#I’m showing this to my partner when I get the chance he likes statues of horses

[allurilove]

Hello! can we get yandere!rich!boyfriend x rich!sunshine!reader where reader got extremely kind with this new student at their school…

got my idea from korean’s drama hierarchy thoo..🤓

Sure thing! I’ve seen a bit of that show on tiktok lol, and it looks cool.

It wasn’t odd for him to see you be so giddy. You were always nice to everyone around you, and even more to the less fortunate. He crossed his arms, and leaned against his car as he watched you like a hawk. He saw how your eyes would shine, a big smile on your face, and the way your body was awfully close to the new student made him uncomfortable.

He felt like he had a good reason to be upset. Most of the time people thought you were flirting with them when you were just being friendly. He had to save and steer you away from uncomfortable conversations and situations. Your boyfriend silently got off his car and approached you two. He stood behind you, and his hands in his pockets as he looked at the student you were taking too.

They looked average. They didn’t own anything flashy, and nothing stands out from their clothing except for a bangle bracelet on their wrist. It looked cheap. Your boyfriend watched them try to continue the conversation, they slipped in compliments, and asked numerous questions about the school. So, the fact that this total nobody even believed they have a chance with you annoyed him. His body tensed up as he saw their hand reach for yours, and he instinctively pulled you towards him. Your boyfriend just smiled, pretending that everything was alright, but the tight grip on your wrist said otherwise. He’s not the one to cause a scene, and he wasn’t about to argue with someone he considered to be beneath him.

The fact that you gave anyone the time and day was fascinating. Usually, someone of your status and wealthy background is prone to be a bit snooty. That’s how he’s like after all. There was no use in talking to someone that could barely relate nor afford the privilege and lifestyle you two had.

“Do you mind if I steal my partner for a second?” Your yandere boyfriend said, his brow raised, and really it wasn’t much of a question. He was telling the other student to leave. Just atleast trying to be less of a dick about it.

Before the person you were taking to could say anything, he pulled you with him as you two now walked inside the school. “You don’t have to talk to strangers, you know?” your boyfriend sighed as he had you walk behind him. His hand still on your wrist as he used his body to shove through the crowd of students.

“They’re not a stranger. They’re a fellow student-“

Your boyfriend rolled his eyes. “Tch, same thing. Everyone is a stranger if they aren’t me.” He pushed you into an empty classroom, and he made you sit down onto a chair he pulled out for you. “Do you have to befriend everything that breathes? Are you not satisfied with just me?”

His hand smoothed out your school uniform, and he fixed your red colored tie. “I’m just trying to protect you. No one cares for you more than I do.”

“You agree, right? That I’m the best thing that has ever came into your life.” Your boyfriend dropped this hand down to your thigh. “I love you… and I want everything good to happen to you.”

“Don’t talk to anyone else ever again.”

[ijwrsmff]

hiiii, I was wondering if you could write live action mihawk and reader dining at the baratie?(it doesnt have to be meeting the crew, it could just be a date?) have a wonderful day! <333

I most certainly can!!! He was cast so well, my god. I don't think there's been any casting in the Live Action that wasn't just. Perfectttttttt. Sanji shows up briefly, but it's before he joined the strawhats. I've also only seen Mihawk's intro, so all my knowledge of this fic was based off that and what I know about him in the anime. So if things are a little bit off I'm sorry :,3 I plan to watch more tonight after writing for a while.

He's very soft in this one.

Word Count: 1,270

Today was special! It would be your six month anniversary with your boyfriend. It was odd at first, even considering dating the greatest swordsman in the world. He was cold and calculating, but he did have a soft side. You were glad you gave him the chance, and got to see it. 

He was never embarrassed to be with you, and in fact…showed you off with pride. He would sit and feed you if you asked, doted on you, whatever you wanted. A dominant soul, but he was aware of that and embraced it. He would always be at your beck and call. Protecting you, even just with his status in the world. No one dared mess with you. 

Mihawk had suggested the place that you met as your anniversary date. The Baratie, world renowned. Often people would sit on the waitlist around holidays, or even just weekends. But he never needed a reservation, he was a loyal customer at this point. It was a special place to you both, and it would be the perfect location for any anniversary. 

“Would you like me to order for you?” He knew you could get anxious about ordering, so he always offered. You didn’t always even need him to, but it was a nice gesture. “What would you like? I could order it. Never worry about price, darling.” He smiled momentarily, not showing his smile often. Unless he was with you. It was heartwarming, to say the least. 

Mihawk wasn’t the most wealthy man in the world…but he was pretty damn close. Not everyone can afford their own island and castle. But he certainly could, and with ease, too. He still managed to be humble, in some ways despite that fact. He would continue to buy you anything you could ever want. He’d make sure you got it, as soon as you did so much as to look at something for a few seconds. 

“I’m okay! I can order this time.” You smiled at him, and he nodded in confirmation, smiling back momentarily. “What are you gonna get?” You looked through the menu for a little bit, trying to decide on some of your favorites. They always have such good food. It was hard to pick most of the time, and they probably knew it too. 

“I’ll go with my usual, do you need help picking something?” He offered, always willing to help you. He could be so considerate, and kind. Not to everyone, but especially to you. “I can recommend something based on your likes and dislikes.” He smiled, this time for longer. He could always relax more when you were around. It may not look like it to others, but he was pretty relaxed right now, enjoying your anniversary with him as much as you were. 

“Hm…I was thinking about these two, but I can’t decide which one I want more!” You looked at the menu for so long that you didn’t notice the waiter coming to your table until he spoke. It startled you a bit, and you jumped, making both the waiter and Mihawk chuckle. 

The waiter’s name was Sanji, and he looked at you with what could have been hearts for eyes. But he knew better than to say anything after last time. Wouldn’t stop him from looking though. When you were here before, he had flirted with you. Mihawk…being him was confident you wouldn’t leave him for the waiter. But he did warn him with a “If you’d like to keep your hands, I suggest you keep them away from my partner.” He was protective, but you knew he wouldn’t actually fight the waiter. 

Mihawk didn’t result to violence, so you knew it was an empty threat. His amused look he directed at you proved that fact. Sanji didn’t know that though, and raised his hands in defeat, saying you’d be protected well by the greatest swordsman in the world. “Allowed” Mihawk to be with you. Because apparently according to him you needed that affirmation. It was amusing to the both of you, at least. 

Dinner went by smoothly, and you talked the majority of the time. Mihawk was an amazing listener, but not too much of a talker. He was more content to listen to everything you said, and his memory was so good he had no problem remembering all the stories you told. Sometimes he would pitch in, or ask active listening questions to show you had his undivided attention. 

Out of nowhere though, he tilted his head and looked at you as if you were the brightest star in the sky, uttering an “I love you.” As you were about to finish your food. He did like to throw that out there often, and only became more frequent as your relationship progressed. “Would you like to order a dessert?” It was another way he said he loved you. By offering you what he could effortlessly provide. 

“Mhm! And I love you too.” You giggled and finished your food, as he flagged down the waiter and ordered your favorite dessert they had. You didn’t even have to tell him what it was, he remembered. He always did. “Would you like to share it?” Was your offer, though you already knew his answer. 

“One bite will suffice. The dessert is for you, afterall.” He smiled, and allowed you to talk until the dessert arrived. Once it did, he opened his mouth expectantly, waiting for you to feed it to him. 

You did so, without being prompted to. It was always so cute to you when you fed each other. He could care less if the people in the restaurant saw the display of affection. He swirled the spoon with his tongue, making eye contact with you the whole time. 

“You’re such a tease!” You giggled and he smiled softly. It was a funny and domestic moment, and it made you say, “I do love you though. No matter how much of a tease you can be.” As you winked at him. He winked back, but relaxed in his seat while you ate. 

Reclining a bit, you finished the dessert. He talked for a bit through it, mostly how his island was doing since you hadn’t been to it in a couple weeks. As much as you loved him listening, he had such a soothing voice. It was cool, and deliberate. He never said something that wasn’t important. Or a compliment to you, which was just as important to him as it could be. 

He packaged up your remaining entre for you, and stood up to leave. “That was a wonderful date, darling.” He said as he left the money on the table. It had a generous tip, since he always makes sure to do so. “Would you like me to drop you off at your island?” His arm was around your waist, to make sure you didn’t fall off when getting onto his small “boat”. 

“I wouldn’t mind spending time on your island! I know we won't get back anytime soon…but it’s your home.” You smiled, and sat on his lap when he made his place on the boat. “I’d like to spend more time with you!” He wrapped his arms around your middle, and the boat began to move. 

“One day it will be OUR home. I never mind spending more time with you, either.” He sighed, and rested his head on your shoulder. “Whenever you’re ready, it can be yours.” He placed a soft kiss on your cheek, making you giggle. 

“We’ll have time. As long as you’ll have me.” 

“Now and always.” 

[rebeccalouisaferguson]

“I believe that the whole story of the three books would have to be told over four seasons,” she told TheWrap during an interview about Season 2. “And then it’s down to people loving the show and all we do is the best we can to get it out there and hope that people want more.”

When asked about the status of a Season 3 renewal, Ferguson was coy.

“We are constantly discussing [the possibility of Season 3]. It might be [renewed], I couldn’t tell you. It might not be. We might have finished it. Or nothing’s happening. I mean, I could just lie.”

In the Season 1 finale, Ferguson’s Juliette Nichols went outside and survived, having sussed out a conspiracy from those in power to ensure everyone who goes outside dies. But once outside, she discovered their silo was surrounded by many more silos.

Season 2 picks up immediately where Season 1 left off with a largely wordless premiere episode that follows Juliette as she struggles to gain entry to the nearest silo before she runs out of oxygen. It’s a deeply physical performance, which was a challenge that Ferguson relished.

“I loved that. It’s what the story is. She comes from absolute chaos into complete loneliness, and just that shift is so good,” Ferguson said. “I love that [showrunner] Graham Yost let the episode be a standalone moment for her, and not cut away with the sound and noise and rebellion and uproar and anger and confusion.”

The season also posed another challenge in that Ferguson’s primary screen partner is Steve Zahn, who plays the new character Solo, a man she discovers in an abandoned silo. The actress said she was over the moon when Zahn accepted the role.

“I knew he was going to do something that was so f–king unpredictable, and that would put me selfishly in a scenario where the person I’m acting with will make every scene interesting,” she said. “He doesn’t look at the whole picture. Steve looks at this moment. That’s how he works, and I’m very similar to that. What is it in this moment between you and me that is going to make this interesting? And then we just play.”

Given that Ferguson and Zahn’s scenes all take place in a different silo from the rest of the story this season, they not only shot separately from the rest of the cast – they shot their half of the season after everyone else had wrapped, after the strikes.

The crew used the same sets from the original silo but dressed them differently for Ferguson and Zahn’s scenes, which take place in an abandoned, run-down and water-logged silo. “Everything just looked so different and derelict, but it’s such a huge space,” Ferguson added.

For as much as Ferguson loves “Silo,” she still hasn’t seen Season 2 for “various reasons.”

“I get the dailies and the cuts, but I don’t want to see them because I don’t see that as my job as a producer on this show,” she said. “Seeing the raw footage with the green screen and the blue screen, I find it really discombobulating, so I’ve decided that that’s not a good idea.”

The actress was ill for the show’s premiere so she missed her chance to see the first episode on the big screen – “which is really, really sad,” she said – but she acknowledged she’s seen a lot of footage of the scenes between her and Zahn.

“Because they’re so personable, I was so close, I wanted to see what was happening in the dynamic between us.”

Her verdict? “It’s great.”

[that-ari-blogger]

Shallow Beauty (Welcome To Heaven)

I’m going to let you in on a secret. Complexity isn’t always the best fit for a story.

Don’t get me wrong, I love nuanced characters and ideas and judging by the popularity of Arcane, a show that will be getting a second season by the time this post goes live, I think most people enjoy that kind of story as well.

But there is a debate going on as to what is better in a story, complexity and nuance, or simplicity and readability. Honestly, I find this debate frustrating because the answer is neither and both. The sides act as if any attempt at the other is sacrilege when the truth is unfortunately more complicated. Sometimes a story needs twists and surprises, and sometimes a story needs to look you in the eye and say “here’s what I am talking about”.

Case and point, Welcome to Heaven.

SPOILERS AHEAD: (Hazbin Hotel)

I honestly don’t have much to say about this song. It’s not the most popular in the musical and I’m not going to argue that it should be. The song is shallow, and that’s the point.

I think the entirety of this song exists to point out how vibrant Heaven looks, but how empty it feels.

Because starting with the voice acting. St. Peter is voiced by Darren Criss, a man with a gorgeous singing voice. But notice something different between him and, for example, Lucifer. St. Peter's singing is technically perfect.

Perfect is a self-fulfilling adjective. It is the absence of imperfections, with imperfections being defined simply as “things that make something not perfect”. Perfect, especially when used in relation to people, has no meaning.

But singing can be perfect. It can hit all the right notes in just the right way. You can play things safe, and there is the kicker.

Imperfections are character beats. Lucifer’s insistence on jumping the gun with every note says something about him as a person. But St. Peter has none of that. He is a blank slate. He doesn’t have any character, and neither does heaven. But in a paradoxical way, that says a lot about him, doesn’t it?

“’Cause here, we got no worries, got no burglaries, no strife, It's the perfect afterlife.”

Really? Nobody disagrees on anything? Nobody worries? Nobody is stressed?

Two things about that.

The linework on heaven's buildings is done in white, giving it a bright feel, The Colours are pastel, sure, but if the linework was black instead, this would have a different vibe. It differentiates it from Hell and creates a distinct atmosphere.

First, how do you have the resources to upkeep a place where everyone has all their needs met? Like, if it’s magic, can you share that with the people who literally live in hell nearby you. Maybe give them food and stuff if you clearly have stuff to spare.

But second, I call bullshit. Nobody is without worry. Even people who are told they are amazing all their life internalise that unhealthily. And besides, you live next door to hell, a place you feel the need to exterminate once a year. No chance are you all unbothered by everything. Those who benefit the most from the status quo are always the ones terrified of it changing.

Or is it that you aren’t allowed to worry? Do depression, anxiety or even being bipolar get you disqualified from ever going here?

Come to think of it, what does get people into heaven?

"We've got the best and brightest, the politest of the lot And everyone is hot.”

That’s the summary of the people in Heaven. Smart, polite, attractive. Those aren’t moral characteristics.

I can use long words and count to twelve and a half. I can be polite when I need to be. My partner tells me I am attractive, and I think he has the ultimate authority on this kind of thing. But I don’t think any of that makes me morally upstanding, they are just nice things to be.

It’s also worth noting that these things are all subjective. Intelligence comes in different forms and someone who can memorise stuff and someone who can do calculus in their head are smart in different ways. If you are testing for only one of the two, you are missing out on everyone else who has their own field of expertise.

On the other hand, conventional ideas of attraction are seriously flawed and skewed in some uncomfortable directions that society is currently recovering from. Besides that, everyone has their own idea of beauty, and romantic, sexual, and aesthetic attraction are different things.

Also, everyone is hot is not a distinction the show can make. Last I checked, Heaven wasn’t the place with the succubi.

This actually translates into the music, which is standard pop. It sounds like the type of music people who don’t like pop think the genre is made entirely out of. “Life is great, la di da di da.” But it’s disingenuous.

There are emotions that inspire music beyond rage, but contentment and perfection aren’t that. Wonder, joy, love, pride, even catharsis. But contentment?

Pop is all about these emotions. It gets to the soul of its listeners on a real level. The pain of a breakup, the ambition of competing for love, the exhilaration of one incredible night.

Contentment is the emotion for the lowest common denominator, the type of song that plays it safe and doesn’t do anything interesting. Contentment is the emotion antagonistic towards change.

We have already seen that antagonism in full force through Adam. Locations are characters in their own right, and Adam is heaven fighting to conserve its stability. It is addicted to the contentment to the point where it will hold everyone down to stay at the top.

But, it’s self-sabotaging. If Heaven stopped holding people down to stay in place, it could work with everyone else to move forward together and get to an even better place than it is now.

But no, it is static, and boring, and perfect, and polite.

Final Thoughts

I harbour a deep seated contempt for people who put emphasis on politeness for its own sake. Being polite is a tool, it allows you to be clear with someone without letting emotions like anger sabotage yourself. It works when it is needed.

When being polite is not needed and people insist on enforcing rules of conversation that don’t matter, I find that immensely frustrating. Talk how you want, don’t be an asshole, but don’t feel the need to round your vowels for the sake of it.

That’s honestly my take on Welcome To Heaven, it’s pretty for the sake of it and nothing more. It’s simple and shallow. There is nothing behind the “sick décor.” Being polite is fine, but looking down on people who aren’t is just a recipe for disaster.

Next week, however, I will be talking about You Didn’t Know, a song that is anything but simple. So, stick around if that interests you.

[hoffstrap-yuri]

Cat for Tat

ao3 // masterlist

Summary: Peter was not sure how he would prove to his roommate that a cat could understand the innate human instinct to be a bother to, him, Peter Strahm.

Tags/Content: Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Crack, Animal Transformation

Rating: T for Teen (For now subject to change)

Status: Chapter 2 of ??. Chapter 1 can be found here. Chapter 3 can be found here. (EXPLICIT CONTENT BEGINS HERE)

Author's Note:

Can you tell I'm procrastinating on my long fic with this fic? xD

Once again inspired by the lovely @dixxiemaegraphics art of Hoffkitty. That and the dynamic of Lindsey and Strahm as besties/siblings is so important.... to me. May include a cameo if you blink.

Please enjoy!

“Would it kill you to teach him tricks? At least then he could entertain us.” Strahm scoffed. It’d been over a week of Mark’s terror inflicted onto the house. His current favorite activity, much to Strahm’s dismay, was coughing up hairballs into the agent’s shoes while the agent wasn’t looking. He even moved his work clothes into his closet, but it didn’t deter the cat one bit.

“He knows some tricks!” Lindsey huffed, wrestling with the cat for the return of his squishy toy mouse. “Please let me have it…. I’ll throw it and you can run after it again.”

“He’s just doing it to upset you. Watch.” Strahm squatted down next to the cat who dropped it at his feet before Strahm chucked it down the hallway. The fat fluffball skittered down the hard wood to get his toy and brought back to Strahm. He kept it in his mouth, anticipating another game of tug of war with the man. Strahm shook his head before telling the cat. “Nope, I’m not gonna play this game. Either you’re going to drop it, or you don’t get it thrown.” The cat admitted begrudging defeat and dropped the toy in front of Lindsey, expecting kinder treatment from his doting mother. She threw the toy and watch him run as fast as his little legs would carry him across the apartment. When he returned, he dropped it at her feet immediately with no fuss. “See?”

“He must really like you.” Lindsey smirked a little

“If he liked me, little fucker wouldn’t be vomiting on my clothes every chance it gets.”

“Oh, I was thinking of taking him to the groomers today.”

“Gonna put him in another awful bow?”

“No. But you gotta admit that he’s all scruffy looking.”

“I don’t care what he looks like, Linds.” Strahm rolled his eyes

“You can’t tell me he hasn’t grown on you, a little bit.”

“He hasn’t. But him getting cared for by you is better than kicking another cat out to the street.”

“Hm. I think you just don’t want to let him know how much you love him.”

“I don’t love him.” Strahm repeated, “You need him in his crate?”

“Yeah. If you could.”

“Okay.” Strahm sighed and pulled his sleeves down and reached out to grab underneath the cat’s ample stomach. Despite putting the beast on diet food and making sure that only one of them was feeding him at his scheduled times, Mark seemed to show no signs of getting smaller. Maybe the doctor had gotten his gender wrong and he was full with a whole litter. That or his fur was really just that thick. Mark didn’t protest as Strahm slung the animal into his crate, only letting out a soft meow in protest. He rubbed up against the grates on his cage, looking for some form of contact with his “step-owner” as Lindsey had called Strahm. Strahm gave in to the cat’s pathetic little charm and slipped a finger between the hole to rub against the side of the animal.

“Oh crap…” Lindsey muttered under her breath

“What?”

“I’m supposed to be in court this afternoon for a case… Peteeeeeeee?”

“No. No I won’t.” He already knew where she was going with her plead

“It was hard enough to get him an appointment, please I don’t know when I’m going to have time to get him in and…” She got more exasperated as her begging went on. Peter walked over to her and covered her mouth with the palm of his hand, closing his eyes. He wanted to be annoyed by his partner but he loved her at the end of the day, and like a dutiful older brother he said:

“Fine. I’ll take him.” He took his hand off her mouth and her eyes sparkled

“Thank you!”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re buying dinner tonight.”

“You got a deal.” She smiled back at him

“Okay, looks like you get the lap of luxury.” He picked the crate up and jostled it a bit. Mark hissed at him, having jostled him too hard. “Sorry” the apology being as sincere as Strahm could be. He carefully carried the cat down to the car before placing it in the back seat. He put the belt around the crate, just in case. He wasn’t sure whether or not it was something he was supposed to do but thought what was the worst that could happen. He turned the car on and drove to the groomers that Lindsey had made the appointment at. When he got there he talked a little bit with the punk at the front desk. Stupid looking kid probably no more than thirty. They waited in the lobby for a minute before a woman around the same age as the guy at the counter came out and asked for Mark. Strahm brought him into her room.

“Was he sedated?” She asked, letting Mark sniff her finger before getting all up in his fluff. He purred loudly as she properly pet him. Even showed her his belly. She cooed over him and swept her choppy bangs back behind her ears before looking back up at Strahm, waiting on an answer for her question. His eyes focus on the scars on her arms, hoping for her sake that she had gotten them from a very vicious cat.

“Um… no. But you’ll probably wish he had been.” Strahm laughed nervously, “I’ve never been with him to an appointment. He’s my roommate’s cat.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” She raised an eyebrow as she questioned everything about Strahm. After giving him a quick clip of his nails, she brought Mark over to the wash station and carefully wet him, making sure he was comfortable with the temperature and the running water before going all out with a shampoo. Much to Strahm’s amusement the cat was just pure fat but also had a lot of fluff as well. “Oh my god, you’re such a good boy…” She crooned. God did that stupid cat eat up the adoration and praise from his groomer. “Okay, you might not like this sweetie, but it’s the fastest way to dry you off.” She shoved him into a box with a dryer attached to it and fluffed him up with the air current. He managed to look even more puffy than he had before the bath. When the girl let him out of the box, Mark came running into her arms for cuddles. “Aren’t you just the sweetest little guy?”

“He’s only nice when you don’t have to live with him.” Strahm muttered under his breath. She continued giving him affectionate little scratches around the collar Lindsey had bought for Mark.

“Oh, that’s weird.” Her finger stopped on a spot on the back of his neck and cut out some of the fur around it. “There’s a little mark here… almost looks like a jigsaw piece.” She motioned for Strahm to come over to her and he glanced over her shoulder.

“Weird.”

“A mark from your previous owner, Jigsaw Kitty?” She asked Mark, who rolled around on the table in ignorant bliss. She continued singing a little tune with “Jigsaw Kitty” in it while she cut the fur down to manageable fluff for both him and his owners. “How does he look?”

“Fine. I think. Let me send a picture to his owner.” Strahm squatted in front of the table as the woman opened a fresh squeeze tube of some kind of cat treat for him. He took the picture and sent it off with a question mark to Lindsey and waited for a response. “So…”

“So?”

“How much do I owe you for this?”

“Um… our guy up front handles the numbers. I just do the services.” She laughed to herself

“Okay, okay.” He nodded. His phone buzzed, and not a minute too soon. Too many damn emoticons in her message, but they were all smiley faces… at least Strahm thought. He handed his cell phone over to the younger woman to decode for him.

“She said it’s good.” She handed him the phone and waited for him to put it back in his pocket before scooping Mark up and slowly putting him back in his cage. She wrote out a ticket for him, and handed it to him. He thanked her and went up to the front desk. He paid for the grooming session and brought the cat home to his beloved mother. Mark began screaming and scraping his nails against the grates of his cage when he realized he was almost home. Strahm rummaged through his pocket as fast as he could, but it wasn’t fast enough. Lindsey opened the door and unlocked the beast from his carrier, scooping up her chubby baby into her arms.

“Oh I missed you.” She held him tightly, running her hand against the back of his head. He nuzzled into his owner’s body and meowed as she pampered him with affection. “You look so fluffy. Look at you!” She dangled him around, “Ooh what a long boy you are.”

“You’re welcome, by the way.” Peter mumbled under his breath, feeling about as popular as chopped liver.

“Thanks Pete.”

“How did the court appearance go?”

“Turns out it was a deposition, and it went well.” She replied

“So, you’re still buying dinner?”

“Yeah, just write down what you want from Crystal.”

“Were you getting the drunken noodles?”

“Absolutely.”

“Good.” He scribbled something down on the paper and handed it to her. She tossed it onto the counter before pulling out the basket of toys for her cat. How she managed to collect so much crap would always be a mystery to Peter but he didn’t have it in him to argue about it. He plopped onto the couch and when Lindsey asked him whether or not he was going to take a nap he replied that he would ‘Just rest his eyes’. A couple of hours later and he heard the crinkling of a plastic bag next to his head and he just barely opened his eyes to see what the noise was.

“Food’s here.”

“Thanks.” He responded in a tired grumble. He patted the spot next to him as he was about to get up and his hand landed on top of the cat. He gave Mark a couple of pets before getting up, stirring the cat up to follow him into the kitchen. Mark threaded between his legs while Strahm tried to avoid stepping on Mark’s tail. The cat nuzzled against the inside of Strahm’s leg while the agent grabbed a couple things out of their containers. Lindsey pulled out her phone and snapped a picture while Strahm wasn’t looking. She would definitely send this to him when he said ‘I don’t give a damn about that stupid fat cat’ in a couple day’s time. Mark meowed and pawed at Strahm’s leg as Strahm started walking back towards the living room with his plate. He kept his plate high above his head, knowing that Mark was trying to steal something from his plate. The cat desperately cried out like he’d been starved for weeks as Strahm sat next to Lindsey and Lindsey chose a channel. He jumped onto the couch and settled in Strahm’s lap, giving him the biggest, wettest eyes his little kitty face could muster. Strahm only replied with a stern “No.” before he hopped onto Lindsey’s lap when it was clear he would gain nothing from the agent. He gave Lindsey a look before watching her resolve fade and giving into the little devil. Mark happily stole the piece of shrimp from Lindsey’s finger tips and licked at the remnants when he was done.

“Don’t enable him.” Strahm warned her. “You’re probably the reason he hasn’t lost any weight.”

“I know, I know.” She sighed, relaxing into the couch. When Mark came back begging for another piece she played keep away with her plate until he went scampering over to the other side of Strahm. He shoved his forehead into Strahm’s leg before curling up by him. Stupid thing. Stupid cute thing. Strahm had no choice but to give his butt a little pat before getting up to do dishes. Lindsey picked Mark up from his spot, seeing he was about to throw a fit over losing Peter’s presence and curled up with him under a blanket. After he finished the dishes he went to tell Lindsey he was going to bed, only to see her passed out in a similar sleep to what Strahm was hoping for that night. He turned on his heels and went to his bedroom, leaving the door open a crack. God knows what hell Mark would raise if he was deprived of the chance to suffocate Strahm in his sleep. He slipped under his bed sheet and lied on his back for a moment before slowly drifting of to sleep. He was half-asleep when he felt the weight shift on the bed. Someone was next to him.

“Linds? Y’kay?” He asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. What he did not expect was to find a fat, barely dressed man in the spot next to him. His eyes shot open and was ready to jolt out of bed when the man, staring back at him with icy blue eyes, held him down by his shoulders. “Who the fuck…”

“Meow?” The man answered. Strahm felt like he’d been thrown into the Potomac. Surely this guy in his bed couldn’t be Lindsey’s fucking cat.

[kinnporsche]

here’s yet another kinn & porsche rec list! just like with the first two, this list is ordered according to length (from longest to shortest), and each is written by a different author! also, all currently incomplete fics have been marked with (wip). listen, when i tell you kp fics are literally piggybacking me through this year, i mean that shit. there are an insane amount of talented people in this fandom, we’re honestly so blessed. anyway, please be sure to read the tags, and show the authors some love! [part 3/?]

— echoes in my dreams by nuwildcat – explicit / 92k words

It’s been 10 years since the first Kaiju attack, humanity built the Jaeger program to fight them, and Kinn Annakin Theerapanyakun is one of the top Jaeger Pilots in the world. There’s just one problem—none of his co-pilots have lasted past a year with him. Enter Porsche Pachara Kittisawat. Somehow, this disaster of a bartender with no Drift experience shakes Kinn’s understanding of the Drift and changes humanity’s fate at the same time. Well, as long as Kinn doesn’t kill him first.

— instinct by thewayside – explicit / 90.5k words (wip)

Not everyone has an instinct, an animal self that lives inside a person, born from their souls and forged to live in their flesh. Hundreds of years ago it was common to have bears, rabbits, fish, and lions, a menagerie of animals—but now, as time and dilution of bloodlines has increased, the most common thing to have is nothing at all.

— two shots by martynax – explicit / 81.8k words

“So I’m supposed to end a mafia dispute?”

“Something like that,” he mutters, wondering if he’s making a mistake, revealing it to Porsche so soon. Nothing is set in stone, after all. But he has a gut feeling that the man appreciates honesty and simplicity much more than intrigue and schemes.

“Then why don’t you kill him yourself?” Porsche questions, but that is going to stay a secret from him for now. He won’t give Porsche ammunition to get away from the deal. If he says he’s trying to keep it a secret from his father, he could find a way to get in contact with him and fuck things up for Kinn. It may be far-fetched but Kinn’s not taking any chances.

“How about you answer one of my questions?” He asks, cocking his head slightly to the side.

“Oh? You show me yours, I show you mine?” Porsche teases him. The raised corner of his mouth and the twinkling in his eyes makes it clear he’s making allusions to their dicks.

“I know mine is bigger, there’s no need to compare. You would just embarrass yourself,” Kinn tells him with a smirk of his own, helpless against the pull Porsche seems to have on him. Porsche laughs, clearly surprised at the comment.

— ‘til the fever broke by vesna (mrsronweasley) – explicit / 63.6k words

In a world where having a sex slave is a status symbol, Kinn’s father gifts him with a slave.

— stumbling to the edge ‘series by firerisingoverthehills – mature / 51.4k words

Kinn doesn’t kiss. He just doesn’t. Not since Tawan and how that whole shitshow ended. Porsche must read something on his face, because he actually bridges the gap between them. He sets a hand on the seat next to Kinn’s thigh and leans into his space. His knee is up on the seat, the other leg hanging off it. He leans in close enough that Kinn can feel his steady breaths on his face.

Kinn is going to tell him. He’s going to lay down the rules. Tell him that he doesn’t kiss. That he doesn’t like to be challenged. He’s going to—

And then Porsche kisses him and Kinn... Kinn doesn’t stop him.

(Or: An AU where they meet in a slightly different way, Kinn still falls head over heels though.)

— xxx curious straight boy ‘series  by mirrorofprinces – explicit / 34.2k words

“Porsche is extremely close to signing. In fact, he has a final meeting with the execs on Monday morning. The only condition is that he wants to request his first partner, and it’s you.”

Kinn takes a long drink of his whiskey, sets the glass down, and runs his tongue over his teeth. “So you had to meet with me, urgently, to tell me that a beautiful boy wants me to fuck him, thinking I’d say no.” He drums his fingers on the bartop. “Which means there’s a catch.”

— the house don’t fall (when the bones are good) by bytherirveriwept – explicit / 11.3k words

The reality of Kinn is at times a grasping, hungry thing even when he is standing still.

(Or: Porsche and Kinn are the Theerapanyakun agency’s best team. They live in each other’s pockets and share their deepest secrets. But when Porsche takes on the role of bait in their latest mission, it throws their entire relationship into a spiral.)

— gone was any trace of you by kurtstiel – explicit / 11.1k words

Kinn is looking at Porsche like he’s seen a ghost. Porsche blinks and the haunted expression is gone, Kinn smoothing it over with something neutral, but there’s still something fragile at the edges of it, like a crystal figurine balanced on a ledge. Kinn’s body relaxes in a way that’s purposefully casual, tucking his outstretched foot back onto the bed.

“You were in the bathroom,” Kinn says. He phrases it like an answer rather than a question.

(Or: Porsche left Kinn in their bed with nothing but a note. In the aftermath of the shootout, Kinn can't stop thinking about it.)

— quis custodiet ipsos custode by concernedlily – explicit / 8.1k words

Porsche props his chin on Kinn’s chest, on his favourite spot in the valley between his pecs, and peers up at him. “Tell me? I’ve never seen you have a nightmare like that.”

He toys with the edge of the bandage wrapped awkwardly around Porsche’s shoulder. It’s a knife wound, scored shallow but long down from his collarbone towards Porsche’s nipple, which is certainly in Kinn’s top ten parts of Porsche’s body and probably top five, and not to be endangered under any circumstances. Porsche had tried to treat it himself and Kinn had dragged him to the medical wing and supervised the stitches and the bandaging himself, mentally cursing out the minor family’s men for a crowd of incompetents the whole time. “Deng. He was… the first bodyguard who died for me.”

— cliff jump ‘series by airgiodslv – explicit / 7.3k words

“You know the rules, then?” Kinn asks.

Porsche looks amused, like he can tell how badly Kinn wants to wreck his composure. “No kissing, no marks on you, bubble bath first,” Porsche recites easily. “I read your notes file.”

Kinn is almost certain Porsche isn’t supposed to tell him the escort agency keeps a notes file.

(Or: An AU in which Kinn requests an escort for the night, and gets Porsche.)

— love on the water, love underwater by butterflylungs – explicit / 7.3k words

The golden light of the sun washes over him, rays catching in his dark hair, caressing his skin. Porsche would do unspeakable things for this man, and the fact that he’s been neglecting him in favor of work bothers him more than he can put into words. He misses Kinn with every breath, with every heartbeat, and he wishes he didn’t have to spend so much time away from him.

(Or: A day off, a surprise trip, and the dreams they’ve had to let go.)

— forward is the doing by daltoneering – explicit / 5.5k words

He exhales an acrid lungful, and opens his eyes. Right here, in the electric scarlet of the evening, they had made their choice. Design had shaped them for too long; now, the broken glass on the floor shimmering like a thousand stars to wish upon, Porsche lives by decision.

The door into the bar spills a shadow out into the light of the yard, and Porsche reaches for Kinn with simple instinct: their hands meet in the gloaming, and Kinn folds himself around Porsche’s side like a coat, or a blanket.

(Or: In the red-blue neon of the lights behind Hum Bar, Kinn and Porsche chose each other—and what better way to explore the meaning of that than through devastatingly tender-horny sex?)

— i’m the only one at the end of the day by kinnpornsche (bloodyinkwells) – explicit / 5k words

“I know this is a revolutionary idea, but maybe you could trust your boyfriend to not be cheating on you every time you see him with another man.”

“What is it from?”

“Instead you just assume I’m a slut,” Porsche barks, and then his voice softens. “When I’ve only ever been loyal to you, and you know it.”

(Or: Porsche flirts with someone for a job. Kinn doesn’t take it well. Porsche talks back.)

— no one does it better by midnightfreeway – explicit / 2.8k words

Kinn takes comfort in being in control. Control is power; control is freedom. It allows him to act on his own initiative. It brings him pleasure in a world where danger lurks around every corner. Kinn has no idea who he would be without it. An empty shell of a man, a puppet with someone else pulling the strings.

But it gets tiring, always having to fight for your own survival.

— cravin’ by yeetlegay – explicit / 1.8k words

It’s only when Kinn is two knuckles deep in Porsche’s ass, his teeth buried in the meat of his thigh, that it occurs to Porsche he probably isn’t that straight.

[bisamwilson]

If you feel up to explaining, could I please ask why you ship Tech and Phee?

The flirting and interactions between them seemed so out-of-character for Tech, and like Disney is trying to force a romance just because there always needs to be a romance in a Disney show/film. It also feels as if Disney chose Tech to be the one to have a potential romance because :

1.) The 'awkwardness' of flirting is amusing or considered 'cute' to viewers as if it's 'funny/cute' to watch someone who doesn't understand social cues or needs time to adjust to interactions be thrown for a loop or react in a different way than what is socially expected thus Disney can have more chances to add this 'lightheartedness/humour' when it's really not,

2.) They are trying to follow the same line that they do in most of their films with the one person the team who is considered the 'nerd/geek' to 'get the girl' instead of actually giving any character(s) who would be a better match for the 'girl' thus continuing their line of overused tropes that more so appeal to the masses of heterosexual neurotypical viewers.

I don't mean this as hate or anything, I'm just trying to figure out how those who ship it, see it. I seek to understand, not judge or cause discourse. And have added my opinion one the matter to simply give my viewpoint. I'm not attempting to change or alter your views, just to hear another's perspective on it, if you're willing to give it.

Thank you for reading this and I'm sorry if it bothers you. If it does, feel free to ignore this entirely.

this does actually really bother me, and i wasn’t gonna answer, but i went to sleep annoyed about it last night and woke up annoyed about it still

mostly this bothers me bc it was entirely unsolicited. like if this had been phrased maybe as a “what’s the thing that you like most about tech and phee together?” or “what made you start to ship tech and phee” i’d probably be less annoyed, but, even though you claim to not be trying to change anyone’s mind here and to only understand, this ask is basically you coming to my inbox and saying “this makes no sense. here’s why it doesn't make sense (and why i actually think it’s at least lightly problematic in my point #1, but i’m gonna continue writing as if that doesn't count as causing discourse) and now i want you to defend your position of shipping two entirely fictional characters who have a legitimately canon romance subplot going”

do you see why that would bother me?

like if you don’t like tech and phee together, and don’t like that i like tech and phee together, that’s fine. block the tag (i think i’ve settled on using techphee as their tag for now) or just unfollow me, but like. don’t come into what is basically my house and very passive aggressively ask that i explain and defend the decor i’ve chosen to decorate it with

i don’t really agree with your points either. i don’t necessarily think there’s anything wrong with adding romance to shows, because people generally like seeing it and it’s a thing a lot of people experience. i thought it was kind of nice here, actually, because i wasn’t expecting it. as far as i remember, the only clone we’ve really seen with a partner is Cut, who was pretty explicitly shown to have a lot of different values than the other clones due to the fact that he deserted from the GAR, and his arc was a lot about the morality of the clones not being given a choice as to who they are, if they can love, if they can do something and live a life outside of the war they were bred for. the war is over now, it makes sense that the clones might start to find partners or people to maybe want to half settle down with, and it’s a good way to reestablish that the clones that have defected from the empire—while in danger bc of their status as traitors—have a greater sense of their own agency and different priorities than they did before the clone wars ended. they have the freedom to maybe try and live a life now, and for a lot of people, there’s a good chance that might constitute having a partner. romance for a clone is a rather revolutionary idea in universe. it’s not something they would have been allowed before

as for tech specifically, i don’t necessarily think it’s out of character for him to start develop some amount of feelings for someone who has been interested in him from the start, who has a decently wide wealth of knowledge given all the artifacts she knows so much about (and what cultures they come from!), and who has a great backstory of being a caring pirate who goes on these adventures at least in part to give items of little monetary value back to the people they have great sentimental value for after they’ve had to become refugees. she also obviously cares about the bad batch, given she brought them all to her hidden slice of paradise despite the fact she knows they’re all very much wanted people who could very easily bring real trouble given the empire is after them, and she obviously likes listening to tech talk and likes his personality when even his brothers have made fun of the way he tends to ramble (like in the bad batch/ rescuing echo arc of the clone wars). and tech doesn’t seem to mind the attention, given the small smiles he sends her way literally the entire pabu episode, even waiting back a bit to talk to her when she went to drop the artifact off when the rest of the batch had moved forward. at the very least, he seems intrigued by her (as he should be!!!! she’s cool and interesting as hell!!!!)

their interactions are rather soft and sweet, i think. phee’s flirting, sure, and she’s been pretty obvious about it from the get go, but she’s not bulldozing past any boundaries here. their interactions in this episode, especially, made it seem like they’re just in some beginning stages, but they genuinely seem to be pretty comfortable in each other’s company, given the two of them stuck together while making rounds, or their interactions at shep’s dinner table. it’s soft, it’s sweet, it’s slow, but tech’s small smiles whenever she flirts with him are showing that he does understand these particular social cues when she flirts with him, and he’s reciprocating to a degree. perhaps their first interactions aside, i don’t think tech really was ever unaware that she was flirting, it was more just surprise she was flirting with him

which brings me to your #2 point. if there was gonna be a romance subplot (which, again, i wasn’t expecting, just due to the nature of the stories of the clones), i 100% didn’t think it was going to be with tech. there are a decent amount of tech girlies, sure, and some fans find him attractive, but i absolutely would have expected that subplot to go to hunter for lots of reasons, including that he’s the most conventionally attractive and classically handsome of the bad batch with the long hair and the tall dark and handsome thing going, he’s generally the leader of the batch and the leader is usually the one that gets the girl, and he’s the most generally accepted “dad” figure to omega (while the others are more much older brother/uncle types) which means a romance subplot would have also given omega another parental figure which is a very common trope (single dad meets perfect step mom kind of thing). i’ve seen others express this same opinion since the episode aired (surprise at tech getting to have the romance rather than hunter). i also don’t know who you think of the batch is the “better match” for phee, bc i don’t think any of them would match better than tech. both of them are very passionate people with an obvious thirst for knowledge. wrecker’s great, but i don’t see a match there at all, and i don’t think hunter’s personality lends itself to a romance with phee specifically, because they don't really seem to have any common interests there and phee doesn't seem interested in being a parental figure to omega but more of a cool aunt type, even if i think his personality would lend itself to a romance if that was something he personally wanted.

tldr: i like the romance subplot here specifically bc it is more than just a typical thrown in thing like it would be for every other show because this show is about clones in a post clone war galaxy, i think tech and phee are actually fairly well matched, and i don’t really appreciate someone coming into my ask box to tell me that the (canon!!!) ship i found cute is bad and out of character, actually, under the guise of wanting to understand my viewpoint

[glambyk]

I’m about half way through the kdrama Nevertheless… and Miss Na-bi kinda annoying me 😫. Now I completely understand her, and she is a real ass relatable character, but I’m ready to hop in the show and sit her down with some perspective and advice at this point.

That ex was EXTREME trash!!! From the power dynamic, gaslighting, control, humiliation, flat out emotional abuse. He can go to hell 🤷🏽‍♀️. He did a complete number on her mental/emotional state and self esteem. She seriously needed to focus on herself before all the things with Jae-eon.

Now, I don’t feel either of them are terrible people, since so far I can see each perspective (Na-bi’s more due to inner monologuing). She needed to listen to those tingling thoughts to back off Jae-eon because she was not ready to entertain him. He’s not the type of guy you entertain when you have fresh trauma. Anything anyone said about him, she took it as gospel and shaped who he was as a person off that. She also was simultaneously creating a fantasy in her head about him as well. I get immediate attraction, but she got way too invested from the first moment, then when she knew their ideas on relationships weren’t lining up, she needed to let it go.

As much as she accused Jae-eon of playing a game and not caring or being too casual… she was playing the game too. The situation was laid out in front of her and she proceeded to engage. She judged every comment he made, but also wasn’t being real with herself and communicating because she wanted to stay in her fantasy bubble. She didn’t want anyone to know they were close, but was upset when people caught on, and then was mad at him about other people’s comments. People were talking shit about him as well, but she glossed over that and deemed it acceptable, since she literally doesn’t consider him to have feelings. It comes off as Na-bi not seeing Jae-eon as his own person due to projecting a lot of her issues onto him and hanging on to everyone else’s opinions. There was no point in doing anything with him if she was going to obsessively work herself up over every little thing related to him.

Jae-eon gave immediate fuck boy vibes. He’s a big flirt and a general decent guy though, so he’s a more likable fboy type. His attraction to Na-bi’s looks and personality hooked him, so he ran his usual game, but I was pleased to see him be clear about the dating/relationship stance. My problem is once you start having sex with someone, you need to be up front about hooking up with others as well. Don’t play with folks health like that, and give them the chance to opt out if they don’t like the setup. So far I can’t tell if he’s having sex with Seol-a as well, but assuming so, that’s the part he needed to be clear with Na-bi about. And names didn’t even have to be shared, but transparency on sex partners would’ve been better. However, Jae-eon wasn’t being an asshole to Na-bi, or playing her out in my opinion seeing as how he already stated he doesn’t date. No matter how cute their situation was, no one updated the status to an exclusive dating relationship.

His reputation… he played into it big time. He knows how girls view him, so it should be no shock when one decides to be hot and cold with him. In the same token though, if these girls gonna be willingly hooking up or whatever with him, the judgement shouldn’t be one sided if all parties know what it is up front 🤷🏽‍♀️. It’s also just as messed up to seek him out and use him for their own reasons as well. The way the students were gossiping and talking shit about him… Jae-eon doesn’t seem to have any real friends, and that they liked being around him for good/bad drama or fringe benefits. From his perspective, I can understand not being vulnerable with any of his peers, and riding out that toxic reputation until graduation. He appears to have genuine feelings for Na-bi, but it’s gonna require him getting real with himself and opening up with her. Just like she’s gonna have to do with him. If he wants a relationship with anyone, he’s going to have to address why he chose to to build this reputation and properly deal with past flings if they pop up.

[affectiondeficitdisorder]

Stuff I Didn't Say...

...to men on online dating sites

by Ethlie Ann Vare

I’m in a pissy mood, so trust me when I tell you it could be worse. I have, at least, learned restraint of pen and tongue over the years. Okay, maybe not pen. Here are some interactions I didn’t have with men on Bumble and/or Hinge (the two dating apps where I can be found):

To the guy I politely texted “I enjoyed our chat, but I don’t see us as a match” after a phone call that revealed we were absolutely, undeniably not a match, and who texted back: "Well thanks for wasting my time….” Dude, we were on the phone together. You wasted the exact same amount of my time. Did that not occur to you?

To the 20-something who contacts me regularly, insisting that he’s older than the last time I told him he was too young for me: I am also older than the last time. The same amount older. Is there something in the Y chromosome that blinds people to equivalency? Does time only happen to men?

To the below-average-looking 60-year-old whose profile reads: “In an open marriage, NOT a sugar daddy…” what exactly are you offering, and to whom? Apparently neither the chance of a committed relationship nor the possibility a fun time is on the menu. Do you think your dick is magic?

To the male friends whom I know to be in relationships that I see on the apps: I’m not going to say anything to you or to your partner, because I don’t want to hurt her plus I don’t know your life. DADT (Don’t Ask Don’t Tell) is a thing and none of my business. But my first assumption — that you’re a liar and a cheat — is statistically probably true, and it will affect how I look at you going forward. 

To the guys who mark their politics as Moderate but pose with dead fish and live ammo, are unvaccinated and hate Joe Biden with a burning passion… sorry, but you’re not a Moderate. That’s not what “moderate” means. 

To the guy standing next to the Lamborghini, the Ferrari or the McLaren in hopes of — what, attracting a woman he can later complain is only interested in his money? … Sweetie, I can see that’s a public parking lot. If you want to persuade me that you own a fancy car, you have to take the picture in your own garage. 

To all the men who have a drink in their hand in Every. Single. Profile. Picture… you might be fine. All those glasses of alcohol might be a total coincidence. But if you ever want to go to a meeting or anything, you just let me know.

***

Below is the profile photo that Bumble‘s algorithm decided should lead my profile page. I think they like it because I’m wearing tight pants. I like it because it was unposed; I was caught being delighted by an unexpected disco ball. 

Closing note: I find the apps to be as frustrating as most women of a certain age do. Yes, men of my generation age-gate their matches to women my daughter-in-law’s age. Yes, the paradox of choice makes it hard to invest much time or energy into any one person. Yes, a huge percentage of the profiles are overseas scammers. (Hint: If the word “honest” or “honesty” appears more than once in his profile, he’s a fake.) Yes, people lie about their age, their height, their career and their marital status. But it’s still a fascinating amateur study in sociology. For one, it shows how the population in Southern California over age 50 is still mostly white, while the population under age 50 is anything but. That’s a big demographic shift. I also notice that there is a metric shitload of single men in their 40’s. You can’t even say it’s a Gen X or a Millennial thing, as it spans both generations. Men born in the 1970s are overrepresented, at least in this town at this time. What’s up with that?

Mostly, I wonder if dating apps are keeping us lonely by giving us the illusion of not being lonely. I can talk to men all day and all night, but I’m still sleeping with my dog. No shade on the dog; he’s a good boy. But virtual connection isn’t genuine connection, and maybe that’s why we get frustrated, and I get pissy. But I will try to keep my yap shut about it. My pen, not so much.

[bihansthot]

In a non self ship update, Ani has been sending me spicy/flirty basically sexts all day he’s so in trouble when I get a hold of him. He’s not having a great mental health day so I won’t see him until Saturday or Sunday but he made sure to get me worked up. He still hasn’t decided if he’ll come to my birthday party I don’t know if party is the right word if a max of three people show up but maybe he will? It would certainly be nice having both the people I care about celebrate turning 800 million. I wish you lovelies could come celebrate with me. 🩷 I understand if he’s uncomfortable though he and my partner have never met so it’s an awkward situation. Hilariously after chatting with Ani I got an ad for an Anakin statue on Facebook and I thought it was very funny and apropos. I have a busy week of stupid lab work and doctor’s appointments next week before my actual bday on Friday, and we still haven’t booked anything yet. We’re planning on doing a Vegas in Detroit weekend because we can’t afford to go to Vegas and I’ve wanted to go for years so we’re doing the next best thing and going to the casino in downtown and staying the night if we can find boarding accommodations for Denny. I know some of you are like “Sol you’ve had months to plan this” yes we have but we had to save up money and get Denny up to date on his vaccines to be able to board him so we can’t book anywhere until tomorrow afternoon after his vet annual. So it’s all kind of last minute. Hopefully we’ll find someplace and if not we’ll just have a quiet birthday at home, my big plans for my 25th heart transplant anniversary never went anywhere so it wouldn’t really surprise me if my milestone bday doesn’t work out either my bday rarely goes well but that’s just life I guess. Either way we should still be able to have a nice dinner which is what I’m really excited about, even though I can’t eat a lot anymore. I’m only 35-40 mins from the casino so really I can go anytime if it doesn’t work out I just thought it’d be fun to have an irresponsible staycation somewhere fancy. I just wanted us all to have a fun time but I suppose we’ll see what the universe has in store for us. I really never thought I’d see this bday as I was supposed to die as a kid so it’s kind of a huge deal I just hope it’s a fun one, my last big milestone bday was my worst ever (long story short my Mother and I had a very toxic relationship at the time, she got shit faced insisted it was her bday and ruined the whole occasion) so as long as it’s better than that we’ll be good. I unofficially celebrated my bday when I was with my family earlier this week and had my favorite cake but much to my dismay my nephews were not fans of it but they loved my cooking and begged my brother to get lessons from me so that was nice. How do an 8 and 10 year old not like a caramel chocolate cake?! I guess the pecans were the problem they don’t have allergies they just don’t like nuts I guess. They’re very picky and light eaters but I guess that’s expected at that age, hell I’m a billion and am still very picky but it’s a texture issue for me not a taste one. All in all the visit was successful but my partner never got a chance to tell their Mom they’re nonbinary and use they/them pronouns and have a new name. The drive was awful, we got a speeding ticket on the way to my partner’s Mom’s and had insane traffic and weather driving back from my folks in Florida, turns out Denny barks incessantly when the windshield wipers are on 😭 We made it safely though so that’s what’s most important, I haven’t made any weight loss progress though because of all the holiday food and lack of exercise. No excuses now that my routine is back to normal, back to the elliptical and healthy foods. Just figured I’d update you lovelies on what’s going on with me, I’ll post later in the week after my cardiologist appointment to keep y’all up to date with that too. Sending lots of love.

XOXO

Sol

[fallstaticexit]

Trigger Warning: Intimate Scene (Sim Spice) / Death mentioned // Transcript & AN under the cut

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୧‿̩͙ ˖︵ ꕀ⠀ ♱⠀ ꕀ ︵˖ ‿̩͙୨

Coming soon is Part III, in which we will experience the next chapter in Nancy's life—as a wife, mother, and businesswoman. Nancy has put her past behind her and is working hard to continue elevating her family's business while raising two rambunctious boys with her husband and business partner, but is it all truly enough to keep her past and her desires at bay? Can she continue playing the perfect wife and mother when temptation shows up at her front door?Trigger Warnings: infidelity, drug use, sex and nudity.

AN: I will admit this update was killer. The lighting for the Queenie and Nancy scene drove me up the wall and I was debating to cut it after so many attempts at reshooting it. I couldn't bear to do it because of how absolutely important it was for Nancy to hear her mother's bitter self reflection. For context, Nancy and Geoffrey spends holiday break at Nancy’s parent’s cabin. There was a small scene before Nancy's talk with her mother and her deciding to pick Geoffrey of just them celebrating the holiday together with Nancy's parents and Nancy seeing how distant her own parents were with each other vs how Geoffrey was with her. I guess with me being sick and my game crashing I lost the drive to keep having to fix it. I hope this update reads well without it😞 💜

AN cont.: So what's next: I'm going to take another mini break to prep for Part III in which Nancy trades in her sad girl era for her hot girl office siren era 💅🏾. During the break, I'll be starting my sim downloads (which depending on when you see this, I've already posted them or will post them within the hour) I also have a pose coming for download too as a thank you for everyone who has been enjoying and viewing my story so far! ✨

Transcript:

[’You have 1 New Message’]

Nancy: [exhales] Vanessa... it’s me, Nancy.

Nancy: I’ve spent every day the last two years thinking of what I’d say if I ever got the chance to speak to you again...

Nancy: There’s just so much I want to say. I miss you. I miss your voice. Hearing it just now made me cry. It made me want to laugh [sniffles, chuckles]. I’m so happy I didn’t forget the sound of your voice. You still sound the same. You still sound like my Vanessa.

Nancy: Do you still look the same? Are you still as beautiful and bright as the sun? Are you still a blonde? In my dreams, I see red. I’d like to think you slowly grew the color out of your hair. There’s nothing in the world like a fiery redhead. There’s no one in the world like you.

Nancy: [sighs] I know I don’t have much time before this call ends. I want to ask you so many questions. There are so many things I need to know and so many things I have to tell you, but when you listen to this, I need you to know first that I love you, Vanessa. I'm so in love with you.

Nancy: I should have told you that after we kissed. I should have said it between each breath. I should have whispered it into your skin. I should have said it until I lost my voice, until it’s the only truth we knew.

Nancy: Do you love me, Vanessa? Do you love me too? Do you miss me so much it hurts to breath? Call me. I need you to call me. Please. My number is 932-

[’Message Deleted’]

-

Nancy Narrates: [She never called. Every day that past, I felt my heart break more and more]

Queenie: Nancy, is that you?

Nancy: Yes mother.

Queenie: [slurs] Sit with me awhile, will you?

Queenie: [sighs] Oh, Nancy. You truly have it all, don’t you?

Queenie: I had to marry a man I met once in order to elevate my family status. I bore his children, and now I support him while he runs an empire. It hardly mattered what I was capable of; he made me a mother. There was no better gift, no greater task to have, but then my son dies. Now all I have left is you. Because my son is dead, you get to stand in his place and inherit it all. All of this is now yours, and all you had to do was be born. That’s it. You will never know true sacrifice and loss. You get to live so effortlessly. [hums] My lucky girl.

Queenie: But you will be great, won’t you? All that I’ve loss will not have been for nothing, will it?

Nancy: I- I promise, mother. I’ll be great.

Queenie: [softly] Good girl.

Nancy Narrates: [ I understand.]

-

Nancy: [softly] Make love to me.

Geoffrey: Are you sure?

Nancy: I’m sure. You’re the one I want.

Geoffrey: [softly] Nance.. I love you so much.

Nancy Narrates: [I’ve grown to love him. I’ll grow to love this too]

Nancy Narrates: [Whatever it takes]

[hologramcowboy]

Why are people so insistent that because Jensen and Danneel are still married and she’s wormed her way into business with him that means they’re so in love? (This ended up being so long, I’m so sorry! I always send you the longest deep dives 😅).

Their relationship was never about love. They were two people partied together and cheated on their partners with each other. When their partners broke up with them, Danneel clung onto Jensen and he let her because he had nothing else going on. Very much a situationship. One person treats it like a real relationship (Danneel), the other as a regularly occurring, no strings attached hook up (Jensen). Then he suddenly was at the age where all of his friends were getting married and the studio was probably on his back about having a partner for his image because 1. Bachelorhood isn’t a good look once you hit a certain age and 2. The gay rumors. Conveniently, he was hooking up with a girl employed by the same network. Her career looked promising at the time, so Jensen gets a little nudge from higher ups to make it official. Danneel gets the press and status she needs to keep her career on the same upwards trajectory, Jensen keeps his wholesome guy from Texas image he had at the time, and they get to be the replacement network power couple after Sophia Bush and Chad Michael Murray didn’t work out. That’s why the timeline of their relationship is so sketchy, because it was all manufactured. One moment Jensen was recently single, the next he was claiming that he had been dating an “up and coming actress for a few years” (his actual words, I’ll try and find the interview) and why there are no pictures from their relationship prior to going public. Because there was no relationship.

I don’t think the relationship was meant to last beyond a couple of years of dating. The idea probably was they would stay together long enough to get Danneel her clout and cement Jensen’s reputation as a good man who doesn’t use women. But she’s a schemer, there’s no way she was letting him go. And this is where my point about everyone around Jensen getting married comes in. I think seeing everyone around him getting married made him feel as though he was getting old, and needed to get married too. Jared, who is four years younger than him, getting married really sealed the deal panic wise. Danneel preyed on that and got her ring. Then, she stirred up the gay rumors so that Jensen would feel even more pressure to get married. If he had broken off the engagement, tabloids would have taken that as proof that he was gay. It also served the purpose of making sure that people knew not only who she was, but who she was going to be- Mrs. Ackles. Then a short engagement to lessen the chances of Jensen getting cold feet. Jensen still got cold feet, and she was prepared for that so she made sure there would be people around to talk him off the ledge and down the aisle. The wedding pictures say it all, like most pictures of the two of them do. Her smug face, his parents pinched expressions and Jensen’s eyes looking super distant (nothing says true love like having to be high to get though your own wedding).

From the moment the marriage certificate was signed, the (failing to this day) long con of Mr. and Mrs. Ackles, Hollywood power couple, began. No honeymoon for the “stars”, but straight to Upfronts to parade around her new husband and promote herself and her new show. Friends with Benefits was supposed to launch her to stardom. She wanted to be the next Jennifer Aniston, and Jensen was going to be her Brad Pitt. This was also around the time that she was heavily campaigning to replace Megan Fox in Transformers. Friends With Benefits was a total failure, and NBC knew that was going to happen before it even aired. They moved it from being a mid-season replacement for the 2010-11 season to a summertime premiere, a death sentence for any TV show. They didn’t even air the season finale, it was first made available when the show was put on iTunes and Netflix in 2018. Her other two projects released that year were a small role in Mardi Gras: Spring Break (best described as a trashy/dirty movie made for teenage boys to watch when their mothers aren’t looking) and reprising her role as Kumar’s girlfriend in the final Harold & Kumar movie. After that she had small roles in two other cancelled after one season sitcoms (in 3/20 episodes of Retired at 35 and 2/13 episodes of How to Live with Your Parents for the Rest of Your Life). She would then pretend she was retiring from acting to become a mother, yet shortly after JJ was born filmed Baby Boot Camp, a Hallmark movie. Motherhood was a cover up for her failed career, and a way to keep Jensen in her clutches.

From 2010 to 2013 while Danneel tried to make it big, Jensen and Danneel are pretty public. He brings her as a plus one to events, there are paparazzi pics of them out and about fairly regularly, they live in LA with the rest of the stars. When they move to Austin in 2014 however, Danneel basically disappears. No more paid paparazzi, Jensen slowly starts bringing her to less events, and no career to give her visibility. Divorce rumors start to circulate (or rather recirculate. No one has believed in this relationship since the moment it went public). Then Danneel makes her Instagram public and verified. I specify public and verified because she was on Instagram for a while before her “first” post in August of 2015. She deleted a bunch of pictures, got verified and the era of being Jensen Ackles’s wife and mother of his children began. It’s not enough though. And from then on it’s a cycle of trying to gain attention. She’s constantly caught by fans trying to pass off Jensen content as current on Instagram. She tries several times to brand herself as an activist and get into liberal circles. She collabs with a jewelry line with little success. Her recent foray back into modeling. She gets zero attention outside of the fandom, and while she used to mock Gen for being a mommy blogger clearly wanted to be one as well, trying and failing a few times to make it as an influencer. Even with Jensen’s name she can’t make it- whether it’s internet fame or acting. The only time she’s active in the public eye is when she’s trying to prove her marriage. Divorce rumors- next thing you know she’s pregnant with twins. Divorce rumors again- Hilarie gets her a gig with a few other OTH stars in a hallmark Christmas movie. This backfired because no one recognized Danneel as Rachel after all the surgery. Divorce rumors again- guest spot on Supernatural and a family brewery that very conveniently doesn’t include Jensen’s side of the family. More divorce rumors- now they have a production company! She continues to accompany Jensen to less and less events until she’s absent from all of them. You may have noticed that once Gen didn’t need to pretend to be her friend to play up the image of “J2 are so close and their wives are too!” Danneel stopped being seen with her at events in Austin, in fact she stopped going to events entirely. Clearly Jensen wasn’t her only meal ticket.

And now we’re in the current marriage flop era. Post Supernatural has not been good to them. They’ve both admitted their marriage only works when they don’t really see each other and only talk on weekends and now that he’s not in Vancouver 9 months of the year they can’t hide behind that anymore. Cringey anniversary video trying to brand themselves as a humorous couple. No one does that unless they have something to prove. Danneel all but abandoning her social media after years of attention seeking, and after using lockdown to heavily promote the Ackles as a nuclear family unit. Never visited Jensen when travel restrictions were lifted while he was filming The Boys. Only family photos we’ve seen haven been taken outside of the home in public spaces (WB tour, NOLA boutique picture, Disney) and the only public proof of them cohabiting comes from them spending Christmas as a family in Colorado, and Jensen staying in the house they were renting in NOLA for a few days while the prequel pilot was being filmed. We know it was only for a few days because he was away filming for Big Sky at the time. She’s rarely seen with Jensen, and if they’re together they’re noticeably very drunk (FBBC Christmas party, Mardi Gras) or so visibly upset that even the most blind sheep fans notice (Upfronts). They can’t even pretend to be happy for the cameras anymore. What about any of this reads as a happy marriage to people? I have more to say, but this is already way too long so maybe another time lol.

Anon, I love you! 💖 You had the patience to explain everything in great detail. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this beautiful post, I enjoyed reading each paragraph and I hope you will share the rest as well!

"What about any of this reads as a happy marriage to people?" Indeed. Normal people acknowledge something is off about these two, especially those who are outside of fandom but I guess stans would rather empower their cult worship than face the truth.

[ahundredtimesover]

A Still Day or A Hurricane (11) | JJK

Pairing: Jungkook x (f.) Reader

Genre/Tags: single mom lawyer!OC x pastry chef!Jungkook; angst, fluff, smut; age gap

Chapter Warnings: foul/explicit language; single parenthood, motherhood; mention of a sexual harassment case; explicit sexual content (making out, straddling, ass slapping, oral (m & f receivin), protected sex, OC hates kinky pet names, love bites (18+)

Chapter Word count: 16.2k

Status: Completed

Series summary: Driven by your perfectionist attitude and need to have everything in order, you planned that by age 30, you’d have made junior partner, bought your own apartment, and have children. You achieved them, of course, and while the last bit required you to take matters into your own hands - no thanks to your ex-boyfriend who dumped you but to your best friend who directed you to a fertility clinic - you’re now a 31-year old who pretty much has her life under control. You’re ready to raise your child on your own, that is, until the 20-something pastry chef flirts his way into your heart, messing up the perfect little life you worked so hard to have for yourself.

A/N: 2 to go! I hope it’s been a fun ride for you who joined me on this journey!

Listen to: When You Love Someone (Day6), By My Side (Junny), Love Like That (LambC) || Playlist 🎶

Series Masterlist

##

“Well, well, well. I never thought I’d see the day when Atty. Kim ___ would be openly and shamelessly flirting with one of my own,” Hobi smirks as he sits across from you in your favorite corner at Blue Side, laughing as he watches you bite your lips and hold back a smile while Jungkook tries to show off his coffee-making skills, smirking as he goes.

“And you, little angel,” the cafe owner continues, tickling Heejin who’s in a high chair. “What do you think of your Mama being all giddy about it?”

“Oh, she’s getting used to it. Getting used to him, actually,” you reply, cocking your head towards Jungkook who’s now boxing some eclairs for a to-go order but who cheekily smiles at you when he catches your eyes again. 

“And how does that make you feel?” Hobi asks, sipping the iced americano he can’t go a morning without. “Also, can I just say? I love how you’re not denying anything. About time.”

“Okay, well there was nothing to deny before,” you correct, but feeling good that you’re able to properly talk about this with Hobi. “You know how things were for me, and Jungkook just didn’t fit into it. He was okay with being my friend but I knew he wanted more and I couldn’t give him that.”

“And what about now?”

“I think I can. This little angel and I finally can,” you smile, mirroring your friend’s sweet and infectious one.

“Who would’ve thought that my impulsive Singapore trip that one year would lead me to meeting Jungkook in the hotel where he interned and I got to snatch him up… only for him to, well, be my best asset and also be the reason why my favorite customer is as happy as she is right now,” he chirps. 

“You’re glowing, ___. And Jimin says the same. I’m so glad it’s working out with you and Jungkook. I won’t say I’m not surprised because the kid is relentless, but he cares about you and Heejin so much. It makes me emotional just thinking about it.”

“And why is that?”

“Well, you know how he is. Jungkook is a ball of joy and innocence - for the most part, at least - and he’s just always taken life so lightly, so carelessly, searching for that next high, content with what he finds and what he loses. But ever since you and Heejin came around, things started to matter more for him,” Hobi narrates, like a proud older brother. 

“He likes to joke around all the time but with you taking him seriously, trusting him, believing in him… that did a lot to him. Like he could be someone that another person can truly depend on, that they can trust, that they can one day love.”

You take in your friend’s words, thinking that as someone who’d taken a chance on Jungkook and who’d watched him grow professionally at this cafe, through the ups and downs of the job and what he had to go through because of you, this means a lot for him, too. Hobi and Jimin have always been cautious talking to you about Jungkook, not wanting to take sides nor push something to you knowing how you are. But with things looking up for you and the cheeky pastry chef, it seems that there’s more openness on their end this time. 

And Hobi is right. Jungkook likes to enjoy things. He likes to have fun and treat life like a wave that he rides through, like he can just get back to the surface if he falls into the water and he’d be laughing as he gets up because it was a pretty amazing wave. And you like that about him; you like that confidence in himself that he’ll be okay whatever happens, that what matters is he even gets to experience something remotely beautiful, and somehow, you get to watch him do that. 

He elicits a certain joy that’s child-like in a way but heartwarming, too. And he has that sense of wonder all the time. Whether he’s talking about some cave he explored during a trip somewhere, or narrating his multiple failed attempts before making the perfect napoleon, or going to a nearby beach to watch the sunrise, he looks at the world like it’s the first time he’s seeing it. And he makes you want to look at the world that way, too.

You can’t help but think that at some point, you took that away from him. Or at least, for the briefest moment when he was trying to get over you, the joy died down a bit. After the argument you had the other week about his neighbors and your own insecurity overwhelming you, you had time to think about all the things he said. 

He talks about losing you like it’s his biggest fear, and for all the times that you’d been the one left behind, to have someone be scared of not having you in their life is different. It’s quite transformative, too. 

“You know that I hurt Jungkook a lot, though,” you break out of your thoughts. “I can’t ever take those back.”

“I know. It’s easy to tell when his heart is breaking, too. Everyone kinda figures it out,” Hobi laughs. “We’ve had to talk a lot about that, what he was feeling and all, what he should and shouldn’t do. But all those times when it was hard, he did something harder - he kept still. He waited for you. This is a guy who rarely stops to think about what he’s doing and why and where he’ll go, but when it came to you, it was all he did.”

“Bet it was a new experience for you, huh?” You chuckle.

“Yeah, it was pretty heartbreaking. But I felt proud, too, in a way. It became clear to him what he wanted, what made him happy. And that was you and Heejin, and trust me, ___, he’s really happy. He’d talk about your weekend trips as if he’d never been to Nami or Seoul Forest before,” Hobi playfully shakes his head. 

“Oh, god. That is so embarrassing. We’ve become that couple,” you cover your face in shame, to your friend’s amusement. 

“Hey, it’s adorable!”

“What’s adorable?” Jungkook says, settling next to you as he places the breakfast croissant in front of you. “Me?”

“You being whipped for me and Heejin, according to Hobi,” you reply.

“Well, Dea tells me to shut up most of the time but at least the boss here thinks it’s cute,” Jungkook shrugs, bending to face Heejin and giving her a spoonful of strawberries. 

“Hmm,” Heejin hums with her eyes closed as if she didn’t have those last night.

“What do you say to Kookoo, bubba?”

“Thank you, Kookoo!” She smiles, giggling when Jungkook kisses her cheek multiple times. 

“You’re welcome, sunshine. Eat up, okay?”

Jungkook turns to you. “And you, too. You have a long day at work, so have this, then I’ll get you something for in-between meetings today.”

“What about my breakfast dessert?” You smile innocently.

“As an employee of this cafe who abides by the rules, I’m afraid I cannot give you free food, sorry,” he says teasingly. “You can suck up to my boss for that one.” 

“Ugh, pine after me again. I miss the days when you’d give me free dessert.” 

“You liar, you hated it!” He laughs, bending again to feed Heejin after she tugs his hand. 

“Maybe just a little,” you admit. “But fine. I’ll just wait for the next time you get inspired and need me to taste test. Now go focus on work. Hobi and I are gossiping about you.”

“Be nice,” he mouths before heading back to the kitchen. 

“I can’t decide if you two are like a married couple or teenage lovers,” Hobi chuckles. 

“We’re both, I guess. Depends on how I’m feeling,” you shrug. 

“It’s nice to see, though, you I mean.”

“It’s nice to experience it, too. After everything that’s happened, he lets me feel like I don’t need to apologize for who I am or what I’m not,” you share. “I don’t feel like I’m too much or not enough. Do you know how refreshing that is, to be exactly like myself and have someone who doesn’t feel threatened, who doesn’t ask for too much, who just… wants to be with me?”

“It is quite special, isn’t it?” Hobi smiles. “You and Heejin deserve all this, keep that in mind always.”

You nod in response, appreciating the friendship you’ve created with the radiant cafe owner that’s brought you here. 

You both proceed to talk about the past weekend you spent at an amusement park because Taehyung and Sun-hee just suddenly felt like it. Jungkook was the excited one, joining your siblings in all the rollercoasters but enjoying the most when he went on the carousel and teacup ride with you and Heejin. He had her on his shoulders as you walked around while she pulled his hair in excitement, and Hobi coos at all the photos and videos you show him.

You’re finishing feeding Heejin when Jungkook approaches you again with a plate of eclair. 

“This was this morning’s sample,” Jungkook says, side-winking at you but Hobi sees it anyway, earning both of you a high-pitched laugh. 

“Thank you, Jungkook,” you chuckle. 

You stop when you see your mother enter the cafe. She makes it to your table and greets each one, kissing Heejin on the cheek and then hugging Jungkook.

“Hi, Auntie. Are we going for pastry or French Toast this morning?” He asks.

“Oh, the French Toast, Jungkook!” Your mom chirps. “Still thinking about that one. Thank you, dear.”

“No worries. I’ll make it for you.”

Your mom settles on the seat next to Heejin. “So, this little one and I will cozy it up at home before we head out to lunch and some shopping. Do I drop her off at your place at night or you’ll pick her up?”

“I can pick her up at your place,” you respond. “I have a hearing in the afternoon and that might take a while.”

“Got it, honey. She and I will bond and have fun, so don’t worry about it, okay?”

You nod and then ready yourself to leave, kissing your mom and Heejin goodbye before walking to the counter with Hobi for your to-go order. Jungkook exits the kitchen with your mom’s order, scurrying to serve it to her then going back to you.

Dea hands you your coffee then Jungkook hands you a small box with some bite-size hazelnut-filled pastry. 

“Thanks for dropping by my office this morning, ___,” he says, putting on his customer service smile. 

“Well, I come for the desserts. And the coffee. They’re amazing,” you say. 

“That all?” He cocks an eyebrow.

“And the staff. Dea over there is a chick,” you say, earning you a wink from her, as you’ve both come to enjoy teasing Jungkook.

He stands there looking absolutely charming with a pout and though you’d give in easily, you’re still gonna keep him sweating. You wave a barely amused Jungkook goodbye and head out. 

[From: ___ 😍😍😍] Always love seeing you in the morning, Jungkook. I’ll call you when we get home, ok? Have fun at work! 😚

**

Jungkook secures Heejin in the car seat of his sedan, leaning by the open door as he watches her play with her deer stuffed toy, her new favorite after that trip to Nami Island you all had the other week.

She squeals as she raises her arms, and he knows she’s a little antsy. She expended so much of her energy running around at daycare, he was told, and she’s still got some left.

“We’ll get home and play all afternoon if you want, alright sunshine? But I made something for Mama over here so let’s ask her first if we can visit.”

It’s been months since the practice of Jungkook having at least one day a week of looking after Heejin. With the babysitter only able to come twice a week, usually anyone from your family or best friends offers but when the schedule is tight, daycare is your last resort. 

Heejin gets moody and demands attention most days, you said, so you prefer to have her there as little or as short a time as possible, and Jungkook always offers his afternoons. He was met with curious eyes the first time you endorsed him as one from a long list of guardians who can pick Heejin up but by now, all the workers know him already, mostly as the guy who spins the little girl around when she runs to him.

It’s a Thursday and Jungkook took the opening shift so he could pick up Heejin in the early afternoon. You’ll be meeting with witnesses in one of the cases you’re handling today, you’d said, and that might take a while. He knows it’s scheduled in two hours, and with how your stress level shot up yesterday after some challenges in the case, he wanted to get you something to hopefully cheer you up.

You’ve been craving cherry desserts recently so he made you some cherry and dark chocolate mini tarts this morning, which he decided to be the featured dessert at the cafe today. It was a hit and was wiped out by lunchtime so he knows you’re going to like it. Initially wanting to surprise you, he decided otherwise, since you might feel uncomfortable with him carrying Heejin and showing up at your office uninvited.

He’d texted to ask if he could call and he’s surprised to see you calling him instead.

“Hey, that was quick. You okay?” He asks, as he settles in the driver seat.

“Yeah,” you huff in what sounds like exhaustion. “Just having lunch while Park and I go over some things. Have you picked Heejin up?”

“Just now,” he responds. “And you’re just having lunch? It’s almost 3PM. Did you have at least something since you dropped by the cafe this morning?”

“Three more cups of coffee, actually. But I’m fine. It’s hard to think about food with all the stuff going on. So are you both okay? Did you need anything?”

“We’re fine. Just thought you’d have a bit of a mid-afternoon break so Jinnie and I can pass by,” he says, suddenly thinking it might not be a good idea. You’re busy, after all, and him passing by might not even help. 

“I made you something to nibble on but maybe we can just wait for you at home?”

“Oh, please pass by,” you almost plead, their presence the only breath of air you’ll have for the day. “I have some time before we leave and I’d love for you to come.”

“Okay, we’ll be there in a few,” Jungkook smiles, somehow excited at the thought that he gets to visit you at your office for something good, unlike the last time, then hangs up after you give him instructions. 

“So, he decided to tell you, after all,” Jimin chuckles from in front of you. “He was gonna surprise you with Heejin and asked me if it was okay but he got worried you might not be too happy about it.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” You ask. 

“Maybe because you aren’t officially a couple and he might be imposing if he comes here with your daughter?”

“Is that what he thinks I’d think?” You wonder.

“Uh, yeah? It’s kinda weird. I almost think you’re rubbing off on him with how he’s thinking too much,” Jimin shrugs. “But you guys are… a couple, right?”

“I guess. But we haven’t really talked about it. Do we need a label for these things?” You furrow your brows.

“It’s not a label, ___. It’s just describing how you two are. I’d call you a family but I don’t know if you’re ready for that. I mean, are you?”

“Well,” you start, trying to make sense of all the thoughts in your head. “That’s kind of a loaded question, don’t you think?”

“It is, and an important one, too. Where else do you think this whole thing would lead? You didn’t go through what you did in three years just for you to be unsure of your endgame,” Jimin states. 

“It’s more like, I’m not sure if he’s ready for that,” you mumble. “Watching over Heejin and playing house is one thing. Actually being a father to her and my partner in this life is another. I mean, of course I’ve thought about it but he hasn’t really raised it. I’ve been taking things so incredibly slow but now I don’t know if he’s just matching my pace or if he hasn’t thought about our future, like not just what happens in the next 5 years but the next 10, and 20, and more.”

“You know, I’ve known Jungkook for a good few years. And if there’s anything new I’ve learned about him just in the last three since meeting you, it’s that he would do anything for you to be happy,” Jimin says. “Whether your happiness is with him or not is entirely up to you, but I swear it, ___, he’d give you and Heejin the world if you let him, and that means sharing his life with both of you for the next 5 years, 10, 20, and more.”

It’s easy to imagine that kind of life with Jungkook. The way life works is kind of amusing, you think, as over two years ago, you couldn’t picture him as part of yours then, but now, you can’t picture it without him in it. 

Much as you want to hold onto that thought longer, your phone ringing ruins it, especially once you learn what’s got one of your associates panicking. 

Outside of your room, Jungkook stands by the door with Heejin in his arms, who’s babbling as she hammers her bunny stuffed toy on his eyebrow piercing, something that she likes to do. It’s better than her trying to pull it off like those few times, so he just takes it.

“Hey, Heejin,” a familiar voice says.

Jungkook turns around. “Who’s that, sunshine?”

“Min!” She squeals, catching the attention of all the other employees in that side of the office.

“Hey, kiddo. Nice to see you here again,” Yoongi says, then faces Jungkook. “And you, too. Are you still going to surprise her?”

“Nah, I gave in and told her,” he chuckles. “Didn’t know what she’d think if the local cafe worker just dropped by her office with some desserts and her child.”

“More like, if the guy she’s super into just dropped by with sweets that will definitely make her happy and her daughter whom she trusts to spend the rest of the day with you?” Yoongi corrects. 

Jungkook shyly smiles, not missing the way his heart swells at your friend’s words.

“She’s been having a tough day. I’m sure seeing you and Heejin will make it better, even if just for a while.”

Jungkook nods, and before he can say anything else, he hears Jin call his name.

“Oh, good, you’re both here,” he pats Jungkook’s arm and greets Heejin. “She has a meeting with the witnesses later and she needs to be at her best. She’s been jittery and it’s unlike her. I know how you and this little one calm her down.”

Jungkook decides to bask in the thought of your colleagues knowing how he affects you later on, but right now, what matters is getting to you. He knocks on the door and it’s his friend who meets him.

“Hey, Kook,” Jimin smiles. “And hey little angel,” he caresses Heejin’s cheeks. “___ is just in a call but you can go inside.”

Entering the room, Jungkook takes in the simplicity and organization of it. You’re seated on your chair, phone on your ear while massaging your temples, clearly in a state of mild distress as you nibble your lips and take multiple long breaths. 

He looks around and smiles at the sight of the top of your shelf, with picture frames of you and Heejin, your family, your best friends. All your accolades and certificates are lined up on the second row, representative of what matters to you - even with how hard you work, your loved ones will always come first, but that doesn’t take away your commitment and passion for your job.

Jungkook stands by your table, carrying Heejin in a forward-facing manner now, just waiting for you to finish. He watches you state your case - some approach in speaking with the witnesses and instructing whoever’s on the other line on what to do, and it’s moments like this when he gets to admire you. It’s not you questioning a witness like those times he watched your trials on TV, but it’s the behind-the-scenes work that you’re doing, all the while ensuring that the people are safe.

“Make sure they’re okay, you hear me? We need them for this case but we need them safe and alive more than anything,” you say before hanging up. 

You look up at him with tired eyes and a soft smile, as if the world is slowly crashing around you but there’s Jungkook and Heejin who are the only stable things remaining. You get off your seat and walk towards them, wrapping your one arm around him and the other on your daughter, sighing in relief at their presence and warmth. 

“Hey, you,’ he whispers near your ear, the gruff tone sending another type of heat in your body. “You’ve got this, okay? And we’ve got you.”

You nod in response, briefly kissing his cheek then burying yourself in his embrace once more. You stand there with them for a few minutes, giving yourself this time to take the only breather you’ll have for the day. 

You release yourself from their hold; any more time and you wouldn’t want to let them go. 

“You said you got me something?” 

“Cherry tarts,” Jungkook says, as he hands you Heejin whom you hug tightly and who yells your name. 

“Oh, god. I’ve been craving cherry things,” you state, marveling at the pretty desserts in front of you. 

“I know, that’s why they’re the feature at the cafe today. They ran out quickly.”

“And I get to have these?” You pout. “Jungkook, I know Hobi’s my friend, too, but this is still a business. You can’t keep giving me these things that you sell at the cafe all the time.”

“It was the first batch, and Hobi doesn’t really mind. He knows how many of our items are inspired by you and it’s little payment for how much my mind gets going because of it,” Jungkook winks. 

“Fine,” you hum, taking a piece and feeling like crying at how good it is. “Seriously, you both and sweets are all I need. This is so good.” 

He chuckles as he hands you tissue and your glass of water. He cups your cheek as you look back at him, just letting his presence ground you like all the times it has. He kisses your forehead and your eyes close reflexively, as if you’re melting at the feel of him doing something so simple yet intimate like this. 

“Thank you,” you mumble, feeling like you’ve lost your voice at how overwhelmed and grateful you are. “I needed this. Thank you for coming. And, uh, you can come whenever you want to.”

“Okay, good,” he whispers as he kisses your forehead again, this time lingering. “But we don’t want to keep you since you’ve got some badass, queen things to do. So do well today, okay? We’ll be home, waiting.”

You don’t expect those last four words to affect you the way they do, and they’re truly the most comforting thing you’d heard from him. It just sounds certain, so final, and it’s exactly what you need to get through the day.

“I’ll see you at home,” you smile, kissing his cheek this time. “I’ll see you both at home tonight.”

**

The rain is hitting hard against your windshield, and the only consolation is that it poured right when you and your team finished having dinner at a restaurant a few streets down the nearest parking space. It had been a long evening, indeed, primarily because after the big blow to your case, you all had to debrief and then restrategize while the earlier conversations are still fresh in your minds. You called Jungkook then, saying you’ll be late and he said he’d already given Heejin a bath, something he’d recently learned how to do on his own. 

Hitting a stop sign, your phone rings with Jin on the other end.

“You holding up okay?” He asks worriedly, something he tends to do when he knows you’ve got a case that hits close to home. 

“Somewhat. The team’s more level-headed about it than I am.”

“You trained good lawyers, then,” he responds in an effort to encourage you. 

“Yeah, I guess,” you mumble. 

“Let them do the groundwork and give yourself some time. You’re gonna figure it out. Also, I know it’s already been a tough day but don’t forget the conference that my father asked us to attend tomorrow morning,” he says, earning him a groan at the reminder. “Just take the afternoon off and get proper rest this weekend. That’s an order. I shouldn’t be receiving emails or messages from you once you leave the hotel tomorrow.”

“Got it, boss,” you tease, knowing he hates being called as such, then hang up.

You drag yourself to your apartment, your legs shaking from how much you’ve been pacing and walking all day, but knowing that on the other side of the door are the people you need to see and be with the most is what keeps you going.

The living space is dim, with but the accent lights turned on. Jungkook said he’d read Heejin a story and get her to sleep hours ago, and you wonder where he opted to stay. You push the half-open door of Heejin’s bedroom and your heart melts at the sight before you. 

Seated on the single sofa next to the toddler bed is Jungkook, his feet up on the ottoman, with Heejin sleeping soundly on his chest and her favorite blanket over her back. He’s securing her with his firm hold on her thighs while making sure she’s still got room to breathe, and you can’t help but smile at her squished cheek against him, her mouth slightly parted as always, her breathing soft and steady.

Jungkook’s head is lolled back, his mouth slightly parted, too, with his breathing a little harder, and you can’t imagine how tired he’s been. He was up early for the first shift and spent all afternoon watching over Heejin, playing with her, feeding her, giving her a bath, and putting her to sleep. 

He looks peaceful, though, so at-home and natural, like he’s been doing this for years; like he can keep doing this for more. 

You kneel next to him, marveling at his beauty with the light from the lamp illuminating his features. He’s incredibly handsome, something you don’t think you’ve ever told him. There’s a softness in his face that contrasts the toughness of the rest of him, and with him, holding your daughter like this, there’s tenderness that captivates you. 

Heejin is comfortable and that says a lot with how well he’d taken care of her today. And you know she wasn’t anxious being away from you. You know she had fun and felt safe, and that’s all that matters. 

“Hey, you,” you whisper, not wanting to rush Jungkook in waking up. “I’m home now.”

It takes a while and you caress his cheek as you wait for him, enjoying the smoothness of his face and the way you want to smooch every inch of it if possible. 

His eyes flutter open and a satisfied sigh leaves his lips once it’s registered that it’s you.

“Hey,” he hums. “What time is it?”

“11PM,” you say. “I’m a few hours late. It rained so hard, too; it was tough to drive for a while.”

“You okay, though? You ate well?”

“I did.”

“Okay, good,” he replies, shifting to sit up straight without disturbing Heejin then motioning for you to sit on the armrest. “This little one couldn’t sleep without you. I had to massage her, rock her, read to her, sing to her… all the works.”

“It’s because I was out the whole day,” you giggle, softly caressing her cheeks. “But I’m sure she enjoyed being with you today. Thank you for taking care of her.”

“Of course, ___. I loved today with her. She’s doing so well at recognizing more animals. And she’s saying the alphabet with fewer pauses now. And she was singing the tomato nursery rhyme.”

“Less yelling and actual singing?”

“Less yelling and actual singing,” he chuckles, knowing of Heejin’s tendency to yell everything she wants to say. “I took videos. I’ll send everything to you later.”

You smile and nod, taking his free hand in yours in thanks for how good he is to her, and all the while making sure that you’re not missing out on anything at all. 

“We should lay her down. I’m sure you’re tired, too,” you say, standing up and taking Heejin to cradle in your arms.

You lovingly kiss her then gently put her in her bed, letting the mobile play because she likes to have the music on. 

“Goodnight, Jinnie,” Jungkook whispers after you do, smiling softly as he watches her turn to hug the deer stuffed toy next to her.

You take his hand and guide him to the living room, motioning for him to sit on the couch where you snuggle next to him, humming in satisfaction as you wrap your arm around his torso and his wraps around your shoulder. 

He’s gotten used to this, holding you at whatever time of the day while you fall into him, sighing in relief or exhaustion. He likes the gradual escalation, too, as your grips have come to signify something more than warmth. Security, he thinks, and perhaps desire as well.

But it’s comfort for you, first and foremost. You didn’t realize what coming home to this would do for your mind and your heart.

“Two of our witnesses in the sexual harassment case backed out today,” you say after a prolonged silence, which was spent finding the right spot for your head on his chest and taking in his Heejin-tinged scent.

“They’re crucial to the case but they got scared and I can’t blame them,” you continue. “It’s hard out there. Hard for them, whether they speak up or not. They lose either way and I can’t do anything about it.”

Jungkook processes your words. He’ll never fully understand what it’s like as a woman, but still, it only takes human decency to know that what those women went through is terrible, something no one should be experiencing in the first place. 

“It's the culture you’re fighting against, ___,” he says. “But you’re fighting it. Whether they speak up or not, they know you’re fighting for them. That’s a change in itself, regardless if it’s in the system or their lives, it’s still something.”

“Wise words, Mr. Jeon,” you smile. “Just what I needed to hear.”

“They’re your words, Atty. Kim,” he smiles back. 

You look at him questioningly.

“I listen to you talk, you know?” He chuckles. “Everything you need to keep going is right there in that brilliant mind of yours, and in your heart. You just need someone to remind you every once in a while, I guess.”

“Yeah, I guess,” you huff, curling your legs on top of his lap.

Enveloped in silence, he places his hand on your leg, caressing it and eliciting a soft moan from you.

“I like this,” you hum, lifting your face to softly kiss his cheek.

“What, a leg massage?”

“Yes, that,” you chuckle. “But also, this. Having you hold me this way, listening to me, telling me things I need to hear. I know I’m a lot to handle most days but this, this is nice. To just have you next to me is so grounding, you know? Like it’s all that I need.”

“It is, huh?” He turns to look at you, his star-filled eyes that you always drown in meeting yours. 

You nod in response and he strokes your cheek before kissing your forehead, then your nose. You feel all the words he doesn’t say in the lips that tingle your skin, and you know where else you want those on. 

Yours.

So you move forward, capturing his lips in a kiss that feels too much and too little at the same time. You hold him there, familiarizing yourself with the sensation, with the emotion, with the tingle of his warm breath against your skin. 

He parts his mouth and then it’s his taste you’re quickly getting addicted to, his tongue you’re entangling yours with in a sensual battle, his silver hoop that’s cold and comforting, his moan that’s bewitching. He inhales you like you’re oxygen, and you hold onto him like you’ll run out of it.

He responds by tightening his grip on your back, his other hand that was glued to your leg, now inching up to trace patterns on your knee, then your outer thigh, keeping it there to hold you both steady, as he feels the burning desire for you slowly take over.

It’s slow and amorous, with a tinge of desperation as you both try to get closer than you are, but it’s still tender and euphoric. He’s like a drug you can get high on, and any amount won’t seem to ever be enough. 

He does the hard task of pulling away, breathing against you as his forehead meets yours, his eyes closed as he tries to wrap his mind around how good you taste, and smell, and feel like. 

“You like that, too?” He smiles.

“Yes, very much,” you whisper back, placing your hands that have found purchase on his neck on his cheeks this time. “It’s been a while.”

“No shit,” he says, eliciting a laugh from you. “Sorry, I had to.”

“I guess I deserve that,” you smile. “But god does it feel so much better this time around.”

“Wasn’t good enough the last time?” He teases. 

“I wasn’t ready the last time,” you correct. 

It was good, definitely. You think about that kiss a lot.

“My bad. I’m sorry,” he says.

“Not in that way. You know what I mean.”

He nods, smiling as he looks at you constantly eyeing his lips. 

He’d want more if this continues, so much more. Much as he’d been dreaming of this, he was caught off-guard, and he’s unsure if you’re ready for what more would mean for him. Though he’s the more generous - and dare he say, desperate - one when it comes to physical affection, he wants everything with you. He wants it to be perfect, with no holding back, no doubts or questions, no fears or apprehensions. Just you and him and all the emotions kept in that can’t wait to finally be completely felt, returned.

“You had a long day,” he mumbles, kissing you deeply again. “And you have another long one tomorrow.”

“I’ve got that conference in the morning with Jin,” you confirm. “But he gave me the afternoon off. I think Heejin would love to spend her Friday with me, don’t you think?”

“Yes, she does. She kept calling for you every time you showed up in the videos,” he chuckles, pulling you closer by your legs and wrapping his arms around you. 

“Hmm. We’re gonna have an afternoon of tickle fights and boyband music. It’s my stress relief.”

“Bet if she could talk back, she’d tell you to choose better music.”

“Don’t be a hater,” you playfully smack his arm. “Plus, she loves it! She jumps up and down when I play the songs, just like how prepubescent me was doing it.”

“She takes after you so much, it’s amazing.”

“Who else would she take anything from?” You chuckle. “There’s just me.”

And me, hopefully. One day, Jungkook thinks, but he keeps the thought to himself for now, not wanting to scare you with the life he’d planned - and hopes to have - with you. 

“Do you feel better?” He asks after a beat of silence.

“I do, thank you,” you face him, letting that sense of calm you get from this intimacy with him overtake you. 

He holds your gaze for a while before he fights off a yawn. 

“You had a long day, Jungkook,” you say, the exhaustion from earlier coming back. “And you have another one tomorrow. And Saturday, right?”

“Dea and I will start with the prep work tomorrow,” he says. 

A celebrity who’s also a regular at the cafe booked them to set up a dessert table for a baby shower on Saturday morning. He’ll be working all Friday for it and he’s anxious and excited at the same time.

“What time does it end?”

“Around 2. But we won’t stay. Only Hobi will,” Jungkook responds. “Dea and I will set up and the boss will do the socializing and promoting.”

“Hmm. Does that mean you’re free in the evening?” 

“By the afternoon, actually. What do you have in mind?”

“A date. Just you and me. There’s this place I want to try,” you tell him, taking his hand in yours. “I feel like this is the longest we got to even talk this whole week and I’m thinking maybe you want to spend Saturday night with me.”

“It’s like I didn’t pine for you for three years, ___,” he laughs. “Of course. Let me know the plans after my event, yeah? I’ll be too excited and I might not be able to focus.”

“Okay,” you smile, knowing you have to let him go now. 

You stand up and lead him towards the door, the thought of saying goodbye after sharing that heartstopping kiss with him makes you feel all kinds of loss. 

“Just let me know when you get home even if I’ll be asleep by then.”

“I will,” he says, turning to face you after he opens your door. He kisses you again, one, two, three times.

You look at him with a mix of amusement and confusion.

“For every year that I yearned for that,” he says simply, certainly. 

You want to go for another round, maybe do more this time. You definitely want that. But it’s been a long day and the only thing you want more than him is a warm bath followed by your soft sheets.

You merely nod in response, not trusting yourself with words this time. “Good night, Jungkook.”

“Good night, ___. I’ll see you soon.”

**

“Alright, bubba. Be honest. How does Mama look?”

Heejin is propped up in the middle of your bed, playing with her toy bus, which she deems as infinitely more interesting than you.

“Bubba, look at me, please?” You pout, as if your almost-three year old can fully comprehend what you’re asking of her.

She throws her toy on the floor and you pick it up, hiding it behind your back and asking her again.

“Does Mama look pretty, bubba? Do you think Kookoo will think so?”

“Mama! Bus please,” she whines, hands reaching out for you. 

“Does Mama look nice? Yes or no?”

“No,” she shakes her head, and this goes in the list of times you wish it wasn’t her favorite word. 

“Okay, thanks for the encouragement, bubba. Let’s just wait until Kookoo gets here and then we’ll see. Thank you, I still love you,” you say, planting a kiss on her forehead and returning her toy.

“Kookoo! I want Kookoo!”

“I know, bub. But he’s mine tonight, okay? I promise, you’ll be with him tomorrow,” you smile.

It’s another second that you let yourself question if you’re being selfish with this - asking your mom to care for Heejin overnight so you can spend the evening and hopefully until the next day with Jungkook. Ever since that kiss you shared two days ago, it’s all you could think about. 

You won’t lie and say that a part of you expected he’d take it further, perhaps a longer makeout session where he’d lay you down and kiss you all over, maybe have his hands explore your body and ask to stay the night. 

But he didn’t, and much as you'd hoped for that - even if you were the one taking your sweet time in the first place - you slept that evening with a tight knot in your belly, and you’ve just been waiting for it to uncoil. 

You barely spoke to him yesterday and he’s been busy all morning. He took a nap once he got home so he could be fully present for you tonight, he’d said, and the thought itself is making you giddy, excited.

There’s no more hiding or tempering what you feel. And you wanna be able to tell him that, show him that. And you hope he’ll still take what you can give.

You look at yourself one last time in the mirror and manage a smile. You don’t even recall the last time you wore this dress but you’ll definitely remember tonight. 

The doorbell ringing startles you and it’s probably because of how anxious you are. 

You and Jungkook have gone on dates but tonight is different - it’s a lot fancier and well, your mom convinced you to let her take Heejin for the night after you spent the whole afternoon talking about Jungkook and she had to remind you that it’s okay to want this for yourself. That includes spending a night with him. Doing so doesn’t make you any less of a mother. Part of parenthood is choosing things for yourself once in a while. You need to teach your daughter how to choose herself, too, your mom reminded you. 

You place Heejin on her mini couch and you walk towards the door, your breath catching in your throat at the sight before you. 

You’ve seen Jungkook in a variety of outfits of all colors - mostly monotone with pops of color every now and then. He’d sported less casual wardrobes the few times you went on dates and they always left you speechless with how sophisticated they looked, and tonight is no exception. 

He has on a black silk polo with a few buttons undone underneath a burgundy velvet jacket and black slacks, which are deliciously tight enough for you to appreciate his toned thighs. His hair is slicked back with a few strands of it dangling at the side like how those Hollywood leading men would do it. It’s a mix of youthful and mature, but sexy nonetheless, especially with his pierced brow and lips; he definitely upped his game tonight.

He revels in the way your mouth opens and closes, your eyes raking all over him, something he’d caught you sneakily do a few times recently, but it’s the first time you’re openly ogling at him and he’s got to admit, it’s the confidence boost he badly needs.

“Find your voice yet?” He teases, cocked brow and all.

“Now I have,” you get back to your senses. “Just not used to you dressing up all grown up and stuff.”

“Then how have I been dressing up the other times?” He chuckles, finally entering your apartment. 

“Well, the oversized everything screamed too casual and like, uh…”

“Boyfriend?” He smirks. “I mean, that’s what I’ve heard you say a few times to Hobi when you’re at the cafe.”

“Eavesdropping on your customers? That’s not nice.”

“Hey, I just happen to hear you two when I serve people since, you know, I work there? But that’s besides the point,” he says, voice dropping a few octaves. “Is that what I am? A… boyfriend?”

“Is that what you want to be?” You say, matching his tone.

He walks closer to you, his arm snaking around your waist as he pulls you closer. 

“Yeah,” says, his gruff voice in a whisper sending chills down your spine. “That would be fucking amazing, actually.”

“Okay,” you say, meeting his eyes. “Do the boyfriend thing and kiss me, then.”

He glances at Heejin who’s engrossed in watching Pororo run about, and he turns back to you, his smug face the last thing you see before your eyes fall closed at the feel of his lips on yours. 

You didn’t realize how much you’d miss it with just a day being without it, and now all you want is to drown in his kiss that’s gentle and desperate at the same time. His motions are smooth, but the rest of his body is tense; you feel the eagerness and the hesitation. So do you.

Your heads barely move and your mouths part only minimally, but you can taste his strawberry chapstick and the mint he’d just had. His tongue lightly brushes past your lower lip, like a tease of what he wants, of what more he can give, and sometimes you wonder why you ran away from this all those years ago. 

But when you think of how easily you almost fell into this, you’re reminded of why you had to turn your back on him then. If at the end of all of that, you get to have this, then maybe it’s all been worth it.

Jungkook pulls away again this time, smiling giddily at your post-kiss face, and then pecking your lips. “I may have ruined your lipstick a bit.”

You wipe the taint of it on his lips and giggle. “And I’m glad you did.”

You motion towards Heejin, who you say has been looking for him, and you watch him as he kneels in front of her for a hug, asking what she’s watching, and then listening to her talk about the show that’s on. 

“You ready to go to Mom’s, bubba?” You ask, joining them. “She’s taking you to a light show tonight. You’ll be good, alright?” 

“Yes, Mama!” she squeals, hugging you back as you nuzzle her nose. 

“So come, Kookoo and I will take you to her.”

Jungkook carries her as you all make it to his car, the drive to your mom’s apartment, a surprisingly short one on a Saturday evening. Your mom’s ecstatic and smug face reveals too much, even more so as she keeps reminding you and Jungkook to “have fun” and “make the most of your time together.”

“We will, but please call when you’re putting her to bed,” you say. 

“I will. Now you lovebirds, leave our apartment now.”

You and Jungkook eventually do, but not without multiple goodbye hugs and kisses on Heejin. She indulges you only briefly because the newly-assembled dollhouse catches her attention and then it’s like you don’t exist anymore.

Jungkook takes your hand as you both walk to the car, something he does while he drives as well, and throughout dinner. 

You chose a fancy Japanese restaurant as per Jin’s suggestion and you’ve always sworn by his recommendations. Their array of interesting dishes got you and Jungkook feeding each other, then listing the other places you both want to try. It’s a few hours of him making you laugh, gushing over Heejin as you both watch the videos from the other night, him randomly taking your hand to kiss, and looking into your eyes while you speak. 

He goes from the charming Jungkook with the shy, boyish smile and nose scrunch to the confident, lip-licking man with a hypnotizing gaze in seconds - he’s been giving you a whiplash all night. 

You, on the other hand, have been letting yourself drown in all that he’s giving and doing to you. No more walls up or any other apprehensions unlike before. This time - as you’ve been the past several months - you feel safe enough to be yourself, desires and flaws included. 

You both head back to the car for a quick drive to your final destination for tonight. It’s right when you enter that you get a photo of a sleeping Heejin on her belly, cheek to the side with her butt propped up. 

“What was she doing?” You laugh right as you call your mom.

“She didn’t want to sleep yet so we were watching TV,” your mother shares. “The channel stopped at a musical and she wanted to keep it there. She was bobbing her head and clapping and found her position, fighting off her yawns until she gave up. It was so adorable, honey.”

“Okay then, guess it’s musicals for us for the next few weeks. But thanks, Mom. I’m sure she enjoyed her time with you guys.”

“Oh, she did. She wouldn’t play with the dollhouse unless Jung-jae was next to her. She’s really comfortable with him already.”

“That’s great to hear. He’s a constant now, too,” you respond. “But she’s good? Sleeping soundly in bed and all?”

“Yes, honey. Looks like she’ll have a good, long sleep. Jung-jae and I will bring her to you first thing in the morning so she won’t throw a tantrum when she wakes up without you,” your mom offers. “Would 8 be fine? Just let me know if you want us to drop by later, though. Don’t want to ruin any morning shenanigans or something.”

It’s her teasing and sultry tone that makes you gasp, and you hear Jung-jae laughing next to her, telling her to leave you and Jungkook be.

“Alright, I will. You lovebirds enjoy tonight, okay? I mean it.”

She giggles this time, and she hangs up before you even say goodbye.

Jungkook doesn’t say much, having only faintly heard the conversation. He stops the car and wraps his arm around you as you both walk two streets down to an alley. 

It’s one of those hidden cocktail bars in the city, with an unassuming facade hiding an elaborate interior. Taehyung suggested this place when you asked your family for bar options, as he’d done gigs here before for jazz nights. The high ceilings and dim lights, the soft music, and the couches made for two make it a nice place for enjoying each other’s company. 

Jungkook sets his one hand on your waist while the other draws circles on your exposed knee that’s brushing against his, only removing it when he takes a sip from his drink.

“Jinnie doing okay at Auntie’s?” He asks. 

“She is,” you smile, sharing what your mom had said about their day, to Jungkook’s delight. “But I miss her already.”

“I do, too,” he sighs. “But I like this,” he adds, meeting your eyes.

“I like you,” you respond, catching him off guard, his eyes instantly widening at your declaration.

“That’s, uh, that’s nice to finally hear,” he beams before hiding his face in your neck as he tries to get himself together.

You laugh at his response, caressing the back of his head and pecking the side of it.

“Yah! What’s with the reaction? It’s not like it isn’t obvious. We’ve been going on dates,” you say, pushing him up to face you. “And I’ve been kissing you.”

“But it’s different to hear you say it, after all this time.”

“I guess I just got caught up in what we finally are that I didn’t bother to verbalize it,” you narrate, something that’s unlike how you normally are because you tend to lay out in words the things you’re experiencing and thinking to be able to make sense of them. “And I realize now that I don’t think I’ve changed much from the last time. Maybe I haven’t been fair to you.”

“What are you talking about?” He looks at you curiously.

“Back then, my siblings used to give me shit for treating you like that puppy I found adorable and would pet and stuff but wouldn’t actually want to keep,” you admit, recalling how they always found a way to remind you of the analogy they came up with. 

“You just always stood by next to me whatever I was doing and years passed and it was kind of like that again, right? You’ve just been waiting for me to be ready all these months and it took so long before I could even say it, before I even considered giving you anything. And I’m sorry I haven’t been giving you much.”

“Hey. You’ve been giving me a lot,” he comforts, lifting your chin to face him. “I knew what I was getting myself into the first time, and even now. And not once did I feel impatient or that it was all for nothing. You’ve given me your time, Heejin’s time, your trust, your heart… and I’ve been happy, ___. Really happy.”

There’s contentment in his eyes when he says the words, but even then, there’s a tinge of hope, and something else that he holds back. And for all the times that he’d been the transparent one, with you having control of your emotions, it seems that the roles have been reversed, as you feel like baring everything to him while he maintains as much composure as he possibly can.

“I am, too, Jungkook,” you say softly, inching closer to him, taking in his sandalwood scent he’s chosen over his usual sporty one.

You’re internally grateful for the bit of privacy you’re being afforded, although looking around, you don’t seem to be the only couple that finds themselves in an intimate moment. 

“You make me feel things I’ve felt before… but in extremes. Like, there’s this longing when you’re away, and this unabashed joy when I’m with you. I’ve sort of conditioned myself not to feel too much so it’s kind of overwhelming sometimes, but in a good way. Like it’s all these amazing things all at once and I don’t know what to do with them, but at the same time, I can’t be without them, without you.”

Jungkook merely gazes at you as a satisfied smile forms on his face.

“Not used to you being speechless,” you chuckle.

“I’m not yet immune to you, you know? You still surprise me.”

“And what if I don’t anymore, would you still want me then?”

“Always,” he says instantly, certainly. 

The lights are dim and the nearest customers have just left, and the desire that’s been gradually growing since he showed up looking like pure sin in your doorway overtakes you. You lean forward and kiss him deeply, your tongue sliding inside his mouth to let him know what you want from him. It’s like time freezing as the tension melts away; like sucking the air out of him, and when you part, he breathes heavily like it’s exactly what you did.

“My apartment, please?” You pant, your forehead leaned against his, eyes closed just like his.

“Okay,” he huffs, stealing a soft kiss before paying the bill and then heading out.

Jungkook has to choose between walking quickly to get to your destination faster or strolling so he could savor this moment with you - walking underneath dim street lights, your satin midnight blue dress flowing up to your shins. 

He chooses the latter, as you seem to want to savor this, too, much as you seemed to yearn him so much just minutes ago. 

It’s his turn to steal a kiss when you both enter the car, and the ride home is filled with tension that you know how to resolve but need to wait more time to actually address. 

You arrive at your apartment without making any public scene, letting the tension follow you there.

“Kind of unusual coming here without Heejin squealing or laughing or yelling at us,” he chuckles, pulling you from the back for a hug, his head nestling at the crook of your neck - another new intimate act that you already want more of.

“I know,” you say, shivering at the kiss he makes near your ear. “But Mom insisted on having her for the night and bribed her with whatever. They’ll come tomorrow morning. And I agreed because, well, I really wanted to be alone with you tonight,” you add, turning around, your hungry eyes raking all over him.

“You did, huh?” His gaze locks on yours, all the desire he feels reflecting in it.

He hasn’t been able to stop thinking about your lips on his since the other night, and he can’t help it when his mind starts to conjure all the other things he wants to do. He has to control his thoughts so he doesn’t expect too much - of what else you want to do physically, and what that would mean for your relationship. 

He realized that when it comes to you, he regards things much more deeply, meaningfully, and so every act and word holds so much - his fears, his desires, and hope with and for you. 

“Yeah, I—” You whimper at his sudden grip on your waist, glancing at his parted mouth, mirroring the way your tongue licks your lips, aching to feel him there. 

You can feel the heat radiate off his body with how close he’s gotten, as you feel the rush of desire overtake your own. Your heart beats rapidly, anticipating what’s to come next, and for the seconds that feel like more, he rests his forehead against yours, your noses grazing while you breathe each other in.

He gives in first, cupping your cheeks as he angles your mouth to fit his. His tongue slips in, exploring you in this way, and you fall right into it with him, gripping the collars of his polo as you meet his fervent action. It’s messy and raw and unsteadying, and you feel like you’re in a haze of some sort as you try to take all that he gives all at once.

His hands move to your waist as he continues to kiss you, parting only very briefly. He nips and licks and sucks your lips, your joint moans gradually getting louder. He slowly pushes you backward until you hit the armrest of the couch, and you lean on it as you feel like you’re losing balance with how much of yourself you’re giving with this kiss.

“Fuck, I can do this all night,” he groans, his mouth descending to peck on your jaw and your neck.

“Just this?” You moan teasingly.

“What else did you have in mind?” He turns to you, his lustful eyes turning curious.

“Everything,” you heave, taking his hand and guiding it to your breast. “I don’t want us to hold back.”

He strokes it only gently, and much as you know that at some point, it would lead to this, you’re slightly worried why he doesn’t seem as into the idea of doing it right now as you expected. You’re about to ask what’s wrong when he speaks.

“I won’t want to turn back after this,” he says pointedly, eyes locked on yours to make sure you know he means every word. “I’m gonna want more. I’m gonna give you and Heejin the whole world, you have to know that, but I’m gonna need you to want this with me.”

You hear the mix of certainty and desperation in his voice but unlike all the times he’d spoken in this way, you know that you want it, too. Whatever it is, you want it.

“Okay,” you pant. “I want more, and I can give you more. 

“Okay,” he gasps, pecking your forehead, then your nose, then your lips where he lingers. “Good. That’s good.”

You both kiss again like you’d done earlier, but with more need this time. It’s heated, even messier, more intentional, and louder, too. 

You push the jacket off his shoulders and he pulls you much closer, his hands sliding down to your ass, which he squeezes intensely. Pulling up your dress, he does it again, lightly slapping the cheeks as he gets into the moment.

You moan into his mouth, bucking your hips against his to let him know how it affected you.

“Fuck, you like that?” He rasps, nipping at your neck now.

“Yes,” you answer, moaning even louder when he does it again, a little harder this time. 

You’re lost in his scent, in his heat, in the way his mouth explores whatever he can at this position, and the dampness in your underwear only says what more you want from him.

Guiding him towards the couch, you lightly nudge him to sit, gazing at him hungrily before settling on his lap, kissing him again like you’re memorizing every inch of his mouth and his lips that you can’t get enough of. 

While his hands knead your ass and simultaneously push you to grind against his aching cock, yours hurriedly unbutton his polo, wanting a taste of what you’d seen that afternoon at the pool. You’d thought of how he looked underneath all the clothes he wears and you finally get to do more than just imagine all of that.

After undoing the last button, you palm his chest, toned and smooth as you’d expected, his pert nipples exciting you as you flick them to his delight. Your lips detach from his, then you briefly gaze at his bare body, and move towards his chest, your open-mouthed kisses all over it intensifying his desire, and he’s the one who’s now unzipping your dress from behind. 

Pushing you to sit back up, Jungkook meets your glazed eyes, and he slowly pulls down the straps off your shoulders, followed by your bra to reveal half of your breasts, your own pert buds teasing him.

He pants as your fingers trace the dips of his abs, and unable to just sit and marvel at you any longer, he attacks your breasts, taking one in his mouth, ravishing it as he fondles the other. 

The pleasure is immediate, as the way he swirls and strokes your erogenous region makes you feel suspended, especially as he does so in a carnal yet passionate way. You grind against him, feeling his stiff length poking your stomach. Your hands grip on his taut back, feeling its tense muscles as he exerts all his effort on making you feel good, which he knows he’s doing so well at, given your expletives and moans that keep getting louder.

“You sound so good,” he groans in your ear, another sensitive part of you, something he’s figured out, as he nibbles and licks its shell, and he instantly feels the hairs of your arm raise at the action.

You hum, pushing him to lean back again so your eyes could rake all over his body, liking the way the dim light illuminates the beads of sweat on his chest, and with him panting like this and seeing the hunger in his eyes while also knowing he’ll get to do more, he’s absolutely stunning. 

“Done admiring?” He asks cheekily.

“Yes,” you reply after a beat of silence, though you doubt you’d ever get enough of see this. “You?”

“Need to see everything first, babe,” he smirks. 

So you stand up, unhooking your bra then fully unzipping the dress that’s pooled on your waist, doing so in a sensual manner as you slowly reveal more of yourself to him, liking the way his eyes widen in shock and lust at the same time.

You’re left with nothing but your silk thong, a shiver running down your spine when he moves towards the edge of the couch, his hands caressing your outer thighs before groping and slapping your ass cheeks once more. 

“Can’t get enough of these,” he moans, not matching the tender way he kisses your torso.

You cradle his head, and he’s suddenly reminded of all the times he used to see you do this. He looks up at you teasingly.

“Hmm, this is what it’s like.”

You remember it, too, and you laugh at the way he nuzzles your belly then smirks at you, like he’s thoroughly enjoying himself. You’d been in a lustful mood just seconds ago, and he brings you back in it as quickly as he took you out, as he starts sucking on the skin that leads to your cunt. 

He glances at you while he nibbles at the hem of your underwear, his fingers teasing your lips and feeling the dampness that’s pooled in there. Slowly, he removes the last piece of clothing you have on, staring at your hooded eyes while he does. 

Now completely bare in front of him, he brings you with him as he sits back on the couch, having you straddle him again, your mouths touching once more, the fervent actions at pace with your thrusting hips. 

“You’re so wet, I can feel you all over me,” he mumbles in your ear, pushing your core down to grind against his clothed crotch.

“Need your mouth to do something about it,” you groan, as the ache in your cunt starts to get unbearable, needing relief. 

He nudges for you to lay on the couch now, guiding you there as he constantly curses every time his lips meet your flesh. Kissing your lips briefly, he trails down to your breasts, giving both of them ample attention before he sets his eyes on your dripping core. 

He teases by thumbing with your clit first while he nips at your thighs, slowly moving towards your heat, before he licks the whole strip of it, his warm wet muscle stimulating every nerve of your body. You let out a restrained cry, and he lifts one of your legs for better access, allowing him to swallow you whole, as he sucks your cunt hungrily while letting the cold of his lip ring add to the pleasure, uncaring that he’s close to running out of breath.

“Fuck, Jungkook. That’s so good,” you moan, your muscles tensing as you try to hold in even just a bit to aid in the pleasure. “Keep going, fuck yes.”

He does as you ask, watching your fucked out face as he slips two fingers in, the sight of your hooded eyes and parted mouth making his dick throb even more. But he wants this, wants this for you. He wants to make you feel all kinds of pleasure as you’ll let him.

He replaces his digits with his tongue, sliding around and over and inside your hole, eliciting more moans from you as you start to buck your hip against his mouth, letting him fuck you like this. 

Your eyes travel to the back of your head as the pleasure intensifies, and for a brief moment, you look at him - completely lost in ravishing your pussy, his own eyes closed and the veins on his forehead appearing, hands tight around your thighs as he pushes you towards the edge. He’s giving it his all, you know this, as you feel his whole body tense as well. 

You’re close, you tell him, and with his hands finding your breasts, flicking the nipples, you unravel completely, and you feel the slick waterfall down your cunt, straight into his mouth. He moans as he takes you in, licking every drop, wiping his face with his hand, and gently kissing upwards to meet your lips once more. 

“How do you taste like?” He breathes into your mouth, bucking against you, his hard length so appetizing even more as you come down from your high.

“Weird,” you chuckle, but desperate as your hand palms his cock. “But now I need this in my mouth.”

“But I want more of you,” he whines, nipping at your neck.

“I haven’t sucked dick in years, Jungkook,” you groan. “This has been poking me all night.”

“But I’m gonna pop right away,” he pouts, hovering over you, the man who’d just ravaged you now grumbling about not wanting to be sucked off.

“Be good and wait to do that when you’re inside me, okay?”

Your voice is stern and turns him on even more, but it also makes him want to follow and be pleasured by that pretty and dangerous mouth of yours. 

“Fuck,” he says, standing up to unbutton his trousers, which you help him do.

Eyes locked on his, you pull his boxers down after, fingers grazing his muscular thighs as they become undressed, your mouth watering at the hardened cock that’s presented before you. Taking it in your hand, you return the kiss he gives then motion for him to sit on the couch this time.

You kneel comfortably on the floor and smirk at him before licking up the strip of his shaft then the slit, liking the saltiness of his precum and the way his thighs tense at the feel of you. 

Your mouth slowly takes him, sliding down at a pace that’s got his mind going completely hazy because even if he’d imagined this, it’s nothing close to having the real thing. You know what you’re doing, and you make sure he does, by the way that your eyes focus on him, barely looking away and closing them only briefly to savor his taste.

Jungkook’s jaw locks, his fists clench, and gradually, he bucks into your mouth as your motions continue. You see his strained face as his head lolls back, that pretty mole underneath his bitten lip looking even prettier from down here. You’re pleasuring and trapping him at the same time; he’d come right now if you let him, but he also wants you to keep at this for longer.

He’s losing himself in it, especially as you rake his thigh and fondle his balls.

“Fuck, yes, good girl,” he mindlessly moans. 

It’s a pet name he realizes you don’t like, as your movements slow down and he peeks to see displeasure in your eyes, even as you still have his cock in your mouth.

“Bad girl?” He tries again. 

You replace your mouth with your hand, scowling at him now.

“Mommy?”

You completely stop your movements. “I’m going to castrate you.”

You say it so seriously. And even though his near-orgasm falls substantially - which is somewhat fortunate because he was so close and he really wanted to come inside you but you seemed to be enjoying what you were doing before he ruined it - he can’t help but chuckle at your disappointed look. 

“Fine, sweets. Because you taste so fucking amazing,” he says, leaning over to peck your lips. “Please continue.”

You roll your eyes but enjoy it nonetheless. “You’re lucky you’re hot.”

He scrunches his nose the way he does when he annoys you, and it’s cute but sexy at the same time, what with his body looking the way it does right now. 

You get back into it quickly, sucking as you slide back down, his tip hitting you at the hilt. You go back to the pace you were at earlier, and you see him get back to it, too, his head lolling back again and his mouth parting to let out a groan that shoots straight through your core. Your head bobs up and down again, and you meet his desperate and lust-filled eyes before you go for another dive that has him keening and losing his mind.

“Fuck, ___, on your back, now.”

You release him from your mouth with a playful wink, and he pulls you to lay on the couch, the urge to make you feel good with his cock getting stronger by the second. He spreads your legs and his mouth waters at how ready you are to take him.

“Wait, Jungkook,” you say, and for a moment, his heart stops. “Condom. I have a box on my bedside.”

“I have one here,” he replies, searching for his wallet. 

He retrieves the foil pack and apologizes as he puts the latex sheath on, and you respond that it’s okay.

“So you were expecting this, huh?” You tease as he hovers over you, feeling his tip tease your entrance.

“I was hoping for it, actually,” he smiles, kissing you and swallowing your moan as he slides in.

You feel his length drag inside you, your walls that have been deprived for too long, taking him in fully. The pleasure from a good, hard cock from someone who knows what they’re doing is mind blowing, as Jungkook angles you in such a way that lets you feel everything. 

He starts slowly, his mouth trailing down your neck before nibbling the shell of your ear, then swirling his tongue on your pert buds the same time he thrusts harshly inside you.

“Fuck, yeah, like that,” you mewl, liking the way he teased a bit then went right in. 

He maintains that pace as you continue to moan out curses, praising him for how good he’s making you feel, and he responds with his own praises of how good you feel. Your hands hold onto his shoulders, sliding down to feel his biceps in their absolute divine form, all taut and large, like how you like them.

“You’re so fucking sexy, I’m losing my mind,” he drawls, kneeling now as he lifts both your legs to flush against your chest, thrusting incessantly, letting you feel him even deeper. 

“Hmmm, fuck, you’re so good,” you pant, loving his praises.

You go with this position for a while before he places your legs back down to wrap around his waist, and you take the opportunity to push him further inside you with your heels to his delight. 

“Keeping me locked in on you, huh?” He teases, biting your lip then taking both your hands and pinning them above your head. “I’m not going anywhere, sweets.”

“Stick to ‘babe,’ alright? That’s too cliche for a pastry chef to say,” you grumble, earning you a laugh at how it’s something you’d still correct him on in the middle of sex.

The view of him from below, with the veins popping out of his neck and his tattooed arm flexed over you, is making you even wetter. There are beads of sweat on his forehead, his jaw is clenched, and the moans he lets out are sinful. You can’t hold in the obscene sounds that you make, either, with how he’s hitting you in the spots you didn’t think would feel this good. 

But you still know your body more, and you know just how to build on the pleasure that’s overtaking every part of you.

“From behind,” you pant, and he follows immediately, releasing you from his hold and helping you on your knees.

Your elbows support you as your belly hits the couch, your ass angled upward for him to nip and kiss before he slides in easily, hitting another spot that has you keening right away. 

“Shit, you look so fucking good like this,” he groans, slapping a cheek, eliciting another moan from you.

It’s something you didn’t think you’d actually like, but Jungkook has a way of making you be open and actually enjoy things with him. And even he moans when he does it, which he follows with a praise or a kiss on your back, and you’re living for the way he’s making sure you both feel good with everything he’s doing.

He pounds into you in a pace that gradually quickens, his hands holding your waist in place as you wail in pleasure. He lifts you a little, allowing him to lower himself on your back, kissing your shoulders then your neck before tilting your face to ravage your mouth. 

The way he moves is heated and impassioned and everything you’d imagined that sex with him would be like - with him giving his all, making you feel euphoric and satisfied, praising you repeatedly. He cups your breast from below, and with the added stimulation, you feel your belly tighten, and the pending orgasm builds up too quickly for you to warn him.

“I’m—”

You let out a loud moan as your body shakes from the pleasure, your mind hazy now as you feel like you’re suspended from what he’d just made you experience. 

He continues, though, going harder now to reach his high, and you urge him to push into you even more, which he does obediently.

It still feels good even if your body is giving in, finding what little energy you have left to meet his hips, and it’s a final thrust that has him coming, the intensity of it allowing you to feel him spill his seed into the condom inside you. 

“Shit,” he pants, peppering kisses up your spine, unbothered by the sweat lining it.

He breathes into the crook of your neck before meeting your lips again, but this time in a languid movement of tongues entangling, feeling each other’s pleasure and exhaustion.

“You’re so fucking sexy,” he moans in your mouth, lazily still rocking into you as he comes down from his high. “And so fucking good.”

“Hmm, you’re welcome,” you hum in his mouth, shivering in over sensitivity as he fondles your pert bud. “Jungkook!” You squeal.

He chuckles and gives you a soft kiss. “I’ll just throw this,” he says, easing out of you and removing the condom. He gives your ass another slap before walking towards your bathroom.

You hum in response and turn on your back, hoping you’ll remember to sanitize this couch and call for the cleaner tomorrow afternoon. 

Jungkook returns with his boxers on and a wet towel then proceeds to clean you up, systematically wiping your breasts, your back, then your cunt that’s still recovering. He places the throw blanket over you before snuggling next to you. 

“Is this okay?” He asks, sliding his arm underneath your head to serve as your pillow. 

“Yeah, I like post-sex cuddles. Especially after that,” you smile at him. “I’m exhausted. I haven’t had dick in years, I’d forgotten how it feels inside me.”

“And how was mine?” He smirks.

“Good?” You turn to him. 

“Just good?” He cocks an eyebrow.

“Great? Do you need me to stroke your ego?”

“Not really,” he chuckles. “I just wanna make sure that I made you feel good and so I can keep doing all that. You deserve to feel good,” he explains, giving you a soft smile.

“Well, it was amazing. I don’t usually come from dick, just to let you know,” you admit.

“You don’t, what?” He exclaims.

“I don’t come from penetration that much. I mean, it’s good, I just don’t always orgasm from it,” you mumble. “And that’s perfectly normal.”

“I know. It’s just… wait, so how were you with, uh…”

“I’d fake it. He’s the type who needs to feel good about himself, remember?”

“Yeah, so a while ago, did you…?”

“I seriously came, Jungkook. You wiped me off! Plus, that kind of moan is hard to fake, mind you,” you clarify, not wanting to make him feel bad, but with what you know of Jungkook, he doesn’t have a razor thin ego for him to feel insecure about it.

“Wow, okay. Good job, little J. You did well,” he says, patting his now-flaccid cock.

“Did you just… compliment your dick…” You look at him incredulously.

“He made you come! He needs affirmation sometimes,” he defends.

“You’re silly,” you playfully roll your eyes.

“I know,” he smirks. “But also, can I just say? You’re so hot when you talk dirty to me.”

“That’s not my dirty talk,” you chuckle. “That’s literally me, telling you exactly what I want. Which I’ll probably do a lot. That turns you on?”

“Duh. I like it when you tell me what to do.”

He looks at you with those now-innocent eyes and boyish smile, the euphoric feel from earlier turning into something light and comfortable, something you rarely feel after sex. 

You’re tired but he makes you laugh. Your body is sore but he caresses your cheek and pecks your lips, telling you that he doesn’t mind how you come, as long as he makes you come, whatever part of his body does it. 

He’s every bit of a dream you never expected would come in the form of a bunny smile and a sinful body, and he wants you, just as much as you want him. 

You yawn, prompting him to sit up to give way for you to clean up and get ready for bed.

“Stay the night,” you say, as you take his discarded polo on the floor and wear it, the hem just barely covering your thighs. “I want to wake up next to you in the morning.”

“Okay,” he smiles, his heart melting at the sight of you in his clothes.

He follows your lead and doesn’t react much when you give him a towel and the oversized shorts you wore when you were pregnant then motion for the guest bathroom.

You take your time in the shower to gather yourself and come down from the high you’re still on. Jungkook crashed into your life years ago and made you feel things, and that rattled you, made you unsteady because you don’t like feeling like both of your hands aren’t on the wheel. 

Being without him and then having him back still makes you feel that sometimes, but you realize that if the other hand on the wheel next to yours is his, it’s not so bad. And if the years apart and the recent months with him have told you anything, it’s that whether you’re driving the car, he is, or both of you are, you want him next to you. That should be enough, you remind yourself in an effort to dispel whatever remaining doubts and fears you have.

He wants more with you, whatever that is. And sharing something so intimate like your bare selves to each other is what you needed tonight to solidify what your heart has known for a while now, even with the tiniest hint of apprehension in there. 

You exit your bathroom to find him sitting at the edge of your bed in all his shirtless glory, and you take your time to appreciate his broad and muscled and incredibly insatiable form before walking towards him.

“Hey,” you finally say, taking the hand he reaches out to you. “Why aren’t you in bed yet?”

“Wanted to make sure I’m on the right side before I get comfortable.”

He pulls you close and wraps his arms around your torso. “And to do this,” he says, as his hands move to cup your ass cheeks. “I don’t know why but it’s so comforting.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” you chuckle, briefly cradling his head before giving him a peck on the lips. “Let’s go to bed, my whole body is sore and my legs are still shaking.”

You walk to your side and he scoots to his, but instead of lying down next to you, he kneels and starts massaging your calves, up to your knees and thighs.

“I might have overbent these,” he teases, kissing your leg when you start to complain, his lips matching the sensual way his hands are stroking your flesh.

Jungkook just watches your satisfied face as he continues, his heart swelling at how you’re looking at him so tenderly. He thinks it’s reflective of what you do to him - one minute it’s racing like hell because you make him nervous, excited, euphoric, confused; another minute you’re calming him down, gazing at him like there’s beauty in his eyes, comforting him without touching him. 

And that’s how you’ve been to him all these months - sometimes you’re a hurricane - fast, dangerous, daunting from afar and overwhelming up close. Sometimes you’re a still day - a grounding presence, comforting, awe-inspiring in its simplicity. 

You’re raw, flawed, imperfect, and absolutely breathtaking. And he can’t get enough of you. 

He returns your smile and crawls under the covers, his arm out to hold you while you rest your head on his chest, your palm on his torso providing warmth and coolness at the same time. 

Kissing your forehead, he whispers. “Good night, ___.” 

“Good night,” you mumble.

Jungkook stares at the ceiling as the minutes tick by, still wrapping his head around tonight, the elation unmatched as he thinks of waking up next to you in the morning. It’s like he wants to fast forward to that but also wants to savor what’s remaining of the evening with you. 

“I thought you were tired. Why are you still up?” He asks, his fingers grazing your bare shoulder.

You turn to him with a questioning look.

“You breathe heavily when you sleep,” he says. “I hear it in the car when I’m driving. What’s on your mind, ___?”

“What did you mean about wanting more?” You wonder out loud, releasing yourself from his hold to sit up, knees folded underneath your chin.

“More,” he responds, as if it’s an all-encompassing answer. “Being able to kiss you, hold you, wake up next to you, make love to you whenever.”

“Is that it?”

His eyes briefly meet yours before they flit elsewhere.

“Spend my life with you, have a family with you,” he says softly.

“You hesitated.”

“Only because I wasn’t sure if you want that, if you’re ready for that,” he responds. 

“Jungkook, of course I want a family.”

“But do you want it with me?”

“I do,” you answer a beat too late.

“You hesitated,” he sighs.

“Only because I…”

“You’re scared I’ll change my mind,” he finishes.

“Partly. I mean, the thought still swims around,” you admit. “Do you blame me though?”

“No, but ___, this is me we’re talking about. And this is you.”

You cock an eyebrow at his words, signaling him to keep going. 

“You’re not some hobby or preference or a college degree that I’d change my mind about,” he explains. “Even when you broke my heart and didn’t want me to be a part of your life, when I was away, I didn’t change my mind.”

“Yeah, but then Yae-won happened. That’s changing your mind, Jungkook.”

“Was it, if it wasn’t even that serious? I told you, we were good friends more than anything. We were great company for each other, in a lot of ways, but I couldn’t fully give in because a part of me knew that when I came back here, when I saw you again, I’d be the same guy who’d want you. And I was right,” he explains. 

“I saw you at the bar, that night in Busan, and I… fuck, everything just came back. And she noticed the change after that. I felt terrible, but somehow she just knew; it wasn’t the same. She didn’t wanna burden me, she said, and I stayed there for months after she and I broke up to just think things through again, knowing you still didn’t have a partner. And I came back here having decided that if I had to wait again, I would,” he continues. “If I had to start over as just a friend, I would, and then figure it out from there like before. Maybe wait for you to push me away and stop. But I’d stay until then and just be there for you. Because that’s how I am. I find something I love and I go all out, I’m patient but I give my everything and—”

“You love me?” You interject.

“Yes,” he says with no hesitation this time. “Does that scare you?”

“No. I just… I feel so much for you, Jungkook. It’s a lot that I’m still trying to unpack and savor and take my time with because I want to do this right, too. That’s why I’m not there yet. And I don’t wanna scare you with that.”

“You won’t. I mean, that’s already more than enough,” he assures, taking your hand. “I’m so fucking weak for you, ___. You could do your worst and I’d still forgive you, I'd still be crazy about you and that’s crazy, isn’t it? Someone like me, who didn’t think his heart would ever stick to one thing, finds a woman at the cafe and just… decides he’s sure about her, about you. So let me love you right, okay? No need to say it back or reciprocate it right away. Just let me love you and Heejin right because I will do that. And then I’ll wait. Again. And I won’t mind for as long as you let me love you this way. Please.”

The tears well up in your eyes as you wrap your arms around his neck, letting his strong arms steady you and let you know that he means everything he said. You feel his words glue together the holes from your past, your fears, your worries, and apprehensions. You know he’s held back a little, not wanting to go too hard and push you away in the process, wanting instead to let his feelings speak through his actions, for you to acknowledge and accept them at your own pace. 

With all that’s happened tonight, there’s no reason for you to doubt anymore, especially as he tightens his hold and places kisses on the side of your head.

“I love you, okay? Please let me say it everyday,” he whispers. “I need you to know it everyday.”

“Okay,” you whisper back, pulling away and kissing him deeply. “I don’t know how good I’ll be with this girlfriend thing this time. I get stubborn and temperamental and irritable. But I’ll do better. Tell me when it gets too much for you, alright? I don’t want to give you a reason to walk away.”

“And I get clingy and childish and hard-headed sometimes,” he chuckles, caressing your tear-stained face. “But I’ll always make you laugh.”

“You can kiss me, too. That’ll work.”

“That’s nice to know,” he smiles, pulling you next to him in an embrace. “Who would’ve thought that you’d be so drawn to my kisses, huh?” He pecks your lips again. “So that’s all you need?”

You nod in response. “Wait for me to calm down and kiss me, hold me. I’ll need that. What about you?”

“I just need you and Heejin, next to me, laughing with me. That’s all.”

“Okay,” you sniff, nuzzling his neck. “I’ll need that, too.”

“It won’t be easy,” he adds, knowing you’re gonna need this assurance, too. “We’re gonna have fights and misunderstandings or days of just wanting to be alone. But ___, you’re my plan, okay? Being a family with you and Heejin is on my vision board, and I’m gonna do everything to make sure that nothing changes that, you hear me? Even if it gets hard, whether things are going fine or a storm clouds over us, we’re going to make it work.”

You savor his words as Jungkook thinks back to when he first saw you, the fierceness in your eyes and the softness of your smile captivating him immediately. 

Every moment he’d spent with you is something etched in his brain which he holds onto whenever he needs to feel that sense of purpose in his life, when he wants to remember that happiness. Whether it’s your grit and passion for your job, the selfless way you love those around you, and the strength that you exemplify, you’re everything he’s ever wanted and more.

**

Your phone’s incessant ringing feels like a hole is being drilled into your head, disturbing your peaceful slumber against the warm body cuddling you from behind. Jungkook’s breath tickles your ear, his gruff moans remind you of last night, and the way he fondles your breast tells you that he likes anything that’s soft, and that, well, a pastry chef’s hand is very skilled; you’re tempted to just go for morning sex if it wasn’t for your mother calling.

“Honey, we’re near,” your mom chirps when you finally pick up. “Make sure to, uh, put some clothes on.”

You groan in response to her giggling then proceed to the bathroom to freshen up. It only takes five minutes for the doorbell to ring and upon opening the door, you find that your earlier barely-awake state is matched by your half-asleep daughter clinging to an amused Jung-jae.

“I tried hard not to wake her up but failed,” he says. “She was kind of cranky but I gave her the alpaca stuffed toy like you said and she went back to sleep.”

“Aww, bubba’s not in the mood,” you chuckle, taking her from him, her arms immediately wrapping around your neck. “Thank you both for keeping her company last night,” you say, inviting them inside.

“Oh, honey. We loved having her. We don’t mind having her on some nights,” your mother says. “You and Jungkook need time for—”

She’s cut off by a shirtless Jungkook walking towards the kitchen mindlessly, eyes widening once you whisper-shout his name. 

Your mother clears her throat and continues. “Uh, time for that.”

It’s then you notice the marks you’d left on Jungkook’s neck after you went another round last night after he bore his heart to you. You were so taken by him that your kiss turned heated until you found yourself on top of him, your tiredness compounded but definitely worth it once you finally fell asleep.

“Put a shirt on, you dummy!” You scowl, covering Heejin’s ears. 

“You didn’t give me one!” He counters, cheekily waving at your mom and Jung-jae. 

“Find one in my closet, now!”

He scurries to your room and you’re left looking and feeling embarrassed.

“Well, I didn’t expect any less from him,” your mother laughs. “But I hope this means that you two aren’t skirting around what you both feel anymore, yeah? And that maybe, one day, Heejin will know of a father who’ll love her unconditionally, though I think Jungkook does that already.”

Jungkook returns with a zipped-up jacket now on before you can say anything, though you’re unsure how to answer that. One at a time, you think, as you watch him make coffee like this is his home. 

Not wanting to let Heejin go just yet, you hold onto her while your mom and Jung-jae talk about a spa resort they want to go to as a family, and you get excited at the thought of what that would now mean to you and Jungkook. He seems like he’s looking forward to it, too, as he tries to hide his smile from you.

You eventually bid your mom and Jung-jae goodbye and head back to your room.

“She’s still sleepy, and so am I. Can we sleep in?” 

“Of course,” Jungkook smiles. 

You place Heejin in between both of you, and a sudden movement causes her to briefly wake up.

“Mama,” she calls out, arms up for you to take.

You kiss her nose and tell her that Kookoo is next to her, too, and she turns to hug him and peck his cheek before turning back to you, squeezing her legs underneath your body. 

“Oh, my bubba,” you chuckle, wrapping your arms around her. “I love you so much.”

Jungkook watches you tenderly as you cradle your world in your hands, and he wants nothing more than to be able to do that with both of you, too. 

You meet his eyes and there’s a glimmer in his, and if there’s a way to capture this so you could look into them during the toughest days, you would. 

He leans in to kiss you - one, two, three times.

“I love you, ___.”

They’re words he’d say every day in some way - a note on your to-go coffee, as a cheeky apology after annoying you again, over the phone before he hangs up, and on weekend evenings when he’d stay the night and he’d whisper it to you as you’re just about to fall asleep.

It takes you a month to finally say it back. 

You’re at home and Jungkook had just calmed Heejin down from a tantrum by fake-crying along with her, causing her to be upset that he’s crying, so she stops and comforts him instead. 

“Stop crying, Kookoo,” she pouts, hugging him.

“I’m okay now. I love you, sunshine,” he chirps, kissing her nose before placing her on the chair then moving to the oven to take out the freshly-baked bread that he’s now an expert at doing. 

It’s his patience, his kindness, his child-like nature and thoughtfulness that makes him the person you want, the person you love. The person you want to love you and Heejin for a long time.

“I love you, Jungkook,” you say, each word carrying memories and experiences and emotions in them. “I love you so much.”

He’s caught off guard. He almost drops the pan and burns his finger but he doesn’t mind. Your words are all that matter, so do Heejin’s, as he glances at her smiling face as she calls out his name. 

Walking over to you, he kisses you one, two, three times, his own words carrying a little bit more now. 

“I love you,” he promises. “I love you with my whole heart.”

##

Series Masterlist

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[haitaniplug]

CLASS PROJECT CHAPTER TWENTY

summary - you really want to go abroad for the summer, but your grades fucking SUCK, so your parents won’t allow you to until you get them up. you were so ready to focus on the rest of the year until you get partnered up with Rindou Haitani. The boy that comes into school once every blue moon. And to make matters worse, it’s a project where participation counts. So now it’s your job to harass Rindou into getting his shit straight.

tags - enemies to friends to lovers , angst , crack , college au, eventual smut , fluff.

status - ongoing

series masterlist

Taglist: @q-the-rockaholic @crown5 @gumiwaka @hiimviolet @gulfkfl @sirachano0dles @imjustaweirdnerd @aki-ra26 @haitani-nic @denkis-slut @shujiswife @genderfluidkurapika @shibera @minnieminnie00-got7

"I'm home!" Rindou slammed the door shut, taking off his shoes. "Welcome home honey!" A voice came from the living room that was NOT Ran's voice. "Oh you gotta be fuckin' kidding me..." Rindou muttered as he recognised the voice instantly.

"Who was that?" You asked as you stood behind Rindou, also in the process of taking off your shoes. Rindou ignored you, walking into the living room to see Sanzu Haruchiyo himself laying on his couch as if he was some fuckin' mermaid.

"Get the fuck out," Rindou said harshly, glaring at him. "Wow! I can't even stay over for dinner." Sanzu feigned injury by putting his hand over his heart, pouting as his eyeline traveled to you who was just entering the living room.

"Y/N!" He jumped off the couch and hugged you. The impact was a little forceful and you stumbled backwards a little bit before composing yourself, putting your arms around him, "HI HARU!"

Rindou rolled his eyes, ignoring the scene that's right infront of him. "Where's Ran?"

"Store." Sanzu stretched, "I was over when you texted him asking for him to make more food, so he ran to the store." He explained, grabbing your hand and dragging you over to the couch, "Wanna play a video game?"

You nodded, "Sure, which one?"

Sanzu pointed to the box next to the TV stand, "Go pick, I guarantee you, I'll murk you either way," You let out an airy chuckle before standing up and bending over to the TV stand, going through the box of games to see which one you feel like you could have a chance to win at.

Sanzu sent a look to Rindou who just scowled at him, walking over and past the TV to block you from Sanzu's eyeline, "Why were you even here? Don’t you have business with Mikey or something?”

”Mikey?” You asked, standing up and handing Sanzu the video game.

He inspected it, “Yeah, Mikey is my best friend,” you could practically see the hearts in his eyes as he said this. “Mikey is my boss y/n-,”

”-Our boss.” Sanzu cut off Rindou, “I’m his number two y/n.” His smile was wide, showing off his teeth as he kept on rambling on about Mikey and how awesome he is. You thought it was adorable the way his scars stretched out as he smiled. You started to wonder, how he even got those scars to begin with. Would it be insensitive to ask?

"Sanzu, can I ask you something potentially insensitive?" You cut him off and he shrugged, "Go for it."

"How did you get those scars?" You reached out and pointed on his face.

"Mikey gave em to me." Your eyes widened, "Anyway back to topic, as Mikey's number 2-"

Rindou just scoffed, picking up the videogame out of the case and inserting it inside the player. "Um Rindou, what do you think you are doing?" Sanzu raised his eyebrow as he spoke.

"Playing the game?"

You moved your head back and forth as they spoke to each other.

"I don't remember inviting you to play with me and y/n." Sanzu reached over and snatched the controller out of Rindou's hands and handing it to you.

"I don't remember inviting you to my house to begin with." Rindou rebuted with a scowl on his face.

"It's okay, I can just watch you guys-"

"I don't need your permission to be here. Ran invited me." Sanzu narrowed his eyes as he spoke to Rindou.

Rindou was about to respond till the front door opened. "Back." Ran said, as he entered the kitchen, putting the bag on the table before making his way to the living room. "Oh hello there," he winked at you and you sent him a wave.

Your mind travelled back to the last time you were here, remembering Rindou had a dog. "Rin, where's your dog?" You asked, looking around the living room with no trace of it."Sanzu hates our dog so he made us put her in the backyard till he left." Ran said, taking off his jacket.

"You're scared of dogs?" You asked Sanzu and he shook his head. "It's not a matter of me being scared of them, it's a matter of them hating me."

"Well look at your face, of course it'll be scared." Rindou answered sarcastically earning a dramatic gasp from Sanzu which made you laugh. "Y/N! You're meant to be on my side!" He pouted and you shrugged before turning to look up at Rindou, "Can I play with the dog?"

He nods and you smiled excitedly, hopping off the floor and opening the backdoor to see the dog laying on its side as if it was asleep. You approached the dog, kneeling next to it as you rubbed it's stomach, "Hi baby," you said in a high voice as it stood up, as if it was excited to see you.

Sanzu watched from the window in awe as he watched the interaction, "How many times has she been over for the dog to love her this much?"

"Like once," Rindou said and Sanzu gasped loudly again. Ran scoffed, rolling his eyes, "I'm gonna cook now."

Everyone nodded at Ran and he made his way over to the kitchen. Moments later, you reentered the living room with the dog in your hands. "She's heavy." You said, placing the dog down on the floor. It automatically jumped on you and you were laughing as you rubbed it's sides.

Cute. Rindou thought. "Sanzu you try pet it."

Sanzu looked scared, remembering the last time he even approached the dog it almost bit his hand off. "No, I'm good thanks." There was a look on Sanzu's face that looked almost terrified. The dog whipped it's head to face Sanzu and he yelped, thinking it was going to attack him again.

"Fuckin' wuss," Rindou muttered before sitting down on the couch, grabbing the controller, "Hurry up so I can beat your ass in front of Y/N." He handed Sanzu the other controller. You placed the dog on your lap and turned to face the TV as the video game started up.

"Watch and learn Y/N," Sanzu smirked at you as he chose his avatar. Rindou was waiting impatiently as Sanzu took the time to actually design his avatar, cringing when he made the hair colour pink. "Can you hurry up?"

"Patience is a virtue Rinrin." Sanzu says, eyes narrowing as if he was in deep concerntration as he adjusted the height of his avatar. Then he moved onto the face, chosing the eyeshape and size carefully and Rindou groaned loudly causing you to laugh, "It doesn't matter waht your fuckin' character looks like. He will be covered in blood by the time I'm done fighting you."

You giggled at their interaction and Rindou acted like the sound wasn't music to his ears. "Ok done, your turn," Sanzu pressed confirm on his avatar and Rindou just selected the default character before starting the match. It has been 2 minutes so far and Rindou won the first match, a smug look on his face as Sanzu started to spam the buttons with random moves.

Smug look turned scowl as Sanzu's spamming technique worked. You were watching, entertained as Sanzu kept punching Rindou's character over and over again until GAME OVER appeared on Rindou's screen. "Fuck you pinkie," Rindou tossed the controller on the couch, clearly pissed.

"Don't hate me cause you suck." Sanzu stuck his tongue out, "Y/N wanna try?"

"I don't know," you said, fingers still petting the dog as it laid on your lap, clearly enjoying your presence.

"I'll go easy on you, promise."

You sighed, lifting the dog up and stood up to your full height, grabbing the controller. Rindou snaked his arm around your waist, bringing down onto his lap facing the TV, "Let me teach you how to play." Your face heated up as the sudden close proximity and the words failed to leave your mouth so you just nodded.

Rindou brought his fingers over yours, explaining which button meant kick, punch and dodge. You nodded, studying each button as he explained. "To do a combo, you just press this and that one at the same time."

"Okay."

He pulled away, but still kept you on his lap as the dog walked over to you and laid by your feet. "Ready?" Sanzu asked, bringing his feet up onto the couch to avoid the dog at all costs.

"Yeah, i'm ready."

"Wanna design your avatar?" He asked and you nodded. Sanzu pressed exit and start new match, selecting his already predesigned avatar. You selected the female option and started to take your time aswell to design it causing Rindou to scoff, "You two spend more time designing than playing."

"Losers don't get opinons Rin," Sanzu shushed him as he watched you press confirm on your avatar.

"Just cause you're a girl doesn't mean I wont beat your ass ok?" Sanzu said smugly as he started the match. You rolled your eyes and started spamming random buttons, accidentally unlocking a new combo that Sanzu or Rindou have never seen before,

"WHAT?!" Sanzu yelled as his character instantly got K.O'd.

"YAY!" You cheered, holding the controller up in the air, "You were saying?" You turned to face Sanzu who just glared at you.

"Me and Y/N are a team," Rindou said, holding you closer to him. You snuggled into his side as he said this.

"Boy shut up. You're just saying this because she won ." You watched as the two started to argue again before the smell from the kitchen started to hit you. The aroma made your stomach growl loudly which shut the two boys up. "Don't laugh.." you said embarassed as you covered your stomach with both arms.

"Ran how much longer?!" Rindou yelled to the kitchen.

"Like 20." He responded and you could hear the sound of water running. He was probably doing the dishes.

"Well can Y/N get a snack or something? She's starving," your eyes widened and you were quick to shush Rindou, "It's fine Ran! I'll wait till you're done."

There was no response, instead you just heard the sound of a cupboard opening then footsteps. He stood in between the hallway and the living room, tossing a packet of strawberry flavoured pocky into your lap. "Oh.. thank you." You smiled and he nodded, making his way back to the kitchen.

"Let's play another one y/n, I'm not happy with my loss." Sanzu admitted, handing you the controller.

"Can you not see she's eating?" Rindou grabbed the controller from Sanzu, "I'll verse you again."

Sanzu nodded and you watched as you pulled a stick out and started to chew on it. Rindou seemed to be really into this match this time, cause his entire focus was on the screen as if he was determined to beat Sanzu.

Sanzu on the other hand was spamming random buttons to try and win, like usual. Your gaze travelled down to the dog who was watching the screen with it's tongue out. You grabbed the pocky packet, checking the ingredients making sure none of it's harmful to the dog before pulling out a stick and holding it infront of the dog.

The dog got up suddenly, causing Sanzu to flinch (again) and resulted in him losing his focus, allowing Rindou to slam him to the ground and win the match. "Fuck." Sanzu cursed as Rindou cheered. "Thank you Cleo," he staked his arm around the dogs side, patting it twice.

"The dogs name is Cleo?" You asked, and Rindou nodded watching as you were holding the pocky out for the dog as it chewed on it before biting it and lifitng it off your hand. Some of the dogs saliva was on your spare hand so you stood up, "Where's the bathroom?"

"Upstairs." Sanzu responded, scrolling on his phone with a visible pout on his face from losing. Making your way upstairs, there were 3 rooms. One you recoginsied last time as Rindou's room, the other was either the bathroom or Ran's room.

Taking a risk, you walked down the hallway, opening the first door you saw, hoping it was the bathroom.

"You asked her out yet?" Sanzu asked now that you were out of sight. Rindou shook his head, "Too early for that. We only met 2 months ago."

"2 months?" Sanzu said, eyebrows raised, "Seems longer,"

"It's ready." Ran called out from the kitchen, drying his hands.

After everyone eats, you're all back in the living room, except Sanzu is showing you how to play this very very confusing battle royale game. You were watching as he explained everything to you and Rindou and Ran were sat on the couch. Cleo was on Ran's lap as he fed her the left over food he had made. Rindou seemed to have zoned out, deep in thought before he was just looking down at his lap.

Ran nudged Rindou with his shoudler, causing him to look up. "You good?" Ran asked and Rindou nodded, "Yeah, why?"

"You seem out of it."

"Just thinking,"

"About what?" Ran asked him, patting the dog on top of the head before it hopped off his lap and walked down the hallway.

Rindou shrugged, his eyes shifting over to you and Sanzu, hating the way both of your knees were touching each other as you both sat next to each other. Hating the way his fingers touched yours as he explained. Hating the way you were smiling when he made a joke.

"Y/N, I'll drop you home." He stood up abruptly, "it's getting late."

You brought your phone out of your pocket and saw the time read 9:34PM. It was pretty late.

"Who's that?" Sanzu asked, pointing at the notification on your screen, the name reading Akira.

Rindou made his way over to you and peeked at your phone screen. The message from Akira asking 'You up?'

Who the fuck...

"He's my friend," you put your phone into your coat pocket, "I met him during one of my lessons and he helped me when you were away."

Oh.

Rindou nodded, before grabbing your hand and leading you to the door as you put your shoes on, "I'll be back in like 10 minutes."

Sanzu and Ran waved goodbye to you as Rindou led you outside and onto his bike. "Hold on tight ok?"

Nodding, you stepped onto the bike, sitting right behind him as you wrapped your arms around him and dug your face into his back. The ride was pretty short, since you both live near each other and he watched from the end of the road as you waved goodbye at him before entering your front door.

***

THANK U ALL FOR 400 FOLLOWERS ☹️☹️ ILY GUYS

and i hope you enjoyed this chapter. it’s pretty long

[dapperrandorandom]

Well ive been seeing swap aus

between hazbin hotel and helluva boss

so here’s my own 2 cents that no one asked for

Moxxie and Millie would be Charlie and Vaggie

with a few changes, namely while Moxxie is the pacifist, he’d have about Vaggie’s level of patience when it comes to certain things

Millie would have Charlie’s patience, but Vaggie’s temperament when you get her mad

Moxxie is trying toi prove redemption is possible for anyone, including Hellborn (for the sake of this we’ll say it’s possible)

Loona would be Husk, brought along by Blitzo later on who is in Angel Dust’s place

It’s Millie who recruits Blitzo and Moxxie reluctantly gives him a chance since redemption is for everyone

After being brought to the hotel Blitzo has texted Loona to meet him there and he introduces his daughter

she lives in an apartment near the studios, owned by Valentino (yeah i’m leaving him in the same role as a sack of crap)

so she gets “protection” but she is absolutely used as leverage against Blitzo

Stolas is Alastor, its unknown why he supports the hotel, but Moxxie is high key suspicious

I have no idea for Nifty

Octavia sometimes will be at the hotel, Stella’s and stolas’ relationship is...neutral at best

together for show, and an inability to divorce for reasons, but not really in love

but no screaming or infidelity, or at least none that the other care about

that haven’t slept together in a long time, and typically find other partners to satisfy that itch

and anyone who comments on it? well let’s say there are WAY more demon statues around (and it’s why Moxxie is wary, given the family’s nature to not exactly be merciful)

There’s definitely flirting between stolas and blitzo but it doesn’t really go anywhere do to Blitzo being afraid of Val finding out he has a “sugar daddy”

and because he knows Val hates stolas and vice versa

Likewise on stolas’ end he finds blitzo fascinating but isn’t willing to bed him (yet) cause of his connection to val

maybe octavia can be kind of nifty, like some of stolas’ servants keep the place clean and running but maybe octavia helps with social media or something idk

Blitzo is a drug addict, and loona an alcoholic

Fizz and Verosika are in the role of cherri bomb, with both working for Ozzy still

On the other end

Imp company (maybe called Hazbin instead) is run by Angel Dust, with Nifty and Husk and Vaggie

The book is owned by Alastor, and the deal is that angel dust has to bring back souls and bodies of Alastor’s choosing (I'm respecting that alastor is ace)

I'm thinking for Verosika and fizz it could be angel’s family members, and since they’re mostly bound to pride (save for earth travels) all episodes take place there

that or we negate that rule

Striker is still striker

Im not sure on how  Charlie would fit in though

[ot7always]

Ignorantly, Yours

Word Count: 10.6k

Pairing: Alpha!Jimin x Omega!Reader

Genre: Wolf!AU, Best Friends to Lovers!AU; fluff, smut, angst

Warnings: dom!Jimin, sub!reader, A/B/O dynamics, heat sex, fingering, unprotected sex, dirty talk (including a bit of possessiveness), marking, creampie, hair pulling, degradation, praise, rough sex, multiple orgasms

Rating: 18+

Summary:  You never could have expected your best friend to show up at your apartment right as you were about to go into heat, but when he did, something in you just wouldn’t let him go.

A/N: Truly, this was never supposed to be more than drabble. Which truly became a nuisance once it grew a lot and I had to go back and change a lot of things during editing. This is my first fic with some sort of supernatural element to it, and I had a lot of fun! I hope you guys enjoy, and please let me know what you think!

Reposted without the header gif and without any links or taglist. Sorry for any inconvenience if you were already looking at the first post. I will reblog with the taglist shortly.

--

Maybe it should have been embarrassing.

Maybe it was, 5 years ago when the habit first started.

5 years ago, when you’d had your first pre-heat. When the world had quickly become too overwhelming, your nose unused to the myriad of scents that assaulted you in your sensitivity. Your skin feeling so raw that even the clothes on your back felt uncomfortable.

It was then, in your childhood bedroom, amidst everything else, you recognized a scent that accompanied you through your life for as long as you could remember. A scent that felt like home, felt like warm days under the sun and shared laughter under blankets at midnight.

Your nose had led you to the bottom drawer of your dresser, your hands digging through the mess of fabric there until you pulled out an orange hoodie. You didn’t remember ever having it, and it looked small enough to have been from years ago – maybe even from before he presented.

But as you pulled it out of that drawer, the scent that might have been faint to you any other day filled your nostrils. A blueberry and pine scent that left you feeling calmer instantly, safer. Whether that had to do more with your friendship or his alpha status wasn’t a thought that crossed your mind. All you knew at the time was that it made everything better – he made everything better, even when he wasn’t there.

That marked the first time you laid in your bed, curling yourself around that small piece of comfort, your face shoved into the soft fabric. The peace that washed over you then was addicting, and any thought of giving up that feeling was unfathomable.

And if Jimin noticed how you were covered in his own scent when he saw you after every heat since that day, he didn’t say a thing.

--

You missed him a lot.

It wasn’t as though his university was that far away, and you should have grown used to it after several years of living apart for most of the year. Weekend visits were hardly enough when you’d spent more time together than apart growing up.

It definitely didn’t feel like enough when you were lying in bed, surrounded by the products of your skillful swiping over the years during Jimin’s visits. Hoodies, t-shirts – you had at least a dozen by now. All of which were tossed across your bed alongside you, your upper body already clad in one of his oversized hoodies.

When your pre-heat started affecting you yesterday, you’d already emailed your professors to tell them you wouldn’t be able to make it to class for the week. They, of course, understood – every university accommodated for their students to get a week off about every 3 months for this exact reason.

You were already overcome by exhaustion, Jimin’s scent wafting around the room lulling you into a sleepy daze.

It was common for an omega to nest amongst an alpha’s scent before their heat, though said alpha would typically be their partner.

It wasn’t something you liked to think on very often. Something like this couldn’t be that uncommon, right? After all, he was your first friend, and that went beyond being an alpha or omega. Besides, if it bothered him, wouldn’t he have already called you out for it by now? Wouldn’t he have said something when he realized that even when you’d started spending every heat with an alpha, his scent was still somewhere in there?

You tried not to worry too much about it. It didn’t matter, anyway.

Based on how you were feeling, you knew your heat would probably be here within 2 or 3 days. Which meant you should probably call someone soon to ask them to help you through it. It was normal practice to ask a friend to help you with your heat, but it was a line you’d never crossed with Jimin. Rejection was never something you dealt with well, and you were too afraid to put him, of all people, in that position. Knowing him, he would agree even if he didn’t want to.

Who, then? Namjoon? Hoseok? Both have agreed before, though the notion of crossing your room to pick up the phone you’d so foolishly left on the dresser was severely unappealing.

Instead, you let your eyes flutter shut, your face nuzzling into a blue and red scarf Jimin had forgotten at your apartment last winter. As the tranquility washed over you, your mind drifted closer and closer to sleep, warm and cozy and surrounded by Jimin’s scent.

Until the doorbell rang through your apartment.

At first you elected to ignore it, hoping whoever it was would get the hint and go away. But when it sounded out 2 more times after you hadn’t moved in several minutes, you groaned.

Wasn’t it bad etiquette to do this to someone? Surely that had to be written in a handbook somewhere.

With heavy limbs, you dragged yourself out of bed, flipping the hood up on your (well, Jimin’s) hoodie. As much as it may have been a bad idea to answer the door by yourself in pre-heat, your scent enveloped by an alpha’s would be enough to ward off unwanted advances. Though there were definitely bad people in the world, it took a truly insane person to go after an omega scented by an alpha.

When you made it to the door, you took a deep breath, preparing yourself to ream out whoever was on the other side. While you could sense someone’s presence there, every apartment was insulated, scent-wise, for protection. You didn’t know what to expect.

But of every possibility, when you opened the door, you didn’t expect to get assaulted by the very scent you’d been basking in only minutes ago. You didn’t notice how his eyes widened or how his pupils dilated when your scent hit him, too preoccupied by your body’s visceral reaction.

The full force of his scent almost had your knees buckling, your eyelids growing heavier as every single part of you instinctively yearned to curl up into him. Maybe your heat was closer than you thought.

When you were finally able to focus your eyes on him, his teeth were biting into his bottom lip, the hand holding an overnight bag clenched so hard his knuckles were white.

You didn’t give him the chance to say anything before you were stumbling forward, colliding messily with him, only focused on getting as close to him as possible.

You barely heard a mumbled ‘shit,’ not registering that he backed you into your apartment until you heard the door slam, his bag hitting the floor.

“Jimin,” you mumbled, your hands grasping at his shirt, eyes closed as you shoved your face into his neck, sighing happily when you were finally as close to the source of your happiness as possible.

But much to your discontent, he pushed you from him, keeping you an arms’ length away. The whimper you let out in response sounded pathetic even to your own ears, but every cell in your body was screaming to get as close to him as possible.

“Y/N,” he said firmly, the unusual hardness in his tone snapping you out of your daze slightly, wide eyes fixing onto his face. He audibly gulped at the glazed look in your eyes, before continuing. “You’re in heat.”

“I’m not,” you whined, trying to push against his hands, but he was stronger than you were.

“You will be,” he responded, letting out an incredulous sigh. “Fuck. I meant to surprise you but I forgot what the date was, I’m so sorry.”

“But I’m not yet,” you complained, changing tactics and instead aiming to shove your nose into the wrists near your shoulders. When your hair swished with your movement, sending a whiff of shampoo and your scent Jimin’s way, he groaned loudly.

“God, I can’t be here, I should go,” he said through gritted teeth. But when he started leaning down to pick his bag back up, you panicked.

“NO!” you yelled, launching yourself at him with your whole weight, not at all concerned about how he stumbled back in surprise. Your hands gripping onto his waist, you looked at him with wide eyes, your irises barely visible around the black of your dilated pupils. “Please don’t leave.”

His composure visibly cracked at the desperation on your face, but the sensation of your hands trembling in their grip on him brought him back to reality. “I can’t stay, I know that you know that-”

“Why?” you cried, your bottom lip trembling. The logical part of you deep inside knew you were being unreasonable, but even that part of you was a slave to instinct. All you knew was that Jimin got you through every pre-heat, and here Jimin was in front of you now. He’d never seen you like this, not ever in the last 5 years. And now that he has, nothing has ever been more unappealing than the thought of him walking out your front door.

He was very clearly taking shallow breaths, eventually bringing his own wrist to his nose to try to drown out everything else. Based on the low grunt he let out, it didn’t seem to be working very well.

“You smell like you’re going to go into heat at any moment, fuck, I can’t,” he panted, every part of him resisting the urge to grab you and scent you until there was absolutely no question whether you were his.

Except you weren’t his.

“I-I...” he stuttered, the scent of you not only clinging to him, but everywhere throughout the apartment occupying every part of his brain. “I need to go, I’ll call someone for you, Hoseok or-”

But that was definitely the wrong thing to say, because you sprung back from him as though you’ve been burned. When you looked at him as though he’d betrayed you, he knew he’d messed up.

“Why? You’re already here,” you spat out. “Don’t go,” you finished in a much weaker voice, pleading gaze fixing onto his.

A flash of pain went through him when he saw you hug yourself around the middle, as though to appear smaller. As though to protect yourself. From him.

“You don’t know what you’re asking of me.”

“I know exactly what I’m asking of you!” you wailed, the space between you feeling wider than it’s ever been.

“I can’t,” he repeated, a tinge of desperation making its way into his tone. Why was this so hard? From what he knew about omega heats and pre-heats, without a partner or relationship you shouldn’t have cared this much about which alpha stayed with you.

“Aren’t we friends? Can’t you just stay?” you begged, eyes brimming with unshed tears. Something about him trying to leave felt like a hole was being ripped through your chest, even if you’d understand why any other day.

“Of course we’re friends,” he said incredulously, a conflicted expression on his face. He knew exactly what you meant, exactly what was implied within that statement. When something like desire crossed his gaze, you felt a dash of hope bloom within you. “But...”

And it was crushed just like that. “Why don’t you want me when I want you? What’s wrong with me?” you sobbed, the tears finally spilling from your eyes as you dropped to your knees.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

The smell of an omega in distress was always something that set off an alpha’s protective instinct.

But the knowledge that he was the one who caused it brought forth an ugly wrenching in his gut.

For all the required readings Jimin had done in the course of his life, nothing had ever taught him what to do when the girl you’re secretly in love with was on the floor crying because you refused to fuck her through her heat.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to. God, did he want to.

But you weren’t there begging for his heart or his love or his devotion – you were begging for his body. Which wasn’t the problem. It wasn’t that he was offended. The problem was that he wanted more than this, and that right now was most definitely not the time to have that conversation.

And it’s not that he didn’t think you knew what you wanted. He knew you knew that you were asking for sex, but he also knew that was all you were asking for. Pre-heat was about preparing for sex, not romance.

As much as a heat could completely fog an omega’s brain, in pre-heat they could still make coherent decisions. It was typically a time spent preparing for heat, a time to call an alpha or to prepare for the much more painful option of suffering alone. They were typically in a perpetual state of exhaustion, bodies crying out for sleep to save up energy for their heat.

But more importantly, it was a time where omegas were at their most emotionally vulnerable, where they gave in to instinct. A time where they surrounded themselves in the things that made them feel safest, most at home.

He knew – he knew you used his scent to get through your pre-heat, but he never thought it meant that much. You were his oldest friend, and the fact that you found comfort in his scent was never something he questioned. He was an alpha, and you scented each other often – it made sense from a biology standpoint.

And – oh.

It hit him then that this was more than an alpha’s refusal to help their friend through their heat. This was more than a refusal for sex.

This was your biggest security blanket pushing you away at your most vulnerable, the person you trusted most to keep you safe leaving you when you were begging him to stay.

He really, really fucked up by coming here.

He should have checked the dates properly in the first place, and now he’d have to deal with the consequences. There was an unbelievably high chance that if he walked out that door, you’d have a breakdown, and he couldn’t just break your heart by leaving now.

Even if it ended up breaking his own. Even if you ended up thinking nothing of it, and he would never be able to erase the memory from his brain.

Because you were begging him to stay out of instinct, out of need. Not out of love. Not that he knew of, not the kind he wanted, at least.

But there was no reason to go there or question you about it, because he knew you’d say anything to make him stay, even if it wasn’t true. Not because you were a liar, but because that’s what your body would push you to do right now.

Knowing that the smell of his own panic would just set you off more, he took a couple deep breaths before falling to his knees in front of you. He had to force down the rising upset in his chest at the scent of your tears, every part of him screaming at himself for upsetting you this deeply.

“Hey,” he called out softly, his hands reaching out to gently pull your hands away from where they were hiding your face. At the sight of your red-rimmed eyes and wet cheeks, his heart tugged. “Look at me.” He slipped a hand forward to cradle your head, brushing against the hair at the nape of your neck. He hoped so badly that he could be a comfort to you, even when he was the one who hurt you in the first place.

He waited almost a minute for you to look up, doing his best to calm you in that time. When you finally raised your eyes to look at him, the fear in your expression was something he’d only ever seen a few times in his life. You were an expert at putting on a brave face for the world, and seeing the uncensored pain displayed there punched him in the gut.

“Baby,” he cooed, pulling you into his arms. He carefully maneuvered your face into the crook of his neck, smiling as you melted into his hold, a content sigh leaving you. He wrapped his arms around you, face rubbing into your hair as he stopped resisting the urge to scent you. He ignored the shiver that ran down his spine at your scent that only seemed to be growing stronger.

The two of you stayed like that for several minutes, your body so limp in his grasp that he had to keep both of you upright himself. He couldn’t tell whether you were awake, goosebumps rising to the surface of his skin as your nose brushed against one of the most sensitive parts of his body.

But when he stood up, wanting to get you somewhere more comfortable than the floor, he felt every muscle in your body tense, a low whine leaving your throat. Your hands grasped onto his shirt. “Jimin-”

“Shh,” he soothed, continuing to nuzzle into you as he stood you both up. “I’m not leaving.”

“You’re not?” you repeated, muffled into his shoulder.

“I’m not.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” He scratched lightly at your scalp as the other hand stroked up and down the length of your back, humming when you finally relaxed again, your arms wrapping around to tug him as close as possible. “Good girl.”

Something in him awakened when he heard the hitch of your breath at his words, but he shoved it down. He had to keep a hold of himself while he still had the chance – because once you were in heat, there would be no rest for either of you. Not when it was taking his entire focus to hold himself back right now and it was only your pre-heat.

“I’m gonna take you to your room, okay?” he asked quietly. When you nodded, he scooped you up, your legs wrapping around his waist, head lolling sleepily against his shoulder.

You were very clearly exhausted, and guilt gnawed away at him for it. The emotional ups and downs of the past half hour must have taken even more out of you – while you tended to be quiet, you were never this quiet, not with him. You seemed to be asleep, steady exhales hitting the skin of his neck.

When he entered your room, his heart skipped in his chest at the sight of his belongings strewn across your mattress, a you-sized gap in the middle where you must have been laying. He couldn’t help the pride swelling in his chest, the possessive part of him thrilled at the notion of you burying yourself in his scent.

He supposed he should be happy you were asleep. Omegas tended to be self-conscious about their nest, which was why he was surprised you agreed to let him take you here so easily. The idea that you felt comfortable enough to let him in here without a fight brought forth a feeling in his gut that felt suspiciously like butterflies.

Easing off the shoes he’d never had the chance to remove at the front door, he brought you both down into the bed, careful not to jostle your form. He laid you down together, your body atop his, heart melting at your tiny noise of content.

He had to bite back a moan when you nuzzled further into his neck, your lips brushing against his skin.

Get it together, Jimin.

He didn’t know if he would ever be relaxed enough to sleep when you were on top of him already smelling like every sinful desire he’s ever had. His cock shouldn’t have been stirring when you looked so innocent, your hands curled up ever-so-slightly under his shirt. And despite everything in his mind telling him that he would regret this, his entire body was screaming in anticipation for this entire weekend.

This wouldn’t be the first time he’s helped an omega through their heat, but everything was different because this was you. Someone he cared about, someone he loved, and he knew you loved him too, whether it was in the way he wanted or not. Heat flared in him at the thought of you wet and desperate only for him, begging to be filled. He knew you’d be out of your mind with lust, and even before seeing it he knew it would be the most beautiful sight he’s ever set eyes upon.

Get a hold of yourself, Jimin.

It was absolutely no use to contemplate these things now, especially not when the scent of his arousal might wake you up and set you off prematurely. You both needed rest – he’d be damned if he didn’t make this the best heat you’d ever had just because he was tired.

And so he wrapped his arms around your middle, willing arousal from his brain and replacing it with thoughts of sleep. Luckily, his body must have been able to sense his need for rest before the upcoming days, and sleep found him easier than anticipated.

--

You awoke to your back hitting your mattress, the first thing you noticed being that your body felt like it was being burned alive. But when you inhaled, the scent of pure alpha overtook all thought, brain incapable of anything other than unadulterated need, arousal shooting to your core almost instantaneously.

When your eyes shot open, fire lit within you when they immediately locked onto Jimin’s dark gaze, his body hovering over yours like he was about to pounce. When he took in the neediness in your eyes, his lip upturned in a salacious smirk, stare burning holes into you.

“Rise and shine, little wolf,” he drawled, hands locking onto your ankles and dragging you down the bed until your face was right below his.

You shivered despite yourself at the predatory expression on his face, holding back the whine that threatened to escape. You felt incapable of speaking, every intake of breath only fogging your mind further, the fire in you becoming so potent it was painful.

You couldn’t help the keening whimper that escaped when he roughly fisted a hand into the hair at the nape of your neck, yanking until your entire neck was on display. You gasped and arched into his body with want as he leaned in to inhale deeply right above your collarbone. The feral growl he let out at your scent had you shuddering, trembling hands trying desperately to pull him closer, but he didn’t relent.

“Please,” you begged, shoving your body upwards as much as possible, desperate to feel his body against your own. At the feeling of his canines brushing against the skin of your neck gently, you felt new wetness rush from you. Your desperation was only growing exponentially with every passing moment, and it felt like if you didn’t get touched soon, you would surely die.

“You smell so fucking good,” he snarled, voice raspier than you’d ever heard it before. He sounded almost pained, and it only set you off further. Everything in you ached for his touch, your cunt clenching around nothing despite Jimin not even having touched you yet. You needed it – needed to be touched, you needed him to quell the ache.

“Hurts,” you gasped out, still trying and failing to grind against his body above you.

“Aw, baby, I’m sorry,” he cooed, pressing his free palm down onto your clothed centre. His breath hitched as you started forcefully grinding against it immediately, a choked whine slipping from your lips at the sudden pressure right where you needed it most.

“Alpha...” you moaned, rutting shamelessly against his hand as you pushed further against the hand in your hair, baring more of the soft expanse of your neck. Your eyes shut as pleasure rocked your system, but it wasn’t enough. You needed more, his cock in your drenched cunt, his nails raking down your body as he utterly ravished you. You whined loudly at the thought, arousal slipping from you. It was clear he noticed when he hissed.

“Fuck, look at you. You’re dripping, so fucking desperate,” he panted, somehow sounding almost as ruined as you. “I’m gonna fuck this cunt senseless, fill you up so good you’ll never ask for anyone else again. Do you want that, little omega? Want me to make you mine?”

Any other time you might have questioned his possessive words, but any rational part of your brain was long gone. No, all that existed was you, Jimin, and your excruciating need to be filled.

“Yes, yes, yes,” you cried, whimpering at the imagery he put in your head. You wanted nothing more than to be his bitch, to take his cock and his seed and his knot. “Fuck me, please.”

“You beg so nicely,” he breathed, and you keened at the praise. You gasped as he sat back and quite literally ripped the shirt from your body, following suit with the rest of your clothes. You didn’t have it in you to complain, not when he was yanking your legs apart, gaze laser-focused onto your centre. “Don't worry, baby, your alpha is gonna take care of you, okay?”

You only nodded furiously, hips bucking upward suddenly as Jimin wasted no more time, two fingers smearing through your heat before thrusting abruptly into you. You finally felt some sort of relief at being filled, but it wasn’t enough. The stretch wasn’t satisfying enough, and your desire for more only amplified. But it seemed he knew this, adding another finger wordlessly.

“God, this cunt is so fucking hungry for me,” he growled, pistoning his fingers in and out roughly before grinding the heel of his hand into your clit.

You cried out as pleasure reared on you embarrassingly quickly, but no part of you wanted to cum without his cock inside you, dragging against your sensitive walls.

“Jimin...” you moaned, arching your back as you sought to push yourself closer to the source of your pleasure. He almost groaned at the sound of his name coming so wantonly from your lips. “Want you, please.”

“Yeah? You want to get stuffed?”

The garbled response you gave was nowhere near coherent, but it didn’t take a genius to see what you wanted. When he gave a low chuckle and pulled himself from his sweatpants, you started salivating immediately. He was girthy, vein visibly spanning the underside beneath his hand as he palmed himself. The head looked almost purple, the tip leaking. You needed it inside you.

Before you even realized it yourself, you were turning over onto your front. By the time you’d planted your face down, ass up, Jimin was already growling, roughly digging his fingers into your asscheeks. As several more seconds went by without his cock in you, you arched your back further, whining as he only dug his fingertips in harder.

“Such a good little wolf,” he crooned, hissing when your arousal dripped from your pussy to the bed. “Getting yourself so nice and ready for me. You need cock that badly? Can’t wait for it?”

You could have cried when you finally felt the tip of his cock at your entrance, but you didn’t have time to do or say anything before he shoved all the way in to the hilt without warning.

You must have screamed then, but you hardly noticed anything apart from the way he set a quick pace, hardly noticed when the tears left your eyes, body swimming in relief and euphoria. Every snap of his hips brought forth a moan from your lips, fingers digging helplessly into the sheets by your head.

“Tell me how it feels,” he snarled, moving to hold your hips up when the overwhelming pleasure left you unable to do it yourself.

It was all you could do to whimper, body feeling as though it was in the clouds as your walls clamped down on Jimin’s cock. He was stretching you so well, the slight burn nothing compared to the waves of pleasure he was sending through your entire being. You took a breath to respond to him once you registered what he said, but when his cock brushed against that spot inside you, it only left you as a choked moan.

“This needy cunt just sucks me right in, huh?” he groaned when your walls clenched down on him again, as though to trap him inside you. But it made no difference to him, his thrusts only continuing, fast and precise as your walls fluttered around him, whines falling from your lips. Recalling how responsive you’d been to praise earlier, he kept talking. “Doing such a good job for me, baby,” he hummed, smirking when he felt the shuddering of your body beneath his hands. “So fucking perfect for me, taking this cock so well.”

His words shot through you like fire, and combined with the drag of him inside you, you were propelled toward your end.

“Alpha...” you whimpered, pushing back onto his cock, a particularly rough thrust pulling a shout from your lips. You were so close to slipping over the edge, the squeezing of your walls around him more and more insistent as you approached your end. “Please.” It was as though no other words existed in your vocabulary, but Jimin could read you perfectly well, as though he was made for you.

“What’s that, hm? Baby’s gonna cum?” he taunted before reaching around to rub at your clit. “Let go then, milk my cock. I want to hear you.”

The added stimulation was more than enough to propel you into your orgasm, your mouth agape as your walls clamped down on his cock. You distantly registered Jimin’s moans from above you as he held you up and fucked you through your it, the sparks of pleasure never-ending.

But while his thrusts became less harsh, they did not lower in their intensity whatsoever. And as the fog in your head receded some from your orgasm, you only felt that much more sensation as you regained your bearings.

Rather than a mindless slave to pleasure and want, with your brain partly yours again you could truly feel. Feel the cotton of the sheets where they were clenched between your fists, feel the slight strain in your knees as they dug into the mattress, feel Jimin’s fingers anchored onto your hips, as though you would float away if he let go.

You could truly feel every drag of his cock against you, every grind, and when he perfectly maneuvered to hit against your g-spot, you were left breathless once again.

But with your increased coherence, your body craved more than just cock – you wanted closeness, wanted Jimin’s body against your own, his groans in your ear, his chest against your back.

“Jimin,” you called out, voice needy but noticeably more present.

His thrusts slowed but didn’t stop. “Hm?”

Rather than attempt to formulate an answer, you blindly reached a hand in his direction and made a grabbing motion. It was accompanied by your best impression of some sort of demanding noise, but you sounded like a spoiled brat even to your own ears.

He clearly didn’t mind though, huffing a laugh at your antics before coming down to your level, pressing some of his weight into your back as he nuzzled your neck.

“This what you want, baby?” he asked, wrapping his arms snugly around your middle. It would almost be cute, if not for the snap of his hips he opted to punctuate his question with.

You could only shiver and take it as he set a slow but intense pace, his cock slowly dragging out of you before he thrusted forward quickly in one single motion. But even in its intensity it was intimate, his lips tracing nonsensical patterns into the skin of your shoulder, his moans increasing in volume as you whined your pleasure.

His pace slowly but surely built you back up toward a second release, Jimin’s thrusts growing faster as he approached his own end. It wasn’t long before your moans were increasing in volume again, hips squirming beneath Jimin’s as that pressure in your abdomen only built and built.

“Gonna cum for me again, little wolf?” he growled directly into your ear, digging his fingers in close to your scalp and pulling your face up out of the sheets. No longer muffled, your moans were loud and unabashed, your pleasure surrendered entirely to him.

“I’m gonna fill this cunt up, gonna stretch you wide, is that what you want?”

As much as you were more coherent than last time, the effect his voice had on you was visceral, eyelids fluttering shut and goosebumps raising on your skin. When you only nodded with what little movement you could make within his grasp, he growled.

“Answer me!”

“Yes, yes!” you pleaded, eager to please. “Want you to fill me up, Jimin, please.”

“Such a good girl,” he moaned in response, moving to suck bruises into your neck. The thought of being marked by him for all to see only lit a new fire within you.

But when you felt the press of his canines brushing against the sensitive part of your neck, it was as though something in you snapped. You almost squealed as the orgasm rained down on you unexpectedly, something resembling ‘Jimin’ spilling from your lips, though you paid it no mind.

You were so lost in your pleasure you hardly noticed Jimin’s gruff yell from above you as he came, only registering it as his knot started to stretch you.

He shushed you gently as you whined, warmth still spilling into you as it finished inflating. Panting breathlessly against your back, he softly cupped your face as you caught your breath.

The stretch was more overwhelming than painful, every tiny movement seeming to shift his knot inside you enough to make you gasp. You should have grown used to the feeling by this point in your life, but it managed to catch you off guard every single time. You never felt ready for the immense stretch or the soreness that lingered between waves of your heat.

After several minutes of silence, breaths finally quieting, he spoke up.

“Are you okay?” he asked, hands reaching to keep you from squirming too much under him, knowing you’d only make the discomfort worse. “Relax for me.”

You nodded in response, letting yourself release the tension from your limbs as he continued to gently nose at your neck. His scent washed over you, but in this brief limbo between waves of your heat it spurred only calmness rather than arousal.

For you, at least, the first wave was always the worst in terms of self-control and mindedness. That was why it was essential for omegas to share their heat only with someone they could trust – if not a partner, then a friend. While omegas were at their most emotionally vulnerable during pre-heat, they were at their most physically vulnerable during the heat itself. In theory, Jimin could have done whatever he wanted, and you would have begged for it.

He hummed in approval when you went still beneath him, rolling the two of you onto your side so that you were no longer supporting his weight.

“Sleepy?” he inquired softly as he watched you stifle a yawn.

You only nodded again, reaching for Jimin’s hand to make him wrap it around you more snugly, pressing yourself as close to him as possible. You shivered as his knot shifted with your movement, though it didn’t ache as much as it did initially. You felt so full, his cock still half-hard within you, release still painting your walls with nowhere to go.

You let your eyes shut, soreness and exhaustion taking up residence temporarily before the next wave. As much as a heat could feel so intense it hurt, you found that the time between each wave was truly the most difficult. It was the time where every ounce of muscle pain and sleep deprivation hit you, but it was also the time where, to put it simply, if you didn’t recharge you were fucked.

Heats were strenuous on the body, and it unfortunately wasn’t abnormal for omegas to be brought to the emergency room from dehydration and malnutrition from their heat. That was why the medical professionals tended to encourage of-age omegas to spend their heats with a trusted partner – it was just safer altogether. It was difficult to push past the fog of exhaustion to take care of yourself when you were on your own, though not impossible.

A tiny whine was the only acknowledgment you gave when you felt his knot go down enough to slip from you. You made a noise of complaint as Jimin pulled from your side, but he quickly returned to you, wiping away the mess that was now between your thighs.

“If I help you, can you sit up?”

After hearing your noise of affirmation, he pulled you up so that your back rested against the headboard, careful not to move you too quickly. But despite that, you couldn’t help the lightheaded feeling that came with the motion, reaching out to steady yourself on Jimin’s arm.

When he took in your rapid blinking and unfocused eyes, his concern grew exponentially. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Tired,” you mumbled, leaning into his touch when he moved to stroke your face.

“Let’s eat something and then we can nap, okay?”

“Mm.”

He moved away from you quickly to grab things from under your bed. One of the first things they taught omegas after presenting was that it was essential to keep a food and drink store in your room during your heat. One of the most important parts of pre-heat was not only securing a heat partner if desired, but also packing enough nutrient-rich food and drinks to last through your heat if you’re unable to leave the room.

You hadn’t realized you’d dozed off until Jimin’s hand on your shoulder startled you awake. He took your hand in his own only to wrap your fingers around an energy bar he’d opened for you.

“Eat,” he commanded, though the soft, caring tone characteristic of Jimin never left his voice.

The thought of putting in effort to do anything was unappealing, but once you started, you realized how famished you were. When you finished your first bar within moments, he handed you a second, eating some for himself at the same time.

He didn’t waste any time with handing you a Gatorade bottle once you were finished eating, ensuring you could hold it yourself before getting his own.

As much as he seemed to be in a rush, this was a better safe than sorry type of situation. While sometimes you could squeeze in some sleep between waves of your heat, it sometimes felt like one huge gamble in terms of time. You’ve had downtimes of as little as 10 minutes in the past, so you were grateful that he was hurrying you along.

When he noticed you stopped drinking, he grabbed it from you to place it on the nightstand a safe distance away from the bed.

“Do you want anything else?” he asked, shoving all of the garbage into a bag to deal with another time.

“You.”

He turned around quickly, thinking you were going into your next wave, but froze at the sight of you simply blinking up at him sleepily.

He bit down on his lip to suppress a fond smile when you reached for his hand, severely hoping his face wasn’t as red as it felt.

He let you tug him forward, settling beside you in bed before pulling you securely into his side.

As much as you might have loved to talk or quietly cuddle, you were out like a light as soon as you laid your head down on his shoulder, face tucked securely into his neck.

--

The next two days went by in a blur. You never tended to remember very many specific moments from your heats besides that you felt good, and were definitely sore after. The combination of physical and mental exhaustion along with the mind-numbing desire didn’t seem to be conducive to proper brain function.

Fuck. Eat. Fuck. Eat. Nap. Rinse. Repeat.

“Kiss me,” you demanded, pulling Jimin down toward you by his shoulders.

From what you could tell, it was the last day of your heat, also making for the most coherent day. The consequences of not sating your heat on the last day were more uncomfortable than painful, and the sex almost resembled what it would any other day.

He obliged you easily, mouth meeting yours as he snapped his hips, filling you up and stretching you all in one stroke. He nipped at your lower lip as you moaned freely, arching your back to feel as much of his skin as possible.

You couldn’t help the increase in volume when he settled with his length in you, grinding his pubic bone into your clit. It seemed that Jimin was feeling similarly, both of you simply panting by each other's mouths rather than doing any sort of kissing like you’d intended.

It was only minutes before you felt the familiar tightening in your abdomen, Jimin groaning above you when he felt you clench around him. You whimpered as he sucked new bruises into the skin of your neck, a shiver making its way down your spine as he reached the soft skin below your ear.

But every part of you was screaming out for more.

“Mark me.”

Jimin froze instantly at your words, but it seemed that you weren’t properly considering the weight of your words, only urging him to continue his motions in search of your high.

A mark wasn’t permanent, but it was no small thing. More than a mark of “possession,” it was a mark of an alpha's care and loyalty, a mark of an omega’s trust. It was only something ever shared in serious relationships, and it would sometimes take partners years to reach that point.

“Jimin,” you whined when he ignored what you said. Every instinctive part of you wanted it so badly, your head subconsciously tipping back to give him easier access.

“No.”

“Jimin...”

“Don’t you know what you’re saying?”

“Please-”

“I said no,” he snarled, speeding up the snap of his hips enough that you were shifting up the bed. “Tomorrow, when this is all over,” he panted above you, teeth bared, “Then we’ll talk.”

He didn’t let you get a word in edgewise, continuously pulling himself from you fully before abruptly sheathing himself to the hilt once again.

You were left gasping for breath, swimming in sensation as your abdomen tightened, all else forgotten for the time being.

When he shifted to one side, a hand dropping to rub circles into your clit, you saw white. Your nails sharply dug into the skin of Jimin’s back where they were held, waves of pleasure battering you nonstop as he continued his thrusts.

But it was only moments later that he seated himself into you fully, warmth spilling into you as his knot inflated for the nth time since your heat began. It didn’t leave you gasping the same way as the first time, but a groan still wrenched itself from your throat at the sensation.

As soon as his body collapsed onto yours, you knew that your heat was finally over. The feeling was inexplicable, almost as though a weight had been lifted from the back of your mind.

You might have addressed the words uttered from your mouth only moments before if not for the debilitating fatigue that filled every limb and every square inch of your brain.

So, against your best judgment on any other day, you knocked right out.

--

When you next awoke, it wasn’t because desire ripped you from slumber, nor was it because your scent set off Jimin enough to wake you.

In fact, you were alone in your bed, immediately cringing at the sight of all the questionable stains dotting the sheets.

Good thing you had a mattress pad.

You sat up, wincing as every muscle screamed in protest. From your neck all the way to your fingertips, everything hurt. You’d probably be feeling this for days. It definitely didn’t help that the stench of sex was so strong you could feel a headache coming on.

You didn’t have time to ponder on Jimin’s whereabouts before he was coming back in through the doorway, half-dressed with water in hand.

He sent you a smile when you met eyes, but it was lost on you because as soon as he was here, every interaction over the past few days flooded your mind at once. And this time, there were no hormones to mask proper thought.

You asked – no, begged – him to stay. Even when he told you no.

You’d practically thrown a tantrum, what was wrong with you? Since when did your pre-heat make you throw respect out the window?

He wasn’t here because he wanted to stay, he was here because you forced him to. He was here because you were pathetic enough to get on the floor and beg him to stay, and Jimin, for the life of him, didn’t know how to say no to people. How could he look at you right now?

“Y/N?” he called, sounding puzzled. He must be able to smell your rising distress coming off you in waves, but you paid him no mind as you continued to recall the past few days, hating yourself more and more with every passing second.

You’d basically forced him to stay with you and fuck you for nearly four days without ever talking about it before.

It was more difficult to put together the pieces of what happened in your heat, memories mostly a blur of pleasure and then sleep.

But-

Fuck.

“Mark me.”

Your blood ran cold instantly.

Were you fucking insane? You dug your fingernails into your palms harshly to check if you were dreaming. Unluckily for you, you weren’t.

Was there any coming back from this? You couldn’t blame him if he could never look at you the same, if he never spoke to you again. Who would tell their heat partner – the first time they spent a heat together – to mark them?

It didn’t matter that you’d known each other since before you were even forming proper memories. It didn’t matter, because that wasn’t how this worked. You didn’t just ask your friends to mark you, no matter how much you loved each other.

A mark was something you shared with someone you intended to be lifelong partners with. Someone you’d dedicate your life to, someone you might want to have kids with someday.

God, what was wrong with you?

You didn’t notice his approach until a hand met your shoulder, too engrossed in staring at the floor as thoughts whirred in your head.

“What is it?” he asked, concern quickly turning into panic at finding you in this state with no explanation.

But it was as though with one touch, the floodgates broke, and angry tears started spilling from your eyes. Tears that had nothing to do with Jimin and everything to do with yourself.

He jumped back slightly in surprise, and you didn’t give him the chance to touch you again before you were furiously wiping the wetness from your face.

“God, are you okay? Did I hurt you?” he questioned frantically, hands returning to your shoulders as he angled his face to try to meet yours, but you only kept turning your head to avoid him. He looked like he didn’t know what to do with himself, whether to join you on the bed or continue hovering awkwardly from the bedside. “Talk to me, please-”

“Do you hate me?” you choked out, eyes fixed on a random, insignificant spot on the sheets.

That seemed to quiet him instantly. “Huh?”

“I forced you here,” you whispered, though it seemed that the words didn’t want to stop once they started, volume only rising as you carried on. “You came here to be nice and then you tried to leave and I didn’t let you. You said no so many times and I begged you to stay until you couldn’t say no anymore! I don’t even know what I was thinking, I guess I wasn’t thinking at all-”

“Hey-”

“I’m so sorry, I don’t know how you must think of me right now but I wouldn’t blame you if you thought I was disgusting, I think I’m disgusting, god-”

“Hey, look at me,” he urged, prodding lightly at your chin until you raised your head enough to meet his gaze. When he saw your red eyes and miserable expression, it was as though a piece of himself broke. “I stayed because I wanted to.”

“You didn't, I remember you told me no, you ‘wanted to’ because I made you.”

“It’s not like that,” he replied, expression almost pained.

“Don’t lie to me to make me feel better,” you snarled, though it came off more broken than aggressive. “Stop trying to protect me, tell me when you’re mad at me!”

“I’m not mad at you.”

“Jimin-”

“You trust me, don’t you?”

The sudden question was enough to give you pause. “You know I do.”

He took a moment to settle onto the bed beside you, stretching out an arm to invite you in to lay with him. After only a moment of hesitation, you did.

“Then trust me when I say I wanted to stay,” he said firmly, stroking calming circles into your side. “You know I don’t like lying to you.”

It was true, he didn’t. Which summoned the question – if he wanted to stay, why did he refuse so many times? Were you sure he wasn’t lying now?

No – that wasn’t Jimin. Plus, you knew him so well that you doubted he would lie to you about something this serious, not when he was such an open book. But you didn’t have long to think about it before he piped up again.

“You asked me something yesterday,” he started, and you could hear in his tone that he was treading carefully.

You tensed up immediately when you processed his words, breath quickening as you anticipated what he was about to say. Was this the part where he told you he’s not mad he stayed, but he never wanted to speak to you again? You’d relaxed enough in the past few minutes that you’d almost forgotten about what you’d said yesterday. Almost.

“Why?” he asked simply.

Why. An obscenely loaded question contained within one 3-letter word. And yet, an answer wasn’t so easy.

“I don’t know,” you stalled.

“Don’t do that,” he scolded. “Really think. I know you, and I know you’d never be that nonchalant about a mark, ever. What changed?”

“Nothing changed!”

He only turned to give you a disapproving look before leaning his head back against the headboard and shutting his eyes. It was clear that he wasn’t going to make any more conversation until you properly pondered his question and gave him a real answer.

Why?

Did you even know why?

You wished you could say it just slipped out, that there was no other reason.

Maybe any other time you’ve said something questionable or downright stupid that would fly, but not for something like this.

Even at their drunkest, people didn’t ask their friends to marry them with the full intent of following through and starting life as an actual married couple.

Just the same, an omega doesn’t just ask a friend to mark them, mate them, not even in heat. Omega heats made it a fairly common occurrence to fuck your friends (at least, a select few) while unmarked, and it wasn’t as though the desire to be marked stemmed from a heat. If it were, platonic marking would be a thing already. And sure, marking made sex feel better, but heats were sexual, and marks were... more.

That was the problem, wasn’t it? There was no easy excuse, no escaping this.

One might say an omega was a slave to instinct in their heat, but instinct didn’t come from nowhere.

The instinct to nest came from the pursuit of safety in a vulnerable time. The instinct to ‘hibernate’ came from the need to save up energy for a heat. The instinct to scent came from the desire for intimacy and comfort. The instinct to fuck came from hormonal cycles and the body’s inherent goal to breed.

The instinct to be marked as an omega? To ask for it?

The need for emotional security, to know that your feelings were returned – attraction, desire, love.

Love?

If your love for Jimin was supposed to be a secret, it wasn’t a very well-kept one. You talked every day since you were kids, knew each other's mannerisms so well you didn’t need words to communicate, gravitated toward each other in every group setting, cried together when you separated for university...

You loved him, without a doubt. It was obvious. But was it more than that? Was your body trying to tell you something that you didn’t even consider?

“I...” you started but immediately trailed off, limbs so tense you almost seemed ready to run away. This wasn’t a conversation you ever imagined could take place.

“Don’t be scared. You can tell me anything.” Were you imagining things, or did his tone sound almost... hopeful?

“I’ve never asked someone to mark me before this.”

He only hummed lowly in response. You knew that he knew this already, but it seemed that this time, he wouldn’t call you out for circling around the question.

“I’ve never met someone who I felt more for than you. Safe, comfortable, happy, loved.” You paused, taking a deep breath. “I love you a lot, you know?”

His breath hitched despite himself, even though he knew you didn’t mean what he wanted you to mean. “I know,” he replied, sounding almost disappointed.

“But...”

“But?” he responded, allowing that tiny thread of hope to wind around his heart one more time.

“But I don’t know what I’m feeling,” you finished, panic increasing exponentially by the end of your sentence, your body almost feeling as though it was trembling.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he rushed, bringing you closer to rub his cheek into your hair. Was it cruel of him to feel some sort of joy at your words when you were clearly scared and confused?

His scent washing over you helped calm you some, but even still, you couldn’t stop thinking. What were you feeling? Did you want something more than friendship, or was this entire situation just putting thoughts in your head? Sure, you were undeniably compatible sexually, and sure, you found him attractive, but did you want a relationship? A romantic one? But even then, how much would that really change? What did you want? Would Jimin be disgusted with you? Let you down easily? It would have to be the latter, right?

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked-”

“No,” you cut him off.

“Huh?”

“You should’ve. I can’t be stupid forever.”

“You’re not stupid.”

“I am stupid, what kind of person doesn’t know whether they...” Even despite knowing he could tell exactly what you were trying to say, the words wouldn’t come from your lips. Were you in denial? Embarrassed? Something else?

“Emotions don’t have to be straightforward.”

“I wish they were.”

He breathed a laugh at that. “Believe me, I know.”

“Jimin, be honest with me.”

“I’m always honest with you.”

“Let’s say, hypothetically, you have this friend. You’re very good friends – best friends even. You see each other as much as possible, all that. And she tells you one day she wants to talk.”

“Oh? What’s her name?”

“Uhhhhh...” you paused, pulling out the first name that came to mind. “Susan.”

He choked back a laugh, though you could still feel his chest bouncing beneath your head. “My friend Susan. Okay, go on.”

“And she tells you that something happened, and it spurred this huge train of thought that had never occurred to her before. Something that made her think about your entire relationship as friends, and made her think about herself.”

“Uh huh...”

“And she had to wonder, how much of her heart was invested in this relationship? That answer was easy – all of it. But what really had her confused was what parts of her heart were in it.”

You fidgeted nervously, but instead of saying something, Jimin only reached for one of your hands, intertwining your fingers together.

“But what really scared her the most was – how would you react? What happens when your best friend tells you that maybe your love for them extends beyond friendship?”

You took several deep breaths, trying to muster up the courage to finish the ‘story’ you’ve started. There was no backing out of this now. Your hand squeezed his hard enough that it must have hurt him, though he didn’t seem to mind.

“If she told you she thought she loved you as more than a friend, how would you respond?” you asked, trying to inject as much nonchalance into your voice as possible and failing miserably. You could feel your palms getting sweatier, and you thought your teeth might chew straight through your bottom lip. You held your breath once you heard Jimin take one of his own, preparing mentally for whatever was about to leave his lips.

“I would tell her I love her back.”

It was as though time stopped. “You... you what?”

Unwilling to let you hide your face anymore, he pulled you over so that you were straddling him, your heart filling when your eyes met his, full of honesty and understanding and... love.

“I would tell her I love her back. That if she wanted me, I was hers.”

Your eyes searched his face desperately for several seconds longer, waiting for the moment this bliss would break, the moment he took his words back, left you heartbroken before you’d even properly processed that it was his to break. But that moment never came.

“Really?” you whispered, eyes wide and screaming with vulnerability, but also wonder. The petty part of him wished he could fault you for being so oblivious, but it wasn’t your fault that you two had simply never outgrown the innocent intimacy from childhood, even after presenting.

“Really.”

“I do want it. You. I want to try. If you can be patient with me.”

“Okay. Give me a chance and I’ll make you fall in love with me for sure.”

“Oh.” As hard as you tried to purse your lips, the smile still broke its way through, eyes crinkling happily as every insecurity felt like it left at once. Was it this easy? Could happiness come so quickly in a moment, just like that?

“Oh,” he replied simply, beam splitting his face at your barely-contained joy, your expression so innocent even after all that happened the past few days.

“Oh,” you repeated, though this time the word undoubtedly seemed to harbour more weight, brows furrowing.

“Hm?”

“That’s why you said no, isn’t it? The reason you wanted to stay but tried to leave?”

The sad smile that spread across his face at that was all the answer you needed, the briefly-forgotten guilt coming back instantly.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” he assured, pulling you close enough that your bodies were plastered together. “It all worked out anyway, right?”

You nodded, relaxing in his arms. If your brain wasn’t going a mile a minute right now, you were so comfortable you could’ve slept like this.

You allowed yourself several minutes to simply lay in his arms, that familiar blueberry-pine scent making you heart feel lighter and lighter.

“So,” you mumbled.

“So.”

“What changes now?”

“What do you want to change?” he replied.

“I asked first.”

He chuckled lightly. “Fine. Well...” You leaned back in confusion when he started pushing you up and off of him. “I think being able to do this is a good change.”

He leaned his face into yours, giving you a moment to back away before gently pressing his plush lips to yours.

You’d kissed already in your heat – you remembered that much. But this wasn’t a kiss that demanded your surrender, nor was it fast, or rough. It was just soft, intimate – because sometimes, emotions were easier said through actions rather than words.

You slid your hands into his hair, dragging your nails against his scalp as you deepened the kiss. His hands traced nonsensical patterns into the skin of your back, holding you close as though you’d ever want to leave. It was so easy to get lost in him, in the way he held you, touched you, kissed you, as though you were something to be cherished.

It wasn’t long before the kiss started to get more heated, though, and you couldn’t help yourself from nipping at his bottom lip. He made a low noise in response, a hand moving to grip your ass as the other winded its way into your hair.

It was when his hand made contact with your bare ass that you remembered that you were naked throughout this entire ordeal. And just as you processed that, his hand started inching its way slowly but surely between your legs.

“I think the fuck not, Park Jimin,” you gasped, breaking the kiss and throwing his hand from your body.

He burst into bright laughter at your words, eyes forming crescents that would make any person’s day better. His happiness was contagious, and you couldn’t hold back the giggles at the sound of him.

“How sore are you?” he questioned, tiny giggles still escaping him. You thought you detected a hint of concern somewhere in there, but you couldn’t blame him for being in an obscenely good mood.

“Ugh. Are you not sore at all?”

“Not really? Mostly hungry, I guess.”

“I hate you. It feels like all of my limbs want to detach from their sockets, and don’t even get me started on what it feels like between my legs. You and your dick can go die.”

Your words only set off another round of laughter from him, his grin wide as he took in your fake pout.

“Are you sure you want that? You seemed to enjoy it from where I was standing. You’re sending me mixed signals here,” he teased.

You let out a childish noise of complaint. God, was this what you were getting yourself into? You were already used to his antics by now, but now you had to deal with them while he flirted too? Someone send help.

“Pity me a bit,” you whined, giving him the best wide-eyed pout you could muster. Though, it only seemed to raise his mood even more.

“I’m sorry I broke you,” he said.

You smacked him a bit harder than you would normally. “Jiminnnnnnnnn,” you said, stringing out the word for as long as a breath would allow.

“If I made you food, would you forgive me?”

“...I’m listening.”

“What if I said I already made you food?”

“What?!” you perked up, any grudge you might have held disappearing in an instant. “What did you make?”

“Lay down and find out in 5 minutes, I’m tired,” he responded, laying down comfortably and encouraging you to do the same. You didn’t require much convincing, cuddling back into his side. This position wasn’t anything abnormal for you two, but it felt different now. Newer, more intimate.

Needless to say, 5 minutes turned into 2 hours after you’d both fell asleep.

But when Jimin placed a bowl of re-heated stir-fry in front of you 2 hours later, you would say he secured his place as fully, unequivocally yours.