#Kismet: I like my house where it is too

[synthshenanigans]

hey so remember how I made color palettes based on the TMPH? well all the songs are out now so here's a crap ton of color palettes based on all the Power Hours!! :D

I might use em myself but if anyone else uses them, please tag me in your post!!! I'd love to see what you do with it :D

Also because I'm a nerd & I like explaining things, where I got the names for them are below if anyone curious bout them :}

TMPH:

Page one is more obvious; it just being the song title. The second page is named with Acts like how the first three songs were titled [both in CJs & in the original]. The entire acts all together is named Ego, hence the bottom being named Ego. And then all of the Ego/Acts together spell C.A.N. & as CJ said in the Directors Commentary, it funnily enough matches with his old YouTube channel name "Can of Soup" [or DJ soup I think it is now].

THDPH:

There aren't as many palettes since there wasn't much I could grab from sadly. But the names are more creative at least.

•Pocket Aces- Shutup Your Stupid: "Maybe I'll shoot my shot at one of those handsome faces. Have a couple drinks, make my stance advantageous; play my pair of Pocket Aces"

•Kismet's Call- Evl Ppl: "Our habits and our rituals aren't half as stacked as Kismet's Call"

•Coloring & Additives- Savages: "Savages! Who work with ratios and averages; Governments, establishments, Coloring and Additives"

•Course & Rough- A Drink to Death: "We were nice, but now I'm Coarse and Rough"

•Casa Infierno- Chonny's Inferno: "Perhaps a snack or beverage, on the house, from Casa Infierno"

•Unintentional Impression- Shutup Your Stupid: "He does his best Impression of me, says it came out 'Unintentionally' "

WWPH-

First page is again just the song titles. Page two is lines from some of the songs [Top two are Laplace's Angel & the bottom two are Memento Mori]. And page three is from the lyric "Heaven. Hell. Nirvana. Nothing. No one knows how it ends" from Memento Mori.

CJPH-

First three on page two are just song titles [Push should technically be labeled Don't Take it Personally but I named it wrong & only realized till just now 🙃. But oh well its too late now]. The bottom two are words from The Lie of Black and White.

•Misery: " 'Every moment I wait substantiates my Misery' "

•Melody: "Every person on Earth deserves to sing their Melody"

Page two is all for Push [or what should have been Push but i fucked up lol]. Streamers are colors from the party streamers on him. Makeup is the colors he used for his makeup [as best I can tell]. And Charcoal is for the charcoal soap goop on him. Buuuuut lets pretend it based on the line "My wrist and my heart where you kissed, pulled apart till it burns like Charcoal" from DTiP. Just so I feel less like an idiot.

Maybe ill post what photos I got the colors from if I feel like it. But if anyone's curious on a specific one, you can send an ask or smth & I'll gladly tell you :}

[oftenwantedafton]

Kismet - Dave Miller/William Afton x Female Reader

Chapter 4

Word Count - 3k

Rating - Explicit

CW - sexual content

Also available on AO3

Dave Miller is waiting for you in the campus parking lot outside of the building you’ve just had your anatomy exam inside.

You can see him leaning against the driver’s side door, his hands shoved into his pockets. Still dressed in his security guard uniform. It’s hot out. You squint against the glare of the sun as you exit, maneuvering your way down the handicapped ramp using the crutches he’d lent you earlier. They’re awkward, a little tricky to get used to, but they do help. Your ankle was actually a lot better today, but you’d also been resting it for awhile now, so you don’t want to push it and ruin the recovery process.

“How did it go?” He greets you when you reach his car.

You draw in a deep breath, then exhale. “I think I did okay. I hope. That was worth a quarter of my grade.”

”I’m sure you did well.” He opens the rear passenger door and you slide the crutches inside across the back seat, followed by your backpack. The vintage luxury sedan had a spacious interior, hailing from an era where things were built bigger, with the intention of showing off, ignoring things like fuel efficiency and compact sizing. Not what you would have envisioned him driving; it just didn’t suit his aesthetic. So at odds with the bike gear, with the sport motorcycle itself.

“So where do you want to go?” You’ve both settled inside the car. The vinyl seats are warm, clinging to the bare skin on the backs of your thighs. You’d worn denim shorts and a tank top today. You don’t know how the older man can stand being so covered up. Maybe something to do with those strange marks he has on him. You want to ask about them, the query nearly forcing its way past your lips on more than one occassion, but you’re still hesitant, uncertain if it was the right time to ask yet.

“You must be tired.” The smudges beneath his eyes still persist. You wonder when the last time he actually got some decent rest was.

“I took a cat nap while you were taking your test. I’m good for now.”

“Let’s go to your house.” You try to make it sound casual, surprising yourself when the words slip out. A little forward, inviting yourself over.

“My house?” A mixture of his own surprise laced with some amusement as well. “On a day like this I thought you’d want to be outdoors.”

“It’s too hot.”

“It’s summer in Utah. It’s always too hot,” he counters.

“Touché.”

“Seriously, though. Where do you want to go?”

You pretend to reconsider, biting your bottom lip, eyes fixing upward. “Mmmm…your house.”

“Okay. If that’s what you really want.” He turns the key in the ignition and the engine roars to life. “Seatbelt on, please.”

“Yeah, yeah.” You drag the nylon strap across your chest, shoving the buckle into place. The material digs into your bare shoulder, pressing between your breasts.

“You’re back to work on Friday, right?” He pulls out of the parking lot, heading north out of the city proper. The opposite direction from where you reside.

“Yes.”

“You think you’re going to be okay getting there?”

“I should be good.”

“Ill give you my number just in case. You should have it anyway.”

“Yeah, I should.” He glances over at you, smirking.

You fuss with the radio for a bit, rummaging with the cassette tapes stashed into the console. A lot of music from the eighties. Something else you don’t recognize shoved way in the back. A large plastic cartridge with a faded peeling label that’s water damaged, the paper wrinkled. “What’s this?”

“Eight track. A largely inferior way to listen to music.”

“So why do you keep it?”

“I had no idea that was there, to be honest.” The car rolls to a stop at the next intersection, the traffic light turning red. “Is this what you’re going to do at my house? Snoop through my things?”

“You said to get to know you. So, this is getting to know you.”

“Hmmm.” He doesn’t sound upset, exactly. Mulling the situation over, perhaps. Deciding what he was willing to reveal.

You toss the item back where you found it. “I know what you did.”

Dave’s eyes snap to your face. “What?”

“They got an anonymous donation of an AC unit at the shelter. That was you, wasn’t it?”

Something like relief washes over the guard’s features, the tense shoulders relaxing. “Oh. That. Yes, that was me. Couldn’t have the bun and the others suffering.”

“What did you think I meant?”

He shrugs. “Nothing. I don’t know.”

Another mystery for you to solve. You tentatively lift each leg off the seat. Sticking already. There was no air conditioning in his car. The windows were rolled down, but with the automobile at a standstill there was no air exchange.

“The downside to vinyl,” he murmurs, seeing your struggles. “There really isn’t an upside. In the winter it’s like sitting on ice.”

“You need a new car.”

“It serves its purpose.”

The light turns green and he shifts his foot from the brake to the gas pedal. At least it was an automatic. You didn’t even know how to drive a standard.

His right hand departs the steering wheel and finds its way to your knee once you’ve left the city behind.

Just a casual reach and drop, that long extremity having no trouble stretching until his fingers close over the bare joint, thumb tracing small circles.

Your body is already reacting. You squirm in your seat, shifting down a little, his hand easing further up with the movement. Now half on bare skin, half on the jean covering. Thumb now worrying at the frayed edges of the hole at the front. Tucking inside. Fingers pressing firmly along your inner thigh. You suck in a deep breath.

You can see the profile of a smile on his features. His eyes never leave the road as his hand meanders further along, stopping just shy of your crotch. Your heart is pounding. Waiting for him to touch the seam there, grind it against your clothed sex.

Instead his hand abandons you, reclaiming its position on the steering wheel and you look at him, mouth open in disbelief.

He shoots you a hurried glance. “What?”

“You know what.”

“There are a lot of turns coming up. I’ll need both hands. We’re almost there,” he adds.

You fold your arms. “Fine. Whatever.”

“Don’t pout.”

“Or what? What are you going to do about it?” Whatever retort he’s readied dies off when you reach over to exact revenge, digging your nails into his thigh. Raking along the inside. You have to lean, you don’t have the length that he does.

“You are…”

“I’m what? What am I?”

He brakes at a stop sign and thumbs the arm of the turn signal even though there are no other cars in sight. The neighborhood looks quiet, a good distance between the houses. Large yards. Lots of trees. Shade. Privacy.

“Unexpected.” He surprises you with how fast he moves, cupping the side of your face and kissing you. Your stomach somersaults, your core throbbing in response. “Addictive,” he adds, kissing you again before he returns his attention to driving.

***

Miller’s house is a three bedroom Garrison with an attached two car garage.

You’re in that garage now, gaining entry once he’d pushed the button on the remote slotted on the sun visor overhead. You see his bike parked inside and a lot of the typical clutter you’d expect. Workbenches. Tools. You’re trying to picture the guard working on a housing project, doing something mundane like mowing the lawn, an expansive front one that rests on an incline, the house set uphill and far back from the road. Finding it impossible to reconcile the image.

There are a few steps into the house. Dave unlocks the door and doesn’t hesitate to scoop you up in his arms again. You laugh, murmuring a little protest that you can manage the task but he persists. You’re carried into a living room and gently deposited onto the nearby couch. It’s dark inside the house. Cooler. A lot of trees surround the property. It’s a relief after the heat outdoors.

“Want something to drink?”

“Yes, that’d be great.” You adjust the pillow beside you, looking around the room while you wait. It’s very modern. Gray and black and white. No pops of color. No personality to reveal what the owner liked. Coffee table devoid of magazines. Bookshelves lacking literature or decor. No pictures on the walls. No plants. It looked like an artist’s unfinished sketch. Waiting to be filled in.

Dave returns with two glasses full of ice submerged in amber liquid. Tea, you realize, taking a sip. “Good,” you say, nodding. He sets a couple of beverage napkins down on the table. There’s already a copious amount of condensation on the side of the glass.

He sits down beside you with a sigh, toeing off his shoes. “You can take yours off if you want. I’m not fussed about where you leave them. And I’m sure you want a break from that bandage.”

You nod, setting your drink down to unlace your shoes, then removing the metal clasps that kept the elastic wrap in place, unwinding the clinging fabric. A little bit of an impression where it had been hugging your skin, but the joint was mostly free of the swelling and redness from before.

You lean back against the cushions, picking up your glass again as you settle back. “Your house is nice. I mean, judging from what I’ve seen of it so far. Empty, though.”

“It’s easier to maintain that way. I don’t need the clutter.” He takes a swallow of his drink. “I’ll give you a more extensive tour when you’ve fully recovered. Unless you want to be carried around,” he adds with a smirk.

“I’m not that crippled. I can limp around pretty well now,” you reply defensively. “What do you do when you’re not working? There’s a lot of stuff in the garage.”

He nods. “Yes. That. I like…building things. I was an engineer once.”

“Really?” You’re surprised. Something else you couldn’t picture him doing. “What do you construct?”

“Oh, this and that. I haven’t completed anything in awhile. I’ve been…occupied.”

“With what?” The cool liquid slips down your throat.

“Some pretty young college girl that came into my path one day.”

You blush at the compliment.

The dark haired man’s drink is already finished. He tucks his thumb and index finger inside of it, tipping it slightly to retrieve one of the melting ice cubes, popping it between his lips.

You can hear him rolling it around on his tongue. The soft click when it collides with his teeth. You can’t stop staring, hypnotized. He sets the glass on the table and rests an elbow on the back of the couch, the fist he makes supporting his head. Watching you. Waiting.

Your half finished drink is back on the table. Your mouth back on his. A little humming noise from him. Satisfaction. Your tongue spears his lips. Chilled from the ice. He offers the remainder to you. Pushing it inside your mouth. That wedge of networked muscles chasing back after it. Relinquishing it. Trading back and forth. You have possession of it now, letting it rest in the curve you create as you offer it back to him. His lips close over your tongue and suck, dragging it back into his own maw.

You’re both breathing heavily. That satisfied smirk is back on his lips again. He’s swallowed whatever remained of the ice, his Adam’s apple shifting with the movement. His eyes are solid black, the rings of gray completely obliterated by the overwhelming dilation of his pupils. There’s a pulse in your sex, beating to match your heart. Every time you’re with him, you find yourself forgetting more and more of the misgivings you’d had earlier. Smothered beneath this layer of desire.

“Ask me something.” His head is propped up on his fist again, back to the casual waiting that you know is a front.

“What’s under this?” You run your fingers over his shirt sleeve. You’re going to ask him now. “The marks. What are they?”

“You want to see them?”

“Yes.”

A pause as he considers. Then that lean form lifts from the couch. Fingers working on the buttons sealing the sleeve cuffs and loosening the knot of his tie. Buckle of pants unfastened, making room at the waist to drag the shirt hem from where it’s tucked inside. The row of buttons down the center now released, pulling each arm out of the sleeves, letting the garment fall to the floor.

You stare at this display of undressing, watching raptly. Your eyes lock onto the scars on his forearms. A pair of rings almost like bracelets encircling his wrists. Circles dotted along each scarred bangle. Jagged lines streaking towards the elbows. Another bracelet ring. More streaks. The rest covered by the undershirt.

“What happened?” You lean forward for a better look, running your fingers lightly down his forearms.

“An accident at work years ago.”

“Yeah, but doing what?”

“A failure in one of the…construction projects.”

He’s still being evasive. “What kind of project?”

“A mechanical suit, of sorts.”

“Are there more scars?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“A lot of them?”

“Yes. Do they bother you?”

You shake your head.

He sits back down and you take another sip of your drink. Dave lifts the glass from your fingers, draining the rest of it. Retrieving another ice cube. Outlining your bottom lip with it as if it was a tube of lipstick. The cold water leaks down your chin, your throat. He licks along that line, pushing you deeper into the cushions at the back of the couch. The fingers holding the ice disappear beneath the neckline of your top, letting it slide down your spine.

“Dave, fuck, that’s cold!” You try to reach the offending object, lifting the bottom of your shirt.

“You’re not, though,” he murmurs, one hand snaking behind to assist you. You can feel the ice drop onto the couch. He doesn’t remove his hand, instead pinching at the hook and eye closures of your brassiere to unfasten it. “You’re so, so hot.” Back at your front now. The ice cube somehow pinched between his fingers again. Slid along your abdomen, making you gasp. He shoves the front of your tank top up, moving the bra with it, exposing your breasts. Now circling your areola, your nipples instantly peaking.

“Dave…” It’s the only coherent word you can form. Your brain is short circuiting, the blood flow shunted elsewhere. There’s water from the melted ice cube all over your torso. Sliding down your ribs and pooling in your umbilicus. You absently try to reach him, any part near his groin you can locate, but he halts you, lapping at your ear before he whispers into it.

“Mmm-mmm. Ladies first.” The waist of your shorts is suddenly looser as he unfastens the button fly and pulls down the zipper. You’re trying to recall what underwear you’re wearing, hoping it’s something cute. You hadn’t really planned on this happening. Not this fast, anyway.

“One of the benefits of riding the bike,” he begins, leaning to retrieve another ice cube, “is that your fingers get a good work out using the brakes, clutch, throttle. A lot of strength built up. Power.” He’s beneath your panties now, his fingers dragging the dissolving frozen object over your clit.

Your spine jerks, your hips lifting up. Bringing him further down the length of your sex. You don’t even recognize the sounds escaping your lips. A calloused thumb circling your clit, middle and ring finger shoving at your entrance, the ice cube tucked firmly between the bridge of his palm. Another spasm. Your wrap your fingers around his forearm, nails digging into the skin. His digits reach so much further than your own. Stretching even more. He massages your g spot with the pads of his fingers. Planting little kisses on your jaw. Watching you with those dark, dark eyes as you writhe and grind against him. The last of the ice gone. The strong pair of fingers inserted into your canal working in earnest, your pussy making obscene noises as it greedily sucks him deeper.

“Is it good?” He knows the answer, of course. He can’t possibly not, with the way your body is responding, the sounds that you’re making, the frantic touches of your hands, your mouth.

“Yes,” you manage to gasp.

“You like my fingers inside this hot cunt of yours?”

“Dave…fuck, yes.”

“Are you going to cum for me like a good girl?”

A whimper. It’s all you can muster. You feel his smile against your neck as his thrusting fingers increase their pace, your unhooded bud flicked mercilessly. Your free hand digs into the pillow now resting against your thigh. It’s so overwhelmingly hot. You’re on fire. Sweating. Spots in front of your eyes, like when you’ve been out in the sun and go indoors, your vision trying to adjust. But it’s all from the man touching you. Burning you. A final searing kiss and touch and you’re there, moaning into his mouth.

His hand remains buried in your sex, resting now, cupping the natural curve, fingers motionless, feeling your walls contract around him, the lingering aftershocks of your orgasm still coursing through you. Softer kisses. Letting you drag air into your lungs in between them. Eventually removing his hand from your panties and you struggle to sit upright.

“That was…um…Jesus, Dave.” He’s got the fingers that invaded you in his mouth now, slowly sucking them clean.

“Delicious.” He grins at you. “Good?”

“Yeah, good. More than good.” You’re still coming down off your high, trying to collect your thoughts. You can still feel the nerves firing in your pussy, in your thighs.

“You want another drink?”

“Definitely.”

“I don’t know how much ice is left. I’ll have to refill the tray.” He winks at you and you shove at his arm. Your touch gentling, stroking down the length. Sated and yet you still want more of him. “I like having you here,” he says quietly, sensing the shift in mood.

“I like being here.” You kiss him.

He moves as if to stand but you tighten your grip on his arm. “The drinks…”

“Can wait.”

A soft smile before he’s back at your mouth again.

[pretensesoup]

Queer books, day 30/30

Okay I have owed this post for like a while now. This was supposed to be over July 1st and I didn't do it and now it's hanging over my head like some kind of sword situation.

So like I did write this, and I do feel a little bad for promoting it here, but on the other hand it's a really good book and I have to tell people about it.

Dionysus in Wisconsin follows Ulysses Lenkov and Sam Sterling around Madison in late 1969. Ulysses is a grad student in the Department of Magic Studies, with all the regrets and avoidant behavior that entails, but also a magician and a member of the magic community in Madison, and he tries to help the people he runs into. (Also ghosts. He helps ghosts.) At the beginning, he gets a warning that something big/dangerous/bad is coming, and quickly figures out that the something is tied to Sam somehow. Sam is an otherwise very innocuous archivist who works at the State Historical Society and is involved in community theater in his spare time.

Side note, I learned that there is a woman in my aikido dojo who also works for the historical society and I feel weird about having written about it, but as she said herself, "It's a weird place."

After initial suspicion, the two of them work together to fight demons and try to figure out how to deal with the something, which turns out to be Dionysus (yes, the god) who is set to take over Sam's body.

Key quote:

Oh, also it's funny. Not quite a romcom (unless com means communism), but it's funny.

Anyway, this was a book that I wrote because I really wanted to read a romance that didn't have a third-act breakup, where there was a lot of chemistry and vibes between the MCs, no homophobia to worry about really, and also there was like magic and creepy stuff going on in the plot, and the plot had like a satisfying conclusion to it, which doesn't always happen in romances. And then I populated the book with people who were people that I know--the kind of weird Madison people I run into every day. I have a lot of mixed feelings about Wisconsin in general (like, it's not bad if you don't mind sometimes it's -20 degrees F and there's a lot of liberals but also a lot of NIMBYism and I could fill a dictionary with the sins of the city, that's not the point), but I have come to a renewed appreciation of the place after writing about it. For example, the house Ulysses's family lives in is real, it looks like this, it's in a place that's really called Mansion Hill, and I just find it incredibly funny to let a large family of Bohemian Bolsheviks live in it.

Anyway, 10/10, go read it. You can buy it on Amazon, or on other platforms (the ebook is $3.99, the paperback is $13.99), or if you want a signed copy you can send me a message. I'm selling them for $15. Also, I have free postcards of the cover if you would like one.

In the Madison area, there are (or were) copies at Kismet Books in Verona (an extremely trans- and queer-friendly store and super adorable!) and A Room of One's Own might have sold their copy but they can order it if they have the ISBN.

(Oh, I painted the cover, too. You can get it on a T-shirt or a sticker if you like that kind of thing.)

[charliesinfern0]

☔

WIP Ask Game

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

literally all my fics it’s out of my hands if I ever get one done or not lol

seriously though uhhh I do have a fic idea it’s an aichi cafe au fic where ai owns a cafe and she’s literally the only worker there lol shes finally moved out of her dad’s house and is trying to make it on her own. She makes it work tho bc she’s a robot and she can do a lot at once. One day when business is slow there’s a cat sitting outside and meowing and ai goes to it and is like “aw kitty :) are you hungry? let me get u something to eat” and she goes back in to get smthn for the cat to eat and when she comes back out ichi is there and this is like their first time meeting in this au. Ai is like “oh, is this your cat?” and ichi is just staring at her looking mortified and then he just SPRINTS away and ai is just left standing there like “uh… ok then” and she places the bowl of food down for the cat.

the cat keeps on coming back, and sometimes more cats come over too, so she leaves out a bowl of food and a bowl of water for them whenever they come back. the cats catch the attention of customers, so more people come to her cafe. ai is grateful for the business, but it’s starting to overwhelm her a little and also she has just been feeling really lonely ever since she moved to Akatsuka, so she posts up some help wanted ads around the town.

cut to ichimatsu sitting in his living room staring at the help wanted poster he had gotten from when he went to the grocery store with osomatsu the other day. he doesn’t know why he grabbed it, but he did, and he hid it from osomatsu in his hoodie pocket as he walked out of the store, and he kept it hidden until he finally worked up the courage to stare at it for like an hour, his thoughts racing like “why did I even take this home with me, it’s not like I even have a chance of being able to get a job, let alone have the chance of being able to work with a cute girl you dont even know… this is her phone number on here right? a cute girls phone number…” and then he’s like “IDIOT THATS PROBABLY JUST THE PHONE NUMBER FOR THE WORK PHONE THERE!! AND ITS NOT LIKE SHE HANDED IT TO YOU PERSONALLY, YOU GOT IT FROM A FUCKING HELP WANTED FLYER” and as he’s like banging his head against the floor one of the stray cats he takes care of hops in through the window and like is being all cute and ichi is like “awesome yes a distraction I’m never going to think about this ever again because I have no chance of ever being able to exist in society” and then the cat just takes the flyer and runs away and ichi is instantly booking it down the street trying to chase after it.

back at the cafe, ai is just doin her thing, and she thinks about the guy that ran away from her a while ago. Her mind has been wandering back towards him lately, wondering what was up with him and why he ran away. Just then, she hears the cat meowing outside, and is like “omg it’s that same cat!” And she goes out and right when she does ichi runs up and then he freezes when their eyes meet and ai looks down and sees the help wanted poster in its mouth and then she looks at ichimatsu and asks “do you want to work here?” because 1) this is quite literally kismet via cat 2) he must be the one that attracted the cats to come here and 3) she really needs the help. and ichimatsu is just staring at her like 😦

hard cut to ichi standing behind the counter with an apron just over his hoodie wondering how he even ended up in this situation lol

it’s basically just a cute slice of life fic where ai and ichi work at a cafe together and get closer to one another ^_^ ai also ends up meeting his brothers and many other characters, and she starts to feel more at home in Akatsuka, and with ichi <3

the whole fic was inspired by Music For Animal Cafes by Nobonoko. I have all of the chapter names written down and almost all of them are based off of some of the songs from that album, is some of their other EPs and singles (some of these i might change and I might add more if I actually get to writing this lololol):

We’re Open! (We’re Opening! from Music For Animal Cafes)

Cat in a Sea of Soap (Cat in a Sea of Soap EP)

A Little Background Mewsic (B-Meowsic I and II from Music For Animal Cafes)

Raining Cats and Dogs (Storm from Music For Animal Cafes)

Chat au Chocolat (Chat au Chocolat from Music For Animal Cafes)

To the Moon and Back

10:30 In the Morning (10:30 am Single)

Strawberry Cake (Strawberry+ Album)

Change the Channel (TV2 EP)

Coffee, Hearts, Machines (COFFEE MACHINE from Music For Animal Cafes, and My Heart is a Machine Single)

Six Cats Ate Six Plates (Three Tigers Ate Three Plates from Music For Animal Cafes)

Hope To See You Again Soon! (Thank You! from Music For Animal Cafes)

[soapkaars]

So, yesterday I made a poll before going to bed and, while it isn’t done yet, consensus seems to be to draw more obscure Lorre characters.

Of course, Lorre being a somewhat obscure actor, what would make an obscure Lorre character? Well, M, The Man Who Knew too Much, the Maltese Falcon, Arsenic and Old Lace can be taken off the list because they're somewhat known in the mainstream. They're also usually the films that draw people into the Lorre fandom! The Secret Agent, Mad Love, Crime and Punishment, The Stranger on the Third Floor, and Der Verlorene also fall off, because I’ve often seen these being discussed in books about cinema, cinematic history, and classic directors. Crime and Punishment and Mad Love even feature in a '50 films you should see before you die' compilation that I have lying around somewhere! I was an Adventuress, The Boogieman will get you, You'll Find Out, the Raven, Comedy of Terrors seem to be pretty popular in fandom circles (especially where Lorre films intersect with other fandoms - like Vincent Price, Bela Lugosi, and Boris Karloff)

So I decided to focus on the films that aren’t as discussed, either in mainstream or in fandom or in film critic circles, featuring characters who seemed to cash in on Lorre's breakout film noir character: Joel Cairo. Or, as @angelamontoo once jokingly called them: 'Coel Jairo'. But I like them because they are different enough from Joel to be stand on their own, and the films they featured in are strange or interesting enough also to make fun analyses of.

First up: Kismet, the gardener studying for his civics exam and doubling as a cool knife thrower for his side gig. I like him a lot. I remember waiting for days to torrent My Favourite Brunette, and having to watch it as a thumbnail because it was the only version I could download. I was so entranced by Kismet. I loved how the film changed in tone whenever he came around - he strengthened Bob Hope's comedy by playing his menace straight and I've always had a soft heart for the 'extremely capable henchman' trope. Bob Hope's character is also hilariously unnerved by him, and one of my favourite scenes is when he tries to throw a knife at him, and Kismet just catches it, barely changing his expression. I also love how sick Kismet is getting of Ronnie Jackson's amateurishness and can barely conceal his glee when he gets to kill him.

Next up: Gino from The Chase. I like this film. I know it's a bit of a messy film, and I once turned it off when it turned out the whole scene in Cuba was hallucinated, but when I rewatched it and watched it all the way through, it really grew on me. There’s something intriguing about the dreamlike narrative it tells, and I love the visuals. I love how Gino stands in front of the roman busts, or how we first only see his eye through the eyehole behind a little cupid head. I like the nightmarish quality of the scene where that one guy gets torn apart by dogs in the wine cellar. I like how Gino's presence overshadows the scenes in Cuba. The way he becomes the figure of Death in this film. I love the strange scene where Chuck Scott ends up in the quarantine house, lit up by gaslamps and the constant sound of crying. I love the strange dinner scene where Lorna Roman is miserable and how Gino and Eddie Roman appear to be having an affair in her presence. I was disappointed when the film tried to clarify the hallucinations because it felt to me like it dropped the ball. I could have seriously enjoyed it more if it leaned in way more into its strangeness, like Stranger on the Third Floor did.

Finally, I drew Marco from Black Angel. I'm cheating a little, because Marco's been getting a bit of a comeback lately, but I think he still counts. I loved this film too. It’s such a classic film noir, with the flashbacks, the red herring villain (Marco), the drunken antihero, the psychological drama, the twist, the camera angles and effects… It’s exactly the kind of film I'd use as an example to explain the whole genre. I like Marco. Not least because he's one of the few Lorre characters who gets to see the end, but also because he's so well-worn… if that makes sense? Like he's seen it all. He's been around, he knows what people try. He manages his nightclub and that’s that. The film ends but you feel like Marco's club will still remain. Perhaps there are traces of it still around. I like Lucky, Marco's heavy. His right-hand man. His silly little rabbit. Does he call you that? Yes. No.

I hope you liked these!

[jeaninthephilippines]

I am beginning to accept the nature of this trip. This isn't a vacation about sight-seeing and tourist-y things to do. This is to live as through my mother's eyes. While I am grateful for her and my lola's health and energy, I also understand the limits of my requests.

Today my mom wanted me to experience walking the way to our morning zumba class in a different part of our province. Again with the warning about dog poo has me on high alert. As we walked down the road without sidewalks, I was quickly saying yet another prayer of how I am so grateful for sidewalks. If someone pulled back the camera to see me and my mom head down to class today, it would look like she's a mother hen and I was a small chick fighting for my life to keep up with her lead.

There were small businesses everywhere selling produce, house wares, meats, and snacks.

We were the earliest ones so I entertained myself watching a 2 on 2, shoes versus no shoes men's game. I couldn't help but be in awe how they effortlessly kick off their slippers and played as though they had shoes on. Then a big foul during a layup got them heated. I had to put my ADHD sensibilities at bay because I so badly wanted to assume the role of referee and mediate. Hahah!

While standing at the center of the court waiting for class to set up, one of two boonie dogs started to run my way. My first thought was it's going to bite me. I stuck my hand out gently and it pulled its own brakes, then gently walked towards me. My mom starts to walk towards me to check me. The dog gets on its back begging me to play with him. My mom stated that maybe he realizes I am dog person. This moment made me feel so deeply a lot of things. Am I so connected to my dog, it's a permission into the world of dogs? Am I so connected to the world now, it's opened up signs of tenderness like this dog's affection and the little baby reaching for my hand on Sunday? Have I been disconnected so long from the things in my life that matter, that I could no longer see the good that frequents itself in my life but I was head deep into my phone, stress, and people who ultimately were vampires?

The Zumba instructor was this thick, strong woman I regrettably left without taking a picture. During these Zumba classes, my body remembers a time when I finished college with only part time work and full time fun to do. My body remembers how it loved dancing and community.

We make our way home buying 3 bags of produce for about $6. Unbelievable. I mentally prepare myself to be a baby chick again for the walk home.

My mom walks up to one of the motorcycles with a sidecar (they're everywhere for a good reason) to take us home. I hesitate, then agree. The driver was so thoughtful as we drove down the streets trying to avoid all the potholes with his bike. I was too tall to be in there but it was a funny moment to share with my mom.

I've come to terms with my size as an Amazon woman here in this reality. I like the Wonder Woman association, especially when my mother is driving around assholes and I whisper under my breath, "I will break that person with my bare hands if I have to." Hahah

I don't think my mom sees all of my value because 1. She's in mom mode, charge mode. 2. She's got her nose deep into her phone with funny reels, her posts, and counting of followers that she's occupied with.

But when she wanted to give up doing an errand (getting a security sticker to enter this elite shopping area) because of the parking lot crowdedness, I gently coached her to be patient and hang on. We persisted and I tried to joke-but-not-joke credit myself for being helpful for morale, she brushed it off.

And in those moments where I forgive her for ADHD tendencies, I also forgive myself. I know how she treats me, is how I treat others. The world moves so fast for us, who has time to say thank you? Who has time to live when anxiety is driving the body?

It's only day 4 and I am learning to live again. I hope the universe kismet kisses me again by reaching for my hand to say, "We here and we're alive."

[psychoteacup]

fucked up, anxious, too much

in my perfect world, you'd be in love with me, just by who I am you'd make plans to travel the ocean to see me, you'd see we're soulmates because you love how I make you laugh, how I make you crazy, how i'm always there for you, how I just understand. we'd see each other eventually, and I'd feel your hands on my face, making me look up at you, towering over me, in silence for just a second. And it's me, I'm your dream girl. Bones and all.

in my perfect world I'd found you when I was fixed, heart - mind - body fixed, so I could be myself around you, no retrains and no ties. i'd write poems about having your arms around me and how that felt like home. you're so much taller than me, you could embrace all of me and I'd be safe. No one's gonna hurt you, he said. It's only dreams coming true from now on.

in my perfect world, I'd watch you sleep, so so deeply, with your hair messy and falling on your eyes. I'd confess that this is more than attraction and that my heart hopes that you'll be mine. A hope of a world so perfect that I've never felt so loved.

in my perfect world, even though we're apart, we'd find our way to each other. Kismet, right? We already broke all of the odds of ever meeting, so it has to be fate. You'd hold me close, only feeling safe knowing I was right there, and not going anywhere. The house you live by yourself, would now feel empty if I ever leave.

in my perfect world, we'd make plans to move to japan, like you always dreamt about. I'd follow, as a sunflower follows the sun, because fuck, I love you.

The idea of you, I'm in love. I created this perfect world where I'd have a chance. Where there isn't a way for this to go wrong. Hold me, I'm falling. I wanna believe that one of these possible universes you could actually be mine.

in my perfect world, I wouldn't have to face the fact that this would never happen. You'd never look at me like i'm the one you have dreamed about your entire life, the one that makes your legs tremble, butterflies in the stomach, the one that makes you hot and sweat, but makes you smile and wonder.

you're better off, of course. you'll find someone as pretty as you deserve, with the body of a goddess, so that your every need is satisfied. you'll find someone that will make you so, so happy, and I hope in the end you don't hate me. Maybe you just think about me fondly. A long lost memory of a moment in time. someone who kept you company at night, listened and made you dream.

in my real world, I'm a cliche. in my real world, i have to deal with the fact that my best prize is that I ever crossed your path, even for a split of a second. I was there to witness all of your glory and potential, and I knew you'd become brighter every day.

I'll live our little fantasy for as long as I can, craving and tasting whatever I can get from your wine. picking up the pieces of the puzzle of you, and trying to at least get one small souvenir home. I love you, the idea of you, the construction of you, who you'll be and who you are now.

i'm a fucking mess. but i love you. and that's as far as I can go with love.

[djkimseo]

FIRST BOLLYWOOD DJ FROM HYDERABAD AT HYLIFE BREWING PUB (JUBILEE HILLS)

Roots in Kerala, Brought up in Chennai and ruling the hearts of Hyderabad with his Bollywood Music, DJ Kim aka Kim Thomas is one of the most refined Artists In Hyderabad who has truly mastered the art of DJing just within a span of three Decades. If Kim met in the daytime, would come across as just like any other 9-5 Corporate IT person, being in I.T is also one of his passions as an Information Security Professional, however, you will be gobsmacked to know where he truly belongs – On the console spinning the best of Bollywood music and entrancing crowd to sway and swing. His passion for music not only has earned him the title of” Best Bollywood DJ in Hyderabad “but also made him the favourite DJ of party holes in the city.

Kim started his career as a DJ in 2012, on the Journey from just like any other struggling artist to becoming one of the most sought DJs in Hyderabad he quotes” It has never been a smooth ride, there was so much disapproval, but what kept me going is my passion for music”. He played at almost all the popular nightclubs and party places in Hyderabad, like Heart Cup, 10 Downing Street, Vapour and Kismet, and many more. Most Recently DJ Kim was hired by one of the popular party places of Hyderabad “Hylife Brewing Company” Located at Jubilee Hills.  Kim is the first Bollywood Artist to be blazing the floor of Hylife with his stunning mixes of Bollywood classics and retro that his fans have come to love and know him for.

Hylife is known for its unique choice of international Artists Spinning EDM, Deep Tech, House, and Trance, it’s always buzzing with party freaks even on weekdays. This place truly lives up to its mark and looks no less than an art piece and not to forget hanging the vehicle in the center is just the cherry on the top.  Hylife being the best has chosen the Best Bollywood DJ in the city. The combo of the lovely place and the lively DJ results in one hell of a party at Hylife every Wednesday.

Partygoers at Hylife not only love this pleasant change but thoroughly enjoy the wow factor which Kim adds to the night.  Kim’s secret sauce is that he understands his audience and his ability to blend Sounds, Emotions, and Music; he is truly a definition of being able to think on his feet. Both a true DJ and People’s favourite, Kim’s Popularity echoes all over the city, and respected as one of the Best Bollywood DJs in the city, which explains why he is the first Bollywood DJ  to be chosen to play at Hylife.

Let’s hear what Hylife Management has to say about Kim’s work at Hylife:

Bobby: Operational Director (Hylife) :

Kim just owns the dance floor and he knows how to alter the playlist according to the audience, he had some innovative ideas on the table at our first meet that we loved and had never seen before from other artists who could cater more than what they can deliver. He truly is charming both on the floor and off the floor. He takes cues from the crowd and engages them subtly. I would highly recommend Kim any day for a Desi Club Night.

Karthik: General Manager (Hylife) :

Kim is the first Bollywood Artist from Hyderabad we had at Hylife, there is a reason why he is the first one, he is good at what he does and never disappoints us. He also brings in a lot of ideas for improvement, takes feedback, and works on them spontaneously for the success factor of the business. Kim is one of those artists who is very Professional, hardworking, and humble at the same time. Our Wednesdays have been so exciting ever since he has associated with us. He is so easy to work with and understands our requirements and always delivers more than expected.

As Cliche as it sounds “If Music is your Drug, well Kim is your Drug Dealer”. And there is never too much to indulge yourself.

Even if you are a person with two left feet worry not, Kim knows how to connect with his audience and shake their feet. Being blessed with the art of music he has a special gift for reading and keeping his crowd entertained, to witness the Best Bollywood DJ in Hyderabad city at his work being the awesome as he is, Hop in at Hylife every Wednesday and party till you drop. Follow his page for all the updates (www.facebook.com/djkimthomas)

[transselkie]

13 and 66 for the Spotify game pLEASE!!

#66 - I Warned You: Do Not Make An Enemy Of Me by Los Campesinos!

Broke down laughing and screaming for more

But if this changed your life, did you have one before?

#13 - Pine Point by PUP

Beautifully kismet, as you introduced me to this band through this meme last year with this very song. Can’t believe I’ve only had them in my life a year.

Oh, in Pine Point, nothing but memories

The abandoned cemetery

Where we buried our family

I know its not the point of the meme but I feel so compelled to share my experience with this song because honestly and truly, this song (and The Coast) are my two favourite songs of all time. I was shocked this one fell so far outside of my top five. I can only imagine it’s because sometimes I feel too emotional about it to listen. And so, story time:

My nan grew up on an island that was forcefully resettled to the mainland. Official records say it was abandoned in 1955. Official records are wrong. Government cut all services in 1955, but a few families held steadfast awhile longer, refusing to abandon their home just because the government said they must. Her family were the last to leave, remaining until 57. After a winter of struggling to get to and from the mainland to collect supplies or reach medical aid her parents were convinced to give in, for the sake of the children (they’d already lost two of them young).

A couple of times when I was young my family took a trip to the island to visit the graves of her family, friends, and siblings who’d been buried there. She’d point out where the houses used to be and we’d play in the old schoolhouse and church that still stand there. No one in the family ever got over being forced to leave. They mourn it like the family they left in its earth.

The older she got the trip became impossible for her to make. I wouldn’t know where to find it to go on my own, or even what direction to point the boat in, but I used to dream of running away to live there, taking care of the place she loved so much. Her father died young, I never met him, everyone tells me I’m just like him. Someone told me once that if ghosts exist his is there. In my fantasies his spirit keeps me company as I tend to the land he saw as part of him.

It is an indescribable form of nostalgia I feel, spending my whole life longing for this place that died long before I was born. But somehow this song captures all that pain and longing my family speak of this place with, and have passed down to me through the generations.

(Send me a number and I'll give you that song & my favorite lyric off my Spotify wrapped 😊)

[afromediterraneanmenace]

She Screams

This story contains scenes that may depict, mention, or discuss assault, blood, cannibalism, child abuse, death, misogyny, physical abuse, rape, sexual assault.

A story I revised for my creative writing course. Heed the trigger warnings please!

Kismet remembered waking up before starting her day off, putting her bread in the toaster, and scrambling eggs. At her age, she wanted to be free. She tried to escape — or more like, to depart from the period of her life that troubled her.

To confront her father and move on from her pain.

That man now sits in front of her, old, unable to chase after her if she runs.

All he had left was his bark, like an old Pit Bull.

“Go to hell,” Kismet says, with a sip of her coffee.

The older, gray-haired man’s gaze snaps at her before quickly raising his cane and striking her face. The force causes her to bite down, tasting her blood as it pools into her mouth. The plate she holds full of streaming hot grits, sausage links, and sunny-side-up eggs, clatters to the floor.

Perhaps due to his anger, the aging man doesn’t take heed of the mess made.

“What did you say to me?”

She sucks her teeth.

“You heard me. Go to hell. I’m not going to be further docile. I have my life to live, which doesn’t involve you or this damn house.”

She decided long ago that anything was better than her own inferno, no matter where she ended up.

A cold grimace filled her father’s face as her confession poured from her like a faucet — he calmly questions,

“Skipping out on me just like your mother did, huh? What’s out there for you? A girl who ain’t got no skills? Huh? What are you gon’ find?”

Kismet’s dark eyes bore back the shell of a man in front of her at the dinner table.

It was a wonder why she spent thirty years afraid of him. Cowered at his feet, made herself smaller to satisfy his ego. Hid from home under beds, closets, and crawl spaces. Crying out for mercy as he stripped her bare, forcing her to recite bible verse.  The creeping feelings of her hands touching her while telling her she was born from a demon.

“Anything. The key is freedom.” she retorts, casually sipping her black coffee.

“Freedom? Ha. I didn’t raise you with nonsense in your mind.” Her father continues, glaring up at her with bloodshot hazel eyes.

“How exactly did you raise me? To be afraid of everything, including my father? You ’raised’ me just as you intended. Full of fear and contempt.”

“Now, that’s enough, Kismet.”

The young woman laughs, although humor is absent in her titter.

“Hold on now, this man’s got too much in his cup. Too much dip on his chip! Startin’ to sound like he’s had enough for the morning! Reginald Friday. Pastor Friday. What? Do you not like to hear the truth? The gospel? Do you think you’re some sort of God immune to criticism? Shit, you give one negro power, and he goes apeshit. What are you, really? A fool with a suit and bible? A pervert with a cross?”

“I--”

“I DON’T WANT TO HEAR YOUR BULLSHIT!”

An agonizing scream became the only sound she heard. Hot, black coffee drips onto her father’s face seeping into the chestnut floor. He hoots and hollers like a damned soul being torched and violated for all eternity.

While his cries sufficed for the moment, she wasn’t satisfied yet.

“Yes, I do know, Reginald. I had a devil for my father. I was never a compliant child, Reginald Friday! I remember that day very well; I begged and pleaded with that social worker to take me away and save me. Yet, she thought that a pastor, a ‘respectable member of the community’ couldn’t have done something so heinous — she turned her back on me without report. ‘That girl must be lying. She should be grateful Pastor Friday took her in after her mother ran away.’ Everyone the following Sunday thought I was some freakshow sitting in the church. I was a teenage girl trying to tarnish your reputation. Instead, you ruined my life.”

“Kismet baby stops, stop — I love you!”

“That cruel, sadistic love? Ion want nothing of it! NOTHING! STOP LYING TO ME! YA HEAR? YOU LOVE ME? DADDY, YOU WANT TO SEE ME SUFFER! ALL YOU DO IS HURT ME BECAUSE YOU LOVE MY PAIN! I DESPISE YOU DOWN WITH THE BLOOD IN YOUR VEINS AND MARROW IN YOUR BONES!”

Through her tears, Kismet screams the feelings she’s had for so many years. But it wasn’t enough. She wanted to see him, see him feeling her pain. Her eyes dart until she spots a large, imposing knife in the block. It was perfect, intimidating. Her palm itches for it, and when she receives it, it feels euphoric to have it in her hands. With the blade thrust, it slowly sinks in as she stares into her father’s agape, spooked eyes. Silence fills the room. Her cries died down.

There seems to be an almost suffocating stillness.

Her father stares at her with glassy eyes, opening his mouth.

“Do you have somethin’ to say to me, Daddy?”

The older man gargles blood in response, gasping for breath. She plunges the knife further, holding his gaze once more.

“When you beat me, and I tasted blood for the first time, I looked as terrified as you are right now.” Kismet muses.

“When you violated me under the full moon when I screamed for you to stop. Did you not ignore my cries?”

At the sight of the blood, her eyes grow wide in excitement.

What rises from her belly is a tormenting scream. An animalistic howl. One that ripples through her throat, out her bloodied mouth.

What she feels isn’t regret — no, she feels the encouragement to feast on the bastard before her. To tear him apart, to use him to feed her newfound urge. She yanks and chews, relishing the taste of warm flesh and thick blood rushing down her throat.

Her heart pounds as she claws at his face, disfiguring it. Recognition is lost, and only a mound of flesh and blood remains.

The taste of the rust fills her senses as she smiles with glee.

Then, fear kicks in. The weight of her actions brings Kismet to her knees.

He was gone, but now, his blood was painted all over her.

His body was ravaged as if a wild beast had its way with his worthless corpse.

No, not a wild beast, but the one who feasted on him with enthusiasm was her. The smell of dirty crimson fills the air and makes her belly turn weak. She falls to her knees, her deep dark. Perhaps pride?

Was it pride, knowing she killed the man who tormented her for so long?

Furthermore, wasn’t he at fault for his death?

She tried to leave — he resisted her wishes, so he died.

Simple as that.

Staring at his corpse for a minute, her eyes lock with his glossy, lifeless ones. Then, without a second thought, she spits at his body. The dribble landing dead center on his forehead, running down his eyes and cheek.

Kismet quietly walks to her bedroom and collapses to the floor, bloody and ridden with adrenaline.

Finally, what she had gone through, the man that taught her what evil is gone.

Now, she had a dead man and a lot of blood to take off.

And a fire was the thing that would do it.

Making her way from the bloody mess in the bedroom, one she stayed in since childhood. She walks down the stairs, to the home’s garage, spotting the spare gas canister on the shelf. The woman packed her luggage the night before, it nestled in the trunk of her car.

Circling back to where the morning began, she stood in the kitchen, dousing it with gasoline. She made her way home, up and down the stairs. Through the bedrooms and halls.

All the back down to the front porch, down the steps.

The matches in her pockets felt heavy as if she held the earth inside her calloused palms. Slowly, she takes a matchstick, drawing a small flame. Kismet torches the wet step, watching soon as the home catches ablaze in a somber inferno.

The amber flames danced through her eyes as they spread.

[acnh-taskforce]

Catalogging party on my island is going fantastic so far. This’ll help offset the price for moving everyone and building the inclines = A=‘’

[jerzwriter]

Sunday Six

I want to take the opportunity to share what I’ll be working on now that DTI is one chapter away from completion. It's going to feel strange having it gone, but I'm also excited to have the time to work on these projects.

My priority will be to continue working on my headcanons for Tobias & Casey and Ethan & Casey. For the former, it will mean completing Their Start and getting them to where they are a couple so I can explore their present and future. I have a lot of great ideas for these two!

As for Ethan and Casey, I’m going to finish Their First Two Months and that will culminate with their wedding activities. I am also going to wrap up Kismet and When the Bough Breaks. As to House Calls, The Last Time and Sometimes Love Is… I’m on the fence. I may or may not wrap them up. For now, let’s say they’re on hiatus. I never intended to leave a series unfinished, and I probably won’t, but I just have other things I’d like to concentrate on at this time and I have to go where the inspiration is.

In addition to their HC, I have two mini-series planned for Tobias & Casey. An angsty little number about love and loss that I dreamed up, and a friend’s with benefits to real lovers story inspired by an ask I received. Neither is officially named yet, their working titles are What’s Forever For, and Friends (after the Ed Sheeran song). Titles are subject to change.

I will be working on the mini-series “What Happens in Vegas” for Ethan & Case. In this series, Ethan insists on joining the friends when they head to Vegas with the intent of bringing down Declan and Panacea. I’ve been planning this since last fall and I’m really looking forward to bringing that to fruition.

My other goal when, as soon as DTI ends, is to answer the myriad of asks I have sitting in my inbox. I appreciate all of you for sending them and for your patience, and I can’t wait to get them done for you. Here is a little snippet of the upcoming tree mini-series. I hope you’ll enjoy them.

_____

What Happens in Vegas

Casey always thought seeing steam coming out of someone’s ears was a saying, but as she started at Jackie, she wondered if it were true. With a terse expression and her arms crossed defiantly in front of her chest, Jackie seethed.

“Ramsey is coming with us.”

“He is.”

“Casey, do you want us all to be thrown out of the residency program?”

“He’s not going to…”

“He could!” Jackie interrupted. “If he gets caught, there is an excellent chance the hospital will look the other way, but we’re expendable. If it’s his neck or ours….”

“He’d never do that!” Casey admonished, “Trust me! I know him better than you and the only reason he is joining us is because this means as much to him as it does to us.”

“Yeah, well that and….”

“And what, Jackie?”

“And maybe he wants to be there to protect you, but that doesn’t help us.”

“Why on earth would he give me preferential treatment…” she started, stopped in her tracks by the all too knowing smirks coming from Sienna and Elijah.

“It’s not like it would be the first time he broke the rules for you, Casey,” Elijah winked. “But I’ll admit, I don’t think he’d want to hurt her friends any more than he’d want to see Casey harmed.”

______

What’s Forever For?

“What is wrong with you?” Tobias demanded as they stumbled out to the deck. “Why are you freaking out like this?”

“Why, because we’re supposed to be here together! Yet you’re gone half the night and when I come looking for you, you’re with her!”

“Casey, I don’t want to fight with you, but how long did it even take you to notice I was gone? I waited over an hour to see if you’d even realize that I was missing, and in the end, you didn’t.”

“Did you think of maybe joining me? I am here for a reunion with my friends after all!”

“Your friends? They’re my friends too! But I felt excluded, especially with you hanging over Tomas from the second he arrived!”

“Are you serious? Are you telling me you’re jealous of Tomas now? He’s been my friend as long as I’ve known you!”

“He has. He’s also your ex and he’s also been in love with you for as long as I knew you.”

“He’s not in love with me! Plus, all of a sudden it bothers you that we’re friends? You never cared before.”

“That’s because I used to be confident that you loved me!”

He banged his hands against the wood railing encircling the deck and stared out at the stars reflecting on the ocean below. He wasn’t searching for answers, he was praying for a miracle. It had been six months. Six months of trying, six months of her denying, and six months of feeling so terribly alone. He had such high hopes for this trip. Returning to a place where they had such tender, magical memories, he was certain it would be a turning point, but everything was going horribly wrong.

______

Friends

His hands dipped to her waist as their kiss intensified, igniting a fire that took them both by surprise. Though she had been nervous at first, Casey leaned in her body rubbing against his. His hands moved dangerously lower as the sensation of her breasts rubbing against his chest brought his arousal to a peak. His thumbs sunk into the band of her shorts and he couldn’t wait to rid her of them. Then something inside him snapped. Her eyes filled with shock, then searing embarrassment when he reluctantly pulled away.

“Casey, wait,” he gasped. “What are we doing?”

“Isn't that abundantly clear,” she purred.

He let out a soft groan his flesh sizzled at the touch of soft lips gently sucking on his neck. If they were going to stop, it had to be now, because, in a moment, he’d lose all control.

“Casey, you’re sure?”

It was her turn to step back, lifting her hands to his chiseled jaw, and stared lustfully into his aqua blue eyes.

“Just this once?” She asked with a heavy breath. “Just this once? Our friendship can withstand that, right?”

“I don’t….”

“Hell. It might even make it stronger,” she smirked. “Unless of course… you don’t want me?”

“Oh, I… I….”

In a split second his lips slammed furiously against hers into a bruising kiss as his hands moved over the swell of her breasts. His lips dropped to her neck, taking in the sweet taste of her skin. There was no turning back. His length strained painfully against his jeans.

Want her? He could devour her.

_____

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[jae-canikeepyou]

| kismet | j.jh | part one

pair: jaehyun x fem!reader

word count: 10k+ welps

summary: his parents sends him for a month long vacation to the country side to meet his other half, which so happens to be you. and alternatively, your beloveds asks of you to be in your best behaviour while he’s around. disliking how things turn out, you both come up with a pact with each other before your two families gathers together for christmas eve dinner.

genre: arranged marriage + bad 1st impressions

a/n: happy new year ✨ and you know what that means? *wink wink* new layout for my oneshots hihi! ok you guys this took soooooo long to write ;-; i wasn’t satisfied with the first draft so i had to reboot everything! and i mean everything!! :3 so i had this specific genre in mind for a long time and i’m glad that someone requested at the same time while i was in the progress of writing it~ i should’ve posted this on christmas day but i was spending time with my family :D hope you understand hihihi anyway i’ll stop this here so you can enjoy reading! ~j

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| part two | part three (final) |

jaehyun never reacted so quickly in his entire life, simultaneously spitting out the drink he consumed and eyes growing at the news his parents suddenly brought up. his neck ache at sudden twist. “what did you say?” he wiped the drips of coffee at the corners of his lips. his breathing intensified the more the silence passed.

mr. and mrs. jeong playfully sighed & exchanged looks as their son shouldn’t be this surprised regarding the topic. they have discussed about this when he turned eighteen. now twenty-three, he shouldn’t be so surprised or over-reactive about it either. 

“you heard your father,” mrs. jeong chewed her meal elegantly, yet giggles were still heard through closed lips. “you’re meeting her next week.”

he squinted with plenty of doubts filling his head, he was sure that there was still a year left. and to him that also meant he has exactly a year to convince his parents to call off the marriage he never asked for, let alone planned it. he still has a lot- correction, have yet to achieve in his mid-twenties and having a wife now would be slightly cutting his privacy short. 

in other words, the path to leisure he wished for after years of academics would divert to spending a life planned out for him. he had a diary and planner, and 

they were organised and well-thought out. but he had enough of his parents writing out his future for him, why couldn’t he write his own love story?

jaehyun was on his second last year of veterinary medicine, having some of the weight and pressure of academics lifted off his shoulders. of course he knew he still has to study, he just felt a little relaxed knowing that he would soon practice his dream career.

never had he expected that time flew and was going to meet his fiancé soon. 

his phone blinked with along with a message from his friends— mark and johnny. he briefly looked at the wallpaper of his long-time girlfriend of four years; she was the one who was on his mind. “nononono, i can’t get married now.” jaehyun’s panicking voice echoed the dining area, shoving the phone into his pockets.

mr. jeong raised a brow, placing his cup of coffee on the glass table. “relax, you’re not putting a ring on her finger yet.”

“‘yet’?!” the dimples on his face deepened as his cheeks bubbled. “mom, dad, i haven’t even met her!”

“hm? that’s why you’re spending the whole month at the countryside!” mrs. jeong exclaimed excitingly, and to jaehyun it seemed she was enjoying herself as if she were the one going there too.

“a month?! what am i going to do over there?!” 

“isn’t this great? we finally get to see you outdoors instead of a laptop and report papers! you need a break honey.” his mother clasped palms.

“ugh i can manage my time—”

“once you start working i’m pretty sure you won’t have the time to, jaehyun.”

since the love topic was brought up, his parents started to dig out their memories during their dating years. jaehyun groaned and massaged his temples, feeling uncomfortable with all the love stories he already heard or been told about. “did you forget that i have a girlfriend?” mumbling, he let out a deep, long sigh hoping they would hear him. and that failed miserably. his parents were in their own world. 

he shook his leg underneath the table and grew impatient with the duration of their conversation. “please, i’m begging you. i’ll get married in my own time and pace. sue and i are pretty much going to settle once we graduate-”

a certain ringtone perked his ears and his hands quickly pat his pockets to search his phone. he let out a sigh of relief, that his girlfriend psychologically read his mind and knew how much he wanted to get out of the dinner table, not to mention his parents’ overly attachment to one another. 

“sue you called! i was wondering if you want to hang out for a while.” his voice was high in spirits. but word has it when it reached its high, it would plummet to the ground shortly after. “hey, what’s wrong?” 

on the other line, just a call away from his girlfriend, was her held-in sob and whimper. “where are you right now? i’m coming to get you.”

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jaehyun’s limbs shook in anger and slammed his fists onto the stirring wheel so hard that this time he promised himself he would move on. last week, she didn’t just break up with him— that was a call for farewell, something kept well hidden from him and all this time he didn’t know she felt the way she did for the years they’ve spent together. 

for a minute he wished this was all a dream, that conscious world would wake his slumber mind. it wasn’t. the reality pretty much awoke him and kept him up all night. he blinked several times, her words still numbing his hearing, wishing it was a lie... but he heard her loud and clear that night. 

“...you’ll always have a place in my heart.. but i’m really sorry..”

he grew speechless though his heart had millions of questions. the windows of his lips sealed closed no matter how much he wanted them to be answered. opposite from where he was at, he stared at the porch of her house, waiting for a silhouette to appear before him. instead a luxurious car pulled over and an unfamiliar man took his coat off to wrap around sue. that action didn’t hurt jaehyun, but it was sue’s smile of comfort that triggered his pain more. seemed like she knew this man given that she let him into her house, like nothing heartbreaking happened before this. 

the door closed and jaehyun’s teary eyes never left her residence until loud slams of swinging car doors opened on both sides of the passenger’s seats. “tsk.” he hissed and quickly rubbed the tears meaning to fall. him being seen crying would really make him a target for his friends, for not moving on. couldn’t risk being the attention more than he already was.

“goodness mark it’s not like we’re on vacation that you have to pack almost everything,” johnny threw one of mark’s duffle bags at the boy, earning a so-what kind of look from him. “we’ll only bring jae to the y/l/n’s then leave afterwards—”

screw this, jaehyun thought. by now he shouldn’t look too swollen to his friends. but screw mark for renting and living across from his ex’s house. 

“save your explanation john.” jaehyun growled and started the engine, fastening his while seatbelt the two continued their bickers. more of it was mark’s shallowness that pissed johnny.

“yeah, save your explanation john- ow!” mark gave the tall lad a death-gazing glare at the pain that stayed on his skin.

johnny leaned forwards, tapping the dimpled boy on the shoulder. “dude, you changed your mind?”

jaehyun scoffed, resting his left arm onto the window’s edge as he drove. “mom said i should be accompanied. i didn’t want you both to come but she’s so insisting it’s getting into my nerves.” 

“actually mrs. jeong said you might need us after your sudden breakup,” mark pressed the button. the window rolled up and down whereas him and johnny exchanged looks to try to liven up the mood in the car. “what are friends for, hm?”

“o-oh yeah. you’ll need us.. as in.. ‘sue’pport.” he nodded with a fake sob. soon mark bursted out in giggles and joined the wagon. 

“‘cause you lost your ‘sue’weetheart.” “she’s making you ‘sue’per emotional.” “we were ‘sue’prised she dumped you.” “but as your brothers, we ‘sue’wear we’ll be here—”

“ugh! i don’t know why mom suggested you to come but your side comments really aren’t helping at all—” jaehyun rolled his eyes regretting instantly at the pain afterwards.

his friends found him hilarious. they were laughing so hard that jaehyun couldn’t continue or interrupt their exploding voices. “since when did you need help, mr. leave-me-alone?” johnny took a huge leap from his seat to be beside the offended boy. “for all i know you’re the type who wants everything perfect, in control and planned.”

“nah dude, right now..” mark zipped his bag. “he needs help with love issues.”

“this has nothing to do with my love! and for the record, about the y/f/n’s? it’s arranged!” he lowered his cap and slid back slightly against the seat while the car was on idle. “do i need to spell it out for you?”

“that can change dude,” johnny slurped on his giant soda takeaway. jaehyun battered his eyes but was careful enough to not leave his sight off of the road. “who knows this fiancé of yours could meet your expectations. maybe more than sue could ever do.”

jaehyun’s mind clouded and still had the effects from the breakup. still so fresh. he didn’t want to believe it in fact happened; that it was all true. he was sure sue was the one for him. hearing his pals say it word per word only had it finally sunk in— she dumped him.

it terrified him in ways he couldn’t imagine, haunted him countless of nights because he failed her. he even bragged to his parents that he would marry her and slip a ring on her finger. thinking about it, how stupid was he to hold onto that hope?

he looked like an idiot, felt like one and his friends probably viewed the same. they said his fiancé could outstand sue? she was the perfect package! what more could he get?

he had her.

honks of the vehicles behind led jaehyun’s eyes trailing to the stoplight that emitted green. he pulled over and johnny knew he had to take his place. 

“here, let me drive. you’re not fit for driving. now, just be comfy back there, okay?”

—

hours later violent jolts of the car hit jaehyun’s cheek, regaining consciousness from his slumber just to witness the beautiful sunrise peeking from the horizon. he sat up, his posture trying to straighten to denumb nerves that held long during his sleep.

his playlist blasted the speakers. johnny had his legs on the dashboard and hummed with the music. mark was still sleeping peacefully like he hadn’t had a care in the world other than his precious bag of unfinished chips in his hands. 

he groaned at the discomfort of pulled muscles and the sudden break to the countryside. if johnny needed an hour intervals for the drive he could’ve said so, right? but now they were at the open road, greenery and fields merging together in one land. 

“what time is it? where are we and are we there yet? i’ll drive if what you do delays the journey.” jaehyun gestured him to move aside. “johnny, stop eating.” it was quarter to two.

“wha-? i’m hungry. hey, you’re the one who didn’t want to come and yet you’re rushing to get to the y/l/n’s?” johnny unwrapped his second burrito. “besides, we’re only five minutes away—”

“tsk ‘cause i need to piss real bad.” jaehyun was fidgety and panned the view before setting eyes on his friend. 

johnny felt a churn in his stomach as his cheeks bubbled. “oh gross! i’m eating dude! if you’re gonna piss then do it outside?!”

jaehyun shoved the burrito into johnny’s mouth to not speak anymore. “rather hold it in than for you to puke in my car!” he held his strength while johnny fought his way to breathe properly. “i won’t piss outside and there are cattles who feed on fields!”

“bruh stop lecturing me with your vet knowledge- ah!” johnny held his forehead from the sudden finger flicking.

“dude, it’s called common sense. now move aside!” he shooed the tall boy off the driver’s seat. jaehyun stepped on the gas, heading towards a small town entrance.

they finally reached a couple of stores & restaurants, surveying and asking its townsmen using your family name to locate your residence. maybe they would know which apartment or house you resided in. except that was the twist of their understanding. 

jaehyun and his boys were shocked to know how your family name plastered in posters and brand products displayed at open stores, but were more shocked to see the gazes from the people. 

a little over an hour, they managed to get hold of more information as they were told your house was ten minutes away from the town. jaehyun walked along the pavement to grab something to drink, only to be poked by a young man who was around the same age as they were.  

“hi.” he greeted the unfamiliar man. “i take it you’re looking for the y/l/n’s?”

he took a squint as he observed jaehyun from head to toe, circling around him. “uh-huh, you look like m’lady’s husband-to-be in the pictures.”

“e-excuse me?” jaehyun cleared his throat, seemingly unwilling to have this conversation going.

mark held his laugh per usual, it would take time to get used to jaehyun stumbling his words. 

because the engaged man really wasn’t ready at all. 

“yeap he’s the guy.” johnny popped the ‘p’ with a lollipop in his mouth. jaehyun rolled his eyes, taking the candy stick and tossing it away. he didn’t care about johnny’s scoffs.

the new young lad wore his motorcycle helmet. “sweet.” he prolonged the word. and that was when both mark and johnny lost it. they recalled the pun they entertain themselves with prior to arriving here.

“oh, i work with the town’s famous family,” he showed his i.d. wrapped around his neck. “you can follow me since i’m heading there too.” the three quickly twitched at his quick paced movement. “i’m kunhang by the way, but i’d rather be called hendery. it’s my professional name, it just sounds cooler.”

jaehyun furrowed his brows at the praise. “okay hendery, uhm famous? they’re big time?” he pointed at the posters holding your family name. “how so?”

hendery swung his face shield downwards. “you’ll see.”

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gallops of horses were drumming the entire farm. dust and dirt swirled with the wind in the air and it took a while for the boys to adjust their sights at the distance. hendery dropped a couple of spare boots for them to wear. jaehyun was in awe. horses were majestic animals and though he got to study them, he never seen such a number of them on the fields.

“oh goodness me our guest is here!”

they turned around to voice of a jolly lady, an apron on and folded cuffs from her clothing. “hello there! welcome! you must be jaehyun! my soon to be son-in-law!” she shook his hands and later pulled him for a hug. “oh you look just like your mother!”

“hi mrs. y/l/n. y-yeah, i get that a lot these days,” jaehyun scratched his head. “thanks for having us.” 

her eyes trailed at mark and johnny, and they too, were pulled in for a hug. “i see jaehyun brought along his handsome friends with him! do enjoy your stay here with us!” she caught a glimpse of a figure approaching the crowd. “c’mere baby and meet the boys!”

jaehyun looked over his shoulder, lips parting and exhaled a short breath. she seemed young, she has a pretty face but obviously still in high school. what the? oh g- i’m marrying you?

“pfft no ew. i’m not getting married to you. i’m only 17.” she let out a chuckle, almost sarcastic enough for jaehyun to explode.

crap i said it unconsciously.

your mother lightly slapped her arm. “marg, where’s your sister?” she asked. “i told her to specifically come at the barn 1600.”

“she took jet for a ride. ‘detour’ she said, but i guess she’s on her way here.” she replied and mark choked on his water bottle. marg rolled her eyes. “green minded ass-”

“language marg!” hendery flicked her forehead, the latter held the pain. “the rudeness. sorry, kiddo here is the family’s baby. you’ll see the eldest daughter soon- oh! right on time m’lady!” he waved his hands up high.

jaehyun didn’t know what pissed him off more; one was at himself for being starstruck and in awe at you after his breakup, and two? 

the beautiful black horse you were riding on didn’t seem to be halting. it was trotting at first. you were on its saddle. he squinted his eyes, were you smirking? unbelievable. he thought you were doing this on purpose. no, you were really going to run him over. 

he noticed a change in speed, trotting then galloping on dirt. the sounds of it matched with the beatings of his rising heart. jaehyun took a step back, then it became more than one, until he was worried that he would end up being chased. there were couple of gasps and reminders of voices. he fell on his bum with palms hitting the ground as he breathed heavily, eyes still on you.

the horse listened to your rein, it let out a loud neigh with its front legs heavenwards. your laugh merged with it. “whoa- hey, easy jet, easy.” you cooed the animal, soon removing your helmet and hair flowed like those in shampoo commercials. “i think he got the message.”

jaehyun sat there dumbfounded, his brows drew together. what message? you were centimetres from killing him- wait. he saw you turn cold and your smile disappearing.

bingo! he got it. he knew the reason why you did this. 

you were against the arranged marriage too.

johnny leaned into mark’s ear, who had his hands cupping his lower face. “bro, jet’s a horse so stop giggling and clean your mind.” 

“dude i’m not laughing at that. just look at jae. i’ve never seen him so helpless.” he cackled a laugh. 

once your feet were on the ground, he finally got a better look on you. you were wearing a light wooled grey sweater with denim blue jeans. your hair now on one side and boots stained with dried mud. you took off your gloves to put your hand out for a handshake, one rested around your helmet. “hi, i’m y/n.” you greeted with a smile, ensuring it was fake enough for jaehyun to notice. 

“quite of an entrance.” jaehyun dusted his jeans and groaned at the exerted strength as he stood. “jeong jaehyun. veterinary medicine student..” he was about to grab your hand until you shoved yours into the pockets of your jeans. 

“y/n!” your mom exclaimed with warning. “your manners-” she clamped her lips when you put up a hand, eyes darting at her later at him.

“alright, okay. look mr. i didn’t ask for your field of study and i don’t need to know or do anything with you.”

jaehyun crossed his arms, a fake smile plastered on his face. what an attitude. “apparently you will? because i’m here for the next thirty days.”

“is that so?” you hummed and jaehyun didn’t like how you singsonged.

he knew something was coming and sometimes he thought it was best to keep quiet instead of letting his annoyance towards you spark up. “good, that means you’re helping me out with everything i do here.” he heard you say. “and do things i tell you to.”

“what?” his eyebrows snapped, and for you it was quite entertaining to see this reaction from him. following the trail of your footsteps, jaehyun stomped on wet soil as he stood before you. “hey you can’t just order me around like i’m your staff!”

“of course i can, you’re in my property-” you gestured the land.

“no, it belongs to your parents.” the tone of his voice irked you. he was grinning too.

“i can do whatever i want and choose whenever to help. i’ll only listen orders from mr. and mrs. y/l/n if they want me to do work..” he trailed off, your mother waving at him with admiration— typical as she saw him like an long lost son. “..but i guess not. my mom did say i needed a break from studying too much and she’s totally right. i must be pardoned from labour.”

it was your turn to cross arms and give him a lop-sided smile. the audacity of this man. you felt like ripping all your hair out. “you think staying here would prevent you from doing labour, your highness? sitting on your throne all dignified and at peace? well guess what, just because you’re a guest that doesn’t mean you get to be treated differently-”

you heard him bubble out a forced snicker. what was it this time? “of course it’s different! i am the guy you’re betrothed to-”

“i won’t allow it.” your jaw tightened with lips in a hard line. “a person like you is not worth my time and definitely not someone i’d want to marry.”

he pursed his lips. “wow do people ever tell you how bad of a host you are? you just don’t go shoving assumptions into people’s faces for your own entertainment. we’re humans.”

“i’m only rude to you. and yeah, people are humans. but you’re the devil’s incarnate.” you pulled jet’s reins and led him to the stables in which jaehyun observed how you gave that same smirk from earlier. “see if you’ll enjoy your stay here, hubby.” 

jaehyun clenched his fists and was sure little crescent moons already indented his palms. he only wanted sue to call him that. yet that was useless, they broke up. your face remained in his head and anger filled him up, now boiling so much that he felt a little lightheaded arguing with someone like you. 

he wanted to yell but johnny and mark sandwiched him between them with hendery walking in front. “tsk it’s only the first day and i want to go home.” he scrunched his nose. 

hendery had his palms behind his head, lips jutting to hold his grin. “m’lady—” he corrected himself. “y/n’s not usually like that. it’s a first seeing her so cranky and hotheaded.”

“really? how is she usually like?” mark asked with curiosity. “she seems cool because she smiled at johnny and me before the tables.. y’know, turned.” he shrugged with implications towards jaehyun.

“not cranky and not hotheaded.” hendery opened the door to your house, showing them to the large living area. “a lil’ different today but i tell you, our y/n is a professional equestrian. she’s passionate with what she does and—”

“a horse rider?! passionate?!” jaehyun hissed as he took off his shoes and brown coat, kicking it slightly to the side and hung it on the wall respectively. “she almost killed me!”

johnny hit the back of jaehyun’s head and clicked his tongue. “snap out of it jae, you’re overreacting. we’re at your future in-law’s residence and i think it’s a bad idea to badmouth their daughter.” 

only a low groan escaped out of jaehyun as he refused to listen. “look, first impressions don’t always hit off a good start. but thinking how you both don’t have a say to this arranged marriage, your feelings towards each other are totally understandable.”

jaehyun pressed the bridge of his nose as he took in his friend’s words. if what johnny said was true, was it right for him to begin holding grudge on you on the first day? you barely knew each other. clearly he knew you hated him, yet if his parents were here and saw the whole thing, they’d ask: why risk the chance of not trying? and again, he remembered he was told, people can change. 

—

throughout dinner, he got to know what your family business was and why it was well-known. he didn’t ask questions, they were just told to him like they were comfortable with it. they weren’t bragging either. perhaps it was due to the fact jaehyun would soon be part of this family that they told him the entire story. 

you didn’t show up during the hour and honestly it got jaehyun feeling so much relief since he wouldn’t have to deal with another useless argument. he disliked wasting time and preferred to do this schedule accordingly, so remembering it only made him rage inside. he was glad he wouldn’t have to deal with you tonight. 

except that relief was shortlived. you had to appear right when he thought of you.

great.

he tried to fix himself in his seat on the sofa by the fireplace, averting his gaze upon you while your mother continuously slapped you light on the arms. you probably finished your bath, given that you still have a towel wrapped around your head and a.. robe.

“y/n! have some courtesy! we have guests!” your mother warned as she gestured in front to cover you, apologising to the new boys. hendery immediately stepped in as well, his eyes shutting to a close and pushing you back to the bottom of the staircase. 

“but mom! i’m hungry and there might not have any cookies left if you keep giving it to them-” you were cut off with hendery’s pats.

he brushed his hair. sighing, he had to shoo you away because you were clearly attracting eyes, definitely not the decent kind. “i have a jar prepared for you m’lady so please.. get dressed!”

you quickly ran up as you were told, mumbling and complaining. jaehyun and his friends were definitely at a loss for words. because not only were you careless, you were oblivious too. 

mark scrunched his nose to start a conversation with jaehyun. “looks like she called you ‘hubby’ too quickly.” he closed his lips to contain his laugh. 

“pfft jae your ears really are honest huh?” johnny pointed at them as he held his chest, fistbumping mark for another win. 

he wasn’t going to tell them that he in fact did find you pretty, and the thing was, he shouldn’t be giving a reaction too soon. “it’s the spicy chocolate cookie!” jaehyun defended.

“huh, i didn’t bake any cookie with those flavour-” hendery pondered, but he stopped since he spotted jaehyun begging to help him here.

“you know that we know if you’re lying right?” the two squinted eyes, putting more pressure to the boy to admit what he felt when he saw you earlier. “bet ya felt something.”

afraid that your family could hear them, jaehyun grabbed their shoulders to huddle them in close. he cleared his throat to catch their attention, yet his friends continued their giggles. “i swear if you both embarrass me in front of the y/f/n’s, consider the days with your precious.. phones.”

“ah c’mon dude. don’t do that. we bought our i12’s together-” mark whined.

“then at least help me out here guys. i have a reputation to hold-” 

“oh for being her hubby?” johnny gave a playful grin and soon was replaced with a nervous smile. “okay i’ll zip it.”

he heard your mother facetiming his mom, voices loud enough for him to know that there would be a huge gathering at christmas eve dinner. great, another one i have to deal with.

jaehyun put down his beanie and crossed his arms to snooze for a bit. he had too much going on in his head the whole day that maybe sleeping it off would let him calm down from all feelings he felt tonight. on the sofa, the weight beside him lowered, the scent of freshly baked cookies along with lavender perfume got him peeking under his beanie. 

it was you, who looked like a squirrel happily munching away with your jar of cookies whilst eyes glued to the television.

he smiled a little to himself. so you can have this cute side-

fragments of sue’s face appeared in his mind. right. he was supposed to be heartbroken. he still was. a week into the breakup had remains to his heart. bothered with sue’s ultimatum and your annoying munches, he grabbed your wrists and out at the veranda.

it pissed him because it seemed like he was the only one who cared about both of your futures or actually would do something to change your families’ minds, where as you were carefree with your cookies. “hey!” you held the jar tight in your arms as you quickly slid your feet into your slippers. “rude! i’m eating!”

the rest of the people in the dining and kitchen area grew voices of woohoo’s, jaehyun’s pupils flared at their cheers. “just come with me for a second!” he hissed, turning the knob and closing the door.

“seriously jaehyun you can’t just ruin my happy time! what do you want-”

he looked in between the curtains from the outside, where he could faintly hear his friends talking the embarrassing things about him— especially how he felt for this arrange marriage. “aren’t you pressured or angry at the situation our parents have put us into?” he leaned against a column. “even my friends are joining the wagon.”

you cackled whilst scrolling your phone. “here i thought you only cared about animals, dr. jeong.” hearing how jaehyun scoffed at your comment, you shoved your device in your pockets. “and yes of course i’m mad! what they decided is so against my will.”

jaehyun stared at you and surprised that he actually felt exactly the same. “really? then let’s make a pact. sounds good?” he offered with arms folded while you still were occupied with your phone. “well?”

“why would i listen to you? as far as i know, we already clashed and hate each other.” you rolled your eyes. “what makes you think i’ll agree?”

he sighed. “y/n, i know you don’t want this, i don’t too. at least there’s something we have in common. i’m just thinking that we have to show them we’re not meant to be together. we both have lives we want to live without the other.”

there was a change in his voice. you could tell he was serious and trying to suggest something he’d want you to agree on. “fine, what’s the pact?” you gave an uninterested tone. probably a bad idea, you thought.

“like you said, ‘clash and hate each other’. we have exactly twenty four days to convince them that you, me, us?” he pointed at his chest then yours. “is impossible. twenty four days, it’s until the night of christmas eve.”

actually that’s not bad at all. “hm, that’s easy since i can’t stand you.” you said, now standing up to face him. “even better if we can do this in less than 24.”

“cool, we have to make our fights as natural as possible. no signals or heads-up. full-on make me angry and i’ll do the same. the more we argue the more they’ll believe there’ll never be an ‘us’.” his voice a bit lively than before. “i want my buds to be fooled into this too. just be realistic and- nghf!”

you shoved a huge cookie into his mouth. “tsk, you’re noisy. i get you so shut up. i agreed with the pact, but i have conditions, okay?”

jaehyun nodded as he chewed angrily with his eyes closed, though the cookies’ taste might’ve simmered down his temper towards you. “ha, then i have conditions too-”

“see you in the morning.” he heard you say as the door slammed with the attached bell ringing his ears. 

now that was one of his conditions; no interrupting while he talks. he sighed seeing you head up the stairs. he sighed. “ugh, i can never marry a girl like her.”

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stretching as high as you can, the muscles loosened in every part of your body from riding yesterday. the sun shone its brightest despite the cold weather. you remembered the pact and you knew you would not let a day pass without bothering him. somehow his existence annoyed you to the bone, not even words were enough to explain how you felt. 

at the farthest point your peripheral could reach, you spotted jaehyun peacefully— and actually enjoying— the hammock whilst faintly you heard mark and johnny debating which pronunciation was the correct one. fixing your boots as you walked towards them, the two scurried off to the side, noticing the stomps of your feet getting closer. 

“get up.” you wriggled the hammock, causing it to be lop-sided. 

jaehyun managed to balance himself from the swings. “what the-” his voice hitched. “you’re ruining my relax time!”

you pretended to ponder as you looked up to the sky. “hm, sounds awfully familiar, doesn’t it?” referring to his sudden action towards you the night prior.

“seriously y/n what do you want? i’m in no mood to do work today and i clearly told you last night-” jaehyun fixed his eyes onto your finger that silenced his lips.

jaehyun raised a brow and rolled his eyes. what was your deal? he thought. “condition number one.” you started, bringing your voice down. “starting today you’ll do the work for me and with me. considering you’re taking veterinary science, i’m guessing you know your ways through equine husbandry. so in the coming days you can check the horses’ health while i practice my rounds.”

ah, so that’s what this was about. “uh-huh, but my condition number one is you shouldn’t make me do labour unless you really need it.” jaehyun got off the hammock, chugging his glass of water like it’s one-shot. “it’s the first light, y/n. my service starts in the afternoon.”

“i see. you’re not a morning person.” you checked your nails.

“i so am! but it’s my month long vacation. let me enjoy this before i experience exploitation from you.” he forced a smile that made you want to push him off the veranda.

you walked down the steps and straight to the barn opposite from your house. “it’s either exploitation today or exploitation for the whole month.” you singsonged while you twirled in your stance. hearing him growl meant your tactic worked. “i’ll let you experience the beauty of country side, city boy.”

jaehyun’s brows narrowed as he followed you anyway, later looking back at his friends who were stifling a laugh. “did you just compare me to feces first thing in the morning?”

“did you just boggle up my brain with scientific terms?” you hid a giggle when you heard his friends finally bursting out and losing it. because they too, experienced jaehyun’s sudden blabber of uncommon usage of words, especially conversational-wise. “i made a pun but it seems like you acknowledge the nickname.”

“i did not!” jaehyun pressed his temples. “i may have misheard you but i didn’t acknowledge it! you’re too assuming!”

“mhm sure.. but you are stepping on one though.” you whistled and gestured mark and johnny to the stables.

jaehyun grumbled as he checked the soles of his shoes. indeed he stepped on it and licked his lips in annoyance that it’d be hard to clean it off. the door opened and hendery’s morning face only turned sour at the unsightly view. he tossed another pair of spare boots for him to wear before they both headed to where you all were. 

hendery introduced the things they do here; feed the horses, fix their saddles  repair them if damaged. they were minor things since your family did hire people to do them. and since you and him were professionals in equine sports, he mentioned you both spend all days practicing. 

good, if it was you who toured him around the area, he wouldn’t think lasting a day with your intentions of ruining his mood. though it was part of the pact, it seemed like you enjoyed this a lot more than he expected. hendery brought him to places your family owned, land properties that expanded until the mountains. it’s no wonder you were free to roam around and unafraid of getting lost. 

you made him do a lot. and he was glad he was able to handle, thank heavens. however he didn’t feel much of a challenge from any of them, where you claimed they were ones he couldn’t do. jaehyun lost track of time, the sky was his only companion to tell the hours and probably lost count of the tasks too. all he could remember was the endless bickering, yells and frequent eye rolls. 

in all those, he still let you off the hook— first day of work and all, he has to be patient. and he wasn’t bothered with what you tasked him to do, until his friends stood behind you as you showed them the rest of the horses. 

after you told him to move the bundles of hay he thought was the last, you were currently trying to make mark pet the horses as they were bobbing their heads towards the young man while johnny recorded his reaction. 

“isn’t she all well now.” jaehyun rolled his eyes as he helped hendery lift the infinite bundles. “my friends get the leisure and i have to work?”

hendery laughed as he unbuttoned his collar. “she was told by her mom that you’ll be in her care since you both will get married eventually. plus mrs. y/f/n said it’s a way to get to know y/n too.” he explained, seeing you walk towards them with a hay cart, hands signalling your childhood friend to get some bundles from you. the final bundles were finally fed to the horses, and you skipped your feet to fetch jaehyun.

jaehyun knew you had intentions to make fun of him because the way you walked really pissed him off. so he decided to have his fun too. ”are you that weak you’re unable to carry a small patch? guess my hourly pay needs an increase.” he low-key flexed his muscles. truthfully speaking it was a sight to look at, too bad his attitude didn’t match it.

you rested on one leg while you look at him. he was testing the waters with you, smile slowly resurfacing as you gave even the slightest reaction towards him. oh it’s on. he annoyed you yesterday and would be a lot more in the next coming days. jaehyun leaned forwards that he was towering over you. his body made you feel small but that didn’t stop you from getting back at him.

“the only thing increasing for you is workload.” you hummed, putting back the cart into its place.

he glared at you as if you were dead meat. you ignored him. “i’ve had enough for today. muscles are sore.” hands in his pockets, jaehyun kicked the remains of hay off his shoes before he was stopped by you. “ugh you’re so annoying.” he clicked his tongue. 

“nope, you’re not done until i am. we have to find materials for christmas wreaths at my grandpa’s up north.” you pointed at the mountains as you took hendery’s hands and soon mounted on jet with him.

“oh and i’m supposed to walk there while you’re so relaxed miss bossy?” jaehyun shook his head in disbelief looking at the distance.

“uh yes?” you laughed to yourself. “i don’t think you’ve ever ridden a horse before, but if ever you did, it’s probably at a carnival.”

sudden outbursts of emotions evident on his face now. “was i born under a rock? of course i’ve ridden!” he took the reins given to him by hendery. “and it’s not a carousel!”

for a while he had a certain confidence, his soles stepping on the stirrup and dimples deepening with the strength he gave to put his right leg over. but once that was done and high up off the ground, his heart beat an army per second. cash, hendery’s horse gave loud neigh. jaehyun had done this before as a child and definitely felt like one now. he should be able to handle a 30-minute journey.

jaehyun heard you giggling, perhaps he knew how hideous he looked. despite hendery seated behind you, you led the way for the most part of the ride. you were surprised to see jaehyun have gotten the hang of it. it pissed you a lot because he was vlogging with his phone— sputtering out words to keep the diss battle going. johnny and mark hopped on the available bikes, cycling on your sides, and their laughter rather calmed you than annoy you. 

it pissed you a lot more because you’ve practically ran out of ideas to tell him in return. keeping quiet wasn’t your forte, you were a young woman with plenty of things to say, even more so to jaehyun. going through the woods, you signalled hendery to halt the horse for you and the rest of the boys followed you to gather the materials needed. 

“this shouldn’t be too long to take.” jaehyun looked at the trees towering meters above him, then straight to you who was shaking head in disbelief. “we’re just taking the materials at your grandfather’s and head back, right?”

“did i mention my granddad?” you balanced yourself on large wood log. the tone of your voice started to warm up with bickers you weren’t able to tell him. 

“you did!” jaehyun anticipated this and somehow he didn’t. “now lead the way to his place and we can get the hell out of here.” his eyes grew squints of disgust at his surroundings, as if he hadn’t been into the forest before. his friends went on ahead with hendery around the woods to look for what’s needed.

“nah, we’re picking acorns, pine cones, berries and other leaves by hand. his cottage is just around here but that doesn’t mean the materials are from him. let’s go, whiney.” 

“oh my g-” jaehyun pulled you on the arm and off you went towards him. “y/n i’ve had enough for today and i’m so tired of taking your orders- i’m physically tired of doing things your way and i can’t think straight-”

“pecans?” you said as his eyes crossed to see your palms full of the shelled nuts. “you’re hungry, aren’t you? that’s why you’re so cranky and agitate-y.” placing one but onto a flat rock, you smashed it strong enough for it to crack yet not totally destroying the inside. you popped one into your mouth and gave the most taunting grin jaehyun has seen from you all day. 

he was about to grab the rest of the nuts until you swung your arm that he wasn’t able to reach them. “y/n! give me some!” he yelled and the rest of your friends look at you both after hearing you laugh in the most evil manner.

“never!” you scurried off deeper into the woods. jaehyun rolled his eyes not at how fast you were, but due to how slow he actually was because of the amount of disgust he had.

he knew this would take all day and he didn’t know how long his patience can take for another three weeks with you.

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jaehyun couldn’t describe in words with what he experienced since arriving. if he had to compare with school, it was similar to studying and cramming for hours non-stop. it gotten him mentally exhausted, physically too. but the only difference between being cooping up in his room and doing work outdoors was the continuous nagging from you. 

it was far from quiet. he could handle his mom’s high pitched yells. but you? anything that came from you or done by you made him want to plaster a duck tape on your lips. you were as annoying as a five year old child who looked for someone vulnerable to bully. unfortunately he became your prey because he was in your lands. and though there were times he was able to banter back, he always felt you still had the upper hand.

it was all sunny and good days out in the countryside and jaehyun found that fact the only bright side. he enjoyed it every single morning. yet sometimes good sunny mornings meets its bad, that is, when grey clouds destroyed the beauty of the sky. in this case, it was you. you were far from his dream girl— sue. she was elegant, poised and had a heart of gold. you were the complete opposite who’d rather be rogue and do things your way. other than completing ten christmas wreaths and feeding the horses or more farm work, he couldn’t remember what he did for the past eight days because all that entered his mind was the dictator you. 

but today he felt different, maybe things wouldn’t be as hard than last week. he felt good. he sat at the long dining table with all morning faces exposed. it was currently 7 a.m and your mom have already prepared breakfast. and per usual, you were the only one they waited for before they start the first meal. 

“marg, is your sister still asleep?” your mother put down a large casserole to warm up everyone’s stomach in winter. 

marg only shrugged because for one, she didn’t care, and two, she stated that it wouldn’t be her doing this since jaehyun was marrying you. “oh jaehyun. please do head upstairs to her room and awake y/n up.”

“and why do i have to do this?” jaehyun mumbled to himself and johnny nudged him on the arm. he groaned and got up, his stomps were heavy and unwilling. 

once he was in front of your door, he knocked twice loudly so he wouldn’t have to spend so much time to get you. there was a small tune playing in your room, like it was from a music box. the door was already opened. he peeped through the thin gap, seeing you still sleeping soundly. goodness’ sake, he thought, and entered the room since your mother was asking if he woken you up. 

your room was in fact, neat. all things were organised and arranged. if there was one thing he learned from you other than being an ass, was that you loved stuffed animals. not a hint of dolls or barbies or any toy displayed related to that spectrum. two lines of medals displayed and they all shone in gold. plaques had your names and young portraits of you with smiles of victory. hendery wasn’t lying when he said you were a professional. he wasn’t going to lie— you were impressive despite the little horns coming out of your head.

he stood next to your bed where you were all bundled in a huge blanket. he raised a brow, it was strange for you to have two thick blankets covering you. “hey y/n.”

no response. 

“y/n. wake up, your mom is calling for breakfast and you’re usually the first one seated at the table.” he wriggled your body with the butt of the umbrella and you didn’t budge.

“she baked croissants and aren’t they your favourite? dipped in chocolate ganache and sprinkles?” he tried sounding happy. note that, he tried.

this girl.. he bit the insides of his lips, spotting the markers in a cylinder container and took one to begin drawing on your face. his soft giggles filled your room and the strong scent of markers met your nostrils, waking you from your slumber. 

“what the he- jaehyun?!” you hissed at how close his face was to yours, failed to realising he was done drawing on your morning skin. “get away from me!”

everyone downstairs could hear the both of you, arguing like cats and dogs. each footstep might’ve covered the entire floor above them and the ceiling could give in. 

“you ruined my morning with your ugly face!” “what?! you’re more ugly, ugly!” “you entered my room?! you have no rights!” “breakfast’s ready and your mom asked me to!” “well my nose could’ve smelled mom’s food but i smelled your stinky breath instead!”

“whatever, i finished your share of croissants!” jaehyun quickly head down the staircase.

“you dare eat my food?!” you still had a blanket from head to toe as you followed him down. “no one takes my food!”

“your loss since you’re still in bed you lazy ass!” jaehyun sat beside johnny and continued his meal. “and you were snoring loud too-”

“i did not- agh!” you grumpily sat and immediately eyed the last croissant sitting at the center of the table. all eyes were on you with black ink scribbled on your face. 

there was an awkward silence then you felt jaehyun’s stare at the only food you wanted for breakfast. there was a back and forth battle of stares between you, him and the food. maybe it was the slow reflexes you have in mornings that jaehyun took the bread before you did. he stuck out a tongue as he deliciously ate half of it, chewing slowly just to let you imagine the flavours of sweet silky chocolate. you could feel yourself drooling and the cravings of your stomach rising up to your throat. every chew he did was a stab to your guilty-pleasure heart. 

jaehyun stopped and gave a smug grin. “you wanted this y/n?” his question sounding a song rather than an honest one. “all you have to do is beg.”

you gulped, rolling your eyes. “shut up!” you kicked his knee out of jealousy and savoured the soup instead. 

“ow!” he hissed through a laugh and looked at your mom. “mrs. y/f/n, i’d like to know the recipe for this. do you give lessons?” jaehyun licked the remains of chocolate around his lips, hopefully it was enough to cover up the violence you did under the table.

your mother giggled at his sweet talk. “why learn it from me when you have y/n to teach you?”

you choked on your soup and tear your gaze away from jaehyun to your mother, where she was already enjoying your shocked reaction. “oh give me a private lesson, bulldog terrier.” he propped his chin and mimicked clicks as if he was calling animal.

you quickly touched and rubbed your face to see the ink contaminate your fingers. the spoon reflected the dark circle around your right eye. “oh my g- you! this will be hard to remove!” the fork around your hand pointed directly at him. 

“y/n!” hendery put down your wrists as jaehyun laughed loud. you took the wet wipes marg gave you and whined a little whilst you stood by the mirror behind jaehyun.

“don’t be so bummed out honey.” your mom assured, giving a wink to jaehyun. “it’s a small prank. marg did it to you before.”

checking yourself for the last time at the mirror, you rolled your eyes. “i have enough patience for marg,” with one hand you cupped jaehyun’s lower face from the chin spreading to the cheeks, soon pinching hard on his dimples with a pointer finger and thumb. “but none for the human bread.”

“ow don’t touch me!” jaehyun swifted his head to look at you and he saw you flashed a smile like you were satisfied. 

“a human bread with molds. ew, i lost appetite so i’ll be out for a ride.” you stood up to grab your coat. “see ya ugly.”

“remember to you have to clean the barn house y/n!” your mom called out.

“yeah got that!”

johnny and mark bent their heads down and let their friends suffer from multiple dots on his faces. what made it funnier was that jaehyun munched happily on his meal, hadn’t gotten a single clue. he then eyed you when you passed the window and straight to the stables. “isn’t it too early for practice?” he drank his cup of hot chocolate. 

“she can ride all day. sometimes she doesn’t arrive home and the next morning you see her sleeping in the barn house.” marg tied her hair into a high bun. “the amount of dedication is there, except the passion she used to have isn’t really there anymore- hey!” she glared at hendery who gave her a warning look. 

what was that all about? jaehyun thought while his eyebrows met together and good thing it wasn’t obvious to your family. he was indeed curious, but he’d rather hear it from you than to look like a jerk who wanted to gossip about personal lives. the thing was, it’s you. though majority of the week was him suffering with workload, he liked to bicker with you until you gave up and had nothing to say. 

so far he recorded as 5-11 in terms of owning the other. the latter was his score and he was proud of it.

hendery’s phone vibrated and slid it to jaehyun’s place. jaehyun blinked to adjust his sight to the brightness of the phone. a sigh came out of his lips and the rest of them could tell it was another order from you. “ooh that doesn’t sound good.” mark slurped his soup. 

“it’s not.” jaehyun brushed his hair and hesitation slowly crept his body. “she asked me to clean the upper floor of the barn by the time she arrives.”

—

jaehyun massaged his wrists by twisting them. he looked at the barn house’ entrance because he noticed a figure approaching. you’ve had the best morning after jaehyun ruined it. as you rode, nothing beats the freshness of the cool wind. you love riding through the woods and grasslands. it sets you free from everything keeping you caged. your smile began to falter when you saw jaehyun who was not even halfway close to finishing. “you’re late. your mom had to apologise on your behalf because i’m doing the job for you.”

“ooh thanks! i’ll count on it!” you laid comfortably on a chair.

“hey!”

you leaned against the furniture, arms crossed where he was a floor above and standing at your 2 o’clock view. “dr. jeong it looks like you’re having a hard time. need help?” you stifled a laugh because he still has the ink marks you left on his face.

“on with the assumptions again, aren’t we?” he fixed his gloves and moved wooden planks from one place to another. 

“yeah you make yourself too easy of a target, jaehyun. and i thought you’re the type to not take things seriously.” you tied jet’s reins to a pole.

“you’re forgetting my condition number two, you can only badmouth me if the others are around. now get your flat butt up here and move the tool box aside so i can continue what i’m doing.” he grunted whilst lifting. 

dusting your pants, you were now standing a storey high. the sight of the height below you made you sick. jaehyun nudged your arm and you took the items blocking his way. you sighed and he noticed how fidgety you were. he put up a small smile. his entertainment from you didn’t end at the breakfast table. 

he scooted closer to you, pretending to bump into you with the pile of tall wooden planks in his arms. he heard you hiss, and that was the signal to begin. “oops didn’t see you there shorty.” there was a change in his voice, a more aggressive type of approach. 

“you’re doing that on purpose.” you checked the pained area of your forearm.

“what if i’m not? it could be an honest mistake.” he tilted his head away from the wood to see you.

a held-in soft disbelief laugh came out of your lips. “honesty doesn’t really blend in well with you.” 

jaehyun gasped with arched brows. “wow i’m very offended— you think this face..” he largely gestured himself. “would ever lie?”

“if you want to hear me saying you’re handsome.. it’s not happening.“ you took the rope to hang on a nail. 

“but you did say it.” he singsonged and you could push him off the loft but that could only happen in your head. 

“then that’s an honest mistake.” you flashed a forced smile at him. you carried the boxes stacked upon one another. “if you have a huge ego like that i bet you never dated. no girl would ever date you.” 

jaehyun fell silent, his mood to bash you suddenly changed. the shifts in his steps became heavier and as if he was putting his anger upon them. he didn’t like being reminded of sue, even if you unconsciously did so. “can’t you just keep quiet as you work? do you always have something to say? keep your damn mouth shut if you think all the fun you get is from belittling people.”

“okay sheesh sorry i didn’t know you have a heart for people too.” you removed your helmet to relieve the discomfort from it. 

as time passed— two hours to be exact, the more your guilt begin to seep in you. jaehyun never spoke after that. silence was like death at this point. not a hint of sniffs and sighs from him. did you go too far that he actually chose not to talk anymore? all you thought about was the pact he suggested. what now? anyone could appear any moment. 

this wasn’t like you at all. you hesitated to talk to him and to give the first move to bicker. you stood there staring at him piling boxes after boxes and sweeping the floor where dust accumulated like piles of sand. you bit your lips because screw this, you hated this atmosphere, you hated this silent treatment. “j-jaehyun?” you called out.

nothing. 

“hey-”

“hm? guilt eating you up now?” you froze at his voice as he chuckled. “it has, hasn’t it? look at your face!” he was laughing, his hands holding his ballooning stomach. “y/n you should’ve seen yourself!”

your gaze followed his hands that quickly took his phone placed at one corner. he was recording and your obliviousness blinded you. “oh you have no idea how much i wanted to laugh! my cheeks hurt so bad! hahaha!”

“you’re not using that to blackmail me!” you strided towards him.

he put his arm high as you struggled to reach it. “i might as well do that thanks for the idea!” faintly you heard his friends coming to check as to why their friend had the laughter of the century, only to find you both bickering again like this morning.

“delete that video jaehyun! i mean it!” “not until you agree to clean the loft!” “that’s like telling me to do everything!” “then that’s exactly what i’m telling you to do!”

johnny put up his phone to recording the struggling you and jaehyun enjoying his time to take advantage of his height. “dude i’ve never seen jaehyun this happy since sue broke up with him.”

“yeah his dimples are legit showing it’s scary me.” mark squinted at the two of you.

jaehyun swung his arms to avoid your attempted catches. he scrunched his nose and although that was undeniably cute, you couldn’t afford to feel humiliated for another two weeks. “jaehyun please delete it!”

“it’s not convincing enough you know?” “stop joking around we could fall!” you hissed. “fall?! then stop trying to get my phone!” “then put down your ridiculously long arm!” “yours are just too short!” “i swear— delete the footage!”

“you have to sound like you beg for it—” he cackled and with a few stretches you managed to reach his wrists as you lunged forwards. “oi stop!” that one last reach only made jaehyun lose his balance and fell backwards. 

and all you heard were yells of worry.

to say that you both gladly fell on soft pillows of hay was an understatement. at least that what it looked like to your friends. jaehyun was shocked, his arm felt numb. he took a good look at you and there you were laying on his arm with pale lips. “hey, you okay?” his hands were already out to help you. “y/n—”

“m’lady!” hendery rushed to you, causing jaehyun to flinch at the tone of his voice. he gently took your right arm, but you gritted your teeth and asked him to take the left. “painful?”

“not that serious.” you said, feeling the stares from jaehyun. “ew don’t look at me like that. i’m fine, really. let’s just call it a day.” you gave a small smile and he wasn’t buying it.

because jaehyun saw you clung onto hendery for dear life. 

[gnocchighoul]

Operation Hot Potato

Summary: 

“See? She’s just a baby~” you coo, gently wiggling the kitten in his face.

Lucifer grimaces. Takes another, larger step back. “If a baby is what you want, I’d rather give you one myself.”

(You bring home a kitten and try to hide her from Lucifer. Unfortunately for you, nothing gets past the House of Lamentation’s resident pet-hater.)

Word Count: 3.6k

AO3 Portal

You found a kitten.

Well—kind of. It’s debatable.

You think it’s a kitten. She certainly looks like one—fluffy little thing with snow-white fur, blue eyes, a poofy little triangular head, and the most perfectly pink toe beans you’ve ever had the pleasure of squishing. 

The reason why you’re so hesitant to call her a kitten? 

She breathes fire. Hiccups fireballs. Sneezes flaming hot streams of… well, flames.

You learned that firsthand ten minutes ago, when you nearly got your eyebrows singed off by a particularly dangerous sneeze. All you wanted to do was give her a smooch on her wittle pink nose, you weren’t expecting to get blasted in the face with an orangey-red inferno.

But you know what? It doesn’t matter if she’s a little strange. You’ve sworn your everlasting love to your newfound daughter—your secret daughter that the demon brothers can absolutely not know about under any circumstances whatsoever, because you just know that Lucifer will make you put her back in the wild where you found her.

Your fire-sneezing, bouncing baby girl wouldn’t last another day out in the harsh wilderness (aka the dumpster that you retrieved her from). In the forty-seven minutes that you’ve had her, she’s grown accustomed to belly scratches, sleeping in your bed, and gnawing on only the finest tortilla chips in the Devildom. 

Her name is Tater Tot.

She sticks out like a sore white thumb among your colorful assortment of pillows. Not that she cares. She’s living it up in the lap of luxury. Tater Tot stretches—turns around with every paw in the air, proudly showing off her rotund little baby belly, and mrrps at you.

Its the cutest thing you've ever fucking seen. You just wanna SQUEEZE her. Ugh, who would've guessed that a little trash fire baby would steal your heart so quickly?

And it’s not like you broke the rules and brought home a pet on purpose. Tater Tot had chosen you. By choosing to rummage around in that specific dumpster that you just so happened to walk past on your way home from RAD, Tater Tot had effectively decided that you were to be her new caretaker. 

It’s fate. Kismet. You’ve wanted a pet for so long—dog, cat, dragon, gremlin, doesn’t matter. You’ve spent hours upon hours bitching and moaning to anyone that’ll listen about how badly you’ve wanted a pet to smother with your love. Nobody has been able to escape your woe. Everyone—the brothers, the angels, Solomon, and even your good buddy Diavolo (somehow, Barbatos has managed to evade you) have all been forced to listen to your lamenting about the pet-shaped hole in your heart. 

But finally—finally—your prayers have been answered.

With a fire breathing kitten. 

Oh yeah. Kismet.

You’re fairly certain that Tater Tot has never lived in a house. She had been perfectly content to snuggle up in your school uniform like some kind of tiny, pouch dwelling, heat seeking creature, until you had snuck into your bedroom and closed the door behind you. 

The second you set her on the floor, it was like a switch flipped. Tater Tot had shown off her unnatural strength by flinging her little puffball body around the room like a possessed tumbleweed, spastically crashing around the room and knocking over furniture and keepsakes alike.

You had finally cornered her under your bed and sat peacefully nearby, humming quietly to calm her. It didn’t take long for you to coax her out with snacks—she liked the chips, but passionately disliked the gummy worms—and within twenty minutes you had Tater Tot lounging with you on the bed, rubbing her soft little cheeks into your palm for rubs and scritches. 

You need to come up with a plan to hide your beloved child ASAP. It’s only a matter of time until either Lucifer hauls you off to his room or one of the brothers decides to camp out in yours for the night, and if word gets back to Lucifer that you’re harboring a fugitive animal… Well, favoritism or not, it won’t end pretty.

Though perhaps there is one person who can help you with this little secret.

Satan. The cat-loving fourth brother. 

Man oh man, he’s going to be thrilled with sweet little Tater Tot. You have to be careful though—you reckon that there is a 96% chance that he’ll try to steal her away from you. Trying to juggle custody battles and harboring your secret daughter from Lucifer all at the same time sounds like such a pain.

But… That would still be better than having to put Tater Tot back on the streets.

With the threat of big-meanie-Lucifer looming over you like a particularly gothic and pet-hating phantom, you come to a final decision. You’re just going to have to pull on your big girl pants and accept the soul crushing truth of the situation.

Satan is your only hope. 

But how are you going to sneak your daughter all the way over to his room?

You look around your own room for something, anything that can hide your beloved dumpster pet and—ohohoho.

 ~

“Darling?” 

You freeze midstep.

Busted.

“What’s up, Lucifer?” You try so hard to keep your voice calm and normal. So hard. 

Judging by the way Lucifer looks at you, you’ve failed. And you were so close. Satan’s bedroom is literally right there! Only a few yards away! If only you’d just had ten more seconds to yourself in the dark hallway... Alas, the warden your beloved Lucifer aka the resident pet hater stands between you and the dusty salvation that is Satan’s library of a bedroom.

You shuffle your feet a bit nervously. Readjust your grip on the cardboard box. A bit warily, Lucifer eyes it.

“What’s in the box?”

You panic. “What box?” 

Fuck.

Lucifer cracks a smile, though it doesn’t meet his gaze. He gestures to the cardboard box that you are currently holding near to your chest like some sort of ugly, cubic liferaft. 

“Oh!” You laugh. It’s too high pitched. Suspicious. “This box? It’s just some books for Satan, it’s nothing—”

The box sneezes.

Your mouth snaps shut and you thank all the fucking stars in heaven that this sneeze didn’t flambé you.

Lucifer’s eyes narrow accusingly. Tone icy and sharp, he says, “Books? Is that so?” 

Fuck fuck fuck fuck—

You wilt a bit under the intensity of his gaze. “They’re… cursed books? Yeah, so cursed and dangerous and only Satan knows how to nullify the evilness of these books so I’m gonna just slip past you—”

Lucifer takes a step to the left, planting himself firmly in your path and effectively thwarting your desperate grand escape. A single blade of moonlight cuts through the curtains and slices through the shadows, Lucifer now caught in the spotlight and—oh that fucker did that on purpose. Ugh, what a drama queen.

Red eyes practically glowing in the dark, he nods menacingly at the box. “Go on then. Open it.” 

“I dunno, I really shouldn’t because of the curses and—”

Clearly not in the mood to entertain your scheming-slash-rambling, Lucifer takes matters into his own hands. Before you can twist away, one of his hands darts out to knock the lid off of the box and—

Books. It’s filled with books.

He frowns. Lifts one up and—nope, there’s just more books underneath. “...What?” 

“Happy? Now if you don’t mind I really should get—”

“Let me help you with that.”

Your reflexes aren't fast enough. Before you can leap back or Sparta kick him away, Lucifer plucks the box right out of your arms… and reveals a squirming lump beneath your sweater, right inbetween your breasts. The box hits the floor. Lucifer stares at your newly acquired mass with a very particular sort of horror that you’ve never seen before. 

You panic. Again.

“...I grew a new boob. I think the Devildom air is toxic or something, but it’s okay! The more the merrier, right? We can still—gET YOUR HANDS OFF MY TIDDIES—”

Lucifer presses one hand to your lower back, trapping you, and yanks down your zipper, revealing the purrito that is wrapped kind-of-securely to your chest with a scarf. He recoils backwards, looking equal parts horrified and peeved off.

Time for Plan B.

93% sure that you can still recover from this situation that is rapidly soaring downhill, you stuff your hands into your pockets and then throw them outwards, flinging fistfuls of rainbow confetti into the air. “Surpriiiise! You’re a daddy! Say hello to our daughter.”

“No.”

“Her name is Tater Tot. Personally, I think she takes after you.”

The Tater in question shimmies out of her silky prison and tumbles nose first into your palms. You hold her right up to Lucifer’s face, grinning like a goddamn sociopath when he takes an alarmed step backwards. Little puffball paws desperately try to swipe at his nose. Lucifer looks downright offended by the assault of pink toe beans.

“See? She’s just a baby~” you coo, gently wiggling the noodle-limp kitten in his face.

Lucifer grimaces. Takes another, larger step back. “If a baby is what you want, I’d rather give you one myself.”

“As fun as that sounds, we have a perfectly good one right here!” 

“That thing is not a baby. Where did you find it?” 

There’s a concerned little scrunch in his brow that you wanna smooth over with your thumb, but when you try to close the distance between you two, he moves further out of reach. Frowning, you hug Tater Tot to your chest. She snuggles her face into the crook of your neck and purrs like the smallest biodiesel engine in all of the realms.

“I found her in a dumpster!” you say, perhaps a bit too proudly. 

Lucifer’s eyes widen. “In the city?”

“Why is that so shocking? Does the Devildom not have stray cats?” 

“That’s not a cat.” 

“Well yeah I kinda figured, what with the whole fire breathing thing and all, but—”

“It’s a chimera.” 

You stare at Lucifer. Try to gauge how serious he’s being. Tater Tot nibbles on your thumb with little needle-like teeth. 

Surely he’s joking. 

“...Like the lion-goat-lizard thing? That chimera?” 

Lucifer nods. 

Like you’re in some twisted version of the Lion King, you hold Tater Tot up in the beam of moonlight that Mr. Doom and Gloom had previously been occupying. Examine her totally normal kitten-features. The distinct lack of goat hooves. Miss Tater licks her nose. A Chimera? Her?

Surely he’s fucking with you.

But… it would explain the whole fire-breathing thing. Kind of. You’re not fully convinced he’s lying, but the truth doesn’t make much more sense.

But if she is a chimera… that’s so badass.

If Lucifer thinks for one second that Tater Tot being a nightmarish Hell creature is going to scare you into giving her up, then he is sorely mistaken. (You did choose to date him, after all. You're an expert at loving on Hellish beings.) At the end of the day, whether Tater is a chimera or a cat or whatever the hell else, you’ve already bonded with each other. She’s your baby and you are not going to let him get rid of her. 

If he gets Cerberus, then you get your funky little Tater Tot, dammit.

Lucifer watches this journey of emotions play out on your face. His eyes narrow. He says your name slowly, strained—a thinly veiled warning in his voice.

The grin that overtakes your face can only be described as evil. 

“We’re keeping her.”

“Absolutely not.” 

 ~

“You can’t be serious.” 

From the depths of your blanket fort, your hand emerges to flip Lucifer off. He scowls. 

“This blanket fort is only for Tater Tot and me.”

“Then perhaps you should relocate to your bed.” Lucifer growls.

You snuggle further into the black sheets cocooning you. With impressive speed, you had raced back to Lucifer’s room and stripped every piece of fabric from his bed in record time. From there, it was simply a matter of combining the dark sheets with a bunch of pillows and voila. You had created your very own anti-Lucifer fortress, right in the middle of his bed. 

Tater Tot army-crawls across your thigh and worms her way into the sheets, vanishing like a ninja.

"What?" You peek at Lucifer through a small opening in the fabric. “But then you would just ignore me and Tater Tot.” 

“Yes, exactly. I’m glad that we’re on the same page.”

“No! We’re not on the same page at all,” you scowl. “I’m not moving until you bond with her.” 

“Then I suppose you’ll be stuck there forever.” 

“Maybe I will!”

You can’t see him right now, but you know in the depths of your heart that Lucifer is rolling his eyes at you. 

Which, y’know. Fair. You are being a little bit ridiculous. But what choice do you have? The confetti didn't work and Lucifer needs to form an everlasting bond with Tater Tot. He needs to experience how lovely and precious and wonderful your little baby is, so that he won’t make you put her back in the dumpster where you found her.

You have one last tactic. It is by far the absolute worst. 

Talking to him. Like some kind of functioning, responsible adult, because apparently that's what you're supposed to do in a healthy relationship. Blegh. 

While you agonize over stooping to this final resort, Lucifer climbs into the bed without a word and settles himself in like he owns the place. Which he does. But that’s beside the point. 

One of your arms emerges from the blanket shield to poke at his pajama clad thigh. He doesn’t react. So naturally, you poke him again. And again. And again, until finally he sighs, “What?”

You squirm your way out of the stuffy blankets, gulping down air once you're free—sweet baby Jesus, fresh air has never felt so good—and Tater Tot flies out after you, rocketing across the mattress at the speed of light and tumbling around like a little white pom pom. While she does her own thing, you worm your way into Lucifer’s side so that you’re halfway on top of his chest. He huffs and lays there like a board, refusing to hug you, so you grab his arm and wrap it around your shoulders yourself.

Here goes nothing. 

“Why are you so against having a pet?” you ask, dancing the pads of your fingers over his chest.

Lucifer cracks one eye open. “The first and last time I allowed pets in the house, Satan brought home 48 cats. In one hour.” 

...You really should have seen that one coming.

“Oh. Well, I mean… Is that reallyyy a bad thing—ow! You jerk, I was just kidding.” You pout. “You didn’t have to pinch my butt that hard.” 

Lucifer snickers and pats your butt consolingly. “Mmm, no, I didn’t. But I wanted to.”

Briefly, you consider headbutting him right in the chin. But alas, that wouldn’t solve anything, so you settle for pressing a kiss to his collarbone, then reach a hand up to play with his hair, just how he likes. It’s not very ~vengeful~ buuut it’s bound to put him in a better mood. 

You trace cutesy little heart shapes on his right pec. “You know what I want?”

Lucifer closes his eyes—lets his head fall back onto the mattress. “We’re not keeping her.” 

You snuggle into his chest with a happy little hum. “Yes we are.”

“...Just for the night. Tomorrow you're putting her back where you found her."

 ~

You wake up in agony. 

It feels like you’ve had a lung ripped out and replaced with serrated knives. Or shark teeth. Each breath drags oh so painfully at your—just kidding. 

You wake up well rested and tangled in the bedsheets, your head hanging off the side of the mattress. You’re a little hazy-brained and your skull feels like it weighs a thousand pounds, but that’s probably because of all the blood rushing to your head. When you roll over and haul yourself back up onto the bed, a noise escapes you that is definitely not fit for polite company.

The murky depths of slumber threaten to take you again, so you pat around the bed with your hand, looking for your favorite demon-slash-body pillow. You pat. And keep patting. Where the hell is Lucifer?

You crack one bleary eye open, trying to find Lucifer and—

Where the hell is Tater Tot?

Your heart jolts in your chest as you realize a few things all at once.

One: Lucifer is missing. 

Two: Tater Tot is missing.

Three: You slept through breakfast, but that’s less important. 

You’re off like a shot, wrestling yourself out of the sheets and flinging them to the floor, then stumbling across the room to get to the door before your brain can even fully wake up. It’s fine, you don’t need 100% brainpower, you just need to find your baby. 

You’ve barely taken four steps into the hallway when you slam nose first into Mammon. He catches you, saving your face from becoming acquainted with the floor, and you grab him by the leathery lapels of his jacket. 

“Where’s Lucifer?!” you hiss.

Mammon desperately tries to squirm out of your feral grip. You shake him like a polaroid picture.

“Geez, knock it off would ya?! He’s in his office, what the hell is up with you? Wh—HEY! I’M NOT DONE TALKIN’ TO YA!”

Whatever the Weenie has to say to you is less important than finding your child, so as soon as you acquire Lucifer’s location, you haul ass to Lucifer’s study.

 ~

In a raging fury that could rival Satan’s existence, you fling open the door, ready to tear Lucifer a new one for not even letting you say goodbye to your beloved kitten and—

And your heart melts into a warm, gooey puddle. 

Lucifer is sitting at his desk. Tater Tot is draped across his shoulders.

Lucifer glares at you, but there's no real bite in his gaze. “Keep it down, Phobos is sleeping.”

You blink stupidly, your brain racing at a thousand miles an hour to catch up with whatever the hell you’re currently feeling that has you all mushy and moon-eyed. “Phobos? What the hell? That’s not her name at all.” 

“My love, we are not naming our daughter after potatoes. Her name is now Phobos. She and I came to a mutual agreement that it is far more fitting of a name for a creature of her pedigree.”

...You’re so torn. On one hand, you want to argue that Tater Tot is a lovely name for your dumpster kitten-chimera-thing, but on the other hand… he called her ‘our daughter’. As in your guys’s daughter. This can only mean one thing, and you clutch at your heart when you realize what’s happening.

They bonded.

It damn well might bring a tear to your eyes.

You make your way over to Lucifer, shove aside the papers on his desk, and perch your happy ass right on the hardwood.

With a bone deep sigh, Lucifer leans back in his chair. “Why do you always do that? My lap is available, you know.”

Tater Tot wakes up and lifts her heavy little sleep-addled head to meep at you.

You grin—hook your ankles around the armrests of his chair and pull him closer. “So… does this mean we’re keeping Tater Tot?” 

“... Yes, we’re keeping Phobos. But that’s it, no more pets.”

“Okay, wait. Hear me out. What about a dog?”

“Absolutely not.”

Lucifer plucks another white hair from his RAD uniform and holds it up to the moonlight, scowling at the offensive thing. Why in all the realms did you have to find a white cat? The damned thing has only lived with you lot for two days and yet somehow its hair has already gotten over every article of black clothing in his wardrobe. It’s infuriating.

His gaze wanders across the courtyard to where you’re sitting pretty on Beel’s shoulders, clawing at his face with your fingertips and screaming in terror at how high up you are. He grins. 

He can put up with the shedding fur, so long as he gets to see how your eyes shine like the stars when you see Phobos.

Still though. Why couldn’t you find a black kitten? 

“Lucifer! There you are!” 

Lucifer flicks the cat hair—lets the breeze catch it and float it away. Before he can even get a proper greeting in, Diavolo is pulling him in for a bone crushing hug.

“You’re here a bit later than usual. How’s life with the new kitten treating you?” Diavolo asks.

Lucifer steps out of the hug and eyes Diavolo warily. “Just fine, thank yo—wait. How do you know about the cat?”

Diavolo blinks innocently. “Surely you told me about her, didn’t you?” 

No, he definitely did not—oh no. 

Lucifer stares, slack jawed and horrified, because in that moment, he realizes something that he refuses to accept.

No.

No. It can’t be.

Diavolo would never do that to him. He would ne—oh fuck, he absolutely did.

Diavolo planted the cat. He knew that you would find her in that dumpster and take her home.

Lucifer has never known a betrayal quite like this. Diavolo says something about heading off to his office, but he doesn’t hear him over the rushing in his ears.

“Diavolo.” 

The demon prince in question pauses in his escape to look back at Lucifer. “Yes, Lucifer?”

“Why did you have to pick a white cat?”

And oh, Diavolo laughs. A full belly laugh that quite honestly kills Lucifer. Just a little bit.

[utterlyinevitable]

pb let me *redact* Tobias challenge 🥲

not me turning your tobias thirst asks into a 3-part mini series 😂🙈

Pairing: Ethan x F!MC (Becca Lao) x Tobias Carrick Rating: Teen+ Summary: Ethan’s still pissed at Becca for her Tobias stint when he was in the Amazon. What happens when the narcissist joins the team? Trope: Angst; Broke Up; Ethan’s POV; Fighting; Jealousy

A/N: the toxin plot didn’t happen in this universe btw.

Part 1  |  Part 2

___________________________

Godly Sins: 3. Parting Wrath of Hera

That evening Tobias and Becca spoke late into the night about anything and everything. Well, everything that didn’t involve Ethan, June and hospital drama, nor their two brief wanton stints - truly getting to know one another and starting fresh.

As days and shifts and weekends rolled by, the sparkle they’ve shared began blooming into a friendship.

It was rather inevitable, really.

Two people who shared an indubitable attraction, forced to spend all their time together out of their boss’ sight - It was kismet.

Meanwhile, Ethan Ramsey had been ignoring them both for weeks outside of Diagnostic Team mandated functions - even then, interactions were brief and mediated by Harper. He’s been on edge since Tobias joined the team as Bloom’s nark, presumably. Or at least that’s what he told himself - convinced himself that nothing good could come from whatever this was.

Oh, how things go horribly, horribly sour.

Becca was sitting in the office waiting for the daily Diagnostics Team meeting to start, busying herself by scrolling through social media over eleven times in the last five minutes.

Steps away, Ethan sat at his desk, keeping a cold shoulder and looking over files he purposely keeps on his desk for awkward times just as these. The air between them stiff and stale, as heavy as it was months ago when they had their falling out. They should have acclimated to the unrelenting suffocation of being left alone together - the third shadow accompanying whatever was left of them.

But they hadn’t. Never really could once she realized Ethan would never forgive her for forming a survivalistic attachment to his biggest adversary. Rebecca Lao wasn’t going to let a man’s misplaced pride stifle her. So, she refuses to stroke his ego by hiding - even through the rancor of being alone with him, and the twangs that erupt when they’re this close. She’s not going to idly hover outside, biding time until Harper or Tobias or Naveen or a nurse, or anyone else enters the office first. She’ll sit and she’ll wait for work to begin.

And Ethan Ramsey will sit at his desk and pretend she’s not there. He’ll pretend he can’t smell her perfume, or hear the tapping of her nails to her phone or the heel to the floor as her leg jitters. He’ll pretend she’s nothing more than a ghost of the past lingering in the cornerstone of his conscious, like all the others. He’ll convince himself he’s angled away from her just enough to keep a peripheral eye on the door in case there’s an emergency, even if that line of vision is really just of her.

If Tobias noticed Ethan staring blankly ahead, he didn’t dare attempt to feign interest. The olive-skinned addition sauntered straight over to Becca, hands full and a thin, satisfied smile at home on his lips.

He set down a large coffee and sandwich wrapped in white paper in front of her. Ethan could just about read the stickered logo from where he sat. But he could see the undoubtable way Becca’s eyes lit up.  

“Is this from...”

“The one and only,” Tobias had a cheeky grin - a kind of unbridled simper.

“That was fast.”

“Said I’d buy you breakfast, and I did.” He pulled out the chair closest to her and sat with his signature nonchalant grace. “Did you think I’m not a man of my word?” His hand was waving, palm up, towards the small feast before her.

“More like a flubber.”

Becca’s playful tone matched his in the most complimentary way.

Ethan caught the shining smile they shared - one that could only indicate an inside joke. One that could only mean they were spending too much time together. One that could only mean they were getting along.

Then Tobias plucked a strip of bacon off her sandwich.

And that was when something snapped in Dr. Ramsey.

They weren’t meant to be comfortable. They’re meant to suffer. That was the whole point of constantly pairing them together. These two flawed and moralless people were meant to be a punishment. Just for a while. Just until...

They made a house out of crushed stones.

They flipped the script on how this was meant to play out, and Ethan vehemently resented them for it.

As soon as Harper entered the office, Ethan bolted to his feet and rattled through the meeting. Swift, succinct and blinded by the need to be alone. Alone to plot what comes next.

He was gruffer with them for the rest of the day, and this time they noticed. The scorn seeped through Ethan’s characteristic distain like nuclear waste. Neither Becca or Tobias were guilty of whatever Ethan was holding them accountable for this time - a scapegoat for his repressed feelings. Then why did Becca feel guilty? She did nothing wrong - then or now. This is a natural progression to the seeds he sowed by banishing them.

Ethan will just have to live with the consequences.  

***

The consequences came two weeks later. Powerful and damning and freezing Ethan in place, right in the middle of his office. Right in front of them. 

Tobias and Becca were perched on the diagnostics’ couch. Becca’s hand is in his and he’s rubbing gentle circles of adoration to the soft skin. He didn’t stop his ministrations as the air around them, once a glorious heated serenity, now turned icy. The chill wafting through with the large presence of their past.

“I don’t want to know,” he grumbles as he pulls himself out of his stupor and storms towards his desk.

The words of her off-handed response were as hard as a lingering look into Medusa’s eyes. “Yes you do, Ethan. So ask.”

The contempt. The exasperation. The overall vile irksome in her tone… It was baiting him. She was baiting him to lose his temper. To acknowledge it all. Ethan didn’t mean to say his inner thoughts out loud, didn’t mean to revert on the divine separation he’s put between them all. And he certainly didn’t mean for her to mistake this moment as an olive branch. However decrepit it is. 

Ethan didn’t ask. Just shakes his head and tries to fall back into his ignorance. 

He hears the creak of the couch as the pair stand up and the shuffling of two people moving as one. Ethan’s trying so hard not to watch them - trying not to assess their every move and read too much into it. The pair move towards the door when he speaks -

An authoritative statement pegged directly at her. Eyes devoid of feeling, blue irises creeping down the Marianas trench.

“It is unethical to be involved with a colleague.”

Ethan Ramsey was foolish. Especially so to believe he could have the last word - the last victory of battle in the war he started. For Rebecca spun around with such purpose, the skirt of her dress catching on the wind. Her hands at her sides balling, sharp nails grazing palms.

A rueful snort escapes her, “Thought it was only unethical if there’s a power imbalance?”

She had him there. With the forced team democracy Tobias wasn’t technically a superior. Never mind that they aren’t together. Not really.

If he was a better man, Tobias would intervene and set the record straight. He’d position himself in the five feet between these two Edenbrook legacies instead of behind her. Watching. Decoding every tell tale in the tableau.

The way they were glaring at one another, well... The suspicion that floated as his reasoning to send the basket all those months ago was more than confirmed. And Tobias Carrick just realized what he’s just gotten himself into.

“There will be no fraternizing within my team,” Ethan’s voice strained to keep calm. Tried not to bellow the rule he’s kept in place when it comes to Rebecca Lao. His ears beginning to redden and the vein of his neck protruding. 

Becca huffed a dry laugh, folded her arms across her chest and looked away. Towards Tobias.

In a few seconds many things happened. Becca’s eyes locked on Tobias, shooting him a look that could only mean one thing. Tobias smiled just for her. Ethan’s heart shattered. And Becca turned back to Ethan.

Her once copper eyes now almost entirely black. “Define fraternizing.”

That had Ethan sputtering and Tobias’ sly smile broadening.

“Because friendship is one thing,” she continued. “Sexual intercourse, another.”

That got a rise out of both men for very different reasons.

“Either way, the nature of my relationship with Tobias is none of your concern.”

They’re staring one another down. His sapphire eyes darker than she’s ever seen - all the hurt they’ve caused one another swirling between. Becca can feel the regret in the tension of his shoulders and the stiffness of his jaw. But for what, she doesn’t know - doesn’t want to. The longer she stands here, looking at him for the first time in months, she fears she’ll see every facet of pain she’s caused, and every reason to back down. And that’s too much to bear. Even after it all there’s still a part of her that loves him, always will. 

She’s strong as stone before him, refusing to waver.

Tobias itches to say something, anything. Something that wouldn’t just cut through the tension... 

“If it makes you feel better we’ll disclose to HR.”

Ethan’s neck could have snapped with the force of the swiftness as his head whipped towards his rival. Eyes narrowed and sizing Tobias up - decoding every subtext of the phrase. Every little bit of their unknown closeness. 

With his steely gaze stuck on Tobias, Becca found the strength to pull away. Turned her back on Ethan and began walking out - not a single glance thrown back over her shoulder for either man. Tobias less than half a step behind her. Leaving Ethan with one final look. 

As Ethan watched them walk out, he deflates. A knife stabbed straight to the heart he wasn’t sure he still had. Red blood that beat because of her. 

For her. 

Still.

***BONUS POV***

As soon as they were out of earshot, down the corridor and away from any lingering ears, Tobias spoke; 

“Ever going to tell me what happened between you and Ramsey?”

“A mistake, apparently.”

He squeezed her hand and that’s all that was said on the subject.      

______________________

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

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[momolady]

Goblin Girlfriend: Blair

A nice fluff piece. Something I’m sure you’ll all find nice and comforting.

Female Main Character x Female Monster

The accident, as everyone around me calls it, keeps getting talked about like a monster in the shadows. ‘The accident took your hand,’ they say. ‘The accident is to blame for this, don’t blame yourself.’ They aren’t the ones missing a hand, are they? Yes, the accident did take my hand, but that isn’t what concerns me. I don’t blame the entity known as ‘accident’, because accidents happen. Actually, I don’t know who or what to blame for this.

The hospital offered to grow me a new hand in their lab, but that felt too gruesome for my taste. It also would have taken too long and cost far too much. Instead I was given a list of people who could build me a new hand. It would still be expensive, but it would be cheaper than anything the hospital offered.

Most of the people listed are located in the ‘circuit district’, a section of town where most of the robot repairers, mechanics, and their like have set up shop over the years. After I’m able to leave my house without being mildly panicked, that’s where I head. The list is quite long and I’m not sure where to start. The circuit district is quite a maze, with shops down narrow alleyways and shacks built on rooftops. There’s an electric hum to everything, punctuated by sparks and sizzles. As I navigate the blue glow of the maze, suddenly there is a cat in my path.

“Oh, hello kitty.” I’m quite surprised to see a cat in such a place. I notice the cat’s left paw is mechanical, a shiny chrome sort of color. The cat scratches itself, then looks up at me with sweet, wide eyes. It meows and trots over, weaving between my legs. I kneel down to pet it and rub behind its ears.

“Nice to meet you, uh...” Taking the collar, I see a small tag with the cat’s name. “Hello, Georgie.”

The cat sits upright, and with a wiggle Georgie leaps up. With some slight panic I manage to hold him in my right arm. “Easy there! I only have one hand now.”

Georgie purrs. I sigh and double-check the address on the tag. To my surprise, the very same address is on the list I was given. “Well, then, perhaps you helped me make up my mind, Georgie.” I adjust my arm so Georgie is happily nestled against the crook of my neck. I walk with him in that position until we reach his home.

The building is on the corner, so two of the walls are massive garage doors, one red, one silver. The red one is open, so I just walk inside. The ceiling is way up, and there are hydraulic lifts above. One has a car on it, and the other has some sort of mech suit. To one side of the shop there are three other mech suits in a line, yellow, pink, and blue. Beside them is a wall of tiny drawers. The next wall is covered in monitors, each showing a different wall of text or image.

“Who goes there?” a voice booms.

I jump in surprise, but Georgie bolts down from my arms and runs towards the back just as someone slides down from a pole above. The person is quite short, wearing a large headpiece with goggles, grease-smudged coveralls and heavy black boots.

“Georgie!” They stoop over to pick up the cat. “You bolted this morning. What the hell was so damn important? You got a lover out there?” The mechanic turns in my direction and points at me. “This them?”

“No. Um, hello there.” I start to wave my left hand, but quickly stop myself and use my right. “I found Georgie - well, technically, Georgie found me.”

“He does that.” The mechanic sets Georgie on the desktop under the monitors and takes off the headpiece. Her hair fluffs out, and she runs a metal hand through it, looks at me with big green eyes and smirks. “Thanks for bringing the asshole back.”

“Actually...” I hold up the list. “It could be a moment of kismet. Are you...” I try to read the name on the page.

The mechanic turns to the monitors and starts clicking on a keyboard. “Call me Bleh. That's the best most people can pronounce. Some are nice and say Blair, but I really don’t give a shit. What are you here for?” She takes off the coveralls and I see a petite, slender figure in a tank top and bra underneath. Her full arm is mechanical.

“My hand,” I say quietly. “Um, it’s...”

Blair turns and sees the arm I’m holding at my side. “Prosthetic, eh? Didn't like what they could grow at the hospital?” she laughs.

I grimace. “It was too creepy. It felt… wrong.”

“What’cha got there, a lefty?” She double-checks then looks back at the screen. “Nicole, bring up schematics of left hands.”

“Yes, Bleh. Bringing up left-hand schematics, years 5 through 9.” The screens blink, then flash with different hand models.

Blair wags her hand for me to come closer. “I ain’t gonna lie to ya, even mech hands can be extremely pricy. Not hospital-pricey, but still pricey.”

“I’m fully prepared for that. Without this hand, I can’t work, and if I can’t work, I can’t pay you back.”

“What do you do?” Blaire asks.

“Book repair.” I place my left arm in her hand.

Blair whistles. “You work for rich people, don’t you?”

I shrug. “I suppose. But I do sometimes volunteer my time to museums and preservationists when I get the chance.”

Blair takes a pair of goggles from the table and flips down a row of magnifying glasses before her right eye. “What happened here? Amputation? Saw mill accident?”

“Accident,” I say. “But not at a saw mill.”

Blair huffs and sits back. “I can make up a mock-up of what I can do, but I’ll need to take some extensive photos of your right hand to get the size and shit right.”

“That’s fine.” I pull back my left arm. “I’m free right now, if that works.”

Blair smirks up at me.  “You sure you wanna start working with me?”

“Why wouldn’t I? Do you have a reputation? I know sometimes fairy folk are...”

Blair snickers. “I’m not a fairy, I’m a goblin. And yeah, I have a reputation as being a bit of an asshole to work with.”

Blair shows me the estimate, as well as prices with certain materials and colors used. It is quite expensive, but it would be worth it in the long run. I need this hand. “Now, as for payment,” Blair sighs. “I could use some help around here. I get busy and forget about things. Nicole can only do so much for me. I need someone to help me with the life admin of my, well, life.”

I’m a bit surprised. “You want an assistant?”

Blair nods. “I’ve forgotten to eat and stuff like that, and it’s starting to not be okay. Never was, but… I also need help with laundry. And my apartment upstairs is...” She grimaces. “Well, it’s something you can work on to pay off the price until you can work on books again.”

“I don’t know how much help I can be. But this would be a huge load off my mind. Not being able to work right now is driving me batty,” I chuckle nervously. “This could help me get on my feet again.”

“Then why not start today? I can start getting things laid out and prepped. Maybe by next month I’ll have something that can be temporarily fitted.”

She motions to a door in the back and leads me through it and up the stairs to her apartment.  “I’m so used to tech I sometimes forget about real life, you know?” She turns the lights on, and while it isn’t too bad, it’s still pretty chaotic. Clothes everywhere, machine parts propped up, tools scattered among wrappers and cat toys.

“I used to have a hamster. I sent Georgie to find it but, eh...” Blair shrugs. “Georgie was the wrong cat for the job. So if you come across a hamster…”

“I get it,” I murmur. “Where do you keep your cleaning supplies?”

“I have window cleaner somewhere,” Blair murmurs.

I try not to react to that. “Window cleaner isn’t what I need.”

Blair glances back up at me. “That’s all I ever use.”

“Oh, boy,” I whisper to myself. “Well, where would you like me to start?” I look around, trying to make a map in my mind of how to go through this place.

“The floor, I guess?” Blair grumbles. “I’m not picky. Whatever you want to work on, you work on. If you need anything, just ask Nicole. She’ll be able to answer your questions.”

I nod, still formulating a plan. “Have you had lunch yet?”

“I haven’t even had breakfast,” Blair laughs. “One of those things I forgot.”

It takes me a few days to get into the groove of things. I show up early, but usually Blair is still working. She’ll go to bed once I arrive, and sleep a couple of hours while I clean or work on the planner I’m putting together. After she wakes up I help her get breakfast in order, then clean with a vacuum as she goes to work. Once finished with the apartment, I work with her in the shop. I keep it clean, dusting and sweeping, usually with Georgie hanging off the broom.

I’m enjoying my time with her. More than that, I’ve found myself being more and more drawn to Blair. In fact, there are times when my heart flutters when I think about her. I’m nervous to ask her if she feels the same, so I’ve kept my mouth shut.

Finally, the day comes for the first fitting. I sit with Blair in a brightly-lit room as she puts a socket over my wrist. She adjusts the hand, puts it through a few tests, then attaches it to the bracelet.

“How does it feel?” Blair asks softly.

“It itches a little,” I reply. “Tingles too, sort of like when it falls asleep.”

“Good.” Blair smiles. “Try moving the fingers, then.”

The fingers flex, albeit slowly. Blair giggles excitedly. “Okay then, turn your wrist.”

I do so.

“Perfect!” She takes my hand and starts poking at it. I can feel her warmth through the new hand, or perhaps that’s just wishful thinking.

“After this is done, what then?” I ask.

“You can go back to the things you used to. Go back to work, your home, whatever you want. It’s your hand.” Blair says.

“But...” My voice catches in my throat. “What about you?”

Her long ears twitch. “Me? What about me?” She looks up and her cheeks darken. “I’ll be fine.”

My fingers fidget and twitch, and she looks back down. “Maybe I could check in on you from time to time,” I say softly. “Make sure you’re eating. Maybe even take you out now and again.”

Blair sniffs and nods. “Sure, maybe,” she says dismissively.

“I’m free tonight,” I say unsurely. My nerves are rising, but I need to ask. “Maybe we could get something to eat, then maybe snuggle with Georgie, on the couch.”

“Not anywhere near here with good food,” she murmurs.

I frown and look away. “Oh.”

Blair stops, turning her green eyes up to me. “Wait.” She furrows her brow. “Snuggle on the couch?”

My cheeks feel like they are on fire. “Yeah.”

Blair’s face darkens to a deep emerald color. “Oh.” She sits back a second. “I don’t know about dinner.”

I’m trying not to smile too big, so I bite my cheek. “I can figure that out if you’d like.”

“Okay,” Blair begins to smile. “I would like that. But...” she clears her throat. “Let's focus on your hand here. Okay, trying holding something.”

I pick up a screwdriver nearby and hold it, twitching my wrist around and flexing my fingers.

“This is just a temporary make, mind you, so it won’t have all the features, but this does give me something to build off of. I’ll be able to make the permanent model now, and you can use the temporary one.”

I sigh with relief and clutch the hand to my chest. I could just about cry. “Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Blair smiles softly. “I do, actually. I had an old friend do the same for me when I was much younger.” She pulls up her sleeve to show me her arm. “It made me fall in love with the craft.” She motions to the blue, yellow, and pink mech suits behind her. “My old friends. That’s why I wanted to work so hard for you, Sig.”

I smile brightly back at her, wishing I could kiss her, but I’ll have to wait for that. “You deserve more than I can give. You really are an artist.”

Her cheeks darken. “Yeah well, I don’t really care. I’m happy with this here.”

When I come back that evening, I’ve got takeout with me. Georgie greets me at the door, and I let myself up the stairs. When I enter the apartment, I see something strange. It’s still quite clean, and there are candles lit. It looks like Blair tried cleaning up herself.

“I’m here!” Blair comes running out. Her hair is wet and she’s wearing clean clothes. I’ve never seen her in shorts, so for the first time I realize her leg is a prosthetic, just like her arm. She pushes her hair away from her face. “Hi,” she says breathlessly.

I smile back. “Hi.”

She sits close to me as we eat, and when we’re done she takes my hand as we walk to the couch. She cuddles up close to me, but I can tell she’s still nervous, and I know I am too. “Is this okay?” Blair asks.

I tuck my hair behind my ear. “Yeah. of course.”

Blair clears her throat and nods. “Would it be too much if I asked for a kiss?”

I bite my lip as I smile. “No.” I bend down a bit. Her hand touches my cheek, and I close my eyes. The kiss starts out soft and sweet, but then Blair starts to pull back. I chase after her, deepening the kiss. Blair presses closer, putting her arms around me as I slip mine against her back.

Blair breathes softly as we part. “I was hoping something like this would happen,” she whispers. “I just felt silly all this time.”

“So, you like me?”

She nods.

“I like you too.” I cuddle up beside her again. “I’d like to get to know you more in this way.”

“I still have a lot of work to do on your hand. This is just a temporary fit for now.” She smiles awkwardly. “But, that doesn’t mean I’m trying to trap you or anything.”

“I know.” I kiss her again and I feel her shiver.

“You’re good at that,” she squeaks. “I’m not good at a lot of real-world stuff. So just... yell at me if I forget something.”

“I’ll remind you. I won’t yell.” I kiss her cheek and she leans into it, turning her head this way and that to accept more kisses. Her smile grows larger and hard to ignore. She looks so happy and cute, I can’t stop myself.

Soon we’re laid out on the sofa, with Blair snuggled on top of me and Georgie purring on her back. We’re watching a movie, but we haven’t really paid attention. We’ve kissed and talked a lot, and now, because of Georgie, we’re sort of stuck. “I blame Georgie for this,” Blair says.

“What do you mean?”

Blair looks up at me with those perfect green eyes. “Well you said so yourself. It was sort of like kismet that Georgie found you. Maybe it’s more than that. Not just a hand, but maybe a friend… a girlfriend?”

I kiss her again. “Yeah, I guess this is all Georgie’s fault,” I giggle.