#LOOK AT HOW BEAUTIFUL IT IS THIS IS MY FAVORITE PIECE OF ART IN THE WORLD NOW

[doomssoiree]

DAYDREAM SERIES(txt ver.)

❤︎ ────living through five daydreams with five dreamy boys.

daydream two has been delivered…

DREAM #2:

(연준)yeonjun. say yes to heaven.

TROPE: introduction by hookup, strangers to lovers, hurt/comfort, vacation romance

TAGS: nsfw, smut, vanilla, fluff, angst

say yes to heaven, say yes to me.

── AFTER A wild night out with your friends, you wake to find a pretty stranger in your bed, only dreading what could have happened between you two the night before; fortunately, the stranger doesn't give you the chance to regret and wallow in self-shame, quick to bring comfort to your sorrows.

“I’ve got my eyes on you.”

──“THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOMENT OF A LOVER, THE VIEW FROM BEHIND” beautiful moments are made to share, made to be put in pieces of art, in photos that can not be replicated, in videos that can not be recorded in the same place, same way, same time, can not re-create the same emotion. beautiful moments are meant to be seen by all human eyes, so that the emotions can be shared, so that you can connect with others through such a beautiful moment, but when is sharing too much? when is sharing considered crossing the line? what amount of sharing betrays privacy and intimacy? 

what happens when the precious moments only meant to be shared between two, are suddenly precious moments that millions of people share. do you scream? cry? destroy all evidence of such a moment, let each broken piece be a symbol of your rage? or maybe you should react how people think you should, staying calm and being understanding, realize that it’s art, that you partner wanted to “show how gorgeous you are”, even if that meant they’d be showing you at your most vulnerable, even if you never asked to be the subject of their art, when you wanted such moment to be something sacred, that only you and your partner shared. You should be understanding, right? because humiliation, betrayal, shame, a broken trust, the pain that such exposure has caused you, is only a small price to pay for the sake of art. And of course you’re seen as crazy for not being “understanding”. 

“hey, hey, it’s alright, drop the weapon.” you could barely hear the man through the loud pumping of blood in your ears, but the stranger’s warm touch was enough to make you drop the dust covered heel you were wielding like a knife. the hushed voices around you sounded as nothing but white noise, you could only hear the man’s semi-deep voice as he mumbled words of comfort, bringing you down from your fit of rage and slowly pulling you away from the marble sculpture that was now nothing but dust and rumble.

 he eventually pulled you into his chest, hiding you from prying eyes and the lingering gaze of your partner, who he believed did not deserve another look at you after publicly humiliating you. the rest of that night was nothing but a blur, the memory wiping from your brain and leaving bits and pieces, leaving a scar on your mental.

 the only thing that permanently stuck was the name yeonjun. it was a name that circulated your mind every day, you wondered who it belonged to and why it seemed so important. you wondered if you’d ever meet this yeonjun again.

“give peace a chance. let the fear you have fall away.”

the sun gracefully casted her bright rays through the glass panes of the patio door, the white beams danced across your skin, stirring you awake in the softest of ways. your favorite thing to wake up to is the sun, the sounds of birds harmonizing to create their morning song, the distant sound of waves crashing and trees gently swaying as the wind passes, the overall sound of nature is always such comforting music to wake up to. you shifted in the bed, the blanket and sheets moving with your body as you lifted yourself from the mattress and stretched, yawing and basking in the peace of the morning. 

unfortunately, your peace was shattered at the sound and movement of shifting beside you, heart dropping at the alarming realization that you were not the only one in the bed. as you turned your head, slowly and with much caution, the sight of a stranger laying rather comfortably on the other side of the mattress came into view, sending your body straight into a state of panic. said stranger was very pretty, brunette hair cascading across half his face, skin as soft as his gorgeous features, plump lips parted a tiny bit to allow his gentle breathes to escape and linger into the surrounding air, still his pleasing appearance did nothing to calm you, in fact him being attractive to you was even more alarming. 

you ripped your gaze away as if afraid you’d burn him with it, letting out shaky breathes as you tried to remember what you may have done last night, how the stranger landed in your bed and what choices you may have made when he did, none of the possible answer striked as being good ones. your world seemed to tilt on its axis, dread sinking in your veins, the room spinning and your waterline burning from tears that threatened to fall, the sting from your teeth biting into your bottom lip causing more to rise to the surface. 

there was no way you slept with a stranger, not after you avoided even the thought for months, promising yourself that you wouldn’t make the same mistake of letting someone see you at your most vulnerable, not letting them have the chance to potentially run their mouth about it, swearing yourself to celibacy, and still you gave it up to a stranger?

 the weight of shame sat heavily on your chest, it almost hurt to breathe. the mere idea of what your ex-partner did, the feeling it invoked, happening again, terrified you beyond compare, making you want to run, hide from the eye of the public and the image of your naked body being splayed out on the wood of a table.

 you tried to calm down, to listen to that voice in your head that was attempting to get through to you, to tell that your okay and it won’t happen this time, so long as you don’t let it, but the fear was much louder, it’s screams and ringing alarms too much to ignore.

before you could truly get swept up in your panic and carried away by your fears, the small voice in the back of your head grew louder, the grey and suffocating world you’d built around yourself shattering as a warm feeling spread throughout your body, the colors of reality coming back to you and the weight on your chest dissolving, allowing you to breathe more clear; it wasn’t until you had fully calmed down, that you realized that voice was not in your head but rather the voice of the man lying beside you.

 “it’s okay, you're safe, no one’s gonna hurt you, baby.” if you weren’t so hyper aware of his presence, you would have just barely heard him due to the depth and rasp of his voice. his voice struck as familiar to you, but you were far too busy to pay attention to that, staring at his head resting on your thigh and hand pressed against your back, two points of contact that warmed your entire body with ease, the sensation of his skin on yours felt way too good, almost making it hard for you to pay attention to anything else.

the handsome stranger lifted slightly on the mattress, still close as he propped his arm up to hold himself, the loss of contact nearly making you frown more than you already were; you were a sucker for physical touch. the man ran his ring clad fingers through his hair, bracelets clattering together on his wrist and the momentary absence of his hair giving you a good view of his beautiful face. you couldn’t help but let your gaze run over his body, taking in his muscular arms and toned upper body, your teeth sinking further into your aching bottom lip and a small shudder passing through at the mere idea of having sex with someone so heaven sent. you quickly averted your eyes, though he hadn’t noticed, it still felt wrong to stare for some reason. 

“what’s got you panicking?” he spoke up once he’d turned to look back at you, “I’m not scary, am I?” he attempted to joke, but judging by the silence on your end, it didn’t land, earning an awkward sniff from the brunette. “seriously though, what’s wrong? talk to me, angel.” his voice was soft, still relatively deep but with less rasp now that he was fully awake, as you slowly looked at him, you saw the tenderness in his eyes, the light reflecting off them and making them shine like pretty little crystals. you could tell he was genuinely concerned, you could feel the care he held for you despite you two only knowing each other for a few hours, it was overwhelming almost. 

you contemplated on letting him in on your thoughts, fear still lingering and a bit of guilt towards feeling such a way when he has yet to give you a reason to. as if he could read your mind, the man reached his free hand towards your hip and gave it an encouraging squeeze, urging you but not rushing you. 

you took a long and deep breath, his thumb rubbing your hip gently as you did, “I’m…scared.”  your cheeks flushed as you said it, feeling like a toddler expressing their feelings to their teacher, but there was no judgement on the strangers end, as you seem to have expected, he just nodded to show you that he understood and gave you room to continue, that did a number on your heart. 

“I promised myself I wouldn’t have sex for a long while, and I broke that promise with you last night. I’m scared that because I did, I’ll get hurt…again.” your confession made him frown, his brows furrowing slightly as he thought about what you said, nodding slowly. once you stayed silent for more than a couple seconds, he spoke up, “I would never hurt you, but I should have hurt that fucker for doing so.” he said in a slight frustrated tone, his words ringing multiple bells in your head.

suddenly the memory of that horror story resurfaced. though foggy and pieces missing from how shocked you were that night, you could faintly recall a man helping you calm down from the fit of rage you’d gone on, how he smelled, how he looked, how smooth and soothing his voice was, the man you’d met prior during a dinner with a few of your dance major friends, and the same man who was before you now.

“yeonjun.” you hadn’t even realized you said it out loud until he answered, “you finally remember me, baby.” he smirked, but only for a few seconds before his expression was serious again. “I don’t blame you for being scared, what he did was fucked up, but…” he trailed off, scooting closer to you and placing his hand on your thigh, his sparkling eyes locking with yours, making your heart skip a few beats. “...I promise you, I would never do that to you. for one, I can barely draw a straight line, and two, I’m not very fond of sharing. everything that happens between us, stays between us.” yeonjun moved his hand up to wipe away the stray tears you hadn’t realized even fell, the action making your heart ache, in a good way. 

his words felt almost like a pledge to you, to you they were so much more than words you needed to hear, they were like a bandaid placed over the wound left open by a man who failed to keep you out of harm's way. it warmed your body and soul, healed parts of you that you never knew were even broken. frankly, everything about yeonjun was strangely comforting, coaxing the most overwhelming emotions out of you. both his rather angelic appearance and radiant aura entranced you in a lovely spell that you were reluctant to break out of, he made you want to cry and kiss him stupid at the same time.

the brunette came closer, bringing his intoxicatingly sweet scent with him, the smell punching you straight in the gut and leaving a tidal wave of butterflies in your stomach. you blinked, watching as his eyes slowly scanned your body, leaving a trail of tingles under every inch of your skin, face feeling ten times hotter than normal as he practically ate you up with his eyes. 

his gaze landed on your thighs, fingers caressing the plush flesh as he spoke in a low tone, “not a lot of people deserve to see you anyway.” he looked back up, tongue peeking out from between his lips as if he was hungry, for you, the sight alone sent electricity shooting down your spine, intense arousal, that you swear you’ve never felt before, climbing it’s way out of the deepest, darkest corner of your soul, making you feel like a lion in heat. 

yeonjun backed up, in a tortuously slow manner, leaving you to question your sanity for a couple seconds as he left the bed. it concerned you how fast you’d gone from emotionally overwhelmed to slightly feral in only a few seconds. you watched in silence as the walking temptation stretched a few feet away from the bed, the movement making you question where your sudden fascination with the male anatomy came from. you’d never found a man’s back more attractive. 

your face was as hot as the sun shining upon you at the moment, the rollercoaster of emotions that you just went through in only twenty minutes making feel like you just went through puberty a second time. you had no idea what it was about yeonjun that made you feel like a teenage girl experiencing her first crush, but something about it was mildly exciting. 

your heart leaped as yeonjun appeared at your side of the bed, your mind obviously too caught up in drooling over him to register that he even moved in the first place. he gently grabbed both yours hands, holding them as if they’d fall off while he pulled you out of the mound of pillows and blankets. you stepped onto the carpet, stumbling slightly and falling into his lean frame, earning a chuckle from the brunette.

 he wrapped his arms around you, pushing your chubbier body into his, eyes gleaming as he drank up the sight of you in his shirt, your messy hair gently framing your face that was flushed but still absolutely flawless bathed in the sunlight. he pushed your hair back with his hand, giving himself a better view of your pretty face, taking in every feature, from those round cheeks he could just bite to those deep eyes he could drown in and those soft, thick lips that he wanted to devour. god, you were so fucking gorgeous.

if there’s one thing that creep got right, it was the fact that you were a goddamn masterpiece, art itself. not only did you have the face of a dream and the body of a fucking goddess, but you also had the most sweetest, softest aura that any artist would want to capture. you could be the muse and center of every painting ever made, but the best part about it is that you were so special and unique, that only those so deserving could have the privilege, the key to viewing you; what that ass wipe did wouldn’t change that ever.

 yeonjun was just lucky enough to have the pleasure, last night he didn’t fully get to immerse in the magic and divinity that made you, mostly because you were both drunk out of your minds and running on pure lust, but he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. if you would be so willing, so generous, to give him a second chance, he’d make sure to savor every last second that you gave him, even if it were only a few, he’d be sure to stretch each one out and adorn you in his affection.

yeonjun leaned down, placing a kiss on your shoulder that almost felt like nothing, yet still set your skin on fire. “has anyone ever told you that you are absolutely beautiful in the morning? all the time actually.” he mumbled against your skin, cold breath making your shudder subtly. “not really” you responded, almost in a whisper; the man gasped dramatically as he lifted his head to look at you in bewilderment, earning a soft giggle from you, which almost killed him.

 “how could they not appreciate such a sight? I’d be kissing the very ground you walk on if I were them.” he professed, making you flush more than you already were, his insistency on making you feel like some kind of deity both flattering and flustering you. “and if you think I’m lying, I’ll prove it right here.” he added as if reading your mind. you shook your head, unable to stop the huge smile from forming on your face, “no, I believe you.” you told him honestly and he gave you a soft smile in return, his eyes beaming brightly in adoration.

“if you keep smiling like that, I might have to anyway.” he murmured as he leaned forward, resting his forehead gently against yours, eyes flicking to you lips for a second. it made you want to scream from how you could tell he wanted to kiss you, his entire expression writing out how desperate he was for it. you were growing addicted to his inability to hide how bad he had it for you, it wasn’t anything you've ever had the luck of seeing but you could not be more glad to be witnessing it. 

yeonjun moved away from you, almost reluctantly like he’d die without being in your presence. you wanted to pull him back yourself, but you opted for watching him, eating up the view of his delicious body, the sun resting on all the right spots. every inch of this man was alluring, even the tantalizing sight of his boxers peeking out from his waistband, v-line teasing the wonders that reside below. you had to physically rip your eyes away from the sight once you heard his beckoning call, attempting to use the saliva you just swallowed as a way of fizzling out the burning desire in your stomach as you stepped towards him and took the hand he offered, of course it didn’t work, there was no fighting the feelings yeonjun invoked. 

the brunette slid open one of the glass doors to the patio, guiding you out into the warm sun, the cool breeze gently caressing your skin, playfully tousling your hair, and the smell of the distant ocean sneaking into your nose.

 the nature surrounding you was striking beautiful, especially at this time of the morning, but you eyes were finding it impossibly difficult to focus on anything else other than yeonjun, bathed in the golden glow of the sun and looking like a fairy born from mother nature, like he’d emerged from the sea rather than taking a road trip to get here. you were completely entranced by the graceful bend of his body as he leaned over the wood railing, the image of him in this scenery altering your brain chemistry. 

“do you remember what happened… last night?” he spoke up, the small hope that you didn’t linger in his eyes, going undetected since he was still looking out onto the beach. at his question, you bit your lip, feeling a small twinge of guilt for not remembering much of what happened the night before, you actually couldn’t even remember the events that led up to you two falling into bed with each other in the first place, it was all pretty hazy.

 “not really..” you responded, looking back in the man’s direction to gauge his reaction, or the lack thereof, there was nothing else on his face other than that faint, soft smile that made the indents at the corner of his lips more prominent, sight making your heart leap. your eyes followed as yeonjun moved again, towards the small gate door that sat at the top of a wooded flight of stairs, unlatching the lock as his eyes found yours and lips gently beckoned you with soft words, “come here.” the simple command was enough to make your heart burn. 

like a cautious doe, you inched closer to him, making it unbelievably hard for him not to laugh in pure adoration. holy shit, you're so damn cute. yeonjun’s hand found yours once you’d joined him, wood creaking as he pushed open the gate, guiding you slowly down the stairs.

 as the two of you descended, you couldn’t help but stare at the way his back subtly flexed with each step he took or the way his hair slightly bounced, feeling absolutely engrossed in every little thing that he does, whether intentional or not; for the sake of keeping yourself calm though, you decided to focus on the journey ahead, the stairs leading down to the first floor patio, adorned with fairy lights hanging on the support beams and multiple pieces of beach styled furniture, including the swing chair you loved so much. hues of blue and white decorated the outdoor space, complemented by the colors of the beach itself; it was a wonderful addition to the house, even more so when the sun went to rest. 

your attention was brought back to the brunette as he let your hand go, long legs carrying him across the wood floor of the patio as he moved towards the swing chair in the corner, the way he walked making you feel like a newly-conscious two year old who just discovered the male species. said male plopped into the chair, making it sway as he leaned back and adjusted comfortably, spreading his legs apart as his hand came up to run through his hair, finger requesting your presences, nearly bringing you to tears from how effortlessly sexy he was. 

there was a lingering bit of anxiety festering in the pit of your stomach, but it was a meck match against the sweltering desire that seemed to grow increasingly more ferocious the longer you spent time with this man you deemed an untrustworthy stranger many minutes ago; feet forgetting all concept of hesitation and mind fumbling second thought, as if said man was a siren luring you into his glitter covered hell. you were in front of him before he himself could even process it. 

yeonjun’s lips stretched, lazy smile forming and sleep heavy eyes scanning your body, hands finding your hips as he drunk in the sight of you, curves and all, drowned in his shirt and leaving him the delicious view of your thick thighs and shoulder uncovered by the fallen fabric; his brows furrowed slightly as he noticed the dark marks laid upon your pretty skin, reminders of yeonjun’s past assault geared by lust, you could see the guilt in his gaze as he looked back up at your face, eyes glimmering and reflecting the golden light of the sun, making your heart squeeze almost painfully. 

seeing him from this angle brought out another side of him you’d had yet to see, you’ve felt it definitely, that tenderness seeming to ooze from his soul, as if he was physically incapable of being anything else when it came to you; you’ve felt that from the moment you met him at that cursed art gallery, but you’ve never physically seen it in his being. 

of course yoenjun didn’t have a rough appearance nor did he look remotely intimidating, he was a “pretty boy” as melody would say, other than that he usually known to be “the personification of sex” by many girls on campus, but right now all you could see was a boy too soft for his own good, an angel whose halo is too bright and heart too big for his body; to put it simply, he looked like what love feels like, or what it should feel like. his face just told you how much he cared, eyes speaking hushed words of passion untold, presence wrapping you in the warm comfort only a person such as himself could gift you. 

contrary to popular belief, yeonjun was far more than a handsome face and a sexy aura, in this moment you realised that the man you’ve known for barely a few full days, was really just a sweet soul who wouldn’t think twice when it came to the question of giving you himself completely; such a revelation seemed to smooth over the bumps of anxiety, the lingering fear of broken trust, that had been left by the previous holder of your ever so fragile heart.

yeonjun seemed to sense the easing of your nerves, notice the small relaxation of your gorgeous features, the silent promise of given trust. the thought that you’d put your trust in him after what you’ve been through, made him feel millions of things, all heavy but none negative in the slightest. to him, this was a good opportunity, if any, to make sure you wouldn’t regret, even for a single second, putting your heart out for him to take, for he would lose his own just to protect it.

gently, he pulls you into him, the smell of him, oddly sweet yet subtle, engulfing your being as he sat you on his lap, making your thighs straddle his waist and keeping your facing him so that he wouldn’t miss a single second of the heaven that was your pretty face. he stared, for a little longer than he meant to, admiring ever little thing he noticed now that you were closer, his deep brown eyes held a soft gleam, as if he could cry, but not because he was sad, because he just found you so mesmerizing, similar to the way one would describe the golden glow of the sun reflecting off the gentle water of a glistening lake; you were the rawest definition of beauty, and yeonjun was awestruck. his heart ached from the way it swelled with nothing but love and affection for you. 

“I want to kiss you. can I?” he requested softly, but confidently, as if to let you know that he never wanted anything more, even if it was strikingly obvious in his face, in his overall being. still, it made you feel almost overwhelmed to know someone could need you as much as this man did, it made your chest hurt seeing the deep yearning shining in his pretty eyes, you were starting to understand that you’d had yeonjun’s heart and soul for far longer than a day or two, far longer than a few fleeting hours of shared heat. you’d stirred this yearning in this man long before he’d known your name. “please?” he whispers, really sounding just as desperate as he truly was. if you placed your ear to his chest, you might be able to hear the way his heart whimpered from the sheer amount of need coursing through him, pleading with you to feed that insatiable desire to have you in the most tender of ways. you watched as his gaze focused on your lips for a few moments before slowly coming back up, staring rather intently into yours, begging without uttering a word, a sick part of you loving to tease him with silence, keep him waiting since he was ever so patient. 

after what felt like forever to yeonjun, you finally nodded, leaning forward in a way that nearly drove the poor brunette to madness, a trembling breath passing through his own plump lips as your face came closer. the man leaned closer himself, swallowing slowly as his eyes returned to your lips, closing them a few seconds before his own met them. he started gently, sweetly tasting your lips, savoring the way they perfectly fit with his, like a piece of the puzzle to his soul that he didn’t realize he was even missing. 

his hands came up to rest on your sides, steadily moving up and down, fingers feeling every curve, eventually stopping at your hips to give a squeeze of appreciation before using them to pull you up against him as he deepened the kiss, body shuddering at the feeling of yours, warm and soft. the heat from both your bodies, paired with the warmth of the sun, mingled with one another, fueling the burning passion inside, that neither of you had realized was reciprocated even with knowing how badly you both wanted each other. this passion was immediately translated into an intense fervor, an extreme sort of thirst that very apparently could only be quenched by each other; by the time this passion had fully translated, the kiss had become less controlled, leaving there to be nothing but hunger and desperation to devour the other.

as if they were lost, yeonjun’s hands began to wander, exploring every part of your body, engraving the feeling and the mental image into his brain for him to keep forever, whether he’d see you again or not. a deep groan, one he did not even know he could make, rumbled from his chest as he felt that you start to do the same with one of your oddly soft hands, the other tangled in his hair, driving him crazy with the way your nails gently grazed at his scalp. his own hands slid down to your thighs, slowly coming back up to sneak underneath the shirt, relishing in the sensation of your warm, soft skin underneath his hands, smiling a tiny bit through the kiss when you shuddered from how cold they were.

his lips slowly left yours, reluctantly. If only his lungs would allow it, he’d keep his lips locked with yours forever. his eyes admired you for a few seconds more, as if he had not seen your face enough, like he needed the sight of your face to keep himself alive. he rested his hands on your lower back, the action lifting the shirt, your skin pressed against his own as he leaned his head forward, nudging yours up just a bit so he had room to kiss at your bruised skin, lips almost whispering an unsaid apology, as if silently telling that he was sorry for his past mistreatment. each tender press of his lips on your flesh made your skin hotter, plush lip caught between your teeth as yeonjun’s hands were unable to keep still, his affection against your ever so eager body making tingles run under every part, heat pooling deep within your stomach. 

yeonjun kept his gaze on you, watching every twitch of reaction you displayed for him as he teased your skin with his own lips, a small smile forming on his face from the pure enjoyment of having any type of effect on you. “so beautiful.” he mumbles against you, slowly moving his attention over to your shoulder and the skin of your collarbone area, hips subtly lifting into you as his own heat started to increase. 

he couldn’t believe how crazy he was for you. he just barely knew, and it was the same way for you, yet his body, his lips, knew yours by heart, his soul knew the rhythm of yours like it had practiced it every night. he had not once sat and had a deep enough conversation to say that he knew you, yet every fiber of his being felt it like it could not keep himself from you, he couldn’t keep himself off of you. it felt wrong in a way, to feel so deeply for a person he’d spent so much time watching from a far, yet barely shared more than a few fleeting words with; it felt twisted in a way to inflict his desires on someone who had not known them to have existed until now, it was selfish almost but he could not control it, he was no strong soldier in the presence of a goddess. 

he was weak, losing himself in you already, though he tried to hold on to some piece of self-restraint, not wanting to rush this moment or overwhelm you with the sheer amount of heat you’ve managed to conjure within him in only a few minutes; still even that was not a enough to keep him sane. yeonjun’s hands slid up your back, further lifting the shirt and exposing your bare skin to the mixture of warm sun and a gentle breeze. 

he leaned back away from you, the chair slightly swaying with his movement, lips parting in what can only be described as pure awe as his eyes drunk up the sight of you sat upon his lap, looking back at him in the sexist way possible like he wasn’t already completely turned on by you. he dropped his head back, cursing under his breath, shuddering from the sensation of you watching him and your hands slowly moving up and down his arms, hips coming up into you again like a bad habit. you could tell he was trying his hardest to control himself, trying not to go completely feral, and something about that made your heart race in a sick way. 

“jun.” you called out softly, leaning back towards him, smiling at the way he squeezed you midsection at the nickname, silently showing how much he liked it. he hummed, eyes falling shut as you pressed a kiss to his cheek, a small grunt of tested restraint leaving him as your lips brushed against his jaw. “do you like me?” the question made him open his eyes, just a bit in order to glance at you. the way you were grinning with your head tilted told him that you were teasing and knew he did, he had not made it obvious before but it was goddamn obvious now. he had liked you before you even knew he existed. “yeah, baby. I like you a whole fucking lot.” he responded still, earning a giggle that made his heart squeeze. 

a soft moan left the man, his falling back shut as your lips kissed at his neck in return for him doing the same. his right hand fell, grabbing at your hip and guiding you into a slow grind against him, his arousal becoming more prominent to both of you, each pass of your heat making him feel more and more feral. “fuck..” he drew out, head lolling as your lips gently wrapped around his adams apple, shallow breaths huffing out as the tip of your tongue teased at his heated skin. 

the effect that he had on you was almost nothing compared to the power you held over him, the way you made him feel had his mind struggling to think straight. every touch you gifted to his body had him feeling like a damn incense, slowly burning from the top to the bottom. he never knew that someone you was so usually shy and timid, could be so teasing, so sensual to the point of making him lose any sense of what he knew to be intimate before you, he had never felt this damn good in his life, and he was loving it, even more so loving the way you had so many sides to who you are, all making you seem even more like some spiritual being to him. 

his left hand dropped from your midsection, joining the other on your hips, continuing to grind your lace covered cunt against his erection, cock twitching in his pants at the way you hummed out a moan on his neck. your hands found their place on both sides of his face, lips reintroducing themselves to his in the same heated manner as before, moans getting lost in each other’s mouths and tongues getting to know the inner workings of the other's. 

yeonjun pulled away, again, very reluctantly, your lips were a goddamn dream. he stared up at you with an intense, but healthy balance of love and ardor, chest heaving from his heavy breaths, heart beating hard for you.

he was really trying his hardest to continue taking it slow, to savor every kiss, every touch, to give you time to get completely comfortable with being vulnerable again, but he seemed to have deeply underestimated his hormones and the amount of self-control he could keep within himself when it came to a pretty girl making him feel good. you had this man feeling like a damn dog humping your leg. 

“baby, I’m not trying to rush this, I don’t want you to regret it again, but I need you so fucking bad right now.” he professed breathlessly, dropping his head against your shoulder with a shaky exhale, hands stilling your hips before he came in his pants, which would be embarrassing for him in this moment. he shifted his head slightly to look at your face once more when he was met with silence, heart aching when his eyes landed on that sweet little smile you were giving, body nearly melting into a puddle in the chair from your hand slowly running through his hair, manicured nails subtly scratching at his scalp. this felt like torture to him, yet somehow in the best way possible. 

“I trust you, yeonjun.” and you knew that many people would probably find it stupid, you barely knew him and even the person you’d thought you knew broke that trust, but since that incident, the man has done nothing but made you feel safe, made you feel like you were the most beautiful being to step onto earth, and promised you heaven; why would you let your fear drive a genuinely caring person away, when you could just say yes and let him continue to deliver the sweet loving you deserve. “you don’t have to hold back. I need you too.” that statement had a shiver zipping down his spine, even though it was supposed to be meaningful, it sounded damn sensual to his ears. he has no idea how he hasn’t eaten you whole already.

“you mean that, angel? you know-” there he goes again. you placed your finger over his lips, stopping his endearing little habit. “shut up.” he almost screamed. why was even the simplest things you did so sexy to him? 

he nodded slowly, taking your gentle command as a sign to stall on longer. “stand up for me.” he murmurs as he lifts himself to sit up properly, hands running up to your sides so that he can assist you on your journey off his lap once you’d started moving, his body practically crying from the loss of contact. he stood up after you, leaving barely an inch between the two of you. It was humorous how much he yearned to be close to you. he leaned down, pressing a small kiss to the crown of your head before wrapping one of his arms around your thighs and hoisting you up with ease, much to your amazement. your brain couldn’t even keep up with his movements when he’d placed you in his previous spot in the chair, still stuck on the fact that he was even able to manhandle you with one arm.

“you’re not even that heavy, don’t give me that look.” yeonjun teased with a grin, bending his body to lean over you, placing kisses all over your pretty face. he was telling the truth though, you weighed almost the same as him, still he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t been lifting a few more pounds than usual with the thought of being able to carry you one day.

the brunette’s hands pressed gently into your thighs, slowly sliding upward and pushing up the fabric of his shirt you were adorned in, gradually revealing parts of your bare body to himself, taking a second good look. he was stalling again, but he could not help himself, he had to take his time in admiring the view you were so willingly giving him. he gave you on last longing stare, lifting the white cloth until he could see everything in all its beauty. “so gorgeous, angel.” he praised, his lips bringing their attention to your breast, sweetly kissing down the valley, making you shudder. 

your hands went on an exploration of their own whilst the man covered you in his affection, using the fingers on one hand to tease the skin of his waist, and the other slowly palming over his hard-on, earning a soft grunt, a shaky exhale fanning against your skin. his kisses became wet, open mouthed as his lips slid down the expanse of the skin on your midsection, soft hums pushing out of the depths of his throat as if your skin was an unhealthy candy he couldn’t help but to taste over and over again. you watched him, every action, every move with a gentle gaze, your eyes giving him the chills in the best way possible, mind reeling with pure pleasure from having you just sit and barely do anything while he makes sure to worship every damn part of your perfect body. 

“shit. you’re too good at that. you sure I’ve been the first man in a while?” he joked, earning a gentle squeeze of his covered cock from you, a breathless laugh leaving his busied lips. he released your skin from his attention, hovering over your pretty self once more, looking down at you like you’d starved him for months, which you found both humorous and sexy. 

“you're making me feel so good, baby. gotta return the favor, no?” he remarked with a grin that almost gave you a damn heart attack. this man was really trying to kill you. “I think that’s how it works.” you responded softly, your free hand tugging at the strings of sweatpants, bringing him down towards you more, the brunette grabbing onto the back of the chair for support; a small huff leaving him, a mumbled: “you’re driving me crazy” leaving him as his own hand replaced yours at his waistband, eagerly pulling down the currently useless garment, underwear naturally going with it. 

he’s never felt so damn desperate in his life, it was almost shameful, almost. he couldn’t find it in him to care at the moment. 

butterflies ignited both you and yeonjun’s stomachs, eyes both falling on his aching length, as if the two of you were connected, minds, bodies, and souls. yeonjun felt his face flush, almost like he’d never been naked in his life, suddenly feeling a little timid being bare for you to see, either from a random feeling of self-consciousness or just because it was you, the prettiest lady he’s ever had the audacity to even think about having sex with. “angel.” he mumbled as your fingers teased the blush hued tip, eyes falling and a shaky exhale passing through his parted lip. when the hell was he this sensitive? he won’t last a single minute at this rate. 

yeonjun busied himself, moving his suddenly trembling hands down towards your waist, trying to distract himself from your gentle yet so prominent touches before he came on the spot. he didn’t stall this time, immediately tugging down the lace panties keeping you hidden, though not exactly rushing either. he opened his eyes, taking a peek at the wonders below, cock twitching from the sight, completely soaked, pretty, and needy; god, you had him feeling like he was dreaming.

“you really like staring, huh?” you pointed out, though equally as flustered as he was previously giving how long it’s been since anyone’s seen you like this. his eyes met yours, looking at you like you were god damn crazy for even asking him that, “your a fucking piece of art, angel. I’d be a loser if I looked anywhere else.” he reminded you, completely serious about it and you had half the mind to laugh, but you held it in. 

“you can stare later. get to work.” oh how he loves a demanding woman. he smiled, you just revealed the best news he’s ever heard, mumbling: “yes ma’am” and listening gladfully. 

he moved your hand, pressing a kiss to it and resting it on his shoulder as he took a firm hold of his own length, sliding it between your soaked folds with a cautious pace as if afraid of making any wrong moves. a shared moan filled the small space left between the two of you, your eyes remaining on him whilst he continued his slow ministrations, taking in the soft strain in his expression, brows furrowed and jaw subtly clenched like he was struggling to hold together his restraint, eyes locked in on the task at hand; he looked like he was hand sculpted and kissed by angels. 

you were too warm and far too wet for his mind to even process thoughts, each pass of his cock against your cunt setting his skin, his ears greedily consuming the heavenly sounds of your moans each time his tip kissed at your clit; even the lewd sounds of his movements was fucking him up in the head. 

his eyes met yours again, expression softening slightly in pure adoration. you looked so damn pretty, eyes sparkling, not moving from his face even for a second, thick lips parted, face still flushed, hair messily framing your face, body perfectly laid out underneath him; you were truly an angel. how dare you look good at literally any point? he doesn’t think he’ll be able to have sex ever again if it’s not with you. you're an unforgettable experience that’s going to haunt his mind, soul, and body for the rest of his life, giving him even more reason to just take you while he can. “if you keep looking at like that, I might not last long..” mumbled the brunette, inhaling deeply as he steadily dragged his cock down to the slit of your pussy, gently pushing the head in, a low groan leaving him, the veins in his hand and arm straining as he gripped the back of the chair with a vice. 

“fuck..” he moaned out, head dropping forward slightly as he pushed himself in further, too impatient to wait, thanking himself for his earlier prep, definitely not wanting to hurt you because of his current lack of self control. he lifted his head slightly, watching the way you shut your gorgeous eyes and let your mouth fall open, holding back not one sound, which he could literally applaud if he was in the right state of mind. he leaned in closer, leaving only a few molecules of space, willingly inhaling your addictive scent and sharing the same breath with you, each and every one. “is this okay, baby? are you comfortable?” he asked in a near whisper, hips rocking slowly, the chair moving with him. 

you nodded, brain forgetting every language you’d ever learned as soon as he was inside you, cunt clenching around him, pulling him in further, earning a hum of approval from the male above you. “good.” he responded, gently kissing random parts of your face as he continued his slow, long strides inside your garden. “is it okay if I keep this pace? I might not last long if I go faster..” he confesses half-shamefully, to which you managed to muster a giggle whilst nodding. yeonjun smiles at you finding amusement in his current sensitivity, pressing a sweet kiss to your lips. 

the brunette’s head dropped into your neck, panting into your skin as his hand reached down to lift your leg over his hip, the other instinctively doing the same, your body reeling as he pushed deep inside of you, tip meeting your cervix with way too much ease, the firm, yet soft press eliciting more sounds from than you thought possible at such a slow pace. It seemed that he barely needed to do anything in order to have you teetering off that sweet edge. did everyone else just not know how to do it right or was yeonjun just naturally good at this. 

your hand fell from the man’s broad shoulder, grabbing onto his side and digging your manicure nails into his skin, yeonjun’s hips shuddering at the subtle pain, a quiet curse falling into your ear. your head lolled to the side, hair falling into your face as you praised your suitor without words, encouraging him to keep going, much to his pleasure.

he was fucking you so damn tortuously slow, yet so sweetly. your body was too used to lust without passion, too well trained to the command of taking nothing but heat, and yeonjun was breaking every last shackle of that, overwhelming your body with genuine love and affection, reminding your soul just how sacred a moment such as this truly is. he was healing you in the sexist ways imaginable. 

“yeonjun.” you moaned out, a pleasant sound to his ears and power wave against his body that was already so weak for you. “hm?” he responded softly, lifting his head, face above yours once more, eyes filled with nothing but admiration; “am I making you feel good, sweet girl?” he tilted his head as he asked, pressing his forearm against the back of the chair above your head so that he could use his hand to play with your hair, ring clad fingers running through the soft strands. you turned back towards him, humming in response to him as your free hand cupped his cheek, lips finding his again as if they’d developed separation anxiety, a deep chuckle of amusement leaving the brunette, who was quick to reciprocate. 

the smacking of your joined lips and the unabashed sounds of love shared tangling together, filling the air to let everyone know just what was being developed between the two of you. the chair, a witness to such feelings, swayed rhythmically along with the affectionate movement of your bodies, heightening the experience to blissful levels. yeonjun pulled away, the concept of air nowhere on his mind as he rode on a more needy pace, eager to travel to that lovely high with you whilst he let out what was festering in the depths of his chest.

“I’ve had my eye on you for a year now.” he started, hand moving towards your soaked cunt, gently circling at your sensitive bud of nerves, giving you no choice but to listen and reply with nothing but the pretty sounds of your pleasure. “I thought you were so damn gorgeous when I first saw you, I still do, but I had no idea how stuck I’d be on you.” he pauses between his confession, letting drawn out moans and shaky exhales leave his system as he pushes you and himself closer over the edge. 

“fuck. there’s not one moment where I’m not thinking about your fine ass.” he says it with a little bite to it, expression pinched slightly as his thrust become less uniform and shuddery. “I can go into detail later, but baby I need you. more than just this, more than just for now.” he presses his forehead against yours, eyes nearly outshining the sun as he stared down at you, making you flush from how he’s just watching you be unable to do literally anything else but take everything he’s giving you, stuttering his name and whining like you couldn’t give a damn who heard.

he smiled lovingly, returning to a wrongfully slow drag through your plush, soaked walls. the damn devil had you shaking, yet in the most amazing way possible. “I need to have you forever.” he whispered, his eyes shutting and brows furrowing as a low whimper followed after his declaration, you mind not even being able to comprehend it fully because you were already cumming, loud whine joining yeonjun’s call of your name. 

the man’s head fell back into your neck, lips kissing at your skin for the millionth time as you both allowed the sounds of the distant crashing waves and the warmth of the sun sooth you back down to earth. “I know it’s hard to think about, trusting someone with your heart again, but baby, please…” he mumbled as his hand came up to gently caress the side of your face.

“please, say yes to me.” 

god, yeonjun was so damn sweet. how could you say no? 

“cause I’ve got my mind on you.”

THANK YOU for tuning in! hope you enjoyed your dreamy package!

── ciao belle❀

©doomssoiree

[vehemourn]

smth i honestly recommend everyone should do is like. keep a private folder of art u like on ur computer lol. and like. download art u like when u see it. ur gonna lose stuff Forever if u just like it, u know? and like, discord archives arent really enough lol. I have been downloading art since like 2016 & I have a LOT of art that was scrubbed from the internet otherwise, especially due to like. the antics of deviantart & twitter. And on things like twitter theres Barely a way to save art to begin with (bookmarks is Not good enough)

u do kinda lose Credit a lot of the time (unless u save it with it named? which i do sometimes but not always) and often like, it won't be the Perfect HQ or itll have a massive watermark on it. but like. since it's not really for Sharing as much as its for my own personal enjoyment, these things don't really bother me at all... Having a collection of art that i love that I can look at offline & like, On My Computer is so nice. And I back up a lot of it on hard drives when i back up my own art! Again, like, a lot of these pieces this is the Only way i can look at them anymore, and Maybe the only archive OF them.... I've had pieces from my friends Before they were my friends, that i just saved as a "fan", that THEY lost years later... I have pieces they hadn't Seen in years. And every year I Probably save at least a few more pieces that will become like, totally scrubbed from technology otherwise. idk. i think it's nice to have an archive of this art that is in my taste but also like, that i'd likely Lose otherwise.

i Hope people save my art. I don't honestly Think anyone does, but I Hope that like, if my shit ever blows up and all my accounts get scrubbed, Someone has at least one drawing I made saved to their computer 2 remember me. u know. Its like a scrapbook. I remember these ppls characters, i remember the communities at the time, i remember how i felt when i first saw the piece. Its really inspiring but also genuinely like, really Important to me and sentimental. I kinda think everyone should have their own collection but I think people are genuinely Scared to right click & save ppls art LOL. Genuinely where is the harm, though.

[lylahammar]

My girlfriend @kaylees-art has the most perfect timing ever because she painted this crossover art of Dungeon Meshi and Dragon Quest for my birthday, and it just arrived today when I needed it most 🥹 look at how incredible it is I literally teared up as soon as I saw it she is such an amazing artist 😭💕💗💞💝💘💖

[fukikoichinomiya]

its such a hard life i lead i just want to watch aim for the ace with jelly but instead i have to study FOR 20TH CENTURY ART!!!!! IDGAF ABOUT 20TH CENTURY!!!!! TAKE ME BACK TO 19TH!!!!!!!!

[elegyofthemoon]

sorry to everyone beforehand when i start spamming fragile dreams >_> reverted back to comfort game + required inspiration for something i'm working on

[chiimeraangel]

it's coming up on that time of year where I rewatch Samurai Jack in its entirety...

[possessedpasm]

Something I try to keep in mind when making art that looks vintage is keeping a limited color pallette. Digital art gives you a very wide, Crisp scope of colors, whereas traditional art-- especially older traditional art-- had a very limited and sometimes dulled use of color.

This is a modern riso ink swatch, but still you find a similar and limited selection of colors to mix with. (Mixing digitally as to emulate the layering of ink riso would be coloring on Multiply, and layering on top of eachother 👉)

If you find some old prints, take a closer look and see if you can tell what colors they used and which ones they layered... a lot of the time you'll find yellow as a base!

Misprints can really reveal what colors were used and where, I love misprints...

Something else I keep in the back of my mind is: how the human eye perceives color on paper vs. a screen. Ink and paint soaks into paper, it bleeds, stains, fades over time, smears, ect... the history of a piece can show in physical wear. What kind of history do you want to emulate? Misprinted? Stained? Kept as clean as possible, but unable to escape the bluing damages of the sun? It's one of my favorite things about making vintage art. Making it imperfect!

You can see the bleed, the wobble of the lines on the rug, the fading, the dirt... beautiful!!

Thinking in terms of traditional-method art while drawing digital can help open avenues to achieving that genuine, vintage look!

[cosmiic-world]

jealous, jealous, jealous girl — love and deepspace men

when someone tries flirting with your boyfriend in front of you. or when someone tries flirting with his girlfriend.

content: fluff, jealous!reader, rafayel gets jealous, very lighthearted, sylus’ is slightly suggestive toward the end, maybe kinda ooc?, some might be longer than others i do have favorites unfortunately, sorry 😞, colonel caleb mentioned EHEHHEHE

sylus

sylus had invited you to accompany him to an auction in the N109 Zone, to which you had agreed. of course, he already had a dress picked for you, fitted perfectly with all your measurements.

it was a beautiful black dress with red accents, totally sylus. you were adorned in stunning red jewelry, from blood red teardrop diamond earrings, to a stunning red heart pendant necklace.

as you walked beside sylus through the hall of the auction place, his arm was around your waist the entire time, not one second spent away from you.

unfortunately, that wasn't stopping any of the women there from staring at your boyfriend. nor did it stop one from approaching.

you watched silently from sylus's side as she tried talking to him with stupid small talk.

"you're so tall!" the woman squealed annoyingly. her voice was like glass shattering in your ear drums. "how tall are you exactly?"

"i believe his height is none of your concern..” you spoke up finally, fed up with her attitude. seriously, you were literally attatched to him and she’s paying you no mind at all! your eyes hardened, glaring at her with the most nasty look you could conjure.

sylus watched with an amused smirk, his heart almost skipping a beat at how possessive you were being.

“and who are you?” the woman says, crossing her arms as she finally looks at you.

“i’m his wife.” you said, lifting your hand which was adorned with a ruby ring. though it was just for show, she didn’t have to know that.

sylus’s smirk widened, if that was even possible, as his heart soared. he could’ve sworn his pants were suddenly a tad bit too tight now.

“i don’t appreciate you flirting with my husband right in front of me, so i’m kindly asking you to leave.” you said, using two fingers to flick them in her direction as an act of dismissal, as if she were staff.

you grinned triumphantly as the woman scoffed and stomped away.

“my wife, hm?” sylus said, leaning down to mutter in your ear. you could just tell he was so turned on just from his tone alone. “what a feisty kitten.”

“she couldn’t tell who you were here with. i had to make sure she knew.” you said, giggling as you cupped his cheek with one hand and kissed him deeply.

sylus couldn’t help but groan against your lips as you pressed your body against his. his hand grabbed your waist tightly, almost desperately, as he kissed you in the middle of the room. “we’re leaving immediately.”

“but what about the protocores? the auction?” you said as he grabbed your hand and began to drag you out of the building.

“there are more urgent matters to attend than protocores.” he said, almost growling mid sentence.

rafayel

another “masterpiece” painted by rafayel, another boring exhibition he had to attend. it was all the same. he had to talk about his pieces, what inspired him, what the story is behind the piece, blah blah blah.

this exhibition was different because he had you by his side to distract him from all the boring stuff. he stood by on the side, watching as you walked around, admiring each of his new paintings, which were all inspired by you.

all was fine until a man approached his girlfriend. his eyebrows instantly furrowed and his smile turned into a deep frown. just who was this guy??

“big fan of art?” the man said as he stepped into the spot beside you, a little too close for your comfort.

you looked at him slightly wide eyed, a bit startled from the sudden interaction. you smiled politely and nodded as you slightly stepped away from him, putting space between you and him. “yeah, i’m uh, close to the artist, you could say.”

“oh really? i happen to love rafayel’s works.” he said, smiling at you widely.

you nodded with a small, “ah, nice.” as you looked back at the painting in front of you which showed the silhouette of a woman standing in front of the ocean, capturing the essence of joy and warmth. little had you known the woman was yourself and rafayel had painted it simply from his memories alone.

“i’d like to take you out sometime-“

“sorry babe, i got held up with talking to some people back there.” a familiar voice sounded from behind you.

you turned and smiled widely as your boyfriend wrapped his arms around your waist. you couldn’t see but rafayel was glaring daggers at the man behind you, forcing him to walk away.

“rafayel! hi, i missed you.” you giggled as you hugged him. “say, who’s that in the painting?”

“you seriously don’t recognize her? come on, you of all people should know who that is.” he said with a chuckle.

“i should?” you said, blinking owlishly as you racked your brain to who that could be.

“it’s you, silly.” he said, kissing your forehead.

“really?! when did you paint it?” you gasped, looking back at the painting and leaning your head against him.

rafayel rested his chin on top of your head, smiling fondly as he recalled the memory. “i painted it a couple days after i took you to the beach. remember? you almost got stung by a jellyfish.”

you gasped and giggled at the chaotic memory. “oh i remember now!”

zayne

a friend from the association had invited you to a party and you were able to bring zayne with you. though he usually didn’t like to spend his days off like this, if it was for your enjoyment, he’d do anything. even if it was sitting through slightly drunken babble of hunter work.

zayne knew you could handle your alcohol, way better than him, but he still mentally counted how many glasses of wine you’ve had before it was time to call it quits for you.

unbeknownst to him, one of your female colleagues was staring at him, watching his every move like a hawk. it wasn’t until she sat next to him that he paid any attention to her.

“hello~ i’m ava.” she said, smiling and practically beaming at him.

“hello.” he said with a curt nod, before turning his attention back to you who was engaged in a conversation with other hunters, listening.

“oh my god, i’m so sorry. i don’t mean to be so rude! what’s your name?” the male hunter asked zayne.

“i’m zayne. i’m her boyfriend.” he said with a small polite smile.

“you’re the boyfriend we’ve heard so much about? wow!!” he said, astonished.

zayne chuckled softly. “it seems so.” he said, looking at you with adoration.

“you’re one lucky girl!” he said to you, giggling before turning back to zayne. “i’m tyler, her colleague.” he introduced himself.

you looked at him and smiled widely, wrapping your hands around his arm and leaning against him affectionately. “he’s a doctor, so he always takes care of me. especially when i get injured from pesky wanderers.” you said, smiling.

“can you take care of me too~? my doctor is too busy sometimes.” ava said from beside zayne, pouting and slightly leaning towards him.

zayne’s expression steeled as he turned to her. “maybe you should get a different doctor then. i too am busy most days so it wouldn’t be any different, if i were your doctor.” he said in his usual formal tone.

you whipped your head to look at ava, glaring at her. you never got along with her, and zayne knew. she was usually the topic of your conversations when zayne listened to your end of the day rants.

tyler began to ask zayne questions, moving the topic away from her, though it didn’t stop her from butting in and making her own comments, to which you were quickly getting fed up with.

“how long have you two been together for?” tyler asked you both.

“almost a year. our anniversary is coming up soon.” zayne said, holding your hand in his, his thumb gently rubbing your hand.

“a year is practically nothing! i bet i can make you happier than she ever could.” ava remarked, taking a sip of her wine.

everybody quieted down at the comment.

as zayne opened his mouth to speak, you stood up and slapped ava.

“i’m getting sick of you flirting with my boyfriend, right next to me. but disrespecting our relationship? nobody likes you ava, and i suspect this is why. i gave you a fucking chance because i wanted to be nice, but i have had enough.” you spat out, the anger sobering you up a good amount.

you immediately grabbed your things from your chair and zayne followed suit. “i’m sorry tyler, but i have to go. i’ll see you at work, yeah?”

“y-yeah..” tyler said, almost stunned. you could tell he was trying not to laugh. “see you at work, girl!” he said.

“come on zayne, let’s go.” you said, grabbing his hand firmly and walking out of tyler’s house.

once you were outside of tyler’s house, zayne had stopped you. “let’s rest here for a bit. you’ve had a lot to drink and i don’t want you to fall and hurt yourself.” he said softly, holding you by your waist as he leaned against the wall of the house.

you smiled widely as you leaned against him, your hands resting on his shoulders. “my zayne.. you always know how to take care of me.” you giggled out.

“of course. as your boyfriend, it’s my job to make sure you’re okay.” he said, smiling softly.

“you’re a bit too charming though,” you said with a pout, “you make women swoon too easily.”

“ah, but i have a very skilled ms. hunter to make sure they know i’m happy in my relationship.” he said, his hand coming up to cup your cheek.

you couldn’t help the giggle that escaped you as you put your hand over his, your fingers feeling his bare ones which made you pout. “maybe i should get you a ring so even when i’m not around, they know you’re taken.”

zayne chuckled softly, nodding. “i assure you, they know. but we can still go get rings, if you’d like my love.”

“i would like that very much.” you said, smiling widely before kissing him.

xavier

you knew xavier was a very jealous man, but he couldn’t help it! almost everywhere you went together, he kept you close to him, an arm always around you. what he didn’t expect was for you to be the same kind of jealous, almost worse than his even.

you were out grocery shopping with him when you had separated from him to look for something you needed for tonight’s dinner plans. he was strolling down the produce section when a woman walked up to him, seemingly lost.

“excuse me sir, do you know where i can find the meat section?” the woman asked him, her painted lips fixed in a pout.

xavier looked at her, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. the meat section was right behind her. he simply pointed behind her with his finger. “it’s right behind you.” he said with an almost dumbfounded look.

“oh silly me! thank you, mister…?” she trailed off, discreetly asking for his name.

“xavier.” he said, with a small nod and a polite smile.

“what a cute name for a cute guy!” she said, giggling.

“oh, thank you miss. but i have to get back to m-“ she cut him off before he could finish.

“i’m stella! say, would you like to accompany me to dinner?” she said, smiling widely and batting her eyelashes.

“oh, i-“

“he would not like to accompany you anywhere.” a familiar voice rung out, and suddenly the atmosphere became chilly. xavier almost startled as you sauntered up next to him, wrapping your hands around his arm.

“he’ll be too busy with his girlfriend.” you said, shooting an icy glare at the woman.

“oh! i didn’t know he had a girlfriend. sorry.” stella said before walking away from you both.

xavier let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, thinking he was finally in the clear. but he wasn’t. “thank-“

you cut him off, pressing a finger to his lips. “don’t. speak.” you said coldly, grabbing the shopping basket from his hands and walking to the check out lines.

“did i do something wrong?” xavier asked.

“you talked to her. you might as well have been making out with her or something.” you said as you sulked.

“my love, it didn’t mean a thing.” he said, trying to reconcile. “i promise you.” he said, wrapping his arms arouns your waist.

“i’ll poison your food as revenge.” you said, pouting angrily.

“i’m sorry, i really mean it.” he said, pouting back at you.

you sighed as you turned to him. “no fair!” you said before shaking your head. “fine. i forgive you. but i’m still angry with you!”

xavier couldn’t help but laugh softly. “i’m perfectly fine with that.”

caleb

after making up with him after his sudden reappearance, you found yourself at home, missing caleb more than ever. how could you not?

so you decided to pay him a visit at the farspace fleet headquarters. you got there once, you could do it again, right? right. and you did, with ease.

what you didn’t expect was a cadet in front of his quarters, folded note in her hand, her other hand in a fist, hovering over the closed door. “excuse me, cadet. what’s your business here?” you spoke with authority you didn’t have. (but she didn’t have to know that.)

her head snapped toward you, fear flashing in her eyes for a brief second before venom replaced it. “i came to give colonel xia an important document.” she said, shoving the piece of paper behind her.

you couldn’t help but let out a condescending chuckle. “a document so important it had to be folded like a love letter?” you said, trying not to laugh.

at your teasing tone, her expression soured further. “who even are you? i’ve never seen you around here.” she spat out, looking you up and down.

“i’m colonel xia’s girlfriend.” you said matter-of-factly, crossing your arms and pointing your nose up.

the cadet suddenly burst out into a fit of laughter, making you falter slightly before you felt irritated. how dare she laugh in your face like that??

before you could mutter another word, you felt a strong presence appear right beside you. “cadet.”

the girl in front of you stopped laughing almost immediately, her body rigid as she looked up at the man who just walked up next to you. “c-colonel xia..!”

“care to share what’s so funny, cadet?” you looked up to see caleb practically glaring at the now shaking girl in front of you, his jaw tense. you swore you could see his blood vessels about to burst.

“it was nothing, colonel xia.” she said quickly, her eyes now set toward the floor.

“get out of my sight cadet. the next time i catch you disrespecting my girlfriend, i will find a suitable punishment for you.” he said coldly before dismissing her, grabbing your hand and taking you into his quarters.

as soon as the door closed, caleb hugged you with the most warm smile that you’ve come to known, as if nothing had happened. “what are you doing here, pips?” he said, relishing in your giggles as he buried his face into the crook of your neck.

“i missed you, silly. isn’t it normal for a girl to visit her boyfriend at work when she misses him?” you said, smiling as you wrapped your arms around him tight.

“boyfriend, huh? now i like the sound of that.” he said, kissing your cheek gently.

“i have to fend off these girls somehow.” you said, smiling widely.

i’m sorry if this is lowk ass, i didn’t know what to write for caleb 💔💔

[bbokicidal]

[REUPLOAD] skz + head [giving + receiving]

warnings : oral, obviously.

notes : if they prefer receiving or giving head, how they do it, etc!! a reupload from my old blog !!

chris : prefers giving

eats that pussy like it's his last fucking meal. gently, of course. but he's 100% going to be fucking his tongue into you until you're almost crying. it'll be the most blissful thing you've ever felt - and part of you prefers his mouth to his cock just because of how much passion he puts into it. of course, sex in general is great with him. he's just the type to put his full attention into making you feel good when he's got your hips pinned against the bed and his head is stuffed between your legs.

loves it when you suck his cock. his favorite place to have you do it is the studio, because he knows if he asks nicely you'll come running to him after a long day of working and you'll sit right under the desk while he works. it eases him, relaxes him some. he still may not sleep a whole lot those nights but he's feeling a lot better by the next day - especially if you wake him up with some banger head, too. (also the type to hold the back of your head and force your nose to his pelvis a few times just to feel your throat oops.)

minho : prefers receiving

he definitely likes eating you out. he's the type to like, sit up on his knees and drag your lower half up with him though, your shoulders pushed into the bed and neck cramping. the pain mixed with the pleasure from his tongue is perfect, either way. he loves seeing you unable to squirm, dark eyes staring down at you, lidded and warm with lust as you make a mess of his mouth.

he loooooves when you give him head though. give him head? let him use your head. he'll let you start off at your own pace while he sits on the couch and scrolls on his phone, one hand keeping your hair out of your face so you're comfortable. but it always, always ends with him fucking into your mouth and throat and holding your head with both hands to keep you still. he thrives off the wet noises that come from you.

changbin : prefers receiving

will absolutely wake you up by eating you out - with your explicit consent prior, of course. he adores waking up early mornings and seeing you all curled up and squirming because of a dream about him. he loves rolling you onto your back and letting you wake up to see him under the blankets, hands splayed over the soft warmth of your sides before one trails down to let his thumb brush over your clit. he's so gentle when he eats you out - he's there to worship, baby.

will melt when you give him head. will literally pool in his studio chair when you sit on the coffee table and lean in to take him in your mouth. his head'll drop back, he'll let his hands grip at the arms of the chair. he'll refuse to touch you because he knows you'll ruin him the way you want on your own. it's gold to see, truly. his ears getting all pink. ugh. he's a sucker for your mouth.

i'm also a firm believer that binnie shoots fucking ropes, so take that as you will. (will fill your throat with cum, absolutely.)

hyunjin : prefers giving

he thinks you're like the most beautiful piece of art on earth. you're so gorgeous when you're squirming and writhing on the dressing room couch, hips perched up on the arm of the sofa while he kneels nearby and buries his face in your pussy. he's weak for you, absolutely - so desperately weak. he loves hearing your sounds for him. he loves the idea of the others hearing you from the locked dressing room - he loves the idea of someone walking in and joining. yeah, he just wants them to see how he gets you whining.

not a huge fan of receiving head just because he'd much, much rather be eating you out instead. he thinks you're too pretty to be on your knees, but when you are you can bet he will absolutely be looking down at you with his hair falling over his eyes and sticking to his face. motherfucker is gonna be dripping sweat just from the way you make him feel.

jisung : prefers giving

lazy eater. not bad, by any means - just lazy. he likes to lay between your legs while the two of you are lounging watching a movie (probably HMC.) and just casually eat you out. you won't be squirming or whining or gasping for breath - you'll just be smiling, moaning here and there and combing your hand through his hair while his tongue slips over your folds just the way you like. he'll let his thumbs massage over your clit as his hands rest on your hips, breathing heavy and big eyes focused on the television. he just likes doing it so casually, but there's always a massive wet spot on the sofa after because he'll sit there for hours just doing it and letting spit drop.

another one who doesn't really like making you get on your knees for him - but the occasional blowjob won't upset him. he likes when you have him squirming in bed, holding his thighs open so he doesn't close them on your shoulders or choke you out - not that you'd complain about dying there. he's the type to get reaaaal loud and whimpery.

felix : prefers giving

messy, messy boy. i have a feeling he's the type to spit on your pussy and then lick it up or push it into you with his tongue, and he's the type to get you to squirt. he will not stop until you're making an absolute mess of your bedsheets, but he will of course take care of it all after and make sure you're comfortable immediately. he's the type to leave bruises on your hips from his rings digging in.

likes head every so often - another one, i know i know, who doesn't prefer it but doesn't mind. he's pretty casual about it, rocking his hips into your mouth and breathing hard when you take him into your throat. he likes to cum on your face, rather than in your mouth - because again, he likes the mess, and likes the image of you with his cum just painting your pink cheeks and puffy lips.

seungmin : prefers receiving

another one who just eats that pussy like it's his last meal. he prefers you giving him head instead but he's going to make this shit good, holding you down and sucking on your clit until you're actually crying. he's a bit mean in bed, slapping your ass and maybe even spanking your pussy when you get too wiggly on the bed.

is all too casual, sort of like minho. he'll sit there and just comb your hair back, let you lay on the sofa with your feet kicking while you keep him in your mouth. you're comfortable, he's comfortable - he's also taking a few short videos to send to the groupchat so the others know why he's a little late to practice. you're his main priority and he prefers being with you anyways. but yes, he's definitely got at least 30 different videos in an album of you sucking his cock in multiple locations.

jeongin : prefers giving

mo. ther. fucker. the ONLY one out of the boys to use his fingers when he eats you out - deserves to be in the hall of fame. have you seen his hands?? (guilty, oops.) he will absolutely be pushing two fingers into your cunt while he eats you out, sucking and nibbling and licking long stripes over your slit and clit until you're whining loud. he'll only eat you out in his bedroom - because he loves rubbing it in his hyung's faces that he can make you feel this way.

will only let you give him head IF you're in the car. roadhead. he figured out he reaaaaally liked it after you offered it up once when he got his license. he absolutely said yes, and at first was a bit shaky but now he's a pro at keeping a straight face. one hand'll be holding your hair back while the other grips at the wheel tight, white-knuckled and chewing on the inside of his lip as he drives. if you ask really nicely, he'll even let you do it while seungmin is in the backseat.

Taglist :  @dwaekkicidal @jabmastersurpriseee @possum-playground @thatonedarkskinnedsiren @oc3anfloor @theyadorevalerie @vanillacupcakefrosting

[oflgtfol]

i love framing so much i love working with my hands and not thinking anything about life. 9 hour shift passes in no time bc i cease to exist as a person while im assembling frames im just some pair of hands and eyes

Anyway i took an order today for a woman framing her grandmother’s watercolor painting this shit is from 1971!!! ive framed some old stuff before but nobodys ever given me an exact date and to my knowledge even the vague “eh its pretty old”s havent been THIS old

look at this crusty old thang. the cardboard backing is like decaying before my eyes. i guess it had once been properly attached to the frame because when i pulled it out i saw - NAILS? when theyre supposed to be stapled into the frame but no this just had nails poking out. but even then the nails werent attached to the cardboard anymore so i was just able to pop the cardboard backing out real easily. and the wire is just plain metal its not like our modern wire that has the rubber tubing around it to make tying it safer + neater. and inside the frame itself the painting had a mat over it and i guess over the DECADES of existing like that, there was like this brownish border left behind on the paper around where the old mat had been

and the worst part. the part that made me audibly say “oh man :(“ while disassembling this. was that the paper had been scotch taped to the back of its original mat. i had to pry the scotch tape off and just the glue on the tape was barely there anymore it was so old and yet even despite that it still took away some shreds off the back of the paper. luckily the shreds were small and it was the back of the paper so nothing of the actual painting itself was damaged

overall just such an old crumbly fragile piece, i think this is one if the most fragile pieces ive ever worked on so far

[sayangrafayel]

They got caught staring at you! (pre-relationship) (non canon AU)

Uh oh! You caught them staring at you. What are they gonna do about it? You guys are strangers except for Caleb because.. childhood friends and all.

(I wrote Zayne as a stranger too because they got separated for a while and.. IT JUST WORKS BETTER THAT WAY OKAY.)

Sylus, Xavier, Rafayel, Zayne, Caleb.

Sylus

At the club.

Does Not break eye contact even after you caught him.

You want to ask him why he's staring at you but your friends are scared (for you). But you went anyway.

"Excuse me, are you staring at me?" "I am, yes." "Okay.. can I help you with anything?" "Your phone number would be nice." "You know staring like that at a stranger could be seen as creepy, right?"

Xavier

In a library.

Breaks eye contact, but immediately recovers and smiled at you. He waves too.

"Sorry, do we know each other? Why are you staring at me?" "Oh, we don't. Sorry. I think you're very beautiful." "Oh! Thank you.. you look very pretty too." "I'm.. pretty?" "Mhm!"

You end up being the one asking for his phone number because.. well.. he forgot.

Rafayel

At one of his art exhibitions.

He's quite subtle about it plus you were too busy staring at his art to notice. He ends up being the one approaching YOU.

"Like what you see?" "Sorry?" "The art. You like it?" "Oh! I do. It's very... captivating." "Not as captivating as you." "Sorry?" "I said thanks! It's one of my favorites too!"

He ends up gifting you the art piece with his phone number on the back of the piece.

Zayne

At a cafe.

You notice him staring at you, or rather, you notice how hard he's trying to look casual.

"Sorry, are you staring at me, Sir?" "No." "Oh" "Yes. Yes I am." "Oh oka-" "I'm sorry. I will leave now. I apologize." "SIR WAIT-"

It gets more awkward because when you go for a check up the next day, he's your new doctor.

Caleb

You guys are studying together.

"Stop that." "Stop what?" "Stop staring at me like that! I can't concentrate." "Didn't you always stare at me when we were kids? Why can't I do the same?"

He's not shy about it. Nu-uh, he will openly stare at you. Hand under his chin and all that. Remember his quality time preview? Just like that.

You end up having to turn your back to him. Otherwise no work will get done.

[itzpookiepooh]

Hey girly! So I had this silly idea of the LaDs guys reacting to the MC having a really close bsf and he sees them acting reeeeeeal fruity with each other (coming from a someone that goes leans to my bsf and makes a kissing sound) <3 lots of love

Ah yes the traditional fruity tootie behavior with the bestie now this I can ace! 🤫

Piece of That

Caleb was in the living room since he came to visit from sky haven however little did he know your childhood best friend, Akasha, was going to be there. They both often fought about who was your favorite. Once you guys were together you were inseparable. You got up to go to the bathroom and a few moments later she followed.

All Caleb heard was, “Peeing all by yourself beautiful?” Before he got up and dragged her away from the bathroom. You barked out laughter before the door shut.

“Whaaaat? I was just joking!” Akasha whines as she’s being dragged away by her shirt.

“I’m going out with Alana today.” You informed him as he got ready for work. He nodded to let you know he was listening and you both walked to the door.

“My love. I have once again caught you with your secret lover.” Alana dramatically says as the door swings open. You gasp as if you were caught making Zayne’s head snap to you.

“My love please it’s not what you think!” Your knees buckle as you clutch your shirt. Alana turns away from you, hurt evident in her features.

“You have cheated on me countless times how will I survive?!” Alana wails clinging to you. Zayne was so confused as to what was happening right now and he would be late finding out.

“You’ll always be my number one.” You say dramatically as Alana sniffs. “Promise me with a kiss.” She puckers her lips.

Zayne nips Alana with his evol making her squeal, “Zayne! You’re no fun!”

“Refrain from kissing my girlfriend please.” He says before kissing you goodbye.

Sylus enjoyed how dramatic you and Enid were together. It was like endless entertainment for him. Now when she invited you out and they both watched you come out in an amazing outfit. Sylus and Enid clapped and Sylus complimented you as usual.

“I wish I was a man so I could treat you right.” Enid groans making Sylus swing his head in her direction.

“What are you implying?” He sounds offended as his hands fall to his knees.

“Oh nothing you’re great Sylus.” She shrugs before cooing over you once more. Sylus just stares at her as if she grew two heads.

Rafayel was a jealous lover, duh. He hated when your best friend Aurora came over. She was always touching on you and flirting with you. He was starting to think he was the third wheel. So you guys were dancing while he was in the other room working on an art piece.

“Have you seen my—“ He looked up to see you guys dancing, sure. However, she was smacking your butt.

“Do my eyes deceive me?” He genuinely asks making you both slowly stop laughing and stand up.

“Rafayel.” Aurora says out of breath as you wave. “You’re cheating on me. AGAIN!” He shouts making Aurora chuckle.

“Rafayel I’d never!” You try to explain making him cross his arms and turn around. You tried to convince him while Aurora teased him the whole time.

Poor Xavier never really knows how to react to you and your best friend flirting with each other. He’s always left confused or stunned. So when Blair came over to hang out he knew he was in for a long day.

“Your boobs look great in that shirt.” Blair commented as she sashays over to you.

“Do they? I just bought this.” You looked down at your shirt. “Mhm…” She looked at you mischievously before ‘hugging’ you. It was all to lay on your chest.

“So soft.” She whines making you burst out laughing. Xavier snatches you away and pulls you into his chest while he glares at Blair.

“Come on Xavier! You have her everyday!” Blair pouts making Xavier roll his eyes.

“I don’t have to share her with you.” He tells her hugging you tighter as they argued over who has you more

I liked doing this ngl 🙂‍↕️

[sushirrrry]

TRACE a harry styles x original character one-shot word count: 7,785 cw: this is the fluffiest thing I've ever written, but harry is very hot summary: a shy writer commissions a tattoo from an artist who is way too hot to handle; she can’t stop staring at his hands while he works. and, he notices quite quickly. tag list: @gotdrxnkonu @mads3502 @mellamolayla reply to this story if you would like to be added to the tag list in the future! enjoy, and let my know what you think <3 home - send me a message - masterlist

When something got into Lily’s head, it stayed there. It stayed there for a long while, and even though Lily had no intention of really ever getting a tattoo, something about the idea felt like a step forward. Lily had trouble with decision making; while that was a terrible quality for permanently inking skin, it had grossly taken over her brain that she just wanted to do something different.

All of her friends – the two that were the closest, really – had tattoos, a few actually. She didn’t want to just be like them, but she wanted to fit in, in a way. She wanted to be able to share experiences with people, even if it were in small ways that were her own decisions. While indecisive, she knew that she could at least say that she made the decision to walk through the front doors of a tattoo shop and ask for something that she wanted.

Or, at least, get their opinion on it first.

The bell above the door chimed, a soft, musical sound that echoed through the quiet shop. The décor caught her eye first – lots of art deco, prints on the walls, a leather couch that could have easily stepped out of 1970. Lily stepped inside, heart thudding hard enough she could hear it in her ears – she had been noticed by the girl at the front desk now, so she couldn’t just leave.

The air was thick with the scent of ink, leather, and something smoky-sweet that made the place feel untouchably cool. It was the kind of cool that lived in the margins of a life she didn’t know how to be part of, but she was trying her best.

Her fingers tightened around the crumpled piece of paper she carried; it had a few quotes that she’d picked weeks ago but hadn’t had the nerve to act on until now. They were all quotes from her favorite works, but she didn’t know where one would fit best, or where it would fit best.

The shop was dimly lit, but cozy. Exposed brick walls were plastered with art: flashes of color, delicate lines, portraits that seemed almost alive. A soft buzzing sound came from a back room, like a needle whispering against skin. It was sharp and delicate, and she appreciated the artistic value that these works of art held. Lily shuffled forward, swallowing hard as she approached the front desk.

Behind the front desk sat a woman with dark hair that sat on her shoulders, bangs higher on her forehead, and tattoos trailing up both arms like ivy. Her neck was inked with blues and oranges, delicate flower pieces that she could tell had beautiful delicacy. She looked up from her half-finished crossword puzzle, and her mouth pulled into a slow, warm smile — the kind that said, I see you, and it’s okay.

“Hi there,” She greeted, setting down her book. “Are you here for an appointment with someone?”

Lily swallowed, clearing her throat as she gave her best, confident smile back. “Oh – um, no I don’t have an appointment actually,” Her hands held the piece of her paper before she approached the desk, “Do I need an appointment?”

The woman shook her head with a smile, “You don’t need one, we do walk-ins. Do you have a design in mind?”

Lily raised her brows, “Um, yes. I do,” She placed the quotes on the desk for the woman to look at; she had chewed her gum a bit as she nodded.

“A quote is super easy – we can definitely get you in today. We only have one artist here today, so we’ll have to have him draw something up for you. Is this your first tattoo?" The woman asked, tapping her pen against the desk in rhythm with the low thump of music playing somewhere deeper in the shop.

Lily nodded, cheeks burning. She hated how obvious her nerves always were.

The woman leaned in a little, her voice lowering like they were sharing a secret. "No worries, love. You're in good hands here. Everyone has to do something for the first time every once in a while. I’m Kaila, by the way.” She stuck out her hand to help ease Lily’s nerves a bit.

“I’m Lily.” Lily answered, shaking Kaila’s hand before feeling a bit of relief from her prior anxiety. She still felt the rumbling of her heart against her chest, but it had started to ease.

“Well, Lily, I think,” Kaila checked behind herself, neck stretching to see behind the curtain where the sound of the tattoo gun was coming from. “I think we have our artist finishing up here in a minute. Let me check.”

Before Lily could even think to protest, the woman disappeared behind a beaded curtain that rattled softly in her wake. A few voices were heard – a deep, low voice came from that direction before Lily saw Kaila reappear from behind the curtain.

“He’s finishing up in a minute, so you’re welcome to have a seat. Here,” She handed Lily a large book, “Try and see if any fonts jump out at you while you wait.”

With a nod, Lily took the book in her hands before going to sit on the sofa. She had tried to steady her breathing, focusing on the drawings pinned to the wall — intricate vines curling around skeletal hands, bold quotes stitched into roses. She perused through the pages of the book, calligraphy of many sizes and curves. She bit her lip, feeling a bit overwhelmed with that decision. She was halfway through convincing herself to just leave when she heard a low, amused voice.

“Come back in a week or so, we’ll let that heal for a bit. Kaila will get you on my book,” Two men approached from behind the curtain; one had significantly shorter hair that had streaks of blue through bleach. It was so much more alternative than Lily could pull off, surely. His arms were coated in colorful ink and a bandage that coated the inside of his left arm.

The other man had shaggy brown hair, tortoiseshell glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose that held a small silver hoop. He was tall, had a short button-down shirt that held a checkered pattern, a tighter white t-shirt sat underneath it. The jeans sat on his hips with a baggie fashion, the Converse on his feet were filthy and worn to the point of unfathomability.

He was downright beautiful in a way that Lily should have run.

“It’s going to look so sick when it’s finished,” The brown-haired man told Kaila with a smirk. He joined Kaila behind the desk while she took the other man’s payment and got another appointment. Lily had been staring at the interactions, trying not to be obvious as she kept flipping through the book.

In a moment of staring, her eyes reached up to see that Kaila bumped the man with her shoulder, nodding her head towards Lily with a smirk. The man’s attention drew to her; Lily didn’t know what to do but smile back.

"You must be Lily."

She stood from her spot on the sofa, and the breath she'd been trying to catch abandoned her completely.

The man standing there looked like every fictional bad boy she'd ever secretly fallen in love with between the pages of her books. He was a vision of sorts. His messy, dark hair fell into his green eyes, which crinkled slightly at the corners like he laughed more than he should. The tattoos crawled up his forearms in swirling black ink, disappearing beneath the sleeves of the button down that covered muscles that flexed when he pushed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. And the way he looked at her — like he already knew she was nervous, and found it almost unbearably charming — made something in Lily's chest twist hard.

"I’m Harry," he said, his voice rough and lazy, the kind of voice made for midnight conversations and whispered secrets. He reached a hand out for a shake greeting, to which Lily reciprocated. The only thing she could do was smile back, barely able to form a word.

Lily swallowed, feeling her own pulse against her throat. She nodded, too flustered to trust her voice yet. Harry made his way back to the desk where Kaila stood, Lily followed.

“So, Lily,” Harry said, dragging his knuckles lightly across the counter as he leaned in; Lily took note of the way that his arms were coated with ink, each one telling a different story of a different time, she was sure. “Tell me about this tattoo, then.”

His mouth tugged into a slow, crooked grin, like he already knew she’d stammer her way through it.

Lily unfolded the paper with shaking fingers, offering it like a peace treaty as she slid it across the counter. Harry’s head turned slightly to be able to read some of the words on it.

“I… um, they’re quotes,” she said, forcing herself to meet his eyes, even though, in her mind, she was already completely in way over her head. “One’s from Jane Eyre - it’s, ‘Conventionality is not morality’, and then I have this Oscar Wilde quote, 'All art is quite useless’ which I just think is quite on-the-nose,” Her voice wobbled as she kept talking, making eye contact with him every so often to make sure that he was engaged.

“Oh, and then this one, from Anna Karenina, 'Yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking’. I think it’s just beautiful. I’m just not sure where I want it yet - or which one I want, I guess. I only want one.”

Harry took the paper from her, his fingers brushing hers — warm, calloused. He had marks on his knuckles, some scrapes, she could tell. Lily’s stomach flipped at the interaction, but she took in a deep breath to try and even out her breath.

He scanned the quotes, his brow furrowing slightly in thought, then lifted his gaze back to hers, softer now, like he understood more than he let on.

“We can take our time figuring it out,” he said, voice low. “That’s the best part.”

He rounded the counter, moving with a lazy kind of grace that made her toes curl in her boots. He stood close, leaning against the front desk as he studied the paper closely. He was close enough that she could see the faint stubble along his jaw, the tiny silver ring in his left ear.

“The decision on where to put it is mostly about if you want it somewhere only you can see, maybe,” Harry murmured, his voice dipping lower, sending a shiver down her spine as she thought of him seeing it. Of him painting it on her. “Or somewhere you can show it off, if you want the world to know you’re braver than you look.”

From behind the desk, Kaila watched the interaction and the way he spoke to her, a satisfied smirk tugging at her mouth as she picked up her crossword again.

Meanwhile, Lily felt her entire face heat, but her feet stayed planted. She couldn’t look away from Harry if she tried. “I-I’m down for whatever, really. I just – um.” She cleared her throat, fingers playing with her bottom lip as she tried to think about his suggestions. Harry tilted his head, studying her like she was something delicate and fascinating, like he didn’t want to rush and risk breaking the moment.

"Here’s what we’ll do," he said, voice almost a purr. "I'll draw up a sketch so you can see it on you. No ink yet, just a little marker. It'll help you picture it."

Lily opened her mouth to say something — to agree, to flee, she wasn’t sure — but the words caught somewhere behind the pounding of her heart. Harry smiled like he already had his answer. He took the piece of paper that she had crumbled and written on.

"Come on back," he said, jerking his head toward the beaded curtain, where a tall leather chair sat against the wall, His hand brushed lightly against the small of her back as he led her over — a barely-there touch that made her skin tingle under her sweater.

She perched on the edge of the seat, feeling like a statue — awkward and frozen, almost like she was at the doctor’s office— as Harry grabbed a very fine-tipped marker from a nearby tray. He popped the cap off with his teeth, tossing it aside with a lazy flick of his wrist.

“Do you have a kind of an idea of what you want it to look like?” He sat on a chair next to her, a notebook in his hand as he sat the piece of paper on the notebook for reference. Before she could answer he had already started a freehand sketch of the design.

“Um, I think just more of a pretty font,” She nodded, crossing her ankles. “Maybe more of a like,” She shrugged, “Softer?”

Harry nodded, which let a piece of his hair fall over his glasses. “Just letting you know that I actually like the Anna Karenina quote the best. Don’t make that decision based on me, though. It’s your body.”

“Any reason?” Lily found herself asking, feeling that it was a bit bold of her to even create an open conversation.

Harry shrugged, with a smirk that revealed a dimple in his right cheek. “Guess no reason. It would make a boyfriend happy to see his girl wearing a quote like that, I think. It would be a good nod to a good love.”

Lily felt her cheeks flush a heat that made her shake her head. “I-I don’t – uh, there’s no boyfriend.”

Harry bit the inside of his cheek to keep the smile from revealing on his face before he looked up from his notebook. “Good to know,” He shrugged then, “I think it’s the most poetic. Any reason you want a quote before a drawn art?”

Lily licked her lips, “I’m a writer, and I think having written works on me is like – I don’t know. It makes sense to me.”

With a nod, Harry understood it. “I get that, same with me and drawn art, I guess. Makes sense to me.”

Lily watched his continue to draw on the notebook for another moment before he seemed satisfied with how he had finished it. He sniffled, scrunching his nose before he lifted his head.

"Mind if I...?" he asked, gesturing vaguely to her arm. “Do you have anything on under the sweater? Or you can roll it up if it’s more comfortable.”

Lily took in a breath as she shook her head, as if it was stupid to wear the most clothes to a place where she needed to show skin. "Oh, yeah, of course.” Instead, she threw the sweater over her head, leaving her in a plain white t-shirt. A flush of her skin came back in a rush when she realized that she hadn’t put on a bra, leaving her a bit more intimate than she had intended.

She hadn’t thought this far – how stupid could she have been.

Instead of overthinking it now, she offered her forearm like it was some kind of ancient, sacred ritual.

“Just going to touch you,” He smirked, “Know that goes without saying, but I just want you to know that you can tell me to stop or let go whenever – sometimes people think they can’t do that, but just letting you know… you can.”

Harry’s fingers wrapped gently around her wrist, his touch firm but somehow careful, like he could feel the way her pulse raced under her skin, she was sure of it. Slowly, he pressed the tip of the marker to the inside of her forearm, right where the skin was soft and sensitive; Lily breathed out at the unfamiliar touch. His other hand steadied her, thumb brushing in slow, absent circles against her skin.

"Here’s one idea," he murmured, voice low and private. "Something you can glance at whenever you need it. Something just for you, but for everyone too."

Lily's breath caught as he sketched a delicate curve of letters along her skin, his hand feather-light, almost reverent.

Then, without warning, he lifted his hand to let his thumb touch her collarbone with a slight rub motion. The rest of his fingers grazed over her shoulder.

"Could go here too," he said, his knuckles grazing the edge of her shoulder. "Something that peeks out when you wear a wide neckline, if that you’re thing. A bit teasing."

The word teasing hung heavy between them, almost like he noticed the fact that her nipples were practically on display for the world. He didn’t make it known that he was catching glimpses, but maybe he was quite more of a gentleman than that.

Harry's eyes flicked up to meet hers, and for a moment, the air between them snapped tight like a wire. His hand was still at her shoulder, his thumb now resting on her skin like he hadn’t had any reason to let go.

Lily's skin burned under his touch. She swore he could hear her heart pounding.

"And then there's always..." His voice dropped even lower, tougher, more dangerous. He let his fingers trace — just barely — along the outside of her ribs, not quite touching, more of a whisper of suggestion. "...somewhere a little more private, if that’s your thing.”

Her breath hitched audibly; she flinched just a bit even though he hadn’t touched her. The smirk on his face was bitten back as he shook his head.

Harry grinned, wicked and beautiful, then. "No pressure," He said, sitting back as he ran his fingers to push his hair back but slowly, like he wanted her to feel every second of the space he left behind. "Just giving you options."

She swallowed hard, trying to understand the understated feeling of tension that laid between them. It was almost like he had the charisma of a movie star, but she knew that she shouldn’t feel special. Men like Harry didn’t look at girls like Lily.

"Maybe...” She managed, her voice barely above a whisper as she felt the way that her own hand ran her thumb over the site of her ribcage. “Maybe here, I guess. Will it hurt?”

Harry took a sip of the water cup that sat on his station; it kept him from showing the overzealous smile that would appear on his lips at the way that she suggested the private site. He started to smile; it widened like the sun coming up over some dangerous horizon.

"Good call," he said, picking up his pen, "And hey," he added, voice a soft scrape near her ear as he leaned in, "First tattoos are supposed to hurt a little. And I’m pretty good at making sure you’ll like it enough to come back for more. It’s an addicting kind of pain.”

Harry had moved towards the notebook, before he went to go prep the transfer. “Did you like the font of that?” Harry asked, referencing the quick sketch in the middle of her arm that he had given her for reference. “Size too?”

Lily took in a breath, staring at it before she bit her lip, “I think I want it a bit more… rougher, I guess. Nothing too professionally written, I guess. More like regular, messy cursive handwriting. And the size is good. Can we do it in a stanza? Overlapping each comma. You know?”

Staring at the work on her arm, Harry nodded at her notes. Letting his own hand mimic the way that she wanted it – the notes had given him a bit of a warmth in his chest to know that she was asking for exactly what she wanted. On the paper, he turned to show her his interpretation of her thoughts before he pushed his glasses on his nose.

“Something like that?” He asked, Lily’s eyes looked over the design. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth before she nodded and looked back at him.

Yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking.

“That’s perfect.” Lily told him in all honesty; her vision, while very biased on the fact that she was unable to really decide on her own what she liked, was definitely brought to happiness with the way that he sold his design and where she should have it.

“Awesome,” Harry said, pleased with the way that she agreed without any further remarks. This step always took much longer, as people wanted their design to be something in their head – Harry had to figure out how to bring their designs to life, but he was creative in that sense. He could usually try to understand them by their character, getting to know them a little bit before designing it.

He just knew that Lily would like this, without knowing her at all.

“So, I’m going to go trace this for you really quick so I can get a stencil. Grab a soda of something out of the fridge, make yourself comfortable. This shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes or so,” He told her, “It will take more to prep and clean you up than anything else. Also, assuming you want black ink?”

Lily let her hands fold in her lap before she nodded at his instruction, “Yes, black is good.”

With that, Harry stood from his own seat before taking his work over to trace it for stenciling. While they were apart, Lily took the moment to let out the largest breath that had been holding back in her lungs. She shut her eyes for a moment, trying to steady herself.

Now, she lay back against the leather chair, her sweater discarded on her lap as she tried to play with a loose string. Her eyes shut in a few flutters before she laid her head back and stared at the ceiling. She turned her head for a moment to stare at the way that Harry’s back arched over the small desk that held the stencil he was carefully tracing.

She didn’t know what to do with her hands – she grabbed her purse, taking her phone out of her purse before she brought up her text messages with her best friend, Tess. She rolled her lips into her mouth before she snapped a quick photo of the set up where the ink and tattoo gun were held.

Lily:  Going under the knife… or gun?

Lily: Also… the artist could not be cuter if he tried

“Okay, this is where you need to stand up so we can make sure it’s straight.” Harry’s voice took her out of her phone, startling her a moment before she nodded. She moved herself out of the leather chair, placing her feet on the floor, using her hands to make sure that her silk skirt was straight.

“Also, the cowboy boots are sick, by the way.” Harry complimented her with a bite of his own lip. Lily noticed their height difference when she looked from her boots up to him; the shine of his nose ring caught her eye before she blushed at the compliment.

“Thank you- I, uh, thrifted them in Shoreditch a few weeks ago,” The genuine brown leather hit against her calves as she showed them off a bit, “Thought they were fun. My first time wearing them.”

“You pull them off well.” Harry nodded. There was a slight tension as Lily cleared her throat; shaking her head, they found the moment of silence to be too much. Harry broke it.

Reaching over his station, Harry worked silently at the little rolling table nearby, snapping on a pair of black gloves with a crisp snap. The sound made her flinch — not from fear — but something deeper. Anticipation, maybe.

"Alright, sweetheart," he murmured, his voice so low and easy it crawled over her skin like smoke. "I’m gonna clean the area first, and then I’m gonna to lay the stencil where I think you’ll like it. If you don’t like it, we can do it again.”

Lily nodded, even though her throat had gone bone dry.

Taking a seat in his chair, Harry rolled closer, a small squeeze bottle and cloth in hand. She stood taller than him now, but she would have to admit the view from above may have been just as good – if not better.

“So, just lift your shirt up – which are we thinking, right or left?” He watched as Lily took the edge of her shirt in her hands before she looked between them, incredibly indecisive, but also without a care, so she just stated, “Left, I think will be better.”

Harry wheeled himself to her left ribcage, using his glove to push her hand up a bit to show more of her skin.

“You doing okay?” He asked; when he received the nod of her, he used his thumb to brush the latex over her skin before using the wipe to clean the area. Lily flinched at the chill of the cool wipe before Harry looked up at her – she had been staring straight ahead.  

The antiseptic was cool against her overheated skin, making her jerk slightly when he swiped it along the curve of her ribcage. He steadied her with a gentle, gloved hand at her side.

"Sorry," Harry said, grinning, "It's always a shock at first."

Lily could barely breathe, acutely aware of everywhere he touched — even though he was professional, methodical, only exposing the small area he needed to work on.

Still, the intimacy of it — the way he had to tilt and maneuver her slightly toward him, the way his hands bracketed the sensitive space just beneath her breast — it felt like too much and not enough, all at once.

"There we go," he said, voice all concentration now. "Now stay real still for me, okay?"

She nodded again, uselessly, because the second the stencil met her skin, she swore she could feel him — the heat of his body, the careful drag of his focus on the straightness of the stencil. She could have sworn his face was close enough that a few strands of his messy brown hair brushed against her bare side.

"You're doing good," Harry murmured after a minute, his breath ghosting over her ribs. "Very good."

Lily squeezed her eyes shut. She was utterly doomed.

When he finished the stencil, he sat back just slightly to admire his work, pulling off one glove with a snap to smooth the tracing paper carefully against her skin. The backs of his fingers skimmed her ribs — feather-light, deliberate — and when he looked up, the green-gold of his eyes darkened.

"You sure you wanna stop at just one?" he asked, voice roughened with something almost tender. "Because, honestly, you wear ink way too well."

She swallowed hard, daring to glance down at the delicate tracing tucked along her ribcage, just under the swell of her breast. She drew in a breath, “Let’s see how much this one hurts first.” She let out a breath of a laugh.

Harry — still sitting beside her, still half-smiling like he knew every thought flying through her head — looked like pure, heart-wrecking trouble. Harry’s grin turned wicked. He peeled off the second glove and stood, flexing his fingers, muscles shifting under the ink that wrapped his own arms like stories written just for him.

"You never know," he said, voice a promise. “You might like a little pain.”  

Turning to his station, Harry grabbed a bunch of unopen supplies that were sterile, and he turned to prep the needle and machine, leaving Lily alone on the chair — heart racing, skin burning, body already craving the sting of his touch.

The buzz of the tattoo machine filled the space again, a steady sound that somehow made Lily’s heart race even harder. Harry sniffled, looking over at her before he cleared his throat.

“I think we’re going to have you lay on your back,” Harry went to maneuver the chair to lay flat; Lily moved with it, laying down on her back before Harry shook his head. “Hold your arm over your head.”

Harry leaned in close, resting his newly gloved hand flat against her side to steady her. The spot was so sensitive — right under the curve of her breast — that when the needle first kissed her skin, she gasped and instinctively arched slightly away.

"Hey, hey," Harry murmured, his free hand held at the underside of her breast, right at her ribs– which gave him a bit of unease at first. "Easy, sweetheart. You're alright. Deep breath for me, yeah?"

Lily swallowed hard, her face burning, but she nodded. She focused on breathing through her nose, trying to ignore the feel of his palm anchoring her, the heat of his body so close it was dizzying. Her eyes stared at the ceiling, knowing that each moment felt more and more difficult.

"You’re doing great," he said, voice low and soothing. "First tattoo’s always the hardest. Especially a spot like this. Let me know if you need to stop.”

She let out a shaky laugh, the sound barely there. "Y-Yeah, I guess I don’t do things halfway."

Harry’s smile widened — not mocking, but warm. Proud, even. He adjusted the machine in his hand and carefully started again, the fine line of the quote beginning to take shape along her ribs.

Harry’s mouth curved into a slow, appreciative grin. "Figures. You’ve got that stubborn look about you."

The machine whirred as he carefully pressed the needle into her skin again, beginning the delicate line of the quote. "What's the quote from?" Harry asked after a minute, his voice soft and warm, keeping her distracted as he worked.

"Anna Karenina," Lily said, her voice barely more than a whisper. "It’s about... someone seeing you. Even when you think you're invisible."

Harry’s hand paused for the briefest second before he resumed, wiping gently at her side with a cloth.

"Sounds like it means something to you," he said, glancing up at her with a flicker of something real in his gaze.

She shrugged, the movement small against his steady hand. "I just... sometimes it feels like... if you're quiet, people don't really notice you. But when they do..."Her voice trailed off.

Harry's smile softened, a little less cocky and a little more sincere. "They’d be bloody stupid not to notice you," he said, almost too low for her to hear.

Before she could say anything, he leaned back in to finish the script, his concentration fierce, brow furrowed. His hand was careful, stabilizing her, and even through the sting of the tattoo, all Lily could focus on was the way his touch felt: steady, grounding, almost reverent.

"You’re holding up better than most," he said after a few minutes, wiping away a smear of ink. "Some people swear and curse the whole time."

She gave a breathless laugh. "Maybe I'm just too shy to complain." She knew very well that it hurt – it hurt more than anything she had done, but she laughed at the idea that maybe she just needed to stay quiet.

Harry chuckled under his breath, shaking his head. "I don’t mind a little shy," he said, his thumb rubbing slow circles into her waist without thinking. "Means you don't bullshit."

She swallowed, heat rushing to her cheeks. As he finished the final strokes, he leaned in even closer, his breath ghosting against her skin.

"And it’s the quiet ones," he murmured like it was a secret, "who usually end up being the most unforgettable."

Lily's breath hitched, her entire body tense — not from the tattoo, but from him.

"I know you marched in here scared outta your mind," he said, carefully wiping away excess ink with a cloth. "And you still picked one of the hardest spots to get tattooed. You sat through it like a champ."

Lily didn’t know what to say to that, but the smile pulling at her mouth was uncontrollable.

Harry kept working, his touches careful, respectful — but God, she could feel him everywhere. His hand steady against her waist. The occasional brush of his knuckles against her ribs when he adjusted the angle. The warm breath from his mouth when he leaned closer to focus. It was overwhelming in the best, most terrifying way.

"You from around here?" he asked, glancing up again as he shifted slightly, bending lower to reach the final curve of the quote.

"Yeah," she said, her voice a little stronger now. "Grew up about fifteen minutes away. You?"

"Born here," Harry said, grinning as he dabbed gently at her side. "Escaped for a bit. Came back when I realized not everywhere has diners open 'til 3 a.m."

Lily laughed softly at his remark. It surprised them both— the way it slipped out of her so easily, warm and bright. Harry looked at her like he wanted to bottle the sound; she hadn’t showed as much emotion than from that little, stupid remark.

"You're loosening up," he said teasingly, switching out a cartridge on the machine to do the finer details. "Almost like you’re not terrified of me anymore."

"I was never terrified of you," she said quickly, eyes wide.

Harry just smirked. He leaned in, his voice dropping conspiratorially as he waited for the color to rise on her cheeks the color of fire. Somehow, he already knew the buttons he needed to press.

"Then why were you blushing so hard you looked ready to faint when I walked over?"

Lily opened her mouth — and then shut it, mortified. She knew that her cheeks could not have been redder than they were in this moment.

Harry's laughter — warm, deep, good — filled the studio space that they were sitting in.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," he said, his knuckles brushing her side again in a way that felt far too deliberate to be accidental. "You’re not the first to get a little shy. You just wear it way cuter than most."

Her heart fluttered so violently she was sure he could feel it vibrating under her skin.

"You're... very confident," she muttered, staring at the ceiling like it might save her.

Harry tilted his head slightly, the machine buzzing softly again as he started on the delicate flourishes of the script, intricate details were needed as he stared deeper onto the inked skin.

"Suppose I have to be," he said, easy with a shrug to his shoulders. "People are trusting me to carve something into them forever. Can’t really be shaky about that." He pulled back for a second, wiping gently again, then leaned closer to blow softly on the ink to dry it.

The puff of air against her raw, sensitized skin made her shudder. Harry grinned like he noticed, like he was tucking it away somewhere private.

"Almost done," he said softly. "You’ve been a dream to work on, Lily."

The way he said her name with a slow, deliberate tone made her stomach flip. When he finally clicked the machine off and peeled his gloves away, the quiet that fell was almost deafening. It hadn’t been too long then, but Lily had missed the feeling already.

He sat back on his chair, running his hand through his messy hair, looking her over like he was committing the sight to memory.

"Alright," he said, voice a little rough, "moment of truth. Want a mirror?"

She nodded, and he passed it over carefully, brushing her fingers with his own in the exchange.

Lily angled it, looking down to be able to see where the writing sat on her skin. It was raw, her skin, red around the darkened ink that was now visible and permanent.

The quote curved perfectly under her breast, right on the ribcage, elegant and understated — exactly like she had imagined it in her head a hundred times. She knew that this would help her, this would connect her with her peers knowing she had gone through this experience.

"It's..." She swallowed hard. "It's really beautiful. Thank you."

Harry's smile softened, all the cocky teasing bleeding out of him until he looked almost bashful at her complimented admission.

"Hey," he said, reaching out instinctively to squeeze her hand that had been holding the mirror in place, fingers brushing along softly as he let go. "Thank you for trusting me. Let me bandage it up for you, and we can send you on your way.”

Lily nodded at that, biting her lip as she kept looking at the mirror while he grabbed the bandages. Harry wiped the ink again, giving it a sheen as he gave her instructions for aftercare. He handed her a small paper bag that included a lotion, a soap wash, and instructions for first time care of a tattoo.

"You mind if I grab a quick photo?" Harry asked, twirling the tattoo machine cable loosely between his fingers as he started to clean up his space; he was trying to act nonchalant about getting the photos, knowing she could possibly say no – but hoping she would just say yes. "For my portfolio. Only if you’re cool with it. I know it’s a spicy spot."

Lily blinked at him, heart still pounding. His smile was easy, but there was a gleam behind it, something playful, like he already knew she wouldn’t say no.

"Okay," she breathed, before she could overthink it. “Yeah, sure.”

Harry grinned a gleaming smile that allowed his dimples on display. He grabbed his film camera from under his station – of course it was a film camera, Lily thought.

"Stand up over here for me," he said, nodding toward a spot near the exposed brick wall where the late afternoon light pooled golden through the windows. “Better lighting.”

Lily slid off the chair, legs slightly unsteady, the fresh sting of the tattoo a thrilling reminder that this was real.  Harry watched her cross the room, head tilted like he was studying a living piece of art. His gaze dragged over her with an intensity that made her toes curl inside her boots.

"Just... pull the shirt up a bit,” he said, his voice going rough at the edges. "Show it off."

Her fingers fumbled at the hem of her shirt, tugging it just enough to reveal the tattoo.

"There," he murmured, camera drawn up to his eye, voice a velvet scrape "Perfect. Hold still for me, pretty girl." he said, almost under his breath as he concentrated on getting the perfect shot.

The first snap of the camera echoed too loudly in the quiet shop. Lily's heart thudded against her ribs as Harry moved around her, finding angles, framing her tattoo, but it didn’t escape her that his eyes kept straying back to her face. Her mouth. Her flushed cheeks.

"One more," Harry said, voice low and rough now. “Chin up. Look at me."

Lily obeyed, realizing that her face would now be in the shot before she even thought about it, tilting her face toward him — and the look that passed between them nearly set the air itself on fire. For one breathless, infinite second, it didn’t matter that the camera was between them. It didn’t matter that she was shy, or new to this, or that her heart was beating out of control.

All that mattered was the way Harry was looking at her. It was almost like she was already his favorite work of art.

The camera clicked. Harry dropped it to his side without a second glance.

He stepped closer again, too close — the kind of close where all she could see was the glint in his hazel eyes and the faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"You killed it, Lily," he said softly, with the hint of humor coating his tone. “First tattoo... and you already look dangerous."

Her cheeks flamed, but this time, she didn’t look away.

"Guess I’ll have to find an excuse to see you again." He murmured, trying to keep it between them, even though Kaila was just at the desk behind the beaded curtain. “If you want to, I mean.”

Before Lily could even straighten up, a warm hand closed gently over hers.

She looked up — right into Harry’s eyes. Up close, they were even more devastating — a messy green-gold, framed by thick lashes, flecked with something reckless and soft all at once.

“Y-You want to see me again?” Lily asked, almost like the words coming from him weren’t real. They couldn’t have been; there was nothing intriguing enough about her that would allow a man like this to be interested in her. But the way that his eyes shone behind the glasses as he looked at her held a truth that she couldn’t deny.

"I’ve got about an hour before my next appointment," he continued, like he hadn't just tilted her whole world off its axis. "And I was thinking maybe instead of a payment, you could just... walk to get a coffee with me instead."

Breathless, Lily opened her mouth to speak, letting a breathless laugh escape her. “Oh, uh,” She shook her head, but watched Harry’s smile start to fade as if she was denying him, “Oh- I mean, yes. I would… I would like to do that. But you’re sure you don’t – I mean, I can pay you for your work.”

Harry smiled wider, clearly delighted by the reaction he was pulling from her.

"No, really," he added, even though they both knew there was nothing casual about the way he was looking at her right now. Harry reached over to the chair, handing her the sweater. "I wasn’t expecting this today, so I’ve kind of already been paid. In a way.”

Kaila snorted quietly behind her crossword, drawing Harry’s attention. This time his cheeks reddened at the reaction.

Lily hesitated for half a heartbeat, then found herself smiling, small but real. Maybe a little reckless as she pressed her tongue into her cheek.

"Okay," she said. "Coffee sounds... good. I like coffee."

Harry’s grin turned into something full of promise as he nodded, finding his cheeks hurting from the smile emitting from him.

"Yeah?" he said, stepping back just enough to snag his jacket from the hook by the door. "Good. I know a place.”

Lily pulled the sweater over her head, pulling it back over her frame as she looked up at him. “Do you mind if I freshen up really quick?”

Harry perked up, “Oh, sure. The restrooms over there.” He pointed towards the back, “I’ll meet you at the front.”

Lily moved her way towards the restroom, taking her small purse as Harry grabbed his jacket and sunglasses before going towards the counter where Kaila was sitting with her crosswords in front of her. Harry blew out a breath and raked a hand through his messy hair. The slow smirk on her face was overtaking her smile, Harry caught it immediately.

"You good, Casanova?" Kaila asked without looking up, flipping her pencil between her fingers. “I’m surprised you were able to keep your hand steady enough to get good ink out of it with how jacked up she made you.”

Harry leaned his elbows onto the counter, head dropping between his arms with a low, muffled groan. "I’m gonna marry her.”

Kaila snorted so hard she almost dropped her pencil. "You talked her into coffee, not a courthouse wedding."

He peeked up at her through his messy hair, a cocky but boyish grin tugging at his mouth. "Coffee first. Courthouse second. I’m a gentleman, of course. I do nothing without second thoughts."

Kaila rolled her eyes, laughing under her breath. "Well, just don’t scare her off with your strong puppy energy. She’s sweet. You don’t get a lot of that. You don’t usually throw yourself at girls, it’s a lot of the opposite, so I can tell she’s going to challenge you."

Harry straightened up a little, something serious flickering across his face for half a second. "I know," he said quietly, “That’s hot.”

Kaila softened, just a little, watching him. Then she shook her head and went back to her crossword, voice light again. "Go easy, Fabio. Try not to spill coffee on yourself this time."

Harry flipped her off good-naturedly just as the bathroom door opened, and he immediately turned around, smoothing his jacket down like he'd been standing there casually the whole time. Kaila bit her lip to stifle another laugh.

When Lily came back into view, cheeks still a little pink and hair a little mussed from the day but pulled back into a clip now, Harry couldn’t stop the wide, helpless grin that broke across his face.

“I’ll be back, Kai.” Harry walked in front of Lily, he held the door open for her, a little old-fashioned but somehow so natural it made Lily’s heart ache as she moved out in front of him.

The bell above the shop door jingled as they stepped out into the late afternoon sun. The sidewalk was still warm, the city humming around them. For a few seconds, they just walked, side by side, the silence between them not awkward, but tentative — fragile, like the first brushstroke of something beautiful about to begin.

Harry glanced sideways at her, his voice a little lighter now, teasing again. "So, Lily," he said, slipping his hands into his pockets as he walked. "Tell me something about you. Something I wouldn’t guess."

Lily looked down at the ground, shy, but the corner of her mouth twitched up. After a beat, she said softly, "I once won a spelling bee because I memorized an entire Russian novel in case they picked a word from it."

Harry laughed, a rich, warm sound that made her grab onto her sweater sleeves a bit tightly. "Let me guess," he said, grinning as he walked sideways to face her. "Was it Anna Karenina?"

She laughed too then — a real, bright thing that made her feel lighter than she had in months.

"Maybe," she said, pretending to be coy. "Maybe not."

He bumped his shoulder gently against hers, careful but playful. "Oof, you’re going to keep me guessing,” He bit his lip, “I like it.”

They rounded the corner together, the coffee shop coming into view — a cozy little place with fairy lights strung up in the windows.

And for the first time in a long time, Lily felt like maybe she wasn't invisible after all.

Maybe she was finally being seen.

[shefollowedthestars]

dating ava starr headcanons ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

warnings: thunderbolts spoilers!! and some unedited thoughts

notes: MY GIRL SINCE ANT MAN AND THE WASP <33 i love her sm and needed to write something for her. this is just an accumulation of thoughts i've had about dating her since i watched the movie! hope you enjoy <3

you do her hair all the time! braids, pigtails, half up-half down, any hairstyle in the book is one you'll do for her. she loves the feeling of your hands in her hair and it relaxes her more than anything else after a tough or long mission.

sometimes when you're holding hands, she'll phase in and out through your hands and it can be a comfort and something soothing for you, but sometimes it's a funny way for her to tease you. it's her version of a 'tickle attack'!

alexei is the BIGGEST supporter of your relationship with ava. when ava said that she wanted the team to meet her new girlfriend, he was ecstatic, saying how great it was that someone on the team finally had a partner and he was even more ecstatic when he got to know you. think of him as you and ava's honorary dad who loves you embarrassingly lol. he would definitely think of adding the ally flag to the 'avengerz' merch and be so excited about it.

ava is such a witty and sassy person and so when you two first met there was a lot of back and forth play insults and banter - there definitely still is now, just some of those moments have been replaced with softer, gentler ones.

she's insecure about her laugh, but you think it's the most beautiful thing to ever grace your years. whenever she laughs at your jokes or at a situation, you can't help but admire her the sound, it brings you more joy than she could ever imagine.

she always asks for your opinion on a new suit before she chooses. she brings all the options home and shows them all to you. you sit on the bed, eating a box of thunderbolts wheaties, rating them and picking your favorites.

you keep a box full of magazine clippings, printed out comments and drawings of ava that you found on news outlets. all of them are complimenting her and some comments and art pieces were written and made by little girls that look up to her. the first time she broke down, post 'new avenger' status, you brought the box out to comfort her and show her that she's capable of being an amazing person - a hero, that people can look up to.

[art]

Creator Spotlight: @themetalhiro

Hi, I’m Metal! I’m a freelance artist from good ol’ New Jersey. My favorite things to work with are a lot of bright colors, exaggerated poses, and candid scenarios. I try to farm sensible chuckles whenever I can, so I’m also big into comics. I love making them about my life, and the media I’m into, and one day I’d like to publish my own series!  Thank you to everyone who has gotten me this far!!

Check out Metal's interview below!

Did you originally have a background in art? If not, how did you start?

I guess so! It’s funny, I don’t remember a single time in my life that I wasn’t drawing as a hobby… somewhere in middle school (a little late, I know.) I put the pieces together that animated movies were made by artists, and that it wasn’t just for fun, they were paid to do it. The moment I discovered people could be paid to make art, I decided I would do that, too. Now I’m here!

How has your style developed over the years?

I think the best way to answer this would be with an example! Over the last few years, I have made more of an effort to draw more intentionally, which sounds silly. Now, I put more thought into my poses and step out of my comfort zone with shape language and composition. I had a phase where I drew everyone with a huge, perfectly circular head and no nose. That definitely did not lend much variety...

Which 3 famous artists (dead or alive) would you invite to your dinner party?

Ack! I’m so terrible at history! I’d love to give a well-thought-out answer about fine artists of old, but I don't think we’d have much in common… Most artists I admire and who have driven me forward creatively are the people behind comics I’ve read. Andrew Hussie, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Eiichiro Oda... these guys have inspired me greatly and had a heavy influence in developing my art style and sense of humor. I’d love to ask them questions about their processes and upcoming projects. I think it would make for an entertaining night!

Over the years as an artist, what were your biggest inspirations behind your creativity?

Outside of pure aesthetics like searing bright colors, layered clothing, and loud noises…. the best and most inspiring moments in my life were those surrounded by friends and loved ones! I cherish the hell out of memories of hanging around in fun locations, trying weird food together, and impromptu midnight walks... so I try my best to capture that atmosphere and my own memories in my work when I can, even if I’m imposing fictional characters on top of them. That’s always the core of it.

What is a medium that you have always been intrigued by but would never use yourself?

I would never permanently refuse a medium, but every time I pick up clay, I’m like a baby using its hands for the first time. Absolutely dreadful. If one day I could make and paint a figurine like the ones I admire in videos, that would be awesome... But for now, I’m not counting on it.

How do you want to evolve as a creator?

I’ve had an absolute blast drawing fanart over the years, and it’s certainly played a massive role in my growth as an artist. But my dream has always been to publish my own stories for y'all to enjoy! I have lots of worlds I want to introduce to you before I’m old and gray. I want to get faster, work harder, and get better at drawing interesting settings so I can get the wheels turning as soon as possible. I also want to stop avoiding the color blue like a coward.

What do you wish you knew when you first started out creating art that you know now?

Pay your taxes quarterly. Tablets will break at the exact moment you need them most, so have a spare. Wear your blue light glasses. You’re going to need to wear a brace on every joint on the right side of your body. It can be lonely sitting at your desk all day. The car on the side of the road that costs $1000 cash….. don’t trust it!!!

Who on Tumblr inspires you and why?

@cranity—They use absolutely beautiful colors and weighty line work. Everything looks so sharp and clean! I wanna put it all up on my wall!

@vewn—Their ability to crank out quality short films and illustrations packed with detail is incredible. The off-kilter perspective they use really sells disorientation and catches your attention like nothing else.

@nelnal—They have absolutely banger character designs again and again, I can’t believe one person’s mind can come up with so many creative ideas!

@jinx88kc—They have a beautiful and recognizable style, and the way they incorporate animation into their illustrations sometimes is SO cool!

Thanks for stopping by, Metal! For more of Metal’s work, follow their Tumblr, @themetalhiro! If you haven't seen their Meet the Artist piece, be sure to check it out here!

[yes-no-maybe-soo]

"I like your eyes"

"I like your hair"

"You look beautiful"

"I'll miss my flower"

"You know, Tarus City can have flowers bloom everywhere, as far as the eye can see. But only for one person."

"How can I witness and hold such beauty once more...? If I were to bury my heart within your sweet lips…”

"If you were also an art piece, then whoever created you... must have loved you dearly"

“You are my unforgivable sin in the fabric of eternity, the very thing that has imprisoned me.”

“Your truest self will forever be etched into the fabric of my soul.”

“And you happen to be the only element that can ignite my passion”

"You should know very well that I adore you. There is no love purer than mine"

"Shivanika, Shivanika, Shivanika"

"At that time, I thought we were like flowers. We were meant to grow together in the same soil. Yet you were quietly moved to another garden in a foreign land... Still, you managed to bloom beautifully."

"Driven by desire, I touch you, kiss you, embrace you, and happily accept your influence."

"I don't need the paint job to be perfect. I just want your mark on [my motorcycle]. Do you get it now, kitten?"

"It's a lot like you, kitten. [...] Chaotic, unique, and beautiful"

"When I want to savor the thrill of speed, I'll go full throttle. But when you're sitting behind me, there are things more interesting than speed"

"I wish for you to always live freely and brilliantly"

"Sure. Tomorrow I'll go back to being the Association's most-wanted criminal and the 'big bad boss-man' with the most enemies in the N109 Zone... But even then, I'll still be 'yours'."

"For me, seeing you is like seing the sun itself"

"The flower petals have carried you into this dragon's dreams. If every petal could receive this kind of reward... Then this dragon will wait every night longing for the wind and petals to arrive."

"In my eyes, there has only been one world. It's the one where you exist."

"Sorry, but your soul doesn't have the privilege of leaving whenever it wants. I will keep you bound to me for all of eternity. Our connection transcends this place and this world"

One of my favorite things about Sylus is his habit of casually and out of thin air drop the most beautiful romantic lines you've ever heard. Stating them like facts. Because to him they are. In his eyes MC is the most gorgeous and invaluable masterpiece in existence — his "Purus Opalus" — and he will say it. Time and time again without hesitation.

Sylus, the loverboy poet that you are ❤️