#Nights of Azure 2 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sanemi-whore · 1 year

Text

All Night (Cruel World Pt.2)

Thankfully (for Sanemi's sake) you return from Final Selection alive and well. However, you being apart of the Demon Slayer Corps has his nerves going insane. To assure your safety, you often attend missions alongside him. word count: 15.150 warning: character death, blood, jealousy, cursing, smut, dark themes, aphrodisiac, anxiety, impregnation kink, mentions of abortion @roaringlion @kiki17483

Part One | Masterlist | Final Part

You felt old next to the other Final Selection survivors and the thought causes your heart to ache. You were an adult, far from the young age of 14 - the youngest apart of the survivors. To think children join the Demon Slayer Corps and put their lives at risk in order to help others - you wonder how old Sanemi was when he joined. Or Genya - all of the slayers you’ve met.

The morning sun shines bright ahead of you and the other five survivors. Your eyes look forward to the mountaintop shrine, a soft smile forming on your lips at the two children standing before the survivors.

“Welcome back.” they say in Unison. “Congratulations on completing Final Selection. We’re pleased to see that you’re all safe..”

There’s a low sniffle beside you. You hum at the sight - a young boy no older than 16. You recall just how terrified he was to encounter a demon coming at him with such speed that he barely managed to dodge its attack. It was raining that night and the boy's burgundy hair was clouding his vision. You intervene, slashing the demon’s neck. The boy, Shinra, never left your side until now.

“First we must issue you all uniforms once we take your correct measurements.” the dark haired child started.

“Then we’ll engrave your rank on the back of your hand.” the white haired child continued.

“You then will be given the chance to select the ore that will be used to forge your weapon - swords. It will be 10-15 days before said weapons are ready to use.”

The black haired child claps their hands twice. Above you hear several crows, flocking their wings. You're excited, nearly ecstatic. You recall the many times you’ve been berated by Muichiro’s crow and how she loved him dearly that you wished to have your own.

A crow flocks onto your shoulders. It flocks its wings several times before stopping, inspecting your face.

“Now that you all are demon slayers, you are each assigned Kasugai Crows.” the white haired child spoke. “They are used to facilitate communication.”

The black haired child turned away to remove the long, blue cloth that laid above a table.”Now the time has come for you to choose an ore for your sword.” he says, revealing several ore’s for each of you to choose.

“Shinra.” you call to the boy beside you, still sniffling. “Let’s go choose our Ore.”

Shinra’s eyes are wide as you speak to him, but he nods nonetheless. He follows you closely as each of the survivors inspect the ore’s. You yourself are none the wiser choosing an ore. You contemplate having laid your eyes upon an ore and just thought it was another random rock.

“Which one should we choose, Shinra?” you smile at the boy. “I sense…that one,” you point to a medium sized ore. “Is a good fit for me.”

Shinra furrows a burgundy brow, “H-How do you know?” he murmurs.

“I can just feel it.” you respond. You go to grab it.

Shinra’s eyes - a beautiful shade of azure, widen and he too grabs an ore - the one directly next to yours. “Okay.” he nods.

Soon you make your journey back to Sanemi’s estate. Your legs are aching for a break, but you do not allow them to stop. Your kasugai crow, who you learned was named Hiyori, now laid upon your shoulder as you walked. She had since grew tired of flying above you once she realized you had no intention of stopping for the night. How could you? You passed Final Selection and now was an actual Demon Slayer.

The sky was now a dark violet color when you arrived back at the estate. You had many people to see - you agreed to visit Aoi, Sumi, Kiyo and Naho once you returned. You grew close with the young girls, often visiting them when you didn’t have to train until you dropped. You would have to thank Uzui, Hinatsuru, Makio and Suma for your combat training; Muichiro (and Ginko because she wouldn’t allow you to not acknowledge her if you met with him). Mitsuri promised you pancakes one you returned and you were craving them with extra honey - her western cooking was the best you’ve ever had.

You opened the shoji doors of Sanemi’s estate. It’s quiet inside and doesn’t appear to have anyone in it. You make your way around the estate and hum, Sanemi was not here.

You didn’t let the fact bother you. Sanemi was a hashira after all and had responsibilities. He could possibly be doing his rounds before he returned home.

You take this time to bathe, allowing all the grime to be released from your skin was refreshing. You’re unsure how long you’ve bathed for, but once your hands begin to wrinkle was when you decided to get out. You were refreshed now, dressed now in a light kimono tied loosely and your hair in a low bun.

You decide to do another round around the estate for Sanemi. You can hear them - faint footsteps.It’s coming from the opposite side of the mansion. Your feet begin to sprint across the cold hardwood floor, a wide smile on your lips.

Sanemi was here, you note, dressed in his usual Hashira attire. He appeared to have just came in from his rounds as you suspected.

“Nemi!” you exclaim, jumping to wrap your arms around the man. He doesn’t move back an inch, even with the impact of you crashing into him.

Sanemi’s nostrils fill with your scent - the familiar scent that he had longed to smell for the last week. His nerves begin to calm themselves at your touch, unaware that since you've been gone that he was unable to focus on anything but your survival.

“I’m back from Final Selection!” your heart is pumping with excitement. “I even have my own crow like you all! Her name’s Hiyori!” you continue to babble on and on about everything that happened during your week, still wrapping him in a tight embrace.

Your face then crashes into his chest and you’re silent. Sanemi doesn’t notice it at first - he assumes you were overwhelmed with emotions to fully focus on one topic at a time. But then his bare chest feels it. Wet - were you crying?

Sanemi gets his answer when your shoulders shake and his chest appears to be even more wet. He gulps, unsure on what to do. Why were you suddenly crying? Sanemi didn’t deal with emotions well. He hated when the lower ranks would cry, it irritated him to no end. It didn’t help either that they were often crying because of him - but that's besides the point.

Sanemi places a hand upon your head. “Y/N…” he trails off. “What’s wrong?”

Your face lifts to look at Sanemi. There it was again - the jolt. He hadn’t felt the jolt in his heart in a week and swears he was cured of whatever sickness he had. Your eyes are teary and wet, lashes sticking to one another.

“I’m so happy!” you sob, lips quivering.

Happy?

You were crying because you were happy?

Sanemi’s shoulders falter and now, he finds himself wanting to laugh.

“I’m happy that I passed Final Selection and you didn’t waste your time training me.” you continue, wiping your tears away with your shoulder so you wouldn’t have to unwrap your arms from Sanemi. “I’m happy I was given the opportunity to make my own decision and not be fated to one.” you’re continuing to ramble on about how happy you truly were - claiming to be happy to be surrounded by such positive people even if they were working in less than positive situations.

You do end up unwrapping your arms around Sanemi to fall to your knees. You’re bowing before him, tears not stopping. “Thank you, Sanemi.”

Sanemi gasps, but he doesn’t stiffen. “Y/N, you don’t-”

“I’m grateful that I’ve gotten to train besides you and the other Hashira and slayers.” you’re sobbing full on now, dramatic tears leaking onto the floor. “I promise to make you proud as your tsuguko! I’ll do my best on all my missions!”

Sanemi inhales. His heart is beating rapidly and he’s unsure how to respond to you. To think that he, a Hashira of many years now and had fought demons upon demons…was going to die now due to heart failure. He hoped that Shinobu and Aoi would be the first two to cry at his funeral for denying him (a fucking Hashira at that) service.

Sanemi’s mind wanders. He’s happy, as well, he supposes. Genya was alive and well, even if he refused to look his brother's way, he often kept tabs on him. Sorai would tell him everything Genya did when he wasn’t on missions. You were alive now, as well. Overly emotional and grateful as ever. Sanemi finds himself silently thanking whatever God there was out there that you wouldn’t be yet another death on his conscience.

Sanemi slams the door of the butterfly mansion open, a feral look upon his face. Naho jumps, her braids swinging around towards the sound. Kiyo’s eyes widen at Sanemi while Sumi quivers. “Where’s Kocho or Kanzaki?” he hisses at the three girls.

“S-Shinobu-san said-”

“I do not care.” Sanemi dismisses them. He doesn’t see either of the two girls he’s looking for and he turns away from them. He stalks down the halls of the butterfly mansion, in coming slayers flinging themselves into the wall just to avoid him and his wrath.

It takes another five minutes to find Shinobu and it only took him slamming open three shoji doors.

“Shinazugawa.” Shinobu’s soft smile doesn’t falter, not even when she’s annoyed with her office being intruded. She leans back in her seat and tilts her head at him.

“It happened again.” Sanemi exclaims.

Shinobu raises a brow.

“My heart jolted again yesterday. Matter of fact,” Sanemi steps inside the office. “it didn’t stop jolting for another 30 minutes.”

Shinobu snickers. “Y/N must be back from Final Selection already.” she notes, more to herself than as a statement to Sanemi. “Please tell her to come visit us at the Butterfly Mansion for any injuries she may have.”

Sanemi’s eyes are glaring at the younger girl. “What the hell does that have to do with my heart?!” he was growing irate by the second. Each time he came to this place he was kicked out by giggling girls.

“I’ve checked your heart countless times, Shinazugawa.” Shinobu states with a shake of her head. “There’s nothing wrong with it or you.”

Sanemi sighs and scoffs.

“Maybe you’re in denial?” Shinobu shrugs her shoulders.

“In denial?” Sanemi hisses. “You and that other little brat are in denial about my health!”

Shinobu wants to laugh right now, but having Sanemi constantly come into the Butterfly Mansion and scaring the nurses (and the slayers) was becoming overwhelming.

“My,” Shinobu manages to giggle. “have you…ever thought that your heart is jolting only when a certain someone is around you?”

Sanemi’s eyes squint. “Where the hell are you getting at?”

“That maybe you’ve failed to realize that your heart is jolting because you happen to…like Y/N?” Shinobu doesn’t want to cause Sanemi to convulse by saying the word “love” just yet. “There’s studies that show that boys are less smarter than girls, so I’m not surprised you cannot tell the difference between pain and feelings.”

Sanemi’s ears and neck darken a crimson color and his hands clenched into fists. Shinobu’s now full on laughing at him. He’s had enough of her and Uzui’s constant teasing.

“Fuck off.” Sanemi hisses and then turns to walk away.

“Shinazugawa!” Shinobu calls before he can storm down the hallway. “I think she likes you, too. So do the rest of the Hashira.”

Sanemi doesn’t say anything and Shinobu doesn’t expect him to, but the blush on his cheeks don’t go unnoticed.

Sanemi makes his way out of the Butterfly Mansion and back towards his estate. He managed to bring his breathing calm, but his mind is going crazy. He thinks of you and how each time he was with you, his heart goes insane and his mind seems to go blink. His anger appears to subside when you speak to him with such a soft smile. Your eyes never show any disgust towards him, instead they’re kind and warm.

“Nemi!”

Your voice echoes through his ears from behind him. He hasn’t seen you the last few hours and when he turns, he’s shocked to see your appearance. He swallows, throat quickly running dry. You’re running towards him, a wide smile on your lips. He notes that he’s rarely seen your skin - such smooth skin that now appears to shine underneath the afternoon sun. You’ve gotten your uniform and appeared to be an exact replica of Mitsuri.

“I got my uniform!” you say excitedly when you reach Sanemi.

Sanemi looks away to not catch himself staring too long at your appearance.

“Is that Y/N-chan?”

“She’s so cute!”

You’re beaming at Sanemi and he feels just how hot his body begins to feel.

“Do you feel comfortable?” Sanemi asks. You never showed this amount of skin before.

You slowly nod your head. “It’ll take some getting used to, I suppose.” you respond.

Sanemi licks his lips. His eyes roam around the area to find several slayers looking their way - your way. His nerves were now kicking in at the eyes on you.

“Do I look nice?” you ask him. “I do think it’ll be a little chilly with the uniform, but I think I’ll be alright.” you giggle to yourself.

“Is Shinazugawa-sama blushing again?”

“Why do all the girls go for guys like him?!” a slayer throws his hands in the air.

“Here.” Sanemi removes his haori and hands it over to you. He isn’t looking at you when he does so. “So you don’t get cold.”

“Shinazugawa-sama is such a nice boyfriend!” a female slayer gushes.

“Who knew he was such a-”

The slayers scurry off when a pair of lilac eyes glare at them.

You take hold of the haori with wide eyes. “But what about you, Nemi?”

“I got more.” Sanemi shrugs nonchalantly.

“Hm,” you hum, feeling the fabric in your hands. “Thank you. I’ll wear it on all my missions!” you place the haori over your shoulders and sigh happily.

Sanemi’s heart clenches and he inaudible sighs.

“Are you going back home?” you ask him. “I can cook us lunch if you don’t have anything to do!”

Sanemi nods and remains quiet.

“Good! Let’s go!” you hook your arm in his and begin walking.

Sanemi doesn’t mind your closeness, even if it does leave him surprised each time by just how willing you are to be entangled with him. While the pair of you stroll back to the estate in a comfortable silence, he’s thinking about just how nice you did look in your uniform - and how he didn’t like if anyone else thought the same.

When you suggested eating, Sanemi didn’t think you would invite others. You’ve just finished cooking when a knock sounds on his shoji doors. Sanemi doesn’t answer and you’re scurrying off to answer it yourself. The door opens and you’re beaming widely.

Sanemi wants to scoff when his brother is behind the door - him, for some odd reason Tokito and an unknown slayer with burgundy hair.

“I hope we are not intruding.” he murmurs to you, eyes only glancing at his brother for a moment. He hadn’t spoken to Sanemi in two weeks - not since the incident.

You are, Sanemi wants to say, but he only snickers to himself instead.

“Of course not!” you usher for them to enter. “I hope you all are hungry.”

Tokito remains silent when he sits upon the cushioned floor. He’s seated beside Genya and beside him, the unknown burgundy haired boy.

You go to serve the food for them, Sanemi grumbling to himself. He wanted to be with you - alone - not in his own home surrounded by brats.

You take your seat beside Sanemi and smile at the group of boys. “Please, eat.”

Muichiro wastes no time in doing as he’s told. Genya can feel eyes upon him, the glaring lilac eyes of his elder brother. He tries to think of your words two weeks prior - that Sanemi did love and care for him. It was hard believing you. He never made any attempt to speak with him after the fact and he grew slightly afraid that he would attempt to hurt him again if he tried.

“I met Shinra during Final Selection.” you tell Sanemi after a few bites of the pork cutlet. “He’s so cute.” you gush.

Shinra’s cheeks flushed crimson at the sound of his name and the compliment. He feels two sets of eyes on him - one from the white haired man who he learned quickly was a Hashira and then the boy with dark hair and a mohawk. They’re glaring, he notes, with such dark eyes and hatred.

“Look’s weak.” Sanemi retorts, sinking his teeth in the broccoli you steamed.

“Very.” Genya snorts.

Muichiro turns his eyes to look at Shinra and hums in agreement.

“That’s not nice.” you frown at the three of them. “Shinra’s is a very capable swordsman.”

Genya had no issue with the burgundy haired boy. He appeared to be close in age with him and Tokito. However, if he had your affection then that meant it was taken away from his brother (and him) and he didn’t like it.

“Shinra even helped me defeat a demon, right, Shinra-kun?”

Shinra feels his throat clog up at the amount of eyes on him. He finds himself nodding - even if it wasn’t the truth. You were lying to save him the embarrassment and that caused even more self-pity in him.

“Is that so?” Sanemi snickers. He leans forward. “He doesn’t even look like he knows how to hold a sword. I’m to believe someone like him helped you?”

You nod your head. You weren’t going to let them bring down Shinra’s self esteem about himself.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t go on missions yourself.” Sanemi states. “If you need help from a weakling.”

Genya watches the way his brother glares at Shinra and now he understands where this was going.

Sanemi was jealous - for no reason. Shinra was (for now) a weakling Mizunoto, yet you shared the rank with him. You were just lucky enough to have trained alongside several Hashira. Shinra was also only a child while you were an adult and only had eyes for Sanemi - but he knew his brother well enough to know that anyone was competition.

“Y/L-san is an amazing swordsman…woman…” Shinra’s voice is low and barely audible. He’s scared to even look the white haired man in the face but he’s grown great respect for you. “She killed the most demons during Final Selection…”

“How many did you kill?” Sanemi questions.

“I-I…” Shinra gulps. He hasn’t killed nearly as much as you or the other survivors. He only managed to cut the heads of three - and even that took a lot out of him.

“How about this,” Sanemi takes a bite of the pork and stands. “you show me just how good of a swordsman you are.”

“We’re eating.” you sigh, watching as Sanemi rounds the table to put (more like snatch) Shinra’s shoulder.

“It’ll only be a moment.” Sanemi yanks Shinra from his cushioned seat and pulls him to his feet. “I have an extra sword.”

Shinra is visibly shaking in Sanemi’s tight hold. He’s pushed out the door and it causes Muichiro to snort. “Y/N.”

“Huh, yes, Tokito?” you say to him, smiling apologetically. “Is the food alright?

Muichiro nods. He licks his lips before his eyes turn to you. “Please tell Shinazugawa that no one is planning on stealing you from him.” he says nonchalantly. “All the slayers that do voice their attractions are scared of being castrated.”

You laugh nervously, eyes going wide. You feel yourself grow hot with embarrassment.

“Genya even threatens a few that talk about you suggestively.”

Genya whips his head to glare at Muichiro, cheeks flushed. “I do not!” he hisses, denying rather quickly.

“Yes you do.” Muichiro takes a sip of his drink. “You talk down to anyone that thinks they could speak to Y/N.” Muichiro scoffs. And he was supposed to be the one with memory issues.

You get up from your cushioned seat and nod your head at the two (now bickering, more on Genya’s side than Muichiro) boys. You place a hand on both of their heads and it silences them. “You two are so cute.” you tell them. “Makes me wish I had younger siblings.” your eyes glance outside. You were going to have to save Shinra from Sanemi’s torture right about now.

You bow and excuse yourself and make your way out the shoji doors just as Sanemi swings a wooden sword Shinra’s way. “Sanemi!” you call, eyes glaring at the man. “Leave Shinra alone! We’ve come here for lunch not to train!”

Shinra’s able to dodge Sanemi’s attack by the grace of God, sweat pooling down his forehead and whimpering for whoever to save him.

Sanemi stops his attack and turns to you. You appeared to be upset, eyebrows knitted to a scowl. Your arms are crossed and for a split second his eyes flicker to your breast pressed together.

“Shinra, let’s finish up your lunch, yeah?” you tell the boy who nods his head, far too excited to be away from the white haired maniac.

As Shinra enters the house once more, your eyes turn to Sanemi. “What’s that about?”

Sanemi drops his wooden swords and goes to make his way back into his home. You step in front of the man. “You can’t keep harassing the slayers. They’re terrified of you!”

Sanemi scoffs. “If they’re terrified of me then a demon would have their fucking heads.”

You roll your eyes. “You’re a scary man.”

Sanemi tilts his head and crosses his own arms. “You aren’t afraid of me.”

“Of course not.” you give him a teasing smile. “You’re nice when I’m around.”

Sanemi grumbles; maybe that’s why others would rather you be present if they had to approach him.

“Promise me,” you begin, coming closer to him. You take his large, calloused hands in your soft ones. “That you won’t keep harassing the slayers. Especially Shinra and Genya.”

Sanemi groans. He likes the soft and gentleness of your hands on his own.

“I can’t promise that.” Sanemi says. “They all enjoy pissing me off.”

You giggle. “But they avoid you!” you exclaim. “Just try.”

Sanemi nods his head with a roll of his eyes. “Whatever.” he mumbles.

You wrap your pinky around his longer one, a tint of mischief in your eyes. “Swear.”

“Swear.” Sanemi murmurs. “Whoever lies will be made to swallow a thousand needles.” the two of you say in unison, a wide smile on your lips and a low one on his.

“CAW! Y/L Y/N is to report to Chiyoda City! A demon has been sighted in the Shrine!” Hiyori soars above you, her wings flapping.

Your eyes widen and you stand to your feet excitedly. “We’re going on a mission? Our first mission!” you were ready for a mission the same day you were given your nichirin sword.- a long sword with a black handguard that wraps right above your hand, offering an amazing grip. The blade is long and shiny against the bright sun - an emerald color shining down the sharpest part of the blade.

“Sanemi’s doing his rounds. I’m sad he wasn’t home to hear.” you feel saddened, but this was your moment to make him proud and assure that you’d come back safe.

You make your journey out of the estate with Hiyori flying above you, leading the way. You’re pumping with excitement that it’s ridiculous. You were going head first to a demon - but you were bouncing with joy as if you were meeting your husband. You were just ecstatic to kill as many demons as you could and work your way up the ranks. You heard the amount of people wishing to become Hashira, but you’re content not being one. The 9 Hashira you’ve met were more than amazing at their jobs.

You reach the area in the middle of the night, the moon shining brightly and the area quietly. The air appears to be murky and foggy, a low fog that’s nearly blinding. You slow your walk, drawing your blade while your eyes scan the area.

A sound to your left heightens your senses. More sounds from your right, above and even forward you. Small figures appear, no taller than toddler sizes. They’re demons - eyes black and soulless. There’s scars oozing blood beneath both of their eyes and there's a shadowy smoke that surrounds them as they push closer to you. As they come closer, you note that they appear to be floating rather than walking.

You raise your sword and swing when one shadowy figure lungs at you. You slice at their head, cutting off each one with swift movements - but they appear to never stop coming. It’s as though as soon as you kill one, five more come sprinting after you. Each shadowy figure has their own weapon - a knife, sword, cutlass.

“That man despises you.” a gravelly voice hisses behind you. The shadowy figures disappear and you’re left in complete silence.

You turn around, eyes glaring into the darkness. “Show yourself!” you call into said darkness.

Your feet walk stealthy behind the shrine where what appears to be a large pond is located. The water is still; unnerved.

“You’re nothing to him!” the same voice hisses, this time besides you and now you sense it. A hand slams against your cheek and you’re sent flying towards the pond. It wasn’t deep, luckily, and you managed to keep your sword clenched into your hands.

You leep from the pond just as the demon lunges at you. It appears to be a woman. She’s tall, appearing just a few inches smaller than Uzui. Her eye sockets are wide but they’re soulless, no pupils in sight. Her hair is long and flowy behind her, but appears to be wet and stringy. Her skin is a dull gray color and she’s snarling at you.

“Look at you,” the demon snarls, her fingernails gnawing at her skin. “So young and beautiful. No man will ever respect such a whore!”

The demon lunges at you once more and you manage to cut her hand off, long claws falling onto the ground below you.

A loud, blood curdling scream echoes off the trees, coming from the demon. The sound is unbearable and you’re sure the demon is causing your ears to bleed.

You got to your knees.

“What would your father think seeing you now?” a voice says.

“What about your mother? Your brother?”

The atmosphere appears colder now, the screams of the demon growing louder and louder.

“What do you think Sanemi would think of you once you die here?” the screams appear louder and you’re certain your ears are bleeding. “When you die here tonight, you will be forgotten - just like your father forgot about you.”

You can feel the anger inside of you bubbling at the taunting words of the demon. “Come with me, I’ll put you out of your miserable misery.”

You lift your sword, trying your hardest to ignore the ringing in your ear. The demon flings itself at you and in one quick movement, you’re dodging its attack and slicing off her other hand. You get to your feet, sprinting towards the Demon. It wails loudly once more, but you ignore the painful ringing in your ears. “Wind Breathing: Second Form!” you lift the sword upwards towards the right and above your head. You release four vertical slashes resembling claws towards the demon. “Claws-Purifying Wind!”

You dash towards the Demon as your attack slashes them, black blood oozing out from their wounds. You make it your mission to get rid of this demon once and for all, raising your sword and bringing it down on the demon's neck.

You drop to your feet, eyes on the demon's head a few feet away.The screaming releasing from its throat grows silent by the second as the head begins to disintegrate.

It takes you a moment to move, your mind racing at the words the demon said.

That man despises you.

No man will ever respect a whore.

When you die here, you’ll be forgotten.

You sheathe your sword and begin to walk. Your ears are ringing as you make your way back towards your destination, Hiyori flying above you. By the time you’d return, the sun will be present and you’d hope to come face to face with Sanemi once more. You’ve grown close to the man and it causes you great shame to know that the words of the demon got to you; causing your heart to ache. You no longer cared about your fathers thoughts about you; you dealt with the man for years and his harsh ways. But the thought of Sanemi - someone you considered to be a great friend, even someone you loved dearly - forgetting about you; despising you.

You exhale, deciding to pick up your pace to get back to the estate - and Sanemi - faster.

Sanemi’s sword slices against the tatami mat, slicing with ease. His mind is on you and when you are due to return. He’s upset that you were set on a mission - your first one at that - while he was out on his own. He’s positive that you were ecstatic and jumping with joy - it causes his heart to beat harder. He regrets not being there to send you off, even when his nerves screams at him to find you.

You’re an adult, he tells himself.

You’re now a slayer, fully capable of fighting low-level demons.

But still, you were someone he cared about.

Sanemi cannot keep his mind at ease when Genya is away on missions, now that he has you and his brother on his mind, he’s sure he’ll never find peace.

Sorai, Sanemi’s crow, flocks his wings and places himself on a sliced tatami mat. The words released from the crows mouth has Sanemi’s eyes widening and his blood going cold.

Rengoku.

Dead.

Kyojuro is dead.

Sanemi’s right hand clenches his sword in his palm.

“I will annihilate all unsightly demons.” he hisses, turning away to make his way out of his home. His heart is pumping out his chest now and his nerves are screaming.

Kyojuro was a Hashira - a skilled one. What did that mean for you and Genya? You were out on a mission as we speak, too far away to know of Kyojuro’s death but that doesn’t ease his nerves one bit. He feels jittery. His mind is wandering to you fighting whatever demon you were sent out to and returning with serious injuries. His heart clenches when his mind flashes with you covered in blood, body lifeless.

“Sorai!” Sanemi hisses and his crow squawks. “Go find Y/N.”

Sorai flocks his wings and begins his journey. Lilac eyes follow him until he’s nothing but a mere figure in the sky.

Sanemi inhales deeply and exhales. He runs a calloused hand through his hair and down his face. He notices that his hand is trembling lightly with nerves.

You release a low sigh when you notice the familiar sight of the Butterfly Mansion. Your body aches and your ears are still ringing, but you manage to make it in one piece.

“CAW!”

Sharp feet landed upon your head.You hiss at the impact, wailing your hands around. “Sorai?” you murmur. “Where’s Sanemi?” you ask the crow.

“Shinazugawa-sama has sent me to assure your safety!” the crow squawks.

You find yourself grinning. You pet the crows head lightly. “Yes, I’ve arrived safely.” you tell him. “I’m going to the Butterfly Mansion to assure my injuries aren’t severe.”

Sorai squawks again, wings flapping to fly and give the news to Sanemi.

You enter the mansion to find it surprisingly quiet.

“Y/N-chan!”

It’s Naho. She’s crying at the sight of you - did you look that bad?

“I’ll go get Aoi! Shinobu-san is busy.”

You follow behind her to the infirmary. You’re glad you can finally lay down and relax.

You enter the room and groan. You fell onto the nearest bed and sighed.

“You must be in such pain.” Aoi murmurs, eyeing the way your ears hold dried blood.

“Little bit.” you mumble a response. “Just feel a little…tired.” you close your eyes, lids feeling heavy.

“Okay. You can sleep,Y/N-chan. I’ll give you some medicine for your wounds.”

You’re into a deep sleep by the time you hear Aoi’s words. It felt nice to be able to relax for now and not worry about anything.

Sanemi slams the shoji doors open, causing several nurses to yelp in surprise.

“Shinazugawa!” Aoi growls, eyebrows knitting into a scowl. “How many times-”

“What happened to her?”

Aoi watches with angered eyes as Sanemi stalks towards your sleeping figure.

Sanemi lowers himself to inspect you. There’s a few scratches on your skin and blood (dried) on the sides of your ears.

“She passed out around 10 minutes ago.” Aoi responds. “Now leave, she needs-”

Sanemi sits on the bed beside yours, deciding to ignore Aoi altogether. Aoi scoffs. She turns her head to the other nurses and nods. They continue to scurry off out of the room.

“I’ll be back with some medicine for her.” Aoi grumbles and makes her way out of the room.

Sanemi allows himself to breathe now. When Sorai had come back to him and stated that you had returned safely but at the Butterfly Mansion, he had to be sure you were safe.

It was three hours later when you finally stirred awake. You feel groggily and your eyes are heavy. You yawned, pushing yourself up in the bed.

“You’re awake.”

You yelp at the sudden voice. “Nemi.”

Sanemi’s arms are crossed over his chest, eyes studying you.

“How long have you been here?”

Sanemi shrugs. “Not too long.” Sanemi responds. He hasn’t left since you were emitted.

“Ah,” you lean against the metal frame. “I’ve returned from my mission.”

You’re smiling tiredly at him.

“My heart feels so full and heavy. My mind cannot focus on anything.” you explain. “It’s all so overwhelming to return alive and well.”

“Your ears are bleeding. Are you sure you’re well?”

“Yes.” you nod. “The demon was a very loud screamer.” you giggle to yourself.

Sanemi swallows. He’s unsure how he was going to tell you about Kyojuro. You’ve grown close to the man and learning of his death would cause you great sorrow, and he didn’t like to see you upset or sad.

“Nemi?”

“Kyojuro…” Sanemi begins. “...went on a mission before you had. He didn’t make it.”

You tilt your head, ears registering his words.

“Kyojuro…is dead?” you swallow, throat dry.

It feels foolish to cry for someone knowing that this life was never guaranteed. You’ve grown close to him, sometimes speaking with him whenever you were free.

“Nemi…” you trail off, feeling your eyes become wet. You feel for Kyojuro and his family and it even feels selfish of you to be scared for Sanemi’s life now. Kyojuro was a Hashira just like Sanemi and if he was ultimately brought to death…

Your legs ache, but you do not hesitate to jump from your bed to where Sanemi sat. You wrapped him in a tight embrace, wet eyes crushing into his neck.

Sanemi’s shocked by your actions. He didn’t know Kyojuro’s death would impact you this much.

You sniffled in his neck. “I don’t want you to ever be in harm's way.” you murmur. Sanemi, Genya, Shinra…you didn’t want to see death for anyone apart from the Corps.

Sanemi gulps. He places an arm around you to bring you closer. He doesn’t usually touch you - sober, that was - but you were always clingy. He wants to comfort you, to tell you that everything would be alright. He wants to tell you that he wasn’t going to die - but he doesn’t wish to disappoint you with false promises he couldn’t guarantee.

Sanemi doesn’t speak as he holds onto you, but he’s positive that he too does not wish you to ever be in harm's way - he’s unsure if he would be able to live with himself if you or Genya didn’t come back from a mission alive.

The next few months consist of you and Sanemi attending missions alongside one another, sometimes with other slayers. You want to question why you haven’t been on a solo mission, but you don’t. You assume after Kyojuro’s death, that the Corps would rather keep lower ranks with higher ones, but you cannot be 100% sure.

However, you wouldn’t complain about being sent out with Sanemi. He was more of a guide, making sure nothing got too hectic for you - and it never did. He allowed you to behead any demons that you saw and the mission was complete. Then the two of you would return back to the estate until the next mission.

Weekly, you would have lunch that you’d cook with Sanemi, Genya, Shinra and Muichiro (whenever they weren’t sent on missions). Sanemi managed to bite his tongue and instead would grumble to himself, but it was progress. You enjoyed cooking for them and saw the three younger boys as little brothers.

Sanemi drew the line when you invited more - Tanjiro was such a lovely boy that you couldn’t help but want to feed him. With Tanjiro came Zenitsu and Inosuke - a brawl ensued when Inosuke insulted Sanemi and Genya retorted, both teenagers throwing insults and punches. But you enjoyed the lunch, nonetheless.

“We have another mission.” Sanemi says during breakfast. “Hiyori delivered it while you were bathing.”

“Ah, is that so?” you bring the sweet potato in your mouth and bite.

Sanemi nods. “A Hashira is to be present. Me.” he says. “More slayers are attending, as well. We were told to pack a bag - it might take longer than we expect.”

You nod and when the two of you are done with breakfast, you go to pack your bag. It can be classified as an undercover mission, so casual wear is expected.

It’s not long that you, Sanemi and a group of slayers are making your journey to Shinjuku, expected to arrive right in the evening. Sanemi wasn’t one to make stops, so you managed to pack a few snacks for the long way.

Once you arrive to Shinjuku you’re relieved. The sun was barely shining and you just wanted to find whatever demon was here and kill it. Seeing as the lot of you were expected to be undercover, you’re sure it wouldn’t work out that way.

“You,” Sanemi points to a group of 5 slayers. “find an inn and see what you can gather about our mission.”

The five slayers bow and head on their way. Sanemi’s turns his eyes to another four. “You do the same in the opposite direction.”

There's only you, him and two slayers left - one girl named Sumire and a boy by the name of Roshi. “There’s an inn on the outskirts of Shinjuku. We’ll head there, find a room and change. The sun will fall soon and we’ll have to investigate whatever demon lurks here.”

The inn wasn’t far and a ten minute walk has you four arriving there. It appears to be the nicest Inn in the city for it to be such a long distance from it.

“Welcome in!” a woman behind the counter eyes the four of you, her eyes recognizing the uniform displayed. “Two rooms?”

“Four.” Sanemi corrects.

“Ah…” the woman leans forward, eyes staring at Sanemi’s chest, a grin formed onto her lips. “I apologize, sir, but we only do couples in Shinjuku.”

Sanemi scoffs. “What type of shit is that?” he hisses. He’s never heard of an entire city only catering to couples.

“We’re known as a honeymoon retreat here.” the lady shrugs. “I do apologize for any inconvenience.”

“It’s fine.” you sigh. “I can room with Sumire-”

“Please don’t.” Roshi whimpers, shaking his head. He wanted to be nowhere near Sanemi - especially not when his annoyance was rising. “I’ll take the floor so Sumire can have the bed - really!”

“Then it’s settled. Two rooms for two couples.” the lady turns to grasp a set of keys in both manicured hands and she dangles them out for you all to grasp.

Sanemi snatches the key and scurries down the hall while Sumire takes the other.

“We’ll get settled, changed and make our way out for the night.” you tell Sumire and Roshi.

“Yes.” Sumire and Roshi reply in unison.

Sanemi slams the door shut as the two of you enter, dropping his bag onto the large bed.

“The sun will be setting soon.” you note aloud. “Do we have a set plan?”

“There’s obviously something going on here.” Sanemi says. He removes a yukata from his belongings. “Shinjuku was not known to be a couples retreat - not until now.”

“Do you think whatever demons here are targeting couples?” you tilt your head to think. Eating two people would be smarter than one, but still, a demon was stronger than a regular civilian. “It seems to be a lot of effort on the demon's part.”

Sanemi shrugs. Whatever the demon was doing, he’d be sure to put an end to it.

Sanemi and you roamed Shinjuku. It appeared bright even when the sun was down. You noticed that it indeed was a couples affair - you noticed no one walking alone. What also caught your attention was the lack of children present - or those who were older.

“You two look new here.”

Sanemi’s eyes flicker to the voice.

“We are.” you smile at them, inching closer to Sanemi.

“Oh! How long have you two been married?” the woman asks and now you’re unsure what to say.

“Honeymoon.” Sanemi responds. “Was recommended by a friend.”

The woman nods her head. “It’s amazing here! We’ve been here twice already. Have you two been to…”

You await for her to continue, but her eyes look as if waiting for you to catch on.

“...Uh…?” you turn to Sanemi who doesn’t even look interested.

“The couples…brothel?” the woman flushes bright red as she speaks, her husband laughing nervously.

“Couples brothel?”

Sanemi was intrigued now.

“Yes. You have to be approved first - we haven’t.”

“What do you do there?” you ask, unsure of what in the world this mission was going to put you through.

“If approved, you get to be doted on…” the woman is far too embarrassed to continue but you’re sure you get where she’s going.

“Ah.” you nod your head. “I never knew that was something.”

“Yes. It happens every day at a different inn.” the husband says.

“Today should be…”

Sanemi sighs. He has a guess of what inn it would be happening at.

“We have to go.” Sanemi says, stomping off.

“Sorai.” Your eyes look into the sky at the flying bird. “Inform the other slayers of the demon. Tell them to patrol the streets and make sure no civilians are harmed.”

“Where are we-”

“Back to the Inn.” Sanemi answers your question before you can respond. “That woman insisted on couples because that’s how the demon feeds without getting caught.”

“She chooses her victims strategically.” you murmur. “Not everyone gets accepted.”

“She must know we’re slayers - or at least senses that there’s something off about us.” Sanemi picks up the pace. “Only way to find out…”

Sanemi wraps you in a tight embrace as you both enter the inn. It catches you by surprise - his sudden closeness.

“Hello!” a lady claps her hands at your arrival. “Are you guests here already?” it’s not the same woman as yesterday, you note.

Sanemi nods his head, arms wrapped tightly around you. “Yes. We’re hoping we can join.”

The woman is nodding, quite aware of what Sanemi is asking of her. “You’re in luck. Our mistress had not yet chosen a couple.” she eyes the way you and Sanemi appear. “I’m positive we found a good choice in the two of you.”

Sanemi swallows. He’s unsure how, but she knows there’s something off about the two of you - you aren’t an ordinary couple. She’s no demon, he would know if she was.

“Follow me,” the woman motions with her hand for the two of you to come.

You walk, as does Sanemi. He won’t admit it, but having your body against his makes him feel at ease; just knowing you’re close and away from harm.

The hallway is long and seemingly away from the other rooms of the inn. The lights grow dim the closer the three of you step. You were sure it had to do with the demon.

“Go right into the room. The mistress will be in shortly. There are refreshments inside, as well.” The woman slides open the doors and bows as you enter. “Do have some fun while you wait.” She shuts them and you hear her footsteps pat down the hall until they’re inaudible.

“Room’s nice.” your eyes scan around the room, appearing quite large in size and lights just as dim as the hallway.

Sanemi grunts but doesn’t say a response. He sits upon the mat, eyes scanning for any sign of the demon.

You take a seat besides him and inhale. The room was humid.

“Have your sword ready.” Sanemi murmurs. You’re seated besides him, far too close. His noses appear to be heightened, your aroma nearly intoxicating him. He swallows thickly.

“It’s fucking hot.” Sanemi hisses. “Where’s that bitch?”

You were beginning to feel the same way. Your kimono wasn’t tight, but it felt as if it was sticking to you. The air felt so heavy, humid and…you shiver, goosebumps erupting onto your skin.

“I feel weird.” you tell Sanemi after a long moment.

Sanemi’s eyes turn to you besides him. He notes there’s sweat lining your forehead and you’re panting lightly. Your legs are shuffling together, hands clenching in your lap. He notes that in the midst of your anxious state, you loosened your kimono and beneath it shows your uniform - the same uniform you wore when he gifted you his haori. He’d scream and berate the perverted kakushi for a new uniform just for you to wear both, stating that you didn’t want to be a bother. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the way you looked in it, not at all. He enjoyed it too much, often finding his eyes and mind wandering to places they shouldn’t.

“You should drink something.” Sanemi tears his eyes away from you to eye the refreshments besides them. There isn’t any water, just wine, but it’ll have to do. “Just enough so you won’t feel parched.”

You nod your head. You wouldn’t be off your game after a sip of wine. You reach for the wine besides Sanemi, a low apology when your arm touches his. It sends a jolt throughout him, this time reaching lower than his heart.

Sanemi’s eyes are shameless now. He doesn’t hide the fact that he’s watching you. Your hands are shaking as you take the bottle of wine in your hands. You unscrew it and begin to pour. “W-Would you like some?”

Sanemi blinks at the sound of your voice, but he nods. He takes the small, silver goblet from your trembling hands and nods his thanks. He drinks the wine in one swift movement, downing it while his eyes watch yours. He was sure he could have another, and another as long as you served him.

You aren’t as fast as Sanemi. You smell the wine first before going in to take a sip. It’s good - expensive too. You find yourself drinking the wine keen, enjoying the refreshing taste it gives.

Sanemi’s eyes watch as the wine, a crimson red color, drips from the corner of your mouth and down your jaw, to your chin and drips onto your collarbone. It teases him, he thinks, as it slowly drips onto your exposed breasts.

Sanemi licks his lips and groans. He yanks the wine bottle and pours himself another and downs it. He goes to pour himself another one, but he feels a hand on his wrist.

“You’re going to drink it all.” you say, voice laced with mischief.

Sanemi inhales. The room was growing hotter.

Sanemi pours the wine, but this time he doesn’t drink it. He lifts it to your own lips, tapping them so you’d open them. You do, gently drinking the wine from his hands. You couldn’t contain the laughter coming from your throat as you do so, the wine splashing onto your kimono.

Sanemi feels hot all over again, his uniform beneath his yukata growing tighter.

“Nemi?”

Sanemi gulps. “Hm?”

“Do you think I’m hot?”

Sanemi coughs at your question, flushing.

Why was the room growing hotter?

Why does his clothes feel like they’re sticking to him?

Sanemi was growing confused by the second - why were the two of you even in this room?

“Why do you ask?” Sanemi drops the goblet.

“Because you never say it.” Were you intoxicated now? You didn’t appear to be, your words weren’t slurring and your vision didn’t appear hazy. “Are you attracted to me?” Sanemi feels you come closer. He’s stiff - you had to be drunk. You’re pushing off your kimono, now just only in the revealing corp uniform. He gasps when you climb into his lap, both legs trapping him beneath you.

“You look scared.” You were teasing him. You sit directly onto him, the bulge of his cock twitching when he feels the heartbeat that’s your pussy. “You’re supposed to be the fearless Wind Hashira.”

Sanemi places his hands against your exposed thighs and groans at the smoothness of your skin. He’d often wake from dreams of you and him being in this very position - he’d either have to shower with the coldest water or pump himself until he was cumming. The last option was the most embarrassing.

“Are you afraid of me?” you’re teasing him again, repeating the same words he said to you in Asakusa. Though he wasn’t pressing himself against you like this, he wouldn’t complain either.

Sanemi groans once more at the feeling of you slightly grinding against him.

Yes, Sanemi was afraid of you. You made him feel different - the jolting in his heart that dives all the way down to his cock. He often finds himself staring at you, so long that his eyes grow dry and he has to blink just to regain moisture. He often has to hear Uzui’s and Shinobu’s teasing of his feelings for you, no matter how much he attempts to deny it himself.

“No.” Sanemi murmurs, even if it was a lie.

“Then kiss me.” you lean forward, inches away from Sanemi’s lips. He gulps, licking his lips. Your lavender aroma fills his nostrils and he finds all the sanity he had left gone.

Sanemi presses his lips against yours, his fingernails digging into the skin of your thigh. He doesn’t want to let you go - whatever this was he doesn’t want it to end. All that clouds his thoughts now were you - your scent, your touch, the sound of you. It intoxicates him that whatever the two of you were initially supposed to be doing in this room has since been forgotten.

You feel your throat tighten and you’re being lifted. Your eyes shoot open and you’re gasping for air, eyes watching someone - you? It wasn’t you.

The demon had taken the form of you now, leaning against a panting Sanemi. He’s in a trance, you note, not noticing that he was now in the hands of the demon. Her eyes look up at you once for a second and now, your blood is running cold. ‘Lower Rank Six’ engraved into her eyes.

You struggle to get yourself loose. It’s obvious that the demon has Sanemi in a trance and you were the one that needed to behead the bitch.

“Thank you for bringing me a Hashira.” the demon cackles. “I can show my lord that I am capable of killing a Hashira and then I’ll work my way up. He has given me a second chance just for this moment!”

You struggle against a hooked tail, but manage to get one arm loose to unsheathe your sword. You swipe at it, slashing it so you can release yourself. “Get away from him!”

The demon’s eyes widen but she then laughs. “I’m sorry I have to consume your lover.” she taunts. “Virgins don’t know what to do with a man.” the demon taunts. The air appears to be foggy and once again you feel hot with desire.

“You’re nothing but a demon that’s going to die here.” you spit at her.

The demon shrieks at your words. “Such a disgusting human! You don’t deserve to be in my presence!”

You swipe your sword to dodge her attack. You needed to get this over with now before you wasted any more time. Your mind was fogging with whatever she’s done, an obvious demon blood art.

“You’re nothing but a weak lower moon.” you spat back at her with the same venom.

The demon hisses and sends an array of attacks with her hooked tail. “Wind Breathing: Third Form:” you proceed to release a whirlwind of slashes around you to defend yourself from her attack.”Clean Storm Wind Tree!” Your eyes focus on her neck - you had to finish her off now. You raise your sword and slash it across her neck, a clean swipe that cuts the demon’s head right off.

The demon screams at her sudden defeat, but another gush of fog surrounds the entirety of the room just as her head and body harshly crash onto the ground.

You drop your sword beside you, making your way to Sanemi. His eyes are closed and he appears to be asleep.

“Nemi?” you call, falling to your knees. You place a hand upon his cheek and flinch when his eyes dart open. “Nemi…”

Your words trailed off and neither of you talked, only stared at the other. The room was boiling now, sweat pooling off of your body. You were sure you’d hear a pin drop with how silent the room remained.

“We should…go…” you managed to speak, but it was difficult. Your throat is dry and your ears are beginning to ring. Your clothing is uncomfortable and tight, sticking to your skin like glue. “Nemi…I-I don’t feel good.” you admit to him after another few moments of tortured silence. Your legs are beginning to clench together, the friction feeling good, an electric shock between your legs.

You knew this feeling, you were no prude. You were sexually frustrated. There was no doubt a wet spot between your legs and the friction of your thighs clenching together brought a temporary satisfaction. You would admit that you touched yourself often when you needed to just to let loose and unwind, but that frustration wasn’t anywhere near how you felt now.

You scoff bitterly to yourself. To think you endured hellish training to become a slayer just for sexual frustration to be your downfall.

“Let’s go.” Sanemi nods, head heavy. “We need to get our stuff from the room.”

Standing is difficult for Sanemi. His clothing is tight and there’s an obvious bulge in his uniform pants. He allows you to lead the way, his sane mind screaming to not stare at the way your ass moves, but he doesn’t care. He was a man, after all, a man drugged by a demon. He wants to laugh at the circumstances.

The woman is nowhere to be found when you pass the front end of the inn. You assumed she was nothing but a pawn for the demon and was left alive as long as she offered her humans to consume.

Entering the bedroom, you close the shoji doors behind you and Sanemi.

“I hope everyone else is alright.” you murmur to yourself, leaning against the door. “We should probably be heading out-” You stop speaking once you realize Sanemi’s hands are clenching his hair tightly. His chest is rising and falling and he appears to be in pain.

“Nemi-” you reach out to touch him, but Sanmi harshly pushes you away. Your eyes widen at the sudden action. “I-I…are you in pain? I-”

“Leave, Y/N.” Sanemi’s gruff voice startles you. “Go to Kocho and take the slayers with you.”

“I can’t leave you here.” you say. You’re ashamed that his voice turns you on. You hold the edge of your uniform skirt. “You’re in pain-”

“You know I’m not in pain!” Sanemi hisses. His tone would have anyone else cowering, but here you stood with wide (heart) eyes and clenching thighs. “You know what you’re doing to me, Y/N.”

You gulp at his words.

“I’m trying my hardest not to fuck you against the wall.” Sanemi stares at your face. “Leave. Now.”

Sanemi turns away from you and you’re shocked by his choice of words. You’re certain the demon art is affecting him just as much as it’s affecting you.

But…there it was. The sensation pooling between your legs - the heartbeat taunting you. His words made you wet, you note. It was a warning - don’t come closer, don’t keep trying to help; run away before he’d do something that he wouldn’t do normally. It’s a sort of adrenaline rush to be playing with fire.

“I can help you.” you gulp. You decide to step closer to him and wrap your hands onto his bicep. “I want-”

Sanemi’s fast in his action, gripping your jaw to press a firm kiss upon your lips. He’s holding back, you know, not wishing to hurt you. He knows you haven’t done this before and the sane part of him wants to stop - to not take you while he cannot control himself. “You need to leave, Y/N.” Sanemi’s pleading with you now. He didn’t want to have your first time like this. He’s trembling, all ounce of strength fighting animalistic urges. He almost feels nauseous, mind flashing in all the ways he could take you right now - how vulnerable you’d be beneath him and how good you’d look stuffed with his seed.

Sanemi shakes his head aggressively, wanting to get rid of the perverted thoughts of you, but he cannot. It’s humiliating to think that these thoughts were there before, but with the demon art, it’s completely unbearable.

You were always the stubborn one, never heeding warning. You raise a hand to place it upon his yukuta. You clench it to pull him forward to press your lips upon his once more. Sanemi’s breathing intensifies in the kiss and still, there’s a little part in him that’s holding back the urges to completely demolish you like the demon art (and him, as well) desired.

“Let me help you, Nemi. It doesn’t matter how long it takes!” you’re pleading with him now, heavily panting when you release his lips for oxygen. You’re also affected by the demon art, even if your own desires were buried deep. “You’d help me so much. I can do the same.” The sound of your begs drive Sanemi wild, his mind refusing to stop sending the illusions of you in different, perverted positions until he acts upon them.

Sanemi’s hands reach out to touch you, bringing you closer to him. You’re against his chest and when his hands sneak out to touch the curves of your body, he knows he won’t be able to stop.

Stop - Sanemi tells himself.

You'll regret this.

He’d regret this.

He’s taking advantage of your vulnerable state - this isn’t you, this is the demon art.

You want this - another part of his brain denies the sane part of him. There’s an internal dialogue happening right in his mind.

He wanted this. He’d always wanted this.

He wanted to be deep inside of you - so deep that there wasn’t a way you couldn’t not be impregnated.

You’d be his and his alone - you’d give him the family he desired.

“Nemi, please…”

Sanemi doesn’t hold back any longer, fully succumbing to the demon art that’s blinding his best judgment. Your back slams against the futon, sending shocks all over your body, but you aren’t upset at Sanemi’s sudden change in demeanor. His hands are ripping at your uniform, not caring about any damage it causes. He shudders when his hands finally manage to touch you. The countless times he would touch himself to any little amount of skin you showed him - and now you were nearly nude before him.

Sanemi never wanted to thank a demon before in his life.

You’re moaning when Sanemi’s lips kiss along your neck, tongue trailing along as he does so. His hands are groping your breast, the bandages binding them are ripped apart in seconds and they spring free.

Sanemi’s face is between your breasts in seconds, kissing sloppily. You’re so beautiful. He wanted to admire your beauty as much as he could - there was no going back now and who knows what would happen when the demon art wore off. But Sanemi couldn’t slow his pace now, you made him delirious.

Your body jerks when you feel a warm, wet sensation on your nipples. Sanemi’s tongue suckles on your left while his thumb tugs on the right. It causes you to moan louder, the feeling foreign and you never wanted it to end.

It wasn’t soon until Sanemi had you fully naked before him. He’s in awe, truly, eyes completely blown out. It’s unclear to him how he could still manage to hold back completely being barbaric when it comes to the sight of you, but maybe it’s the respect he held dear to his heart for you.

Sanemi’s lips kiss down your breast, to your stomach down to your abdomen. He pushes your legs apart and swallows when he catches sight just how wet you were.

You squirm under Sanemi’s gaze, unsure what he was doing. You go to close your legs but Sanemi only pushes them apart further.

“N-Nemi!” you gasp once you feel his tongue flat against your clit. It’s a weird feeling of euphoria that has your eyes rolling. “S-stop!” you’re struggling against Sanemi’s tongue, doing everything in your power to get him to stop. “I can’t take anymore, Nemi…”

Sanemi doesn’t care about your babblings. Your taste intoxicates him just like your scent does. Your moans are so sweet, like his favorite tune playing again and again in his ears. His fingernails dig into the skin of your thigh and he’s bobbing his head back and forth over and over again until you’re sobbing.

Sanemi lifts his head from your swollen clit and licks his lips. He’s hovering above your twitching form and even now as you’re overstimulated with pleasure and sobbing, he cannot bring himself to stop.

“Nemi…”

Sanemi presses three fingers against your clit, rubbing tauntingly. “You can take it.” he encourages. After all, if you cannot handle his tongue and fingers, how’d you ever handle his cock?

Sanemi rubs a few more times before his fingers inch inside of you. His lips are kissing along your face, kissing along at the tears of pleasure.

You’re tight and it excites Sanemi. Knowing that he would be the one to deflower you - be the first (and preferably only) man you’d been with. It causes goosebumps to litter his skin.

The feeling of Sanemi’s fingers inside of you hurts - you’ve never done so before. He isn’t going slow either to allow you to adjust, he’s pumping with such force that it compels you into pleasure.

“I feel weird, Nemi…” you’re panting, feeling the bubbling feeling deep in your stomach. “Stop, I-I don’t wanna cum like this.” your hand wraps around his wrist to stop him - even if Sanemi refuses. “I wanna feel you around me when I do.”

Sanemi’s cock twitches at your words, but he wastes no time.

With hooded eyes, you watch as Sanemi undresses. You hadn’t realized just how clothed he was while you laid completely bare.

Sanemi’s body was beautiful, chiseled muscles sculpting his entire body. You flush at the sight of his completely nude body - cock erect. Your legs twitch with nervousness..

Sanemi hovers above you. There’s a flash in his eyes - you notice. His forehead is pressed against yours and for a moment his eyes are soft, no longer harboring the feral reaction.

“You’re so beautiful, Y/N.” he murmurs to you. It’s the voice that belonged to Sanemi - not the one under the demon art, but the man that you trained alongside for a year.

You didn’t have the chance to respond. Sanemi is entering you now and your hands go to clench his biceps harshly. It doesn’t hurt him, of course, but the pressure for you is nearly unbearable. Your legs wrap around him tight, hoping he wouldn’t move too soon.

You inhale deeply, trembling with the newfound pain. Sanemi is big - but any cock would be for you. You just hoped Sanemi wasn’t far too gone in the demon’s spell and wouldn’t hurt you too much.

Sanemi’s patience was slowly breaking. He found himself grinding into her for any sort of friction or pleasure. There’s only so much a man like him could take, his mind kept replaying the countless ways he could take you right now and he was truly fighting an internal battle.

Sanemi thrusted out of you fully to thrust back in. You released a surprised wail, eyes shutting tight. Your fingernails would be another scar left upon his skin.

“I can’t take it.” you cry out, walls completely sore by taking his cock in you fully. The pressure was unbearable and by the looks of the man, he appeared utterly insatiable.

“You can.” Sanemi’s voice is so raspy and deep that you were positive he was far gone. He continues to thrust deep inside of you that your back hits the futon with each thrust. He’s strong - far stronger than you’d ever hope to be - and getting him to stop was going to be difficult.

You felt the hot tears pool down your cheeks. You were being stretched out far too much for you to keep your composure. You were clenching around him so heavenly that he never wanted to stop - never wanted to be out of you; without you.

“Nemi, please…”

Sanemi’s hips buckled and he halts his movements.

Keep going - the voice in his mind tells him.

But it’s your sadden pleas that has his sanity coming back - just for a moment. He witnesses your tears falling and his heart aches - was he the one making you cry?

Sanemi goes to pull himself out, but you stop him. You wrap your arms around him and bring him closer to you. His chest is against yours while your lips lined up against his ears. You’re panting, attempting to catch your breath and adjust to his size.

Sanemi’s arms wrap around your body, the intimate moment was one he wished he could remain in forever; never wishing to let you go.

“Nemi?”

You clench around him and Sanemi hums a response. You loosen your hold onto him, a signal that you wanted him to continue.

Sanemi grinds inside of you, his hold on you only growing tighter. He’s deep, never wishing to be anywhere else but inside of you. He picks up his pace, noticing how your cries were becoming moans.

This is what sex felt like. The pain was slowly subsiding and the pleasure was taking over. You can hear the way your pussy sounds against his pumping cock - wet and inviting, satiating his hunger for you.

Sanemi releases his hold on you to lean back. His eyes are hooded as he watches the way your breast bounces. He picks up the pace, cock sliding in and out of you - rougher, deeper, faster.

So beautiful, Sanemi thinks. So beautiful and his - all his. The dark thoughts were coming back with each passing second and his sanity was losing to the demonic spell.

You yourself felt whatever sanity you had left was now leaving. You no longer cared if Sanemi was hurting you or not - what you did know was that now you felt good; so good. His cock pumps inside of you at an alarming pace that would even be considered pleasurable if you weren’t receiving it.

Sanemi’s hands grip your breast so tightly that he's sure they would leave marks. His eyes fixated on the bulge of your stomach, mind racing with the thought of you round and pregnant with his child. He allows one hand to leave your breast to cup your stomach, rubbing lightly as he fucks you.

“I can’t wait to fuck a baby in you.”

Sanemi’s words would cause you to gasp if you weren’t caught in the moment. Your mind was fucked out with how good he’s fucking you that a baby didn’t seem bad - how the two of you forgotten about the world full of demons and the mission you were currently on.

“Get you nice and pregnant. I’ll take care of you.” He’s now hitting your g-spot as he speaks, eyes completely blown out with pleasure. Your knees are touching your shoulders and you’re positive you’ve never been this flexible before. “I’ll take care of all of our kids.”

You’re crying beneath him, pleasure overwhelming. Your sobs don’t go unnoticed, but he doesn’t care. He’ll fuck you until he was done - fuck you until he was sure you were pregnat with the child he was promising you.

“I want them to look just like you. So perfect.” Sanemi moans at the thought of you full of cum, round with his child.

You’re cumming, writhing beneath him. You’re soaking the futon beneath the two of you, but neither of you care. Sanemi was on a mission - a rampage. Nothing was going to stop him from achieving his perverted dreams.

Sanemi cums deep inside of you, twitching as he does so. He’s panting while sweat pools off of his skin and onto yours.

Sanemi wants more.

He flips you over, face burning into the futon. He enters you like an animal, continuing the brutal pace. He’s fucking into you deeper, your screams echoing off the room walls. If anyone was inside the inn, neither of you cared. He almost wished someone was listening so they could hear how good he was fucking you.

You’re drooling. You could no longer focus on anything but the cock inside of you - and even then you wanted more. Was this what heaven felt like? Paradise? To be stuff so good but the man you adored that you never wanted it to end?

How could you go back to pleasuring yourself when Sanemi knew how to do it so wonderfully?

Sanemi filled you again - three more times before he changed the position. He brought you on top of him and fucked into you, not allowing you any control. The stamina of a Hashira was amazing. He fucked you like a ragdoll, but you had no complaints.

His fucking dragged on majority of the night - against the wall, in his arms, on your back, on your side - every position he deemed fuckable, he had you in.He would hiss such dirty worlds in your ears that you’d convulse into a cumming mess for him.

One things for certain - neither of you wanted this night to end.

Your legs ached, as did the entirety of your body.

You stirred away, the sun from the open window blinding your eyes.

You push yourself up from the futon, the blanket you were wrapped in falling to expose your naked figure.

You were sore and one look at your appearance has your mind fluttering with memories.

“Nemi…?” you call out to nothing. You were alone in the room the two of you shared the night prior. You scanned the area to find no trace of him - not even his belongings.

Your legs tremble as you stand to your feet. You take nearly 10 minutes to get dressed, but you cannot be blamed. Your body is covered with bruises and marks that hiding it with Sanemi’s gifted haori was difficult, but manageable.

You make your way out of the room, belongings in hand. You walk past the innkeeper who doesn’t say a word - a different woman from the first two you met the day prior.

“CAW!”

Hiyori flies above you just as you exit the inn. If you had to guess, it was an hour before noon.

“Y/L Y/N is to report to the Butterfly Mansion for treatment! Y/L Y/N and others to the Butterfly Mansion!”

“Hiyori.” you call the crow, holding out your arm. “Where’s Sanemi?”

“Shinazugawa-sama has left on his own in the morning!”

Left.

Sanemi had left you here?

Alone?

“Y/N!”

It’s Sumire and Roshi, returning back to you appearing slightly disheveled.

“W-What-”

“Don’t ask.” Sumire’s flushing bright red.

“Please.” Rochi murmurs and you notice none of them can look the other in the eye.

Your mind connects the dots.

You and Sanemi were not the only two subjected to the demon’s spell.

“Did you see Sanemi leave?” you ask the two slayers.

“Yes. Shinazugawa-sama took the others and left. We were told to wait for you.” Sumire exclaims. “Didn’t say much but to wait until you were up to head to the Butterfly Mansion.”

You nod your head. You swallow, heart aching with the realization that Sanemi had left you.

Had Sanemi regretted the night with you? Had he woke up disgusted with your actions that he didn’t even wish to look at you?

No.

Sanemi wasn’t like this. He didn’t run from his issues. He had to go to the Butterfly Mansion with the other slayers. You wouldn’t think too much into it.

But it was hard not to think too much into it, you think. The entire journey to the Butterfly Mansion had left you completely distracted by memories of the previous night and the nervousness of having to face the Wind Hashira once more.

The Butterfly Mansion was hectic, nurses scurrying around to help while Kakushi lined up to do the same. You almost felt out of place coming here. You didn’t even have any scars from the attack with the demon and it appears Sumire and Roshi were alright, as well, only a bit awkward.

“Are you two alright?” you turn to the two slayers who nod, avoiding contact with the other. “The mission wasn’t as deadly as we expected. The Lower Moon-”

“Lower Moon?!” Roshi and Sumire gasp in unison with wide eyes. “There was a lower moon there?” Sumire questions.

“We fought off a few demons but they weren’t strong. They might have been only a few years turned.”

You nod your head. “Yes.” you look between the two of them. “Her demon art was…powerful. Are you sure the two of you are alright?”

You see flashes in your mind of you and Sanemi together the entirety of the night.

“Yes.” Roshi’s cheeks are dusty red.

“Yea.” Sumire responds, as well.

You nod your head and offer the two of them a soft smile. “Okay. Good job on the mission.” you tell them. “Please rest.”

Your eyes watch Sumire and Hoshi scurry away and you release an exhausted sigh.

“Y/N?”

Your head snaps to the sound of your name. You bow to Shinobu who does the same.

“Are you alright? I heard your mission was successful by Shinazugawa.”

You nod your head. “Yes. I returned just now.” you wondered what else Sanemi had told her. “It’s hectic here.”

“Indeed it is. Uzui has returned with Tanjiro, Inosuke and Zenitsu. An Upper Moon was defeated.”

Your eyes widen. “An Upper Moon? Are they safe?” you returned seemingly fine after your battle - if you can even call it that, the demon appeared far too weak to be considered a part of the 12 Kizuki. You couldn’t imagine fighting an Upper Moon.

“Recovering. They’re all fallen into coma’s but we’re positive they will recover.”

A sigh of relief comes from your lips. “Uzui-san? Is he here?”

“Was. He left hours before you returned. He has retired as a Hashira.”

You were sure your eyes were going to pop out their socket one of these days. The sudden information was hitting you at each possible angle.

“I know you’ve grown attached to the younger slayers. Maybe you can come visit them once everything settles down.” Shinobu offers a smile. “Uzui is at his estate with his wives as if he didn’t lose an eye or hand. I’m sure he’d be happy to see you.”

“Huh?!” your hands clench at - yet again - another sudden information. Uzui was a Hashira, so tall and muscular and extremely skilled.

“Uzui is fine, truly. Rambling on about appearing even more flashy with an eyepatch.” Shinobu giggles slightly. “How are you, Y/N? Shinazugawa was here earlier but nothing appeared to be wrong with him or the others. I assume the same goes for you?”

You swallow and nod.

“Good.” Shinobu scans your appearance. You had the white haori that once belonged to Sanemi wrapped tightly around your frame. You showed no skin - which wasn’t exactly alarming, but you also never appeared so awkwardly nervous.

Shinobu’s eyes are beautiful, so large and deep purple. Now, however, they seemed to be looking into your soul, searching for your deepest and darkest secrets.

“I should be going now, Shinobu-san.” you bow.

“Don’t be a stranger, Y/N.” she offers a curt wave. “I love the new glow you have to you.” that tone in her voice - you feel hot with embarrassment. She was teasing you.

“CAW!”

You haven’t been outside for more than five minutes before Hiyori returns.

“Oyakata-sama has sent for you!”

“Ah.” you sigh deeply. “I suppose I can see what Oyakata-sama needs.”

You made your journey towards the Ubuyashiki Estate, Hiyori soaring above you. It doesn’t take long and upon entering you note that Oyakata has already been waiting for your appearance.

You bow in front of him. “Oyakata-sama. I have arrived.”

Kagaya offers a curt smile. “Y/L Y/N. It is nice to be in your presence once more.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Oyakata-sama.”

You lift your head, knees remaining on the ground.

“Congratulations on returning from your mission safely. You have defeated a Lower Moon.” Kagaya praises.

Your heart feels full to be praised.

“Thank you, Oyakata-sama. But please, it was nothing. Uzui-san and the others are the true remarkable ones.” You still cannot fathom coming in the presence of such a remarkably strong demon.

“You also deserve praise, Y/N.” Kagaya says. “You managed to defeat a Lower Moon. There’s many slayers who did not have the same fate.”

You nod to yourself. You suppose he was right.

“You would make an exceptional Wind Hashira if the title was not already occupied.” Kagaya compliments once more. “I am content that you, my child, are a part of the Corps.”

“Thank you, Oyakata-sama.” you say, standing to your feet.

“Thank you, Y/N.” Kagaya said, but before you could speak, he continued. “Sanemi has transformed for the better. I assume that it is your doing.”

You swallow at the sound of Sanemi’s name. You had yet to see him and speak about what has happened during the mission.

“I cannot take responsibility for Shinazugawa-san’s credibility. He was always an amazing Hashira before me!”

Kagaya chuckles to himself lowly. “Indeed he was, my child. But behind every great man, there’s a partner. A woman like yourself.” Kagaya lightly pets the crow that sits beside him. His head remains straight forward, body unmoving. “Give yourself more grace, Y/N. You are free to go as you please. Thank you for speaking with me.”

“Y-Yes.” you inhale a response, bowing before turning away. “Thank you, Oyakata-sama.”

The master's words replay in your head as you make your way to Sanemi’s estate. You deserve praise, he said. You changed Sanemi for the better. Did you, though? Sanemi always appeared amazing to you - at any and everything he did. Sure he had a temper but it was never towards you. Maybe Sanemi had taken the swear the two of you made seriously.

Entering the mansion, you note just how quiet it was inside. Where was Sanemi? You knew he returned earlier in the day.

You decided to not dwell on it and bathe. You hadn’t had the chance to upon waking up, only a light wash up. Witnessing the bruises and bites littering your skin causes you to flush at the memory of you and Sanemi together.

Hours had passed since you bathed and since then you had managed to cook dinner for the two of you - Sanemi’s dish had sat cold. You pondered where he could possibly be - surely Oyakata-sama didn’t send him on another mission.

You began to feel as if Sanemi was purposely avoiding you. As days dragged on, you had yet to see him. You continued your training alone, not witnessing any sight of him. You would eat alone without him, always setting a plate down for him that he would eat whenever he did return while you were gone.

It was only when the second week dragged on did Sanemi return, though barely. You caught a glimpse of him entering the bathroom just as you finished dinner. You waited for him to enter, and when he finally had you were left disappointed. He didn’t spare you a glance, entering his bedroom and not exiting.

Weeksn dragged on and you noticed that you and Sanemi no longer attended missions together. Hiyori would come and deliver your own solo missions and you’d go - not having someone besides you had your heart yearning for company.

While Sanemi obviously ignored you, you would often visit Uzui and his wives. You’d relax at the onsen with them while not on missions, often eating dinner. Uzui was not a fool to notice the look in your eyes - you were attempting to get your mind off of a certain white haired bastard.

You visited Inosuke and Zenitsu, offering them sweets while they trained and waited for Tanjiro to wake. You remained cooking for Shinra, Genya and Muichiro when the three were free, Sanemi’s place at the table untouched.

There was a shift that everyone noticed. Sanemi’s attitude was going back to what it once was - abrasive and rash. The slayers had to tiptoe around him once more, not having you around as their savior.

The Hashira has since taken note that there was something wrong with you and Sanemi. Shinobu had seen more of the Wind hashira at the Butterfly Estate to heal petty wounds that he'd usually got to you for - when she asked why he was there, he had snapped at her and stated that it was “her job” to do so.

Obanai and Sanemi train together often, now more than ever. He would visit the Serpent estate to train just so he didn’t have to be home - Iguro never questioned him.

Muichiro is air headed and often stuck in his own mind when he wasn’t out on missions. But he recognizes a shift in your behavior. Your eyes are sadder than he remembers them and all he can think to do is do the things he liked to do - with you. He’d watch the clouds with you, not speaking unless you did. He would make origami with you, claiming that yours were trash - it caused you to laugh at his insensitive truth - and would end up gifting you one of his origami pieces.

Mitsuri’s would often feed you, claiming that whenever she was down, she desired to eat delicious foods. She didn’t want to ask anything of you and Sanemi’s relationship, but she just hoped that whatever did happen that it would end soon.

You were grateful for everyone's attempts in changing your mood and it would be selfish to say that it didn’t work. However, as the second month kicks, you realize just how foolish you feel. Your head has been far too into Sanemi and why he was ignoring you (and your own separate missions) that you ignored your own overall health.

“Y/N.”

Shinobu tilts her head at you, curiosity in her eyes. Her face turns to a look of concern.

“Pregnant.” you repeat her words.

Could you even be surprised? You were in the second month since the mission in Shinjuku. The last thing on your mind upon returning was a contraceptive and even when you woke up feeling less than yourself, you still couldn’t accept that you were with child.

“You must think I’m so stupid.” you laugh humorlessly at Shinobu, insect-like eyes watching your every move.

“Of course not!” Shinobu denies. “Why would you think such a thing?”

You inhale deeply. You thought as much because it was what you were feeling. Stupid - pregnant by Sanemi and it appeared now that he wanted nothing to do with you. Stupid for getting pregnant when your occupation was killing demons.

“Y/N. Are things with you and Shinazugawa…good?” Shinobu doesn’t want to pry, but now you were with child and appeared disgusted, concerned and frightened all at once.

You swallow, throat tightening. “Yes.” you murmur, an obvious lie. Everyone has noticed the shift in the relationship between the two of you and now Shinobu has an idea as to why.

“I assume Shinazugawa doesn’t know.” Shinobu states. “Y/N…there’s ways we can go about this now. If you aren’t ready I can assure you it will be painless.”

You blink at Shinobu’s words. You haven’t thought about a moment like this happening - not even the moment between you and Sanemi. When you arrived from the mission, you desired to see him and talk about whatever relationship the two of you had. But Sanemi turned cold, ignoring your presence all together and waving you off whenever you attempted to.

“If you do wish to keep the child, I will inform Oyakata-sama of the predicament and get you off from your missions. Since you’re early in the pregnancy, I’m sure you won’t have to-”

“I want to terminate.” you interrupt Shinobu. The Insect Hashira tries not to appear shocked by your words. She would never judge you for whatever decision you chose.

You watch Shinobu nod her head. You couldn’t imagine bringing a child into the world now - not while you were a part of the Corps. It also wouldn’t be fair to Sanemi. You lived in his house, after all. He had made his decision when it came to whatever relationship you had and you were now making yours.

It’s nightfall when you return back to Sanemi’s estate and you’re surprised to see him at the table eating and Sanemi appears to be just as surprised to see you. Upon returning home from his rounds, he assumed you were in bed for the night - but he was proven wrong when you strolled through the shoji doors.

Lilac eyes meet yours and Sanemi notes that there’s something wrong with you. He remains silent, as do you. His heart continues to jolt in your presence, hands yearning to touch your soft skin again.

“Shinazugawa.” you murmur your acknowledgment to him.

Shinazugawa.

You never called him that, Sanemi things. But he doesn’t have the right to feel away about it.

“Thank you for allowing me to stay here.” you begin. Sanemi drops his chopsticks, attention fully on you. “I’m grateful to have been trained by you.”

Where were you going with this?

“I’ll be taking my leave.”

You turn away from him, Sanemi watching your figure saunter down the hall. He hears your shoji doors open but not close. There’s shuffling in your room and now he decides to get up to see what you were doing.

“Where are you going?” Sanemi’s heart is pounding now at the sight of you holding a bag with your belongings. It’s the first time he spoke to you directly.

“I’ve…decided to leave.”

Sanemi glances away. “Where are you going?”

You shift in your stance. “I’ve spoken to Oyakata-sama. I have a few missions lined up before I leave the Corps.”

Sanemi’s head snaps to you. He’s checking your face for any sign of deceit. He doesn’t find any - instead your eyes are lined with moisture. Your throat is bobbing as if attempting to not cry at the words you’re speaking.

“I’m sorry that I’ve become a burden.”

Reach out to her - Sanemi things.

Hold her.

Tell her she was never a burden.

Sanemi remains silent.

You stroll past him, your familiar scent passing him.

“You don’t have to leave.” Sanemi calls just as you’re a foot out the door.

You don’t want to leave.

Sanemi doesn’t want you to leave.

Apologize to her.

Tell her how you feel.

Tell her you love her.

Sanemi’s mind races with his own thoughts that he doesn’t realize you’re already leaving.

“Y/N-” Sanemi follows behind you, pace picking up to reach you. “Where are you going now? After you leave the Corps?”

You feel Sanemi’s hand around your wrist to stop you from walking.

“Back home.” you respond, unable to look at him. You made your decision to leave and going against that wouldn’t be the correct decision for you.

Sanemi gulps. He releases his hand from your wrist.

“I hope you don’t feel as if it was a waste of time training me. I wasn’t a part of the Corps for long.”

You were never a waste of his time, Sanemi wants to say, but his mind is racing and his heart is longing for you.

Why were you going back home to your father? The same man that sold you to someone - that abused you for years on end?

“Thank you, Sanemi. For everything. I must be going.”

Tell her to stay.

Tell her she doesn’t have to leave here - leave you.

Tell her you love her- that you pushed her away because you were disgusted with yourself.

Tell her how horrible you felt that you took advantage of her innocence.

Sanemi doesn’t say anything and instead watches until your figure disappears. For the first time in years, he feels like he could shed tears at the loss of someone he loved.

Final Part

1K notes · View notes

ladybyakuya · 2 months

Text

2:00 A.M. ft. husband! umemiya x gn!reader

“Hey, babe.” Umemiya’s azure eyes fall on you. It's almost 2 a.m.

Your eyes are closed; your chest rises and falls slowly with an even breathing suggesting that you could be asleep. Indeed, you two had a busy day but Umemiya seems to refuse that you are asleep. Moreover, you do not seem like a heavy sleeper from as much as he knows you or maybe you could be just pretending but why ? or could it be you are pulling his leg. After all, who sleeps on their wedding night, right?

“Do you remember when we promised to marry each other?” Umemiya asked without letting any more perturbation pool in his mind pushing it at the back.

“Of course, I remember,” you exclaim with utmost surprise laced underneath your whispering voice blinking your eyes wide open. You can feel how heavy your eyelids are from the exhaustion of the entire day. The guests, the greeting, the gifts, the elders. . it was like walking inside a moving train.

“I see,” Umemiya hums, “what else do you remember?”

Your eyebrows warp. “What about you?” you question back, “Why do you ask? Did you forget?”

“Of course not.” Umemiya’s voice turns up a notch. How could you ask him such a thing? How could you even say such a thing to him. “babe, why do you think I asked?” He exclaims with a pout forming over his face trying to defend himself from your tease. He knows that you are not immune to his pout.

“I don’t know. You tell me.” You whisper making him pout more but it is so short-lived that it is hardly pinnable. You are facing each other so close which is why you could tell.

“Well, ‘cause. . .” He scoots closer to you. “This is our wedding night but we’re just lying in bed.”

You snort out a chuckle pulling your lips inward. “So, what do you wanna do then?”

“You know what . . .Umemiya pulls you closer to your body with so much ease that it makes you wonder if he is fatigued as he looks, as he claimed to be before going to bed. “We could . . .cuddle.”

You failed to hold in the laughter anymore that was bubbling in your stomach. His arm is resting on your back as you shake with joy in his chest. There is a crescent spreading on his face as he watches you, giving you the time to laugh it out. You pause, inhale a breath, and slightly chin up your face to meet his gaze. It is as serene as the night sea of winter.

“Haji, what do you think we’re doing now?”

“Ummm. talking perhaps.”

You snuggle into his chest a little more. He pulls the duvet to cover you and him as well. It is warm underneath. The sound of waves crashing onto the shore reaches up to the room. You can hear them. Indeed, it was a good decision to go to a beach for a honeymoon but perhaps not in this skin-slicing winter.

“Are you sure that we're not going to fuck?” Umemiya questions as if he does not already know the answer. You give him a nod with a smile painted on your face.

Umemiya feels your head graze against his chest in a ‘yes’. He smiles at that placing a soft kiss on your forehead before finally giving in to the exhaustion.

“Good night, mrs.umemiya hajime.”

— for my beloved koi @dear-koi happy birthday.

316 notes · View notes

auragasmics · 2 months

Text

A NIGHT IN OUR PAST!

° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ° ˚ ₒ ∞ synopsis! Banquet Night, a time of class, grace, and digust. When invited to the yearly banquet hosted by tokyo’s elite, you and toji step into a glamorous world that hides remnants of the past you both barely survive. When the memories start rolling in and emotions of the past run high, who will crumble to the feet of the elite first, or will love light a way out for these two?

° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ° ˚ ₒ ∞ ˚ ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ° ˚ ₒ ∞ pairings! ! widow!fem!reader x toji fushiguro

˚ ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 °˚ ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ° ˚ ₒ ∞ ˚ ₒ ∞ cw! ! 14.6k words, dubcon, pwp, age gap (toji is 35, reader is 27), use of ocs, mention/talks of death, hints of fluff, implied anxiety/panic attack, implied flashbacks, use of alcohol, drunk sex(?), power play, vouyerism/exhibitionism, oversimulation, slight dom fem!reader, masturbation, toji hits from the side, fingering, oral(m → f), teasing, multiple orgasms, spitting, no protection, slow sex, implied marathon sex, sorry if i forgot some mwuah <3

˚ ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ° ˚ ₒ ∞ ˚ ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ˚ ₒ ∞ xoxo, chris! yeahhhhh…if this isn’t the epitome of self indulgent idk what is. thanks to my gracious beta reader @n3vr-f0und (thank you for reading these bricks i send you :3)

tags: @lalunanymph @mikyapixie @prettylvne @dongh9e @humantrashcan2000

m.list. pt. 2. pt.4

ONE NEW MESSAGE FROM: M’LADY

“WHENEVER YOU SEE THIS,

DON’T ASK ME WHY IT’S DOUBTED.

JUST TAKE IT WITH THAT SMILE.

PAYMENT: + ¥ 80,000

Again, Toji’s stuck grimacing at his phone screen. It comes with a heavy sigh as he rests his throbbing temple along the tinted glass of the car window.

It’s his typical trend to gasp, gawk, and mindlessly swipe at the screen whenever a payment from you enters his account but in a month’s time, he’s learned a valuable lesson.

Numbers don’t lie and neither have you.

He’s been under your care for a month, and not once have you failed to honor the haphazard agreement. In truth, Toji’s managed to accumulate 250,000 yen in the short month with you. He’s been thinking about it; He’s saved himself from financial ruin with more money than he could’ve hoped for, so why not leave?

Yet, there’s something worth more than all the money, all the wealth, and all the thoughts he’s had recently.

And that could be found right next to him— you squinting into the small hand mirror carefully swiping on lipstick he knows he’ll be dressed in once the night comes to its sinful close.

Would Toji say he’s fallen for you?

No, he knew this wasn’t love, not when he’s being paid 80,000 yen to do something he would’ve done for free—should you have asked him with that smile he loves so much. It wasn’t love but lately, Toji’s had his hands full of acquainting himself with every curve, every etching, and every nerve found across your body. It wasn’t love but Toji’s been finding solace in waking up in your bed with you snuggled up in his arms.

It wasn’t love, but right now Toji can’t help but allow himself to get lost in your artistry.

Beautiful, that’s the only word Toji can use when he’s at a loss like this. His azure irises hinge on your precocious care for detail, watching as you softly trace the curves of your lips in red.

So slowly does that shade of rouge melt upon your lips, as if nothing else outside the backseat of this car speeding down the Tokyo interstate matters. So mindful not to miss the thinning corners of your mouth too, ensuring that your grace permeates every inch of your being.

Toji’s thinking about what you’d possibly do once you drop the brush from the canvas, would you turn and grin at him out of that childish sense of accomplishment? Would you mark him with a kiss or two like you always do? Every artist signed their painting, and it’s due to you that Toji can break into the world he’s never known—or the world he barely escaped from.

Right now, he wouldn’t mind donning an extra accessory for the night. Just to walk into the room with your lipstick as a badge of honor that shows everyone in that room who he belongs—

“Toji!” your voice pulled Toji from his mediated fantasy.

Jolting awake from his wondrous thoughts, Toji nervously tucks his phone back into the breast pocket of his black suit before giving you his attention.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Baby?”

“This,” you sigh, dropping the small compact mirror from your face. Levering your neck, you turn to Toji for his thoughts. “Does this shade of lipstick go with my dress? I think it’s too…cheerful.”

“Isn’t that what you wanna go for? I mean, it is a banquet. Drab and depressing isn’t what I think of when it comes to events like this.”

“Ha!” you sneer, “Banquet amongst Japan’s elite. I rather sit at home and count how many times the street lights flicker.”

The flat of Toji’s palm coats your thigh, his pulsing grip teasing past the leg slit of your brown mulberry silk grown. “So…it’s boring? I’m sorry Princess, but ‘m just a little confused. Last month, you were all excited about gettin’ dressed up and going out, but now you hate it?”

“I don’t ‘hate’ it, I hate the people we’re about to encounter. Tokyo’s elite, remember? And…it’s the first time I’ll be showing my face in some years. But it’s just for barely an hour, then we can go—”

Toji found his way beside you, nuzzled at your side with his chin resting along the peak of your bare shoulder. He’s peering at you with heavy eyes, weighted by dreams waiting to waltz through his mind. His voice mirrors his new form, his deep voice softened by comfort.

“Tell me about these people you hate so much.”

There’s a longing breath that curls in the back of your throat, your lips twisted and pursed as you gather the best words to present your heartaches to Toji.

“These people…they’re heartless. They care only for their money and status, as if they too didn’t come from humble beginnings. When my husband and I were first invited to these events, I was just making my name as a business consultant and he was just making rank as a CEO.

And on that night, I’ve never met such a bunch of disgusting, rotten people. The men hound the women, and the women hate each other. Nothing is good enough for them, there’s always a complaint.”

“Yeah?” Toji echos, “So then, why are we going, Princess? It’s like we’re going straight into trouble. Not that I mind that—there’s always an adventure waiting—but it’s not your style.”

You drop your sights to meet Toji, his gentle-mannered stare washing over you with relief. But that glance you pay him comes with a heavy price—that bubbling urge to kiss his tepid smirk. It’s a need you could act on, but there’s a shrouding guilt staining your mind, one that you can’t ignore:

Your ex-husband.

The memories are still there, fresh in your mind. Even now as you vaguely speak on his name and legacy, it’s almost like he’s here, holding you in his arms, watching you with a smile on his face, playing the role of spectator to your timely crime.

It’s an act of betrayal in your eyes, in your gut, yet this longing to kiss Toji reigns with an iron fist over your will.

But it’s Toji who has you tucked beside him now, and he’s the only one listening to your dolors with attentive ears. He’s giving you all—the attention, time, and energy. Whether it was genuine was his concern alone, nothing for you to ponder, that conversation being between him and the universe.

For now, he’s here with you, taking in every word you say with a look of interest. He’s even tagging his palm to your waist, keeping you close to his side. He’s turning himself into a place of solace for you, which has you itching for more than just his attentive nature.

All the cards are present and in your favor—but the guilt of upheaved tradition denies the relief of giving into your desire.

You bear it with a harsh swallow, your eyes fluttering shut as you work to finish your explanation.

“Be-Because…as the wife of the former CEO, I’m now the unseen face of the company. I have to handle all the social affairs, to tend and mend relationships. Being here…going there to dine with people I despise…it’s all for him. And I intend on keeping all his hard work alive and thriving.”

“Aren’t you a good wife? Most men would travel through heaven and hell if it meant they would meet you in their next lifetime. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t let anyone look or speak to you wrong, especially when they have no clue of the burden you carry on your shoulders.”

He’s straightening himself up, sitting tall beside you from his slouched state. And of course, he’s still forgotten the mere idea of space, the pad of his thumb reaching to swipe along your powdered chin.

“Fuck…” Toji whispers, his sly smirk drifting dangerously close to your lips, “You’re just a good girl, after all, Princess.”

There’s room for mockery in his tone, something that has you waving off his favor with a shrug. “Stop it, don’t try to baby me, Toji. I—”

“ ‘m not trying to do that. Not in the slightest. I admire it, honestly. You don’t need my sympathy, and I wasn’t offering it up. Just take my praise and let it be, alright?”

Hesitantly, you accept Toji’s words, shooting your narrowed eyes to scan over his impartial mien.

“…Alright.”

Toji’s latent apology is a mere stare, his typical gaze eased by a nurturing glint. He's tentatively squeezing at your waist, luring you into his salacious trap.

His suave nature has your mind dizzy with everything Toji—his gentle smile, his warmth, his cologne wafting past your nose. He’s done nothing to you, yet that suppressed craving is flickering once more and it has you diving blindly into Toji’s stronghold.

Until the perfect excuse presents itself.

“Toji, wait! I’m all dressed up and it was a pain to get this!”

“Shhh, just giving you a kiss. I wouldn’t dare to ruin all your hard work. And besides…” He trails off, tilting his head towards the tinted glass wall separating the driver from the blooming scene.

“He can’t see a damn thing.”

“Fine,” you huff, “Just a kiss, okay?”

“Whatever you say.”

“No, I said just a kiss—”

Toji steals the last words of your warning as his own, sealing them away behind a soft peck.

Though his fingers ache to strip you bare, a kiss is truly all Toji tends to leave you with. He’s considerate towards you, aware of the fact that your lips are dressed up in the similar fashion you carried yourself for the night. He doesn’t dare to bite at your bottom lip, to slip his tongue along your own, he simply presses his kiss slowly onto you.

“See?” he grins as he pulls away, “Just a kiss. Told you I wanna keep you looking nice.”

“But I think I changed my mind,” you tease, pushing your eager lips back onto Toji’s gaping awe. The care you could almost thank him for flies right out of the window as your greedy tongue traces the caverns of his mouth.

You’re just so delicate, taking the time to study every inch of him before working a shy coil around his tongue. It’s nearly as if you’re treading a careful line too, holding back from what you know will pass.

But that won’t stop your hands from roaming along his chest, smoothing out the wrinkles from the silk black lapels of his suit jacket, tugging at his collar, all for your touch to find the comfort of cupping his rosy cheeks.

He takes heed with a smothered smirk, offering a lengthy response through unspoken language. But being the man he’s sworn to be tonight, Toji can’t let you show face with swollen lips, smeared lipstick, and wrinkles spouted all over your dress.

To depart from your adoration chips at Toji’s heart, but he does so with a parting gift. His teeth, pearled and strong, generously nip at your bottom lip as a courtesy to his exit. But he doesn’t draw too far, just enough for his shaky breaths to cloud your skin.

He tethers onto a smug smile to huff out his rhetorical thoughts, “What happened to being classy, Honey? Now your makeup’s gonna be messy ‘nd–”

“I don’t care about that. Any of it,” You lay out flatly, biting down on the present Toji plucked onto your bottom lip. “It’s nothing we can’t clean up in the bathroom, right?”

Toji kisses his teeth, using his grip to squeeze at your waist, “Nasty girl. As much as I'd that, and I really hate to ruin our moment, but I think we’re here so…here…”

Reaching beside you, Toji grabs the discarded pocket mirror and tube of lipstick for you. With what gap exists between you both, he presents the tools with a soft tilt of his palm.

“Go on, I’ll hold your mirror for you…for a price.”

“A price?” You press, lurching back from Toji’s hold. You accept the silver bullet from him, tugging off the cap before placing the red velvet tip to your pout.

“Mhm.” Toji blindly nods. He’s already absorbed into you, his hounding gaze following your careful hand once more.

“When you’re done, kiss me on the cheek. Just to…make sure it’s all dried, y’know?”

All you offer Toji is a sharp squint, “Is that right?”

“Yup, riiiight here,” Toji beckons, tipping his jaw towards you.

A sigh seeps through your lips, but you cave at Toji's request. Pressing your dressed lips along Toji’s cheek imprints the mark of deep crimson upon his fair skin.

“There, how’s that?”

Toji greedily turns the mirror on himself, his eyes gawking at the pretty signature you’ve given him.

“Perfect! Wooow, red looks good on us, Princess,” He chuckles to himself. Toji shuts the compact in his grip, leaving him to pin his sights on you.

“Well, ready to eat, breathe, and drink like elites?”

“Oh, Baby,” you playfully coo, your hand sitting along his thigh, “We already do.”

That’s all Toji needs to hear before he reaches for the door handle, pushing the heavy black car door open. The sidewalk’s concrete cracks beneath his feet as Toji stands from his seat, his hand reaching back for your own.

“Careful, careful, don’t step on the dress…” Toji chants as he guides you out of the backseat to stand beside him.

His concerns bring a giggle to ring from your lips as you thank him, softly squeezing at his linked grasp. Though, you find your attention set onto the building before you—standing at easily 30 floors high with what you made out to be an open rooftop on the top floor. Through a bushy squint, you noticed flickering lights dancing from the rooftop, pulling a sigh from your bundled chest.

“Yup, just like ‘em. Partying on the top floor like the gods they wanna be,” you mutter under your breath.

Stress wasn’t a good look on you and Toji needed a way of breaking that tension quickly.

Toji didn’t need another word, he knew he had to ease your worries fast. Lacing his arm around your hips, Toji adopts the role of an attendant, using slow steps to lead you inside the building. He steals a look at you, and he’s met with a clenched jaw and twisted lips.

“We’re gonna have fun tonight, ‘kay?” He assures, “Just go in—hey, wha-what do you eat at these things anyway?”

“Oh, a mix of everything. Native food like sushi, sashimi platters, and beef. Some foreign dishes like curry, or stew to call it something fancier, some other stuff. They serve oysters here sometimes—Oh, desserts derive from France, so things like that. But you can see some local items like parfaits, cakes, and red bean dishes too.”

Toji simply grins as you speak. He’s got you so invested in rattling out food, you didn’t even notice his intention of distracting you. Just his luck that it’s working. That list of potential menu items brought you both through the grand lobby of marble walls and columns, down the winding path of red carpet, and into the awaiting elevator leading upstairs

As the elevator doors shut, Toji pulls you into him once more, his fingers tapping at what curves lay within his grasp. He takes a moment to look around the small chamber with curious eyes—and down to your heavy stare cast upon him.

“Ugh, your lips are a little red, Toji. Want me to wipe—”

“Don’t bother,” he shrugs, “ Now you can’t go around calling me your “friend”. And I’ve got all the proof.”

Your brows weave a knot of confusion, “So you had all this planned out?”

“Pfft, ‘course not,” Toji swiftly shoots down, “Listen, don’t worry about any of that. You’re my lady, that’s it. And besides…I like being covered in your kisses. Is that so wrong?”

“I guess not—”

The soft ‘ding’ of the elevator doors rings through the speakers rip you and Toji out of your safe haven, and the growing sliver of light from the retracting doors seals your fate for the night.

Toji rushes to assume his role as your escort, taking your dainty hand into his calloused palm.

As you laggardly stroll out of the elevator, Toji leans towards your bejeweled ear with a whisper.

“I’ve got you, Princess. Keep a smile on your lips and no matter what…you’re here for a reason. Don’t let anyone take that from you.”

You keep your eyes pinned to the beckoning glass doors, but your focus doesn’t hinder how a smile crowds at your lips.

The marble flooring dons the honor of bearing the first step you take into the busy room. People, crowds of the recognized and deemed distinguished, scatter about the hall, cradling dainty glasses to their chest.

And one of these “recognized and deemed distinguished” has your name rolling off their tongue.

“Ah, isn’t it the lovely lady we’ve all been waiting for!” The voice calls out.

The curiosity prompts you and Toji into a standstill, his hand softly squeezing your own.

“Not even a minute inside and you’re already getting hit on. Tch, don’t forget about me, alright?” He smirks, passing a teasing wink onto you.

You roll your eyes, scoffing at Toji’s playful taunt. “Please, nothing but old men have their eye on me. But, that voice…it sounds so familiar. If I’m remembering properly, it belongs to…him.”

Your pairs of eyes fall short of the approaching figure, your nose wrinkling at the unfortunate realization.

He's a stout man, with tanned skin, black hair sprinkled with stands of salt and pepper, and his lecherous gaze hides behind the glare of wire-framed glasses. Few wrinkles dress his face, aside from the heavily contoured smile lines around his thin, pink lips.

He’s no taller than five-foot-seven, dressed in an all-white suit with a gold tie tucked behind suit lapels. He keeps a cane in hand, clutching at the polished brown stick modeling his laggard trail.

And when he flashes you a smile, there's a gold tooth that floods your mind with a single name.

That man is…Dr. Sai Yusuno.

“Who’s this old man?” Toji whispers into your ear.

“Dr. Sai Yusuno. He used to be on a board with my husband. But when he passed, this man has been nothing but persistent to court me. He asked me out a week after the funeral. Hah, guess someone couldn’t wait,” You hum while maintaining your smile as Dr. Yusuno urges closer.

Toji keeps his hold over you, drawing you into his side once the unwanted presence comes to stand before you both.

“Oh…Dr. Yusuno! How…nice to see you this evening!” Your pitched voice feigning innocence as you bow your head.

“Oh…I didn’t know you’d taken someone new,” Dr. Yusuno chides, sucking his teeth as he scans Toji from head to toe. “So…who is this man?”

“Oh..um…he’s my—”

“Toji Fushiguro,” Toji introduces, keeping his head held high. “She’s my lady. That’s all that needs to be said, if we’re being honest.”

“Hmm…,” Dr. Yusuno pauses for a moment, “Toji, you say? That name sounds similar. Are you from a cl—”

“Oh! Princess!,” Toji blurts out, “I think I see your names over there, let’s go get comfortable.”

“Oh, okay,” you nod, giving into Toji’s lead. “See you later, Doctor!”

Leaving Dr. Yusuno behind, Toji guides you to a chair at the end of the long dining table, allowing you to explore the rest of the banquet hall.

In your sights, you’ve found the bar standing in the corner, the staff working hard to feed thirsty patrons their desired dream for the night through shaken or stirred drinks.

Above hangs a grand crystal chandelier, the chiseled gems cutting the pure white night into a lively kaleidoscope of rainbows across the banquet floor.

Marveling the lavish space with wide eyes, you mumble to yourself. “It’s beautiful!”

Toji’s abrupt stop drags you out of thought, the sudden appearance of the dining table catching your eye. “Here you are, Princess,” he hums, pulling you from your thoughts. He works swiftly to tug out your seat from beneath the black tablecloth.

You find yourself reading a small tented card, the white paper wearing your name in gold characters.

“Thank you, my good sir,” your giggling flirt satisfying his ear as he pushes you in gently.

Toji falls to his knees beside you, bracing your thigh for support.

“How was that? Said hi and now it’s just some food. If you like something enough, I’ll cook it just for you,” he grins, the polished apples of his cheeks drawing his marked skin taut.

You trace the faded kiss on Toji’s cheek, inviting a doddering frown to your face. “Aww, I think the kisses are fading away.”

“That’s fine, Princess. But when we get home…I’ll be expecting ten times the amount you gave me.”

Before you can craft up some sly response to his innuendo, Toji rises back to his feet and over to the seat across from you, where his own name awaits his arrival.

“Aw man, I feel so fancy!” Toji chuckles as he slips into his seat.

“It’s kinda nice, right? And we came just in time, dinner’s coming out!” You note, pointing towards the budding sight of servers carrying plates into the dining room.

Like moths to a flame, all the socialites work to end their conversations as they drift into their assigned seats, making new discussions with those around them.

You’ve set your eye on the man before you, whose scarred grin captures your attention with ease.

“What’s that smile for?” your head slipping into a faint tilt.

“I know these types of events. Stuffy people, but the food’s great and there’s high-quality booze on rotation all night. Plus, I get to enjoy all this while courting the most wanted woman in the room,” Toji chuckles as he folds his arms over the table. “Aren’t I just the luckiest man in Tokyo right now?”

He’s an arm’s length away and that’s still not good enough.

While there’s a growing tension weighing on the minds of you both, nothing compares to the story written behind the doting stares you set onto each other. With your dilating eyes pinned on him, batting your blackened lashes ever so slowly with that small smirk creeping onto your features.

He’s no better, the poor man hiding his satyric ways behind the act of mindlessly tracing along the supple curves of his lips with his tongue.

All the chatter, all the screeching chairs, it all drowns out around you and Toji. Nothing dares to break into your world—except for the commencement of the dinner service.

“Pardon the intrusion.” The presence of a young man pulls you and Toji from each other, the pair of steady eyes watching him place a gold plate before you both.

“Tonight, we have for you both slices of seared beef, smoked salmon, dusted with truffle oil and masago. Please, do enjoy,” the server slowly announces for you and Toji.

“Wow…” the dull excitement speaks for Toji as he carefully observes the plate. “Where’s the rest of it?”

You slowly unravel the folded cloth napkin, hiding a laugh behind your focus. “These things are multi-courses. We’ve got like…10…15 small dishes like this to go. But we can go get something to eat after this too, I’m usually hungry after these things.”

Toji simply nods as he turns to face his plate once more. He stares hard at the delicate trims of meat before him, reaching for his hidden fork within the napkin. ‘At least it’s the high-quality cuts,’ he wonders to himself, bringing the gossamer trim of meat to his mouth.

As the gentle chew rings in his ear, Toji takes a moment to observe the room’s sudden shift.

Chatter breaks around the dinner session talks of business and affairs break from each end of the table. Not a single word matters nor interests Toji, not when he’s seeking out your due attention once more.

His sapphirine tincts wash over you, and instead of being greeted by your allure, he’s somehow satisfied with watching your newfound interest in the paper-thin strip of beef sitting on your plate.

Though he’s taken to you as his newest attraction, his ears are keen. Ears like this are carefully trained to hear even a pen drop in a room like this, and even with such skill, immunity from the talks of the elite isn’t granted unto Toji.

“…Oh! Have you heard who’s taken up the role there now? I heard he’s nothing more than a moron trying to fit in amongst the best.”

“Such a poor man. He’ll try so hard to win over the shareholders, but he’s just so useless.”

“Useless? An animal would have better luck than him!”

“No, but have you heard of the newly elected president of XXXX?”

“Ha! I did…he’s no better than a dog. So worthless, how dare he accept the position? Does he think he’s worthy? He must be thinking he can sit in some company and just gain status like us! Disgusting!”

All this talk surrounds Toji, filling his ears and penetrating his firm psyche with such cruel ideals. To critique a man is one thing, but to ridicule his name without any consideration for his character, his actions, his morals—why, that simmers on Toji’s tongue like poison.

He’s gripping his fork tightly, his knuckles dusting a ghostly white. He can’t explain what’s brought about his sudden shift in manners, but it’s unnatural for the man he’s become.

His eyes flicker to you for guidance, but you’ve taken to some light conversation with the woman beside you, whose questions seem true and modest.

Toji’s left to rely on himself, his spiraling mind coaxing him to bite down on his lip—he wants your aid but he deems his fragile thread of composure is nothing worth interrupting you over.

Yet, these words still sit uncomfortably familiar in Toji’s ears. Not a single word aimed at him, but the message behind them pulls at memories he’d buried years ago. But all it takes for his mind to crumble is the utterance of mere affirmations…

“He’s worthless!”

“He’s not worthy of what we offer.”

“He’s better off dead…”

“He’ll never be accepted here!”

“Born a failure…and always will be a failure.”

His heart races in his ears, channeling a cold sweat to sweep across his body. He can’t even focus on you anymore, not with his eyes senselessly blinking away the threatening patches of stars.

Slipping a finger between the apple of his throat and the pesky collar button of his dress shirt, Toji yanks the tied cloth from the back of his neck in hopes of fresh air flooding his hitching lungs. He tries to cast his gaze elsewhere, though, in a room so vast, how could the walls suddenly close him in, trapping him in his plagued mind with spinning thoughts?

Memories replay in his head with the very words in the air as a soundtrack. He can’t figure out why these exact words would come to haunt him years later?

Dead? Was he really better off dead? He hasn’t heard such heartless words since his younger days, why—how could strangers know about his anguish? Why would strangers speak to him like this, judge him before his character can attest for him? Why…why…

Why would a family speak to their own like this?

There’s only one thing on Toji’s mind, and it’s the one thing he knows all too well: escape. He has to put some space between him and the dinner, and he’s already plotting his next move.

Toji’s weary body shudders as he stands from his seat, his mind stumbling over his ingrained words of manner.

“Um…I-I…Excuse me.”

His words fall short on the ears of others, but the loud shriek of his chair scraping along the black tile commands the attention of all in the room.

“Toji?” You mouth out his name, but his eyes hang low—low and blurred by his nerves.

His exit fades out as the idle dinner chatter picks up once more. His brisk steps toward the patio are drowned out by taxes, how well the beef has been marinated, and worse of all—the ridicule of Toji’s “childish” need for attention.

The look on Toji’s face was like nothing you’d seen from him before. He was pale as if a ghost had just tapped his shoulder. And the very confidence you found yourself fond of was replaced by a quaking fear, one so heavy he couldn’t even keep his head held high.

Guilt shrouds your mind, and it’s a heavy cloud that threatens all the confidence he’s worked to instill in you. That very guilt–the need to balance your mind with comfort…his specific comfort. Without a moment’s delay, you rise from your seat, the similar screech of your seat ringing through the hall.

“Excuse me.” Your announcement halts all chatter, all gossip, and all means of communication falling short of your cold tone.

The clicks of your heels dart across the glossy floor as you tread toward the balcony.

You find him leaning along the stone-carved railing, gazing out at the city’s skyline. To ease the mood, you mark your next steps carefully, creeping behind him with light steps.

But Toji doesn’t even have to turn his head to know you’re there.

“Don’t go hiding from me, you know I’ll find you, Princess.”

Dropping the charade, you join Toji’s side, leaning into him with a hand bracing the tensed sleeves of his suit.

“Then I’ll never be lost with you. But…”

Your touch laces onto the frazzled hairs covering Toji’s eyes, lazily raking through his onyx locks.

“That means you can’t go hiding from me either…what happened, Toji?”

Toji’s attention from the overview doesn’t seek a replacement, his eyes dead set on the passing nightlight below. “If I tell you, it’s not like it’s gonna change how I feel. And it’s silly anyways, nothing you need to stress yourself over.”

“Toji,” you coo “If your feelings don’t change, that’s okay. And if you think it’s silly, that’s fine too. But…I can’t help but stress with you. So don’t tell me, I won’t force you. We don’t even have to talk, we can stay out here all night, looking out over the city.”

Toji sighs as his head drops, “You care too much for me, y’know that? Most people would’ve let me be. But here you are, on such an important night…babysitting me. I think we’re making each other soft, yeah?”

“That’s fine with me, as long as I’m with you, right?”

Those words had no business slipping from your lips, but they did. By uttering something so dangerous to Toji—your sentiments of care to him—all he can do is gawk at you.

His jaw’s sunk slack and the words he wants to say fall short on his tacked tongue. He wants to ask you why give him a second of your time. His outburst might have cost you your reputation and relationships. And you could be inside, tending and cleaning up whatever tension that might have been sparked—but you’re outside with him as your only muse.

That’s what he aims to say, but his heart has him rattling off something he can’t—rather, something he won’t try to bite back any longer.

“All this…fancy dining, sitting and talking like this…it reminds me of a life I barely got away from. I hated it—those people treated me like their mortal enemy. All my life until I was old enough to leave, living in hell became my home..”

You lean into Toji, resting your chin on his shoulder. With a weighted gaze, you peer up to Toji through your lashes, and the very words that roll off your cherried tongue break down any wall he had left standing tall towards you.

“Tell me about these people you hate so much.”

Toji finds the energy to scoff, the choked chuckle cracking through the crisp air. “Horrible. Because I didn’t meet some standard they made up in their heads, I was a castaway in my own family.

Having to work myself to the bone, proving myself to people who didn’t care if I dropped dead right at their feet. And having done all that work, just for it to be thrown back in my face when it came time for dinner. That cycle…no one should have to go through that.”

“Some days, death seemed like the best option. Better than putting on a brave face that mattered to absolutely no one.”

“What kept you from ending it all then?”

“Hope. It’s a stupid thing. But the hope of knowing it all might get better saved me. If I had given in to all that hatred and become what was expected out of me, giving up would’ve been worse than dying. But all the scars you love to touch, that’s both from the hell and freedom I’ve lived through. The scars of freedom, however…they never once hurt me.”

“So then,” you begin, carefully gathering your words, “Was it all worth it?”

That’s when Toji committed himself to you, his body shifting to face you. He’s got his eyes pinned on you and you alone, his ears tuned to your gentle coo, and his heart open to sing its long-awaited melody.

“...Yeah. It all…it all brought me to places I couldn’t begin to imagine, to meet people in my wildest dreams. It’s been a crazy one, but I wouldn’t regret a single moment. But, I have to say this one thing, or else I’m gonna lose it…”

Toji stares at you for a moment in silence. His eyes scan every curve of your face for what he wants to discover as a hoax, but all he’s met with is the kindness of sincerity. Sincerity dots your eyes, in that soft smile you hold, and touches every strand of hair your digits comb through.

Sincerity is a rare trait for a man like him to encounter and when he does…it becomes something he has to question.

“How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

Reverting back to his old self, Toji stands tall with his hands briskly searching for your waist as his keepsake. He’s back to grinning, drinking in that sudden gasp you give when he encompasses your body flush to his own.

“You just…sat there and let me talk your ear off. None of it affects you, yet you seem like you actually care. So…why?”

“Why do I care?” You rehash, fixing your arms to link along the broad of Toji’s shoulders.

“I care because that’s what I’ve come to do with you. You care for me and I care for you. And I’ll be honest, it’s scary…caring for you like this is going to give way into something I can’t afford just yet—but I won’t stop it. So yes, talk my ear off. But I want to listen, I want to know whatever you’re willing to let me know about you because…that’s how much I care for you, Toji.”

Toji ghosts a peck against your lips, breaking his sentiments with a speech. “Well, aren’t you the poet? Thank you, really. You’re learning just how to calm me down and I like it.”

“Don’t thank me, I just want you to be okay. So we don’t have to—oh Toji?!” You yelp as he begins to lead you back inside. His hand slips into yours, tracing your gentle palm with his grazing thumb.

All Toji gives you is his back, hiding the flourishing spout of blush curling at the tips of his ears and the highs of his cheeks. He’s almost forgotten: he’s the luckiest man in Tokyo to have you. And with such a title means he has one single job: to keep a smile on your face at all times.

“Don’t go and worry your pretty little head off. Let’s get back in there and enjoy ourselves!”

✫ ˚♡ ⋆｡ ❀ ✫ ˚♡ ⋆｡ ❀ ✫ ˚♡ ⋆｡ ❀ ✫ ˚♡ ⋆｡ ❀

“Mhmm…Toji?” you huff, tightening your slinking arms along his shoulders.

“Y…Yeah, Baby? Whatcha’ wanna tell me?”

“Are we home yet? I wanna go to sleep with you.”

Toji chuckles as he peers down at you, his pretty lady cradled resting like a princess in his arms.

Replaying the night in his head, he’d call every minute of it a success. After the heart-to-heart out on the balcony, you and Toji went back into the party as if only you two were there.

From sharing sips of the finest aged wine and brandy, finishing out the dinner service, and sharing a dance that ended with you and Toji swirling about for an hour pressed to each other, all the makings of a night to remember.

But with every night out, the fateful comedown is never too far behind.

When the adrenaline wears off, tummies are full of food, and the liquor’s finalizing its course through bodies, the whimsy of the night comes to a curtain-falling close.

As for this timely scene, Toji’s taken on the role of caretaker. And as a caretaker, that means ignoring his hazy brain and tired muscles to carry you out the car and inside your apartment.

Beneath the dull glow of the street lights, Toji steals a glimpse at you, gawking at how a sense of ease dresses your visage.

Beautiful, that’s the only word in his mind as he admires you. Your eyes gently shut, your timid lips faded from their red hues, your puffy cheeks soft and begging for a kiss.

In his eyes, you look perfect in his arms, resting in his care without a care. That’s his lady—a woman he’s finding himself endowed to with each passing day.

Living carefree, as Toji’s learned, is a right that belongs to everyone. To wake up, do whatever you please, and do it all again the next day. And while living carefree is deserved, it’s a word that carries various definitions.

In his definition of carefree towards you, Toji would work to strip your mind of all the grief, stress, and responsibilities that come with your world.

But when the morning comes, you’ll be back to worrying, making phone calls that hold materialistic value, and working to the bone–while Toji continues living carefree on your dime.

What a life.

Toji aimlessly presses a kiss to your forehead, charming himself back to the present where your question awaited an answer.

“We’re right outside the door, silly. Then we gotta take the elevator up, take off this pretty dress, wash your face, then you can go to sleep, ‘kay?”

“But…I wanna sleep with youuu,” you draw out, your eyes widening at Toji’s lack of involvement amidst his own plans.

“Alright, alright,” Toji sighs as he taps his hip against the lobby’s door sensor. “Stay up and wait for me. I gotta help you, then I gotta help myself. So after all that’s done, then we can sleep. Sounds like a deal?”

Pushing yourself deeper into Toji’s hold, you nuzzle your cheek against his burly chest.

“Deal.”

Entering the quiet lobby, Toji rocks you in his arms as he treks to the elevators. A night full of dancing, drinks, and questionably small plates leaves him with a dumb smile plastered to his lips.

And to end it all right, he’d finally be able to sedate all his concerns for you within a matter of minutes.

Though, the call of his name impedes his plans.

“Oh, hey Toji!” the night doorman calls out with a wave.

Sho Hisagari, the nighttime doorman. Standing at six feet even, he’s a gentle giant with a strong build that hides behind a black uniform jacket. He’s got sharp brown eyes, dyed blond hair that sits just short of his ears, and a soft, crooked smile that’s kind to the eyes of all.

During the day, he’s a college student entering his final days of graduate school, and at night, the twenty-five-year-old collects a check watching the night of Tokyo pass by.

Toji’s quick to recognize him, considering that he’d been the mediator to bring Toji up to your doorstep a month prior.

He looks over to greet Sho with a lax smile, “Hey kid, how’s the night going?”

“I should ask you guys,” Sho chuckles as he leans over the desk. “I’ve never seen her drunk.”

“Oh, this pretty lady?” Toji hums as he glances down at your serene face.

“She wanted to drink some wine, then some martinis, a few cocktails, and I got to thinkin’ ‘ Who am I to keep a grown woman sober?’ So I made sure she didn’t overdo it and ended up getting some sake and a few cups of wine in my system too. But, someone had to be the responsible one. She’s always the strong one, so why not let her enjoy this?”

“She is strong, isn’t she?” The doorman breaks, Sho steadily focusing his sights on you.

The sudden interest in you has Toji intrigued. He carefully studied Sho, how his brown eyes hang over your dozing face. It’s a familiar gaze—a look that brings even the strongest, unmovable, and rigid of men to dote on their muse. A look that softens the eyes into a trained whimsical glint, leaves the lips and jaw lax for the gasps or gape to roll out.

A mien that seems so familiar to Toji because he dons those exact traits whenever he too is entranced by you.

And while Toji had no reason to feel that lump in his throat swell, his harsh swallow barely chips at the growing resentment.

It’s such a pure look in his eyes, but why does it look so…so…natural on Sho?

As if he’s trained his eyes to look at you like this?

“Well, I’m gonna go and get her in bed. Have a good night, kid,” Toji mumbles before entering the elevator, leaving Sho with a solemn nod.

“Night, Toji! Tell the miss’ I wish her a good night too!”

Toji could only count the seconds before the doors shut, leaving him alone with his sleeping beauty wrapped up in his beastly arms.

His cobalt hues flicker down to your timid visage, and all the anger that threatened his eventful night was wiped clean the moment you began to stir about in his hold.

“Toji?” your weakly rasp, your pinched eyes squinting at your suitor.

“Hey, Baby. Thought you went to sleep without me for a sec,” he teases behind a growing grin.

You simply shake your head, hands coming to rub your strained eyes beneath the piercing white lights, “I thought I heard Sho’s voice. Wanted to say hi.”

“Huh…” Toji trails off. “You like Sho?”

“Mhm,” you nod, He’s nice. He gives me flowers, takes me out to lunch, and sometimes when I can’t sleep. I’ll go downstairs and talk with him for a while.”

That taints Toji’s mind like ink bleeding through a scroll. He’s overrun by hypotheticals and probabilities, trying to make sense of what your sentiments towards the young man might be.

He didn’t expect to uncover such a rich history between you and the doorman, yet he has no choice but to absorb it all for what you’ve shared.

Toji has half a mind to seek reassurance, his mind already sorting out the indirect questions to pry at your own sentiments towards him.

But…he stops.

All thought, all the plotting, it comes to a screeching halt when your words at the balcony replay in his mind. Those sincere words that sat on his ears like the sweetest hymn from a siren.

Upon reciting your soliloquy in his head, Toji peers down at your softened features with the very look he envies Sho for wearing.

He can’t blame the guy, he was falling for you all the same—all because you care. You take the time to show your adoration for others, the words only act as a seal to what’s already known.

Maybe, just in some random universe that happened to be his own, maybe it was lov—

“...Are we home yet?” you groan, pulling Toji from his thoughts.

The chime of the splitting elevator doors welcomes you and Toji back into the humble abode, the familiar dark scene of the living room draws Toji inside.

“Look, we’re in the living room. Now, let’s get you in your room and in bed” Toji hints as he begins his winded strides down the dark hallway.

He softly nudges the door open with his hip, revealing the night-clad oasis to his eye. The faint twinkling rays of moonlight cast upon the red duvet of your bed, drawing Toji to put you to rest.

“Okay just lay there for a—”

“Toji.” you call out calmly, your blurred gaze setting on him.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

Folding your hands along your tummy, you rally the energy to turn towards him, a weak smile curling onto your lips. “I’m feeling better, trust me. The room’s stopped spinning now, just a little tired, but I’ve got some energy.”

“Okay, good!” Toji beams with a bright grin, “If you can sit up, I can bring...”

Toji’s offer falls deaf on your ears as you sit up slowly, shifting hands sinking into the soft red duvet beneath your body. Tilting your head back, you stare aimlessly at the ceiling, the miniature glass chandelier returning your starry gaze.

In theory, Toji's done a great job; he kept you company, made sure you arrived home without a hair out of place, and he's even going the extra mile to put you sleep too. you've arrived back home in one piece

However...something's missing from the night, from his usual antics. He's too princely, acting so pure when he's the farthest thing from. He was insistent on being classy for the night, but did he really means the whole night?

Even after he kept pressing kisses to your lips and cheeks alike, pinning his hand to your side, and even whispering about how he'd love to take you down out of some cups of wine.

And he has yet to act on any of the hints he planted. Now, here you are, just on the verge of greeting the setting night and he was still too kind with you.

There simply has to be some word, some action, just something you could call upon to rouse all the desires he's pushed aside for the night...right?

“Princess?” Toji croaks as he stands before you. He takes a tender hold of your jaw, the pad of his thumb grazing along the softened contours. “Talk to me, what’s got you so down?”

“I’m okay, really. Just…a little disappointed is all.”

“You? Disappointed?? No no no, how can I fix it?” Toji hums as he drops to his knees. He tends to remove your heels, tugging the tiny clasp free from your ankle.

“Okay okay, ‘disappointed’ is a little bit of an exaggeration. Tonight was fun…but…”

“But?” Toji repeats, his hand coasting along the peeking curves of your thigh.

“I won’t lie, I was expecting for us to sneak off for a quickie or something.”

“Yeah?” Toji breathlessly chuckles out. “You were really waiting for that?”

“Mmhm,” you nod, tugging your bottom lip between a smothered grin, “That’s why ‘m not wearing any panties.”

The sweet smile Toji taped to his lips withers away beneath a slack jaw and widening eyes. First he’s pale, the draining palettes of shock claiming his lush skin. You’ve grown bold, something he’s taken note of, but he wasn’t prepared to handle this.

Somewhere in his stunned sights, he falls on the cut in your dress, the slit freely bunched up to your hip. He swallows hard, blinking at the realization: you’re sitting all too pretty with your cunt waiting for him.

That’s when the prickling sear of heat licks at his cheeks, a cloud of pink spreading across his gawking face.

“Like…uh...allll…night?”

“Don’t believe me?” You giggle as you slowly drape your leg along Toji’s shoulder. You bear witness to his final threads of sanity snapping as your dress drips off your skin, revealing the results of a one-sided gamble.

“Check for yourself.”

What visibly seals Toji’s fate as he hunts for a shed of fabric is the languid spread of your legs…just enough for him to see the delicate webs of slick sewn to your folds.

“See what you do to me, Toji? All that teasing in the car, touching me all over the dance floor, it’s all for you. And you let your so-called ‘lady’ walk around dripping and this is all you can say?”

“Oh fuck…” he’s shuddering, swallowing down the hindering lump in his throat. “Princess, i-if you wanted me to—”

“Don’t apologize. And I know you wanna fix things too, but I think, for tonight at least, I’ve got things under control.”

“No, let me make it up to you, “ Toji pleads, “W-What…do you want me to do?”

“Watch me.”

“Watch you?” he presses with a quirked brow, “Watch you do—”

You cut Toji’s question short carelessly, “Mm, Toji, help me out. Can’t keep my legs at the same time.”

Toji’s stare is heinous as dark clouds threatens his sights. You’ve got the nerve to sit there and wait for him as if he’s holding you back. He has the words boiling at the tip of his tongue, ready to fire off his rebuttal.

He picks the latter, Toji locking his firm grip around your thighs. The hold he has over you is unyielding, not granting an inch of room for any second thoughts.

He’s even spiteful enough to drag you right to the edge of the bed, forcing your hips to tilt toward his awaiting mouth.

“How’s this?”

“Just like that. Now keep your head riiiight here.”

Your lithe fingers sit atop the charcoal coronet of Toji's head, veering him to rest his cheek along your inner thigh. He doesn’t fall to hesitation either, merely falling to your whims with the same daunting stare.

You’re hurting his pride, turning the man into nothing more than your pet. To sit there and take orders, listen to your every fancy, and be expected to act on them without fail. You almost feel bad for him in a way too, considering how you can watch his patience grow thin with how he clenches his jaw.

But then again…it’s precisely what he signed up for.

“You’re such a good boy, Toji. You know exactly what I want without me saying it. Starting to understand me more…”

Again, you descend on a journey, tracing the curves of Toji’s flustered features until you find a ledge worthy of your touch—that cute quivering pout he wears proudly.

His lips feel plump against the pads of your digits, such supple skin brimmed with a soothing heat. Toji’s still sitting beneath awe’s influence, flustered and shy.

You take to the idea brewing in your brain, especially when there’s something so delightful laying behind his lips. Your ghostly touch sedates the brimming heat of his pout, that mere swipe a lulling famed whimper from his mouth.

“C’mon, baby…don’t keep me waiting…you always know exactly what I want.”

“Do I?” He sarcastically scoffs, but his remarks don’t go unnoticed.

“Yeah, you do. I don’t have to say a word, I know you’ll give me what I want.”

Just like that, Toji’s lips part to welcome you into the caverns of his mouth. His tongue’s swift to coil around your digits, basting your skin in his spit to his heart's content. He’s given himself to lust, sloppily working his lips until soapy bubbles seep out of the corners of his mouth.

“Oh, you’re such a good boy!” You purr as you reel away from Toji’s swollen lips. All that connects you both is a wispy thread of glass, serving as evidence of your time together.

Your dripping digits sit right between your legs to paint your cunt in his shade, fingertips dragging glossy webs along the pink pearl.

Your hand falls into a tantalizing sway, drawing messy circles about your clit. It's a slow start but you’re quick to respond to your own touch, rousing the dormant nerves with haste.

It’s the heft of arousal that suddenly douses your bud in a searing heat that drives you over the edge, your hand adopting a frantic pace.

“D-Do you see what you do to me, Toji?

There’s a reveling heat blooming amongst your core. It’s all-consuming, so overwhelming that every bit of your strength surrenders to you. Sinking back down onto the bed, Your enticed spine spikes into an arch, forcing your hips to bear the heft of paradise alone.

But Toji’s right there to help you; wedging your thigh atop his shoulder, hands clipped to your rocking hips.

He’s sitting there with a pout on his face, the flat of his tongue sketching over his lips. Each time you swipe over your clit, Toji’s thinking about what he’d do instead. He’s the one who knows your body like his own, so watching you work so hard splinters his pride by the seconds. He can’t take it, watching his poor baby enjoy such shoddy workmanship.

“Just like that, Princess, you got it.” All he can do is support you through words, his touch, and the kisses he’s peppering along your inner thigh.

He can’t surrender his gaze to anywhere else. He can’t complain, can’t intervene, so he simply takes it. He takes it while sitting enviously on his knees, gawking at the sight of you bathing in that sweet ambrosia. He wants nothing more than to touch you—so badly that it hurts him in mind, body, and spirit.

You know how bad he wants to touch you too and just how much restraint it’s taking him to play the innocent act. And all that knowledge is the very thing that pulls a spiraling heat to flood your tummy.

You want a reaction from him, to hear him ridicule your poor technique. Excitement captures your entire body as you begin to draw out Toji’s true colors with a wandering touch. You slide a single finger between your folds down to your quivering hole.

The manner you take to tease your rousing core is gentle, paddling your sweet spot beneath tender strides. Just off that calm touch, you’re melting into your touch. With Toji being the one handling your needs as of late, you’ve almost forgotten the thrill of chasing your own high.

But that sense of bliss quickly turns to thirst, a ravenous urge to feed that heavy pit in your tummy. You swiftly invoke a jagged cadence, drumming at your spot feverishly. You’re working so hard that the stack of bangles on your wrist erupts into a cheery jingle, voicing the hymns of your pursuing finger.

“Mmm…f-fuck,” you whine, drawing the glossed finger from your cunt.

Toji’s eyes staple to you, a burning gaze that overlooks your polished digit tapping along his bottom lip. He isn’t waiting to hear permission, he simply can’t bring himself to wait a moment longer.

He envelops your fingers between his lips, the flat of his tongue cupping along the digit. Toji’s swift to clean up your mess, the slicked muscle twirling at every inch of your skin dressed in your essence.

“So needy…C’mon, spit on it.”

Toji’s eyes widen at your request, his shot pupils darting to meet your gaze. He’s mulling over your question, using every ounce of his strength to think clearly. Did you really just ask him to spit on your—

“Aww, what’s that look for, Baby? Didn’t hear me?” you taunt, ripping your digit from his mouth.

“N-no, no…I-I heard you. I-I just...uh—“

“Shhhh," you whisper, placing a slicked finger against his rambling lips, “I’m waiting…”

A muffled moan snags itself within Toji’s throat as he slowly leans in. His quivering frown just grazes past you, closing the distance for the tears of spit he’s dying to glaze over your sporuted mound.

You’ve gotten so wet, dripping from the sad display he’s born witness to. He doesn’t want to spit on your clit, he’s dying to taste you, to create an abstract mess out of the swollen bud.

But he does as he’s told without fail, his puckered lips pushing out sticky rivets of spit. His stares stays pinned to you as he observes the messy trail whisking down your folds.

“Fuck… pussy’s so pretty like this,” Toji mutters to himself as he pulls away to admire his finishing touch.

He’s right, your cunt does look so pretty being pushed to the edge—the glistening pearl of your clit consumed by a waltz of shivers, your puffy folds dewed by your essence and his spit, and your cute little slit flittering for attention.

Somewhere in his murky mind, he’s thinking about it: how you’ve finally elicited his help without having to lay a finger on you.

And to think it’d be so lewd, so messy—and just perfect for a man like him. The thought doesn’t just stop with the mind, it’s feeding his cock with all sorts of ideas too, condemning his bulge to strain against his pants.

You slip your hand between the sloppy mess of Toji’s lips and your cunt, rubbing the soapy bubbles of spit to meld with your slick.

“Just like that…n-now, don’t stop o-okay?” you moan, driving yet another finger to fill your walls. Lazy pulses rip against your piqued nerves, engulfing your pussy in a ravenous flame. Your thighs suffer beneath the force of your inevitable undoing, immersing your suspended legs into a world of tremors.

“ ‘m gonna cum! gonna–I’m c-cum—"

A flash of white breaks over your eyes, stars dotting your sights. Curses spew from your lips as that knot in your tummy finally snaps. It’s all too much, your saturated body succumbing to the consequence of reaching nirvana. All you can do is toss your head back and grit your teeth, your hands racing to fist at the plushy blanket beneath you.

In the peak of your heat, Toji settles a peck between your folds, a poor excuse to satisfy his need to taste you.

A sly smirk creeps onto your lips as you come down, fixing your misty eyes to study the shameless kisses he’s pinning to your swollen pussy.

Your hands slip into the ruly forest of Toji’s hair, combing away the frazzled locks from his face.

“Look at you, couldn’t even wait.”

The route Toji endures to have his tongue bathe in your essence is dangerous. He’s so reckless, disregarding your sensitivity just to sedate his gluttonous desires. He’s savoring the fruits of your high, the mere taste blurring his unmoving judgment. You’re just so sweet, so sticky and so addictive like honey but venomous once you seep upon Toji's palate.

But he’s using every drop of that venom to soothe his soul, regardless if you can supply him or not.

“W-Wait! Toji…s-slow down! I jus’ —fuck!—came!”

Toji breaks himself from you, painting your flushed cunt in his hot, patterned breaths. He doesn’t meet your stare, his eyes trapped to the corked swell of your clit. “Sorry, baby. I’ll be gentle…and so fucking gentle, I swear."

Whether he meant it for your ears or not, Toji couldn’t tell you. But that won’t change his resolve. The resolve that bleeds through the dripping tongue he swathes against your folds. He’s working his jaw to bear those long, pampering strokes of his.

Those long, pampering strokes that trail up from your gummy hole.

The lazy, careful drags that skims against the pulsing channel of your folds.

His gentle laps that cling to your spry knob just because it feels so damn good to soak up the beating heat that leaves your clit so puffy and cute.

“Oooh—shi– Just…hah…just like that, Toji!”

He has your body running hot, your stirred nerves sparking underneath your skin. He’s simply dragging his tongue against you, so how can something so simple risk pulling another orgasm from your core?

He’s honoring his words too, using soft laps to soothe your poor bulb. But that doesn’t stop the twitches that litter your weak legs, that arch driving your chest into the air, and the mindless drivel spilling from your gaping lips.

“Mmmm,” Toji whimpers as a ‘pop’ ricochets from his mouth, “I wanna suck it, Mama. Please? I’ll be soft too! Just let me suck it, ‘kay?”

“Th-then go ahead! I’m not gonna—oh fuh—Toji!”

“Mhmm,” Toji hums as the whites of his eyes flicker behind his squint. If there’s one thing he’s grown to attach to, he’s grown too fond of sucking on that clit of yours.

Something about having the cute pearl swell up between his lips that plays on his senses a little too heavily. Just the thought alone has his mind wiped clean of anything that wasn’t your moans, your writhing body, or the looming orgasm he has to bring over you.

It’s sheer vigor that graces him to lure your clit between his quivering lips. He has to coax you, earn your trust before delivering ruin right to your feet. That’s why he’s ever so kindly pedaling the tip of his tongue against you, lazily winding a mindless path around the bundle of nerves.

Every languorous lash of his slicked muscle weakens your resolve—a fact he can see with the naked eye. Your hips tell him all he needs to know, rolling along with his rhythm.

The power of the unspoken is a great one, and because of its strength, Toji is able to move on with his plan. One that allows him to gradually reel back that curling tongue of his, letting his lips plant fluttering kisses as an apology for stealing back what’s rightfully yours.

A whimper tells him you miss it, but the pecks he’s baking at your core aren’t for naught. Not when he’s easing you in, blanketing his lips over your clit until all he can do is cling to the silky button.

So fragile, it’s the opposite of his entire persona, demeanor, and even his way of life. The polar opposite of him, but Toji wears delicacy like a glove when drawing your clit into a churning toil. He’s nursing you with the kindest of care, suckling the spry nerves into a pudgy bloat.

“F-ff-fuck! I‘m gonna cum again!” you squeal, your thighs knocking against Toji’s head.

He doesn’t curse. He doesn’t chatise you. Toji merely slips his hand from your waist in exchange of bracing the silky plush you’ve crowned upon him.

He could stop, Toji knows that much. But hearing your cry out like that—you’ve abruptly fueled some hidden agenda of his to push you over the limit. Just how loud can you scream his name? How many times can you cum before you’re a fucked out mess? All these questions contaminate Toji’s fleeting mind, and he’s dying to answer each and every one tonight.

“Go ‘head, I can take it, Baby.”

He means every word. He’ll handle everything to come with you; the good and the bad, all the pain and the pleasures, he’ll take it all with a smile.

Your orgasm is a heavy burden to carry, costing you every ounce of strength in your reserves. The familiar flash of white crosses your eyes, dashing in front of your sights for a single moment. Like the thrill of lighting cracking through the sky, your body holding strong before the crumbling curse washes over you.

The looming heat at your core surges across your body, from the balls of your curled feet to the fading reality in your head. Your jaw drops slack by a muted cry, and all you can do is give into your body’s coiling instinct without delay.

Toji’s hands are foreign to you, but it’s the only source that brings you down as he softly taps a wayward tempo along your flushed skin.

“Oh, that was beautiful, Princess. But, I hope you can keep up that little act…we’re not done here.”

As you pull the words from your broken thoughts, Toji’s swift to reach over you, his hunkering body casting a shadow upon you.

“Toji?” you mumble out, squinting at his face with blurry eyes.

“You started this. You gotta finish it—and if you don’t…well, you might regret it.” His warning comes with a hint, one that lacks the grace of subtly. Because in Toji’s mind, the hint he has for you sits right against your inner thigh, his thick cock hidden behind a shameful bulge.

Perching upon your elbows, you close the distance between you and Toji, leaving just a sliver of the room’s heat to separate you both.

“I’m going to regret it? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re trying to scare me, Toji. I told you already, try all you want…you can’t break me. Besides, if I choose to let you go to bed like this, who’s truly gonna regret it?”

“Only one way to find out…” the final words marking the room’s sultry atmosphere as Toji captures your lips with a kiss.

He keeps his rhythm purely surface—soft, gentle, gliding his kiss against you like the finest silk. He doesn’t dare to, not when he’s already dizzy off those small whimpers you let sink into his mouth.

It’s so gentle that it’s almost hypnotic, the soft curl of Toji’s lips passing over your own. He’s leaving you wanting more, the impulse to trace his skin burning at your fingertips. However, the obstacle of clothing hinders you—but your hands move quicker than you can think.

Nothing could truly explain the way you labor across Toji’s towering body; tugging off his suit jacket, unbuttoning his dress shirt, yanking at his black slacks until he was free of all clothing, and the loud clunk of his belt and shoes joining the floor.

But you do it all while the fervour of his gentle kiss stews at the forefront of your mind.

He could say the same, unsure of what skills allowed him to strip you of that dress, tugging off your shoulders, down your legs, and off onto the floor with such ease—but he did so anyway.

He did it all while relishing the heat of your lips on his.

And maybe a kiss does hold such mind-numbing powers, to subdue lovers to its binding will. As much as you rather push off such a ridiculous thought, the evidence lies with you and Toji alike.

Why, it must have some influence over those who dabble within its magic because the next time you blink, you find yourself laid on your side with Toji’s bare chest tucked along your spine and his bicep as your pillow. His hooked arm outlines your chest, pitting him to knead the silky fat of your tits.

He’s peeling away from the sin of your kiss down to your exposed neck, peppering pecks along the velvety tract of your throat. Just because he’s broken from your lips doesn’t mean he’s stopped sipping from lust’s cup. His hands, wide, firm, and blessed with fingers so thick, take on the honor of roaming your body.

Those husky hands that cup your tits, kneading at the pillowy flesh until your pebbling nipples slip between his windowed grasp.

Those stout fingers that lazily caress your curves, the pad of his thumb feathering along your skin.

There are so many whimpers that don’t mean to pour from your lips—but they do, shamelessly and unfiltered. He carries the art of delicacy, Toji’s treating you under the fear of breaking you. But his efforts only spur you on, guiding you down the path that he leads.

Those stout fingers that lazily caress your curves, the pad of his thumb feathering along your skin. A hot, rousing channel that erupts beneath Toji’s languid tour of your body. His touch smolders over your skin, coaxing every nerve to greet him without fail.

His path ends just short of your thigh, his reach slipping to coddle the supple underside.

“Hold your leg back,” Toji instructs, dragging his hand to cup the back of your knees. Carefully, he replaces his brash grip with your kind, tender hands, pinning your folded leg just short of your chest.

“What are you doing?” you pry, skewing your head along Toji’s chest.

His hand slowly glides along the front of your body, squeezing at whatever fills his rough hands. His trail lands him right before your sopping cunt, his shaky hand dusting past your puffy lips.

“...Tch, n-nothing. J-just wan..n-na touch you, that’s it,” his trembling breath mutters along the thumping pulse of your neck.

The moment Toji’s confidence allows him to dip into the viscous mess of your pussy, a hiss cuts between his lips. You’re dripping, your slick dressing his touch before he’s even landed a tap on your puffy pink pearl. Suddenly, there’s a stress on Toji’s mind that warns him of the impending doom set to befall him.

The doom of him cumming too quickly.

It’s an issue he’s never had until meeting you. He still remembers the mess your sputtering pussy drowned him in back in that dressing room. But this doesn’t even compare to that first time.

He could only imagine how you’ll suck him up this time, how sloppy you’ll be after a few rolls of his hips, how he very much could end up creaming your walls white—

“Oh fuck…” he groans at the thought, his hips bucking along the small of your back.

Precious anticipation that has Toji taking his sweet time to trace through your folds, up towards your clit, and down to your entrance. You tug at your bottom lip as he drifts over your hole at last—but deliverance like this doesn’t come with the flick of a wrist.

Rather than fulfill your every wish, he’s taken with the idea of thumbing at the fluttering ring, the tips of his digits just nicking at your knotted hole.

“Don’t tease me, just do it alread—”

Just two fingers. It only takes Toji slipping past your sticky slit to ruin your pussy beneath that burning stretch. He’s sinking into you, your cunt swallowing every bit of Toji’s fingers. He’s down to the hilt with you, so far gone that he has no choice but to adorn your sweet spot with his hooked reach.

“Hah, omygosh—fuck, Toji!”

“Thaaaat’s it! Oh, you feel that?” Toji taunts as his wrist flicks against your splitting cunt.

All he’s met with is your breathless gaps, your mouth hinged by a gape. He’s got you right where he wants you—speechless and needy—and that’s exactly when he plans to strike.

And Toji can’t help but savor every passing second.

“Aww, why can’t you talk to me, Baby? Told you I just wanted to touch you…’nd it’s nothing you can’t handle…”

There’s a timeless look that settles on your features, one that Toji can’t help to admire with a ghastly smirk. The look that has your gaping mouth webbed with spit, dewy eyes screwed shut, and your threaded brows weighed down by a crease. All he’s done was fill you, nothing more and nothing less.

“Toji, Baby, please! I-I can’t—I can’t take it!”

Toji’s chuckling along the shell of your ear. All that sass, and you can’t even keep the charade you—it’s the cutest thing he’s ever seen. But that’s his princess, always making a mess he’s just a little too willing to clean up.

“I’m not one to tease, Baby. You know that. You make me wanna go harder, so ‘m not playing when it comes to you,” he hums between the wayward kisses he plants along your cheek.

“Oh, fuck you, Toji,” you wince, hips flinching at his curled fingers.

“Yeah?” he purrs, “Then c’mon, I know you feel that dick begging for you, so do it then…fuck me, Mama.”

His taunt comes with the relentless drive of his soiled fingers, bullying your sweet spot with brash toils. He’s trying to be kind but when you start clenching down around him like that, he’s faced with having his way with your squelching pussy.

His wrist picks a brazen droll, driving up against your honeyed walls however he pleases. All his efforts reward him with a ring of white to brandish his twirling digit—and bring you onto the cusp of what might just be another wave of ecstasy.

You’re shaking, thrashing about in his hold for mercy from his punishing touch, but Toji’s doesn’t even grant you a lick of freedom. Not when he’s so insistent on keeping you close, his hunkering body seizing you in his grasp.

“Toji, wait! I don’t think I can cum again!” you hysterically sob, bracing your body for the weight of yet another orgasm.

“Oh, but you can, Princess, “ Toji’s quick to reassure, “Just not now.”

Leaving you with one final curl of his fingers, Toji swiftly reels his glossy digits from your heat.

Toji embellishes a pumping fist around his length, lathering your slick down his shaft. His hips ride against you, bringing the head of his cock to rake between your sloppy folds.

But that’s all he does, simply dragging his twitching cock aimlessly. He plays it off, but the throbbing veins that dust against your clit tell you how he’s barely hanging from a sliver of thread.

You had the chance to ridicule him, call out Toji for his bullshit—but who were you to say a word when something so easy like this was throwing you into ruin? Each time he pulls back, that brewing heat in your core pines for him, inexplicably desperate for his fat cock to spread you thin around him.

You dip your head along his chest, catching sight of his crumbling exterior. He’s breaking, the man you once knew is now replaced by his shadow self. He’s a panting mess, his fair skin claimed by heat’s red tinge, and those midnight blue eyes are clamped shut. Toji’s dangling at the edge with his feeble attempts of euphoria, as if the solution to his issue doesn’t lie right between your legs.

“Tojiii…” you call out, earning his lowly grunt as a response. “Don’t keep me waiting!”

“H-h…hm?... Think you can take it, Baby?” Toji sighs as his forehead rests along your temple. His eyes peel open to find you staring right back at him, that precious dreamy gaze binding him to your every whim.

“Mhm,” you nod, sinking your teeth into your bottom lip. “I can take it.”

Excitement gets the better of Toji at the sound of your voice. All knowledge of his feeble states flees from mind as he races to align himself with you. One brash snap of his hips sends his cock wedged between your fluttering walls and his mind snapped in two.

“Fuck…” Toji’s trembling against you, painting the peak of your shoulder in hitching breaths. All he’s accomplished is plugging you up with the pink-hearted crown of his cock and he's doomed with facing a losing battle.

With whatever breath he can muster, Toji grapples with himself to fulfill his lone task. No matter how good, how sinful, how tempting it seems, he’s got no choice but to walk down the path of slow and easy if he desires to win this race.

Inch by painstaking inch, Toji guides himself to fill you. The slow drive of his hips coaxes the fat girth of his cock to simmer along your silken walls. As his eyes begin to roll, he’s groaning at how your pussy’s suckling him deeper.

There’s something to be noted with how he’s immersing himself in your warmth, how his gentle approach differs from nights like this. Maybe it’s because for once, Toji isn’t rushing to stuff you, he isn’t rushing to make you eat your words. Tonight, he’s got something else on the brain, something soft and gentle.

And with this ‘gentle’ approach, you can’t help slow down with him. You can’t help but notice all the little details unfolding between your merging bodies, like how the heavy underside of his cock twitches with each inch plunged inside of you or how the veins ribboning his length pulse whenever you clench around him.

You can feel every unspoken word he’s crying out to you—and he knows you can too.

“You feel that, Baby? That’s me…stretching you out like that…nice ‘nd slow, just for you. C-Can I take my time with you?” he’s almost begging as his warm breaths fans along your opened mouth.

“Y-yes…fuck, yes, please!” you cry out, sealing the deal with a sloppy kiss. A kiss so messy that control flies out your hands and leaves you two crashing into one another.

Through the hunger of desire, Toji’s drawn back into exploring your body, intuition guiding what’s blinded by logic. He’s driven by the messy kisses you push against his lips to hold you close, to have his touch become your entire world.

He knows you like having your hips squeezed, so he does it. He knows you like having your nipples tweaked between strokes—so he does it. He knows you love those deep, long strokes that overwhelm your pussy with sheer thrill, so he does that too just to hear the praise.

“Yesyesyesyes—j-just like that!”

“That’s my girl, feels good, right? I kn—shit—I know!” He chuckles, hips mindlessly drawn back for another laborious round. It’s tedious work but Toji’s enjoying every moment of it. Even with his mind so hazy, he isn’t one to overlook how good it feels to have your velvety walls coddling his pudgy length.

He can’t tune out the lewd symphony playing in his ears either. By guiding his cock to strum your walls, he’s able to give you a solo debut with those breathless notes pouring from your lips. By curling his hips just right, he’s able to coax your pussy into giving him those perfectly viscous chimes that churn through the air.

And when he’s ready for the finale, all it takes is for that single dip. That single dip that sends his tip to kiss your teased sweet spot sparks every fiber of your being into a raging flame.

Your mind, broken by the night, is too far gone for the courtesy of announcements. Your body, drained and frail in Toji’s hold, is spent of all precious energy—but that fact alone welcomes the crashing world of your orgasm through you like no other.

Because when Toji did land that finishing kiss, all he’d done was strike devastation upon you both.

Your legs fall to a thundering close, limbs riddled with harsh tremors. Your hands race to grasp into the robust arms Toji’s tied around you, manicured nails scratching at his bulging muscles. Your spine arches off of his chest, and all you can do is whimper as the ripped tide leaves your body parched and weak.

Toji’s no better when he rushes to withdraw from you, seething out a string of curses at how the cold air bullies his cock. With a fist wrapped to the base, he pulls one final stroke over his length before the rushing spill of white weeps from his raw tip.

Toji cuddles himself besides you, burying his head along the nape of your neck as he bucks his hips into the fat of your ass.

It’s all too much for him. His vision’s blown white and spotty, his heart skipping beats, and the sweltering heat settling amongst his skin drives him mad. Toji’s desperate for something, anything to ground him.

He’s left to his own devices, scouring around until his findings leave him to cling to your waist. He prays you won’t say too much for the brash act, but you’re the only one he can turn to, the only one who knows how much of a toll his bliss takes on him.

What he doesn’t expect is you combing back his sweat-sunken hair, your lips scattering kisses along his clenched jaw, and the thoughtful words of encouragement loops in his ear.

“It’s a lot, right? Just let it out…”

“Fuck, ‘m still cumming,” he rasps. He has a song mulling heavy on his heart, all those moans waiting to break free from their cage. With all the restraint he can muster, Toji knows he can’t continue the ruse of choking back the notes any longer.

And with you soothing his woes, Toji’s resistance gives without a second thought. The heartless, cold shell Toji dons shatters the moment his lips give way with a whimper. Because of you, he’s whimpering, letting his body grieve the weight of his orgasm with you as his lone witness.

You pull his clipped hand from your waist into your own, swiping at his roughened knuckles with the pad of your thumb. “That’s it, you’re doing such a good job, Baby.”

“T-Thank you, Princess,” Toji shudders between breaths.

A veil of silence falls over the room, the pair of you finally mending tattered breaths. While silence keeps the scene calm, nothing about your entangled bodies changes one bit.

Your hand can still be found in his, your bodies still bare and melted into each other, even the exchange of soft kisses joins the frame.

But calmness is a fleeting trait, with the call of Toji’s name summoning a new plot to play out.

“Oh…Toji?” you innocently coo.

“Hm?”

“Can we go again? Just one more time, please?!?”

A weary smirk crowds upon Toji’s lips as he flickers his heavy eyes over your face—that callow look of batting lashes melting his perseverance. Such a pretty face, and a kind voice, but the nastiest mind.

His chest is still heavy, sweat lathers his skin, with exhaustion claiming him whole, Toji’s newfound soft spot for you curbs him from committing such a treasonous act of denying you.

“You really wanna go again?” He chuckles, pressing his forehead to your own.

“Mhm,” you nod, pulling your bent leg taut to your chest.

“It’s gonna be slower than before…”

“That’s fine, I just—"

“You don’t have to say it or explain yourself, Princess…I know.”

It’s just as you said, Toji knows you so well, so much so that he knows that you aren’t after another high—it’s just the sheer intimacy that has you both addicted.

Because for the first time in Toji’s life, he’s finally reached his long-waited oasis through your hands—sensuality.

A place where time stands still for lovers, allowing them to abstain from all that isn’t each other. Where all that’s needed to survive is the heat of one’s body, the synchronization of breaths, and the beating drum of a unified heart.

That s why Toji has no issue to grant your wish by taking hold of his length once more, his palm greeted by his hardened cock once more.

Strings of curses rip from Toji’s throat as he works to fill you all over again. The tepid lunge of his hips, the breathy moans slipping from his barred mouth, his hand still clinging to yours as his lifeline—all of which he establishes to be his new standard for taking you.

He keeps his eyes in line with yours when he finally immerses himself so deeply within your walls, a timeless gasp capturing you both.

You’re back to smothering his girth beneath a sticky grasp, marking every inch of his cock in your essence. He’s curling up beside you, using his angled hips to reach deeper than before.

You feel so good, you always do but tonight has Toji’s strong-willed mind rolling off the faintest touch.

Sensitivity isn’t a word Toji likes to associate himself with, out of his respect for his pride and ego—yet he’s imbued with the very essence of the word tonight.

Every graze, kiss, even the shallow channel of your breath renders him a quivering, frail mess. He can’t begin to handle it when you pick up a nasty habit of rocking your hips against him, grinding your deepest bliss down against his cock’s writhing bulbous head.

There’s no loud clash of skin, overdrawn cries, or pleas of mercy—there’s just the beautiful blend of skin on skin, keeping each other company through another one of the world’s perilous nights.

Why ruin you with tyrannical lust when sensuality grants him your warm body melding into his, your every cry sitting like music in his ear, and your touch pulling him into a dream?

“Fuuuuccck,” he's whining, his stark chest billowed with staggering breaths. “Oh Princess, what’re you doin to me?”

It’s a rhetorical question, but it’s been burning on your mind all the same. What was he doing to you?

Just off his driven cock, he’s carving at your walls, littering you with memories of how he fits. He’s marking you with every vein, curve, and twitch he carries so you never forget how he’s supposed to feel inside you. He’s taking the time to make you his, inside and out, by focusing on you and you alone.

All this attention on you, it has the gears of your empty brain turning. And then…the unthinkable falls from your lips.

“T-Toji…please…don’t go…”

Before you can even catch the mistake, Toji’s peppering your cheeks with kisses, shushing your words with his boyish smile.

“Shhh, don’t talk like that. ‘m right here and I’m not going anywhere, yeah?”

“Yeah,” you sigh, hiding your blunder behind a returning kiss.

Because, of course, you just meant right now…right?

165 notes · View notes

yourlocalbreadenthusiast · 6 months

Note

ask for infodump about Chernobyl as someone who has never even heard of it

INHALES

Chernobyl is considered to be the worst nuclear disaster in history, rated at a 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES), the only other disaster ranking at a 7 being in Fukushima back in 2011. The disaster occurred on April 26, 1986. The Chernobyl Nuclear Power plant was located in Ukraine, which was under the control of the Soviet Union at the time. It was only about 16 miles from the Belarus-Ukraine border, which was also under Soviet control. There were two main towns nearby, Chernobyl itself, which was older, had only about 15,000 residents, and was actually farther from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant than Pripyat, which had about 50,000 residents, and was only about 2 miles from the plant. Pripyat was newer, and residents had an average age of about 26. The town itself was filled with young, well educated people starting new lives. A large number of public buildings were located in Pripyat, including a school and a sports complex, which contains the famous Azure Swimming Pool. The plant supplied Pripyat with energy, and the place was considered a sort of "dream city." The plant was an RBMK-1000 type reactor, a generation I nuclear reactor, which are the earliest, and generally most hazardous, nuclear reactors. RBMKs were used to produce Plutonium, a radioactive material primarily used in nuclear weapons. However, they could also be used to produce civilian energy, so a few were constructed to supply parts of the USSR with power. At the time of the incident, there were four reactors in operation, with reactors 5 and 6 under construction. A test was scheduled to be conducted to see if the backup generators could successfully turn on in time to keep the cooling systems running at safe levels. However, the test was delayed until the less experienced night shift was in. They turned off the reactor's shutdown feature and lowered the power to the reactor. Reactors need energy to function, as they have to be cooled. For these reactors, large amounts of water were used to cool them. Without the shutdown function, the reactor was in danger of overheating if it wasn't cooled. Regardless, they ran the test. When the backup generators took too long to turn on, panic set in, and the reactor began to overheat. Then, somehow hit the AZ-5 button, which lowers all control rods into the reactor at once. Control rods are used to absorb excess amounts of shed neutrons from the nuclear reactions. However, they momentarily increase reactions when first introduced into the reactor chambers. The undertrained staff of the night shift were not aware of this. With the increased reactivity, the reactor was now dangerously hot, and the casinging around the fuel rods began to rupture, causing white-hot radioactive fuel to come into direct contact with steam. At 1:23 A.M., April 26, 1986, Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor #4 exploded. The contact between the fuel and the steam caused a steam explosion, blowing the 1000 tonne reactor roof into the air and spewing radioactive debris and particles into the air.

Two plant workers were killed instantly by either the force of the blast or from being hit by debris. Although plant workers realized what had happened rather quickly, superiors were slow to act. Firefighters were called in, but they were not told the dangers of the radiation. Most died within a few months. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. In Pripyat, the Amusement Park that had been scheduled to open the next day was hurriedly opened a day early to distract residents from the fact that the reactor was on fire.

It took 36 hours for Soviet Officials to finally begin to evacuate Pripyat, only after residents had begun to report nausea, dizziness, fatigue, vomiting, and headaches, all symptoms of radiation poisoning. A few weeks earlier, citizens were trained with gas masks in case there ever was an incident. Officials said that they didn’t need them, as they didn’t want to cause a panic.

Residents were also told they would be returning soon, and to leave everything behind. They did not come back. This left Pripyat as an eerie ghost down where everything seemed to have simply been dropped and left. Today, it is still abandoned, and is being slowly reclaimed by nature.

During the cleanup of the incident, “Liquidators” were called in. Some knew the dangers, others didn’t. The fire of the reactor was too hot to be put out by water, so tons and tons or boron, sand, and lead were dumped onto the burning reactor by helicopters that flew over. It didn’t help much, and the reactor finally stopped burning after about 2-3 weeks. A structure dubbed “The sarcophagus” was built over the reactor to contain the radiation, though it was rushed and leaked radiation. A large area of woodlands was contaminated by the radiation, and it turned red and died, earning the nickname “The Red Forest.” Most of these trees were cleared and buried. Highly contaminated houses were knocked down, animals were shot, and crops destroyed. Absolutely everything that was highly contaminated was at least attempted to be destroyed and buried. Still, not everything could be destroyed and buried, there was simply too much. One object, dubbed “The Claw of Death” was, according to conflicting accounts, either used to assist in the overall cleanup or was used specifically in the cleanup of the plant roof. It is radioactive enough to give a lethal dose if sat in for about 11 hours.

Another rather infamous object is “The Elephant’s Foot” which is a mass of sand, concrete, and melted reactor fuel that had melted its way through the floor and down into the basement. Upon discovery, the sheer amount of radiation it gave off was enough to give you a fatal dose within about 90 seconds. Today, that’s increased to about five minutes. The foot was unyielding to sampling tools, so, they shot it with a Kalashnikov Rifle (AK-47) to get a sample.

After a very short period of time, the remaining three reactors were up and running again, as the USSR simply needed power desperately. By December of 1987, all three reactors were up and running again. They were operated for years, until the last reactor was finally shut down for good in 2000. Being so close to the border, and with the wind conditions of the time, mass amount of radioactive particles were blown north to Belarus. The Soviet Union had planes fly over and seed the clouds with chemicals, forcing them to rain on rural land instead of heavily populated areas, but this still had a major effect, as about 1/3 of Belarusian farmland was contaminated. However, the winds began to shift, blowing radiation towards Europe. Sweden was the first to sound the alarm, asking if something had happened after detecting dangerous amounts of airborne radiation and determining it was not from any of their own reactors. The USSR finally admitted there had been a “very small” incident at Chernobyl, and was very reluctant to give the world information. Careful monitoring protocols were put on resources everywhere in Europe, from grain to milk to wood, all were carefully measured for radiation. Years later, after the Sarcophagus was determined to be unsafe, the New Safe Confinement unit was constructed, which is a semicircular dome over the existing Sarcophagus. The New Safe Confinement was finished in 2018.

DONE!

(For now)

@not-wizard-council-aristocrat @anarcho-neptunism @siley-the-wizard @villainessbian

#chernobyl #pripyat #radiation #infodump #hyperfixation #special interest #rant

321 notes · View notes

cosmerelists · 21 days

Text

How Cosmere Characters Would Flirt With Kaladin

Warning: Adolin & Shallan are NOT in this post! Before you cry, "How DARE you?!", please understand that it's only because I already wrote an entire post that was just Adolin & Shallan flirting with Kaladin. It's linked here.

Anyway, here's how various other characters would flirt with Kaladin if they were so inclined!

Edit: I have this tagged as WAT spoilers- just so you know, it’s the only the last entry that contains a spoiler-y joke so I put it under a read-more. The rest is safe!

1. Leshwi

Leshwi: [stabbing Kaladin straight through the chest] Leshwi: Your eyes look so beautiful tonight. Kaladin: [spitting blood] I-- I'm getting kinda mixed messages here... Leshwi: Mixed how?

2. Azure

Azure: [Stabbing a Fused at the same time as Kaladin does] Azure: Your eyes look so beautiful tonight. Kaladin: IS NOW THE TIME

3. Teft

Teft: I mean to be by your side forever, you know, Kal. Kaladin: I know that, Teft. Teft: Specifically tonight. Kaladin: Why what happens tonight?? Teft: Dinner happens. Teft: While you're there and I'm there. By your side. Kaladin: Uh...okay? Teft: ... Teft: I am not nailing this.

4. Szeth

Szeth: You know...I no longer fantasize about killing you. Kaladin: You fantasize about killing me?? Szeth: I just said that I do not do that. Any longer. Kaladin: Well that's...good, I suppose. Szeth: You still share space in mind with all of the voices, though. But sometimes your presence in there stills them momentarily. Kaladin: ...yay? Nightblood: Eeee, you are SO nailing this!

5. Renarin

Renarin: Hey, uh, Kaladin? Renarin: I had Jasnah help me, and I looked into the history of the treatment of insane people. Renarin: I found some really interesting historical facts about ways the treatment and methodology has changed over time! Kaladin: Yeah? Well, I'd be interested to hear about it. Renarin: (I knew researching your special interest would work!) Kaladin: What was that? Renarin: N-Nothing!

6. Veil

Veil: Oi! Stormblessed! I challenge you to a DRINKING CONTEST Kaladin: We both know you can beat me at that, Veil. Veil: Awwww, you're supposed to say, "How dare you challenge me? I can take you! I can take you right now! I can take you all night long!" Kaladin: In what world does that sound like me? Veil: ...This went so much better in my head.

7. Moash

Moash: [Is sitting in front of his beer, eyes downcast. Various members of Bridge 4 sit around him, looking at him sympathetically] Moash: I just--I can't storming believe it. Skar: We know, man. We know. Moash: I storming looked RIGHT at him and said, "I bet I can swallow it." Rock: You did. You did say that. Moash: Were my eyes not glittering hungrily?? Did I not indicate a GIANT gemstone and say how good I was at swallowing?? Is Kal STUPID?! Sigzil: Like I keep telling you all, formality exists to avoid misunderstandings like... Moash: I AM NOT GIVING HIM A NOTARIZED FORM OF INTEREST, SIGZIL Sigzil: (muttering) Like YOUR way is working...

8. Sigzil

Kaladin: ...What is this? Sigzil: It's...well, it's a notarized form. Of interest. Kaladin: Interest in what? Sigzil: In, uh, you. Kaladin: What for? Sigzil: ... Kaladin: You know I can't read, Sigzil. You gotta help me out here. Sigzil: ...Maybe Moash did have a point...

9. Lyn

Lyn: Hey Kaladin, let's try dating. Kaladin: A-Are you flirting me with me?! Lyn: It's more that I am asking you directly, but the fact that only that level of directness gets through to you is admittedly pretty cute. Lyn: (THAT was a bit flirtatious) Kaladin: Wait what do you mean "only" that level of directness...? Lyn: Come on! We'll discuss it over drinks! <3

10. Dalinar & Navani

[WARNING: WAT SPOILERS IN THIS! SKIP IF YOURE NOT READING PREVIEW CHAPTERS!]

Dalinar: Kaladin, you know how I asked you to become king of Urithiru? Kaladin: You said I could think about it! Navani: We're not trying to rush you. Dalinar: We just wanted to know if you wanted to be "king" of "Urithiru" along with me and Navani tonight. Kaladin: What Navani: You did an amazing job of pronouncing those quotation marks! Dalinar: I learn from the best. Kaladin: WHOOPSITHINKIHEARSZETHCALLINGME

#cosmere #cosmerelists #Kaladin #wat spoilers #under a read more but just in case

116 notes · View notes

flaneur001 · 1 month

Text

14 Days with you Royal Au (ongoing series) [Pairings- Enemy Duke! Redacted x GN Reader]

[Word count- 3172] [CW- Angst, Smut, Knife play] [A/N- Previously posted in the 14dwy discord server. Redacted belongs to @14dayswithyou]

[part 1] [part 2]

Part 2: The Evasive Enemy

You sat picturesquely at the ornate oak desk, absentmindedly twirling the quill in your hand as you stared blankly at the parchment resting before you.

‘Whatever will I write?’ You mused silently as you dipped the tip of the quill in the open ink pot and scribbled the first words that came to your mind after an hour-long of dilly-dallying.

The dimly lit marital chamber was quiet save for the occasional scritch-scratch of your quill.

Dearest Father, I am in good health. I know you have been worried about my prolonged silence to your lettered inquiries. But I find myself at a loss for words at the way I have been so utterly taken care of here. We were mistaken to assume that he would fall for such baser fancies. A week has passed by and he has not visited since. Never laid a finger upon me. Always quiet and busy with his own devices. I am at a crossroads. The azure-eyed Duke seems even more mysterious now that I live under the same roof as him. Father, I have been granted permission to peruse his archives, without any surveillance. This seems suspicious, almost like a well-set trap. Though he is yet to show any animosity towards me. But I would be foolish to look a gift horse in the mouth. Keep your worries at bay father. I shall always keep myself and my safety first. I have received the information about the article through your trusted aide, and I will bide my time until it's safe to infiltrate his study. Until then, take Care. I will keep you informed.

Sealing the letter and putting it in the drawer, you stretched languidly and gently pushed the chair back. Your long robe billowed behind you as you trudged towards your four-poster bed and plopped upon the welcoming plushness of the pillows. Unbidden your face lolled to the side and your eyes landed upon the golden ring that rested atop the pillow on his side of the bed. The ring that he had left behind for you. It was the only evidence that he had actually been here. In flesh.

The whole week, you were treated to rich meals, dressed in the finest of silks and jewelry, yet amidst all the niceties something constantly felt amiss. At first, you brushed it off to mere homesickness, but as time passed a cruel understanding dawned upon you.

On those rare occasions when you caught glimpses of the Handsome Duke walking in the hallways, you felt this forlornness tug at your heart. Even back at your family residence, although you were loved, the brunt of all the responsibilities fell upon your shoulders after your mother’s death. You were always expected to be the guardian and the responsible oldest child for the five of your younger siblings.

So gentleness and affection were seldom directed towards you. Hence when the Duke showered you with so much tenderness that first night, in his warm embrace you felt like you belonged. Like you had finally found a tether for your wandering soul. His cold gaze slowly travelling the length of your body like a hidden caress, still lingered fresh in your mind and you felt guilt simmer in the back of your throat.

You were not here for this. Your life was far from normal and he was the reason why your great noble house had perished. Yet you simply couldn’t will yourself to forget the touch of his hands, the graze of his warm lips on the sensitive spot on your neck, or the way he hugged you when you slept. You hated to admit it, but you were downhearted to find yourself alone the morning after. The whole estate was abuzz with the news of the Duke consummating his marriage with the oldest child of the rival clan.

You were not a fool, nor were you naive enough to avoid the snarky gossip that always bubbled under the pretense of politeness in your presence.

“His Grace has not visited them after the first night…”

“Maybe he was not satisfied?”, the servants chortled as they flitted about your room while cleaning or serving you meals.

You let them babble because your target was something else entirely. The Duke had something in his possession. Something that linked him to the murder of your mother and the conspiracy that destroyed the reputation of your house. Your initial plan was to seduce him and distract him enough that he began trusting you to let his guard down. Yet here you were, trapped in a golden confinement, with every treasure in the world laid at your feet. He even went ahead and granted you access to his archives and his office, without even batting an eye. This gnawed at your mind and slowly chewed you up on the inside.

‘Does he not care?’ You wondered.

You were named, ‘The prized possession’ by the people in the estate. Compared and downgraded to the several expensive objects that the Duke won and then instantly got bored with. Lay in some deep recesses of the estate gathering dust and forgotten. They said that you will soon be treated like that. And somehow this line of thought added to your insecurities.

“Or Maybe I’m not as important as I thought myself to be…” you murmured, suddenly regretting not putting in more effort that night. Regretting not begging him to stay.

A flurry of activity and noises caught your attention breaking this downhill stream of thoughts. Rising fluidly you walked towards the bay window and nudged it open checking for yourself what all the ruckus was about. The young maids giggled and chattered under your window, pointing towards the practice grounds for soldiers.

“Look, the Duke is out sparring today” The ladies squealed and peeked from behind a bush. Your interest piqued, you walked towards your balcony and leaned on the vine-covered railing to get a proper view. Surely enough, the young duke was in an intense sparring match. He was wearing black leather pants with high boots, his torso left completely exposed for all to see. You gulped unconsciously, eyes traitorously following the way his muscles rippled when he threw, blow after expert blow with his war sledgehammer. His long black hair swished around and beads of sweat rolled down his pale skin making you shiver involuntarily, at the way your degenerate mind imagined him sweaty and panting atop you in bed.

Before you could make a hasty exit, the Duke’s eyes flitted to the balcony as if sensing your presence and his mouth lifted in a half smirk like he somehow knew what was going through your mind. Blood rushed to your face and you quickly ducked inside.

Evening fell. You were bathed and dressed by the chambermaid Iansa. She was very sweet and you two had bonded over this last week, getting familiar with each other through the little interesting anecdotes she shared about the Duke’s estate.

As she took your leave, you began your daily routine. Sitting half-dressed in the center of the bed like some common whore waiting for the Duke to visit. Only that he took much pleasure in keeping you on your toes and never visiting.

A beat of silence passed. The oil lamps lining the walls flickered. Until the last shred of your patience cracked and you rose from your bed. Putting on the lush slippers you pushed open the giant double doors and walked outside into the cold and empty hallways of the Duke’s mansion. You marched towards the Duke’s office throwing all caution to the wind.

“This is enough, I’m done waiting” you mumble as you neared the entrance to the office. Slowly, you entered inside finding it absurd that nobody was guarding the entrance to this room. You smirked to yourself, reveling at the idea of seeing the surprised expression on the Duke’s face once he realized how you, whom he thought so insignificant, was the one responsible for putting him in his rightful place. The tyrant deserved nothing but to rot in a prison. Strangely enough, the thought of getting revenge helped keep this gnawing urge to kiss the smirk off of his smug face at bay.

“Serves him well for treating me like a plaything” you mutter under your breath as you eagerly work through the rows and rows of documents filed neatly for your tampering. A chilly air from the open window, nipped at your exposed skin, the scant lace outfit not providing much to shield you from the cold temperatures. You suppressed a shiver as you grabbed a few files and took them to the window to get a better look at, under the moonlight pouring in through the glass window.

As you skimmed through the documents, a warm hand snaked around your waist, spinning you. Surprised, you were about to let a scream fall from your lips when another hand pressed tightly on your mouth, muffling it effectively.

“Shhh Angel, we don’t want to alert the guards now, do we?” A husky voice asked. Moving from the shadows, the moonlight bathing his figure, Duke Ren smiled down triumphantly at you, like a predator who had just caught his prey.

Slowly, he released his grip on your mouth only to rest both his hands behind you on the desk effortlessly trapping you between his arms. His face inched closer as his ice-blue eyes burned into yours, “So you finally grew weary of waiting, I assume” he purred. His deep baritone made you think of unspeakable things.

You clenched your teeth, staring back at him defiantly, “Why ask me to wait if you were never going to visit” you hissed, mulish and miffed.

His eyes widened by a fraction, warm chuckle spilling through his cherry-tinted lips, bringing your attention to them.

“Why, Angel such…temper” he tsked, “One would think you missed me.” His hand shot out, trailing a slender finger on your temple, down your cheek, only to come to rest at your chin. His calloused hand cupped your jaw, bringing his thumb to your mouth to trace the shape of your lips.

Your breath hitched in your throat, as he rubbed the pad of his thumb across the seam of your lips, pushing and prodding until it entered your mouth. His thumb moved around, exploring the warm wetness, as his face came impossibly closer to yours, “Let me in, Angel” he breathed.

And you don’t know if it was the curiosity or the way his eyes held your gaze so enticingly, that made you want to obey everything that fell from those lips. Closing your eyes you opened your mouth wider, wide enough for him to push three fingers in, pumping them in and out as your greedy tongue lapped against them. Unbidden a moan escaped you, and his other hand grabbed your hip, fingers digging into your flesh as he roughly pulled you closer to his body, thrusting your cores together.

“Look at me love” he whispered in your ear, nipping the shell playfully before his mouth descended to your neck, to leave open-mouthed kisses.

You groaned and opened your eyes, breath already coming out in shallow pants.

“For someone who claims to hate me, you sure love me touching you. You like to think of such debauched fancies don't you?” he snickered with roguish pride, “Driving you wild. Taking you to the depraved depths and back…defiling you” he spoke hotly in your ear, his erection tenting temptingly in his leather pants.

“Please” you begged, not knowing if you wanted him to release or ravish you.

“Please what Angel?” He challenged smirking cruelly as he, all too soon, removed himself from you, and folded his arms across his chest, regarding you with thinly veiled amusement.

A wild blush rose to your cheeks. He waited in silence as if he expected you to actually utter the vulgar words. Your chest still heaved, body warmed up with his skillful ministrations. And suddenly your mind painted an image of him in bed with other people. Jealousy like never before threatened to take over you.

‘How is he so skilled? Has he been going to others every night?’ You mused darkly.

“Let me go” you whimpered, angry tears pricked your eyes half from humiliation and half from longing. Pulling the lace robe tighter to cover your modesty you whispered, “I do not belong here” carefully avoiding his eyes.

“Hm, I see” he began, as he leaned down, slowly sliding a dagger out from his leather boot. He balanced the blade on his fingers as he almost toyed with the weapon.

“You are right about one thing, Angel”, he drawled, as he stepped into the moonlight giving you a good view of the dagger in his grasp. Its silver blade glinted sinisterly in the dark, bejeweled hilt looking magnificent, fit for a person of his stature.

His blue eyes flit to yours silently daring you to break eye contact, “you don’t belong in this room” he murmured, pointedly staring at the scattered documents around you.

“Bu-but you gave me access to your archives without surveillance” you sputtered, licking your lips as you felt cornered by his unrelenting gaze. A quiet dread filled your guts.

He tilted his head, regarding you with an inscrutable expression, and you took him in for the first time this evening. He was wearing all black like always. A silk shirt with the laces half done that exposed his broad chest. Tight high-waisted bottoms that accentuated his shapely midsection. His long black hair was loosely tied in a plait, making him look like a vision.

But something about the way his sapphire eyes glimmering with that melancholic look, made him appear vulnerable in this moment.

A beat of silence passed, and he waited, the air simmering with the heavy tension between you both, as he looked at you with hopeful anticipation. For what, you didn’t know.

Slowly, tentatively he walked, closing the distance between you both again.

“Angel” he breathed. And somehow that one single word broke you. For it was spoken with such disappointment and fragility you never expected from this tyrannical Duke.

“I gave you access to my archives because I trusted you.” He ground, “I went against my advisers, against the whole estate, vouching for you, marrying you. Why do you think there was no guard stationed outside this room?” With each uttered word he stepped closer until you both were hairsbreadth apart.

“So tell me, was it all for naught?” He stressed, and the accusation stung like he had slapped you.

But you couldn’t lie to him. Not when you have been so perpetually lying to yourself.

“This was a marriage of convenience between our households and nothing more, your grace” you replied curtly, ignoring the way his grip tightened around the dagger or the way his gaze darkened at your blatant aloofness. But you pressed on, delivering the final blow you knew would break him.

“You were and will continue to be nothing to me”

A snarl escaped his lips, and he was on you in an instant. You could feel the cold metal of the dagger pressing against your neck as he hissed, “Go. Take it all away. Whatever you were here searching for, take it. But do not lie to me Angel” his voice cracked, gaze softened, eyes searching your face desperately.

“Not when the longing in your eyes so plainly mirrors the longing in my heart”

Maybe it was the way the dagger pressed into your throat, a slice away from stealing your life, or maybe it was the way your face reflected in his ocean-blues, as if you were the only thing his eyes saw, that you yanked him close, pulling his mouth to yours in a needy kiss.

A low groan escaped him, sending a shiver down your spine. His hot tongue slipped into your mouth roughly entangling with yours in a sensual dance.

You arched into him. The metal of the dagger sandwiched between your throats, pricking your skins, was an ironic symbol of the enmity and the dark lust that often surrounded you both.

Every caution, every coherence fled your mind when his other hand raked through your hair, angling you into a deeper kiss. As the scant distance between you diminished, the blade broke your skin, sending you into a frenzy of pain and pleasure.

The heady aroma of mint and cherries invaded all your senses, mingled with the scent that was uniquely his. You were drunk off of him, intoxicated and utterly lost in depravity.

But when his teeth clamped down on your bottom lip, a whine reverberated deep in your chest and your hips involuntarily bucked forward, rubbing into his engorged arousal. He groaned and your eyes snapped open at the loss when he stepped back and moved the dagger away from your throat.

Your mouth involuntarily chased his, earning a soft chuckle from the man.

Catching you by surprise, he suddenly dropped to his knees. He grabbed your wrist, placing the dagger in your open palm, as he stared up at you.

“I am at your mercy now, beloved” he whispered, hands coming to rest at your thighs as he blinked at you, azure eyes glinting like precious gems in the dark.

“So slice my throat and reduce me to nothingness. But do it while you hold my gaze. For that’s the sight I want to remember when I die” he spoke with a rueful smile upon his face and a fierce anger bubbled inside you at the sight.

You were angry at the way he toyed with your emotions, angry at the way you were lusting after a man who was responsible for your family’s destruction. Angry…at the way you were falling for him.

‘Why did you have to meet me like this?’ was the last thought that flashed in your mind as you flung the dagger across the room vehemently, shattering the ornate mirror adorning the wall.

You gave him one last searing look before marching to the door, not wanting him to see the lone tear that had rolled down your cheek.

The moment your hand reached for the handle, his slender fingers wrapped around your wrist spinning you around, as he pulled you flush to his chest.

A hand cupped your cheek as he leaned in kissing the tears that fell traitorously from your eyes. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. He simply rocked you in his embrace peppering kisses on every inch of your face.

Then his head ducked down, languidly licking the little wound left behind by his dagger. His own neck held the same marks as yours.Just when you thought he was done, he tilted your chin making you face him fully as he whispered against your mouth, “Poor choice to keep me alive. Now I shall remind you every passing second of the day, that you are mine” he purred, “Mine to love and mine to ruin”

#ashewrites📝#my words💜#flâneur✨#14dwy redacted #14dwy #14 days with you ren #14 days with you #soft yandere #yandere male #yandere vn #gender neautral reader #14dwy redacted x reader #royalty au #royal au #enemies to lovers

66 notes · View notes

prismicabstraction · 4 months

Text

Part three of drawing and commenting on LMK ships (I choose)!

*Drumroll!*

LionPeach

I personally don't ship it, especially not in the current time period the show is in, but I can definitely get a good kick out of them being past lovers! Bit different than Shadowpeach since rather than wanting to see them in the past and present, I think this relationship is best left as history!

I can definitely imagine Past! SWK and Past! Azure Lion staying up, late at night, talking about their plans and dreams.

Part 1: Golden Dragon

Part 2: Shadowpeach

Part 4: InkyPages

#lmk #lego monkie kid #lionpeach #lmk swk #past swk #lmk sun wukong #lmk azure lion #ship art #abstraction's art post

96 notes · View notes

exactlycleverpirate · 7 months

Text

Love and Deepspace: The Story So Far Part 1

A summary of everything that has happened in the main story thus far. Obviously, spoilers below the cut.

See Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.

2048 Story begins with MC being initiated as a Hunter in the Hunter's Association. MC is about 21-22, and her Evol has to do with Resonance, Anhaunsen Class. Rafayel is (probably) 24, Fire Evol. Zayne is 27, Ice Evol. Xavier claims to be 23, Light Evol. Traceback II is approaching the event horizon and entering the black hole.

Day 1: (Wednesday, Likely July 1st, 2048)

MC meets Xavier on her first mission as a Hunter in an abandoned protocore research facility. He is in a trap set for him, surrounded by light Wanderers. MC helps him defeat them.

MC is accepted into Captain Jenna's Alpha team. Tara is accepted into Data Analysis, whose Captain is Andrew.

MC meets Rafayel briefly at a fishing game in Azure Square near the Hunter's Association HQ. He catches a red Flammula from Lemuria corner, and she gives it to him to take home. (Cell phone shows appointment reminder. Time currently 18:15 on Wednesday, appointment at 18:30.)

MC has a doctor's appointment with Zayne. He has just returned from a trip to the Arctic.

MC returns to her apartment. There is a storm outside. She has a call with Caleb and talks about how they plan to have dinner with Grandma Josephine at the end of the month. After the call, she encounters a strange glowing eye that vanishes outside her apartment window that night.

Day 2 (Likely Thursday, July 2nd):

The next day, MC has her first day on the Alpha team at UNICORN HQ. Nero is one of her teammates and has extensive knowledge of Wanderers. He begins to look into the eye she saw. MC is assigned her first solo mission: to find out if there are Wanderers in the home of Henry Raymond.

On the way to Raymond's house, MC finds Zayne with his car broken down. He is Raymond's doctor and MC agrees to give him a ride there on her motorcycle.

At Raymond's house, MC discovers a strange painting that shows her a vision. Then she and Zayne fight a Wanderer. Raymond is sent to the hospital and the painting is taken for further investigation.

Back at HQ, MC learns the painting was done by Rafayel.

Day 3 (Likely Friday, July 3rd):

MC gets an appointment with Rafayel's agent Thomas and goes to meet him at Rafayel's studio the next morning.

Thomas directs her to Mo Art studio, where Rafayel lives. She questions him about the painting and they fight a Wanderer in his house. Rafayel says that as payment for the information he gives her, he'll hire her as his bodyguard.

While MC is on the way home on the subway, it is attacked by a Wanderer. Captain Jenna sends Xavier to be her backup. Xavier says she doesn't need backup.

(That night??) MC is sent to investigate an abandoned protocore research facility in a No Hunt Zone where a stele has been discovered. When her partner doesn't show, she goes alone and finds Xavier apparently comforting a Wanderer. The Wanderer explodes. Xavier examines the remaining protocore and once he determines it isn't what he was looking for he crushes it. Xavier confronts MC and after realizing her ankle is injured, tells her she should leave. He says that the forest consumes people. She refuses to leave, and after he has cleared out many Wanderers, he returns and decides to help her leave. After walking for a while and dealing with some Wanderers, they find the stele, the Flux Nexus. There is an Aeonwrym, the most dangerous of Wanderers, being reconstructed by Metaflux from the stele. With Xavier’s guidance, MC resonates with the Flux Nexus, unlocking it and causing the Aeonwyrm to dissipate. A unique protocore is revealed. Xavier concludes that someone was trying to resurrect the Aeonwyrm. After being swarmed by Wanderers, Xavier ports them to a safe location. After examining the protocore, he says that it has been tampered with by Onychinus. Xavier leaves, saying she should be able to get out safely now. They are being watched by a mechanical raven.

Day 4 (Likely Saturday, July 4th):

MC remembers running to escape during the Chronorift Catastrophe. She senses a powerful force about to burst from her heart. Something that looks like a glowing red moon descends in front of her, flickering. It appears to be blinking at her.

The day after being in the No Hunt Zone with Xavier, thinking about her nightmare the night before, MC heads to HQ. She finds Xavier being interviewed on the street by aggressive journalists. He asks her to help him get away from them. They go to HQ for a post mission briefing with Captain Jenna. During the briefing, MC learns that Onychinus has been altering the protocurves of protocores to make them more powerful. However, the protocore MC just found is on a level not seen before. Jenna suggests that MC begin investigating Onychinus aND the Flux Nexus, as she has the ability to unlock them. Then she tells MC to take 2 days off work. Afterwards, MC and Xavier talk. She realizes his desk is the one next to hers. When she asks him who he thinks she should partner with, he says she should refuse the mission. He explains that getting involved with Onychinus is complicated. MC is just more interested. Xavier requests that if she does take on the mission, that she choose him as her partner.

Day 5 (Sunday, July 5th, per in-game information):

MC goes home to visit Grandma. She is surprised to find Caleb there a day early. While eating dinner, the news says there have been mysterious explosions caused by Wanderers occurring. The MC's Hunter's Watch picks up on Wanderers nearby. She goes out to explore and Caleb follows. After he goes into a store, she investigates the area and finds a suspicious man. He sounds older than he looks. He attacks her with his Evol and disappears. Then Caleb reappears, asking what happened. He realizes she's been injured and they argue. Once they get back to the house, Caleb goes in ahead of her. The house explodes. MC comes back to consciousness on the ground surrounded by flames. On the ground in front of her is the necklace she gave Caleb. On it is an apple charm and the words “When U Come Back”.

Continue to Part 2.

#love and deepspace #rafayel love and deepspace #love and deepspace rafayel #rafayel #zayne love and deepspace #xavier love and deepspace #love and deepspace zayne #love and deepspace xavier #xavier #zayne #lads #lads xavier #lads zayne #lads rafayel #l&ds #lnds #lnd zayne #lnd rafayel #lnd xavier

158 notes · View notes

saythenametotheworld · 3 months

Text

Closer, Faster [2] | c.vnn

Genre: catching feelings; smut Pairing: SEVENTEEN Vernon x Reader Synopsis: When you met Vernon, you were convinced he wasn't just another summer fling. But did you get it right, or did he masterfully fool you into believing he was different? Notes: 18.7k words, the song prompt for this part is Paper Hearts by The Vamps. I told a friend that this would max at 13k words. Ha ha, I lied. Warnings: mature themes, explicit sexual content.

[Part 1]

The weather today was perfect too, just as it had been for the past few days. The sky is a canvas of beautiful cloud formations and the warm late-morning sun felt like a gentle embrace. Flowers bloomed in abundance, providing solace and treats to the butterflies and bees fluttering around your father’s French garden. Birds perched in the trees, their melodious songs creating a serene symphony that filled the air. The intoxicating scent of freshly baked pastries and rich coffee permeated the garden patio, where your father’s wife had meticulously set up a delightful brunch.

“How are you this morning?” your father questioned, seated across from you on the patio table.

“Good,” you replied absentmindedly, your gaze fixed on a delicate butterfly perched gracefully on an orange-yellow poppy.

“Your mom called last night. I told her you’re flying back today,” he told you but you were too lost in your thoughts to respond.

Your father cleared his throat and called your name, but you remained distant, lost in the mesmerizing beauty around you. It was Jade’s gentle tug on your sleeve that finally brought you back to the present.

“Yeah?” you asked, blinking in confusion as you realized all eyes were on you. “What’s up?”

Your father sighed, concern etched across his face. He turned to Jade and asked, “Are you sure you’ll be able to fly back by yourselves? How about extending your stay for a few days more?”

“Oh, that would be nice, but we really have to go home. Classes will resume soon, and we need to take care of our re-enrolment and stuff,” she replied, her smile reassuring. “Don’t worry about us, though. We’ll be fine. Right, y/n?”

You managed a timid smile and nodded. “Of course.”

Your stepmother reached across the table and took your hand in hers, her touch warm and comforting. She gave you a thoughtful smile and squeezed your hand gently, murmuring something in French that you didn’t quite understand. You assumed it was a kind sentiment and returned her smile with gratitude.

On a spur-of-the-moment decision, you ended up spending the last two weeks of summer break in France. The events leading up to that decision had been overwhelming, and being in Azure Bay had made it difficult to cope with the aftermath of your intense love affair with Vernon. Jade, bless her soul, had insisted on accompanying you, unable to leave you alone in your fragile state of mind.

“I know you’re not going to hurt yourself, but you still need me there,” she had insisted at the time.

Thus, you spent the last two weeks wallowing in heartache and self-pity, but like Jade had said, at least you were doing it in a beautiful French countryside villa. You had left your phone back home, determined to disappear for a while and cut off communication with everyone, especially Vernon.

While the tranquil countryside offered a form of therapy, it didn’t completely erase the whirlwind romance you had experienced with Vernon. However, it did give you ample time to reflect, appreciate yourself, and begin to forgive yourself for what had happened. Still, it wasn’t enough to return to your old self.

“Thanks for letting us stay, Dad,” you said as you walked out of the house, feeling a mix of gratitude and lingering sadness.

“No problem, sweetheart. You know you’re welcome here anytime,” he replied warmly.

You stopped in front of the car, waiting for Jade, who was saying her final goodbyes to your stepmother. Your stepmother had always been sweet and kind to you, and you felt a pang of guilt for burdening her with your negative energy over the past two weeks.

“She’s very sweet, Dad,” you remarked, watching your stepmother wave goodbye to you with a gentle smile.

“She adores you a lot,” your father responded, his voice filled with affection as he watched his wife.

“I know,” you hummed, recognizing the love in his eyes.

You stood beside the car, the gentle hum of the French countryside enveloping you. Your father’s gaze followed your stepmother as she returned to the house, her figure bathed in the soft morning light. Turning back to you, his expression softened, a blend of nostalgia and tenderness evident in his eyes.

Growing up, you had always seen how much your parents loved each other, from the way he looked at her, to the affection in his voice when he talked about her. But out of nowhere, they just decided to get a divorce. It was a surprise for you, wondering what went wrong and why you didn’t even see any sign of it ever happening.

Taking a deep breath, you looked into his eyes, seeking the courage to ask the question that had been lingering in your mind. “Why did you and Mom get divorced?”

He sighed, leaning back and staring out at the blooming garden. For a moment, he seemed lost in his memories. “Your mother and I… we loved each other very much. But sometimes, love isn’t enough to keep two people together.”

You nodded, encouraging him to continue.

“We realized that we had different dreams, different paths we wanted to take in life. It wasn’t a decision we made lightly. It was hard, one of the hardest things we ever did. But we both agreed that it was better for us and for you if we separated as friends rather than staying together and becoming resentful.”

You felt a lump in your throat, understanding more now than you ever had before. “I guess I never really saw it that way,” you admitted softly.

He smiled gently, placing a hand over yours. “We wanted you to see that it’s possible to part ways without bitterness. We remained good friends because we both cared deeply about your happiness and well-being.”

A warm breeze rustled the leaves overhead, and you let out a deep breath you didn’t realize you were holding. “It makes sense now. I always wondered how you two managed to stay so civil.”

“We were committed to being good parents to you, even if we’re apart,” he explained. “Your mother and I still have a great deal of respect for each other. We’re happier now, in our own ways.”

You looked down at your intertwined hands, feeling a sense of peace wash over you. “Thank you for sharing that with me, Dad.”

He squeezed your hand gently. “To be honest, it was long overdue, sweetheart. I should have told you that sooner.”

Just then, Jade approached you with her cheerful demeanor a welcome interruption. “Ready to go?” she asked, her smile bright.

You nodded, standing up and giving your father a warm hug. “I’ll miss you, Dad.”

“I’ll miss you too,” he replied, holding you tightly. “Come back anytime you want. And bring Jade too.”

As you and Jade got into the car, your father and stepmother waved goodbye, their figures growing smaller as you drove away from the villa. The French countryside rolled by, a picturesque backdrop to your thoughts and reflections.

Jade, sensing the contemplative mood, gave you a reassuring smile. “You okay?”

“Of course,” you smiled back.

The drive to the airport was quiet but comforting, the kind of silence that spoke of deep understanding and unspoken support. As the car rolled through the winding roads, you thought about the conversation with your father. His words had given you a different perspective on relationships and the importance of finding happiness, even if it meant making difficult decisions.

Back at the airport, the familiar hustle and bustle brought you back to the present. With Jade by your side, you navigated through check-in and security, your thoughts gradually shifting from the past to the future.

“Let’s get some coffee before we board,” Jade suggested, linking her arm with yours.

You nodded, grateful for her presence. As you sat in the airport café, sipping on your drinks, you realized how fortunate you were to have such supportive people in your life.

“Thanks for coming with me, Jade,” you said, sincerity lacing your words.

She smiled, her eyes twinkling. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. Besides, it’s kind of my job to be here for you.”

You laughed softly, feeling a sense of warmth and contentment. “You’re the best.”

The announcement for your flight echoed through the terminal, and you both gathered your belongings, ready to head back home.

Azure Bay was as beautiful as you left it, along with the bittersweet memories that you tried to forget only to fail. Your mother was overjoyed upon seeing you, uttering her love and worry into your ear as she locked you in her embrace.

You recalled the day you left for France, how you broke down crying in her arms, asking her why your heart was hurting as much as it did at the time. You remembered her trying to console you, telling you none of it was your fault, and that you didn’t deserve the heartache Vernon gave you. She was gentle and comforting, just as she is right now.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” she asked worriedly, reluctant to let you leave again.

“Mom, I’m your baby,” you beamed at her, despite the sadness weighing your chest down. “Of course, I’ll be alright. I take after you, remember?”

With that, she sent you and Jade off to another plane, wishing you luck and reminding you to keep in touch with her.

As you flew back to university, your mind wandered. The French countryside had been a temporary escape, a place to lick your wounds and gather your thoughts. But now, reality was setting back in. You couldn't avoid Vernon forever, not when his presence lingered in every corner of Azure Bay and the university you both attended.

Your heartache was still there, lurking just beneath the surface. But you had decided to push it bitterly to the back of your mind, determined not to let it affect your life. You had classes to attend, friends to reconnect with, and a future to focus on.

Upon arriving at the university, you reenrolled in your classes, the administrative process feeling strangely comforting in its mundanity. It was a reminder that life goes on, no matter how much your heart might be hurting.

Meeting with your friends was both a relief and a challenge. They were understanding, knowing you well enough not to press for details about your time away or the reason behind your sudden departure.

“I'm sorry for cutting you all off,” you said, your voice soft but sincere. You looked at each of them, seeing the concern and relief in their eyes.

“Nah, it’s okay,” Jaehyun said, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. “We get it. Sometimes you need space.”

You didn't explain anything, and they didn't ask. It was an unspoken understanding, a silent agreement to let you deal with your heartbreak in your own way. For now, it was enough to be back, surrounded by friends who cared about you and a life that, despite everything, was still full of possibilities.

As night fell, you found yourself at an upperclassman’s welcome party, surrounded by laughter, music, and the lively chatter of students. The familiar atmosphere was comforting, yet a part of you remained on edge. You had expected Vernon to be there, but nothing could have prepared you for the moment when you actually saw him.

There he was, standing across the room, his presence commanding your attention. His laughter echoed in the air, mixing with the music, and his smile lit up the room just as you remembered. The sight of him sent a rush of emotions crashing through you, overwhelming and inescapable.

The euphoria of being with him flooded back first, the memories of stolen glances, late-night conversations, and the warmth of his embrace. You remembered the way he made you feel alive, cherished, and beautiful. But then, like a tidal wave, the heartbreak followed. The pain of your abrupt separation, the sleepless nights, and the tears you shed in France all came rushing back, hitting you with an intensity that made it hard to breathe.

And then, in your mind, you were back in Azure Bay, reliving the day Vernon broke your heart to pieces.

The night after your picnic date on the island, you agreed to go with Vernon to his hometown. You were both excited, especially Vernon who proceeded to tell you everything about their home and the farm where it was in. He talked about his parents, kind and loving. He mentioned he had a sister too and that they were very close. He told you how he’s good with animals and farming, which was the reason he took up environmental sciences in college.

You were looking forward to this trip and you told your friends about it only after you had booked your flights there.

“Well, damn. I understand that you are in some kind of relationship now, but taking her to meet your family? Aren’t you guys moving too fast?” Mingyu joked.

Jade scoffed. “So, sneaking around to hook up is normal but meeting his parents is too fast? Quite a crooked thinking, if you ask me.”

Mingyu just rolled his eyes, mocking Jade by copying her facial expressions when she talked.

“So, exactly how long has this been going on?” Adie asked, grinning playfully at the two of you.

You felt your cheeks flare, embarrassed to admit it. Vernon then answered for you. “Ever since we got here.”

Adie, Trina, and Jade gasped in unison. Then Jade asked, “From the very first day?”

“No! What do you take me for?” you denied indignantly. And then, leaning on Vernon’s chest, you added, “It was actually on their second day here.”

Adie and Trina started shrieking, high-fiving each other, and shaking their hands together like giddy teenagers.

“Unbelievable,” Jade sighed, shaking her head as she looked at you with genuine amazement on her face.

Eunwoo was sitting across from you on the table, his eyes narrowing at the sight of you snuggled against Vernon.

“What?” you sneered at him, tossing a crumpled tissue at him.

Eunwoo didn’t dodge. “I knew he was acting suspicious when we were at the campsite,” he said, smirking.

“Suspicious how?” Minghao asked curiously beside him, smiling like he was enjoying all the drama.

“He kept trying to talk to y/n, interrupting her while she was talking to other people. He was also glaring at Winwin all night. You’d think he’d murder the guy any minute.” To Vernon, Eunwoo said, “You were not subtle at all, man.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Vernon chimed, chuckling. “I have no excuses.”

Eventually, they stopped badgering the two of you with questions. Heading out to the beach, you held your last bonfire party with the friends they made here. Everyone wished each other all the best, and promises of coming back were declared.

The next day, your friends’ flight flew early, while you and Vernon had to wait until the afternoon for yours. You spent your waiting time in your bedroom, snuggled together, and can’t get enough of each other. It was your mom who told you it was time to leave and she also drove you to the airport.

Your heart was swelling with anticipation, excited to learn more about Vernon and meet his loved ones. On this trip, you know your connection would become stronger and the thought of knowing him better made you giddy. And so you stood in the queue of the people boarding the plane to Vernon’s state. Just as you were about to move forward, a message from Trina buzzed on your phone. It was short but it made you feel nervous.

Trina: Don’t go with Vernon. You: Why not?

Locking your screen, you glanced at Vernon, who was handing his boarding pass to the officer. After your turn, he took your hand, leading you through the gate with an excited smile.

Curious about Trina's message, you opened your phone again, but there was no reply. Sighing, you pocketed your phone and continued to board the plane.

“Watch your step,” Vernon told you as he stepped inside the aircraft.

Your phone buzzed again, so you stepped aside for a moment to let others pass through while you checked the new message. As soon as you opened Trina’s message, your heart sank to your stomach, making you feel lightheaded and dizzy.

Trina: Vernon has a girlfriend.

You stood there for a minute, staring at the message until the letters started to blur. Only when the flight attendant prompted you did you look away from your screen.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” she asked, offering a handkerchief.

“What?” you blurted, realizing tears were streaming down your cheeks. You quickly pulled out your own handkerchief. “Thanks. I’m fine.”

“I see. Well, it’s time to go, Ma’am,” she reminded gently.

“Huh?” you asked stupidly, staring at her hands that were motioning for you to step into the aircraft.

“This flight must leave soon. Are you still coming?” she asked, concern evident in her voice despite her professional demeanor.

Realizing everyone had boarded the plane except for you, you cleared your throat and tried to make up a coherent thought. But the feelings overwhelmed you, so you just apologized and turned to go back towards the terminal.

As soon as you were back inside, your knees gave out and you crouched on the floor, sobbing with your face buried in your hands. Your phone was ringing in your hand, but you ignored it, knowing it was Vernon who was calling. It kept ringing and ringing, but you didn’t even look at it until it finally stopped.

In the corner of your eye, you notice that the plane has started to move. You stood up from the floor and approached the large glass windows, through tear-filled eyes, you watched Vernon's plane taxi down the runway and lift into the sky.

Devastated, you took a cab home where your mother worriedly asked you what was wrong. You hugged her tightly and started crying. You cried your heart out while she cradled you, telling you to let it all out and reminding you that none of it was your fault.

You were furious at Vernon, but your anger at yourself burned even hotter. How did you let his charm fool you into a relationship? It was a bitter pill to swallow. You felt sorry for your friends who cheered for you and Vernon, without knowing the truth. And you felt worse for his girlfriend who had no idea she was being cheated on.

Your heart ached with guilt. You never meant to hurt anyone, yet there you were, a major player in someone else’s heartbreak. The weight of it all sat heavily on your shoulders, suffocating.

Amidst the chaos of your emotions, you felt lost. Anger, guilt, and regret swirled inside you, threatening to overwhelm you. You were grappling with the consequences of misplaced trust and the pain of losing something you thought was sincere and genuine.

“He told me he loves me,” you sobbed into Jade’s shoulder. “He said he loved me.”

Jade rubbed your back gently, shushing you. “I know. He’s a jerk. We hate him.”

“Why would he lie about that?” you wept, your denial challenging the truth.

In the days you spent together, never once did you think Vernon would be this kind of guy. But looking back, did you ever truly know him? He let you in on his secrets, his dreams and aspirations, even his vulnerabilities. Was all of it a blatant lie?

You looked around your room, and each corner of it screamed with the memories of Vernon. Your house was filled with these screams, even the beaches, and the sidewalks. Everything in Azure Bay was a reminder of the man who wrecked you to the very core.

“I have to get out of here,” you told your mom, who agreed without a second of hesitation.

“Would you like to go to France?” she offered.

After telling your father, you and Jade flew to France where you spent more sleepless nights crying your heart out. Vernon tried reaching out to you through Jade who knew better than to heed his requests. Sometimes when Jaehyun and Jade talked on the phone, he’d say Vernon was looking for you and had been asking everyone if they could contact you.

You ignored that too and only talked to Eunwoo once when he happened to be with Jaehyun while on the phone with Jade. You couldn’t bring yourself to tell Eunwoo what happened and although he tried to coax you into sharing your burden, he ultimately understood that you would rather keep it to yourself.

Instead of prying, he talked to you about anything and everything, keeping your mind off of things.

“Sorry. I know you’re trying to talk to your boyfriend,” you told her after spending the last two hours talking to Eunwoo.

“It’s fine. We don’t mind.”

The next few days were like that, spending your days exploring the estate and your nights wondering why things happened the way they did. The healing that you were looking for didn’t result in a complete recovery, but it was better than nothing.

Now here you are, back in the chaos of university life. Vernon looked happy in your eyes, his gummy smile making your heart melt. You had to remind yourself what a jerk he was and to steel your heart so you could completely forget him, but it was difficult when he was right there, so close but out of reach.

You tried to steady yourself, to appear unaffected, but your heart was pounding in your chest. You took a deep breath, forcing a smile as you engaged in small talk with your friends, but your eyes kept drifting back to Vernon. Each glance only intensified the ache in your heart.

Eventually, you felt a gentle hand on your arm. It was Jade, her eyes filled with concern. “Are you okay?” she asked softly.

You nodded, swallowing hard. “Yeah, just...it's a lot.”

She squeezed your arm reassuringly. “Should we go back now?”

“I’m alright, Jade. I can handle it. Just enjoy the party.” You gave her your best smile. "It's our first party back!"

You appreciated her support, but the truth was, you felt like you were drowning in a sea of emotions. The party continued around you, but your focus remained on Vernon. He hadn't noticed you yet, or if he had, he was pretending not to.

You knew you had to confront these feelings eventually, to find a way to move past the pain. But for now, all you could do was endure the storm raging within you, hoping that time would somehow ease the heartache.

As the night wore on, you made your way to the quieter corners of the party, needing a moment to gather your thoughts. You leaned against the wall, closing your eyes and taking deep breaths, trying to steady your racing heart.

When you opened your eyes, you found Vernon standing at a distance, his gaze fixed on you. The world seemed to stop as you locked eyes, and for a moment, it felt like nothing had changed. But reality quickly set in, reminding you of the distance that now separated you.

You saw him clench his jaw and walk the opposite way, away from you. That’s it then. A few weeks ago, you couldn’t keep your hands off each other. Now it seemed like he couldn’t stand to be in the same space as you.

“The audacity,” you mumbled to yourself, slightly offended.

You headed to the drinks table and helped yourself to some alcohol in hopes that it might distract you from your emotions. You poured yourself a generous amount of whiskey, downing it in one go. The warmth spread through your chest, numbing the ache momentarily.

Determined not to let Vernon ruin your night, you joined a group of friends who were dancing in the living room. The music pulsed through the floor, vibrating in your bones, and you let yourself get lost in the rhythm. Your friends welcomed you with open arms, their laughter and energy infectious.

You danced with abandon, letting the music carry you away. The alcohol loosened your limbs, and soon you were moving with a carefree grace, your earlier tension forgotten. Your friends cheered you on, and you felt a rush of exhilaration as you twirled and spun, turning the whole place into a blur of lights and colors. Someone handed you another drink, and you accepted it with a grin, toasting to the night and to moving on.

Between the dancing and the drinks, you took moments to chat with friends, sharing stories and laughter. You found comfort in their presence, their support reminding you that you were not alone. Even amidst the chaos of the party, there were quiet, meaningful moments that grounded you, offering a sense of connection and belonging.

At one point, you stepped out onto the balcony for some fresh air. The cool night breeze brushed against your skin, and you closed your eyes, savoring the calm. The stars twinkled above, a reminder that the world was vast and you deserved better. You took a deep breath, feeling a sense of peace wash over you.

Back inside, the party continued in full swing. You rejoined your friends, laughing and dancing. The encounter with Vernon is now forgotten, and it helped that he seemed to have left the party.

You slept in the next day, your body still heavy from partying too hard. Luckily you didn’t get drunk so there was no hangover headache for you to deal with. You stayed in your bed for a long time after waking, savoring the quiet of your apartment while you let your thoughts swim.

A few knocks on your door shattered the tranquility of your morning, but it didn’t bother you too much. When you opened your door, Adie was standing there with a big smile.

“Food delivery!” she announced, showing you a takeout bag for a fast-food chain.

You ushered her in and told her to make herself at home while you went to wash your face. When you get back, the food is set on the small table, waiting for you.

“You didn’t have to do all that,” you told her as you sat across her. “But thanks though.”

Adie beamed. “Well, I’m on strict orders to make sure you eat breakfast— brunch.” She paused, thinking for a moment. “I guess it’s a late lunch since it’s past two o’clock now.”

Adie looked around your place. It’s slightly bigger than the on-campus dormitory, but only because it was a one-person apartment.

“You broke our freshman pact,” she said, pouting to feigned disappointment.

When the semester started, you decided not to get an on-campus dorm. It was initially because you didn’t want to file the paperwork, but after spending one night in this apartment, you realized you liked the quiet of being alone and having the place all for yourself. That is not to say Adie was a bad roommate; she’s great. It’s just that being alone is the best course of action for you right now.

As you ate, the conversation turned to classes and the new semester.

“Have you decided on your electives yet?” Adie asked, sipping on her soda.

“Yeah, I’m thinking about taking that creative writing class. You?”

“I’m sticking with photography and maybe adding a film studies course. I’ve been really into cinematography lately.”

You nodded, taking another bite of your burger. “That sounds like fun. Maybe we can collaborate on something. I could write, and you could film.”

Adie’s eyes lit up. “That’s a great idea! We should totally do that.”

Just as you were finishing up your meal, there was another knock on the door. Before you could get up, Adie jumped to her feet.

“That must be Eunwoo,” she said casually, walking over to open the door.

“Eunwoo?” you repeated, surprised.

The door swung open to reveal Eunwoo, standing there with a warm smile. “Hey, you ready to go?” he asked Adie after kissing her on the lips.

“Yep, just finishing up,” she replied.

Eunwoo waved at you. “Nice crib,” he commented. “Adie and I are heading out to pick up the books required in our syllabus. Wanna come?”

“You should,” Adie agreed, glancing back at you. “So you don’t have to go alone later.”

You shook your head, still processing. “Yeah but before that… Someone explain what’s going on. Are you two…?”

Adie gave you a sheepish smile, holding on to Eunwoo’s arm. “We’re kind of seeing each other.”

You nodded, still unsure. “I can see that. But since when? Eunwoo?”

“For about two weeks now? I think. We spent quite a lot of time back in Azure Bay, so it just happened.”

“I see.”

“We couldn’t tell you earlier because you were in France and we couldn’t contact you,” Adie explained,

“No. It’s alright. You don’t have to explain everything. I’m…” you trailed off, chuckling. “Surprised, that’s all. I didn’t see it coming but I’m very happy for the two of you.”

Adie pouted cutely. “Aw, thank you!”

You felt a pang of guilt as you realized how focused you had been on your own relationship, oblivious to the developments in your friends’ lives. “I’m really happy for you guys,” you said sincerely, standing up to hug Adie. “I’m sorry I’ve been so out of the loop.”

Adie hugged you back. “It’s okay. You had a lot going on.”

Eunwoo squeezed between you so he could hug you too. “It’s okay, y/n.”

You swat his arms away. “You better act right,” you warned him. “And stop being clingy with me. You can’t do that now that you have a girlfriend.”

You saw Adie shake her head. “Honestly, I don’t mind as long as you guys don’t sleep together.”

You both grimaced and chorused a monotone, disgusted, “Ew.”

As they left, you couldn’t help but reflect on how much you had missed while being wrapped up in your own world. But now, you were determined to reconnect and be there for your friends, just as they had always been there for you.

You busied yourself with classes, throwing yourself into your studies and doing what you do best—excelling. You have always been a diligent student, but you are working extra hard this time so that you can distract yourself from the lingering feelings of heartbreak. You have to prove to yourself that a cheating jerk was not worth a second of your time nor did he deserve a spot in your mind.

“That’s my girl!” Jade praised you after you told her about your resolution. “Men ain’t shit. Especially Vernon.”

You could only laugh, amused at her for saying something like that while in a happy, healthy relationship with Jaehyun.

“It’s good that your buildings are on opposite sides of the campus,” she added and then pointed two index fingers at you. “If he’s out of sight…”

You scowled, but still obliged. Pointing back at her, you said, “He’s out of mind.”

It really was a lucky coincidence because you never had to worry about running into Vernon. That is until today. You slept in and were running late for a class so you briskly got ready and hurried to the elevator in your apartment building. And as the doors slid open, your heart dropped. There he was, Vernon, standing inside the elevator looking as breathtaking as you remembered him to be. You hesitated, but you couldn't afford to be late. There was only one elevator, and you didn't have time to wait for it to come back up, nor did you want to use the stairs.

Wait, why am I hesitating while he looked so relaxed and unaffected? That’s what you thought to yourself. If someone has to feel bad about this entire thing, it should be him.

Taking a deep breath, you stepped into the elevator. The atmosphere was tense and awkward. You stood as far apart as possible, eyes fixed on the floor numbers. He was on his phone and you stared at nothing, both of you doing anything just to avoid interacting.

What was he doing here, of all the places? Was he staying in the same apartment as you? He didn’t come here on purpose to see you, did he? It’s impossible considering how fast he left the party as soon as he saw that you were there too. The campus was vast, and the coincidence felt almost too cruel. Not to mention how surreal it was to be so physically close yet emotionally worlds apart.

The silence was deafening, each floor number lighting up slowly as the elevator descended. You could feel his presence beside you, a mix of familiar comfort and sharp pain. Every second felt like an eternity, and you silently prayed for the doors to open faster.

Finally, the elevator reached the ground floor. The doors slid open, and you stepped out quickly, not daring to look back. You rushed off to the streets and hailed a cab, heart pounding, and resolved to be more cautious in the future.

As you walked to your class, your thoughts lingered on the brief encounter. You wondered if he felt the same awkwardness and tension. Did he think about you as often as you thought about him? The unanswered questions swirled in your mind, but you pushed them aside, reminding yourself that he was not worth your time.

“How’s my French babe?” Mingyu prompted, appearing next to you in the cafeteria while you sat there eating alone.

“Unfortunately for you, going to France did not make me French,” you retorted, shaking your head at him.

He sat next to you. “But was it fun there?”

You shrugged. “It’s not like I went there to have fun.”

He proceeded to ask more about the trip. Sitting across from him, you picked at your food, offering vague responses that didn't reveal much about your time abroad. The topics expanded from there, naturally including a few accounts of what he had been up to.

“Jaehyun and I are roommates now, did you know?” he grinned. “You should have seen Jade’s face when she found out.”

You chuckled. “Bet she'll tell Jaehyun to switch dorms?”

“No need. She already did,” he replied, making you laugh.

After laughing about it, you were both quiet for a while until you finally asked a question that had been nagging at you since this morning. “Isn't Vernon staying in one of the on-campus dorms?”

Mingyu shook his head, a thoughtful look crossing his face. “No, he's never stayed in the dorms. Always preferred his own space off-campus. Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” you lied through gritted teeth but Mingyu was sharp.

He gasped and covered his mouth, eyes bulging out of his sockets. “No way. Don’t tell me you guys are neighbors?”

You shrugged, refusing to confirm but it was enough to answer his question. Mingyu gasped again and then started laughing. “Wow. You might actually be destined for each other.”

“Gross.”

“Gross?” Mingyu sneered mockingly. “Gross? Last month you were sneaking around with him almost every day doing who knows what. Now he’s gross?”

“Oh, shut up,” you scolded rolling your eyes as you started getting irritated.

Your reaction brought a shift in Mingyu's demeanor, his tone turning more serious. “So, why did you ghost Vernon?” he asked bluntly, his gaze searching yours for an answer.

Your fork clattered against the plate as you let out a sigh, unsure how much to divulge. “I ghosted everyone, Mingyu,” you replied with a shrug, hoping to downplay the significance of your sudden disappearance.

Mingyu's brow furrowed. “You were supposed to meet Vernon's parents, right?”

“I know. I was looking forward to it.”

“Oh yeah? Well, now he’s mad at you.”

You scoffed indignantly. “Mad at me? How dare he be mad at me?”

“I think he might actually hate you. Just a little bit, maybe,” Mingyu added, shrugging.

“Whatever. I don’t even wanna care about it anymore.”

“He was looking for you, you know. He was asking around about you,” Mingyu continued hesitantly. “Wondering where you went, what happened… He kept asking Jaehyun about you when he found out you were with Jade.”

As he should, you thought bitterly, your mind racing with conflicting emotions. You couldn't deny the hurt Vernon had caused you with his actions, but for some reason the guilt of suddenly disappearing without a word for him gnawed at your conscience.

“It was almost pathetic, really,” he sighed, shaking his head. You could see the disappointment in his face, and the tinge of pity as he talked about his friend. “What happened between you two?”

You exhaled sharply, reluctant to share anything yet. “It was a summer fling, Mingyu, just like you and Mina at the time. That’s all. No big deal.”

He smirked. “Did you know that you always look sideways when you lie?”

He caught you, but you were not the kind to give it up easily. “Go away, Gyu.”

“Also, don’t bring Mina into this. Our situation was different because we agreed to have nothing but a harmless fling. That’s it.”

“Whatever. Just stop asking.”

“Alright, fine. I was just curious,” he replied, raising his hands in surrender. “It sucked because I was kinda rooting for you guys.”

Honestly? You too were rooting for the two of you. But not everything goes the way you want them to be. Vernon turned out to be different from the Hansol you met and got to know in Azure Bay.

“It is what it is,” you muttered, releasing a dragged-out sigh.

“But for real, though,” Mingyu tried again. “What happened?”

You sighed again, feeling defeated and heavy with emotions. You told him what happened; how your relationship began, how you eventually developed feelings for him, how he told you he loved you, and how you found out he had a girlfriend on the day you were supposed to go to his hometown.

“He was cheating on his girlfriend, with me,” you recalled bitterly, much to Mingyu’s astonishment. “I was rooting for us too. I thought we were serious or something.”

“Wait a second—”

“I was a side piece, Gyu. And someone, his girlfriend, is hurting because of me. Probably. I don’t know. I’m not sure if she already knows.”

“Y/n, wait, hold on—” Mingyu heaved a deep breath and exhaled sharply. You saw how he tried to stay serious but in the end, he couldn’t hold his laughter and started cackling.

You raised an eyebrow at him, deeply offended. Crossing your arms over your chest, you said, “You think this is funny?”

“I’m sorry, no,” he replied, clearing his throat and sitting up properly. “How did you know about this girlfriend?”

“Oh, so you knew about her?” you accused, annoyed.

“No!” he denied briskly. Waving his hand and his head dismissively, he said, “Listen, Vernon doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

“What?”

Mingyu sighed, shaking his head at you in disappointment and pity. “I don’t know where you got that from, but Vernon is not seeing anyone.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. Dead,” he said confidently. “And one more thing you should know, he’s had his eyes on you since March.”

The revelation left you confused, your mind swirling with questions and doubts that lingered throughout the day. As you navigated the familiar hallways of the university, your thoughts kept returning to Vernon and the new information you had learned.

How could you have been so wrong? The certainty with which you had distanced yourself now seemed shaky and misguided. Had you been so blinded by your own fears and insecurities that you couldn’t see what was right in front of you? The truth about Vernon not having a girlfriend and having feelings for you since March upended everything you had come to believe.

It made you question the decisions you had made, the walls you had built, and the pain you had allowed to fester. You realized how easily a single message from Trina had dictated your actions, leading you down a path of misunderstanding and heartbreak. The bitterness you felt was now mingled with regret and a flicker of hope. Maybe there was still a chance to set things right, to talk to Vernon, and to unravel the truth from the tangled web of assumptions and emotions.

You remember what Mingyu said before you parted earlier. “Well, maybe you guys can talk it out. He's not the type to hold grudges forever.” Even if he isn’t, there is no way you can bring yourself to talk to him.

“Y/n.” You stopped walking glancing at the person who called you.

Trina rushed over to you, looking deeply concerned. “Can we talk?”

“I’m off to class. Why? What’s wrong?”

“Is it true that you went to France because of Vernon?”

“What?”

“Jade said you went there to move on from Vernon?”

“Yeah…”

Trina released your arm, her shoulder sagging in defeat as she gazed at you apologetically. “Oh, god. I’m so sorry.”

“Why?” you asked, although you already had an idea why she was apologizing. You guided her to a quieter corner so you could talk properly.

“Vernon and Kierra are not dating. Not anymore,” she confessed, sighing. “They used to date but then they broke up and I guess Kierra can’t accept that. She’s been going around telling people they are back together.”

“Oh,” was the only thing you could utter.

“I had a feeling you went there because of what I told you, but I couldn’t confirm it. I’m really sorry about that. I saw it on her Instagram that day. She posted a picture of her and Vernon so I DMed her to ask how she knew him and she told me he’s her boyfriend.”

She paused, letting the information sink in. “It was too late when I found out she was lying. You were already out of reach by that time.”

The weight of her words settled heavily on your shoulders. The confusion and anger you had felt towards Vernon now seemed misplaced, replaced by a growing sense of regret. You realized how your own actions had contributed to the misunderstanding, how your quick judgment had prevented any chance of reconciliation.

“It’s alright, Trin,” you told her, although that was far from the truth.

“God, y/n. I’m really, really, sorry.”

“I know,” you chimed, smiling timidly. “You don’t have to feel bad about it. You were only looking out for me. I would’ve done the same if I was in your position.”

It’s true. You would have done the same. It wasn’t Trina’s fault. She only told you what she heard, with no way to confirm if it was a lie.

As you walked to your next class, your mind was a storm of conflicting emotions. Mingyu’s words echoed in your head, and now Trina’s confession added another layer to the confusion. You had spent so much time building walls around your heart, trying to protect yourself from the pain of Vernon’s supposed betrayal, only to realize that those walls were built on a foundation of misunderstanding and misinformation.

Why hadn’t you given him a chance to explain? Why had you been so quick to assume the worst? The thought gnawed at you, making you question your own actions and the way you had handled the situation. You had been so caught up in your own pain and anger that you hadn’t considered the possibility that there might be more to the story.

The realization was humbling, and it left you feeling vulnerable and exposed. You couldn’t help but wonder what might have happened if you had stayed and talked to Vernon instead of running away. Would things be different now? Would you still be together, or had too much damage been done?

As you lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling, you knew you had to confront Vernon. You couldn’t let things remain as they were. You made up your mind. You will find Vernon and talk to him. You needed to hear his side of the story, to understand what had really happened. It was the only way to find closure and, perhaps, a way to start anew.

“So, the whole time, I was mad for nothing?”

Jade held up her hand to discourage your thoughts. “No. It wasn’t nothing. It was something. What you felt was real, and valid, okay?” she said sternly. “The issue was your oversight.”

“You’re right,” you agreed, slumping on your bed. The one mistake on your part was that you chose to cut him off instead of confronting him about it. If only you had chosen to talk to him about it, you would saved everyone all the trouble.

Initially, you were heartbroken because Vernon lied, but now you’re heartbroken because you were wrong. How will you fix things? Is it even possible to fix everything? Mingyu said Vernon most probably hated you, and now you completely understand why. In Vernon's point of view, you left him without any explanation. You ghosted him during a time when he thought everything was going well between you. So his reaction, his anger, is completely justified.

You tried to think of ways to reconnect with Vernon, hoping it would bring you back together, but if not, you would be content with just apologizing to him. He did not deserve to be treated like that.

First, you tried to catch him in the elevator. One afternoon after class, you rushed back to your apartment, keeping an eye on your watch. As you reached the elevator, you saw Vernon just stepping inside.

Your heart raced as you quickened your pace, calling out, “Hold the door, please!”

Vernon glanced up and, for a brief moment, your eyes met. But then the doors closed, leaving you standing there, breathless and frustrated. The next few days, you found yourself hovering around the elevator, hoping for another chance encounter, but it never happened. Each time the doors opened, someone else stepped out, and your heart sank a little more. The timing was always off, and you would end up waiting by the elevator doors, feeling foolish as the minutes ticked by.

You then tried to fake several “bump into him” scenarios. You waited by the coffee shop he frequented, pretending to scroll through your phone while stealing glances at the entrance. When Vernon finally walked in, your heart skipped a beat. You quickly stood up and walked towards him pretending that you were just about to leave while rehearsing your lines in your head.

“Vernon! Hi,” you said, trying to sound casual as you approached him. He looked up, surprised.

“Hey,” he replied, his tone flat. “How's it going?”

You opened your mouth to speak, but the words caught in your throat. Before you could gather your thoughts, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and gave you an apologetic look. “Sorry, I have to take this.”

“S-Sure. No problem,” you blurted, chuckling awkwardly. “I was just about to leave anyway.”

And just like that, he walked away, leaving you standing there, feeling like a fool.

Another time, you pretended to browse books in the campus library where you knew he studied. You spotted him at a table near the back, his head buried in a textbook. Summoning your courage, you walked over and sat down across from him.

“Mind if I sit here?” you asked.

He looked up, his expression unreadable. “Sure,” he said simply, before returning to his book.

You sat there in silence, the awkwardness thick in the air. You tried to think of something to say, but nothing felt right. And Vernon just sat there, as if your presence did not bother him at all. Not even one bit.

After a few minutes of nothing, you stood up and mumbled, “Gosh, I picked up the wrong book, I’m just gonna go find the right volume.”

You regretted saying that, realizing that it was unnecessary and sounded a lot like an excuse, but it was too late so you just walked away, face burning with embarrassment.

Several times, you even walked the long way around campus just to pass by his classes but you have had no luck yet. You would see him there but you couldn’t get the timing right. One time, Eunwoo caught you loitering around their building as you were about to “bump” into Vernon. He raised an eyebrow at you, clearly puzzled.

“Y/n, what are you doing here?” he asked, beaming at you and slinging an arm around your shoulder. “Did you come here for me? You could have just texted me.”

“No. I… um. I’m waiting for a friend,” you lied, feeling your cheeks flush. You saw Vernon glance your way, your encounter with Eunwoo clearly got his attention.

“I’m your friend.”

“Another friend.”

“You have other friends in this department?” he asked, surprised. As he did, Vernon was already walking away with his friends.

“No. We just became friends recently.”

Eunwoo looked skeptical but didn’t press further. “Alright, well, good luck with that. I have to go to class. See you around,” he said, walking away. You watched him go, feeling embarrassed and frustrated with yourself.

You tried again another time. As you turned around the corner, you saw him coming out of the building, chatting with a group of friends. You took a deep breath and walked towards him, but your courage faltered as you got closer. Instead of stopping to talk, you walked past him, hoping he wouldn’t notice you.

“Y/n?” you heard him call out.

Heart racing, you turned around, forcing a smile. “Oh, hey, Vernon. Didn’t think I’d see you here.”

“Yeah…” Vernon’s brows furrowed slightly. “This is the Social Sciences building.”

“Oh, is it?” you blurted, looking up at the building. “Of, course. Bye then.”

“Right,” he said, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Well, see you around.”

You nodded and walked away, feeling more defeated than ever. After several more failures, you gave up trying and accepted the fact that everything happened for a reason. Every failed attempt at reaching out felt like another stab to your already wounded heart. You realized that perhaps it was fate's way of telling you that some things were meant to remain in the past.

“It’s just like my parent’s divorce. Difficult, but necessary,” you told Jade over lunch at the campus cafeteria.

“That’s not the analogy I was expecting to hear, but okay. Point taken,” she replied. You spotted Eunwoo and Adie and waved them over to your table.

“You look terrible,” Eunwoo said as soon as they reached you. He slid next to you on the bench and squeezed your cheeks. “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

“Leave her alone,” Jade chided, tapping impatiently on the table. “She’s had a rough week.”

Adie asked, “Why? What happened?”

“For starters—”

You slammed your hand on the table, startling everyone. To Jade, you said with a warning, “Jade!”

“What?” she asked, blinking then realization struck her. “Oh! They don’t know?”

You simply shook your head, laughing nervously. “Be quiet.”

“What? What is it?” Eunwoo demanded, looking triggered. “What is it? Are you keeping things from me again?”

“Well, not exactly,” you replied, trying to downplay the situation. “We’re just keeping things low-key and quiet.”

“Low-key and quiet? Smells more like playing favorites,” Eunwoo complained, sulking. You girls just laughed at him and ate in peace.

You told Jade you were giving up and that you wanted to just let things unfold naturally without interfering. And so, you did your best to live normal days, do well in school, and socialize like a normal human being. You fell into a routine, waking up early, attending classes, and immersing yourself in your studies. You joined a club, participated in class discussions, and even made an effort to attend social events. You went to the gym too and grabbed coffee with friends. You smiled and laughed at their jokes, even when your mind was elsewhere.

Five days in, Vernon approached you while you were studying in the library. Your heart leaped, but he seemed nonchalant about it. He sat there, eyes fixed on his book as he adjusted the eyeglasses sitting on his nose bridge. God, he looked so handsome.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m just sitting here because there are no vacant tables. I didn’t come here for you,” he told you.

But there were vacant seats, plenty even. Still, you felt pathetic enough after your failed attempts to reconnect, so you dropped the idea of talking to him. You tried your best to ignore him, focusing on your assignment and giving yourself a mental pep talk not to glance at him.

Your assignments were far more difficult than your mental turmoil, and you had to pass this subject or risk retaking it. You immersed yourself in your work, blocking out Vernon’s presence as much as you could.

“So, you’re the type to give up easily, huh?” he prompted, pulling your attention away from your books.

“What?” you asked, bewildered.

Vernon sighed, stared at you for a minute, and then scoffed before walking away.

“What the hell is his problem?” you muttered to yourself, shaking your head in confusion.

The next day, you attended a party off-campus and got roped into a beer pong game, girls vs. boys. You kept winning the game, annihilating everyone from the boys' team, that is, until Vernon took center stage. Suddenly, you were bad at it. Your 10/10 streak went 6/10, and you ended up drinking a lot. They gave you a chance to try again, only to get a 2/10.

It wasn’t because you were bad at it. It was Vernon’s intense gaze that kept distracting you from your focus.

“Girl, I know he’s cute and all, but we can’t lose!” your friends would quietly tease you.

You tried to ignore their comments, but the tension between you and Vernon was noticeable. Each time you glanced up, you found his eyes on you, unwavering and intense. It made your heart race and your hands shake, throwing off your aim.

"Come on, Y/n, you got this!" one of your friends cheered, trying to boost your confidence.

You nodded, taking a deep breath and trying to steady yourself. But as soon as you locked eyes with Vernon again, your resolve crumbled. You missed the shot, and the boys’ team erupted in cheers.

“Better luck next time,” Vernon said, his tone mocking as he took a sip from his cup.

You glared at him, frustration bubbling up inside you. “Don’t be so smug,” you snapped. “It’s just a game.”

“Is it?” he replied, raising an eyebrow. “Seems more than that to me.”

You felt your face flush with anger and embarrassment. “Whatever,” you muttered, turning away from him. The rest of the night passed in a blur, your thoughts constantly drifting back to Vernon.

You went outside for some air, hoping to clear your airways from the smell of vape, smoke, and alcohol. The night sky was clear, and a cool breeze offered some relief from the stuffy party atmosphere. You took a deep breath as you walked, letting the fresh air fill your lungs, when suddenly, you stumbled over an uneven patch of ground. Before you could hit the ground, a hand grabbed your arm, steadying you.

“Your so-called coincidences are getting better,” Vernon teased, making you back away shyly.

“That wasn’t on purpose,” you muttered, feeling a mixture of embarrassment and irritation.

He laughed softly, the sound both familiar and painful. “Sure, it wasn’t. You always seem to find trouble when I’m around.”

You rolled your eyes, trying to mask the fluttering in your chest. “Maybe you’re just bad luck.”

He smirked, leaning against the railing. “Maybe. Or maybe you’re just clumsy.”

“Whatever,” you said, crossing your arms over your chest. “What are you doing out here, anyway?”

“Needed a break from the noise,” he replied casually. “And to make sure you don’t break your neck.”

You couldn’t help but smile at his playful tone. For a moment, it felt like old times, before everything got complicated. You bantered back and forth for a while, the conversation light but tinged with unspoken emotions.

“Are you done trying to get my attention?”

You scoffed, feeling defensive. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Vernon hummed teasingly. “You know, if you want to talk, you can just text me.”

“You can’t even look me in the eye. How would I know you’d even read my text?”

“Well, you never tried,” he retorted, making you shut up. He was right.

As the chill in the air grew, Vernon straightened up. “Alright, I’m heading back in. Text me when you get home,” he said, his tone suddenly serious. “Not while you’re still here, alright? Only when you’re back in your apartment.”

You looked at him, puzzled. “Why?”

He shrugged. “No reason. Just do it.”

You nodded, still confused but willing to comply. As he walked away, you couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more behind his request. But for now, you pushed it to the back of your mind, deciding to enjoy the rest of the night.

You woke up with a pounding headache. Groaning, you propped yourself up on your hand, blinking at the bright morning light. Jade and Trina were sprawled over your bed, while you were on a mattress on the floor. The pounding in your head is made worse by the ringing of your alarm clock.

“Crap.” You were already late and right now, you are regretting your decision to get an apartment outside campus. You quickly got ready and rushed to your class, ignoring the throbbing pain in your head.

After class, you dragged yourself to the cafeteria, desperately needing some food to settle your stomach and hopefully stop the dizziness that bothered you all morning. As you stood in line, you saw Vernon sitting with Mingyu and Jungwoo at a table across the room. The sight of him made you remember his request from the night before. You realize you didn’t get to text him, making you feel guilty.

“I’m an idiot,” you muttered under your breath, feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over you.

“Why?” Jade asked, looking at you with curiosity.

You deadpanned at her, feeling a mix of frustration and humor. “You’re the idiot,” you retorted, pointing an accusatory finger at her. “It was your fault we got drunk.”

Jade rolled her eyes, but a small smile tugged at her lips. “I was just trying to help you have a good time.”

You sighed, shaking your head. “Well, mission accomplished,” you said sarcastically.

As you settled into your seat where Trina was already waiting, you couldn't help but feel a pang of embarrassment. Jade noticed your discomfort and leaned closer. “Okay. Be honest. What is it?”

You took a deep breath and confessed, “I was supposed to text Vernon when I got home, but I was so drunk I passed out instead.”

Jade's eyes widened in surprise. “You were supposed to text him? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Before you could respond, Trina said, “You know, Vernon and Jaehyun helped take us back to the apartment last night.”

Your eyes widened. “Wait, what?”

Jade nodded, her expression serious. “Yeah. You were so out of it, and Jaehyun insisted on making sure we got home safely. Vernon came along too. They carried you and Trina up to your room.”

You groaned inwardly, feeling the embarrassment deepen. “Great, now I’m not just an idiot but also a complete embarrassment.”

Jade and Trina giggled. And then Trina added, “No, you’re not! You were cute! All clingy and touchy.”

“No!” you whined, your face heating up so you buried it in your palms.

“Sit up,” Jade prompted. “He’s coming this way.”

You did as you were told, but didn’t dare meet Vernon’s gaze. Mingyu waved at you with a massive grin. “Looking great, ladies!” he said as they walked by.

Vernon casually placed a small paper bag on your side of the table. “Advil,” he said flatly without even stopping to linger at your table.

The gesture stirred your emotions, almost making you cry right then and there. You managed to hold back the tears, but Jade noticed your reaction immediately. “What’s wrong?” she asked, worry etched on her face.

You glanced at the paper bag and then back at Vernon’s retreating figure. “He remembered,” you said softly, your voice tinged with a mix of gratitude and sadness.

Jade looked confused. “Remembered what?”

Back in Azure Bay, you once told Vernon that you don't easily get drunk, but when you do, you get a bad headache and only drink Advil for it. The fact that he had remembered such a small detail from your past made your heart ache with longing and regret.

“He remembered that I only take Advil for headaches,” you explained, trying to keep your voice steady.

Trina’s eyes softened with understanding. “Wow. That’s... really sweet of him.”

You nodded, swallowing the lump in your throat. The small, thoughtful gesture reminded you of the connection you once had with Vernon and how much you had lost because of a misunderstanding. As you held the paper bag in your hands, you felt a renewed sense of determination to make things right, even if it meant facing the awkwardness and the pain. You knew you had to try.

So what did Vernon's gesture really mean? Did it mean he still had feelings for you, or was it simply out of consideration for a friend? These thoughts occupied your mind while you waited for Adie to come out of the fitting room. You were helping her choose a dress for her date with Eunwoo.

“Hey, what do you think of this one?” Adie's voice broke through your thoughts as she stepped out in a sleek, velvety dress, twirling slightly.

You studied her for a moment and then shook your head. “No. It’s not doing it for you figure.”

Adie understood what you meant and rushed back inside to try another dress. You will deal with Vernon later. For now, you focused on Adie, hoping to find that perfect dress that would make her date with Eunwoo special.

“What about this one?” Adie asked, walking out in a nice green sundress.

You saw that and a big smile appeared on your lips. “That! But in yellow!”

After picking the perfect dress, you bought it and joined Adie at the salon. Since she was going there, you thought it would be nice to get your nails done too. You chatted with Adie and the nail techs that you have grown close with because you were regulars in their salon. When she pointed out Adie’s 'glow', you told her about the date.

“Eunwoo? Your best friend Eunwoo?” one of the nail techs asked. Eunwoo joined you there sometimes so they got to know him too.

“Yeah. Can you believe it?” you chimed. “I honestly never thought they would click because they’re a little too different.”

“Opposites attract, girl.”

You and Adie chuckled. “So they said.”

It was true though. It was still surprising for you because you knew them well and they are complete opposites. They rarely even interact when you hang out with everyone. And now they’re dating. A lot of things really happened in Azure Bay.

After the nail appointment, you went back to your apartment where Adie got ready for her date. You chatted the whole time, laughing about stupid things, and giggling when she shared the story of how their relationship began. It was much like your story with Vernon, minus the part where you sneaked around.

Eunwoo picked her up on time and thanked you for helping Adie. He also thanked you for being friends with her, saying you were partially responsible for setting them up.

“Just don’t ghost me when you break up,” you said playfully, trying to dispel the sentimentality in the air.

Eunwoo scowled. “Did you just jinx us?”

“No. But later, I shall collect raw materials, weird specimens, and rare herbs so that I can perform a hex ritual that will befall the two of you should you even think of cutting me off when you break up.”

Adie scoffed. “Why don’t you make me a permanent love potion while you’re at it? That way, we’ll never break up.”

“Ah-ha. I probably should,” you nodded, touching your chin.

Eunwoo snickered. “Go for it. Maybe you can use it on Vernon too.”

You chuckled nervously, feigning ignorance. “Whatever that means, I don't care.”

When they were gone, you were left alone with your thoughts. Vernon still haunted your mind. As a matter of fact, he had never left your thoughts, ever. You couldn’t help but replay moments with Vernon, wondering about his intentions. Does he still think about you, or has it all faded into the past?

Clearly, being alone is not doing you any good. You rose to your feet, grabbed your purse, and left your apartment. You walked around the neighborhood, memorizing the area since you will be staying there for the meantime. You found restaurants, stores, and other establishments, and noted them all in your head for when you need their services.

That afternoon, as you were trekking back to your apartment complex, you saw Vernon at his usual spot in the cafe beside your apartment. He was sitting by the window, sipping his coffee with his headphones on, a beanie pulled low over his ears, and his eyes focused intently on his phone. The sight of him brought a rush of memories and emotions, making your heart ache with longing. And then you remembered that you needed to text him.

For a moment, you just stood there, watching him. He seemed so absorbed in whatever he was doing, completely unaware of your presence. You missed him so much. Gathering your courage, you pulled out your phone and sent him a message.

You: I see you.

You waited, watching as he glanced at his phone. He didn't respond immediately. Instead, he looked up and met your gaze through the glass. The world seemed to stand still as the two of you locked eyes, the weight of unspoken words hanging between you.

After what felt like an eternity, Vernon looked down at his phone. Then he looked back at you, his expression unreadable. Your phone buzzed, signaling a notification.

Vernon: Anything you want to say to me?

You took a deep breath, your mind racing with everything you wanted to say but didn't know how to start—the moment had come to confront the emotions and misunderstandings that had kept you apart.

You bit your lips, peeking at him as you typed your reply. Hitting send, you fixed the sling of your purse in your shoulder and walked into the building. You boarded the elevator, pressing the button for your floor. Just as the doors were closing, you saw Vernon rushing towards you. He slipped through the narrowing gap just in time, causing your heart to skip a beat.

“Now’s not a good time?” he asked, reciting your text message. “When will a good time come then?”

You knitted your brows, glancing over his shoulder where another person was standing. Vernon realized you weren’t alone, so he cleared his throat and faced the elevator doors. The three of you stood in silence, the air thick with unspoken words and lingering glances. Vernon stood close enough that you could feel the warmth radiating from him, but the presence of the stranger kept you both in check.

Finally, the elevator stopped, and the other passenger exited, leaving just the two of you. The doors closed again, and the confined space suddenly felt more intimate. Without a word, Vernon turned to you, his eyes full of intensity. You couldn't hold back any longer. You reached up, pulling him into a kiss. It was desperate and passionate, a release of all the emotions you'd both been holding back.

The elevator dinged again, signaling another stop. Quickly, you and Vernon broke apart, trying to compose yourselves as the doors opened. Another person stepped in, glancing curiously at the two of you. It was someone from your building, an older woman who often chatted with everyone. You’ve seen her around and you lived on the same floor.

She looked at Vernon with a knowing smile. “Looks like you finally plucked up the courage to talk to her, Vernon.”

“Sorry?” you asked, eyes flitting to Vernon.

“Oh, this silly guy. I’ve seen him loitering around your unit a few times,” she said with a chuckle. To Vernon, she said, “You looked like a lost puppy. I always wondered what you were up to.”

Vernon's cheeks turned a shade of red, and you couldn't help but laugh softly at the image. The woman continued chatting, oblivious to the tension she had just interrupted.

Finally, the elevator reached your floor. The older woman stepped out first and then glanced back at you. “What are you waiting for?”

“Huh? Me?” you asked stupidly, pointing at yourself.

The woman flashed a teasing smile. “Ohhh. I guess you won’t be sleeping in your own bed tonight. Go on then,” she chuckled, walking away.

“No! We’re not,” you blurted before you could even think about it. Vernon chuckled beside you, pressing the open button when the doors were about to close.

You stepped out, turning back to give Vernon a quick, meaningful glance. “See you around,” you said, a smile playing on your lips.

As you walked down the hallway to your apartment, you felt exhilarated and happy, your heart still racing from the unexpected encounter. The kiss lingered on your lips, a promise of more to come. When you entered your apartment, you received a message from Vernon, which you opened excitedly, tossing your bag to a table and jumping on your bed.

Vernon: Just letting you know I’m gonna sue you for sexual harassment

Your brows furrowed, confused. Then it was followed by another text.

Vernon: You can’t just grab me like that and get away with it.

That made you giggle, bury your face in the sheets, and kick your legs in the air like a teenager talking to her crush for the first time.

You couldn’t sleep at all, thoughts of Vernon keeping you awake. Fear, excitement, worry, giddiness—all these emotions swirled around in your mind. You wondered if you were back together or if things were even going well. While you spent most of the night texting, neither of you brought up the status of your relationship, or if you would even have a proper talk about it at all. You just went with the flow, enjoying the giddy excitement and grinning from ear to ear the whole time.

The next day, you got up earlier than usual, unable to contain your excitement. You contemplated texting him in the morning but decided against it, not wanting to seem desperate or overthink the situation. But you were looking forward to how things will unfold from now on.

You hoped to catch him in the elevator but he wasn’t there. At the campus, you spotted him near the cafeteria and decided to approach him. Just as you were passing through the gate, you saw Kierra, his ex-girlfriend, approaching him.

You stopped dead in your tracks, nervousness making your heart race. You watched them talk, and although you were too far away to hear their conversation, her pretty smiling face and his seemingly nonchalant expression made your stomach churn. Feeling a pang of jealousy and insecurity, you walked away before they could notice you.

The rest of the day, you avoided Vernon. Ignoring his messages, you focused on your classes, hoping to drown out your sad thoughts. But it was impossible to concentrate, your mind always drifting back to him and the confusing mix of emotions he stirred within you. At this point, it’s safe to say he’s an effective distraction from your studies.

After your last class, you stepped out of the classroom, only to find Vernon waiting for you. His presence startled you, and before you could slip away, he caught up with you.

“Hey, hey,” he asked, blocking your way when you tried to walk away. “What’s wrong with you today?” he questioned, his tone a mix of frustration and concern.

You looked around, avoiding his gaze. “Nothing. What do you want?”

Vernon looked appalled as if he’d been asked a ridiculously stupid question. “Can we talk?”

“What do you wanna talk about?”

Vernon’s smile was awkward and uncertain. “Nothing and everything. You weren’t responding to my texts. What’s wrong?” he demanded softly, his eyes searching yours for answers.

You swallowed hard, trying to maintain your composure. “Nothing’s wrong,” you lied.

He called your name—softly, lovingly, the word rolling beautifully on his tongue. “Why are you acting like this?” he pressed. “What happened? I thought we were fine.”

“Why would you kiss me?” you snapped, catching him off-guard.

Vernon chuckled lightly. “What do you mean? You kissed me.”

“Then why would you kiss me back?”

“Because you kissed me first! Come on, where are you going with this?” he asked, reaching to touch your arm but you recoiled, surprising Vernon and making him back away. “I’m sorry.”

“Just leave me alone, Vernon,” you snapped, feeling the sting of your own words.

His expression hardened with disappointment and hurt flashing in his eyes. “Don’t we need to talk? Isn’t there anything you want to say to me at all?” he asked, his voice low and intense.

Of course, there is. There are countless things you want to say to him. You want to apologize for what happened, to explain why you left. You want to tell him how much you regret not going to the farm with him, and how wrong you were to leave him the way you did. You want to ask if you're okay now, if he wants you back, or if he can even forgive you. You want to tell him how much you’ve missed him, how every day apart has felt like an eternity. Most of all, you want to confess that you are madly in love with him, so deeply that it makes your heart ache.

But you couldn’t even look him in the eye. “No. Nothing at all,” you replied, resolute.

Vernon looked at you for a long moment, his jaw clenched. Without another word, he turned and walked away, leaving you standing there with a heavy heart.

As you watched him go, a wave of regret washed over you. You wanted to call out to him, to explain everything, but your pride held you back. The fear of getting hurt again was too strong. You wished you could turn back time, but all you could do now was live with the consequences of your actions.

You walked the opposite way, your steps getting quicker, and quicker, and quicker until you were full-on sprinting. The path towards the gate seemed to stretch for miles, making freedom seem so far from your reach. When you finally did reach it, you snatched a cab from a fellow student who was just about to get into it. And in there, you told the taxi driver to drive straight before you started sobbing in your hands.

The days following your conversation with Vernon were a blur. You couldn't stop thinking about what happened, the hurt on his face, and the lie you told so shamelessly. Facing him felt impossible. So, you did everything you could to stay out of his way.

Monday morning, you arrived late for your first class, slipping into the lecture hall undetected while the professor’s back was turned. You were late because you wanted to make sure you didn’t bump into Vernon in the elevator or somewhere around school.

At school, you altered your usual routes, taking longer paths between classes to avoid running into him. You kept your head down, focusing on your books or your phone, praying not to cross paths. Despite your efforts, there were moments when fate seemed determined to throw you together.

One afternoon, you were in the cafeteria, grabbing a quick lunch. You spotted Vernon entering with Mingyu. You immediately hid behind a pillar, hoping they hadn't seen you. Your heart pounded in your chest as you peeked around the corner, watching him laugh at something Mingyu said. The sight of his smile brought back memories of happier times, and you felt a pang of regret. Still, you remained hidden until they found a table far from where you were.

Another time, you were walking back to your apartment, lost in thought. You turned a corner and almost collided with Vernon. Your eyes met for a split second before you mumbled an apology and hurried past him. His gaze lingered on you, and you could feel the weight of his disappointment.

Late one evening, you decided to study in the library, thinking it would be a safe haven. You settled into a quiet corner, spreading out your notes and books. Just as you started to focus, you noticed Vernon sitting at a table across the room. He was engrossed in a textbook, headphones on, completely oblivious to your presence. You watched him for a moment, your heart aching with a mix of longing and guilt. You packed up your things quietly and left, not wanting to risk another awkward encounter.

In between these encounters, you threw yourself into your studies as usual, trying to drown out the turmoil inside you. You spent hours in the library, attended every class religiously, and even joined a study group to keep yourself occupied. But no matter how busy you kept yourself, thoughts of Vernon were never far away.

Your friends noticed your distraction. One evening, as you all gathered for a dinner you couldn’t get out of, Trina nudged you. “You okay, Y/n? You’ve been quiet lately.”

“Yeah, just a lot on my mind,” you replied with a forced smile.

Jade, ever perceptive, gave you a knowing look. “Is it about Vernon?”

You sighed, unable to hide the truth from them. “I just... I don’t know how to fix things.”

Trina placed a comforting hand on your arm. “Maybe you just need to give it time. And when you’re ready, talk to him.”

Her words echoed in your mind, but the fear of facing Vernon again kept you from acting on them.

One evening, as you were leaving a late class, you saw Vernon leaning against a wall, waiting for someone. You slowed your pace, hoping to avoid his notice, but he looked up and his eyes locked onto yours. For a moment, neither of you moved. Then you quickly averted your gaze and walked past him, feeling his eyes follow you.

“What are you afraid of?” you asked yourself later that night, lying in bed and staring at the ceiling. “Why can’t you just tell him how you feel?”

The truth was, you were terrified. Terrified of facing the pain you’d caused him, of admitting your mistakes, and of finding out if it was truly too late to make things right. So, you continued to avoid him, hoping that somehow, time would ease the tension and make it easier to bridge the gap between you. The ache of unresolved feelings and the weight of your avoidance lingered, leaving you to wonder how long you could keep this up.

You got invited to Trina’s birthday, along with everyone else. It was an intimate party, just close friends gathered to celebrate. Jade was there with Jaehyun. Adie and Eunwoo were present too, as well as some of Trina’s close acquaintances. You noticed Minghao’s absence and Trina was seemingly unaware of this fact. You watched how she grinned wider than usual, laughed louder than she used to, and talked a lot. Not that it was weird, but she wasn’t usually this way. She had always been calm, composed, and graceful—elegant, to put it simply. This elegance is not a farce. And right now, although the change is slight, you knew something was up.

You tugged Jade’s elbow as you watched Trina drink beer in a bottle, which she never does. “Is everything okay with Trina?”

“You noticed it too, huh?” she whispered back. “She and Minghao broke up yesterday.”

“What?” you exclaimed a little too loudly, making everyone glance your way. You covered your mouth and looked away. But you met Trina’s gaze and saw her smile faltering. At that moment, you and Trina understood each other’s cues. She then widened her smile again, as if to tell you that she was fine.

Mingyu arrived shouting, hands raised, and commanding the attention of the entire hall. Everyone cheered at his arrival, but your eyes caught Vernon towing behind him and your heart sank a little.

“The party is here!” Mingyu announced, pulling Trina into a hug before giving her the bouquet Vernon was holding for him. “Happy birthday to my favorite girl.”

“Wow. And here I thought I was your favorite,” Jade interjected jokingly.

“Nope. Your birthday already passed,” said Mingyu, waving his hand dismissively.

You ate, drank, talked, and laughed along with everyone while keeping your distance from Vernon. Both of you made a conscious effort to avoid each other, trying not to bring attention to you and risk bringing down the mood of the party. However, your relationship inevitably came up in a casual conversation, making the atmosphere awkward.

“I’m actually curious about that too,” Adie asked, looking genuinely perplexed. “What did happen between you two?”

Trina laughed heartily. “Let’s not talk about depressing things.”

“Oh, it’s not that depressing. It was just a summer fling, anyway,” Vernon said spitefully, his tone sharp enough to cut through the buzz of friendly chatter. His words hit you like a punch to the gut, and you felt a surge of anger within you.

You glanced at him only to find him already looking at you.

He added, “It was, right? That’s what you told everyone.”

“Vernon,” Jade prompted, making Vernon turn to her.

He laughed incredulously. “What? You asked a question, didn’t you? I was just answering it because someone can’t seem to make up her mind on what the fuck it is that she wants.”

“Hey, man,” Mingyu interjected, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder. Vernon got up and left the room, leaving a tense silence in his wake.

You felt the weight of everyone's eyes on you. “I’m sorry, guys,” you muttered, trying to force a smile. “I didn’t mean to ruin the mood.” With that, you excused yourself and followed Vernon outside.

You caught up with him just as he was reaching his car. He saw you coming and quickened his pace, but you managed to slip into the passenger seat just as he was turning on his engine before he could drive away.

“What’s your problem?” you demanded, slamming the door shut.

Vernon didn’t look at you. “Get off. I don’t have anything to say to you. The same way you don't have anything to say to me.”

“That’s not true!” you protested, tugging his arm from the steering wheel. “Why are you being like this?”

“Like what, y/n? Like what?” he spat, turning to face you fully. “Like I’m bitter and mad? Like I was left behind by someone I loved without so much as a word? Not a text. Not an idea, or a fucking clue to tell me what the fuck happened that made you run away and hide!”

You froze, heart racing at his angry fit. You retracted your hand from his arm, and it was as if you had forgotten how to speak.

“You want to know why I’m mad?” he continued, his eyes shiny with tears threatening to fall. “I’m mad because you left me and I don’t know why. You disappeared like you didn’t exist at all. Do you have any idea how that felt? Do you have any idea how much I tried to figure out what went wrong? How I tried to find you? And now that you’re back, you come and tell me that you have nothing to say to me? I guess I didn’t deserve any explanation, did I? I was just some temporary fix that you can discard anytime you want!”

Your heart ached at his words, but you couldn’t find the right ones to say in return. “That's not true. I'm so sorry,” you whispered.

“Sorry?” he repeated, his voice cracking. He looked away and ran a hand over his face. “Why, y/n? Tell me why? If you don’t want me anymore, that’s fine. I won’t force you. Just please… please…”

He cupped your cheeks with both hands, pressed your foreheads together, and sobbed. “I loved you, y/n. And I still do. But that’s fine. I’ll get over it. Please, just tell me what I did,” he begged, sniffing as he sobbed.

You held his wrists, squeezing tightly as you let yourself cry. You wanted to tell him everything, to explain what happened. But you couldn’t because you were ashamed. You had practiced what you’re gonna say to him over and over, but now you’re just speechless.

You took a deep breath, trying to steady your nerves. “I left because I thought... I thought you were lying to me about loving me—about everything. I found out later that I was wrong, but by then it was too late.”

Vernon parted from you, and you looked up at his confused expression.

“I thought I was side chic, Vernon,” you croaked. “Someone said you had a girlfriend back here.”

“But that’s not true,” he whispered.

“I know,” you whined, lip quivering as you stopped yourself from sobbing. “I know now. But it was too late.”

“You should have asked me first!” he groaned, frustrated. “So instead of giving me a chance to explain, you just assumed the worst and ran away?”

In your defense, you didn’t think to ask him first because your initial instinct was to shield yourself from potential hurt. You had an inkling that he’d just deny everything. You didn’t think twice about the information being false because why would Trina lie to you? You trusted Vernon too but it was easier to believe someone you’ve known for years. The thought of confronting him filled you with dread as if doing so might confirm your worst fears. Somewhere deep inside you is a persistent, gnawing fear that what you had with Vernon was nothing more than a fleeting summer romance, something you had desperately tried to avoid.

You couldn’t say all that to him because you were ashamed and because you would end up a blabbering, sobbing mess before you could even get your point across. All you could do was apologize.

“I’m so sorry. I won’t do it again,” you cried. “I know I was wrong. I’m sorry. I really am.

Vernon sighed, his anger slowly melting into something softer. He reached out and wiped your tears away. “God, I didn’t know it would hurt this much to see you cry.”

You leaned onto his touch, and Vernon moved to hug you despite the uncomfortable position.

“I’m not dating anyone, love,” he said softly, running his fingers through your hair. “Not for a while now. Not since I saw you and fell in love with you.”

You remembered Mingyu telling you about his fat crush on you, but you didn’t mention it. You can’t speak with all the sobbing you were doing anyway. “I’m sorry,” you repeated, your voice barely above a whisper.

Vernon looked at you for a long moment before speaking. “I’m still mad at you,” he admitted. “Only a little bit though. It’s hard to stay mad when I care about you this much.”

That made you cry again but only because the weight in your chest was finally getting lighter. Vernon exhaled and kissed your forehead. “Alright, fine. Let’s forget it,” he said, hugging you tighter. “Just promise me you won’t cry again.”

“You made me cry.”

“I did, didn’t I? Then I’ll promise not to make you cry again.”

You stayed there for a minute, the hug comforting but uncomfortable with the compartment between the car seats. Vernon pulled away after a while, lifting your chin to kiss you. Every nerve in your body tingled with longing and uncertainty, emotions rushing through you like a tidal wave. It's a kiss that speaks of forgiveness and understanding, a perfect way to celebrate your rekindled romance.

Your hands found each other instinctively, fingers intertwining as if to anchor yourselves in the present, afraid that this moment might slip away as quickly as it arrived. Vernon’s other hand held your head in place, kissing you at an angle that left you breathless. His fingertips brushed the back of your neck, making your breath hitch. His touch is both familiar and electrifying, sending a shiver down your spine that resonated deep within.

You moaned into the kiss, and Vernon took this chance to shove his tongue inside your mouth. While you were reeling in the bliss of being kissed by him, your hand traveled the length of his chest, stopping on his crotch and massaging the erection over his jeans. You gave it a good squeeze, making Vernon groan.

Without parting from your lips, Vernon unbuckled his belt, unzipped his jeans, and released his cock from the confines of his underwear. It stood in attention, making your eyes sparkle at the sight of it in all its glory. Vernon seemed pleased with your reaction, reaching to gently rub the back of your head.

“Don’t be shy now. We both missed you,” he lilted, giving your head a slight tug.

You gathered your hair and ducked to kiss the tip of his cock. As Vernon took your hair out of your hands, you held his manhood and swallowed him whole. Your mouth was warm, making him grunt in satisfaction. When you started moving your head, you felt him jolt in his seat, grunting each time you sucked him. His satisfied sounds, the twitching of his body, and his low utterance of praise while caressing your head made you feral, giving him your best performance yet.

As you continued, his hand traveled down your back, long enough to reach your ass. He lifted your dress up to expose your ass, slapping it once and massaging the reddened skin. You groaned and stopped sucking for a second only to continue at a much more aggressive pace. He reached over to your cunt, twirling his fingers over your aching sex. Pushing your panties aside, he inserted a finger inside that made your walls clench in anticipation.

Annoyed, you let go of his cock and were about to sit back down but he pulled you into another kiss—torrid, urgent, feverish. When he pulled away, you were catching your breath, staring into his eyes fired with lust.

“Let’s go to my apartment,” you whispered into his mouth. “Or yours. Anywhere.”

“Sorry, love. I don’t think I can wait,” he replied. He pushed his seat back with a push of a button and then reclined it.

You understood his intentions and acted on it instinctively. It helped that you were wearing a dress tonight. He pushed his jeans down to his knees and you immediately positioned yourself across his crotch. Before you could sit and fulfill your desires, Vernon trapped your body in his embrace, kissing and leaving hickeys on your supple neck. His breath was warm against your skin, his heartbeat echoing the erratic rhythm of your own. He reached under your dress, squeezing your thigh when his hand passed by it before pushing your underwear aside. You felt him adjusting his cock towards your pussy and when it was time, you slowly pushed yourself down.

The moan that tore out of your throat was pure bliss, even making you close your eyes as you savored the feeling of the first stretch. When you have adjusted, you start moving your hips, grinding and bouncing. Your body was on auto-pilot because there was no way you were still sane with the amount of lust overtaking your mind and entire being.

Vernon’s hands are under your dress, squeezing your thighs so tightly that you know he is leaving bruises on them. That was supposed to hurt you, but it only fueled your desire, making you lightheaded. He would kiss your neck, your collarbone, and leave trails of hickey on your skin. His hands would massage your breasts, suckle on your nipples, and bite them hard enough not to hurt you but to further elevate your lust.

The sound of your moaning mixed with his grunts and the soft hum of the car’s engine. When he happens to lie on his back, he would watch you with great admiration, uttering praises and telling you how beautiful you are. His half-lidded sensual gaze, firm hands, and his loving voice, not to mention his girth pushing in and out of you got feeling so good you can’t keep your mouth closed.

“Oh, my love. You’re so hot,” he rasped, his eyes focused on your face. He reached for your mouth, pressing his thumb on your tongue and you sucked it. The groan he let out made your head spiral.

You started losing strength in your arms and knees, the threat of orgasm lurking nearby. Vernon saw the way your face contorted. With your erratic breathing and unsteady pace, he knew what was about to come.

“Come on, love. Let it all out,” he said amorously, bucking his hips into you to help you out.

Your lips quivered and you bent your body towards him, unable to prop yourself up anymore. You stopped grinding your hips, so Vernon continued the work for you. Wrapping his arms around your body to keep you in place, he thrusted into you several times until you cried out in pleasure, sitting back up and arching your back as fireworks exploded in your belly and between your thighs.

“Oh fuck,” Vernon blurted, bucking his hips into you a few times more before collapsing on the seat.

You slumped on his chest, catching your breath. As you did, you listened to his heart, beating wildly inside him like he had just run a mile. Groaning, he placed his hand on your back, rubbing lazily. You could feel the euphoria that clouded your mind slowly dissipate, grounding you back to the present.

“I love you, did you know that?” he said, kissing the top of your head.

“Mmhmm. I know,” you chimed, sniffing his perfume. “I love you too.”

You stayed like that for a moment, before Vernon slapped your ass, making you yelp and sit up.

“What was that for?” you pouted. He just grinned and sat up too, locking you in his arms to kiss you again, deeply, longingly, like it was his first time ever.

When he pulled away, he said, “Come on. Let’s go home. We’re not done yet and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“What?” you questioned, shifting above him and moving to sit back on the shotgun. There, you fixed your dress in a hurry.

“Gotta make up for lost time, love,” he said before reaching to pinch your nipple that was protruding underneath your dress. You squealed, scandalized but also excited.

“Is that her? OMG, so embarrassing.”

You looked up from your book, squinting at the group of three girls standing in front of you. “I beg your pardon?” you asked, scowling at their mean expressions.

“Are you Vernon’s new girl?”

“Why do you care?” you retorted, annoyed by their attitudes so you gave them some of yours too.

The girls laughed snobbishly before one of them said, “Do you know Kierra? Yeah, she’s the girlfriend of the boy you’re sleeping around with.”

“Whatever,” you sighed, reverting your attention to your book.

“Enjoy it while it lasts. Vernon is the type to get tired quickly. Then he goes back to Kierra. We’re letting you know in case you get your hopes up. We girls gotta have each other’s backs right?”

Your head was screaming for you to murder someone, but you ignored it. Instead, you took your headphones out and wore them, hoping it would send the girls away. It worked and you watched them walk away grinning and laughing to themselves.

“What the hell was that?” you mumbled to yourself.

You tried to shake off the comments, but they lingered, gnawing at the edges of your mind. That evening, as you sat on the couch in your apartment with Vernon’s head on your lap, you told him about the encounter which only made him laugh.

“That’s actually hilarious.”

You grimaced while you brushed his hair. “I don’t think they were joking.”

Vernon hummed, taking your hand and kissing it. “Ignore them. They’re not worth your time and attention.”

You pulled your hand away, needing answers more than comfort. “Do you wanna know who told me you had a girlfriend?”

His interest was piqued, brows knitting together with curiosity. “Oh yeah. You haven’t told me about that yet.”

“It was Trina,” you began. “When we were leaving Azure Bay, she texted me that you had a girlfriend. She said she saw Kierra post a photo with you so she asked her how you knew each other. Kierra said you were her boyfriend.”

“Did she? Now I see why you chose that day to leave me.”

A slight guilt tugged at your heartstrings but it was easy to ignore. You shrugged and continued talking. “Apparently, she’s been going around telling people you’re together.”

“But that’s not true and you know it,” he declared, determined not to make you misunderstand things again.

“Yeah, I do,” you replied, pushing him up. “But other people don’t.”

Vernon hugged your tiny frame when he sat up. “So what should we do about it?”

“I don’t know. You tell me,” you challenged, pulling away from his embrace.

He rubbed the back of his neck, a habit you recognized as his way of stalling. “Can’t we just ignore them?”

You felt a pang of irritation. “So, you're just going to let them talk? Let them think I'm some home wrecker or something like that?”

“Only Kierra's friends are talking anyway,” he replied, trying to sound reassuring. You raised an eyebrow at him. “Look. She’s only doing that because she knows I’m seeing someone.”

“And? You’re not gonna do anything about it?”

Vernon shrugged. “I can do something about it, but I don’t really want to trigger her or anything. She’s very unpredictable. You see, Kierra and I… our relationship was toxic but I still respect her as a woman. We were probably in love at one point in the past too. I don’t want to do anything that would humiliate her or something.”

You understood his point and you felt a sense of pride for his character. It was so mature of him to think that way and for that, you felt proud. While you honor his stand on things, hearing him talk about being in love with another girl made you a little jealous. Yes, you know it was in the past, but it still irritated you. Now you are thinking of picking a fight with him just for the sake of it.

You scooted away when he tried to hug you, pouting and staring at the floor to show him you were sulking. Vernon knew what you were doing and scooted closer. He gently lifted your chin to meet his gaze.

“Hey, now,” he whispered, his eyes sincere. “That was a long time ago. You’re the one I love now. The only one I want to be with.”

You pouted even harder. “Is it true you get tired of women easily though?” you asked pointedly, narrowing your eyes at him. “And that you run back to Kierra when you do?”

He chuckled, planting a kiss on your nose. “False. Not true at all.”

You looked into his eyes, seeing the truth in his words, and felt comforted—not that you actually needed it anyway. You were just trying to be cute.

You leaned into his embrace, smiling from ear to ear. As much as you want to make him grovel each time you’re sulking for fun, you just adore him so much that he can easily woo you into submission.

“Don’t worry. I’ll talk to her. Maybe that will finally put her in place,” he assured you, kissing your forehead again.

But of course, even after talking to Vernon, Kierra’s shenanigans did not end there. You met her at a party one night, marking the first time you would ever interact with her. It was a lively affair, the room buzzing with chatter and laughter, but everything seemed to come to a standstill the moment she approached.

“Oh my god, not Kierra. I can’t stand her,” Trina blurted, rolling her eyes and walking away from your circle.

Brazenly, Kierra made her way towards Vernon, her eyes locked onto him. You were clinging to his arm, feeling secure in his presence, but she casually pushed you aside. Without missing a beat, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his, hip to hip.

Vernon reacted immediately, pushing her away in front of everyone. “Please, Kierra. Let’s not embarrass ourselves in public,” he said quietly.

Kierra laughed villainously, walking to Vernon again. She placed a hand on his chest, rubbing circles on his shirt. “Come on, Nonie. You know you’ll eventually come back to me. You could rail every single woman on Earth, but you’d still come crawling back to me. Like always.”

“But I didn’t do that, did I?” Vernon replied calmly, taking your hand. “I never went back to you, let alone crawl. Have some dignity, Kierra. Go home.”

Her face flushed with embarrassment, especially as the crowd around you all murmured in agreement, aware of the truth in Vernon's words. Desperate and humiliated, she lashed out, slapping Vernon hard across the face.

Something inside you snapped. Without a second thought, you grabbed a handful of her hair, your fingers tangling in the strands as you started dragging her away from Vernon. The crowd gasped, watching the scene unfold.

“Get off him,” you spat, your voice low and furious. Kierra struggled against your grip, but you held firm, your anger giving you strength.

Some people intervened, pulling you away from her and restraining you. You released Kierra, who stumbled back, glaring at you with hatred. You stood your ground, refusing to let her intimidate you at all. When Kierra was back on her feet, she lunged at you, only to be held back by Mingyu and Eunwoo.

“Hey, hey, hey! Cut it out!” Mingyu scolded sternly.

“You're done here,” you told her, your voice steady. “Stay away from us.”

Kierra sneered, but the humiliation and defeat were clear in her eyes. She turned and stormed off, the party resuming its buzz as people whispered about the dramatic confrontation.

Vernon wrapped an arm around you, pulling you close. “I'm sorry,” he whispered, his breath warm against your ear. “I’m sure she won't bother us again.”

You nodded, feeling a mix of relief and lingering anger. “Let’s go,” you said, ready to leave the party behind.

As you walked out with Vernon, you couldn't help but feel a sense of triumph. You tried to stifle it, but eventually gave up and started giggling. Vernon glanced at you, intrigued.

“Are you laughing?”

“No,” you denied, only to burst out laughing.

Vernon watched you with a fond look on his face, amused and smitten at the same time. His hand held yours tightly, without any intention of letting go.

“Sorry. I just can’t forget the look on her face,” you confessed, clearing your throat, but your smile remained.

Vernon hummed as you continued walking to his car. “I didn’t know you could fight.”

“I can’t, but I had to,” you retorted.

“Aw, you can’t but you would fight for me, wouldn’t you, love?”

“Shut up before I fight you too.”

Vernon chuckled heartily and then leaned closer to whisper in your ear. “You were so hot.”

You just scoffed, unimpressed. “And you’re probably feeling so full of yourself seeing two women grab each other’s hair because of you?”

He shook his head. “I’m pretty sure she didn’t get to do that to you. It wasn’t a 50/50 fight, love. More like 90/10 in your favor.”

As you settled into the car, you leaned back and sighed, the adrenaline slowly fading. Vernon's hand found yours again, and he squeezed gently.

Driving through the quiet streets, you glanced at him, feeling a wave of affection wash over you. It was a ridiculous situation, almost comical. But it still gave you great joy. You had fought for him, and he had stood by you, unwavering.

You looked out the window, the city lights blurring past, and let yourself bask in the warmth of his hand on yours. In that moment, you realized that no matter the storms, you and Vernon would always have each other. And that thought, more than anything, filled you with a serene, unshakeable joy.

The sun filtered through the library windows, casting a warm glow over the study tables. You and Vernon sat side by side, your legs touching under the table. His hand occasionally found its way to yours, squeezing gently as you both concentrated on your assignments. You glanced over at him, watching as he furrowed his brow in concentration, a small smile tugging at your lips. You scribbled a note in the margin of your textbook, then nudged him with your elbow.

“Need a break?” the note said.

Vernon looked up, a grin spreading across his face. “I thought you’d never ask.” He closed his laptop and stretched his arms above his head, sighing contentedly. “How about a coffee?”

The two of you made your way to the café outside the campus, fingers intertwined. The barista greeted you with a knowing smile, already preparing your usual orders. You took a seat by the window, watching students pass by outside.

“So, how’s your project going?” Vernon asked, his eyes sparkling with genuine interest.

You shrugged, taking a sip of your latte. “It’s coming along. Slowly, but surely. How about yours?”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Let’s just say I’ve got a lot of late nights ahead of me.”

You reached across the table, brushing a stray curl from his forehead. “You’re an intelligent young man. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

“Fine? Oh, I’ll be more than just fine if you let me spend those late nights in your apartment.”

You sighed, shaking your head. “Your mind never leaves the gutters, does it?”

Later that week, the two of you found yourselves in the quad, sprawled out on a blanket under the shade of a large oak tree. Textbooks and notebooks were scattered around you, but neither of you seemed particularly interested in studying at the moment. Vernon was lying on his back, staring up at the sky, his head resting on your lap.

“Do you ever think about the future?” you asked softly, tracing circles on his shirt.

“Yeah, all the time,” he replied, his voice thoughtful. “But right now, I’m just happy being here with you.”

You smiled, feeling a warmth spread through your chest. “Me too.”

On weekends, you explored the city together, finding hidden gems in the most unexpected places. One Saturday afternoon, you stumbled upon a quaint little bookstore tucked away in a narrow alley. It was filled with the scent of old paper and the soft hum of classical music. You wandered through the aisles, hand in hand, occasionally stopping to show each other interesting finds.

“Look at this,” Vernon said, holding up an old, leather-bound book. “It’s a first edition.”

Your eyes widened in excitement. “That’s amazing! Let’s get it.”

“But it’s a Calculus book.”

You grimaced. “Oh. Put it back then.”

Vernon chuckled, knowing your loathing for Mathematics despite being a Mechanical Engineering student.

“Let’s just get a Jane Austen,” you told him, taking said book from the shelf.

As you paid for the book, the shop owner, an elderly man with a kind smile, commented on what a lovely couple you made. You both thanked him, leaving the store with a sense of happiness and a new treasure to share.

Evenings were spent cooking together in your tiny apartment kitchen. You’d dance around each other, bumping hips and stealing kisses as you prepare your meals. Thankfully, you were a decent cook because you'd starve to death if you trusted Vernon with it.

One night, you decided to make homemade pizza. Flour dusted the countertops and the tips of your noses as you rolled out the dough, laughing and teasing each other.

“You’re getting flour everywhere!” you giggled, swiping a bit of it on Vernon’s cheek.

He grinned mischievously, dipping his finger into the tomato sauce and dotting it on the tip of your nose. “Nice. Rudolph came early this year!”

You both ended up on the floor, giggling uncontrollably, your clothes covered in flour and sauce.

“They said it will be here in 20 minutes,” you told him, referring to the pizza delivery that you ordered instead.

On quiet nights, you’d curl up on the couch, wrapped in each other’s arms, watching movies or just talking about your day. Vernon would play with your hair, his fingers gently running through the strands as you rested your head on his shoulder. Sometimes, you’d fall asleep like that, the comfort of his presence lulling you into a peaceful slumber.

One such night, as you lay there, Vernon whispered softly, “I love you.”

Your heart swelled with happiness, and you snuggled closer to him, murmuring back, “I love you too.”

When summer finally rolled around, you and Vernon returned to Azure Bay, your favorite getaway. The familiar sights and sounds welcomed you back, a sense of nostalgia washing over both of you. The two of you spent your days soaking up the sun on the beach, swimming in the cool ocean, and exploring hidden trails.

As the sun began its descent, painting the sky in hues of pink and orange, you and Vernon settled into the hammock together. You snuggled close, his arms wrapped around you as you swayed gently. Here you are, back in Azure Bay after everything that went down. Growing up, you didn’t think the hammock by the poolside of your house could ever fit two people in it, now you’re finding it spacious enough for you and Vernon.

“Did you know that the ocean covers 71% of the Earth’s surface?” he asked.

“Of course, I do. They taught us that in grade school.”

“Yeah? Well, I think it’s cool.”

You giggled. “It is.”

You chatted about mundane things, from your favorite movies to your plans for the future. The conversation flowed effortlessly, punctuated by laughter and sweet, tender moments. The world felt perfect, wrapped in the golden glow of the setting sun and the warmth of each other’s embrace.

“So that’s it then. You’ll graduate after the next semester and… do nothing?”

You rolled your eyes. “Yeah. I’m taking a break. I’ve been studying my whole life. I think I can take a time off, no?”

“Of course you can.”

You shifted, looking at him. “You should get a high-paying job so I can be a stay-at-home housewife.”

Vernon laughed wholeheartedly, his chest vibrating. “I can do that. Will you be fine though? As a full-time housewife?”

You shrugged, snuggling back to him. “I don’t know. I was just kidding.”

Vernon hummed, rubbing your arm. “Don’t kid. I can’t imagine the next summers without you already so, it’s a possibility,” he said, his voice filled with sincerity.

You looked up at him, your heart full. “You don’t have to. I’m not going anywhere.”

As the last light of the day faded, you lay there in the hammock, content and deeply in love. The sound of the waves crashing on the shore and the gentle rustle of the palm trees became the soundtrack of your perfect summer evening.

“I love you.”

“I love you more.”

“But I love you most!”

“Nah, pretty sure I love you more than that.”

You giggled. “You always have to win, don’t you?”

“Yes. And do you have any idea how adorable you are?”

You snorted. “You always say that.”

“Because it’s true.”

"You're just madly in love with me."

Vernon lilted. "That's true too."

[fin]

83 notes · View notes