#Oh the food you were gonna eat in the refrigerator is gone? Oh obviously I took it and ate it because obviously I love to take your stuff

[tinyperson00-venting]

Oh, you're in a good mood again after a shitty morning?

nope, Think again! Your dad has come home dipshit!

[mintwithchoco]

loonathesmut: Dawn

LOOΠΔ Jinsoul x Male Reader

Word Count: 6306 words

Categories: smut, oral, shower sex, stepsister! jinsoul

note; my first smut! i haven't seen anyone do a jinsoul smut so here! i think i focused too much on the plot but i tried my best to incorporate a lot of smut in here! i feel like it's also pretty cringey so bash me all you want lmao

note(05312021); thanks to an ask from an anon, me and @closedafterdark​ have done a few edits and even added a shower sex scene to make the story better.

aff link

12 AM was displayed on the clock.

You were still awake, trying to finish an assignment that has been keeping you up the past three days.

It was raining harshly outside, the droplets pelting your window adding on to your laziness. You wanted to wrap yourself under the covers of your blanket and drink a cup of piping hot chocolate. Instead, you were working on a chemical equation when your attention was moved to the knocking sounds on your front door.

You were a bit confused about who was coming to your apartment this late at night. You suddenly thought about your friend. Maybe he forgot something? Or maybe it’s your mom, making a surprise visit at midnight. Though, that one seemed less likely as she was usually asleep by 8 PM.

You quickly rushed towards the door. To your surprise - it was neither your mom nor your friend. It was your stepsister, Jinsol.

You and Jinsol have been step siblings since you both were kids. She’s only a year older than you, which made it easier for you to bond with her. You still remember the days where you and her were playing hide and seek, beating each other in Super Smash Bros and sharing lunch together at school.

You and her were almost like real siblings, some might even say twins because of the similarities. Both of you had the same interest in food, music, etc. Furthermore, you were always together with Jinsol everywhere you went. If people didn���t know that you are both step siblings, chances are that you would’ve been mistaken as a good-looking couple.

But the truth was, you did have a little crush on her. You knew that it was wrong, but her personality is really similar to your ideal type. Caring, adorable, and a little clumsy at times, you obviously couldn’t say no to her. Adding on the obvious fact that she is really pretty from head to toe, it’s no wonder you were always nervous around her.

Now that you two were grown up, you have taken different paths in life. She has become an idol in a group called Girl of the Month, or more commonly referred to as Loona. The group has been doing well these days and of course, you were happy for her. You, on the other hand, continued your studies at a university in Incheon in the biochemistry field. Even though you and Jinsol were not living together anymore, both of you still kept in contact. It was almost a requirement to message each other almost every day and video calling whenever possible.

“Noona? Why are you-” you asked, blinking your eyes at her. She interrupted you from finishing your sentence by holding up two plastic bags with takeaway food inside. You automatically get them from her hands.

“The company gave me a week of vacation. Haven’t seen you in a while so I decided to pay my lovely brother a visit!” Jinsol said enthusiastically.

“But, why now though? It’s dangerous to be out at night, let alone someone as clumsy as you could get harmed.” You said, teasing her as a way to mask your visible concern.

“There’s less people at midnight. Plus, I had a bodyguard on the way here.” Jinsol answered, kicking off her shoes while entering your apartment.

“Oh really? Where is he?” You asked, peeking outside your door and not seeing anyone else with her.

“I told him to go back home. Which means, you have to take me back tomorrow! Ahh, it’s been a while since I’ve been here!” Jinsol answered while walking around the living room, looking at all of the new trinkets and decorations you have accumulated since her last visit.

You sighed deeply as you watched her pace around. Jinsol then plopped down face first onto your couch and gestured at you to sit beside her. You walked towards the couch, placing the bags of food on the table nearby and sat down beside her while holding in your nervousness.

Why were you nervous, you wondered. Is it because it’s been awhile since you’ve seen her in person? 

She was wearing a black long sleeved crop top with a black sleeveless top underneath, allowing you to see her toned abdomen. Her black shorts made your heart race faster due to how short they were, showing off her extremely long legs. Her creamy thighs looked delicious and the subtle hint of her buttcheeks were making your loins begin to burn with desire. You were thinking of very impure thoughts but did your best to suppress them.

Jinsol reached for the remote and turned on the television. You opened the bags and began taking out the styrofoam boxes of food out.

“By the way, why are you still up at this time? You were always asleep as early as possible.” Jinsol asked.

“As usual, assignments. I’ve worked on them for days now. Seems like they’re impossible to finish.” You said while opening the boxes. Once they were opened, you instantly smiled as the fragrant aroma of the food traveled into your nostrils. 

“Fried chicken? Oh you shouldn’t have!” You quickly ran to the kitchen and grabbed some utensils. Jinsol simply smiled at your actions.

“What do you want to drink?” You asked.

“Do you have any Sprite?” Jinsoul said.

“Yeah, I do.” You opened the refrigerator and took out two green cans of the unmistakable beverage.

With utensils on your right hand and the two cans of Sprite on your left, you went back to the couch and gently put them down. Both of you quickly dig into the food while watching a random movie that Jinsol put on.

The both of you talked a lot while eating, the movie serving as a background afterthought. From the funny moments during her fansigns to your experience working part-time at a daycare, your heart was constantly beating. The nervousness could be heard in your voice with each of your responses. You were quiet whenever she spoke and stuttered when answering her questions, often repeating certain words a few times. Every time you stutter, Jinsol would smile. Sometimes she would giggle for no reason and it only increased the furious rate your heart was pumping at.

Halfway through the movie, Jinsol suddenly asks a question that you’ve been avoiding to answer.

“Hey, baby brother?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have a girlfriend?” Jinsol asked casually.

“Uhh no..I’m too busy with assignments and studies. I barely have enough time for sleep these days, much less a girlfriend.” You answered calmly.

“Ehh..really? How about a crush?”

“Not really. I don’t really know any girls at the university. Most of my interactions with them are about assignments or if they could borrow my notes from the previous lecture.” You felt slightly bad for lying to her, since you knew a handful of pretty girls in your university.

“How about you noona, are you interested in anyone?” You directed her question right back at her, mentally preparing yourself to be heartbroken.

“Yeah, I do actually.” All the color in your face was gone as you felt your heart metaphorically being glass and shattering into a million pieces. But you still held out hope that it was just one of her jokes...

“Oh really? Then tell me how attractive this guy is.” You teased.

“Hmm, let’s see. He’s handsome, pretty athletic, smart, kind but what’s important is that..” Jinsol stops and stares at you.

“..he’s like a little brother to me.” Jinsol ended her statement when your faces were mere centimeters and turned her focus to the movie.

You were visibly confused. Why would she emphasize her crush to be a ‘little brother’? You tried to wrap your head around it by watching the movie as well, occasionally stealing glances at her. But her words still lingered in your mind.

It was around 2 AM when the movie finally ended. You looked towards Jinsol and saw her fast asleep. Being the good brother and host you are, you delicately lifted her into your arms to bring her into your room so that she could sleep on your bed. The impure thoughts reared their ugly head into your mind as you did so.

After gently laying her down on your bed, you grabbed some pillows and blankets to sleep on the couch. You decided it was too risky to share the bed with Jinsol otherwise.

Just as you were about to close the lights and head to the living room, you felt a hand grab your arm. You looked back to see Jinsol who had a sleepy look plastered on her face pulling you back.

“Where are you going?” Jinsol asked with a quiet and raspy voice. Her exhausted voice sounded so seductive, almost causing you to choke on your own saliva.

“I’m s-sleeping on t-the couch. You know, t-to give you privacy…” You said, failing to not stutter that you had just managed to control.

“You’re not gonna feel comfortable sleeping on the couch. Just sleep here.” Jinsol said again.

“But-” You tried to resist but Jinsol pulled your hand even harder.

“F-Fine…” You said as you gave up and sat beside her on the bed. You were hesitant to do so, your king-sized bed feeling like it was too small for the both of you.

“Just lay down! I won’t eat you.” Jinsol teased.

You laid down slowly, feeling like you were going to melt and sink into the bed. Once you got comfortable, Jinsol pulled the blankets over the both of you.

“Goodnight, baby brother.” Jinsoul said, giving you a kiss on the forehead and then turned on her side, facing herself against you.

“G-Goodnight, n-noona..” You said, trying to stop your rapidly hardening erection below from waking up because of the perverted thoughts you were having.

After around twenty minutes, you still couldn’t sleep because of the close proximity between you and Jinsol. You looked to your side and saw her sleeping soundly. You couldn’t deny how pretty she looked while sleeping. After some time and your erection teasing you, you managed to fall asleep.

//timeskip//

It was now 6 AM.

Jinsol felt a weird sensation all over her body.

She was heating up from head to toe, but it was not due to a fever.

Her bottom was where most of the warm and weird sensations were coming from. She felt that something hard was touching her. She tried to move her hips around and suddenly moaned. She quickly stopped, afraid that her moans would wake you up.

She doesn’t know why, but the thing that was touching her clothed vagina felt good. She felt herself getting wet because of it as well. She wanted to get up and inspect what exactly was touching her. But then she thought about you, so she scrapped the plan and decided to just see what was going on.

She slowly opened her eyes. It was dark but she could still see a little bit. She looked at her back and to her surprise, you were hugging her tightly. Your face was close to her neck and your right hand was at her waist. Moreover, the thing that was poking her was coming from you.

Jinsol smiled.

The truth was, Jinsol also has feelings towards you. The person that she described earlier in the evening was you. She always loved how you were nervous around her. Sometimes, she would touch herself after she secretly caught you staring at her body. It was like this for two years until you and she went your separate ways to pursue your own careers.

And now she was here, visiting you with one goal in mind. To actually confess her feelings towards you. She was going to just confess normally. But now, she had an even better idea due to this newfound situation.

She slowly gets off the bed, removing your hand away from her waist. With her off the bed, your body laid flat just how Jinsol wanted. She gets on top of the bed again and crawls in between your legs towards your crotch. Throughout all of this, you were still sleeping heavily.

Now at your crotch, Jinsol licked her lips. She was finally getting ready to do the thing that she had been longing for. Thankfully for her, you were wearing baggy pants so Jinsol had no problem removing them and your underwear in one swift motion.

Your hard cock sprang out, almost hitting her in the face. Jinsol’s pussy was drenched at this point, seeing all the possibilities that she could do with your cock. She slowly strokes it, hoping that it would wake you up. But being the heavy sleeper you were meant Jinsol would have to try harder.

After stroking your cock for some time, Jinsol licked the tip that was already leaking with precum, making you moan a little in your sleep. Jinsol kept licking the drenched tip until she saw you moved slightly. Eventually, she got her wish as you woke up.

“Ugh….huh? Noona what are you-” Jinsol quickly put her finger on your lips.

“Shh, baby. I know you have been wanting this.” Jinsol said in a seductive tone.

Without any hesitation, Jinsol took your shaft into her mouth. You instantly moaned at the contact, pleasure washing over your body as Jinsol kept sucking your cock gently. You couldn’t believe that your step sister was so good at giving you head. She then stopped sucking and stroked you slowly. 

“You know, I have been eyeing you for quite some time, baby. You might not know this, but I have caught you staring at my body a bunch of times.” Jinsol said while teasing your sensitive tip, flicking her tongue against it. You felt like you were in ecstasy as she stroked your cock and teasing your tip.

 “Sorry, n-noona..I can’t- ughh…h-help it..you’re too hot- oh my god..” You tried to answer but failed as the pleasure overwhelmed your senses.

“Tell me, what do you like about my body?” Jinsol said, stroking your cock faster.

“E-everything….” Your cock was twitching at this point when Jinsol suddenly stopped, causing you to whine.

“Come on, baby. Be more specific or else I won’t let you cum.” Jinsol started to stroke your cock again at a delicately slow pace.

“Your t-thighs. I love how delicious they look.” You said. You were getting used to her strokes, causing you to throb in her hand.

“Mmm, more?” Jinsol began to stroke faster.

“Y-your ass. I just wanna spank it every time I see you w-wear shorts.”

“You gotta have to work for that, baby. More.” Jinsol strokes you at an even faster rhythm.

“Your abs. I really like how sexy your a-abs look when you wear crop tops.”

“Thank you, I worked really hard on them. Last one, baby. Don’t stop now, you’re almost there.” Jinsol was now stroking you at max speed.

“Y-your b-breasts. I could suck o-on them all d-day.”

“Good boy. Now, for your reward.” Jinsol took your shaft into her mouth, starting from the tip.

You immediately moaned. Jinsol starts bobbing her head on your cock, taking it inch by inch. She gripped your thighs while you ran your fingers through her blonde hair. Eventually you hold the back of her head with both hands, the two of you are deeply absorbed by the erotic act. You mentally counted the seconds that passed, wanting to see how long she would be able to hold you for. Jinsol shakes her round ass as you force her head deeper. You felt her throat make contact with the tip of your cock, causing you to let out a wordless scream of pleasure. After about twenty seconds, she releases your cock. Gasping for air and a generous amount of saliva dripping from your cock and her mouth, she giggles in satisfaction. Your brain was beginning to overload from the pleasure. 

Jinsol’s panties were drenched with her juices since she started. While she was sucking your cock, her hand slowly went inside her panties. You saw what was happening and took advantage of it.

“Noona..let me help you out.” Jinsol understood what you were trying to do and eased her mouth off your cock, causing you to whimper. She turned around so that her hips would be up against your face. You got to work by pulling her shorts and her panties off in one motion, mirroring what she did to you.

“Impatient aren’t we?” Jinsol said and returned to slobbering on your throbbing cock. Tossing her shorts and panties on the floor, her beautiful pink pussy was glistening with her juices, making you drool. You dive right in, licking her clit like it was your last meal. Jinsol moaned loudly on your cock, adding on another layer of pleasure. You grabbed her thick thighs to get a better grip while eating her out.

Both of you were a moaning mess. Jinsol was bobbing her head on your shaft while you were eating her pussy out. Jinsol started to fondle your warm balls, raising the volume levels of your moans. You weren’t one to be defeated so easily, starting to finger her drenched pussy with two of your fingers. She responds with an even louder moan than before, aroused by how you were giving her pussy your full attention.

Jinsol bobbed her head harder and faster on your cock, causing you to add another finger inside her vagina while licking her clit. You and Jinsol were sweating profusely, but it doesn’t stop the both of you from continuing to pleasure each other. Suddenly, Jinsol stops sucking you off and strokes your shaft hard.

“Baby, you’re so good at that. Don’t you fucking stop.” Her words made you move your fingers even faster into her. She replies in earnest by sucking your cock even harder.

Eventually, both of you can’t hold it any longer. 

“I-I’m gonna cum, baby! I’m gonna cum!” Jinsol said and continued her assault on your dick. 

“Me…too…” You replied back with a breathy voice. 

Jinsol came first, violently. She arches her back as the floodgates opened and you were rewarded handsomely with her sweet nectar. You tried to take it all in but she came so much that it was starting to leak out of your mouth and dripped onto your neck. Meanwhile, your cock twitches and explodes inside Jinsol’s mouth. She lowered her head and tried to take all your cum in but was unsuccessful because of the large volume of your load.

Both of you were struggling to breathe after your intense orgasms. Jinsol looks back at you and stares deeply into your warm brown eyes. She then removes her body off you and plops back on the bed. She kissed you on the lips. Each connection sent small jolts of electricity jolting through your body. The taste of her strawberry lipstick mixed with your cum was amazing. After making out for a period of time, both of you pulled back, leaving a trail of saliva.

“I taste pretty good.” You said.

“Yeah, I love how I taste too. Now, let’s-” You interrupted Jinsol by pinning her down, kissing her again, quickly grabbing her shirt and throwing it off the bed. Jinsol smirked and did the same, except that she ripped your shirt off you.

“You look good.” Jinsol complimented you, biting her lower lip as her eyes hungrily eyed your exposed body.

“You look even better without this.” You removed her black top to reveal her breasts that were being covered with a blue laced bra. Her breasts weren’t the biggest, but were enough for you to fully grab a handful. Your impatience took over your admiration of them and you pulled her bra off, exposing her plentiful breasts. Jinsol moaned over your actions as the cool nighttime air made contact with her exposed skin.

Now the both of you are finally naked together. You start off by kissing her cheeks, creating a trail as you make your way through her neck and eventually, her breasts. You immediately dive into her pink nipples which were already stiff. Jinsoul softly moans into your ear, enjoying what you were doing to her body. You sucked her left nipple, then moved to the right. The breast that wasn’t in your mouth was being fondled by your hand.

Jinsol was shivering with pleasure. She didn’t get relaxed, however. Instead, she reaches for your cock and starts stroking it. You moaned slightly because of her actions. After having fun with her soft flesh, you pepper her stomach with kisses and trace her abdomen by licking it with your tongue.

“Baby, do you love me?” Jinsol suddenly asked.

“Of course, noona. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” You answered with no hesitation.

“Then, prove your love by fucking me as hard as you can.” Jinsol’s dirty talk has made your cock throb even harder than before.

Fueled by Jinsol’s dirty talk just now, you turned her body around so her back was facing you and lifted her up so she was on her fours. Before lining your cock with her dripping pussy, you spanked her round ass several times.

“F-Fuck! Slap my ass again, baby.” Jinsol moaned.

You spanked her again and again, gaining a series of loud moans.

Your cock was now in between her dripping heat. It felt so warm, inviting. This was the moment that you have always been dreaming about and you don’t wanna lose this chance. You started by teasing the outside of her folds, collecting her nectar that was dripping. 

“Stop teasing me already, baby...” Jinsol moaned at the feeling of your hard cock nudging her entrance.

You grabbed her wide hips, aiming your cock and started to push into her slick folds. Both of you gasped and moaned. You never felt the feeling of a vagina before in your life and never knew how tight they could really be. You pushed into Jinsol even more, feeling her walls wrapping your shaft. Jinsol was lost in pleasure, leaning her head back and enjoying how you felt inside of her. Eventually, all of your cock went in. You savored the feeling of her plump ass against your crotch.

You slowly pull away from her pussy and stop before your tip comes out. You pushed into her again and repeated the process as the both of you were getting accustomed to it. You found a perfect rhythm and started to thrust into Jinsol. Her pussy walls felt warm with your dick embedded in her. Jinsol was a moaning mess, getting louder with each thrust.

“Fuck baby, you’re so big and hard.”

“You’re so fucking tight, noona.”

Slowly but steadily, you increased the pace of your thrusts. Jinsol’s erotic sounds were being an encouragement for you to keep yourself pumping into her. You love how cute she moaned for your cock and how gorgeous she looks being satisfied with your thrusts.

You fucked Jinsol even harder and harder. You wanted to kiss her, so you grabbed her shoulder and pulled her upright so that she’s leaning against your chest. You kissed her lips passionately. 

“Yes, fuck me harder. Turn me into your little slut, baby!” Jinsol’s words went right in your ear and of course, you followed what she said. Her walls were constricting your shaft even more. Your right hand reached towards her breasts, fondling it to give more pleasure to the woman that you love.

Her walls were becoming even tighter as you touched her breasts. Your pace didn’t slow down however, it was increasing like crazy, to the point where her ass is making clapping sounds with your crotch. Jinsoul was in euphoria, being a cute little mess. 

“Baby, h-harder please. I wanna cum all over your fucking cock.”

You put your left hand on her clit and rubbed it while thrusting even faster into her. Her moans have become music to your ears, giving you the strength to keep thrusting into her.

Jinsol then buried her face into the bed. Spreading her legs apart, you began thrusting inside her. You watched as Jinsol squeezed her tits, pinching her nipples as you fucked her hard. You made sure she could feel each thrust.

“Your cock feels so fucking good, I love it so much!” Jinsol moaned loudly, her walls squeezing the life out of your cock as you fucked her. 

Jinsol closed her eyes while she grabbed onto the sheets tightly, desperately hanging on while chasing her impending orgasm. You roughly fucked her as her body moved in time with your thrusts.

“Oh fuck!” She screamed as you held her body tightly in place, your hands making a deep impression on her hips.

“Baby, I’m cumming!”

Ultimately, she shrieks and came hard on your cock. Her walls tighten around you deliciously as you feel her juices flood your cock and begin to seep out, staining both of your thighs. You watched as Jinsol’s body trembled violently, her breathing becoming erratic as your thrusts gradually began to slow down in order to allow her to ride out her euphoric high. 

“Baby… that was amazing.” she said quietly, her mouth still open. You kept a tight hold on her as she struggled to catch her breath.

“I came so fucking hard...” She then looks back towards you.

“You haven’t cum yet, baby. I want your load deep inside of me, so come fuck me again.” Jinsol’s dirty talk reinvigorated you as you pulled out your cock from her and turned her around so that she was facing you. She was covered in sweat but still as beautiful as always. You were lost in her gaze for a couple of seconds.

“Noona, I love you.” You blurted out unexpectedly.

“I love you too, baby.”

You spread her legs to reveal her still dripping pussy. You put both of your hands beside her and lined up your cock with her vagina. Jinsol wrapped her arms around your neck, ready to receive your shaft.

“Ready?”

“Always.”

You pushed yourself into her slowly until your dick fully disappeared into her folds. Both of you moaned together at the euphoric feeling. You pull out from her pussy, leaving the tip and slamming her with a long thrust. She moans in pleasure of your cock being deep inside of her tight hole.

You started to fuck Jinsol in a slow pace. Words couldn’t describe how good the both of you felt fucking while facing each other. Her mouth was open, filling both of your ears with her lustful moans.

“Ahh, baby, I love how deep your dick is inside of me.” Jinsol moaned, her eyes rolling back because of the intense pleasure you were giving her.

“Your pussy feels amazing, noona. It’s so tight and warm.” You replied as you began to thrust faster into her. Jinsol was moaning even louder, following the rhythm of your thrusts. You lifted her feet up and placed them on your shoulders, allowing your cock to enter her even deeper.

Jinsol’s breasts were jiggling up and down and you couldn't help yourself from grabbing onto them while you fuck her. She was obviously aroused by this as you took her right nipple into your mouth. Your pace was getting even faster as the wet sounds of your crotches hitting each other could be heard.

Jinsol suddenly grabbed onto your back and scratched it with her nails. You moaned at her action and the erotic act caused you to pound her even harder. Her juices were splashing against both of your crotches, allowing you to slide in and out with ease. Her pussy was getting tighter and tighter as you pound into her. The only sounds that were being heard in your room were wet flesh and your bodies clapping together.

You thrusted into her as hard as you could. The room felt cold because of the rain outside, but you and Jinsol were drenched in sweat from the heat your bodies were producing. How Jinsol was moaning because of your dick, how warm and tight she was, how her breasts were jiggling up and down while you thrust into her, all of it was too much for you to handle.

“Harder…” she said, sweat dripping off her body and onto the bed sheets. Her eyes slowly began to droop lazily as she struggled to stay conscious.

“You’re so fucking deep, baby. Oh my god...” She cried out, surprising the both of you as she was still able to form coherent sentences. Eventually, that same sensation in her stomach came to her once more.

“Baby, I’m cumming again!” Jinsol screamed.

“Cum…I’m cumming too, noona!” Your words came out in between each breath.

“Yes, cum inside your noona baby!”

Jinsol’s loud screams and your harsh groans reverberated around the apartment as you fucked her until the pressure building inside you released. You suddenly felt a knot in your stomach, marking your inevitable end. You kissed Jinsol before you exploded all your load into her warm cavern, causing her to have another orgasm. You slowed down your pace and thrust deeper into her so your cum can reach deeper into her cunt. Both of your toes curled from the pleasure as your cock throbbed and released several weaker thrusts inside Jinsol. Her body was still shaking from the aftershocks when her body collapsed on top of yours, your cock still inside her.

After a minute of Jinsol milking everything out from your cock, you pulled out from her, watching how the mixture of your cum and her juices was leaking out from Jinsol’s delicious pussy. You laid down beside her, breathing heavily with your cock glistening in the nighttime light.

“Baby, that was amazing. You fucked me so well.”

“Yeah, it felt great…”

“Uhh, noona? Are you okay? I kinda smacked your ass hard just now.” You asked quickly after, a bit concerned after what you did to her.

“Ahh you’re so silly, baby. Of course I’m okay! I love it when you smack my ass.” Jinsol laughed after her statement. The room went quiet for a moment.

“Noona?”

“Yes, baby?”

“Do you really love me? Not just because I’m good at sex?”

“Baby, I have loved you since the beginning. Not because you have a big dick or you were so good at eating my pussy. It’s because I love your personality and how great of a guy you are. The other things are just a plus.” Jinsol said while staring at you. You were staring at the ceiling to avoid meeting her gaze out of embarrassment.

“…Thanks, noona.” You slowly looked at Jinsol and hugged her. Jinsol reciprocates the hug while smiling. After hugging, you looked into each other's eyes. You both then kissed passionately, not caring what the consequences that the both of you were going to face. After a tender makeout that somehow lasted thirty minutes, Jinsol speaks up.

“Now, let’s clean up, shall we?” You both got off the bed and Jinsol dragged you by the hand into the shower of your room. She turns the shower heads on before stepping into the bathtub and holding onto your hand for you to enter as well.

The warm water calms down your aching muscles from the act earlier, giving you a sense of relaxation. It then becomes scalding hot, making you remember how much Jinsol loved hot showers. Once both of you were fully wet, she grabbed the nearby loofah and poured some body wash onto it. A lightbulb was turned on in Jinsol’s head, and so she decided to put on an erotic show for you by lathering up her deceptively curvy body with the soapy loofah. Her hands went up to her breasts, groping them gently and teasing her nipples until she felt your cock becoming hard again in between her thighs due to the close proximity between you two.

“Baby, you just came two times and you’re already this hard again?” She teased, biting her lower lip.

“I can’t help myself when there’s a beautiful naked woman with me in the shower.” You replied, making Jinsol blush.

“Alright, let’s clean you up.” 

Jinsol took her time in washing you, making sure every inch of your skin is covered in the lavender scented body wash. As she traces the loofah, drawing her name on your chest and down to your stomach, she stops on your lower body. Holding your cock in her hands, she runs the loofah across it, creating a tingling sensation in your body. Jinsol smiled as she slowly began to stroke you while softly biting your nipples. You let out a moan because of the stimulation and slowly move backwards until your legs bump into the edge of the tub, making you sit down on the cold and slippery surface. Then, Jinsol straddles your lap and your hard cock pressed against her stomach as she gave you another passionate, lust-filled kiss.

You finally break the kiss when you both feel too lightheaded and need oxygen. Jinsol does her best to catch her breath, her pink lips slightly puffy and her cheeks flushed. She was the most beautiful woman in the world in your eyes and there was nothing that could change that.

“I thought we were gonna get clean-ahh…” You were cut off by Jinsol’s lips finding their way to the place where your lower jaw and neck meet, nibbling on the skin as she leaves hickeys behind, marking you as hers.

“But I want you so bad, baby.” She murmured just loud enough for you to hear, causing goosebumps to form on your body and your cock to throb against her stomach.

Wrapping her arms around your neck, Jinsol lowers her body as she guides your cock back inside her. The two of you moaned as she slowly lowered herself onto you until she had reached your base completely. Jinsol watched you close your eyes as her tight, velvety walls wrap themselves tightly around you once more. She began bouncing her body up and down, her ass jiggling each time. Her body unconsciously tightens her muscles around you, providing a feeling you couldn’t put into words.

“Noona…do that again.” You breathlessly said.

Jinsol clenched her vaginal muscles around your cock again, tightening you in a firm grip and earning herself your cries of pleasure.

Your hands rested on her cheeks once more, watching Jinsol bounce on your lap. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head when you accidentally discovered a certain sensitive spot within her. With each roll of your hips, you make sure to hit that pressure point.

“Fuck, that feels so fucking good.” She moaned when you took her erect nipples inside your mouth, gently biting on them and mirroring what she did to you.

“Yes baby…” She said as her stomach began to feel heavy, the knot inside her twisting. You continue pounding her newfound sensitive spot, feeling Jinsol’s sharp nails raking your back with scratches as her body trembles with an arriving orgasm.

“Baby!” She screamed repeatedly. You continued rocking Jinsol back and forth and side to side as a way to prolong the duration of her impending orgasm.

“Baby, please...” She begged, blowing hot air gently into your ear and encouraging you to keep going. 

Her eyes fully rolled back into her head as your hips crashed against hers. The water was no longer burning hot, but neither of you cared about the temperature change - only focusing on each other. Jinsol felt so comfortable on your lap and in your arms that her eyes began drooping.

“N-Noona, I’m cumming!” You said, the only semblance of a warning as you made a powerful thrust deep inside her pussy. Your cock throbs as her tight, velvety walls clamped onto your dick. You began pouring hot, thick semen inside Jinsol which once again causes her own orgasm to occur. Both of you are moaning loudly in satisfaction.

“Ahh fuck baby...” Jinsol moaned as it seemed like her body’s default reaction to her orgasms was for her eyes to roll to the back of her head. Her body wriggles in pleasure as she continues lacing together incoherent moans and explicit syllables that made no sense.

Slowly lifting up her hips, you watched as thick gobs of your semen and her juices slowly dripped out of her freshly fucked pussy. You were surprised you were still able to release such a large amount of cum due to your two orgasms that you had earlier. When the two of you are finished, you both catch your breath as she leaned down and gave you tender, passionate kisses. Jinsol is fully satisfied, happy to be in your arms again. But this time, it had a different, a more special meaning. 

After spending two hours having sex in the shower that ended up being dirtier rather than getting clean, you and Jinsol quickly get dressed to go to Seoul to drop her off because she had planned to go shopping with your mom. She didn’t bring any clothes with her, so she borrowed some of yours. She wore one of your hoodies and a pair of shorts that complimented her figure nicely. When she came out from your room after dressing up, you instantly chuckled at how cute she looked wearing your clothes.

“You look so cute, noona!”

“Of course, your noona looks good in everything. Let’s go now, I don’t wanna be late.”

“Okay Jingolas-nim!” You said to her and opened the front door for her. She just glared cutely at you and went out the door. Meanwhile, you smiled, thinking how your life is complete with the newfound existence of an intimate relationship with your stepsister, Jung Jinsol.

[sirowsky]

The Flowers Always Know

Description: When a mad scientist uses you as an experiment while you’re on holiday, the Heroics only just manage to save you. And in your recovery you become very close to the leader of the group. (Slow burn)

Warnings: Language

Link to Masterlist

Comment: Hint to what the title is all about, and plenty of Máma Moreno.

Chapter 6

  The house was a mess, to say the least. You had left in a hurry that evening, after things had taken a very sharp turn towards very bad, shortly after your dinner. You’d been glad that you had only eaten a light pea soup, when it came back up again some ten minutes later. You’d only just made it to the bathroom, but after the food had been coughed up, a large amount of fresh blood had followed, and you knew you were in trouble.   Why you hadn’t called for that ambulance was anyone’s guess, but then, you had never liked being a bother, and you had been perfectly capable of walking out to the cab.    It was just that, in the twenty minutes that the drive had taken, you’d gotten significantly worse. Your whole body had started hurting, you’d begun bleeding from the nose and ears, and just as you got to the hospital, you had begun to get spasms and cramps in your spine and legs.   When you staggered into that emergency-room, you did it truly convinced that you’d leave it in a coffin.

  You shuddered slightly with the memory, as you walked through the house, opening all the blinds and pulling all of the curtains back again. It was already late, and thus dark outside, but you wanted to wake up to a house that bathed in sunlight in the morning.   The kitchen was probably the worst, in terms of the amount of cleaning that would need to be done. The remnants of your cooking that evening where still on the counter and in the dishes, and the amount of mold that was growing in there was somewhat disturbing.   You couldn’t leave that for the morning, you’d lose every ounce of appetite waking up to that crap. So, you set about throwing away everything that had been left out on the counters and in the sink, and quickly scrubbed all the open surfaces clean, before handwashing some of the glasses, plates, mugs and cutlery, that had gotten dusty even sitting in the cabinets, in the four months you’d been gone.   Once the kitchen felt usable again, you went to the bathroom to check what state that was in. It wasn’t too bad. You flushed all the pipes and let the water run in the sink and the shower for a good half-hour to clean them out, and begin to work away the smell of stagnated water. The toilet needed a decent scrub too, but it could wait until morning.   It was after midnight when you’d finally changed the sheaths in the bed and settled in for the night.

  A sharp rapping on your door woke you after what seemed like mere seconds. But the sun was up, so you looked at your wrist-watch – 06:15 – and sighed. Who the fuck would be there at that hour?   Grumbling into your pillow, you turned over and decided that whoever it was would have to come back at a more decent hour.

  “Come on now, mujer, I don’t have all day.”

  You physically jumped at the sound of Anita Moreno raising her voice behind your front door. She wasn’t shouting, just applying a good amount of force to her voice. Just enough to make you feel a size smaller than usual.   You scrambled out of bed and grabbed a robe which you put on whilst walking towards the door. You had no idea what you looked like, but you hoped there was an air of scarecrow to you. You’d found her intriguing when you first met her the day before, but she was little more than a damned annoyance right now. You were not a morning person, and especially not today when your body was tired and sore from the tests.

  “I’m not gonna ask if you know what time it is, because you obviously do, and you obviously don’t care, so don’t beat around the bush and just tell me what the hell you want so I can go back to bed and finish waking up.”

  “You always this cheerful in the morning?”

  “Yep.”

  “I’ll be sure to let Marcus know.”

  “What does my morning mood have to do with Marcus?”

  “Nothing. Yet…”

  What? No, no, don’t let her distract you, idiot.

  “What do you want, Mrs. Moreno?”

  “Tell me, what kind of flowers do you like?”

  Nope. You’re not doing this, whatever it is, you’re not doing it at 6 fucking 15 in the morning.

  “Have a nice day, Mrs. Moreno.”

  As you went to close the door, she simply barged right in, straight past you, and completely unbothered walked into your kitchen while you scrambled after her, shocked and abruptly furious.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

  “Don’t you cuss at me, mujer.”

  “If you want me to treat you politely, then don’t fucking barge into my house uninvited.”

  “Calm down, I’m not staying for breakfast. I just want you to answer a few questions.”

  Unbelievable.

  “You’ve got some nerve.”

  “I’m old, mujer, I don’t have time for intermissions. Now, tell me, what kind of flowers do you like?”

  You were fuming, but this woman was a super. She wasn’t leaving until she decided to leave. So, you took a breath.

  “Dahlias.”

  “Interesting choice. Why?”

  “What does it matter? What do you want from me?”

  “Do you know the origin of Dahlias?”

  “Why? Am I to expect a pop-quiz banging on my door tomorrow?”

  “The Dahlia came from my ancestors, the Aztecs, they called it The War Flower. Nowadays, it’s known as the King of summer flowers, because of its wide range of shapes, sizes and colours. It has something of a demanding presence, you never walk past a Dahlia without seeing it. And yet, it doesn’t ask you for much.”

  “Do you have a point, or is this becoming a lecture on the mythology of flora? Because I will go back to bed and ignore you until you leave.”

  “It’s an observation. What’s your opinion on supers?”

  “Are you serious? Ugh, forget it, of course you are. Fine. I have nothing against them, but I don’t adore or idolize them. They’re flawed just like the rest of us.”

  “What’s Marcus’ flaws?”

  “He’s… too kind for his own good sometimes. He let’s people walk all over him if he thinks that it’ll keep the peace. And he… tries to carry the whole world by himself if you let him.”

  She smiled.

  “Good. You’re hired. I expect you at Heroics HQ at 7 am tomorrow morning.”

  …what THE FUCK…?!

  She walked back towards the door, while you stood dumbstruck just staring after her. She had reached the door by the time you unfroze and ran out to the hallway.

  “Wait, what the hell are you talking about? Hired for what? I didn’t ask you for a job.”

  “No, you didn’t. But you need one, and I’ve got one. Take it or leave it, if you’re not there by 7, I’ll know what you chose.”

  You stood in the door, watching her disappear into a black SUV, and drive off.

  Did that actually just happen? It must have, there was no way in hell you’d ever even dream something like that. You shook your head, and decided that there was no point in going back to bed now, your head was buzzing, so you might as well have breakfast and get the cleaning going.   As you went to the bathroom you caught your reflection in the mirror, and smiled to yourself. There was definitely an air of scarecrow.   You turned the TV on while you made tea, and tried not to think about what had just transpired in your kitchen.   You had always loved coffee before, never started the day without it ever since you were 16. But your body seemed to have become oversensitive to it after your cellular breakdown. You’d had your first cup about a month ago, and it had really done a number on you. You’d been hyperactive for hours with uncontrollable twitches and insistent trembling in your hands.   You’d given it a second try a week later, but even just half of a small cup had resulted in the same outcome, so you had accepted that your coffee-days were over. You were actually really starting to like tea, especially the spicier types.

  The news showed a highlight reel from the Heroics latest outing, and you found yourself glancing at the footage, looking for a glimpse of Marcus. You saw him flash by as he fought someone, or something, you weren’t sure, and then again when the fighting was over. He looked confident and strong when he was out there. When he had an enemy in front of him, and a clear task.   It was enticing to watch. Oh, who were you kidding – it was fucking hot!   You shook your head and turned the TV off as you finished your breakfast. There was a lot to do to get the house in order, and you had a plan to get it all done. The problem was that a certain uninvited guest kept popping into your head, distracting you with thoughts about flowers and what the hell that job was all about?   So, by lunchtime, you weren’t anywhere close to where you’d hoped to be. You’d managed to wipe down all the surfaces where dust accumulated, and the vacuuming was done. But you’d hoped to have washed the floors and beaten the carpets and cleaned the refrigerator and freezer by then. 

  Oh, well. Rome and all that. 

  You decided to have pizza for lunch and called in an order.   But later, as you were eating said pizza, you had something of a lightning moment. You didn’t need to sit there and just fidget and wonder and worry about what you were gonna do tomorrow. You could just go back to HQ and talk to Marcus. He’d only be happy to see you, he’d said as much when you went to find him to say goodbye.   It hadn’t been a very long exchange, since you’d been eager to get going, knowing there’d be things you’d have to do before going to bed. But he had said that he’d miss you and that you’d always be welcome to visit them.   So, why not? If anyone could tell you what Máma Moreno was up to, it’d be her son.

Authors’ Note: I love criticism, don’t be shy to let me know if there’s anything you like/don’t like/have questions about.

@blueeyesatnight​ 

@farfromjustordinary​

[sonicgetsrawed]

Peaches and Cream

I, Uh, I’ve debated about sharing this one all week and I’m just gonna bite the bullet and do it since I couldn’t come up with another idea!! Um that being said a bit of a warning here this got a little spicy, no smut, but it’s very suggestive!!! Kinda like pre spice I guess!! So please don’t read if that makes you uncomfortable!!!! Sorry alistar I’m not gonna tag you in this one in case it makes you uncomfy!!! Other than that enjoy!!!!

It had been a long week, a really fucking long week. And all he really wanted to do was draw a bath and drag his boyfriend in with him, and if things just so happened to escalate, well he wasn’t going to complain. In fact he really, really, wanted them to. It had been such a long week and a good fuck or two would do wonders for the stress. Unfortunately Hugo seemed to have other plans, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he typed away on his computer, his pencil in between his teeth. Goddamn it, why did the blonde have to be so fucking hot when he was doing absolutely nothing?

Varian let a frustrated groan slip past his lips, Hugo glancing up and raising an eyebrow at him. “You okay there, Goggles?”

“I’d be better if you did something else with those fingers.” Varian said with a smirk, leaning across the counter.

“I know something you can do with that mouth.” Hugo said, pushing his computer to the side, leaning forward so their noses were almost touching.

“Yeah?” Varian could feel his eyes slipping closed in anticipation for the kiss.

“Yeah.” Hugo said, his lips grazing Varian’s they were so close, but before Varian could claim them fully Hugo pressed them to his forehead instead, grabbing his computer and moving to the couch. “Shut the fuck up so I can finish this.”

Varian pouted, Hugo easily going back to whatever the fuck he was doing. It wasn’t fair. Varian smirked, pulling a popsicle from the freezer and unwrapping it. “I could help you finish.” Varian said, taking the popsicle into his mouth and bobbing his head, licking slowly up the popsicle.

“Doubt it.” Hugo said, briefly glancing up at Varian before resuming his typing. “Be careful that’s pretty big, you’re going to choke on it.”

“Looks like you and the popsicle have something in common.” Varian said with a wink, a small trail of saliva hovering between him and the popsicle. He took the popsicle back into his mouth, letting out a little hum. Fucking hell he was so horny, if he closed his eyes he could-

“Did- did you just call me fat?”

Varian choked, pulling the icy treat out of his mouth. “Wha- no, I- never mind.”

“Okay~” Hugo said, giving him an odd look. Varian huffed, biting down harshly on the popsicle, ignoring the cold that sunk into his teeth. He quickly finished the popsicle, tossing the stick in the trash, Hugo still paying him no mind.

Varian sighed, obviously Hugo wasn’t in the mood which meant he’d have to fill the void with food. He snickered to himself, thinking of another void that had yet to be filled with food. They had yet to experiment with food in the bedroom and he couldn’t help but wonder if, or when, they would. He frowned digging through the refrigerator before settling on a bowl of peaches Hugo had sliced last night, and grabbing a can of whipped cream for good measure. Nothing helped make someone feel better than a good can of whipped cream. Varian flopped down on the couch, Hugo not even batting an eyelash as he lifted his laptop so Varian could drape his legs across his lap. Varian rested his head against the arm rest, balancing the bowl of peaches on his chest and popping off the top of the whipped cream. He let out a little moan as he filled his mouth with the creamy substance.

Well that got Hugo’s attention, the older wiggling underneath his legs. “What are you doing?”

“Eating.” Varian said, his mouth still full of whipped cream, some of it slipping past his lips. He ran his tongue around his lips, Hugo watching him with rapt attention. Oh, so now he was interested. Varian brought a peach slice to his lips, licking the juices off his fingers, his eyes locked with Hugo’s. “You could’ve been too if you put that damn computer away.”

“Consider it gone.” Hugo said, practically tossing the computer onto the coffee table and crawling so he was hovering over Varian. “Well, if that offer is still on the table~”

Varian hummed, a smirk on his lips as he let Hugo slowly start to close the distance between them, only to pop a peach into his mouth before Hugo could kiss him. “No, it’s not.”

Hugo frowned, but didn’t move any closer, instead bringing a hand up to wipe the excess cream off Varian’s chin. “And why not?”

“Because,” Varian started, wiggling just a bit. Even though he was the one pinned he knew he was in charge of this situation. He pouted, jutting out his bottom lip just enough to make Hugo squirm. “You made me feel unwanted, and this,” Varian brought the whipped cream canister to his lips. “is making me feel really, really, good.”

Hugo groaned, the bowl of peaches preventing him from getting any closer. “I can make you feel good. Let me make it up to you.”

“Can you? As good as this? Because it’s really fucking good.” Varian let out another moan, loud and deliberate, and perhaps a tad over dramatic, as the whipped cream filled his mouth. “Wanna taste?”

Hugo nodded, eagerly taking the tip into his mouth as Varian pushed down on it, filling Hugo’s mouth until the cream spilled out of the corners of his lips.

“Good?” Varian asked, wiping the corners of his lips before bringing his own fingers into his mouth and letting his eyes roll back. “Think you can make me feel that good?”

“Definitely.” Hugo said, finally claiming Varian’s lips in a heated kiss. It was awkward and a little sloppy, the remnants of the whipped cream, popsicle syrup, and peach juice, making it wetter than usual, but the taste, the taste, was out of this world, and Varian was starting to regret putting the peach bowl between them as he was sure his and Hugo’s chests would be sporting matching bruises in the morning. Not that either of them really cared in the moment.

“We should-“ Varian’s chest heaved, his eyes already glossy with desire. He tried to speak between kisses, but he didn’t want to stop kissing Hugo. He wanted him so fucking bad. He moved the bowl out from in between them, locking his legs around Hugo’s waist so they were flush against each other. Varian arched his back, giving Hugo access to his neck, which he readily took advantage of, lining the side of Varian’s neck with whipped cream. His fingernails dug into Hugo’s shoulders as the blonde licked, kissed, sucked, and bit at the skin until the cream was mostly gone, leaving his neck a sticky mess, but Varian was not going to complain.

“You were right,” Hugo said, pressing chaste kisses to Varian’s lips repeatedly, pulling away each time Varian tried to deepen the kiss. “this does feel really, really, good.”

“Shut the fuck up and kiss me properly.” Varian ordered, pulling Hugo down into a deeper kiss, their tongues fighting for dominance.

Hugo pulled away, Varian whimpering at the loss of contact. “Should we move to the bedroom?” Hugo asked, gently running his thumb over Varian’s cheek, letting him catch his breath.

“I thought you’d never fucking ask.” Varian answered, releasing Hugo so they could get up, Hugo pulling him to his feet. The two ran hand in hand towards their bedroom, giddy with excitement.

“Wait.” Hugo said, releasing Varian’s hand to grab the can of whipped cream. “I think we’ll be needing this. If that’s okay with you?”

Varian nodded, a light blush dusting his cheeks. How did he get so damn lucky? His boyfriend always put his comfort above all else. “Hell yes.”

Varian leapt into Hugo’s arms as the blonde closed the door, Hugo’s hands quickly finding his ass, smiling into the kiss. And Varian couldn’t help but smile as well, he was very lucky indeed.

[khunfounded]

Penne alla Vodka

[My first Ehwaryun fic! It’s a little not sfw (they make out) but basically it’s just my gals cookin up some romance]

Ehwa was furiously reading through the recipe Viole had given her to see what had gone wrong with her stew to have it looking so grey when there was a knock on the door. She shoved the paper onto the counter and stormed over to the door, throwing it open.

“What is i-? Oh, It’s you”.

Standing at the door was Hwaryun, piercing crimson eye crinkled up in amusement. She wore a deep grey sweater dress and black tights that on anyone else would be at most comfy, but on her was criminally unfair. Ehwa really couldn’t stand these FUG guys, walking around like they owned the place and looking better than you doing it.

“Yes, I suppose it is,” Hwaryun smirked, folding her arms together leisurely, like she had all the time in the world.

Ehwa put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot, “What are you doing here? Can’t you tell Viole’s out with your,” she gestured around her head, “Guide sense stuff?”

Hwaryun chuckled and Ehwa felt a shiver run down her spine. FUG people sure were creepy like that. Yes, that was it. Ehwa was creeped out, nothing else.

“Maybe my ‘Guide sense stuff' led me to exactly where I needed to be”.

“Well that’s not purposefully vague at all,” Ehwa said sarcastically, but her words were overtaken by the beeping of the oven.

“Oh shit! I totally forgot,” She said, rushing over and pulling out rolls that could politely be deemed as being ‘incinerated’. She growled angrily and slammed the plate down onto the counter, sending the rolls that weren’t stuck down flying.

Fuck. Why was this so hard? She was supposed to be a shining beacon of her family but she couldn’t even fucking cook right, let alone control her own powers. She had tried taking over cooking duties from Viole again, to prove herself, but she just kept failing time and time again. It had gotten to the point where some of the others would go and get take-out while she was still cooking.

Ehwa blinked back tears of frustration as she gripped the edge of the counter, looking around at the disaster area she’d turned the kitchen into. Behind her, there was a thoughtful hum.

“Yes, I can see that I’m exactly where I need to be,” Ehwa turned around and came almost nose to nose with Hwaryun, who was graciously not wrinkling up her nose at the burnt smell of the kitchen. They were so close, Ehwa could smell whatever citrus perfume Hwaryun had put on and her beautiful crimson eye took up most of Ehwa’s vision. She was overwhelming all of Ehwa’s senses, taking up all of her thoughts. 

Ehwa backed up abruptly, which meant backing herself into the counter, face burning, “Wh-what do you mean?”

“It seems like you’re still just a girl who can’t even cook,” Hwaryun said, a teasing glimmer in her eye.

“Hey!” Ehwa protested, despite how right she was. She felt like she was exactly where she had been when she had first discovered what her family did to the Zygaenas. She huffed at that thought, crossing her arms.

“But,” Hwaryun said, “I think I can help you with that”.

Ehwa’s arms fell down in her confusion, “What do you mean by that?”

“I know how to cook”.

Ehwa’s mouth went agape as she thought through the implications of that sentence, “You think I’m gonna let a FUG criminal cook for me?!”

Hwaryun took a step closer, until they were back in the same space again, “I think you should let your friend’s Guide guide you through how to cook something edible”.

There were so many things wrong with that sentence. First of all, Viole was not her friend. Second of all, she could cook edible food alright? She’d only ever set a sandwich on fire once and that wasn’t even her fault. And thirdly-

“You want to teach me how to cook?”

“I think someone needs to before you set the whole building on fire”.

Which, fair.

“And that someone has to be you?” Ehwa asked.

Hwaryun made a point of looking around the living area, “Do you see anyone else here?”

Ehwa hated that she was boxed in by the other’s logic. It would be nice for her cooking to not be a complete failure, and Viole had tried to teach her before to no avail, so maybe this could possibly be a viable option.

She huffed, sighed, and said, “Fine, teach me how to cook”.

“Teach me how to cook---” Hwaryun led, a hand on her hip.

“Teach me how to cook, please, okay? What, do you want me to get on my knees and beg?”

Hwaryun smirked, like she would have loved for that to happen, but simply said, “Alright, I’ll teach you. Now let’s see what you have that we have to work with, because we’re not going to be able to fix this”.

She gestured over at the grey stew and black rolls and Ehwa could see her point. There really was no fixing that. 

Ehwa then watched with only a few quips and comments as Hwaryun rummaged through the pantry and refrigerator, pulling out what she said she could work with. Finally, she pulled the half-full bottle of vodka out of the freezer.

“What are you gonna do with that?” Ehwa asked, from where she was sitting on the kitchen counter.

“We’re making penne alla vodka. What were you doing with it?”

“Wangnan found out Viole’d never gotten drunk before,” Ehwa sheepishly admitted, “There used to be five more bottles. Apparently Goseng knows how to make cocktails and Viole liked them so much he didn’t notice he was drunk till he was wayyyy past wasted”.

Hwaryun laughed at that, a real laugh that moved her chest and curled her cheeks. Ehwa stood there in awe, she didn’t know that the Guide could laugh like that, that she could laugh at all. A rosy tinge was brought to both their cheeks, for two very different reasons. Ehwa found herself wanting to trace the laugh lines of her face, the crinkles by her eyes, and she was shocked off of her seat at that realisation.

“So…” She segued awkwardly, “How do we do this?”

“Well first, we have to cook the penne, which means boiling a pot of water. I think you can handle that much at least”.

“I totally can!”

She totally couldn’t. She’d burnt the pot so many times they had to get a new one, but she had to save face in front of the Guide. She poured water into the pot and set it at the burner, before turning up the dial.

A shock went through her system when a hand went over her own, turning the dial down, “You don’t want it up all the way, that’ll burn the pot before it boils the water”.

Ehwa was stuck, face bright red, until Hwaryun moved her hand away.

“Oh, thanks,” She said shakily, “I didn’t know that”.

Hwaryun smirked, still so, so close, “Well now you do, and I’m sure I just saved many more pots in the future”.

“Y-Yeah…” Ehwa said, not paying attention to Hwaryun’s words, but rather her lips, glossy with some kind of subtle makeup that Ehwa was not even pretending she didn’t want to know the taste of.

“So now we just wait until the water comes to a boil”.

“Yeah” Their breaths were mixing, and Ehwa had never felt so intimate with another person before, despite being in much more illicit situations. Though, her kidnapping was as far from her mind as possible right now.

“Can I kiss you?”

“Yeah-” Ehwa stuttered to a stop, processing what Hwaryun had asked, “No. I mean, uh, yes. I mean, yes plea-”

Hwaryun swooped down and brought their lips together, and the last thing Ehwa saw before closing her eyes was her expression. Like a cat that got the canary. 

Hwaryun licked at the seam of Ehwa’s mouth, nudging it open, and Ehwa finally got a taste of her. Freshly peeled oranges, just like her perfume. It was overwhelming, it was addicting. Ehwa grabbed Hwaryun’s dress and tugged her in closer between her legs, deepening the kiss.

Hwaryun had one hand curled up firmly in Ehwa’s hair, and the other slowly moving down her back. Ehwa let out a yelp when it landed on her ass, but Hwaryun swallowed the noise and used her grasp to bring her even closer.

Ehwa wrapped both her arms around Hwaryun’s neck as the other woman nipped and sucked her way down her neck, leaving her breathless. Hwaryun nipped at the center of her throat and sucked, tearing a moan out of Ehwa that made Hwaryun chuckle. In response, Ehwa marked up the space behind Hwaryun’s ear.

They met back in the middle and Ehwa sighed into the kiss. It sapped all the air out of her lungs and made everything around them fuzzier. Only Hwaryun was in bright, sharp technicolor, gorgeous from every angle. 

They separated for air, and Hwaryun purred into her ear, “Darling you’re so pretty it hurts”.

Ehwa blushed, but took it as the challenge it was. She nipped on Hwaryun’s earlobe, a sensitive spot from her shivers, and whispered, “If you’re hurting then I must be in agony, because you’re gorgeous”.

Hwaryun obviously wasn’t anticipating a comeback, so the blush on her face that appeared was all the more beautiful. Ehwa kissed it, going from one cheek, across the bridge of her nose, to the other cheek. Hwaryun caught her mouth in a heated kiss at the end of it, bringing the hand that was in Ehwa’s hair beneath her shirt, playing with the clasp of her bra.

“Oh shit,” Ehwa looked over at the stove, “The water’s boiling”.

“Can’t we ignore it?” Hwaryun whined. Whined. Ehwa patted herself on the back for her superior kissing skills.

“No,” She said, taking the chance that this wasn’t just an isolated incident and pecking Hwaryun on the lips before she got out the pasta, “Now how long do I boil this?”

“15 minutes, now come back here,” She commanded, a goddess in messed up makeup. 

Ehwa took her time pouring in the pasta, licking her lips, tasting citrus. She’d never be able to eat an orange again, probably. She turned around to see Hwaryun sitting on the kitchen counter, foot tapping impatiently. She took the time to relish in this control she had, that she could get Hwaryun pent up and out of character, before she gave in and walked into her embrace.

This time, they were slower, perhaps even a little sweeter with each other. There were questions, so many questions, Ehwa wanted to ask. But those could wait until after the food was cooked. This time was theirs, and only theirs.

Hwaryun sucked down on the junction between Ehwa’s shoulder and neck, and Ehwa gave into the desire to drag her fingers through crimson hair. Her choice was awarded with a soft moan from Hwaryun, so she did it again, combing her fingers over her scalp.

Ehwa felt hands on each side of her face, and she looked up to see Hwaryun smiling gently at her. Before she could say a word, Hwaryun began kissing all over her face, muttering indulgences in between.

Ehwa had been called ‘beautiful’ before, but she’d never been called ‘lovely’ or ‘angel’ or ‘sweetheart’ and the names left her a blushing, blustering mess. It was completely unfair, but Hwaryun wouldn’t recede until she had kissed every part of her face. By the time she was done, smiling down at her work, the pasta was done as well.

They worked in tandem to make the sauce, Hwaryun giving instructions and ingredients, and Ehwa cutting them up and putting them together. This was the calmest she had felt in a kitchen in her whole life. Everything felt like it had stakes, that failure was death, even the kitchen, but now, with Hwaryun brushing a hand against her hip when she went to grab the garlic, Ehwa felt safe.

After the sauce was cooked, they combined it with the pasta. Ehwa bit her lip nervously as Hwaryun took a bite. When she got the thumbs up, Ehwa cheered and brought Hwaryun into a hug.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

Hwaryun pulled away slightly, before leaving a lingering kiss on Ehwa’s lips, “You’re welcome, sweetheart”.

Then, the front door opened and Prince’s voice called out, “What smells so good?”

[gamerwoo]

Soonyoung: Safe and Sound

Characters: Soonyoung x female reader

Genre/warnings: zombie apocalypse au, angst, little undertones of fluff if u squint but it’s still angsty fluff, eating people (obviously), killing zombies (including family members who became zombies), death/suicide/major character death

Word count: 3,751

Summary: Just close your eyes, the sun is going down. You’ll be alright, no one can hurt you now. Come morning light, you and I’ll be safe and sound.

a/n: based off the song safe and sound by the civil wars

Seventeen Song Series

You stared down at Soonyoung as he slept. It was never really a peaceful sleep, but it was as peaceful as one could get. His brows that were always set in concentration and concern were relaxed, and his breathing was deep and even instead of erratic from running or fear like it usually was. It was nice seeing him like this when he’d been the opposite for who knows how long anymore. It was so hard keeping track of how many days had gone by since the outbreak. But you loved seeing Soonyoung when he wasn’t scared or worried or concerned. You were happy this would be your last memory of him.

-

“Mom!” you called. “I’m home!”

You dropped your bag off by the door carelessly, more interested in getting to the kitchen for a snack. You sighed as you ran a hand through your hair as you walked down the hall to the kitchen, going straight for the refrigerator.

‘Hm, that’s weird,’ you thought to yourself, ‘I should’ve heard mom telling me to pick up my bag by now.’

You opened the fridge and grabbed a snack before closing it and looking back down the hall toward the front door, calling again, “Mom?”

Her car was in the driveway, she had to be home. You walked back down the hall, looking into the living room to see if she was in there. But there wasn’t any sign of her.

“Mooooom?” you called louder.

With a sigh, you turned around and went to go upstairs. However, as soon as you spun around, some sort of creature that resembled your mom was right behind you, grabbing your shoulders too hard with their hands and shoving you to the ground, falling right on top of you. You let out a scream as you looked up into the pale eyes of what looked like your mother, but with a large gash in her neck with dark blood dripping from it, and black spots of what seemed to be rotting flesh on her skin.

You fought against whatever it was, but you weren’t convinced it really was your mother. You couldn’t stop screaming, but you weren’t sure if you were even saying words or yelling for help the whole time. Your brain couldn’t seem to focus. All you could do was panic and shriek.

The thing was ripped off of you, and you saw the boy who lived next door standing above you, a knife in his hand as he slammed it straight into your mother’s forehead. You covered your mouth with your hands, unable to even scream when you saw that.

His name was Kwon Soonyoung, but you weren’t really friends with him. He was around your age, and you saw him at school and his family’s cookouts that they’d invite you and your family to. But other than that, he never had much significance to you.

Soonyoung turned to look at you, looking like he regretted what he did. But he told you, “I’m sorry, but that thing isn’t your mom anymore.”

All you could do was let your eyes trail down to where the lifeless body of...whatever that thing was, was laying on the floor now, unmoving. But you didn’t have much time to study it -- or mourn if you were supposed to -- because Soonyoung grabbed your wrists and tugged you to your feet.

“Come on, we need to go,” he stated. “My house isn’t any better, so we need to find somewhere safe.”

“W-what’s...” your voice trailed off, unable to decide what to ask. You had too many questions swimming around in your head. “What’s happening?”

“I don’t know,” he replied as he continued to drag your toward the front door that was open when you were sure you closed it. That must’ve been how he got in. “I got home and one of those was in the backyard eating somebody from down the road. They saw me looking through the windows and started coming toward the house. I booked it out of there and that’s when I heard you scream. So I figured you were in a similar situation. It’s like some zombie movie or video game.”

“B-but those aren’t real,” you stammered, feeling panicked tears filling your eyes. “W-w-we can’t-- I’m-- Oh god, I’m gonna die!”

Soonyoung whipped his head around, looking you dead in the eyes, “No, you won’t. I promise you that you won’t die, okay?”

“B-but I don’t have anybody!” you began sobbing, the tears slipping down your cheeks. “My mom’s one of them, and I don’t even know where my dad is.”

“Shh, shh, it’s okay,” he cooed, turning around completely and holding your shoulders as he looked into your eyes. “Listen to me, okay? We’ll stick together, alright? I’ll stay by you. We’ll get somewhere safe together; we’ll figure this out together. We’re not gonna be alone, okay?”

You sniffled and nodded, trying to dry your eyes and face, “Promise?”

“I promise. Swear on my life. Now we really need to go.”

But you weren’t even sure where to go.

-

How Soonyoung’s friends actually managed to keep you alive, you weren’t sure. You could only chuckle softly, remembering how Soonyoung gave all the credit to their knowledge of video games.

“Do you know how many times Wonwoo’s played Resident Evil?” he had snorted to try to cheer you up when you were huddled in the corner of Wonwoo’s bedroom, teetering on the edge of a panic attack.

But he got you to smile. He always got you to smile.

Tears began to well in your eyes.

-

Signals were down as the disease spread, followed by electricity. Wonwoo had to dig out his old radio so anybody would know what was happening. Seungcheol brought two portable chargers, but those weren’t of much help when nobody had a signal anymore. But it was taking too long for anybody to come up with a plan of what to do.

You couldn’t stay at Wonwoo’s forever. You’d run out of food and ammo -- you weren’t sure why his Chinese friends owned weapons, but you were thankful for it -- and you knew just some house wasn’t safe enough. But they were always checking their phones, and then later listening to the radio to find out what was to happen next.

“All survivors please report to the following address nearest to you,” a soldier on the radio finally said before listing off addresses, which Wonwoo quickly jotted down.

“We gotta pack up,” Seungcheol nodded as him, Jun, Minghao, and Soonyoung stood and began to pack up whatever was in the bedroom that they needed.

After Wonwoo figured out which location was the closest, all of you left the house, keeping close to each other as you tried to navigate the streets toward wherever it was the refugees had to go. All of you were terrified, knowing how dangerous it was to leave Wonwoo’s barricaded bedroom to venture outside where zombies could easily get you, but it was your best bet at staying alive in the long run. 

The place you ended up was some old gymnasium where a little less than one hundred people had already gathered. The place was secured in case zombies showed up, and had cots and mats to sleep on, extra food and water, and some soldiers paroling the place.

They waited 24-hours for people to show up before giving any orders.

“Everyone is going to be shipped off to refugee camps that are safe and secure,” one of the soldiers announced, his voice bouncing off the gym walls.

There were apparently three places so far that were being prepared to house survivors, and people were being split between the three.

“Kwon Soonyoung!” the soldier called, and Soonyoung’s head snapped up from where he was sitting with you and his friends. “Camp B.”

He stayed where he was, though. He was waiting with you until you were called and you would know where you were going. But god, you were hoping for Camp B. You couldn’t be alone.

“_____ _____!” your name was finally called, and you felt your heart that was rapidly beating stop for a moment. “Camp A.”

Your heart fell into your stomach as you looked at Soonyoung. He was looking back at you, but you couldn’t read his expression. Yours was fear.

“No, no, no, no,” you were rapidly saying. “Y-you can’t leave me alone. I can’t-- I can’t just--”

“Shh, I know,” he nodded, hugging you to his chest to try to give you some sort of comfort and to hopefully calm you down. “I’ll take care of it, don’t worry. i swore I’d stick with you, right? Come on.”

Soonyoung kept you close as he started walking toward the front of the room where there were three tables labeled A, B, and C. He went to B and stood in the short line with you, reassuring you quietly that everything would be okay.

“Name?” the soldier at the table asked when the two of you reached the front.

“Kwon Soonyoung,” he said, feeling your hands shaking, “and Kwon Sohyeon.”

The man scanned his list before looking up at you and Soonyoung, “There’s no Kwon Sohyeon on this list.”

“That’s my sister,” he insisted.

The soldier just shrugged, knowing there was no way to prove that he was lying, “Go ahead outside to the truck.”

Soonyoung mumbled a, “thank you,” before bringing you out to the truck. He helped you up into it first before climbing in himself, sitting beside you on the bench on the right of the truck and keeping an arm around you. It at least made you less embarrassed to see you weren’t the only one who had been crying. Looking around the large truck that was transporting the survivors that was quickly becoming crowded, all you saw was heartbreak and fear. Some people were curled into balls with tear-stained cheeks like you. Others had hard eyes and set jaws like Soonyoung.

You were fascinated that Soonyoung hadn’t started panicking yet -- at least, not that you’d seen. He’d left Wonwoo’s bedroom with Minghao a few times but when he came back, he always looked the same as he always did. You wondered if he ever had a breakdown when he wasn’t around you. He must’ve been just as afraid as you were, right?

It took a few more minutes of filling up the truck before the back doors closed and it started moving. The mood seemed to shift but you weren’t quite sure to what. It seemed lighter but still heavy. Everyone was at least going to somewhere safe, but they were leaving behind homes and loved ones that were either turned or missing. Life wasn’t ever going to be the same.

The drive was longer than you expected, though you didn’t know why you expected it to be short. When Soonyoung whispered to you that the sun was going down now, you were surprised. Were you going to be driving all night? What if you ran out of gas? What if zombies showed up and attacked the truck?

He seemed to be able to tell you were overthinking, because you felt him pull you closer, looking at you with softer eyes, “If you sleep now, we’ll be even closer to safety when you wake up.”

“How can I sleep?”

Soonyoung put his hand on the side of your head, guiding it to lay on his shoulder. Then he started humming a simple melody softly, resting his head against yours. So you concentrated on his humming as your eyes closed and you tried to get even a few minutes of rest.

-

God, how long did you have to go by the name Sohyeon? You couldn’t even remember, but you knew it was a good while. It made you smile to think about just because it was so funny. Wonwoo ended up in the same camp as you, and he always made jokes about it. 

You wondered how Wonwoo was doing. Was he even alive? Would he come back from his trip outside the camp with the rest of the team that went? You hoped so. Soonyoung would need somebody to comfort him. 

‘No, you can’t start thinking like this,’ you told yourself, ‘You can’t start getting sad. This is better for him.’

-

It took almost a year for you to see the world outside the camp after arriving. It was quite a large space, and it only grew overtime when more and more survivors found their way there. The plan seemed to be to expand the ‘safe’ land and clean out the land surrounding until there were no more infected left. Of course, that meant sending people out to clear it, and that was dangerous. But it had to be done to take back the world ripped away from you.

Over that time, you’d grown stronger thanks to Soonyoung -- and partly Wonwoo. Soonyoung did everything he could to protect you. He never wanted you to go to the boundaries to see what the world had become, afraid it would be too much for you. When he walked over there with Wonwoo, he saw that everything was just...different. It was all just dead. It was horrifying. It was like Hell was brought to earth, and it was right outside your window.

“You can’t baby _____ forever,” Wonwoo told him sternly. “They’ll send you guys out eventually and _____ won’t even be ready for it. If you keep it up, she’s just going to die faster.”

So you started training like everybody else your age. Soonyoung even brought you to the edge of the camp to see what the world had become, and while you did cry, he knew it was better for you to know what was out there. He knew it would make you more prepared to know what would come. He knew it was best for you.

But no matter how much stronger you got, how less frequently you cried and mourned the life you used to know, or how hardened your expression became, Soonyoung always vowed to keep you safe.

And he made sure you knew every single day.

“Hey.”

“Mm?”

“Swear on my life.”

“Swear on my life.”

-

As you stared at Soonyoung, you found it hard to believe that you were outside the camp earlier today. You’d just come home only a few hours ago as the sun was setting, but you waited until now when you were sure Soonyoung was fast asleep. Wonwoo’s group had left before yours and would be back later than yours because his group was venturing farther out toward Camp C, but you had faith the taller boy would come home. He always did.

But your adventure out this time had changed everything, Soonyoung just didn’t know it yet. Unfortunately, he could never truly protect you from everything. No matter how badly he wanted to, he couldn’t plan or control everything that would happen. He could convince himself that he could all he wanted, but the truth was that it was impossible for that to be true.

It was now impossible to hold back tears as your fingers softly raked through his hair. You couldn’t believe he was blonde when you met him, but his hair was now fully black. He cut off the blonde bits as his hair grew out, and there hadn’t been a trace of his light hair for a long time. 

Soonyoung stirred ever so slightly, but he didn’t wake. He continued to sleep, even when you bit your lip to muffle a soft grunt of pain that you were starting to feel spread throughout your body. It had started in your ankle, and the pain had been concentrated there for a while, but it was working its way up your body, and it was going to completely take over you soon.

You thought about Soonyoung and all your memories with him. You thought about what he would do when he woke up. You thought about how he would feel; how he’d absolutely blame himself. But you wouldn’t be there to comfort him like you were before. He only showed bad emotions around you very few times, but you were always more than happy to be there for him like he was for you.

-

Your first expedition outside the camp was scary, but it was for everyone.

“It doesn’t get easier,” Wonwoo scoffed, having already been chosen in a lottery to go out.

Thankfully, Soonyoung was with you. When you were picked in the lottery, he volunteered himself to go because he had to keep you safe. He swore on his life to stick by you, so that’s what he did.

This was a smaller group because the whole ordeal would only be a day. They weren’t planning on going too far, they just had to finish putting up barriers around the space they’d cleaned out. But, of course, more of the dead could’ve gotten in. Your job was to put up the barriers and clean out any infected that had gotten in.

You were on barrier duty while Soonyoung was assigned to help parole the space and get rid of the zombies.

You didn’t see him all day, but you met back up when the group made the trek back to the camp. He didn’t say anything, keeping his eyes cast down as you walked. But he did hold your hand, squeezing it a little harder than he would normally.

Something was wrong.

“You can tell me,” you insisted when you got back to your little makeshift home you shared together.

“Nothing’s wrong,” he sighed, running both hands through his hair that still had a little bit of blonde on the ends.

“Soonyoung, you swore on your life to stay with me, right?” you asked him, standing right in front of him and looking into his eyes. “Do you think I didn’t swear the same thing? I don’t say it back to you for shits and giggles, I say it back to you because I mean it. If something’s wrong, I want to help you, too. This is a two-way street.”

He stared at you for a long time, and you could see the wall slowly breaking as his hardened eyes started to show fear and loss.

“Sohyeon,” he whimpered in a whisper as tears filled his eyes and his bottom lip quivered. “She-- ...She was out there.”

He crumbled, breaking into blubbering sobs that you’d never heard before. His knees buckled and he fell to the floor, covering his face as he mourned his sister that had been turned into one of them; his sister that he had to kill.

You got on your knees next to him and just held him. You rubbed his back and ran your fingers through his hair as you let him cry, softly shushing him and telling him you were sorry.

Whenever you were upset or worried or anxious or scared, Soonyoung sang you that same melody he did in the truck on your way to the camp. But he slowly made lyrics to go with it. The first version of it he ever sang to you went:

“Just close your eyes, da da da da da da.

You’ll be alright, da da da da da da.

Come morning light, you and I’ll be safe and sound.”

He did eventually make the rest of the lyrics, and you always liked to listen to him sing it. Somehow, it did calm you down and comfort you. Almost like it was a promise. So you tried the same for him.

“Just close your eyes, the sun is going down.

You’ll be alright, no one can hurt you now.

Come morning light, you and I’ll be safe and sound.”

You softly sang it over and over until his sobs reduced to whimpers and then to just sniffles.

“I didn’t know you could sing,” he croaked.

You chuckled, “I can’t.”

He paused for a beat of silence before saying, “I guess I just like it because it’s you, then.”

-

You hoped that little lullaby he’d made would still comfort him. You hoped he would still sing it and feel okay and safe. You hoped he’d still hold onto it even if you weren’t there to sing it or for him to sing it to you.

“Just close your eyes, the sun is going down.”

Your voice was as shaky as it was quiet as you began to sing to him again, your fingers still carding through his hair.

“You’ll be alright, no one can hurt you now.”

The throbbing pain was starting to dull. You didn’t think this was what it would feel like after getting bit by one of them. It was somehow scarier that it didn’t hurt worse.

“Come morning light...”

Your hand moved down to cup his cheek, your thumb stroking his skin as he let out a content sigh.

It was time for you to go before you turned.

“You and I’ll be safe and sound.”

You stood up and walked to the door, making sure to leave your weapons in your house. You could easily find one outside anyway. The camp was full of them just in case any infected somehow managed to get in.

Kind of like you now.

You opened the door, looking back over your shoulder at Soonyoung still fast asleep. You silently hoped that he wouldn’t be too hard on himself for this. It was impossible for him to protect you from everything, even if he thought he could swear his life on it.

“Swear on my life,” you told him one last time before leaving the house, closing the door behind you.

It was almost funny how it ended up like this. The two of you swore on your lives, and now, taking your life was how you had to protect him. If you stayed in that house any longer, you’d turn fully and take him with you. You swore to protect him. You swore your life.

-

Soonyoung shot up in bed as he heard a gunshot, followed by a man shouting, “No!”

His head whipped around, seeing no sign of you. All he saw were your weapons still in your belt, resting on his cot.

“_____?” he asked as he scrambled out of bed, not bothering to put on shoes or his shirt as he rushed to the door. “______? ..._____!”

[summerinawinterdaylove-blog]

After Dark

Hi! This is my first fanfiction posting and I’m really really excited about it. If you read, please be sure to share what you think! I have no followers yet so, hopefully, this doesn’t flop 😂😅🤞

A quick 2.8k fic about secretly being friends with benefits with Shawn... and nothing more. Right?

Warnings: Smut, alcohol and drug use, vulgar language, non-vegan food.

The smell of the tender meat doused in red wine and garlic wafted throughout Shawn’s kitchen, a random playlist echoing through his Bluetooth speakers. He’d just gotten in from tour the morning before, taking a day to spend with his family… and now he was intent on seeing you. As soon as he had the chance he was texting you, asking you to come over for a late dinner and a movie, just to hang out.

You’d been friends for years, very close friends at that… who occasionally fucked. Maybe more than occasionally, but… technicalities, right?

He settled on making rib-eyes with the red wine sauce you really loved and a blueberry spinach salad with goat cheese medallions that he’d tried while on tour. As soon as he tasted it, he thought of you and how he had to make it for you. He always pretended that he hated cooking but he found every excuse he could to make a meal for the two of you.

The song turned to Pusher Love Girl by Justin Timberlake causing a smile to form on his face. He picked up his half-full bottle of Corona, taking a quick swig and then singing into it like it was his microphone and he was onstage. He danced around his kitchen, totally unaware of the fact that you’d helped yourself inside.

There you stood, leaned against the doorway, your arms crossed and an amused grin on your face, enjoying your concert for one. It was good to see him, you’d been to a couple of shows when he was nearby but that had been a couple of months ago and you’d never gone quite so long without seeing each other. Seeing him onstage was an experience all on its own but it was nothing compared to being alone with him.

He felt your eyes scanning over his body, admiring how he wore only a grey pair of sweats. His arms looked even more defined than usual and his ass just the slightest bit perkier. He’d definitely been working out. He grinned, checking you out just as openly.

“You look good, Mendes.”

He smiled, “You look pretty great yourself, honey. Now you just gonna stand there or are you gonna come give me a hug?”

Your stomach did somersaults at the mere thought of being close to him again. You missed how his skin felt against yours, his breath hot against your neck, him. Of course, you gave him what he wanted, walking over to where he was and wrapping your arms around his neck. He quickly placed his beer on the counter, wrapping his arms back around you, his hands resting at the spot just above your ass.

His eyes trailed down to your lips, covered in your favorite red lipstick, the perfect contrast to the comfortable clothes you were wearing. You opted for a simple pair of black leggings and one of his pink merch hoodies, nothing too extravagant, but you figured you wouldn’t be clothed for too long anyway. You left your vans at the door, your feet covered only in a silly pair of socks with his face all over them that he’d gifted to you before tour began.

“I really missed you,” his voice sounded raspy and soft as he spoke lowly as though there were other people in his condo that he didn’t want to hear him.

You ran your tongue over your bottom lip, biting it between your teeth, your eyes trailing down to his lips this time, “I missed you too, Shawn.”

He slid his hands down just enough to rest on the swell of your ass, pulling you closer against him, “Well we’re together now…”

You swallowed the lump in your throat down, nodding at him in response and then hearing the sizzle of the pan that brought you back to reality. You wanted him to take you right then and there but he’d worked hard on dinner for you and you didn’t want his efforts to go to waste.

“We’ll take advantage of that… as soon as we’re done with dinner, okay? Smells really good.”

He smiled softly, both of you a bit clearly disappointed but you had the rest of the night to love on each other, “Thank you, hun, hopefully it tastes just as good.”

He kissed the top of your head and reluctantly pulled away from your grasp, reaching into his cupboard for two plates, “What do you want to drink?”

“Corona’s fine,” you grinned, walking over to his refrigerator and helping yourself.

As you sat together to eat dinner you enjoyed some good laughs, hearing all about his best tour experiences… and the not so good ones.

“I really wish you could’ve been there to experience it too, you have to promise you’ll come to more shows next time,” he told you, taking the last bite of his steak, his lips wrapping around the fork as he did. “I don’t like going that long without seeing you.”

You chuckled, “Alright, fine, but you’re gonna have to talk some of our other friends into it too. It would look weird if I just showed up to a bunch of shows and we disappeared together randomly, everyone would start to catch on.”

“Well, yeah,” he started, gulping down the last of his Corona before standing to his feet and starting to clean his mess, “but fuck them.”

You laughed, sure that he was joking with you, “Fuck them?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged, “they might speculate but it’s not really their business if we’re fucking each other or not, is it?”

“Well, no, but-“

“So fuck them,” he grinned at you. “Tell me, Y/N, how did it feel for you? Going without me for three months?”

“Shawn,” you chuckled, “what the fuck are you getting at? Don’t beat around the bush with me.”

“I’m not getting at anything, I’m simply saying I didn’t like going that long so if they’re gonna speculate… I don’t really care.”

“Alright… you’re telling me you didn’t sleep with anyone else for those three months?” You finished your meal, getting up and cleaning your own mess, an eyebrow raised as you glanced at him.

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you,” he finished washing the dishes and uncovered a dish of brownies, slicing into them with a nearby knife. “I got by merely with my hand and the thought of you.”

You weren’t expecting that.

“Oh…” You responded, finishing loading the dishwasher. “I didn’t know we were, like… exclusive.”

Shawn didn’t turn to face you, only continuing to slice into the brownies, but his movements did stall for a moment, “I mean, we don’t have to be… I just thought… it’s okay if you’re sleeping with other people…”

“No, no…” You leaned against the countertop, watching the movement of his hand, not comfortable enough to look in his eyes. “I’m not, I haven’t…”

“Oh,” he sighed involuntarily, “cool, okay.”

He carefully got himself a piece of brownie and extended one to you, “They’re the special brownies so one is more than enough, alright? Please don’t get seconds, I don’t think you’ll be able to move if you do.”

You snorted, taking the brownie and immediately biting into it. This was your typical night together: food, having a drink, getting high, maybe throwing a film on, fucking a time or three and then sleeping. He was never fond of the idea of you driving in a state like that or taking a random uber in the middle of the night and you only ever did this stuff after dark.

You finished your brownies, sharing a glass of strawberry mint infused water and then walking into his bedroom. He started fussing with the tv, putting his Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets dvd into the blu-ray player. You got yourself cozy on his bed, yawning quietly and stretching your tired legs out over his mattress.

“Fuck, I’ve missed this bed,” you poured. “I think I was having withdrawals.”

“You could’ve slept in it while I was gone but you refused to take the key,” he chuckled, finally getting the movie started and getting comfortable on the bed next to you.

You glanced over at him, the dim lighting of the bedroom wasn’t ideal to get in the mood but the mixture of missing him, the high and how good he looked you were already there. Your eyes slowly made their way over the broad expanse of his shoulders, the way his chest looked more defined than it had last time you’d seen him, his stomach tighter too. His hands were folded over his lap and although he wasn’t hard, the grey sweatpants left little to your imagination (even though you’d obviously seen his cock before.) One of his legs were stretched straight out, the other bent, his foot tucked under his knee. He looked at peace.

When your eyes worked their way back up to his face you realized that he’d been watching you just as closely, his lips parted just a hint, his eyes completely focused on yours.

“You’re too far away,” he commented.

“Then come closer.”

He needed no more persuasion, swiftly closing the gap between you. He gently placed his right hand on your jaw, his thumb lightly caressing your cheek as he slotted his lips over yours. The kiss was just what you needed, traces of hunger and need making themselves apparent without a single word necessary.

He delicately ran his tongue over your bottom lip and you immediately granted him the access he was longing for, opening your mouth enough to allow his tongue to fall into delicious rhythm with yours.

You smiled against his lips, the entire situation making you overwhelmingly happy. You’d spent so long missing him and wishing he was home, wanting to have a night in with him and spend ages making out with him… and now here you were, his lips against yours and no plans outside of each other for the next 24 hours.

He slid his left hand under your hip, gently guiding you to move onto his lap. You did so, never breaking the kiss, a knee on either side of his body. You could feel his hardening cock resting along the inside of your thigh and it only caused the ache in between your legs to increase.

You needed him so bad.

“Baby,” you moaned into the kiss, shifting just enough to rest your clothed heat on top of his length, rocking your hips desperately over him, needing the pressure. “I know we usually take our time but I just… can’t. Not tonight. It’s been too long.”

“Jesus,” he breathed, knowing you meant it whenever you let baby slip from between your lips,  “Okay, no wasting time tonight.”

You sat up enough to pull the hoodie off of your body and reach around to unclasp your bra, tossing them both onto the floor, not even a little worried about where they might land. You leaned back down, your lips pressing against his once more as you started grinding back on forth on his cock again, your patience wearing very thin.

You needed to cum like you needed to breathe.

“Y/N,” Shawn begged, “You’ve gotta… you’ve gotta fucking stop or I’m gonna cum.”

Sighing, you started to tug his sweatpants and boxer briefs down in one go, your mouth going dry at the sight of his cock leaking precum, his tip the most beautiful shade of raspberry you’d ever seen. If the circumstances were any different you would most likely be putting him in your mouth instead.

You carefully moved off him, plopping onto the bed on your back. Raising your hips, you began to pull your leggings and panties down your own body as he finished removing his. He glanced over just in time to see the crotch of your panties utterly soaked and he groaned, his cock twitching at the sight.

“Fuck me,” his voice was barely above a whisper.

He propped himself up with his left arm, positioning himself between your legs and sliding his right hand under your thigh, lifting your leg and showing you how he wanted you to wrap it around his waist.

You were breathing heavily at this point, the anticipation was almost too much to bear. You reached into his bedside drawer, grabbing one of the easily accessible condoms and hastily ripping the packaging open. You slid your right hand over his cock, giving him a light squeeze and eliciting the prettiest moan from his mouth in turn, and then rolling the condom over his length.

“Please,” you asked him, lining his tip up with your folds.

You were so wet at this point that even just sliding him through your slit made a noise. He knew he was fucked.

He leaned his face down, smashing his lips against yours as he positioned his own cock against your entrance, slowly beginning to push in. He knew if he went too quickly you’d be uncomfortable… and he’d cum straight-away.

Taking his right hand out from under your thigh, knowing that at this point you’d understand to keep it there, and reached his hand up to your right breast to lightly twist your nipples. You opened your mouth in a small gasp and he didn’t hesitate to take the opportunity to deepen the kiss.

His rhythm was flawless - slow and deep, hitting all of the places that you’d been craving him for three months. Your back arched every time that his tip slammed against your sweet spot, an almost whimper escaping from your own mouth into his in time with his thrusts.

He broke the kiss, touching his forehead against yours, his hot breath fanning over your face. His eyes were looking deeply into your own as your cunt throbbed around him, convincing him that you were teetering over the edge.

“I want you, fuck, I want you to cum for me,” he whispered, eyes not leaving yours, rhythm speeding up just a bit. “Can you do that for me?”

Your brows softly furrowed, your lips falling open as your legs started to shake. The pleasure was so intoxicating that you swore you could see stars and your eyes filled with tears. You nodded in response, holding true to your word instantly thereafter. He tucked his face into the crook of your neck as he worked to chase his own orgasm, desperately wanting to get there so he could hold you and talk some more.

You placed your hands on his face, gently guiding him back to your lips. You kissed him hard, expertly working your tongue against his, trying to make his orgasm one of the most powerful, wanting it to be worth the long wait. It was a messy kiss, your teeth colliding every once in a while as he began to thrust more vigorously inside of you.

You broke the kiss, stretching your neck enough to press your lips against the spot of his jaw directly under his ear. You knew it was a sensitive spot for him so you flattened your tongue against the area before gently sucking onto it, not letting up until you were sure it would purple.

His thrusts fell sloppier as he spurted stream after stream of his release into the condom, his body nearly collapsing on top of yours. There was a thin layer of sweat between the two of you, your skin hot and bodies exhausted.

“Missed that so much,” you quietly stated, not able to put the effort forth to speak at a normal decibel.

“Not as much as I did, I bet,” he chuckled weakly, forcing himself up to discard of the condom and clean you both up. “You should go pee, hun, then we can cuddle and finish the last half hour of this movie before bed.”

You nodded, getting up from the bed, a bit wobbly in the best way. You walked into the en-suite, taking a look in the mirror and grinning, taking a moment to breathe everything in. He was finally back.

Once you were done, you walked back into the bedroom and slid into one of his plain white t-shirts. Shawn was already back in bed in a pair of Calvin's, everything cleaned up and the blanket pulled back for you.

You crawled into the bed next to him, melting into his side and letting out a contented sigh. He wrapped his arm around you out of habit, leaning his head onto yours, his bright eyes glued on the last bit of Harry Potter. You, on the other hand, were absolutely exhausted and you doubted that you’d make it through the entire film.

“Goodnight Shawn,” you told him softly.

He smiled down at you, getting you both a little cozier so you could sleep more easily, “Goodnight honey, I’m really happy you’re here.”

It wasn’t long before you were asleep, your body not fighting rest in the slightest. He heard you softly hum and he looked down at you one more time, a wide smile stretched out over his face. He gently kissed your head and whispered, “I love you so much.”

If only he had the courage to tell you when you were awake.

[quatschmachen]

Icicles

.A small fic set in the 80′s; probably like 1984 ish.

Edward visits Étienne.

PG

Étienne was wearing too many layers.

Sure it was winter and probably cold but no one should be wearing a fully zipped up jacket, toque and scarf ensemble inside the airport, Edward thought.

“Why are you dressed for an arctic expedition?” Edward asked his friend.

Étienne’s voice was muffled by the scarf, “Because I have a slight cold.”

“This is overkill.” Edward teased, “Do you need my jacket as well?”

“Non.” Étienne sneezed then added, “not yet.”

They were heading away from the airport in a taxi, Étienne apparently not patient enough to wait for a bus.

Edward had packed light, he had managed to establish a Drawer for his Montreal clothes at Étienne’s, an accomplishment he tried not to think about too hard (but which, if he could admit to himself, he was delighted over). He had noticed in the brief interim that they had been outside that it was not that cold, and he figured it was probably just an Étienne thing that the man was dressed in so many layers.

It was only when Edward won the fight of paying the entire cab fare that he felt something was off with the other man.

This was confirmed as they entered Étienne’s place, and the man was refusing to de-layer his clothes.

“Étienne, it’s hot as Hades here, and you’re trying to put on another sweater – alright what’s going on – did you get a shitty tattoo? Do you have scarlet fever?” Edward huffed feeling very annoyed at his friend, his hands reaching out to bat the sweater away.

It was like unwrapping a wriggling child, dodging, and weaving away from him, as Edward firmly grabbed one end of the scarf and unwound it from his friend’s face.

Étienne’s eyes were red, his nose was red and dripping, his cheeks flushed, and he looked as if he had just crawled out of the frosty pits of Niflheim.

“Jesus Christ you look like shit.”

“Thank you Eddy I appreciate the commentary.”  Edward realized Étienne sounded weird because his nose was plugged. Étienne grabbed the scarf and rewrapped it around his face. He did however concede in removing his jacket.

“So uh can I assume we’re not going to the club tonight?”

“Excuse me? Obviously we still are, you flew out to have a good time and I’m-” Étienne had to pause to hack a lung out, “am going to show you a good time!” he did a dramatic arm flourish, over tilted, banged into the wall, cried out in pain, and then nobly righted himself, attempting a more subdued ‘we are totally going out and getting dick’ pose.

“No we’re not.” Edward said firmly as he finished taking off his boots, “We are going to stay in.”

“Eddy!! Even if I don’t go out you should go out, you didn’t come all this way to just sit on my couch and watch TV.” Étienne protested as the other man gently guided him to the couch.

Giving his friend a Look, Edward said darkly, “Do you think I fly my ass all the way out to your beautiful city to see some guy’s cock?”

“Well, you always complain that you can’t really do the same stuff in Edmonton so, yeah. I guess. You come here to get tail and I don’t blame you. Nor do I want to hold you back. And I don’t want you to get sick!”

Edward was busy firmly tucking a blanket around Étienne, ensuring that max cozy was achieved.

Étienne was still fussing, and unthinkingly, Edward leant forward and gave the other man a small kiss on the forehead to calm him down. It immediately worked.

“I’m not worried about that. Anyways. Just so you know. I happen to haul myself these many miles to see you. Since you are, you know… my friend. Now I am going to make you a hot drink, and then get take-out, ok? Wong’s is still open, yeah?”

Étienne nodded.

“And if you move from the couch for any reason other than going to bed or peeing, I will look not happily upon that.”

“Ok maudit mardeux.”

XXX

When Edward returned with take-out (he had gotten a lot, with the plan that the leftovers would tide them over for a couple days), he was happy to see that Étienne was still on the couch, the mug of hot tea in his hands, still slowly sipping.

“Eddy,” Étienne turned a plaintive look to the man, looking at the giant bags of take-out, “I’m suffering… can you get me some tissues?”

“Sure, sorry for not getting you them before I left.” Setting the take-out on the coffee table, Edward went in search of the tissues. He also figured the other man would want a personal garbage, and while he was at it, he also grabbed two bowls and cutlery.

Returning, Edward immediately worried as the other man was crying.

Étienne had moved out of his blanket fortress, one of the take-out bags were open, and before him was a round Styrofoam container, lid off, gently steaming.

“How did you know?”  he asked quietly. Soft teary eyes looked at Edward; a look that could almost be classified as tender.

Edward looked at Étienne in confusion. “Know what?”

“That I love hot and spicy soup when sick.”

“Because you once wrote me five pages of a letter dedicated to Wong’s hot and spicy soup and how it cured you of the bubonic plague, Étienne.”

“I… I don’t remember that.”

“Judging from your spelling I think you were still high off soup or something,” Edward paused as he watched his friend happily slurp the soup, “However I greatly enjoyed reading it… even if it didn’t quite make sense, especially that weird part where you tried to rhyme in iambic pentameter.”

“I have no fucking memory of this. You’re bullshitting me right? Iambic pentameter? You’re gonna have to show me this letter.”

“Only if you promise not to destroy it,” Edward teased. “Plus, hold on let me see if I can remember.” Edward sat down beside the other man, setting down the items, and then moving to help himself to the food. “Shall I travel the world for a potion? Nay, for the cure exists in Montreal. Dew of the gods in comparison pales. For yea the cure is at Wong’s; Hot and Spicy.”

“Oh my god that’s not even good,” Étienne choked slightly, and then coughed, “That last part isn’t even proper iambic pentameter.”

Edward shrugged, “Hey, you at least tried. I nearly hurt myself laughing, and I mmmmmmaaaaybe hung that up on my fridge to look at for a solid week.”

Étienne narrowed his eyes, “You better watch out Murphy, I’m sure we both have an arsenal of blackmail material in our decades of letters.”

“When did one’s life and feelings become blackmail material, Maisonneuve?” Edward quietly teased, his gaze focused to the news report on the television. The low murmur of the day’s events filling up the strange gap between them.

Étienne blew on the soup and then took a slurp. Slyly he asked, “So that letter where you drew images of your favourite buffalo can be shown to anyone?”

Edward quickly looked at Étienne, “That image was only for you ok – not for the world!”

“But it’s so cute, if I had had a refrigerator at the time it would have gone on that. Though I guess I have one now I can put it up.” Étienne paused, frowned, “Actually, Eddy, you haven’t really drawn anything for me in a while. Why did you stop?”

“Because…” Edward was surprised to find he did not have a ready answer. Life got busy? He got more self conscious? It was something that had simply fallen to the wayside without him noticing? He had grown up and decided drawing was a childish thing? “Huh. I guess I just stopped.”

His friend was wiggling, that wiggle he did when he had one of his brilliant ideas.

“’Tienne, what is it?”

“Since I am so sick, and dying, you should entertain me by drawing me a story!”

“A story?”

“Yeah! One about… buffalo.”

“Draw on what?”

“Oh uhm, let me get you-“

“Just tell me. You stay put… but can we eat first?”

“…Fine… but you are going to draw me a story.  Even if it’s in crayon, ok?”

“Yes sir,” Edward laughed, “So do I get any hot and spicy soup?”

XXXXX

“Once upon a time there was beautiful prairie, where the sound of the drums was the heartbeat of the land. Upon the prairie roamed the buffalo, strong majestic animals in whose footsteps sprung new life.”

As he drew the story, Edward narrated. The art items he found were pencil crayons and a pad of paper. The buffalo on the green grass was probably akin to a five year old’s drawing, but as he glanced over to his friend, who looked absolutely thrilled and despite suffering from a sort of plague, who was sparkling in happiness that this was even taking place, it was worth it.

“There was a very tiny calf, whose legs still wobbled.” Edward added little shaky lines to his badly drawn tiny calf, “who got separated from the herd.”

“Edward if this is going to be a sad story I want you to stop now.” Étienne interrupted.

“Shhh.” Edward settled in more, as he paused in his story telling to draw the next page. “This calf, whose name was Stardreamer, had gotten separated from the herd when following a butterfly to a small river. When Stardreamer realized he was no longer with his mother, he called and called, but got no reply.”

“Eddy…”

“Instead a wily old Magpie appeared, letting out  a cheeky laugh. Stardreamer attempted to hide, and stayed very still as the Magpie flew down and sat upon him.

<Fear not little one,> the Magpie said, as it began to pick ticks off the calf, <I am a friend.>”

As the story progressed, Edward found himself adding more twists and turns, and what was originally supposed to be only ten pages it became thirty. Étienne’s full rapt attention was addictive, and the man’s slightly wet eyes when Stardreamer reunited with the herd he found endearing.

The story of Stardreamer continued throughout the week as the two of them, instead of simply vegging out and watching movies, found themselves cooped up as the snow piled up outside. The only times Edward left was to get more food and to shovel the sidewalk (which apparently dumbfounded Étienne, who informed Edward that clearing the sidewalk was the city’s job, to which Edward rolled his eyes and asked if the people of Montreal were suddenly missing arms and shovels, which then lead to a heated debate of the role of the city when it came to snow, a debate which kept popping up).

As the week progressed, Étienne got better, his nose less plugged, his body less feverish.

As the week progressed however, Edward began to display the same symptoms of illness that Étienne had had. Something he attempted to hide from the other man… rather unsuccessfully.

He had taken himself to the washroom to blow his nose, only to bang his elbow on the wall when Étienne’s voice spoke up from the other side of the door separating them.

<Eddy, I’m so sorry, I never meant to invite you over and then give you the plague.>

Cursing and rubbing his elbow, Edward was silent a moment, then said, <I do not have the plague, it’s allergies.> This lie was quickly laid to rest as he started having a severe coughing attack. One severe enough that Étienne forced open the bathroom door to stride in and sit Edward down on the edge of the bath, gently rubbing the other man’s back as the coughing fit eventually passed.

As Edward struggled to breath, his nose and throat plugged up, his eyes red rimmed, Étienne shook his head. <Looks like it’s my turn to take care of you.>

Blowing his nose, Edward sniffled. Rubbing his forehead he managed to croak out, <I’m supposed to fly out.>

<Hmmmm, are you well enough to travel? Are you able to rebook?>

Edward was too busy coughing to respond.

<Will they even let you onto the airplane, Édouard?>

Edward shrugged, “I dunno.”

“If you insist on returning…” Étienne paused <I will simply have to travel with you. Make sure you don’t faint on the way.>

Looking over to his friend, his expression a mixture of surprised misery, Edward croaked, “You’d really do that?”

Raising one eyebrow, Étienne quietly responded <You are sick and my responsibility. I would be unable to rest at the thought of you travelling alone in such a condition.>

It was unclear whether it was the fever or something else that caused Edward’s cheeks to flush, as he looked away, his slumped shoulders relaxing, as he leant into the other man.

The only sound was his struggle to breathe, until finally he murmured, “I’ll rebook.”

[gaysparklepires]

26. Shining

Read on AO3 - Links up top!

“I don’t know how much we should tell Renée about this,” Charlie said, hesitating with one foot out the door. He stretched, and then his stomach growled.

I nodded. “I know. I don’t want to worry her. Better to protect her. This stuff isn’t for the fainthearted.”

His lips twisted up to the side ruefully. “I would have tried to protect you, too, if I’d known how. But I guess you’ve never fit into the fainthearted category, have you?”

I smiled back.

Charlie patted his stomach absently. “I’ll think of something. We’ve got time to discuss this, right?”

“Right,” I promised him.

It had been a long day in some ways, and so short in others. Charlie was late for dinner—Sue Clearwater was cooking for him and Billy. That was going to be an awkward evening, but at least he’d be eating real food; I was glad someone was trying to keep him from starving due to his lack of cooking ability.

All day the tension had made the minutes pass slowly; Charlie had never fully relaxed the stiff set of his shoulders. But he’d been in no hurry to leave, either. He’d watched two whole games—thankfully so absorbed in his thoughts that he was totally oblivious to Emmett’s suggestive jokes that got more pointed and less football-related with each aside—and the after-game commentaries, and then the news, not moving until Seth had reminded him of the time.

“You gonna stand Billy and my mom up, Charlie? C’mon. Beau’ll still be here tomorrow. Let’s get some grub, eh?”

It had been clear in Charlie’s eyes that he hadn’t trusted Seth’s assessment, but he’d let Seth lead the way out. The doubt was still there as he paused now. The clouds were thinning, the rain gone. The sun might even make an appearance just in time to set.

“Jake says you guys were going to take off on me,” he muttered to me now.

“I didn’t want to do that if there was any way at all around it. That’s why we’re still here.”

“He said you could stay for a while, but only if I’m tough enough, and if I can keep my mouth shut.”

“Yes… but I can’t promise that we’ll never leave, Dad. It’s pretty complicated…”

“Need to know,” he reminded me.

“Right.”

“You’ll visit, though, if you have to go?”

“I promise, Dad. Now that you know justenough, I think this can work. I’ll keep as close as you want.”

He chewed on his lip for half a second, then leaned slowly toward me with his arms cautiously extended. I locked my teeth, held my breath, and wrapped my arms very carefully around his warm, soft waist.

“Keep real close, Beau,” he mumbled. “Real close.”

“Love you, Dad,” I whispered through my teeth.

He seemed to register some sort of difference in the hug; either my slightly lower body temperature or perhaps I felt more… sturdy… than I had before. He released me from the hug and put his hands on my shoulders.

“Love you, too, kiddo. Whatever else has changed, that hasn’t.” He reached up and ruffled my hair. “Can I come back tomorrow?”

“Sure, Dad. Of course. I’ll be here.”

“You’d better be,” he said sternly, but his face was soft. “See you tomorrow, Beau.”

“Thank you, Dad.”

“For what, kiddo?”

“So much has changed so quickly. My head hasn’t stopped spinning. If I didn’t have you now, I don’t know how I’d keep my grip on—on reality.” I’d been about to say my grip on who I was. That was probably more than he needed.

Charlie’s stomach growled before he could respond.

“Go eat, Dad.” I laughed, “We will be here.” I remembered how it felt, that first uncomfortable immersion in fantasy—the sensation that everything would disappear in the light of the rising sun.

Charlie nodded. He glanced past me into the house; his eyes were a little wild for a minute as he stared around the big bright room. Everyone was still there, besides Jacob, who I could hear raiding the refrigerator in the kitchen; Alice was lounging on the bottom step of the staircase with Jasper’s head in her lap; Carlisle had his head bent over large book in his lap; Esme was humming to herself, sketching on a notepad, while Royal and Emmett laid out the foundation for a monumental house of cards under the stairs; Edward had drifted to his piano and was playing very softly to himself. There was no evidence that the day was coming to a close, that it might be time to eat or shift activities in preparation for the evening. Something intangible had changed in the atmosphere. The Cullens weren’t trying as hard as they usually did—the human charade had slipped ever so slightly, enough for Charlie to feel the difference.

He shuddered, shook his head, and sighed. “See you tomorrow, Beau.” He frowned and then added, “I mean, it’s not like you don’t look… like you. You look great, kid. I’ll get used to it.”

I laughed. “Thanks, Dad.”

Charlie nodded and walked thoughtfully toward his car. I watched him drive away; it wasn’t until I heard his tires hit the freeway that I realized I’d done it. I’d actually made it through the whole day without hurting Charlie. All by myself. I must have some sort of extra power!

It seemed to good to be true. Could I really have my new family, some of my old, some semblance of my humanity and eternity all at once? And I’d thought that yesterday had been perfect.

“Wow,” I whispered. I reached up and brushed some of the makeup Alice had applied off my face.

The sound of the piano cut off, and Edward’s arms were around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder.

“You took the word right out of my mouth.”

“Edward, I did it!”

“You did. You were unbelievable. All that worrying over being a newborn, and then you skip it altogether.” He laughed quietly.

“Now I’m sure he’s not really a vampire, let alone a newborn,” Emmett called from under the stairs. “He’s too tame.”

Al the embarrassing comments he’d made in front of my father sounded in my ears again, and it was probably a good thing Edward had his arms around my waist. Unable to help my reaction entirely, I snarled under my breath.

“Oooo, scary,” Emmett laughed.

“Charlie will be back tomorrow,” I growled, “and you better be on your best behavior.”

“Fat chance,” Emmett said. Royal laughed with him this time.

“Not brilliant, Emmett,” Edward said scornfully, turning me to face him. He winked at me when I met his eyes.

“What do you mean?” Emmett demanded.

“It’s a little dense, don’t you think, to antagonize the strongest being in the house?”

Emmett threw back his head and snorted. “Please!”

“Beau,” Edward murmured to me while Emmett listened closely; “do you remember a few months ago, I asked you to do me a favor if you ever became immortal?”

That rang a dim bell. I sifted through the blurry human conversations. After a moment, I remembered and I gasped, “Oh!”

Alice trilled a long, pealing laugh. Jacob poked his head around the corner, his mouth stuffed with food.

“What?” Emmett growled.

“Really?” I asked Edward.

“Trust me,” he said.

I took a deep breath. “Emmett, how do you feel about a little bet?”

He was on his feet at once. “Awesome. Bring it.”

I bit my lip for a second. He was just so huge.

“Unless you’re too afraid…?” Emmett suggested.

I squared my shoulders. “You. Me. Arm-wrestling. Dining room table. Now.”

Emmett’s grin stretched across his face.

“Er, Beau,” Alice said quickly, “I think Esme is fairly fond of that table. It’s an antique.”

“Thanks,” Esme mouthed at her.

“No problem,” Emmett said with a gleaming smile. “Right this way, Beau.”

I followed him out the back, toward the garage; I could hear all the others trailing behind. There was a largish granite boulder standing up out of a tumble of rocks near the river, obviously Emmett’s goal. Though the big rock was a little rounded and irregular, it would do the job.

Emmett placed his elbow on the rock and waved me forward.

I was nervous again as I watched the thick muscles in Emmett’s arm roll, but I kept my face smooth. Edward had promised I would be stronger than anyone for a while. He seemed very confident about this, and I felt strong. That strong? I wondered, looking at Emmett’s biceps. I wasn’t even a true vampire, though. Maybe I wasn’t as strong as a newborn vampire. There was more about me that was unlike a vampire. Maybe that’s why control was so easy for me.

I tried to look unconcerned as I set my elbow against the stone.

“Okay, Emmett. I win, and you cannot say one more word about my sex life to anyone, not even Roy. No allusions, no innuendos—no nothing.”

His eyes narrowed. “Deal. I win, and it’s going to get a lot worse.”

He heard my breath stop and grinned evilly. There was no hint of bluff in his eyes.

“You gonna back down so easy, little brother?” Emmett taunted. “Not much wild about you, is there? I bet that cottage doesn’t have a scratch.” He laughed. “Did Edward tell you how many houses Roy and I smashed?”

I gritted my teeth and grabbed his big hand. “One, two—”

“Three,” he grunted, and shoved against my hand.

Nothing happened.

Oh, I could feel the force he was exerting. My new mind seemed pretty good at all kinds of calculations, and so I could tell that if he wasn’t meeting any resistance, his hand would have pounded right through the rock without difficulty. The pressure increased, and I wondered randomly if a cement truck doing forty miles an hour down a sharp decline would have similar power. Fifty miles an hour? Sixty? Probably more.

It wasn’t enough to move me. His hand shoved against mine with crushing force, but it wasn’t unpleasant. It felt kind of good in a weird way. I’d been so very careful since the last time I woke up, trying so hard not to break things. It was a strange relief to use my muscles. To let the strength flow rather than struggling to restrain it.

Emmett grunted; his forehead creased and his whole body strained in one rigid line toward the obstacle of my unmoving hand. I let him sweat—figuratively—for a moment while I enjoyed the sensation of the crazy force running through my arm.

A few seconds, though, and I was a little bored with it. I flexed; Emmett lost an inch.

I laughed. Emmett snarled harshly through his teeth.

“Just keep your mouth shut,” I reminded him, and then I smashed his hand into the boulder. A deafening crack echoed off the trees. The rock shuddered, and a piece— about an eighth of the mass—broke off at an invisible fault line and crashed to the ground. It fell on Emmett’s foot, and I snickered. I could hear Jacob’s and Edward’s muffled laughter.

Emmett kicked the rock fragment across the river. It sliced a young maple in half before thudding into the base of a big fir, which swayed and then fell into another tree.

“Rematch. Tomorrow.”

“I don’t think it’s going to wear off by then,” I told him. “Maybe it won’t wear off at all.”

Emmett growled, flashing his teeth. “Tomorrow.”

“Hey, whatever makes you happy, big brother.”

As he turned to stalk away, Emmett punched the granite, shattering off an avalanche of shards and powder. It was kind of neat, in a childish way.

Fascinated by the undeniable proof that I was stronger than the strongest vampire I’d ever known, I placed my hand, fingers spread wide, against the rock. Then I dug my fingers slowly into the stone, crushing rather than digging; the consistency reminded me of hard cheese. I ended up with a handful of gravel.

“Cool,” I mumbled.

With a grin stretching my face, I whirled in a sudden circle and karate-chopped the rock with the side of my hand. The stone shrieked and groaned and—with a big poof of dust —split in two.

I started laughing.

I didn’t pay much attention to the chuckles behind me while I punched and kicked the rest of the boulder into fragments. I was having too much fun, snickering away the whole time.

“Show off.” Jake muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Tell me you didn’t let go a bit on your first run, wolf-boy,” Edward teased, no antagonism in his voice at all.

“That’s different,” Jacob said, and I watched in surprise as he mock-punched Edward’s shoulder. “Beau’s supposed to be the mature one here. Married and all that. Shouldn’t there be more dignity?”

“Oh, please!” I laughed, taking a handful of stones and grinding them to dust in my hand. “You’re just jealous I’m fast and strong.”

“For once in your life.” Jacob grinned, teasing.

The sun suddenly burst through the clouds, shooting long beams of ruby and gold across the nine of us, and I was immediately lost in the beauty of my skin in the light of the sunset. Dazed by it.

I ran my hand along my arm, marveling at the strange way it glowed in the light. It wasn’t diamond-bright facets like Edward or the others. My skin glowed with a faint luminosity, subtle and mysterious. Nothing that would keep me inside on a sunny day like Edward’s glowing sparkle.

“Wow,” I breathed.

“You’re still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Edward sighed, happily. When I turned to argue, the sunlight on his face stunned me into silence.

Jacob had his hand in front of his face, pretending to shield his eyes from the glare. “Freaky Beau,” he commented.

“What an amazing creature he is,” Edward murmured, almost in agreement, as if Jacob’s comment was meant as a compliment. He was both dazzling and dazzled.

It was a strange feeling—not surprising, I supposed, since everything felt strange now—this being a natural at something. As a human, I’d been sufficiently average at most things besides cooking. Hardly top on any lists, always feeling slightly out of sync with everyone else. Being different as a human had alienated me slightly, made me feel like I didn’t have a place in the world.

So this was really different. I was amazing now—to them and to myself. It was like I had been born to reach this point. The idea made me want to laugh, but it also made me want to sing. I had found my true place in the world, the place I fit, the place I shined.

[kpopkrappykraftbin]

This is part 2 to my Vampire! Jun series and is the final

So OG this was gonna just be an edit but as I’ve said before, I’m extra so let’s get this angsty vampire! jun bullet list started

It’s pretty fluffy but ends very angsty (also kinda long)

Warning: Character death (not of old age)

Masterlist

- You and Jun had met at a company party

- You hadn’t really wanted to go but the company had made it mandatory to impress the bigwigs

- You were standing a few feet away from the food table trying to avoid your slightly tipsy co workers when Mr. Handsome caught your eye

- He also looked like he didn’t want to be there. He was bored but the emotion seemed more intense than suited the mediocre party

- Because you were staring too long he eventually looked back at you

- He smirked half heartedly at you before picking a few toothpicks of hors d’ oeuvres to put on his plate and approaching you

- He leaned against the wall next to you and you pretended to not notice his presence

- “You look like you’re enjoying this party as much as I am.”

- You turned your head towards him

- He seemed to take pleasure in your somewhat childish action in refusing to have any fun

- “I’d much rather be at home or doing something productive around less...” you looked at your rowdy coworkers, “people.” you cleared your throat

- “Aren’t these your turbulent years? Parties, energy, bad decisions, all that jazz, you should be in on it” he joked

- “Well then what about you? You don’t look old, yourself. Why don’t you have a good dose of intoxication?”

-“I already am,” he paused looking into your eyes at an uncomfortably close proximity for strangers, “by you” he broke out into an open mouthed laugh

- you snorted. the handsome stranger was most definitely a joke

- “Also it’d be looked down upon if one of the heads of the company got wasted at the annual get together.” He continued he said nonchalantly

- he was also apparently your boss

- “I’m Wen Junhui, in charge of this particular countries branches” he smirked devilishly at you, “nice to meet you...” he waited for you to supply your name

- “Y/N.” you blushed your title wasn’t nearly important enough to mention

- “HR department?”

- “Yes sir.”

- “There’s the fake polite social service voice” he chuckled

- You looked down feeling awkward he had called you out for faking politeness

- “I liked it better when you looked at me like I was a nice meal rather than a weapon of mass destruction, Y/N, you can call me Jun. And do me a favor and forget my title. I’m just here for the snacks.” he emphasized by putting a whole meatball on a stick in his mouth and smiling tight lipped at you

- absolutely cheeky

- you took that as incentive to bite into your own snacks, though out of the corner of your eye you could swear you saw Jun shudder as he swallowed

- maybe you should stay away from the meatballs

- after that conversation flowed a lot more smoothly

- Jun hailed you a cab at the end of the night and bid you farewell

- You wondered if you should have tried to get his number

- The next day you received an email from Jun’s work email

- Meeting at 2 o’clock sharp in the break room -J

- Of course you showed up

- And Jun was there in a nice button up and slacks sitting at the small break room table

- You stood in the doorway confused as to why you were the only one there besides Jun

- “Have you ever tried chocolate filled rasberries? They’re delicious.” He insisted holding a small box of them out to you

- You took one with a small thanks popping the small fruit into your mouth

- “You know typically a meeting would have more than just two people. What could a figure head like you want with the HR lady?”

- He turned his gaze away from you looking slightly abashed, though he didn’t have the decency to blush

- “A date maybe?” he said looking at you from the corner of his eye

- You were surprised Mr. Handsome had even wanted to talk to  you again let alone see you on a personal basis

- “No offense, but this date sucks.”

- He looked at you wide eyed and sputtering

- “I guess that means you’ll have to take me on another one.” you finished

- Jun let out a short laugh

- “I guess so.”

- For you two the rest was history date after date

- Some extravagant

- Some at his house with take out and a movie

- If you had to pick something you didn’t like about Jun though, it would be his tiny appetite, he never seemed to actually eat any of his food, just push it around

- That’s why he never let you touch the kitchen

- “There’s no need for you to waste time in the kitchen making something I’ll barely eat only to have you get mad at me and ignore me for a week, when I can just keep you in my arms and have food delivered.”

- Or maybe the fact that he was always cold

- Cuddling in the summer with him was a dream

- In the winter-- a nightmare

- It wasn’t until after a year of dating that you found out why

- It was Jun’s birthday and you were determined to make him a cake

- And gosh darn it he was gonna eat it

- You had decided to make it at his place as he said he had gone off with some friends for something or another

- You opened his apartment with your spare key to let yourself in

- after reading the directions on the box a couple of times (though it seemed it should be easy enough to go through only once)

- You had gotten all the ingredients out except for the eggs

- Opening the refrigerator door you were surprised to say the least

- No eggs

- But plenty of bags of blood

- Which obviously even though being a vampire is a far fetch you’re like oh shit is Jun a vampire

- Then your rational mind tells you no, it’s gotta be something else

- So you’re just  stuck in the kitchen with the fridge door open, letting all the cold air out and panicking

- Jun has great timing, so this is of course, when he walks through the door

- You turn to face him slowly and see his face tense at your position

- “I can explain.”

- “What, that you robbed the local blood bank?” you asked near hysterics

- “Well... yes.” he said before shaking his head “but that’s not important. Y/N, there’s... something you need to know.”

- He reached slowly for your hand, never breaking eye contact with you

- You let him lead you away from the kitchen and onto the couch in the living room

- You both sat down Jun not letting go of your hands

- You sat still ramrod straight and sweating

- You didn’t know what he was going to tell you, but it couldn’t be good

- “There’s something you deserve to know. And... and I should have told you earlier but... I was scared.”

- “Jun, you’re scaring me.”

- “Please no,” he pleaded with you, eyes looking wet “Not me, never me. I would never give you any reason to be scared of me, Y/N. I love you so much. Never be scared of me.”

- His grip on your hands tightened slightly before relaxing again

- “The reason those blood bags are in there is because I need them. To live.” he elaborated

- “What?” was the most intelligent thing you could come up with at the moment

- “I,” he hesitated before closing his eyes shut tightly “I’m a vampire.”

- You literally could not comprehend the information being passed as true to you

- Jun opened one eye at a time looking at you nervously

- “Vampires aren’t real Jun”

- “They are,” he said gently, “You’ve been dating one for the past year,” he rubbed his thumbs over the backs of your hands, “and I’ve been one for the past one hundred.”

- It took a  bit more convincing and some of Jun having to try to calm you down but you did accept the truth

- It took you a few good days to process everything fully

- And another week to finally come to terms that your long term boyfriend could potentially live forever and that his favorite food was blood

- Jun was extremely patient with you throughout the whole process and gave you plenty of space

- “I know you probably don’t want me around right now but, I’m here when you want me. I won’t leave unless you ask me to.”

- After about a month you were able to become comfortable enough to start cuddling with him again

- And when you finally decided to kiss him

- The way he kissed back was like a starving man

- Practically has his hands on you all the time, never leaving you alone for longer than he absolutely has to

- When you asked him about it he claimed to be making up time

- That’s when you realized your time was limited with him

- You were going to keep aging and eventually die while Jun stayed paused in time

- When you brought it up to Jun it made him very depressed

- “I know”

- He must have thought about it before and you could tell that thinking about it now was nearly insufferable for him

- You didn’t bring up the topic of becoming a vampire with him immediately

- And when you did Jun seemed reluctant

- It was obviously a huge decision to make

- You two decided to wait another two years before deciding

- In the mean time he would tell you everything he could about vampirism

- After nearly all the time was up everything was still going great and you couldn’t deny that you truly couldn’t imagine living without Jun

- Or how much the idea of making Jun live without you and imagining him alone physically made you sick

- Jun was coming back from a business trip the week from the set time

- You two had  planned an early retirement in a large home on the country side where you wouldn’t be disturbed and had plenty of space to get used to your new urges

- The house was huge and extravagant, you didn’t even want to think about how much money Jun had put in for it

- But he insisted that if it were going to be your new home, it needed to be the best

- You were on your way to the airport to pick Jun up, only a forty minute drive and you couldn’t wait to see him

- Jun had already landed and was waiting for you outside the terminal, his flight had landed early

- He was nervously thumbing at a small box kept safely in his pocket

- You were anxiously trying to make it through traffic

- You were bummed that you weren’t there to meet Jun at the gate and you were only becoming more late the closer you got to the airport

- You remember turning a corner and then darkness

- Jun was very nervous

-Something seemed wrong or was he just that anxious?

- He waited another twenty minutes for you

- He had expected you to be late but not this late

- He checked his watch again before being interrupted by his cellphone

- He dropped his bags and sprinted to curbside to get a taxi

- He rushed to the front desk before being told where you were

- When he stepped into your room the first thing that greeted him was the sound of your heart moniter

- You were alive but not awake

- If he was going to turn you, now would have to be the time, you were not in stable condition and who knows how  long you might actually last

- Even now, Jun wasn’t sure your body would be able to make the change; so much of you was broken

- He knelt down beside you ready to bite you, to save you

- But a doctor came in and Jun had to hastily retreat

- “You’re her emergency contact?”

- “Yes” Jun answered quickly hoping the faster he had this conversation the sooner the doctor would leave

- “Sir,  am so sorry.”

- Jun looked at him surprised

- “But her heart,” he began “It’s still beating. She’s still alive.” Jun began arguing adamantly

- “Yes her heart is fine but her... she’s not all there. The  trauma she suffered has caused her...” the doctor paused looking into Jun’s  desperate eyes before looking down at the ground. “She’s brain dead sir.”

- Jun stiffened, he couldn’t see anything and for a moment he forgot to breathe

- He couldn’t save you. He couldn’t fix this

- Bones: venom could heal, muscles: venom could heal but death of any tissue-- death was irreversible

- Jun wailed over your unresponsive body soaking your hospital gown in tears; the doctor left him to have some privacy

- Jun knew it was no use but he couldn’t stop, he had to try

- Through teary eyes he looked frantically at you before moving your hair from your neck

- He bit and bit but got no response, only blood staining his hands as the held you close still he couldn’t stop-- he needed to save you

- He finally stopped at seeing what he’d done to you

- Neck littered with punctures

- He had destroyed you

- And he couldn’t bring you back

- No matter how much he needed to

- He gently wiped you neck sticky with drying blood

- He sat back a bit looking at you, tears still constantly falling down his cheek and off his chin

- He sniffled as he dug his hand in his pocket to retrieve that small box he had been so nervous about earlier

- He opened it

- “I know I don’t deserve you. And that I let you down.” he paused trying to hold back a sob “but I was yours from the night I met you and” he looked away trying to pull himself away from the edge of screaming at the heavens or God or whoever took you away from him, “I always will be... So please let me call you mine.” he finished slipping the ring on your finger

- He bit onto his own fist again trying to hold back the waves of pain before getting op to get some bandages

- He carefully wrapped your neck delicately holding you close to him

- After he was done, the white looked nothing but innocent on your neck and blended in with the rest of your injuries you had gotten in the car accident

- With a final kiss placed longingly on your forehead he left

- The hospital tried to contact him multiple times as to what to do with your body, you couldn’t be on life support forever

- He never answered

- He couldn’t

- He couldn’t be the one to pull the final plug on your life

- Eventually they stopped calling

- Jun couldn’t get drunk, but he sure as hell tried

- Anything to stop the hurting

- Anything but forget you

- He could never do that to you

- He had finally moved into the house you two were meant to spend the rest of your unnaturally long lives together

- Most of the time he thinks about how happy you would have been

- He imagines your laugh and your smile and how it felt to have you next to him

- Perfect

- And how lucky he would have been to be yours forever

- But vampires aren’t lucky

- So he takes another sip of vodka from his glass and watches the trees from inside your now crumbling dream home

- He himself forgotten

[ticklishhpickle]

Even a Vegan With a Cold, Dead Heart Ships It (aka Paul)

Sequel to ‘Even Santa Ships It’ (scroll down to read it or it’s on ao3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13078551) 

Read this on ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13169127 

Word count: 4k 

Warnings: none

Genre: fluff 

Summary: Phil and his sassy Christmas elf boyfriend couldn't be happier they're together, and neither could Santa. Phil's cynical roommate, Paul needs a little more time to warm up to Dan however.

AN: while you don’t necessarily have to read ‘Even Santa Ships It’ to enjoy and understand this fic, I highly recommend you do as some of the events of the first fic are referenced here (plus it’s a laugh I think) Please like/comment if you enjoyed- notes are where I get most of my motivation to write from lmao 

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Phil practically skipped up the stairs to his flat, his hands clutching the bouquet of roses his boyfriend had given him earlier that night. Dan and him had been dating ever since their somewhat awkward admission of feelings a few months prior. Phil couldn’t believe his luck that day, he’d met Santa Claus and found out Dan liked him back- two things he thought could only happen in his dreams.

The door rattled obnoxiously as he wiggled his key around in the lock- he really needed to fix that soon. Okay, who was he kidding? He really needed to get Paul to fix that soon. The one time Phil tried to do handiwork around the flat he had caused around $500 worth of damages and as a consequence promised Paul he would never try anything of the sort again.

Finally, the door clicked open and Phil walked in before kicking off his shoes hastily. “Paul! I’m back! How was work today?” Phil called out into the space of the flat, not exactly sure where his friend was.

“Shitter than our toilet exactly fifteen minutes after you drank a gallon of milk on a dare. But a lot less funny.”

Paul was standing on the opposite side of the kitchen bench from Phil, his arms folded and a slight smile playing on his lips. Was he there when Phil walked in? Either that or he was hiding some superhuman ability to teleport from one room to another from Phil.

Phil rolled his eyes as he filled the blue vase his parents gave him a few years back with water and placed the roses in carefully. With only slightly shaking hands, he lifted the vase up and started to walk over to the small display table next to the television.

“Paul, you really should quit! All you do is complain about that job, and I get that it pays the bills but is it really worth your happiness?” Paul’s smile fell for a second but was replaced within a second,

“Oh Phil, my happiness died when I watched my first environment documentary and realised humanity is doomed. There’s no point trying to get it back now.” He waved a hand at Phil dismissively.

If it were anyone else, Phil would be extremely worried. But this was Paul, and he knew that while he did make jokes about things that caused him genuine distress, he greatly exaggerated the extent to which they affected him for comedic effect. And this time it definitely worked. The black-haired man let himself chuckle for a good thirty seconds at Paul’s cynical attitude, holding his stomach to stop it from hurting. This is why they were best friends.

“Well maybe your happiness will come back when I tell you all about my date with Dan? Yes?” Phil nudged Paul playfully in his side.

Paul looked Phil dead in the eyes, showing no signs of interest or amusement.

“I still can’t get over how you’re fucking a Christmas elf. Isn’t that like, beastiality or something?”

Phil turned scarlett at his friend’s words. Usually, he would laugh at a joke like this but the mention of sex and Dan in the same sentence made him very flustered. Their relationship was still quite new, and both boys had an unspoken agreement not to go any further than making out for the time being. Neither of them were ready, and their kisses were more than enough to satisfy the pair.

“No! Dan and I are not fu-... intimate in that way. We haven’t even done anything past making out, not that you need to know. And I think you should really look up the definition of beastiality, this is a far cry from that. Dan is basically just a human with pointy ears!” Phil exclaimed hastily, his face flaming the whole time he was speaking.

“Hm. If you say so.” Paul eyed his friend suspiciously. “Well, you going to tell me about the date now? I’m assuming it was the same as the last date, the date before that, and the date before that.”

“I’ll have you know that each date we’ve gone on has been different! Today, we had a romantic picnic under the stars and he serenaded me with his- his kazoo.”

Paul burst into laughter as soon as he heard the word kazoo, not even trying to hide how amused he was at Dan’s instrument of choice. “The fucking, the fucking kazoo?” Paul managed out between loud bursts of laughter, slamming his fists on the bench. “Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.” he said after he’d calmed down.

Phil crossed his arms, attempting to seem annoyed, but he really wasn’t. He fought back a smile before replying,

“Alright, I’ll admit it’s quite funny in theory, but Dan’s actually an excellent kazoo player. And he does it ironically anyway. Hearing him play Britney Spears on the kazoo was quite cute actually.” Phil had the fondest expression on his face, the one that only made an appearance when he was with Dan, or talking about Dan.

“You have that look on your face again, Phil.” Paul squinted at his friend suspiciously.

“What look?”

“The same one you had when… when asswipe was around. At the beginning.”

Phil’s eyebrows creased in confusion. Why was Paul mentioning him right now? He was with Dan now. That was in the past. “Is that a problem?”

Paul gasped before pointing at Phil accusingly. “You love him, don’t you!”

Phil’s eyes widened. Was he in love again? Of course, Dan and him were only a few months into their relationship… but Phil had never been happier. Anyway, even if he was, why did it matter? Why was Paul bringing up something that happened two years ago? Sure, when it happened Phil was shattered, but he could truthfully say he was over it now. Trust Paul to play the overprotective father when he least needed it.

Phil made sure to choose his next words carefully. “Paul, I know you’re still pissed at Derek for what happened, but I’m okay now. And Dan’s nothing like him.”

His friend pulled out a comb from his back pocket and began parting his dirty blonde hair to one side. “I just don’t want you to get hurt again. You’re very vulnerable when you’re in love.” He pointed the comb at Phil sternly.

“And don’t fight me on it. I know you love him. I can see your eyes going all googly and lovey and... weird. It makes my cold, dead heart warm a little. That’s how I know.”

Before Phil could respond, Paul was marching out of the kitchen into his bedroom, muttering profanities the whole time.

This was going to be a problem.

An almost overwhelmingly warm feeling spread through Phil’s chest as he held Dan in his arms. The two men were cuddling on Phil’s couch, occasionally filling the comfortable silence with short remarks and comments. Phil kissed the top of Dan’s head and pulled him a little closer. He revelled in the soft sigh of contentment Dan let out in response.

He was happy like this, just holding the man he loved in his arms, not thinking about anything else in the world. Phil’s weird conversation with Paul the other day made him realise that that’s what he felt for Dan. Love. And even though they’d only been dating for a few months, Phil knew it was the truth.

Dan and Phil’s heads both turned when they heard the front door rattling open. Their eyes were greeted by the sight of all six feet of Paul stumbling into the kitchen, his arms full of Wholefood items. Paul plunked the bags down onto the bench, causing a loud clatter.

“My jarred quinoa salad better be okay or I’m gonna hit a bitch.” Paul grumbled as he rifled through the bags, assumedly looking for said salad. After a few seconds, he looked up, finally noticing the laughing boyfriends on the couch who were quite obviously cuddling. Paul narrowed his eyes.

“Oh. Hello. Phil. Dan.” Paul said, quite obviously eyeing Dan up.

“Hi Paul! How are you? Vegan food haul good?” Dan responded, seemingly unfazed by Paul’s not-so-subtle hostility. In the past few months, Paul had always shown some degree of suspicion and hostility towards Dan, but today was worse than ever. Phil didn’t think it would be wrong to assume it had something to do with Paul figuring out Phil was in love again.

The blonde-haired man’s face remained blank as he reached behind him to open the fridge, still facing Dan. His long arms fumbled awkwardly over the surface of the fridge, looking for the handle. Opening a door without looking at it was clearly posing a challenge for the man.

“Yes. Quite good. Purchased some organic, cold-pressed almond milk to eat with my granola in the mornings.” With one hand he held the bottle of almond milk out, presenting it to Dan and with the other he found the fridge handle and swung the door open dramatically. “But that’s for tomorrow.” His voice somehow stayed weirdly serious the whole time he was talking. He roughly placed the bottle in the fridge, accidentally knocking a bottle of tamari sauce over in the process.

“Oh, um. Cool?” Dan replied, clearly uncomfortable.

Phil scrunched his face up at his friend, silently trying to send him a secret best friend message of, ‘What the fuck are you doing? You’re making me and my boyfriend feel awkward.’ Paul simply avoided Phil’s gaze and slammed the refrigerator door shut. There was a tense silence in the air for a few moments, before Paul continued.

“Well, you two lovebirds, have fun in here. I’m going to have a nice wank up there.” Paul pointed to his bedroom on the second floor of the flat, before grabbing his quinoa salad off the bench and walking off.

When the sound of Paul shutting his bedroom door was heard, Dan spoke up.

“Okay, literally what the fuck was that?”

Phil visibly cringed. He knew exactly what the fuck it was. Around two years before, Phil was dating a guy named Derek. They’d met at a coffee shop, and their relationship was just as cliche as their meeting spot. Derek had wine and dined Phil, taken him for cute dates in the city, and Phil was the happiest he’d ever been. That was until one day, Phil went over to Derek’s apartment to surprise him for their anniversary, but was met with a bit of a surprise himself instead. A tall, slim brunette girl had answered the door, introducing herself as Derek’s girlfriend. Phil begged Derek to say it wasn’t true. Derek begged Phil to forgive him.

To say Phil was heartbroken would be an understatement. He was shattered, distraught for months. And despite Paul’s constant claims that his own heart was dead and cold, he was the one there for Phil throughout the whole breakup. Phil couldn’t count the amount of times Paul had cooked the both of them dinner, despite being extremely busy with work, or taken the afternoon off work for his friend when he knew he needed someone that day. Paul even hugged Phil a few times, and Phil knew that the man couldn’t stand physical contact with humans, especially hugs.

In short, Phil had his heart broken two years ago. And Paul knew that Phil loved Dan, knew the power Dan had over Phil because of it, and he was paranoid Dan would do the same thing Derek did.

Phil wriggled out of their spooning position and crossed his legs on the couch. He sighed.

“Okay, this is gonna be a bit heavy, so prep yourself.”

“But I didn’t bring any vaseline today!” Dan smirked, eager for Phil’s reaction.

The black-haired man couldn’t help but laugh at his boyfriend’s lame joke.  Why was Dan like this?

Phil smacked Dan in the arm lightly. “You know what I meant! Now let me talk!” He glared into Dan’s eyes exaggeratedly, making it obvious he wasn’t actually mad.

“You’ve probably noticed that Paul’s always acted a little hostile towards you, even from the start. But today was worse because um, well…” Phil looked nervously at the ground before looking back up at his boyfriend’s expectant face. He could do this.

“Because he realised I’m in love with you.” Dan’s eyes softened at this and a triumphant smile graced his face. Dan opened his mouth to respond, but Phil pressed a finger to his lips.

“Daniel, as much as I want to share this romantic moment of love confessions with you, I need to finish explaining.”

The elf huffed cutely and crossed his arms before nodding.

“My last boyfriend kind of screwed me over, okay, really screwed me over. I don’t want to get too much into it, but basically he’d been cheating on me since the start of our relationship. And I found out on our anniversary too!” Two years ago, even a year ago if you asked Phil to tell this story, he wouldn’t have been able to finish it without crying. Now, he didn’t really feel anything but sorry for Derek and whoever would end up with him.

“I was completely shattered for months after the break up. I was in love with him, and finding out he did that to me was really hard. But my saving grace throughout that whole breakup was Paul. He helped me so much during that time, and I know now he’s scared that now that I’m in love with you, I’ll end up hurt again.”

Dan was nodding thoughtfully the whole time Phil was talking. His face didn’t give anything away, and Phil was anxious for Dan to respond.

Dan clasped his hands on his lap, and sat up a bit straighter.

“Well, first off. I wish Derek was a sim, so I could kill him in twelve different ways without serving a prison sentence. Also, he’s a fucking fool for doing that to you. He’s missing out on the cutest, sweetest guy on the planet.”

Phil felt the need to clutch his hand to his chest, that was the most hilarious and sweetest thing Dan had ever said to him! How did he get so lucky? He had nothing to say back, so instead swiftly leant forever and gave Dan a quick kiss on his dimple. Dan flushed bright red, especially the tips of his pointy ears but still smiled back at Phil. “A-anyway,” Dan was a bit flustered now, “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. And about Paul, well it really does make sense. It’s actually quite endearing he cares about you so much. But you should both know I would never do something like that to you.”

Phil reached out to grab Dan’s hand and laced their fingers together.

“I know you would never, Dan. But we need to convince Paul of that too.”

“Well, let’s all have dinner together. We can have it here, if that’s okay. I’ll bring some of my finest, most sugary desserts. And I’ll invite Santa too, he’s been bugging me to let him see us together as a couple for the first time.”

Phil thought about Dan’s suggestion for a second. That wasn’t the worst idea Dan had had. Although, he did suggest streaking through the North Pole as a date idea once. Phil still wasn’t sure if that was a joke or not. But the dinner could help ease Paul’s concerns if they played their cards right. “Okay… yeah! I’m in. Go call Santa while I pee.” Phil grinned at his boyfriend before jumping off the couch and making his way to the toilet.

“That’s great famalam.” Dan pointed finger guns at Phil. Seriously, why was he like this? “Oh, and before you pee. I love you too.” Dan squeaked when Phil jumped on him with no warning. Phil smiled down at his boyfriend before ducking down and meeting their lips. A celebratory makeout session was in order.

They kissed like that for a few minutes, excitedly and with all their love poured into it before,

“Wait. Didn’t you need to pee?”

Phil rolled his eyes. Trust Dan to ruin a moment. “That can wait. This is more important.” he panted into Dan’s neck.

“I’m just saying, if you’re into doing stuff with a full bladder I may have to break up with you. As much as I love you, omorashi’s really not my thing.”

Phil really wished he could say he scolded Dan for that god-awful joke. But all he did was laugh, and notice his heart growing impossibly fonder of the sarcastic elf.

“So what are your intentions with Mr. Philip?” Paul enquired sternly before shoving a spoon of chocolate tofu pudding in his mouth.

“Oh, come on, Paul! You’re really gonna use that line on him? You’re not a father from the 1970s  meeting his daughter’s boyfriend for the first time!” Phil ran a hand through his dyed black hair. This was not going well.

Things had been like this all night; Paul asking Dan weird questions and glaring at him from across the table. Initially, Dan had been answering them with as much politeness as he could muster, but now he was just giving him cheeky, sarcastic responses. And of course Santa was sitting at the head of the table, chuckling at the whole ordeal and cooing anytime Dan and Phil did anything remotely coupley.

“Oh, you know. Just to take him knitting with me, things were getting pretty lonely at knitting club. Good thing I met Phil at that Satan worshippers convention.” Dan smiled overdramatically and tilted his head to one side.

Paul glared at Dan even harder, if that was possible. “Ho ho ho!” Santa chuckled loudly, holding his belly. “This Daniel, ay?” Phil felt Santa’s fat elbow nudge him in the side, trying to get Phil to laugh along with him. As uncomfortable as this night was, Phil was extremely grateful for Santa’s presence, and not just because Phil was still a huge fangirl for him, although that was a big part of it- but also because he laughed at nearly everything, which saved them from many awkward silences.

Phil let out a clearly forced laugh, looking at Dan apologetically. He reached over to squeeze his boyfriend’s hand. The poor guy looked more uncomfortable than he did at the party Phil brought him to a few weeks ago. And that was saying a lot.

Santa’s eyes lit up when he saw the elf and Phil holding hands. He jumped excitedly in his chair a little, causing the cutlery on the table to rattle.

“Now that’s just adorable.” He beamed, pointing at Dan and Phil’s clasped hands. “Would ya look at that, Paul-o? Just like me and Mrs. Claus! From the start we were like that, all cuddly and all over each other. Everyone thought it wouldn’t last, but the Mrs and I are still happily together to this very day, and well, I’m sure the elves living in the floor directly below us can attest to that. If you know what I mean.” Santa wiggled his thick white eyebrows at Paul. Paul stared at him in horror.

Dan slapped his boss on the back abruptly. “Aha! Santa, this has been great, but doesn’t there- isn’t there, um, stuff to be done down in the North Pole? Rudolph need feeding?” He said, forcing a smile and nodding at Santa, twitching his head towards the front door.

“Hohoho! Don’t be silly Daniel, I’ve gotten everything taken care of for tonight. Tonight it’s just you, me, Paul and Ph-” Someone’s phone chimed, interrupting him. The old man frowned before pulling his phone out of his pocket. His eyes widened as he read whatever text was on the screen.

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry to do this but I really should get going. Rudolph’s been a wee bit incontinent tonight, and the elves need help cleaning it up.” Santa frowned apologetically at Dan and Phil as he stood up out of his chair.

“Oh, well that’s okay! Thank you so much for coming Santa, it’s been amazing seeing you again. I’ll walk you out.” Phil was disappointed that Santa was leaving so soon, but he knew he was a very lucky man to see Santa again. Most people only got to meet their idol once, and usually just at a meet and greet they’d have to pay $180 dollars for!

Phil grabbed his and Santa’s coats off the rack, and sneakily (he hoped), a pen. Hopefully he could squeeze an autograph from the old man on his way out.

Dan shifted nervously in his chair. How could Phil leave him alone with Paul like this? It was already awkward enough when Santa and Phil were there, now it was going to be even worse! Alright, Dan thought. It will be okay. I’ll just talk to him, about, um, something. Dan blurted out the first thing that came to his mind,

“Well, Santa’s story about his sex life sure was fun to listen to, ay?”

He could have slapped himself in the head a million times in that moment. Out of everyone conversation topic in the world, he picked that one? He was doing himself no favours. He clenched his hands under the table in anticipation for Paul’s response.

“Oh, fuck, mate. That was fucking awful. I can’t get the picture of him having sex out of my mind now, and it’s not a pretty one.” Paul chuckled a little.

Was this… was this positive social interaction he was participating in? And with Paul of all people? Perhaps he could win him over after all!

“Yeah well it’s worse witnessing it in real life, trust me.” Paul leaned forward in interest.

“No way, you’ve seen it before?”

“Yep, just last week and it was fucking disgusting. Gotta admit it is kinda cute they’re still that crazy about each other after all those years, though.” If Dan was being honest, that’s what he imagined him and Phil would be like in thirty years time. Of course, it was still early in the relationship, but he couldn’t imagine his life without the clumsy raven-haired man.

Paul cleared his throat before speaking again. He actually looked kind of nervous, for once.

“Yeah… well about that. I don’t think you heard the first part of what Santa said to me, but he was basically cooing over you and Phil holding hands, saying you guys reminded him of him and his wife. It kinda reminded me that... not all relationships turn to shit after a few months, especially not ones like yours. So, while by no means am I letting you off the hook, I must admit that you and Phil have a future. And I know you’ll never hurt him. Not intentionally.” Paul scratched the back of his neck. “I guess you can take this as an apology, of sorts.”

Dan thought he could cry out of relief. Paul was finally coming around to him! Had it really been this easy the whole time? Was all Paul needed to be reminded that some relationships do work out? I guess it shouldn’t be that surprising. Dan thought, He’s even more cynical than me.

“Well, apology accepted Paul. I hope you know I love Phil, so much, and I don’t plan on being with anyone else. Ever. Also, Derek’s a fucking piece of shit, right?”  Dan grinned at the man across the table from him.

“YES! HE IS!” Paul slammed his hands down on the table and shook his head. “I always had a bad feeling about Derek, even from the start. But you- you’re good, I can tell. I just wish Derek’s anus fucking prolapses or something. Dumb bitch.”

Dan howled with laughter at this, prompting the other man to laugh along with him. Things were going to be okay.

Phil walked back into the flat ten minutes later to find the two most important men in his life (after Santa of course) laughing hysterically together, they were finally getting along! He smiled fondly at the both of them. It was time for a group hug.

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/sports/superstitious-minds-the-rituals-that-obsess-winners/

Superstitious minds: The 'rituals' that obsess winners

“It’s not really superstitious. It’s a thing you do every time. There are guys literally that think they won’t play good if they don’t do the same thing (every time),” Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones tells CNN Sport, speaking ahead of the NHL Playoffs’ start.

Let’s face it, even if you might find it hard to admit, we all probably have a few habits that get us out of the house and through each day.

A Montreal Canadiens video crew chronicled Andrew Shaw’s intriguing pregame routine — including slashing a teammate in the knee pad and orchestrating 50 different handshakes — in which he admits: “I’ve added little things that I find just help me get ready for the game.

“I think now it’s just being superstitious going into every game. Most players do have a routine. If they say they don’t, they are lying to you.”

‘Rigid routine’

When NHL players are asked about their pregame routine, they often answer in a sheepish, almost noncommittal way — “Oh that’s not me but let me tell you about my teammate.”

Many players don’t readily expand on their daily routines likely out of fear of not wanting to sound odd or give away a secret that an opponent, or even worse a teammate, can use against them.

Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele warns: “We have (Dustin) Byfuglien on our team who is a big jokester, so anyone who has a superstition probably needs to get rid of it if you play on the Winnipeg Jets. If you set your sticks up a certain way. You put your pads a certain way. Buff’s gonna knock ’em over.”

Even so, Scheifele, who is the Jets leading goal scorer, has a ritual that ‘afflicts’ several other NHLers — wanting to be the last skater off the ice after the warm-up.

“I am the last one to go off. I like being on the ice. I like shooting around. I like it when no one else is out there. The way I look at it is that if I’m the last one off the ice, I’ve prepared the most.”

READ: Carolina Hurricanes — NHL side dividing opinion with outlandish celebrations

Rock, paper, scissors

Problem is that the Dallas Stars’ Tyler Seguin has the same last man mentality — cue an impromptu game of rock, paper, scissors.

“It’s not like I have ever gone up to Tyler and said: ‘Hey, let’s play rock, paper scissors to see who gets off the ice last,’ says Scheifele. “Sometimes I would just give it to him. Or he would give it to me.

“And then one time he put out his dukes like he wanted to play rock, paper scissors, and I was like this is awesome. I think that’s the fun part of hockey. Obviously, we are competitors but that is a fun way to settle that score.”

When St. Louis Blues forward Ryan O’Reilly arrives at the arena, he’s intent on chilling rather than warming up.

“When I get to the rink, the first thing I do — I get in the cold tub. Its one of those things that wakes myself up. It gets my legs feeling the right way.”

Speaking of cold, according to Florida Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle, his former teammate Jeff Halpern, who is now coaching with the (Tampa Bay) Lightning, used to put his skates in the refrigerator.

“I remember seeing his skates in the fridge and thought that was kinda of … something quirky,” laughs Yandle.

READ: Filip Forsberg on his journey from Sweden to the Nashville Predators

‘Stick in the bathroom’

Other notable pregame routines center around food, with carb consumption high on the menu.

“Chicken and pasta. I think everyone does it. Grilled chicken and penne vodka (sauce),” said Yandle.

It’s pasta and chicken every time for Vasilevski, who is also intent on not varying his breakfast.

“Eggs, bacon, toast, latte. I’m doing latte at home. I have a big café machine. I can be a barista at Starbucks at this point.”

Ottawa Senators defenceman Thomas Chabot doesn’t want to disrupt his meal routine but also doesn’t want to tire of it.

“Chicken and pasta at home and on the road, I’ll do salmon and rice or salmon and pasta. Just ’cause we play so many games, I feel like I’ll get tired of chicken and pasta and I don’t want to get tired of it ’cause I like it.”

Scheifele is a fan of beet juice, while Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller has a soft spot for sweet potato.

The Washington Capitals’ Stanley Cup run last season highlighted Alexander Ovechkin’s carb-powered Italian combo.

The Russian forward has a local Italian restaurant — Mamma Lucia — deliver to him before every home game, chicken parmesan, pasta, bread, and four separate sauces — alfredo, meat, mushroom marsala, and marinara.

“There’s no shame,” Ovechkin’s teammate Brooks Orpik told the Players’ Tribune. “It’ll be 11 in the morning, way before anyone is really thinking about eating lunch, and Ovi will walk into the dining area yelling, “Mama Lucia! Mama Lucia! [sic].

“I don’t know. It’s weird, but it seems normal now. Then, a few hours later, he’s outskating everyone on the ice, knocking guys on their asses.”

READ: Gabriel Landeskog — From Stockholm to NHL stardom

‘Great One’

Widely known as the best player to ever play the game, “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky, told Graham Bensinger in 2016, that back in his day, Snickers, hot dogs, and Diet Cokes were the fuel that powered him through.

Compare this to three-time Stanley Cup champion Sidney Crosby. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain counts on a simple peanut butter and jelly before each game.

But don’t let the simple sandwich fool you. Crosby’s before-the-puck-drop rituals might be the most well known. But as someone who has won multiple Olympic golds and Stanley Cups, who can say they aren’t working?

“There is just too many, it’s hard now after you do things for so long to know what is a superstition and what’s just part of your daily routine,” Crosby acknowledged in a 2017 post-practice interview. “There’s a lot of guys in here that have them — they just don’t want to admit it.”

During Crosby’s sixth season, a HBO camera crew followed “Sid the Kid” during his pregame routine — willingly taking the long way around the arena as to not walk in front of the visitors’ locker room.

The aforementioned Jones, who says he is not really superstitious, is quick to smile and highlight one of his teammate’s routines. “Boone Jenner is one of the weirdest ones I’ve seen on the bench.

Every time he comes on the bench from a shift, he’ll take (a sip of) water, then Gatorade, water, Gatorade, spit, spit … there is like a certain sequence to it. And if he messes it up — he’s done.”

Jenner counters with, “I’m not the worst.” But in jest seems to admit that if he has a good game or scores, the next pregame meal must be reenacted – right down to the same time, same table and same guy paying the bill.

Meanwhile, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Cam Atkinson almost appears to laugh in the face of superstitions — the All-Star forward wears the #13 on his back.

When called out about the monotony of his chicken and pasta routine, Atkinson countered: “you should ask (Johnny) Gaudreau about his pre-game lunch.”

At this point Atkinson cracks a big smile. Atkinson knows the Calgary Flames star well. So, well that Gaudreau actually wears the #13 in homage to Atkinson.

“Gaudreau has pasta but has never had pasta sauce in his life. So he gets a big bowl of pasta with nothing — not even butter, no cheese, nothing. I don’t know how you can do that.”

Gaudreau too seems impervious to all of this. “I’m not superstitious at all. I was born on August the 13th. Friday the 13th.”

‘Left side first’

Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk, a 10-year NHL veteran, has learned not to allow specific routines to dictate his game approach.

“You can’t just throw away a game because you are superstitious. I always told myself is to make sure to never let it affect what you are doing if you are unable to do it. That’s the difference to having a routine and superstition.”

Then again, someone like Anaheim Ducks forward Corey Perry, a 2-time Olympic champion and Stanley Cup winner, readily admits that he counts on his elaborate routine to prepare him for a 60-minute game.

“I stretch at the same time,” he told the Players’ Tribune. “I ride the bike the same amount of minutes. I get dressed left foot first — everything left side first. Touch all the doors on the way out (to the ice). The list goes on and on.”

Team-based Stanley Cup Playoff rituals vary; refusing to shave in order to grow thick beards as their teams advance toward the Final, or the subtle tradition of “to touch or not to touch” the conference championship trophy en route to playing for the Stanley Cup, and lest not forget one of the most unique title winning traditions — spending the day with the trophy.

Confidence is key

There is scientific reasoning behind the myriad of rituals on display in the NHL.

George Gmelch, a professor of anthropology at the University of San Francisco who has studied superstition in baseball for decades, says that superstitions tend to be more prevalent in areas where there’s a lot of uncertainty — such as elite sport.

“What they’re really doing is giving themselves confidence,” said Gmelch.

“If I do these little rituals, then I’m gonna feel confident going into this activity, and I can succeed and do well.”

So for the next two months as the post-season plays out, before the coveted Cup is lifted skyward, keep an eye out for the unique – dare we say fun — individual routines. But whatever you do, just don’t mention the word superstitious.

[ajoraverse]

Recent SU developments: Steven needs a hug, hot chocolate, and a decent home-cooked meal. So, um, here ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Beta AU, though I’m unsure if I’m actually going to use it. Sorta corresponds to somewhere after Storm In The Room. This is nonsense.

When Twig got the call, she very nearly missed it. Her hands were occupied with applying an abalone and turquoise inlay to the wooden butt of Scouter's new shotgun, and she almost stabbed herself trying to rush to the early '90's satellite phone in the bedroom she rarely used. It was a heavy phone and needed replacement in the age of smartphones, but at least it still functioned. She answered it and sauntered out the front door of her home to get a better reception.

"Twig?" Twig's eyebrows nearly shot up into her hairline. Of all the Crystal Gems, Pearl seemed to be the least likely candidate to even use a phone. Her voice had that forced lightness that was so transparent that it fooled no one. "Oh, Twig, hello!"

The opening was almost too obvious, but far be it for Twig to ignore an excuse for a good ribbing. She threw in an exaggeration of her northern Sunset State accent, which was English softened and shaped by the local indigenous languages. It was supposed to key Pearl in on the fact that she was teasing, but the Crystal Gems took things so literally that she had no idea how well it would go over. "Well, I'll be. Little Miss Pearl got herself a telephone. Congratulations and welcome to the modern era."

Pearl's short laugh over the phone was forced. Twig almost felt sorry for how bad an actor she was. "Ha! Well, some... things happened and Amethyst and Steven helped me acquire a phone. But that's not why I'm calling. Garnet says there's a chance that Steven might want to visit you while we're on tonight's mission. If he does, could you take care of him?"

"Steven is always welcome to River Run Village." She dropped the exaggerated part of her accent. Jasper poked her head out from the doorway of the neighboring apartment, probably drawn by the subject matter, and Twig held up a hand to signify that she would explain later. "All of you are."

"Your hospitality is always appreciated. Things have just been... complicated lately." 'Lately' meaning the past fourteen years, probably. Twig let it slide. "Now then, humans have certain dietary restrict--"

"I've raised a dozen children to adulthood and babysat several dozen more. I think I know something about how to feed humans." Her voice was teasing again, if just to take the sting out of her words. Really, if Greg hadn't been there for Steven from birth, she would have taken the boy off the Crystal Gems' hands until she was sure they knew what they were doing.

"Oh, right." Pearl vented that little awkward laugh of hers. "Well then, I won't take up any more of your time. Goodbye."

Twig bade farewell and hung up, and she glanced at Jasper with a cat-like grin. "What you see in her, I have no idea."

Jasper's eyes narrowed at her and she pursed her lips against whatever was at the forefront of her mind. She was obviously not up to being teased. Too bad. "What did she want?"

"There's a good chance of Steven visiting tonight. I've got some corn and lime to make tortillas, and I should still have plenty of beans, but I've got no meat. Could you--"

"Yeah, sure." Jasper looked a little relieved. Stewing in her apartment after everything that happened hadn't been good for her. She returned to her apartment to grab her hunting tools and left without a word.

Twig took the time to beg fresh vegetables and herbs from Sage and milk from Mason, who was the only one of them who kept a human job and went to town for groceries regularly. She stocked everything she didn't need immediately in her refrigerator and got started on preparing the food she could store away for when she needed it.

Steven arrived just as the sun was setting, his face a bit red from climbing up the ladder they left for him to shorten the trek from the warp pad to the village set above it. He looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, he was so downcast. If Twig had a real heart, it would have gone out to him. She welcomed him into her home and sat him in the comfortable old couch near the hearth, where he slumped and stared into the flames. Having dealt with moody teenagers before, Twig let him be to start on the hot chocolate. The spiced chocolate tablets from the last time she harbored a run-away were still good.

When she came back with two mugs of hot chocolate at adequate temperature and with an appropriate amount of froth, he was still watching the flames. She pressed one of the mugs into his hands and sat close by. Not close enough to crowd him, but not far enough to be unapproachable. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Fair enough." She leaned back against the cushions to watch the fire, her attention surreptitiously returning to Steven every now and then. He drank the chocolate in little sips as his mind ran circles around whatever it was he was twisting himself up over. She let him at it and got up every now and then to turn over a log or stoke the fire a little more. He said nothing as the chocolate went cold. A glance out the window revealed that the sun had gone down long ago.

"You hungry, kiddo? I am."

"Nah." He slumped a little more. Twig took the cold mug from him and returned to her kitchen, which was mostly still stuck somewhere in the 1400s. But fire was fire and she could cook as well on open flame as she could on a gas range. She started up his supper, a hearty stew of slow-cooked beans and antelope meat so freshly killed and butchered that it was still kind of bloody, bulked out with squashes and tomatoes, and flavored with dried red chilis and spices from Sage's garden. While it cooked, she worked on a mix of mild green chili and stripped-down and diced cactus pads, left that to cook, and cooked some blue corn tortillas to fill him up. It was a meal she made for all her kids when they were down, and so far she hadn't had any complaints.

When she was done, Twig ladled out proper proportions into bowls and placed the tortillas in a warmer, all set on an elaborately-inlaid lacquered tray she stole from some fancy saloon back in the 1860's. This she brought back with her and set it on the low table in front of Steven. In the interest of having something to do, she pulled out a still-hot tortilla from the warmer and tore little bits out of it to chew on.

Halfway through the tortilla, she figured she had enough. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm gonna tell you something." Steven didn't look up from the flames. She pressed on. "You know what I tell my kids? Their only job is to grow up reasonably healthy and happy. That's it. Leave whatever you're agonizing over to the adults."

"But everything's happening too fast." He finally looked up at her, and his dark eyes were brimming with tears. She swallowed down the rest of the tortilla and sidled over to drape an arm over his shoulders to squeeze him close. "I don't know how to heal corruption, and the rubies are still out there, and my mom's responsible for shattering Pink Diamond. And... and I know I have to answer for what she did--"

Twig gave an exaggerated sigh to interrupt him. "All right. No. You are not responsible for anything or anyone but yourself. I never knew what Rose was thinking half the time, but I'm pretty sure she wasn't expecting you to pick up her mantle."

"But--"

"No buts. I can't speak for Rose, but I can speak for myself and the twelve kids I raised. Your only job is to be a kid. That's all. I'm sure that's all she wanted for you, too."

Steven flashed her a tired little half-smile and let her hug him. She doubted he would let it go, but maybe she gave him something else to think about. "Now eat up, kiddo. I don't want you going back to Pearl saying I didn't feed you. I'll never hear the end of it."

[onebizarrekai]

Darkness is nicer than it seems (2)

I thought this setting could use a little more exposition.

Previous

Characters belong to their respective creators.

Dream: Wh…where are we going?

Nightmare: To my castle, obviously!

Dream: …

Dream: … Oh…

Nightmare: Dream, lighten up. I’m not throwing you in jail this time.

(He laughs as if it was supposed to be a joke, as if all those times were just a game--just for fun. Dream laughs sheepishly, looking awfully insecure on the matter.)

Nightmare: Hold on!

(They teleport and appear in the new location… in midair.)


Dream: AH!!


(They crash land onto the huge bed below them.)

Dream: … what… the heck?


Nightmare: Welcome to my room, Dream.

(Nightmare is laughing, and Dream can guess it’s because of how much that threw him off.)

Nightmare: (Ugh… this is all so damn childish! Keep it together, need to keep him won over…)

Nightmare: Wellll? What do you think? I live like a king!


Nightmare: The king that I’ve always been, obviously.

Dream: Ha… haha…

(Nightmare frowns.)

Nightmare: Oh come on. Is something on your mind?


Nightmare: Dream, we can finally be by each other’s sides again.

Dream: Yeah, I’m uh… adjusting…

Nightmare: Oh! Speaking of adjusting.

(He pulls Dream over to a large mirror in the room.)

Nightmare: Yeah, um. Your clothes. Too bright.

Nightmare: Let’s find something new.

(Nightmare runs off into his closet and closes the door behind him.)

Nightmare: (UuuuUUGH!! How the hell am I supposed to talk to him if he’s being so unresponsive?!)

Dream: …

Dream: (He seems… so happy that I’m here…)


Dream: (Did he really miss me this whole time…? He never wanted to hurt me after all…?)

Dream: (I’m just happy that he feels this way… I’m happy we can be together, even if it’s in darkness.)


Dream: (… I can feel it in this place, though… The darkness around me, trying to get to my head…)


Dream: (I guess… I don’t have any reason to fight it anymore…)

(The closet door opens again.)

Nightmare: Hey, I found something. C’mere.

(He beckons Dream over and pulls out an outfit.)

Dream: Oh… wow, it’s…

Dream: … very dark?

(Nightmare drops the blue and black clothes into Dream’s arms.)

Nightmare: I don’t know why I even have this, I never wore it. You’d probably look better in it.

Dream: … Th-thanks.

Nightmare: Oh, uh. One more thing.

Nightmare: You can’t leave this room until I okay it. I think it’s obvious why.

Dream: … people who wanna hurt me outside.

Nightmare: You got it. You can change now.

(He shuts Dream in the closet and resists the urge to sigh loudly.)

Nightmare: (… Just how much can I get into his head?)

Nightmare: …

(He quietly chuckles.)

Nightmare: (I can’t wait to see the looks on his friends’ faces when they find out what happened to him.)

(He strides back over to the mirror.)


Nightmare: (… He probably is more compliant because I’m in this form… How long will it be until I can return to the other and still hold his trust?)

Nightmare: (… I can certainly make something up about forms for specific presences… He would understand something like that.)

Nightmare: …

Nightmare: (I wonder…)

(He attempts to summon a tendril from his back without transforming, but black substance promptly begins running down his face.)


Nightmare: (Not working…)

(He hears the closet door creak and quickly makes the substance vanish.)

(Dream walks out of the closet, wearing the blue, black and white clothes that Nightmare had given him. It resembles the twins’ classic guardian outfits, except more intricately detailed and almost classier.)

(Nightmare’s gaze trails down to Dream’s bare feet.)


Nightmare: Where’re your shoes?

Dream: I thought… well… they were yellow, so…

(They’re tipped over by the door, as if he’d stood them up nicely after taking them off and accidentally kicked them over while he was changing.)

Nightmare: Aww, how thoughtful.

(This sounds impossibly sarcastic, but it’s so out of place that it’s hard to react to.)


Nightmare: I think I might actually have some matching stuff in there, but there’s something I need to do now.

Nightmare: Don’t leave the room!

(He walks over to the door.)

Dream: W-wait, what if someone tries to come in?

Nightmare: Nobody is going to.

Nightmare: Even the cleaner already did their job today.

(He exits the room, closing the door behind him. He immediately returns to his other form while making his way down the hall.)

Nightmare: (This is gonna suck, but it has to get done somehow.)

Nightmare: All right everyone, news flash. I have an incredibly important announcement to make, and I’m already warning you that if you do anything stupid I will kill you.

Killer: Calm down, dude--

Nightmare: RIGHT at this very moment, my brother is in a room in the castle because I successfully convinced him to surrender.

Nightmare: Or, well… join us, same diff.

Horror: Same diff? Same FRICKING DIFF?! Those are two completely different things!

Killer: How the hell did you do that?

Nightmare: None of your business. But basically, he’s an emotional mess and I’m running a plan right now, so you are all, AT ALL COSTS, to avoid DOING ANYTHING STUPID.

Nightmare: I’M in charge of this operation, and none of you are to get involved in it IN ANY WAY. Am I clear?

Nightmare: I’M LOOKING AT YOU, KILLER.

Killer: Aw come on! What did I ever do?


(Nightmare trips Killer in place, sweeping his feet out from under him with a tendril.)


Nightmare: If you’ll excuse me, I have something to attend to.

(He leaves the room.)

Horror: ‘Sup with him… thought he wanted his bro dead or something…

(Dust shrugs.)

Killer: ow

Horror: Pft, you deserved that, pretty boy.

(Nightmare returns to the room, back in his original form, holding a tray of random food. Dream jumps back from wherever he was, as if he got caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to.)

Nightmare: Uh? What were you doing?


Dream: Ummm… going through the drawers?

Nightmare: Good thing there’s only junk in there.

Nightmare: You hungry?

(Dream inspects the tray. It’s entirely snack food, but there isn’t a single thing on it that counts as a sweet…)

Dream: (… Typical… I guess some things never change.)


Dream: … I’m actually really tired. I’ll eat a little, but… I dunno, something’s wearing me down right now…

Nightmare: I get it. Don’t worry about it, none of this stuff needs to be refrigerated, so I can just leave it on the table.

(He places the tray on the desk while Dream stands there fiddling with his hands.)

Nightmare: What?


Nightmare: Just go to sleep over there.

Dream: … On your bed?


Nightmare: Yeah.

Dream: … okay then…

(He walks over to the huge bed and lies down on it. Although he’s tired, he’s the absolute opposite of relaxed--he’s feeling a biting anxiety that he can’t shake.)

(Nightmare makes a face, sensing his brother’s feelings. Not knowing what to do, or rather, unwilling to do anything about it, he leaves the room again.)

Nightmare: (I just need to wait until he’s asleep…)

(Which he does. He’d always known that Dream falls asleep quickly, so it didn’t take much waiting.)

(He walks back into the room and to the bedside, grinning widely.)

(With a wave of his hand, a glowing, golden light emerges from Dream’s chest, a faint outline of a fruit visible in it. The shape becomes more apparent as the light thickens into a magic solid.)

Nightmare: (The last one…)

(He glances over at his brother, who’s peacefully sleeping.)

Nightmare: …

(He reaches out and touches the soul-like entity, his negative substance immediately leaving a dark stain on it. Dream whimpers slightly in his sleep, causing Nightmare to flinch and his smile to falter.)

(Nightmare watches as the light gradually dims, the stain growing ever so slowly.)

Nightmare: (No more positive fruit…)

(Take it, and you’ll become fully immortal…)

Nightmare: (… My only weakness was his light…)

Nightmare: (It’s gone now… And if I did that… he would…)

(Dream’s breath has sped up and he’s beginning to shift more in his sleep.)


Nightmare: (… There’s no point.)

(He smiles again.)

Nightmare: (This is so much more interesting.)

(The dimming light disappears back into Dream’s chest.)

Nightmare: (My brother… I think this is the start of something new…)

Dream: N…Nighty… It hurts…

(Nightmare freezes up, quickly reverting to his original form in case Dream had awoken. He takes Dream’s hand in one hand and calmly brushes his other over it in repetition.)

Nightmare: It’s okay… I’m here…

(His smile grows wider.)


Nightmare: (And I’ll be here, my brother…)

Nightmare: (… for a VERY long time…)

[5hfanfiction]

Rewind - Ch 3

A/N: Personally, I don’t know what happened in Lauren’s family life. So IDK.

—

When my grandma first died, I didn’t understand it.

I was confused.

How could a person as pure as her die when she just started teaching me about life?

She was smart. She taught me how to love myself first before loving others. She taught me how important it was to be in my own skin. That it’s doesn’t matter if I’m beautiful or not, because before I know it, she said, I’ll be old, wrinkly and the only worry I have is whether I’m gonna poop on my pants or not.

No, what matters is that I should be beautiful inside. Because when you are, it doesn’t deteriorate. It doesn’t get wrinkly in time and it’ll stay that way until I die.

She also taught me how to love. And this time, to love people. When I was confused about my sexuality, the first person I came to was to her. And for someone so conservative, she surprised me when she hugged me and said that she didn’t care the gender of that person, what really matters is their heart and not the skin.

She was so proud of me.

So when she died, I couldn’t understand. I didn’t want to.

But if I was already that hurt, I couldn’t imagine how it felt for my grandfather.

Yes, I’ve known her all my life, but compared to his and her life, mine was short.

They’ve known each other since they were teenagers, and according to the stories my grandma told, they fell in love instantly and married each other soon after.

So they were basically together all their lives; more than 53 years if I was counting.

It was hard to see him the day of her funeral. He looked strong, putting a good front for the sake of us. But when he thought that no one was looking, I saw him breathing shakily with his hand wiping the small tear that seemed to flow down without his consent.

And day by day, he started to change. He was always full of life when she was still alive. Always around doing things that people his age shouldn’t do anymore. But that changed when she was gone. Gradually, he began to lose himself. The man I knew began to slowly change and he turned into a man who was just waiting death to do his deed.

It’s not like I could blame him really. That was basically what I did when Camila killed herself.

Camila was my grandma to my grandfather.

And I know what you think, what the fuck is she talking about? She’s only known her for 10 years. I know it’s stupid for me to even compare their love to ours.

But she was.

I loved her. Hell, I still do.

But how I felt for her was so intense   that I couldn’t feel anything but that.

The butterflies in my stomach never truly flew away when I was around her. I just got used to it and eventually, I was able to manage it well without making a fool of myself.

But now, getting ready for our night out for the first time again, the butterflies were now morphed into what I can only call a zoo.

I felt nauseous, everything inside me screamed that I wasn’t ready to see her again.

I’ve seen her before this of course, when we were in the airplane, when we were in the hotel, even breakfast today.

But it felt different. This felt like a date.

And I had to.

Because every second counts and I want mine to be filled with memories of her.

It’s unhealthy but it’s true. I already felt how it was to lose her. Truly lose her. And not spending her last days was the biggest regret I’ve ever made.

Once I was finally somewhat composed enough to walk around without feeling like vomiting, I sauntered out of my room and over to hers. But when she opened the door though, I suddenly became nauseous and vomited outside of her door.

Not a good impression.

It felt weird. I don’t know. Maybe it’s the fact that life has been treating me nicely for a change or that I’m basically seeing a dead girl alive and well, that made my stomach hurl to the point that it couldn’t take whatever snack I took before I came here.

“Oh My God, Lauren. Are you okay?” She asked, ignoring the fact that I made a mess on her front door.

“I’m sorry,” I said, grabbing a few tissues from my purse and wiped my mouth clean with it.

“No it’s okay. Why don’t you come inside first? I’ll call the hotel service to clean the mess up.”

I walked around the pool of what is equivalent to shame and inside her hotel room.

It looked like the exact replica of my room except that it was inverted. We had the same floor but our rooms were quite far from each other.

“Do you want anything?” She asked, walking around to the small kitchen to the refrigerator to take out a bottle of water and handed it to me.

“Aside from a rope to kill myself from embarrassment, nope.” I immediately cringed when I finished that sentence. That was certainly not an appropriate joke to use, especially with her now.

But she just laughed lightheartedly, like it was such an absurd thing to do. My chest constricted at how different she was now compared to how she.. was? is gonna be?

She seemed so relaxed right now. And I wonder, could I convince her that it would be better if she didn’t go through with this. Should I be crude and just say what it without a filter? Would that be weird?

Of course it would.

So I decided against doing that and instead, I would just use everything in me to just hold onto her so she’ll feel love.

The littlest things you do can change a person’s life, that was what my grandma said.

“Just let me call the hotel for a minute,” she said.

I walked over to the foot of the bed and sat down, watching the TV in front of me while Camila called the hotel.

A few minutes later, the bed squeaked and I looked over to see Camila sprawled on one side of the bed, now changed into a red hoodie I first saw her in and shorts, showing her smooth skin a little too much.

Not that I’m complaining though.

“Why did you change?” I noted.

“You’re sick. Obviously it’s better if we just stay in. I also ordered room service already. I hope you like sushi cause that’s what I ordered for you.”

“But, how about our night? I was gonna bring you to this fancy restaurant and everything.” It just destroyed the night for us and it’s merely 7pm.

“Oh, come on. It’s not the end of the world. It’s not like I’m gonna die anytime soon,” she said jokingly, making me cringe once again at the mentions of death.

I know she meant no harm when she said that, it was just a joke. But it was just a little to much for me to bear. Just a few days before this, I was in 2022 and she was dead so it’s gonna take a little more time for me to grasp at the idea of it.

After all, this could all just be a dream.

“We’ll do it some other time,” she added comfortingly.

She turned on the TV and leaned on the headboard, sighing contently when she did.

“Come on Lo, relax.”

-

We spent the whole hour eating while she complains how absurd sushi tastes.

“For real though, they’re just basically a burrito with the word fillings ever,” she said as she ate her dinner.

“Oh, and your bread filled with bananas and nutella is any better?” I argued, narrowing my gaze at her food. I can’t even grasp the conversation she might have had with the worker in order to get these things.

“Are you insulting my great creation, my friend?” She dramatically gasped. “At least I’m creative enough to make this on my own.”

“They don’t even mix, babe.” I said without realizing the pet name that just seemed to spill out of my mouth.

Thankfully, she didn’t think it was weird and just laughed.

“You have to cook for me one day,” I continued.

“Oh God, no. I don’t wanna burn a house. I can’t cook to save my life.”

“How about I cook for you?” I offered, desperately in need to hang with her some more.

“Sure,” she smiled softly before realization hit her. “Wait, did we just made 2 more plans to hang out?”

“I guess so, why is there a problem with that?”

“No! It’s just that I’m not a really an outgoing person. Besides, people in my school don’t really wanna hang with me.” She seemed weak and insecure.

“Well, they don’t know what they’re missing out on. Because Camila,” I trailed off, making a dramatic pause. “Since I’ve known you, I don’t wanna not hang out with you.”

She smiled softly, happy with my answer.

After eating and teasing each other’s tastebuds, we sprawled on the bed with our full belly. We were watching The Notebook, holding onto each other as we cried along with the characters portrayed by the two actors.

My tight dress was drenched as the brown-eyed girl hid her face inside the crook of my neck.

“Fuck, I’ve watched this since forever and I still cry everytime,” she said, sitting back up. Her eyes grew wide when she saw wet spot on my dress. “Fuck, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay,” I said as she walked to the closet to take out an oversized hoodie and shorts.

“Here, change.” I would decline politely but I started to feel uncomfortable in the dress. Not to mention the fact that the wet spot were now sticking to my body.

I took the clothes from her extended hand and went to the toilet, washing my make up off in the process.

By the time I came out of the room, Camila was bending down to take a few things from the floor, her ass right in front of me.

My cheeks burned as I looked at her. More importantly, her assets. “Why are you staring at my butt?” she asked. If that didn’t make me embarrassed, this did.

She laughed it off and crashed back to the bed. Not knowing what to do next, I folded my dress and laid it on one of the chair, slumping down beside Camila after.

“Do you wanna sleep here?” she whispered, turning to face me.

“Do you want me to?” I asked honestly.

“Yeah..” She breathed out, smiling softly then looking up to the ceiling.

We stayed silent, listening to nothing but to our breaths. The TV was still on but it was muted.

I turned over to her as I watch the different rays of colored lights from the TV illuminate her face.

She smiled over to me and without a word, we moved closer until we we were back to cuddling to each other.

“This is still weird,” she whispered, causing me to laugh softly. “I mean, what the hell is this?”

This.

“This is whatever you want it to be,” I breathed, kissing the crown of her head affectionately.

—

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