#Idk it just always feels like the mc panics for like a minute at best and then theyre fine. ik its supposed to be power fantasy but likee

[side-of-honey]

Isekai but you used to BE someone. You wake up in a healing ward surrounded by people relieved that you’re awake. You watch their faces fall as they realize you don’t know who they are. Isekai but you don’t know this world’s societal norms. Everyone learned this as a kid, why can’t you? Isekai but you can’t be the child, sibling, friend that you’re supposed to. You sleep in someone else’s room, and wear someone else’s clothes, and sit at someone else’s desk. They liked taking care of plants. They liked mixing potions. You don’t know the first thing about either, but you have to try.

It’s never the same. Some people say that you’re cursed. Some say you’re a changeling. You think of the person who’d died in that healing ward, and wonder if you are.

[neowinestainedress]

wave | lee donghyuck (part two)

part 1 | masterpost | full fic not split in two

pairing: lee donghyuck x fem reader genre: college au, academics rivals to lovers, kinda fake dating, forced to work together on a project, smut, fluff, humor (idk), music major!haechan, music major!mc | not really requested but thank you 💌 anon for the inspo summary: your indifference toward Lee Donghyuck, also known as Haechan, becomes rivalry when he decides to sabotage you. The battle turns into a war, the war turns into a plan, and the plan, well, the plan fails miserably... or succeeds wonderfully. After all, it’s all about points of view. Or, Haechan thinks he found a way to distract you and be better than you, but doesn’t think it thoroughly and screws it up. warnings: smut, weed/alcool consumption, thigh riding, oral (receiving, giving), unprotected sex, teasing, etc | inclusivity notes: reader wears different hairstyles (no mention of texture, type and color), no mention of body type (but haechan lifts her a few times), no mention of skin color, no use of y/n wc: 20.3k (out of 42k)

a/n: here’s the second part. please if you liked it leave feedback (comments, reblogs, asks), i love knowing your opinions and it keeps me motivated to keep posting my writing. enjoy!

After too many dates, too many studying sessions together, and in general too much time spent together —even with his group of friends— you feel like this is a relationship that simply hasn’t been named, yet. Something about everything doesn’t feel like just sex and hate.

You’re fine like this, for once believing you can let loose a little and still do well in your studies.

Haechan, instead, thinks his plan is going amazingly. He knows he has you distracted, he knows he takes away your time, and he knows everything is technically perfect. But the plan is not the best made of his life, and the more time passes, the more he forgets about it, and the more he thinks about you.

He never planned to use you, that had to be clear. He just wanted to distract you with sex —something you both wanted to have— and give you a boyfriend experience so you could write the song in the best way possible. But in doing all that, he is more caught up in you —and not only because of the plan, he is just caught up in you— than in his studies.

It’s nine pm on Sunday after he dropped you home around four pm this afternoon. He made you meet his girl friends too for lunch and then you went back to his place to stay together for a while. But even if you spent almost the entire day together, he still misses you.

He rolls on his back as he goes into his contacts to text you again, he doesn’t have to scroll down, you’re second on the list since he last annoyed you forty minutes ago but you still haven’t replied. 

haechan: can you answer me?

haechan: i miss you : (

haechan: you didn’t even let me eat you out

haechan: you looked so pretty in that skirt i think it looks better with my head underneath it

haechan: fuck and now i’m hard thinking about you

mortal enemy: the only hard thing should be the books you should be studying on, remember we have a test tomorrow?

“Fuck,” he screams, sitting up. “What?”

He never forgets these things. He always writes them down in his agenda that he maniacally reads every day to make sure he’s always on time with his studying schedule. He can’t have forgotten about it. But, apparently, he did.

His thumb quickly wipes to call you and your answer doesn’t let him wait.

“I’m studying,” you huff annoyed as you pick up his phone call right away.

“Why would you go out with me if tomorrow we have a test?”

Your chuckle reaches his ear through the phone before he gets to hear your voice again. “Why not?”

“Don’t you want to be the top one? What about your grades? This adds up for the finals.” Panic fills his voice, he’s hoping you remembered just now and haven’t been studying since you went back, but you’re too relaxed for that to be true.

“Yeah, I know,” you reply, too calmly for his liking. Was his plan working? No, because you knew about it. And he completely erased the test, too busy thinking about you.

“And you go out?” He asks again as anxiety starts to take over him.

“Why would I lock myself up before a test? It’s not even that serious. There’s the topic you pick, and then like four questions that will surely be the main things we discussed in class, Professor Kim only knows one way of making tests.”

He groans, he can’t believe you’re always so ahead of him. “How do you know these things?”

“I use my brain,” you reply nonchalantly.  

“So you started studying… when you got home?”

“Last week.”

“Last week? Are you kidding me?” He screams so loud that he’s sure you have to move the phone from your ear.

You sigh, rubbing your temples, Haechan knows it, you always do that when he pisses you off somehow. “You didn’t open the book at least once until now?”  

“I…” I would usually read through the notes at least once a week, but I’ve been too busy. “I’ve… I read the notes, until some weeks ago. I got busy, okay?”

“Were you perhaps distracted by something Hyuck?” You ask teasingly, and he can see you twirl the end of your hair in your fingers while your tongue pokes at your cheek.

“Nothing distracts me,” he mutters, frowning even if you can’t see him.

“Then hang the call and try to read the notes at least, I’ll send you the recordings of the lessons, play them all night maybe something will stick to your brain.”

“Okay, bye. Wish me good luck, please,” he says, and you chuckle. “No seriously, don’t manifest against me, I need all your good energy.”

“I will, Hyuck. Just give it a quick read and then try to get as much sleep as possible. You have a brain and you’re smart with it, it’s better for you to be active tomorrow than force information that just won’t get in, alright?”

He hums, weirdly feeling a bit calmer at your words. “’kay, goodnight, babe.”

“Goodnight.”

Haechan sighs, slumping on the bed, boner long gone and anxiety on his chest, until the screen lights up again and a few messages from you show up.

mortal enemy: 10 audios + 10 files ‘music theory notes’ sent the audios anyway but my *perfect* notes should be enough to not make you pull up an all-nighter also don’t stress too much, I appreciate the act of chivalry to make me top this class grades again :;

He forgot about an exam, he didn’t study for it, yet he’s smiling like an idiot because of you.

Haechan’s screwed.

“So, how did it go?” You ask, blocking Haechan as soon as the bell rings and Professor Kim dismisses the class, letting you know the results will be in next week.

Haechan glares at you, and you suck your teeth. “Come on, it wasn’t that difficult,” you say, sitting on his desk, as he looks for something in his bag.

“I did great, I just don’t want to admit your notes are perfect and were enough to save my ass,” he says, and you can’t hold back the smile.

“You’re welcome,” you say, standing up and kicking him playfully with a swing of your hips.

“Hey! You could’ve made me fall,” he jokes, grabbing his bag before taking a step back so you can lead the way out of there. “And thank you.”

You chuckle, lowering your head to hide that dumb grin on your face. “You know, I wanted to ask you why we never revisited music theory but I thought you wanted to do it on your own, maybe you were scheming something against me.”

“What? I would never scheme against you,” he says as you start walking to lunch.

You stare at him with a raised brow, and he huffs. “It was in the past and you did it too. Also, what would I scheme?”

“I don’t know, maybe you sneaked into his office and stole the test to already know the answers?”

“That would be cheating, not beating you. There’s no fun in that,” he says, holding the door of the cafeteria open for you.

“You’re such a fair rival,” you joke as you head to the buffet to grab something to eat.

“Wait,” he stops you when your plates are full. “Why don’t you sit at our table? I hate seeing you eat alone.”

“Have you ever considered I can’t stand how loud your friends are?”

“Oh come on, you already deal with them when you come to my place.”

“Exactly.”

Haechan huffs, standing in front of you to stop you from going toward your table. “We can go to yours today.”

You furrow, lightly tilting your head to the side. “We don’t have anything to study.” You try to decipher his expression and think if you could get so distracted to forget something you had to work on or revisit.  “The song?”

He shakes his head. “I might…” he pauses, trying to find a way to say what he wants to say that’s not so humiliating, but then he gives up with a heavy sigh that rolls from his lips. “Okay, I need help.”

“You?” You scream, attracting some attention on you, and Haechan glares at you, pulling you to the sides so that the curious gazes can linger away from you.

“Yes, me,” he replies through gritted teeth. “It’s just a small thing, but I don’t get it.”

You smirk smugly and he rolls his eyes. “Fine, I can’t wait to tutor you,” you reply, starting to walk to his group of friends’ table.

“Why can’t I ever win with you?” He whispers, shaking his head and following you.

You’re not sure Haechan told you the truth. He is smart but he isn’t the best actor ever, and when he came to your place to try to understand that small thing he didn’t understand in sociology, you were pretty sure it was just an excuse. You explained it in less than five minutes, he got it too quickly and immediately started messing around.

You don’t mind it, though. You enjoy spending some time with him. He’s a good distraction. Surely you would’ve fixed some notes or listened to some lessons instead of… well, instead of being on his lap with your fingers in his hair and his hands on your ass, grinding on him.

You hold in a moan when he concentrates on your neck, kissing, biting, and sucking the spot that makes you shiver. And you’d like to go on like this, but you need more. So you shift on top of his thigh, while yours presses against his hardening dick and makes him growl.

“What are you do—”

“Shh,” you shush him quickly, pressing your thumb on his lips before replacing it with your lips. “Ouch,” you gasp when he bites on your lower lip. “Why did you do that?”

Haechan chuckles, shrugging before leaning close to you again. “Why not?”

You frown but have no intention of carrying it any further. You can feel your panties stick to your skin and you just want to come, not really caring if it’s just like this.

But the moment of intimacy, if you could call it that, gets interrupted by the buzzing of his phone in his pocket.

“God, just answer,” you yell when Haechan ignores the third call but whoever is on the other line has no intention to stop trying.

Haechan rolls his eyes as his right hand leaves your ass to search through his pocket and huffs annoyed when he sees the name on the screen.

“Jaemin, what?” Haechan groans as you keep moving on his thighs, ignoring his deadly glare. “No, I’m busy.”

You faintly make out an angry reply from the other side, but you don’t care enough to understand what Jaemin’s saying.

“No, I can’t go out with you.”

“We can,” you reply loudly enough so that Jaemin can hear while Haechan scowls at you again, muttering a scold under his breath, but his anger is quickly addressed to his friend on the other side.

“Yes, I’m with her,” he huffs, rolling his head back, trying to stop your movements but failing. “Don’t ask questions. And yes, fine, fine.”

When he hangs the call after mumbling a quick, annoyed goodbye, you chuckle. “Thought you didn’t want to hear my annoying friends?” It’s all he asks, leaving a small, teasing slap on your asscheek.

“What were we supposed to do? Stay inside all day?”

“Yes, we have everything here,” he says, spreading his arms to point around. “And you’re still grinding on me.” He looks down, eyes narrowing as he stares at your hips. 

“I’ll finish and then we’ll get out,” you wink, starting to move faster but he has no intention to get back into the mood, not yet, at least.  

“You’ll stain my pants and where do I come?” He huffs, and you’re sure he’s trying to find an excuse to don’t go outside rather than one to don’t fuck with you. He would never say no to that, especially when you two are already in the middle of it. 

“Take them off,” you urge, jumping off him, waiting for him to get undressed as you do the same, your panties the only thing staying on.  “Come on. You don’t want to be late.”

Haechan groans, “you’re so… so greedy. You just want everything.”

“Yeah, am I allowed to have one flaw?” You bat your lashes at him, grinning when his eyes roll in the back of his head. “Oh, will I stain the underwear, too?” You ask when his lower half is completely bare to your eyes.

“Honey, I’m not coming inside my boxers, can’t wear your panties to hang out with the boys,” he says annoyed.

You chuckle, climbing on his thigh again, watching him whimper when your bare leg brushes against his dick and you press on him to be as close as you were before.

He doesn’t know why you didn’t take the panties off, but he knows he doesn’t want them there. He wants to feel you on his skin. As hot as this is, he wants to feel your pussy drip down his thigh, and your panties are stopping the full experience.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Donghyuck!” You scream when the sound of the fabric ripping hits your ears and the chill air of the room hits your warm core.

He groans. “It’s so hot when you say my real name with an angry tone, makes it hard to hold back fucking you.”

“You need to stop ripping my stuff,” you complain, trying to hide how hot you found that, the ripping of the panties and that fucking smirk on his face now that he lays back against the headboard of your bed, so proud and snotty that is hard for you to hold back fucking him.

“Shut up, you love it,” he says, pulling you into a rough kiss, pushing your body closer while his hand rests on your hips to guide you in the movements. “Also they weren’t a good pair, if you were in lingerie I would’ve asked you politely to take them off.”

“You will never see me in lingerie,” you retort, pulling away as your hand sneaks down and starts moving up and down on his throbbing cock.

“Fuck,” he groans, “at least warn me?”

“I’m half naked, grinding on top of you and I have to warn you when I grab your dick?” You ask. “If you don’t want, I won’t make you come.”

“No, just —fuck,” he glares at you when you concentrate on the tip, “don’t be a bitch.”

“Sorry, sorry,” you chuckle but still move your hand quickly, following the steady rhythm of your thighs. Your head rolls back when one of his hands creeps under your shirt and cups your boob, his thumb brushing against your hard, sensitive nipple.

Haechan sucks in a deep breath when your thighs start shaking around his and your cum drips down his thigh. “Fuck,” he moans, eyelids fluttering as he looks at you, head reclined back as you hold onto him with only one hand, the other still busy taking care of him. “This is so hot, you are so hot.”

The compliment pushes you closer to reaching your high and when he lifts your shirt to wrap his lips around your sensitive nipple, you lose it.

You whimper and quiver, hips moving messily as you keep riding your high, breath getting stuck in your throat when he accidentally bites you as his orgasm washes over him unexpectedly.

“Fuck, sorry,” he mumbles, and if you weren’t still so lost in your pleasure you would let him know you liked it.

When your hips still, and the dizzying sensation calms down, you lay your head against his shoulder for a while as his arms wrap around your waist.

“Can we stay in?” Haechan pouts when you try to get away from him, reaching for your hand to keep you next to him before he rolls over when you shake your head and jump off the bed. “Please.”

“We can’t always fuck and study and study and fuck,” you reply, cleaning yourself up, holding in a sigh when you realize he stained the cover of your bed with his cum.  

“Who said I want to do either of those things?” He says, looking up at you with puppy eyes, pushing his lower lip out to pity you.

“I know you,” you reply, glaring at him before pulling your pants back on, not even caring about putting on another pair of underwear, you would’ve had to wash all those clothes anyway after taking a well-deserved shower, but for now you only had to pick some clothes to go out with the boys.

“No, let’s stay in and, I don’t know. Should we sing?” He proposes, jumping on his feet and putting his discarded underwear on.

You laugh, staring at him in shock. “You want to sing?”

“Yeah, you have a guitar, right?”

You nod, turning around the corner where your guitar is.

“Don’t you want to hear my angelic voice?”

You take a deep breath at his brag and then exhale loudly. “But Jaemin?”

“Fuck him, I don’t care,” he says while a small victory grin already starts widening on his face. He knows you’re about to give in.  

You huff, rubbing your temples and giving up fighting him when his fingers are already typing on the phone to tell his friend you two can’t come anymore.

When he puts the phone away and smiles at you in anticipation, you sigh. You really are stuck with him, aren’t you?

“Why don’t we prepare biscuits?” You suggest. You wanted to bake something for a while now, but you never really find time to dedicate to the kitchen.

“Biscuits?”

You nod, stealing his sweatshirt to wear on top of your shirt before walking to the kitchen —that space you consider the kitchen. 

“I’m a mess when it comes to cooking, you know, right?” He confesses as he leans against the countertop, watching you move around to grab all the ingredients and tools you need.

“You? Admitting you’re bad at something? To me?” You ask with a teasing tone, but you’re genuinely surprised he let you know without turning even this into a competition.

He fakes a laugh. “Very funny,” he says. “I just don’t want to hear you complain if I make some mistakes and ruin your perfect biscuits.”

You chuckle. “Can you weigh the ingredients and then put them all in a bowl?”

“All at the same time?”

You nod, handing him what he needs and showing him where the scale is. “Is not that hard, even you can do it. Plus, it will be another thing I teach you today,” you wink.

“Careful, baby. Don’t start thinking you’re so much better than me,” he says, starting to weigh the ingredients and putting them in each separate bowl.

You scoff. “Honey, I won’t start thinking that,” you say, resting your head on his shoulder, “I already think that.” You leave a teasing kiss on his cheek before he hits you with the flour and you gasp.

“Oh, no, we’re not doing that,” you warn, taking a step back, seeing how he’s ready with another handful of it.

“Then take it back,” he says nonchalantly.

“I never take back the truth —oh, Jesus Christ, Donghyuck!”

He laughs loudly, bending forward as he glances at you, flour on your face and well, his sweater. “Don’t call my name like that again, though. I won’t resist this time,” he says when he finally stands up and stands right in front of your face. “Now, will you take it back?”

“Never —Ah!” You scream when he lifts you up without a warning and sits you on the table before he starts tickling you. “No, no, please,” you babble, shaking your head and trying to stop his hands on you but he’s faster. “Okay, fine, I’m not better than you — I’m not better than you!”

“Good,” he says, stopping his torture and smiling proudly. “I love it when you listen,” he jokes, kissing you again.

You should hate it —or at least don’t like it so much— when he kisses you like this, out of nowhere, for no reason at all other than wanting to shut you up, or maybe to feel you. But you truly don’t mind. Actually, you lean in for another one, and another one and another… until you feel this is once again going in another direction and, as much as you’d love to indulge in the moment, you want to prepare those biscuits.

“Enough,” you say, pushing him away and jumping off the table. “No more food waste and we’re doing this together.”

You discover you and Haechan work better in the kitchen than in other fields, maybe because there’s no tension pushing you to do better but you are listening to each other, teaching tricks, and simply having fun. And this atmosphere stays with you even when he grabs the guitar and starts playing the tune of your song, you sing some bits of the lyrics and then jokily propose to add some about baking cookies on a cloudy spring afternoon, expecting him to laugh at it but he just smiles and tells you to go on. And you do, mumbling something about being in the kitchen, humming, baking, and laughing. You think it’s too cliché, and you will surely go back to it obsessively until it comes at you like you want it, but he loves it.

Then the oven rings, signalling the biscuits are ready and none of you can believe they came out good, nothing burned, and they’re tasty. Somehow, those cookies, feel like the biggest achievement you two ever made together.

“Maybe we should stop fighting each other,” he mumbles, after chewing his last bite. “We make a pretty great team.”

You smile, cleaning your lips with a napkin, crumbs falling on the table. “Hate to agree, but we do,” you say. “I mean… we kinda teamed up months ago, don’t you think so?”

“We want to kill each other, and you call that teaming up?”

“It’s our way of teaming up,” you reply, handing him a clean napkin so he can clean himself, and he takes it. “We just like to keep the flame alive, if we stopped bickering at all, it wouldn’t be so funny.”

Haechan shrugs, he guesses so. “Not like anybody else ever stood a chance with us on top.”

You chuckle. “Imagine if someone is using our rivalry to get to the top and we never noticed them.”

“Honey, trust me, I would’ve noticed.”

Once you’re done eating, you push him into the shower. There’s flour, and dough on all your clothes, and you still need to wash off the sex of before. You’d opt to shower separately but you’re tight on water and you have to make the best out of the confined space, reason why his plan to fuck another time fails.

“Why are you wearing my pink robe?” You turn around two seconds to grab the towel you prepared for him, and he betrays you. “This was for you,” you say, holding up the white towel as you stand there naked.

“I already put it on, it’s wet,” he says. “Come on, it’s pretty.”

“Yeah, that’s why is my favourite robe,” you pout, but still wrap the towel around you because you don’t want to freeze.

“I’ll make it up to you,” he says, and, before you can even think how, you don’t feel the ground under your feet anymore. Your arms immediately wrap around his shoulders for more safety as you let him carry you outside. You have no idea what is going on today, but you like this, how he’s taking care of you —in his way, of course— and how this feels good.

“You have to change it anyway,” he says when he drops you on the bed and, as soon as you open your mouth, he knows you’re about to complain about the wet towel on the dry covers. “I’ll help you change it later.”

While you change into your new clothes, your pink pyjamas with small black hearts as a pattern, you watch him walk around as if he’s so familiar with the place —not that it would take much for anyone to know where everything is, considering how small it is— but something about it makes a feeling of comfort and warmth spread in your heart. Nobody else had ever been inside that place.

But then you snap out of it and realize he’s naked, and his clothes are dirty, so you rush to the closet to find something to give him.

“So, mhh,” you say, making the things you grabbed fall in front of him, who’s sitting at the table. “I have those sweatpants and a sweater, or these pyjamas if you want it, it’s pink, but it doesn’t look like you care much,” you note, looking at how much he’s rocking your robe.

“Pink pjs! We’ll match,” he says, eyes lighting up as he wastes no moment getting out of the bathrobe.

“Out of the kitchen!”

“There’s not even a wall?”

“Still, get out,” you say, pushing him with force away from there. “Better.”

He rolls his eyes but still grabs the shirt and pulls it on him, blinking when he sees a pair of clean boxers. “Why do you have these?” He still studies them, thinking he has seen them before.

“Because they’re yours,” you say nonchalantly while fixing your hair in a braid.

“They’re mine? I left them here?”

“I might’ve accidentally dragged them with me once,” you confess, looking at him with a big, awkward smile.

“When?”

“When Jaemin almost pushed the door down and we had to rush to get dressed. I just stuffed everything in my bag and your underwear was next to mine so, ta-da,” you say, stretching your arms and shaking your hands to complete the sound effect.

Haechan sighs, nodding. “Of course, it must have been because of Jaemin, somehow.”

“Well, it turned out useful, just put them on. I don’t want to see your dick more than necessary.”

Haechan scoffs and bites back a comment as he finishes getting dressed. “You have to admit I look really good in pink.”

You look at him up and down while he twirls, and you smile. “You would be my favourite Barbie at the mall if they sold you in boxes.”

“God, you’re so annoying, can’t ever make normal compliments,” he complains. “Come on, help me with the bed. It won’t clean itself.”

Making the bed with him is tiresome. His weird way and theories about making it lead you two to bicker more than you should and remake it twice to see who is right —you, obviously. So, once you’re done with it, laying on it with him by your side, you know not even God himself will make you stand up to cook dinner. You don’t need to say a word, Haechan already has his phone out ready to order, and you couldn’t be happier.  

You spend ten minutes deciding what movie to watch and another five bickering because you don’t want to eat on the bed, but he insists you won’t make a mess, and if you do, he will help you clean up. It ends with you giving up and the bell ringing with your order ready.

You never have nights like this. You always try to cook on your own and don’t waste money on eating out, and you also never finish the movie or the series you start, either too tired halfway or with something more important to care about, for example, some notes to copy, or lessons to listen.

But this is nice.

You two joke, laugh, eat, and then you start to feel the sleep take over you, and you don’t think about sending him home or falling asleep on the pillow.

And as you rest your head on his shoulder, Haechan’s more and more sure that his plan failed.

“You’re playing with me, right?” You ask when Haechan messes up for the nth time. The end of the year is approaching, and you two are getting ready for yet another test, the last before the finals, but right now he’s testing your patience not getting a single answer right. You’ve been stuck in his room for hours now.

“I wish I was, my brain is fried,” he huffs, throwing his head back on his chair.

You’re speechless and you shake your head. “It’s super easy, you were better than me in this class, what the fuck is wrong with you?” You snap.

“Hey! Why are you so pissed? Shouldn’t you be happy you’ll beat me even in this?”

“Be serious,” you say, sending him a deadly glare. “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m…” he huffs, shaking his head, and turning around in his chair to avoid you. “I’m just stressed for a lot of things. I’m tired, I didn’t sleep tonight.”

“You struggled even last week. And when the Professor asked you something in class you gave an answer that is just not you,” you say, cutting off his bullshit, grabbing the armrest of the chair, and forcing him to face you with a rough tug on the chair.

“There are too many things to remember,” he says, after frowning at how harsh you have been. “It’s not that I don’t know, it’s that I mess it all up.”

You sigh, rubbing your temples. “Do I have to motivate you?”

He lifts his head, staring at you with a furrow. “What do you mean?”

“Let’s play a game,” you say, sitting better on the chair, and Haechan gulps when doing so your skirt —short skirt, incredibly short skirt— rises. He will never tell you, but the way you show up on your dates is another reason why he can’t concentrate. It’s May, it’s so hot. It’s your excuse, but he would bet you’re also doing it to mess up with him.

“No,” he replies, already fearing your proposal.

“Why not? You didn’t hear it, yet.”

He sighs but signals you to go on with a quick movement of his fingers.

“So, we’ll revisit once again, I’ll try to explain all your doubts. Then, I’ll ask you a question, if you get it right, I’ll take off one piece of clothes, if you get it wrong, you’ll take off one, and vice versa.”

“How studying with you butt-naked would make me learn more things?” He almost screams in a high-pitched voice.

“See!” You say. “You’re already starting with the idea you’ll lose.”

“Because I can’t get anything in my brain, and if I get it right then you’ll have to take something off and all I’ll think about will be… you.” I already only think about you, he’d like to add, but that’s too humiliating. Just like the grin on your face. He hates how weak he is. He hates how easy it is for you to win battle after battle. And he hates even more that his plan is showing flaws with each passing day. He doesn’t want you to be his Waterloo, but he’s not sure he can come up with another strategy soon enough to beat you. 

“Fine, then no study-strip-poker,” you give up, but the smug smirk on your face doesn’t drop when you start to think of something else that could motivate him, it only grows bigger when you finally get it. “If you answer right to at least ten of the fifteen questions, I’ll suck your dick.”

Haechan gulps. His eyes immediately fall on your lips as his brain starts to wander on lands he shouldn’t think about, not now at least, not when he has a bigger obstacle to face if he wants to get there.

“Hey,” you call his attention, snapping your fingers and waving them in front of his face. “It has to be motivation, not distraction. Do you want me?”

He huffs, throwing his head back. “Can’t we just fuck and then we’ll start again?” He pouts like he does every time he wants something from you.

“No,” you reply sternly, stealing his sweatshirt from his chair and putting it on you. “You don’t get the prize if you don’t win.”

“That’s not fair. And why are you covering up?”

“So you can’t distract yourself,” you say. You might like to tease him with more revealing clothes, but your intent is never to get him to be this distracted. You don’t want to be the reason he will fail this last test.

“You’re not my distraction,” he scoffs, diverting his gaze, and moving closer to his desk.

You decide to ignore him, you know the truth, and as much as the idea of him starting to lose because he’s too busy thinking of you, sends you on cloud nine, you also don’t want him to do terribly, especially in a class you know he loves and is good at.

“I know the theory,” he says, stopping you from going back to the start. “I wouldn’t be able to produce songs if I didn’t.”

“Yeah, but you just failed to explain how you create and add effects, and you forgot the basic difference between the dry sound and the wet sound, so revisiting some theory won’t hurt.”

Haechan sighs but soon gives up as you hand him your notes. He always thought you were crazy for also having printed pictures of how the software works but now that he needs it, he couldn’t be more grateful that you’re so precise with everything.

You start explaining things once again, cutting short about the most basic notions and diving deeper into the last lessons, as you try to stop as much as you can to make sure he’s still following you. And, after almost an hour, you’re done.

“What are you doing?” He asks when you take off his sweater again. “What about my concentration?”

“I needed your focus while I was explaining, now you have to answer even if you have distractions.”

He huffs loudly, throwing his head back. “But don’t play dirty, you can’t touch yourself or anything like that.”

“I’m not that cruel, I just want you to answer me,” you say. “So, let’s start with an easy one, should we?”

Haechan answers the first questions with ease, not like he usually would, but it’s still better than the mess of before. And he would be so close to getting the last one that keeps him on thin ice, he only got five wrong...

“No, no, no, please,” he begs, trying to stop you in place. “Please, give me one last chance. Ask me just one last question.”

“You got six wrong, babe,” you reply, loving how he’s almost on the verge of tears as his big brown eyes look up at you.

“But it was hard, I will never remember all the types of old reverbs unit,” he whines, coming closer to you.

“Then why do I?”

“Don’t lie, you don’t remember them either, I can’t even pronounce some of those names.”

You chuckle. “Oh, it’s really funny when the lack of a good fuck gets in your brain.” It’s not about sound design anymore. It’s about the desperation behind his eyes; knowing he wants you so much even if you’re the biggest reason for his despair gets your body hot and your pussy wet.

He groans, slumping back on his chair as he gives up on you. Or so he thinks because when he doesn’t pity you enough and you’re still packing your things to leave, he’s back again with his complaint.

“Please, one last chance? I didn’t mess the others up, I just made some tiny mistakes.”

“And you didn’t answer to two,” you say, ignoring him, trying to keep a serious face to not show your true emotions.

“Do I have to get on my knees?”

You snicker. “You look good on your knees,” you taunt but you don’t expect him to do that. “Get up!”

“Not until you give me another chance,” he retorts. “Please.”

You huff, rolling your eyes. “Fine, but just one.”

He nods enthusiastically, almost looking like a puppy being teased with a treat before he sits up in front of you.

“The differences, all the differences, between the shelving equalizer and the peaking equalizer.”

“Okay, I know this one, I know it,” he says before he starts explaining without missing a single detail. “So?” He asks with eyes full of hope as if he doesn’t know he just gave you a perfect answer.

“It was… great,” you tease him but you can’t keep a straight face when you see the pout on his face. “Kidding, kidding, you answered perfectly. So, I guess you deserve your prize.”

“Yes,” he screams, and in a second he throws himself on you but you shake your head and push him back on his chair. “What?”

“You sit there and let me handle this,” you say, placing your hands on his thighs. “Take them off,” you order, tilting your head to point at his grey pants. You see he’s confused about where you want this to go, but he obeys you anyway. “Everything,” you add when he’s still in his boxers. “Good boy, come here,” you say, patting your lap.

Haechan frowns. “You said you were going to suck me off.”

“I know, and have I ever break my promises?”

“I don’t know.”

“Just trust me and come here,” you order, waiting for him to follow. “Can’t believe you’ve been this hard all this time,” you say, wrapping your hand around his hard cock, starting to pump the pre-cum that leaked.

“You teased me,” he huffs, trying to keep his composure as he watches your hand moving on him delicately.

“I know, babe. I’m sorry,” you pout, one hand sneaking under his big white shirt to tease his nipples.

“Don’t,” he mutters, but you only laugh.

“Don’t, what? Let me take care of you, you’re stressed.”

He doesn’t reply, his head falls back as your movements on his dick quicken. He feels so small in your hold and he should find this more embarrassing but he doesn’t care. He loves the way your hand wanders delicately on his body and your lips leave pecks on his neck while the movements on his dick are fast enough to give him what he wants but not too fast to ruin this moment.

Your hands keep moving while your lips kiss his neck and jaw.

“Feels so good,” Donghyuck hums, shifting in your lap.

“I told you,” you chuckle, watching him roll his head back on your shoulder as his eyes close. “The others will hear you,” you say when his whimpers get louder.

“Don’t care,” he moans. “Feels too good.”

You smile and shrug. If he doesn't care, who are you to worry about it? It’s not like they don’t know what happens between you two.

So you quicken your hand, sliding up and down his sensitive dick so fast you make him tremble in your hold.

“You’re so cute like this, you know?” You say. “You look so small and delicate.” You expect him to get mad but instead, he moans and nods swiftly. And you know that stress got him good. Donghyuck, admitting to be vulnerable in your hands? You can only thank the weight the University is putting on his shoulders. But if that’s a way to make it go away, you can’t complain.

“I’m gonna — gonna come,” he whimpers when you start rubbing your thumb on his tip. “Fuck.”

You trap his scream with your other hand, staring at him as he slumps against you as his orgasm washes over him, squirting white strings of cum on your hand and his crumpled shirt.

“Get on the bed,” you urge while lifting the shirt off his body, leaving him naked. He barely has time to put himself together, but you don’t care and you know he needs more too.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit unfair that you’re still all dressed up?” He asks, still sitting on top of you.

“Do you want me to suck your dick, or do you want me to leave?” Is the only thing you have to say to make him obey with no more complaints. “Good. You should be thankful I gave you another chance. Right now you would be masturbating all alone and have no knowledge of sound design, so… what do we say?”

“What do you want me to say? You didn’t—”

“What do we say?” You shut him up, pulling his hair back harshly as your body weights on his lap, eliciting a broken groan.

“Tha — thank you,” he mumbles, cock throbbing right against your thigh. “Thank you but, please, do something, I’m… I need you.”

You snicker, letting go of his head and crawling back on the bed. “You’re so pathetic,” you mock, grabbing his dick again. “Begging on your knees just because you wanted my mouth.”

Haechan groans, throwing his head back but the harsh slap on his thigh makes him snap his eyes open.

“Why?” He squeaks.

“Eyes on me when I’m talking to you,” you order before lowering down so you can tease his tip with your tongue, making him bite back a loud moan.

“Please,” he pleads, and you finally give in. When you take him in your mouth, the broken breath that rolls from his lips makes your pussy clench around nothing.

“Shit,” he moans, fists clenching in the sheets as you suck harder, moving your head up and down in quick movements. He wants to look at you, knowing it will be even harder to not come on the spot, but he’s fighting with so many parts of him, he doesn’t know what to do.

When you pull away to look at him, he whines, hips bucking up in search of physical contact. You snicker, “and then I am the greedy one?”

“You’ve been teasing since you stepped inside the house,” he whines, trying to grab your hand but you don’t let him. “Come on, I’ve been good.”

It’s true, he has been good, but you don’t want him to come yet. “You can’t come, not yet.”

“Fine, just — just don’t tease me. Please,” he cries, begging you with his eyes.

You start taking care of him seriously; bobbing your head up and down while your hand wraps at his base to touch him where you can’t reach. Your movements are quick, but not too messy, since you’re trying to avoid creating a pool of spit and pre-cum all over his lap.

“Your mouth, fuck,” he groans, involuntarily fucking into your throat and uttering a slurred apology. “You’re just so good. God,” he curses, and you catch him rolling his eyes. “Even at — even at this you’re good.”

You snicker to yourself and keep focusing on his dick, heavy on your tongue as you suck with force.

You might be too good, cause it doesn’t take a lot for him to explode in your mouth; a brief warning for you to choose if you want to pull away and then the pleasure runs through his body for the second time.

You barely have time to clean your chin from the cum that dripped down that Haechan pulls you close to him, kissing you intensely while his hands are all over your body. “Want you, please, please fuck me,” he begs against your lips.

You slip out of your panties, quickly grabbing the base of his cock to line it with your soaked entrance because you can’t wait anymore.

“Oh, fuck, you’re so wet,” he hums when you sink, wrapping your hands around his shoulders.

“Want to take merits for this, too?”

“Well, yes,” he retorts. “Shit, don’t move, it’s not fair.”

“Everything is fair between us,” you say, starting to pick up a rhythm that makes him struggle to come up with a snarky reply. “Loss of words?”

He groans, throwing his head back and tightening the hold around your waist. “You can —mmph— you can talk all you want but —ugh— I am the reason why you’re soaked.” Somehow the way you’re bouncing on his dick it’s not enough to wipe away that smug smirk off his face, and you can’t stand it.

“Just shut the fuck up and enjoy this, will you?” You snap before kissing him roughly, cupping his chin with force before nibbling his lower lip, making him hiss. “I like it when you moan, so please, just fucking moan. The only words I want to hear are my name and begs.”

Your “threat” is effective because he doesn’t dare to open his mouth again.

“Good boy,” you praise without ever stopping to kiss him and moving your hips at a quick but regular speed.

You quickly realize that stress has gotten to you, too. You love to pretend it doesn’t affect you, and that you don’t need to let off steam, but you do. You are desperate to feel carefree for a few moments, put all the books and papers behind and have fun. And worst, you need him.

Donghyuck is what makes you feel good. It doesn’t matter if it’s mostly physical, he takes you to another world every time. He makes you feel wanted, he puts you through the test, but he makes everything worth it.

You’re so sure of it as you let your body crush against his, your fleshes meeting in a messed-up tangle of flaws. The kinds of flaws you both grew close enough to show each other.

In a few minutes, waves of pleasure hit you both and your bodies collapse into each other as you keep lazily riding that sensation; muscles on fire, lips meeting in messy kisses, moans panting the room, and your hands looking for each other.

When you lay on the bed side by side, you feel disconnected, and, truly, the only thing you’d like to do is to close your eyes and fall asleep, but your eyes fall on the clock against the wall and remind you why you went to his place.

“Five minutes and then we’re revisiting again,” you say, knowing the only way to get up is to say that thought out loud.  

Donghyuck groans, pressing his face against you and mumbling, “can I eat you out if I make no mistakes this time?”

“We’ll see.”

You’re woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of the piano playing from the living room. The other side of the bed is empty, and the sheets are crumpled up, signalling you Haechan got up somewhere during the night.

You two went on a trip the whole weekend. Not like you had a choice when he passed by your place and told you to get in the car without giving you any information. You got mad at him when he told you it wasn’t a one-day thing, but you were too far from town to even think of going back. And even if initially you were angry because your plans for the weekend were different —studying all day for three days— your anger disappeared quickly.

This is the second night out; you spent the entire day wandering around a town you didn’t even know before and got closer to each other. You love the thrill with him, but you soon realize you also love it when there’s peace between you. It’s impossible for you to don’t bicker, but you learned how to balance everything. And the more you get to know him, the more you like him.

“Can’t sleep?” You ask, watching his features being lit up by the faint moonlight and a small lamp at the side of the piano. It’s an old one, almost left abandoned in the living room of the small, cheap house you’re staying in for the night.

Donghyuck shakes his head. “Got a tune I couldn’t get off my mind so… here we are.”

You smile, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear as you sit next to him. You don’t talk, you only watch his fingers move on the notes looking like ballet dancers. You’ve never seen him play the piano before, you weren’t even sure he could. But you’re amazed at how many things he’s talented at, the guitar, the piano, production, singing, dancing —and making your days less grey.

You don’t tell him, you only lean in, resting your head on his shoulder as he keeps playing the sweet melody.

“It’s…” he huffs, stopping for a second. “Doesn’t it sound messy?”

“Not at all,” you reply. “It sounds upbeat. Happy.”

“Out of all the ways you can describe music,” he chuckles, looking at you.

You look up, shrugging. “I’m describing how it’s making me feel.”

“Yeah? And what does it feel like?”

“Play it again,” you say, closing your eyes and letting the tune lull you. “It feels like spring. Like a field full of sunflowers, the ones you see at the side of the highway, passing by so fast before you can even get lost in their beauty.”

Haechan chuckles, holding back the big smile on his face. “It reminds me of those late summer evenings, when the heat dims a bit and the sky is pale pink and purple and blue, and time is frozen.”

“Yeah, when you’re ten and you don’t want summer to end because it means you have to go back to school,” you smile. “When you would stay out all day and come home with the smell of your favourite cake that your mom just baked.”

“Really? Your mom would bake that too?”

You nod. “Chocolate cake, basic and too messy for the heat of summer. But my mom loves me too much to don’t bake it for me, even if it’s 30° outside.”

Haechan chuckles, and his fingers start moving faster, starting the melody of what could be the chorus of the tune.

“In this part, it feels like a wave. I’m picturing running on the beach as the waves crash at your feet and the wind blows against your face.”

“Why are you smiling?” He asks.

You shake your head. “I — I can… it feels oddly romantic, a bit tormented, maybe confused, but in love,” you whisper. He gives you a weird look, and you’re not sure if it’s because you’re not using technical words to describe it or because you’re just weird. But there’s a reason you’re not being technical, you’re saying what it makes you feel, the vivid pictures in your mind. And, somehow, there’s you and him.

You two on the beach, walking on the sand before he starts running, teasing you to follow him. There’s the scent of the sea filling your nostrils and your lungs burning up as you reach him and then fall in his arms and feel your heart explode.

“It’s an unexpected feeling, something that wasn’t supposed to happen and then… changed everything. It’s thrilling. Scary, but satisfying.” You avoid his gaze but hear him hum in agreement, and wonder if he’s thinking the same, if he can feel this tension.

“So, something that sweeps everything like a wave,” he asks, and you nod. “Sunset,” he adds, smiling at you, slowing down the rhythm of his fingers. “I can also see the sunset colouring the scene. The kind that makes you look up and stare in awe like a child.”

“The one we saw yesterday,” you reply shyly. “It made your eyes look even more brown,” you confess, watching his cheeks tint up of rose.

“The kind that leaves you breathless,” he whispers. His fingers are still moving but they’re playing the same notes, he’s too busy staring into your eyes, leaning closer to you.

“And speechless.”

And a bit closer.

“And grateful you’re on earth.”

And closer.

You move back, coughing and lowering your head because you feel on fire. Is he making fun of you? Does he feel this? Why is he so confusing?

“It feels like a road trip with nowhere to go,” you say to fill the silence, and your words make him play again. “The calm while everything outside is falling apart.”

“Like running to your safe place?”

You nod. “It feels like… home.”

He smiles, looking in your direction while his fingers still play that sweet melody. “I always believed home is a person, even people, but not a place.”

You swallow, staring at his lips before your eyes meet his. “I’ve forgotten that feeling quite some time ago,” you whisper, feeling your head spin. You left home and never looked back, eager to chase your dreams, the ones you’ve been fighting hard to achieve since you were a child, but in that marathon to success, you’re starting to realize you lost something.

“You just need to find the right people, and then never let go.” He leans closer to you, hands falling from the piano as he leans in completely to trap your lips in a kiss. His hand cups your face while the other moves to the back of your neck, pulling you closer and moving his thumb in small circles. You feel like your lungs are on fire, and your legs are weak, but your heart never pumped harder than this. And when he slowly pulls away, you’re staring into each other’s eyes.

You know all the words to your song.

It’s true you’ve tried to avoid Donghyuck’s group of friends as much as you can —mostly to preserve your brain from early injuries— but it’s also true that the end of the second academic year is tearing you apart and you need to do something to don’t go insane.

So here you are, it’s Friday night, at their place, and you’re surrounded. Haechan has left you alone for a moment, busy talking with Mark. Jeno is trying to set up the table in the living room, while Renjun runs after him because ‘things are not perfect enough.’ Yangyang —no, he doesn’t live with them, but for some reason, he is always around— is in the kitchen doing only God knows what.

For your luck, you have Jaemin and the girls by your side. Ningning, who apparently has something going on with Mr Loverboy at your side. Yeri, who is there just to bully Haechan, Mark and Yangyang  —an old tradition that goes on since high school, and you love her for that. And Minjeong, who’s the nicest and yet smartest person you know, you are relieved she is in creative writing with Jaemin. You met them all before, one of the thousand times Donghyuck dragged you around with him, and the four of you got along right away, quickly becoming friends.

“They’re so loud, I would have a constant headache living here,” Yeri huffs loudly, rolling her eyes and falling backwards in Ningning’s arms.

You raise a brow as a ‘told you’ moment.

“They’re not that bad usually,” Jaemin defends, looking at his friends, now all too interested in something that regards what they are supposed to eat.

“Pfft, please, Jaem,” you say, glaring at him.

“How would you know?” He says. “Oh, no, yes, actually you would, you’re always here.”

“See, so stop defending them,” you say before becoming aware of the three sets of eyes boring holes into you. You turn around meeting your three friends and lift a brow in a questing look.

“Why would you always be here?” Ningning teases, nudging you.

You roll your eyes. “Don’t wander too far with your brains. I’ve got a project with Hyuck.”

“Hyuck? You used to go around calling him by his stage name just a few months ago and now it’s Hyuck?” Yeri points out, smirking smugly.

You throw a pillow at her. “He’s always attached to my hip, of course, we got closer,” you explain, frowning.

“Sure, sure,” she laughs. “Not even the boys call him Hyuck.”

“They do,” you retort.

“Of course you know, you’re always here,” Minjeong giggles and you gasp.

“You traitor!” You say, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her as you both laugh.

“Move your asses over here, motherfuc—” Yangyang screams before Renjun slaps a hand on his face.

“I will kill you all one day,” Renjun says, storming into the kitchen to bring more drinks as you sit down around the table.

“Please leave us out of it,” Yeri screams loud enough so he can hear.

“Sure, you can even help me get it done if you want to,” he says, sitting between Jeno and Yangyang, handing the bottles around.

“I’m in,” the four of you say simultaneously, raising your hands and they all gasp as they glare at you.

“Guess we better sleep with our eyes open tonight,” Yangyang mutters.

“You should always sleep with one eye open,” Yeri threatens, smiling creepily.

You chuckle at their antics, but your attention is caught by Donghyuck who sits by your side. “Would you kill me?”

You smile, caressing his hand on his thigh. “Honey, what are you saying? You would be the first that has to go.”

The smile on his face drops and you laugh, turning to the table to grab something to eat.

“You know,” he whispers, leaning in so only you can hear, “no dick tonight.”

You lower your head, trying to hide the embarrassment, but then lift it up and shake it, fixing your hair behind your ear, and turning to him. “Not like something could’ve happened tonight anyway.”

“Period?”

“People,” you say and he chuckles, opening a can of beer before taking a sip.

“As if that ever stopped you.”

You roll your eyes, stealing the beer from his hand, “as if that ever stopped you.”

He smiles, resting his head on his palm as he looks at you. “You never said no, though.”

You wave him off, returning your attention to the table, but it doesn’t last much, they’re deep in a heated conversation and you’re missing something. “Why are they bickering… again?”

Haechan chuckles, shaking his head, grabbing a spring roll, dipping it in the soy sauce before taking a bite. You roll your eyes because you need to be updated right away but when you look at him munching happily you can’t hold back a smile.

“So,” he says, cleaning his lips after he swallowed, “Jeno wants Renjun for a project, but Renjun has war traumas of the last time they did a shooting together and doesn’t want to.”

You giggle, grabbing a spring roll too, and dipping it in the same small cup of Donghyuck, while you both pay attention to the conversation.

“But you’re perfect for it,” Jeno insists, shaking Renjun from his shoulders, not caring about the pissed-off expression of the older.

“I’m literally not, ask anybody else but me,” Renjun repeats, a deep crease visible on his forehead.

“But you look like an angel,” Jeno pouts, finally stopping his movements and batting his lashes to gain some pity.

“I might look like an angel, but I feel Satan rising in me every time you talk,” he says, making everybody laugh before he glances, and the room goes quiet.

“Come on, how bad can it be?” Minjeong says, and you see her shift closer to Mark, but you don’t say anything.

Renjun groans, throwing his head back. He can’t believe he might be convinced into this by the end of the night. “He’s too much of a perfectionist, and I’m not comfortable in front of the camera. Also, he’s not rich enough to have a studio and he always takes ages to put the light boxes in their place once he’s done.”

“Oh, I won’t annoy you, I promise,” Jeno begs again.

“We can rent a studio,” you say, all eyes on you. “I mean,” you cough, placing the small bite of the roll left on the plate in front of you, “me and Hyu— Donghyuck have to shoot the cover for the songwriting project, I don’t think we can wait any longer since we also have to record the song and then come up with an advertising strategy.”

“Then rent a studio?” Renjun says, coming out colder than he intends to. “No, wait, I just don’t get why you have to drag me in this.”

“Jeno proposed to be our photographer, but I doubt we can do it at home. And since we wouldn’t be paying for his job. Sorry,” you mouth quickly glancing at Jeno who shrugs and smiles at you. “We can at least put the money for the studio.”

“And where do I fit in this,” he cries, shoulders slumping as he knows there’s no way out of this, no matter what you say next.

“Well, since you pay the studio per hour, I don’t think Jeno will torture you much. He takes two hours with you and two hours with us and in a day, we are done. Also, if there are four of us, we can be quicker,” you finish explaining, hearing some hums of agreement from your other friends.

Jeno doesn’t say a word, he’s only smiling widely with his face close to Renjun’s as the latter regrets all the life choices that brought him here. “Fine, I’ll do it,” he exhales, groaning when Jeno hugs him and screams a cheer in his ear. “Step away before I change my mind,” he warns, slapping Jeno’s arm and glaring at him when he does as told.

Yeri sighs deeply at your side, rolling her eyes and muttering, “children.”

You chuckle, finishing your roll, and stealing Donghyuck’s beer again before talking to him. “So, I guess we’re almost done.”

“Almost done? You still didn’t show me the lyrics, have you even written them?”

“Hey,” you scold. “Are you doubting me?”

“I don’t know, last time I checked, you were the one struggling. I offered you four bases, and all the words I’ve read from you ended up crumpled in the bin.”

You sigh. “I’ve got the song,” you reassure him.

“Really?”

“Yeah, and I also picked the production. I mean, I… I wrote it because of that production.”

Haechan’s smirk widens when you start stuttering and looking away, trying to look unsuspicious in your friends’ eyes. “Really? And why are you shying away?”

You almost jump when you feel his hand on your thigh, resting on your bare skin under the skirt. “I’m not,” you whisper, trying to keep cool.

He snickers. “You know I’ll have to see it and you can’t keep it a secret from me, right?”

“I know, I don’t want it to be a secret. You’ll read it.”

He squeezes your thigh, and you glare at him. “Not now.”

“Right, later, under the cover when we’ll watch a movie,” he jokes.

Yeri coughs beside you and you see your entire life pass in front of your eyes, but you fake nonchalance and turn to her. “Need something? Some water?”

“Some tea, honey, some tea,” she says, raising a brow and pointing at the man at your side, now busy talking with Yangyang.

“I can make some.”

“Stop playing me,” she whispers, sending you a deadly glare. She can be scary at times, you’re not surprised the boys listen to her in the blink of an eye.

“He’s just being stupid, he flirts even with walls,” you say.

“Does he touch their thighs?”

“No, he’s not,” you say, only to gasp when she looks down and his hand is still on you. You push it away but he puts it right where it was and you can only sigh.

Yeri snickers. “Ah, l’amour.”

Your head rolls back as you let out an annoyed sigh. “Love my ass.”

Yeri shrugs, sipping from her small bottle of soju. “Don’t care, there’s still something going on, and I’m interested.”

“I’d love to mock you with somebody but you’re more closed than an unopened can of beans.”

“You are so bad with words. How do you write songs?”

“I don’t write about beans, clearly,” you say seriously before you both laugh.

“You two, mind to share what’s funny with the class?” Ningning calls you out.

“Sorry Professor Ning, we’ll be even more annoying next time,” Yeri retorts.

“Why do I feel you’re quoting something we can’t understand?” Renjun says.

“Because you’re right,” Yeri replies.

“Yesterday Yeri almost got us expelled,” Ningning says with a forced smile on her face, making you all gasp.

“What happened to sharing information?” Mark screams, leaning in with interest.

“Why do you care so much?” Yeri shrugs, grabbing a bowl of tteokbokki to eat.

“Mh, hello? You got your asses out of Uni,” Minjeong says.

Yeri only rolls her eyes, resting her head on Ningning. “If a tteokbokki falls on my clothes you’re dead,” the blonde-haired warns before bringing her gaze to all of you. “In her defense, it wasn’t her fault. Not at the start, at least.”

“No,” Yeri retorts, sitting up straight again, and placing the bowl on the table, “it wasn’t my fault, period.”

“Here she goes again,” Ningning sighs, puffing and shaking her head, making you chuckle. But Yeri is not paying her attention, too busy telling the facts right.

“Professor Choi hates us and treats us like kids. Not only his lessons are boring, and I would like to add, useless, but he also thinks we’re in kindergarten.”

“Did you fight with him?” Jeno questions, frowning, already fearing a positive answer.

Yeri gulps, looking around to take time to answer.

“Oh, God, tell me you didn’t,” you say, staring at her with a worried expression.

“He asked for blood,” she says, getting fired up.

“You fought a Professor?” Jaemin gasps loudly.

“She didn’t,” Ningning intervenes when Yeri is about to open her mouth again. “Just because I was there to babysit her, but she didn’t.”

“I didn’t come here to be treated like a child,” she says, crossing her arms on her chest. “We weren’t even being loud. We were sitting in the back of the class, minding our business and he called us out. There was a group of boys in the middle row watching fucking porn and he called us out.”

“Ew,” it comes out collectively.

“But unless the headphones weren’t connected how would he know?” Yangyang asks.

“I don’t care! He hates us,” she groans.

“So you decided to make him hate you even more? Smart move, Yerim, smart move,” Renjun says sarcastically, and she glares at him.

“I just decided to drag her out when things got a bit heated,” Ningning says.

“Not in a Beyonce way I guess,” Haechan jokes, and Yeri slaps him as you move back to give her space to hit him.

“Hey! Why are you helping her bully me?” He asks offended.

“Cause you deserve it?” You shrug.

Donghyuck looks around in disbelief, groaning when everybody agrees. “Fake ass friends, can’t even trust your own shadow in this group.”

“Back to what matters, safe to say you won’t pass the class,” Renjun says.

“We will, there’s only one lesson left, and we’ll pay attention,” Ningning says and Yeri raises her brows. “We will pay attention. He might hate us, but, you know, a bit of boot-licking and we’ll be fine.”

“Fine,” Yeri gives up. “But only because I don’t want to see him ever again.”

“We once fought so hard we got kicked out,” Haechan confesses, bringing the attention to him.

“You and?” Jeno asks.

“Dumbass, Miss Better than him, thought you heard them bicker every two seconds,” Renjun replies instead, pointing at you with his index finger.

“Hey!” You say. “I mean, thank you for acknowledging I’m better than him but it wasn’t so bad.”

“Oh, trust me, it was,” Mark comments before drinking his beer.

“And you were teaching us a lesson, uh?” Yeri teases, eyebrow raised at you two.

“We didn’t insult the Professor,” you explain. “We were just at each other’s throat.”

“Why?” Minjeong asks.

“Honestly? Can’t remember, we fight about everything,” Donghyuck replies.

“We don’t fight,” you clarify. “We discuss. And sometimes things take a bad turn. Not anymore, we learned how to survive with each other.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” giggles Yeri and you kick her knee with yours, making her groan.

Haechan sends you a look you ignore, and you go on explaining. “We were just stating our thoughts, but we weren’t exactly agreeing, and we couldn’t stop, so the Professor told us to take it somewhere else.”

“And you did? You simply could’ve stopped,” Renjun asks in disbelief. He can’t believe he thought you were normal.

“We had business to settle, okay?” You explain.

“Oh, and we sure did,” Haechan chuckles under his breath or so he thinks because the room goes quiet, and you think you want to strangle him.

You have to come up with something.

“You only won because I gave up,” you say, looking into his eyes, seeing the devilish glint behind, warning him to not say a word more.

“You always give up if there’s a prize you can take,” he clicks his tongue and you gulp.

“Oookay, weird tension in the room, it’s clear the only one not getting laid is me,” Yangyang cheers, bringing you two out of your competitive stare. You’d like to complain, saying it’s not what he thinks about, but you’re still stuck, brain busy thinking about something else.

“This night it’s boring, if we don’t do something funny, I’ll act out my plan of killing you all,” Renjun says, standing up.

“I still don’t know whether you’re joking or not,” Mark says.

“Because I’m not.”

“Caught you!”

“Hyuck!” You scream, turning around, holding a hand over your chest as his arms wrap around your waist and his chin rests on your shoulders. “You could’ve killed me.”

“You’re eating cake without me, that’s the crime,” he says, pulling your hand to his face to take a bite.

You roll your eyes. “Jaemin told me he had to store it away because Jeno and Minjeong were eating it all.”

“So, you were hiding, uhm?”

You hum, cutting another piece and diving it in two to give it to him. “He said I could eat it. Also, I think I had too much alcohol and I need to put something in my stomach.” You sit on the countertop and he takes his place between your legs.

“Am I allowed to eat it?”

“I guess so, I’ll take the blame if he says something,” you giggle.

“Don’t think he will notice, too busy dancing with somebody,” he says, hinting at Ningning.  

“They look cute together,” you say, smiling fondly.

“Oh, they do. If only he could grow some balls and confess,” he says.

“Do you confess, Casanova?” You tease.

Donghyuck smirks. “How does it look like?”

You shrug. “Don’t know, you tell me.”

He rolls his eyes before he realizes you two are not together. “Wait, are we… no, never mind,” he says, pulling away, and turning to the door.

You grab his hand, stopping him. “What?”

“Jeno called,” he lies, trying to escape your hold.

“No, he didn’t. He’s sitting with Yangyang passing the blunt around,” you jump off the top and face him. “Are we?” You’re not sure what you expect him to say.

Donghyuck gulps, struggling to keep his eyes on you. “Are you fucking somebody else?”

Whatever you were expecting, that wasn’t it. “Are you?”

“I asked you first,” he retorts.

You blink. “Oh, really?

“Yeah, really.”

“Do I look like I know somebody else besides us?”

“Jeno likes you, and he told me you two are texting.”

“As friends, Hyuck. I already told him I’m taken — I’m not, I’m… I’m taken by other things in my mind. Uni, fighting you, especially fighting you.”

Donghyuck snickers, not really what he expected from you, but deep down —not even so deep, truly— what he wanted to hear. “Yeah, I agree, you’re taken, mostly by me.”

You’re about to retort but he slips from your hands too soon, leaving the small kitchen to reach the others. But you’re smiling. It’s a dumb, small smile that lights up your face in the dark of the night, and your heart pumps. You two didn’t name any of this, but —bickering aside— you objectively know you acted like a couple. It’s not about the sex, it’s about everything else. He started to pick you up before lessons so you could go to class together and sit next to each other —while he did everything he could to distract you. You ate at your friends’ table at lunch, went out for dates, and occasionally even slept over. You are taken and probably for longer than you even realise. Donghyuck started filling your days months ago, and even your life.

You’re still caught up in your thoughts that you don’t hear Ningning enter the kitchen.

“I spy with my little eyes something suspicious,” she sings while pouring herself a glass of water, leaning against the countertop where you were before.

“First Yeri, and now you?” You ask, a small smile curling your lips while you walk to lean next to her.

Ningning gasps offended. “She knew before me? Is this how you betray me? After I helped you style your hair?”

You laugh, resting your head on her shoulder, and inhaling deeply; she always smells nice. “I didn’t tell her,” you confess. “Honestly, I don’t even know myself.”

You can’t see her, but you know she’s smiling when her arms wrap around your body.

“So, what is that, love?”

You hum. “I don’t know what it is, but I know I like it.”

“I knew you were a romantic at heart,” she jokes, pulling away to squeeze your cheeks.

“I’m just happy. I don’t think I need to put a name on this… on this happiness.”

A big smile spreads on her face and her eyes crinkle, her hand softly caresses your cheeks. “It’s not only Donghyuck, is it?”

You nod, pressing your lips in a flat line because something about this feels too emotional for you. It’s 11 pm and there’s faint music playing in the living room while people laugh, and joke, sharing a blunt or bottles of alcohol. And you’re in the kitchen talking about a boy you want to kiss and strangle with who, you’re sure, can now consider your best friend. It’s the stupid fun of the early 20s. It’s the sense of something you’ve been missing for too long since you only let yourself be absorbed by your studies, leaving friendship behind.

And when a lonely tear rolls down your eyes, Ningning coos, gently wiping it away. “I’m happy,” you say, nodding.

“I know,” she replies, cupping your face.

“I’ve been on my own since I came here and I never regretted believing in my dreams even if it meant leaving the ones I loved the most behind, but now I realize what I’ve been missing,” you confess. “I love that they’re so loud they give me a headache.” You both chuckle and your hands intertwine. “And I love that we all sit together at lunch even if most of you have to run from the other side of the building. I love how none of you hesitated one moment to consider me part of your group.”

“I’m so happy you’re with us,” she says, smiling. “I guess Donghyuck does something right sometimes.”

You both laugh.

“Yeah, he definitely made my second year less boring than the first one,” you admit.

“Come here, I guess we both could use a hug,” she says, not giving you time to reply before you’re into her arms. You stay like this for a while, and you know more than before that this is what you missed the most. This is what college means. It isn’t in the loud parties, the sex, and the drugs, it’s in the people you do things with. Nine young people like you, trying to survive this craziness by being each other’s strength. You can still look at your goal right in the eye even if you have fun, even if you date, even if you have someone to walk down this road with.

“You know, I knew you were a good one when you slammed your fist on the table at lunch when he made you fuck up the essay,” Ningning confesses when you pull away.

You laugh, wiping away another tear. “I’m glad he did, I wouldn’t be here today if he didn’t.”

“You and Ning disappeared in the kitchen before,” Donghyuck says, searching in his closet to find something to make you wear for the night.

“Yeah, we talked about us. I know I might not show it, but I’m glad I found this,” you sigh. “I like them.”

Donghyuck smiles, sitting next to you. “They all like you just as much.”

“It’s like I finally have a place where I belong. I have people to rely on, so maybe I’ll learn to stop wanting to deal with everything by myself.”

“I told you life doesn’t have to be lonely,” he says. “I know that coming from me sounded like sabotage but I meant it. Having someone by your side makes everything easier.”

You smile and nod, grabbing the shirt he’s handing you. “I hate to say it, but you were right,” you chuckle. He doesn’t reply and you don’t drag the conversation, simply enjoying the thousands of words you two should be telling each other, but are not ready to face, yet.

“Can I use the bathroom? I need to freshen up a bit,” you say, breaking the comfortable silence. Most of the others are crushed in the living room, you think you saw Ningning sneak into Jaemin’s room but you were too caught up in Donghyuck to be sure of that, Renjun and Jeno might still be awake but you’re sure that all the weed they smoked won’t make them pay attention to you.

“Sure, if you need towels they’re in the cabinet under the sink,” he tells you, and soon you’re out of the room.

It doesn’t take you long to clean yourself up; you wash your face and steal someone’s products to get rid of your make-up, quickly get rid of your dress, put on some perfume —you’re pretty sure it’s Donghyuck’s cause you smell like him— and then wear the shirt he borrowed.

Once you’re done, you quickly make your way to the kitchen, and, passing in the living room, you see your assumptions are right; there’s no sight of the two love birds, and the only ones awake are Renjun, Jeno and Yeri, while the others are crushed on the sofa. You expect a remark from the girl, but she barely notices you, too busy playing —trying to— something with the other two.

After a few minutes, you’re back in Donghyuck’s room, and you notice he’s changed into something comfortable, too. He’s lost folding his clothes, and you let yourself get lost in his beauty. Too busy fighting him and trying to prove something, you realize you never noticed the smallest details that make him so handsome. The bridge of his nose, his soft lips, the moles on his cheek, his soft brown hair falling around his face.

“You alright?” His voice brings you out of your daydreams and you nod shyly, feeling embarrassed for being caught staring.

“Yeah, everything fine,” you reply, quickly walking to the bed. You see him staring at you with a confused expression, but avoid any awkward moment by reaching for your phone and pretending to be busy. But you’re not busy, you’re confused. You’re not used to this, any of this. Your nights have always been filled with yourself and books (whether for school or your entertainment), and if you felt wilder a movie, rare were the occasions when you would go out with your friends. And regret is creeping on your back. You feel like you lost a lot, you feel like you’ve punished yourself to get where you are now. And you think about love, how you treated your relationships, how little weight you gave them. And when you think about what you felt in these past months you wonder if you have ever even been in love.

“Remind me to never make you drink again if you get this sulky.” Once again, Donghyuck’s voice brings you back to earth, and when you turn toward that sound, you see he’s sitting next to you.

“I’m not sulky,” you chuckle. “I was just thinking about what I said before.”

He hums. “And?”

You shrug. “Nothing. You can’t change the past, I was just… having some bittersweet emotions.” It’s the truth, but you know that deep down your brain is trying to make you focus on the friendships because you don’t want to think about your biggest problem: the man you have by your side. This wasn’t supposed to be whatever it is. It wasn’t supposed to happen. And you don’t hate that it did, but you don’t know how to feel and act about it, cause you didn’t plan it. You couldn’t study this, you couldn’t put this on a PowerPoint and have it all laid out for you to understand it, it’s not logical, it’s not a theory, a study, a thesis, it’s emotion.

“You seemed happy before,” he whispers after a few minutes of silence passed. His hand gently rests on your stomach and you feel your heart race.

“I was,” you reply. “I am. I just wish I found this sooner, I always focused on my studies and career, and looking back at it now, it was lonely. And…” you sigh, rubbing the bridge of your nose, “I’m jealous of you, ‘cause you managed to be at the top with all of this.”

He chuckles, but it’s a tender sound, and then smiles at you. “Well… I managed until you came around. You…” he coughs, struggling to confess, “you distracted me a bit, so I think you’re better than me at this socializing and rocking your career at the same time thing.”

You laugh. “I distracted you?”

“Just a bit, don’t get too excited,” he warns, falling deeper into the mattress and laying in silence. You have your thoughts tormenting you, but for him, it’s no different. He knows his plan failed. You’ve been filling his thoughts, days and seconds for a few months now. Even when he was studying or recording, somehow, you were always there. At first, for spite, surely, but then, it turned into something else. Hate turned into teasing, teasing turned into lust, and lust turned into something more. He knows he doesn’t just simply want you or need you. He craves you and your company, your study sessions together, your smart talks, your witty words, your annoyed eye-roll when he’s right, and the soft eyes when you listen to him. He craves you and your laugh, the suppressed one during lessons and the loud one when you are alone, or your hidden smirk when he makes you smile even if you don’t want to.

He constantly comes back to you.

“Are you listening or are you avoiding me?” You ask when he doesn’t reply to your question and he shakes his head, mumbling an apology.

“Sorry, I was thinking.”

You chuckle. “It’s alright, it was a bitter question anyway.”

“No come on, ask me again.”

“It was just for fun. I wanted to know if I was the reason why you’ve been doing a bit worst than me lately,” you say. There’s no mockery in your tone, instead it’s light and hides a timid blush as the words roll down your tongue.

Donghyuck’s body shuffles next to yours and only then you realize how intimately close you are, with your legs almost intertwined, his hand still on your stomach and his face resting on your chest. “Well, yes, you were an unexpected presence in my life, so…”

“So…?” You laugh. “Am I so hot I got you horny all the time?” You joke but he doesn’t crack a smile, instead he furrows and stands up to sit on the bed with his arms crossed.

“I’m not that horny,” he murmurs.

Your body mirrors his, and then your hands lift his chin up. “Sorry, I was kidding. I didn’t mean to offend you. I just didn’t think you thought about me that much. I wanted to be on top but not like this.”

“Technically, you’re not on top of everything, but anyway, we just spent a lot of time together, you know? So different studying methods and so on, shocked me a bit.”

You raise a brow, not because you’re so pretentious to think you distracted him that much, but because you think you learned to read him a bit and he’s not being honest at all. “Sure, and you weren’t busy thinking of me after our… dates? Coming home and texting me, and telling me how you should’ve been between my thighs instead?”

He blushes, and you can’t believe your eyes. “It only happened once, and either way I never study at night, my pretty brain can’t handle it.”

You laugh. “Your brain is pretty, now?”

“Yeah, of course, everything about me is pretty.” He shrugs.

“You’re a bit of a liar, you know? First telling me I distracted you and then taking it back, but it’s alright, I think we settled this war. We’re equal now, right?”

“I guess you could say that.”

You huff rolling your eyes. “You’re so competitive, God.” You fall on the mattress again. “But maybe it’s good, we can keep this healthy and competitive.”

He hums, thinking about it and then nods. But you don’t expect him to cage you with his body as he sits on top of you and reduces the distance between you. “Doesn’t sound bad, we could try.”

You smile, trying to act nonchalantly, but it’s hard when he’s so close; hair a mess, face tired but still so fucking handsome, and plump lips so temptingly close to yours.

“I want you,” you whisper, looking straight into his eyes even if they make your knees buckle.

“I want you, too,” he replies before diving in and kissing you.

The last weeks before finals are hectic. You and Donghyuck spend all the time studying together. When you’re not locked in the library you’re either at your or his place, and most of the time you end up sleeping over with the excuse of “spending just a few minutes together without thinking about exams.”

Yet, none of you confess anything. Your relationship lingers in that limbo.

In all that chaos, what takes you more time is the songwriting project. You spend days in the studio to record and mix it. Then when you are done, you move to the studio with Jeno to shoot the concept photos. And it would been enough for the exam, but you and Donghyuck just have to go an extra mile, making an entire booklet with the photos and the lyrics inside, the physical CD with the track, the instrumental, and an acapella version.

Even if the shooting is long and tiring, since you have to style and do each other’s make-up, and the only help is from Renjun, you have a lot of fun.

If at the start you feel a bit insecure with the poses, Donghyuck is the perfect partner to have to feel at ease. And Jeno knows how to do his job, making you feel like a queen after the first awkward shots.

“I love how the photos turned out,” Jeno cheers happily on your way to their place. “The three of you are the perfect models. I will annoy you again to build my portfolio.”

Renjun rolls his eyes as his head slams against the bus window.

You chuckle. “Come on, Jun,” you say, pinching his cheek. “You had fun too, you can’t deny that. Also, you got so many beautiful photos for free, I wouldn’t complain.”

“Free? I’d like to remind you I helped you pay for the rent,” he retorts, sitting straight again. “But yeah, I had fun,” he admits, making Jeno clap happily. “But, I will do this again only if she comes with us.”

Jeno bats his eyes at you and you snicker. “Yes, if I am what he needs to be dragged into the studio, I will come with you.”

“I love you,” Jeno screams, hugging you tight. When you hug him back, you make eye contact with Donghyuck, but he swiftly turns his head. Not quick enough to hide he’s not enjoying this so much; jaw tense, fingers closing in a fist.

You find his jealousy of Jeno quite interesting. Even if it’s true you got very close to him, it’s hilarious how Donghyuck thinks anything would happen between you two when Jeno is clearly taken by someone else; someone too busy plotting his murder to realize his feelings, but that’s another matter.

And Donghyuck shows his jealousy even more when, once at home, you sit around the table to watch Jeno post-produce the photos and create the mock-up for the entire project with your supervision.

His arm wraps around your shoulder as he keeps his leg pressed against yours, and you have to hold back a chuckle. Yes, it’s obvious there’s nothing between you and Jeno, but this makes you feel wanted, and you let him show it.

You know you’ll have to deal with other menaces tomorrow; a hangout is already scheduled in the group chat with the girls after a quick text sent right away by Yeri. You love her, you do, but without that, maybe, just maybe, you wouldn’t have four other pairs of eyes set on you — Jaemin and Yangyang are very curious when they want to.

“Are you listening?” Jeno’s voice brings you out of your thoughts.

You blink twice and then mumble, “what?”

He shakes his head. “Do you like the font?”

“Oh,” you whisper. Your eyes adjust again on the screen that you were mindlessly staring at and focus on the project. “Yeah, I love it.”

“We were thinking of not putting our name on it since it’s more trendy lately,” Donghyuck says.

You nod. “Yeah, I think it’s better like this. I also love the picture, I think it would be more powerful without the name on it but we’re not that famous, yet,” you joke making them laugh.

“That’s why I didn’t make it too big, so the focus would be on you two.”

“Love it, that's perfect,” you praise. “Honestly, seeing it all almost done, I feel guilty for not giving you anything.”

Jeno shrugs. “It’s alright. I’m having fun doing this and can put it in my portfolio anyway. I did much worse and less fun for some courses.”

“We will offer you a dinner,” Donghyuck says. “Somewhere cheap, though.”

After a few hours, everything is almost done. Jeno still wants to double-check everything tomorrow before sending it to be printed but the final results won’t differ much.

“So, I think we should celebrate the project that brought you two so close,” Ningning says, winking at the last words, before raising an empty cup.

You chuckle, trying to escape Donghyuck’s hold, but it’s still firm on you. “It’s just a Uni project, there's nothing to celebrate.”

“Well, mine and Mark’s is not that good,” Yangyang snorts. “I don’t understand why you two always want to do so much extra work but whatever makes you happy.”

“We love the song,” Donghyuck replies. “And we’re proud of it so we might as well fool ourselves it might get more than 30 listens on SoundCloud.”

“For me,” Ningning says, “this is huge. One day you’ll be famous and we will get to say we were here from the start, so we need to treat ourselves and party.”

“Yes, let’s treat ourselves to the cheapest pizza on the block. Oh, how I love being an adult,” Yeri huffs, slumping on the couch. “No, but really, this is something to celebrate.” She then moves closer to you so that only you can hear. “And maybe if we get you drunk enough we’ll get juicy info before tomorrow.”

You roll your eyes and shake your head. “Fine, order these pizzas and let’s celebrate.”

The girls don’t get you drunk enough to spill anything but get themselves drunk enough that Jaemin has to drive them back to their place. Truthfully there’s nothing to say anyway. You and Donghyuck still didn’t talk, you didn’t even have sex lately. Too busy with everything, that was the last of your thoughts. But you did sleep together and basically lived in symbiosis. So?

You should feel happy about this project. Academically it will be another success, and honestly, one of your best works so far. So why do you feel this emptiness in your chest now that you’re sitting on a chair in Donghyuck’s bedroom?

This is the end. Now nothing holds you two together, and you fear that what you built over these months might not be strong enough for you to still hang out with you. You wonder if this meant anything to him. Sure, he likes you, but how much? Sex means nothing, and even if said between the lines, he got you to try out romantic things to make you come up with the song. And he succeeded. You have the song, the lyrics you tried so hard to put down. Fake dates, fake flirts, fake everything, but everything you put down is real. And it’s terrifying.

So absorbed by your torments, you don’t see Donghyuck stare at you, standing in front of you changed into fresh clothes.

“Hey.” His voice makes you flinch in surprise and quickly look up at him. There’s a frown on his face. “What’s with that face?”

You shrug, diverting the eye contact.

“Are you not happy with the result?” Donghyuck asks, grabbing the closest chair so he can sit right in front of you.  

“No, I love it. I loved everything so much and that’s why I’m sad.” There are many reasons why, and you’re not a master at dealing with too many emotions at once. Subjects? Books? Essays? Projects? They can fall and pile up on you and you won’t feel the weight of it. But real life? Feelings? Not where you excel.

“Cause you won’t have any excuses to spend time with me and see me?” He teases, chuckling. He’s still the same person you met one year ago but behind his playful voice and acts there’s something tender, at least you like to see it this way.

“Uhm, I hope we will keep seeing each other,” you confess shyly, doing everything in your power to not meet his warm gaze. His hands on his lap are a beautiful view now. “But no…”

His teasing smirk turns apprehensive. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

You shrug. This should be the easy thing to confess. A bit humiliating considering showing some weakness to him still feels like letting your mortal enemy pour salt in your open wounds, but you’re hiding more vulnerable things from him.  

“Nothing but… I was so sure I didn’t want to be a singer, and I was more and more sure of working in Pr, and now… I don’t know. I loved writing the song, like I always do, but this time felt different, as if… that’s what I’m supposed to do in my life, you know?” You look up because even if you can’t take a mocking look you have to see his reaction.

He smiles, caressing your cheek. “I think you’re good at it so yeah, you should.”

You’re taken aback by that reply. Deep down you wanted him to shred your dreams cause you feel like all of this is insane, and if you have nobody supporting you maybe you won’t indulge in it. But it’s clear that Donghyuck is not an enemy anymore and has your back now.  

“Yeah but… I loved singing and doing it with you. Being in the studio, recording, but even before when we were working on the melody and everything. And working on the concept? We did all that with just one song, can you imagine what working on an album feels like?”

He smiles and nods. “Well, yeah, I fantasized about it a lot, so yes. But why is it a problem? Why can’t you pick this as a career?”

You can see in his eyes that he’s confused. Not by your change of path, but by your sudden insecurity. Deep down you’re shocked by that too. You have changed goals a few times in your academic career but somehow this feels so different.

“Cause it’s rare to make it,” you mutter, nervously playing with your hands. Truth is, the chances of failure are so big, and you’re not sure you could take it. You and your perfectionism and your need to succeed on the first try.  

“Can’t say you’re wrong, it’s hell out there, but… you’re good, and beautiful, and I’m sure that with your songwriting skills and your voice, someone will notice you.”

He had tried to make a name for himself longer than you, he knows it. During some vulnerable night conversation where you showed him your songs, he told you how many demos he had sent, and how hard he tried to build something at least on the socials. So you don’t care if his words are driven by sympathy, he could discourage you, but instead, he’s supportive, and that’s all you need.

“And what am I without your production? Will you be my Jack Antonoff?”

Donghyuck laughs. “I’d prefer to be your Aaron Dessner.”

“Yeah, fine. I like that Haechan,” you say, highlighting that name that now sounds foreign.

“I don’t want to hear that name roll from your lips anymore,” he chuckles and you hum laughing.   

“Talking about lyrics,” he says after a few seconds, the phrase lingers in the air… “this song was interesting.”

“Interesting? What do you mean? Is it bad?” Your eyes widen and the anxiety that left you jumps at you again.

He shakes his head. “I said interesting, not bad. You should know the difference.”

“It’s not funny, interesting means nothing.”

He chuckles. “Some phrases are interesting… that’s it. They look familiar.”

You feel your body burn up in flames and you have to shift your gaze from him. You should’ve scrapped that, he isn’t dumb. (You believed he was up until two seconds ago, but apparently, he was just waiting for the right moment to trap you.)

“I wonder if something, or someone,” he winks, “inspired you.”

“The sea. When we went there together. The sea inspired me,” you whisper swiftly, nervously biting the inside of your cheek. “That’s why I called it wave.”

Donghyuck laughs. “I’m not talking about the title, and you know it,” he says, resting his hand on your knee. “Flow that I’ve never felt before? Meeting you through distinctive distraction is a miracle?”

“You told me you liked it,” you say, playing innocent.

He rolls his eyes. “I do. I love it, actually. I just wanted to analyse it with you.”

You gulp when his fingers start rubbing on your skin. “We should’ve done it before recording it, don’t you think?”

He clicks his tongue. “Nah, I want to do it now. I think I already know who inspired you.”

“The sea —”

“Drop it,” he retorts sternly, squeezing your knee. “I think our plan worked. Well, unless you found someone else who inspired you to write a love song.”

“It’s barely a love song,” you stutter, body heating up.

“Right, some lyrics felt sexy,” he giggles. “You’re such a master in holding me here and there and going up and up down and down again.”

You try to scoot away, but he blocks you by putting his feet under the leg of the chair. “So what? Also, you’re dirty-minded, that’s not what it means…”

He snickers, rubbing his thumb on your cheek. “Why are you so flustered then?”

“Cause you’re too close to me, I can barely breathe.”

“Mhh… it reminds me of something.”

You roll your head back and mutter a curse under your breath. “Isn’t it what you wanted? To inspire me? I did it. I romanticized everything and we got the song.”

“Romantized everything,” he hums. “In this wave called you that’s pushing in, I fall in love. You are the center of my heart. Feeling new, feel now. The wave that started because of you, babe. Dive into the world called you. Damn, your creativity is so good, you are talented.”

“Are you mocking me?”

“No, I…” he sighs annoyed. “If you wrote it down in a song, why can’t you say it to my face?”

You gulp. “I have nothing to tell you.”

He raises a brow. “So you’re still confused. Should I satisfy you to hear you say it?”

You hide your face in your hands and groan. “Fine,” you snap. “I — I wrote that about you. And I, God, this is humiliating. You heard the song, you sang it. Do you want me to say it out loud? Was that not enough?”

Donghyuck smiles, and, for a moment, you fear he will break into a mocking laugh, but instead, his smile gets bigger. “Yes, I knew it,” he screams.

“Oh… of course it’s funny to you, maybe this is what you wanted all along, make me fall in love and then make fun of me.”

“Fall in love?” He whispers, stopping in his tracks to look at you, and only then you realise you said it loud and clear. And it’s worse than saying it in a song. “You love me seriously? Like it’s not just attraction and maybe liking me?”

You feel like choking up on tears but try not to show it. “So you can laugh at me more?”

“Why would I laugh at you? I just want to know if what you feel is real,” he replies, and somehow he sounds even more annoyed than before.

You hum and nod, no words can leave your mouth.

“Did you really think I would use this against you? Don’t you trust me?”

“I — I… I don’t know, okay? I do, but also, this was… this was all fake, just to write that song and now it’s real. And it was never supposed to be real, and maybe you never wanted me, cause I’m not your type and you hated me and we both wanted this to be over and now I feel like I can barely breathe without you, and I know that in the song I said I would’ve left the decision in your hands but the idea of you not wanting me back makes me sick and I —”

Your words fall into a void as he kisses you with no hesitation. Hands cupping your wet face and holding the back of your neck to keep you close.

“You’re so fucking stupid. So, so smart and yet such an idiot when it comes to feelings,” he chuckles when he pulls away. “You said I was an unexpected thing that completely changed your flow but do you have any idea of what you were to me? You ruined my second year,” he confesses, and your face quickly shifts into a worried expression, but he clears your doubts right away.  

“I thought I could beat you, I thought I could have the upper hand and… you messed up my days and nights. I thought you couldn’t fill up so much of my time when I already had so many friends but, fuck, I was wrong. And instead of distracting you, I let you distract me.”

“But I — I didn’t plan it, I didn’t want to —”

His thumb shushes you as his eyes crease in a smile. “You didn’t do anything, I just miscalculated. I didn’t know the amazing person you are, and let jealousy consume me before love took its place without me even noticing.”

You almost gasp. “Love? So, you do love me back?”

He nods. “Strong word, I know. But goddam, you were ten times cheesier in the song.”

You laugh and he does the same.

“But I am hurt, though. I can’t believe you thought I was playing you.”

“What were the chances you were going to fall for me, too? Nobody ever falls for me.”

“Good thing you only needed me to fall for you,” he says, kissing you. “So… did you fall for me at the beach?”

“I was confused back then. I knew I felt something but I didn’t know what it was. I thought it was only attraction, but at the same time, I felt like I needed you, you know?”

“And to think I wasn’t even sure of taking you there,” he giggles.

“Really?”

He nods. “I wanted to study, I already felt like I was falling behind and I thought I could use those three days to catch up, but then you crossed my mind and I forgot about the rest.”

You look down to hide the big smile on your face. No, you’re not happy you almost made him fail his second year in this war, but you love knowing how much he cares about you. The old Donghyuck would’ve never confessed this, he would’ve never shown how weak you make him. But now he’s proudly telling you how you genuinely occupied his thoughts.

“I know I didn’t show signs of failure, but you did succeed in your plan just a bit.”

He snorts. “Don’t need fools gold.”

“No, I’m serious. I mean, maybe you’re right, you didn’t, but I think you succeeded in something better. You showed me I can achieve my academic goals and still live life. You showed me so much. I had fun on my own, and I loved it, but I also only had myself and nobody to count on, and that sucks.”

“I didn’t do it.”

“Yes you did, you pushed me out of my comfort zone and trust me, I did panic sometimes. I just hide it better. But you gave me the chance to meet seven amazing people allowing me in your friend’s group. Some of you have known each other for so long, that’s probably when I should’ve put my heart at ease and realised you truly cared about me.”

“You fail to understand how likeable you are. Everybody loves you, you just don’t pay them attention.”

You shrug. He’s probably right. You never cared about that, but you won’t start caring about it now. You found your people, you found your place.

Staying at his place for the night is tempting, but, truth be told, you two want to be on your own on your first night as lovers. So, with the excuse of wanting to eat an ice cream (not an excuse, you will eat ice cream), you slip out of the place.

The others don’t care. Honestly, it’s clear that everyone except you two was expecting this ending, but you will deal with this tomorrow at lunch with the girls. For now, you chuckle at Jeno’s wink before he rests his head on Renjun’s shoulder again, who barely waves goodbye before going back to the movie they’re watching. Mark seems to be the only one confused at the way your arms are linked when you walk through the living room, but you’re sure that Yangyang, who has a teasing smirk on his face, will fill him in as soon as you’re out of the door. Jaemin will sneak at the girls’ hang-out tomorrow, his face lets it all known.

“I love this place,” Donghyuck says when you enter your apartment.

“Really? This hole?” You chuckle, leaving your bag at the door and getting rid of your shoes.

He nods. “It’s cosy and quiet, and I get to have you all to myself.” Before he finishes the phrases he pulls you in his hold, almost making you lose your balance and you scold him.

“Can you be less clumsy?”

“Mhh... no.”

“Also, it’s not like not being alone ever stopped you from being the clingiest man on earth.”

He huffs, throwing his head back as he slowly starts walking backwards to reach the bed. “As if you don’t like it.”

“You got us many suspicious looks,” you complain.

“Girl, everybody knew about us,” he says, falling on the bed with you. “I fear they were betting on a situationship but well, we didn’t do anything to keep this on the low.”

You shrug. “Whatever,” you say, caressing his face to move the hair on his eyes. “I don’t care. Tonight I just want to think about us.”

“Now you’re talking,” he hums happily. “Can I get a chocolate-less kiss?”

You laugh. “You can get all the kisses you want.”

Your lips connect to his to start a sweet kiss that lasts for a while. You never truly pull away as your hands start moving on each other to get rid of the clothes and leave you half-naked on the bed.

“Wanna taste you,” he murmurs, rolling around so your back is on the mattress before he starts going down. His fingers hook with the band of your panties and pull them down. “A bush?”

You huff. “I was just a bit busy, and didn’t have time to shave.”

“Good. I hope you don’t find time to do it ever again,” he says making you laugh.

“You like it?” You ask.

“I love it,” he replies.

You don’t have time to react because his lips are on you as soon as he's done talking. Your hips buck up and you fail to hold back the moans.

Donghyuck takes his sweet time, licking up stripes to get you wet before he starts sucking on your hardening clit.

Your head rolls back against the pillow and your hands can’t help but tangle in his hair to pull him closer. The groan of pleasure that comes out of his mouth at your gesture makes you tremble.

“So fucking sweet for me,” he mumbles against you. “My sweet girl.”

A dumb grin curls your lips and your eyes try to open to get a glimpse of him. You regret that action cause his pretty face smashed against you as he eats you out as if you're his last meal sends shivers straight to your core.

“Please,” you whimper, making him open his eyes to stare at you. Your throat tightens and you feel like you might pass out from that, but still force yourself to finish the phrase. “Don’t stop, you’re so good. I — I never felt like this.”

He grins, pulling away only to reply. “Yeah? Am I that good?”

You groan. He’s still so competitive and always has to prove a point. But you don’t care. That’s fun. That’s what you love about him. “Yes, you’re that good. Just please, keep doing it.”

“Never planned of stopping.”

When his mouth starts moving on you again you see stars. Your neck falls behind, enjoy the softness of the pillow, and you stop trying to keep it together, moaning loudly and chanting his name.

His hands wrap around your thighs, keeping you close to his mouth. And each flick of his tongue pushes the climax closer, making you see stars.

Your breath gets messier as you hit your peak and pleasure takes over your body as you let go to that blissful sensation running inside you.

You’re still gasping for air when you feel his fingers prodding at your entrance, slowly entering you.

“Hyuck, what are you—?”

“I want you to be ready for me,” he says. “I won't make you come another time, I promise. Just getting you wetter.”

You mumble a sound that makes no sense before you decide to relax and enjoy the sensation. It’s not like you would ever complain about his fingers, you simply don’t want to be too sensitive already. But he’s true to his words, his two fingers fuck into you, curling up right on your sweet spot, turning you on more and coating them white.

“Always so good for me,” he praises when he pulls out, sucking them harshly before he leans in to kiss you. Your hands wrap in his hair as you pull him closer, letting your legs wrap around his waist to pull him down. “Damn, calm down,” he chuckles close to your lips. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know, but I want you close.”

Donghyuck smiles. “Unhook your legs for a moment and I’ll be as close as possible.”

Reluctantly, you do as ordered, knowing that as soon as he’ll slip in, your legs will be exactly in the same place.

You barely pay attention when he does, too focused on the gentle kisses he's leaving on the crown of your head, cheeks and neck. Your eyes only open when he bottoms in and brings your legs around himself.

“Happy now?” He asks, brushing behind a few strands of hair that fell on your face.

“More than happy,” you reply smiling. Your body moves on its own when your hips buck up against him, eliciting a deep moan to slip past his lips.

That’s the sign he needs to know he can start moving. One hand places on your waist to keep you in place and the other supports his body as he starts dragging his hips out.

You can feel your heart skip a beat when he leans down and hides in the crook of your neck, inhaling deeply. “You always smell so good, that’s what tricked me to always be close to you,” he mumbles, nibbling your skin.

You chuckle, shaking your head. Even now he has something to say. Still, his words don’t distract him from his actions. With each stroke, he hits deep inside of you, hitting sensitive spots that make your toes curl and your fingers close into fists on the sheets.

After finding the perfect angle, Donghyuck starts speeding up, his thrusts not harsh but fast enough to build up a steady rhythm. And, with each one, you feel a wave of pleasure invading you.

“Come here,” you whisper, cupping his face to pull him close. “Wanna kiss you.” Your lips are on his right away and you both let go to a long passionate kiss as the hold of your legs around his waist tightens. One hand leaves his face to run on his back, feeling his muscles flex.

Your moans get louder with every passing second but they end up muffled in the messy kiss you’re still sharing.

When his hand sneaks between your bodies, so he can touch your clit in quick circular motions, you know you won’t last much longer. Your walls clench hard around him, and more wetness coats him as your hips buck up for more friction. And the last drop comes from his lips, leaving yours to wrap around your sensitive nipples.

“Hyuck,” your voice trembles as you call for him. Pleading eyes looking up at him. You should say something sex-related, maybe praise how good he’s making you feel, or how close you are, but even if those are the thoughts on the tip of your tongue, the words that come out are completely different. “I love you,” you whisper in a hush, feeling the weight disappear from your chest. Saying it clearly is like finally coming to the real realization.

Donghyuck smiles, kissing you repeatedly on the lips. “I love you, too.”

And soon after, you both reach your peak. The pleasure shoots through your bodies like fireworks in the sky.

You stay like that for a few minutes, kissing each other as you wait for your bodies to calm down.

When he slips out of you gently, putting his shirt under your body to avoid a mess, you still have a dumb, but content, smile on your face.

You don’t have the energy to move, so you lay there as you watch him move around to grab new clothes and two glasses of water. Just the time to pull yourself together, and you’re once again under the bedsheets, cuddled up against each other. You relax at the feeling of his fingers rubbing circles on the back of your neck and let his heartbeat be a sweet melody.

Mamma Mia is playing on the TV, but none of you has much energy to sing along to ABBA’s songs —he has a bit more than you as he hums the words.

When he chuckles, you look up at him.

“What’s so funny?” You ask, staring at the tv with a frown on your face. The SOS scene not being exactly one of the funniest one.

“I was thinking about us,” he says.

“I do hope we won’t end up like this.”

“Yeah, no, but you ended up being my Waterloo, I guess,” he whispers, looking at you. And then you get it, remembering when he sang it to you.

“I told you,” you reply, making him gasp offended. “What? You expected me to say something nice? You mocked me, you bragged and I cursed you with eternal love for me.”

Donghyuck laughs and then wraps his arms around you to pull you flatter against him, resting his chin on your head.

“You know this doesn’t mean I’ll stop trying to beat you, right?” He chuckles, but when you lift your gaze, getting a glimpse of him, you see his serious expression. And you hope he's true to his intention and that that spark set by your ambition will never die.

You smile smugly before relaxing against his warm embrace. “Yeah, but we’ll see if I’ll let you.”

YEARS LATER

“Is everything alright? Why are you looking at us like this?” You ask, shifting on your seat on the couch, looking at the girl in front of you.

“Is it true?”

“What?” Donghyuck says.

“Is it true that you two couldn’t stand each other?” She says, big brown eyes staring at you with curiosity.

You quirk a brow, giving your full attention to your daughter. “Why this sudden question?”

“Cause it’s embarrassing to see tweets of people going insane over you two, but also I think it’s unfair how these strangers seem to know more about my parents than me.”

You and Donghyuck laugh. “And what do they say?"

She rolls her eyes. “That they can’t believe you hated each other and that you started dating her to distract her but ended up falling for her?”

You look at each other smirking before a tender, nostalgic smile takes its place.

“Would it be so terrible?” He asks, tilting his head.

She thinks about it for a moment and then replies. “It would be a bit embarrassing for you, Dad. But also... cute. So?”

“I’d say it’s true,” he replies, shrugging.

“Wait, so you really started dating because you hated each other?” She screams, sitting straight on the loveseat, leaning toward you with her body.

You chuckle. “We didn’t hate each other. We believed we could outdo the other. And your father did too much, as always.”

“You were miserable before me,” Donghyuck replies, tightening his hold around your waist. “I had a plan, and it would’ve worked.”

You roll your eyes. “Imagine thinking you could make me fall in love and not fall in love with me,” you say to your daughter. “I was a real heartbreaker back then.”

“You still are,” she replies, smiling. “My friends go insane every time they realize who my parents are.”

Your daughter never brags about being your child. The famous singer, producer, and dancer Haechan, and you, who had a good launch as a singer before you realized that wasn’t your world and decided to stick to be a choreographer and PR manager (well, mostly Donghyuck’s choreographer and his manager). But everyone close to her knows who she is, and it’s not easy to act nonchalantly about it.

She has heard many stories about you two. The gossip about your story running wild since you broke into the industry. But you never sat down and explained it to her, not until now.

“We still have our charm,” Donghyuck laughs.

“I think the most important thing is your love and that you might be the best parents in the world. But I’m saying it officially only if you don’t turn it into a race.”

“Us? Turning something into a competition? We would never,” Donghyuck jokes.

She rolls her eyes, huffing loudly. And you can’t help but smile thinking how similar to your husband she looks right now.

“Honey, forgive us. How do you think we’re still having so much fun after all these years? That’s how we thrive, we learned how to push each other healthily.”

“Yeah, fine, I’m glad your love story is still perfect, but seriously, no competition when it comes to me. I love you both so much.”

“Come here,” you say, patting the space in front of you on the couch. Hugging her when she sits down between you two. “You are the only thing we won’t turn into a competition.”

Donghyuck hums in agreement, wrapping his arm around you two. “We both won with you.”

general taglist: @froggyforhyuck, @wingsss45, @tddyhyck, @technologyculturedneo

fic taglist: @hcluvie, @gusgus0517, @multifandomania, @413cl, @odgsuji,

@hey-hey-heybitch, @nctrawberries, @n0hyuck, @haechoshi,

@girlwholoveslpreppyattire, @viciousdarlings, @hyuckmoon,

@jaeymark, @hqech, @xntlax, @milkyway-vxm, @fullsunahceah,

@beomgyusonlywife, @toroufriteh, @yesohhsehun, @shxnz

@haecastor, @hyucksaint, @sk8ermark, @midnightrained

@maiteeeeesstuff, @smwhrinthehaze, @yoursyuno

© neowinestaindress ; all rights reserved. do NOT repost, modify, or translate any work from this blog on any other platform and claim it as yours. 

[obeiii-mee]

Hi there! If its okay, could i ask for headcannons of the brothers finding out MC is an Artist? Something like, finding there sketchbook or napkins w doodles on them jfjdjs Or maybe they catch MC glancing at them alot while trying to draw them? hfjd Ty!! Your writing is really good~

Of course it’s OK! I’ve always liked the idea of MC having a really interesting hobby and teaching the brothers about it. I feel like all the brothers would be very supportive of them, even if they all had various reactions to their hobby but I really love writing wholesome moments like that. Sorry this took longer to come out, I made them really long to make up for it!

Also thank you. Your compliment means a lot :)

————————————-

The Brothers’ reactions to MC being an artist:

Lucifer:

-Well if you’re going to glance at him every two minutes, he’s bound to notice

-I mean, you’re pretty damn obvious

-Lucifer got pretty used to you whipping out your sketchbook whenever you could

-So for you to start doodling in his office while he worked wasn’t exactly unheard of

-He caught you staring at him before looking back down at your drawing, continuing your series of furious scribbles

-Now you piqued his interest

-“You seem very focused there love. What are you drawing?”

-Scared the crap out of you because he rarely ever talks when he’s working

-You were reluctant to show him but Lucifer has his insisting face on

-When you passed him the sketchbook, he momentarily froze

-Your drawing was so detailed and full of emotion, capturing him slumped over his desk, exhausted but determined to finish the work he’s been assigned

-He was so surprised and stunned, for a second, he forgot to breathe

-“It’s not exactly one of my best drawings yet but-“

-“You never fail to impress me MC.”

-He suspected you were drawing him but he wasn’t expecting this much effort to be put into it

-He would definitely keep all your drawings of him

-Loves all your work but secretly adores your sketches of him best

-Lucifer would occasionally look over your shoulder while you sketch, taking a peek at what you’re drawing and smile to himself

-He’s never felt this much pride for someone else before

Mammon:

-Was pissed you would rather spend time with an object rather than him

-It annoyed him at first because he couldn’t tell if you were listening to him or not while you had your nose stuck in your sketchbook

-Basically, he was jealous of a sketchbook

-You can’t do that Mammon, that’s Levi’s thing

-So one day he decided to see what the fuck was so great about that giant notebook you always have with you

-He turned your entire room upside down searching for the damn thing before finding it

-He flipped through it and I’m sure the entire House of Lamentation could hear his gasp

-You drew him for pages and pages in all sorts of positions and styles and he was a flustered tomato going through them

-You willingly drew him? The scum of a demon who could never do anything right unless it involved money? You put your time and effort into these sketches and doodles despite him being condescending and a dick at times?

-Excuse me but this man is already head over heels in love with you, you can’t keep giving him reasons to fall for you

-He was so engrossed into your work that he didn’t notice you behind him

-“Mammon why is there a mess in my room-“

-“HOLY SHI-AHHH!!!”

-Too embarrassed to even think of an excuse for going through your shit

-“Ah those...I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have drawn you without your permission Mammon-“

-“Are ya kiddin’ me? MC, I feel insulted that you didn’t tell me about this sooner. Can...Can I keep some of ‘em??”

-Now he insists that you draw him as often as possible and would even pose for you (he loves the attention let’s be real)

-He wants to see all of your drawings and will endlessly support you

-Thought about using your skill as a way to make money because art can be very expensive

-But in the end, he dropped the idea

-Why would he sell something so precious to him??

Levi:

-He probably has a sketchbook too

-You guys draw Ruri-chan together in your own styles

-Levi always insists that you’re much better at drawing than him tho

-Your talent makes him a little jealous but at the same time he’s fascinated

-Was so surprised when he found out you were into sketching

-Levi was even more surprised when you showed him all the drawings you’ve worked on for your favourite anime and video game characters

-OK but how come you’re so perfect? Not only are you a lovely person that is willing to watch anime with him without insulting his opinions but you can draw? W...h...a...t...?

-He requests several sketches of ‘The Tale of the Seven Lords’ characters and will actually tape them to his wall

-Some of them are right on his Ruri-chan shelf

-“Hey normie, do you...do you mind teaching me how to draw? I want to learn.”

-Is 100% determined to learn how to properly sketch from you

-You started drawing him as well, usually while he games

-You better stop, he’ll have a nosebleed if you keep being so nice to him!

-Draw him as an anime character and he will start fangirling

-“Phew. OK I’m finished.”

-“What did you draw?”

-“Hentai.”

-“This. Is. A. Masterpiece.”

-Will proudly show your work to his brothers (usually the same drawing more than five times)

-What did an otaku like him do to deserve you??

Satan:

-He found out you were an artist fairly quickly

-I meant he found tissues with doodles you left behind everywhere

-He kept all of them

-It was so refreshing for him to see you so invested in your drawings the same way he is in his reading

-You’re still under the impression you’re being sneaky by drawing him while he has his nose in his books

-You ended up finally gathering enough courage to show him one of your portraits of him

-He had a reaction similar to Lucifer’s really

-Praise!

-He made your drawing into a bookmark

-Idk how but he did

-You leave him a few doodles of you and him being all lovey dovey and he absolutely adores them

-Will lose his marbles if anyone says anything remotely negative about your style or talent

-Draw him fluffy animals pls he will literally have them framed and fixed up in his room

-Also if you draw any of his brothers (specifically Lucifer let’s be real) in a silly way he will actually start snorting with laughter

-You sketch him pretty damn often and he can’t really complain

-It’s really peaceful when you two are in the library and you’re working on your doodling while he reads aloud to you

-Buys you equipment like pens and pencils and even sketchbooks when he knows you’re running out

-He’s really delighted when you come over to show him your drawings

-Once he caught you staring at a cat as you started sketching it

-He actually didn’t think it was possible to love someone this much

Asmo:

-Noisy little fucker that he is and in need of drama, he looked through your sketchbook

-Thought it was a diary at first but nope

-Imagine his surprise when he found pages upon pages of drawings of his brothers and him

-Except his weren’t really a surprise

-He’s gorgeous of course you would want to draw him

-But oh my God, do you realise how much he values art??

-I know he looks as if he only thinks about sex but he definitely has a thing for creativity and art like painting and photography

-“MC darliiiing~? Why didn’t you tell me you can draw?”

-He actually shrieks at how well you’ve captured his beauty

-He insists that they look like actual pictures of him

-Takes several pictures of all of them and posts them on DevilGram

-A bit salty when you drawing anything else but him

-However, he can’t deny that you’re one of the most talented individuals he ever met

-He comes up to you every day and lractically begs you to draw him

-One time you came in your room to find him naked and asking you to draw him

-Is actually kinda good at drawing himself

-Specifically people

-He has enough experience exploring the human body so he surprisingly enough, knows a thing or two when it comes to body proportions

-“MC draw me like one of your french girls~”

-I’m sorry I had to do that

-He also likes the attention he’s getting when he poses for you

-He may think he’s the most beautiful being in all three realms but he definitely thinks you’re the second

-So he often offers to draw you too

-He likes having cozy chats with you while you draw

Beel:

-You left your sketchbook behind in the kitchen with him

-Mammon needed your assistance to get down from where Lucifer hanged him after one of his failed money schemes

-He knocked a glass of milk nearby it and had a panic attack for a minute

-Legitimately thought he ruined the whole thing

-Was actually about ready to cry because he knew how important your sketchbook was to you

-Looked through it just to make sure there were no splotches or anything

-To say he was relieved when he realised it was fine would be an understatement

-He was kinda drawn to your sketches, most of them carefully drawn and expressive, even some of the ones you scribbled out

-One specific drawing caught his eye though

-You drew him and Belphie together, with his twin brother’s head resting on his shoulder while Beel ate

-He was mesmerised by your talent and by your thoughtfulness

-Beel felt bad about it but he kept looking through your sketches, enchanted by everything in it

-You drew him and his brothers several times

-It’s safe to say the discovery of your drawings brightened his day

-Gave back your sketchbook later

-He apologised for going through it without your permission more than he needed to

-You had to accept his apology because he looked like a kicked puppy

-Feels very honoured whenever you let him look at your work

-Is more than happy to pose for you!

-But that might be a bit of a problem seeing as he tends to move around a lot

-“Whoa, that looks just like me! The food I’m eating looks really realistic too...which is making me hungry. Let’s go to Hell’s Kitchen, you can finish this there!”

-Supportive bean

-You gave him a family sketch of him and all of his brothers once

-Normally, he only likes gifts he can eat

-But he treasures that drawing more than food at times

-“This...this is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me! Thank you MC! But uh, someone’s missing in this drawing.”

-“Ah shit, who did I miss?”

-“You.”

-If anything ever happens to Beel or his happiness I swear to Lord Diavolo-

Belphie:

-OK but you left your notebook just sitting there right next to him???

-How do you expect him not to look through it?

-Belphie doesn’t care much for privacy

-And he doesn’t exactly have morals either

-He didn’t even know you were into drawing

-Which to be fair, wasn’t scandalous considering he sleeps 20 hours a day

-But he wants to be more involved in your interests so that’s why he took initiative with your sketchbook

-Idk what he was expecting but definitely not a sketch of him staring back at him

-His heart skipped a beat but I don’t even know if demons have hearts

-The cheeky little shit took pictures and may or may not have made on your drawings of him his wallpaper

-Most of the drawings were of him sleeping, surprising...absolutely no one

-“So that’s what you’re up to whenever I go to sleep huh? So cute~”

-But besides all that, he is really touched

-I mean, if there’s anyone undeserving of your love and respect is the piece of shit of who tried to kill you

-Yet here you are, continuously showering him with affection and now this

-Probably spent hours looking at your sketchbook while you were at R.A.D

-Didn’t say anything to you when you came back except handing your notebook back to you

-Though he was less of a smartass and more affectionate for the rest of the day

-Next morning, you took the liberty of waking up before him and sketching him again

-He grabbed your arm halfway through your doodling and grinned at you from under the covers

-“Drawing me again huh? You won’t mind me doing this while you’re at it then right?”

-Now he’s sleeping in your lap

-Whenever you show him your work, he makes a small approving noise but he’s seriously impressed

-Draw Lucifer or Lord Diavolo in any offensive manner and he will actually start giggling

-Gets all huffy puffy when you draw his brothers instead of him (we all know Beel is the exception)

-I may have a thing for Belphegour

Al~

[chibinekochan]

Um first of all wanted to say THANK YOU AMAZING AUTHOUR! Your work 10/10 👌 - also can I request a hc to the boys reacting to mc being put under a love potion, (Solomon casting it, mayhaps as a prank) but you act normal bc you already love them (true love stuff) idk I thought it would be very fluffy and cute.

Thank you so much, that is very sweet of you! 

Solomon would do something like this, shady wizard.

Asmodeus 

He is very aware of the spell, and its effects. 

Not that he ever needed to use this. 

Asmo is a little disappointed when it has 0 effect on you. 

Not that he would take advantage of you but he wouldn't mind to see you flirting with him. 

He is wondering if it doesn't work on humans, but he has seen it working before. 

What other reason could there be? 

Asmo read through the spells description and there it says, it will not work if you are already in love with the first person that you see. 

Seeing as you two are alone right now, that can only mean one thing. 

You are in love with him! Wait a second. 

Asmo feels strangely shy about this, so unlike him. 

There is only one way to know for sure. 

That is, of course, to ask you. 

"Hey say are you in love right now?" 

"You mean from the spell? I don't feel any different."

"No, I meant before that spell was cast." 

You get a bit shy. "Well I mean you know…"

"Please be honest with me."

You turn red. "Yes, I am in love right now."

Asmo knows this is a bit silly to ask bit he has to know. "So the person that you love is in this room right?" 

"Yes." You feel very shy but this might be a good opportunity to confess your feelings. "And before you ask the person I love is you." 

Asmo is a bit taken aback. He had no idea. I mean he likes you obviously and yes you two have been flirting and enjoying time together. Well now where he really thinks about it, all the signs were there. Maybe he just never thought you would fall in love with him. 

"So what about you Asmodeus?" You ask a bit shyly, hoping he feels something for you too. 

"I love you too of course. Sorry I was just a bit surprised that's all." He smiles widely and hugs you tightly. 

He will not do anything else for now, just in case the potion had an effect on you after all. 

Satan

In a twist of fate he made a love potion for Lucifer to drink, to embarrass him of course. 

Sadly you somehow thought it was lemonade and drank it. 

Satan is very worried about its effects, and slightly curious how you would be when you are love drunk.

Soon he notices that there is no change at all. 

Satan is a bit confused, he double and triple checks the ingredients and the brewing method but he did everything correctly. 

That only leaves one option : You already love him!? 

He has to let that sink in for a minute and then blushes. 

Satan has to know to be sure. "Hey this might be a strange question, but are you in love with someone?" 

"Huh, why do you ask?" You have no idea why Satan asks. 

"Well, you see this love potion doesn't work on someone who is in love." 

You start to feel embarrassed. "I mean I meant to tell you before but yeah I love someone. That someone is you. I love you Satan." You fidget a bit and turn red. 

Satan blushes as well. He was hoping for this but was honestly afraid of your answer. 

He smiles and takes your hand to calm you down. "I'm very glad to hear this. To be honest I love you too."

Now you are both bright red and smile happily. 

He will wait until the potion has no effect anymore and then asks you to date him officially. 

You agree and soon you find Satan telling anyone that you confessed your love to conveniently leaving the lovepotion out if his story. 

Leviathan

He has this collectors item lovepotion and honestly expected it to be fake. 

To your credit it looks just like a bottle of the anime themed soda that Levi currently drinks. 

You accidentally fill your cup with it and Levi's. 

You both drink it and it tastes kinda strange but to be fair most of his soda does. 

Leviathan, at least, doesn't notice. 

Later your cups are empty and Levi is filling you both up. 

He gets pale when he sees the open bottle of lovepotion. 

"Ahhh look at this!" He runs over to you, bottle in hand. "It's a lovepotion! Do you know what that means???" 

You are slightly confused. "Wait, I thought it was soda and a lovepotion? Come on, that does not really exist, right?" 

"It's genuine, trust me I know the ingredients. What are we doing now? WE SHOULD CALL AN AMBULANCE!" Levi has half of a panic attack. 

"Alright, first of all we should calm down. I mean I don't feel any different then usual. Do you?" 

"No, but who knows I mean I never took a lovepotion before. So you really feel nothing at all when you look at me? No faster beating heart or sudden urge to kiss me?" Levi seems mostly concerned but also flustered to ask you. 

"Well not more than usual at least." You blush and hope that Levi doesn't notice. 

"Wait, no more then usual? D-don't tell me… don't me you ACTUALLY… no wait you can't actually like… LIKE ME?" Levi has no clue how to react to this. 

"I don't know if now is the right time but I really like you a lot. You know not just as a friend." You feel a bit shy about confessing it right now, especially when you don't know if Levi is feeling some effects from the potion. 

Levi goes beet red. He didn't see this coming whatsoever." Oh, I thought it was just me OMG. What, like, seriously, are you seriously sure about this? I mean is this like in -  TheonetimeIbecamefriendswithademonwhowasactuallyveryniceandthenheturnesouttobeanerdandnowwesomehowgotengadedbutitisverynice?" 

"Yeah it's just like that Levi, but what about you?"

Levi still seems only seconds away from fainting. "I mean I really like you too and it's not the lovepotion. I mean you are awesome. The best thing that has ever happened to me. I mean look at me, are you really sure that you like me?" 

"Of course, I like you and it's not just that. I love you Leviathan." You smile softly at him. 

Levi gasps for air. He feels like fainting. He never thought that you could love him. 

"Really y-you l-l-love me-me?" 

"Yes, I really love you Levi. What can I do to prove it to you?" 

Levi waves his arms around. "Wait, hold on a second just… I mean wait, I need to mentally prepare myself." He takes a few breaths to calm himself down and to assure himself that this is happening. 

"Alright, you know you are my best friend right? Like a really super real best friend and I don't want to mess this up. You know… So I just gonna say this now: I love you too!" 

Levi is far from calm, he is bright red. 

You've never been more in love with him than in this very moment. "You will always be my best friend Levi. We take it slowly, step by step. How about a hug for now?" 

Levi agrees and you both hug for a while. 

It feels very good. 

Levi asks you later if you are still sure about this and you kiss him on the cheek. 

Well that settles that. 

Mammon

The spell gets cast on everyone else, but Mammon knows how this works and closes both of your eyes. 

Then somehow gets you both out of the room. 

He does not care about the chaos behind him. 

Mammon just doesn't want you to go fall for some random demon or his brothers. 

It's not gonna happen!

You are slightly confused but Mammon doesn't pull his hand from your eyes, but he also has his own eyes covered. 

So to nobody's surprise he falls over something, and you look at him and help him up. 

Well not that he minds that you fall for him now. 

It might be from a spell but hey it's better than nothing. 

Just to be safe he brings you to your room and then locks the door behind you two. 

Obviously the spell has no effect on Mammon, he has been under your spell for a long time. 

Not that you have to know that part. 

"Mammon, what just happened?" You feel slightly lost. 

"Well, that shady wizard just had to show his skills to everyone. Beats me but we are safe now. How do you feel?" 

Mammon keeps a slight distance between you two, as funny as it would be to have you all over him it just wouldn't be right. 

"Pretty normal. What kind of spell was that even?" 

"You sure no strange urges? Wanting to pounce me or something like that?" Mammon feels only slightly disappointed. 

"Pounce you? Why would I want to do that?" 

"Hahaha yeah, good question beats me… so um really nothing unusual?" Mammon keeps probing, what is he even hoping for right now? He has no idea. 

"I feel normal so will you tell me what is going on?" 

"Well Solomon cast a love spell. A pretty powerful one too. So you should feel very attracted to me right now." 

"Lovespell? Are you kidding me? Wait, wouldn't you be in love with me too?" You aren't sure if this is some prank that Mammon has pulled. 

"Well that is you know…Ummm well… AhAh yeah I'm too powerful. So it doesn't work on me."

"So Lucifer is fine right now?" 

"Ahahaha yes of course."

"So if I go back he will be completely normal?" You can see that Mammon isn't telling the truth. 

"No-No don't go, please just stay here." Mammon is sweating bullets. 

"Mammon tell me the truth!" 

He sighs. "Fine, look it doesn't work on people who are in love already."

"Wait does that mean that you love me?" You blush. 

Mammon blushes. "Hey, hey, don't jump to conclusions there."

You look at him slightly disappointed. "I thought you might feel the same way." 

"Hey, no unfair tactics like that! I mean, you know alright. You got me I admit it. I love you. Are you happy now?" Mammon looks shyly to the other side. He is confessing like he committed a crime. 

You chuckle slightly, he really is so cute sometimes. 

"Yes, thank you Mammon. I love you too." 

"No making fun of me!" He grumbles slightly. Then realization hits him. "Wait did you just say... That you love me too?" Mammon stares at you with wide eyes. 

"Yeah, of course. I love you very much!" You smile at him, glad to be able to finally admit it. 

Mammon is completely red now but he is smiling with a wide smile. 

"You know it took you long enough to say it." Mammon pouts only slightly. He is very happy right now. 

"Yeah, sometimes I'm a bit slow. So will you forgive me?" 

"Of course I will forgive you, but only this once and only if you give me a hug." 

You can tell how happy he is and you both smile like idiots. 

You give him a big hug. 

Mammon is truly glad that you both feel the same way. 

Beelzebub 

He somehow thought the lovepotion was seasoning. 

Beel uses it on the pizza he then shares with you. 

You are really grateful and it tastes really good. 

Then Solomon notices what happened and he is mortified. 

He informed you two and advises that you stay close but if anything strange happens to go into separate rooms right away. By the next morning you both will surely be normal again. 

So you you go into Beels room and wait for the promised effect. 

"It's been like an hour now, do you feel strange?" 

"No just a bit hungry but I couldn't finish eating the pizza."

"Same. Maybe we are immune?" 

"I have some snacks hold on."

"Thank you, but I meant I don't feel like I have fallen in love from the potion. Do you?" 

"Hmm I don't feel any different than usual. I mean I love you anyways so I guess I wouldn't notice the difference."

Your heart makes a small jump when you hear this. "You mean you love me like a sibling right?" 

"It's not the same as loving Belphie or my other brothers, you are different and special." Beel doesn't hesitate at all and you start to blush. 

 "You mean romantic love?" You just have to clarify. 

Beel thinks for a moment, trying to figure out what exactly you want to hear. "Yeah." He boldly states with a pleased smile, like he didn't have a word before to define the love he feels for you. 

You become a tomato. "I had no idea that you felt the same way about me."

Beel almost drops his bag of snacks. "Wait, you feel the same way?" 

"Yeah, I just thought, you know, we're more like a family, but we're not romantically involved."

"Ah, I see that was my fault since I never told you in a proper way." Beel nods knowingly. 

Then he looks you in your eyes and holds your hand. "I love you."

Your heart skips a beat. "I love you too Beel." You smile and hold his hand. 

You both feel very happy right now. 

Lucifer 

He is pretty annoyed that you got hit with the love potion that was clearly meant for him. 

Lucifer has some suspects but first he wants to take care of you. 

He brings you to his room, just to keep you from seeing anyone else. 

You have already seen him anyways and he feels responsible for this. 

So you just more or less sit in Lucifer's room while he checks for any effects on you. 

You feel completely normal. 

Lucifer would still rather keeps you in his room, just in case. 

He knows it should work on you by now, it's been 3 hours already. 

"So you don't feel any different from usual? No higher heart rate when you look at me? No sudden desire to kiss me? Nothing at all?" 

"No, Lucifer I told you already I feel normal." You feel a bit shy. 

"Are you honest with me?"

"It's no different than normal."

Lucifer steps closer to you, gauging your reaction. He looks deep into your eyes. "So you feel nothing at all when I'm this close to you?" 

Your heart beats louder. "It's not like I don't feel anything… I mean if you are this close of course I feel something. It's just not more than normal." 

"So, the symptoms I have described to you are normal to you?" Lucifer seems to probe you for some reason. 

You shift slightly around, avoiding his gaze. 

"Not normal per se. Just normal when it comes to you."

Lucifer seems to be very pleased with this reply, a small smile is on his face. 

Belphegor

He had planned to use the lovepotion to humiliate Lucifer. 

He didn't think that Lucifer would give you the tea, since apparently it's your favorite type.

Sadly, Belphie only notices it after you have already drank a cup.

Lucky enough he is the first person you see. 

Actually a pretty lucky twist of fate. 

He always wanted to see you being love stuck. 

Maybe even flirting with him. 

Belphie brings you to his room, with some sort of excuse. 

You go along since you enjoy hanging out with him. 

You both play a game and just enjoy being together. 

Belphie doesn't see a change in the way you behave at all. 

It's been like  2 hours by now you should be all over him. 

"What they say is, do you feel any different than usual?" 

"No, everything is normal. Why do you ask?" 

"Hmm are you sure? I mean you got no urge to kiss me or anything?" 

You blush, thinking he might have figured out how you feel about him. "No-no, not really. Is there a reason you ask?"

Belphie leans closer to you and looks you deep into your eyes. Causing you to blush more and slightly shift around. 

"Nothing really, but you do behave a bit suspiciously." Belphie looks at you like he wants to see into your mind. 

"You are the one that behaves suspiciously." You turn your head away from him. 

"So, if I would kiss you what would you say to that?"

"You shouldn't tease me like that. You might end up breaking my heart."

"Your heart? Now this is interesting."

"Stop playing around and tell me what is going on Belphie." 

He sighs. "Alright. You had some lovepotion but I guess it didn't work on you."

"What? Why would you give me that?" Hearing this is very upsetting to you. 

"I didn't mean to give it to you. Please, you have to believe me."

"Why didn't you just tell me? You promised to tell me everything." This stings a bit. 

Belphie can see that you are disappointed in him. "I'm sorry. I just thought it would be fun to see you flirting with me or being in love with me."

You shake your head. "I can't believe this Belphie. If you wanted that you could have asked."

"I can't just ask for you to fall in love with me."

"Well yeah, but you know what, I love you. You are really such an idiot sometimes."

You still feel pretty upset. 

"Wait, can you repeat that?" Belphie is taken aback by your casual confession. 

"The part of you being an idiot?" You pout. 

"I know that part, I mean the part of you loving me."

"I'm still mad at you, you know." 

"I know I'm really sorry. Please forgive me." He bows in front of you. He is very sincere. "Just please tell me if you still love me?" 

"I love you Belphie." 

He smiles at you. "I'm so glad to hear this." 

He seems very giddy. 

"So what about you?" You ask, a bit shy. 

"What about me?" He plays innocent. 

"Belphie, you are on thin ice." You playfully narrow your eyes at him. 

He laughs. "Alright. Alright." He takes a breath. "I love you."

You smile at him. "Was that so hard?" 

"Yes, it almost killed me." He smiles brighter than you have ever seen him. 

You smile too and then you hug. 

You stay together the whole night and talk for most of it.

Check my Obey me! Masterlist for more content

[scarletbluebird13]

Hi! I was wondering if you could do a general MK fic where whilst they’re doing something in public (i.e. dinner, shopping), we catch sight of an enemy, and a few moments later, chaos ensues and after we go BAMF, we end up with an injury that is quite serious but we brush it off? Thanks if ever you choose to do this :)

Damn Idiot

*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°*•°

Title: Masquerade Kiss

Pairing: ?(ambiguous) x MC 

Tags: idk what to put here; shonen?? 

Triggers: mention of blood, fighting, stabby-stabby, heavy cursing

Word count: 2038

A/N: Hiya! Thank you for the request, Nonnie! <3 I hope this is at least close to what you wanted - since no character was specified and you requested a fic, I decided to write you a fic with no specifics on who the suitor is -- hopefully his role is ambiguous enough any of the four guys could fit in <3 And I know you probably wanted one of the guys to have the cool action moment -- but MC got snubbed in her own series in all four routes and I didn’t feel right downgrading her capabilities here either -- Hope this is pretty close to what you had in mind, my apologies if it wasn’t what you wanted. Luv you Nonnie! Thank you for your request~ It was appreciated (lol thanks for laying out a general idea for what you wanted and giving me enough creative space) Feedback/criticism always welcome <3 :)

°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*°•*

Palm to palm, interlocking fingers - his warmth seeps into my hand. A welcomed sensation and one I’m used to. A sensation dearly missed. I’ve just returned from a month-long mission in Los Angeles. All the sunshine in that state doesn’t come close to the warmth emanating from his hand. Typically, he’d find a way to be with me - he can be impulsive at times, but then again, what did I reasonably expect when I decided I wanted us to take the next step in our relationship? I’ve missed him so much - all those lonely nights without him…the other side of the bed empty and his smell absent from the sheets. Heh. But the nights we teased each other even though we were on different continents were fantastic. ...I wonder how tonight will go…? 

“What are you smirking about?”  

I glance up at him - but the way he’s so cool and collected in public, you’d never guess that handsome face was capable of mercilessly teasing me.

“What fun is it if I just tell you?”

A smirk tugs at his lips, satisfied with my response as he replies; “I’d expect nothing less from you.”

My heart feels like it’s going to beat right out of my chest as he gives my hand a squeeze - it’s embarrassing, but I couldn’t care less. I haven’t seen him in a month - I’ve craved his touch - and right now, it’s like we’re both immune to the stares of onlookers. Murmurs and sharp whispers can’t reach us. Not only could we care less about pda - what they say, what they think; none of it matters. What’s more? Today happens to be our anniversary and since I managed to complete the mission just in time, he’s decided to take me out on a mystery date - though, he’s so unpredictable I don’t have the slightest clue where we’re headed. 

Basking in the rare happiness and serenity, however, lay my own suspicions. 

I’ve had this sinking feeling since we began walking hand-in-hand - like there’s more to the onlookers than just passersby shocked at harmless hand holding. But today’s our day off, so I push my worries out of my mind, letting them settle in the peripheral of my mind’s eye. 

However, it’s not long before my heart begins accelerating with new meaning. 

I hear rapid footsteps approaching from behind - ones with purpose and imperativeness. All my instincts as an agent - and one who just wrapped up a mission the other day, no less - tell me this is no accident and this person means to charge toward us. Careful to not harm an innocent man running late for something or another, I look in the reflection of the window of the store in front of us, and see the man looks sketchy. Even though his eyes are covered, it’s clear he’s burning daggers at us. Whoever the target - the man at my side or myself - my instinct is to place a bullseye on this guy. 

When I see he’s too close and a millisecond would be too late to do anything, I drop the hand at my side, face the person, and land a hard kick to the ribs. In no way is the blow fatal, just enough to send the poor soul to the ground, coughing up blood. 

“___, do you know him?” 

“Oh yeah! He’s my best friend from high school, we used to do everything together- No. Of course I don’t know him.”

“Oh~ So even after kicking a man to the ribs she’s got her spice?”

“Shut up. He’s got friends.” 

And in just a moment, some of the onlookers have come to the man’s side. The others, clearly civilians, run in all directions, screaming.

“You’re a real bitch, you know?” The man with a bloody mouth says. 

“Oh is that the kind of impression I left? Glad I was memorable. Who’s lackey are you? Remind me?”

“Tch. Doesn’t matter. You’ll be face-to-face with him once we beat your sorry ass.” 

“Oooh I’m so scared.” 

“Shut up you bitch!!” I throw a punch at this annoying fool, right in the gut, my hand burning from the impact and my leg doing no better. Bad day to wear heels.  

The sorry excuse for a lackey goes flying before hitting the ground with a dull thud. Taking his place, another lackey from the crowd charges at me, and I’m able to take care of him. But there’s another - and if it weren’t for his timing, I’d have been hit. But he narrowly misses me. And that’s because the one I love steps in, punching the second lackey before he can reach me.

“Why’d you do that? I can handle this.” I say, a bit irritated at him. But I won’t lie, seeing him in action makes my heart pound - in a good way.

“A man who tries to beat a woman is not a man. That’s all.” He says, glaring the motherfucker down.

“This is my fight, not yours. Let me handle it-”

“I told you the same thing about a year ago. What was it you said to me?” He says, throwing a warm look at me from over his shoulder. With that I fall silent, remembering the love I feel for him in that moment a year ago. The same shattering fear of losing him. Of being without him. Wanting him to be okay in the end - it comes back tenfold. He gives me a soft smile before looking away from me, getting ready to fight;

“You don’t have to do this alone. I’m right here. Rely on me. Please.”

Before I know it, we’re taking out lackeys left and right, obliterating them. Rather, we should. At least one of us is an active agent with a severe training regime. 

Even with all that training

you’d think 

that I would consider every possible outcome. 

Good and bad. 

I finish up with the last pitiful excuse for a lackey when I turn around. I see the first guy coming back for another ass whooping with a sharp knife. I’m ready to take him on and disarm him the way I’ve been trained to do under certain circumstances, however, much to my horror, I see something I’ve never wanted to see since I realized how much he means to me. 

His silhouette flashes before me, his back encompassing my field of vision. I hear nothing. Feel the anguish and petrifying panic shock my nervous system. I feel faint. Like I could fall over at any minute. My hands are so pale, so cold, I forget what it means to be warm.

The only thing I see, the only thing I smell

is blood.

I’m ready to fall to my knees and scream his name but I can’t. I can’t stop now. I know I have to take out the last son-of-a-motherfucking-bitch-whore. And I wish it was the sight of his blood staining his back serving as the final thing that snapped me out of it. I wish it didn’t take me hearing his grunt and painful sighs to wake me up. I wish I would’ve sprung into action before he had the reflexes to jump in front of me like that. There’s so much I could wish for - but none of it will come true. Because the truth is I wasn’t fast enough. The truth remains that he got stabbed. And right now, all that matters is that I show the piece of motherfucking shit what happens when they go after someone so close to me. 

With tears stinging my eyes and blurring my vision I gather all my strength and run towards the fucker.

Fueled with a hundred fires burning in my core, distressed and angry and scared for his damn life, my movements are hastier and packed with more roaring fireballs than ever before. 

I catch the fucker’s wrist when he tries to stab me, and I twist it as hard as I motherfucking can.  

He screams in agony and tries to reach for his injured wrist with his other hand. And to that one, I merely said ‘hell fucking no’ before punching his uninjured arm’s elbow. My fingers were red and trembling, and they hurt like hell for all the punches I’d been throwing, but I can hardly feel any of the pain. Seeing the piece of shit in front of me writhe in excruciation serves as my anesthetic. You don’t get to be one of the Boss’s top agents by not working for it. 

Pathetic excuse for a lackey gets off easy. It wouldn’t do me any good to murder him (he’s not worth the effort anyway). While he’s distracted with what I’m sure must be the most excruciating pain of his life (I guarantee it is. This hurts more than a seventh grade breakup. More than pineapple on pizza. More than getting shot. I know this because I caused that pain. If this isn’t the worst pain he’s ever been in, I’m not doing my job - even though this is my fuckin day off. My anniversary with my boyfriend of all the damn days. And to top it off, the day after I get back home after not seeing him for an entire month. Fucker has some balls trying to mess with me today), I walk behind him and shove him to the ground. I put some pressure on his leg and ask him one simple question;

“Whose motherfucking lackey are you?”

“Screw you bitch.”

“Wrong answer.” I coldly spit out, putting more pressure on his leg. 

But I stop. I hear a painful sigh, and look up. He’s clutching his wound and walking towards me with a little glint in his eye. And in that moment I forget all about the fucker beneath me and I go over to him instead. 

“Stop walking - it looks like it’s really serious. You’re bleeding out and need-” I’m cut off by his lips on mine. My heart accelerates and it stops at the same time. My body tenses up and warm tears of relief stain my cheeks as I finally reciprocate the kiss. 

“Are you okay?” I ask him, looking deep into those eyes that see more than an agent. See more than a woman. They look past all I am and all I am not and see me for me. 

“Yes, it’s not that bad anyway.” He says, his voice strained.

“Liar. You’re bleeding out. You need help.” 

“No, I swear I’m fine. This is nothing. Besides, are you okay?”

“I’m not the one who’s stabbed, so yeah, I’d say I’m okay.” 

He chuckles a little before slightly grimacing.

“Okay, you need help. Now.” 

“Bet you I don’t.”

“That’s one bet you’d lose and another I wouldn’t ever want to take any chances on.”

“I love you - you’re incredible. I knew you were perfectly capable of taking those guys out on your own - and probably a hundred more - but wow.” 

I hit his shoulder a little bit before staring him down and scolding him;

“I appreciate your help, but I was trained for this. Or did you forget that part? I could’ve handled it much quicker and definitely painless by myself. Why did you jump in front of a knife like that?” 

“Because I didn’t want to lose you. I know you can handle yourself, but I wish you’d rely on me more. You’re not alone anymore. You have me. Or did you forget?”

“But what if I’d lost you?!” I scream, losing all control over my emotions, the reality of how close I could’ve come to losing him forever to the icy grip of death more than I can handle. “Did you think about that before you jumped in front of the fucking knife like that?! You damn idiot!”

He stays silent. All he does is let me sob against his chest. Though I try to be careful, as he was stabbed in the abdomen. He caresses my hair and holds me close. 

“I wasn’t thinking. He’d stabbed me before I knew I was in front of him. I’m so sorry I scared you like that.” He whispers against my hair, placing a gentle kiss atop my head. 

“Thank you for living.”

[woah-were-halfway-there]

I’m just thinking about the wedding scene you wrote in part 2 of along for the ride 🥺 don’t feel like you have too, but would you be able to write another little scene of them on their wedding day 🥺🥺🥺

Here you are, my dear! Hope you enjoy ☺️

Word Count: 2k cause idk what a little scene is apparently

Your wedding reception was filled with guests. The entire space was decorated to the nines and filled with people you loved, but you just couldn't stop glancing at Auston. Your husband. And he knew it too.

The two of you were finally married, and you simply couldn't get over the fact that you're going to be spending the rest of your life with the man you love the most. It felt surreal, but you loved every minute of it.

"You're staring," Auston spoke up and chuckled, snapping you out of the little daze you fell into. "Like the view?"

"Don't act like you don't love the attention," you retorted before moving to take a sip of the wine that rested on the table in front of you. "But yes, my husband is looking mighty fine right now."

At that, he chuckled and leaned over so that the two of you could share a kiss. The two of you had sure done a lot of kissing since the ceremony concluded and couldn't think of a reason to stop; so, you just kept it going.

"Maybe we should make a game where every time they kiss, we all have to take a drink," one of Auston's groomsmen, a longtime friend from Scottsdale, spoke into a mic from the end of the wedding party table and caused the entire room to erupt into laughter.

"Do you want to be an absolute write off before midnight?" Mitch asked loudly from his spot a few seats left from Auston, earning more chuckles.

"Good point, maybe not," the groomsman replied with a smile, before kicking off the speech portion of the evening.

The next half an hour basically consisted of you and Auston getting chirped by your entire wedding party. Sure, they made a lot of jabs at how mushy the two of you can be, but they also just made you feel so loved at the same time.

"I remember the night Y/N called me in a full on panic saying she thought she was catching serious feelings for Auston," Steph explained during part of her speech and sent you a knowing look.

"And I remember bracing myself for the rollercoaster ride this was bound to be as soon as Steph told me what Y/N told her," Mitch chimed in for his part as he stood next to her. "And it has been a wild ride with these two, but in the best way possible. Look at them, they're a whole married couple now, and I couldn't be happier about it."

"These two are soulmates, and they've never been afraid to show it," Steph added. "And I think I speak on behalf of many people in this room when I say that Mia is going to grow up feeling the love they share undoubtedly. She couldn't have lucked out with better parents who adore her as much as they adore each other."

Although each speech before Steph and Mitch's made you overly emotional, theirs was the first one that made you shed a tear as you glanced over to where Mia sat, cuddling with Ema at a nearby table. She seemed so content and didn't have a care in the world; you couldn't help yourself from just sitting there and smiling as you watched your daughter.

Auston noticed this and wasn't long in leaning closer to you and squeezing your thigh before the two of you finally got Mia's attention and waved to her.

Alex and Breyana made the last speech. It consisted of them explaining how happy they were for their brother for finding his person, and how they've considered you to be a sister for years; it was just official now. You cried during that one too.

After the speeches concluded, music started playing, and everyone slowly made their way to the dance floor. Once people had warmed up a little bit, and you downed another glass of wine, the MC announced that you and Auston were about to share your first dance, making you nervous all over again.

You'd never been a fan of being the centre of attention, and the fact that it was your wedding day didn't change that. Standing in front of everyone at the ceremony was nerve-wracking enough, but at least you had a group of people you loved dearly up there with you. Now it was really about to be all eyes on just you and Auston.

But, at least you had him.

"Ready?" He asked as he walked up to stand beside you, causing you to jump slightly at his sudden presence.

"Not really," you admitted while shaking your head. "I'm probably going to trip on the way to the dance floor."

"Good thing I'm here to catch you then," he replied with a wink and linked his hands with yours so he could guide you through the crowd of guests. "I've got you always."

As the two of you made your way to the middle of the dance floor, your nerves gradually diminished just by Auston being there. Once the two of you were face to face, you rested one hand on his shoulder, and he did the same but on your waist. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see everyone watching the two of you from around the dance floor and instantly felt your chest tighten, but then Auston used his free hand to hold onto yours and bring it up to his lips; effortlessly bringing your attention back to him.

"You good?" He asked as the two of you finished getting into position.

"I think so."

"If you get nervous, just focus on us. As if we're the only ones here."

At that, you smiled, and soon the intro of You and Me by Lifehouse started playing from the speakers. "Deal."

What day is it And in what month? This clock never seemed so alive

Once Jason Wade’s voice started singing, you were instantly hit by a wave of emotion, and weren't long in letting Auston pull you closer to him because of it. The lyrics to this song hit you hard every time you listened to it, and this time was no different.

'Cause it's you and me

And all of the people with nothing to do Nothing to lose

You then rested your head against Auston's chest as the two of you continued swaying to the music and let your eyes flutter shut as you thought back over the years you've spent with your husband.

I'm tripping on words You got my head spinning I don't know where to go from here

From the outside, yours and Auston's relationship never seemed easy. With such a demanding career of being an NHL player, as well as being the face of an entire franchise, sometimes it seemed like the odds were against the two of you. Distance, opposite schedules, and miscommunication provided a strain on your relationship at times and did make things very difficult. However, there still was not a single doubt in your mind that regardless of the tough times faced, the years you've spent with Auston have easily been the best. At the end of the day, it was always you and him. 

And it's you and me And all of the people And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you

Steph was right when she said you and Auston were soulmates. You had met your match with him. He was a person that could infuriate you like no other, but also someone you could never imagine life without.

Auston had all the missing pieces you seemingly could never find and flawlessly completed the puzzle your heart had spent years trying to figure out. He was your best friend, your person, your soulmate… and there was nothing that could ever make you question that.

There's something about you now That I can't quite figure out

Being in that moment with you was surreal for Auston.

When he first asked you to be his girlfriend all those years ago, he was prepared for you to say no. It's not easy being in a relationship with someone who's always on the road, but you didn't care and dived in headfirst, proving to him that he was worth taking risks for.

He never took that for granted either and always silently thanked whoever it was that decided you were meant to be in his life. Because you were. You were the other half that made him whole, the mother of his child, and the person who made his life so much better just by being in it.

Everything she does is beautiful Everything she does is right

As the two of you continued dancing in your little bubble as the final chorus played through, you felt extremely content thinking about how with Auston is where you are meant to be, forever. And he thought the same.

The entire wedding day was your vow to one another that the two of you were exactly where you were supposed to be, with each other. And even though a wedding wasn't needed to prove that, it was sure nice to share those feelings with loved ones and celebrate them in the best way possible.

What day is it? And in what month? This clock never seemed so alive

As soon as the song was over, you and Auston held on to each other for a second longer before moving away, just to pull the other in for another kiss.

"I love you," Auston stated while leaning his forehead against yours. "More than I'll ever be able to explain."

"You don't need to," you told him and reached up to straighten out his boutonniere that shifted from you leaning against it. "I already know. And I can only hope that you know I feel the exact same way."

"I do know," he answered and placed another peck to your lips just before the two of you were surrounded by wedding guests ready to take dance along to the next song.

You soon found yourself dancing along to Def Leppard with Auston's sisters before Mitch and Steph made a whole scene out of joining the three of you as they yelled along to the lyrics of Pour Some Sugar On Me.

As you spent time with them, along with other members of your bridal party and wedding guests, you couldn't help but notice that Auston seemingly vanished. As a couple of songs played out, you couldn't help but glance around to see where he went, but it wasn't until the DJ started playing My Girl by The Temptations that you got your answer.

There was a small break between the people dancing and in came Auston, carrying Mia and singing to her as they swayed their way towards the middle of the dance floor. You had to stop what you were doing just so you could watch the two together, not being able to prevent the enormous smile that formed on your lips as you did so.

It seemed that others were intrigued by what was going on as well, and they joined you and observing Auston dance along to the music while Mia had her arms wrapped around his neck, holding onto him tightly and giggling like crazy as he sang about her being his girl.

Even Ema and Brian joined to see what the commotion was about and wasn't long in pushing you towards your husband and daughter to join in on the fun.

Once Auston saw you approaching, he extended an arm out so that once you were close enough, he could pull you right in and continue swaying with you and Mia in his hold. He started singing "my girls" instead of the actual lyrics, and Mia wasn't long in reaching towards you to be held for a little bit before having to leave to go to bed.

Everything about the moment was perfect. And you couldn't help but think with a smile about how this was bound to be how the rest of your life was going to feel too.

[livingthroughchoices-blog]

The Marshmallow Chronicles (Ch. 9: Race to the Finish)

Prev | Next

Author’s notes: Hey guys! I know I said I probably wouldn’t be able to update but guess what? I love procrastinating school so this happened! It’s been a really stressful week so it felt great to write. However, idk if you’ll like this chapter that much ‘cause there’s not as much interaction between our favorite idiots in love /: which is also why it’s shorter. But I did my best to make it (somewhat?) interesting. As always, thanks to everyone for reading, liking, reblogging and commenting! And special thanks to @starstruckzonkoperatorbat, @notoriouscs and @simplyaiden-blog for asking me to tag them! Love y’all <3

Rating: T

Pairing: Drake x MC

Words: 3861

Now this was a day Drake had looked forward to! He strolled along the marina, wearing a thin white cotton t-shirt, enjoying the gentle breeze tickling his face and the briny tang in the air. 

Boating was one of the few things that made him feel like himself and, even better, he didn’t have Liam to compare himself to because he hated sailing so much. The corner of his lips quirked up as he remembered his and Liam’s first and only attempt at sailing as teens.

It had been Drake’s idea, of course, eager as ever to get away from the palace and stuck up noble’s taunts. Liam had agreed readily enough, though, after a day full of boring meetings. The King and Queen must have known, even then, that Leo abdicating was a possibility and had insisted Liam receive the same education. They might have hoped Leo would yield his position, in fact; it didn’t take a genius to know the difference between the half-brothers’ temperaments made Liam far more suitable for the throne.

“Are you sure they won’t catch us?” At thirteen, Liam was already very tall, but the usual awkwardness that accompanies this stage seemed to have spared him.

“Positive. My dad told me he would be training the new recruits today, so no one will even come near the marina!” Drake was even taller than Liam, and skinnier. He, unfortunately, did move with the clumsiness that comes from not recognizing your own body. He wasn’t nearly self-conscious enough to be embarrassed, though. Actually, he was a lot freer or somehow... lighter back then. He didn’t have that much of a chip on his shoulder yet.

Liam got on the boat while Drake untied it from the pier and hopped on after. 

“You ready?”

Liam nodded excitedly. Drake unfurled the sails and set them off. He occasionally gave Liam, who was less experienced, instructions, which he followed diligently. It felt good to be the captain, for once.

The wind suddenly died down and they took the opportunity to dangle their legs off the boat. Taking in the view, they dipped their toes in the frigid water, which was a relief in the humid heat. They were still relatively close to the shore, but if they looked in the opposite direction, they could pretend they were out at sea, just the two of them, no court, no responsibilites...

“Drake, do you think I could be a good king?”

Drake turned to look at his best friend who was gazing intently into the water.

“What makes you ask that?”

“I don’t know. I’m second in the line of succession, it could happen.”

“Do you want it to?”

“I’m not sure... I think I do. I want to help Cordonia somehow and if I am not king, then what can I do? That is all I’ve been taught.”

“Calm down, Simba, I’m sure you could find ways to help even if you’re never king.”

Liam shoved him at that, laughing. “Fine, but you haven’t answered the question.”

“Shit, I don’t know, man.”

Liam grimaced and Drake continued hurriedly. “I mean, I can’t know, ya know? But if you’re as good at being king as you are at being a person, then sure.”

“You think I’m a good person?” Liam smiled.

“Duh. I wouldn’t be here with you if I didn’t... A good person for a noble, obviously.”

“And you’re not too bad for a commoner.” 

The usual insult lost all its bite when accompanied by Liam’s kind smile, but Drake splashed him nonetheless.

“Hey!” Liam splashed him back.

This continued until they were both soaked and had swallowed more than their fair share of ocean water. They were so absorbed, they didn’t notice the sky growing ominously darker. Not, that is, until they felt drops falling from above.

“Uh oh,” said Drake. 

They both immediately stood up, and Drake set about trying to turn the boat around. The storm was worsening by the second. Gusts of wind buffeted the boat and their small bodies, almost pushing them around. The sails snapped and flapped uncontrollably. Untied ropes flew around and the fixed ones were taut with tension. Drake tried hard not to panic.

Suddenly, he heard a loud knock. It happened so fast, he almost missed the boom hitting Liam and him falling to the water like a rag doll. 

“Liam!”

Drake’s teeth were chattering, from fear or cold, he wasn’t sure, but he imagined it was a bit of both. Before he could talk himself out of it somehow, he jumped in after Liam, roughly around the spot he’d fallen. By the time he reemerged, Liam had, too. He instantly felt stupid for jumping in. 

It’s not like he can’t swim.

They both got back on the boat with much effort. Drake hoisting himself up and then pulling Liam on board. They sat for a few seconds, panting. 

“You-you saved my life,” said Liam between pants.

“Don’t be stupid,” answered Drake but a proud smile was spreading on his face, “it’s not like you can’t swim.”

“Still. You didn’t even hesitate.”

“Yeah, well, you’d do the same for me, right?”

“I would.”

Liam clapped Drake gratefully on the back. The storm showed no signs of slowing down, so Drake got to his feet decisively.

“Okay, Liam, we need to–”

At that moment, a powerful blast of wind caught the side of the boat and capsized it. Drake resurfaced and looked around for Liam, who’d fallen just a little farther. Drake gestured to him to swim closer. They attempted to right the boat, but the combined forces of two thirteen-year-olds were not enough.

Resigned to their fate, they swam the rest of the way back pushing the boat, hoping against hope they would make it back before they were missed. Sadly, when your best friend is a prince and second in the line of succession, the window of opportunity is pretty narrow, so they had a very angry group indeed waiting for them at the shore.

The subsequent scoldings and punishments were among the harshest either of them had ever suffered, but Drake couldn’t help but smile at the memory now. Oddly, the parts he remembered most vividly about that day weren’t the terror of the storm or the different, but no less awful terror of disappointing their parents. What he remembered most was feeling capable and brave, and like he was a good friend, for once.

He’d been wandering aimlessly up and down the pier during his stroll down memory lane. A low buzz had started growing louder and louder as more nobles arrived for today’s event. Drake sighed heavily, knowing that was all the alone time he’d be getting today. He looked towards the opposite end of the pier, where the suitors and Liam were being surrounded by the press. He caught a glimpse of Riley as she smiled brightly at the reporters, no doubt wowing them as she had done so far. 

He hadn’t noticed he had stopped, but he found himself straining his ears trying to catch a snippet of what she was saying. All he could hear was the cadence of her voice, occasionally mixed with Liam’s, who was standing next to her. She then stood on her tiptoes and kissed Liam on the cheek. His eyes unfocused and he stood there, not seeing anything. After a few seconds, he became vaguely aware that something was bothering him.

“Drake absolutely loooves nobles! In fact, there’s nothing he likes better, except maybe mai tais. You hear that everyone?! Drake drinks mai tais, Drake drinks mai tais, DRAKE DRINKS–!”

He turned around furiously and slapped his hand on Maxwell’s mouth.

“Shut up. I do not drink mai tais.”

Maxwell licked his hand. 

“Ugh! What are you? Twelve?” Drake said disgustedly, wiping his hand on Maxwell’s shirt as the latter laughed.

“Twelve and a half.” He looked at Drake confusedly. “Did you seriously not hear me? I was trying to get your attention for, like, a full minute.”

“I must’ve learned how to tune you out.”

Maxwell let out a great laugh. “HA HA! There’s that classic Drake humor, love it!”

“What do you want?”

“Want? Why would you–” Drake glared at him and Maxwell relented. “Fine, I need a favor.”

“What now Maxwell? I’ll remind you I already said no to being in your dance crew.”

“Oh I’ll get you someday, but it’s not about that! Well, it is a crew, but a different kind... The thing is our boat crew, uh, bailed on us.”

“What? Why?”

Maxwell mumbled something. 

“What did you say? Speak up, dude!”

“Money troubles! We’re having money troubles, okay? Please don’t tell anyone, Bertrand would go ballistic.”

Drake shrugged. “Of course I won’t, man. You forget, I’m the only one here who has actually been through this.”

“You never know, nobles are just better at hiding it.”

“Yeah, I guess it’s easy to hide it when you already have expensive shit to show off.”

“Touché. Anyway, I remember you used to like boats so I was wondering if you could help out?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t been on a boat for a while and–”

“Pleeease?” Maxwell whined. “It would mean so much to me and Riley! She doesn’t even know about this yet, but she’s gonna be so disappointed if we don’t get to race.”

“On second thought, it could be fun to sail again,” Drake agreed quickly, or, as he’d tell himself later, reluctantly.

He and Maxwell boarded the yacht, getting everything ready for Riley. She caught up with them not long after. She waved at Maxwell with a small smile and then grinned as she spotted Drake. He came forward to greet her and tripped on a rope. Riley sniggered and he glared at her.

“Drake? What are you doing here?” She turned towards Maxwell, “Maxwell, didn’t you leave with Bertrand? And shouldn’t there be other people? Like... an actual crew?” She looked around the boat, as if expecting the crew to be hiding.

“Yeah, Maxwell.” Drake pushed him forward. “What happened?”

“Well...” He rubbed the back of his neck, stalling. “I have good news and bad news.”

Riley crossed her arms, bracing herself. “Tell me the bad news first.”

Maxwell sighed in defeat. “The bad news is that the actual crew dropped out... Something about not paying upfront?” He grimaced. “But good news... you still have a crew. In fact, Drake volunteered to help out!” He clapped Drake’s back.

“He ‘volunteered’?” Riley raised an eyebrow skeptically.

Drake smirked. “Maxwell begged me.”

“I thought I was rather dignified,” he defended himself.

“Practically in tears, actually.” Drake’s smirk grew wider as Riley laughed, her eyes crinkling. 

“And you both... know about sailing?”

“I used to own several boats, and Drake is an excellent boatman!” explained Maxwell enthusiastically.

“From what I hear, you’re terrible with boats!” Riley pointed an accusing finger at Drake. “I just heard a story about a capsized boat from Liam that says Drake isn’t.”

“He told you about that?” 

Of course he told her. He was surprised he was as disappointed as he felt. 

Liam told it all wrong, though! From what Addams said, he told it like it sucked! I mean, yeah, it was scary but it was a cool adventure... Of course Liam would mostly remember how worried everyone was ‘cause he’s considerate and not an asshole like I am.

Sure, it was a good story that he would’ve enjoyed telling Riley... or anyone, for that matter, but it wasn’t that big of a deal.

“Okay, that was bad, but after that whole mess, I decided I’d spend a summer learning how to sail properly...” It had been a good one, too. He’d gone out with his dad every weekend, often joined by Savannah and even their mom, sometimes. 

He looked at Riley seriously. “Trust me, you’re in good hands.” She smiled softly and he cleared his throat. “At least mine. Can’t speak for Maxwell.”

“Hey!” he said indignantly.

“Wait, what about Bertrand? Why isn’t he here?” asked Riley.

“His words were, and I quote,” Maxwell swelled his chest importantly in a convincing impression of his older bother, “‘Have we fallen so far? Is this what becomes of House Ramsford?’ And then he muttered something about ruin and reducing our name to rubble and then I hope he went to get a drink or something after that.” Maxwell shrugged helplessly.

Riley giggled. “Sounds about right. What about Tariq? He looks like a guy who could sail a boat.”

Is she serious?! Just when I thought she wasn’t that naive.

Drake burst out laughing, “HA HA ha ha haa.”

Riley scowled at him which only made him laugh harder. “It was only a thought.”

Drake clutched his middle, breathing deeply, and slowly stopped laughing. “Yeah, yeah. I’m sorry to say, Addams, you’re not going to be cruising around like the other ladies. You’re going to have to do some work to help us win. I hope you’re up to the job.”

Riley put her hands on her hips at this, challenging. “Drake, only if YOU can keep up.”

Drake raised an eyebrow. “You’re on, Addams.”

Drake bustled around the boat, tying the last ropes before untying the yacht from the pier.

“Casting off!”

He unfurled the sails and automatically turned his head to see if Riley had been looking. It might have been his ego, but he thought her smile seemed like she was impressed. His chest felt warm.

From their right, Hana waved at them and shouted, “Good luck to you both!”

Both? Oh, ugh.

Olivia’s boat was to their left. She replied with, “I don’t need luck. I know I’m going to win! I hope you both like losing!”

Great comeback. What an idiot. 

He rolled his eyes at Riley, who shook her head sympathetically. She got a determined look on her face. “Maxwell, how do we win this thing?”

Maxwell cheered and Drake wondered at her, feeling almost as proud as if they’d already won the race. “Riley, you’ll be watching the wind indicator for us. Whenever it shifts, tell us, so we can adjust the sails.”

Riley nodded competently and Drake added, “We’ll tell you what else needs to be done as it comes.”

“Sounds doable...” She gave him a small smile that wanted to be confident. He returned it, hoping to reassure her.

Maxwell looked toward the pier, where King Constantine stood with the royal family and the press. “Looks like the race is about to start!”

“Racers, ready!” King Constantine boomed. He put his arm up, pistol in hand.

"Here we go...” Drake said. Riley grabbed his arm and shook it in anticipation. He chuckled. He was about to ruffle her hair when the sound of a gunshot tore through the charged atmosphere.

They barely heard King Constantine’s “And go!” as they all hurried to their posts. Olivia’s boat was off faster than he cared for, but he trusted his skills, if not his companions’. 

Slow and steady wins the race. 

He realized he was staring at Riley and shook his head, continuing his tasks.

Olivia yelled back at them, “I’ll be waiting at the finish line!”

“Hell no. No way carrot top is beating us.”

"NO WAY,” Riley echoed and fist-bumped him. He laughed a little. 

What a dork.

“Hold it steady,” Drake reminded her.

“The wind changed!” Riley shouted.

“Adjusting sails!” Maxwell called back. He did so then went to Riley. “Hey, Riley, tie this down for us! We need to hold the sail in place!”

“Oh, um, okay,” she said half excited, half nervous.

Drake kept a discreet eye on her, not wanting her to think he didn’t trust her to do it right, but also wanting to stay in the race. He shouldn’t have worried, of course; Riley tied the rope with a sturdy sailor’s knot and stepped back to survey her work with a self-satisfied smirk on her face.

“Perfect.”

“It’s okay. Barely in the top five knots I’ve seen in my life,” Drake teased.

“What! I think it’s amazing! But I guess you could say it’s... knot bad,” she replied with a cheesy smile. “Get it?”

“God, Addams!” He shook his head at her, only just keeping his laughter in. “That was terrible! You’ve been spending too much time with Maxwell!”

“Well, you’re never around!” she said reproachfully.

He opened his mouth to reply, though he had no idea what to say to that. 

Does she want to spend more time with me? 

He was saved by Maxwell, who suddenly yelled from up front, “There’s the halfway point! We just have to turn around the buoy and head back to the finish line!”

Drake whipped his head to the front and realized, “We’re coming in too fast! Brace yourself!”

The boat turned sharply to the right, skimming the water. Drake saw Maxwell grab on to a rope and did the same. He turned to look at Riley anxiously, but she seemed to have an iron grip on the rigging, and he felt his breath return. The boat righted itself and they smoothly circumvented the buoy.

Riley let out a sigh of relief. Drake gave her a soft pat in the back and encouraged her, “Let’s keep going. We’re almost there.”

“Wind’s picking up in our favor!” Maxwell informed them.

“Back to stations!” Drake barked. “Addams, secure the jib.”

“And that means to...?” she bit her lip uncertainly and Drake softened his tone.

“Catch the wind coming from behind us!”

“Aye, aye, captain,” she saluted him and followed his instructions, allowing them to finally overtake Olivia’s boat.

“What?!” Drake heard her say. “Make the boat go faster!” she yelled at her crew, to no avail. Their boat had picked up an unstoppable momentum and it would’ve taken a miracle to overtake them. They crossed the finish line with a comfortable lead.

“We did it!” Riley cheered, jumping up and down.

“Wooohooo!!!” Maxwell ran around the yacht with his arms in the air.

“You really pulled through for us, Addams,” Drake said, giving her a one-armed friendly hug. She pushed him off to hug him from the front enthusiastically. 

Well, what the hell. 

He hugged her back and lifted her off the ground. He heard clapping and saw King Constantine and Liam waiting for them on the pier. He put Riley down so fast she almost fell down.

He cleared his throat again. “Um, nice work.”

“Yeah, you too. I mean, I couldn’t– we couldn’t have done it without you.”

He nodded at her and gestured for her to get off the boat first. She made a beeline towards Liam. After a short conversation, she left with Hana, while Liam made his way over to him.

“Where’s Maxwell?”

“I think he went to go talk to Bertrand or something.”

“That was some sailing, my friend.” Liam claps him on the back.

“Thanks. I’ve definitely improved since we were kids, huh? Addams thought I’d still be as bad.”

They start walking together towards the royal yacht to see the regatta.

“Ha, well of course you have! I hope you didn’t mind I told her that story, I was just explaining why I don’t care for boats.”

“Oh. That story is the reason you don’t like sailing?” Drake tried to keep the hurt from his voice.

Liam put his hand on his shoulder. 

Damn it, he knows me too well. 

“I didn’t mean it that way, Drake. It’s actually one of my fondest memories! We were having such a good time before the storm... And it serves as a reminder of why you are my best friend.”

“You need reminders, huh?”

“Constantly, when you’re being a pain in my... rear.”

“Oh, come on, man! Just say it once!”

“I won’t! You know how I have to watch what I say! Even more so now...” Liam grimaced and stopped abruptly, staring pensively at his feet.

“What do you mean now?”

“Are you joking?”

“I mean, unless I suddenly became Tariq and lost all sense of humor, no. What kind of joke would that be?”

They resumed walking.

“Did you not hear my father’s announcement?”

“Nope.”

Liam shook his head at him. “Well, the main point of it was that he is abdicating once the social season is over.”

“WHAT! But that’s so soon! So does that mean–?”

“Yes. I will be king that soon and I am no longer choosing a wife that’ll someday be queen. I am choosing our immediate queen.”

“Shit.” That was really all Drake could say. 

King. That is a tall fucking order. You could not pay me enough to do it, man. Nothing in the world could make me want to be a noble. Not now, not ever. On the other hand, all these girls are gonna be throwing themselves at Liam even more now.

He cracked his knuckles, feeling the urge to punch something.

“I was hoping you’d have more to say...” prompted Liam. Drake realized he’d been quiet for way too long. They arrived at the yacht, which allowed Drake to stall a little longer. As soon as they were on, though, Liam was looking expectantly at him, not even glancing at the race, which was starting.

“I mean, what do you want me to say, man? You seem overwhelmed, but I know this is what you want. So just hold on to that, okay? You can finally help Cordonia, like you’ve always wanted.”

“Right, but what about the suitors?”

“What about them?”

“Now that it is not hypothetical anymore, I believe more than ever I have to put Cordonia’s interests before my heart’s wishes...”

“Well...” The words didn’t seem to want to leave Drake’s mouth, so it took him a second to wrest them out. “What if you could do both?”

“What are you saying?”

“Look, we all know you care about Riley, okay? And like I said the other day, she would make a decent– no, scratch that, a helluva queen. So there you go.”

A waiter passed bearing drinks and Drake blindly snatched two. He’d already drank half of the first in one gulp, when he became aware that the normal thing to do would be to give Liam the second one. He parted with it unwillingly.

“Thank you. And you’re right, as usual. I do not think it’s as simple as that, but there is hope. I just wish there was some way to show her how much she means to me, without giving too much away before the season’s over...”

Liam snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it! The beach party!”

“What about it?” asked Drake monotonously.

“We could ask the chefs to serve something American, to remind her of home and make her feel more at ease. The problem is... what?”

Drake instantly remembered one of Riley’s truths in Two Truths and a Lie being that sloppy joes were her favorite American dish. “Uh, I’m sure I could think of something... You know, being half American and all.”

“Of course! Thank you, Drake! Once again, you’ve helped me more than you know. Someday I’ll have to repay you for everything you’ve done for me.”

Drake waved his thanks aside and strode cheerfully towards the exit.

[gimmesumsuga]

So I was in bio dissecting a pig and trying to not vomit when some fuck decided to throw a firecracker into the hallway and I thought we were being shot tf up and I'm very pissed atm so your sts update is clearly a sign from the heavens as a token of apology God bless you

Oh jesus :/ I hope it made up for what sounds like a pretty trauamatic day otherwise! 

***

Anon: A part of me feels bad for namjoon.. the other part of me feels bad for everyone else, namjoon tried to kill yoongi before with no real reason and now I’m anxious

Yeah, I just feel kind of bad for everyone, to be honest.  What kind of sadist even writers th-.... oh... >.> lol 

***

Anon: Oh damn....oh thank god but I don’t really like Sam knowing who knows it’s strange but thank god the boys helped hopefully jimin and Yoongi find out what happened and go to her. I’m loving this chapter and I’m loving the protectiveness that Jin, Tae, and Kookie showed damn just perfect brb reading it again

I hope you enjoyed it just as much the second time around, nonnie! 

***

Anon: JUST READ 67. GODDAMMIT!

Haha I’m gonna take that as a good god dammit, hopefully?  

***

@shedevil65 - Wow how is MC not traumatized

I don’t think she’s had chance for it to all sink in yet, to be honest 

***

@shynerdybtssblog - *shakes* holy moly that was not what I was thinking what was going to happen!  

Pt 2. I love you and take your time 

Always nice to have a surprise, right? :P  Thank you sweetie

***  

@riverlakepondstream - Yo with all due respect fuck you dude

I probably deserve that lol 

***

@kidrauhlschik - GUESS WHAT. IMA AT WORK. AND GUESS WHAT. IM GONNA READ CHAPTER 67 BECAUSE FEELS

Pt 2. Ok wow. So I read it. Took me long enough. Now what am I supposed to do????????? How can I wait???? Aghhhh you’re such a good writer ♥️

Ah I’m glad you liked it, and I hope you didn’t get in trouble at work! haha thank you lovely 

***

Anon: i'm so angry at namjoon in sweeter than sweet oh my g o d. i genuinely thought that maybe he would get a redemption arc-- and i was rly rooting for that too!! but after this shit he jos pulled??? bitch needs to die smh there really is no excuse for him fuck that noise anYWAY i lov ur fic sm and i got so excited by this update that i fuckin hit my ankle on my coffee table :(( i'm suing u

Ow ouch!  I hope it didn’t bruise too badly anon! Don’t sue *smooch*

***

@keideonseu - I've been following Sweeter than Sweet since Chapter 9 and I gotta tell ya, YOU REALLY KNOW HOW TO KEEP ME HOOKED!! I mostly read it on Archive of our Own, and just recently did I find your tumblr. 😂😂 I am hella torn between Jimin and Joon tho... Joon is my UB but Jimin is just a CINNAMON ROLL who deserves all the love

Ah I’m glad you found me here! I can’t blame you for still feeling conflicted, especially when Joon is your bias! 

***

@einekleinecubasianfraulein - Woman! YOU'RE KILLING ME, SMALLS!! I love STS so far... The angst is so real. I'm only allowed to leave kudos once on AO3, which is a very stupid system. I'LL LEAVE ALL THE DAMN KUDOS I PLEASE!! All the love to you, gorgeous. Hope you're well. 🖤

Aww thanks sweetie! I appreciate the want to leave more even if you can’t lol 

***

Anon: OMG, THE NEW CHAPTER. DARLING YOU FED ALL OF US JIN STANS SO GOOOOOD. I ALREADY CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!! GREAT WORK! ❤️💓💗💛💚💜💙💛❤️💛💜💗💛💙💜❤️💛💕💖

I soooooo enjoyed writing Jin very differently to how I usually would!  It felt great! Glad you liked it ^^

***

@nnn3r5 - Lord STS wrecks me further into oblivion with each new chapter. You truly are great at what you do Steph. You're such a good writer😭😭😭💜💜💜💜

Thanks hunny, I try my best :) 

***

@yoonnggii - OMG i just finished reading chapter 67 and IT WAS SO GOOD!!! I CANT WAIT FOR CHAPTER 68, i’m in love w this series!!! IM SO GLAD THEY KICKED NAMJOON OUT but i’m sad jimin and yoongi weren’t in this chapter:((( either way i still loved it!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH💓

You’re welcom, and thank you very much!  Yoongi and Jimin should be back next chapter! 

***

Anon: Omg!!!! Namjoon is kicked out!!! I have a feeling he’ll be back though. I really hope Jimin and Yoongi Forgive Her And they can have more cute couple time together I miss that they was so cute!!!!! UWU

Ah, I miss it too.  In desperate need of some fluffy times in STS again soon! 

***

 Anon: so i just read chapter 67 of sts and well...NOW IM CRYING LIKE WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS I WAS HAPPY 17 MINUTES AGO AND NOW I CANT COPE WHERE IS MY INHALER IM JSJJFKSJHDDXNz~~

Ohhhh, I hope you recovered just as quickly anon! 

***

@jaetaebum - *slams fists aggressively on a table* WHAT THE FUCK !!!!!!!!!! I WAS LITERALLY HAVING A PANIC ATTACK DURING THAT FIGHT SCENE AND I HAD TO STOP READING FOR A MINUTE TO CALM MYSLELFV???? i'm dtill hyperventilating and idk what to do with mysenlf??? help??? i'm in love !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! omg !!!!!!!!! you are an absolutely legend and im sp inspired by you

Bless you sweetie, you’re so cute! lol you’re welcome *hug* 

[seduceme-lovestruck-thearcana]

SE MCs background chapter 2: The Deal

This chapter was going to be Melody and Gabriel getting closer but it kinda became tOOO long, well to me it seemed to long, so I’ll post chapter 3 either today or tomorrow idk which one. I write bc I have no life XD.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I woke up to sunshine in my eyes. The bed felt comfier than it usually does... I opened my eyes and realized I was in a bed that wasn’t my own. I started to panic, but then I remembered what happened yesterday. Right. Apparently magic is real and I can’t do anything in this world. That’s just great. I saw a little clock on the wall and it said, “9:30 AM,” so I knew it was time to get up.

I looked around for the key Erik had given me and I unlocked the door. As soon as I stepped out into the hallway, a glorious smell filled the air. Pancakes. I heard my stomach rumble just from thinking about pancakes right now. I walked to the kitchen and saw Erik cooking pancakes, just like I thought. I smiled and said, “good morning,” to him. He smiled and said good morning back. I sat down at the kitchen table and noticed three plates were at the table. Did he have someone else living here? I didn’t see anyone here last night. As soon as I thought that, the front door opened, and Gabriel had soon joined me at the kitchen table.

We both exchanged our greetings and then he looked at me with a serious face. I guess he was going to talk about our situation. I started to feel anxious. I didn’t trust Gabriel or Erik fully, so I didn’t know what they would do to me. However, I just breathed in deeply and gave him a serious look back. “I have a question for you,” he said, with his hand on his chin, in his thinking pose again. “As you always do,” I said with a little smile. He laughed at my response but then turned serious once more. “What do you want to do about this? I have two options for you,” he said. “On one hand, Erik can erase your memories and you will never remember this place. On the other, we can report you and let the government handle your situation,” he said with a distant look.

I didn’t know why but him mentioning their government kinda made me sick. I mean, our government in America was kiiinda messed up, so who knows what theirs would be like. Neither of them seemed to even know exactly what they would do with me. I breathed in and thought about it for awhile. “Awhile” meant a minute. Because after one minute, Erik came in and gave us all two pancakes.

Maybe after eating I would have a better sense of mind.

We finished eating and they both asked me the same question. However, Erik seemed to be kind of nervous about the first option. They’ve been asking the questions all along, now it’s my turn to ask questions. “What kind of a magician are you, Erik?” He smiled. “Well, I’m a memory magician, ma’am.” I nodded. I should’ve guessed that. “Wait, can all magicians erase memories?” Gabriel shook his head. “Only memory magicians can,” he said while not looking at me. I turned to Gabriel, ready to question again. “Well, what kind of magician are you?” Gabriel went tense and looked at my directly. His hands started to fidget.

He shook his head and gave me a smile so strained it looked like it hurt. “My power does not matter right now.” I started to worry for him. Why was it such a touchy subject? I wanted to know more, but I didn’t push. If it was his business, then it was his business. “So, do you have an answer?” Asked Gabriel, clearly trying to change the subject. I missed home, but I didn’t want to leave just yet. The world seemed so colorful and beautiful, and their magic seemed so interesting and I wanted to learn more about it. I knew I would never get another chance to come here with either option I choose, so, I thought up of a little deal. “I have a deal,” I told them. Both men’s attention was on me. “What if you let me stay for awhile,” I started.

Gabriel seemed to open his mouth to disagree, but I held up a finger, silently silencing him. “Just a little while. Let me learn about this world, and then, I’ll take option number one.” I looked towards Erik and nodded. “You can erase my memory.” Erik and Gabriel both seemed confused at my plan. It was kind of stupid since I wouldn’t remember anything. I wouldn’t remember them, but at least they would remember me. So, just in case I ever come back here, they would have good memories of me and help me remember. Hopefully, I would still be able to come back.

Gabriel and Erik looked at each other and shook their heads. “What would be the point? You wouldn’t remember us,” Erik pointed out to me, even though I already came to that conclusion myself. I shrugged. “Just in case I ever do come back here on accident and I see you again, you can help me remember everything we did together!” I seemed a bit too excited about this deal, but I couldn’t help it! Magic was real here. Life was different and I wanted to learn about it. I looked at both of them and tried to give the best puppy eyes I’ve ever managed to do. I mainly did them to Gabriel since he seemed to be the one in charge of this whole ordeal. Gabriel sighed and nodded. “Fine! But not too long,” he said. I laughed at my victory and so did Erik. “I’ll be back soon though. I have someone you need to meet if you’re gonna be here for awhile,” he said that as he began to get up and leave.

Me and Erik began to clean up breakfast and he started small talk. He asked me about my life and my past. I didn’t get to tell him anything interesting though. I was just a normal girl who was a bit of a loner. We got finished quickly, since it was only a few pans, and sat in the living room on the couch. “I have to give it to ya,” he started, “Gabriel has never caved in like that before.” I looked at him for a second and didn’t believe him. Maybe he was trying to flatter me and say that I was “special”. I let out a little “pfft” noise and replied, “That’s got to not be true.” He smiled and nodded a lot. “He’s as stubborn as stubborn gets, love. So, it isn’t easy to make him cave in. He’s been through a lot so he’s learned to be stubborn and say ‘no’ a lot.” He didn’t laugh that time.

It seemed like he knew a lot about Gabriels past. I wanted to ask but I’d rather hear it from Gabriel. “What am I supposed to do when you go to work?” I assumed he had a job since he had a nice house and I didn’t want to be stuck here. “Well, you’ll get a job with me. If that’s alright?” I nodded. I didn’t mind working. “Well, Gabriel’s sister’s gotta come over here first and deal with you, but then you’ll work at my cafe.”

As soon as he finished that sentence, Gabriel walked in with a woman following behind him. The woman was a bit tanner than Gabriel was, she had purple eyes as well but a bit lighter, and her hair was punch pink just like Gabriel’s was. I’m assuming that’s his sister. She looked over to me with a sweet smile on her face. “You must be Melody. My name is Natalie,” she said as she held out her hand to me. I like this girl already. I shook her hand and replied, “It’s nice to meet you, Natalie,” I said with a big smile. She then turned serious but still looked happy. “I need you to stand up in front of me and look into my eyes.” She looked very serious so I couldn’t deny it. I stood up, got arm distances from her, and looked her in the eyes. “Close your eyes,” she told me in a soft voice. I closed my eyes and let her do her magic.

Natalie put her index finger in front of Melody. It was in the middle of her face. She closed her own eyes and dragged that finger down the middle of her entire body. Light shined around Melody. She didn’t look different to the people in the room, but, to everyone else, she looked different. It was an illusion.

I opened my eyes as Natalie told me to do and she told me what she did. She said it was an illusion spell and that I would look different to everyone else. However, people that saw me without the illusion, will still see me as me, but people who have never seen me, will see the illusion. It was interesting to me and I asked what else could she do, and she sat me down and talked about it. She was still very vague about it since I was human, but it made me happy that she still at least tried to explain it to me. I kept glancing over to Gabriel and he seemed a bit antsy whenever his sister got too specific. It seemed like he didn’t want her to tell me anything, but if she noticed it, she didn’t seem to care. She looked very happy and I was too.

However, Natalie did have to leave and go home. We all said our goodbyes, but Gabriel stayed behind with me and Erik. “What do you plan on doing while you’re here?” He seemed a bit angry at me. I don’t know why though, I was only interested in magic, and learning about magic was a part of the deal and he AGREED. I huffed, a little bit angry like. Maybe because I was tired... “I plan on learning about magic and Erik said I could work where he works,” I said while pointing to Erik. Erik nodded. “I mean, she can’t be here all day. She’ll learn nothing. Why not work with me?” Gabriel then became a bit nervous, AGAIN. Hes always on and off like make up your mind! One second he’s worried for me, next he’s a little bit angry at me, then he doesn’t want me to learn magic even though it was apart of the deal! It’s making me frustrated.

“Okay, fine. But make sure she doesn’t get hurt and that no one starts bothering her,” he said to Erik with a stern look. Erik nodded understandingly. This made me a bit worried. We’re people here that bad? Did they hate humans? Maybe I shouldn’t have made my deal... No. This’ll be fun and I’ll be safe with them.

Gabriel eventually left and went home and Erik noticed my anxiousness. I always bit my nails when I was anxious and I guess Erik just assumed I was anxious. “It’ll be fine, I promise. Working as a waiter will be easy. Once you pass the training,” he said with a smile.

“The deal has been agreed to, Melody. So, try to enjoy your time here with us, and I’ll try to answer questions if you have any.” He told me that and I couldn’t think of any more questions, so we went to bed. I locked the door and I just stood there for a minute.

I was really doing this. It was really happening. Magic was real, I had two handsome men helping me, a very nice woman, and I would work somewhere and meet new people. It seemed like a dream come true. 7 year old me would be squealing right now. I know it won’t last and I will forget them eventually, but right now I’m enjoying it. And as I started to fall asleep, I prayed that maybe...I didn’t have to forget about my experiences here. And I also promised to myself that I would learn more about Gabriel. He seemed like he needed a friend, other than Erik and his sister, sometimes, and I was willing to be that friend. If he would let me in.

My eyes began to feel heavy and I fell asleep to the thoughts of tomorrow.