensions.

They didn’t know how hard they hit their head when they saw Wheeljack arguing with Ultra Magnus.

The two bots didn’t even notice the human until they came literally running to Magnus’s pede and hugged him the best they could.

Buddy hugging Magnus’s pede: “If this is a dream I don’t want to wake up!” Magnus nearly jumps feeling the random human hug his pede. Wheeljack looks like he is going to glitch, though he doesn’t know for what reason. Wheeljack: “Hey… umm, kid what are you—” They turned their head so fast Wheeljack was sure that he heard a snap. The human starts running up to him rapidly shaking their fist in excitement: “Wheeljack! I can’t believe I’m actually talking to you! Either that or I may have found the limit of coffee I am allowed to drink.” Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack: “What?” Buddy: “Hey, aren’t you supposed to take me to meet the rest of the team? Isn’t it like, the whole protocol?” Ultra Magnus gives Wheeljack an uneasy look: “You seem to know quite a bit…” Buddy waving their hand: “I’ll explain that later, now, who am I climbing in?!”

When they arrive to the base, they are practically bouncing off the walls.

They are even more excited than when Miko first showed up.

In fact, the new human is excited to meet the kids, Fowler and June just as much as they are excited to meet the bots.

Miko has a taste of her own medicine and feels the need to apologize… someday.

Buddy does calm down when explaining how they know who they are and how they had been through a similar situation like this before.

That leads to more questions, but Buddy refuses to answer them.

Something about ‘Not wanting to mess with the universes’.

Buddy: “Anyways I need to keep you guys from finding out about some spoilers, like Bee’s voice coming back. Team Prime: “WHAT?!” Bumblebee: BEEP!? (MY VOICE?!)” Buddy: “…Rats…”

Optimus does allow Buddy to stay on the base while they wait until they return back home.

Most of the team thinks that another Miko is among them now.

And to a point they are right.

But Buddy also knows when to stop and tries to be useful around the base.

Buddy sweeping the human area. Miko: “This has been the third time you’ve cleaned this place this week. You can leave some stuff around you know?” Buddy still sweeping: “Ratchet finds the mess distracting; I’m just trying to lighten some of the load.” Ratchet, who overhears this now has to rethink his opinion of Buddy.

More respect is earned when they see Buddy football tackle Miko from going into the groundbrigde.

Many hugs are given on what seem like random days.

Those days turn out to be heavier than others and Buddy is always behind the bot ready to hug or do whatever they can to make them feel better.

Smokescreen walks into the base with his doorwings a bit drooped. Buddy running over to him: “Hey Smokes.” Smokescreen puts on a fake smile: “what’s up Buddy?” Buddy patting his pede and giving a genuine smile: “You’re doing great.” Smokescreen just nods because he doesn’t want to cry in front of Optimus. Later… Ratchet still on the main console. Buddy grabbing a blanket and places it nearby. Ratchet: “And what are you doing? You should be in bed.” Buddy: “That’s where you should be too.” Ratchet scoffs and continues working. Buddy: “Don’t think I didn’t see you put back your rations today.” Ratchet stops mid key stroke. Buddy: “I am NOT going to sleep until you get some energon and go to sleep.” Ratchet: “Well then prepare to stay awake for a long time.” Buddy cracking their knuckles: “Bring it! I’ve been awake for 3 days and 3 nights straight during exam week!” Ratchet suddenly worried for Buddy’s health: “…You win this round.” Buddy laughs in sleep deprived.

The bots are wrong to assume that Buddy wouldn’t pull a Miko.

… and now some are considering bringing them out with them.

Buddy fan almost as much as they do with the bots and some cons are now afraid of getting the feral human on them.

But Buddy has also thrown rocks at certain cons out of pure spite.

Buddy throwing some rocks at Breakdown: “SWALLOW YOUR PRIDE AND JOIN US!” Breakdown looking at the human questioning: “What?” Buddy still chucking rocks: “YOU COULD BE A GREAT AUTOBOT WITH YOUR POTENTIAL! BRING KNOCKOUT TOO!” Knockout: “I think this human lost it.” Buddy: “DO NOT LET YOUR MAN GO OUT HUNTING THAT TRAITOROUS SPIDER!” Arcee: “Finally something we agree on.”

[otp-after-dark]

“I want to know him. Memorize him. So I can live on the image later.” —June Osborne, 1x08

This episode breaks your heart in slow motion. It’s sensual. It’s tender. It’s dangerous. It’s the moment Nick falls all the way in — and the moment he realizes that loving June might get her killed.

We open with softness: the rare kind. Nick and June, entangled. Touching. Breathing each other in. It’s not performative. It’s not about survival. It’s just them.

And Nick? He’s smiling. Grabbing her. Holding her. Eyes full of her. This is the moment you know he’s in love.

But the look on his face when he remembers the last Handmaid? It’s devastating. Because now, it’s not just guilt. Now it’s fear. For June. For what his love might cost her.

We finally get Nick’s backstory — from struggling to find work to getting swept into Gilead by Commander Pryce. What starts as desperation becomes indoctrination. By the time Nick realizes what Gilead actually is, he’s already inside. And his coping strategy becomes clear:

Stay low. Stay quiet. Don’t form attachments.

Yeah… that plan didn’t last.

Jezebels brings all that danger to the surface. June and Nick are now navigating this relationship under Fred’s nose — in makeup, in costumes, in risk.

The way Nick sees her in that dress. The way he wraps the coat around her like it’s armor. He’s holding it together for Fred, but his eyes say: don’t you dare look at her. He’s spiraling. Jealous. Protective. Completely powerless to stop what’s happening.

We also get introduced to Beth. The casual hook-ups that suddenly stop — because Nick can’t sleep with anyone else now. Not when he’s all in. Not when June is walking into danger.

Then comes the break at the end of the episode — quiet, sharp, and full of ache.

June smiles at him, and you can see Nick try to pull away.

“We can’t do this anymore.”

She sees the resignation he’s been clinging to — the way he’s folded himself into this system, quietly doing his job, surviving by disappearing. And in that moment, she calls it what it is: a half-life.

Nick has convinced himself that staying small is the only way to stay alive — but June’s not here to survive. She’s here to fight, to feel, to live. And in this moment, she challenges him to want more too.

It’s not just about them. It’s about who he is, what he wants — and whether he’s willing to stop hiding behind duty and silence and actually choose something. Choose her, or at the very least, choose himself.

And that question? It doesn’t just linger in this scene — it becomes the emotional thread that winds through his arc for the rest of the series.

Because Season 6 is where this conflict boils over. Nick’s silence stops working. His restraint stops protecting anyone. And he’s finally forced to confront the thing June asked him back in this moment:

“Is this it? Is this enough for you? This bullshit life. Is this what you want?”

The heartbreak of this episode is that he can’t answer it — not yet. But this is the moment the question sinks in.

She’s daring him to imagine more than survival. She’s daring him to want a full, messy, dangerous life. Because anything less? Is already a kind of death.

And then — just as she turns to leave — he speaks.

“My name is Nick Blaine. And I’m from Michigan.”

It’s not just a name. It’s his truth. His rebellion. It’s the first time he lets her see the person underneath the uniform — not the driver, not the Eye, not the commander's puppet.

Just Nick.

[boybandbaby]

The Sweet Escape Part IV

911 AU (Prince!Evan Buckley x Fem!Baker!Reader)

previous part | series masterlist

word count: 1124

warnings/tags: mention of heart attack (but doesn’t happen), panic attack, as always if I forgot something please let me know

note: another short and angsty part but trust me the next chapter is hella long and has smut ;)

─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ───

Evan looks on, walking behind as his mother and fiancé cling to each other. They’re smiling and laughing as they speak with the wedding planner.

The sounds of their voices discussing vanilla cake with vanilla frosting, different shades of yellow for the table cloths and bridesmaids dresses, and lilies for centerpieces and bouquets is driving him nuts.

“Evan? Evan!” June raises her voice to catch his attention.

“Huh?” Buck shakes his head, attempts to clear his mind. “Sorry?”

“Pay attention, Evan.” Queen Margaret rolls her eyes. “He has such a short attention span.” She leans into June, laughing.

“I was asking what you thought about these plates for the reception.” June taps her long, manicured nails on the glass plate.

“Oh! Uhhhh, I’m not really good with this stuff.” He stutters. “The ones on the left I guess.”

“You guess? Try to be more enthusiastic please, we’re getting married.” June makes eyes at Margaret. “Isn’t he just funny, Maggie?” Yes, the Queen allows her future daughter in law to call her by a nickname. “And that was the wrong answer, the ones on the left have silver designs, the ones on the right have gold. They’ll go better with our color scheme.”

“Have you picked out which suit you’ll be wearing?” Margaret looks at Evan. “You know what? Never mind, we’ll find something suitable for the big day.” She pats his cheek and continues walking with June and the planner.

Buck is freaking out. He thinks he’s having a heart attack and dying as he makes his way out of the palace. He spent all morning forced to participate in the wedding planning. Nothing about the wedding is what he wants.

They’ll be close to 200 guests, a full day itinerary, and a live band. It’s all too much for him. His entire life is being planned and he can’t keep up.

It’s around dinner time when his presence is requested and no one can reach him.

He’s disappeared. Phillip and Margaret are trying to keep it under wraps but there’s whispers around the palace that he’s run away.

Athena and Eddie are being scolded for not keeping tabs on him as that is one of their main duties. Eddie and Buck are more friends than the King and Queen would like, too casual they say. Eddie knows where’s he gone, or he believes he knows. Eddie covers for Buck more often than he should but they’re friends and that’s what friends do.

“Find him now!” Phillip barks. Athena and Eddie’s eyes widen, before facing each other and exiting the room.

“Eddie, I know you know where he’s at. Please bring him back so we both don’t lose our jobs.” Athena pleads before going to “check the kitchen.” Eddie knows she’s just going to go see Bobby.

Buck hasn’t actually left the grounds. He’s sitting on a cushioned table in the Wilson’s cottage, just on the outskirts of the gated palace, as Hen listens to his heart through a stethoscope.

“Not a heart attack, just a panic attack. You haven’t had one that I know of since Daniel.” She slips the equipment over her head and sets it down on the table beside Buck’s thigh.

Hen has been the palace doctor for a few years now, highly recommended by most in town. Folks travel from all over town and even rarely from around the world to see her.

“I feel like I’m drowning or suffocating. I guess that’s almost the same thing. I can’t breathe, Hen.” Buck cries.

“I know it seems hard right now but you’re strong and smart, you’re going to get through this.”

“How? I’m marrying a stranger. My mother thinks she’s perfect and they’re already attached at the hip. She should just marry her if she likes her so much. And oh my god, she just seems so…”

“Bitchy?” When Buck gives her a look she adds, “too harsh?”

“I don’t know. She just has a nasty little attitude. She tries to act all sweet but I can see that mean girl attitude coming out of her.”

“And it’s okay when y/n did it?”

“How do you know about that?”

“I hear things from Bobby and Eddie and Chim.”

“Y/n was never mean. We bantered a lot but she never did anything to purposely hurt me.”

“What about when she rejected your invitation to the ball? Eddie said you were upset.”

“I was but I know why she reacted the way she did. She pushes people away to protect herself. I should’ve protected her. Shielded her from everything. That has to be why she won’t talk to me right?”

“But didn’t you guys have breakfast after the ball?” Buck furrows his brows. “Bobby told me”.

“God, you guys gossip too much.”

“Your life is like a soap opera, Buck.” Hen shrugs. “What happened after breakfast?”

“June came in after breakfast and was interrogating me about my relationship with y/n. I told her y/n and I were just friends and that she is nothing more to me.”

“Do you think she heard?” Hen raises a brow.

“Maybe? I don’t know. I hope not.” Buck rubs his hands over his face.

“Why did you say y/n meant nothing to you?”

“I said that to get June off my back. Of course y/n means something to me. I’ve been in love with her for years. I feel like she finally started to see me as someone other than that pesty kid or even as someone other than the Prince. She was actually starting to open up to me and I ruined it.”

“I think it’s just a misunderstanding. Just tell y/n everything you just told me. If she has any feelings toward you she may forgive you. And if not, you’ll have to learn to be okay with that.”

Buck is persistent if anything. You told him not to come to the bakery and he wants to respect your wishes but he needs to see you.

Your grandma has taken the day off. She won’t tell you but she’s becoming ill with the amount of work she’s doing. Her age and health issues aren’t allowing her to do as much work in a short amount of time like she normally would.

Just as Buck is about to enter the bakery. He sees you laughing with Albert, the new worker at the bakery and Chim’s brother. He’s come earlier than you’ve expected but his help is appreciated. Buck sees you nudge his side as he throws flour at you. You seem happy. Buck doesn’t want to ruin that for you.

Buck smiles to himself and takes a step back. He hopes you haven’t seen him. He wouldn’t want the smile to leave your face.

─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ───

next part

[cormorant-red]

I played 999 recently at @xivu-arath's recommendation, and I had so much fun that (inspired by that one polygon video) I illustrated my liveblog about it!

If you haven't played 999 and you are even a little bit intrigued by a puzzle/mystery visual novel with multiple timelines that all guide you towards wild plot twists...probably don't read the text! 999 is the kind of story that is best experienced with no knowledge besides the basic premise.

Transcript below the cut:

Cormorant: characters in this game really just say shit like "have you heard the story about the crystallization of glycerin?"

as a matter of fact i haven't, june, please enlighten me

Storm: "I know we're stuck in a freezer but. let's talk about weird mythical science!"

Cormorant: it's also killing me that junpei is dressed like marty mcfly and isn't sharing any of his jackets

-----

Cormorant: this game is leading me to arrive at mathematical concepts on my own. what the heck

Storm: kshgushhsg

I take it you're having a good time then

Cormorant: trying to check lotus's work and it turns out that no matter what group i arrange to take through a door, the people left behind will always have the same digital root

so to get through door 7 with snake missing, i could either send a group with sum 16 (junpei, ace, clover, and june) or with sum 25 (clover, june, seven, and lotus), but it doesn't matter because the remainder always have root 9 and can't get through doors 3 or 8! wild!

Storm: yeah the numbers and which doors end up barred to you is so cleverly deliberate

-----

Cormorant: i'm glad i finally checked what novel mode meant, because this is way more fun

Santa cocked his head to one side, like an inquisitive bird, and looked at them.

After several long moments, during which it became apparent that Santa had no idea what the cards meant, June took pity on him.

i'll have to go back and redo the beginning after i get to the first ending

Storm: oh yeah! as I recall that was done differently when it was originally a dual screen game... but it's much better when in novel style. gimme all the descriptions

-----

Cormorant: I had a long day of sitting though presentations and so I entertained myself by calculating digital roots

I discovered that adding 9 or any multiple of 9 to a number has no effect on the digital root, which is awfully interesting bc I got to the part where snake gets killed. Assuming door 3 was opened with 12 and not 21, the options are 7+3 (motive?), 6+4 (they’d both have to be REALLY good actors), or 9+1. And if bracelets work without a body attached, and if ace picked it up in door 5…

That would be a really useful tool to get around the 3-person minimum without altering the digital root

I’m also very intrigued by the theory that zero is also in the game but I don’t know what to do with that yet

Storm: forlornly having to keep myself from saying literally anything

Cormorant: Understandable, please don’t give me any hints! I’m just calling shots for the joy of being wrong

-----

Cormorant: and how do you know that, my traitorous friend?

Santa: “The RED doesn’t need a person, you know.”

Santa: “All I need is the bracelet.”

-----

Cormorant: y’know what i think he’s bluffing. he does need June specifically and that’s why he refused to consider leaving her when they first found door 9. if all he needed was a hostage, he could have grabbed junpei and forced ace to come along, and then he would be dealing with two people under duress instead of three

i peeked at a guide and apparently i found the ending adjacent to the true ending(?) first, oh well. time to see the others!

santa: i said i don't want to leave seven alone

me: bud you can't do a heroic sacrifice too, it'll mess up all the math

reader, he was not doing a heroic sacrifice

-----

Storm: got any character opinions or theories to share so far?

Cormorant: hmm I’ve got soft spots for santa and lotus maybe just because they were in the first group I went with. I like that the game makes a point of showing that lotus is quick with the math/technical knowledge. I warmed up to clover and seven more than I expected to! I have no evidence to mistrust ace….but I don’t trust him

Snake died before I before I could say two words to him

Or…didn’t. Forgot clover said he didn’t

I got info about the previous experiments from clover and I wonder if we’re like…reenacting the past somehow? Experiencing morphogenetic resonance with the last voyage?

Again no evidence i just wonder where the pseudoscience is going

Storm: santa was so my type as soon as I started playing that I just picked all rooms with him on my first run skugrhsghu

Cormorant: AHAHA that makes me feel better about going “yeahhh door 4 I like the cut of this guy’s jib”

-----

Cormorant: “the bracelet comes off when your heart rate reaches zero” interesting then that we’ve brought up cryostasis

-----

Cormorant: i simply don't trust him not to have a spare bracelet in his pocket!!!

They climbed into the elevator and Junpei listened to it creak and rattle its way to the bottom deck. Only Junpei, Ace, and Lotus were left.

As the elevator rumbled out of sight, Ace spoke.

Ace: “Lotus, would you be so kind as to go with me?”

Cormorant: “bad end” YEAH I’LL SAY

Storm: lkksghr yeah there's a few of those!

Cormorant: santa was really quick to declare that he, june, and seven needed to go with clover. waht's his game

june and ace could have done it just as easily

Storm: they could have! good catch

maybe he just thinks seven is cooler than ace,

Cormorant: i'm imagining clover taking all her grisly trophies to the door only to find it already engaged, because lotus needed no persuading,

and regarding the true ending requirements, it's also funny that santa's like "i hate this bookmark! get it out of my sight!" and this is a huge help in junpei befriending the girl who's otherwise about to snap

Storm: load bearing bookmark

Cormorant: good thing you threw that tantrum bud or you would have been killed with an axe

-----

Cormorant: in my suspicions i forgot a critical detail, which is that he didn't actually go into the door with the body this time

of course seven has been propping doors open, so it really could have been anybody

-----

Cormorant: "where have these 16 boys and girls disappeared to?" eight for each game and then an experimenter? again with the idea that zero might be in the game...

-----

Cormorant: bad endings complete! on to the normal ending, which hopefully has less of junpei getting stabbed to death

puzzling over who could have done all those murders, especially in the sub ending...or did everyone get killed? clover thinks that snake's death was faked. or did snake do all the murders, since he was the only one unaccounted for?...and then i remember what kind of game i'm playing. can't discount the ice mummy as a suspect.

Storm: you truly cannot ignore the possibility of the ice mummy

-----

Cormorant: ah no, so santa's sister was the kid that died...

i can't figure out the connection between events! why did the last games have the veneer of a science experiment, while this one has no context given? why was it all kids last time, and a random mix of ages this time, with some repeat subjects?

-----

Cormorant: called it!!!!

Junpei: “Ace, Guy X, and the 9th Man’s bracelet.”

Junpei: “That was all you needed to open door [3].”

Cormorant: called it before i even got to an ending ehehe

what i’ve been saying!!

Ace: “(9) is a potent ally in the Nonary Game.”

Ace: “Adding (9) to any set of numbers won’t alter the digital root.”

Ace: “As you can see, (9) is a very useful number here.”

Ace: “With it, one can go anywhere, with anyone.”

Ace: “It is, I suppose you could say, a game changer.”

-----

Cormorant: okay, normal ending finished! junpei did not get stabbed but we also didn’t resolve much…I’m now thinking that ace with his pocket drugs could have easily played dead in the sub ending

glad to see that snake is okay and hopefully can stay okay in the true ending. where did clover get that riddle, and will she still have it?

0=6. how much do I read into this

still don’t understand how we get from here to santa hostage situation. he’s been so consistent about not even considering betraying or abandoning people, so either he’s a better actor than ace…or it’s staged. are he and june in cahoots

Storm: augh so close now!! soon I can actually say things

-----

Cormorant: O FUCK

Seven: “Santa’s always in the room with her. That’s what you’re saying, isn’t it?”

Snake: “Yes, that’s right.”

Clover: “What about it…?”

Snake: “That’s quite simple, really.”

Snake: “You told me that the first time you came to this room…”

Snake: “…Santa was the first to refuse to leave June behind.”

Snake: “Now, doesn’t that beg the question “why?” Why would Santa do such a thing?”

Snake: “The answer is easy.”

Storm: B)

Cormorant: i've been thinking of them as a pair because it makes the math easier! if you've got 3 + 6 + 8, just cross out the ones that make 9 and don't even bother with the addition, your root is 8

Storm: B) B) B)

Cormorant: but god!! they are a pair, do not separate (or the jig is up)

Storm: they hid it soooo well

-----

Cormorant: was wondering when we would see the last cradle guy and oh duh, he was guy X

i did think it was odd that santa phrased it as "i need to leave two of you behind" rather than "i need three of you to come with me," but if he was responsible for everything (most things?), he knew that snake was there, and he was setting up a group that could follow him. excited to see where this is going!

[dreamy sigh] this game is so elegant. what a little puzzle box

Storm: yeah it is, it's just so wonderfully crafted. so little is wasted!

-----

Cormorant: oh boy [akane vision label]

"through the morphic fieldset we were resonant, and we were as one" i don't think i've mentioned it before but i'm constantly pleasantly surprised by the narration in this game. it's not flashy but it's evocative in a way that's really working for me

Storm: this is where the port falls short a bit of the original version... the ds really worked well with this aspect

-----

Cormorant: the number of times i thought "this will be totally wrong but i'll say it to storm anyway"

hello??? [arrow pointing back to the message “I wonder if we’re like…reenacting the past somehow? Experiencing morphogenetic resonance with the last voyage?”]

Storm: Y E A H

Cormorant: laser-guided spitballing

-----

Cormorant: man i said that 4+6 would have to be really good actors if they were the ones that opened door 3...and while they didn't kill snake, i sure underestimated our queen of the stage akane kurashiki

the baseline was NOT where i thought it was

Storm: no one does it like her