#It was too cold for the camera so all you get are cell phone photos

[triangle-dog]

You can't see it in the photo, but she's watching a coyote directly on the other side of the lake

[luveline]

Anything with Zombie apocalypse! Peter Parker, like how Peter and reader survive or how they met each other just Anything please

Shuffling, a tired groan. Dragging footsteps. A body drops down next to yours. 

"Hello," he says. "Can't you sit somewhere normal?" 

"Hi, Pete." You point down at the group of your survivors. "She's the one who stole my camera. I know it." 

"What's your evidence?" 

Peter brings a knee up to tuck the bottom of his pants into his socks. It helps stay warm in the cold, as does tucking your shirts in, even if it makes for ugly outfits. You pluck a leaf from his unruly hair. "She was– you know how when someone asks you about something and you know you didn't do it but you try not to sound guilty anyways? She was the only one who stayed casual when I asked." 

"So you think she's guilty because she sounded not guilty?" 

You shake your head in defeat. It's a stupid theory, but it's true. She one hundred percent stole your camera because she's a klepto. "It didn't even have any battery left. She just stole it 'cos she knows it's special to me." 

"Maybe you lost it." He unzips his coat and digs through the front pocket. "Left it behind." 

"I wouldn't have," you sigh. "Trust me. It's the one thing I wouldn't forget." 

Peter pulls a lump from his pocket and offers it to you. "Wouldn't be this, would it?" 

Your camera is small and silver in his hands. It looks foreign. The world grows greener by the day as plant life encroaches the streets and skyscrapers shatter in the bad weather. Technology is everywhere but useless, discarded, cars burned to shells and cell phones dropped useless in gutters and eaves. Your camera doesn't work anymore, powered by eight double AA batteries that are impossible to find out here. 

You take it eagerly, a laugh sneaking out and echoing loud enough to make the others camping down look up at you where you're sitting. "Be careful!" Macy calls. 

"Where did you–?" you ask, shocked.

"It's not classy, but I went through her stuff. After you went to sleep last night I asked around and she was being too calm." 

"I knew it," you say, hugging the camera to your chest. There are photos on here you don't want to lose. One day, when you find batteries, or even luckier a computer that works, you'll get to see them again. "Peter, you don't know what this means to me." 

"It means everything, right?" he asks with a shrug. 

You put it down gently and offer your arms to him. He moves in quickly, almost laughably quickly, but his hug is light and breezy. "I didn't do it for you, I'm all about justice," he says. 

"Yeah?" 

"For sure. The people need a vigilante, right? Now more than ever." 

You kiss his cheek. "You're my hero, Parker." 

"Hey, kids!" someone calls, "Get down here!" 

"I'm twenty one!" Peter shouts back. 

"Come on! We need to go before it gets dark." 

When it's dark, bad things happen. The mutes come out to play. Peter gives your shoulder a last rub before he stands, and together you climb down the crumbling metal steps down to the streets again. "What happens when she notices the camera's gone?" you murmur to him. 

"She didn't have it," Peter says, hand ghosting the small of your back, "so she can't lose it. Right?" 

You offer him a private smile. "Right." 

[onlymingyus]

Tension

pairing; lee seokmin (dk/dokyeom) x his hand/reader

genre; smut

warnings; sexting, exchanging of pictures, masturbation (male)

w/c; 1.1k and some change 

requested; no

a/n; i love you @onlyseokmins

Dokyeom leans against the hotel bathroom counter, his eyes moving over his face in the mirror. He looked as exhausted and tense as he felt. The week had been nothing but meeting after meeting. Call after long call and none of them with the person he wanted to talk to. 

He knew you were just as busy as he was, yet you were always better at prioritizing your time than he was. At least you this day by sending a cute morning text each day, a midday text to see how he was doing, but it was really the evening text that kept Dokyeom thriving. 

The ding of his cell phone pulls Dokyeom’s eyes from the mirror to the device lying near his hand. Turning it over, he smirks seeing your name and a devil emoji next to [image attached] in his notifications. God, he missed you more than he could even explain. He knew the days would slow down and he could be back with you, in your arms and in your bed but those days couldn’t get to him quickly enough.

Swiping his thumb along the screen, Dokyeom groans under his breath as the picture comes into his view. You were stunning, truly the most beautiful person that he had ever had the pleasure of being with, and the fact that you allowed him to see you like this…so vulnerable? It took Dokyeom’s breath away and caused the blood to flow south in his body. 

In the picture, you were laying in your bedroom in just your underwear. The camera was strategically placed between your legs so he could look up as he would if he were laying between them. Dokyeom wished that’s where he was. He wished he could bury his tongue inside of you and make you scream his name.

At the thought, Dokyeom has to let out a slow steady breath followed by a laugh as his free hand grips the countertop a bit too tightly. His cock was so hard, he felt like he was going to burst. His boxers felt so tight and rough against his skin. 

With one more look at the photo of you, Dokyeom starts to shed his clothes piece by piece. A soft low groan escapes his lips when he finally is able to push his underwear past his already-leaking cock. Wrapping his fingers around his shaft, Dokeyom leans his head back feeling how much he is throbbing in his own hand. This work trip was going to be the end of him. He had lost count of the number of times he had jerked himself off to the pictures you had sent him, and he knew this time wouldn’t be the last. 

Biting his bottom lip, Dokyeom reaches for his phone flipping the camera to the mirror to take a picture of himself holding his cock for you. A bead of pre-cum oozing from his tip that he knew would make your mouth water. He’d give anything to have you on your knees in front of him, to watch your tongue collect it before it started to drip down his shaft. Instead, he feels it on his fingers causing him to shiver and glance at the shower.   

Once the room is full of warm steam like a layer of privacy, Dokyeom steps into the shower letting his back rest against the cold tiles. It is a striking difference from the feeling of the hot water running down his chest but a welcomed feeling all the same. 

Normally, he would close his eyes and think about you as he wrapped his hand back around his thick cock. He’d imagine it was your hand instead or better yet your smooth walls closing around him, but tonight Dokyeom’s eyes fell on his own hand. He watched as he ran his thumb over the head of his cock teasing his own slit causing his knees to shake. You loved doing that to him, you loved to watch his reactions and hear how it would make his breath quicken. 

Moving his hand downwards, Dokyeom twists his hand under his tip tightening his grip with a low groan of your name. The thought of you was enough to make his stomach tighten and his cock twitch in his palm. He wondered if you were touching yourself too after getting his picture. He hoped so. Dokyeom hoped that he would get out of the shower and find another picture of your messing fingers, your own cum on your lips because you had to see how you tasted. 

His breath quickens along with his pace, Dokyeom lifts one of his legs to rest his foot on a small low shelf in the shower. His head pushing back against the tiles, he doesn’t hold back how loud he is, not with how loud the water and his blood rushing through his veins sound in his ears. 

With a sharp hard flick of his wrist, Dokyeom pants through his climax, thick cum shooting onto the wall of his shower and dripping onto his hand. Licking his lips, Dokyeom can’t help but to smile at the feeling of tension releasing from his body. He almost feels guilty about enjoying the way his body seeps into a more relaxed state after he cums so hard. 

Leaving the shower on, Dokyeom moves from the shower, his body dripping water onto the floor so he can pick up his phone taking a picture of his messy hand and softening cock. He follows it up with a picture of the shower wall and a kissy emoji. He would have to wait to see your response once he actually used the shower for its intended purpose and made sure to clean up his mess so as not to leave any unwanted surprises for housekeeping the next morning. 

With his thick warm robe wrapped loosely around his body, Dokyeom sits on his bed using his free hand to rub a towel over his hair. His eyes scan over your messages while his lips pull up in a smirk. You had clearly enjoyed his pictures and now he was enjoying yours. He hadn’t been far off in his hopes. 

You had taken a picture of your hand covered in your own cum and another with your lips wrapped around your finger. Best of all was the message attached stating how much you wished you could be there to clean Dokyeom up. He wished the same in both ways. 

‘Soon. I love you so much. Sleep well, baby.’

One last message and Dokyeom sighs in his lonely room.

Soon. He would be home soon.  

please note that I am doing my best to tag -- tags are now down in reblogs -- all of you who have filled out the tag list form but tumblr won’t let me tag some of you. I think that is because either you have tags turned off or possibly a blank tumblr page. consider reblogging some of the fics you like from me or other writers. ♥

© onlymingyus - all rights reserved. Reposting/modifying of any fic, or pieces of original writings posted on this blog is not allowed. Translations not allowed. 

[my-thoughts-make-me-a-slut]

How do taxes work again? (Naughty or Nice #2: Sexting) 

I know I said that this one was gonna be a sweet story about decorating for Christmas with Loki, but I got a little far ahead of myself and wrote this story the other night. I can't get it out of my head and I've reread it about 50 times now and each time it gives me butterflies. This one is shorter than the last few stories have been.

Summary: After the Blip, the reader is living in a newly restored pharmacy in Midtown Manhattan and Loki is working with Valkyrie in New Asgard. For Christmas, the reader bought Loki a cell phone to communicate better while being far from each other. After a few weeks, Loki gets quite a few surprising messages from the reader early one morning.

Warnings: Sexting, descriptions of masturbation (M&F)

Bing, Bing.

I picked up this block-shaped object that (Y/N) had told me was a 'cell phone'. It was a new gift for Winter Solstice a few weeks ago but I still hadn't quite gotten the hang of it yet, she said it was for us to communicate more easily while she was in New York and I was in New Asgard. I picked it up from my cherry oak wood desk and read the message she had sent me. It was early here, but practically the middle of the night where she was. She must have been lonely.

'Hi, love. I miss you a lot right now, you've been on my mind all day.' I smiled reading her sweet message.

'I miss you too, darling. I'm sorry I can't be there with you right now.' I sent back, putting it back down on my desk, face up with the message still open. I picked up some tax documents, something that was becoming very trivial to me.

Bing.

I picked back up the phone.

'What are you doing right now? I'm sure you're probably very busy.' Even though these simple words were on this little screen, still she was adorable. It was like I could hear her saying these things to me, right now.

'Indeed, I still don't quite understand this concept of "taxes"' I sent back with a smile. My thoughts lingering to her laying in bed with her familiar, cuddled up under the sheets. It was still quite cold in New York, and since the Blip, her services were needed there more than ever before. Her powers were growing by the day, and she had become one of the most powerful witches in the world.

'Well, I had quite a long day, so many people came through the shop today, it was quite draining.' She replied.

'Oh no, I'm sorry. Do you need anything?' I asked, feeling bad for her.

'No, I'm fine, really. I was just considering taking a hot bath, like the ones you used to run for me in Asgard.'

"Fuck," Then my mind was flooded with those images of us together. The way we would bathe together, how soft her skin felt against mine as I ran my hands over her body. How warm our bodies would get when we were close, and the steamy kisses that followed.

'You know I'd do it for you right now if I could,' I sent back, trying to hide my embarrassment at what I was thinking.

'I know, that's alright, lover.'

Then she sent a photo of herself, standing in front of the bathroom mirror. I saw her reflection looking into the camera, smiling. She was wearing her usual silk robe and had her hair up in a ponytail. She looked absolutely beautiful, and a little tired.

'Oh, there's my sweet angel.' I typed it out hitting send.

Immediately another message came through,

'I was just thinking about the last time you were here. How you had me bent over this counter, fucking me hard. You made me cum so hard that night.'

My mouth fell open as she sent another photo through, this time she was naked and had her back to the mirror yet it was arched slightly. Her head was turned to the side to look over at the phone in her hand, her perfect jaw and shoulders lined up. Her ass rested barely against the marbled countertop. I couldn't believe she had just sent this to me.

'Indeed, I remember that night well also. I love watching you cum around me, knowing I am the one making you feel that good.' I responded immediately, unable to wait any longer.

I opened the photo and zoomed in on her body, the display on the screen making it look extra sexy. I could see every detail of her back and ass. How I wished I could be there with her right now.

'I wish I was under your desk right now, with my lips wrapped around your cock. I know this must be driving you insane.' She sent back.

The blood rushed to my dick and I dropped one hand to my pants to adjust the zipper's position before they became too tight against it.

'You always drive me crazy, darling. I can't help myself when you're like this.' I replied.

'I bet you're hard right now. So naughty, you're supposed to be working my King, am I distracting you?'

Then another picture, this time she was laying on the bed, her bottom lip between her teeth, and her free hand pinching the nipple of her left breast. Her eyes looked right at the camera as if she could see me through it.

'Gods, you're killing me. I want you so bad right now.' I typed back.

She didn't respond for a moment, and then I saw her next message, 'My cunt is begging for you to fill it, Loki.'

That sent me over the edge, and I was quickly pushing my chair back from the desk and crossing the room to lock the door. The last thing I wanted was for Valkyrie to walk in and see the depraved action I was about to perform.

Bing.

I returned to my chair, picking my phone up from the desk, and this time, there was a video. I loosened the button and zipper of my dress pants, and pulled my cock from my briefs, before hitting play on the video.

She had propped up the phone on her bedside table, and I could see the way her body was laying diagonally across her bed. With a pillow behind her head and her legs bent at the knees, showing off her pussy to the camera.

"This is for you, my love." She said.

Her fingers reached down and parted her folds, exposing her glistening pink cunt to the lens. My mouth watered at the sight.

"Are you going to watch me?" She asked out loud, knowing I absolutely could not take my eyes away from this sight.

Her fingers dipped into her wet slit, and I watched as she slowly started rubbing her clit.

"Yes, baby. I'm watching you." I said out loud, my fist tight around my cock.

I watched as (Y/N)'s eyes closed and her fingers sped up their movements inside her. I could tell she was getting close to climax.

"I've been thinking about you all day, how badly I want you, need you," She said, her voice thick with lust.

Then she began to moan, and her hips bucked into the air. I knew she was close to cumming, and I was dying to see it.

My hand worked quickly the only thought running through my mind was this wicked video that I knew would haunt my already torturous waking dreams of her.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck!' She cried out, her body jerking and shaking, her back arching off the bed, but her fingers continued to work against her clit. Her moans rang in my ears, and I felt myself building toward an orgasm of my own.

'Oh, Gods, Loki! Fuck yes, oh!' She screamed.

And then she exploded, and so did I. I shot my load into my hand, attempting to save my shirt from becoming soiled, and I collapsed back into my chair.

I heard her laugh, and then I saw her face appear on the screen. She was still lying on the bed, her hair a mess, and her eyes sparkling with mischief as the video ended.

I caught my breath and took a second to clean myself up before I buckled my pants back on, and adjusted my attire. Smoothing my hair back I heard my phone ringing, I picked it up, accepted the call, and held it to my ear.

"So, how was your first experience with sexting, love?" I heard (Y/N)'s sultry voice and the sound of water running in the background.

My breathing was still heavy, "Fuck, darling. I could have made a mess all over my office."

I heard her laugh, sweet and melodic, "Next time you're here I'll have to show you what FaceTime is, I'd love to see you spill yourself all over that gorgeous desk of yours."

I groaned, and she laughed again, "Now, don't you go ruining my fantasy, I'm sure you'll do much more than just that."

I chuckled, "I’m sure I will."

"Miss you, Loki," The sweet break in her voice had my heart pounding in my chest.

"I miss you more, love. I promise to make it up to you soon, okay?"

I heard her make one of my favorite noises, a half laugh, and a half huff, "I'll hold you to it."

"You better get back to your bath, I don't want to hear about how it overfilled again because you got distracted," I said in a more serious tone.

"Yes sir," She responded sweetly.

"My queen, I love you, thank you for earlier, get some good rest and I promise I'll be back out there to see you as soon as I can sneak away," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

There was a pause, and then I heard her say, "I love you too, Loki. Have a wonderful day, my king."

I hung up the phone and stood from my chair, walking to the door. I opened it and stepped out into the hallway, "Val, I think you need to explain how taxes work to me again!"

[pearlypairings]

Delivery!

A small gift of photocheer sick fic for you :

jonathan x chrissy || comfort fluff for a sick jonathan || wc: 1200

If Jonathan could have any say at all in the universe, he would never see a damn tissue again.

The last few days were absolutely miserable. The funny thing was he couldn’t remember the last time he was so sick he had to stay in bed all day. Probably in elementary school, he guessed, but his memory from then was too foggy about the details. He’d helped Will a year or two ago when he’d gotten strep throat after Spring break, buying him two boxes of firecracker popsicles and an enormous bottle of honey when he complained his throat felt like he’d swallowed glass. That was his only time skipping high school, because he was looking after his brother, not because he was actually sick.

He coughed and felt his chest tighten and squeeze with a deep burning ache. This cold had totally wiped him out. Phlegm and fatigue seemed to be his only companions as he laid flat under the covers with a crazy fever.

Mom had brought him a cold compress before she left for work this morning, but that had been hours ago. That rag had been discarded like one of his tissues onto the floor when it served its purpose. Jonathan shivered and tucked further under the covers against her “doctor’s orders.” The fever was probably boiling whatever brain cells he had left from living in Hawkins for so long, and he should definitely be trying to cool off like she’d told him. 

But he was freezing! And he’s still only human, after all.

Jonathan rolled onto his side to blow his nose into his last godforsaken tissue, his skin screaming from the friction of the hundredth kleenex rubbing against the same spot. This was cruel and unusual punishment from the powers that be.

As he tossed the crumpled mess off the bed, there was a quiet knock from beyond his doorway. Too tired to turn his head, he mumbled, “Mom? What are you doing back already?”

“Just me,” A familiar, honey-sweet voice chirped. 

Jonathan strained to roll over slowly through the feverish ache in his back. “Chrissy?” 

She was a vision to be held in sick, dark times like these. Her hair hugged her cheeks in curls of reddish blonde, highlighting the pink blush of her cheekbones. Her smile warmed the chill in him by the cute crook of her front tooth. He desperately wished he had the strength to reach over and snap a few photos of her easy beauty with the camera set across the room.

Chrissy lifted a sealed plastic container as she stepped around the horrendous avalanche of used tissues he’d assembled amidst the dirty laundry on his floor. “Is it okay to come in?”

He laughed, a little too happily, as his lungs seized and reminded him of his cold with a brief coughing fit. “Don’t get too close. I’m probably contagious, but you can pretend my room isn’t a complete disaster out of pity and concern for my health.”

“Noted,” she said, beaming that his sense of humor was still intact. He loved making her smile. “I come bearing a sure-fire cure for colds.”

Jonathan pushed himself up to a more dignified, less pitiable seated position and stacked his pillow behind him against the frigid wall. He shivered violently at the temperature difference, and her smile faded to concern.

“Seems like you really do need it. I thought you said you were feeling better?”

Over the phone last night, he had told Chrissy he was on the up-and-up, but it was only because he didn’t want her to worry about him. She had college orientation coming up next week and a bunch of errands to run in the meantime. The last thing she needed was her boyfriend’s stupid cold distracting her from what was actually important: her future OUT of Hawkins.

“I was—I am,” He said with an annoying, unavoidable nasally tone from how stuffed up he was. “Just a low grade fever hanging around.”

If he avoided eye contact, then the chance of her realizing—an icy, cool touch graced his forehead. While he’d looked away, Chrissy flew close to press the back of her hand to check his temperature. She looked like an angel from this height. He blinked hard.

Yeah, his brains were definitely melting into sappy mush.

“Jonathan! You’re burning up! Grandma’s famous soup will have to wait. Let me go grab some washcloths and ice water. Be right back.”

She disappeared beyond the doorway into the hall and toward their kitchen. Jonathan wanted to tell her not to make a big deal out of it, but he knew better now. Chrissy wouldn’t let him off the hook; she reminded him constantly that he can’t always be the one taking care of others. Sometimes he needed to let her take care of him. So, he laid back quietly, closing his eyes and relaxing the tension in his shoulders as he listened to the noises she made from the kitchen, getting her ice water and compresses ready.

If he was being really honest with himself, he didn’t have the energy to resist or yell out to her anyway.

In record time, Chrissy returned with their metal salad bowl (rarely used) with ice clinking while it sloshed back and forth. The washcloths were pinned to her waist by the pressure of her elbow. Brushing aside a dozen tissues, she knelt down next to bed and placed the bowl on the floor.

Seeing her at eye level with so much concern in those blue-grey eyes made him fall into old patterns. “Sweetheart, I promise I’m fine. You don’t have to—”

Her sudden steely gaze shut him right up.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry. Go ahead.”

Chrissy wrung out the first washcloth and delicately placed it under his hair and over his forehead.

“It’s not good to be so hot.” She hummed with a slight smile. “From a fever, I mean. It’s okay all the other times.”

He rolled his eyes. “Are we sure you’re not the sick one?”

“What? I can’t take advantage of your weakened state and shower you with compliments you’d normally shrug off?”

Chrissy helped tilt his head and placed a second cool compress on the back of his neck. Little droplets of ice water dripped down the center of his spine, but it felt nice. He felt the compress beginning to take effect on the temperature difference. The covers fell down off his chest, revealing that he was shirtless underneath.

“I see my compliments are going according to plan.” Chrissy giggled, running the back of her hand down his stubbly cheek. He pressed it into his bare shoulder, feeling content.

“I feel better already.”

“You’re just a big secret softie.”

“And you love it.”

“I do.” She replaced her hand with a gentle, loving kiss on the cheek. “Now let me work on this fever for a while. Then, I’ll reheat that soup for you.”

“Yes, ma’am. Anything you say.” Jonathan grinned an unusually wide grin for him. She made it impossible not to smile lately. He was so lucky. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

FOLKS IM OFFICIALLY SICK AGAIN

[vividwritinglove]

next door X - a Pierre Gasly series

hey babes - sorry that it took me so long to post another part of this story. but here it is! Enjoy! ♥️

____________________________________________

pairing: Pierre Gasly x fem!reader

warning: language, SMUT (minors dni)

word count: 4.2k

____________________________________________

Monday - the start into the Christmas week.

And there were many festivities coming up for Pierre and you, so that you could hardly see each other. On Tuesday Pierre would already left for Faenza to attend the annual Christmas party of Alpha Tauri. So he would be back in Milan by Wednesday, but at that day there was your Christmas dinner at work. On Friday, was already Christmas Eve and Pierre's flight would be in the morning to his parents in Rouen. You only had today or Thursday evening to spend with each other.

You came home from work in the early evening and went straight to the shower. Before Christmas it was especially stressful at work and you needed a cold shower to come down. Pierre and you didn't made plans for today yet. You had only exchanged messages this morning at work, but nothing more.

It is important to both of you, that everyone has their space and time for themselves. This would also strengthen the trust of your still very young relationship.

Relationship. That sounded so weird to you. After more than one and a half years you had a boyfriend again. A younger one, who is also very attractive and a known racing driver. When you think about it like that, it just sounded totally unreal.

Meanwhile you sat on your couch and made yourself comfortable with a glass of wine. Your cell phone display lit up and you began to hope that it was Pierre after all. Wrong: it was the group chat with your 3 best friends. They asked for a wine evening via Zoom. Since you didn't have plans anyway, already opened a bottle of white wine and actually canceled meetings with them far too often, you accepted the invitation. You set up your laptop on your dining table and made yourself comfortable in one of the lounge chairs.

"Oh my God!" your friends are squeaking in chorus as you join the Zoom meeting.

"The queen graces us."

You toasted to your girlfriends with your wine glass and patted yourself on the back.

"How are you? I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

"I'm doing great - going to Milan was the best decision in my life. I love my new job, I'm having an incredible amount of fun, the city is beautiful, I live in this unbelievably amazing apartment..." you gushed and your friends were listening spellbound.

"And what about the neighbor?" the friend, you spoke to on the phone just last week, interrupts you.

"Wait a minute, what neighbor?" the other one asked, looking at you through the screen with wide eyes. You rolled your eyes and took a big sip from your wine glass. Sooner or later they would find out and preferably they should hear it from you.

"Tell me who is this ominous neighbor?!"

"His name is Pierre Gasly and he is a French racing driver in Formula 1." your friend took the answer away from you.

You leaned back in your chair, she should tell first what she had found out about Pierre.

"Look at him!" she said, holding up a photo of Pierre on her phone into her laptop camera, "Unbelievable, isn’t he?".

"Wow, that's what I call a handsome man. But he's younger than you, right?"

"He's 26! 26!!!" again your friend answered for you.

"Can you shut up and let Y/N talk?"

You were very amused by the whole situation. It felt like you have never left Munich. Calming down, you raised your hands and leaned forward to get closer to the laptop. Your friends continued to look at you with big eyes, waiting for you to speak.

"Yes, he's younger and really attractive." you smiled to yourself, making your friends squirm.

"So?"

"So what?" you asked innocently, taking another sip from your wine glass.

"Why are we talking about this hot and young neighbor? There's something you're not telling us..."

Again you just grinned and stroked the back of your neck with one hand, "What can I say...I guess I am not single anymore."

"I knew it! But no, there's nothing going on between the two of you!" your friend almost shouted upset and imitated you. The other two were also kinda shocked at first, however they were happy for you.

"Tell us everything. What's he like?"

"He really has a great character and his heart is in the right place. We used the last 2 weeks intensively to get to know each other better and since a few days we decided to date."

"And how is the sex?"

"You don't ask that..."

"I couldn't give you an answer anyway." you smiled at your friend's curiosity.

"Wait. What? You actually bought a pig in a poke?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, we've only had oral sex so far."

You had no problem talking openly with your girlfriends about your sex life. Ever since you were teenagers, you talked about these topics and even years later you were still giving each other advice or were talking about certain intimate stories and experiences.

"Sorry if I'm being so forward..."

"That's new!" you laughed.

"We've known each other for so long and if he wasn't good in bed, you would never have said yes to be in a relationship with him."

You pressed your lips hard together and automatically thought back to how incredibly well he ate you out and fingered you. Sex in a relationship is incredibly important to you and if the chemistry in the bedroom wasn't right, the relationship would be doomed to fail in your opinion.

Your friend indicated an ever-widening gap with her index fingers, grinning mischievously.

"Forget it! I'm not going to tell you how big his dick is!" you laughed as well.

"Oh, come on." she said disappointedly, "Is it at least a boyfriend dick?".

You smirked at that term, "You have no idea.".

Just as your friends were about to ask you more about Pierre and his sexual skills, there's a knock on your door.

"Is that the sexy neighbor?”

"You mean her boyfriend!"

"Open the door. I want to see him!"

"Oh my god, you guys. Calm down..."

You got up from your seat, "Behave yourselves and don't be too awkward, will you?".

As you left the table to go to your front door, you heard getting huffy comments about your statement.

You opened the door and a gasping out of breath Pierre stands before you.

"Ma belle!" he greeted you joyfully and took your face in his hands to kiss you. In the background you two heard increasing "Awww”‘s.

Pierre interrupted the kiss and looked confused in the direction of your laptop.

"I'm having a spontaneous, virtual wine night with my girls." you explained in a near whisper and Pierre nodded in understanding, "Then maybe I should say hello...".

Without you prompting him, he walked up to the laptop and propped himself up on the tabletop, "Bonjour, ladies!".

He smiled mischievously at the camera and you saw the effect he had on your friends after just a few seconds. They were fascinated by him.

"I'm sorry to crash your wine date. However, I need my girlfriend's expertise urgently."

Your friends could barely get their words out and stammered something to themselves.

"I hope to see you in real life soon. Have a nice evening." smiled Pierre and slowly closed your laptop.

"I'll call you!" you shouted before he closed the laptop completely.

"I guess, I'm not supposed to know what you were talking about?" he asked as he turned back to you.

"Better not..." you whispered against his lips and kissed him passionately in response. After a few moments you detached yourself from him. Only now you noticed that there sweat was on his forehead.

"Why are you so sweaty?"

"Oh!" he said and jogged casually back to your front door, "I have something to show you!".

Skeptically, you followed him. You couldn't place his exuberant joy. Arriving at the door, you saw what was already waiting for you in the hallway: piles of boxes.

"Pierre... what's this?"

"Christmas decorations!" he said proudly, standing right next to the boxes.

"Oh my god!" you gasped in shock. You weren't in the mood for that at all.

"I want to spice up my apartment a little for the holidays and since I already have the world's best interior designer as my girlfriend, I should take advantage of it."

"You're effectively not here as of tomorrow. There's no point in decorating for Christmas."

"Exactly, the only chance left is today!"

Pierre couldn't be dissuaded from his plan, so you helped him carrying the boxes into his apartment.

Half an hour later, you had roughly inspected the contents of the boxes and were putting together a rough concept with the existing decorations in your head.

Pierre, on the other hand, was setting up a small, artificial Christmas tree in the corner of his living room. He was clearly enjoying it and humming Christmas carols to himself. You shook your head with a smile and began to unpack the first decorations out of the boxes. It was still a mystery to you how anyone could love Christmas that much. However, his anticipation was very contagious and so it was easy for you to decorate Pierre's apartment for Christmas.

Although you would call yourself the Grinch, you'll turned Pierre's living area into a cozy winter wonderland. Not too tacky, but still Christmasy enough. Pierre is thrilled and stands in the living room with both hands on his hips to look at everything.

"You really have talent! Ever thought of doing your own business?"

You laughed as you put the leftover decorations back into the boxes, "Too much paperwork!".

Pierre turned to you and helped you pack. In a few minutes, everything was stowed and the boxes were put away in his storage closet. Satisfied, you look at each other. "Good teamwork!" said Pierre with a smile and pulled you closer to him, into a tight hug.

Pleasurably you breathed in his scent and wrapped your arms around his neck. His presence just did you good.

"Thank you." purred Pierre into the crook of your neck and then gave you a loving kiss on the forehead. You looked up to him, into his wonderful blue eyes. You were hopelessly addicted to this man. Pierre puts his forehead against yours, your noses touched. You closed your eyes and you felt his breath on your Cupid’s bow. You two stayed in this position for a few seconds, enjoying the intimacy. Then his lips gently rested on yours. Only too gladly you intensified the kiss and open your mouth. Pierre immediately took this chance and let his tongue slip into your mouth.

After a few minutes, you break off your kiss. Your faces are still close to each other. He puts his hands on your hips to keep you close to him.

"I have to get up very early tomorrow." he sighs against your lips.

"I know..." you whisper disappointedly.

"I would love to take you with me."

"Next time."

Pierre smiled at the thought of taking you to Alpha Tauri's next official event.

"See you on Thursday night?" you asked as Pierre walked you to your apartment door.

"Absolutely!" Pierre agreed immediately and you two kissed goodbye again, "Bonne nuit, ma belle.".

~

The time without Pierre passed by slower than expected. In the last 2 weeks you saw each other every day, it almost seemed like you were in rehab now. How should you get through the holidays? You are almost embarrassed by your thoughts. Never before have you felt so dependent on the affection and touch of a single man.

Pierre sent you some photos of his stay in Faenza. Among other things, photos and selfies of himself in a suit. He is so insanely attractive, that it was almost outrageous.

A day later you returned the favor and sent him photos of you in a festive dress, elegant but still sexy. Pierre showered you with compliments. He would love to be with you and rip the dress off your body. He couldn't wait to see you on Thursday.

It was already afternoon as you start preparing for your dinner together. For the love of Pierre you had also decorated your apartment a little for Christmas, very discreetly though.

You are excited. You couldn't even explain why. You are just happy to see him again and spend time with him.

You quickly set the table while the food simmers on the stove and in the oven.

Afterwards you freshened up and put on the new lingerie set with the suspenders and stockings that you bought a few days ago. It's supposed to be a surprise for Pierre, so at least he had something to unwrap. Over it you wore a knee-length black silk dress with spaghetti straps. You left your hair open with light curls and put on a scarlet-red lipstick.

As you lit the last candles, there was a soft knock on your door. Your heart beats faster and before you opened the door to Pierre, you checked yourself once more in the mirror, stroke your dress straight and fixed your hair.

With an enchanting smile, you greeted Pierre, whose eyes immediately widened at the sight of you. His mouth was slightly open with excitement and his eyes examined your body several times.

"Are those for me?" you broke the silence and pointed to the large bouquet of red baccarat roses.

Pierre shook his head slightly to wake up from his daydream of you, "Of course, ma belle!".

Gratefully, you took the bouquet and lead the way. On the way to your living area, you wiggled extra with your butt to get Pierre already a little heated. The whole days you were excited and today would have been the last chance for a common night in a longer time.

Your plan worked out. Pierre's gaze immediately wandered to your butt, which was perfectly displayed in the silk dress. His mouth went completely dry, he would have loved to just grab you and fuck you right on the dining table. He wants nothing more than to make love to you. The little teasing and oral sex were great, but he finally wanted to feel you completely.

After putting the flowers in a vase of water, you finally turned to Pierre.

"I can't remember ever getting such a great bouquet of flowers!" you gushed, putting your arms around his shoulders, "Thank you!".

"You look beautiful." sighs Pierre, running his fingers along your sides, over the soft fabric of your dress. His delicate touches and the French accent had you wet right away. How on earth were you going to get through this dinner.

"Are you going to kiss me or not?" you asked Pierre almost impatiently, "By the way, the lipstick is kiss-proof!".

Pierre grinned and pressed a loving kiss on your red and full lips, "Too bad, I wouldn't mind a few marks...".

The sexual attraction between you was almost unbearable. Pierre's hands moved over your hips and pushed you against the edge of the table. He grabbed your thighs and set you down on the tabletop, spreading your legs to stand between them.

With your fingers, you undo the buttons of his sport jacket to run your hands over his torso. During this, you kiss intimately, almost as if you hadn't seen each other in weeks. Pierre's hands pull the silk fabric over your thighs and his fingers move to your inner thighs. Before he can run his hands over your lacy thong, you are startled apart by the oven's alarm clock.

"Dinner's ready," you gasped against his lips.

"I'd rather have dessert right now."

"I’ve put so much effort in it..." you pouted and Pierre can't help but to kiss your pouty lips again.

You let yourself slide off the tabletop and brushed against his hard crotch as you passed by. Pierre moaned slightly under your touch. You felt like playing today. It should be fine with him.

While you prepared the dishes, Pierre admired your small but fine Christmas decoration. He knew that you did it especially for him. He grinned and then spotted a new book display on the large shelf with the books and many picture frames.

A double-page spread of his Monza victory smiled at him. He couldn't help but grin at his photos, "I look pretty good on your shelf!".

"Except for the blonde hair."

"What do you have against the blonde hair?! I thought it looked awesome on me."

Pierre was starting to sound a little appalled by your statement.

"I’m just into brunettes." you laughed placatingly and gestured him to come to the table.

"Good, me too." he said mischievously, winking at you.

Pierre seemed to enjoy the food, even asking for a second serving. You chatted animatedly about the upcoming Christmas with the Gasly family. He loved his many nieces and nephews, but after a few days, the constant exposure to the kids was a bit too much for him.

"Do you have plans now for the up coming days?" he asked you.

"I'm going to stay here. I have a little catching up to do on my Formula 1 knowledge."

Even though he didn't liked to hear that you will be alone for the next few days, he smiled anyway since you are very interested in his passion and his life. Once again you spend a nice evening with many conversations.

"Will you excuse me?" you asked, after emptying your glass of white wine.

"Of course." he answered immediately.

You went to the bathroom and behind the door hung the short satin coat you had bought to match the lingerie set. A little bit of courage you had taken on. You were desperate to impress Pierre. God, it almost felt like you were about to have your first time. Almost timidly, you peeled the dress off your body and let it fall to the floor. You looked at yourself in the mirror, the lingerie set off your body perfectly and the suspenders even made you feel a little sinful.

With this newfound confidence, you put on your coat and tied it loosely so that Pierre could see at first glance what awaited him. Before going back to the living area, you prepared the bedroom by lighting some scented candles and dimming the light.

On tiptoes you went back to Pierre in the living room. He had made himself comfortable on your sofa. He was sitting with his back to you, so he didn't saw you approaching. In the meantime, he had taken off his jacket and was wearing only a dark, tight-fitting T-shirt. Gently you put your hands on his muscular shoulders and massaged him lightly.

Pierre looked up, directly into your angelic face. Your hands now moved over his chest muscles to his abs. Pierre relaxed and puts his head in his neck and the noticed that you have changed your clothes. He immediately turned towards you and can hardly hide his amazement.

A little shy you presented yourself and played with the bow of the silk coat.

"I thought we'd skip dessert and instead you'd unwrap your Christmas present in the bedroom."

"Definitely!" exclaimed Pierre euphorically, jumping over the back of your sofa. You didn't expected such a tumultuous reaction and laughed as he lifted you up and carried you into the bedroom.

Greedily you wrapped your legs around his middle and Pierre placed his hands under your butt. As you enter your bedroom, you are both surrounded by a sensual atmosphere. Pierre laid you down on the bed. Sexy, you placed yourself on it and watched Pierre slipping his t-shirt over his head.

This man is your kryptonite. Aroused at the sight of his naked upper body, you opened your legs. Seeing you in that sexy lingerie was just too much for Pierre. Greedily he licked his lips and now opened his belt. The sexual attraction between you two was so thick, you could’ve cut it with a knife. Pierre stripped off his pants and adjusted his hard cock with one hand through his boxers.

Slowly but firmly, he approached you and climbed onto the bed. His dominant presence left you breathless. With nimble hand movements he opened the bow of your coat and can now admire you in full glory.

"So fucking beautiful." he murmured and kissed your belly button, which was just barely visible above the garter belt.

"This is the best Christmas present ever." he whispered against your skin and moved his mouth up to your breasts. Pleasurably you laid your head back in your pillow and enjoyed Pierre's caresses of your breasts.

"Don't you want to unpack further?" you asked curiously and also impatiently. Pierre's almost naked sight and his touches have already made you so wet.

Pierre straightened up again and looked at you intensely, "Just a little.".

He loosened the suspenders from your stockings to take off your thong, which he threw carelessly behind him and then puts the suspenders back on.

A bit irritated you looked at him. Pierre just grinned, lightly stroking the stockings and the lace of your suspenders, then diving in between your legs to kiss your inner thighs. You were about to burst and to show him how much and where you needed him, you grabbed his hair and directed him to your hot and wet core.

"So impatient." Pierre groaned and his breath against your core made you whimper. He complied with your request by putting his lips around your clit and sucking it into his mouth. You arched your back and moaned lustfully. Damn he was so good at this. Quickly he managed to bring you into ecstasy, your breathing was getting heavier and your moans louder. Pleasurably you closed your eyes and waited for an insane orgasm to rush over you. However, nothing came, simply nothing. Startled, you looked up, Pierre had detached himself from you and was now bent over you.

Gasping and full of expectation you looked at him. His eyes were so dark, hardly a single shade of blue could be seen. His gaze was animalistic and full of lust. The way he was looking at you like that, was driving you crazy.

"Pierre, I need you!" you whispered longingly to his lips, writhing under him. Your pleading was enough. He quickly stripped off his boxers, meanwhile you retrieved a condom from the top drawer of your nightstand and handed it to Pierre.

He deftly unwrapped it and slipped it over his hard cock. Again he bends down to you, this time to kiss you passionately. Eagerly you returned the kiss and put your hands on his neck. Pierre lined himself up in front of your entrance and slowly but firmly entered you.

You had to interrupt the kiss as you felt him completely inside you. Again you moaned and threw your head to the side lustfully as he stretched you out. Pierre now began to move and caressed your exposed neck with kisses.

You wanted more - You needed more. You wanted to feel him even more intensely. Therefore you embraced his center with your legs, so he could thrust into you even deeper. Your hands kept running along his broadly built shoulders. Quickly you found a rhythm that suited both of you and Pierre kept hitting your G-spot, making you claw your nails into his back.

He already knew how beautiful you sounded moaning, but this time it was on a different level. It was so sensual and him fucking you in sexy suspenders was pure satisfaction for him. You looked so beautiful and felt so perfect around him. Pierre could hardly believe his luck. He had imagined your first time to be great, but his expectations were exceeded. He couldn't help but look at you again and again. You were in a sexual delirium by now. Pierre's thrusts were getting harder and harder and that warm and beautiful feeling was spreading inside you. The last few weeks it had built up to this moment and finally it was time for the much longed release.

Pierre increased his speed once again. He also felt that you were getting tighter and tighter - your muscles closed tightly around him.

"Ma belle." he breathed and had to kiss you once more. Your bedroom was filled with your moans. Wonderful erotic sounds. Only a few more thrusts were missing for both of you to climax. Your thighs pressed even tighter around Pierre's middle and then it washed over you.

Out of full passion you almost screamed Pierre's name, which was the last bit for him to cum as well. Together you came down from your highs. Pierre laid on top of you exhausted and buried his face in the crook of your neck.

Immediately your hand wanders into his hair and caressed him. Both of you were completely out of breath, enjoying the moment of togetherness. Pierre rolled over to the other side of the bed and looked at you smiling. He left an emptiness inside you, which you wanted to fill with a second round. You brushed a few strands of hair out of your face and bit your lower lip as you thought about how incredibly well Pierre had just fucked you. You were definitely hungry for more.

Pierre seemed to be able to read your mind, "Just give me a moment." he said, still a little out of breath. Grinning mischievously at him, you sat up. With a quick flick of your hands, you undo the clasp of your bra, toss it at him and lasciviously shook your hair.

"Fuck!" he murmured at the sight of you and licked his lips.

____________________________________________

taglist: @hungryhungarian @scotlynaurora @justthatgirlxox @hannahholland1811 @dr3lover

[ashintheairlikesnow]

CW: Stalking, harassment, references to alcoholism/addiction, creepy whumper

His house is covered in water bottles.

Vince picks them up as he walks by - on his end tables, the countertops, near the door. Dozens of them, but at least they're glass bottles and he sends them back to be sanitized and reused to the tiny bespoke fucking water company he buys them from.

Jesus, he has too much money and not enough sense.

But he needs the sensation of the bottle. He needs the cool glass in his hand, against his lips. It had to feel like something other than water.

He takes a drink, settling the urge to have something making its way towards his liver, then closes the cap and sets it down again. He keeps moving.

He's never been so goddamn hydrated in his entire life.

He has fifteen messages on his phone - his agent, the PR person, the social media intern for the PR person who runs his social accounts, his parents back in Ohio, a producer, a different producer, three news outlets... It's exhausting.

They all want to know what has Vincent Shield holed up at home. They want a glimpse of his face for the public. They want to consume him a little bit more.

Vincent Shield just wants a drink.

He opens a bottle of water and chugs half of it in one go, but the last bit goes down wrong and he ends up coughing so hard he has to grab onto the back of a chair for balance, white spots flashing and dancing in front of his eyes.

Vincent Shield, found dead at his California mansion of an apparent drowning by alkaline water, he thinks, and starts laughing, which just sets off a whole new coughing fit.

Eventually, he stands back up, airways clearing, and moves over to look out the floor-to-ceiling glass windows that face his backyard, his pool. He can't stand to be in the pool sober, they're tied so inextricably in his mind.

It's a wonder he didn't die out there before he tried getting sober.

His phone rings again. His PR person's face stares up at him from the screen, and he sighs and answers it. Why the fuck not. "Hey, Tamara."

"Vince. Honey. Darling. Light of my life, love of my bank account. What. The fuck. I have been calling all day-"

"Yeah, I know, I've been not answering all day. What's going on?"

"We need a statement. We need to put something together."

His doorbell rings, and Vince ignores it, rubbing at his temples with thumb and forefinger. "Statement on what?"

"You haven't seen?! Vince, open your goddamn news apps once in a while! Google your own name!"

"I pay you to Google to my name, Tamara. Just tell me what's going on."

"Vince. I need you to know it wasn't me. It wasn't Cyndi, it wasn't anyone that I can think of. We're still asking for source identities, but we need to put a response together."

His heart goes cold. Mouth suddenly dry, Vince turns, tucking the phone between his ear and his shoulder and opening that bottle of water again. "What, Tam, you have to just tell me-"

The doorbell rings again.

Vince turns and walks towards the door, breath shallow, gulping down water like he could become Christ and turn it to vodka if he just drank it fast enough.

As he swings it open to find nobody there, Tamara says quietly, "Did you have a sexual relationship with Owen Grant when you were 21, Vince? Did you introduce him to drugs? And blacklist him from acting when he ended your-... When he ended it?"

"When he-"

There's a bouquet of flowers on the steps, and the security gate to the drive in front of his house is wide open. Vince looks up - in a set of deep blue cashmere pajamas, and Jesus thank God they match - and sees a crowd of reporter's, paparazzi, and a few scumbags just here to stare taking photos on cameras and cell phones.

"Oh, fuck Christ," Vince whispers.

They start shouting, and he grabs the flowers and ducks inside, heart racing.

"Vince, talk to me-"

He's kept it for almost two decades, Owen's fucking secret. And now it isn't even the truth that will ruin him. No, it's a lie, and he knows who's telling it.

The flowers are tulips in a riot of colors, orange and blue and pink and purple. They'd be beautiful if he could see them clearly through his tears.

He kept his mouth shut. He signed the NDA, he refused to tell anyone how his teeth were knocked out, he made up some story about a mugging. He lied and lied, to protect himself.

To protect his career.

To protect Owen.

He did everything Owen and his mother wanted... except for letting Owen kill him.

He opens the card attached to the bouquet, the distant shouting filtering in through his windows. A helicopter drones by overhead.

He's not surprised by the handwriting, or by the simple message.

"Vince-"

He hangs up the phone, ignores when she calls back. He just sits staring at the card, eyes scanning the jagged handwritten words again and again and again.

I've let you say no to me too many times, Vince. Not anymore. Not ever again. I've never stopped loving you. You don't need AA. You just need to realize you need me.

How the fuck does he know about Vince going to meetings?

He's still stalking him. It's the only possible answer. And he wants Vince to know it.

Carlotta Grant died of a stroke a month ago, he thinks dully. He'd sent some sympathy flowers to... someone. Just out of sheer professional image-maintenance courtesy. She'd dropped right on the floor of the fucking Senate in the middle of a vote on something to do with "widowed pets". It had been her idea, the NDA, keeping secrets, paying his medical bills to buy his silence and using her connections to jump-start Vince's solo acting career... all of it.

She's gotten him away from Owen, her precious fucked-up rapist baby boy, and she'd kept Owen away from him.

But... she isn't here to make Owen stay home anymore.

Vince turns the card over to find one more message on the back.

You're still mine.

Vince puts his hands over his face, pressing his palms against his burning eyes, and from somewhere deep inside of him comes all the screaming he couldn't do when he was tied to that bed.

He's still tied to that bed, isn't he? The years meant nothing. Owen is going to come back into the room, and-

You're still mine.

He grabs one of the glass bottles and throws it as hard as he can, watching it shatter against the wall.

[taestefully-in-luv]

The Island | KTH (Eight)

Summary: You’re just two strangers waking up in a room on a lonely island where a company in the business of love has placed you. They believe that thanks to their in depth research you two are destined soulmates. What happens when your ‘soulmate’ and you want nothing to do with each other but falling in love is the only way to leave?

Pairing: Taehyung x Female reader

Genre: strangers to lovers, very slight enemies to lovers, soulmates au, roommate au, slow burn, fluff, smut, angst, slight crack, and drama.

Word Count: 10.7k

Warnings: swearing, sexual tension (?) mentions of sex, someone gets punched by someone,

Notes: Enjoy this chapter guys:) Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist, or send an ask if just want to chat about the stories!:)

Taglist: @ggukkieland @707sblog @peacedreamer14 @dopedreamfireparty @everythingnamjoon @taebae19 @typicalgenzworld @mooniyooni @helenazbmrskai @justinetingball @jpeachytaev @marplest @calling-dips-on-j-hope @lecavivien @fancycollectormoon @mawwnsterr

© taestefully-in-luv

Previous --- Next

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The room you are in is as cold and empty as you feel. The one single table with 3 chairs, 2 on one side and the one you are currently occupying across from them. The room feels chilling like ghosts haunt it. Maybe they do, you think. The silence is truly deafening and the wait for these 2 other chairs to be filled makes you anxious. It’s been a few months since you have been back here and it makes you uncomfortable each time but you know little by little you are receiving answers.

Finally, after a long wait the heavy door to the room screeches open. And in comes a man and woman in professional clothing—he in a suit and the woman in a dress suit. They smile at you awkwardly like they feel pity. They both pull out their chair and take a seat.

“Have you found it yet? The island?” you’re quick to blurt out and they nervously look at one another before frowning.

“It isn’t that easy unfortunately Miss y/l/n. We’ve been in search of this company for over 50 years.” The woman taps her fingers on the table. “We have yet to find them or this island you speak of.”

You can’t help the scoff that escapes you as you roll your eyes to the side.

“What kind of intel agency is this? You can’t even find some lame ass fucking love company.” You spit out.

The man hardens his eyes at you as he takes a long, deep breath. Obviously trying to gather his patience.

“Here’s what we do know.” He begins. “They tapped your home, your cell, all of your accounts and spied on you for over a year. Doing their…” he pauses, biting his lip. “Research…”

“And drugged you and your parents the night of the kidnapping.” The woman picks up where he left off, “And then they drugged you again to return you home and also your parents…assuming so it wasn’t to wake them while they were in your home…” she gulps…she understands how invasive this all is.

“You didn’t think to set up cameras around my parent’s house? For when they would return me? You didn’t think to keep an eye—”

“We did.” The man clears his throat, “But they….” He drags his hand down his tired face, “This company is smart. They obviously know what they are doing. The night of your return the cameras we had set up miraculously stopped working.”

You can’t help the laughter that erupts from your body. You begin shaking your head in disbelief, your laughter dying when you realize how serious this is.

“This is fucking bullshit.” You say with a tight lip smile. “Anyway…do you…do you guys…did you look into what I asked of you?” your eyes slide to the side as you nervously pull at the ends of your hair.

“The man you were with? Kim Taehyung…yes, we looked into it. We have been working with Korea’s intel in hopes to solve this case. He has been working together with them. I cannot release any personal information though.” The woman eyes her partner and her frown deepens. “Miss y/l/n…I know this is difficult and you two have been through a lot together. But I am sure you can find a way to reach out—”

“I just wanted to know how he is doing is all.” You cut her off, “It’s fine.”

~~~~~

You stare at the letter in your hands, it’s an off white color and the font in quite fancy. Your parents let you see it a few weeks after you returned home but every night you take it in your hands and stare at it. Not knowing how to take it. The company sent it to them the day you disappeared…explaining the company’s goals. They sent photos of you and Taehyung every week to prove you were alive and well. Your parents said this is what kept them sane…trusting you were okay because they couldn’t—wouldn’t accept any other reality.

Your heart aches thinking of what your parents must have been through but not just them…your sister found out through your mom and dad about the situation and she grew so worried without you. When she found out you were returned home she immediately came to you, sobbing in your arms and hasn’t left you since.

You set the letter down and pick up the pile of photos on your night stand…it’s a thick stack. You begin shuffling through them and you feel like someone has stabbed you in the chest with a dull knife and they begin to carve your heart out. It’s slow and painful…they finally take your slow beating heart and squeeze it in their hands, blood spilling and spilling. Killing you.

Some photos are just of you but majority you are accompanied by Taehyung and seeing his smiling face makes you relieve the experience of getting your heart carved out of your chest.

You glance up at your ceiling as tears begin building in your eyes, you try to blink them back, your eyes opening and closing repeatedly. But it’s no use, not when you feel this lost and hopeless. Suddenly, there is knocking on your bedroom door and your father is walking in.

“Ready sweetie? Got the rest of your things?” He steps into the room, a worried expression on his face but he tries to hide it behind a forced smile. “We should get going.”

You quickly sniffle and nod your head, shoving the stack of photos and letter into your backpack before you’re swinging it over your shoulders.

“Yup, ready.”

It’s moving day. Thankfully you found another job in your old town that you lived in, you found a new, better apartment that is close to where you use to live, you finally are getting out of your parents hair.

“Alright let’s get this show on the road!” your dad pats you on the back as you walk past him. He’s got the truck loaded and ready to go for the couple hour drive. Back to the city!

~

“This place is so much nicer than your last!” Your sister sets a box down on your new kitchen counter, “You actually have a decent sized kitchen! Not that you really cook.” She laughs.

“Hey!” you whine, “I told you I learned quite a bit of cooking while on the island.”

“You also told me that your boyfriend cooked a lot too…so I’ll just assume he did all the work.” She teases and your face falls.

“He isn’t my boyfriend.” Your lips curls so far down that it’s almost comical but alas, it is not because you feel your eyes sting.

“Sorry…” your sister walks to the living room, joining you. She reaches for the box in your arms and sets it down on the floor. “y/n…just message him.”

“…I can’t.” you feel your chest start to burn, “The way things got left…I don’t know how to speak to him.” you admit. “and it’s been so long. If he hasn’t already moved on then he at least hates my guts.”

“Yeah I probably would too.” Your sister nods her head and you swat her arm.

“Thanks Ellie.” You deadpan. “Anyway, I just can’t.”

“He is probably waiting for you…he loves you.”

“You don’t know him?” you laugh quietly, “So how would you know?”

“I’ve seen the pictures of you two, in the moment pictures, and dude, he looks so taken with you in every single one.”

You can’t help the way your heart drops to your stomach. You told him you thought your feeling may not be real…those are some of your last words to him and that kills you. Without a doubt he has had to have moved on from you…why would he torture himself?

~

Later that night you are snuggled up in your bed with your sister snoozing beside you. You have your phone (Damn you missed this device) and are scrolling through Taehyung’s Instagram. You notice he posted a new group photo just 4 hours ago. You look at all the tags and see all his friends…Namjoon, Jin, Yoongi, Hobi, Jimin and Jungkook. But there are also a few girls in the photo. You notice the tag for Hana. You hate that your heart completely stops beating in your chest then suddenly starts racing. Hana. He’s hanging out with Hana? Wait, why are you surprised? You take a deep breath and click her name to view her page and then that’s when your heart really stops. Her most recent photo is of her and Taehyung, their faces smooshed together with wide smiles on their faces with the caption “Missed you.” With pink hearts.

She’s pretty. Really fucking pretty. No wonder Taehyung liked her. Liked? Or likes? Are they together now? They look awfully close. You feel your eyes sting for the millionth time this day and they begin to bubble with tears. This is your fault. You pushed him away, so far away, into another woman’s arms. You start to feel lost and hopeless again…you decide stalking Taehyung through social media probably isn’t the healthiest thing for you or your heart. You continue scrolling on Hana’s page…she has lots of photos with friends, pretty Korean scenery, selfies and more. She looks lively and beautiful, oh so fucking beautiful.

You exit the app and click your phone off. You squeeze your eyes shut and a few pathetic tears that you do not deserve slide out and down your face. You really need to move on, you really need to focus on you. But how can you when a huge part of you feels like it’s been ripped from you? Taehyung was a part of you and you think he still is. You feel crushed, fucking crushed. He is probably with Hana now and you absolutely cannot blame him.

Taehyung is doing fine. Just fine. With or without you. And that reality is setting in and it hurts. It fucking hurts. But you have no one to blame but yourself.

“Why are you doing this, huh? Things were so perfect.” He stops in front of you and pulls you up by the arms. Your chests almost touch from how close you are. “Unless…” he looks down at his feet, “You’re saying all of this because that’s how you feel. You’re the one unsure of your feelings. You’re the one who only likes me—loves me—because there’s no one else.” He looks into your eyes, searching for an answer.

“Maybe.” You finally say. And you wish you didn’t because Taehyung releases a shaky breath and his brows crease together as he forms the saddest smile you have ever seen. The canvas of his life is full of beautiful bright colors but you continue to splatter blue and grey paint all over it. The paint mixes together and drips down, a gloomy mess.

“Oh.” He steps back. “I see.” He takes another step back, carding his fingers through his hair. He looks into your eyes as his gloss over, “I’ll leave you alone then.” And he turns around and walks out of the room, leaving you behind.

Why does this scene replay in your mind every single day. Every single night. His sad, sad expression leaving an ever lasting imprint in your mind. You feel broken, but you also feel angry. How dare the company send you back when you and Taehyung have so much to resolve? What is the purpose? What are their intentions? You ball the sheets in your hands as you release breath after frustrated breath. What was the point of all this? Somewhere deep in your gut you feel like this isn’t over. You feel like the company still has some ties to you…you can’t explain it…just a gut feeling.

To say you hate yourself is an understatement. You truly can’t stand to even look yourself in the mirror. You ruined the best thing that has ever happened to you—Taehyung. But you should be happy, right? He’s doing well. He has his friends, his family, Hana. He is absolutely 100% doing just fine and you have to accept that.

~~~~~

“You can’t live like this dude.” Namjoon throws a trash bag on to Taehyung’s bed, signaling him to use it.

“Yeah…Joon is right.” Jimin starts picking up some trash off the floor…mostly empty food containers. “This is getting out of hand. I know things haven’t been easy—”

Jimin is cut off with Taehyung groaning loudly and dramatically. He lifts his head off his pillow, his face evident with sleep as he eyes his two friends in his apartment.

“Get up.” Namjoon lightly kicks the bed with his foot, “And open a damn window or something.”

“And maybe take a shower. You reek of this hangover I am sure you have…” Jimin sits down on the edge of the bed, his hand going to Taehyung’s back, rubbing it soothingly. “She isn’t coming around Tae.” Jimin says as softly as possible, “She isn’t—”

“We don’t know that.” Taehyung cuts him off, grumbling. “She could.”

“You said it yourself, she isn’t sure of her feelings…why aren’t you letting it go?” Namjoon sits down on the bed as well.

“I know her.” Taehyung begins to sit up from his place in bed, his hand flying up to his pounding head. “Fuck. I’m hungover.” He complains.

“You went too hard last night.” Jimin frowns, “Again.”

“So what? You think she lied to you? That she does love you?”

“She was just scared.” Taehyung whispers. “Trust me, I know her.” He repeats again.

Jimin and Namjoon share a look of pity mixed with concern. Jimin stands from the bed, taking the trash bag with him, he opens it up and starts filling it with the garbage around the apartment. Taehyung just watches Jimin clean up and he starts to feel a sense of guilt. Maybe he has been a handful the last few months.

Taehyung is trying his best though.

The unfamiliar bed along with the unfamiliar room was indication enough that Taehyung was in a place without you. It only took him halves of seconds to realize he was in his parents’ home in their spare room. A place he didn’t frequent very often. But he understood his situation right away. The island returned him home to Korea but suddenly this place feels like the last place like home.

When he made his existence known to his mother and father they cried over and over for their son. His father going on about his regrets, how he wishes he would have supported Taehyung more in following his own dreams and so on. His mother wishing she had cooked his favorite meal more often. They basically took his disappearance on the island as his death. At least that’s how Taehyung sees it.

His parents’ received the letter as well, even the photographs. They know all about you. They know that Taehyung is in love, they know Taehyung heart aches. They know everything. They were honestly rooting for you two…they could see how much love went on between the two of you even through pictures.

But as the days went on, as the weeks went on and as the months went on, Taehyung started to feel like he is withering away with every day that passed that you did not reach out to him. Did your time on the island with him mean nothing to you? Even if you ‘maybe’ weren’t in love with him like you claimed you were still friends for god’s sake. You still without a doubt had a powerful connection.

Things have been hard. Really fucking hard. But nothing is harder than the day when the Korean intel agency notified him that you were good, that you were okay. That you were home. But they could not release any personal information. You were home…you were okay…but you still have not reached out? He’s relieved you’re well but that also comes with the disappointment that you are choosing to stay to yourself.

“Yoongi wants to work on that new song tonight, what do you say?” Namjoon stands from the bed as well and makes his way into the small kitchen for a glass of water.

“Not in the mood.” Taehyung mumbles underneath his breath.

“Listen Taehyung…” Namjoon walks back into the room, his hands crossed over his chest as he looks at Taehyung with narrowed eyes.

“If you’re serious about this, being with her, that is. Then fucking do something about it.” Namjoon continues to stare down at him while Jimin keeps cleaning.

“I don’t have her number, I can’t find her anywhere on the internet and I barely know where she lives. What the fuck can I do?” Taehyung grits out, raising his voice just the slightest as he talks.

“….There has to be something.” Jimin speaks up. “A clue.”

“A fucking clue? What are we? Fucking detectives?” Taehyung throws his hands up, frustrated.

“Jimin’s right.” Namjoon uncrosses his arms and runs a hand through his hair, “She must have mentioned something, anything. You have to think.”

“You think I have the mental capability to think right now?” Taehyung questions with a bitter chuckle. “She doesn’t do much. She never mentioned some grand event she goes to every year, she didn’t mention what school she went to, she didn’t mention what company she worked for, she didn’t fucking mention anything. She stays to herself.” Then Taehyung’s eyes go wide.

“You know I use to go to this coffee place almost every single day. I miss it. That routine. It’s called ------------…a small, family owned shop. Only one of its kind. I would read, write, journal. Just relax. Every day.” You breathe out, missing your comfort spot.

Taehyung rushes to stand from the bed, he is quick to scoop Jimin up in his arms and place a dramatic kiss to his cheek.

“Jimin you fucking genius!” Taehyung suddenly remembered the night you had a panic attack. When you calmed down enough to speak you told him all the things you missed about your real life. Including some coffee place you would frequent on the regular. But he cannot remember the name of it for the life of him.

“What? What?” Jimin starts giggling, “Why?”

“A coffee shop! She used to go to a coffee shop!” Taehyung basically yells in excitement.

“Okay, what’s it called?” Namjoon smiles and immediately Taehyung expression turns sour.

“I…I don’t remember. But it was family owned, only one of its kind.”

Namjoon can’t help the frown that decorates his face but then he tries to smile.

“Better start doing your research lover boy.”

~

“Cozy Coffee. It’s in (Your city).” Taehyung slams a sheet of paper onto the bar top in front of Namjoon. “I found it.”

“What’d you find?” Jin asks from besides him, “Wait that place y/n goes to?”

Taehyung nods his head quickly with a wide ass smile adoring his face.

“Yup.”

“Now what, kid?” Yoongi brings his beer to his lips as he takes a generous sip. “You going to call that place and ask for her?” he laughs a little.

“No.” Taehyung straightens his back as he speaks. “I’m going there.”

“You’re…” Hobi begins but stops when he sees how serious Taehyung is.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Jungkook starts shaking his head. “This girl—”

“y/n.” Taehyung snaps.

“Right…” Jungkook gulps. “y/n…she ignores you these last 6 months and you are still trying to be with her?”

All of the boys share looks with one another, frowns on everyone’s faces.

“Jungkook is right—”

“Tae told her he would do whatever it takes…he also believes in her feelings. So let’s believe in him.” Jimin cuts in, his hand going to Taehyung’s shoulder and giving him a smile.

“Jimin is right…” Namjoon breathes out, “Let’s trust in our Taehyungie.”

“But don’t forget what she did to you Taehyung.” Jungkook whispers seriously. “You weren’t okay…”

Another day passes and still, nothing from you. Taehyung brings yet another bottle of soju to his mouth as he starts downing it. He feels his world collapsing around him. He feels how everything around him is cracking and breaking apart. But the most cracked, broken thing is him. He looks at himself in the mirror and stares into his empty eyes, these same eyes that used to gaze at you. These same eyes that saw your smile, laugh, cry. These same eyes that undressed you. These same eyes that saw you coming undone over and over. These same eyes.

Taehyung chugs back his drink, his eyes never leaving his reflection as he finishes the bottle. He made a mistake tonight, a drunken mistake but a mistake nonetheless. He slept with Hana. Taehyung, the boys and Hana and her girlfriends were all at the bar tonight and he just doesn’t see her that way. Yet, he was inside her just an hour ago. He slowly closes his eyes, regret and guilt filling his entire being. What the fuck did he do?

His life is all over the place, a mess, if you will. A big, fat messy mess. He got a new apartment, leaving his parents’ house and he doesn’t think he has cleaned it even once since moving in. He drowns in alcohol, he drowns in unfinished songs, he drowns in his friends concerns and mostly? He drowns in you.

He stares at your photographs an unhealthy amount. He has cried over your photos countless times, he has touched himself to them too. Somehow that is more satisfying than the sex he just shared with Hana. The empty fuck he just gave her haunts him in this very mirror. Did he betray you? Have you also fucked someone new? Have you moved on?

Taehyung stares at himself, hating what he sees. You’re doing this to him. He went from being miserably depressed to angry. He’s beginning to blame you for everything with rage. But as much as he wants to hate you—he does want to—he just can’t. He can’t gather that type of energy in your direction. He just can’t.

Hana looks very pretty tonight…she’s been trying extra hard lately, Taehyung thinks. She is always casually got a hand on his arm, she always finds a way to be standing next to him, talking to him, leaning into him. Taehyung isn’t stupid. She wants him still. She apparently dated during the 8 months he was gone but nothing serious came from it. And now here she is, sleeping on his bed as he drinks by himself in his bathroom mirror.

So many different thoughts have gone through Taehyung’s head. Is he hard to love? That’s the main question that came out of all of this. You spent every day with him for 8 months and you weren’t even sure of your feelings. Shouldn’t a person know by then? He’s trying to be understanding…he is trying so fucking hard to understand but how can he? When he is balls deep in love with you and he doesn’t have to question it at all.

He is spiraling, he is being sucked into a darkness that he can’t crawl out of. He looks at himself in the mirror again, his eyes narrowing at his own reflection—disgusted with what he sees. He grips the empty bottle of soju as he feels his eyes wet with tears. He grips on to the bottle harder and harder, tears now leaving his big brown eyes. He growls out, groaning in frustration as he lifts the bottle up and throws it at his mirror. Glass shattering everywhere.

Startled, Hana jumps from the bed and rushes to the loud sound, finding Taehyung just standing lifeless, continuing to eye himself in the broken mirror. He likes what he sees much better. The cracked glass making for a better reflection, a more accurate representation of what he truly sees when he views himself.

“What the fuck?!” Hana yells out, rushing to Taehyungs side. “Are you okay???”

Taehyung walks closer to the mirror and lightly slides his hand down the cracked mirror, his fingers careful not to get cut.

“No.” he answers honestly and quietly. “I’m not.”

“I’m fine, Jungkook.” Taehyung assures him, “At least I will be…when I see her.”

“What if she doesn’t want to see you?” Yoongi says quietly, worried for his friend. He brings his beer to the bar top and stares at the liquid.

“I’ll get to that when I get to that.” Taehyung sighs out…”I can’t let go of this until I know for sure.”

~~~~~~

Settling into your new job has been smooth, thankfully. It’s only been a few weeks but you can say you really like it. Your boss is an older woman, your coworkers seem nice and the work isn’t too taxing. Your apartment is starting to come together as well, only a few more boxes left to unpack. On the outside things are honestly going well…your life looks normal and put together. But on the inside you continue to fall apart.

“Come on!” Ellie whines, “Just give me one little, tiny, juicy detail.”

“Ew, no!” you laugh, “I have nothing to share!”

“Oh, bullshit.” Ellie takes a drag of her cigarette, blowing the smoke the other direction.

You two are sitting on your balcony, watching the evening sun set.

“You are trying to tell me you two didn’t fuck? Not even once?” Ellie gives you a knowing smile and you can’t help but laugh.

“Okay maybe once.”

“I call bullshit again.” Ellie starts to laugh, thrusting her hips forward theatrically, “I bet you two couldn’t keep your hands off each other.”

“Something like that.” You admit shyly.

“I don’t blame you. He looks so hot.” Ellie takes another puff of her cigarette. “What was he like in bed?”

“Ugh, Ellie.” You groan, “I don’t want to talk about this.”

“Afraid of getting horny thinking about it?” She chuckles and you roll your eyes.

“Fine, I’ll tell you one thing.” You hold one finger up, giving her a look that says you are serious. Ellie giggles, nodding her head in agreement.

“He’s…big.” You basically whisper.

“He’s what?”

“Shut up, you heard me.” You laugh, “First time I saw it he wasn’t even fully hard and I was impressed.” You smirk, feeling proud of Taehyung’s gorgeous dick.

“Damn girl. Nice.” Ellie nods in approval, “Did he know how to use it?”

“Ugh….yes.” you roll your eyes back, remembering the feel of his cock. “He did. Aaaannnd he is probably using it on his new girlfriend.” You sigh, feeling your heart break piece by piece in your chest.

“What? What do you mean???” Ellie puts her cigarette out in the ash tray, “New girlfriend?”

“Yeah.” You keep it short and simple. “Anyway, I really do not want to talk about him anymore.”

“…Yeah, okay. Sorry.”

You give your sister a sad, small smile and she returns it. You feel your phone buzz in your lap and you go to pick it up, you quite literally feel all the color drain from your face. Your heart stops completely. What the actual fuck? Why is he texting you? Him of all people?

~

Finally gathering the courage to buy his plane ticket, Taehyung begins packing for his trip. He got a roundtrip flight for one week. He has one week to find you. He’s starting to get nervous, really fucking nervous. He had all this confidence to do this but honestly? Over the last 6-7 months he has become quite insecure. You left him in shambles. He grew weak without you, he grew pathetic in his eyes.

“Make sure you bring plenty of underwear.” Jimin teases, helping Taehyung pack. “You never pack enough and somehow end up going commando.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Taehyung is too nervous to even joke around, he is too nervous to even look at Jimin—his best friend—for more than a second because he is afraid he is going to see right through him.

“You’re nervous.” Jimin blurts out and Taehyung opens his mouth in shock. But should he be? Jimin is his best friend, he can read him like a book.

“Yeah…”

“I think you have every right to be.” Jimin pats him on the shoulder, “You have been through a lot…and so much is unknown.”

“Yeah….” Taehyung agrees, “I feel like I’m walking into this blind.”

“You kind of are.” Jimin admits quietly. “You kind of are.”

“Do you think…I’m making a mistake?” Taehyung sits down on his bed, messing with the blanket between his fingers.

“No.” Jimin answers honestly. “I am probably the one who has heard about y/n the most. I almost feel like I know her.” Jimin laughs, “And I think you’re right. She was scared. This company…fuck that company by the way, this company set you two up and tried to force love on you. Of course that’s going to fuck her up. Of course she is going to have her doubts…you can’t blame her Tae. Yeah, it’s fucked up she hasn’t reached out at all but dude…it’s a tricky situation.”

“I know…” Taehyung’s head falls into his hands, “Fuck…I know.”

“And…” Jimin sits down next to him, “I don’t want you to regret not looking for her, it sucks that it’s you doing everything, I can admit that. I wish she would grow some fucking balls and talk to you but looks like you got to do all the work buddy.”

“Yeah.”

~

Taehyung checks into some dingy hotel downtown in the city you live, the place is dark, gritty even. But it’s just one of the first places that was affordable that popped up when he was googling places to stay. He doesn’t totally mind, he doubts he will be spending much time in here. He receives his key from the girl at the front desk, she eyes him up and down, obviously liking what she sees.

Taehyung walks down a dark hallway to reach his room—he’s starting to feel like the main character in a horror movie. He reaches his door and unlocks it, opening it and shuffling inside with his luggage. The room smells dusty, the bed is small and the blanket thin. The room is loud with the AC unit blowing freezing air and the dark curtains don’t let in any light whatsoever.

He sets his luggage down on the carpet and sits on the bed…he takes his phone out and sends a text to his group chat that he made it alive.

Namjoon 4:02pm

Good luck man, we’re rooting for you.

Jungkook 4:02pm

Fingers crossed homie

Jin 4:03pm

Bring her back to Korea

Yoongi 4:03pm

He can’t just bring her back Jin

Hobi 4:03pm

I also vote he brings her back with him

Jimin 4:04pm

I agree, I want to meet the infamous y/n

Taehyung 4:04pm

Am I also allowed to vote that I want to bring her back with me?

Taehyung quietly laughs to himself as he clicks his phone off. He lays back on the bed and groans when he feels how hard the mattress is. But it doesn’t matter because he is here on a mission, a mission to find you and he wants to waste no time.

~

Day 1:

Taehyung wakes up early to grab a bite to eat at the diner next to the hotel, this place doesn’t even offer complimentary breakfast! The audacity. He orders pancakes but they definitely aren’t as good as yours.

Waking up and breathing the same city air you’re breathing makes Taehyung for the first time in 6 months—feel alive. Like being in the same place as you is slowly helping him regain some of his self back. He knows you are here. You live here. You walk these streets, you eat these foods, you breathe this air. The same fucking air he is breathing.

Nothing excites him and makes him more nauseas. He misses you. He wants to see you. But he is afraid at the same time. He’s so fucking terrified. How will you react? Are you okay? Do you really not love him? Have you moved on? Seeing someone new? His mind races as he cuts into these pancakes.

Taehyung pulls out his phone and checks the time…almost 7 am. He needs to hurry to the coffee place…because what if you stop by there on your way to work? Or maybe you don’t work right now and you go there just to chill? He doesn’t know but he knows he won’t miss a chance to see you.

Taehyung finishes up his plate of food and pays. He leaves the diner and starts walking towards Cozy Coffee, only a 15 minute walk. He inhales deeply, hoping to somehow get a whiff of you, he looks at all the flowers on the side of the sidewalks and thinks of you. Would you be interested in a bouquet of flowers? He recalls on your first unofficial first date he gave you a handful of flowers from the island and you liked it. Ugh, what is he thinking? All he needs to be worried about right now is fucking finding you.

Finally, Taehyung makes his way inside Cozy Coffee. It’s a pretty small place but big enough for a handful of people to be occupying the many tables. His eyes scan the area but they don’t come across you. He sighs and heads towards the counter to order a tea and take a seat at a table in the back near the restrooms.

He spends hours here in this spot. The entire day actually. No sign of you. And the owner has to literally escort him out when it is closing time. He walks back to the hotel with his head hanging low, he guesses today wasn’t a day for reading or writing.

Day 2:

These pancakes aren’t bad actually, not the second time around. Yours are still better, of course but he’s getting use to them. Maybe tomorrow he should try something different.

Taehyung walks leisurely towards the coffee shop, he somehow has this idea he might run into you on the street or something. But he doesn’t.

The coffee shop is a little less busy today, Taehyung goes inside, orders his tea and occupies the same table as yesterday. He pulls his backpack to his lap and brings out a notebook and pen, he decides he will work on song lyrics today.

Hours and hours pass, tea after tea is drank and still, no sign of you. Closing time approaches and he is once again, asked to leave. Taehyung nods in understanding, gathers his belongings and walks back to the hotel. Slowly of course, because deep down he thinks he just might run into you.

Day 3:

French toast today…not as good as the pancakes but still, pretty good. He wonders if you can make French toast? You never mentioned it. Taehyung realizes there is still so much he does not know about you. The thought kind of drives him crazy. He wants to know you. Know all of you. Know you better than anyone else.

The walk to the coffee shop is slow and enjoyable. The scenery is pretty as he strolls on the sidewalk, the flowers poking through the cement bring him a small level of joy for the day. Once he enters the shop, the owner gives him a smile. He orders his tea and makes his way to the back table, pulls out his notebook and starts writing his song lyrics.

On my pillow. Can’t get me tired. Sharing my fragile truth. That I hope the door is still open. Cause the window. Opened one time with you and me. Now my forever is falling down. Wondering if you’d want me now.

Taehyung sets his pen down taking a break from writing, he reaches for his tea and takes a few sips. The liquid has gone cold. He sighs out and lets the hours pass him by. Closing time approaches like it does every night and he is asked to leave.

Day 4:

He’s back to getting pancakes. He likes to pretend they are yours, that you made them for him. He likes to imagine a life where you make breakfast for him again. He likes to imagine a life where you’re just here again. It’s almost 7 am, he needs to head to the coffee shop. He strolls casually, wondering what you are up to on this Thursday morning. Are you finally going to make an appearance at Cozy Coffee? Are you running late for work? Are you in early today?

Taehyung enters the shop and the owner gives him a sweet smile and begins working on his tea. Taehyung feels grateful that it’s being made without him even ordering it yet, a smile adorning his face. He pays for the tea and makes his way to the his table, pulls out his notebook and continues working on his song.

I’m wondering are you my best friend? Feels like a river’s rushing through my mind. I wanna ask you if this is all just in my head. My heart is pounding tonight, I wonder if you are too good to be true. And would it be alright if I pulled you closer.

Taehyung lets hours and hours pass, his pen busy on his notebook paper. The lyrics coming to him so easily for the first time in months. He can’t help the sad smile that grows on his face as he reads and rereads his song lyrics.

Just like every day when the bell of the front door jingles his head shoots up to see who it is. Now is no different. A woman comes in and his heart almost stops because she looks like you at first glance. Taehyung groans at the disappointment. Because it’s not you.

Day 5:

Okay, he is back to French toast. It’s starting to grow on him, he definitely wants to ask you to make this for him. His imagination begins to run wild with dreams of making food with you again, kissing the side of your neck as he wraps his arms around your waist from behind you. Like the many times he has done it.

“Taehyung…” you whine as he nips your neck with his teeth. “I’m trying to concentrate on this recipe.”

“I’m trying to concentrate too.” Taehyung smirks against your soft skin, “On you.”

You can’t help the blush that begins spreading across your cheeks, his fingers dig into your hips and you moan out.

“Taehyung…”

“What is it baby?” he starts kissing your neck. “Want me to fuck you? Right here?” he digs his fingers deeper into your hips and you start grinding against him.

“Couch.” You breathe out. “I want to ride you.”

“Oh? You want to be in control? Maybe I will allow it this once.” He teases, his tongue licking a strip up to your ear, then he nibbles on the lobe.

Taehyung finds his pants getting tight as he recalls his memories with you. He misses kissing you, he misses touching you, he misses your scent, he misses your skin, your eyes, your lips.

Shit, it’s past 7. He needs to hurry to Cozy’s.

He’s seated in his spot with his tea and notebook out, he swears he is almost finished with this song…the chorus needs some work but he thinks he’s got it. Something about being ships in the night, but somehow he doesn’t have the courage to finish he song, he doesn’t want that to be his relationship with you.

Night time comes and still no sign of you. Tomorrow is his last day and he is starting to freak out. Where are you? He thought you came here all the time? Why aren’t you coming? Are you okay? He is asked to leave once again and he does.

Day 6:

Back to pancakes. Back to strolling on the side walk. Back to Cozy’s. Back to his tea. Back to his spot.

Taehyung feels the nerves in his body multiplying with every shaky breath he takes. Today is the last night, his flight is in the morning and he has made no progress on finding you. This place being his only hint.

“Excuse me…” Taehyung walks up to the counter and greets the owner.

“What can I do for you young man? Another tea?” he softly smiles at Taehyung but Taehyung shakes his head.

“I have a question…” he begins. “Do you know y/n y/l/n?”

“y/n???” the old man begins to smile after expressing his confusion, “Of course I do, that girl has been coming here for years.” He starts wiping down the counter with a rag. “Why? You looking for her? You aren’t some creepy ex-boyfriend are you?”

“No, no.” Taehyung laughs. “But I am looking for her…she usually comes here right?” he nervously chuckles.

“Usually. But she started a new job recently that has kept her a little busy…” the old man continues to wipe down the counter. “But she was in just last week! And It’s Saturday!” he cheers, “She always comes to write on weekends.”

Taehyung lights up at that. “Really??” he shows the old man a wide, boxy grin. He feels like he hasn’t smiled like that in what seems like forever. All because there is finally a chance he might see you.

“Oh…” The old man stops wiping to get a good look at Taehyung. “You look like a man in love.”

Taehyung’s eyes widen just a bit before he smiles, “Do I?”

The shop is busy today. Taehyung sits in his usual spot, writing and doodling in his notebook, his head lifting up quickly every time the door jingles. It’s never you though. It is already 6pm and there is still no sign on you and Taehyung hates that he is starting to lose hope. Are you not coming? He doesn’t have much time left.

Taehyung sits here, his pen between his lips as he thinks about you. He thinks about the first time he saw you…he really thought you were some girl he might have drunkenly hooked up with…he remembers your expression, how shocked, how scared, how overwhelmed you were. He wishes now he could go back in time and hug you. Tell you he’s with you, together. That you aren’t alone. Taehyung wishes he could kiss your temple, bring you in close and make you feel okay. He recalls the first time you two really interacted.

“We need to find out what’s going on.” Taehyung takes a deep breath, lifting his head up. He locks his eyes with yours again but you break contact to look at your feet.

“We don’t know anything…would if it’s not safe?” you quietly try to reason.

“Exactly, we don’t know anything and that’s a problem. You don’t expect us to stay in this room forever, do you?”

He has a point and you know it. You want to follow him out of this room but your feet seem to be glued to the floor.

“Well, no. But—”

“Didn’t think so.” He turns away from you, his body shuffling towards the bedrooms door but before he can become out of reach your hand flies to his shirt sleeve, tugging it softly.

“Wait! Just hold on—” Your voice wavers and Taehyung rolls his eyes. Rolls his fucking eyes at you!

“Listen, come. Or don’t. I don’t really care.” Taehyung releases your hold on his shirt, unsticking your fingers and throwing your hand towards your body. “Decide.” He states before swiftly turning around to head towards the door.

Oh. So this guy is a fucking asshole. Noted.

You end up following him because although he was rude about it, feeling someone’s touch when you feel so scared was slightly comforting and yes, you are aware of how fucking pathetic that is.

Taehyung stands in front of the door, his hand reaching for the knob when he turns his head to say, “Just trust me.”

And now you are the one rolling your eyes. Trust him? You just met the dude! 10 minutes ago his name was Future Murderer. How could you possibly trust this asshole?

“How can I trust you? I literally just met you.” The scowl on your face deepens when he smirks.

“Are you always such a fucking baby?”

“Are you always such a fucking baby?” you mock, eyes rolling so far into the back of your head.

Taehyung can’t help but chuckle. God, you were such a brat. It’s almost 7 now…still no sign of you.

“Maybe if you weren’t always following me, they would have sent us home by now.” Taehyung states bitterly as he puts his slice of bread on top of his now made sandwich.

“I’m not following you.” You roll your eyes, “I have to eat too.”

“You can’t wait until I’m done?”

“You look pretty done to me…” You point at his sandwich and he scoffs.

“I still have to eat it.”

“Eat in your room for all I care.”

You and Taehyung are getting along just fine…maybe not swimmingly but like, fine. It’s been a couple weeks and you have mostly stayed out of one another’s way but it’s moments like this that you end up interacting.

“I think I’ll eat at the table, thanks.” He grabs his sandwich and makes his way to the dining room table, sitting down with a thump. He aggressively picks up his sandwich and takes a bite while showing you a smart ass smile.

“Fantastic,” you state, “Me too.” You finish pouring milk into your cereal bowl and set it back inside the fridge. You dramatically make your way over to the table as well, giving him a wide grin as you sit down in front of him. You slightly slam your bowl down on the table, some milk dribbling over the edge of the bowl and Taehyung snarls.

“Great, you’re making a fucking mess.”

“If you went up and ate in you room you would have no idea about this mess.”

“But you still would have made this mess?”

“Ignorance is bliss, Taehyung.”

“You’re such a…” he stops, setting his lips into a firm line and you lean your head forward, clearly curious about what you are.

“Such a…?” you blink at him repeatedly and his lips curve upward into a charming smile.

“A fucking brat.” Taehyung grabs his sandwich again and takes an obnoxious bite while grinning and you give him your best annoyed eye roll.

Taehyung continues to chuckles as he goes down memory lane…he does regret being mean to you at first but god, you truly were a fucking brat. But he laughs about it now, loving every single memory he shares with you.

The door jingles and he shoots his head up, hoping it is you. But still, just like every other fucking time—it’s not.

Taehyung groans into his notebook, feeling lost and frustrated. What’s he going to do if you don’t show? He’s trying here. Is the universe really that cruel? And suddenly the door jingles again, but he doesn’t look up, he knows it isn’t you.

“Hi Mister Jones!”

Oh. Oh. That voice. That voice belongs to you. Taehyung whips his head up and there you are. You are standing at the doors entrance with a nervous smile on your face, why are you nervous? You are wearing jeans and a oversized t shirt, a casual but cute look. And Taehyung is falling in love with you. Seeing you in the real world for the first time has him frozen in place.

“The usual?”

“Yeah.” You reply calmly, glancing at the empty table at the front of the shop. You pull a chair out and take a seat, your back to Taehyung. He is still frozen. He all of the sudden feels unprepared for this. He all of the sudden feels sick. He clenches his jaw as he watches your back. You are here, living your life without even think of him aren’t you? Taehyung swallows down his anger now. He has to. Anger won’t do him any good.

He takes long breath after long breath trying to compose himself and find his confidence to go up to you and confront you. He blinks back his growing tears of frustration and stands from his table, the chair screeching against the wooden floors.

He stands here, frozen again. What if you really do not want to see him? That this was all intentional? He starts to feel sick again. He squeezes his eyes shut as he tries to get rid of the feeling of nausea.

“Taehyung…” you whisper his name, “I don’t want to lose you.”

“You think having feelings for me means that’s it? That it’s the end? Baby, it would only be the beginning.” Taehyung leans down again as he caresses your face. “I know you’re scared. I know you have trauma that you’re still getting through. I know your ex fucked you up. But I’m not him. I’m Taehyung. I’m…fuck, I don’t know. y/n, please just open your heart to me.” Taehyung looks at you with so much compassion that it physically hurts.

“I know,” your voice shakes, “I know you aren’t him, Tae.” You take his hand in yours, “I do like you.” You finally admit, shutting your eyes.

“Look at me.” Taehyung commands, “Look at me babe.”

You slowly open your eyes again, gazing into his dark ones and you feel yourself grow warmer and warmer.

“I’m only looking at you.”

Taehyung quickly opens his eyes as he finds his resolve. You love him. He knows it. He feels it. You wanted him, just like how he wanted you—wants you.

He nods his head, trying to pump himself up, about to gain the courage to walk to you when the door jingles again and a man walks in. A man that immediately looks at you and smiles.

This man takes a seat across from you at the small table and Taehyung feels his heart halting in his chest. He feels himself grow warm, he feels himself grow the company of something evil, something green. He feels himself grow incredibly fucking jealous. So you do have someone. You moved on. You have someone, someone that is not him. Taehyung slowly plops back down in his chair, his mouth slightly open as he watches this man talk and smile at you.

But suddenly, Taehyung notices how tense you become. How you grip on to your purse harder and harder with every word this man speaks. He can sense you from here…something is wrong. Who is this man? Why is he making you so uncomfortable? Is this not a date? Taehyung isn’t sure what to do. He could be reading this all wrong, he could be imagining this for his own sake. He could be creating this world where you don’t love anyone but him.

But then you stand from your chair abruptly and storm out of the shop, this man desperately tries to grab for you and quickly follows after you. Taehyung stands from his chair as well, already racing towards the shops door, in search of you. He didn’t even think about it, he just acted on instinct.

“y/n!” the man calls out after you but you continue to speed walk away until you feel a hand grab at your arm. You are quick to turn around, ready to give him an earful when your face goes completely pale.

“T-Taehyung…?” you stutter out, the shock riding in waves throughout your entire body.

“I said wait baby!” The man jogs up to you and Taehyung, Taehyung releases his hold on your arm and looks between you and this man.

“Baby?” Taehyung whispers out, already feeling his heart crack inside his chest. Maybe this is just a lovers quarrel. He continues looking between you and this man and you can see the hurt plastered all over Taehyung’s face.

“No—”

“Who is this?” The man stands between you and Taehyung. “Who are you?”

“Ben, you can leave. I think I have heard enough.” You spit out and Taehyung’s eyes widen before they are narrowing at you.

“Ben…?” he asks, not even sparing Ben a glance, only focusing on you. “Why are you with him y/n?” Taehyung’s voice goes dangerously low. “I asked, why are you with him?”

“He was just—”

“I was just talking with my girl. Is that a problem?”

“Your girl?” You and Taehyung ask in unison.

“You’re fucking kidding, right y/n?” Taehyung’s face is taken over with a scowl. “There’s no fucking way you are seeing this asshole again.”

“It’s not—”

“Asshole?” Ben scoffs, “Who the fuck are you?”

Taehyung doesn’t even look Bens way as he eyes you, he stuffs his hands into his front pockets and stares at you with his hard expression.

“Answer me.” He commands. “Now.”

“Listen buddy—” Ben begins but Taehyung just a holds a hand up in front of Bens face and tilts his head at you.

“I said, now.” Taehyung finally lowers his hand, then he is feeling his body being shove backward.

“I said who the fuck are you?” Ben pushes Taehyung, his hands still on his chest at the collar of his shirt. “How do you know my girl? y/n…you been fucking other men?”

“I’m not your fucking girl Ben.” You finally snap out of your daze, “I said leave.”

Ben lets go of Taehyung shirt to face you, he walks closer and closer until his feet are practically touching your own.

“Sweetheart I said I was sorry…” Ben tries to caress your face but you smack his hand away.

“Don’t fucking touch me.” You spit out, “Ever.”

Taehyung eyes the both of you with curiosity. What’s going on here? Are you with him or aren’t you? You notice Taehyung’s confused expression and move towards him to begin explaining.

“Ben is just here to explain why he did what he did…I don’t know why I agreed…but—”

“I’ve heard enough.” Taehyung stops you, he walks closer to you. “He’s bothering you?”

“I ain’t bothering anyone you fucking dick. And you never answered my question—who the fuck are—”

Your eyes are as wide as saucers and you watch the collision of Taehyung’s fist to Ben’s face. You swear you are witnessing it in slow motion, the way his fist crashes into the side of Bens jaw. The way Ben stumbles back and falls to the pavement. The way Taehyung grits his teeth as he brings his fist back to his own body. Did Taehyung just fucking punch your ex-boyfriend in the fucking face?

“She said to fucking leave.” Taehyung growls, “Now.”

“Taehyung!” you rush to his side, immediately reaching for his fist and inspecting it for any damage. You are hit with something massive…like the grandest bolt of electricity the moment your hand touches his. You try your hardest to ignore it, to ignore the fire that caught light, the raging fire that burns so wildly in your chest.

“Come. Come with me.” You say in panic, ignoring the fact that Ben lays on the concrete, probably knocked the fuck out. You hold on to Taehyung’s hand tightly as you lead him to the parking lot until you’re at your car. You hurry to let go of his hand, feeling so fucking nervous. What the hell is happening? Everything with Ben happened so fast that you haven’t even processed the fact that Taehyung is here. Here with you. In your city. In this parking lot. At your car.

“Tae—”

You stop before you can even finish his name. He looks at you with something you have never seen before. He goes to open his mouth but he stops himself, not knowing what the right thing to say is.

“I don’t know what to say anymore now that I am with you.” Taehyung finally says after a long while, his eyes are wet and his expression is troubled.

“I thought I would get here and I would tell you I am ready to make this work, that I missed you, that I love you. But now…seeing you. Really seeing you, I don’t know anymore.” He admits. “I think I am angry with you.” He says softly. “Really fucking angry.”

“Tae—”

“No.” he moves his head to the side, his eyes down at his shoes. “Let me speak. I have prepared a whole speech for you…but now, I don’t think I would mean any of the words.” He shuts his eyes, a tear escaping. “Did you go too far? Too far in hurting me?” he whispers. “Did you ruin me?”

You start breathing heavily, not knowing how to take his words. Why is he here?

“I had to fucking search for you. But did you even want to be found?” he questions you softly.

“Taehyung.” You say firmly. “I—”

“Am I a fool?” He chokes out, “A fool for doing this? Coming all the way here…sitting at this coffee place every single day waiting for you like the pathetic man that I am.” Another tear slips.

“Can I talk now?” you whisper. “Please?”

Taehyung gulps down his spit, anticipating what you might say. He gestures for you to speak and you take a deep breath.

“I’m sorry I didn’t reach out…” you begin, your chest getting tighter and tighter. “Every day that passed it got harder and harder to do it. If I’m being honest I stalked your account…” you admit with a bitter laugh, “You seemed happy. I wasn’t even sure you wanted me to reach out. Then Hana…”

“Hana?” Taehyung scrunches his brows together, “What’s Hana got to do with this?”

“You two are together aren’t you? I know, Taehyung.” You swallow hard.

Taehyung shakes his head in confusion, how do you know about Hana? You know he slept with her or?

“It was only one time.” Taehyung admits quietly…”but how do you know about that?”

“She posted you on her Instagram. I just assumed.” You say dryly, feeling a pang in your chest as you look at him. So he did get with her. You fucking knew it.

“Why are you here Taehyung?”

“I was here to tell you I love you. I want to make this work.” He says bluntly.

“Was?” you whisper and he nods.

“Now that I am here and I see you, I know I fucking love you still. But I think I’m lost and confused right now.” He admits between bated breaths. “I was so nervous to see you and to be honest looking at you now…I still feel nervous. Like, I could throw up.”

“I feel that way too.” You admit.

“You hurt me, y/n.” he steps closer to you, his gaze is dark and unwavering. “Can I forgive you?” he whispers and you choke back a sob. “Do you even love me back?...That’s also a main problem here.”

“I don’t know what to say.” You breathe out roughly, “I’m sorry for our last conversation on the island.”

“Are you?” he takes another step. “Are you really?”

“Yes, Tae…I …I…”

“You? You?” Another step.

“I was so scared, I was so confused.” You take a step back, but he continues walking towards you. “ But I was wrong.”

“Wrong about what?” he steps closer. “About that ‘maybe’ hmm?” he steps even closer until he is breathing the same zone of air as you. He reaches for your jaw with his hand and tilts your head up towards him. “I could have fucking told you that.”

“Taehyung…” you don’t mean to whimper, but you do. You fucking do. “I’m sorry. It just got so hard to talk to you but I have thought about you every second of every day.”

“Every second?” he scoffs, “Even as you were having coffee with fucking Ben?”

“It seriously isn’t what it looks like…” you rush to say, “He wouldn’t stop pestering me.”

“Tell me how you feel y/n. Right fucking now.” He roughly commands, his fingers still on your jaw.

“I—”

“I want everything, every detail. I want to know exactly what’s going on in this brain of yours.” Taehyung looks at you with hard eyes. “I want the truth.”

You scrunch your face up as you try not to cry, you feel so many overwhelming feelings all at once. You don’t know what to say. You love him. But is it that simple? “I…” You gulp.

“You?” his eyes soften just the slightest, “Just talk to me babe.” His voice loses all its edge as you begin to silently cry. His thumb wipes away your falling tears. “Just talk to me.”

“I miss you so fucking much.” Is the first thing that slips out of your mouth, “You have no idea…” you sob.

“If anyone has an idea, it’s me.” He chuckles bitterly.

“I let time pass me by Tae, I regret it so much. But as the seconds ticked by I knew I was losing my window of opportunity. And before I knew it 6 months had passed.” You choke, “I am so, so sorry.” You stare into his dark eyes. “The company did me a favor.” You laugh, “They gave me you. I fell in love with you, Taehyung. I just…I’m so sorry I doubted myself, doubted you.”

Taehyung’s features soften as he listens to you, he feels himself grow weak. Especially with his fingers touching your skin. He pulls back from you and leans against your car.

“Are you still in love with me?” he asks, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes.” You sniffle, wiping your face of your tears. “I think I always will be, even if you decide you hate me.”

“I wish I could hate you.” Taehyung throws his head back, “It would make this easier, I wouldn’t even be here.”

“Make what easier?”

“Leaving you behind.” He says quietly, “Leaving us behind.”

Your body begins to shake as more tears escape you, you feel the heavy weight of his words fucking crush you. He wants nothing to do with you. He doesn’t want you anymore. You fucked up too badly. Taehyung watches as you sob for several minutes, his eyes never leaving your flushed face. He clicks his tongue and puts a hand on your shoulder and rubs it.

“That’s what I think I should do.” He says, “But I can’t.”

Wait, what?

“You c-can’t?”

“I love you too much. And I all my friends voted I bring you back to Korea.” He says with a small smirk.

“But you?” you cry, “You said you are leaving me?”

“I was thinking aloud. And to be honest I wanted you to suffer a bit.” He says with his dark gaze. “I wanted to punish you just a little.”

Your wide eyes narrow at him and you can’t help but cry harder. “You fucking sadist.”

“Maybe a little.” He admits with a growing sly smile. “We have a lot to talk about.” He says after a moment. “Do you want to make this work with me or not?”

“Are you serious? Even after all of this you still want to be with me?”

“We’re soulmates, baby. Or did you forget?”

“You fucking smartass.” You wipe at your face, wiping your snots on the collar of your t shirt. “But yes…I want to make this work.”

“Spend a couple weeks with me in Korea. I want to start over with you. Take things slow. I am still angry. But I fucking love you.”

“A couple weeks in Korea?” you shake your head, “I can’t take off work that long.”

“I am not going to beg you.” Taehyung warns, “But please.”

A couple weeks in Korea? With Taehyung? Meeting his family? His friends? Starting over? Going slow? Can you two really do this?

[goldentournesol]

Not in That Way

*gif not mine, found on Giphy*

(Spencer Reid x fem!Reader)

The one where Spencer’s TA falls in love with him.

Length: 3.3k

A/N: VAGUE SPOILERS FOR S15 AHEAD! AGE GAP (10 years). Read at your own risk everybody, very angsty. NO PART TWO’S WILL BE WRITTEN. enjoy :)

masterlist

It wasn’t hard, really. It wasn’t hard at all to fall in love with Spencer Reid. In fact, it was the easiest thing she’d ever done. It came so easily that it shook her to the core.

Really, what’s not to love? He is a badass FBI agent with a heart of gold, he can literally recite almost any book to her on demand, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that he looks like he’s been sculpted by a coveted artist.

She didn’t know though, she didn’t know how easy it would be to be completely enamored by someone. She didn’t know what kind of life she’d be stepping into when she’d applied to become his Teaching Assistant. She’d heard from her peers that there was a part-time professor who had been looking for a TA. She signed up without a second thought, desperate for any kind of connections that could possibly help her with her PhD in forensic psychology. When she’d learned that he was a certified genius whose other job was to be a real life superhero, she hoped and prayed he’d pick her application.

She was over the moon when she found out that he did indeed pick her out of all the students who had applied. This was an opportunity of a lifetime. She’d seen his university ID photo on the website and thought he was attractive, but seeing him in person was almost magical. The camera definitely could not quite pick up on the subtle gold flecks in his irises or the silky sheen of his hair. And that smile. She was sure she could drown in it forever.

After being chosen and going through a number of interviews, Y/N learned just how meticulous Dr. Reid was in everything he did. She helped him create the syllabus as well as build his lesson plans. Over the semester, she would go over his grading since he had the tendency to give students the answers instead of making helpful comments on the papers to make them think and reflect. She’d also learned about his particular aversion to technology, which meant they had multiple meet-ups when he was in town just so she can walk him through certain systems, like the university’s portal system as well as the email. She also showed him how to pose his answers as questions instead, explaining that sometimes, he shouldn’t answer their incomplete thoughts because it's an undergrad class. Also, with his unpredictable schedule concerning the FBI, she would often step in and teach his class whenever he was away on a case.

They’d become good friends outside of his office and classroom, probably closer than they should have been. He was just too likeable and she was always eager enough to hear what he had to say, thus a bond between them was born and reinforced each time they saw each other. He was so thoughtful, it shocked her. Once he’d heard her mention that she used to love collecting keychains when she was a child, and made sure to get her a new one from each state he’d visit thanks to his trips around the country. Her previous boyfriends were beyond disappointing in comparison to say the least, and they weren’t even dating. He knew her favorite coffee order by heart and often had it ready with a fresh croissant whenever they met at the university’s coffee shop and if they were meeting at his office, he’d take them to go. 

It was little things like that that made her fall in love with him. And she knew, it’s not like she didn’t, she just chose to hide it with every cell of her being. Crushing on your professor is pretty common amongst university students, but being a TA and being desperately in love with your professor was a whole different kind of story. 

She already admired his intelligence in class immensely, however hearing his stories from his time out in the field made her heart grow three times the size of normal. His stories ranged from being about geographical profiling, to action-packed anecdotes, and even funny moments with the team.

Was she constantly impressed by him? Yes.

Was she constantly worried about him? Also yes.

Which is why she’d practically made him adopt the habit of texting or calling her every time he landed in DC. They’d been chasing this unsub, Lynch, for months on end and he’d informed her that they were finally close to getting him. The last time they talked two days ago, he was feeling confident. But then it was just silence. He hadn’t texted her, he hadn’t called her. She didn’t even know if he was back in DC. Her mind took her places she didn’t want to go. He���d gotten so good with keeping her updated that this silence was turning her blood into ice water.

She’d left 11 missed calls so far. But she didn’t give up, she was determined to hear from him. The next morning she tried again, holding her breath and squeezing her eyes shut in a silent prayer.

“Hello?” Someone finally picked up, a woman.

“Hello? Who is this? I’m trying to reach Spencer Reid.” Y/N said into the phone, voice clearly on the edge of tears.

“Oh you must be Y/N Y/L/N. You’re Spencer’s TA. I’m Penelope Garcia, I work with Spencer.” She said into the phone evenly, calmly.

“Yes, I am. Did something happen to Spencer? He hasn’t contacted me in two days. Why do you have his phone?” Y/N worried into the phone. She could hear every heartbeat, loud and clear.

“Spencer is in the hospital. There was an explosion yesterday and he hit his head really hard. We found him passed out in his apartment this morning.” Penelope answered. Y/N’s eyes widened and she felt the tears slip from her eyes quickly. The panic began to set in.

“C-could you please text me the address?” Y/N managed to whisper into the phone through her tears.

“Of course, sweetie. He’s going to be okay. His mother is here, I’m assuming you know about Diana?” She asked tenderly.

“Yes, yes, I know. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Y/N said, already rushing to put on shoes and looking for her keys.

The drive to the hospital wasn’t long, but Y/N felt like it took ages to get there anyway. Her breathing was uneven and her eyes were already swollen as if she’d been crying for days. There was a bad, bad feeling reverberating around in her chest. She’d somehow floated through the hospital like she was running on autopilot. 

She’d found the room and met eyes with a blonde woman adorning two identical blue puffs in her hair. She would have thought they were adorable if she wasn’t panicking her heart out. She spotted Spencer laying on the hospital bed with oxygen tubes hanging around his ears and inserted into his nose. The sight made her stomach lurch. Something about the way his usually pink lips were drained of their color made her want to sob until tomorrow came. Beside the bed on the other side sat Diana Reid, a tall woman with short blonde hair. She’d seen her in photos before. Diana merely stared at her with a hint of a smile.

She stepped in the hospital room, swallowing down the bile in her throat, “H-Hi, I’m Y/N.” She waved tentatively into the room, almost unable to keep with the tensity of the two women’s gazes. She wiped at her eyes and stood at the foot of Spencer’s bed, “Is he going to be okay?” She asked, staring at the steady rise and fall of Spencer’s chest. That way it was reassuring to watch him. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears as she stood.

“The doctors are hopeful.” Penelope replied, assessing the young woman who just entered. She was much younger than she previously thought she was. Although she had no idea what to expect when it came to Spencer’s academic life, he was always surprising her.

Diana sat still and silent in the hospital chair, a pensive expression draped across her features. Penelope sensed a tension in the room and looked towards Diana, “Hey, Diana, would you like to come with me down to the cafeteria to fetch some jello for Spencer to eat when he wakes up?”

Y/N sent Penelope a sidelong glance filled with gratitude. She tuned out the sounds of Diana telling Penelope the story of the first time Spencer had jello as they exited the small room. She immediately pulled up the chair closest to his bed and grasped his hand tightly. She let out a shaky breath at the contact. Cold, his hand was so, so cold.

“Oh, Spencer, you scared the shit out of me.” She whispered, pressing her lips to the back of his hand quickly, “I could have lost you today...and-and I wouldn’t have known what to do with myself if that would have happened. I know you probably can’t hear me, but I still have to say what I’m going to say. I have to. For myself. So here goes,” she pauses, taking a deep breath, “there’s nothing that scares me more than losing you, and that thought alone terrifies me.” She sniffled, wiping away her tears, “What I feel for you terrifies me, Spencer. I didn’t know I was capable of loving someone so deeply until I met you. And...I don’t know what to do with all this love, I want to hand it all to you, let you see yourself the way I see you, but I can’t do that. I can’t.” She held back an incoming sob, whispering, “I can’t ask that of you.” 

She bowed her head and rested it along his forearm, her silent tears soaking through the hospital sheets. The fear of grieving for him outweighed the fear of rejection. She’d never forgive herself if he died without knowing how big of a space he occupied in her heart. She didn’t know if she was brave enough to tell him to his face while he was awake, but this was a start. Solidifying her feelings was a start. And man, were they solid.

A few minutes later, her phone began to ring because of an endless stream of emails. There was a class today, and she’d have to teach it. She went back and forth from her phone to Spencer’s face and released a deep, heavy sigh from the pit of her chest. She stood from her seat and hovered her hand over his cheek before allowing it to rest timidly on his skin.

“I have to go, but I’ll see you soon.” She paused, chewing on her lip, “I love you.” She said softly, fresh tears making their way back to the brim of her eyes. She pulled away from him and exited the room swiftly. 

Spencer’s bleary eyes opened slightly to just barely catch the sight of her disappearing into the hallway from which she came. Seconds later, Penelope and his mother came marching in, seeing his open eyes.

Penelope set down the cups of jello nearby and Diana made her way to her son quickly. He could barely keep his eyes open for long enough. It was a small achievement but they both held onto it dearly. 

Hours later, he blinked his eyes open again as he heard his mother and Penelope conversing about his favorite type of cloud. Diana leaned over her son’s bed and set a comforting hand on his shoulder. He stared at her fondly.

“Am I alive or is this heaven?” He asked, smiling slightly.

“You are very much alive.” Diana smiled broadly at him.

Garcia had since gone back to the office to assist the team in finally closing the Lynch case. Spencer was just waking up from yet another snooze. 

Diana looked at him closely, sometimes he felt she was the profiler in the room, “She told you didn’t she?”

Spencer rubbed at his eyes slightly, “Who are you talking about?” He yawned.

“The pretty girl who was in here earlier.” Y/N’s name had slipped her mind the second she said it. Spencer stared at his mother incredulously, shocked at just how clear her mind was at the moment. Diana took his silence as an affirmative and nodded at him.

“You should tell her.” She said definitively. For a moment, he doubted if he understood just what she meant, but he understood.

“How did you know?” Spencer asked curiously.

“I told you, a mother always knows. And I saw the way she looked at you. She deserves to know, Spencer.” Diana said.

She deserves to know.

The thought tumbled around in his head for days after he was discharged from the hospital. He was on medical leave for the moment but as soon as he could see straight, he took the train to her apartment. He’d been there a few times, they’d had a few casual dinners there while grading papers together or coming up with future lesson plans. His hands were on the verge of trembling as he knocked on her apartment door. The numbers nailed on the door mocked him as he stood waiting for her to open.

She frowned at the sound, she wasn’t expecting anybody. She pushed her laptop to the side and stood to straighten her pajamas, making her way to the door. She ripped it open as soon as she saw who it was.

“Spencer! Oh thank goodness you’re okay! I’ve been worried sick about you.” She threw her arms around his middle tightly, making him stagger a bit from the impact, but he enveloped her in his arms anyway. The contact was very welcome.

“Hey.” He smiled into the hug, his heart spilling with gratitude over being worthy enough of her attention. They separated from the embrace and she stared at him with a look resembling wonder.

“What are you doing here? I thought you still had a few more days off until you had to get back to work. Come in, come in.” She moved aside to let him in. She also moved a plethora of blankets and textbooks off the couch to make space for him to sit.

“I know, I’m sorry for kind of coming over unannounced. I didn’t mean to intrude or anything.” He eyed her matching set of cartoon character pajamas as he took a seat, making a mental note that it was the most adorable thing he’s ever seen. She blushed under his gaze but shook her head nonetheless.

“Oh come on, you know you’re always welcome here. Can I get you something to drink? Some water or coffee, maybe?” She asked.

“Water’s fine.” He smiled, leaning back into the couch. She nodded and made her way into the kitchen. Spencer’s shoulders untensed for a moment and he hadn’t realized that he’d been carrying so much of his worries in them around her. She came back with the water and took a seat next to him, angling her body to face him. He muttered a thank you as he sipped from it, unsure how to approach the situation.

“I wanted to thank you. For coming to the hospital to see me. That meant a lot.” He met her eyes and saw a flash of panic dance across her irises. How did he know she was there? Penelope probably told him, right? He couldn’t have heard her.

“Of course, Spencer. It’s the least I could do.” She smiled sweetly. His heart cleaved in his chest as he stared at the sweet girl in front of him. 

What did he ever do to deserve her friendship? 

He fidgeted with the glass in his hands, a silence beginning to drape over them.

“Is everything okay?” She asked, noticing his fidgeting. 

He took a deep breath and set the glass down on the coffee table in front of them. He turned his body to face her and reached for her soft hands. Her breath hitched at the intimate contact, butterflies erupting in the pit of her abdomen.

“You are a remarkable person, Y/N. I’m so lucky to have you in my life. I see the absolute worst that humanity has to offer on a daily basis, but you have made it your mission to make my life easier. And you do, honestly, I wouldn’t know what to do without you.” He said with soft eyes and a half-laugh. She smiled back, she could practically feel the rush from his words directly in her brain.

“And it is an honor to be loved by you,” his voice hesitated to say the word, his eyes darkening with regret as he continued. Realization snapped into place for her as he said, “but I can’t give you what you need.”

He had heard her. He knew.

Her blood ran cold as she tore her hands away from his, as if the skin on his hands had the ability to burn her. He frowned as he watched her frantic eyes search his for any semblance of dishonesty. Her throat closed up over all the words that fought to surface. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came up. Instead, tears sprung to the corners of her eyes.

“What?” She whispered, brokenhearted and momentarily in disbelief.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” He tried to console her but she was past the point of consolation. 

“I-I understand.” She nodded painfully, tears cascading down her face before she even got the chance to wipe them away, “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have said anything, it’s completely unprofessional.” She swallowed an incoming sob as best as she could.

“No, I’m glad you told me, but if I’m being honest, I knew long before it. This isn’t about professionality, I don’t care about that. But I care about you, a lot.” Spencer said softly, staring at the young woman in front of him. She shook her head, utterly devastated and doing her best to shield herself from his gaze. Thoughts escaped her as her heart took a deep-dive to settle in her abdomen.

“And I thought I should let you know how I feel. I love you, Y/N,” he paused, “just not in that way.” The soft voice he used was completely useless against the harshness of the words. 

She tried, she tried her absolute hardest to suppress the incoming sob, but those words just about broke the dam. She rubbed at her eyes, nodding. He tried to set a comforting hand on her shoulder but decided against it. She took a deep breath and stood up from the couch. 

That was enough humiliation for the day.

“No, no, I completely understand.” She said, voice wobbly and eyes ringed with red. He frowned up at her at the sight of her being so upset. 

“Will you be okay?” He asked as he stood up from his seat. She laughed slightly, this man had devastated her, broken her heart with a few simple words and still wondered if she’d be okay. That’s Spencer Reid for you. The question made her heart ache and long for him more. His simplicity and good intentions made her question why the world wasn’t kind enough to let her have him.

“No, I won’t. And I probably won’t be okay for a long time. Because I will keep meeting men and keep comparing them to you so, until I stop doing that, no, I won’t be okay, Spencer.” She answered with a surprisingly stable voice. He frowned and nodded.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, stepping forward to cup her cheek and gently use his thumb to wipe the remainder of her tears. Her glassy eyes bored right into his, her lips wobbling at the contact. She then closed her eyes and leaned her cheek into his palm, soaking in his warmth one last time before he tore himself away from her completely and showed himself out of the apartment without looking back.

That was when she allowed herself to fall apart. He heard her heart wrenching cries from behind the door and hesitated, but decided to walk away anyway with a chest heavy with regret.

She will never be enough for him, she thought.

He will never be enough for her, he thought.

[kingkatsuki]

Mixed Signals | Shindou Yo x Reader

So once again a last minute entry into our Discord server collab! The theme this time was Pen Pals! This is the longest fic I’ve ever written and I’m so mad it’s not for Bakugou haha. PLEASE check out the other incredible writers taking part in this one here.

For the purposes of this fic we’re going to pretend that you can video call on Tinder.👀

Warnings: 18+

Word Count: 11,458.

The loud bass blaring through the speakers was giving you a migraine, or honestly it could’ve been the sickly sweet cocktails your best friend was piling on you. Her idea to go out for ‘Happy Hour’ had now turned into a fully fledged night out. The bar nearing its closing time, the bar packed as people tried to get their orders in before they stopped serving drinks. Ashido already sliding back into her chair beside you as you sat at the high table. Your camera roll was still full of your ex. Photograph after photograph of you both looking so happy together. It was pathetic really, but you couldn’t help but stare at them. You just looked so content, and he’d fucking ruined everything.

“You’re never going to get over him if you spend the rest of your life pining,” Ashido held out another shot to you, giving you a glare when you refused. You rolled your eyes as you grabbed the bright green coloured drink, holding it in front of you as she picked up her own, clicking the tiny shot glasses together to ‘cheers’ before throwing them back.

“You need to move on.” 

She was right, but it was easier said than done, especially when you’d dedicated everything in your life to this asshole. You were now living in a cold, lonely apartment full of dead memories with your cheating ex-fiance who evidently didn’t give a single fuck about you.

“Hey, give me your phone-” Ashido broke you from your thoughts as she grabbed your cell phone from where it sat on the bar table, immediately holding it up to your face so it unlocked as she started swiping against the screen.

“Mina, what are you doing?” You groaned as you tried to grab your phone out of her hands, her reflexes quicker as she slipped back in her seat, continuing to type against the phone.

Turning the screen back towards you when an app had finished downloading.

Tinder? No fucking way.

“No.” You reached out to try and grab your phone back, intent on deleting it immediately. You didn’t even want to think of someone else right now, your heart belonged to someone else.

“Listen, a hook up could be just what you need. And you know it’s not just for hookups. Kendo met her fiance on Tinder.” You rolled your eyes, as if that meant anything. Kendo was beautiful, she didn’t need Tinder to find anyone, it was probably a coincidence.

“Didn’t Kaminari meet a stalker on Tinder last month?” You remembered all too well when Kaminari had to change his phone number due to an obsessive fan finding him on the app, his agency still receiving obsessed letters from the girl. I mean, who even sent letters anymore? At least send a few emails-

“Yeah, but he was stupid anyway. That girl was obviously a catfish.” You glanced over her shoulder to look at what she was doing, trying to grab the phone out of her hands when you saw what she was writing for your bio.

“Don’t write that, Mina. I sound so desperate-”

“Well, you kinda are? How long has it been since you split up with him? You’re still thinking about him every minute of the day.”

She handed the phone back to you, the profile still open at the set up page, the photo she’d picked for your main profile actually looked kinda cute. It was one she’d taken of you outside your favourite coffee shop earlier today. Your fingers wrapped around your coffee cup as you leaned against the veranda, a soft smile against your face. Your fingers lingering against your screen as you contemplated typing out a long winded response.

“Fuck it.” You pressed the create account button and waited as your profile loaded in front of you. Immediately moving to lift up your drink from the table as you took a large swig.

“Yes” Mina squealed, wrapping her arms around your shoulders in a drunken hug, her body swaying slightly as you tried to keep her upright, “Look, just give it a chance okay? Have some fun for once in your life-”

She was right, you’d become so boring since you’d been in a relationship with Monoma, you couldn’t remember the last time you’d actually gone out to enjoy yourself? 

By the time you managed to make it back to your apartment you were sloshed, kicking your heels off by your front door as you threw your keys onto your kitchen counter. Unzipping your dress and letting it fall to the ground, glad to finally get out of the constricting fabric as you collapsed onto your bed, your cell phone in your hand. 

You were about to do your daily bedtime ritual now that you were single; Opening your camera roll to look at pictures of your ex-boyfriend, but this time you felt yourself lingering on the icon for Tinder. Your fingers hovering over it as you bit your bottom lip, the liquid courage flowing through your veins the push you needed to log into it. 

Opening the app you immediately began to see page after page of potential suitors. Some of the profiles were horrendous. 

Willing to put the graft in so I can put the shaft in.

Ugh, you swiped left as you kept filtering through, some of the pictures were just muscular chests or groups where you couldn’t see who the main guy was. Maybe you were just being picky, but you hadn’t found a single profile that you felt interested in yet. 

You got into a near constant repetition of swiping left on each profile you’d seen, there wasn’t a single male that had come up that had caught your eye, and the ones that did had terrible, desperate bios. There were a few that made you laugh, even though the pictures were hit and miss so you swiped right, trying to open yourself up to possibilities. Although you’d potentially regret some in the morning. You were starting to have fun, judging their pictures and laughing at their descriptions. Stopping against the screen at a particular profile…

Super Like? He super liked you… I mean, he was cute. So for the first time you gave him the same response, clicking the green star against the page. You sat up from the bed, finally ready to start taking your makeup off and getting ready for bed, leaving your phone on your duvet as you slipped into your bathroom.

You weren’t expecting to climb back into bed to a new message from Tinder.

Super like, huh? Well, I’m flattered.

Had you already stroked this guys already inflated ego? He’d super liked you to?

I guess my finger must have hit that by mistake.

Hey, I’m not complaining. You only get one a day and you used it on me.

Honestly? You didn’t even know that. 

That was actually the first time I ever used that feature.

Really? 

Well, you’re the first person I’ve actually said more than three words to.

Well, shit. I’m flattered.

‘Looking for someone to shake things up with’ huh? You smiled as you commented on his cheesy bio.

You went back to have another look at his profile, he was really cute, each picture made him seem like such a nice guy. He stood out from the other weirdos you’d seen scrolling through.

I promise you ain’t ever met a guy like me, babe.

I’m sure I have. You typed back, how could this guy be such a cocky bastard?

Then why are you still talking to me? There must be something interesting that’s keeping you hooked? Is it my pretty face?

Did you really just call yourself pretty? 

Yeah- What? You don’t think I’m pretty? :( You had to laugh, of all the words he’d chosen to use, he was coming across as such an asshole, but you were smiling wider than you had in weeks. You didn’t know how to reply, whether he was joking so you just sent a laughing emoji.

Hey, call me pretty! :(

You’re really pretty. You typed out, a grin on your face as you saw the three dots to show he was already typing back.

I knew you liked me!

Your first conversation with Shindou had gone on until five in the morning, the gentle illumination of the sun shining through your window indicated to you just how passed. Even when you’d said goodnight, you couldn’t help but lay in bed thinking about waking up so you could message him again.

It was always late at night that you felt yourself gravitating to Shindou the most, or the early hours of the morning, depending on how you looked at it. Those sad hours that left you feeling so alone. Somehow made better by the texts exchanged between you. There were occasions where he would be quick to reply, dozens and dozens of messages swapped between the two of you as you talked well into the early hours of the morning, the sun slowly beginning to rise before you realised you’d spent the entire night together. His ability to make hours seem like minutes was unlike anyone else you’d been with. 

Hey, Princess. Go to bed.

No you :)

Why you always up so late, babe?

I could ask you the same question, Yo.

Another long day at work

You’d asked him before what he did for work and he’d said he worked for a massive Hero Agency. You didn’t know what he did, but you assumed it had to be hard, he always seemed to work long hours.

Would rather be with you though ;)

Me too. You typed back without even realising it. Had you really become so attached to someone you’d never met?

Waking up to his messages was the best. It was like he was thinking about you first thing in the morning, wanting his message to be the first thing you saw when you started your day every day. You found yourself checking Tinder before everything else every single time, all the other messages and comments from other potential guys left forgotten as you focused all your attention on Shindou. You’d even found yourself going through your camera roll and deleting all the pictures of your asshole ex, you didn’t even look at them anymore. You didn’t need to.

Baby. Tell me what you’re doing right fucking now.

Excuse me?

Don’t worry, I already know the answer. Thinking of me. ;)

You’re so cocky

But you love that about me, huh?

You did. You really did. He was blunt, brash and said exactly what was on his mind, but he was also kind and caring. Sincere words filtering through when you told him about your ex, told him everything that happened. He listened and understood, he felt different.

Tell me one thing you want more than anything else right now. GO-

Pizza :)

Aww, babe. You break my heart. I thought you were going to say me?

Well, I want you… but I also want pizza ;)

I guess you don’t want to meet up then?

Your heart fluttered at those words. He wanted to meet up. Were you ready? He was technically a complete stranger, you’d only seen the few pictures of him and FaceTimed once. Were you ready? What if he didn’t like what he saw. What if it didn’t work out? You had to take a leap of faith.

Let’s do it.

You’d become so dependent on his messages over the last few weeks that it hurt when he didn’t reply right away. You knew he was often working unsocial shifts at work, never seemingly having a fixed schedule but the nearer it got to the time you’d agreed to meet up the more nervous you’d become. What if he regretted asking you and now he had no choice but to meet you anyway? What if he wasn’t who he said he was? What if he didn’t like you-

Morning, Yo :)

Hope you’re having a good day, babe.

I know you’re probably busy, but I’m just checking in.

<3

You probably looked like a stalker, wincing as you read back all the messages you’d sent. If it was the other way around you knew you’d love unlocking your phone to see that many notifications from Shindou, but was it really the same for guys? He’d probably think you were an obsessed stalker now. 

The times that he didn’t reply had you feeling an ache in your chest, missing him as you craved for his attention. The doubtful thoughts slowly spreading through your mind, Tinder was meant for hookups after all. Your friend had made that clear when she made you set up your profile, the thought that he was out talking to other women, trying to impress other women. Did he talk to them the same way he spoke to you? Your fingers began to scroll through the other potential matches in your inbox, reading through all the boring, generic messages they’d sent to you. Cheesy pick-up lines, flirtatious greetings disguised as unique when they’d probably sent the same one to every single woman they’d messaged. None of them were like Shindou, he was different.

You know how excited I am to meet up with you, baby? 

Yeah about that. He typed back.

What?

We might have to do a raincheck on our date.

You re-read the message, your heart immediately dropping. He had to be joking, right? He was trying to tease you. 

Why…

I’m sick, Princess. I’m so sorry. I don’t think I’m gonna be able to make it.

You felt terrible for being mad, but the anger bubbled inside you. The fact that he wasn’t well and you were instead thinking about your feelings? How selfish were you.

That’s fine, we can do something when you feel better.

You couldn’t help but think he was trying to make excuses, maybe he didn’t really want to meet up with you? Maybe he was trying to let you down nicely? But he didn’t seem like that. He seemed like a nice guy.

I’ll make it up to you, Princess.

~

Shindou felt like shit. Looking down at the messages on his screen from you, he could tell how upset you were. Wincing as he tried to get up from the bed. His shoulder wrapped in a thick bandage, the material wrapped around his neck to keep the fractured bone in place. Doctors had managed to heal the break, but it was still painful. Even sitting up, he couldn’t stop the pain coursing through his veins. Trying to find the medication he’d been given to try and stop the constant throb. Maybe he should’ve just continued to try and meet you today, sucked up the pain and dealt with it. It’d been at least a month since you’d both started talking and for the first time in a long time, he was happy. 

For the first time he’d found someone who wasn’t with him because he was a famous Pro-Hero, they didn’t care about hook ups, they just wanted him. His lips curving into a grin when he noticed that you’d sent him a string of cute messages, telling him to feel better soon. His heartbeat increased as he re-read them. Hoping that you wouldn’t just give him up if you found out the truth, but you didn’t seem like that. He knew you better, you were different.

He was ready to tell you everything. 

~

The first cancellation you were upset, sure. But you could get over it, the fact that he was sick weighing heavy on your mind. There’s no way you’d want to go out to meet someone for the first time feeling like hell. The second cancellation however was harder to take. 

You’d just finished doing your make-up, the outfit you’d picked now lay spread against your bed, complete with the shoes you’d picked out on the floor. You heard your phone vibrate as you were touching up your lip-gloss as you picked it up, noticing one new message from Shindou. When you opened Tinder you hadn’t expected the contents.

I’ve gotta go to work, I can’t make our date. I’m so sorry baby.

You were fuming, it was the second time he’d stood you up, how did this just conveniently happen every time you were due to meet up? You typed a selfish response back, thinking that office work could wait, or he could maybe still manage lunch.

Can’t you go in late?

What about lunch instead?

What time’s your lunch break?

Yo?

You chucked your phone against your bed with a huff, tears falling down your cheeks as you began furiously scrubbing off the make-up you’d just applied to your face.

~

Hey, Beautiful.

You’d waited all day for him to finish work, you’d ended up spending the day with Mina to try and take your mind off things. The fact that you’d fallen so hard for someone you’d never met was overwhelming, you craved his touch and it was hard.

What you up to?

Is that all he’s got to say?

Just got into bed ;)

What? Without me?

You hated how much that made your heart thump, the insinuation making your legs tremble as you tried to remain annoyed at him.

Well if you hadn’t cancelled on me maybe it would’ve been with you hm? You couldn’t help but throw shade. It was his fault he wasn’t here right now.

Ouch, Princess. If you could feel how much that hurt my heart right now.

Part of you felt happy that he was sad about what you’d said, but on the other hand you were so glad that he felt that way. It meant he did care about you, he was upset your plans fell through.

Good. I’m not happy with you :(

I promise I’ll make it up to you.

You better!

So what are you wearing to bed? ;)

You couldn’t help but laugh at the message, he was so cheesy. If any other guy had asked you something like that you would’ve ended the conversation but you couldn’t help but find it completely endearing when Shindou said it.

I know you didn’t just ask me that.

I can’t  help it if I want to know how my girl ‘falls asleep’?

A cami and some lacy panties.

Two could play at this game, you eagerly waited for his response, three dots appearing to indicate he was already typing a response.

Fuck, I don’t think you realise what you’re doing to me, baby.

Tell me.

If you could feel how hard my cock is right now at the thought of that.

You felt hot when you read that message, pushing your duvet away from your body as you tried to calm yourself down, the throb between your legs was intense and you couldn’t stop yourself from pressing your hand against your clothed slit, whimpering as you began to press gentle circles around your clit.

Are you touching yourself right now?

How did he know?!

No 

You typed back far too quickly, not even ten seconds later an incoming video call appeared on the screen, accepting it with a smile.

“Hey, Beautiful. Wanna show me what exactly you’re up to?”

~

You hadn’t expected the third cancellation. You’d woken up in the morning, preparing to get ready when you’d noticed he’d sent you a long winded text, explaining that he wouldn’t be able to meet you today. It was the third time this had happened and you thought it wouldn’t hurt as bad as it did, becoming used to the rejection now. The third time didn’t make it hurt any less.

You hated yourself for how attached you’d become to someone you’d never even met, someone that didn’t seem too bothered about meeting up with you. You’d let your guard down so much that this random stranger now unknowingly held a piece of you, you weren’t even sure of your feelings. You just knew that if you were to lose him you’d feel empty, alone. How had he managed to turn you into this? You didn’t even feel this way for your cheating, asshole of an ex-boyfriend. Trying to take your mind off the fact that it had been the third time this month that you were supposed to meet up with Shindou, but it had once again fallen through as you began to try and focus on getting ready for your coffee date with Ashido. You’d text her the moment that Shindou had cancelled on you again, determined to try and take your mind off things or at least talk to her about how you were feeling. Moving to slip a pair of leggings on as you picked out a simple sweater, your phone buzzing as you moved to pick it up.

Morning, Beautiful.

You felt butterflies erupting inside you as you re-read the text, even though Shindou was the one that had stood you up, again. Your fingers angrily typing a response against the screen.

Why did you cancel again?

I’m sorry, babe. Work kept me late again. I had no choice-

No. Don’t give me that shit again, Yo. There must be a time where you can see me. Don’t you want to meet me?

The fear that he didn’t care about you the same way you cared about him hurt, thinking that he was purposely trying to avoid meeting up with you.

Trust me, Princess. I want to meet you more than anything.

Then why can’t we?

You felt so pathetic asking like this, but it hurt. You wanted to meet him, more than anything. 

We will. I promise.

In the last message that Shindou had sent to you said he was going to bed, so maybe he had been at work all night. You felt guilty for giving him added stress on top of what you knew to be an already difficult job, but at the same time you were still hurt. 

~

“So he’s really good looking, has a decent job and lives less than twenty minutes away from you but you haven’t met up yet?” Ashido took a bite into her pastry as she raised an eyebrow at you, obviously unimpressed by the situation.

“I mean, we’ve planned to-” You felt awkward talking about this to Ashido, even as your best friend. The whole situation made you feel so stupid, “But something always seems to come up.”

“Something like what?” You could hear the judgemental tone in her voice as you suddenly found your coffee mug extremely interesting.

“Work, mostly. He says he works for a big agency so they’re always calling him in-”

“Of course he does.” Mina held her coffee mug up to her lips, taking a sip of her latte before dropping it back down, “You realise what he’s doing right?”

“What?” Your brows furrowed in confusion as Mina let out an over dramatic sigh.

“Has he asked you for money or nudes yet?”

“No, Shindou wouldn’t do something like that-” You suddenly felt self-conscious, defending the guy that you’d spent hours with, creating a deep emotional bond with him despite never actually meeting in person. There was no way you were going to tell Mina you’d had video sex with him, already feeling the shame that he was probably a catfish, just out to get you naked. He’d never pressed you for any of that though, it was definitely mutual, but you couldn’t help but feel violated at the thought of him being someone else. What if he was using screen recording software and he’d filmed the entire thing? Some random person online now had a perverted sex video of you, someone pretending to be Shindou Yo…

“Good, block him before he does. Imagine if you had and your pictures ended up on the internet.”

“He wouldn’t do that. We’ve been on video chat plenty of times, I’ve heard his voice he isn’t some creep-” 

“So you’ve seen his face? On video chat?”

“Well.. it was kinda dark but yeah-”

The loud groan that left Ashido’s lips at your admission should’ve been all you needed to solidify it in your mind. Maybe he was just wasting time, playing about with you until something better came along, maybe he was just a lonely old guy looking for attention, waiting for the right opportunity to blackmail you for something-

“Let me see the profile.” You unlocked your phone, opening the Tinder app to show Shindou’s profile, sliding your phone across the table.

“Ugh,” Ashido held her palm to her eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh as she slumped back in her seat, “Do you realise who that is?”

“Shindou?” You were confused. Mina immediately shut the Tinder app to open your web browser, typing with quick fingers until she hit the image search.

“That’s the Pro-Hero Grand.” She slid the phone back across the table to you, page after page of pictures against the screen. Pictures that looked exactly like the guy you were messaging, “Bakugou fucking hates him.”

You felt bile rise up in your throat, your eyes glancing over page after page of the guy you thought you’d been talking to. 

“Just unmatch him and move on, trust me. It’s for the best-”

You needed to talk to him first, you wanted him to explain. You’d been so transparent with him, telling him everything about you. You’d thought he had  done the same. Oh how wrong you were-

Were you ever going to tell me the truth?

You text furiously, you wanted to know before you unmatched him, you needed clarity.

What are you talking about?

You tell me, Shindou. Or should I be calling you Grand?

Look, I was going to tell you. But I needed to find the right time. 

He was going to tell you? So he was lying. You were stupid to think that he was any different to all the other guys that had fucked you over, just another asshole. How could he constantly give you so many mixed signals?

I can’t believe I was actually falling for you. 

Babe, please just listen. I didn’t mean to hide it from you, I feel the same way.

I can’t do this anymore. You typed out, tears spilling down your cheeks.

Babe, listen to me.

Please

Babe?

Babe.

You unmatched him.

~

“Shit” Shindou chucked his cell phone across the room, a loud bang sounding as it hit the hardwood, the sight of the string of messages he’d shared with you now gone. You’d actually unmatched him.

He flung his fist forward in anger, punching the drywall of his apartment as a circular shaped hole began to form, debris slipping away from the area as he repeated the action, hitting the wooden beams underneath, his knuckles bearing the brunt of it as bloody grazes began to form against his broken skin. 

Running his fingers through his messy black hair he tried to even out his breathing, angrily pacing around his living room. Why had he been so stupid? He should’ve just been up front and honest with you. But that had never worked in the past. Every woman he tried to date before changed as soon as he told them what he did for a living. Suddenly flocking to him like moths to a flame, trying to reap the benefits that came with dating a Pro-Hero. 

It was different with you, easy. You didn’t seem to care, you wanted him for him. Wanted.

Maybe the fact he was a Pro-Hero was too much for you to deal with, it wasn’t what you wanted. He couldn’t give you what you wanted-

Picking up his phone, a sprinkle of glass falling from the screen as he sat down on the floor. Switching straight to his camera roll as he looked back at the pictures he’d saved of you from your profile. Pinching the screen as he zoomed in on your face, the large crack along the screen hindering his view slightly but he could still see you. You were so beautiful. And he’d fucked everything up.

He should’ve just been honest with you in the first place, just telling you everything so there was complete transparency. The fear of you leaving him when you realised what he did for a living, or worse, using it as an excuse to date him was overwhelming. It was completely selfish on his part to try and form a relationship without the fact that he was a Pro-Hero looming over everything. He wasn’t naive, he knew he’d have to tell you eventually. But it was something he wanted to tell you face to face, after actually getting to know you. He didn’t want to change things, they were perfect as they were.. 

Were…

He sat back against the wall, legs bent as he continued staring at the picture, wishing desperately that he’d screenshot some of your conversations before this happened. He felt like he’d just lost everything. 

~

As if it wasn’t enough that he was at work at all after finding out that he’d potentially lost you for good, he’d had to chase a villain down through half of Mustafu on minimal hours of sleep. The encounter happening less than an hour into his shift which meant that he now had at least another four hours until he could clock off, hopefully- 

He was just so tired, but the thought of sleep seemed impossible to him, not when he’d fucked up the only relationship he’d ever truly cared about. It was so often he’d find someone that seemed worth settling down with, only to find them interested in the material aspects of the relationship. He’d spent the last week acting like a brokenhearted teenager and it was embarrassing. Shindou Yo didn’t do shit like this. Every single day he’d spent hours trying to find you on social media, probably looking like a complete stalker as he did reverse image searches on your photographs, hoping that something would return results. They didn’t. Even contemplating making a completely new Tinder account just to try and match with you again, wondering if you’d even talk to him if he told you that. It seemed like he’d have to come to terms with the fact that he wouldn’t find you again.

He’d never found himself in this part of town before, the art district. Walking along the sidewalk he couldn’t help but look up at all the murals that adorned the side of the buildings, or the brick walls down each alleyway. Bright, vibrant colours adorned every single inch of brick they could find. His eyes catching sight of a giant painting of All Might against the side of an apartment building, his thumb cocked in his signature pose. Shindou couldn’t help but think about you, you’d love this part of town. It fit your personality perfectly, every single thing stood out, bright and colourful. Full of warmth and kindness, the thoughts now beginning to weigh on his mind as he remembered how much he’d messed everything up. How he’d lost you. It was all his fault.

His eyes caught sight of a pink veranda, the wood adorned by bright pastel flowers wrapped around each beam. Looking up at the name of the cafe Shindou was quick to pull his broken phone from his pocket, unlocking it and flicking straight to his camera roll. Selecting his favourite photograph of you as he compared the pictures. You couldn’t see the name of the coffee shop in the photograph you’d taken, but it looked the same. Leaning against the same veranda as you smiled for the camera, the paper cup in your hand. 

Fuck.

Shindou stood there in shock for a moment, not knowing what to do. Surely he could sit in there and wait for you to turn up? How creepy would that look after you’d basically erased him from your life. But it was an option nonetheless. He’d finally be able to explain everything to you, and at least if you didn’t want to be with him after he’d- He didn’t even want to think of that option. The mere thought of spending his life without you hurt. A sharp twinge in his chest as he tried to imagine it, the last week not speaking to you already hurt enough. 

Fuck it. He walked across the street, slipping through the abrasively pink front doors as a bell rang. His eyes instantly scanned the room to see if you might actually be here, but of course you weren’t. Going up to the barista he picked his coffee, almost tempted to grab one of the pastries on display. He remembered you talking about how good they were, telling him your favourite ones whenever you were here. He’d already decided he’d get one next time, making up his mind that he’d come here every single day if he had to. If it meant actually meeting you and telling you the truth.

Shindou had to argue with the barista over paying for his coffee as they saw him in his full Pro-Hero outfit, scribbling his autograph onto one of the cardboard cup sleeves with a black sharpie for the eager girl behind the counter as he gave her a grin. Taking his coffee as he went towards the door. The bell sounded as someone new entered the cafe.

~

“Shit, sorry.” You apologised as you looked up to see a naked chest. Not something you saw every day coming into your favourite coffee shop but you weren’t about to complain. Immediately noticing that it was the outfit of a Pro-Hero. 

Oh how lucky you were.

“My eyes are up here, Princess.” 

Your eyes immediately locked up to the voice, your hair no longer hiding your face as you took in the sight of the man in front of you. His dark eyes glistening as they stared down  at you in amusement, darkened bags underneath them but he still looked hot. This was the guy that your catfish had stolen pictures of-

“S-sorry,” You blushed trying to move out of his way as you clutched your handbag strap against your shoulder.

“Y/N-”

When your name fell from his lips you froze.

How the hell did he know your name?

“It’s Yo? Shindou-” He was confused at the look on your face, did you not recognise him?

“Y-you’re real?”

“Last time I checked.” He laughed and the sound was the same laugh you remembered from your video call.

“I thought you might never want to see me again, but I owed you an explanation. I owe you an explanation- Can I buy you a coffee?”

The more he explained, the guiltier you felt. 

Leaning against the veranda outside the coffee shop, a coffee cup in your hands as you listened. Listened to everything-

“-I was already telling myself that I would sit in this fuckin’ cafe until you came in. No matter how out of place I looked-” He motioned down to his hero outfit, a smile on his face as you fought the tears from spilling down your cheeks.

You’d tried so hard to forget about him this last week, trying to erase all memory of him, but you couldn’t. He had a piece of your heart and you didn’t even know who he was.

“I thought you were a catfish-” You admitted sheepishly, remembering your conversation with Ashido where she showed you all the pictures that appeared on google when you searched his name.

“Probably my fault, huh? Not like a Pro-Hero should be using fucking dating sites, is it? I should be able to find any girl I want, right?”

“So why were you on Tinder?” You were scared of the answer, wondering if it was just another way for the Pro-Hero Grand to find late night booty calls.

“Trying to find someone without them knowing anything about me. All the other sites require so much fuckin’ information, and I definitely wasn’t going to use ‘Date a Pro-Hero’. I didn’t want you to date me because of what I do-”

It all made sense. Tears now began to stream down your cheeks at the realisation, you’d fucked up.

“Hey- hey, why the fuck you cryin’?” Shindou’s eyes widened as he saw your lip trembling, his large palm immediately moving out to cup your face, his calloused thumb rubbing away your tears, his gaze softening as he shushed you.

“I ruined everything.” You whimpered, trying to lower your face to hide it from his gaze. His hand immediately moved to the back of your neck as he pulled you against him, burying your face against his chest as you let the tears fall freely. Dampening his naked chest as he lay his chin against the top of your head, gently rocking your body side to side. 

“You haven’t ruined anything.”

“I unmatched you- I tried to-” Shindou stopped you with another ‘hush’, pulling back slightly so his eyes could stare down at your glassy ones, a sincere smile on his face.

“I’m here now, ain’t I?” He smiled, his arms still wrapped around you, “It’s my fault. I should’ve told you everything when I had to cancel for the third time, it wasn’t fair on you. I just- didn’t want to tell you I was a Pro-Hero-”

“Why?”

“Thought it would change everything, it always does-” He shrugged.

“You would’ve had to tell me eventually-”

“I would’ve. But I wanted to meet you first. Unfortunately every single time something had to fucking happen.”

He proceeded to explain everything. The time he broke his shoulder, the time he got called into work, the time that he had to stay late because he got roped into a raid on a potential villain hideout.

“You probably hate me,” You whined, hiding your face in your hands as you felt selfish for thinking he was just trying to mess around with you, when he was going through all of that. Feeling angry when he’d actually broken his shoulder trying to save people, mad when he stood you up when he was out risking his own life. 

“I thought you hated me,” He joked back, “You’re the one who unmatched me!”

“I’m sorry about that-” You felt fresh tears prick your eyes as they threatened to fall, Shindou’s hand immediately moving back up to try and brush them away, swiping under your eyes, “My friend showed me pictures of you on google. I just thought-”

“That I’d stolen pictures and made a Tinder profile to fuck around with women, huh?” 

You nodded your head at his explanation, your lower lip quivering.

He took his phone from his pocket, unlocking it to open the Tinder app. The page showing a line full of messages from women, but he hadn’t replied to any of them. Ignoring every single message, the notifications showing that he hadn’t even opened them.

“You were the only one I fuckin’ cared about on there. I would’ve deleted the app if I had any other way of contacting you. Honestly, I was probably going to delete it anyway if you didn’t message me that day.”

“Can I kiss you now, or?”

He didn’t wait for your response, your eyes already fluttering shut as you felt his lips press against your own, his warm palm cupped your jaw as he angled you up towards him, curving his head to the side as he deepened the kiss. Pouring out every emotion he felt, trying to show you how much he cared about you. The need to breathe the only reason you were forced to pull away, his rough fingers still stroking the side of your face as he pressed his forehead against yours. 

“I probably look like shit,” You laughed, rubbing the mascara lines against your face with your black hoodie, not caring that your makeup was staining the fabric.

“Nah, far from it.” Shindou’s breath coming out in harsh pants, unable to resist leaning down to steal another peck from your lips with a grin.

“So you don’t hate me?” 

“I could never,” He shook his head, “But maybe you can give me your cell phone number now?” He pulled back to look into your eyes, giving you a questioning look.

You laughed as you reached into your handbag for your phone, handing him your cell to put his number into it, immediately calling him so he had yours. He cursed when he noticed the time on his lock-screen, shoving the phone back inside his pocket.

“Is everything okay?” You looked so adorable in that moment, Shindou couldn’t help but press his lips back against yours, his hand against the back of your neck.

“I’m supposed to be on patrol.” He laughed against your lips as you held his cheeks, pulling him into another searing kiss.

“What time do you finish?” He hadn’t even left you yet and you already missed him.

“I’ve got another four hours,” He checked the time on his phone, “Can I see you after?”

“My house.”

“Are you sure?” Shindou raised an eyebrow as you nodded your head, leaning down to press another chaste kiss to your bruised lips.

“I’ll text you the address.”

“I guess I’ll see you later, Princess.”

~

You spent the next four hours thinking about Shindou. All the emotions inside your body were erupting at once, he was fucking real. Rushing round your house as you tried to tidy up as best as possible before he arrived. You weren’t sure whether to put on something sexy or keep on what you had already. Opting to keep the dress but change your lingerie. Slipping on a sheer lace bra with matching panties. Looking at yourself in the mirror as you did a twirl. Contemplating whether to send him a picture. I mean, you had blocked him just a week ago, and made him think you didn’t care.

Picking up your phone you angled it towards your face, glancing up at the front-facing camera with a pout as you took a few, changing the angle of your face slightly as you tried to get the perfect lighting. Wanting this to be perfect as it would be the first selfie you were actually sending to him. Scrolling through your camera roll you picked out the one you liked the most, sending it across to Shindou in a text message, grateful you finally had his phone number so you could finally send him photographs.

Babe, what did I do to deserve that? Holy shit.

Just showing you what I’ll be wearing later ;)

Don’t say that to me when I have an hour and a half left at work, Princess.

The string of emojis that followed had you grinning the most. Slipping your dress back on as you continued cleaning. Wishing that time would move just a little bit faster.

When you finally heard a knock on the door you were eager, jumping up from the couch and almost running towards the door, swinging it open to find Shindou on the other side. A bunch of roses in his hand. Your heart almost stopped there and then.

“I know you were waiting for me, but I couldn’t help but stop and grab these.” He handed them to you, placing a gentle kiss to your lips before shutting the door behind him. Slipping his shoes off in the hall as you went to put them in water. 

You weren’t sure how it happened, one moment he was stepping through your front door, the next you were all over him. As if you were trying to make up for lost time. You’d caught him by surprise judging by the wide eyed expression on his face, his fingers desperately trying to hold you back, to move you away from his lips so he could ask if you were okay. But you didn’t want to talk, you just needed to feel him, to pour all your emotions out to him. You’d been so close to losing him forever, but now he was all you wanted. All you needed.

“Babe, I ain’t complaining-” He managed to speak between kisses, your fingers already tugging the hem of his shirt, trying to move it up and over his head, “But are you sure about this?”

“Yes,” You broke the kiss to give it a harsh tug, lifting it above his strong pectorals, exposing his skin to your prying eyes once more, as the fabric slipped over his head “Certain.”

That was the affirmation he needed as he pulled your mouth back towards his own, his tongue immediately slipping between your parted lips to stroke against your wet heat. Your hands explored the newly exposed plains of his chest as you skimmed your fingers along his defined pectorals, brushing your fingers against the hardened peaks as he grunted beside you.

“Yo, oh my god-” You moved back from him as your lips fell into a loud whine, his quirk now activated as vibrations surged through your body.

“Live a little,” He whispered, pressing his lips against your neck as his fingers dug into your sides, low vibrations humming against you as you involuntarily bucked your hips against his, the vibrations tickling you.

“Shit, Yo-” You gasped as you felt his lips curve into a grin against your skin, his teeth still grazing against your pulse point.

“Well, I did say I’d shake things up, huh?” 

“You’re so fucking cheesy, you know that-oh.” He caught you by surprise as he moved his hand to palm your breast, feeling your skin as your mound peaked out from the low cut midi-dress you were wearing. The vibrations pulsing through you as you felt your nipples harden to a point against his touch, pebbling against the thin layers of clothing you wore.

“That feels so good.” You murmured, letting your hands hold onto the base of his neck, teasingly playing with the short hairs there as he hummed against your chest.

“Yeah?” He whispered against your skin softly.

“Bedroom?” You questioned as Shindou pulled away from your chest with an audible ‘pop’, allowing you to lead the way as you moved towards your bedroom. 

Not bothering to close the door as he sat down on the side of your bed, pulling you toward him so you stood in between his parted thighs, his lips pressing against your chest as he fiddled with the zip at the back of your dress.

“Do I get to see this set you put on just for me then, or?” You felt your face heat up as you turned around, giving him the moment to unzip your dress. Allowing the fabric to fall as he lowered the zip, the material pooling around your ankles.

“Fuck.” He groaned, drinking in the sight of your naked ass, your thong curving around it as he was unable to resist landing a playful smack to your rear, watching as your cheek wobbled against his touch.

“Yo,” You chastised but there was no malice in your words as he repeated the action, turning yourself back around as you pushed him down on the bed, your body falling on top of his as you laughed, pressing a playful kiss to his lips. 

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this.” You smiled when he leaned forward to capture your lips in another sweet kiss.

“Oh, I think I fuckin’ do.” He grinned, grabbing your wrist to place it against the bulge in his jeans where his hard cock was desperate to be released, straining against the fabric. 

You palmed his girth, watching his reaction as his lips parted in a low groan, moving his body so he was now hovering on top of you, his lips pressed firmly against yours as he stroked his hands along your exposed skin. 

“You’re fucking perfect, you know that?” He whispered, his fingers slipping underneath the cup of your bra to tweak the bud, pinching it between calloused digits as he watched your reaction. 

Sitting back on his legs as he drank in the sight of you. The matching lingerie set you wore complimented your skin tone perfectly, the lace framing your breasts as he noticed your dark areolas peeking out against the lace. Unable to resist tugging the cups down to get a better view of your mounds. You felt warm when he kept his intense gaze on your naked skin, suddenly feeling exposed as you moved to cover your chest.

“Don’t.” He stopped your hands from hiding yourself, gently moving them away from your skin as he moved to remove your bra, his fingers gently sliding between your back and the bed as he unclasped the fabric. Letting it fall away from your body as he discarded it to your bedroom floor. His lips immediately moving down to engulf one of your nipples, his teeth scraping against your skin as your fingers immediately flew to his messy hair, your nails pressing against his scalp. Your body shuddered when he activated his quirk again, tremors running through you as his tongue began to vibrate against your breast, his fingers moving up to give your neglected mound the same attention as he felt your grip on his head tighten. 

His hands began to wander lower, tracing against your curves as they met the hem of your panties, dancing over the intricate lace before stroking your supple thighs, his fingers trailing over your knee before slowly beginning to move back up. Goosebumps littering your skin at his ministrations.

“Is this okay?” His lips slipped away from your breast with an audible ‘pop’, stroking his fingers along your inner thigh, moving towards the top of your leg. You nodded your head eagerly as you reached out for him, your hands wrapping around the back of his neck to pull him into another sultry kiss.

Shindou’s fingers began to dance higher along your thigh, exploring the new territory as he met the apex of your thigh, grazing his thumb against your lacy panties. The sensation made you whimper against Shindou’s lips as you ground your hips against his touch, desperate for more stimulation. He took this as permission as he continued to drag his digits along your clothed slit, pressing down when he found your clit, beginning to rub slow circles against it. 

“So wet,” He whispered against your lips, “Is this all for me?”

You whimpered as he pressed harder against you, creating more friction as he watched you writhe beneath him, your hips bucking off the bed as you tried to gain more stimulation for yourself, his finger slowly slipping from your clit to move down to your tight hole, pressing against the fabric of your panties as if trying to slip his finger inside your wet heat.

“You’re such a fucking tease,” You whined, feeling the tip of his digit barely dipping inside you, your lacy panties acting as a barrier. 

“Never said I wasn’t, baby.” Shindou’s lips curved into a wide grin at that, his teeth biting down on the underside of your breast, feeling your hands move back to his hair before he began to kiss lower. His fingers wrapping around the hem of your panties as he began to tug them down your thighs. 

“You’re so fucking pretty.” His large palms circled around your upper thighs as he spread your legs, settling himself between them on your bed as he took in the sight of your naked cunt. Feeling heat rise to your cheeks from the intense gaze he was giving you.

“Yo,” You whimpered, looking down at his darkened eyes between your parted thighs.

“What? You are. You’ve got the prettiest little pussy I’ve ever seen.” You felt your cunt clench at his words, his lips moving to place wet, open-mouthed kisses against your inner thighs, moving close to your heat without actually touching you. 

You were becoming impatient, the desire for him to touch you where you needed it the most overpowering everything else, his lips pressing against your outer folds, narrowly missing your clit as he slipped his tongue out from between his parted lips, trailing it along your labia.

“Please,” You whimpered, your fingers moving back to card through his hair, trying to tug him against your cunt.

“So needy,” He murmured, his breath fanning against you as his dark eyes stared up at your pleading ones, tightening his grip against your thighs as he flattened the pad of his tongue to lick one long line against your folds. The action made you try and shut your thighs around his head, feebly trying to cage him in as you bucked your hips against him. His grip on your legs was firm as he kept your legs spread, repeating the movement as you keened beneath him.

“Fuck, you taste so good.” Shindou spoke against your folds, dipping the tip of his tongue into your tight entrance before sliding it up to press against your clit.

Shindou’s palm moved to press against your pelvis, putting pressure against it as he sucked your nub between his lips, teeth grazing it lightly as he began to lash his tongue against it. Your nails digging into his scalp as you pressed him harder against your folds. 

“You ready, Princess?”

“Ready for- oh, fuck.” Your back arched up from the bed as Shindou activated his quirk, the low hum of his vibrations echoing around the room as he pressed the pad of his tongue flat against your clit. 

The intense vibration against your clit made it hard for you to think, your body trembling as you felt the coil inside you tighten desperately, your fingers now pulling at Shindou’s messy hair to try and pull him back from your cunt, to give you a second of respite, but he shook his head in defiance. Actually pressing his tongue harder against your clit, keeping firm against your body as he willed you towards your release.

“Yo,” You whimpered, feeling your release surge through your body in waves. Your mouth parting in a squeal as your toes curled, the soles of your feet digging into his back as he continued to vibrate against your cunt, helping you to ride out your release. 

“That’s it, baby. You’re such a good girl for me.” Shindou murmured against your clit, his vibrations distorting his voice slightly as he continued to flick his tongue against your puffy nub.

“Ah- I can’t, Yo. Please-” You tried to get him to move back from your overstimulated clit, but he gave you a coy smile. Moving his hand to your dripping folds and pushing two of his thick fingers inside your quivering entrance, feeling your walls flutter against him as he began to pump the digits inside you slowly. A mixture of drool and your slick dribbling down his chin as he pressed gentle kisses against your inner thigh. 

“Shit,” You whimpered when the digits inside you began to vibrate, the calloused pads of his fingers dragging against the spongy spot inside you that he knew would have you coming undone against him in no time, “Yo, I can’t-”

“Yes you can, baby.” He moved his mouth back to your clit, sucking it between his lips again as he focused his vibrations within your tight heat, “Just one more for me, yeah?”

A guttural whine left your lips as he began to pump his digits in and out of your sloppy pussy, focusing against the same spot inside of you with each flick of his wrist. Your thighs squeezed against his head as he worked you towards another climax, your inner walls continuing to squeeze his fingers as he moved with precision. Trying to get you to come undone against him as he watched your reactions through half-lidded eyes. 

“Come on, Princess. Just one more for me, yeah?” You whined as he worked your cunt earnestly, focusing on making you come undone for him so he could see the same blissful expression on your features again, “You look so pretty when you cum for me-”

“Fuck, Yo. I’m cumming-” His words were making your body tremble underneath him, or it could’ve been the intense vibrations pulsing through you as you felt a different sensation, a dull throb as your cunt began to clench around his fingers. Shindou could feel that you were close, putting more pressure against your pelvis as he willed you to come undone against him.

“That’s it, Baby. Holy fucking shit.” A harsh whine was torn from your lips as your release rippled through you, clear liquid streaming from your cunt, soaking the sheets and his chin. Shindou’s face moved back from your clit to watch your body squirting against him, his hand now rubbing your clit side to side furiously as he tried to coax more of the liquid to slip from your convulsing body.

“Fuck, look at you. So fucking hot.” He groaned as he watched you continue to cum against him, your body quivering as his meticulous touch kept you teetering on your high, the pleasure flowing through you as you continued to come undone.

“I- I’ve never-” You were shocked, the sensation completely new to you as you felt your release soaking the sheets.

“No one’s ever made you squirt before?” Shindou moved up between your parted thighs, rubbing the back of his hand against his lips and chin to clean himself off, “Fuckin’ lucky you met me, huh Princess?”

You almost rolled your eyes at the cocky expression on his face, about to give him a snide retort when he moved his hand back towards your puffy clit, flicking it playfully. Your hand immediately moved out to try and snag his wrist, your legs closing to protect your overstimulated cunt from his playful ministrations.

“You ready for me, Babe. Or have I worn you out already?” He grinned down at you smugly as he moved his hands to the button on his jeans, unzipping them as he tugged them down his thighs, his boxers following them. When his thick cock bounced free, curving towards his abdomen you almost forgot how to breathe.

“You like what you see, huh?” He climbed back from the bed to ease his clothes off his body, your eyes transfixed on the girth between his legs as you saw an ooze of pre-cum slipping from his slit, “Of course you do.”

He noticed the expression on your face as you watched his length bob between his thighs, his hand curling around himself in a fist as he gave himself a teasing jerk, his thumb swiping against his pre as he slicked it down his length, the sheen glistening in the low light of your bedroom.

Climbing back onto the bed his hands moved to pull your thighs apart, settling himself between them as he pulled your ass up to lay against his lap, stroking his cock against your sopping folds as he coated himself in your essence, preparing himself to slide into your velvety walls. Your fingers slipped down to try and touch him but he was quick to playfully slap your hand away.

“Next time, yeah babe?” He smiled when he bumped the tip of his cock against your clit, watching the way your eyes fluttered shut. 

“Wanna taste you-”

“We’ll have all the time in the world for that, I promise.” He hovered himself over your body as your legs moved to wrap around his taut waist, feeling the head of his cock pressing against your slick heat.

Shindou slowly began to inch himself inside you, his girth stretching your silky walls as he slowly buried himself within them. The feeling of his balls pressing against your ass confirming that he had bottomed out inside you. Your hands immediately moved to wrap around his muscular form, your fingernails scratching against his shoulder blades as you felt him experimentally snap his hips against yours.

“Shit, you’re so fuckin’ tight.” He grunted, taking a deep breath before he began to move inside you.

“Yo,” 

His fingertips tightened their grip against your sheets as he began a steady pace, the thick veins scattered against his length dragging against your inner walls perfectly with each roll of your hips. Pulling out of your tight heat almost completely before diving back in, the slap of skin against skin echoing around your bedroom. You needed to feel him closer, to have him pressed against you so you began to tug against his back, using your grip to try and pull him closer to you as he lowered himself onto his forearms, his hands stroking your hair back from your face as he cradled your head. His chest now pressed snugly against yours, an intense gaze matching your own as he continued to rut his hips against you.

Each impassioned movement had you feeling complete euphoria, Shindou’s weight against your own made you feel secure, wanted, loved as he captured your lips in a amorous kiss. His tongue immediately taking advantage of your parted lips and delving inside, brushing his hot muscle against your own as he continued his pace. Every movement felt so intense, your chest heaving as you moaned into his mouth, your eyes rolling back as you clung to Shindou, as though you were afraid he could disappear at any moment and this would all be a dream. 

“You’re so perfect.” Shindou spoke against your lips, beginning to pepper kisses against your hot skin, moving along your jawline before sliding down your neck. Feeling your pulse palpitate against his lips as he bit down on the supple skin, sucking against it as you turned your head to the side. The sensation only heightened his movements as he maintained his steady pace.

Your nails left bright red welts in their wake, running lines down his back as you felt his thick cock brush against the spongy spot inside you with each roll of his hips, each movement felt so raw, so intense as you clung to him. Trying to ground yourself as your tight cunt began to flutter against him, squeezing his girth as you felt yourself reaching your climax.

“You close, yeah? I can feel it-” You keened as you felt him angle his thrusts towards the same spot inside you, focusing each precise movement as he pulled back to gaze into your eyes, wanting to watch you coming undone against him. A light sheen of sweat connecting your bodies together and making his skin stick to your own slightly, “Come on, Princess.”

“Look at me,” His words only fuelled the intensity as your mouth parted in a near constant whine, your eyes snapping open to stare up into his own dark orbs. Your legs tightened around his waist as your toes began to curl, the strong sensation building up inside you as you felt yourself coming undone. Your orgasm rippled through you in waves as you began to grind your hips against his.

“That’s it, baby. So good- so pretty.” Shindou continued to praise you as he watched you writhe beneath him, feeling your tight, velvety walls squeezing around his cock. His thrusts became sloppier as he searched for his own release, moving his hand down to squeeze your ass as he angled your hips against his.

“I’m gonna cum, yeah?” Shindou asked, trying to see if you wanted him to pull out. Moving back as though he was going to spill his release against your stomach but your tight grip around his waist prevented him from sliding out of you. The heels of your feet pressing down on his ass as he groaned, realising what you were asking him to do as he began to buck his hips against yours with more intensity, “Shit, you’re so fucking amazing.”

“Yo,” The sound of his name slipping from your parted looks paired with the blissful expression on your face had him trembling, feeling his balls tightening as he came inside you with a grunt. White, hot spurts of cum coating your inner walls as he continued to ease his hips against yours, helping you to ride out your release.

His hands were everywhere, stroking your soft skin as he pressed wet kisses against your skin, staying buried inside you as you lay beside each other, trying to regain your breath. Shindou lay his head against your heaving chest as your hands slid through his messy hair, pressing the damp spikes back from his sweaty brow. His lips pressing down gently against the swell of your breast as your tight cunt continued to clench around his softening cock.

“I’m gonna pull out now, yeah?” You whined, trying to keep your legs wrapped around his waist as he began to ease himself out of your cunt.

Shindou’s eyes immediately looked down to where your bodies were connected, watching as your tight walls continued to flutter as his cum began to spill out of you. Unable to resist slipping his fingers down to press the mixture back inside you, squealing as he teased your overstimulated heat, your abused cunt throbbing at his action as you tried to push him away, your thighs closing.

“Sorry, Princess. Couldn’t help myself.” He gave you a cheeky grin as he flopped down beside you, tugging you against his arms, seemingly unbothered that the combination of your release was now dribbling against your inner thighs.

“I need to shower,” You groaned, already feeling sticky as your skin stuck against his own, his arms pulling you tight against his chest as he lay soft kisses against your forehead.

“We will, babe. Let’s just lay here for a minute, yeah?” You snuggled against his pectoral, your arm slung across his waist as your leg curved around his thigh, knowing that the combination of your slick was now pressed against his skin, but he didn’t seem to care.

“I could literally stay like this forever,” Shindou relaxed back into your plush pillows, feeling his eyelids begin to drop as his body lulled towards sleep.

“Me too,” Your fingers began to dance along his defined muscles, tracing them with your fingers as you watched his breathing begin to even out.

“Yo?” You thought about the question you wanted to ask, not sure of the right way to word it as you began to worry that you’d scare him off completely. Trying to remind yourself that Shindou wasn’t like your ex, he was different.

“Hm?” He mumbled in return, his grip around your shoulders tightening.

“When are you going to ask me to be your girlfriend?” You moved to rest your chin against his pectoral, looking up at him as his eyes narrowed.

“I thought you kinda already were?”

“You never asked.” You pouted childishly, you wanted to hear him say it.

“Hey, you never asked me either.” 

“Because you’re supposed to be asking me.” Honestly it didn’t really matter much to you, but you were desperate for affirmation, you wanted to hear the words leave his lips.

“It’s 2020, doesn’t that mean the girl can ask the guy too? What about equality?”

You narrowed your eyes as you slapped his chest, making him pretend to cower away from you in mock fear, before he broke out into a deep laugh. The sound like chocolate to your ears as you felt it pulse through your body, wanting to hear that sound slip from his lips constantly.

“Fine, fine. Jeez,” he moved his hands towards your hips, turning his body to face yours as he met your expectant gaze, “Would you do me the greatest honour of being my girlfriend?”

“I’ll have to think about it.”

As soon as the word left your lips, his eyebrows had furrowed into a playful glare, activating his quirk against his fingers as he began to tickle your sides. Your body convulsing against the bed as you tried to squirm away from him, his muscular chest pressed against you as he weighed you down. Begging him to stop through broken laughter, your chest heaving as you struggled to breathe.

“Okay, okay. Yes, I’ll go out with you-Ah, Yo. Stop!” You continued to snicker as he stopped his quirk, his fingers still holding your waist as you tried to move his hands away from you.

“Well, maybe I don’t want to go out with you now.” Shindou feigned a pout, turning his head to the side in a huff.

“Yeah, yeah. You know you love me.”

“Maybe I do.”

Your heart fluttered at his words, did he just say that. Your cheeks flushed as you looked into his gaze, seeing nothing but honesty and sincerity as he held you against him.

“I hate to say it, Princess. But you’re pretty much stuck with me now.”

[ivyglow]

I don’t want you like a best friend - Andre Burakovsky

A/n: Sooo, I wrote this as some kind of gift to my best friend because she loves Andre and she was trying to get me on his train (I guess she did?). She’s always hitting me with “no but you should definitely write about Tito/Andre”. Here’s your piece @skarsgardswiftie​ I hope you like it! <3 I love you sm Also, a huge shout out to @sebs-aston​ for proofreading this with such an attentive eye! You’re amazing, liv! 

Requested: yes / no

Word count: 1.9k 

Warnings: brief mention of alcohol 

Summary: you’re friends with Andre, but things are about to change after you create a TikTok account and start doing challenges that may lead to news between you and your favorite hockey player.

When it comes to capturing a moment you’re usually the person your friends think about, not simply because you’re always carrying a camera -mainly because of it-, but because you’re great with what you do -either photos or videos-. That’s also why your Instagram profile has more followers than an ordinary girl would and it’s the only place people can find you -besides e-mail-. However, that changed when your best friend -Callie- convinced you to create a TikTok account. You, of course, hated it, but she had the perfect opportunity -you were a bit tipsy, all your friends around, sunny weekend and so it goes. 

“Mikko, do you think I’m pretty?” You direct the camera to his face while looking expectantly. 

Saturday evening rolled around, the hot weather forcing your friends either to the inside of the pool or under the sunshade and their hands busy with cold drinks. It was a happy day, everyone was around, and you were enjoying the vacation. You had met half of the Hockey team as soon as you moved to Colorado and Erik, your and your brother’s hometown best friend decided you needed to know his crew and the city around. Six months later and you knew pretty much everyone and everything.

“Of course I think you’re pretty” he gives you a confused look before you turn to Tyson giggling.

“Josty, do you think I’m pretty?” you ask and he looks straight at the camera “I would give you 5 out of 10 cause you’re bro.”

You laugh and turn to Andre this time.

“Andre, do you think I’m pretty?” 

He seems taken aback by the question and unlike Tyson, he stares at you. “Of course you’re pretty.”

You keep to your task and last but not least is Nathan, he’s sitting at a table while working on some drinks and you take him by surprise by jumping in front of him. “Mac, do you think I’m pretty?”

He rolls his eyes playfully and turns his attention to you for some seconds before looking at his drink again, “I would one hundred percent date you if you were not my sisters’ best friend” 

And then your time is over. 

“So you’re a tiktoker now?” Erik sits beside you and Nathan just as you uploaded the video. He raises his eyebrows and you roll your eyes lightly, “you know I hate TikTok, but it’s fun, so…”

“She’s gonna end up famous there too”, Andre announces leaning his body on the table and motioning for Nathan to refill his drink. Your eyes roam on his big hands grasping the red cup, his cheeks red from the sun, and the way you could see his dimples when he smiled at you, his hair messy in a cute way. 

“Why do you think that?” now he has three pairs of curious eyes staring at him.

You almost chuckled when his point finger scratched his chin. His skin glowing, “I mean, you’re funny and cute…cute girls get famous on TikTok” he reasoned. 

“Is this your best, Burki?” Erik asks and for the way his lips were tight against each other you knew he wanted to laugh.

“C’mon, let them be,” Nathan said after giving the blond American a new cup, and before you could ask what was the matter Callie was calling you at the door. 

Your best friend started a rant about how she was going to get Chinese take-out for dinner and when you told her she should get Thai too -because it was Andre’s favorite- she started another rant about how you should tell him you’re in love and how it was cute the way you two functioned but also annoying. All you could do was savor your drink and mentally play a Taylor Swift song while she went on, “I mean it, y/n! Just tell him already…”

“Have you seen Andre?!” you whisper-scream to her and Callie sights rolling her eyes, “what about him?” 

Swallowing the last sip of your drink you start to draw doodles on the glass with your fingers, “I’m just y/n, he’s Andre Burakovsky”. You usually were not insecure about your looks, but it was Andre, and the fact that he was a famous and good-looking hockey player made you question how in heavens he would like you back. Hell, you were not even sure how you two ended up in such a close friendship, he always being so affectionate and listening to everything you had to say. Your friendship seemed like the most you could take from the interaction. You knew he was ‘just Andre’ too when all your friends were gathered, but being ‘just Andre’ was as amazing as being Andre Burakovsky the hockey player. 

“You’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever met, y/n, and I don’t mean considering only your looks, but everything. You’re funny, smart, and always so attentive with everyone, you listen to everything and always have nice things to say, don’t you ever doubt your value, you hear me?” Callie’s words make you sit up straight in the stall and your eyes water. 

“In my defense, this is not me crying, this is tipsy me having an emotional moment”, you joke and it’s seconds before the two of you are laughing the way you used to during a John Mulaney show. 

…

It was night when you unlocked your phone only to find a bunch of notifications from TikTok, some of the comments from fans about how happy the boys seemed, but most were about the way Andre looked at you when you asked the question. According to the most liked comment “this is clearly a friends to lovers, mutual pining, unaware love and slow-burn situation” which made you giggle but also replay the video a dozen times trying to figure out if there was really something there and you were the unaware one. 

Needless to say, you weren’t able to reach a conclusion, but it felt different when you excused yourself to take a shower after spilling wine in your shirt and you felt Andre’s eyes on you all the way to the stairs. His hands on your shoulders felt heavier and the way he was attentive whenever you needed a refill or wanted a bite of food seemed more intimate and caring than ever.

Hitting the shuffle button, you chose your Taylor Swift playlist before entering the shower. The cold water cooled you off a bit, it was almost like washing out part of the alcohol in your system, but your tipsy mind kept finding evidence that Andre liked you back. 

You went through your clothes finding a floral summer dress and sipping on your wine while brushing your hair. Your body was still feeling hot and at this point, you didn’t know if it was from the sun on your face or the alcohol in your system, but when you heard the first notes of “Dress” playing you knew you were going to do something stupid, especially because your cell phone was one arm away. If someone asked you where the idea came from you wouldn’t know what to answer, and usually thinking about how you didn’t have an answer was enough to make you give up on some stupid ideas...not this one though. 

Reaching for your phone you unlocked it and walked to the body-length mirror in the room you were sharing with Callie. It took less than 2 minutes to snap a picture and send it to him and it took him less than 1 minute to answer it.

‘Woah’

‘You liked it?’ you sent back

‘Yeah, you’re looking good, cutie’ he answered just as fast, before sending a red heart emoji.

‘I don’t want you like a friend’

‘and I only bought this dress so you could take it off’

It was the exact line Taylor was singing when you reached the send button. You saw the dots appearing and disappearing and your body sobered up even more than before. 

“Fuck!” you almost voiced. How would he look at you after this? Could you pretend you confused him with someone else? Of course not, he was the only Andre you knew! And everyone knew better you were not the bold flirty type.

That was it, your secret was spilled just like your wine on your shirt earlier, but now you wouldn’t be able to clean off the stain. 

Would he believe it if you told him it was a prank to your new TikTok account?

You were lost in your thoughts before three knocks on your door startled you. And there he was when you pushed the door open. Standing with his hands inside his pockets and his hair still messy, he stared at you. It took maybe five minutes before he spoke, but it felt like an eternity considering his intense eyes studying you.

“You’re looking even better this close” for some reason his voice is low like he didn’t want anyone to hear and pop the bubble of the moment. 

You feel your body getting hotter, pretty sure your face is turning even redder, so you reach your hands to both of your cheeks. That gets a giggle out of Andre and you instantly move them to your back, your eyes now staring at his bare feet. 

All you wanted to do was bury yourself on a rabbit hole until Andre lost his memory, or you lost yours. You were thinking about the possibility of a secret society -Alice in Wonderland style- inside the rabbit hole that you could live in forever when Burki extended his hand, his palm facing you, silently asking you to put your hand in his. So you did. And it was only a blink of an eye before his body was closer, almost touching yours.

“You’re not that drunk, are you?” he questioned. 

You shook your head no and he moved his hand to your waist as a message that maybe -and only maybe- he wanted to be close too. So you moved your right one to his large shoulders. 

“I’m glad you’re not drunk…” 

“I’m just a bit hot and bothered” and dying out of shame! You screamed inside your head. 

“Oh sure you are”, he replied with a small smile playing at the corner of his pink lips. Your brows raised in confusion and before you could ask, he answered, “hot. You’re hot”.

“Does it mean you’re gonna take my dress off?” you have no idea when you got so bold, but Andre seemed amused with everything. 

“No, not tonight. You’re not drunk, but you’re a bit tipsy, I don’t want to start things like this” his fingers are in your cheekbone and you lean into him. “I’m gonna kiss you though, can I?” 

His lips, so different from his hands, were soft and hot. They found yours timidly, exploring the space while his body welcomed yours closer, he took his time before his fingers were in your hair and his tongue caught your lips. 

It felt good.

Like never before. 

For some seconds you wished to be able to capture the moment and save it forever. Repeat it in your head every day. 

Andre played with the strings of your dress, slipping it off your shoulders and you got into your tiptoes to peck his lips one last time. 

“So...I take you really liked the dress?” 

“I actually like you, the dress is a bonus” he shrugs and you giggle before finding yourself wrapped in another kiss. 

[bl33dingm3mry]

Stolen Sound || Chapter 1

Jason Todd x OC

Word Count: 1,504

Summary: A fateful night in Gotham City sends a young girl spiraling as she discovers a part of herself that could spell disaster for those around her.

CHAPTER WARNING: Violence, Abusive language, Gore

A/N: Jumping right into things with this, it’s gonna be one hell of a ride so hang on. Photo edits were done by me almost a year ago when I had no clue what I was doing.

TAGLIST:

Let me know if you’d like to be added to the list!

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The night air was cold as it rushed in through the open second story window, while rain lightly pattered against the grounds down below. The weather did nothing to lighten his mood however, as Jason was still upset over the argument with Bruce. The older man always shot down his ideas, not even bothering to hear them out most days. Which was, in his opinion, bullshit. Complete utter bullshit. His adoptive father’s words echoed in his head as he paced his room, double checking that he had what he needed.

"That's not how we do things Jason. Don't stoop to their level Jason."

He zipped up the front of his red hoodie for a little extra warmth as well as his leather jacket for the safe feeling it provided, strapped on his belt, and holstered his guns just as a precaution. Even he knew a simple stroll through Gotham was never just a simple stroll. He did leave his tactical suit and locator in his room however, wanting to leave absolutely no possibility for Bruce to try and go after him and bug him about coming home. He almost left his cell phone there too but knew better than to completely cut off contact with the rest of the family, no matter how pissed off he was. Instead, he shut it off, slipped the device into his pocket and leapt out the window of Wayne Manor. Head ducked down as he crossed the back garden, using the bushes and fountains for cover. While it may have seemed like an unnecessary precaution, Jason knew Bruce well enough that the cameras would be recording and actively looking for him.

Leaving the estate had been an annoying trip, but then again, when you were trained to sneak in and out of places for a living as a child, it was like second nature. Staying unseen as he made his way towards the outskirts of Gotham City had been harder however, as getting seen by the wrong person usually meant a gunfight and a bullet for Alfred to dig out of his shoulder later, along with another argument with Bruce. Something to avoid at all costs tonight. He had done well for the first hour, but now it was a little past eleven, prime time for criminals to be out and about, and it was also when Gotham truly came alive.

Finding his way towards his usual empty buildings, he could barely see the city lights and neon signs lighting up the cloudy sky while he climbed, eventually settling down on the left building’s roof, his favorite lookout, just gazing at the life in the distance through the rain. It may have seemed stupid to the others, but to Jason it was a sight he thought he wouldn't get to see again after the incident. Ever since, he never took the small moments for granted, in fact they became some of his favorite moments. Reading a book in the library with Damien, playing a game of chess with Tim, going out for a morning run with Dick. Even sharing breakfast with Bruce. Not that he would ever admit that to the man's face.

he sat there just watching for at least an hour, his jacket slowly getting heavier as it soaked in the rain. Shaking his head, Jason shook himself from his thoughts, dropping back down into the empty alley between the two buildings grumbling about how he probably should head back before the rain got him sick and how his jacket would need a few days to thoroughly dry. He dusted the damp dirt off his pants and took a step towards the alley exit when another sound caught his attention, soft muffled screams... They didn't carry an excited tone like the ones from Gotham's sports fans but there wasn't any accompanying pleading or begging like there normally would be if it were a break in. If there was, it was hidden by the patter of rain on the stone buildings, however he knew this was different. Well for Gotham at least. Most criminals liked to make a show of their victims in some twisted competition of who was worse. Just the thought made him sick, anger bubbling in his gut as he silently made his way down the back of the alley towards the source of the sounds: a dilapidated brick building.

Most of the wood paneled roof had rotted over the years with the excessively rainy weather, and the bricks on the farthest corner were slowly crumbling away, separating from the building. Glass windowpanes were broken, some missing completely from their rusted casings. The situation didn't look promising, but he couldn't ignore the fact that someone was most likely being gutted by a psycho. Setting aside his annoyance and the cold chill settling over his shoulders, Jason carefully started to scale the building, the eroding mortar making it easier to create hand holds, but also carried the possibility that he would be sent falling to the ground in a pile of brick rubble.

The closer he got to the top of the building, the harder it was to keep quiet and the less balanced he had, as the bricks were barely held in place as it was. Cautiously peeking through the gap next to an empty window frame, Jason could see a small fire tucked under what remained of the rotting roof, a man with a serrated blade knife, and a girl who looked roughly to be 18, possibly younger. Her wrists were bound above her head to a ceiling beam with a thick rope, her knuckles and fingers stained red with blood. No doubt from trying to fight her captor and loosen the ropes. The light of the fire glinted off her tear-stained face, her cries muffled by the gag stuffed in her mouth. Draped behind her was a ratty white fur blanket, the fur closest to her hands matted and stained dark red. Based on her condition she'd most likely been here for at least a day, maybe a few.

She was dressed up in a white wedding gown, the long sleeves torn by the shoulders and at the ends, one completely torn off, laying on the ground by her feet. The layers of the skirt were ripped on the left side and draped down onto the floor a few edges dark with dried blood from the gash on her thigh. Based on her appearance alone, she wasn't going to make it another few days if she didn't get medical attention soon, however he doubted she'd make it through the night with the psycho in front of her brandishing his blade.

"You ruined everything. You ruined your dress, you ruined the photos, just like you ruined our wedding. You ran off to the cops so you could be a whore without getting any punishment from me. Well you can't run away now, can you? No one left to save you."

She let out a muffled, panicked whimper against the musty gag as she wriggled her already bruised wrists against the rope bindings, a last ditch to get free. Terror took over her face as the man stepped ever closer, knife in hand repeating the words "You ruined us, so I will ruin you." like it was some biblical scripture. Her gaze flickered around the room, then back and forth between the man in front of her and to Jason, who was currently creeping to her rescue through the empty window.

Jason lightly shook his head at the girl as if to say 'I'm not here', pulling his focus on taking light, quiet footsteps as to not alert the attacker. All it would take was a swift crack to the back of the head with the butt of his gun, and the man would be down for the count. But since when has anything ever gone according to plan? Just as he got close enough, the man whipped around, smacking Jason across the face before shoving him to the ground, enough to disorient him for a few seconds. The man used those few moments to cut the girl's binds and drag her towards the exit of the room, picking up the gun that had clattered to the floor.

The poufy wedding gown and the gash in the girl's left thigh made movement hard and only served to slow the psycho down. Weighing his options, he shoved the girl to the floor and pointed the gun at Jason, grinning as he pulled the trigger. When nothing happened, he tossed the gun and lunged at Jason, the two devolving into a mess of fists, punches and grunts, slamming across walls, stumbling over rubble, and eventual rolling across the floor, the serrated knife plunging into Jason's shoulder while the gun slid across the floor.

"You dumbass. Shouldn't have tried playing the hero in something when it's none of your business. You kind of remind me of Batman. Sticking your nose where it doesn't belo-"

BANG.

[tazanna-blythe]

Done

Chapter 5

~Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie~

"Wellcome ladies so how's school?" Sabine said with a motherly smile smile then placing a freshly baked Croissants on the table.

"Where fine, just another day at the clown house, I swear that our classmates have no brain cells not one of them "Chloe said while spreading butter on her croissant then without any hesitation she ate it.

"I beg to differ dear but i think they still have one connecting brain cell,seeing as they are one and no one can break their bond"Mari and she also ate the croissant happily

"So Dumb,Dumber,Dumbest then? or all equally dumb?" Chloe mumble (she took another bite on her food)

"No it's like they all have an on and off button for their reasoning and common sense and Liela has the button" Mari

"And She uses her sausage her as an antenna the give them signals hahahahahahahhaha"Chloe

"Ladies that's not nice besides everyone has their own preference or style that they think is fashionable ... all though i wanna know who told her having a sausage as an inspiration for a hairstyle especially when she moves her head she looks like a paddle ball a had when i was a kid" Sabine

both Chloe and Marinette bust into laughter

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Collège Françoise Dupont Clinic

*Bell *

Adrien is still sleeping soundly and the kind nurse doesn't want to wake him up and clearly from how pale his face is and how dark his eye bags are and how bone to skin he is, she made a decision to call his guardians to pick him up and have him take a proper rest and some good soul food too judging by how boney he is. this child is a model she understands this but this is to much and it has a medical term called MALNUTRITION so she's not gonna stand by and do nothing.

So she quietly and gentle as she can took photos and notes on Adrien body. because he is wearing a plain white T-shirt and a loose pants all she has to do is hold some of the cloth of the T-shirt to make it tight to show how small and boney he is and she all so did the same thing to the pants. His wearing a T-shirt so his some of is upper arm is shone so the nurse took a measuring tape and measure his arms and leg. And lastly because of the akuma attacks the School funds for the clinic doubled and because of this most of their equipments are brand new and the latest model so the bed has a scale built in it so she took his weight and height. and all of this is recorded in the clinic's CCTV camera she made sure of it.

After all that is done she neatly filed this info on her computer and flash drive then she called his guardians. fortunately for him his father and his assistant is so busy that they cannot answer their phone so it was Gorilla who was called to pick him up.

When Gorilla arrived the nurse was so scared of him she almost scream in fear when he suddenly appeared in front of her luckily she didn't.

"Hello Sir. how can i help you" Nurse

"Hi my name is SImon and I'm here to pick up Adrien" Gorilla (HIS NAME IS SIMON OH MY GOSH I JUST FOUND OUT TODAY!!!)

"Hi my name is Katty and I'm the school nurse nice to meet you"

"Likewise"

"Im sorry but before I hand over Adrien to you i need to see your IDs please"

"Sure"

"Ok it seems that everything is in order then you may take him home, and also my advice is to keep him stress free, eat and sleep more cause we don't want him to suddenly collapse now do we"

"Yes ma'am"

Then Gorilla slowly and Gently picked up Adrien like a porcelain princess and took his backpack/sling bag and went home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Collège Françoise Dupont Gym

"Ok class since Adrien is sick we need to still proceed to class. Now, I want all of you to make two lines.One for boys and one for the girls CHOP ChOP!!! " Gym teacher

“Um Sir. What about lila??” Rose

“What about her?“

“Lila Sprained her risk and ankle so she cant stand very long“ Alya

“Ok then Who’s Lila, Raise your good arm“

“Sir. I’m Lila Rossi“ Liela replied with a small smile and leaning into her left foot for effect

The Teacher saw her and slowly walk towards her while inspecting her body for injuries

“Which foot is sprained and which arm?“

“My right foot and arm sir “Liela said weakly.

“Can i check your arm and foot?“ The Teacher ask nicely

“Yes of course“ 

So someone brought a chair for her to sit while the Gym Teacher inspect her injuries

“Awww, Aw aw aw awaaa that hurts“ Liela cries dramatically like a spoiled dog. While the Teacher was just holding her arm not doing anything other than carrying it like a sausage

“Ok then Lila where's your medical note seeing as this is a “BIG INJURY” your parents shouldn't have let you go to school?“ The Teacher looking and talking to her like a person would to a two year old

“My Dad left us since i was young and my Mom is so busy that she’d forgotten about me“ Liela said sadly trying to make her tears drop not realizing that the teacher don't buy it

“Hush now don't cry dear I’m sure your mom is just tired now why don't you sit here and be quiet while all of us start the class,O.K“

“Yes sir“ with a final fake sob she smile at the Teacher.

“Ok,now two lines people, great now everybody just jog 20 laps then you are dismissed.But remember do not break your line and JOG NOT RUN OK ALIX AND KIM! if i see any of you break your line or run i’ll make everyone do 15 jumping jacks then additional 10 laps. Am I Clear! “

“Yes,Sir!!“ the Students then do as they were told while lila stayed seated smiling at her small victory and proceeds play on her phone and to search for more things to lie to make her even more popular.

While everybody was busy doing their task no one noticed the Gym Teacher also take’s his phone and contacted the School Nurse asking for Lila’s medical records and telling her what happen today.

Faking an injury to a teacher who was an athlete himself was a big No No but he cant just outed the child right then and there because she’ll get emotional and he doesn't want to cause another akuma.He’ll just do it the old fashion way... Making the parents discipline their own child. but first he needed her records. 

“Did you just see what i just witness?“ Chloe while looking at her exhausted classmates after they finished 20 laps.

“What?“ Mari while handling her a bottle of cold water

“You really didn’t see that?,Thanks“

“You mean Liela’s ridiculous lie then yeah and so?“

“So? So?, Mari she just gotten away with it and it wasn’t even a good lie and acting“

“No, I don’t think she did“

“Huh?! Would her majesty care to explain?“

“Our gym Teacher is an Athlete who won medals in his time. He out of everyone here would have known just by looking at someone if they have any physical injuries“

“So he just let her go?“

“No. I don't think he would so let's just watch and see what he'll do, besides if he really fell for it then his just another idiot who needs to be replaced” Marinette said as she and Chloe backed their bags and left.

~~~~~~~~

“Hey Nino do you have any info about Adrien??“ Alix

“Yeah Nino what happen to him?, you were the last person we saw with him?“ Alya

“Well he looked sick so i send him to the clinic, I didn't know that he was that sick“ Nino

“Well I Just hope he gets better“ Alix

“So has anyone gotten started researching yet??“Alya

“Nope we were just hoping that will do it together like in a slumber party?“ Rose

“Actually that’s not bad soo who's house are we going?“Juleka

“What are you guys talking about? and where are we going?“ Liela walked to them when she saw her minions talking without her and of course she was escorted by the ever loyal dog Kim

“I umm“ Juleka

“Yeah where are we going?“ Kim 

Everyone was looking at each other knowing that they can fool kim but not Lila.

“Well-“ Alya

“We were planning on a slumber party tonight but we haven't decided where will be staying?“Juleka

“Oh!! why don't we stay at my place my parents arent how so i have are house all to myself and you guys don't have to bring anything with you because and my parents just went to the supermarket yesterday“ Rose

“Really that's great so it's settled will head home pack then will go directly to Rose’s house“ Alya

“Great I can't wait to spend time with my very BEST FRIENDS! but aren't we gonna invite Marinette and Chloe?“ Liela 

“No need they’ll just destroy and ruined the party. So what are we waiting for let GOOOOOO!!!“ Alya

After that everyone started packing their bags and left to their respective homes with a smile on their faces.

***************

It's been so long since I Uploaded something and i hope you guys liked it....        If you guys have any suggestion i’ll be happy to read and maybe include them in my next work.

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[imagine-docx]

for b.

Summary: The three times Bucky was insecure, and the one time you proved you loved him with your entire heart. [continuation of sneaky] [chubby!neighbour!au]

Warnings: body shaming, self doubt, swearing

A/N: the amount of love i got on sneaky is astronomical! thank you all for reading my work, and for those of you who asked, here’s a lil part 2 for you. - amanda 💛

if you haven’t read sneaky, click here to read it. reading it isn’t necessary, but many highly recommend reading it. 

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

You’ve made thousands of horrible decisions over the course of your life, but dating James Buchanan Barnes is not one of them. Dating him is probably one of the best things to happen to you. You still get butterflies anytime he picks you up from work, spontaneously calls you, random ‘i love you texts’, the entire works.

Since dating Bucky, you’ve seen his insecurities at an all time high. Which was completely understandable considering what happened to him in his last relationship.

For the first three weeks, he always tried hiding his metal arm. That was until one night you two were watching a movie in your living room and you practically had to crawl into his metal arm and reassure you loved him, metal arm or not.

He constantly shied away from your cell phone’s camera. Which ultimately resulted in you taking cute couple photos when he was asleep, and his face was buried in your neck, but he doesn’t know those photos exist.

One night the two of you were working at your living room table and he bent to give you a slice of pie, and his stomach accidentally brushed your arm. Which resulted in word vomit from him apologizing, and you opening the floodgate of reassurance telling him not to apologize and he was the cutest thing to exist.

The longer the two of you dated, it got slightly better, but still your heart ached at the fact that he doesn’t see himself as worthy enough to date you.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

The morning after the first time you two had sex, was probably the worst you’ve seen him at.

That morning he rolled over to wrap his arm around you, but that was until he was greeted with a cold and empty space next to him. He opened his eyes and realized you were gone. He rolled back onto his back and covered his eyes with his flesh arm, and felt the tears form in his eyes. He knew you would be too disgusted at his naked body, and were right to run when you could.

He suddenly felt a weight straddling him, as well as a pair of soft hands cradle his face, “Baby? What’s wrong?”

His eyes snapped open, there you were in one of his old red henleys and your panties, “You’re here? I thought you left,” he managed to stammer out.

“Alpine looked like he was about to kill you if you withheld food from him for another twenty minutes. Though I love Alpine, I love having a super cuddly boyfriend more,” you said stroking the stubble that littered his jaw, “Now what’s got my baby boy upset?”

“I thought you left after seein-” you cut him off before he even got to his point.

“Nope, and I never will,” you looked into his eyes, “Buck, I love you for you. Six pack or not. Metal arm or not. That doesn’t change the fact that I love you, and will continue to love you.” You pushed the stray strands of hair out of his face, “I fell in love with that heart of gold you have. The one that cooks me dinner when I work late because he’s worried I'm not eating good. Or when he comes and picks me up out of nowhere for coffee. Or all those times we’ve cuddled while watching movies and you pretend you don’t fall asleep. Hell even when you’re pissed off at Mario Kart. I love everything about you.”

Bucky teared up once again before pulling you into his arms and engulfing you in the tightest hug you’ve ever gotten. He buried his face into your hair, “I love you so much doll.”

“I love you more Buck, don’t forget that,” you said stroking his back.

“Can we stay here all day?” He asked.

“As much as I want to say yes, we need food,” you said, as he pulled away and looked into your eyes.

“All the food I need is here,” he said squeezing at your hips.

“Listen babe, as much as this is fun, you worked up an appetite. I’m gonna need to eat if you’re gonna be jumping at my bones all day,” you said stroking his hair, “I got Wanda to drop off bagels and coffee, so we need to eat.”

He groaned before letting out a, “Fine.” He untangled himself from you, and got up and put on a pair of boxers, he looked back to see you looking at him biting your lower lip. “Are you checking me out?”

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re the hottest thing to walk this earth,” you said getting up from the bed.

He wrapped his arms around your waist before planting a peck onto your lips, “I love you.”

You wrapped your arms around his neck, “I love you more. Now go brush your teeth and I’ll meet you downstairs.”

He planted another soft one before releasing you, and the moment he turned around, he felt a light tap on his ass. He turned back to see you practically ran out of the bedroom giggling. You would be the death of James Buchanan Barnes.

The rest of your day consisted of random love making on random surfaces, cuddling, napping and eating.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

The second time you’ve caught his insecurities at a high was one night that the entire office had to go for drinks late in the evening and he shot you a ‘SOS’ text.

You let yourself in with the key he gave you and made your way up to his bedroom, walking in, you saw the amount of clothing that buried his bed, and Alpine snuggled against one of his military green t-shirts.

You saw Bucky’s back in the closet, you quickly lifted up Alpine who meowed at you, and took the shirt and hid it under your body.

He didn’t know you were there, because he walked back and threw yet another set of clothes and yelped when he saw you were there, “Jesus Christ doll, warn me when you’re here next time.”

“Now as much as I love fashion, I didn’t think you were into it. So what’s happening?” You asked him, as he held up two shirts against his body in the mirror.

“Office drinks, and I have no clue what to wear. I was hoping my fashionable girlfriend would help her clueless boyfriend out,” he said turning around and pouting at you.

“I guess I have to put my job to use,” you jokingly said.

Looking at the pile of clothes on his bed, you knew he was searching for too long before he sent you the text. Kind of like how you can tell how old a fossil is based on how much material is on top of it.

“Did I break my girlfriend? Does she not even know where to start?” He jokingly asked.

“No, just my boyfriend being stupid and not realizing he looks cute in everything he wears,” you responded, looking under his pile of clothes.

He could feel his cheeks burn up, he wrapped his arms around your waist and buried his face into your hair, “Thank you.”

You managed to pull out a military green bomber jacket, a black t-shirt and some black jeans. “Bam, an outfit.”

He kissed your hair before pulling away, “Thank you doll.”

He was about to walk into the washroom to change, “Where do you think you’re going?” You asked.

“To change in the washroom?” He said, confused.

“Change here,” you said.

“A-are you sure?” He stuttered out.

“Buck, I’ve seen you naked thousands of times, this isn’t any different,” you said reassuring him.

He walked back to the bed, and slowly peeled his current outfit off of his body and replaced it with the one you provided him.

“What do you think?” He asked.

“I think that this would look better on the floor,” you said slyly.

He chuckled before throwing the shirt he was previously wearing at you, “Jokes on you, you’re never getting this back.”

“That’s fine with me doll, you look better in my clothes than I do,” he said.

“Are you sweet talking me to avoid paying me for styling services?” You faked offence.

“Is it working?” He joked back.

“A little,” you said fanning yourself.

He laughed, before coming around the other side of the bed, and wrapped his arms around your waist, and you instantly wrapped your arms around his neck. “Will you be here when I come back?” He asked.

“Can I borrow your Disney plus then?” You asked.

“Of course doll, you can have anything you want,” he said kissing your forehead.

“I think you made the worst decision telling me that,” you responded, burying your face into his chest.

“And why’s that?” he hummed out.

“I’m stealing your entire closet, and maybe your cat,” you said.

“I said what I said doll, you look better in my clothes.”

He felt this sense of warmth knowing his girlfriend picked out this outfit and he wore a smile with confidence, which didn’t go unnoticed by Sam. And Sam being the number one hype man he is, kept telling Bucky that if he didn’t have a girlfriend he would have snatched him by now.

He came home later than he anticipated, and heard the soft sounds of the tv playing from his room. He walked into his room hoping you were awake, but his heart melted at the site of you curled up in his bed, wearing his shirt, with his cat next to your sleeping form.

He let the TV softly play while he went to shower so he doesn’t wake you. He came back, moved Alpine to his bed on the floor, and crawled underneath the covers with you.

He thought his heart couldn’t get anymore mushy after seeing you in bed, but the moment he laid down, you curled up into his arms, and his heart exploded.

Turning off the TV, he got comfortable with you before falling asleep.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Bucky sat on your couch reading over one of the files for work, while you were typing away at your laptop. Your eyes were starting to hurt while you were finishing the final details for the fall fashion show that is supposed to happen within the next month.

Pushing yourself away from your laptop, you turned to study your boyfriend. He was in sweats, had his hair pulled back in a low bun, and were innocently chewing on the tip of his pen. “Babe?” You called out.

“Hmm?” He hummed out.

“I need to talk to you,” you responded.

He was still staring at the file in his hand, “Shoot doll.”

“I need your attention,” you responded.

He looked up, only to have you throw yourself into his arms and stay there. “Okay what do you want to talk about?” He asked.

“Nothing,” you responded.

“But you wanted my attention?” He asked, even more confused.

“That’s literally it, I needed your attention,” you said burying your face into his shirt.

He chuckled before tossing the file and pen onto the coffee table in front of him, he wrapped his arms around you. “And I thought I was the needy one.”

“How can I resist myself when I have a hunk of meat sitting on my couch?” You asked.

He rubbed gentle circles into your back, “Hunk? Never heard that one.”

“There’s a first time for everything.”

“I guess you’re right about that part doll.”

“Have you ever been to a fashion show?” You asked.

“Not in my lifetime,” he responded.

“Come to the one I have next month?” You asked.

“Will my pretty girlfriend be there?” He asked.

“Of course,” you responded.

“Then I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said squeezing you.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

It was the morning of the fashion show, and Bucky once again found himself panicking and not knowing what to wear. But this time he couldn’t send a ‘SOS’ to you because you were at work doing last minute touches on the show.

He turned around from his closet only to be greeted by Sam and Steve, “Jesus Christ,” he put a hand over his heart, “Do you knock?”

“No,” Steve responded as Sam dangled the spare key Bucky hid outside.

“Fuck both of you,” he grumbled.

“Listen, your girlfriend sent us because she knew you would have a heart attack picking out an outfit, and she also sent us tickets,” Steve said.

“And I’m gonna make sure my baby boy is dressed real nice,” Sam said, “Now move and let uncle Sam work his magic,” Sam continued before going into Bucky’s closet.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

It was 4:30, Sam, Steve and Bucky were standing in the venue sipping champagne whilst waiting for the hall to open for seating. Looking around, Bucky felt so out of place, “You look good Buck,” Steve noticed and reassured him.

“Of course Buck looks good, my man looks good all the time,” Sam said.

“Your man? I’m convinced he’s mine,” he heard a familiar voice from behind him. He turned around and had the air knocked out of him.

There you were, in a long sleeved black sequined shirt, that was tucked into your black shorts, and a pair of knee high heels. Even though it was simple, you were the only person who stood out in the room.

“Sam may be wrong about that, I’m only yours,” he said wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you into him.

“Sorry Sam, I won this round,” you joked.

“I got the two of you together and now you’re the sole owner for him? I call bullshit,” Sam retaliated.

“Okay fine, you get him Monday to Friday, and I get him weekends,” you negotiated.

“Now you’re talking.” Sam responded.

You heard someone call out your name, knowing you had to be pulled backstage yet again. “I gotta go, I’ll see you after?” You asked.

“Of course,” he said, before you pecked his lips and disappeared to where Carol called you.

“Tinman got some game,” Tony said coming up to the group.

“I didn’t know you were invited,” Steve said.

“I’m always invited to these things Cap, and lucky for you I am sitting next to you guys,” Tony responded, stealing Bucky’s champagne.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Bucky didn’t realize what was happening until Sam nudged his ribcage, “All of those look like things you would wear.”

And yes it was. There were henley’s, t-shirts, sweaters, jeans, sweatpants, hell they were in colours he would wear too, black, red, navy blue, military green, etc. It looked like someone took Bucky’s entire closet and remade all of his clothes and put it on display for him to see.

He also realized there were models of different sizes, some with prosthetics, and he felt his heart swell. He knew you managed to convince everyone there to do this. He never thought you would do it on such a grand scale of doing it at a fashion show.

For the remainder of the show, he sat there with the biggest smile on his face and it didn’t even falter, not even once.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Bucky waited for you to finish up before taking you out for milkshakes and a walk in the park. Since it was colder than when you left this morning, he draped his suit jacket on you, and held your hand. You were sipping on your milkshake before Bucky asked, “Did you put together the entire show for me?”

“What gave it away? The fact I literally stole your closet to do this? Or the fact it’s called ‘For B.’?” You asked.

He nearly choked on his milkshake, “You named it what?”

You stopped and looked him in the eye, “‘For B.’ because it’s for Bucky. I know you always talk about how you aren’t as pretty as models, which is a complete lie might I add and they don’t wear what you wear. So I thought, why not make it for you. I’m sorry if you don’t li-”

You were cut off by Bucky engulfing you into his arms, “Doll, no one has ever done that for me.”

“I love you Buck,” you said looking up at him.

“I love you more doll,” he said, kissing you.

[ashintheairlikesnow]

📋 Hello I am putting a formal request in for more Chris Saves Himself AU ft Mama Nakamura taking him I’m home only to realize the full situation

Continuing the Chris Saves Himself AU: One | Two |

CW: Grief, memory loss, recovering whumpee, some very brief and very vague references to noncon, minor whumpee (OC is 17), angsty fluff, reunion

It takes six days for the cops to let Akio's mom bring Tristan back to their house.

He's ready to be discharged from the hospital by day two, but there's nowhere for him to go. WRU is still saying there's no record of his existence, even with the barcode on his wrist. Tristan's only known living relative, Joanne Botham, is claiming he ran away from home and she had no idea what happened to him, that what she had told the Nakamura family was out of frustration and anger at Tristan for disappearing. The governor is out on bail facing charges for keeping Tristan in the mansion in the first place.

There are a lot of charges.

Akio feels by turns numb and enraged when he hears a news anchor read them out loud, bloodless words that don't seem to reflect at all how serious their meanings are.

The first few, he can process - false imprisonment, bodily assault - but then they keep going, and they get worse in ways Akio can barely even begin to imagine.

What Tristan has lived through... Akio's brain refuses to let it coalesce fully, but he has nightmares, dreams about Tristan screaming for him and being on the other side of a door Aki can't open.

He dreams about hands on Tristan's body and the way he might have screamed for help. Akio wakes up crying, retching, running to the bathroom to throw up whatever he's eaten that day as if he can rid himself of the poison of knowing.

His mom calls a therapist.

His father tells him to stop watching the news.

Akio just waits until they're in bed and searches for everything he can find on twitter, on reddit, on every-fucking-place anyone is talking about this. And it's everywhere.

He stops telling his parents about his nightmares after the second night.

Oliver Branch says WRU sold him a product they knew was outside the bounds of the law and lied to him about it. WRU says they don't know what he could possibly mean by that and they have no paperwork or documentation that Tris was ever in the system at all, and if he was, then there must have been a mistake about his age. They swear they'll do a total review of every single Box Boy, Babe, or Buddy to ensure absolute compliance.

The soundbites make Akio's mouth dry.

How many are there, then? If they have to keep looking to find more? How many like Tristan?

How many?

Joanne Botham, who never answers Aimi's furious calls and then changes her number after the second day, goes on TV and says she did nothing wrong and there's no proof that anything happened except maybe Tristan lying about his name and age to make WRU agree to take him in. Oliver Branch says he has the proof WRU knew, and he'll provide it in exchange for immunity.

They all point fingers at each other on national television, in press conferences and through their attorneys.

Through it all, Tristan sits in a hospital bed staring out the window at the blue sky as though it will be stolen from him all over again, waiting to be told where to go, what to do.

And it takes Aimi nearly a week to get the police to agree to allow her to take him home. She brings everything she can think of to meetings with the detectives heading up the case, shows them reams of team photos and home movies, folders and folders of everything Aimi and Mrs. Higgs had ever talked about or done together with the boys.

The hospital needs the room, needs the bed. The detectives don't want to put him into foster care when he barely seems to understand he's a person. The social services people won't take him because they're not equipped to handle a situation like this one. The adjustment houses don't want him because of something to do with what kind of Boxie he was, and Aimi doesn't elaborate and something in the set of her expression makes it clear Akio shouldn't ask.

After a week of mostly just being able to look at him through the small little square window in the hospital room's door, Aimi finally gets legal permission to take him out of there.

Akio isn't prepared for the slew of news vans that are there when he and Aimi arrive, someone having tipped off reporters that they might get a glance of the governor's secret Box Boy today. Aimi, though, simply sets her shoulders, slides a pair of dark sunglasses on, and walks through the crowd like a queen with her head held high, a small duffel bag handle in hand.

Akio hurries behind her, hands in his pockets and shoulders hunched, hood pulled over his head, trying to ignore ten thousand camera flashes. It's so much worse than the leadup to the Olympics would have been, if he were still performing at elite.

Or at all.

He has a strange, surreal hope that Tris won't be disappointed in him for quitting after Tris died.

Even though he's not dead.

They step into the hospital room around 10 in the morning to find Tristan not in the bed, but sitting on the couch built into the wall under the window, curled up on the crinkly plastic cushions to look out the window, humming low, soft and tuneless.

The hum makes Akio's heart ache with a sudden realization that this odd waking dream he's been living for a week isn't a dream at all. Tears flood his eyes and he has to blink them away as fast as he can. He's heard that hum in his ear as kids during sleepovers, he's heard it when Tris was nervous before performing a new routine, he's heard it while they waited anxiously for scores or studied for school.

"Hey, sweetheart," Aimi says, her voice low and soft, but even so Tris jumps and turns to look at them with wide, startled eyes. One hand goes up to his neck, and Akio swallows when he sees Tris has wrapped gauze around his neck to sit like the collar he was wearing when he fell from the governor's bedroom balcony.

Akio watched the cell phone video that made the rounds over and over and over again. The flash of red hair, shirtless, the bruises he was covered with, his hazy drugged eyes. Over and over and over again.

Watch him fall, watch him land, watch the people run to him and get him out of there when Akio has been sitting here crying his eyes to red half the time for a dead best friend who wasn't dead at all.

"H, Hello," Tristan says, but he doesn't know them. Akio can tell, the way his eyes move between them is uncertain, unsure. "Hello, ma'am. Can, can, can I, what..." He swallows, shivering, and Akio watches the fear move across his face. "What... what can I... do for you?"

His slowed-down voice makes Akio feel sick. He's only ever seen Tristan do that when he's with people who don't understand him or love him for who he is. Now it seems like it's the only way he remembers how to talk.

All Tristan's muscles from gymnastics are gone, leaving only faded shadows of his strength behind. He's skinny, so pale he nearly reflects the light from the ceiling. His freckles are faded, and his hair is shorter than Tris ever liked it.

Being so thin makes his eyes even bigger, they seem to overwhelm the rest of his face.

"Honey, we're going to take you to our house," Aimi says, keeping her voice the same low gentle cadence. "While we figure out what happens next. Aki and I will be taking care of you for a while. How's that sound? Would that be okay?"

Tristan looks between them again, and something shifts in his face. A kind of desperation moves there, and he turns more fully to face them, leaning over a little to look up at them. Hair falls over his forehead, and his hands move to rub over the texture of a loose pair of sweatpants someone gave him to wear under his hospital gown. "To... your house? Would I be... yours?"

He looks at Akio again, and there's something in his face that says he sees that as the best case scenario, that he was ready for far, far worse than simply changing owners. That he's... hoping he'll be Akio's property now.

Akio's stomach flips at the thought and he has to put a hand over his mouth and turn away, catching the sob before it can make its way up out of his throat.

Aimi's arm moves around his shoulders instinctively, and she leans over, pressing a kiss to her son's short black hair. "It's okay," Aimi whispers. "It'll be hard at first. But it's going to be okay, Aki. Saishūtekini wa daijōbudesu. Tristan wa mada anata no shin'yūdesu."

Tristan, sitting on the little couch, blinks a few times. "Friend," he says in English, a little haltingly. "Shin' yu. Means... best friend." He scoots closer to them along the couch, and his eyes are so big and so very, very green. Just how Akio always remembered them.

Aimi's head raises and turns to look at him, her arm tightening around Aki, breath catching in her throat. "You remember that?"

"No." Tristan shakes his head. Scoots a little closer, even. "Yes. I don't know why. Are you..." He looks at Akio. "Wa-... watashitachiha... sh-shin, um, shin-shin'yūdeshita. Yes? Did I-... did I say it right?"

Tristan's Japanese was never great, he'd just picked up some here and there from all the time he spent around the Nakamuras at home and in their car. They used to lay awake at night during sleepovers practicing over and over until Tristan had a new phrase to impress Aimi with.

But hearing his voice, his living breathing real live voice, sounding out the words...

It's too much.

It's too fucking much.

"Yeah, um, y-yeah, you-..." Akio's words are suddenly gone. He chokes on his fear that this somehow is a dream he will wake up from to find Tris still cold in some unknown open grave, and he can't keep the tears back any longer.

His knees buckle under the onslaught of grief and hope and fear and love, and he drops to the cold tile hospital floor, hands pressed over his mouth until his lips are pushed painfully into his teeth, and he wails, muffled but loud enough that there's rustling as the cops guarding the door turn to look inside through the viewing window.

Aimi drops into a crouch behind him, rubbing at his back as he curls over himself. Her voice trembles with tears she doesn't shed. Akio remembers the days after they were told Tristan was dead, how she would cry in her room at night with Aki's dad when he was home from work, but somehow when he and Emi were bawling their heads off, her voice stayed calm, she kept her composure.

Right up until she was alone.

Now, though, she's barely hanging on as her son sobs on a hospital room floor before the emptied-out shell of his best friend.

Bare feet pad along the floor until Tristan drops down in front of him, reaching slowly out. Cool fingertips touch the back of Akio's hand, and he pulls them slowly down to look and see Tristan only a foot or so away from him, kneeling, watching him.

"I know you," Tristan whispers. "It hurts, but... I know... you. Don't, um, don't I?"

Akio can barely see him through the tears that have turned the world to watercolor suggestions. Nothing's in focus. But he grabs onto Tristan's hand, those familiar always-cold fingers, and holds tight.

"You know m-me," He manages. "You do, Tris. You know me. We-... we know you. We want to t-t-take you h-home."

Tristan tilts his head to the side, and it's such a familiar gesture, one he was so sure he'd never get to see again. "My... name is Baldur," He says, softly. "My Sir named me-"

"Please don't call him that. Can you... can you answer to Tristan? Please?" Akio is the one to reach out this time, touching Tristan's shoulder, hesitant. Waiting for him to pull back and away, to flinch like he's been doing when they watch him with the nurses.

Instead, Tris takes a breath and leans into the touch.

"It hurts," He says. "But, but, but, but-... but I can try."

Akio nods, and then Tristan is moving forward, and their arms are around each other and Akio is scared of himself for a second, scared of the welling of feelings he can't control. He's afraid he'll crack Tristan's ribs with how tightly he holds on.

Tristan's face buries itself against his neck, into the crook of his shoulder.

"I missed you so much," Akio whispers against the coppery hair. He's going to start crying again. He can hear his mom sniffing behind him, digging into her purse to pull out the little pack of tissues she always has in there. "I missed you so, so much, Tris."

"I think... I think I, I, I missed you, too," Tristan whispers back, and Akio isn't sure if he can even know if he means it, but he also knows that it's so good to hear the words that he doesn't even care.

-

@burtlederp @finder-of-rings @endless-whump @astrobly @newandfiguringitout @doveotions @pretty-face-breaker @gonna-feel-that-tomorrow @boxboysandotherwhump @oops-its-whump @cubeswhump @whump-tr0pes @what-a-whump @whumptywhumpdump @downriver914 @whumpiary @orchidscript @nonsensical-whump @outofangband @eatyourdamnpears

[wendystales]

Memories - lrh (Chapter Thirteen)

Memories (also on Wattpad)

Chapter Twelve ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ Chapter Fourteen

I position myself in the center of the panel, making the 104th pose that morning. Brandon guides me from one shot to the next, making everything easier.

Six makeups. Six hairstyles. Six changes of clothes, even though the focus was on my face. Why did I get into this?

The photo shoot was for a cosmetics brand, for which I was the cover girl. It wasn't a 7-headed bug, as I had been thinking all night, which resulted in an irritating insomnia. And even though I arrived shy and lost, when I saw my look all produced, I felt like a great hottie, which gave me the confidence to go to that studio and rock.

I was having fun, as Leah advised me. I threw my hair, made faces and danced. I shifted my attention between Brandon's camera and my cell phone, where Nico, one of the helpers, was filming behind the scenes and stirring up my social medias.

It's fun, but after the fourth change of clothes, I was exhausted. After all, that spotlight doesn't leave me and the light gets too hot.

“For you.” Nico hands me a pink lilies bouquet. I open a smile, confused.

The team that was with me today, the agency, the brand and my parents had already sent me some bouquets earlier today, congratulating me and celebrating my return to the fashion world. So whose would it be?

I hunt for the card, opening it in a rush. Nico rested his head on my shoulder, wanting to read along with me. The handwriting didn't make me doubt, they were Luke's.

“To make your day more beautiful.

Congratulations on your return.

Love, Hemmo.”

I open a smile completely shaken by that. I burst out laughing when I see under his name “and the rest of 5sos” written in a different hand.

I ask Nico to take a picture of me with the flowers and send it to him, who quickly responds with a Petunia figure with heart eyes. I know I need to drop the bouquet and go back to the photos, but it feels so difficult.

Finally, I leave the flowers to the dressing room and I focus myself. Brandon praises my goofy smile and begs me to keep it up.

I knew everyone wanted to come today and watch the photo shoot, but I begged so hard not to. If without anyone I was already terrified of, seeing everyone there, staring at me, I wouldn't leave the dressing room.

[...]

Leah and Kiki were at my house, getting ready for Ashton's birthday, and of course, to gossip. They were both super curious to know how my first shoot was and how I was feeling.

besides telling about work, I comment about Luke's flowers and, finally, I tell about yesterday's dreams that still haven't left my head, taking root in my mind, blooming when I least expect it and leaving me out of breath.

“Oh, you naughty one!” Hastings tosses me the pillow. "Are you going to tell him?" she sits up in bed.

“No! How do I tell this?” I question, not understanding.

“Luke, I remembered when we were like two pervert rabbits and we were always having sex in the corners. Simple.” Kiki shrugs, going back to making up her eyes.

“Kiki!" I reprimand her. I hide my face, laughing embarrassed. "We weren't like that…I think…were we?" I look quickly at both of them.

Kiki looks at Leah, holding back her laughter. The brunette stares at me in disbelief. Oh my God, we were! It takes time to sink in, because with Stephen, I avoided sex at all costs. It was so cold and awkward, that most of the time I was bruised and, in all cases, unfulfilled.

I remember the touch of the dream and how it felt so soft and intense, and so good. However, I still find it hard for me to have been so turned on that I started having sex everywhere.

“Are you sure?” I ask suspiciously.

"Oh, honey! I will have to tell you about my dad's birthday, have I?" Leah hugs me, making Kiki laugh.

"What about your father's birthday?" the same way I was feared of Luke when he started telling me about the day I threw up at his feet, I get with Leah.

“Well, it was my dad's 50th birthday. A big, big party and of course I invited all of you. We had just got back from Milan, you were away from Luke for a couple of weeks, so you’re kinda getting crazy by missing him.

"Make it crazy." Kiki comments.

“The plan was for us to arrive in the morning, you'd have time to see each other, and then in the evening we would go to the party. But our flight was delayed and you didn't have that time. So you decided to open the bathroom.” Leah gives a fake smile.

I took a few seconds to understand, and then I widen my eyes, wanting to sink into the ground. I can't believe we did this.

“Calm down! She didn’t told the best part”. Kiki leaves the bathroom, joining us.

“Oh, that's cool, is there a better part?” I look at them both desperately.

"Of course, there is a best part. Leah escorting you guys out of the bathroom" Kiki throws herself on the bed, laughing. “Oh God! Your faces were the best.”

“Was after that our friendship beat all the limits and you know, we got really close.” Leah smiles to me.

What was my problem? Oh Lord, I never, ever, in my all life, thought I'd give one of those. If anyone asked me, who would be most likely to do this, I would definitely say Leah, Kiki, and even Bethany, but I would never say my name.

What did Luke do to me?!

I look at my friends, shocked. They both start laughing, amused by my reaction. A few seconds later, I give up, starting to laugh too.

"Is there any other similar situation that I should know about?" I inquire with fear.

"Yes, but we don't have time right now." Kiki gets up from the bed, slapping my foot, asking me to get ready.

We turned on the music and continued to get ready. Leah goes down to the kitchen, returning with three beers. The subject changes and we start to gossip.

After hours of producing us, I come down wearing my silver sequin jacket, finding Leah with another beer in her hand.

“Well? Good? Great?” I take a stroll, showing off the leather pants and black tank top that valued my tattoo.

"I definitely would ask for your number!" she replies, making me smile.

"Do you think people will like it? I mean, isn’t that much?” I stop in a few poses while she watches me.

“Rephrase the question.” she leans against the table. I stare at her without understanding. “What you want to know is whether Luke will like it." I open my mouth a few times.

“Perhaps.” I answer softly. Hastings snorts, hiding her face.

“You two should pay for my therapy. Because it's not easy to take it.” she takes a deep breath.

I give a guilty smile. I head to the bar, grabbing a shot of tequila and flipping it quickly. I would find Luke in a few minutes and I still don't know how to face him. I close my eyes, letting the alcohol burn my throat and warm my body, along with the memories. The flashes come back to my mind, clear as water. I can hear the girls' voices again, telling them about Mr. Hastings' 50th birthday.

“Let's go?” Kiki's scream brings me back. Standing near the door, they wait for me to down another shot of tequila before we go.

Along the way, we took several photos, already moving our social medias. At the door of the restaurant, the swarm of paparazzi was already in place and as soon as we got off the car, they surrounded us. Hands and arms linked, the three of us entered, being saved by the huge walls that didn't let them see anything that happened inside.

We went to the back of the restaurant, in a more reserved space, where a long table took up half the back wall. Right away I spot Luke, laughing as he chats with Jack and another guy I don't recognize. I analyze your look, social pants and a black t-shirt.

How can someone look so beautiful, so simple?

I swallow hard when he notices our approach and looks directly at me. I look away, unable to hold on; the images screamed in my mind.

Irwin approaches, already quite excited, trying to hug the three of us at the same time. When Leah and Kiki go to greet the other guests, I calmly hug my best friend, congratulating him once more.

“Make yourself comfortable and behave” he leaves a kiss on my forehead, going to welcome other guests who have just arrived.

I turn in time to see Hemmings approaching, one glass in his hand and the other in his pants pocket. How? I hold my breath, giving a terrified smile. He opens his smile even more.

“Hey!” he says excitedly, close enough for me to hear. Those lips… what have they done… I close my eyes quickly, shutting my mind.

“Hey!” I answer awkwardly.

“How are you doing?” he hugged me, pressing a kiss to the corner of my mouth. I close my eyes again, feeling it radiate with amazing speed throughout my body. I let out a breath in a sigh. I manage to catch his eyes as he walks away, hiding a more mischievous smile.

“Well!” my cheeks catch fire and the jacket starts to bother me. "Thanks for the flowers earlier today." I thank, while Luke leads me to the bar. His hand firmly on my waist reminds me of that hotel room. I bite my lip, holding back the urge to bang my head on the counter. "A shot of tequila." I ask desperately.

Luke raises his eyebrows in surprise but says nothing. I turn it over without a single thought, asking for another one, just in case. The heat that spreads through my body is the result of three doses ingested. I take off my jacket and, through the bar mirrors, I see Luke shamelessly sweep my body.

“It was nothing!” he says after clearing his throat. "I'm glad you liked it. So, how was your first shoot?” he leans his elbow on the counter, propping his head on his hand, visually interested.

The effect of the alcohol starts to kick in, and so I feel lighter in his presence, not bothering with the memories between the two of us, nor the fanciful situations that my mind starts to create. I tell about the rehearsal and how fun it really was to do it. In the middle of the answer, I get enthusiastic, telling everything in minute detail. Luke looks at me smiling and interested, without interrupting me.

“I’m sorry!” I cover my eyes, laughing. “I'm talking too much.”

A few more people had already arrived, but the two of us were still there, sitting at the bar. The most interesting thing was, everyone who arrived didn't dare come here and interrupt us.

“No! I love hearing you talk.” he smiles before taking another sip of gin. I lower my gaze, totally ashamed.

"I think we'd better go sit down." I comment, seeing everyone settling into their chairs.

“Let's go?” he offers his hand, helping me off the stool. I hold into his arm, walking to the table. "Should I keep an eye on you today?" he laughs. I repress the urge to say yes, but that's not the answer to his question.

“No! I won't drink that much.” I press my lips together in a thin line, embarrassed by Ash's party.

We sat next to each other, with Calum and Noah in front of us. Luke leans his arm on the back of my chair and I'm not shy about getting close to him, even with everyone in our group staring at us curiously. We embarked on a lively conversation with everyone around us.

Michael rushes in and apologizes for being late, taking his seat next to Hemmings.

"Was she with her?" I hear Luke ask, taking my full attention.

“Yep!” Mike gives a shy smile.

“Who she?” I almost walk through the body of the australian beside me, wanting to get close to Mike.

“Nobody special.” he shrugs.

“Yeah! Go for it.” Hemmo lets go, laughing. Michael slaps him on the head.

“It's nobody special. Just a friend. I swear!" he closes the matter, but he doesn't convince me.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me about it." I whisper, complaining to the blonde at my side.

“Sorry, there was no time. Also, I didn't even know it could lead to anything.” he shrugs. I stare Luke, waiting him to continue, but he is easily distracted by the napkin holder. I slap his head like Mike. “Ouch! What was it?” he looks at me shocked.

“Tell me!” Luke turns to face me, rolling his eyes.

“Her name is Sophie. They met at a Fortnite stream. She beat him and he went to congratulate her on the match, so they started talking and apparently it’s hitting something.” Luke shrugs, finishing the story.

“This is so cute. I hope it works!” I see Michael laughing over Luke's shoulder. “Is she pretty?” I question.

“This is a dangerous question.” I look back at him, confused. "Is there a chance you slap me?" I laugh.

"No." I don't get why I would hit him for finding someone pretty.

“She is pretty!" I hit him. “Hey! You said I wouldn't be hitten.” he accuses me.

“Sorry, it's just funny.” I defend myself by laughing. Luke turns forward, annoyed. I wrap my arm around his, which were on the table and come closer, placing a kiss on his cheek. "Are you going to be mad at me?" I question laughing.

"And I can do it?" he turns to me. His eyes drop to my lips and mine to yours. It would be a perfect time for a kiss, but I don't feel comfortable with all these looks on us.

Hemmo seems to understand my internal battle and just leaves a kiss on my forehead. I open a grateful smile and once again guide my attention to the conversation between Noah and Brian.

After a couple of hours of eating and drinking. We started to spread out through space, forming several conversation circles. I was having a blast with everyone. We sing, dance and record videos that we'll definitely regret later.

After starting to eat, I stopped drinking alcohol, after all, trauma still reigns inside me. So I wouldn't feel like the only sober one at the party, Hemmings decided to join me, stopping drinking too.

Relieved, of course, is the word to describe this night with him. I thought it would be hard to look at it with everything I remembered, but it was so light and fun, I admit I freaked out over nothing. As usual!

All through dinner, I try not to pay too much attention to everyone's eyes on us. We simply could not do anything that someone just needed to die of love. Luke was amused, while I just wanted to sink into the ground.

Yes, I may have had a clue as to how much I feel about Luke, but I still want to take it easy. I want to be sure, and for that, I need to stop being afraid. I know he's been realizing how I've changed and I'm letting him get closer and closer.

Our kisses, touches and smiles. Everything is falling into place and the fact that he doesn't put pressure on me helps me a lot. I already totally trust him, it just makes stronger.

Considering it was easy to stay close to him, without letting the shame take me, I didn't pull him away for a second, because most of the time he pulled me along and I liked that. I like being close to him.

“One round. Just one round.” Jack pleads, hands clasped under his chest.

“No! I've had too much today.” Luke denies it again, making his friend fake a dramatic cry.

"You drank when you arrived. A beer and a shot of gin. That's nothing.”

“I'll drive later and I'm keeping Marnie company.” he squeezes me tighter to his chest.

"Can't you drink?" Jack looks at me confused.

“Of course I can, I just don't want to, you know, make a scene. Or something like that.” I shrug. Jack rolls his eyes, turning back to Luke.

“One round.” he begs, making me laugh.

The boys were preparing a round of Answer or Drink with 10 different types of drink. So, they played and still got drunk.

“No!” Luke responds with a laugh.

For a few seconds, I leave the two of them arguing and go to the table to get my coat. With the lack of alcohol, I start to feel the cold of the air conditioning. On my way to the table, a voice stops me.

“Look what a wonderful surprise.” I turn quickly, feeling all the blood freeze through my body. "What a coincidence, isn't it?" I watch his smirk, knowing what his presence there would do.

“What are you doing here, Stephen?” I take a breath deep, controlling the urge to fly at him. Just like I did with Pam.

It's the first time we've seen each other since the diary report and I couldn't feel more disgust and loathing.

“It's a public place, Lizzie, and don't worry, I didn't come chasing you. I'm with friends.” he points to a table. “I just came to say hello.”

“Don't call me Lizzie, you know I hate it and why don't you take your fake education and stick it in your…”

“What are you doing here?” Luke walks past me, coming face to face with Stephen. "I already told you to stay away from her."

Soon, all the boys approach, ready to intervene. I grab his arm, trying to keep him close to me.

“Let him.” I beg, not wanting it to explode in the middle of the restaurant.

“Calm down, Hemmings.” the name comes out acid and full of poison. “I just came to say hello to Lizzie.” he laughs, hands in his pockets. "Don't worry, I'm not kissing her."

I close my eyes, feeling that hit both of us. That's low, very low. Luke steps forward, taking me with him. Noah and Jack are already starting to put their hands between them. Ash, Mike and Calum begin to put their hands on their friend's shoulders, pulling him along.

“Do not worry. I'm not going to spend my time punching him. But I'll just say one thing, Stephen.” he uses the same acid tone to say his name. "In case you're still dumb enough not to understand. It’s over! What you and Marnie had is over! So stop coming after her, because she doesn't want anything to do with you. She is with me.”

His tone of voice and body postureme impress. I've never seen Luke like this, so nervous, holding back so he doesn't explode, the veins in his neck bulging, proving how much he's controlling himself. I tighten your arm more tightly around my body. I bring my hand down until it's entwined with his, deceptively hoping that it will calm him down and bring him back to me.

“Funny. Cause from what I heard, you guys broke up, didn't you? What? You couldn’t stood the cheat?” he laughs, like he's made a great joke.

I don't know if he intended to hit Luke again, but without realizing it the words hit me. My blood boils and the words written in my diary take shape in my mind. Damn imagination.

I let go of my hand, putting myself in front of Stephen, who takes a step back. His gaze, full of curiosity and mockery, fixes on me.

“That’s enough, Stephen! I don't care about you. Pretend I never called you, just like I was before the accident and disappear from my life. I know you cheated on me and I don't want this torment in my life anymore. Go away.” I let go of everything contained, trying not to fly off his neck.

"Are you really going to believe their bullshit?" Stephen crosses his arms.

“Nobody had to tell me. I remembered." I see his eyes lose their mocking sparkle and he lose confidence. It's a lie, but he don't need to know. “There are at least twenty people here and they all want to hit you, including me, who wouldn't mind breaking my cast on your head. So if you don't want to get out of here on a stretcher, get out!”

I take a step back, feeling my heart pound and trying my best to keep myself from crying. Luke's agitated breath pulses against my spine. I lean against him, feeling his hand intertwine with mine, squeezing it delicately. Amazing how I feel safer, just with that touch.

Stephen passes his eyes around everyone and walks away without saying anything else. When his body pulls away, I release all the air I didn't even know I was holding. The boys start telling us to go back to the table.

I turn, pulling Luke, who is still standing there, facing my ex, who is sitting at the table with a group of friends. He turns around, pulling me easily into his arms. His hands tighten around my waist and I feel him exhale against my neck, giving me goose bumps. I stroke the back of his neck, trying to calm him down and show him that everything is fine.

We walked back to the table, striving for the mood from before. Ashton orders his birthday cake and we ourselves lull into the music, excited, mocking Irwin. While we devoured the cake, no one broaches the subject and I thanks for that. I know Hemmings and I will probably talk about it, but I don't want to involve the guys in this.

Gossip reigns at the table again. The entire group is engaged in conversation about the most disastrous trips ever made, minus the blonde and me. I watch him with his jaw still set and his gaze filled with rage, fixed directly on Stephen, who is across the room, staring at me.

It's a cycle: Luke stares at Stephen, who stares at me, while I stare at Luke.

I feel terrible for making him go through all of this. My amnesia, our breakup, my ex's return. Lucas doesn't deserve any of this. I need to reward him, but how?

“Hey!” I whisper, resting my chin on his bicep, but he doesn't hear me. "I want to leave, will you take me?" I question, hoping to gain any sign of him.

He looks at me nonchalantly, then blinks back to reality. Luke stares at the bleached on the other side, wanting to see if he's still trying something. I drop a small kiss on his shoulder, gaining his attention again.

“Of course! Let's go?” I nod, getting up.

Nobody is opposed to our leaving, I believe as much because of what happened as because it was the two of us. We walked across the room hand in hand, and with me clutching his arm, just to make sure he didn't fly into someone.

But I need to remember that Luke is just as classy as I am. Not just for the fame or the spectacle it would be, but because he was brought up that way. Educated not to go into violence, even if there was someone on the other side who deserved to be slapped.

I'm scared by the frantic flashes that start to pop when they notice the two of us. I cling closer to Luke, who makes room for his car. The delay for the questions to start is just for them to reason that it was the two of us there, together, after announcing our break up.

I keep my head down, focused on his thumb moving up and down, stroking my skin. Luke opens the car door and I settle in, still feeling the flashbulbs burst above us.

With great difficulty, we got out of that sea of ​​people. We remained silent until we reached the intersection of the main lane that led to my house.

“Do you want to go home?” he asks, softly.

I can't identify any feelings in your voice. He is neutral, indifferent. Apart from the isolated fact, this night has been amazing and I don't want it to end, not in this mood.

“No!” I turn in the seat, facing him. "Isn't there anywhere I'd love to go? Or that we both went a lot?” for the first time, I see a glint run through his eyes.

“Yeah! In fact, there are two.” he cracks a smile, causing me to smile too.

Luke takes the other path, heading to some place I couldn't even imagine. The subject comes up between us and so the mood softens. As we talk, I list a number of places I've always liked in Los Angeles, wanting to guess where it would take me.

We turn onto Wilshire Boulevard and I guess where we're going. Hemmo parks his car near the Urban Light and I look forward to getting out of the car.

Before we exit the vehicle, he pulls two caps from the glove compartment, giving me a dark gray one. I look at that accessory, wondering if it was always mine, if we always wore it when we went out.

“Why am I not impressed that this would be the first place?” I question, holding his hand.

By the time, the sculpture was a little empty, with only a few couples taking pictures. Luke and I went unnoticed, walking between those huge poles.

We walked around, with me admiring those lighted poles. I've always liked this sculpture, I've always found it romantic because so many people are proposed here, and I love the lighting.

“Oh no!” I push Luke, finding your phone pointed at me.

"This one got blurry." he laments, pointing again.

“Luke!” I exclaim laughing. I try not to scream so as not to draw attention to both of us.

“Sorry about my behavior at the restaurant.” Hemmings says after a while, surprising me. I lean against a pole, watching him.

“Why are you apologizing?” I frown. Luke leans against the same post, shrugging.

"I didn't mean to spoil your night." he answers.

“You didn't! If there is one responsible, it is him! Stephen knows he shouldn't have shown up there.” I comfort him.

His blue eyes meet mine. I take a step toward him, standing on tiptoe, reaching for his lips, leaving a simple kiss there. Without pulling away completely, I see a goofy smile appear on his face, which also appears on mine.

"What's our second place?" I whisper, next to him.

“My bed.” he lets go.

“Lucas!” I push him away, laughing again. His laugh is contagious. If he knew about the memories…

“Just kidding." Uh-hm… "Ready to get full of sand?" he asks, holding out his hand.

“Always!” I grabbed, leaning my head on his arm as we made our way to the car.

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