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lenoraslament · 5 months ago

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Lorenzo Berkshire x Reader

Suddenly Requited

2.6k words fluff/smut

I’ve gotten quite a few requests for Enzo story. I have to be honest I haven’t felt as confident writing for him. So I stole from a short story that I began to write but turned into nothing…So here goes.

Warnings: 18+, Minors DNI, some fluff, college age Slytherins, unrequited love, curvy reader, insecure reader, oral ( both receiving), piv.

There is nothing as painful as unrequited love. Enzo had been the object of your adoration for years, the truth of your adoration had been woven into your friend group as common knowledge.

They all knew you loved him and truth be told so did he. There were moments where you wondered if he could feel the same. The push and pull of minor flirtations always leaving you confused but he never truly looked at you that way.

So you watched him date girls you knew, have relationships, chip off pieces of your heart as you sat and let your heart bleed.

This summer was business as usual, the lake house. Even though it had been a few years since Hogwarts you were still tight. You and the other Slytherins in your friend group were all to meet up there separately as it was the middle of the summer. Most of you scattered to the winds of different colleges or paths but this brought you all together.

The house stood quiet in the evening when you arrived, the white slat house with blue shutters always made your heart flutter. Up the wooden steps to the large porch you walked. Were you the first one? You figured this was the case until steady footsteps walked towards the door. The door swung open and the sight of Enzo standing there with his sheepish smile made your heart stop.

“Oh hey Enz,” you said softly as you quickly glanced away. He was too handsome, too tall and glowing from sweat.

“Hey Y/N, fuck it’s hot, the AC must be out. Do you know a cooling charm? I feel like I’m going to die”. He said as he surveyed the blush on your cheeks. You nodded and walked in the door past him dragging your bag behind you.

He was right the room was sweltering, the whole house was. If downstairs was stuffy, upstairs was an oven, you pointed your wand and cast the cooling charm but it wasn’t powerful enough to work instantaneously. You both sat down across from eachother on couches with open windows billowing with a too gentle breeze.

“Where the fuck is everyone?” He asked almost in an accusatory tone. It pissed you off a little, sure you had a crush but this being alone together wasn’t a scheme.

“How am I supposed to know,” you grumbled.

His mouth opened to answer and then it occurred to you to check your phone.

The group chat messages told a tale of summer laziness, arguing over taking the train or flying. It was too far to apparate. It seemed that they had all come to the conclusion to come down tomorrow morning. Enzo had his phone out reading the same messages as you. Unwittingly you both made eye contact and looked away.

“Great,” Enzo said making you scoff. Asshole. You didn’t know what his problem was because you two usually got along.

“I’m going to bed,” you sighed and stood up, two steps up the stairs to your usual room and that heat hit you like a tidal wave. You were not going to lay up there in the sweltering heat just to make him more comfortable. Fuck that.

You walked back in and he didn’t even look up from his phone.

“Goodnight?” Enzo asked sounding a little lighter, you saw the smirk and you knew. He had claimed the only bedroom downstairs.

“I’m going to sleep on the couch,” you said haughtily, decidingly annoyed with his behavior. His grin as he tried not to look at you was as maddening as it was handsome.

“You’re on the comfortable couch…move,” you said. Enzo finally met your frustrated expression with a smile.

“Oh are you going to sleep in that?” Enzo’s eyes swept down your body, to your jean shorts and plain t shirt. Even though you knew he was mocking you, seeing him eye you up made you blush.

“Well no I’m going to wear my pajamas,” you said, “if you leave”.

“Why do I have to leave?” He asked, you tilted your head with a disappointed glare. He was fucking with you. You knew he loved the attention. Your attention. It wasn’t enough that he had nearly half the girls in school dreamily staring at him, he had to fluster you. Just because he could. Because you were in love with him.

After years of these remarks, something inside of you snapped and you decided; two can play at this game. The dim lamp lit room helped embolden you and you walked over to your bag seated in the middle of the living room. So you pulled your shirt and shorts off standing there in your underwear. The action was so quick it startled you both. The realization of your own daring behavior made you reel. Immediately you regretted it. You wanted to pull your clothes back on but a tiny part of you couldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing you chickened out so you began to rifle in your bag.

Enzo had never seen a body like yours before. Before he saw you bathed in the warm glow of the soft lamp , he liked his women fit. Small perky breast, slim waists with toned arms. Women he could run miles with,and pull back home for rigorous, athletic sex.

He stared at your jarring beauty, wanting to drown in you. Soft curves in soft light. Shadows deepened the ripples on your waist and under the curves of your breast. A generous handle of hips he had the urge to sink his fingers into.

You thought him infallible. Years of perfect women with perfect bodies paraded in front of you. There wasn’t any hesitation to pull off your shirt and shorts in front of him so you could change. To stand there fiddling with the contents of your suitcase. You never considered he would care. Before you pulled out your pajama shorts you looked over at him.

The way he stared made you stop dead in your tracks. His hand rested on the counter, one hand laid unnaturally on his chest. Unbeknownst to you, he didn’t realize he was doing this. Hand over his heart, he did not turn away when your eyes met his. It would be understandable for you to assume he was only surprised by your nudeness. Both of your eyes only locked for a second before his eyes trailed back down. He drank in every slope, feeling a heat in his face rise. You were shocked by his face, lips parted, eyes lazily moving over her. Is he? Checking me out? Me? The realization emboldened you further.

You reached behind her and unhooked her bra. Letting it fall to the floor. A soft gasp escaped from his lips. Full heavy breasts, another novelty he had yet to experience. There were many things he enjoyed in this world, working with his hands, tinkering and fixing things. Sometimes even sports and reading. But he never cared for art.

His sophomore college year he sat bored through an art history class for what should have been an easy elective. Their required trip to a museum left him mostly unimpressed. The warm humid day hinted too much of summer to be ruined by cool, musty gallery air. Stern moon faces of renaissance women stared back at him.

They all seemed to scowl, resenting his presence as well. Finally a respite in the form of natural light pouring in a hall rescued him from the formal stiffness of oil paintings, it was hall of statues. Soft marble. Women draped over carved stone. Their alabaster skin catching light, catching shadows. So creamy and delicate he wanted to place his mouth against them and bite.

Now, you stood silently reminding him of those statues. Those soft natural women molded from stone. Their beauty so absolute it needed to be captured.

No words hung between you. Only the soft deep breaths that had joined in unison. He took the first step, hesitating finally letting his eyes reach yours again. He wanted to know if you would jump back, yank your shirt on and run out.

You felt like you were being tricked. The man you had loved your whole life, seeing you in a way you rarely let yourself be seen. By the time he crossed the room, the arousal was palpable. You were scared just then, even though you understood now that he was wanting you. His first touch would say everything.

He was a man after all. If he reached for your breasts first, you knew that this would be the only night you would be together. If he grabbed for your waist, it might be rough and quick. An urge to be met, filled and abandoned. Years for you however , of waiting for this moment. Was he really seeing you? Beyond a quick conquest, would he send you out quickly in the morning? Or even worse, in the middle of the night?

All these thoughts raced through your mind as he stood in front of you but luckily did not register on your face.

When he finally reached for you, he cupped your face. Now you gasped, as he lifted your chin and kissed you. Deeply, softly, quickly finding a rhythm. Your lips and tongues sliding, breathing in each other’s breaths. His hands finally moved down onto your sides and you moaned into his mouth. You were ready to sink down onto the floor but he pulled away, “wait”, he whispered, and your face fell.

He took your hands, “let’s go to the bedroom”. Relief poured over you, and then he did. He led you down the hall, onto the bed. He was thankful for the curtain pushed aside, moonlight bathed in lighting their way. He wanted to see you, needed to. Your kissing became needy, his mouth trailed to your breast letting his tongue lazily lick your nipples before sucking each one. You bucked her hips, whining. Your hands moving endlessly through his hair, fingertips touching his shoulders trying to take in as much of him as possible.

He kissed stomach, lower and lower until he was teasing your thighs. Gently, he moved your legs apart until you were completely vulnerable to him.

Your legs trembled even before he touched you. Your breath hitched in anticipation, he took on a new playful air kissing each inner thigh with a smile enjoying the writhing underneath him. He put a finger in his mouth moistening it before relieving your ache. He traced his finger down your center. You were almost embarrassed at how loudly you moaned. His head dipped down between your thighs, he lapped against the heat until he found your clit. Your hips jumped up letting him know he had discovered the perfect spot. His mouth grinded leaving you wet and writhing. He hooked his arms around your legs, not giving until he felt them stiffen.

You threw your head back and cried out, almost sitting straight up from the flurry of pleasure. He held on letting you ride his mouth until your orgasm subsided and your body lay weak and dazed. When he sat up he saw your flushed cheeks, he wiped his mouth on the bedspread.

Now he could barely contain the burn of desire. He painfully hard further aroused at your outcries of pleasure. There was no mercy shown and he pulled you up by your shoulders to roughly kiss you before leading your mouth down to him.

You were erratic kissing his chest and neck, your nails sunk down his abs. Years of lust were radiating from your touch as you took him eagerly in her mouth. You couldn’t take all of him, although your eyes watered with effort. Your mouth was filled, you bobbed her head back and forth swallowing saliva letting him reach towards your throat. The unflattering noises, a soft choke or gag were covered by him uttering encouragement “oh fuck, yes, oh my god”.

The tenderness he had shown you at the start was overtaken by an animalistic need to take you. His hands tangled into your hair, he thrust into your mouth. When you both locked eyes, you saw his brows furrowed together his mouth was half open. He nodded at you rife with pleasure “good girl”.

The phrase could have sent you over the edge again, you were dripping down your own legs.

Suddenly he pulled your face away letting you crash onto her back against soft sheets. He crawled between your legs, putting himself at your entrance. You both had been lost in your actions, in the deep burning need for each other’s bodies. Now face to face you felt too vulnerable, you reached up and touched his cheek saying his name softly.

You both knew it was a question, he nuzzled it and placed his hand over yours.

Your hair lay behind her in wild waves, cheeks were flushed, even in your concern you had a dreamy look on your face.

“You’re so beautiful” he said earnestly, and reached his face down to kiss you deeply again. He felt you relax, and he slid inside of you slowly. Both moaning into kiss, breathing sighs of relief.

He rose above you putting more vigor into his thrusting. He folded your legs back and pushed against them to penetrate further, your mouth agape watching you throw your head back in pleasure crying out. He knew he couldn’t last long like this. The sight of your breasts jiggling, the scrunch of your face, the sound of your moans were bringing him too close. He stopped and laid on his back pulling you with him, so you climbed on top of him.

Normally you hated this position. Your mind would hone in on the perspective of your partner. Could he see my belly? Did my face look fat? Was I jiggling? It was too much exposure for you, sometimes even in the dark.

However bathed in moonlight you watched your lovers face. It was open and pleading. His hands squeezed your hips, you could feel him push against you, “ride me” he said. Not asked, demanded. You slid down him slowly, a hum escaping your lips. You began to rock back and forth, arching your back letting her body become an S.

The fluidity of the motion made you feel sexy, and threw your head back. He watched you blossom, lost in the moment. Continuing to move against you, holding your hips, he was so close. You felt herself near orgasm. You locked eyes, panting and moaning loudly. You tightened from your orgasm your hips bucking, it sent him over the edge and he let go inside of you.

In a flurry of breaths you reached for each other simultaneously. You came crashing down next to him in bed, tentatively. His hand snaked over to the small of your back to pull you in. You kissed for what felt like forever, until their lips were tired. Until it stopped feeling foreign. You were near sleep but was scared to close your eyes. It was too perfect, you wanted it too much.

His eyes were shut, the soft smile you had known for so long on his face. You laid staring at him, trying to breathe softer maybe he would forget you were there.

Unbeknownst to you he understood a semblance of what you were feeling. There wasn’t much room for doubt, because he knew what you couldn’t say.

He knew you loved him. He felt you watching him in the dark, too tired to explore his own feelings. Caught up in the moment he felt selfish for wanting you and selfish for not having the answer you were waiting for.

Relief came in the form of exhaustion. You could barely fight it, his eyes opened and he put his hand on your face.

“Goodnight” he said kissing you on the forehead. The reassuring act of tenderness finally let you surrender and you closed your eyes, relaxing into his embrace.

Part 2?

#slytherin boys #slytherin reader #lorenzo berkshire #enzo berkshire imagine #enzo berkshire smut #enzo berkshire x reader #enzo berkshire #enzo Berkshire romance #lorenzo berkshire smut #hp fanfic #smut with plot #smut with feelings #curvy reader #unrequited love #crush

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mattsdolll · 4 months ago

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𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 - 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨 . . ୨୧

childish!reader x softbf!matt

𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 . . matt healing his girls inner child, helping her through a lazy day, taking care of her. proofread!! (i think) pouty/childish reader, no smut, pure fluff, cuddling, kissing etc, this is kinda short but i'll work on doing longer works soon. i’ve had this idea for so so long and i finally decided to write it ! its been lurking in my drafts for tooo long now (2 days) this is my first time writing something and actually posting it, im literally terrified

1.2k words

enjoy🤍

you had been laying in your soft white sheets the entire day, you read a few pages of the book you were reading, a poetic romance novel, taylor swift interludes playing softly in the background. you flipped through the pages mindlessly. you grew somewhat bored, setting the book down, tugging your bookmark between the pages. you closed your eyes in attempt to fall asleep until you received a text from your boyfriend asking if he could come over, he missed you. you replied with a simple text telling him you were going to shower first, you had no plans, after all. at least this got you out of bed, one of the few times this week. you got up, padding across the wooden floor sluggishly to the bathroom, after a long much needed shower, you threw on a pair of grey sweats, a white tank top and uggs. you brushed through your wet hair. you glossed your lips, curling your eyelashes. you felt incomplete without those simple steps to your routine.

you had spent the past week decaying in bed, you hadn’t seen anyone in ages, you barely even spoke to anyone except matt, he was checking up on you 24/7, making sure you were okay. you were deep in thought until your phone buzzed.

“i’m on my way, see you in 10”

you laid back in your bed, a gentle sigh left your lips, an inappreciable pout forming as you waited not so patiently for matt to arrive. your vision soon grew hazy, the ceiling distorting. not long after your eyelids fell shut, despite your great efforts to fight it off, falling into a deep sleep.

matt tossed a plain black hoodie over his body, creased navy plaid pajama pants and air forces, he picked up his keys and drove to your apartment. he noticed your windows were open, a sign you were home. he knocked on your door lightly but there was no answer. he hesitated before letting himself in, finding you asleep, entangled in your sheets. he smiled at you in awe of how peaceful you looked.

you were enjoying your sleep, that was until you felt a weight sink into the bed next to you, you opened your eyes, met with your boyfriend laying next to you, your sheets tucked over your tired body and your favorite bear plushie snug under your arms. he smiled down at you. “hi sweetheart” he whispered softly, kissing your head, you had forgotten he had a spare key to your apartment.

“matt?” you mumble softly, to which he smiles, bringing you closer as you crawl onto his clothed chest, you look at him for reassurance to lay down, to which he nods. you feel at peace, he provides a familiar sense of solace as your body sinks down into him. “'course princess, c'mere..” he mumbles, letting you bury your face in the space between his collarbone and neck “how was your day? have you eaten yet?” he peppered gentle kisses onto your face before making contact with your lips, he kissed you softly, just a light peck. you lean into his lips before he separates us, i nod to his question. “hii..i missed you baby, i ate noodles, and my day was fine, just sleepy” you half whisper, half mutter, your brain still hazy. you were unable to recall what you did today aside from passing out. he lifted you onto his lap a bit more, sitting you both up.

“just fine?” he questioned softly, a frown apparent on his lips, you could tell he was worried about you. “d’you wanna maybe go watch a movie? i’ll make us something to eat, we can lay on the couch, yeah?” he kissed your nose a few times, scratching your back “mhm, i’d like that” you mumble softly, he stands up, moving you off of him, you pout, putting your arms up to be carried, to which he obviously obliges, he cups your thighs in his palms, lifting you off the bed as he walks you to the living room, you wrap your legs around his waist, laying your head into his shoulder. he sets you down on the kitchen counter, laying a gentle kiss to your head, grabbing the rigatoni pasta out of your cupboard. you watched him begin cooking, in awe of your boyfriends aspects, his brown curls hanging delicately over his forehead, his eyes soft yet enthralled on the pasta. you got bored of just sitting there, you got off the counter and walked your way to him, hugging around his waist

“matty ‘m boredd” you whined, your glossed lips forming a pout, your brown locks laid over your shoulders, batting your eyelashes at him in the hopes he’d show you attention. he looked at you as if you were the most precious thing on this earth, to him, you really were. "princess i'm busy cooking, can't give you attention right now..why don't you sit on the counter here so you can watch me cook and we can talk about your day, hm?" he says softy, you shimmy your way up onto the counter and begin telling him every detail of your day, despite not having done much.

matt picked you up once he finished cooking and sat you down on the couch, he grabbed two bowls of pasta and set it on the coffee table in front of you. he sat down, matt gently hugged around your waist, putting on your favorite barbie movie: barbie in a mermaid tale, he knew how much you loved it, despite how childish it seemed, he would always tease you for it yet he would sit through the entire movie every single time, just to make you happy. he smiled down at you.

you always had ribbons scattered all over your place, in your room, the living room, your drawers, they were everywhere, he grabbed a pretty pink ribbon and laced it in your curls, tying your hair in a loose ponytail, he made sure to tie a bow too, just the way you liked it “my pretty girl.” he whispered, peppering kisses on you. he laid you down on the couch, carefully laying on top of you, pressing gentle kisses to your lips over and over, mumbling sweet nothings into your ear. you hum into his mouth, savoring his lips. he dipped his lips back into yours, kissing you lovingly. you felt his hand intertwine with yours, softly lacing your fingers together and holding them slightly above your head. “i love you, sweet girl.” he whispered, caressing your face, bringing your hair behind your ears. “i love you too, so much.” you whispered back.

after the movie, he carried you to your bathroom, setting you on the counter, he got between your legs and put your pink headband on your head to keep your hair out of your face, you just let him, he always did this kind of thing for you. he grabbed your cleanser, washing your face for you, he grabbed a towel to pat your face dry. “my gorgeous girl" he whispered, half to himself, he adored your bare face, he adored you, with or without makeup. he finished up and took you back to your bed, he tugged his hoodie off, along with his shirt, he kicked his shoes off and climbed into bed, he let you change into pajama shorts and the same white tank top, you laid on his bare chest, snuggling into his body. you soon fell asleep to his touch, scratching through your hair, it soothed you to sleep. "goodnight, angel. i love you" were the last words you heard before dozing off, you couldn't ask for a better boyfriend.

. . .

tags: @mattscoquette

#mattsdoll ୨୧ #blurbs 𓏲 ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖♡#matt sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #matt stuniolo fanfic #matt sturniolo blurb #sturniolo triplets fanfic #matt sturniolo x reader #fluff #matt sturniolo fluff

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truthfulpoint · 3 months ago

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I just “unknowingly” fucked my gf’s best friend

Edit: story is split into 3 sections

1. Some background and context

2. The story

3. Where things get wild

Also sorry it’s really long. This just happened to me and I didn’t want to miss anything so I just typed as I recalled what happened. Also sorry for any errors, I didn’t proof read anything.

Some background and context:

I work mid shift at my work currently (11pm - 7am) so I have these not so great black out curtains that I don’t really use but I also have a sleep mask that I use a lot as it helps me stay asleep.

I have “jokingly” asked my gf a couple times if she’d be interested in a 3 some with one of her friends a couple times just feeling out how she would respond and she always said no without any hints of a maybe.

I have a couple kinks that my gf is well aware of. I love stockings/pantyhose/tights, whatever you want to call them. Idk why I just think they are sexy and I like the feel/look of them. I also really like being woken up into sexual situations. I’m always super horny right when I wake up and told my gf I would love to wake up to my cock in her mouth which has happened a couple of times but not often due to my gf not being horny throughout the day, only around the evening. Lastly we have restraints tied to each corner of the bed that my gf and I enjoy very much. We both use them on each other and pair it up nicely with my sleep mask.

I live in a one bedroom apartment. We have a queen size bed with a bathroom outside the bedroom and a living room on the other side of the bedroom wall. Our kitchen is attached to the living room. We have a decent sized couch in the living room as well

This happened today as I’m writing this about an hour ago and I don’t know what to make of it or if I should confront my gf about it and ask her (giving away the fact that I know what really happened)

My gf and I went to the same high school but never saw/talked to each other. We didn’t really know the other existed until a year after we graduated through a mutual friend

The story:

So my gf (let’s call her Sarah) had one of her best friends from high school come visit and stay with us for a couple days (let’s call her Kate). I was crushing on Kate hard in high school but never told anyone or made a move. Kate is about 5’4” with an athletic build. She played soccer so she had a nice toned ass and was very fit. She had long black hair and very pretty green eyes. She flew in Thursday morning and is leaving Monday morning. Sarah told me the plan, they were doing something everyday like going to the beach or downtown and I had my own plans so it was going to be a great time for the two of them to catch up.

Me and Sarah got Kate from the airport around 10am Thursday and got to our apartment. Kate said she was tired and didn’t want to go out and do anything so we just hung out for a bit and I had to go to sleep at noon because I had to be at work that night. I make my self some sleepy time tea with melatonin in it like I always do before bed bc it helps me stay asleep. Then I go to bed like normal while they are catching up in the living room. I wake up and start getting ready for work. I go to the bathroom to shower and see that Sarah and Kate are still talking but there are a few drinks on the coffee table next to them and they seem to be whispering and giggling more than just catching up.

I shower and then make sure to help get Sarah get Kate’s bed (the living room couch) all set up to sleep in. I say bye and go to work. I get off work and head home. It was a rough day and I just need to get some sleep. Normally I try to pull through and stay up until noon to stay on a schedule but often times I’ll pass out right when I get home. I open my apartment door and the first thing I see is Kate.

She laying down sideways on the couch with the blanket over her fast asleep. I try to be quiet as it’s 7:30am and I don’t know how late they stayed up. I keep looking at her thinking about how attractive she is. Fantasy thoughts come across my brain. I think what if I just came up and started eating her out or fingering her. I think it but I would never actually do anything like that. I’m very respectfully of my relationship and I would never do anything without consent but the sexual though keep rushing over me.

I brush it off and go to the bedroom, Sarah is sleeping too so I quietly get a change of clothes out the dresser and go to the bathroom to shower. I normally come out the bathroom in just my underwear but knowing we have company I put shorts and a shirt on too. I get out and go to the kitchen to make some sleepy time tea and see that Kate is already awake. The blanket is over her still with one arm under it and the other arm over it holding her phone. I guess I was more hornet than I thought bc I immediately pictured her touching herself under the blanket. I say good morning and ask if my shower woke her up.

She said no she didn’t even hear the shower she just woke up naturally. I start boiling water in the tea kettle and ask if she wants any tea. She says “sure what kind do you have?” As she gets up and starts walking into the kitchen. She’s wearing a baggy oversized t shirt and I’m assuming some short athletic shorts that I can’t really see bc the shirt covers them. I can tell she doesn’t have a bra on immediately and try not to get caught looking. I do t know about bra sizes but I’d guess Sarah has C cup. They are pretty decent size but Kate’s are definitely bigger. Not by a lot but bigger.

Kate walks over and I open the pantry saying “pretty much just sleepy time and normal green tea”. She stands in front of me looking into the pantry and I can smell her hair which smells amazing. She slightly leans over to grab the green tea and I can’t help but look at her ass that’s still so pronounced even though her shirt is draped over it. “I’ll just have the green tea then” as she hands me the green tea box.

I make the tea and we sit together on the couch enjoying it. Just small talk the entire time. Not any hints of any sexual undertones or anything. So I finish my tea and tell her I’m going to bed. I put everything away and go to bed. I stripped to my underwear, put on my sleeping mask and fell asleep.

Where things get wild:

I wake up not knowing what time it was (I’m assuming around 8pm bc that sleepy time tea really works at keeping me asleep). I can immediately tell that my underwear is off and I’m restrained. My legs and arms are spread apart and tied to the bed. I pretend to stay asleep as I know that this means sexy time. I woke up with a full on boner and no way was that going down now that I knew what was coming. I don’t move or make any noise or change my breathing but I can tell it’s still pretty lit up in the room by natural light through a crack in the sleeping mask by my nose. I can only see a sliver of my surroundings and only when looking down towards my nose.

I want to look around and see if my gf Sarah is about to go down on me but I do t want her to think I’m awake so I stay still and wait. That’s when I hear the faintest whispering from the living room. Right away I remember that Kate is here so my head gets thrown into confusion

“Is my gf going to do this with her in the apartment?”

“Is Kate going to leave the apartment for a bit”

“Am I supposed to try to be quiet when I pretend to wake up”

A wave of confusion rushes over me as I’m trying to figure it out.

I can tell that there’s two sets of whispers so I know no one is in the bedroom. I take my chance to look around without my head making too much noise on the pillow. First thing I see is my dick has gone soft after the wave on confusion hit my brain. Second thing I see is that the bedroom door is wide open! This blows my mind. “How could Sarah leave the door open??? What if Kate saw me?” Nothing else in the room seems off so I lay there and wait.

I hear the front door open and then close so I think ok Kate is probably going on a walk for a bit. Ok everything makes sense to me now and I can relax and enjoy what my gf is about to do to me. I hear her walk into the bedroom and sit next to me on my right side. She grabs my still soft cock and starts playing with it and stroking it. My gf Sarah is also 5’4” with an athletic build just not as skinny as Kate. Sarah has very small hands so it feels amazing wrapped around my cock and makes it feel bigger than it actually is. It feels good but I’m debating internally when to stop fake sleeping.

She leans over from my right side and slowly puts the tip of my cock in her mouth. It feels amazing! The warmth and the wetness of her mouth. I can feel her lips wrapped around my head and her tongue slowly going back and forth. My dick gets bigger and bigger in her mouth. She moved her hand from the top by her mouth to the base of my cock and then puts all of me in her mouth. I let out a moan. The cover is blown now. She keeps going all the way up and down. I keep letting out soft moans and start wiggling my legs around a little. It feels amazing and I want more.

Now that she knows I’m awake I feel way more free to move around so I decide to try and watch her suck on my cock through the crack in my mask but she moves right before I could look. She put her left leg over me and when I look all I can see is smooth skin right in front of my face. She is in 69 position and I’m all about it. I can feel her feet on my arms which is how I found out she’s wearing pantyhose. Right away that turns me on even more as she plants her pussy right on my mouth. I get to work and start licking her up and down. Then flat tongue going side ways on her clit. While all of this is happening she’s sucking my dick like never before. It feels amazing.

Normally when my gf and I 69, she stops sucking me after a while and lets out a couple moans of pleasure from what I’m doing. This hasn’t happened as she keeps sucking. One hand holding the base and the other holding my balls. I feel like I’m going to cum soon it’s too good. My jaw starts getting sore so I switch to penetrating her with my tongue. I slid my tongue inside her and it doesn’t taste how it normally does. That’s confused me for a second but I think nothing of it and instead concentrate on how tight she feels around my tongue.

She stops sucking when I put my tongue in her and lets out a moan. Very hot but her moan immediately makes me question if this was really Sarah. Everything started to seem like it was connecting. The blowjob felt better than usual, her pussy tasted sweeter, her moan didn’t sound like Sarah’s normal moans, and now I feel like I can smell Kate’s hair. I don’t know if I’m overthinking it or if I’m just imaging/fantasizing that it is Kate and choose to ignore it for now while I’m eating her out.

She gets off me and goes to my nightstand that has condoms in it, pulls one out and puts it on me. I can see her hand putting it on but not much else. At this point I’m like 70% certain that this is Kate which has me going wild inside. And just the thought I might get to fuck her has sparks flying inside. She gets on me revers cowgirl about to slide my cock inside her and that’s when I get the best view. I see her ass hovering over my dick. I can see she’s wearing thigh highs that go up to the crevasse her ass makes on her thigh. They are so smooth and have a lace design at the top. I pan my view up and see Kate’s black hair up in a bun and her slim figure over me.

Before all the questions about how or why this is happening rush in she sits on my cock. No waiting or beating around the bush she shoves me inside of her like that’s the only thing that’s been on her mind for the past week. I can feel her pussy gripped around my cock. She’s so tight, tighter than my gf. It’s very warm and wet. She’s so wet it slid in no problem. We both let out a moan as we were sharing this amazing feeling together. I can’t stop looking at her ass planted on me. Her body is amazing and I want her. I feel her lean forward and grab my ankles. She starts riding me like the good girl she is. A perfect tempo not too slow or too fast. I’m watching her dripping from her pussy as my cock keeps sliding in and out. Her moans alone would be enough to make me cum. She sounds so sexy and I love knowing that she’s enjoying it.

I keep moaning too and start talking dirty to her. I tell her to keep going just like that. Just like the good little slut she is. She loves it and moans louder and louder. I keep telling her she’s my good girl. I want to break these arm restraints more than I’ve ever wanted anything. I want to grab her ass and waist and take control but I can’t. She has all the control right now. Her moans get louder and longer which make me go crazy. Her pussy sliding up and down my cock has brought me to my limit. I can’t possibly hold it in anymore no matter how hard I try. And I dont want to. I don’t want to try to think about something not sexy to delay it. I want to stare at her ass bouncing on my cock when I come. Where I am is where I want to be. I tell her I’m about to come and she doesn’t change anything. She doesn’t stop or speed up she just keeps going and says “cum in me daddy”

I cum so hard inside of her and she stops riding. She’s sitting all the way down on me letting my cock reach the deepest part of her as it pulses and pulses spewing cum out. She’s breathing hard and asks “did you like that?” I say “fuck, that was amazing”

I don’t know if she has given up on trying to be discrete about not being my gf or just got too caught up in how good everything felt bc she was talking. Saying dirty things like cum in me and did you like that. Before I could dive into deeper thinking about this situation she gets off me and turns around. She still straddling me just facing towards me now. I’m too scared to look through my mask bc idk what would happen if she found out I could partially see. I feel her scoot up my body. She hovers her pussy over my face and adjusts her legs. She slides her feet under my shoulders and grabs my hair with both hands careful not to move my mask.

She doesn’t want any teasing or slow play at all, Kate put her pussy right on my mouth as I stuck out my tongue and started grinding on it. Moving her hips forward and back gliding her clit on my flat tongue. She let out soft moans and a sighed “fuck” a couple times but this time as if she was holding it back realizing she shouldn’t be talking.

She stops moving and lets me do all the work. I suck on it a little bit and then start going sideways with my tongue flat on her. I can tell that’s what feels best for her bc of her moans and body movement. I switch to a circular motion and that was the golden ticket. She moans so loud without caring who can hear. Her lags clasp around my head and I can feel them shivering. She keeps shivering and moaning for a bit and is pushing my head away from her pussy because I’m assuming she doesn’t have the strength in her legs to lift herself up. Finally she calms down and lays next to me with her arm and leg draped over me.

I can see her leg over my stomach. Her smooth sexy leg in thigh highs. I wish I could use my hands and feel her. Feel her entire body. She leans over me and starts kissing me. Another dead giveaway that she isn’t my gf. Her making out is way different. She stops and I catch a glimpse of over her breasts. They are unbelievable. Bigger than Sarah’s and more rounded. I could see a small freckle on her chest too which was very attractive to me. I wanted to grab them and lick them so bad. She’s made me so horny I’m ready for round two but she gets up and I can hear her go into the bathroom.

I hear a flush and the sink. Then after a minute she comes out and takes off my condom. She has a rag and starts cleaning me up. I can see she has changed into a normal shirt and short shorts. She finishes cleaning me up and sits in between my legs. She starts slowly stroking me with her left hand while what looks like texting in her right hand. I’m rock hard now wanting more of her. She pauses for a couple seconds with her hand at the base of my cock a couple times. The she does the same thing but this time with her sucking on the head of my cock. I can see what she’s doing. She’s taking selfies with my cock in her mouth. I realize she was taking pictures of it before the selfies too. This just made me hornier. The thought of her doing that seemed sexy to me.

She then walks into the living room after closing the bedroom door. I’m left laying there wanting more and also so content with the most amazing but of my life. After a while I hear the front door open followed by some whispers and quiet giggles. The bedroom door opens and my mask comes off. It’s Sarah and she started undoing my restraints. She says “did you like that? Did it feel good?” I tell her yes and ask if she did too. She said yes and told me that Kate just got back from the gas station down the road and told me to clean up and get dressed quietly as to not leave clues to Kate what happened.

I agree a see the picture now. I’m guessing it was preplanned that Sarah was to let Kate fuck me under the condition I didn’t know it was Kate but cmon it was so obvious. 100% no doubt in my mind that was Kate and it was so lousy how they tried to hide that. I’m sure even Kate knew she had given away her identity multiple times and I’m sure Sarah knew there was no way I wouldn’t figure it out but whatever I’ll play along I guess.

I go to the living room and we all hang out like we don’t all know what just happened. Kate and I keep looking at each other pretty flirty and now I can’t stop imaging her naked and wanting to rail her on my bed. Kate and my gf went out to a cafe and now you’re caught up to the present.

I don’t know if I should tell Sarah that I know about everything that happened and ask her a ton of “why” questions or just keep everything to myself. I want to tell her so I can ask why she was fine with it after telling me she wouldn’t want a 3some with me and her friends but I also want to not say anything because I love the taboo feeling. I also do t know if I should confront Kate about it or not. I don’t know if that would be out of Sarah’s boundaries or not. I also really want to ask Kate how the pictures turned out to see how flustered I can get her.

Any advice is welcome and appreciated as I have no idea what to do or how to play this situation. Thanks for reading and sorry if it was too long or if there were any errors. I didn’t proof read.

#fanfic writer #sexstory #story #hot story #female writers #exchristian #writer #fuck religion

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sweetestcaptainhughes · 3 days ago

Text

i love having you home - Cole Caufield

Word Count - 2.9k

Author's Note - Thank you as always for reading and being patient with me as I get back into writing on a semi more regular basis.

Warnings - smut with very little plot, mentions of masturbation, male receiving.

Summary - Cole comes home from a very long and disappointing roadie, and he finds his girlfriend asleep on the coach. He decides to wake her up, to tell her that he's home, but what happens when in her groggy sleepy state she admits something she normally never would.

Slowly Cole made his way out of his car and up the driveway to his house. It had been a rough roadie, and it was hitting him hard because he felt like he was leaving everything out on the ice and yet his team was not winning despite his best efforts. Cole knew he couldn’t do everything, that they were a team, but somehow despite being a young team, he was finding himself annoyed with himself, asking himself what more he could do so that they could start winning again. But all of his thoughts were pushed behind him as he stepped into his house, he left his hockey duffle and shoes by the door, he could see a soft light glowing from the kitchen. Y/N he thought to himself, he found himself smiling for the first time that day at the thought of her being awake.

Cole walked further into the home, he sighed deeply when he realized she must have kept the light on. Even though he knows she does this on purpose because she hates coming home to a dark house, and she never wants Cole to either despite it not bothering him.Somehow when he first saw the soft glow of the kitchen light he forgot this fact, and suddenly was slightly pouting that Y/N was in fact asleep. As he passes the family room on the way to the staircase that leads to upstairs and his bedroom he stops abruptly. Cole notices a lump on the couch and it makes him feel something warm in his chest at the idea of her falling asleep on the couch while waiting for him. Originally his plane was supposed to land at 11 at night, but something was wrong with the plane so they had to switch planes and he didn’t land in Montreal until closer to 3 AM. Cole slowly turned his body to come to the family room as quiet as possible, he debated with himself if he should just carry her to bed rather than wake her up. But ultimately he missed Y/N too much not to at least attempt to wake her despite knowing that was sort of selfish of him.

He squatted down and rested his weight on the balls of his feet, as rested his arm on the coach for support, the other going to pet her hair. “Baby imm home.” he softly spoke as his hand made it down to her bicep shaking her attempting to wake her up. “baby.” He spoke a little louder this time as he softly shook her again, he stopped when he watched the crinkle of her nose knowing she was at least not completely asleep anymore. She attempted to pull the blanket up and snuggle back into the coach further, and Cole couldn’t help but chuckle, his girl was probably the one person he knew who loved sleep more than anyone else he knew. “Sweet girl.” he spoke again, and his grin turned into a smile as she snapped her head towards his voice. “Do ya not wanna come to bed wit- me?” he asked.

“Cole?” she asked except due to the sleep in her voice, it came out more as coley rather than cole.

“Im home baby.” he answered her as she finally opened her eyes. “I’m sorry it’s so late but I needed to hear your voice so I woke you. “ he admits looking down suddenly being shy, and Y/N smiled at him, as she reached for him in a bone crushing hug pulling him from the floor and onto the coach.

“Missed ya-.” she mumbled into his neck as she's practically laying on top of him. Cole finds himself closing his eyes, getting lost in the smell of her conditioner that he hasn’t smelt in a week. Before Cole could respond that he missed her too, Y/N continued talking,“Especially when you dropped that thirst trap on your story.” she mumbled it still in that state of half asleep and half awake.

All Cole could do is smirk as he tried to crank his neck to look down to her. “Oh yeah.” The cockiness was clear in his voice. All Y/N could do was nod her head along, as he dragged his hands up and down her back, teasingly at the hem of the bottom of her shirt, Y/N lightly moaned as one hand slipped on the shirt and the other slipped down to her ass and kneaded it. Continuing to edge her on he teased her with his words “You missed me eh?”

“Hmm.” she mumbled, as she bit her lip softly as she felt Cole’s hands on her. “My fingers just aren't the same, Coley.” she admitted. It was obvious in her confession, that she didn’t realize what she had said as she tried to snuggle deeper into Cole’s side fully content with Cole’s soft touches loaring her back to sleep.But suddenly any tiredness that Cole had felt had vanished as all his mind could think of was Y/N being so horny while he was away that she had to rub one out. Not to mention that she only got horny because of a photoshoot he had to do for a brand deal over a month ago.While Y/N was practically back to sleep, all Cole could focus on was the image of Y/N moaning for him while she looked at a fucking picture from an Instagram post.

He was able to shift them so he was on top of them as he kissed her exposed neck, finally she was waking up fully at his words, his voice much deeper than before. “Oh yeah baby, you missed my cock.”

Y/N snapped her eyes open as Cole continued his attack on her neck, spending extra time on that one sensitive spot below her jaw, even nipping at it with his teeth gently. Y/N’s hands found Cole’s dark blonde curls, not sure if tugging on them was more to keep herself grounded or to hear those pretty little grunts that Cole makes. She tried saying his name but couldn’t finish as he started to kiss in the valley of her breasts as much as he could despite the button up silk pajama shirt. She arched her back, as Cole sucked on a sensitive spot on the top of her breast. Y/N found herself begging as she clutched her legs around Cole bringing him closer trying to get some relief.

“Ccole.” she gasped, hoping he would take pity on her. He slowly unbuttoned her silk pajama shirt, but still left it on. Cole took his tongue, looking up at her through his lashes as he dragged his tongue over her chest and under her boob, finally stopping by lightly sucking her left nipple. He took his hand and played with the other one, Y/N couldn’t make eye-contact and tried to throw her head back but Cole stopped as she did. Immediately she snapped her head back, eyes wide as she stared at Cole above her, his silver chain lightly dangling in front of her face. “Babe, please,” she whined, trying to show him how much she needed him.

Cole moved back further resting on his feet between her legs. He took his hand, lightly caressed his fingertips onto the soft skin of her stomach right above her waistband. She lightly pouted at him, her eyes silently begging to give her some relief. His fingers lightly slipped under her waistband but stayed her stomach, she whined in response. “You know what I think?” he asked her, knowing she wouldn’t be able to form words he continued. “I think, since you were so horny,” he raises his eyebrows and a soft smirk is on his lips as he continues. “While I was away that you didn’t even think to call me as you rubbed one out that maybe I should leave you like this.” he threatens.

“Na na no. please, please don’t.” she begs. “I only used my fingers cause you weren’t here.” she cries out as he slips his hand out from under her waistband and goes to tease the exposed skin on her inner thighs from her sleep shorts.

“Hmm.” he says. “Still I wanna see what it looks like when you’re so despite that you need to use your hand. Were you too horny to grab your vibrator?” he taunts, she mumbles a response but he can’t hear her, so he takes his thumb and puts pressure on her clit through her shorts. She cries out, as asks again “what was that baby?”

“It -” she gasps trying to answer him, despite how her legs starting to tighten she felt like she was seconds away from cumming but she knew it was just because of Cole’s edging her on that she felt like this. “It was ta- too far.” she gasped, hoping that was enough of an answer to please him.

He frowned his eyebrows in confusion, “but it’s kept in the nightstand.” Y/N glances at him wincing, watching as if a lightbulb goes off when he realizes. “Oh my lil’ slut, where were ya if you weren’t in bed?” he asks, a full blown smile on display as she feels her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. He bends down to her ear, as he rubs light circles on her hip bone, she can feel the heat from his mouth as he says “tell me baby. Where. Were. You.” As he sucks on that sensitive spot behind her ear she moans as a response.

“Here.” she practically yelps, louder than she needs to. “Here. I was here.” she repeats.

“Oh yeah now you definitely have to show me,” he says as he leans back smiling as she twitches beneath him.

“Cole.” she whines in embarrassment trying to take her hands and cover her face as she blushes at his words.

“Nope, you want my help you gotta show me what you looked like when you imagined I was fucking with you but all you had was your little fingers.” sounding as cocky as ever.

Y/N bites her lips and lets out a small whine as Cole leans back to rest on his heels again as he looks down at Y/N as shimmy out of her silk pajama shorts and underwear. He has a smirk on his face, as he watches Y/N use one hand to tease her boob and the other going on lightly touching her inner thighs. Cole can’t help himself from palming himself over his sweats as he watches Y/N arch her back and close her eyes as she continues to tease herself.

Cole grunts as he watches her hand that was teasing the sensitive skin on her thighs lightly touching her outer lips finally stopping at teasing her hole. Cole’s voice is deeper than normal when he asks “Fuck pretty girl is this what you were doing while I was away?” Y/N's only response is a little moan, as she opens her eyes just in time to watch Cole as he pushes his sweats and boxers down just enough to slip his hard cock out of his boxers. She can’t help but let out a little moan as she watches Cole spitting on his hand so he can lazily stroke his cock.

“Answer me, pretty girl.” he demands. “What were you thinking about as you fucked yourself with your fingers?”

“Ya- you,” she gasps. “It’s always you.” as she finally inserts two fingers, lightly pumping out of her center. Cole watches with hooded eyes as dark as the night sky, as she tries to reach with her thumb to rub little circles on her clit. But due to the angle that she is laying down on the coach she can’t and she just becomes frustrated with herself. Cole notices that she almost looks like she was in tears mad at herself for not being able to reach.

“Baby you can do it.” He encourages her and she whines begging him for help but all she’s met with is Cole shaking his head ‘no’. Finally, she somehow cramps her hand and lightly creases her clit teasingly, causing her to arch her back more and gasp from pleasure, as she feels herself being pushed even closer to a release. Removing her hand that was kneading her boob she starts to make small steady circles on her clit as she pumps her fingers at a faster pace out of her cunt. Cole has to stop himself from nutting right there as she cries his name as she cums, he talks her through her high. Cole even takes over rubbing her clit, when she can't because she’s too lost in the pleasure from her cuming. “There ya go baby.” he coos at her, as she’s trying to control her breathing again.

“I think that was the hottest thing you’ve ever fucking done.” he claims with a wide smile on his face. Y/N smiles up at Cole, a warm feeling spreading in her stomach at his compliment.

She looks down and notices his tip is still bright red and the vein looks a little more strained than normal, suddenly Y/N has a very deep sense overcome her as he wants nothing more than to lick the vein of his dick. Y/N slowly sits up shifting towards her boyfriend as she crawls off the coach and onto her knees, but before Cole can even question her. She is blinking up at him saying in a soft voice “I wanna a taste, please.” Her mouth is now dangerously close to the tip of his cock, blinking up at him with her eyes the size of saucers.

“fuck.” he whispers to one in particular. Cole slowly nods his head as a ‘yes.’ Y/N wastes no time in starting from the base of Cole’s dick and licking the she wanted, ending with his tip in her mouth. Cole grunts, one going to her hair, grabbing it tightly as he guides her in and out of his dick. The other tightening in a fist as he tries to grab onto something as if he needs it ground him. One of her hands is helping her balance on his thigh, leaving little half moons from her nails, her other hand going to play with his balls.

Cole wants to watch her as he fucks her face, he loves when she blinks up at him while he’s controlling the pace. But as she goes deeper and faster he grunts, throwing his head on the back of the coach in an attempt to make him last longer. “Fuck baby, I, I’m close.” he gasps, at his words she somehow even quickens the pace. “Can I make a painting, pretty girl?” he asks, which is his cheesy way of asking to cum on her face, he knows it’s always a yes for him but he still insists on asking every time because consent is important. As soon as his brian registers, she’s nodding your head, he pulls out and he cums immediately as he watches her close her eyes, tongue sticking out waiting for his load. Y/N closes her mouth and swallows immediately, opening her mouth again to show Y/N she swallowed.

Slowly he takes his thumb and collects some of his seed that was on her cheek and chin, dragging slowly towards her mouth. Cole has to bite his lip as she opens her mouth again welcoming his thumb and sucking hard, swallowing her tongue around his thumb as if it was nothing. He removes his thumb and she whimpers a little, as if she needs something of him in her at all times to keep her content. “Always such a good girl fa’ me.” he whispers, pulling her up to his level to kiss her. she crawls in his lap to deepen the kiss as his tongue slips into her mouth and she moans into the kiss.

Finally, both of them pull away, gasping for air. “I’m happy you’re home.” she mumbles, wrapping herself around him like a koala bear.

“Me too.” he answers her softly. “I’m happy to have a stretch of home games.” Y/N perks up, at his words softly lifting his head to get a better look at her.

“Oh yeah. Me too. I love having you home.” she shyly adds.

“Yeah I know cause I’m better than your fingers.” he chirps at her, laughing lightly.

“I take it back, you can go on another roadie.” Y/N pouts at him, finally getting up from his lap turning as if she’s heading for the stairs. But she doesn’t make it every far, as Cole pulls her back to him landing on his again.

He takes his hands and softly holds her face, making her look into his eyes so she knows he’s not lying when he says. “Hey I was kidding, baby. You know I hate being gone just as much as you do.” He dips his head to her ear, lightly kissing right under it, she gasps at the attention to her sensitive skin. “”Cause I can promise you, my hand isn’t as good as you are, baby. At his words she feels his cock lightly poking her upper thigh. “Let me make it up to you, show you how much I missed you.” he jokes, a big smile on his face as she blushes at his words.And in that moment Y/N knows it’s going to be a long night.

#cole caufield imagine #cole caufield x y/n #cole caufield fic #cole caufield smut #cole caufield x reader #montreal canadiens smut #montreal canadiens fanfic #nhl fic #nhl fanfiction #nhl smut #schwritingscc13

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janeyseymour · 9 months ago

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hi i just wanted to say i love your writing so much and thank you for all that you do!! i’m not sure if your requests are open but i would love melissa coming home from a brunch with barb and accidentally hearing readers angelic voice for the first time. like saturn by sza on blast while cleaning or something

this one was like genuinely just inserting myself into this story... i loved writing this short little ditty.

Sing Me a Melody

“I’ll be back, babe,” Melissa tells you as she presses a kiss to your head. You’re still laying in bed, but she’s up and about getting ready to head to brunch with Barbara. The two had invited you along, but you politely declined. You’ve been drained lately, and your body is craving the sleep that it’s been missing out on lately.

“Sounds good,” you reply softly, eyes half open. “If you need me to come pick the two of you up again-”

“This place does not have bottomless mimosas,” your girlfriend smirks. “I already checked.”

“Still,” you chuckle.

The last time the two work wives had gone out to brunch, they accidentally picked a place that offered bottomless drinks, and… you got a call around one from the place, claiming that you had to come pick the two up or they would be arrested for public intoxication.

Of course, you were their knight in shining armor, but you could hear the way that Melissa was protesting being ‘thrown out of the restaurant’.

“Honey,” you had tried to explain to her so many times. “They aren’t kicking you out. They’re closing, and they’re helping you by not throwing you out onto the street to get arrested.”

She had huffed the entire way home, and Barbara couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous her friend was being- it reminded her of the way her kindergarteners act when they didn’t get their way.

Once they both sobered up at your place, they were beyond hungover. They claimed they were never drinking again- until the next time. But they vowed that they would never go to a bottomless mimosa place again unless you were there to supervise (which would also lead you to get heavily intoxicated, and then all three of you were hungover as hell after breakfast).

After Melissa leaves, you sigh. You should probably be getting up for the day, but you really would rather be lounging around and doing nothing all day. So you stay in bed for a bit longer, scrolling through the different social media apps that you have on your phone. It’s nearing noon when you decide to finally get out of bed and become a functioning human of society.

You roll out of bed and throw on Melissa’s sweatshirt that she wore to bed last night, loving that it still smells like her. You ball up the ends and hold them tight as you make your way into the living room and kitchen. You pull up Spotify and put up your playlist that has soft music. You reach for your coffee mug, loving that there is already warm coffee in the pot. You pour yourself a generous amount before fixing it to your liking. That first sip is perfect, warming your cold body- the knowledge that Melissa had prepared that pot of coffee warms your heart and your soul.

You curl up on the couch with your mug and a good book, fully planning on catching up on your book while your girlfriend is out for the day. You get about four pages in before you realize that you just can’t focus with the music playing quietly from the television. You reach for the remote and turn of the device before cozying back up with your book.

Still though, you can’t focus. You’ve read the same page four times, and you still haven’t taken in the information on the page. So, with a frustrated sigh, you put your bookmark in and close the worn book that you borrowed from the library.

You don’t really know what else to do, so you sit on your phone for a bit longer and scroll mindlessly through TikTok. But eventually, that becomes boring to you too.

You have papers that you could continue to grade, so you huff as you go back up to the bedroom and grab your school bag filled to the brim with essays to grade.

You get through about half before you’re beyond frustrated. You have no idea what you’re supposed to do while you wait for Melissa to come home- the two of you have plans to curl up on the couch and watch a movie when she gets home, so you don’t want to start watching television now. But then you remember that Melissa has a guitar that she keeps in the living room, mostly for decoration. You haven’t played guitar in years… but maybe?

You quit when after… well, it doesn’t quite matter. He’s long gone, and you thought your love of creating music was too. The point is, you haven’t picked up a guitar or thought about playing in so long.

Curious about your ability after years of not playing, you cross the room and pick up the guitar. Looking at it, the strings are somehow not rusted, the neck seems to be in the right place, and there are no cracks in the body. You strum it, and it’s terribly out of tune.

Taking it back to the couch with you, you tune it up quickly and strum again. It sounds beautiful.

Muscle memory takes over, and while your fingers are going to be shredded after digging the tips of your fingers into the strings without any calluses, you feel somewhat healed being able to play again. You go up and down the neck, fingers strumming and picking different melodies that you remember.

You clear your throat before softly beginning to hum the melody of the song to the tune that you’re playing.

Eventually, you start singing freely- playing some oldies, some of the newer songs you know, playing around with songs that you’ve heard on the radio that are simple enough to break down into basic chords that you can sing over, and even just fully starting to sing songs that you’re making up on the spot.

You used to love writing music. It used to be the thing that you were most passionate about- but he took that love with him. You really should start writing down the lyrics and music that you’re making up.

You settle for singing a few of the old songs that you had written, and you get so into the music that you don’t hear the door open.

Melissa makes her way in, full from brunch and expecting to see you on the couch with your book in your hands, when she hears a melody and a voice that she’s never heard before- it’s beautiful. It doesn’t sound like it’s coming from the television or from the speaker on your phone. She steps into the living room to see you sitting criss crossed with the decorative guitar that she keeps. You look angelic, the light hitting your face as you have your eyes closed and you’re singing from the heart.

She had no idea you could play. She had no idea you could sing. She sets her purse down silently, eyes never leaving you. The redhead sits quietly, absolutely enamored with your voice and hidden talent.

Only once you’re done singing one of the songs you had written in college does she make her presence known, applauding you. Your eyes snap open, and your face immediately flushes red. You had no idea she was there, much less heard you sing.

“Hun,” she breathes. “Holy shit.”

You bite your lip and tuck your hair behind nervously. You have no idea what she’s about to say. Is she going to yell at you for touching the decoration? “Yeah?”

“When the hell were you going to tell me about this?”

“I- uh,” you shrug. “About what?”

She gestures to the instrument in your hand. “That. I had no idea you could play.”

“I didn’t either?” you smile nervously.

“I’m callin’ bullshit on that one. I mean, I knew you had could kind of hold a tune with all of your humming to the radio, but… babe, you sound like an angel.”

Your blush only gets worse at her sweet words. “I’m not that good.”

“You are,” she insists. “What song were you singing?”

“I don’t know it’s name,” you tell her honestly.

She makes a face. “What do you mean you don’t know the song’s name? It’s clear you know the song very well.”

You scratch the back of your neck. You suppose with two secrets out- that you can sing and play guitar, you should admit this one too. “I don’t know the name of the song because… I wrote it and never gave it a name.”

Her eyes go comically wide, and her jaw drops. “You wrote that?!”

“Y-yeah?”

“Honey, that’s something I would hear on the radio!” she exclaims. “Why aren’t you a famous singer/songwriter?”

“Not in the cards for me,” you chuckle nervously. “My heart belongs with the kids.”

She shakes her head. “How long have you been playing?”

“I started when I was four… but I haven’t played or sung in years. Lost… my passion for it,” you frown a bit. “But uh, that felt nice. Sorry I touched your guitar without asking first.”

“Hun, if I had known you could play, I would’ve been begging you to play it for the last two years.”

“It’s been longer than two years since I’ve played,” you shrug. “I didn’t know I could still play like that.”

“What other secret talents do you have?” she teases.

You purse your lips as you think, plucking the strings absentmindedly to create a beautiful little lick. “I can play the uke, I write songs when I’m feeling inspired, I used to paint a lot… I can make balloon animals and juggle?” you chuckle softly. “And I used to do gymnastics… was pretty damn good at it too.”

“I think you’re more mysterious than I am,” Melissa laughs. “Damn, babe. I won the lottery with you.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” You roll your eyes.

“I did,” she tells you seriously as she picks herself up and settles on the couch near you. “Sing to me?”

“I thought we were gonna watch a movie when you got home,” you tell her quietly.

She hums. “We can watch a movie after I’ve listened to you for a while… I mean it when I say you got a voice on you. I wanna hear it.”

You spend almost the whole day singing to her- all of the songs that you know, all the songs that you’ve written, and just little melodies that you come up with in the moment. Your fingers are shredding and aching by the time you put down the instrument, but it’s worth it to see the relaxed smile on your girlfriend’s face.

After you put down the guitar, you curl into her arms and watch the movie that you were promised. She falls asleep halfway through. You find yourself looking longingly at the guitar, and by the time she’s woken up, you’ve written another song- one about her: Redheaded Angel.

#melissa schemmenti fanfic #melissa schemmenti x you #melissa schemmenti #melissa schemmenti x reader #melissa schemmenti fanfiction #abbott elementary fanfic #abbott elementary fanfiction #abbott elementary

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ythankucaptainmccoy · 3 months ago

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The Cowgirl and The Aviator Ch7

Next chapter baby! @smoothdogsgirl Warnings: Mentions of Death, Scene with a gun, Stalker, Stalker Behavior, Abusive Behavior and mentions of pregnancy

The squad was gone longer than a month, but you received word from Penny they would be coming in on Saturday. You only had four days until you could see the squad again, and you spent those four days making sure the apartments were spotless in between going to work and sleeping. Friday night you sat on Jake’s couch watching a movie when there was a knock at the door. You walked to the door and looked out the peephole, but didn’t see anyone so you opened the door.

You looked around not seeing anybody there, but down on the ground was a picture laying face down with writing on the back of it. ‘YOU LOOK SO BEAUTIFUL. YOU NEVER WORE ANYTHING LIKE THIS FOR ME, BUT YOU WILL WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!’ it read, and when you flipped it over it was a copy of the photo you had sent to Jake. You slammed the door and started to panic. How the fuck did he find you so quick. You should call the police, but that would mean handing over that photo.

You were torn and didn’t know what to do so you triple checked that the door was locked and crawled into Jake’s bed. You pulled his pillow to your chest and sobbed into it wishing he were here with you. You fell asleep like that and when you woke up you got dressed for the day. You went about your day like normal and then to work. “(Y/N) are you okay you seem out of it”, she said. “Yeah I’m okay just missing the squad”, you replied. “They’ll be back before you know it”, she tells you.

The next couple of days you are on edge constantly watching your surroundings. Any car that follows behind a little too long has you paranoid. At the grocery store while checking out constantly looking to see if you spot your ex. You continue trying to figure out how he found you, but no matter how many times you think about it you hit dead end after dead end. Then you think about who would have known you had come out this way.

The only person you knew was your brother as you had told him you were leaving. If he had threatened your brother's kids which he had done before your brother probably told him anything he wanted to know. You didn’t blame him, you would do anything to keep your niece and nephews safe. He was just doing this to get back at you for leaving him. He didn’t have power over you anymore and damn it if you were going to let him take your happiness.

After Friday night's shift at the Hard Deck you grabbed your pouch from the front seat of your truck and walked into Jake’s apartment. A knock on the door and you opened it and there stood your ex. “Get back in your car and get the fuck out of here Jackson”, you seethed. “(Y/N) I just want you to come home with me. We were gonna’ get married”, he said. “I told you it wasn’t going to work. I’m not going home with you”, you hiss.

He grabbed the door as you went to shut it in his face. “I’m serious (Y/N) you’re coming back home with me”, he growled. “No I’m not, I have a boyfriend and I am happy here now get out of here!”, you yelled. “Listen here you ungrateful bitch”, he started. You reached for your pouch that you hung up by the door and brandished the .40 caliber sig in his face. “I told you no and I meant it Jackson, and if you ever threaten my brother's family again I’ll make sure you stay gone”, you declare.

His eyes go wide, but he can tell you mean it and he lingers a moment longer. “FINE!”, he shouts. You watch as he high tails it to his car and peels out of the parking lot. You close the door locking it then sink to the floor as you try to catch your breath. You had hoped you never had to ever point a gun at someone, but you knew what Jackson was capable of and you weren’t going through that again.

You couldn’t sleep and you had to pick Jake up anyway so you sat watching tv and started a pot of coffee. Penny had told you when they should get in so you left the apartment at nine in the morning to get there by nine thirty. You parked in the spot where you had dropped Jake off and waited for what felt like forever when you saw Phoenix and Bob come out to the lot. You waved them down and they came over each giving you a hug.

“Where is Bradley and Jake?”, you panic. “They are being assessed, it will probably be a few more hours”, Bob explains. “What do you mean assessed are they injured what happened?”, you asked. “We lost Banshee and Fluke”, Phoenix whispered. You were glad to hear they were okay, but saddened to know that they had lost two men. “I’m so sorry”, you whisper. “Are you all okay?”, you ask. “Yeah just like with anything it will take time, but Jake seems to have taken the blame for what happened”, Bob said.

“What do you mean?”, you inquired. They explained what had happened, how Banshee and Fluke were killed, and that Jake had been their wingman. You thanked them for telling you then after a while you let them go so they could go home to decompress and unpack. It was two hours later when Bradley emerged and you ran to him and hugged him. You could tell he was wearing the guilt of what happened and reassured him he had done all he could, but when Jake stepped out two minutes later your heart broke.

Jake had dark circles under his eyes and looked exhausted. Bradley waved you on as he left to go back to the apartment. You approached him like you would a wounded animal slowly and quietly other than your boots clacking on the pavement. “Jake”, you gently called. He looked up as you came to stop in front of him. He took you in to make sure this moment was real as you tilted your head at him. “Let's go home”, you whispered. He didn’t say anything as you took his bag from him and walked to your truck.

“Do you want anything to eat?”, you asked. He only shook his head no as you drove back to the apartment. You grabbed his bag and headed up to the apartment as he walked behind you seeming to still be in a daze. When you got him into the apartment you sat his bag down and kissed his cheek then led him to the bedroom where you grabbed sweatpants and a shirt for him to change into and left to fix breakfast. He changed then joined you in the kitchen where he pulled you into his arms. You let him hold you for as long as he wanted.

“I’m sorry about Banshee and Fluke”, you whispered to him. “It was my fault they died”, he breathed. You pulled back and looked up at him as you took his face in your hands. “No, don't ever think that Jake. Baby none of what happened was your fault. Bradley told me what happened and there was nothing either of you could do”, you soothed. His eyes were shining with unshed tears, but he was willing himself not to cry in front of you.

He releases you so you can finish fixing food and he did eat a little, but you assumed he wouldn’t eat a whole lot after what he had been through. “When was the last time you got any sleep?”, you ask. “What day is it?”, he questions. That’s all you need to hear as you go to lead him to the bedroom. “No I’d rather watch TV”, he tells you. You relent but go and grab a blanket from his room as you sit down on the couch.

You coax him into laying down on the couch with his head in your lap. You run your fingers through his hair as you put a comedy movie on. You continue to glance at him every so often and a third of the way through the movie he is asleep. He wakes up periodically, but you both don’t really move from the couch until dinner time rolls around. You get up to make dinner and this time he eats all of it. He seems to be settling and that makes you feel better as he tells you he is going to go shower.

You clean the kitchen then pop next door to check on Bradley. He seems to be faring better than Jake, but you can tell he isn’t a hundred percent okay. “Are you going to be okay?”, you ask him. “Yeah Lilly is coming over to stay the night”, he tells you. “So what exactly are you two?”, you inquire. “Well I’m not dating her if that’s what you're asking” , he tells you. “I swear you give Jake shit, but you're just the same way apparently”, you laugh.

“I’m going to stay at Jake’s for quite a while. I came to grab some of my stuff”, you tell him. “That’s fine we were all given four weeks leave and Lilly is gonna be crashing here”, he explains. Jake hadn’t told you they were on leave, but with the events you figured it would be for the best. When you made it back to Jake’s he was still in the shower so you decided to slip in with him. He was leaning against the wall letting the water fall over him. You gently called to him and he acknowledged your presence, but you jumped when you felt how cold the water was.

You reached for the knob and turned it to where the water was comfortable. Then you turned him to face you. “I’m here for you Jake”, you explain. He smiles weakly at you, but he leans down to steal some kisses from you. You both help wash each other and by the time you finish up it’s around eight at night. He follows you to bed and he pulls you into his side as he relaxes for bed. Sleep doesn’t take long to find either of you, but it doesn’t last long.

You wake to find the bed empty and it’s late judging by how quiet it is. You get up and go into the kitchen where you see a figure sitting with their back against the fridge. When you flip the light on Jake is sitting there his chest heaving and you see the tears streaming down his face. You waste no time in kneeling beside him and pulling him into you. He automatically buries his head where your shoulder and neck meet and his hands grab fistfulls of your shirt.

“It’s okay Jake, I’m here”, you soothe, holding the back of his head with one hand while the other rubs his back.“I’m sorry I shouldn’t be crying”, he says. “No Jake it’s okay to cry for the ones we have lost. It’s part of grieving and yes, real men cry. I won’t think any less of you baby I promise”, you whisper into his hair. You stay there letting him cry until the tears slow. “It’s the first time I’ve lost a wingman”, he whispers. “I remember when my dad lost his first wingman. He was devastated, but he learned that if you flew long enough it was bound to happen”, you tell him.

“What matters is you did all you could and I bet that Banshee and Fluke wouldn’t want you to be upset with yourself for it. You know the risks of flying right?”, you asked. “Yeah it’s never guaranteed you will make it back”, he says. “Exactly and they accepted that risk same as you do. They loved flying as much as you or any other pilot does. Remember them that way instead of how they died”, you told him. It seemed to help him as you asked if he wanted to go back to bed.

This time you pull him into your side and he lays his head on your chest. You run your fingers through his hair until his breaths even out. You follow soon after and this time you both sleep through the night. The next couple of days Jake seems to be doing better as he goes in for evaluations at the base. He tells you that they deemed him ready to return after the four week leave was up. “Darlin’ do you think Penny would give you a couple weeks off?”, Jake asks out of the blue one morning.

“I don’t know depends on what it’s for”, you reply. “I told my sister and her husband about my leave and they invited me to come stay at their ranch for a couple of weeks”, he explains. “What are you saying?”, you ask. “I want you to come with me”, he blurts out. You sit there in stunned silence for a minute before saying, “I don’t know if your sister will want a stranger staying in her house”. “Well technically it would be their guest house and I already asked her if I could bring you along which she said yes to”, he smiles devilishly.

You stare at him incredulously as he pops a cherry into his mouth from where you were making a cherry pie. “I guess I could call and ask Penny. What day were you thinking about packing the truck up and leaving?”, you ask. “Truck? Oh no darlin’ I already got the plane tickets” he boasted. “Jake what if Penny says no!”, you exclaim. “Won’t know till you ask her”, Jake laughs. “What day would we leave and when would we be coming back?”, you ask, pulling out your phone.

He tells you the dates and you call Penny right away because it’s two days away. Penny doesn’t seem bothered by it and pretty much tells you to go and keep Jake out of trouble. You swear that Jake had already somehow told Penny his plan, but how he got her to agree to it you have no idea. The two days flew by and you had packed a suitcase full of clothes to where it looked like if it were opened it would explode.

You’re nervous because you had never flown commercially on a plane. Every time your family moved it was always a moving truck and the old van. Jake took your hand when you started to fidget at the gate for boarding. “Why do the movies always make this part look so easy”, you state. “Well that’s because it’s a movie darlin’ and it doesn’t work that way in the real world”, he chuckles. He is loving watching you try to school your nervousness. “Why are you so nervous? You weren’t nervous when I took you up in Mav’s plane”, he states. “Because you were the one flying and I trust you”, you reply.

You watch as his smile widens and you know you just fed into his ego. “I’m glad you trust me so much”, he tells you as he places a kiss to the top of your head. Once boarded you make it to your seat and realize you have the window seat. You sit down and strap in as Jake takes his time. He buckles in once he is comfortable then leans back in the seat waiting for the rest of the passengers to get seated.

Once the plane is ready they start taxiing to the runway and Jake can’t help but notice you bouncing your leg. He takes your hand in his again and grabs your attention. “Just keep your eyes on me”, he tells you. You do but it still doesn’t help and he seems to notice this. “When we get there do you want to go to one of the rodeos? I looked up the dates and I found one we could go to”, he tells you.

“Yeah I’d like that”, you tell him as the plane picks up speed. When the wheels leave the ground and the weightless feeling you get makes your stomach roll you grip Jake's hand tighter. He winces but you start to relax when the plane reaches optimal altitude and levels out. After that Jake notices you watching the landscape and how it changes. “How long is this flight?”, you ask. “Around three hours”, he responds. You end up reading your book you brought with you and Jake can’t help but notice the cover and title.

Ideas start popping into his head at the shirtless cowboy on the front holding a saddle and rope. When you put your book down Jake leans over and kisses your cheek. “I’m glad you decided to come with me”, he tells you. “Like you gave me a choice, but I’m glad I get to see the state you grew up in”, you tell him. When the plane lands in Austin, Texas you immediately want to get to the ranch. “How far from here is the ranch?”, you ask. “Well it’s about two hours away”, he states.

Once you pick up your bags Jake takes you in search of his brother in law. He isn’t hard to spot as you take in his tall and broad stature. He makes Jake look small in comparison, but you soon learn he is very sweet as he introduces himself as Colton. He takes your suitcase from you and carries it all the way to the truck and on the ride to the ranch you let Jake and him catch up. The landscape is so different from what you were used to back home, but you enjoyed it and couldn’t wait to see what a ranch in Texas was like.

When you pull up to the ranch your eyes go wide as you realize how large this ranch truly is. You could ride in any direction for what seemed like as far as the eye could see. Jake turned to look at the wonder on your face and smiled. “I bet you ain’t seen nothin’ like this back home huh”, Colton said. “No we had cattle and things like that, but nothing on this scale”, you replied.

“Question is, do you think you could live here on a ranch like this?”, Colton asked. Jake’s eyes went wide, but he didn’t say anything as you pondered the question. “Yeah for the right person I could and hell I’m sure a couple of kids wouldn’t hurt either”, you responded. Colton gave Jake a smug look, but Jake just rolled his eyes. When you all pulled up to the guest house it was beautiful. It had a wrap around porch with a swing with beautiful big windows. Colton helped you both into the house and handed Jake the keys.

“Supper is in another hour and Evelynn is making your favorite steak. The guest truck is out back and the keys are hanging up by the back door”, Colton told Jake. “We’ll be sure to make it in time”, Jake replied. Colton took his leave and headed home while you marveled at the inside of the house. It was a cowgirls wet dream here and now you were hooked. Jake smiled as you took in your surroundings, but had to cut it short so you both could unpack.

There was no time to rest after you unpacked as you and Jake got into the guest truck to head to the main house. It was a fifteen minute ride but when you arrived you swore you were in heaven. There was an A-frame ranch house and it was absolutely gorgeous. “Holy shit your sister and her husband live here”, you gasped. “Yeah for the past ten years with their two kids”, Jake responds.

As soon as you both get out of the truck a little girl comes running. “UNCLE JAKE!”, she yells. “Annabelle”, Jake says. She jumps into his arms as he spins her around. Then like a flash of lightning a second kid much smaller collides with his leg. “Unc Jake”, the second child says. “Hey Georgia”, Jake responds. He places the older girl in one arm and picks the youngest up in the other. “Who’s that?”, Annabelle asks. The younger girl cocks her head at you and smiles.

“This is my girlfriend (Y/N)”, Jake says. You introduce yourself and the youngest who looks to be about four reaches for you. Jake looks at you not sure if you want to hold Georgia, but you take her in your arms right away as she giggles. “It’s very nice to meet you Annabelle and Georgia”, you say. “DINNERS READY GIRLS AND YOUR UNCLE JAKE BETTER BE HERE”, someone who you guess is Evelynn calls out. “That’s our que”, Jake says as he takes your hand leading you into the house and to the dining room.

“Oh well I see you have met my children and you already met my husband. I’m Evelynn”, a woman says as she places dishes down on the table. When you look at her you definitely see the family resemblance and as your gaze travels lower you notice she is heavily pregnant. “Nice to meet you I’m (Y/N)”, you reply. You sit down as they say grace then start to eat as Jake talks with his sister. “So you never did tell me if you're having a boy or girl”, Jake says. “Well you're getting a nephew this time”, Evelynn replied.

“I knew it”, Jake boasted. Colton talked about how he was excited to show him all the ropes and how to play football. The rest of the night went like that as they asked you about your family and you told them everything. By the end of dinner Colton made mention to his wife that Jake and you were technically here on vacation and that she could talk to you all tomorrow. She sent you back to the guest house with homemade apple pie that was to die for. The day was catching up to both of you as you got into bed. Jake pulled you back against his chest making you the little spoon as you both fell asleep.

#top gun maverick #jake seresin x reader #jake hangman seresin #bradley rooster bradshaw #dagger squad

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peterparkersnose · 1 year ago

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I Need You More Than I Wanted To

pairing: Din Djarin x reader

word count: 3k

warnings: needy din, lowkey out of character but idc, pining possibly one sided, lots of begging, angst, description of y/n’s body, masturbation reference if you squint HARD, sappy speeches at the end, arguing, lots of angst (bc angst is my favorite)

a/n i’ve had this idea in my drafts for MONTHS so i’m so happy i’ve gotten around to writing it.

summary Y/N overhears a damaging conversation between Din and Greef Karga

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read time: 11 mins 8 seconds

Din’s heart ached like no other watching you these past few days. The silent suffering, the longing, and the pain he has been observing was hard to watch; the hardest part was that he was the reason for this.

He knew you like the back of his hand. For years the two of you have been traveling the galaxy, searching for as many credits as possible and managing to have a fun time while doing it. Living life with you is how Din preferred it. It was carefree. The two of you made a great team and wanted to live lavishly one day. That was the dream, at least. The two of you saved credits like crazy, but it never seemed to be enough to purchase a palace. Once the kid came along everything changed. The sudden dream of living large seemed to fade over the horizon. Something clicked. The two of you were now parents.

When Greef mentioned to him about you when the two of you visited the new Nevarro, Din was sure he was just messing with him.

“Are you two finally together?”

The question confused Din.

“You know, the way she looks at you. That’s love.”

Din was shocked. Had he really been that clueless?

“That’s impossible,” Din responded. Greef laughed. “You're telling me that if she made the first move, you wouldn’t reciprocate it?”

A strict “No” came from Din. “Never.”

The child cooed and the two men turned around. There you stood in the doorway, waiting for them to finish their conversation. The exact conversation you had just overheard.

Your mouth slightly dropped. The expression on your face was shocked. You quickly blinked and closed your mouth, trying to mask your disappointment. But Din knew. Maybe it was enough to fool Greef Karga, but Din knew he had just hurt the person he cared for the most deeply.

“H-he wanted you,” you said silently, not expecting your voice to quiver. You set down Grogu on the red velvet couch. Din nodded. Your lip quivered as you stared at him through the visor in pure shock. With hurt in your eyes, you excused yourself to the shared quarters the two of you were given for the time of your stay.

“And that…” Greef began. Din scooped up Grogu in his arms. Grogu made a noise and grunted, seemingly wanting to now leave his father and attend to his heartbroken mother. He squirmed in Din’s arms until he let him down.

“That was the look of heartbreak.”

The next few days on Nevarro were filled with a cold distance. Neither you nor Din wanted to discuss the elephant in the room. Simple words were exchanged in the interest of the child, but that was about it.

It was your last night on Nevarro.

Din had been at the cantina with Greef Karga and some of his associates, celebrating the newly liberated Nevarro. You had gone to bed early, staying with Grogu.

You were surprised Din even agreed to go out, he hated outings such as drinking with friends. If things weren’t so heated at the moment, he would have much rather preferred a night staying in with you and watching some stupid show on your datapad and eating whatever your heart desired.

The sun had been set for hours. You were lounging in your satin red sleep robe that was complimentary given to you upon your arrival. The beautiful braid you had your hair up in all day was now gone, your hair was curled due to the all-day friction. The ladies assigned to your care were more than delightful. With the satin robes and braids you could never master, it was like you never wanted to leave. You lay on the king-sized bed you had been giving to Din the last few nights. The couch was beginning to hurt your back, and he was nowhere to be found.

Grogu, still not asleep, was patting the lavish sheets with his hands. You smiled, watching the curious creature discover the new textures. Your eyes wandered to the marvelous carvings coated in gold paint that covered the pillars in your room. Eyes beginning to droop, you were suddenly awoken by a cold hand on your exposed thigh.

“Buir!” he squealed. Recognizing the Mando’a right away, your thinned-lip smile turned into a frown. “I know,” you sighed, extending your hand towards the child and brushing the top of his head. “He’ll be back soon.”

Grogu crawled up your legs and onto your torso. Grogu began grabbing some of the strands of hair that lay on your chest, you slowly separated his hands from the grasp. “Good job on speaking, buddy.” you smiled, now sitting against the bedframe. Grogu sat in your lap, reaching for your hair once again. A genuine smile arose on your face as you watched your son rest in your lap. The thought of Din left your mind, but only temporarily. He seemed to haunt your dreams as he haunted your days. You fell asleep with Grogu in your lap.

Din’s clanky armor trudged up the many stairs to the guest bedroom. It was almost like a full workout, he was ready to get into the shower and then get into bed.

Din absolutely hated his time out; barely being able to sip his drink and listening to the arguing of men about topics he didn't even care about was not his idea of a good night. He didn't want to admit it though—he yearned to spend the night with you. You consumed his every thought, and with every sip of his strong alcohol, he just kept feeling worse and worse. The image of your face re played in his head all week. With the disappointment and hurt he never wanted to inflict on you, the guilt was building up in his stomach like no other.

Slowly, his ungloved hand waved against the sensor. The door whirred open. Din hoped he didn’t wake you, it was already almost morning, even though the sunrise was hours away. He could hear the morning bugs begin to chirp on his way home. As his eyes adjusted to the lighting, he set his helmet down on the chair in the corner. He turned around to find you- his heart seemed to skip a beat.

Laying in the silk robe you were gifted, your legs were parted awkwardly as you slept. You lay on your stomach with your face delved in a pillow. The slow movement of your back going up and down gave Din the confidence that you were okay. One arm lay at your side, the other cradled Grogu against your waist. His breath finally caught up with him once he realized he had been staring for too long.

The only thing he could seem to think about in his shower was his best friend. The woman who had always been there for him. She was merely a partner until Greef suggested otherwise. The thought of even diving into anything romantic with you never crossed Din’s mind until then. His hand held his seemingly limp body on the wall, holding him upwards as the water washed over him. The thought of you sprawled out on the bed, on his bed was just…

The thought went straight to his head, making him feel emotions for you he never had before. Your body, the way you lay, how you were protecting his son even in slumber. Everything about you seemed so appealing in a way Din had never felt for another woman.

“You know, the way she looks at you. That’s love.”

Greef’s voice haunted Din’s mind as he slept. He woke up gasping for air on the couch. You turned to look at him but only for a moment. You made eye contact. It was rare you saw him without his helmet, and even rarer to make complete eye contact. Din wasn’t one for eye contact. Looking down, you continued to fold Grogu’s extra robes that were freshly cleaned and delivered to your room earlier this morning. You were packing to leave.

Din sat upright, his hand holding his forehead. His head was pounding. Looking up, he noticed a glass of water and a few pills sitting on the table in front of him. Presumably set up for him, by you. His heart sank. Even in pain, you somehow still cared for him. He turned to look at you again. You were still getting Grogu ready to leave. He was jumping on the bed, making gargling noises as you tried to dress him. Din took the pills and finished the water and set the glass down with a clank, so you knew he had seen your gesture.

“What time are we leaving?” he asked, standing up to finish his packing. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror; his hair was disheveled and he was in need of a shave. He ran a hand over the patchy stubble on his cheeks. To his surprise, his bag was sitting packed on the same chair where he rested his helmet last night. His helmet was sitting on top of the bag.

You sighed. “Din,” you croaked, saying his name for the first time in days. He looked over at you. The same pain was there, but the look of exhaustion followed it. “I-I’m not going.”

His brows raised. A slight panic set in. “What do you mean, your not going?” he asked in a more hostile tone than needed. You drew in a sharp breath and looked back at the same gold detailing you were looking at the night before. “Grogu is packed,” you simply said, scooping the child up in your arms. He squealed at your embrace, cuddling up in your arms. It was the last time you were going to be with Grogu, at least for a while. “Greef invited us to breakfast,” you said, swiftly walking past Din to the door. Your attempt to leave was unsuccessful.

Din grabbed your arm and pulled you back. Grogu let out a whine, as he was shuffled in the hassle. No words had to be said, the stares you were giving each other were enough. Din tilted his head slightly. The feeling of you was slipping through his fingers. Memories of you two fighting bounties, saving credits for a future, and then raising Grogu together hurt him more than ever. You were already too far gone. He had done damage that seemed irreversible.

A single tear rolled down your face.

It was never meant to go this far.

“Let me go,” you begged. Din didn’t realize his grasp on you was getting tighter as the seconds went by. “I don’t want to,” he whispered, closer to a mumble.

With reluctance, he let go of your arm.

“What about the villa?” he called after you as you were about to exit the room. You stopped cold in your tracts. “Don’t bring up the villa-” you scolded him, turning around. The once-thought dream of living lavishly with Din, as a retired pair on a fancy planet scorned your broken heart. “You're really just going to leave? After everything?” he asked.

“You were my everything.” you bitterly cried out. Grogu squirmed in your arms. You sat him down on the bed.

Those words punched through Din like a thousand knives. “I didn’t mean-”

“Then what did you mean?” you ask, approaching Din. “I heard your conversation loud and clear, Din. I understand your intentions.”

“Y/N I had no clue,” he tried to defend himself. “Liar!” you screamed. Din was taken aback by your anger and took a few steps back. “I have spent the last many years of my life following you around blindly. We lived together, slept in the same bed, shared meals, shared laughs, and now share a child! I held you during cold nights! I saw your face, we’ve seen each other nude more times than I can count, you cared for me when I got hurt on that one mission to Tatooine. You cared for me while my leg was broken and I was helpless. We were everything without a title, Din! There is no way you never saw or felt anything. I simply don’t believe it. I can’t believe I thought I could see the true heart of a cold, selfish Mandalorian.”

Din was almost at a loss for words. He stood for a moment, finding words to say as he watched you realize every single word you had just spewed out at him. Your hand began to shake as you sat down, covering your mouth and staring at the carpet with wide eyes.

“Do you think I chose this? This is how I was raised, Y/N!” he argues. Your gaze moved from the carpet and back to Din. “I cannot take a spouse unless they are a Mandalorian, you know this,” Din begged, grasping for straws. He wanted you more badly than anything else in the world, but the creed that was so deeply indoctrinated in him was fighting the feelings.

“Blinded by your creed.” you spat out. Din seethed. The creed he was in the process of abandoning anyways.

“Why do you think I’m leaving it?” he blurted out. He didn’t want to admit it, but he said it out loud. Never had he ever admitted before to himself, let alone another person that he was done with his origins. The religion he was raised in, the culture that had brought him in and saved his life was now being thrown out… but for what? The convincing Bo-Katan did and saving him from this cult-like creed saved his life, truly deep down. Even if the efforts were small, they awoke something in Din. But was he really ready to shun his culture completely? Din never really came to terms with it, I guess, until now.

“You have hurt me deeply, Din Djarin,” you said with your lip quivering, stating your final words. With that, you took Grogu and went to breakfast. You knew using his full, true name always hit him in a spot where it hurt most.

As you were about to walk down the spiral staircase at the end of the hallway, you heard your name being called clearly from the other side of the hall. You turned around, seeing Din jogging down the hall to you.

“Din! Your helmet,” you cried out. He had left the room without it. As he only trusted you and Grogu to see his natural face, anyone who he didn’t trust could turn him into the leaders of his clan. It touched him that you seemed to care for him on some level to still care about his helmet insecurities.

Then again, the reigns the creed held on him were loosening day by day.

“Wait,” he said, huffing as he approached you. “Please.”

“I want to go eat breakfast,” you said sternly.

Din’s arms loosely fell over your figure, his hands slowly touching your arms as they cradled Grogu.

“Don’t go,” he begged.

You looked up into his glossy eyes. Often you would forget how much taller he was than you. Sighing, you looked away.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t.”

Din’s knees seemed to collapse under him. He gave in to the buckling of his kneecaps and grabbed both of your hands, begging on his knees for you.

“To live all these years blindly, to not see what was truly in front of me will haunt me for the rest of my days. I am lost without you. Like a galaxy without stars, I am incomplete. I hope you can forgive me for my foolish words, I did not know what I was saying. You are everything to me. The mother of my child, my partner in crime, my light in the dark, my moon to guide me at night, my motivation, my companion, my love. Please forgive me. I need you to stay. You are all I have, you are all I need. A life without you is not worth living.”

To end his plea, he kissed your hands and wept.

Your right hand moved from his grasp to cup his cheek. It was wet with tears. “Don’t cry,” you whispered, wiping a tear away. “Din please,” you said, tearing up as you watched him sit and beg for you.

As his were moments before, your knees seemed to fail you and you joined him on the ground. Your hands grasped his hair as you engulfed the sobbing man in a hug. The soothing sounds of you shushing him like a baby filled the empty hallway.

“I won’t leave, I promise,” you whispered. This seemed to only make him cry harder. The realization Din had of how lucky he was and how close he was to losing you terrified him.

You would have never thought that you would be holding a sobbing Mandalorian. This was living proof of how much he loved and adored you. “H-how could you ever forgive me?” he asked, looking up into your gaze.

“I already have, my love.”

And with that, the two of you delved into your first kiss. It was wet and filled with passion, but also had a theme of hesitation from the two of you.

In all honesty, it was Din’s first kiss ever.

He moved his lips against yours, following your lead. The passion that moved between the two of you was something you had never felt with anyone else before. His hands wandered to your waist as he feverishly begged for more, but knew the limits of the setting the two of you were in.

Moments before the inevitable breakaway, your kiss was interrupted with a cool paw on your leg and a “Patu”

You rocked back on your legs to see the tiny green baby looking angrily at the two of you. A small laugh came from you and Din as he picked Grogu up and fixed his robes.

“Go get fixed up,” you said sweetly, kissing Din on the cheek. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

“One question?” he asked, just as you were standing up to leave.

“What time are we leaving?”

“12.” you smiled, ruffling his already messy hair.

tag list: @dani5216 @uwiuwi @alohastyles-x @mandoloriancookie @maddieinnit0 @alexxavicry @scoliobean @avengersfan25 @nyotamalfoy @milly-louise @mxtokko

@peeta-is-useless @kirsteng42 @salliebley @bubsonnobx @lexloon @untitledarea @qualitypudding @bitchwitch1981 @kittenlittle24

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szallejhscorner · 2 years ago

Note

i just had a thought and needed to share it with you LMAO but chishiya is definitely the type of person to use the whole ‘three taps means i love you’ code cuz he rarely ever says it out loud. so like anytime he passes by you he’ll tap your arm three times and sometimes he even finds himself doing it unconsciously in his sleep :((

Thank you for sharing this with me, my friend ♥

How could I NOT write this for you?

Tap, tap, tap.

Three taps on your upper arm as he passed you, his eyes not even looking up from the article he was reading. Only Chishiya’s smirk hinted at the fact that those taps were intentional, and you moved your fingers to the still tingling skin of your arm.

He always did that. Tapping your arm when walking past you, tapping your fingers when you held his hand, even your head when you snuggled into his side while watching a movie together. You had barely noticed at first, but the more often Chishiya did it, the more you questioned what it actually meant.

You had tried to figure out if it occurred after you said or did something special. Maybe it was to tell you that you were stupid (in Chishiya’s own mocking but loving way of course), or that you should move aside? It didn’t make sense.

One time you had questioned him, and the only answer had been a knowing chuckle. Of course, the cunning blonde wouldn’t give you the answer that easily, since he loved to be the clever one. You had even tried to tap him back, but that only led to an even bigger smirk on his face.

Rolling your eyes, you followed Chishiya into the living room, where he dropped back into the couch and barely made place for you when you did the same. You snuggled into his touch, leaving him enough space so he could continue reading that article about surgical stuff, and looked up to his face. Strands of blonde hair tickled your skin, the scent of strawberry shampoo just a hint in the air as you breathed in.

You searched for his hand and didn’t let go until your fingers intertwined with his, and there it was again. Three taps of his thumb against the side of your hand.

“What does it mean?” you asked again, twirling a strand of blonde hair between your fingers.

Chishiya tilted his head towards you just so slightly, a sign that he enjoyed what you were doing. “Hmm?”

You snorted. “Come on, don’t fool me. The taps! You know what I’m talking about. What does it mean?”

“If you can’t figure it out yourself, there’s no need to explain it anyway.”

That asshole. He knew exactly how much you wanted that answer, and he enjoyed it even more to play with you. This was definitely not the reason you loved him. You punched his side, hard enough so he had to flinch, before you snuggled back into it. “I hate you, ‘Chiya.”

“No, you don’t.” He bluntly stated with a smirk. Of course you didn’t.

Later that night, when the movie was long finished and you both had gone to bed, you still lay wide awake and stared at the ceiling. In the darkness of night, only a few shadows were visible, cast by the moon and the trees outside your window. Three taps. And there was a meaning behind it. Just why couldn’t you figure it out?

Chishiya huffed in his sleep and turned around so he was facing you. His mouth was slightly parted and his hair was tousled all around his beautiful features. You couldn’t resist touching his cheek, and his lips curled into a smile for a second. When you pulled back your arm to give Chishiya the space he needed, his fingers brushed your skin and you felt the soft tap, tap, tap once more.

He even did that while sleeping! But what-

You scanned his features, listened to the sound of his breath, and despite the riddle he wouldn’t solve for you, your heart was almost bursting with love for this man. You loved so many things about him – his voice, his cleverness, the way he was a man of few words who preferred to use tiny gestures.

And then it struck you.

Of course! How couldn’t you have seen it before?

Everything that Chishiya did had a meaning, even the slightest touch was considered.

Tap, tap, tap.

Three taps… three words.

I love you.

You smiled, breathing a kiss onto Chishiya’s lips. “I love you, too.”

#chishiya x reader #oneshot #reader x chishiya #chishiya shuntaro #aib #alice in borderland

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boldlyvoid · 1 year ago

Note

I’m kinda in the middle of writing a little fic too but inspiration sucks

okay but anyway how about a little fic where spencer and reader are having just a quiet evening they made a nice dinner together and are just sitting on opposite ends of the couch doing their own thing maybe reader is crocheting (wink wink) and spencer is reading/doing Spencer-y things and they just find peace and comforting in this type of parallel play/ quality time together

i know it sounds boring but it sounds peaceful to me to have that kind of security and love that doesn’t need any words. and I think Spencer would love that too

Parallel Play

yes of course bestie!! i love this idea thank you <3

wc: 883

Spencer Reid is secretly a quiet man.

At work, he could go on a rant or a ramble at the drop of a hat. He knows so much inside that beautiful brain of his that once he starts going on a topic, he wants to talk until he’s explained everything. Honestly, he could do a 15-hour Ted Talk if you let him.

But at home… at home he’s quiet. They both are.

Sat on opposite sides of the couch, Spencer has his feet up on the coffee table, he’s leaning back against the cushions with his Nintendo Switch in his hands resting on his chest, pretty close to his face as he works on a tough level of the newest Zelda game. He grew up never having any video games, so now, in his 40’s he’s finally getting the chance to experience the wonderful worlds that exist in the palm of his hands. His girlfriend, however, has her feet in his lap, she’s extended across most of the couch with her back against the armrest as she crochets a new pattern she’s been wanting to make. Even their cat has joined them, laying between her legs and the back of the couch, she’s all stretched out and sleeping away with both of her favourite humans at home.

They’re so happy like this. Just quietly enjoying their time off while still together, still touching, they have a comfort show on for background noise and its perfect.

She looks up from her project every once and a while, either because Spencer has mumbled something at his game or the current episode they have on is getting interesting. And each time she does look up, she finds herself staring at Spencer with a little smile. He’s just so cute like this. Totally enthralled in his game, his brows furrowed as he concentrates and his jaw a little clenched when it gets hard.

When he finishes his level, or when he just pauses to have a breather, he reaches down to her feet that are resting in his lap and he grips her ankle. He runs his hand up and down her shin a few times, soothing himself and her in the process. He takes a few sips of water, he watches a couple minutes of the show and then he goes right back to his game. Still completely silent. Still completely content.

By the time she’s done her crochet project, it’s a little after midnight and she’s tired. “Spence,” she whispers to him.

He just hums, his brows go up to show he’s listening but his attention is still on his game.

“You wanna go to bed soon?”

He nods, “Let me…. Finish… this,” he says while mashing the buttons, clearly working on something. “And then we can.”

“Okay,” she agrees. She moves her feet off his legs carefully so as to not scare the cat, but she wakes up anyway. She picks her up and gives her a couple pets as she moves in closer to Spencer’s side.

“You okay if I watch?”

He nods again, she only asked because sometimes the pressure of someone watching him play makes him do worse. But this time he’s fine with it. She leans her head on his shoulder and cuddles into his side to watch him play for the last few minutes of their quiet time together.

She watches without a clue as to what is going on, he defeats a boss, he wins the level and he lets out a deep sigh as he clicks the game off and sets it down in his lap. He lifts his arm so he can wrap it around her, letting her snuggle in even closer to his chest and he kisses the top of her head a few times. “Tired?” He asks with a whisper.

“Yeah,” she whispers back.

“Let's go to bed,” he encourages, patting her arm gently.

She gets up with the cat still in her arms, Spencer turns off the TV and all the lights and meets her in the bedroom. She let the cat down on the bed and she immediately curls up into a ball at the foot of the bed, clearly also ready for a long night's rest. They change together, they brush their teeth together and then they slip under the covers together, too.

The lights go off, they lay turn to face each other, each snuggled into their pillows, and they sigh almost at the same time. It hasn’t been a long day, but they’re still both exhausted.

“I love you,” he says into the darkness.

“I love you,” she replies with a smile. She leans in just a little closer and kisses him, once, twice and a third time for good measure. “I had fun today.”

“Me too… we should do this more often.”

“We really should.”

Then they go quiet again. She rolls over to her other side, letting him spoon into her the way he always does at night. He wraps his arm around her middle, his hand resting on her stomach, he kisses her shoulder blade re situates his head on the pillow. “Goodnight, love.”

“Night, Spence.”

And that’s how they fall asleep. Quietly, in each other's arms, perfectly content with the little life that they lead.

#Spencer reid #Spencer reid smut #Spencer reid fanfiction #Spencer reid fanfic #Spencer reid imagine #Spencer reid x reader #Spencer reid x y/n #Spencer reid x you #Spencer reid self insert #Spencer reid request #criminal minds smut #criminal minds imagine

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danikamariewrites · 1 year ago

Text

Ddlg Azriel x reader bedtime headcanon

A/n: will I ever stop writing for ddlg Az? Absolutely not, he’s my favorite and I’m going to keep doing this very every situation I can think of (honestly idk if I like this I might delete it 🫤)

Warnings: ddlg, daddy kink

When you and Azriel are at home alone your nightly routine is you two hanging out in the living room

You two would read or Azriel would do work while you do something that won’t bore you to death like his paper work

He’d carry you to bed or you would hold hands walking to your room

You’d let him know when you want to go to bed

You typically crawl into Azriel’s lap and snuggle into his chest, “I’m tired daddy, can we go up now?” “Of course princess.” And he’d kiss your forehead

You two would brush your teeth and do your skin care routine together

Azriel would sit you on the counter and brush your hair for you and give you kisses in between brushes

“Is this ok princess?” And you’d hum in appreciation

You wrap yourself around Azriel, smiling and kiss his neck when he’s done

Azriel lightly throws you on the bed and you giggle

Azriel always helps you undress and puts one of his shirts on you

When you both crawl under the covers Azriel pulls you close to him to keep you warm

Sleeping on his chest is your favorite

His heartbeat lulls you to sleep as he traces little patterns with his fingers on your back

“Comfy princess?” “Mmhhmm. Always am with you.” You’d say sleepily

You always fall asleep first, you just trust Azriel so much that falling asleep on him is so easy

If you shiver in the middle of the night Azriel pulls the covers tighter over you and wraps his wings around you

Though he doesn’t know how you’re always so damn cold when he’s like a heater

If Rhys and Cassian are over or if you’re at the House of Wind or River House your routine changes a little

You usually get tired early when the whole group hangs out

You’re sitting next to Az on the couch, resting your head on his shoulder

He’d play with your hair which would make you even more tired

Everyone else would’ve wandered off to bed leaving you half asleep with the bat boys

Azriel would carry you up to bed and help you change into pjs

You wouldn’t do your whole nightly routine but he’d tuck you in, “goodnight princess, I’ll be up in a bit after I talk with Rhys and Cass.”

“Ok daddy. Can I have a kiss?” “Always.” He’d leave kisses all over your face and finally a quick one on your lips

Az would make sure you had your stuffed bat to cuddle with

He’d leave a shadow behind. Yeah the houses are warded but he’d never chance his perfect princess’s safety

Talking and drinks turned into a few rounds of cards until the shadow watching over you comes to get Az

Azriel would bid his brothers goodnight rushing up to the bedroom

You had the lights on dim looking around the room tiredly

“Princess is everything ok?” You shake your head rubbing at your eyes “I can’t find Binx.”

Azriel would hug you and put you back in bed, “I’ll find Binx princess.”

He’d shake out the cover and search everywhere for your stuffed bat, even though he’s the only bat you should cuddle rn

When Az finds him you’d be so happy, “Binx! Thank you daddy.”

As you lay on Azriel’s chest you’d snuggle Binx and fall right back to sleep with your favorite bats

#acotar #acotar fanfiction #acotar reader fic #acotar reader imagine #acotar imagine #azriel x reader #azriel shadowsinger #azriel acotar #azriel x you #acotar azriel #azriel fluff #azriel #azris fanfiction #azriel fanfic #azriel imagine #azriel fic #azriel x female!reader #azriel headcanons

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momobani · 1 month ago

Text

TECHNICALITY

THE WAY I hate YOU - chapter 6 - 13k

&team Nicholas x fem!reader - arranged marriage AU

SERIES MASTERLIST

Sum: the one where you find out that everything is not as it seems.

Warnings: swearing, sarcasm, a smidge of angst, portrayal of dysfunctional families, mention of food and alcohol, mention of sex

Soundtrack rec: This is Love - JUD (honestly this is so the song i imagined playing for the scene - you’ll know when you read it hehe)

Taglist: @nichoswag @seokka0o @sseastar-main @hyuckslvr @ssshasssh @wtfisgoingright @heart4hees @uni-versalizar @blooqz

A/N: just to note there are a few sorta time skips, time flows quickly in this universe lol. sorry this update took so long, between being busy and sorta in a slump it was a bit hard to get to writing but hopefully i can finish it before the end of the year, fingers crossed! hope you enjoy <3

The one time turned into another, and then another after that, the days turning into weeks and the weeks turning into months, as your relationship became stranger and stranger. Sleeping with Nicholas was definitely a turning point but you didn’t regret it. It was just difficult to navigate the aftermath of everything that was going on between the two of you.

Yes, you were married but you weren’t in love. Yes, you were friends, but you were sleeping with each other. The two could exist in their own separate realms in their own right; but you had to admit it was probably not a great idea to play around when the two situations were this intertwined as they were with you.

Whatever your feelings on the situation were, they were simmering quietly under the surface, and sometimes you forgot they were there until you would spend the night in Nicholas’ room or he in yours, then in the morning you would walk around like you were just roomies and get ready for work. He wouldn’t kiss you goodbye before leaving like a husband would kiss his wife, but you would go to functions arm in arm and put on a pretence that you were the newlyweds of the year- hell - of the century.

The whole pantomime was exhausting but somewhere along the way it got easier as you became closer, got to know each other better and were in sync with your actions. You were so good at fooling everyone, that you were starting to fool yourselves.

Your brain was starting to feel mushy and disoriented, denying reading into anything at all; the lingering kiss on your temple as you lay in your bed with Nicholas’ arms caging you close to his frame or the way he held your hand as you walked into a shareholder meeting on a winter afternoon, his large hand keeping yours warm.

It was convenient to fall into delusion but you tried so hard to stay in reality.

This was arranged. Anything else was just arbitrary.

It was just habit, just friendly affection, just for show.

Pick an excuse.

Any will do.

You had to keep reminding yourself that you weren’t in a real relationship, you knew it was the right thing to do. You weren’t in love, no, but there were moments where you would catch yourself - the more time you spent with Nicholas, the more you got to know him, the more you liked him. Your proximity was starting to puzzle you.

You sighed to yourself as you cut the engine of your car. You were so hungry, you were sure your body was starting to eat itself, beginning with your silly, tired little brain.

By the time you get to your couch - your beautiful, comfy, delightful couch, which you missed dearly while at work all day - slippers on your feet, coat tossed on the rack by the door, you hear the door open a second time and your husband come in.

Nicholas mirrors your fatigue as he treads into the room silently, collapsing on the couch next to you, the whole thing shaking at the impact of his body hitting the pillows.

“Long day?” he asks finally.

“The fucking longest.” you mutter.

“Same. I’m ordering us food.” he says if it was a solution to your problem. You hum in agreement, not moving a muscle.

Nicholas ends up phoning the restaurant since he’s a regular there and you were both familiar with the menu. You sit up, ready to chime in with what you want to eat but he talks quickly and rattles off an order in Mandarin.

You listen to the best of your ability, trying to track when to butt in but he beats you to it, asking for the dishes that you were thinking of, while looking at you as if he hadn’t just read your mind, then confirming your address - you recognised the numbers when he said 520 - before hanging up.

You just look at him dumbly for a moment.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, forgetting to switch from Mandarin then catching himself. “Er- sorry. Did I say anything wrong?” he raises his eyebrows innocently. You shake your head.

“No, just surprised you knew what I wanted.” you shrug. Nicholas half-chuckles.

“Ah, I know what you like from that particular place, and…” he trails off. “Well, you don’t usually like to try new things so I figured.”

You pout a little at his insinuation. “I like trying new things…sometimes.” you realise you sound childish trying to rebut. He was right; you tended to stick to what works for you but in your head, it was because at least you knew what you wanted.

“I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m just saying, I know you by now, YN.” Nicholas smiles at you. You smile back automatically, your mouth incapable of refusing to return it.

“Alright, Mr Know-It-All,” you click your tongue, coming up with some possibly terrible but also a little bit genius idea that you’re pretty sure Nicholas will be able to read just from the sarcastic lilt of your voice. “What am I thinking right now?” you challenge, looking him in the eye, daring him to say it out loud.

He thinks for a moment, scanning your face for hints. Your stomach flutters slightly under his stare but in that second you tell yourself it’s just the hunger getting to you. He seems to settle on something and one corner of his mouth turns up and you know he read you like a goddamn book, if his cocky tone and smug tilt of his head is indicative of anything.

“You’re thinking of how we have time to kill,” he begins, shuffling closer to you. “And that our couch is far too comfortable for us to waste its potential by going to a bedroom-” a hand finds its way to brush some hair away from your face. “- so we should just stay here and make use of it because no one else will.” he finishes, his face already barely centimetres from yours.

Our couch.

His voice echoes in your head.

You feign consideration, as if you’re mulling over his suggestion, when in fact, it was what you were thinking the whole time.

You nod slowly. “I guess that’s close enough.” you concede, angling yourself to accommodate Nicholas’ body as he pulled you closer.

“Then tell me more, will you?” he mumbles, now nose to nose with you.

“Oh please, we both know actions speak louder than words.” you shake your head jokingly before taking his face in your hands and pulling him in for a kiss, and then another and well…everything that was the source of your confused feelings these days.

True to your words - well, Nicholas’ interpretation of your thoughts - you stay on the couch, then afterwards go and change into pyjamas since it was that kind of day and return to the kitchen to wait for your food.

You sit at your counter instead of the dinning table, eating comfortably. At least you think you feel like it’s comfortably. You’re paying attention to your food but still thinking about what transpired on the couch and how insanely good it felt-

“You know our six month anniversary is coming up soon?” Nicholas asks abruptly. You stop for a moment, mentally checking the fact and find that it would be in a couple of weeks or so.

“I guess?” you reply, unsure where he was going with this. “I didn’t think we’d be counting it, if I’m being honest.” you mutter.

It was an arranged marriage so you weren’t exactly invested in doing things ‘properly’ like a normal couple, then again, you also hadn’t planned on going on a honeymoon and look how that turned out. Remembering you even went makes it feel like it was a million years ago.

How did time pass that quickly?

Nicholas hums in agreement. “Hm, I know, I thought so too, but I’ve been prompted by the powers that be-”

“Your mother?”

“Yes, but allegedly in cahoots with your mother, and she said it might be nice to do something as a family.” he continues, through a mouthful of rice.

“Did you just say ‘in cahoots’?” you attempt not to choke on how ridiculous it was.

“You got a better word for it, Mrs Wang?” he pouts at his bowl. You don’t say anything, too amused and wanting to hear more. “Didn’t think so. Anyways, they probably want some kind of business dinner in the guise of a family thing.”

“Isn’t everything we’ve been through a ‘business thing’ in sheep’s clothing?” you point out.

“Obviously, but we live another day to tell the tale.” he says. “So, what do you say?”

“It doesn’t sound that bad, I guess. Besides, it’s kind of neutral and we could write off another family dinner for like another few months.” you deliberate, weighing up the pros. Actually, that sounded really appealing - you could write it off for the holiday period and your anniversary and disappear for a while- “Let’s do it.”

“Alright, that is a ‘go’, we can arrange something. It’ll be my parents, your parents, Maki, and do you want to invite your uncle?” Nicholas makes a note on his phone.

“Not really. I’m still a little pissed at him for not sticking up for me before.” you admit. You’d talked to Nicholas about it at some point; he knew how well you’d gotten on with your uncle before the whole marriage business was thrust onto you.

“No problem, just immediate family then.” he nods then puts the phone away.

You eat in silence for a while again, but the reminder of your family riles you up just a smidge. You hadn’t forgiven your parents for everything they’d put you through, despite you having good feelings towards your husband, it didn’t alter the fact that they’d been the ones who’d thrown you into the deep end.

“Did you ever figure it out?” Nicholas breaks the silence. You’re not sure what he means.

“I have figured many a-things out, you’re gonna have to be more specific.” you shrug.

“My bad, O Wise and Great One. Have you figured out why I agreed to the marriage in the first place?” he clarifies. “It’s funny how worked up you were about it before, don’t tell me you forgot?”

You cringe internally at how suspicious you had been back then, though it had been founded, and especially because you were still strangers at the time. There was an occasional pang of suspicion that returned to you, but for the most part you’d established that Nicholas wasn’t that kind of person.

“I think you’re too mellow to have an actual agenda,” you state. “So I retract my previous doubts.”

“In other words… you don’t think I need an agenda to marry a beautiful woman?” he looks at you expectantly. You know he wants you to agree, but you refuse just for that reason.

You roll your eyes. “You’re sleeping outside tonight.” you threaten. Nicholas frowns before laughing.

“We have separate rooms.” he says.

“Figuratively. It’s the thought that counts.” you insist, starting to get infected by the laugh.

“Damn, YN, cut me some slack; a guy can’t even give his wife a compliment.” he complains.

“No, he can’t. It made me suspicious again.” you retort. “You know it doesn’t make sense, right?” you say seriously. “You could probably have anyone you wanted, so why choose to get stuck with me?”

You voice your recent growing insecurities about your marriage - sham marriage - but nonetheless, for all intents and purposes, real and legal marriage.

“Bold of you to assume I chose it.” Nicholas says nonchalantly.

“Ouch.” you say sarcastically. “Not exactly what you want to hear after sleeping with someone.” you mumble.

“Hey, not what I meant. Will you let me finish?” he quips back.

“Kay, I did ask,” you concede.

“You think you had no choice, and you didn’t. But it was pretty much the same for me, if not worse.” Nicholas explains. “I have no siblings. I’ve been raised as the crown prince of the empire. My family’s future depends on me. Marrying you was a way to secure that future.”

You mull it over in your head. “But we benefit more from the merger than Wang Enterprises.”

In your view, it had always been your parents trying to claw their way into higher society, to make more money, as if you needed it, when you should just be focusing on what good your company could do - you were in the medical supplies business and the world would always need those without a doubt. It’s why you decided to work in the company in the first place instead of leaving; because you could do more good from the inside.

“Or do you?” Nicholas asks, not really expecting an answer. “Just food for thought. Don’t think the Wangs are any better, it’s business after all.” he sighs.

Nicholas was right; this marriage deal was a two way street and both parties had agreed to embark on it together. Your choices had led you to each other but you had to remember it was just good business.

You had resented him, maybe almost hated him at first, but you couldn’t hold it against him. You’d told yourself it was just good business and you were protecting Maki, your family had to come first, right?

Perhaps it was a good lie to tell yourself or a fiery explosion that had the power to blow up your life as you knew it, but still good business.

Your hand in Nicholas’, his mouth on yours, skin to skin, your heart thundering in your chest…all just good business and you knew eventually it would obliterate everything in good your life.

It was just a matter of when, not if.

You looked in the mirror for the hundredth time and sighed, chucking the clothes on a hanger over your bed and into the growing pile of rejects.

Your problem for tonight wasn’t that you had nothing to wear, but that every single thing somehow didn’t seem right all of a sudden. One was too businesslike, another too flimsy for the weather, one couldn’t match with another piece to create an outfit.

You walk back to your closet and take out the last few hangers in hopes of making something happen.

It was your six month anniversary and you had to be presentable to the whole family. Mostly, your mother, who seemed to always have an opinion about everything, even when you were simply breathing.

You hold up one piece to your torso across the mirror and then the other.

A quiet knock on your open door behind you breaks your concentration.

“Everything okay in here?” Nicholas asks, leaning on the doorway, eyes glued to the mountain of stuff on your bed. You turn to look at him - his outfit a painfully simple black shirt, blazer and slacks. But it looked perfect for the occasion - not too formal, not too casual or uptight for the office.

And he looked like a million bucks; a very handsome, very suave million bucks.

You groan out loud after seeing him.

“Okay, I’ll take that as a ‘no’.” he says then crosses into your room to look at the hangers in your hands.

“Sorry, I’m just stumped right now. I remember buying all of these with a purpose, but I never imagined the occasion would be ‘six month anniversary of arranged marriage’ when I did.” you hand the hangers to Nicholas and perch on your bed.

“A true fashionista always adapts, no matter the occasion.” Nicholas comments while sifting through the hangers, holding one up for a moment then another and discarding them into a new pile.

“Now’s not the time for preaching,” you retort. “Please help a fashion disaster in need.” you put your palms together and plead with your best puppy eyes.

“Aigoo,” Nicholas coos. “At least you’re self-aware.” he says with an undertone of mocking your pathetic attempt at begging but smiles after. “Anything for my poor wifey.” You narrow your eyes at him but he’s too busy looking at the clothes in front of him to notice. You decide not to comment since your need his help.

“Thanks, I’m going to finish my make-up.” you take a seat at your modest vanity and pick where you’d left off after panicking about not having an outfit then racing to your closet to figure that out.

You don’t do anything too crazy, just making yourself look nice for a dinner rather than a runway, all the while Nicholas arranges a slew of different outfits behind you. You watch him in the vanity mirror as he shuffles from one end of the bed to the other, assessing each one as he puts them together, or changing one part then standing back to look at it from a distance.

It’s when you’re smacking your lips together after applying lipstick that he lets out a long exhale.

“I’m done.” he says. “I think this may just be my masterpiece.” You close your eyes for a second to stop them from rolling.

“Hold your horses, Picasso, I haven’t tried it on yet.” you rise from your seat and undo your satin dressing gown, sliding it off and leaving it on the chair. You move past Nicholas in just your underwear but it doesn’t phase either of you anymore. There was nothing left to be shy about.

There are three options on your bed, each one unique in its own way but you zero in on a dress paired up with a cropped blazer. The dress itself was something you’d bought a long time ago but never worn because it had cutouts right where your tattoo was. While the tattoo was a simple bunch of lilies, you didn’t want to show it off at the places you usually went.

“I’m going to have to eliminate this one because if my mother sees my tattoo, she might faint.” you point it out. “I’ll save it for some other occasion though.” you promise.

“Fair, I just thought it would look good on you so I put it there.” Nicholas nods. “Why did you even get the tattoo if you would hide it all the time though?” he asks, curiosity colouring his voice.

You hum, considering both the question and the remaining outfits. “I wanted something that was my own entirely. I made the decision and didn’t have to get approval because no one would know about it.”

“I know about it.” he shrugs. “And anyone who sees you naked will know about it.” he adds as a matter of fact.

“I’m thinking it’s not a long list of people, nor are they likely to care about it, so it’s whatever.” you gravitate toward the second outfit - a black skirt with a white top that gave off an elegant line and was stylish as it was pretty. “Not bad, maestro. Shoes?” you ask, starting to take the clothes off the hanger.

“Those thigh-high boots you never wear.” he replies without hesitation. You nod while trying to remember exactly where you put those, but then you realise it must be in the communal shoe rack since Nicholas has seen them.

“If I wore them all the time, they wouldn’t be special.” you argue as you put on the skirt first, zipping it up.

You’re about to reach for the shirt but Nicholas is already holding it out for you. You slip your arms through and let him pull the material up. He leans in and plants a soft kiss on the skin between your shoulder and neck, catching you off-guard, then sliding the material the rest of the way as if he hadn’t done anything at all.

“Still, you should wear them. You deserve to feel special more often.” he hums, stepping away. You button the shirt up. “We should get going, I’ll drive.” he announces before leaving you alone in your room.

“Okay,” you say too late for him to hear.

You’re still reeling from the random display of affection. What was he playing at? Didn’t he know you were already going crazy without him acting like- well- like he was your husband, even though he technically was, in fact, your husband, even if you weren’t in love.

Was he allowed to do that? Were there even rules to this?

You only had yourself to blame since the boundaries you’d set were pretty loose and not that clear. You’d agreed that you could touch each other and be close and that it didn’t mean anything deep, yet you couldn’t stop yourself now from wondering if maybe it did mean something?

Did it mean anything to him? Did it mean anything to you?

Judging from how freaked out you were, it must, right?

Was it too late to worry about that? Were you simply denying something so obvious and simple?

Could you like your husband for real, even if your marriage wasn’t?

You keep thinking about it as you finish getting ready and meet Nicholas at the front door.

“Ready for the catwalk.” you mumble as you hold up your arms slightly, showing off the final outfit.

“Some of my best work yet,” he nods, assessing the way the clothes fit over your body. You narrow your eyes slightly. Now was not the time to be checking you out, but you don’t say that. “You’re going to be fabulous, darlin!” he exclaims, startling you. It was rare to see a supernatural possession in real life but you’d seen it all now.

“Gosh, what a diva.” you smirk as you follow him out the door.

“I prefer the term ‘icon’, thank you very much.” he quips without glancing back at you. When you don’t say anything, Nicholas looks back sheepishly at you. “Too much?”

“I won’t judge you for being targeted by the ghost of the Devil Who Wears Prada, but yes.” you confirm.

For once you don’t complain about riding in his obnoxiously red Ferrari, too lost in thought to care about the noise or what you looked like on the outside.

You zipped through the night, streetlights illuminating your way through the big city.

Nicholas was quiet too, putting on some music as background noise.

You arrived at the location, leaving the car with the valets and advancing inside. You’re met with a gust of hot air as you enter through the revolving doors and find yourselves in a dimly-lit foyer with a slab of marble clearly signed as an information desk and a pathway to a collection of elevators.

You take the one that comes first and Nicholas presses the P button at the very top of the series of keys on the wall.

The elevator dings at the top of the building and you enter the penthouse restaurant, eyes circling the premises, more lavish and luxurious than you could have imagined. The restaurant was huge but silent, clearly booked out for your family exclusively, its thirty odd tables left dressed in white tablecloths but otherwise empty.

The high ceiling drew your eyes up and you spotted several incredibly fancy chandeliers hanging through the main atrium, their lights reflecting brightly in the floor to ceiling windows that covered every wall of the restaurant. Under one such chandelier, a series of tables had been put together and the table set but your family was gathered at one of the windows, looking out to the city while holding their drinks.

“Ah, finally.” Your father says, raising his voice so you could hear him as the two of you walked towards the group. “We were starting to worry you got lost.” he continues, clearly teasing.

You smiled automatically as you approached, giving your in-laws your greetings then your parents and Maki, who seemed to suddenly wake up from being bored out of his mind. You reach up and pat his cheek affectionately while Nicholas is already joining the conversation smoothly.

Nicholas has the parents holding on to his every word but your mother manages to zero in on you, her eyes searching over you, analysing but saying nothing. Sometimes silence was golden-

“Dear, don’t you think those boots are a bit inappropriate?” she asks quietly while you’re somewhat out of earshot. You spoke too soon; there was no scenario in your life that your mother kept her opinion to herself. “You’re not clubbing with your friends.” she says through a toothy smile.

“Nicholas picked them out.” you blurt in defence, not that it was going to retract your mother’s previous statement. She hums for a second, taking another discreet look at your attire.

“Well, I suppose they do make your legs look slimmer.” she muses. You should have expected something like that; her son-in-law could do no wrong in her eyes. You ignore her in favour of locating the nearest waiter bringing around booze. Once there is a champagne glass in your hand, you feel a little more grounded. You prepare yourself for a harrowing conversation but are luckily saved by the bell. Or in this case, your father-in-law.

“Why don’t we sit down, everyone?” you hear Mr Wang ask. “You must be starving.”

You had most certainly lost your appetite but you were grateful for the progression of the evening - the faster you ate, the faster you could get home.

Nicholas materialises by your side and slides an arm around your waist, leaning in so his mouth was close to your ear. “Everything okay?” he mutters.

“Define ‘okay’.” you mutter back before reaching your seats. Nicholas squeezes your waist gently, as if reassuring you, then lets go.

Your mother and Nicholas’ mother sit together, then your fathers, then you, Nicholas and Maki at one end, forming somewhat of a kids’ corner, which in some ways you were grateful for since you were a fair distance away from your mother but not your father. If you were being fair though, that was the lesser of two evils so you sat between your father and Nicholas and sipped your champagne.

For a few minutes, everyone is busy talking and mulling over the menus, yourself included. Once everyone has ordered though, the toasting starts.

You sorta zoned out from the sense of deja vu while your father spoke, then Nicholas’ father spoke and all they were yapping on about was business this and business that and how great it was that your families were joined etc, etc. You’d heard a carbon copy of this bullshit at your wedding and it was getting old this time around.

It was only when you all raised your champagne glasses (and Maki his soda) that a flare of panic ran through your spine when you saw Nicholas raise his glass to his lips. Luckily, you had the mind to gently manoeuvre the hand holding the glass away from his face.

“Oh no, you don’t.” you muttered under your breath. You’d learned the hard way that Nicholas and alcohol did not mix so you were merely taking a preventative measure. Besides, you needed to drive home and you’d beaten him to the booze earlier.

Nicholas looks at you inquisitively for a second then nods, silently agreeing to your good call. You reach toward a glass of water and offer it to him instead, then exchange it for the champagne, downing first your glass, then his in one go. Nobody seems to be paying you any heed as you notice Nicholas staring at you in disbelief, clearly gagged at your display of near insanity. You regarded it only as insane since you were doing it openly at a family dinner, in front of your mother, rather than the fact you were drinking champagne like it was juice.

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m not a lightweight like you, dude.” you answer his stare.

“I didn’t say anything.” he clears his throat, looking away, but is clearly still amused. You’re sort of just grateful that only Nicholas had witnessed your little stunt instead of your mother.

After a while, dinner gets served and the food is too good for you to pay attention to anything else so you use it as an excuse to abstain from conversation, though if you were being honest, no one was particularly interested in talking with you anyway, since your father was preoccupied with Nicholas’ father, the mothers were in their own world, and Nicholas and Maki were discussing something you couldn’t quite hear from Nico’s other side.

Eating your meal felt almost meditative in the midst of the noise, but you found your mind wandering to other things. Like the way that Nicholas’ chair was really a bit close to yours so occasionally your legs touched, or your arms brushed against one another. Even these brief little touches were warm; he was warm next to you and your body felt drawn to his, as if you wanted him to keep some kind of contact with you.

It was moments like these that you caught yourself - is this okay? Is this normal to think about your friends-with-benefits/husband? The logical explanation of your feelings was starting to feel obvious and undeniable, but you didn’t want to voice it properly, you couldn’t just admit it, even to yourself, because you knew that admitting that you felt something deeper towards Nicholas could shatter you. Mostly because you didn’t think he felt the same way.

After the meal, you all take a moment to disperse and contemplate dessert. You were pretty sure it was just an excuse for your fathers sneak away and smoke a cigar or two while discussing more business topics that might be deemed inappropriate for the table. You go to the washroom to see how your makeup is holding up and feel a little buzzed as you get through the doors again, not quite swaying but managing to walk in the incorrect direction back to the open plan dining room.

You end up walking into the alternate corridor which leads to the terrace seating area, now closed up by a thick, see-through vinyl tarp for the winter so the guests there wouldn’t be exposed to the elements. You can hear a loudspeaker above you somewhere playing music quietly as you wander into the terrace.

For a moment you hesitate because you spot Nicholas some distance away with his phone to his ear, back turned to you. You approach him slowly, drinking him in. He seems a little tense by the way his shoulders are slightly raised as he perches on a nearby table while he talks.

You’re within earshot now and you can hear him speaking in Mandarin, picking up only a few words here or there. You figure out it’s a business call and wait silently, feeling the slight chill of the air that seeps through the small gaps between the makeshift carpet laid out beneath your feet and the edge of the tarp.

Nicholas concludes the call, obviously exchanging a few parting pleasantries with a laugh and hangs up, turning around and jumping slightly, clearly startled at your sudden appearance. Evidently, he hadn’t heard you coming at all.

“Sorry.” you mumble in response.

“No, it’s okay, I was just going to find you anyway. You ready to go home?” he asks.

“Don’t you want dessert?” you don’t answer his question because you don’t want to seem like you had a crap time, which you did, but he didn’t need to know that, unless he already did, of course; Nicholas wasn’t that oblivious.

“I don’t care about dessert, YN. I can tell you’d rather be like anywhere else at this point.” he gives you a sympathetic half-smile. Well, he’d picked up on that so there’s no need to spare him anymore.

“You’re right. I would.” you feel a bitter chuckle escape your mouth. “If you’re ready, then we can go. I drank enough so it’s an excuse for us to dip.”

“Aha, so there was indeed a method to the madness.” he walks towards you and you start to leave.

“Pfft, how could I not have a strategy when going into battle? You know the best defence is offence.” you explain as you make your way back to the door.

Nicholas is about to say something but stops for a moment, glancing around.

“Do you hear that?” he asks. You assume he means the quiet music overhead. You nod. You don’t see his point. He seems to make up his mind about something. “Well, actually, I’m not quite ready to go home yet.” he says.

You sigh.

So close and yet so far.

“Fine, we’ll stay.” you concede. You were tipsy but not drunk so you supposed you could endure more. You step to go but Nicholas puts a hand on your arm.

“Wait, I didn’t mean going back there again.” he says. You turn to look at him properly. “I want to dance with you. Here. How about it?” his eyebrows quirk in question.

You think you must have misheard him. Dance? What was he talking about?

“We haven’t danced since the wedding. Why would we dance?” you hear yourself ask.

Nicholas shrugs. “Because we can.”

“Doesn’t mean we should. Nico, you know I suck. Let’s just go.”

“Oh c’mon, dance with me, please?” he whines a little, the tiniest hint of a pout gracing his lips. “Please? You know I love to dance.” he says. You deflate a smidgeon since he’s asking so sincerely.

“Fine, this is my gift to you.” you agree.

“Awesome. Come on.” he offers his hand and you take it, letting him pull you close. You almost whine in protest but let it go. Nicholas seems to sense it. “What? I love to dance, so sue me.”

“I’m a lawyer; don’t tempt me.” you mutter in response but curl up into his arms.

You focus on the new song that starts playing from the speaker above you, trying to figure out what to do but Nicholas starts to guide you gently, getting you to sway to the beat. You don’t fight it and soon you’re immersed.

The song was wistful even if you didn’t understand all the words, but the feeling was somehow amplified as you swayed slowly, Nicholas’ arm around your waist and yours resting on his shoulder. You tried not to tremble as you held his other hand, afraid that he could feel your pulse just by having your fingers interlocked or from the way your heart hammered in your chest as you were pressed up against each other.

You didn’t dare look into his eyes for too long because you knew that if you let yourself, you would inevitably stare for too long and somehow manage to expose your strange new feelings towards your husband. It was better that you didn’t do anything rash. Yet, it was hard because Nicholas was keeping you close, his head almost resting on your own as he leaned forward slightly. You could smell his cologne and the scent of his body wash and the fabric softener used on his shirt.

He filled up your every sense and as if that wasn’t enough, even though you were holding him close, he filled the cavities of your slowly emptying mind. You were letting the music carry your thoughts off; all thoughts except for those of Nicholas.

His hand was steady on your waist and you could feel the warmth of his palm through your top. It’s not like he didn’t regularly touch you so you couldn’t understand why you were so aware of his proximity to you right now - you literally shared so much physical contact, especially lately, that you felt almost embarrassed at how much you were overthinking it right now. The realisation dawns on you in that moment; you’d grown close enough that his touch was so familiar and even welcome.

The song finishes and you slowly unravel, the realisation that anyone could have found you like that dawning on you. You can’t help but glance towards the inside and see nothing and no one so you relax. You didn’t want your parents prying into your relationship with Nicholas, despite being the ones to throw you into.

“Now we can go home.” Nicholas smiles. You smile a little too, grateful that you hadn’t turned him down.

You brainstorm a plan on your way back to the main hall and decide that you’ll go with the ‘poor YN doesn’t feel so great but thank you for the celebration, see you (not too) soon’. You feign being sleepy and let Nicholas do his best charm-speaking, hypnotising the adults.

Meanwhile, Maki throws you a scrutinising look that tells you he clocked your bullshit and you scrunch your nose in response, telepathically relaying a threat of telling your parents about your visit to his school, and though he frowns a little, he backs off. He probably didn’t want to be left alone with the adults and you’d apologise to him later, but right now, it was every person for themselves.

Thankfully, it is easy to make an escape and when you sit down in Nicholas’ car, you’re almost happy to be inside the vehicle.

“Well, we’ve definitely written off Christmas and New Years’, so what do you want to do instead?” Nicholas asks on the way home. He sounds as chipper as you’d feel if you hadn’t had so much champagne.

“Sleep. My vacation days are used for hibernation purposes only.” you state. “But you go ahead and have fun.” you add with a smile.

You get home fairly quickly, the night traffic barely there.

The warmth of your apartment signals you to finally relax and you take a moment to exhale a deep breath you’d been holding all night.

After that, you started the process of taking off your boots, leaning against the wall to stop yourself from losing your balance. It took an age but you finally got free of the shoes and the soles of your feet hit the cool tile in your foyer. You walked the few steps to your communal shoe storage unit and found your slippers laid out for you so you could just step into them, no doubt Nicholas thinking a few steps ahead for you.

You smiled a little at the thought of him laying them out as he put his own on. He could be really sweet sometimes. Or a lot of the time.

You walk into the kitchen and find Nicholas at the counter, blazer draped over a chair and forgotten as he concentrated on opening a small box. As you neared him, you realised that it was a cake box, and sure enough he pulled out a small chocolate and strawberry cake, decorated with beautiful wisps of whipping cream on top. You thought he was done until he pulled a small bouquet of red roses wrapped up in black mesh from behind the counter.

“These are for you.” he said, offering them to you.

“Nico, what is this?” you ask, surprised at the sudden appearance of the cake and flowers.

“The real reason we skipped dessert.” he says casually. You accept the flowers hesitantly.

“Thank you.” you say as you admire the bouquet. You’d only ever received flowers from your best friends, like Jay at your graduation or Yunjin for your annual day-drinking fest (Valentines’ Day).

You notice him take a few candles out of the box too and wonder how much he really had planned ahead.

“Huh, I thought you were just getting us out of there, but I guess this is a bonus.” you shrug, grateful that you didn’t have to listen to your mother criticise desserts and then you as you ate them. You knew she was plenty capable and it wasn’t something you wanted to hear tonight.

“Yeah, I thought we should celebrate on our own too.” Nicholas explains, adjusting the candles into the cake. “Happy six months, YN.” he lights up the candles and pushes the cake forward so it sits between the two of you on the counter. “Make a wish.”

You look at him, finding the light of the candles reflected in his eyes, making them sparkle in the dim lights of your apartment. The image of him is so well ingrained in your brain that you think he might just be last thing you see before you close your eyes for the last time on this earth.

You catch yourself - would that be so bad? If he was the last person you thought of, like ever? Or the last person you saw?

You realise that the answer is no, it wouldn’t be so bad at all.

“I haven’t made a wish since I was five, Nicholas.” you divert his attention to mask anything passing thoughts on your face.

“Well, then it’s been long enough, hasn’t it?” he retorts playfully. “C’mon, I’ll make one too. Close your eyes.” he encourages you, closing his own eyes.

You don’t close your eyes so you can keep looking at him.

You had always been wary of making wishes - since you were five you knew that you had everything you could want - it had been drummed into your head, but you weren’t sure you really needed most of those things.

Now you were an adult, you knew that wishes don’t really come true, it’s more the thought that counts, but regardless, you allow yourself to be a little selfish and make a wish. There was no harm in it since nothing would change:

You wished that you and Nicholas could be in love for real.

The rest of winter rolled by fairly quickly and before you could blink, it was already early spring.

Maki had a school holiday so you decided to invite him to hang out, knowing that Nicholas has some time off too. You’d been forced, mostly by your uncle, to take some of your outstanding vacation days and you had combined the two since you weren’t going anywhere.

So there you are, waiting for you little brother in your car, thinking about how you were going to avoid traffic later on.

Maki opens the passenger door and slumps into the seat, underestimating his own strength and slamming the car door close. You don’t even bother to remind him to be more careful because there’s only so many times you can say that to a teenage boy before you lose your own mind from the reminders.

“What’s up?” he greets you as he buckles his seatbelt.

“Nothing much. I’m flattered you have time for your dear, old sister.” you chuckle. You start the car and pull out of the parking spot.

“What? I’m coming to hang out with Nicholas.” Maki grins playfully and you click your tongue in response. How could you forget that sass was your little brother’s favourite skill?

“Well then, maybe Nicholas can negotiate your allowance with Mom and Dad next time.” you declare, not letting Maki forget where he learned to talk like that in the first place; he was a graduate of the University of Having An Older Sister, majoring in Sarcasm with a minor in Sass.

“Yeah, okay, and you, I guess.” he pouts.

“Nice save.” you smile. “So, what do you want to do? We can go to the park, maybe play some basketball if you ask Nico nicely.” you suggest. You don’t even realise you’re using a nickname when you usually refer to your husband by his full government name. It’s three syllables: Ni-cho-las, yet you’d found yourself shortening it a lot lately.

“Really? I didn’t think you’d want to go outside.” Maki says, contemplating the offer.

“I do too! I like going to the park and the basketball court.” you say, though you’d barely even had the time to go more than twice since you’d moved into your apartment. But those two times had been nice, walking around with Nicholas and then getting coffee after. It had almost felt like a real date between two people who weren’t married.

“Fine, let’s go. I want to play with Nicholas anyway. He says he’s really good but I need to see it for myself.” Maki vows. He seems determined to call your husband’s bluff. For a moment you feel a pang of pride; you’d taught your brother just enough scepticism not to get fooled by just anyone’s word.

“Alright. In that case, we’ll go to the apartment and get Nico…las.” you find yourself adding for good measure. Maki doesn’t seem to notice though. So you change the subject. “Y’know, every time I see you, I swear you’ve grown a little more. It’s very jarring.” you say.

Maki hums in agreement. “Well, that’s because I put insoles in my shoes just to mess with you and only you specifically.”

You give your brother a momentary side eye as much as driving would allow you. “So help me God, if I find out that’s true, Machiato-”

“It’s not, I promise.” he assures you. You let out a quiet ‘hmmph’ and drop it.

At your apartment you find Nicholas emerging from his room and you find a way to distract Maki long enough so that he can’t see into the room and the fact that it is not a couple’s bedroom. You usher Maki into the living room so that Nicholas can sneak away and get ready.

“I’ll be ready in ten!” he offers from the hallway but you only make a small noise of acknowledgement while you get your brother some water.

When you turn around from the kitchen area, you find that Maki has taken to the side of the couch temporarily housing dry laundry and has set up camp in folding it. You sigh. You didn’t want to feel like you called your little brother over so he act like a little maid.

“Maks! Enough! You don’t need to do anything. This is our laundry so it’s our problem.” you insist, making your way to him.

“Okay.” he says but carries on folding so you decide to just let him fold his heart out.

A minute later Nicholas appears in the living room, looking incredibly chipper.

“Maki! My dude, how’s it going?” you’re surprised to see your (big) little brother perk up and jump to hug your husband. You can’t help but feel the pang of jealousy because you didn’t get the same enthusiasm.

“I’m good, hyung. The question is: are you ready to get your butt kicked?” Maki grins cheekily.

Nicholas frowns softly, as if contemplating the challenge. “You know what? I think I’ll do all my talking on the court.”

You purse your lips at Maki’s feeble attempt at trash talking, if you could even call it that.

“Anyways,” you cut in. “Let’s go, boys. The sun will set before we even make it outside.” you put a hand on one of their shoulders each and gently push them toward the door.

The spring air is warmer than you were expecting but not warm enough for there to be a lot of people outside playing yet.

You have the whole court to yourselves and you opt for watching the boys running around for a bit, playing one on one. Maki manages to get past Nicholas and dribbles the ball before taking a slightly clumsy shot at the hoop but scoring nonetheless.

Nicholas nods in approval as Maki jumps up excitedly, celebrating his victory.

“Not bad.” you hear Nicholas comment. “But that was just the warm up.” he explains.

“Oh wow, I sure am scared now.” Maki laughs. “Just play, bro.” he passes the ball to Nicholas, who was attacking this time.

“No problem.” you sense a change in tone in your husband’s voice. Oh boy, he was getting competitive.

You watch in amusement as Nicholas wins point after point against your little brother. Maki doesn’t seem disappointed in the slightest though - you catch him giggling and laughing like a little kid as he tries to block Nicholas from shooting. It seems so natural to see the two of them playing together, like this wasn’t the first time.

Perhaps you weren’t the only one that was getting attached to Nicholas. Or even the idea of Nicholas being part of your family.

Maki finally manages to win another point back and the two slow down and stop for a break. You offer them the water bottles that were parked next to you and get up to chase down the ball from rolling too far away.

While the boys are busy resting, you decide to have a go yourself. You’d tried playing basketball in school a little bit in class or whatever, but it had been a long time. You bounce the ball experimentally then try dribbling it a couple times. You get the feel for it fairly quickly and try moving while dribbling. It’s not as easy as Nicholas makes it out to be but you get close to the hoop and stop to prepare your shot.

Nicholas materialises behind you and snakes his arms on either side of you, enveloping you slightly in his grasp. It surprises you that he’s there for a moment then you try not to laugh as you digest how cheesy your husband was being. Of course he would do the cliché where the guy tries to help the girl throw the ball. His hands are on yours and you let out a small scoff, disguising it as a laugh.

You shimmy out of his arms slightly. “Thanks, Coach Wang, but I got this.” you declare, freeing your hands too and then throwing the ball by yourself. You manage to shoot it correctly and it goes through the hoop with no trouble.

“Yo, that was like a three-pointer!” Maki shouts from the side, probably more surprised than you were at your success.

You turn around to Nicholas, who seemed somewhat lost for words, stuck somewhere between shock and admiration. “What have you got to say for yourself?” you grin smugly.

“It seems I have been put on this planet to be humbled by my wife.” he admits, smiling back at you. You can’t help but laugh, just as Maki starts to laugh heartily some few feet away from you.

After a while of trying to score by yourself, you decide to sit back down since physical activity was not your forte. Maki seizes the opportunity to turn to you and you immediately know he’s up to something.

“Sis, can we have ice cream, please, pretty please with sprinkles on top?” he gives you his best pleading eyes while you roll your eyes. How didn’t you guess?

Before you can even make an argument to dissuade him gently, Nicholas exhibits traits of super-human hearing (or telepathy) and appears at the mere mention of the sweet treat.

“Ice cream? I can go buy some. What kind do you like?” he asks. You shake your head slightly but he doesn’t seem to notice. Or he did and he didn’t want to seem uncool in front of Maki. You resist the urge to roll your eyes for a second time at the obvious attempt to kiss up to your brother.

You let it slide when Maki looks for reassurance from you. You nod.

“Whatever they got!” Maki lights up. His enthusiasm makes Nicholas laugh.

“You got it, bro. YN, any requests?”

“Whatever you’re having.” you say simply. You already knew that it was going to be some strawberry monstrosity.

To be honest, you weren’t really feeling like it but you didn’t want to miss out on sharing something with your husband and your brother. Your afternoon had been really great so far, the sibling bonding turned up to the max.

Nicholas leaves for the nearby convenience store and the two of you are left to talk by yourselves.

“Ugh, the ice cream will spoil your dinner. I swear, Maki, mom and dad aren’t gonna be happy that I sent you home like that. They’ll get mad.” you sigh, the realisation dawning on you momentarily.

Maki scoffs. “As if they’ll give a shit.”

“Yah! Language, mister.” you feel the need to scold him even though you couldn’t care less if he swore. He was old enough that it didn’t matter anymore.

“Besides, you like making them mad, don’t you?” Maki surprises you by asking. You’re drawing a blank.

“Whatever do you mean?” it wasn’t untrue but you had a feeling he meant something in particular.

“Well, you married Nicholas out of nowhere. I’m sure they were mad about that.”

The question sounds innocent but you almost burst out cackling. You wish you could tell him how wrong he was, but that would topple the Jenga tower of lies and appearances you and Nicholas had built for Maki’s sake more than the merger. The things your parents had decided to put you through were really too much but you bore it all and wanted to protect your brother in any way that you might be able to.

“Aha, you have no idea, kiddo.” is all you manage without sounding like you were about to choke, but that doesn’t seem to be a satisfactory answer to Maki. He shifts slightly, thinking for a moment. You feel yourself anticipating something, unsure what, but something.

“Actually, I have something to say.” he continues.

“Um, is everything okay?” you try not to sound overly uneasy but deep down, anything that your brother said with a contemplative face like that was cause for concern.

“It’s okay, nothing serious.” he hurries to calm you down.

“Alright. Shoot.” you say.

“You seem happier these days.” Maki states.

You gap at him. That was the last thing you could have imagined he would say to you right now. You blink twice and gather yourself, letting out a slight cough.

“Hah, I guess.” you put neutrally. You didn’t want any of your personal business with Nicholas being aired out, let alone become a discussion point with your little brother.

“No, but really. And…” he hesitates. You watch him patiently. He takes a deep breath. “I know you didn’t choose to marry Nicholas.”

“What?” you feel yourself start to panic. “No, I chose to marry him.” you insist. Technically, it wasn’t a lie; you did actively make the choice to do so.

“No, I know it was arranged.” Maki clarifies.

“Oh.” your heart sinks but you’re not sure why it’s followed by a sense of relief. Well, there was no need to beat around the bush if Maki was up to speed. “When did you find out?”

“I’d had my suspicions for a while that something was off, but I figured it out after the six month anniversary dinner. I heard dad talking to Mr Wang.” he says.

You sit with your thoughts for a second.

The six month anniversary?

Good god, that was almost four months ago. How could Maki sit on that information for so long without saying anything to anyone, most of all, to you? You were his older sister, surely he should have felt able to confide in you, especially on the subject of your own marriage?

“I was mad at you for not telling me you had a boyfriend or a fiancé.” he continues. “But then I found out it was arranged and I felt sorry.”

“I would have told you, Maks. I’m sorry. But now you know.” you say quietly.

“Yeah. I don’t blame you. I don’t get it though. Why did you agree?” Maki asks. The question makes you dizzy. You didn’t want to get into it really.

“Because it seemed like the right thing to do.” you reply, finding the right words for it.

“But weren’t you scared?” your little brother looks at you wide-eyed and almost worried. You look back at him and assess the inquisition. He didn’t seem angry but rather concerned.

You offer him a small smile of assurance. “I was scared for a second, then I wasn’t. I realised there were more important things than fear.”

“I know you did it ‘cause mom and dad threatened you.” Maki sighs, somewhat frustrated. “You didn’t have to do it for me, y’know. I can take care of myself. You didn’t have to sacrifice your life for me. What if your husband turned out to be awful?”

You’re taken aback because your little bean of a brother (now more the giant rather than the bean) was far more perceptive and mature than you thought. You appreciate his protective sentiment even though he couldn’t do much in the world yet. It made you nostalgic - where had the time gone? You were so used to being the grown-up that it was jarring to hear Maki say things like that.

“I only partially did it for you; I had to think of the company and our future too…besides, Nicholas isn’t so bad.” you allow yourself to compliment your husband in his absence. “He’s actually…really not bad at all…” you trail off, surprised at how you were ready to say more.

Maki laughs at your comment. “What are you talking about? He’s the best!” he grins.

You find yourself smiling widely. “I’m glad you approve.”

“Honestly, I don’t think you could have done better than him anyway, but maybe he could have.” Maki shrugs.

Your jaw practically hits the ground. The audacity of this kid, the nerve! You shake your head in disbelief.

“Hey now, watch it or I’ll eat your ice cream.” you warn.

Maki nods vigorously. “Sorry, sorry.” he claps his hands together and you almost expect him to start singing the song.

The clock seems to be ticking extra slowly this afternoon, you remark to yourself. The second hand could give a snail a run for its money, whilst the minute hand might as well be glued to the same spot for all you knew.

You listen to your father drone on about prosperity and success and ‘welcoming a new era for our humble enterprises’. It’s quite humorous to hear your mid-sized corporations referred to as ‘humble’. You watch as a large piece of dust makes its way through the conference room from where the air conditioning flow filtered out into the room. It was far more interesting.

It was getting hotter these days and the first few instances of heatwaves were already frying your city, so you had no choice but to start turning up the air conditioning within most of the building.

You were gathered in an executive meeting at your company rather than at Wang Enterprises.

The merger had taken just under a year and was completed as of the beginning of the week, a little bit ahead of its projected timeline to most people’s surprise.

But not yours.

You knew your parents. They liked to move quickly, especially when it was certainly going to benefit them so extremely.

You could never forget what kind of a big deal it was that your company was now not only associated with Wang Enterprises, but also merged and tied together in business as well as in matrimony.

Especially not when the crown prince of said enterprise had left bruises on your hips and a dent in your mattress because he was simply too lazy to use his own bed when your usual shenanigans ensured that you barely made it to any bed at all. (You’d recently received a noise complaint passive-aggressive enough to rival your mother).

Your mind wanders and you shift your eyes to Nicholas next to you. His chair is really close to yours so the arm rests are touching. Nicholas’ elbow rests over the two whilst your arm is touching his. This feels normal now.

Sometimes you notice your body acting on its own accord, being drawn towards his without an explanation. You wanted to be close enough to touch when you sat down, or to link your arms when you walked side by side. And sometimes you just needed his mouth on yours but you tried to control yourself.

Other times you can feel when he enters a room or recognise the sound of his footsteps, the magnitude of his movement or the gravity of his breathing. It was like you developed a sixth sense. A Nico-radar that you were unable to turn off.

Now you sense that he’s noticed you watching him in the corner of your eye. He confirms it by shifting slightly so he can discretely look at you too.

You lock eyes for a moment, unwilling to let go. You’re first to break.

You feign interest in your laptop’s closed lid but he’s clocked you checking him out judging by the twitch of his mouth that threatens to become a smirk. You had to watch yourself or it might go to his head and he would tease you forever.

“Thank you everyone for your hard work. Have a great weekend.” your father concludes the meeting. You sigh in relief while everyone starts to buzz, packing up, chatting and making their way out.

Nicholas takes the first opportunity to lean over slightly. “Care to share what were you thinking about, Mrs Wang?” he mumbles loud enough for only you to hear. The tinge of amusement in his voice makes you realise that your fears were confirmed; he was going to be annoying about it.

You huff at just how right you were. But you decide you’re going to make him regret it.

You turn to him, surprising him with the intensity of your stare and the close proximity between you while you were still in the conference room. Your father was talking to his vice president barely six feet away from you.

“I was thinking about you, Nicholas.” you say in the same quiet tone. “About us and what we might get up to tonight.” you give him your best sultry look and he gulps, glancing towards your father who may or may not have given you two a once over discretely.

Nicholas seems to notice that and practically catapults himself away from you, straightening his shirt and tie, looking anywhere but at you. Your father side eyes him from the other side of the conference table. You try to contain your laugh by pursing your lips. He looks positively terrified, the bravado of his previous flirting abandoned in a moment.

Although Nicholas was the beloved son-in-law of your parents, in your father’s eyes, he was still a man that was too close to his daughter in public. It was medieval (and somewhat hypocritical since your parents basically sold you off to his family) but right now you found it rather entertaining. It was one of those things that if you didn’t laugh, you’d cry instead.

You let Nicholas shuffle away quickly before you walk over to your father and the vice president.

“YN!” the VP greets you enthusiastically. They must have been discussing a bonus or something. No one in the company likes you that much. “How about that; the merger is already done. You must be relieved.”

“Ah, yes.” you nod awkwardly. In actual fact, it was all the same to you. You still worked as you always did. Your marriage and the logistical parts of the merger had nothing to do with each other - the marriage was simply for business politics.

“YN worked hard in the legal department, didn’t you?” your father doesn’t want an answer. As per usual, he’s trying his best to proudly show off his prize daughter. “Her and Nicholas have been doing a lot of work on the merger, it’s been a really great time for our newlyweds.”

You ignore a) how one had nothing to do with the other, and b) the work you and Nicholas had done was like any other employee so really anyone could have done it, and c) any other “work” that you had actually done together had taken place in various states of undress and in your bedrooms. Oh, and you hadn’t really been newlyweds for quite a while.

“I’ll bet. I’m sure they’re happy with how smoothly the whole process has gone. Right, YN?” the VP asks. You appreciate him trying to include you in the conversation, whereas your father largely talked as if you weren’t there. It was to be expected. You were used to it and it didn’t bother you anymore.

“Yes, sir.” you reply obediently. Your father chuckles heartily, the sound still surprising to you after all these years. Your father was not a man that laughed a lot.

“You’re absolutely right, my friend. Well, you’ll have to excuse me, I have one last meeting for today. I will see you on Monday.” he says and promptly leaves you with the VP. He looks after your father then turns to you.

“YN, just between you and me, your father undermines the delicate nature of the merger. You did a good job,” the man says to you earnestly.

“Thank y-”

“I mean, really, your marriage to young Nicholas could not have happened at a better time.” he continues, cutting you off. You perk up immediately.

What on Earth was he talking about?

“Sorry? Better time?” you ask, genuinely perplexed by what he might be implying.

“Oh, you know!” he says lightheartedly. You really wished you did.

“I’m not sure what you mean.” you persist. You had a bad feeling and you wanted to find out if there was something you didn’t know. You hated staying in the dark.

“The coup! The situation at Wang Enterprises. It almost got rather ugly over there. If it wasn’t for your family’s merger proposal, then I don’t know what might have happened.” he talks as if this wasn’t new information to you but some common knowledge that you entered into this marriage with.

“Remind me again exactly what it was, would you? I seemed to have forgotten. Too many things to think about lately.” you play along, not showing just how lost you were. He falls for the act and spills.

“Right, well, it was after they had that problem with the investor. Not sure exactly what led to them pulling out, but the Wangs’ stock went down quite a bit and their directors were ready to stage a coup.” the VP explains nonchalantly but doesn’t give you any more details. Your blood runs cold however you force out a convincing pantomime.

“That’s right, I remember. Silly me, how could I ever forget. Yes, indeed it is a good thing I married Nicholas.” you manage to joke it off. “Well, sir, I must be going, I have some work to attend to. Send my regards to the kids.” you offer and do a smile-and-walk-away combo as quickly as you deem still polite. You don’t even remember his kids.

Okay, what the actual fuck was that about?

Your heels clock loudly against the floor as you practically run to your office. You have to wait for an elevator to come to your floor, disrupting your clomping parade short. You don’t pay much attention as you wrack your brain for answers.

What had happened at the Wangs’ company? What investor? Why didn’t you know about this, whatever it was? You try to remember everything you knew about the company and its business, but you come up with nothing relevant. What about their stocks? Had you heard about the drop in stocks? When could that have been?

You feel yourself getting angry and frustrated as the elevator dings and you enter, ignoring whether there were people in there or not. You punch in the floor number on the keypad and cross your arms, holding your laptop to your chest.

Then the most disturbing question crosses your mind:

Had Nicholas known?

Had he known the whole time? Why didn’t he ever mention this?

‘…just food for thought.’

Is this what Nicholas had meant? He’d told you months ago that the Wangs benefitted from the merger too.

Your feet carry you to your office on autopilot while your mind wanders over these endless questions.

You hated the idea of suspecting Nicholas since he had been nothing but nice to you and you found yourself making excuses for him already: maybe he hadn’t known, or maybe it wasn’t as bad as it sounded, or it totally didn’t make an impact on your relationship itself, which to some extent you acknowledged - whatever was between you hadn’t been because of some investor fuck-up that had occurred before your marriage.

But perhaps this was the event that had led to the possibility of your relationship being proposed and accepted in the first place.

Whatever had happened was the origin of everything.

You sigh deeply. You needed more answers and you needed help.

You find your phone and dial the person who might be able to help you.

You wait while the phone rings, once, twice and it gets picked up.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Hey, Jay. Listen man, I think I need your help.” you tell him.

“There seems to be some discrepancy on the matter of who started it, but the Wangs definitely fell out with one of their investors.” Jay tells you, then takes a sip of his coffee.

The two of you were sat in Jay’s apartment for Sunday brunch he’d cooked in your honour. You’d told him meeting for coffee would suffice since you didn’t want to burden him more than the favour you’d asked of him already but he’d insisted.

You knew Jay well enough and you knew that there was probably a reason he’d insisted. About ten minutes after your arrival, he’s admitted it was so he could test out a new dish on you. You’d been right; your friend had his reasons and this time it was to turn you into a guinea pig.

You nod, the facts aligning with what you already knew. “It wasn’t a very public incident though, was it?” you ask. “I couldn’t find very much when I researched it.”

“That’s because there was an attempted media blackout. Wang Enterprises isn’t some small fry in the big, blue sea.” Jay explains. “I had to dig deep to get even this much information.”

“So what happened after that? What about the internal disturbance?”

“I had to ask around but I pieced together that because of the stock drop, the Board of Directors were getting antsy and threatened to clean out the top of the pyramid. They wanted new management and were probably going to make it happen.” Jay recounts. “It was actually this one guy, some Mr Choi that was the ring leader. You know him?”

You think hard about all the people that you knew at Wang Enterprises. They had had some changes in staff since you and Nicholas had married but you couldn’t remember if one of them had been a Choi.

You shake your head. “Not sure.”

“Well, my contact said he had some kind of personal beef with the Wangs apparently, which is why he looked to pick a fight. Anyways, that’s really their business, but the point is, he was really gunning for the executive switch-up.” Jay continues. “Obviously that didn’t happen. Now, here’s the part you want to brace yourself for.”

You close your eyes for a second. “Alright. Hit me.”

“It seems word got around and your parents heard about it because they were seen being friendly with the Wangs at some dinner event, then they were seen at the company for a private meeting.” Jay says. “Not a lot of people knew about it, but I have a guy, who knows a guy, who’s dating a secretary at the Wangs’ and…I guess the rest is history.” he concludes.

You pause, digesting the information. Your plate sits half-finished in front of you. Your appetite had disappeared with every word that you heard despite the mouth-watering meal that Jay had prepared.

“Y’know…I’m not surprised.” you state. The tendency of your parents to swoop in like vultures or hyenas wasn’t a foreign concept to you. They were shameless enough to do it. You felt ashamed on their behalf though, reaping the benefits of their tenacity with your head hung low. It was only after you went to university that you felt you could straighten up through your own efforts.

“I’m sorry, YN. I think they must have made the proposal to the Wangs when they were at their lowest.” Jay says.

“They probably said yes because they were between a rock and a hard place. I just can’t believe this is the first I’m hearing of this.” you shake your head, as if your disbelief could make all this untrue. As if it could all disappear. “I should have asked more questions. I should have been more careful.”

“Well, you didn’t know about it. Most people don’t know it ever happened. You can’t blame yourself for being set up.” you appreciate Jay for being comforting but it wasn’t really working right now. You were beyond angry with your parents for their dirty tricks.

“I don’t know how to look at my parents. It’s like I’m being blindsided all over again.” you explain. You were as mad as the day that your parents had cornered you and forced you to sign the marriage contract.

Over time that anger had receded but you’d never forgotten what they had done; all you could do was be civil and keep your family at an arm’s length. Being told that they threw you into the fire because the Wangs had a moment of weakness rather than because they were truly a worthy family for you to join hurt.

It was past all the thoughts of your parents’ gross behaviour that the question of what Nicholas would say occurred to you. You didn’t even know how he fit into all of this, besides being the unfortunate pawn of his own parents.

“I know it sucks.” Jay snaps you out of your thoughts. “You really had no idea, huh? Nothing telling in the contract?”

Alarm bells go off in your head.

The contract.

Had there been anything there? You couldn’t remember much from what you’d read all those months ago. What would that even look like? This wasn’t a legal situation, this was merely the circumstances leading up to drawing up the contract. Surely there was nothing?

“I doubt it.” you say, but you don’t entirely believe it. “But I’m going to check anyway.”

“You can check but is it worth checking?” Jay asks. He looks at you expectantly. You almost think he means something more by it. “The dealings between your parents and companies are one thing, but you and Nicholas being together are another. This doesn’t annul your marriage.”

Or your feelings, you add.

“No, it doesn’t. But I also can’t ignore it, Jay.” you tell him. You sigh.

You had to go home and scour that contract right away but you fought the urge and stayed with Jay a while longer, enjoying his company as you finished the meal he prepared.

It’s mid-afternoon by the time you get home to an empty apartment.

Nicholas must be with his friends. Good; you weren’t ready for any difficult conversations with him yet.

Despite being a little overwhelmed by what you’ve learned in the past few days, you decide to push yourself and read through the contract after all.

You sit down at the kitchen table with the contract - you’d been given a copy of the finished, signed document before your wedding. It had sat in the bottom of a drawer in your desk, as if it had never really existed in the first place. It had been out of sight and out of mind.

You take your time with reading it, re-reading passages and cross referencing them with what you’d been working on during the merger. Nothing seemed weird until you got to the part of the document about your marriage. You’d made a fuss about section 4 the very first time you’d read it but that had been mostly out of desperation.

You didn’t realise that it would actually contain a really important passage.

Your heart skips a beat.

You think you’re imagining things.

You read and re-read the words over again, then whisper them out loud to try to make sense of them in any other way. They taste like poison.

It was written strangely but you couldn’t mistake its meaning.

You jump out of your chair, producing an ugly scraping sound against your floor, and stagger to the balcony, flinging open the door.

The cool early evening air hits your cheeks and you gasp, trying to inhale as much of it as possible. You grip the cold metal railing and try to calm down.

This couldn’t be happening, not now, not when you loved him. Not when you couldn’t remember your life before him.

Just as you’re melting down on the balcony, you hear the front door open and shut.

Nicholas.

“Shit.” you say out loud. You had to hand it to your husband - he had like the worst timing in history ever.

You can’t help but panic; what were you going to say to him? How could you explain? What would he do? Did he know about the investor fallout?

You let go of the railing, slowly stepping back into the living room.

“YN?” you hear him call from the hallway. Nicholas enters the room, shrugging off his jacket. He stops short as soon as he sees you.

You can’t imagine what you look like right now; the colour drained from your face, bleary-eyed and dazed.

“What’s wrong?” he asks immediately, walking slowly towards you. You hate the scared expression on his face, his usual relaxed demeanour gone.

You look at him, then past him at the table where the contract was still laid out.

He follows your line of vision and looks between you and the contract.

“What is it?” he asks. You can’t figure out why you’re still hesitating. Maybe you simply can’t find the words to say it.

Your throat feels dry and closed up but you try anyway.

“We don’t have to be married any more.”

memes as always :P

a/n: thank you for being here after so many months. i'll try my best to write the last couple chapters asap haha, thanks for reading, any feedback is always appreciated <3

#&team #andteam #&team nicholas #wang yixiang #&team x reader #&team fics #&team imagines #&team scenarios

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