#Really please somebody take a pencil away from me. I have no idea why I thought this was going to be good.

[thebookowal]

I’m the one who can’t help it

😭😭😭🤣🤣

Oh my God, what have I done don’t leave me alone with a pencil I tell you



[mypoisonedvine]

Sugar | Bruce Banner x reader

summary: he’s smart, he’s sensitive, he’s sexy, and he pays your tuition.  sounds like the perfect guy, right?  he would be, if it weren’t for that pesky thing of him being married.  for most girls, it’s a dealbreaker, but you have a little secret: it kinda turns you on.

word count: 2.8k

warnings: smut, semi-public sex (in a car lol), infidelity (it’s in the summary y’all), choking, wedding ring kink, daddy kink, implied age gap, sugar daddy relationship

The last few minutes of class passed excruciatingly slowly, to the point that when you took breaks from tapping your pencil on your paper to glance up at the clock only to see it hadn’t changed at all, you wondered if time had somehow managed to stand still while your professor continued to ramble about, ironically, the way time dilates inside black holes.

“Before I let you go, I want to review the grades on last week’s quiz…”

You suppressed a groan as you waited for her to get on with it; you already aced it, what other discussion needed to be had? 

Finally, finally, she let you all leave and you were already halfway out the door, beaming as you clutched your books to your chest and jogged out of the building to the parking lot.  His car was waiting for you there, parked at the furthest and darkest end of the lot for some reason, and you knew what waited for you inside even if the windows were tinted too dark to see through.  You were too happy to even notice the cold night air blowing right through your cardigan, jogging to the car and swinging open the passenger door.

“Hi!” you smiled as you hopped in.

“Hey baby,” Bruce purred, leaning in for a kiss.  You expected a quick peck but instantly it was obvious that he was up to something, with the way he pulled you closer and slipped his tongue into your mouth.

“Bruce,” you giggled as you pulled away slightly, although it was kind of a moan, too.  “What’s the occasion?”

“I missed you,” he shrugged.  “Is it so strange that I missed my girl?”

Your thighs clenched together at the pet name, but your hands pushed him back gently when he leaned towards you again.  “At least let me set my books down first!” you protested.

He chuckled but let you go, and you maneuvered to set your books down in his backseat, feeling his gaze on your ass as you bent over and not exactly minding it.  There was a dark shimmer in his eyes when you came back, scanning over you slowly.  

“Where are we going?” you asked, already expecting a certain answer since he had made no move yet to put the key in the ignition.

“We’re not going anywhere, angel,” he explained.  “I didn’t get to see you all week and it’s been killing me.”

Of course, it was technically possible that he meant he just wanted to sit in the car and catch up with you, but the way his voice got deep and husky made it clear that wasn’t his intention.  You bit down on your lip as you glanced down to the misshapen crotch of his trousers, letting your hand slip forward to rub his thigh and just barely ghost against his cock.  “I missed you too, daddy,” you whispered.

You felt his length throb against the back of your hand, at the same time you heard him groan softly.  “How much did you miss me?” he asked darkly.  

“So much,” you nodded quickly.

“Show me how much,” he instructed, sitting up a bit to unbuckle his belt for you.  You did the rest, unzipping his fly and pulling his cock out of his boxers.  It felt so hot and hard in your palm, so thick you struggled to keep a hold on it sometimes, but you licked your lips as you leaned down and took the head into your mouth.  He instantly pushed your head down further with a hand on the back of your neck, moaning as you swallowed more of him.  “Fuck, baby…”

You smiled a little, though you suppressed it since it would interfere with the task at hand, continuing to stroke the part of him you couldn’t fit in your mouth yet.  With practice you’d learned to take all of him, but it required warming up a bit first.  That said, this didn’t feel like a ‘take it slow and fool around’ sort of night.  He was already bucking up into your mouth and you could feel that he was on edge from the way his fingers tightened in your hair.

“Fuck, so good for me,” he praised with a sigh.  “You like sucking me off in the parking lot like this, honey?  Right after school?  You think someone could walk by and see you with your mouth full of my cock?”

The windows were tinted, sure, but it was possible… and the idea made heat spread between your thighs.

“Just like that, baby, choke on it,” he groaned, all but fucking your mouth at this point— and you loved it.  You knew you were getting embarrassingly wet and you didn’t even care that you were in his car in your school’s parking lot anymore: you wanted him to fuck you, so much so that you were starting to gyrate your hips to get some friction against the seat.  He must have noticed when he reached over your back to spank you, making you jump.  “Look at you, needy little girl— rubbing yourself on my car like a desperate slut.  You’d better not make a mess, that’s Italian leather.”

He didn’t usually talk so degradingly to you, but it was definitely working for you, which became sort of a vicious cycle because as he mocked you for your desperation, your arousal grew which fed the very desperation he was mocking in the first place.  You moaned around the cock in your mouth, the vibrations clearly getting to him as you tasted more of his salty pre-cum hit the back of your throat.

“Fuck, I don’t wanna come in your mouth— get in the back,” he demanded quickly as his voice became more strained.  Not needing to be told twice, you popped off of him and climbed into the back; he wasn’t as agile as you, but he followed semi-awkwardly and slotted himself between your legs.  With his cock already out and you wearing a skirt, he could rub himself on you through your panties— which was unexpectedly intense, due to how sensitive you’d become.

Your head fell back against the seat as you moaned lowly.  “God, Bruce, please…”

“You must not want it that bad if you’re calling me Bruce,” he chuckled, leaning in to suck a mark on your neck.  There was something so hot to you about how unfair it was that he could mark and claim you any way he wanted, but you got in trouble if you got lipstick on his collar or left something of yours in his car.  The reminders of this affair and its forbidden nature just turned you on more.

“Daddy,” you corrected with a whimper, “I need you to put it in me— fuck me, please.”

“You’re sure you’ve earned it?” he asked, his smile brushing against your ear.  You nodded feverishly, clutching at his shoulders tightly.  He reached down and delicately pulled your panties to the side, groaning a bit when he saw how wet you were and beginning to rub the swollen head of his cock through your folds.

“Please,” you sobbed gently, repeating the words over and over until he finally pushed into you in one long, slow stroke.  You choked on your moan— when you went so long without seeing him, he was always just a bit too big, stretched you just a bit too wide, went just a bit too deep inside you.  You hissed through your teeth as you processed the pain, but it burned in exactly the way you needed.

“Fuck,” he breathed, “so fucking tight, goddamn…”

His hands gripped your thighs to hold your legs open, and you realized you could feel the hard metal of his wedding band digging into your skin.  Why did that, of all things, make your walls flutter and clench around him?

“Baby,” he grinned, “you really did miss me… your sweet little pussy is fuckin’ gripping me, doesn’t wanna let me go, huh?”

Your face burned but you loved the way his voice sounded when he got like this.

“You’re not gonna let me pull out, are you?” he realized with a little smirk.  “You need me to fill you up, is that it?”

You nodded, gasping a bit as he started to move faster.  “Yes, Daddy.”

"You're already getting too loud, pretty girl," he hoarsely mocked you.  "Somebody could hear you, remember?"

You whimpered and bit down on your lip.  The head of his cock was dragging right over your g-spot, making your toes curl as pleasure twisted in your gut.  "Can't help it," you explained between moans, "you feel so good… I love your cock so much, Daddy, please just don't stop."

"I might have to, if you can't keep quiet," he groaned.

"Make me quiet," you begged gently— and before you could even worry if he wouldn't know what you meant, he wrapped a hand around your throat.  

The loss of air just made everything more intense; you felt fuzzy at the edges, like your sensation was blurred, and it made shivering tingles erupt wherever he touched you.  You could feel his ring against your neck; fuck, it was everything.

He laughed a little as he started to fuck you faster and harder, hips slamming into yours until the sound echoed around the car.

“You’re gonna come, aren’t you?  I can feel it,” he informed you through his teeth.  “I can feel it around my fucking cock.”

You nodded against the hand around your neck, gasping when he gave you a reprieve from the pressure.  “Yes, Daddy,” you cried as you clutched at his shoulders tightly, “I’m so close, please don’t stop.”

“I’m never gonna get over how sensitive you are,” he purred, leaning in until you felt so small underneath the weight of his body.  “You love your Daddy’s cock so much, hm?”

“I’m gonna come,” you whimpered as you hugged onto him tighter, shocks of pleasure shooting up your back as he tightened his hand around your neck again.  You weren’t sure if it was the orgasm or the inability to breathe that made your vision go spotty and dark, but either way it was overwhelmingly intense as it washed over you.  Shivers erupted over your skin and made your thighs twitch where they were pressed against his hips, his belt digging into the sensitive skin there (although you didn’t really notice, too busy falling back into a silent scream).

The noise you made when he let go of your throat was somewhere between a gasp and a sigh, despite those being opposite actions.  The most intense waves of it had subsided, and yet you felt like you were being pushed to your limits as he plunged into your sensitive channel with renewed vigor.  Thankfully for your poor vagina, it seemed like he was close to the edge, spurred on by the pulsing of your walls.  

“Please come, Daddy,” you begged weakly, “want your come in me, please—”

“Fuck,” he grunted, “I will, baby, you feel so good, fuck!”

You couldn’t help but smile at the feeling of his cock swelling and flexing inside you, his movements starting to falter as his head fell back— and, with a deep, throaty moan, he pumped his come into you.  You hummed contentedly as he collapsed against you, catching his breath.

There was something sort of romantic about a quickie in the back of his car, despite all odds.  Maybe romantic wasn’t the word, but definitely sweet for the way you twirled a wavy strand of his hair around your finger as he laughed breathlessly.

“I… didn’t mean to come so fast,” he admitted as he pulled his softening cock from you and slipped it back into his pants, sitting next to you and resting his head back on the seat with a sigh.

“I couldn’t have handled much more,” you giggled, “so it’s all for the best.”

“You can handle a lot more than you think,” he remembered, conjuring in your mind images of those times he’d brought you to the edge over and over until you were sure you would pass out and/or lose your mind.  The memory made your cheeks warm as you cuddled into him, laying your head on his shoulder.

It was a comfortable silence as you relaxed against him, watching his chest rise and fall with his breaths as they started to stabilize and slow down a bit.

“Oh, how’d you do on your quiz?” he asked you, and the sudden change of topic made you laugh quickly before you answered.

“I got a perfect score,” you beamed.  

"Hey, that's great," he smiled back, giving you a quick kiss on the forehead.  "I think you deserve a treat for that."

"Does getting my brains fucked out in the backseat of your car right after class not count as a treat?" you laughed.

"I guess it does, but I mean something a little more… expensive."

"Bruce, baby, you're gonna spoil me," you giggled, nuzzling your head into his neck as he wrapped an arm around you.

"That's the idea," he explained.  "Once I get enough energy back to move again, I'll drive you to a jeweler and get you something sparkly."

"When do you need to be back for her not to get suspicious?" you asked, chewing your lip nervously as you remembered that you had to be careful of those sorts of things.

"Ugh, I don't fucking care," he groaned.  

You looked up at him, resting your hand on his chest in a show of sympathy.  "Did something happen?  Is she picking fights with you again?"

"Let's not talk about her," he suggested, pulling you closer.  "Let's talk about you."

"What about me?" you asked with a scoff.

"Let's talk about you, coming with me to Tokyo in February."

"...what?"

"I have to do this medical conference thing there, and I thought it'd be the perfect trip to bring you along.  I only have to be there for a few days but we could stay longer if you want to do more touristy stuff, spend more time together…"

"Bruce, I have school," you reminded him.

"And you're at the top of all your classes," he dismissed.  "You can afford to miss a few days.  I want you all to myself, even if it's just for a little while."

"I could say the same thing."

"And you should," he countered, "because this is your chance.  Think about it: just you and me, in a huge suite in a fancy hotel in Tokyo, laying in bed all day, making love for hours—"

"'Making love'?  Is that what you think we do?"

He chuckled a little.  "It could be.  Or I could tie you to the bed and make you come until you scream so loud the other rooms complain to the front desk."

You shuddered, knowing full well that he was capable of that.  A few months ago, you'd walked into class with a lost voice and a new Coach handbag.  You thought about that night every time you saw the purse and you wondered if that was the real reason he bought you new stuff on nights like that.

"Will you come with me?" he asked again.

"Sure," you decided with a little smile.  "But you're too good to me, I swear."

"Not true at all, you deserve so much more than this," he refuted as he kissed your neck.  "Next time I take you somewhere, it won't be because I had a work thing there— and it'll be wherever you want."

You were too distracted by his lips on your skin to really notice what he was saying.  At the moment, despite knowing how incredible a trip with him would be, you couldn’t imagine anything better than this; the back of his car, in your school’s parking lot, with his arms around you and his come leaking out of you onto the leather.  Still, you weren’t going to stop him from buying you something sparkly if he wanted to.

[ssajemilyprentiss]

Somebody Else

Pairing: Emily Prentiss x reader

Warnings: Angst, alcohol consumption

Summary: Moving on isn’t as easy as you try to tell yourself, especially when she has someone new. Based on Somebody Else by The 1975

A/N: Here I am with yet another angsty one-shot based on a song, but that’s what I like to write haha. I’m going to start to write for JJ and Spencer as well, and I have some ideas already so stay tuned for that. Btw The 1975 is one of my favourite bands so there might be some more one-shots based on their songs coming up. 

Honestly I don’t know how I feel about this, so please tell me what you think. Anyways enjoy xx

You couldn’t believe your ears when Penelope approached you at your desk.

“Have you heard?” she whisper-yelled

You looked up from your papers and put your pencil down “What are you talking about Pen?” you asked and smiled at her excitement

“Emily and JJ are together!” she responded excited

Your smiled dropped instantly “What?” you said back

“Emily and-“ she started but you interrupted her “Yeah I heard you Penelope, are you for real?”

“Yes! Why wouldn’t I be?” she answered but before you could say anything she noticed how your expression had changed “Sugar is something wrong?”

“No Pen, everything’s fine” you said as you put on a fake smile, she walked away from you to go give the news to Derek and Spencer when you heard giggling coming from the entrance. When you looked over there you saw them, Emily and JJ holding hands and laughing. Your heart dropped at the sight but sank even further when you saw how happy Emily looked. She never looked that happy when you were together. 

Because what no one in the team knew was that you and Emily had dated for nearly six months and had been broken up for three. You never told the team because Emily wanted to keep her private and work life separated and she wasn’t ready to admit to the team that she was a lesbian, at least that’s what she told you. And you accepted that, but now here she was out and proud with JJ. 

Later that day the whole team were out drinking to celebrate, both the fact that it was Friday and the news that were shared in the bullpen. You had reluctantly gone with them; you didn’t feel like celebrating at all. You had this weird feeling within you – you were over Emily and didn’t desire her like that anymore, but it was something about seeing her with JJ that you hated. You kept your eyes at Emily during the whole evening, but she didn’t notice. She just kept looking through her phone and then got up to leave with JJ. That’s when you decided you had had enough. You told everyone you were leaving, said your goodbyes and the quickly left. 

When you got to your building you were surprised to see Emily sitting outside your door. 

“Emily?” you said making her look up “What are you doing here?” you asked

She stood up “I came by to talk; we haven’t really had the chance since the news broke. Can I come in with you?”

You unlocked the door and went inside, and she followed. She sat down in kitchen like she had done so many times before. You poured two glasses of wine and gave her one and sat down opposite to her. 

“You wanted to talk so go ahead” you say and take a sip 

“How are you?” she asks, mimicking your movement

“That’s not why you came here though” you reply

“No but I’m curious” she answers looking at you with her deep brown eyes 

 “I’m good, how are you and-“ you take a breath before continuing “and JJ?” 

“I and we are good; I am really happy with her”

“Yeah, I could see that” you say fidgeting with your glass

You sit in silence for a moment before she spoke again

“Are you okay with this?” 

You sigh before speaking “The thing is Emily, when Penelope told me this morning, I thought it was a lie. I am over you and I don’t want you or your body, but I hate to think about you with somebody else” 

She just kept looking at you, so you decided to continue “And tonight for instance, I kept looking through you, but you kept on looking through your phone and then left with somebody else, shouldn’t you be with home with her instead of sitting here with me?”

“She knows I’m here, and I want to clear the air between us. Because come on baby, this ain’t the last time that I’ll see your face” 

“Well, we’ve done that now haven’t we? And like I said I’ve moved on” you say standing up putting your glasses in the sink.

She stands up as well walking towards the door but turns around before she opens it “Y/N can promise me something?”

You walk towards her, crossing your arms “What?”

“Get someone you love; get someone you need” she says 

“Get someone you love? Get someone you need? Fuck that get money” you reply with a sarcastic laugh

[kirbyspixiecraft]

Summers Last Burn day nine, ten, and eleven: sweater mistakes at the lake!

Woo! Doing the past three days all in one(okay it’s coming a day late, so what), also in the form of a fanfic for a specific somebody who will remain nameless 😉

Underswap sans x female! reader

————~————

Running around your house, you frantically try to get your stuff together cause you and Blue were going to the lake! But unfortunately you woke up late, and he was coming to pick you up in ten minutes…

You throw on some shorts, a tank top and a sweater, cause why not? Sweaters are soft and comfy, but some can be surprisingly airy.

You fill your backpack with some snacks, you're mostly filled water bottle, some sunscreen, a first aid kit cause yes, emergency sewing kit cause again, yes, and finally your notebook and special pencils. Wether your drawing skills were good or not(that’s for you to decide dear reader) you wanted to draw stuff while you were there!

Just as you put your shoes on you hear a knock at the door.

You open it to find your friend Blue!

“Heya y/n! Are you ready to go?”

You say yes, and the two of you walk outside to your car. While walking you notice Blue’s motorcycle. While you would’ve preferred to ride on that, you had stuff to bring with you, so car it is.

————~————

You arrive at the lake. You and Blue get your separate things, and you walk over to a tree which was somewhat shady. Finally you could start drawing! The whole reason Blue was there was that he wanted to learn to walk on bamboo poles floating on the water… definitely an interesting skill to learn for sure. He’s gotten fairly good at it, you’ve come nearly every time he’s practiced, for drawing purposes of course.. mostly. In all honesty it was just fun to watch the poor guy get thrown into the lake time and again, yet still get up again, and also you might enjoy the one on one conversations you get to have with him there, but that doesn’t matter.

Before you know it an hour has passed and you’ve been baking in the sun. So much for that shade.. you’ve drawn a decent amount already. Mostly drawings of Blue balancing on the poles, but still something is better than nothing. You try to call Blue over but your voice was surprisingly weak, not weak enough that he didn’t hear you though.

“Yeah y/n, what’s up?”

“Uh, maybe you take a break for a bit? I brought snacks”

He smiled and eagerly came over.. at least he would’ve if he didn’t fall in the water from excitement.

He came over and sat next to you, bringing his backpack and taking out some things.

“I also decided to bring a snack- well uh, more of a lunch heheh. Here have one! Its not a taco, but burritos are close, right?”

You smile and take the burrito from him. Remember when it was mentioned about airy sweaters? Well this was definitely not an airy sweater in the slightest, and while you were drawing, the thing was baking you alive, and you had a bad feeling about what could happen next. It wouldn’t be that bad right?

It turned bad really fast.

You take one bite and soon find yourself slumping down the tree you were leaned against.

“Y/n are you okay? Y/n!!”

Blue takes immediate action, picks you up in a princess carry, and desperately tries to find some decent shade before you pass out from the apparent heatstroke you were having.

He leans you against another tree but in a much shadier place and calls papyrus to help, and after he’s done Blue runs away quickly to retrieve his backpack. Once he has it, he opens it up and gets out a small towel and a water bottle.

He pours a decent amount of water on the towel and gently presses it on your forehead, looking at you with worried eyes.

“Have you had any water recently? Also um… you’re wearing something under that sweater right?”

Blue asks you, a little discomfort on his face with a light blush. It’s understandable.

You, feeling a little better, attempt to answer Blue’s questions.

“Wearing a tank top, please get water”

And as Blue ran away to get your own bag, you realize that perhaps it was a good idea to take the sweater off, as it was still baking you alive.

And surprise surprise, as soon as you took the thing off you immediately start feeling better. Not completely mind you, but better then before.

Blue comes back with your bag and gets you the water bottle inside.

After a minute or two of drinking water, Blue asks you if you’re feeling better, to which you reply,

“Yeah, thank you for caring so much Blue”

“Of course! Y/n you mean so much to me, and I’m really glad that you’re okay now… I’m not sure what I’d do if something bad happened to you..”

“Hey, I’m okay now, you don’t need to worry cause I’m right here, aren’t I?”

He looks down for a moment before embracing you in a hug.

“I know this may not be the best time to ask but… I was wondering if you wanted to go on a da-“

He was interrupted by Papyrus(or stretch, idk), who just came via shortcut.

“Hey is y/n okay- did I interrupt something?”

Blue ended the hug and quickly stood up.

“Yes- no- um, y/n is alright, but brother what took you so long?”

“Sorry, sorry, let’s just say a certain dog ran away with the stuff, and it took me a while to get it back”

He says, nervously while scratching the back of his neck.

————~————

So the lake trip wasn’t a massive success, but later in the day Blue asks you to go on a date with him, because he was previously interrupted, and naturally you say yes.

Moral of the story: stay hydrated, and don’t go wearing sweaters outside in hot weather.

[dizzyingdaze]

no seats | s.r

a scenario where you can't keep your mouth shut and steve rogers wouldn't want it any other way.

only warning is cursing

New York was somewhere you never thought you'd visit let alone live in, yet here you were. Clutching the bag of your friends coat as she shuffled her way into the busy cafe during lunch time, the worst time to be in any cafe in the city.

Women in pencil skirts exchanged pleasantries with men in dark suits, briefcases occasionally knocking off the guitar case lain against one of the long sofas a group of teenagers occupied.

The jazzy playlist was overtaken by the loud chatter of the customers, the scent of fresh toasted panini's and cinnamon buns intermingling with the raw coffee bean tones. It was chaos to be short if the screaming baby who knocked over their babysitters iced coffee, smack in the middle of the bustling building, was any indication.

Hearing a hefty sigh pass your side, a young worker grabbed a mop and placed down a wet floor sign, shooing anybody standing nearby away.

"Oh no, we're not going to get any seats I think," your friend Karolina said to you, eyeing the usual window seats taken filled up completely.

You signed in response as the line waddled forward, names being shouted out as you continued to eye all tables, eager to jump at any tables with packing bags and empty drinks.

"I'm going to shoot upstairs and check, get me a mocha?," She nodded her head in reply as you broke away from the impatient grumbles and weaved through the tables.

As you neared the end of the stairs, accidentally kicking an empty cup on the floor, you eyed a girl sitting by herself, nestled in the of the window sets. Her bag sat on one chair while an empty one sat across from her.

Eyes widening with an idea you began to walk towards her when a couple beat you there. An almost six foot boy placed his hands down on the table, garnering the attention of the lone girl.

"My girl and I need somewhere to sit and I see your cup is nearly empty. Mind moving? Thanks," He bared his teeth at her in an almost smile, the annoyed crease between his blonde brows giving him away.

His girlfriend seemed less than interested, typing out a message on her phone, only glancing up when the girl opened her mouth.

"Actually I'm waiting on somebody as I'm meant to be tutoring, I don't mind giving you one of the seats though?" She gave a watery smile, her hands beginning to slowly shake at his direct nature.

He downright glared at her response, leaning further into his hands until his face was an inch away from hers. "I was being courteous, now I'm annoyed. Move it,"

Her face flushed red at the embarrassment as his girlfriend began to giggle behind him, clearly used to his egotistical nature. Your own face flushed too but rather in anger, just who the fuck is this dick ordering around random girls?

What a huff you strode up to till you stood between the two, pushing him back with your hand you glared harshly at him as a "What the fuck?" escaped his lips.

'What the fuck yourself, who are you to tell this girl to move? Everybody here wants a seat to yet you don't seem them acting like a little child," You spat watching his neck go red at the confrontation, clearly not used to it.

He stumbled for a second finding words before shooting back "I can tell whoever I want to move especially if she's been sitting there with an empty coffee cup. I don't have to listen to any bitch trying to boss me around!" The cafe had gone quiet as he shouted out the last sentence, Karolina looking on surprised, the drinks held in her hand. She moved forward to pull you away from the scene but you didn't even budge.

"Oh I'm the bitch? That's rich coming from a dickhead picking on somebody smaller than him, tell me, do you always start throwing tantrums when you don't get what you want? Like a child?," Hearing you call him a child again seem to strike a chord in him.

His girlfriend moved to pull him back as his hand balled in a fist, Karolina whispered to you "Not again, let's go please," into your ear. But you both shared the same stubborn nature, refusing to move.

The tension rose as you just stared each other down, veins almost bulging, jaws clenched so tight they began to ache. The man pointed his finger right in your face, the thought of biting it ran through your mind. "You do not tell me what to do and I'm not a fucking child you hear me? You better learn to keep your sharp tongue to yourself and out of my goddamn affairs!" His attention shifted to the girl he had originally spoken to, her eyes beginning to tear up as he moved the finger from you to her.

Pushing him back again, outraged at the audacity he had to even speak to her again you pushed him back full force with both your hands, grounding your boots into the sticky floor. Taken aback he stumbled into his girlfriend and you swore you could see his pride take a physical hit.

Without missing a beat he rolled his shoulders and balled his fists and you did the same before two large figures stepped between you two.

"Easy there tough guy, hitting a dame the best way to win a fight you shouldn't have started?" The voice wasn't familiar but the metal fingers peeking out of the black denim jacket was, clutching the boys shoulder so hard he bent forward at it. "Let me go what the fuck-" He started before the stranger grabbed the back of his lettermen jacket and dragged him out of the shop through the back exit, the girlfriend shouting along with him as she followed them out.

The second man had bent down in front of the girl in the middle of this all, her shoulders shaking as the man whispered soothingly to her. You coughed awkwardly uncurling your fists, clocking all the eyes on you and your friend just deadpanned at you. "Don't you even try, why does your ass always have to get in the middle of other peoples business? I said, don't start!" She placed a finger over your lips as you obediently went quiet.

You could always explain later. You turned to face the man and the girl, to see how she was when you recognized who he really was. Light blue eyes stared into yours as you took in the broad shoulders and blonde hair peeking out from under his cap. You just blinked in surprise but said nothing, choosing to crouch in front of the girl who was no longer shaking.

"Are you alright?" She nodded, thanking you as she bent forward for a hug you gladly returned, albeit a bit quickly because there was so many people here. "I probably would have moved and most likely cried in the bathroom so you know, thanks for that," You grinned at her response, standing up as Karolina threw her free hand up.

"If you're not outside in the next five minutes i'm throwing your drink down the drain," She stalked out, blonde ponytail bouncing behind her as the onlookers resumed their previous activities, leaving you standing rather stiffly in front of Captain fucking America.

"I take it from your friend being annoyed, you do that thing a lot?" His lips curling up as you nodded shortly. "She's not actually annoyed at me, she'd be more annoyed if I let that twat continue to shout at her and do nothing," He chuckled at that, stuffing his hands into his jacket pocket as you stared at the door your friend left.

"Well don't let me hold you back but hey, Captain America approves of your social justicing! Or in the name of social justice? You get what I mean," His cheeks blushed a light pink as you giggled at his roundabout way of complimenting you.

"Yeah I'll say that next time it happens. Nice to know an Avenger approves! I'd better go..." You trailed off as he stepped to the side and sent a curt salute your way.

As he watched you saunter away Bucky, who re entered the shop from the entrance, clapped a hand on his shoulder, sighing lowly. "She reminds me of you in some weird, female way, hopefully she doesn't end up in back-alley brawls" He commented, Steve scoffed as they made their way back to the two seater in the corner of the cafe, drinks now a gross lukewarm temperature.

"Please, did you hear her? Her words alone could get a guy bleeding internally," The words slipped out and Bucky whistled at them. "Didn't know all it took was some curse words and authority to get you mushy. Yet, Natasha is a poster child for it and you couldn't care less," Bucky grimaced after sipping his hot chocolate, the once sweet warm mixture now cold and slimy on his tongue.

The other soldier slowly circled the rim of his latte, thinking of how fast you stood up to him, pointing your finger up in his face. "Nat sticks up to assholes 'cause it's her job but she did it for the sake of it. Excuse me, I am not mushy!" He sent a quick dig to his friends shin the offended's brows furrowed at the sharp pain.

"Oh yeah? You're wearing the same damn look you did when Peggy came into the pub all those nights ago. Bet you even tried to find her name on those coffee cups the blonde had," Rubbing the attacked body part, Bucky snidely remarked.

Steve said nothing in response, choosing to stare out the window next to him. He was right, your quickly scribbled name was engraved in his mind as was the white ford fiesta you had hopped in a few meters down from the cafe. Not that he was looking, of course, it was mere coincidence his eyes never seemed to leave your figure.

Mere coincidence, he thought to himself as Bucky rolled his eyes at his friends behaviour. He wondered what weird excuse Steve was going to give for the rest of the week or month it would take to run into you again.

[adonis-koo]

tease

| 16 |

↳ Summary: You came with the intentions of your best friend landing a job as a stripper. You never meant to catch the eyes of the king stripper of the establishment- Jeon Jungkook, yourself. With what was supposed to be a harmless way of paying off college debt faster you find yourself falling into a very odd and passionate relationship with your new mentor. Between infidelity, passion and jealousy there’s never a dull moment at Cherry Bomb.

↳ Pairing: Stripper!Jungkook/Reader

↳ Genre: Smut, fluff, angst, drama, slice of life, relationship problems without the relationship, reader is such a shy baby protect her, MUTUAL pining, so much sexual frustration,  

Word Count: 12k

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Warning: This story touches on both sexual harassment and abuse, please read with caution if any of these things are triggers to you. Additional warnings will be given when a chapter presents them.

TW: There is a lot of implied dubious sex and implied rape/sexual harassment in this chapter, if any of these are triggers please read with caution 🖤

You wouldn’t deny, you felt extremely excited while standing in the large room, vanity lights in classic Vegas style were lit up above the long vanity table, the standing hanging rack had all your costumes on it and while your name wasn’t in plaque it was hastily written on a taped up piece of paper. These people actually considered you a soloist….only by definition considering it was your last week...But still, it was exciting!

Taking a seat in the cushioned chair you got to work on your makeup to begin with, it was Vegas, and considering this was a VIP party you figured it would be okay to really go all out cutcrease makeup, sharp wings and eyelashes that could be mistook for fans, the whole nine yards.  You had originally gone to skip a song on your phone, what you hadn’t expected was paragraph long message from the last person on your mind. 

Seriously? No seriously…? Annoyance twisted and snapped in your veins like a wildfire, as you continuously reread the text, did Seulgi ever truly know you at all? Where was this message when your relationship was toxic with Jungkook? Where was she when Hanjae broke into your apartment? Where was she when you completely ruined your first ever soloist performance? Where was she when you actually needed her? 

You hadn’t even realized your hands were trembling or heard the knock on the door until the familiar voice of Jimin interrupted you, “Y/n! Y/n? Hey, you’re on in ten, why aren’t you dressed?” 

Your gaze snapped from your phone to the blonde before you rubbed your forehead, you didn’t have time for her issues right now, it would just have to wait. Standing up you pressed your lips together before sighing, “Sorry, Seulgi just sent me a paragraph text,” You pulled the oversized shirt over your head as you walked over to the costume rack, you already had your lingerie set underneath but it was always more comfortable to get ready in loose clothing, “Out of the blue! Seriously, what is her problem?” 

You could hear Jimin snort behind you in amusement as you pushed your shorts down, looking over your shoulder with an ungrateful expression to which he straightened up at, “Ah sorry. Honestly? She’s probably just jealous...I mean, think about it, you were chosen to be trained by the most popular stripper in Cherry Bomb when you had no intention of even becoming a stripper at all, you were chosen to become a temporary soloist and now you made it on the list for Seasonella as a soloist and she didn’t even make the cut at all.” 

You stopped dead in your tracks, your fingers still coiled against the black pencil skirt that sat at your hips as you turned to face Jimin, “...She didn’t make the list…?” Yikes... Suddenly her message made a lot more sense...Not so much her message, but the timing of it. You glanced back at the costume rack, suddenly feeling a mix of both pity yet anger, this was your job, not high school cheer tryouts! “I honestly don’t know what to do with her anymore, I mean...Sure I feel bad she didn’t make the list, but is it really that big of a deal?” 

“Not really, but strippers are considerably catty,” Jimin leaned against the back of the couch as he shrugged, “Seulgi honestly fits the filler role perfect. It’s a shame really, she has all the potential to become a soloist.” 

You couldn’t help but tilt your head at his works, pulling the sheer button up top over your head before semi tucking it in, “Well somebody needs to tell her that so she’ll get off my ass. Don’t get me wrong, I understood at first Jimin, I really did,” Your eyes were semi glossed and pleading before you sighed, gritting your teeth, “But now it’s just petty.” 

“Well that’s the thing,” Jimin snorted a laugh as you pulled the brown trench coat over your shoulders, “Don’t you get it Y/n?” You paused at his words, his smile playful as he began laughing, as if he knew a secret you didn’t, “That’s her problem. Seulgi needs to constantly be petted, the only person that’s holding her back from becoming a soloist is herself, if she didn’t need to be groomed and the center of attention constantly, if she’d just shut up and do the work that’s needed without constantly being praised for it. She’d easily make it to the top. But because she can’t, because she’s used to everyone telling her how amazing she is, she’s never going to get there.”

Jimin tucked his tongue into his cheek as he scoffed, “People like that annoy the fuck out of me. That’s what makes you different from her, yeah you were coddled by Jungkook in the beginning, but you never expected that out of him. You never anticipated any of us drowning you in praise and telling you ‘you’d definitely become a soloist;. No, you struggled like most of us did in the beginning, you worked your ass off in the beginning and now it’s paying off. That’s her problem.” 

Your lips parted at his words, rather shocked to see Jimin feel so defensive for you. Pressing your lips together as you fiddled with your jacket, you never realized he felt so strongly about your situation with Seulgi, “...Do you think I’ve changed?” That was the one thing that bothered you, this whole time Seulgi kept proclaiming you had changed, was it really that bad?

“Yeah,” Your gaze snapped to Jimin’s figure as he shrugged, pushing his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket, presumably what he was wearing for the stage, “But change isn’t always a bad thing Y/n. Don’t let people hold you down just because they want to stay the same.” 

Sighing, you wrapped your arms around yourself as you leaned against the wall, thinking on his words. You supposed, Jimin was right, change wasn’t always a bad thing. And looking back, maybe you had changed? 

But it’s like he said, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, you needed that change to happen. Or else things with Jungkook would have exploded and you could have potentially ruined your relationship with him. Your heart trembled at that idea, the memory of him and you both distant but still fresh. Jungkook was so important to you, you couldn’t lose him, and you changed not for him, but for yourself. So had he. 

“I didn’t take you for a therapist Jimin.” You glanced up as a mutual smile pulled on both your and his lips as you shared a laugh, shaking your head as you stepped into your heels, “Thanks though,” You furrowed your brows before smiling a little, glancing up at him as you nodded, “I...I think I needed to hear that. I should make my way backstage, good luck!” 

Jimin tipped his fedora at you with a wink as he replied, “Too you as well, you’ll need it. Cya Y/n.” 

Keeping his words in mind you gave yourself a mini pep talk as you made your way backstage, it was even more crowded here then at a busy day at work and it was more chaotic than you could have ever imagined. You could do this. Being on stage wasn't what made you nervous anymore. It was getting off stage and finding out just what exactly Seasonella was. 

The stage manager nodded in acknowledgement as you stood off to the side, peering out from behind the stage where your heart did a little leap at the sight of Jungkook. Swallowing the lump in your throat at how good he looked in a three piece suit and his gelled, styled hair. He must have just started his routine, his music was bassy and slow and the floor he stood on wafted with smoke, presumably from dry ice off stage. 

Wrapping your arms around yourself you watched the way he easily swiveled his hips turning away from the audience, popping the jacket off his shoulders, oddly enough despite the large crowd nobody seemed to even be paying attention besides a few whistles here and there. Glancing over his shoulder he offered a sultry smirk, even after all this time he never failed to make your heart race and your face flushed as you dropped your gaze. He wasn’t even looking at you, in fact, he probably didn’t even know you were next in line up. Jungkook’s routine was slow and easy going as he began to shed his clothes, as if he was in no real hurry, soaking up his time on stage. 

He really was a natural.

Just the way his hips would slowly roll before snapping, those large calloused hands slowly running up against his chest to pop the first button of his white button up. You could easily see why Jungkook thrived in this environment, now thinking about it. It was easy because it was only skin deep, Jungkook was comfortable in his body and it showed, being a stripper was hard, but it was only skin deep, you didn’t have to get personal or open up to anyone in this business.

But even with all of that in mind, his eyes, it was always his eyes that showed when he wasn’t feeling his performance, when something was on his mind. Nobody ever seemed to notice it but you. No matter how many smirks and teasing smiles Jungkook flashed it was his eyes that seemed...disinterested? Maybe...maybe even upset?

You didn’t like it, it drove your instincts wild with a need to sit on his lap and grab his face to look at you and ask him what was wrong, but then again, did you really need to? Given what had happened this morning? He was upset when you pushed him away, hell he was upset when he left after his shower. Neither of you had spoken when he left either, he just kept looking at you, longingly, as if hoping maybe you’d speak to him, to give him a chance. 

It wasn’t that you didn’t want to speak to him, it was just...what was there to even talk about? He wasn’t going to convince you this was okay, because it wasn’t. None of this was okay. You didn’t like being on terms like this with him, but what else was there to discuss? It was what it was, all either of you could do was do your job. 

It wasn’t like you were mad at him, Jungkook was a stripper, but so were you. Yes it was upsetting and it hurt that he’d be sleeping with other people, but so were you...You sighed, massaging the temple of your head as you watched his hand slip down to squeeze the thick imprint that pressed against his slacks. You couldn’t stop the quirk in your lips at the sight, even when he was upset he still managed to sport a boner, of course he could.

It was odd watching him pop the button of his slacks, usually by this point girls were practically screaming, but instead it was quiet besides the song that played as the slacks fell off his thick muscular thighs that flexed. You were semi perplexed at the sight of Versace strapped against his skin rather than his regular Calvin Kleins, you couldn’t help but grind your teeth at the idea of that girl buying them for him. It had to be her. Eva.

Was she out in the crowd somewhere enjoying the show? Or was she intending on making him strip again just for her in private. The idea made you livid and the intense desire to jab her eyes out for even looking at what was yours. It was hard to imagine you were actually blushing and melting into your chair when you first laid eyes on Jungkook’s figure on stage. Now you just felt a vague sense of depression watching him hook his thumbs to the band of his boxers.

Maybe it was a sense of defeat that you felt watching him proudly flaunt his hardened cock on stage. A part of you couldn’t help but snicker though, it was so typical of him. Exibitionism was one of his biggest kinks after all. His song had come to an end, the stage lights dimming as people rushed past you, a robe in hand for Jungkook as he came off stage. 

No words were spoken, your gaze only catching his for a second before you were being ushered on stage. Nodding you hurried out in the blackout. Leaning against the pole you made yourself comfortable, it wasn’t time to think anymore. All you had to do was dance. 

The lights immediately flickered on as the intro of your music started out, the smirk immediately pulling on your lips as you turned your head to face the crowd. Most of the crowd wasn’t even paying attention to you, some people seated others standing and talking to one another. What even was Seasonella for? Just connection building for the wealthy?

Letting your hands drag up your body, you slide down the pole letting your legs open naturally before letting your knees drop to let your hands support you on the ground. Your face pressing against the ground as you let your hand circle around your face. Just who were these nameless faces? Just like Jungkook, you weren’t at your best performance. Not that anyone could tell as you rolled to your back letting your legs raise up and set against the pole before letting one slide down as your hands squeezed up your chest, the smile teasing on your lips as you sent a wink out to the crowd. 

That's when you saw him though, Jungkook fully dressed once more, hair damp from sweat and still adjusting the buttons of his loose black button up, his gaze not on Eva who was excitedly waiting for him, instead he was watching you as he ran a hand through his hair. 

Letting your legs open slightly you sat up with your thighs sandwiched between the pole as you rested your head against it, letting the jacket fall off your shoulders as you sent a flirty gasp at the crowd before letting it drop to the ground. 

Making your way to stand up you swayed your hips as you turned to face the crowd, a smug look twisting on to your features at the sight of Eva obviously not happy at your boyfriend checking you out. Keeping a wide stance you dropped slightly to circle your ribs while letting your hands drag up your thighs, teasingly pulling your skirt up higher. Turning to face the wall you curved your spine to highlight your ass as you teased even more, pulling the skirt up to flash the lingerie you wore before tugging the skirt back down. 

You noticed whatever position Jungkook was in he must have left, or maybe Eva had dragged him away at the short time span your back was facing the audience, regardless they couldn’t have left already, right? Pulling your shirt from it’s tuck in your skirt you pulled it out farther as you sunk back down to a slut drop, they couldn’t have gotten far.

Just as you stood back up, hooking your thumb beneath the fabric of your top, a smirk flashed towards the audience that only a few eyes watched you curiously with, that’s when your eyes tracked that messy head of hair again. Jungkook was sitting down, his arm wrapped around Eva who was more than happily snuggled against him, chatting away with what appeared to be her friends. The other person who had stuck out to you was Diego who sat at their table, his eyes however, unshockingly were roaming your body. 

You decided to pay him no mind as you pulled the shirt over your head, letting your upper body become exposed and the glittery, strappy push up bra become displayed. Maybe you were just imagining it but you could have swore Eva had jumped in Jungkook’s tightening grip. His eyes also on you while occasionally glaring daggers at Diego. God you would kill to be listening to that conversation. 

Letting your hips sway softly you strutted further up stage, your arms over head before they groped their way down your body. Turning to face away from the crowd you looked over your shoulder, a playful smile tugging at your lips as you reached for the clasp of your bra. Unhooking it before letting it drop to the ground leaving your bare back on display. 

Turning to face the audience you let your hips begin to sink once more as you let them sway hiding your breasts teasingly behind your hands that began to massage them. It was weird, being in a reversed role where it was your eyes that met Jungkooks from the stage, rather than the other way around. 

Except rather than squirming in embarrassment Jungkook had zero shame in letting his eyes roam all over your body, his lip catching between his teeth and you were all too familiar with that dark look in his eyes. His chin lifting a little in that standoffish, domineering way it always did when he got turned on. 

You however, weren’t yourself at the moment. Rather shy away from his gaze you welcomed it, letting your lips twitch back into a cocky smirk as your hands traveled down your body, your tits perking a little in arousal as your hands slid down your skirt. You could practically see the way Jungkook was eye fucking you, his hand that about been resting on the table curling into a fist and his expression becoming darker by the moment. 

You hadn’t said anything, hell you hadn’t even done anything, but you could tell he wanted to put you over his lap. And there was nothing he could do about it. Something about being aware of that practically made your confidence shoot through the roof as you sent him a playful wink. Effortlessly pushing down the skirt that complied, hitting the ground to reveal the almost light golden, sequin g string you wore beneath, the sheer gold stockings and garter belt to match on display. You could even hear a few whistles from the audience only making you that much cockier. 

And Jungkook was livid. So livid. Despite sitting far away you could see the way his jaw clenched and his fist uncurled and impatiently tapped against the table, as if itching to get his hands on you. Arousal instantly shot between your legs, his dark, lust filled gaze making your body anxious granted this was the most inconvenient timing ever.

If they saw you wet, then that’s just what was gonna happen, you’d just blame it on Jungkook given he was the reason you were in this state. There was no point in worrying about it now. With that in mind you sunk to the ground, crawling out on your hands and knees, letting your tits bounce a little as you dropped to your forearms. Jungkook leaned back in his seat, the vein on his neck popped and you could even see his chest puffing a little. 

The sight made you want to laugh, and for a split second a genuine smile wiggled it’s way onto your lips, before the seductive one quickly took back over as your thighs slid to the ground. Rolling on to your back your vision of him was upside down but that didn’t deter you from letting your hands drag back up your body, letting them squeeze against your breasts as your thighs rubbed together, warm arousal beginning to make your panties stick your folds as you let your body begin to roll as your hips thrusted upwards. 

Your hands sliding back down your body as you began to tug your panties off, gaze never breaking away from Jungkook’s figure, that looked close to a starved man ready to sit between your thighs at the moment. Your panties were unshockingly wet as you kicked them off. As if you weren’t aroused before you certainly were now, naked on stage for the whole floor to see. But with your eyes locked with Jungkook’s it wasn’t like that, it was just you and him at the moment. No party, no one else, just you and him. 

Pulling yourself to sit up you turned to face the audience once more on your knees, a cocky smile tugging on your lips as you let them slide apart. Your cunt was aching and glistening at being exposed as your hands ran up your body, playing with your hair as you heard another round of whistles.

But this wasn’t about them, this was about Jungkook’s clenched jaw and the way he bounced his knee impatiently, the way his fingers twitched against his glass and his eyes roaming all over your exposed body. You didn’t need to see his lap to know he was hard. Crawling back on your hands and knees one last time you sent a one more wink to the audience before rolling to the side. Sitting upright as you finished your last pose. 

The lights went black as you quickly stood up. Walking off stage as best you could in your heels as you grabbed the robe from one of the stage assistants. Wrapping it around your body you let a giggle escape your lips.

Jungkook was turned on, but so were you. You’ll forever have the look on his face stained in your head, maybe something you both could laugh over later and then bang because it would make him horny. 

Walking back to your dressing room you closed the door. Kicking off your heels as you pulled your hair up into a bun to focus on getting dressed. Sitting down you unclipped your stockings before walking over to your bag. You supposed your black mini dress would do, and maybe you’d wear a pair of your black fishnet stockings to go with it? Biting against your lip you figured that would do it before getting changed. Fixing the deep v neck that plunged, showing off your cleavage before pulling out a black pair of pumps to match. 

You wouldn’t be able to talk to Jungkook...but maybe taking Diego up on his offer meant you could see him more? It was a gamble. Nibbling against your lip you fixed your hair in the mirror, putting your phone in the cup of your bra before adjusting it to not make it look obvious. Would you even want to see him this weekend? 

Regardless Diego Friar might as well have been a pile of money sitting at your doorstep, he would be paying you for your company and you knew he’d pay well. This was why you were doing this after all. This was supposed to justify the means. Somehow. Nodding you stood up before heading out. Soloist’s seemed to do more of the entertaining for the guests than actually dancing, although you couldn’t say it was completely true for you. You still had five more dances to get through tonight but at least you had a good hour break before going on back to back. 

Did they really only keep you here as prostitutes? You couldn’t help but wonder about that question, hardly anyone even watched you show. Pushing the door open to enter into the main room you let your eyes wash over the crowd. Why not just hire prostitutes? 

It was legal here in Nevada, why make the strippers do it under dubious consent? Surely the clients budget wasn’t that tight. You supposed there was no point in making sense of it. While Diego would pay for your company, you wouldn’t lie if you said there weren't any underlying motives here. Diego was the client's son, surely he’d know what was going on...Not that you assumed he’d willingly tell you but...A little investigating wouldn’t hurt, right? 

You knew the only thing you needed to focus on was getting to the end of the weekend, but you couldn’t help but wonder, if something illegal was going on here, shouldn’t somebody stop it? Stopping in front of the table you couldn’t help the laugh that escaped you to see Diego standing up, as if waiting confidently, knowing you would come to this table. 

“That was some performance doll.” He sent you a wink, his lips quirked into a smirk confidently, as if you had completely done that just for him. Had Diego not caught on between you and Jungkook? Or was he really that distracted by your body?

You offered a small smile in return as you wrapped your arms around yourself, “I told you I was saving my energy. So I was thinking,” You stretched your sentence as a playful smile tugged on your lips, “About your deal.” 

Diego’s smirk was only reinforced by your words as he confidently strode up to you, “And?” The idea of sleeping with Diego was... less than appealing... but you had a lot of options to weigh here. The first being you were likely to see Jungkook more often, the second being you wouldn’t be passed from creep to creep and the third and last option was the one which wasn’t a good idea. 

You wanted to know why the hell Seasonella existed, what was its purpose, who were these people? Diego was the client's son, if somebody knew the ropes of this party, it was him. 

‘I’ve heard all kinds of rumors about our strippers coming here and not returning to Korea because of being difficult’

That’s the same words Jungkook told you. He wanted you to just go with the flow so nothing happened to you. Going with Diego was both the safest and most dangerous option, depending on how you played your cards. But you were willing to make a deal with the devil to find out, “I’ll agree to it, with some ground rules,” 

Diego chuckled, shifting his weight from one foot to another, running a hand through his hair as he nodded, though it almost seemed vaguely patronizing, “Alright doll, that’s fair enough, what are these rules?”

“Condoms on at all times,” You immediately listed off, attempting to not wrinkle your nose at the idea of feeling him..raw...inside you...it made your stomach churn unpleasantly, “I’m not looking to get knocked up,” You offered a humored smile despite it feeling mildly forced, “And I want my mornings to myself,” You added, remembering Jungkook’s words, him telling you to ask for the mornings so you could at least be together then, “Two rules, and I’m all yours.”

You knew Jungkook wanted nothing more than to make sure you were safe. But you needed answers, you needed to know why this was happening. And furthermore, what part of this was illegal, if any at all. 

Diego gave you a smile, his arm immediately wrapping around you as he replied, “Your rules are gold baby. You won’t be disappointed. C’mon, let's get you a drink and sit down.” It felt weird being held by somebody else while sipping on your classic margarita, taking a seat down at the table where Jungkook’s eyes glared at the arm wrapped around your shoulder like it pissed him off. It probably did. You could only hope Jungkook didn’t get the wrong idea about this, you weren’t doing this to spite him. 

You did it for multiple reasons, none which even involved him...Well, none that involved him in a bad way. But to see Jungkook so...docile in a situation like this? In a situation  “This is Y/n, the lovely doll I’ve been talking about.” Diego introduced you to his friends, mutual friends of Eva as well you assumed. It was coincidental that you and Jungkook just so happened to be sitting on the inside of the table next to one another, a respectful distance between you both given you both were supposed to be closer to each sibling. 

“It’s so nice to meet you!” You gave a bright smile at the man- Lorenzo who was an italian with a strong accent and didn’t seem incredibly familiar with Koren, but enough that you could hold a steady conversation, he also seemed to be a considerably close friend of Diego’s compared to all of the others, “I hope you’ve been enjoying the show up on stage.” 

What you hadn’t expected was a large, wrathful hand to harshly clamp your inner thigh making you nearly choke on your drink, callous fingers digging into your soft skin while roughly massaging closer to your core. 

Your eyes sent sharp daggers to Jungkook’s figure, who was innocently on his side of the table, his free arm wrapped around Eva while conversing with her and one of her friends, acting as if he totally wasn’t groping you. This was not the time or place to be doing this! 

“Ah yes, you put on quite the show.” You gave a forced smile at Lorenzo as you tried to wiggle your leg from Jungkook's grasp, it was useless though as he squeezed harder, his nails pleasantly digging into your skin as if in warning to stop. 

It wasn’t even fair, Jungkook was speaking to Eva and her friends in english which you could only pick bits and pieces of conversation out of while he could hear everything you said. You tried your best, you really did. But Jungkook’s long thick fingers were making it difficult to focus, never quite making it to where you had hoped it would, but just enough to keep you on edge. 

Was this some possessive display or reminder to you? You wished you could just ask Jungkook what his problem was. Maybe he was mad you weren’t wearing your collar, but could he really expect you too when...You couldn’t help but shudder. This was going to be a long night. 

The night dragged on and admittedly, you couldn’t help but tense at all the pleasantries, you honestly assumed Diego would jump you the moment he got his hands on you but then again, he was from a prestigious family, clearly. 

You sighed as you glanced at yourself in the mirror, rubbing the towel over the back of your neck that had broken out in a sweat, you were used to dancing on stage but something about being here had made you nervous. You weren’t sure what it was but the whole vibe of this place put you on edge. Shaking your head you pulled the skirt up to your waist before finishing putting on the rest of your clothes. 

Dread filled your stomach but you couldn’t help it, anytime you weren’t dancing you were with Diego, you assumed the moment he got you alone he’d jump you but he had behaved well...But now your night of stripping was over, your body was tired and so were you but...Well you had a feeling the night had only just begun in other ways. 

Jungkook had disappeared a while ago with Eva and her friends, he had finished earlier in the night then you but given he was more social it wasn’t a surprise he had stayed to converse with her and her friends. Or maybe it was Eva who wanted to stay longer?

You couldn’t help but feel a simmering anger boil inside you at the idea of someone controlling and dictating the man you loved. You forcibly calmed yourself as you pushed your hair off your shoulder. This wasn’t the time to brood of this, it wasn’t like you could do anything about it. Could you even be mad at Jungkook? No, not when you were with Diego. 

Something about the situation made you grit your teeth as you pushed the door to your dressing room open. Why were you so powerless in a situation like this? You had never seen Jungkook let himself be powerless either. 

Pausing you glanced at the ground as people rushed past you, the night on stage still very much alive and even busier than you had ever seen before. If Jungkook was too scared to speak up or if he was worried for you, then you’d do it for him. You nodded affirming to yourself.

Whatever the Friar’s were up too....You weren’t just going to sit still and watch your friends get bullied by them. The idea made your lips twitch and your fist coil in anger, why the fuck was nobody saying anything to them!? 

Closing your eyes briefly you let your shoulders relax as you began to walk. It’s okay, they have all been there to help you on your feet. Now you’d stand beside them and defend them just as they have you. You didn’t know who these people were but you were going to find out. 

Walking out of the back and into the large lounge your eyes scoped Diego who seemed to be talking to two other men...He hadn’t introduced you so they must have been work related contacts. 

Walking over you gave a bright smile as Diego’s eyes landed on you, pausing conversation with the two men as he waved you over, “Finished up doll?” You nodded, feigning innocence to the two men’s stares that leered on you as Diego squeezed your chin, “Good. Tell you what baby, how about you head up to my room? I’ll catch up with you soon, I just have some business to take care of.” 

You felt an odd shiver down your spine at his words. Business? At three in the morning? You still gave a smile as you nodded, “Of course! I’ll see you soon then.” You winked as you took the passcard from his hand, a charming expression on your face as you nodded to the two men before turning around. 

You didn’t like this one bit. You glanced around in hopes of finding a familiar face but everyone seemed foreign to your eyes. Sighing, you shook your head a little, glancing down at the passcard to Diego’s room, number listed on it as you headed for the elevator.

Staying still you intended to enter the elevator only for your eyes to widen at the heated sight as the doors slid open, the familiar head of hair sucking harshly on skin as the woman moaned, Seokjin suddenly straightened up at the sight of you as he coughed harshly. 

The girl jumped before turning around as she gave a sheepish smile before glancing up at him with pink cheeks, “Thanks for seeing me down, i’ll see you later.” She winked as she stepped out of the elevator just as you stepped in. 

It was quiet for a moment as you and Seokjin awkwardly stood there, “I uh-”

“It’s cool.” You immediately cut him off as you both glanced at each other, unable to keep the awkward tense though as you both let out a small laugh, “She seemed happy.” 

“I’d hope so,” Seokjin scoffed, not going into detail but you could tell they obviously had just finished sleeping together, if Seokjin’s sweat drenched and messy hair was anything to go by, his eyes glancing up at the number that ticked up in the elevator, “I’m assuming you’re headed for Diego’s?” 

You gave a small nod before sighing, “Yeah...he had ‘business’ to take care of so he’s meeting me later…” You parted your lips for a moment before closing them once more, glancing up at Seokjin’s figure before asking, “...Seokjin…” Gaining his attention he glanced down at you as he raised his brows a little, “What’s going on here?” 

You watched his shoulders tense a little as he pressed his lips together, glancing away from you before letting his gaze flicker across the elevator as if searching for something, “...Sometimes...it’s better to be ignorant Y/n,” You frowned at his cryptic words, Seokjin’s gaze on you was like a heavy weight, as if they were drilling through your soul as he continued, “Don’t look for something you’ll regret finding out. I saw Jungkook earlier.” Your frown deepened at his abrupt change of topic. 

What was it that they knew that you didn’t? All you had heard were rumors thus far. It was obvious Seokjin and the others knew something was going on, so why weren’t they doing anything about it? Was it really easier to just turn a blind eye to whatever was happening? 

Deciding to drop the subject you held in a sigh as you glanced up at the numbers sliding above the door, “Yeah…?” You kept your tone neutral, not wanting to say you didn’t want to hear it, but on the other hand you were a little curious. 

“Yeah,” Seokjin clacked his tongue before snorting, “He didn’t look happy. Just kept staring at you on stage like a little puppy before Eva dragged him away.” You didn’t reply to his words for a moment. Were you surprised? No. Did it warm your heart?...Maybe a little...But still, you needed to play your cards carefully. The last thing you needed was Eva catching wind of your relation to Jungkook outside of being his trainee. 

“Well he’s just going to have to deal with it.” You replied, not intending to come off as cold as you did making Seokjin turn to face you, his brows raised in somewhat surprise making you sighed as your expression softened a little, “What can I do about it Seokjin? What’s the point in talking about it? It just…” You inhaled sharply before letting it out, “It’s already upsetting, why even talk about it?” 

You hadn’t even meant to project onto him, but you couldn’t help it, the early morning of what had happened with Jungkook was still fresh in your mind, what did he want from you? To say it was okay? That it would all be okay? It wasn’t okay! None of this was okay!

Seokjin frowned a little, his own expression softening a little as he nodded solemnly, “I can understand to a degree. But you can’t ignore him forever. What are you gonna do when all of this is over? Pretend like it never happened?” 

Glaring down at the floor you didn’t reply for a moment before answering, “I don’t know. And I’m not gonna think about it right now. I have a lot more on my plate to focus on.” The doors slid open with a ding as you glanced ahead. Seokjin frowned at your words, wanting to respond but not having the time as you turned to give him a small smile, “Good luck Seokjin, I’ll see you later.” 

Walking out of the elevator you kept a clear head as you walked down the eerily silent hallway, the elevator closed behind you leaving you all by yourself, the corridor was long and if you had gotten too close to a door you could hear soft moans from inside. 

Stepping back to keep in center only to jolt at the sound of a loud crash and a muffled scream, “Be quiet you bitch!” Adrenaline shot through your veins at the muffled snarl of a man at the you were about to pass, “I’ll be back soon and you better be fucking prepared to perform again.” 

You scrambled away from the door, heart pounding in your chest as the door ripped open, the sounds of sobs inside before the door slammed shut. 

Footsteps stomped down the hallway until they could no longer be heard, when you heard the distinct sound of the elevator you timidly turned around...Should you…? Of course you should! Whatever had happened, it didn’t sound good. Nodding to yourself you swallowed thickly as you  walked back to the door as you frowned. The sobbing was still muffled but could be heard inside and it was enough to break your heart...It wasn’t your business but…

You gently knocked on the door, no response sounding, just tears. Gently you opened the door, timidly gazing inside only to feel your heart crumble at the familiar sight. 

Chan Hee. 

Naked yet curled up, not on the bed, but on the ground against it with her knees curled to her chest and tears streaming down her face, an ugly welt on her cheek as her body trembled. Fumbling you closed the door behind you as you rushed up to her figure that seemed so small in comparison to any other time you’ve seen her.

Chan Hee, was the image of confidence, of not caring whether people saw her as bitchy or conceited. To see her so weak, so vulnerable, it crushed you more than you ever thought it would, “Chan Hee?” You weakly called out as you kneeled down, grabbing the throw blanket off the bed as she whimpered, her arms squeezing tightly around her knees, “Y-you should go.” She stammered, tears streaking down her cheeks as you wrapped the blanket around her body, “H-he’ll b-be back soon…” 

“I’m not leaving you here by yourself.” You gritted your teeth, brows pinching together in anger as she sniffled, yes you may not have been on the best terms with her but you’d never turn your back to someone in need  and right now she needed someone, “For all the differences we might have I would never leave you or anyone else here.”

Her fists coiled around the blanket as she lowered her gaze, trembling as tears dripped down her cheeks, standing up you gathered her clothes that were scattered across the floor before sitting down next to her, “Nobody fucking told me it would be a whore house here.” She sniffed as she gritted her teeth, wiping her eyes once more with trembling hands. 

“I was told…” You murmured as you glanced at the floor, Chan Hee glancing at you as she rubbed her eyes, “But I just didn’t listen, didn’t even think about it.” You gave a hurmorless smile at the floor before it dropped, silently berating yourself on how ignorant you chose to be despite the many times Jungkook warned you, “I was so naive and dumb, it didn’t even register in my brain until this morning.

It was quiet for a moment as you both sat in silence before you shuffled, “C’mon, let’s get you dressed. I’d rather not be here when he comes back.” Chan Hee shakily sat herself on the bed, surprisingly letting you help her get dressed.

Her legs were particularly twitchy, her eyes seemed glassy still and her gaze distant, “...I didn’t care at first,” She whispered under her breath, not looking at you as you pulled the top over her head, “...Sex is sex, it was just another tip under my belt...But after the first round...it was just too much,” Her eyes were beginning to water again as she scoffed despite her lips quivering, “...And even when I told him to stop he-” She inhaled, choking back a sob that made your own eyes water. 

Kneeling down in front of her you gently grabbed her hands, her gaze was down in her lap as fresh tears trickled down her cheeks, it was odd seeing Chan Hee seem so...ashamed, broken even, “Chan Hee, I know apologizing isn’t going to fix what happened, but I am sorry. It shouldn’t be like this, everything in Seasonella... Come on, where’s your room at? You shouldn’t be subjected to this anymore.” 

Chan Hee didn’t reject your movement as you helped her up, your pulse speeding up as you opened the door, timidly glancing around before walking up ahead to the other elevator, only praying you wouldn’t run into the man that did this, “Fifth floor, 32.” She murmured, her body trembling a little as you both got into the elevator. 

The strippers floor was quiet, almost all rooms vacant as everyone was out filling client rooms or dancing, you helped Chan Hee into her room as you set her on her bed, feeling a little lost until she weakly laid down, “I’ll be okay,” She murmured, curling up against her covers as she hugged her pillow, “...thank you.” Two words and yet they felt so hopeless and sad, you mustered a small smile as you nodded before reluctantly turning around. 

Your thoughts lingered on Chan Hee before flittering to Seokjin’s words, and then briefly they stayed on Jungkook. Sighing you pinched the bridge of your nose as you shook your head, pushing the cardkey into the slot before walking into the large room. 

What you didn’t expect was the room to be vacant. You had been gone at least twenty minutes and Diego still wasn’t here? You frowned as you warily stepped into the room, it at first appeared like a lodge of some sort, couches facing each other with a small kitchen at the back wall, up the two steps however was the large king size bed and a desk with a dresser nearby. Despite the room's large size, his main bedroom seemed almost small. 

Your eyes honed in on the messy desk, Seokjin’s words replaying in your mind before Chan Hee’s figure reminded you why you were here. Maybe they would pretend like everything was okay and bare it, but you weren’t. Not when stuff like this was happening. Carefully you glanced around the room before looking over your shoulder at the door as you walked up to the desk. 

Pushing through some of the paper you frowned as you picked up a document of sorts. 

Warehouse 15: Currently full 

Shipments will need to be made by the 22nd and deadlines for payments will be cut off by the 25th when the cargo has arrived, we’ll need to gain the last set of the cargo during the weekend of the 18th-

You jumped at the sound of the door closing, hurriedly dropping the document as you swiftly turned around. Diego’s figure was skewered by the corner of the wall, “You’re here.” You welcomed as you painted a smile on your face despite the back of your mind rampantly running at whatever you just read, warehouse 15? What was held in it that was full? And clients? Was this what Seasonella was about? Today was the 18th, the start of the weekend…

“Seems someone is eager to see me.” Diego sent you a wink as he pulled the jacket off as you felt your smile tense a little, he seemed tired as he loosened his tie. 

You slowly made your way down the two steps into the main lodge as you sat down on the couch, “Well it was getting a little lonely here...Did you take care of your business?” You asked carefully, keeping your eyes wide and doe like to appear innocent as you folded your hands into your lap. 

Diego chuckled a little, unbuttoning his waist coat as he sat down a little closer to you then you would’ve liked but you didn’t move away, “Yes, it’s all finished now. No need to worry about that doll, c’mere.” You squeaked a little at the way his hands grabbed onto your waist, pulling you to straddle his lap. 

It felt foreign as you had never slept with a client before and the only man you had slept with in months was...Jungkook...you felt somewhat nauseous thinking about him, thinking about what you were about to do, “You’ve got all my attention now,” Diego licked his lips as he pushed the hair from your face, your body tense as you resisted to pull away from his touch like you wanted. 

It wasn’t warm and tender like Jungkook’s, one that made you want to bury further into him. No, this felt somewhat condescending in a way, as if your hand was being twisted behind your back and his grip was lifeless of any sort of care or love, “Relax baby, you seem so tense.” Diego purred as his hands slid to your waist. 

You let the smile turn more charismatic as you giggled a little, shrugging as you forced your thoughts into the back of your head, “It’s just been a...long day...but incredible I mean…” You let your smile turn more coy, girlish as you tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, “I’m in Las Vegas, it’s a little overwhelming...I just can’t help but wonder, how did Seasonella begin Diego?” You tilted your head innocently as you let your hands press gently against his chest.

 “Curious are we?” He chuckled a little, a smirk coiling on his lips as you rolled your hips a little enticingly, the more you gave the more willing he’d be to speak on this, or so you hoped, “Seasonella was originally just an annual meeting held between my fathers men yearly,” His hands rested on your hips as you swayed them against his, letting them roll along the hardening bulge of his cock,, “It slowly began to grow into his men bringing other references, and those references bring theirs until it grew even more, eventually it became more like an open party to the right people to come and do business with us. It’s what made our wealth skyrocket.” 

You were having a difficult time relaxing as he leaned in against your neck, lips trailing along your neck as your breath catched a little as you focused everything onto his words. You’d need more than that to go on. You wiggled your hips a little more as you pulled away, letting your lips tug into a cute pout before letting them twist into a playful smile, “And that’s it? That’s how you started taking strippers from across the globe to attend?” 

Diego placed his hands on your hips as you gave them a little sway, pretending as if you totally hadn’t felt his obviously lacking hard on, “When the meeting starting becoming bigger and more akin to a party we started hiring on entertainment,” You could see the way Diego was becoming more pliable, more willing to spill whatever you wanted so you could hurry up, “Of course it ended up benefiting us in the end, we invest they give us girls. It works out.” 

What…? 

Diego, perhaps realizing how his words sounded didn’t give you a chance to question him further, you squeaked as he pushed you down onto the couch, climbing on top of you as you swallowed thickly, “But enough of that doll. I’m more interested in how tight that little cunt is.”  You jumped a little at his lips attaching to your neck, the sharp moan leaving you before you could stop it. 

Diego’s hands dragged their way down your waist as you squirmed beneath him, controlling your breaths as adrenaline shot through your veins. Just today  and tomorrow, that’s all you needed to get through. 

“Kookie, why have you been so quiet?” Eva turned to face him with a pouty frown, shifting the blanket to cover her plump perky breasts as she laid her head against her arms, observing the way Jungkook laid on his back, his expression dimmed and the frown harshly twisted on his lips. 

The door had just closed and her friend who had joined them in such an incredible night in bed had taken her leave. Jungkook didn’t reply for a moment, unsure of how to before he finally shrugged, sitting up as the blanket fell off his chest revealing the broad chiseled sight that was making her rub her thighs together all over again, “Eva can I be honest with you?”

It was a dumb question, because while he was sure she was going to say yes despite the likelihood that she’d accept his words was….rather slim.

Eva gave him a wide, excited smile, as if she thought for sure he was slowly beginning to open up to her. Sitting up eagerly, she clutched the sheets against her chest as she gave him a timid smile, “Of course you can Jungkook, I’ll never judge you.” Rather than make him smile though Jungkook’s brows only furthered as he sighed, running a hand through his damp hair, “What do you think we are, relationally speaking?” He wanted to cringe at the question, but it was something he had been thinking about. Eva had continuously gloated to her friends about her ‘boyfriend when Jungkook had made himself clear several times before that he was not her boyfriend.. 

Eva’s cheeks dusted a light pink as she glanced coyly at the blankets, “Well...I thought I made my point Kook. If it weren’t for my studies I’d be in Korea...with you...I like you....a lot...I have since we met last year.” 

Jungkook didn’t mean to let the groan escape him but it was too late, Eva had stiffened somewhat as she glanced at him carefully awaiting his response, “Eva….” His words didn’t sound promising he knew it, but Jungkook wanted to make himself very clear, “You do understand that I’m only here because I have to be here? Right? You’re a nice girl but…” Should he bring you into this conversation? No...he’ll need to make it discreet, “I’ve met someone...Someone I really love...” 

Jungkook felt somewhat timid meeting her gaze, it was worse than he had hoped for truthfully. Eva was as stiff as a board and her gaze was darkening by the second before she gave a loud scoff that came out as if she was trying to force it into a laugh, her smile sharper than usual as she replied, “Love…? Maybe it’s just me but if you really loved someone, you wouldn’t be working as a stripper and sleeping with people behind her back.”

Jungkook had parted his lips to object but quickly snapped them shut, remembering he had told himself he was leaving you out of this. He couldn’t help but feel guilty though, did he really love you if he was doing this? He could feel it eating him alive inside as she gave him a snide smile, “Yeah, that’s what I thought. I get it Jungkook I do, we’ve been apart a year, but just give it a shot!” 

Eva ignored the way his body tensed as she climbed into his lap, cupping his face as her smile softened a little, “I think we could really work Jungkook...besides...you know I can offer you anything she could and even more,” Jungkook’s jaw clenched against her grip and he refused to meet her eyes, “And you know it, I’ll take care of you, provide for you, my family will keep you safe from KOI and I know how much of a strangle hold they’ve had on you before.” 

Letting her forehead rest against his she leaned in, his lips were so soft and addictive. Eva only felt them for a few seconds before she was pushed away, her lips even parted in somewhat offense at the aggressive and cold glare he gave her, “I’ll sleep with you all you want, I’ll play boyfriend while I’m here, I’ll let you have your fun with your friends,” She whined a little as he shoved her against the bed climbing on top of her, “But don’t you ever fucking kiss me like you’re actually apart of my life. You know nothing about me or who I am and it’s going to be kept this way.”

Jungkook roughly rolled her onto her stomach as he growled, “Now I’m gonna spank this ass until it’s bruised and you’re gonna count you disobedient bitch.” He didn’t even wait for her to speak, she was already moaning and whining as his hand slammed against the delicate pale skin of her ass. Jungkook didn’t care how much she knew about him or how much she could dangle his past over his head, there would always be few things off limits and this was one of them. 

…

It was morning, you knew it was. Light streamed through the windows and it looked like a beautiful day outside, blue sky with billowing white clouds. If you were back home in Korea you would’ve begged Jungkook to take you to the market where you’d go to look for plants and succulents to add to your collection. 

But you weren’t home. No. You were in Diego Friar’s bed with thighs that ached and like they were on fire with your stomach churning for the past thirty minutes. He had left a while ago saying he had work to take care of and that he’d meet you in the cafe for breakfast. That was okay, you didn’t want him to stay anyways. You felt gross, every inch of your body felt disgusting and you knew a shower wouldn’t be enough to make you feel better. 

Trying to ignore the dull throb of your stomach you sat up feeling somewhat numb as you carefully dressed yourself. Glancing at Diego’s desk you deflated even more, all the paper that had been thrown across was gathered and most likely taken by him this morning. Standing up you winced as you forced yourself to walk. You weren’t going to break down...you weren’t going to break down crying…

No matter how much you repeated it in your head you still felt tears glossing in your eyes as you punched the bottom floor button, the elevator was making your stomach feel even worse as you groaned silently, the elevator was too small and there were too many people here. 

As soon as the doors slid open you pushed your way out, the churn of your stomach becoming too much and you needed to find a bathroom, fast, “Oh hey Y/n-” Jimin’s eyes widened a little as you shoved past him and into the bathroom. 

Unable to even lock the stall door as you lurched down onto your knees, the sour taste of alcohol and last night's meal coming up as you coughed rancidly, spitting out bile as tears trickled down your cheeks from the force of your cough as you began to dry heave up any last bits. 

Sitting down against the toilet you couldn’t help but let the tears trickle down your face as you let out a sob. God you felt disgusting, would Jungkook even want to be with you today after knowing...After seeing? Your hands trembled as you sobbed into them. Sniffling harshly as you forced yourself up to stand, flushing away the reminder of what had happened before wobbling out to the sink to fix yourself up. 

Your eyes still looked bloodshot but it wasn’t notable as long as someone didn’t stare for long, you rinsed your mouth out with the sink water, gurgling a few times as you gagged while spitting it out, the raw burn of your throat a reminder of what had just happened. 

Opening the door you jumped a little to see the sight of Jimin leaning against the wall with one foot, arms crossed as his eyes landed on you, a frown quirking onto his lips as he sighed, “...You...look like you’ve seen better days.” He picked his words carefully, “You good?” 

You closed your eyes briefly, trying to ignore the churn of your stomach already despite having just thrown up, “As well as I can be, I just...Sorry I didn’t mean to push you, I just uh...threw up.” You gave a weak smile as Jimin examined your figure, “Sorry. It’s just been a long night.” 

He nodded understandingly, “Well I’m sure your body is already going through a lot as it is, you should really lay down and rest.” You sighed at his words, glancing away from him as you rubbed your forehead. 

“I told Diego i’d be at breakfast in the cafe....What are you doing here?” You pressed your brows together as you tilted your head, why was Jimin here anyways? You had been in too much of a rush to think much of it before.

Jimin snorted, “I was going to breakfast but after you rushed past me I figured I’d stay behind to check on you. Like I said, you look like you’ve seen better days. Who cares about Diego? I’m sure he won’t be hurt if you skip.” 

“...Well yeah but…” You trailed off with a frown causing Jimin to peer at you somewhat confused as you sighed, stepping closer to him as you lowered your voice, “...You’re the only one I’m going to tell but...Something is going on here Jimin,” You glanced up at him, your gaze serious and even boarding harsh as you continued, “And I’m going to find out what it is and stop it.” 

Jimin’s gaze hardened a little as he frowned, “Y/n…” He shook his head a little in disdain as you scoffed while stepping away from him. Why was it everyone was so fucking scared? This wasn’t right! Whatever it was! “These people are dangerous...Be careful. I need to go get breakfast for myself and Rosé but...just be careful okay? There’s a reason a lot of us just leave it alone.” His gaze was a silent warning as you nodded reservedly before you let Jimin walk past you. 

Sighing you pinched the bridge of your nose. Why must everything be so secretive?

Breakfast hour was always Jungkook’s favorite part of Seasonella, free food and he could officially go and sleep off the ache of his body for the rest of the day before rinse repeat in this scenario. It was normal to eat with said client and no matter how annoying it was Jungkook would tolerate it when you were just in eyesight. 

No matter how much it pissed him off. You wouldn’t meet his gaze and he knew exactly why, your neck was shamelessly covered in hickies and there was a slight limp in your walk when you showed up, oddly by yourself and it for a moment made every sense in his body tell him to go sit with you and coddle you.

 It was like his conversation with Eva the night before hadn’t even existed, either she was truly dense or she was cooking something up. 

Jungkook didn’t like the way she smiled and laughed with all of her friends, some passing jokes to each other in hopes of maybe buttering him up about how good he was in bed to get one more round in before he’d call it quits. But no amount of jokes or compliments were getting him to budge. He had managed a few smiles and jokes as well but nothing more than playful banter. 

He kept his gaze towards you minimally, but he felt somewhat useless when his gaze met yours, had you been looking at him too? 

Jungkook could feel his outer charming mask begin to crumble at the way your lips quivered and your eyes shooting back down to your untouched food. The sudden need to touch you, to hold you filling his veins. His fingers began to thrum against the table in impatience before he checked his phone, he couldn’t wait, it was nearly killing him.

Jungkook swallowed thickly at how sharp and dry your words over text were, were you actually okay. You hadn’t looked at him once when you got up from the table, your food untouched as you left. He could only sigh and endure the rest of breakfast until he was finally free of Eva’s claws the rest of the day. 

Jungkook’s body was objecting to every sluggish step he took back to his room, it had been awhile since he actually pulled an all nighter, well into the morning hours without any sleep whatsoever. Rubbing his eyes he yawned as he opened the door, quietly closing it as he felt his once tense muscles relaxed at the familiar sight. 

You were curled up against the bed, the large hoody- his as a matter of fact, drowning your body and the hood pulled over your head while you buried in the large pillows. Jungkook felt his lips curve a little into a soft smile as he changed out of his sticky previously sweat stained clothes, feeling relieved to just be comfortable once more as he drew the large thick currents over the window to darken the room before he sat down on the bed. His hand gently stroking your waist. 

What he hadn’t expected was the violent jolt from you before jerking away making him frown. Jungkook had anticipated you wanting his touch after such an...intense night but, maybe he was wrong... His jaw clenched slightly at the way your body tensed and didn’t seem to relax at the realization he was in bed with you. He didn’t even want to think about what you went through last night. 

Not wanting to push your comfort zone Jungkook sighed as he laid down on his side of the bed, your back was turned to him and you hadn’t even greeted him yet. Oh well, words didn’t need to be spoken. Jungkook could only let his gaze longingly stare against your figure that was curled away from him. God he just wanted to hold you, now he couldn’t even do that. 

....

Your mind felt fuzzy, that kind of drowsiness you wake up with when you decide to take a nap at an odd hour and when you wake up you don’t know what time it is and if it’s day or night. You groaned as you rolled over, your muscles gripping at the sight of an empty bed. Where did Jungkook go? 

You were aware you hadn’t been...the kindest...but maybe you were just still reeling from last night. That didn’t mean you didn’t want to see him though...You felt yourself relax at the sight of Jungkook appearing from the bathroom, his lips quirking up a little at the sight of your half awake figure. 

“I have a bath running, we need to get you cleaned up.” Jungkook sat down on the side of the bed as he let his hand stroke through your hair, your body flinched a little at the contact, your poor scalp was still sore from how much Diego had pulled on your hair. Jungkook frowned before tenderly letting his fingers run along your scalp. 

“Thanks.” You replied dryly, a tiny bit of humor detected in your tone while letting your lips tug into a tiny smile, it was hard to keep a straight face when you were around Jungkook, even like this. It was something Jungkook seemed to return so easily, his fingers sliding down to your cheek to gently stroke along it. 

“That’s not what I meant,” He clacked his tongue, trying to give you a scolding look but failing as his lips twisted into a smile, “C’mere,” Jungkook internally sighed, his heart broke for you, he could see how much you were struggling to not instinctively push him away as your body tensed and flinched as he picked you up. You really were trying your best to relax in his grip as he carried you to the bathroom, “It’s not about you being dirty, it’s about me not wanting you to get an infection.” 

Jungkook already had a fresh set of clothes folded neatly on the closed toilet seat as he set you on the counter, tugging off the sweatshirt that covered your body as he sighed. His lips unable to stay smiling as they twisted into a sad frown at the hickies your body sported and bruises on your hips in the shape of fingers.

 “I get it. It was a lot,” He mumbled as he pulled out a hairbrush from his bag that laid on the ground, gently untangling your hair as he refused to meet your gaze, “But I’d never hurt you baby. You know that right? I don’t want you to ever think I’d make you do something you don’t want too. I don’t want to know what happened last night, but I’ll never treat you the way he did.” 

Your shoulders kept tensing and relaxing over and over again as Jungkook finished brushing your hair, finally glancing down at you as he sighed, tears were beginning to streak down your face as you closed your eyes, “I feel so fucking gross.” You finally relented, your hands shaking as you pressed them into your eyes, “I...I...Jungkook...I feel so disgusting.” 

And you did, you felt ruined. Like you didn’t deserve to even be in the same room as Jungkook at the moment. Why would he even want you now? After...after last night...Jungkook hushed you gently as he wrapped his arms around you tenderly pressing a kiss against your head, his heart lurching and it hurt with every beat at the tears you cried, “Shhh, it’ll be okay baby. Just tonight and we’re done. Shhh, don’t cry baby.” 

For the first time you had craved his warmth all over again, letting his arms tighten around you as he cradled you close, peppering kisses against your hair before eventually coaxing you into the nice warm tub. 

It felt normal, as if you weren’t at Seasonella or like Diego and Eva never happened. It was just you and Jungkook, his arms still loosely wrapped around you, his fingers dancing along your skin beneath the water soothingly and his lips occasionally pecking softly against the hickies. As if to make them feel better, as if to make them his even if they weren’t. 

After a hefty amount of coaxing Jungkook had finally gotten you to give in, your fists clenched as you sucked in a sharp breath, “What happens in this bathtub, stays in this bathtub by the way.” You heard him chuckle as you whined, pressing your forehead against the cold tile of the wall, “Do I need stitches? It feels like I do.”

Jungkook sighed as if him staring at your asshole with cheeks spread open was something he did everyday, “No you don’t need stitches. There’s some blood, yeah but that’s just because he didn’t properly prep you. Poor baby.” He let go of your cheeks before letting his hand gently rub against the bruised surface, “I’ll clean it up, outside of it hurting there’s nothing actually wrong. Luckily we can get you some medicine for that.” 

You winced as he spread them back open. You never in your life, thought you’d be in a bathtub with your asscheeks spread just so Jungkook could clean you up. You thought you had gotten past any sort of embarrassment you’d ever feel around Jungkook yet it seemed like he lived to prove you wrong. You sucked in another breath as you felt the soft warm bath cloth rub against the aching puckered ring. 

“There, all better.” Jungkook set the bathcloth down before tenderly grabbing your waist, guiding you to sit back down in the nice soothingly hot water as he pressed another kiss against your neck, “Can’t believe he’d actually do that to you.” He gritted his teeth as he muttered under his breath.

You shifted a little, nibbling against your lip, you knew that wasn’t his invitation to getting you to talk about it but… “It was dark….I doubt he realized it was blood…” You mumbled, you could feel his skin tense beneath you as he huffed. 

“If there was blood involved you can’t tell me you weren’t crying.” Jungkook tried to keep his voice a steady note but he could feel his anger beginning to rise, just the idea made him sick to his stomach. 

You didn’t have the heart to mention he was right, you had cried while mumbling your safeword a fair amount of times when anal got involved, maybe if you had just said something he’d....But did you even want his comfort though? No, you gritted your teeth and dealt with it because you wanted that disgusting human being away from you as soon as he blew his load. 

Jungkook pulled you out of the water, wrapping a warm fluffy towel around you as he carefully dried you off, saying no more on the subject as it was clear neither of you really wanted to talk about it. No, you just wanted to enjoy what time you could with him.

Pulling on the fresh pair of panties and Jungkook helped you tug on the comfy gym shorts before pulling the nice warm sweatshirt over your head, it smelt like him, your favorite smell. 

Sitting down in bed you patiently waited for Jungkook as he typed in the password on your laptop, intending to put something on for you both to watch as he set in on the bed, a knock on the door making you both alert.

You glanced at Jungkook in confusion as he gave you a weak smile, “I know you said you weren’t hungry but baby...you need to eat something.” You frowned a little as you tugged on a strand of hair. Opening the door he pulled out his wallet, paying for the food before closing the door behind him. Taking a seat on the bed as he opened up the takeout boxes, you wouldn’t deny the glee that entered your body at the sight of Chow Mein and Shrimp. 

One bite into your food though immediately made your stomach lurch, your hand squeezing against the wooden chopsticks as you forced yourself to swallow. Jungkook was right, you needed to eat something. It didn’t matter how tasty it was though, it made you sick to your stomach the more you ate. 

One more bite and you had to put down your chopsticks, Jungkook frowned as he noticed your hand covering your mouth, “Hey, you okay baby?” He couldn’t even finish his words before you were already scrambling off the bed at your stomach lurching and your throat constricting. You barely made it to the toilet before you were already throwing up what little you had eaten, dry heaving despite nothing coming up.

You couldn’t stand when people tried to comfort you when you were throwing up and Jungkook got a good taste of that when he attempted the first time he witnessed you hungover. Your vision was blurred with tears as you spat up the vile taste that lingered in your mouth, after a few moments Jungkook entered the bathroom as you wiped your mouth with toilet paper, tossing it carelessly in before weakly pulling the handle. 

Your body trembled as he sighed, pressing a kiss on top of your head, “You good?” He sat down as he wrapped his arms loosely around you. 

“Y-yeah, I just haven’t been able to keep anything down.” Your body trembled once more as you curled against him, letting him pick you up before delicately carrying you back to bed. 

Leaned against him you weakly curled up as you sighed, your head was beginning to throb once more and your stomach ached with a lingering aftertaste of vomit, god you felt so weak and Chow Mein was not as good as you remembered it tasting. Closing your eyes once more you relaxed on top of Jungkook’s laid out figure, his hand tenderly stroking your back as you nudged into his neck. You’d be happy when all of this was over.

Note: I got way too impatient and just decided to post this chapter a few hours early, not that y’all are complaining 😂 Let me know what you guys think about everything going on! It’s a lot to take in! 🖤

(Taglist: Due to a bug on my blog nobody will receive notifications from my taglist so I’ve decided to skip it this update, should things return to normal on my blog the taglist will resume!)

[guiltydumpling]

The Guard: Chapter 3

[KUVIRA X READER ROYAL AU]

Summary: “I called you all here to announce that we have a guest arriving sometime later today. Princess Y/N of the Kingdom of Elysian” The people in the throne room looked at one another confusingly. “Their palace was under sieged and the king had to send the princess away to keep her safe from any assassination attempts. Their kingdom has done a lot for us and has proven to be great allies for generations. She’s come a long way and has been traveling for a week, I expect nothing less than for all of you to treat her as you do a member of the royal family and to attend to everything and anything, she might ask for… This poor child has already been through too much.” There was silence in the throne room for a while, as they let the information sink in. “Dismissed.”

A/N: Hi beautiful beings <3 This chapter has mature content (i.e. masturbation and sexual thoughts) so please don’t proceed if that makes you feel uncomfortable !! 

P.S. I hope you are all enjoying the story as much as I am and I can’t wait to post the next chapters cause thing’s are gonna get interesting... and sad. According to my outline there’s about 4 more chapters left for this short story and I am exciteeeeedd

Word Count: 5.2k

A month goes by and each day you start to become more okay. You received a letter from your father two weeks ago and he assured you that things were slowly getting better and that you would be home soon enough. That letter was enough to comfort you for the next days to come while you in were Zaofu.

Meanwhile, since that night in your chambers, you and Kuvira grew to become incredibly close. You finally convinced her to start reading the book you recommended her which she reluctantly did after over a month of you suggesting it. It became a routine of yours to watch her spar every morning with the twins or train the new recruits.  She was a natural leader and everyday you admired her more and more. Occasionally you would bring a paper and a pencil to sketch her. She noticed you drawing her one time and you told her you just wanted to “practice” which she obviously didn’t buy but didn’t bring it up again. You enjoyed watching Kuvira in her element.

Some nights, she would join you for drinks in your chambers with Zhu Li and other nights it was just the two of you. You would be lying if you’d say that you didn’t prefer the latter. You talked about anything and everything. You didn’t have much of an interesting life and you were always excited to hear about Kuvira’s adventure and experiences as the Captain of the Guard. Everyday you fought the urge to do something you might regret with her and your self-control was getting weaker each day. Suck it up. You would say to yourself.

Before Avatar Korra left, Opal was able to convince Suyin to let her train with the Avatar and the rest of the new air benders in the mainland. Tears of joy nearly fell from your eyes when Opal was saying goodbye to you. You rooted for her so much and you were overwhelmed with pride when she chose to follow a different path rather than what was originally laid out for her.

What you would give to be able to forge your own path. But you didn’t have that luxury. Not anymore. Not since your sister’s death and the siege on Elysian. You had a duty to your people and to your father now.

You spent most of your afternoons in the library with Kuvira or in the garden with the Empress. You never knew your mother, so you were always eager to spend time with Suyin and have conversations you wished you had growing up. You really only had Zhu Li to talk to about things on your mind and it was comforting to know that Suyin was there too.

You were surprised to learn that your mother was born and raised in Zaofu. She was one of Suyin’s ladies and that she was originally supposed to marry your father to strengthen your kingdom’s alliance. You never knew this story and you never thought to ask about how your father met your mother. You always assumed it was like any other royal union. Early engagement and marriage. But this was so much more than that.

“Your mother was my best friend. And at the time of my engagement I was in love with somebody else. An architect.” She starts

“Emperor Bataar?” you ask, and she nods in confirmation. You were walking along the garden, collecting flowers to send to Opal along with many gifts from the Empress.

“While your father was here to court me, I would ask your mother to always cover for me so I can sneak out to secretly see Bataar. And along the way, your mother and your father got along really well. Not that I minded, in fact, I was happy for them. Your father talked to me about our marriage and we both agreed that neither of us wanted it. We ended up becoming good friends instead and I gave him permission to court your mother while I proceeded to marry the man I truly loved.” She explains and you nodded fully invested in the tale, urging for her continue. “Your father and I married separately but happily, and we knew that we owed it to each other. We loved one another not romantically but as people who we were thankful to have in our lives. After that, we didn’t need the marriage to strengthen the alliance anymore. Because we knew that no matter what, we would do whatever we can to be of service to each other.” The empress finishes as she picks the last flower for her arrangement. “Thank you for telling me this your majesty.” You say with soft smile.

~ ~ ~

You were playing the piano in the library while Kuvira sat on the couch reading the book you told her to read while humming lazily to the tune you were playing. “Her majesty told me about how my parents met” you say after you stop playing and Kuvira looks up from her book. “Did you know that my father and the empress were supposed to get married?” you continued and Kuvira raises her brows in surprise “No, I did not” she answers. “Neither did I” you say with amusement

“You would have been the princess of Zaofu” Kuvira suggested

“Or I probably would have never existed at all” You retort and Kuvira shakes her head

“Well then thank the spirits above that they did not end up marrying one another” she says as she goes back to reading her book. You cocked your head to the side in confusion. “Why is that?” You ask Kuvira and she looks up from her book once more. She takes a moment to respond. “A world without you would be bleak. Not really a world worth living in if you ask me.” She says in a serious tone before going back to her book once more.

Heat rushes through your body and you fought the urge to smile. Kuvira did this a lot. She would compliment you or say sweet things to you so passively that you sometimes wondered if she knew how this, how she affected you.

You went back to playing the piano.

~ ~ ~

You just got out of bed when Kuvira walks into your chambers with morning tea for you and Zhu Li and you two thank her. “Are you training anybody today Vee?” you ask Kuvira as you take sip from the delicious tea while Zhu Li brushes your hair. “Nope, not today princess” and you frown slightly.

As inappropriate as it was, seeing Kuvira breathing heavily and sweating was the highlight of your day. If you couldn’t touch her, the least you could do was look at her. And it wasn’t like you were harming her or anything, you just needed to be entertained.

“Why princess? You had something in mind?” Kuvira asks and you thought about it for a while before an idea struck you.

“I was wondering if you could train me” you suggested and Kuvira raises an eyebrow at you. “You want me to train you?” she asks just to make sure she heard you right and you nod your head with a hum

“I’ve always wanted to learn how to fight, just in case a noble decides to piss me off” you say jokingly and Kuvira laughs “Fine. The nobles would most probably deserve it anyway” Kuvira jokes along and Zhu Li joins in on the laughter.

You were now on the training ground and you had on black bottoms that were made of spandex that hugged your legs perfectly along with a tank top similar to Kuvira’s, except yours was a deep red. Kuvira on the other hand, was in her usual training clothes.

“Okay so first thing’s first you’re going to have to learn defense before you can go offense” She explains to you. “Why can’t I do offense?” you ask “Well mainly because defense is more practical for somebody of your status and judging by your eagerness to learn, you’ll most likely start picking fights with random people all over the palace” she says with a playful look and you mischievously smile “just the nobles” you answer and earning a chuckle from Kuvira

The training started and you noticed that Kuvira wasn’t training you like she would train other newcomers. First of all, she was too gentle. She would pretend to do offensive techniques on you so that you can practice the application of the new defense move you learned, and you easily won everytime and it bothered you.

After she complimented you once you tried to do another defensive technique, you had enough. “Stop it” you say seriously, and she looks at you in confusion. “I’m sorry?” she asked “Stop giving me the special treatment. I know how you train people, and this is not it.” You say as you turn to her to meet her deep green eyes and her features harden. “You want me to order you around?” she asks and your stomach flutters. Something about the thought of her “ordering you around” was incredibly intriguing and hot. So, you nod. She looks at you for few more seconds before she speaks “okay then”

Moments later and Kuvira didn’t hold back in “ordering you around”.

“Tighter” she says as you grabbed a hold of her wrist in an attempt to stop it from coming at you. “Harder” as you try to fight against its force. “Stop” she says, and you do. “Horse stance” she demands, and you comply.

You stare straight ahead and Kuvira circles you, closely observing as she tries to look for something to correct. “your form is right, but you can be easily knocked over. The point of this is for you to be able to withstand force.” She explains and you nod. She kneels in front of you just enough for head to be leveled with your hips “look at me” she says, and you do.

Kuvira kneeling in front of you in that top with sweat dripping from her neck to her chest was a sight you might never be able to rid your memory of. She put both of her palms on either side your thighs and squeezes them, causing your heart to raise. “I need you to tense these up for me” and you do. “harder” she says, and you comply. She smiles at you before saying “good”

Kuvira slowly gets up without breaking eye contact and she was directly in front of you now. Her face and her body just inches away and your breath hitched when you felt her place both her hands on your waist. She dragged one hand to your abdomen to press it. “Now I need you to tighten this for me” she says. For me. At this point she can ask you to jump off a cliff for her and you might probably do it.

She is still looking directly at you, “I want you to think of something that gets your body to tense up. Anything at all” She tells you and you furrow your brows in confusion “what do you mean” you ask “What gets you riled up? What gets your body to react and stiffen?” she explains, and your mind flies to images of Kuvira immediately.

“Close your eyes and picture it, something that will get your body to physically react” she suggests, and you do. You close your eyes and picture things that might get you to tense up. Kuvira.

Her hands all over your body. Tracing kisses all over your neck to your collarbones then down your chest. One hand holding you by the waist and the other squeezing your breast. You think about her pushing your dress up to grab your thighs. Fingers inching slowly towards your heat to tease you as you feel her heavy breathing. You think about her pressing her middle and ring finger against your heat over your underwear and moves it agonizingly slow that your knees would buckle from arousal. You think about her wanting you. Pleasing you.

Naturally, your body stiffens. “Very good princess” Kuvira whispers in your ear. The thoughts running through your head along with your proximity with Kuvira was beginning to be too much for you to handle. You feel warmth pooling at your center and your breathing was starting to become heavier. Suck it up. You thought to yourself. “Open your eyes. You can relax now.” She demands and you follow standing up right once more. You see a faint smile playing on her lips. Her lips. “I want this much tension in your body everytime we train. Got it princess?” She tells you and you simply nod unable to form words, still feeling flustered.  

“How does it feel?” She asks you and you had to hum, indicating for her to repeat the question because your mind was still elsewhere. After she repeats the question you think for a moment. All you felt right now was desire and frustration from not being able to do anything about your desire. What do you feel?

“I feel… tired” you manage to say, and she nods her head in agreement. “We can continue another day. You should freshen up now. I’ll take you back to your chambers” she offers, and you shake your head no. “It’s okay I can head back there myself. Why don’t you go freshen up as well and I’ll see you after lunch?” you suggest, and she hesitates for a moment before agreeing. You turn to leave, and you feel your head start to spin. Was it from training or arousal? You will never know.

You reach your chambers and thankfully Zhu Li was already there tidying things up and does a curtsy when she sees you. You smile at her and you plopped yourself down on the couch not wanting to ruin the bed she just fixed. You close your eyes for a moment, and you feel Zhu Li’s eyes on you and as expected, you open your eyes to see her sitting across from you.

“Can I ask you a question?” you say to Zhu Li and she nods. You bite your lip feeling a little bit embarrassed by the question you want to ask but if anyone can help you it would be no other than Zhu LI. “How do you find… other women?” you ask her

“How do I find other women… physically or emotionally?” she asks, and you answer with “both”. “Well your highness, I think they’re really beautiful. All unique in their own way. As for emotionally… I guess I admire them, mostly women who are good in combat. Or outspoken.” She answers and you shake your head.

“That’s it? You don’t think about them… or try to not think about them at all? Or maybe wonder if… they might… think about you too?” you say, your voice trailing off and Zhu Li raises a brow at you. “You mean Kuvira?” she asks, and your eyes widen in surprise “What?! Where for spirits sake did you get that idea?!” you ask trying to not sound defensive but obviously failing.

“I’ve known you since you were a child your highness. I know you’re reserved and most of the time untrusting. But with Kuvira… You’re always glowing around her. I’ve never seen you more comfortable with anybody else since your sister” She explains “Not to mention that your face gets red after every single compliment she gives you” she playfully adds, and you bury your face to your hands in embarrassment. There was no point in hiding it now.

You let out a frustrated groan. “I don’t know what to do Zhu Li” you say as you look back up at her. “What do I do?”

“As a friend… I would advise you to follow your heart. Cliché, but that’s the only way to be happy. And you deserve to be happy.” She says and you smile at her. “But as a royal subject, I would advise you to think about it carefully. At the end of the day, you are still an heir. The only heir at that. And although things have been more progressive since the Avatar admitted her love for Ms.Sato, it is still not generally accepted. Especially for people with your title. A title that requires heirs and a title that would require you to marry not for love, but for power and security.” She explains and you nod your head in understanding. You already knew these things. Which is why you never acted on your urges before because it would just be pointless. But it felt a lot more real now that it was somebody else who was saying these things to you. The stakes felt heavier. “Whatever you decide to do, I will support you. But I beg you… think about it” Zhu Li adds, and you nod your head once more. “Thank you for speaking your mind Zhu Li. I can always count on you to tell me the what I need to hear” you say before standing up. “Shall I draw you a bath?” Zhu Li asks, and you say yes.

You touch the water to check the temperature. Deciding it’s warm enough you start to disrobe before soaking in the bath. You exhale loudly as you let the warm water ease your muscles. I’m definitely going to feel this tomorrow. While scrubbing off the sweat and dirt on your body, your mind starts to replay the events this morning. You recall the feeling of Kuvira’s breath tickling your ear and her hands on your waist. The image of her on her knees in front of you, breathing heavily and glistening with sweat. You feel the warmth between your legs once more and you press them together to try to alleviate the sharp tingle.

You try to ignore the sensation between your legs as you proceed to rinse the lather off your body before you submerge yourself deeper into the bath. It was still tingling. Letting out an exasperated sigh, “fuck” you whisper to yourself and you close your eyes.

You remember your conversation earlier with Zhu Li about your desire to pursue Kuvira being impractical. You knew it was. But is it so bad that you want her anyway? Nobody will ever know right? How bad you want to feel her lips against your own. How you want to entangle your fingers through her thick hair. How you want her to kiss you all over your body. To feel her fingers there.

You peeked at the door to check if it was locked and with a shameful blush, you slipped a hand between your legs. I might as well get something out of this you thought. Your one hand rubbed against your sex in slow circles and you gasped when you started to increase your pacing. You dragged your free hand across your body to massage your left breast imagining it was Kuvira’s instead and you couldn’t help but let out soft moan escape your lips.

Your legs were starting to shake, and you slipped your middle and ring finger in and you had to bite on your lip to keep yourself from making anymore noise. Your fingers pumped in and out and you bring your other hand from your left breast to press against your clit. As you fingered yourself, along the way you pumped deep enough to find your sweet spot and your eyes widened. “Yes…” you moaned as you continued to pump your fingers making sure that you were hitting the right spot, but your body demanded more.

You increase your pace and you lifted your hips to rock them and match the rhythm of your fingers while your other hand continued to rub your clit. This time you didn’t bother to stop yourself from making noise anymore. “Fuck, Kuvira” you moaned, and you felt yourself clenching around your fingers. You were so close.

You put your hips back down and instead lifted your legs to rest it on either side of the tub, comfortably spreading your legs apart. You continued to pump your fingers and your hand moved to your neck, putting enough pressure to limit your air supply and this turned you on even more. Your mind replaced the hand around your neck with Kuvira’s as she whispered dirty things in your ear. “I want you to come for me princess” You imagine, practically hearing her voice. “Yes… oh fuck yes…” you moaned as you shut your eyes and your body starts to shake as you reach your climax and you had to bite your lip to keep you from screaming Kuvira’s name. You couldn’t help but let a string of moans slip from your mouth and occasionally Kuvira’s name as you continued to slowly pump your fingers, letting yourself ride your orgasm out.

Finally pulling your fingers out, you rinse them in water, and you emerge your body from the bath, your legs still shaking slightly. You patted yourself dry before draining the water from your tub. You turned to see yourself in the mirror and your cheeks and lips were more pigmented than they usually were which you admittedly kind of liked. It made you look very relaxed and problem free which for a moment back there, you were. And you knew in your heart no matter how much it embarrassed you, that whatever you just did, would not be the last time.

~ ~ ~

Two weeks go by and you were practically touching yourself to the thought of Kuvira every chance you got. It was starting to become a problem. Especially since Kuvira was really comfortable around you as well which meant more touches, more jokes, flirty lines, and innuendos. You hated yourself for it. You felt icky.

It wasn’t your first time touching yourself of course, it was just your first time touching yourself with someone in mind. You already knew she had similar feelings for you, but you doubt it was as strong as yours. And who knows, maybe it was just her being intoxicated that one night that led her to almost kiss you.

You had moments with Kuvira where she would intentionally let her touch linger a while longer than necessary and you just know that she knows how much it drives you wild. She would chuckle at you whenever she would catch you staring at her or whenever she’d witness you blush from one of her comments about you. It was as if she wants you to want her, and it was extremely frustrating.

Your combat training continued a few more sessions before you had to stop because she needed to train newcomers and you would be lying if you said you weren’t disappointed. You tried giving her a lesson in archery once only to have Kuvira realize in that moment that she hated the sport, which you didn’t really quite understand if she really thought it wasn’t for her or if she just didn’t like the way you thought her in that one session. You were hoping for the former.

You were now situated on the couch in your chambers outlining a sketch of Kuvira from the training this morning. Moments later and you were drawing her arms. I wonder how it would feel wrapped around me. You blush and move on to her hands, her fingers. Those long and strong fingers must feel good pressed against me. And you feel the familiar warmth pooling between your legs, and you stop drawing. “Why the fuck am I like this?” You ask yourself quietly before placing the sketchbook down and slowly spread your legs comfortably on the couch.

You let out a deep sigh before undoing your night robe to expose your naked body. You lightly twist your nipples in between you thumb and your index before sliding your hand between your legs. You let out a soft moan when you start rubbing slow circles against your heat and you let your head fall on the couch, relishing the sensation. You close your eyes and your mind replaces your hand with Kuvira’s like you would usually do.

You start to rock your hips against your hand, and you increase your pace. “Spirits… fuck…” you moaned. You felt your hand starting to slip from your clit because of how wet you were, and this turned you on even more. You kept the fast pace and your legs were now starting to shake. You let go of your breast and gripped the side of the couch to release some of the tension you were building up in your body. You were so close to the edge and you were breathing so heavily now.

Knock knock

Your eyes snap open and you immediately get up from the couch to look over at the door. “Who is it?” you yelled with a hint of annoyance hoping they would get the memo and leave.

Knock knock

You huffed in frustration and secured your robe around your body in an attempt to look somewhat presentable. You stood up from the couch and walked over to the door to open it and you were surprised when you see Kuvira standing there with an unreadable expression. She was still in her uniform, but without the metal armor.

“I finished your book” she says, and your eyes widen in surprise

“That’s um… great?” you answered not quite sure why she had to come all this way at this hour to tell you that. “How’d you find it?” you ask

“I think it’s stupid.” She answers and you were taken back, “excuse me?” you ask somewhat offended. “May I come in?” she asks, and you let her.

You close the door behind you and Kuvira start to pace back and forth before she stops to lock eyes with you.

“Why would you make me read this? You told me it was a story of courage!” She says, frustration laced in her tone. “It is!” you answered back starting to feel annoyance amidst the confusion. “No, it isn’t! They both die in the end because of their stupidity and greed, Romeo should have just stayed away from Juliet in the first place!” she explained, and you were still confused as to why this affected her so much.

“Romeo loved Juliet. And for him, it didn’t matter if their families were never going to accept them because he was willing to risk everything just for her and her for him” You try to explain calmly, not wanting to rile Kuvira even more which seemed to work because Kuvira’s features softened. She walks towards you and stops when she was only a foot away from you. She stares into your eyes for a while before letting out a sigh.

“Do you really believe that?” she asks in a low voice. And you understand now. She was referring to the two of you. You nod, unable to form words at the moment.

“It doesn’t make sense Y/N” she says and your heart flutters when you hear your name fall from her mouth. She’s only every called you “your highness” or “princess” despite giving her the permission to call you by your name. Now she’s used it, and all you want to do is to hear her say your name over and over.

“What’s the point in pursuing someone if you both know that it will never work? That no matter how much you love one another; you just aren’t meant for each other. What do you do when all you want is to hold somebody in your arms and tell that person how you truly feel, only to have to let that person go at the end? What happens then?” She explains and your heart is now beating out of your chest. You try to fight the tears that are welling in your eyes and you don’t break eye contact with Kuvira.

“I don’t know… But isn’t better to live a life knowing love than not at all?” you start. You walk towards Kuvira. She doesn’t move so you take this as a sign to continue walking closer. You gather all your courage and you bring your hand up to her face, neither of you daring to break eye contact. Naturally, she leans into your touch and brings a hand up to put on top of yours and her other hand snaking around your waist to pull you closer. “Sometimes you have to stop thinking about the future. Why should it be such a sin to be selfish from time to time? To take what we want?” you continue. “What do you want?” she asks.

Kuvira’s eyes shifted from your lips and back to your eyes. You knew what she wanted to do, and you wanted her to do it. It’s been over a month of self-control, tension and denial and you were exhausted. You worried about what is expected from you all your life that you never really knew what you wanted. Only that you wanted to meet those expectations. But right now, with Kuvira right in front of you, you were never sure about wanting something in your life than you were at this moment. You wanted Kuvira.

She was the only person to ever make you feel so comfortable and secure. You never liked being vulnerable around other people, but everything was just so easy with Kuvira. Everything felt so natural, so right. You were absolutely nothing alike and you complemented each other so perfectly. You loved how she never tried to impress you or never hesitated to call you out unlike most of the people in your life. She was genuine and honest, and spirits was she everything you never knew you needed.

“I want you” you finally admit. And Kuvira gives you a soft smile. “yeah?” she asks “yeah” you confirm returning Kuvira’s smile and no longer able to wait, finally, you put your free hand on other side of her cheek and you pull her in for a kiss, closing the gap between you and she places both her hands around your waist to pull you even closer.

It was everything you ever imagined and more. Your stomach was filled with butterflies and the feeling of her lips against your own was something you never thought you’d experience. Her lips were soft even when pressed hard against yours and you decide to wrap your arm around her neck wanting to feel even closer.

Kuvira pulls away first and you were both breathing so heavily now. She presses her forehead against yours, “you have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do this with you” she whispers, and you smile at her.

If you only knew what I’ve been up to the past weeks. You thought

She pulls you in for another deep kiss.

[hotpinkhoshi]

the pact (5)

pairing: jinyoung x reader

genre: romance, smut, a lil angst

warnings: explicit sex, cursing, unprotected sex, dirty talk, some secondhand embarrassment

word count: 6.8k

summary: you desperately need to get over your decade-long crush on lim jaebeom, and your close friend jinyoung needs to get over his ex—so the two of you make an arrangement: just sex, no feelings. what could go wrong?

a/n: hi loves! thank you as always for your kind and supportive messages regarding the last part! if you didn’t see my post, you can now track the tag #thepactfic in order to keep up with updates and future parts. that being said, i’ve officially decided the story will be a total of 6 parts. one more full part after this! please let me know how you’re liking it and if you have any thoughts, feelings, questions etc don’t be afraid to shoot me a message  ❤️

↳ index here

“I gotta be honest,” Jaebeom said, fingers tapping against the cafe table. “I was surprised to hear from you.” 

“Yeah,” you began, folding your hands on your lap and offering him a kind smile. “I- well, I wanted to apologize for leaving you hanging that night at the club…”

Even though he’d done it to you plenty of times. Texted you, asking what you were up to, until inevitably, he stopped responding a few messages in. Danced with you when you came to one of his DJing gigs only to leave with someone else. Even today, he’d shown up ten minutes late. It was about time somebody did the same to him. Still, you couldn’t help your conscience. 

Jaebeom shrugged. “That’s alright. Although I’m starting to think you’ve been avoiding me.” There was a playfulness to his tone, but you had a feeling it had been a shot to his pride. He wasn’t used to girls standing him up. 

“Maybe… a little. That’s actually why I wanted to meet you today.” 

It had been Sana’s idea, which surprised you both. She’d come home from trivia half an hour later than you the other night, knocking softly on the door to check if you were still awake. 

After a long talk, you finally admitted your feelings for Jinyoung to someone other than yourself. She didn’t reassure you that he felt the same way, because you both knew he probably didn’t. If Jinyoung said he was going to do something, he did it. 

You had no reason to think you were anything more than a friend to him now, with some added bonuses. 

She did say, however, that you needed to talk to Jaebeom. As much as she hated the way he treated you, you needed closure in order to completely close that chapter. You agreed, and here you were. 

You’d picked a very public place during your lunch break from work, just so that you didn’t feel tempted to fall into his trap again. The weird thing was, as he sat in front of you, something had changed. Your feelings for him lingered like an aftertaste, nowhere near as powerful as they had been even a month ago. 

It didn’t compare to the real thing, you realized. 

“I’m sure you know this,” you began, staring down at your fingernails, “but I’ve liked you for a long time. Like, a really long time. Since we were fourteen.”

“I know.” Jaebeom’s words made you finally look up, locking eyes with him. “I mean, you’re a lot of things, Y/N, but subtle is not one of them.” He smiled at you in the way that would’ve normally had your stomach fluttering. “That’s why I was so confused when you started blowing me off.”

“Yeah. I guess I just, I was tired of waiting for you to like me back. Because you never did, right? At least not the way I liked you. So I decided that it was time for me to move on, finally, and now…” you took a deep breath, feeling like you were talking more to yourself than to Jaebeom, “now I think I found someone that I really like. It feels different.” 

You paused to take in Jaebeom’s expression. He wasn’t hurt, but he seemed confused. He had every right to be. He probably thought you were a little bit crazy for sharing all of this, but you needed to get it off of your chest.

“I did like you, Y/N.” 

“You what?” you asked, blinking at him. “When?”

First Jinyoung, now this? You didn’t know how many more confessions you could take. 

Jaebeom shrugged, sipping from his espresso. “In high school. I mean, surely you could tell? I was always asking to borrow a pencil in math class… I figured you didn’t think I was that forgetful.” 

You remembered being tortured in that Calculus class. His seat was diagonally in front of you, allowing you the perfect view to his flawless profile for forty minutes every single day. Whenever he asked you for a pencil, you had to count to ten to stop thinking about his fingers brushing against yours. 

“I didn’t… I didn’t know.” 

“Well,” he said, his lips quirking up. “It’s true. But I liked a lot of girls—it was high school. I was going to ask you out after graduation, before you and Jinyoung went off to university. But Jinyoung flipped on me, telling me not to mess around with you, and not to ask you out unless I wanted it to last forever. Scared the shit out of me. So I backed off.” 

Suddenly your throat was bone dry, and the coffee wasn’t helping. It was a lot to digest, finding that Jaebeom had returned your feelings after all, if only for a few years. You and probably a dozen other girls. Still, you’d never thought you had a chance, especially not back then.

“Did Jinyoung ever talk about me?” you found yourself asking. It wouldn’t do you any good to find out just how deep his feelings for you ran, considering they were probably long gone, but the masochist in you wanted to know. For some reason, you cared more about that than Jaebeom’s former crush. 

Jaebeom barked out a laugh. “Did he? Fuck, he barely ever stopped. He had a thing for you, you know? I mean, he never told me outright, but I could tell. It pissed him off whenever he’d catch me staring down your shirt at lunch and he’d give me the cold shoulder for the next day and a half.”

How oblivious had you been in high school? You’d always been so busy reading and studying, maybe if you’d lifted your nose out of those books you would have noticed. You spent more time with Jinyoung than Jaebeom, but both boys were a part of your daily life. It had all been right under your nose. 

“Is it him?” Jaebeom asked after a moment of your silence. “The guy you like? I saw you leave with him that night, kinda figured maybe he’d finally grown some balls and gone for it with you.” 

“Y-yeah, actually.” You rubbed the back of your neck. That hollowness of your missed opportunity was still heavy in your chest. You missed him so much it hurt. 

Jaebeom nodded, tongue running over his teeth. “Well, good for him. It’s about time.” He didn’t seem jealous or bothered by the idea of you with Jinyoung, which just cemented what you already knew—his feelings were never as intense as yours. 

And whatever he had going on with that girl, the one from his bathroom mirror selfies, you just felt bad for her now. You weren’t jealous, you felt pity. Pity because she was probably a lot like you, expecting more from Jaebeom than he was ready to give. 

There was an unspoken tension between the two of you now, but you felt different… like you’d finally cut off that loose end that had been hanging around you for years. You looked at Jaebeom in front of you, the person you’d convinced yourself you were in love with, and all you could think about was Jinyoung. 

Jinyoung wouldn’t have been late. He would’ve been early, sat in a corner booth with coffee and your favorite blueberry muffin waiting. Maybe he would have teased you for making him wait, but he’d still let you have your muffin with a little convincing. 

You missed him so much. 

But you knew if you were going to get over Jinyoung, you at least needed to be finished with Jaebeom first. It was almost comical the way your timing always seemed to be wrong. Why couldn’t your heart just be on time for once?

“I should go,” you said finally, standing up. “Thanks for the coffee.” 

“No problem.” Jaebeom stood as well, digging in his pocket for cash to leave a tip on the table. “And Y/N?”

You raised your brows. “Yeah?”

“Tell Jinyoungie I said hi, and if he wants to catch up…” Jaebeom ran his fingers through his hair, one of his nervous habits. 

You smiled. “I will. I’ll see you around, okay? Take care of yourself, Jaebeom.” 

Jaebeom, despite everything, was not a bad man. Deep down, he was good, which was what had always made it so hard for you to leave him behind. You’d always think of the time he walked you home from school when your mom got stuck late at work, the summer he worked at the animal rescue shelter, the way he used to snort when he laughed at Jinyoung’s jokes, and a million more fragments of his soul he’d let you see over the years. 

But at the end of the day, he wasn’t the one for you. You’d spent so many years making excuses, covering your eyes when he showed you the parts that didn’t fit with your idea of him, but you were ready to see him as he was now. You hoped someday he would find happiness, love, and satisfaction. It just wouldn’t be with you. 

As you walked out of the cafe and the door clicked behind you, you felt that door in your heart finally slide closed. And it felt good. 

~~~

Three long days later, and Jinyoung was finally home. 

It killed you that you couldn’t see him right away. Right after he got home on Wednesday night, he’d passed out from jet lag and you’d had to work late the next night. His body was still adjusting and he’d gone to bed right about the same time you got home.

Your schedules lined up, at last, by Friday evening. Jinyoung had the rest of the week off after working through the weekend, but his sleep schedule was so backwards that he ended up sleeping through most of your waking hours. He was mostly adjusted by Friday, though, and you rushed over straight after work without even stopping for dinner. 

You’d decided that you needed to end it with Jinyoung. There had been rules, after all, to this pact you’d made. You’d broken one already, and in doing so, you’d broken another—honesty. But you knew you needed to see him one last time. Just for closure. Then you could move on. 

Jinyoung didn’t suspect anything, as far as you knew. You’d held up your promise to send him a picture every day, with varying degrees of naughtiness, and even FaceTimed a few times. The time difference made it difficult but… you’d managed. 

It was nothing compared to how he looked in the flesh, though. When he opened the door, you felt those damn butterflies wake up, low in your stomach. 

He didn’t look as tired as you thought he would. In fact, he looked pretty damn awake to you. 

You barely got inside before he was pushing you against the closed door, crowding you into the barrier with his own body. With his lips pressing into yours, he effectively had you trapped. 

But you didn’t mind. You’d missed this so much it only took you a split second before you wrapped your arms around him, relishing in the heat that came from his body. 

As soon as he parted from your lips, he trailed kisses down your neck to the collar of your work button-up. “Hi,” you breathed, digging your hands into his shoulder blades where you held him. 

“Hi,” he said into your skin, fingers already working at the buttons of your shirt. 

“How was your-“ your words were cut off by a groan as Jinyoung sucked at a particularly sensitive spot on your neck.

Jinyoung's response was a frustrated grunt as he fumbled with the plastic holding your shirt together, and all you could do was gasp when he tore the shirt open, buttons clinking to the floor. 

You stared at him with wide eyes, mouth gaping open. 

“I’ll buy you another one.” 

Without another word, he dove back in to your neck, lips nibbling and sucking at your flesh. You completely forgot about your ruined shirt when he began grinding his hips into yours, his hardness already pressing into your thigh. 

“Missed you… so much…” you whispered, threading your fingers through his hair and inhaling the scent of crisp summer fruit. “You smell so good. Is this shampoo new?”

“Stole some from the hotel,” he replied, punctuated by a bite to your neck that made you shiver. 

“All that…” You slid your hand down his body, fingertips brushing over his belt buckle until you were able to cup your hand over the obvious bulge in his pants, “hard work packing… and you still stole hotel toiletries.”

Jinyoung made a noise deep in his throat, almost a growl as you began massaging your palm against him, his face still buried in your neck. “Don’t tease. I’ve been hard since you said you were coming over.” 

You smirked, running your tongue over your lips. “I’ve been thinking about this since the moment you left, Jinyoung. Trust me, I’m not teasing.” 

Finally, Jinyoung pulled back enough to crush your lips together in a heated, messy kiss. You had missed his taste, the warmth of his mouth colliding with yours, the way he ran his tongue over your lip before he nipped it. 

Your hands quickly undid his belt and zipper, freeing him from his jeans just enough for you to wrap your hand around his member over the fabric of his briefs. He was hard as ever, pulsing slightly in your grip. 

As Jinyoung licked into your mouth, you began a slow pace massaging his cock, fingers following the outline pressed into your hand. You’d barely traced the length of him five times before he was moaning and rutting his hips into your hand. 

“Fuck,” he said, pulling back from your lips but keeping his forehead pressed into yours. 

You squeezed his length once, then twice, and felt Jinyoung’s cock pulse, even through the barrier of cotton. A feeling you usually only felt when he was inside of you. 

“Shit, no, no-“

Jinyoung inhaled sharply, fist coming up to slam into the wall next to your shoulder, trying to pull his hips from the contact of your hand. You barely realized what was happening until you looked at him to find his eyes squeezed shut, jaw slack as an orgasm wracked through him. 

You gulped, your hand slowly falling away once you were sure he’d come down from his high. Though when he opened his eyes, they were filled with regret and shame. 

“God, I’m sorry, I-“ he started, looking down at his crotch, then up at you. “I can’t believe I just…”

“You just came in your pants.”

It took just about everything in you to keep your face straight. He’d never come that fast, at least not with you. Jinyoung dropped his head onto your shoulder with a breathy laugh. 

“I’m so sorry.”

You bit back a giggle, sliding your arms around his waist, fingers sliding up the back of his black tee. “Jinyoung, it’s fine. We have all night, you know.” 

“Let me make it up to you,” he said, deep and low near your ear before he pulled away. His face was flushed from his orgasm, all the way to the tips of his ears. Just from the look in his eyes, you knew he had a plan. 

“Okay… what did you have in mind?” 

Instead of granting you an answer, he slid his hands up the curves of your waist, fingers dragging over the lace of your bra. He kept his eyes on you as he pushed your shirt off of your shoulders, just a useless scrap of fabric now that he’d ripped the buttons off. 

Then he dropped to his knees, fingertips trailing down your skin until they played with the waistband of your pants. You hoped he wouldn’t rip these—they’d been rather expensive. 

He took care with the button and zipper, seemingly reading your mind, then tugged the pants down your thighs to pool at your ankles. He removed one shoe, then the other, so that he could allow you to step out of your bottoms. This left you in just your panties and bra, which of course he’d seen you in before, dozens of times, but he was looking at you like you were brand new to him. 

“Open,” he told you, scooting close until his face was level with your hips. You obeyed easily, earning you a cocky smirk. “Good girl.” 

Your head fell back against the door as you stared down at Jinyoung. He’d gone from bashful and embarrassed to this, heating you from the inside out, all with just his gaze. 

As always, he didn’t give you what you wanted straight away. He brushed his lips over the sensitive skin of your stomach, kissing every curve and line, even those spots you hated to see in the mirror. He’d made you forget all about that, only focused on feeling. 

You shivered as his breath fanned over your skin and goosebumps rose on your arms. His lips traveled down to your thighs, skipping over your center because of course, he needed to keep you on your toes. 

“Jinyoung…” you whined, your hands resting on his shoulders. “Please.”

He looked up, mouth still pressing into your inner thigh, and he smiled. He loved to have you like this, and you couldn’t deny your favorite place to be was wrapped around his finger. 

“Hm.. please what?” he challenged, now teasing the waistband of your panties with his fingers. “What do you want me to do?”

You huffed out a breath. “Jinyoung,“ you complained, “eat me out before I go insane.” 

Jinyoung made you wait only a few more torturous moments before he slid the lacy garment down your thighs to your knees, eyes glued to your center as soon as it was revealed to him. He had the nerve to lick his lips. 

“Pretty,” he muttered, placing his thumbs on either side of your folds to open you up for him. He leaned in, hot breath against your clit just before he latched on.

It wasn’t like you hadn’t touched yourself since he’d been gone—hell, he’d been the one to bring you to orgasm twice thanks to FaceTime—but it wasn’t even in the same league as Jinyoung’s mouth on you. 

One second, you felt like you had all the power, the next, he had you practically melting into the door, grabbing his hair and begging for more. The harder he worked into your clit, the more you arched your hips towards him, desperate and whimpering. 

Jinyoung knew all of your spots and it turned out, he wasn’t the only one that had trouble keeping his orgasm at bay. You felt the familiar waves of heat surging through your body as his tongue flicked back and forth over your clit, a quick and powerful pace that sent you barreling towards your climax. 

You cried out as you came. Core clenching around nothing, you jerked your hips into his face, completely overwhelmed with bliss. Jinyoung was good to you, licking and sucking until you calmed under his touch. 

Unable to hold yourself up with shaky knees, you slid down the door until you were sitting, level with Jinyoung. You let him take you into his arms, kissing the side of your face and stroking your back. 

“What are we, teenagers?” you asked once your body stopped twitching from the aftershocks of your orgasm. 

Jinyoung chuckled softly, pulling back to look at you and smoothing his thumb over your cheek. “Feels like it.”

Now that you weren’t quite so consumed by lust, you were able to appreciate him up close, for the first time since his trip. He must have gotten some sun, judging by the slightly darkened tone of his skin. There were no bags under his eyes, not like you would’ve had if you flew across the world. He looked even better than the last time you’d seen him, which was almost infuriating. 

Just as you were going to scold him for being so handsome, your stomach growled, loud enough for both of you to hear. Jinyoung glanced down, then back up at you, an amused smile on his lips. 

“Hungry?” 

Your cheeks flushed pink and you nodded. “Maybe a little.” 

Jinyoung nodded back at his kitchen and shrugged. “How about takeout? I don’t really have anything in the fridge, still need to hit the store.” 

“Sounds perfect,” you answered. “But we both need new clothes first.” 

----

An hour later, you were dressed in a pair of Jinyoung’s sweatpants and one of his shirts, and he was dressed in a similarly comfortable outfit. He sat next to you on the couch, slurping on ramen. 

You’d ordered enough food for ten people, you realized, after you covered his coffee table with plates and containers that you each picked from. 

“So what you’re saying is everyone loved you,” you said, wiping at your mouth with your napkin. 

Jinyoung chuckled, shaking his head. “Not necessarily. But you know, the girls especially were very interested in our company. One of the convention center employees kept fawning over me. Julie, I think her name was…”

You narrowed your eyes. “Oh, really? Julie?” You pressed your lips together, grumbling to yourself as you reached for the pork belly. “Stupid name.” 

Jinyoung watched you with an amused smile, setting his ramen down on the coffee table to wrap an arm around your waist. “Are you jealous?” 

You ignored him, shoveling a piece of pork into your mouth, looking anywhere but his face. He took the plate out of your hands, setting it down on the table. You whined in protest, mouth full of food. 

“You don’t have any reason to be jealous.” 

He was right--you didn’t. He wasn’t yours, you didn’t have any sort of claim on him. He could’ve taken Julie back to his hotel room if he’d wanted to, and you wouldn’t have had any good reason to be upset. 

“You’re the only one I thought about,” he said, lips brushing the side of your jaw. 

Why did he have to make it so hard, saying things like that? He thought about you, but not like that. He thought about your body, about the sex, but that was all this was. 

You opened your mouth, ready to tell him you wanted to talk about your arrangement, when he beat you to it. 

“That reminds me, actually, I have something for you.” With a quick kiss to your cheek, he stood from the couch and jogged out of the living room towards his room. 

You sighed, head falling back against the couch cushion. You needed to let this go, and you needed to do it now. You could feel yourself falling for him the more that he looked at you, touched you, kissed you. Soon you’d be in a hole you wouldn’t be able to dig yourself out of. 

When Jinyoung came back and sat next to you, he placed a book in your lap. It took you all of three seconds to recognize it, and you were glad you no longer had food in your mouth or you would have choked. 

“You didn’t!” you gasped, grabbing for the book and flipping it back and forth. “This doesn’t come out for another six months!” 

Jinyoung shrugged. “Well, they had some advanced copies lying around and I thought you’d kill me if I didn’t steal one for you.” 

“Yeah, I would have.” 

You’d talked about this book no less than twenty times in Jinyoung’s presence. It wasn’t his cup of tea, but you’d practically been counting down the days for this particular novel, a follow-up to a thriller you’d flown through as soon as it came out last year. 

“Thank you,” you told him, finally looking away from the book in your hands to Jinyoung’s face. He was watching you, corner of his lips quirked. 

“You’re welcome.” 

You stared back down at the book, running your fingers over the cover. Although he hadn’t paid a cent for this, it was one of the best surprises you’d ever received. Your fingers were itching to open it and dive in. 

“You want to start reading it now, don’t you?” 

Giving him a sheepish smile, you nodded. “Yeah.” 

Jinyoung shrugged. “You can. I’ve got plenty that I need to read, I’ll join you.” 

Half an hour later, the two of you were still on the couch, but you were laying with your head at one end and your feet on Jinyoung’s lap at the other end. He had a book resting on top of your ankles and you were already three chapters into your new book. 

You normally hated reading around people, too easily distracted just by the presence of another person, but this felt so natural. You wondered if you’d be able to go back to normal again, after you ended it. 

You’d find a way to live without the affection he’d given you. After all, it hadn’t been real. Your arrangement had served its purpose—you could finally say you were over Jaebeom, and as far as you knew, Jinyoung was over Yeri. He never talked about her, but he didn’t seem particularly torn up over her anymore. 

You wiggled your toes when Jinyoung began running his fingertips over the top of your foot to your ankle, then back again, just a mindless graze over your skin. You looked up over the top of your book, watching the way his eyes followed the words on the page he was reading, brows together in concentration. 

Someday, some other girl would be the one to see him like this, reading on the couch in the evening light while surrounded by greasy takeout. You hoped this girl would love him the way he deserved and wouldn’t take it for granted like Yeri obviously had. 

You stared back down at your book once Jinyoung caught you staring and pretended as if you’d just been spacing out, taking your bottom lip in between your teeth. 

“What are you thinking?” Jinyoung asked. 

“Huh?” You looked up, shaking your head. “Nothing. Why?” 

“You look sad.” He set his book down on his lap, resting both of his hands on your shins. “What are you thinking about?” 

“Nothing,” you said once more. If this was your last night with Jinyoung, you weren’t going to waste it wallowing and thinking about the end. You could pretend, just for the night, that this was real. “Just a sad part in the book.” 

“Already?” 

You nodded. “Could use a kiss.” 

Jinyoung pressed his lips together, considering it. “Huh... that’s an interesting suggestion. You think it’d make you less sad?” 

“Mhm.” 

“Ah,” he nodded, stroking the exposed skin of your ankle with his thumb, “It’s worth a try, then.” 

In an easy movement, he was shifting your legs off of his lap and crawling over you until he hovered over your body. You’d missed having his weight on you like this—you always felt so safe underneath of him. 

“I missed you,” you admitted, once his lips were only a centimeter from yours. “Not just the sex. I missed you.”

Jinyoung shifted back enough to look at your face, his eyes searching your features for something, you weren’t sure what. “Yeah? I missed you too.” 

You slid your hands up the fabric of his shirt, grazing over the warm skin of his back. You wanted to say something, anything, but all you could think about was how somehow, your heart had become entirely his.

You needed to show him, just once, how you felt. 

So you tipped your head up to kiss him, as softly as you ever had. Kissed him with all the love you could muster, as scary as it was to let it pour out. 

Jinyoung was gentle with you in return, his soft, polite lips melting into yours. It was almost tragic how well your lips fit together, knowing you’d never feel it again after tonight. 

Your hands trailed up his back, pushing his tee up to his shoulders in the process. Jinyoung sat up, parting from your lips just long enough to remove his shirt. 

Then he was kissing you again, hand resting on your jaw as his tongue pushed past your lips. You moaned, savoring the taste of him, even if the kiss tasted a little bit like cheap takeout. 

“Wait, wait,” Jinyoung said against your lips as soon as you made a move to push down his sweatpants. “Let’s go to the bedroom. Wanna spread you out.”

You shivered at his words and nodded, letting him pull you up off the couch by the hand and lead you back to the bedroom. 

It was much neater than it was the last time you’d seen it. In fact, it was spotless as ever. No suitcases lying on the ground or shampoo bottles littering the bed. 

Jinyoung removed your shirt the proper way this time, then unclasped your bra a moment later to allow it to fall to the floor. Goosebumps covered your chest but the pure heat in Jinyoung’s gaze got your blood pumping faster, hotter. 

He lifted you without much warning, guiding your legs around his waist as he carried you the rest of the way into his room, falling onto the bed with you trapped underneath of him. You squeezed your legs around his waist, desperate for some contact between your thighs. 

“So… god damn beautiful,” Jinyoung whispered, placing a chaste kiss to your lips before he brushed soft kisses across your face. Your forehead, each cheek, then your nose. It crinkled in response, and you were blessed with a fond smile from Jinyoung. 

The rest of your clothes seemed to fall away, an act that had become as natural as breathing for the two of you. Jinyoung whispered words of praise as he moved down your body, hooking a leg over his shoulder. 

His tongue found your clit naturally, delving deep into your folds to taste the arousal that had gathered there. With each gasp and moan, he worked harder, wanting you needy and wet for him. 

You felt around for his hands, needing something to anchor you to earth while he sucked at your clit for the second time that night, the pressure just enough to drive you mad. 

“Oh, fuck—Jinyoung, right there. Feels so good.” Your hips rolled, matching the rhythm of the heavenly way he was licking into you. 

He moaned into your core, the vibration like a shock of electricity against your clit. Your hips jerked up towards his face and he squeezed your hands, as if telling you to let go. 

Jinyoung brought you over the edge for the second time that night, your thighs clenching around his shoulders as you repeated his name, over and over. 

Your whole body went limp afterwards, only vaguely registering Jinyoung kissing your skin, nuzzling his face into your thighs. 

“Perfect. You don’t even know how stunning you are, like you were made for me,” he spoke against your skin, thumbs stroking the backs of your hands. 

When you recovered enough to open your eyes, you tugged Jinyoung’s hands until he got the hint, crawling back up your body. His lips were on you again in an instant, tongue tasting and exploring like it was the first time. 

Just tonight, you told yourself. Just tonight. 

Jinyoung parted from you after a moment, dipping his head down to leave hot kisses across your chest. Your hands pushed into his hair, moaning out when he sucked one of your nipples into his mouth.

You arched your back as his tongue drew tight circles around the hardened peak, shameless moans and whimpers falling from your lips. 

“Jinyoung, please,” you begged, tugging at the locks of hair between your fingers. “Need you inside.”

Then he looked at you again in a way that made your heart clench. It was only because he was lost in the moment, nothing more. But it felt like he was looking deeper, right into the center of your heart to see the truth there. 

“Y/N…” he started, bringing a hand to the side of your face. His fingertips ran down your cheek to your chin, where he pressed the pad of his thumb into your lower lip. Something about it made you want to cry. 

So you cut off whatever he wanted to say with a kiss, a bruising pressure that you hoped let him know that this was the only place you wanted to be. Here, underneath of his body, you couldn’t imagine anything better. 

It was easy, automatic, the way he angled your knee so that he could sheathe himself inside of you. Slowly, inch by inch, you accepted him. Your walls were slick and ready for him, but it was still a stretch that you’d missed.

“Shit,” Jinyoung whispered against your lips, finally pulling back and taking a deep inhale. “You feel so perfect.” 

You groaned as he bottomed out, burying your face into his neck. You whispered his name if only because it was the only thing you could think as he started rocking his hips into yours, a deep but unbearably slow pace. But this was what you wanted; you needed it to last. Forever, if it could. 

You felt so vulnerable now, knowing that this was it. Jinyoung didn’t know that, and maybe that wasn’t fair, but you couldn’t keep it up. You couldn’t fall more and more in love with him every day, and only get this part of him. There would come a day where you couldn’t take it anymore, and by that point the damage might be too painful to reverse. 

It was better to end it now. But for tonight, you’d take as much as you could. 

Jinyoung began a consistent but torturous pace, the tip of his cock reaching as deep inside of you as you’d ever felt him each time he pushed inside, past the tight resistance of your walls. His free hand trailed down your body, fingertips ghosting southbound over the center of your chest. 

This was all you wanted, all you needed. 

“Please,” you found yourself pleading. Your nails traced angry marks down his back, marks you wanted to remain there forever if only so that he would think about you when this was all over. “Jinyoung…” 

“I’m right here, angel.” His lips found your ear and he kissed the sensitive spot underneath, letting you hear the breathy pants falling from his lips as he picked up the pace of his hips. His hand drifted over, only a few inches, until it was covering your heart.

“Yours,” you whispered, practically inaudible, half hoping he didn’t hear. It was his, it had been for longer than you knew. 

Something about this egged Jinyoung on, his pace growing stronger inside of you and his hips pinning you into the bed roughly. Without any warning, Jinyoung rolled the two of you over so that he was underneath of you and sat up. 

You maneuvered your legs to allow you to kneel over his lap, your thighs straddling his hips and hardly missing a beat as you began to ride him. When you stole a glance at Jinyoung’s face, you wished you could have taken a photo. 

He was completely blissed out, head tipped back and eyes squeezed shut. You reached for his hair, guiding his head forward so that you could look at him. You needed to see him. 

Jinyoung held your hips as you placed your hands on his chest, allowing yourself some leverage, especially when he started to buck up against you each time you slid back over him. You dug your nails into his chest and moaned out, louder and louder as he fucked into you. 

“Look at me,” you said, commanding his attention back to your face. You were met with so much lust that it made your walls clench around him. 

The way he looked at you sent heat through your limbs, even as your thighs started to shake from the way you rode him. Jinyoung touched you all over, hands roaming your back and down to your ass, squeezing it within his palms. 

“Oh God, don’t… don’t stop,” you pleaded, head falling forward to rest against his forehead. You looked into his eyes, clouded with desire. Jinyoung reached for your hand on his chest, sliding it over the few inches until it rested over the left side of his chest, right over his heart. 

“Yours,” he whispered, then brought your hand up to his lips to kiss your fingertips. 

You closed your eyes and felt a tear slide down your cheek, so you turned your head to the side so he wouldn’t see. He didn’t know what he was saying, he didn’t know what it meant. Caught up in the ecstacy of the way your bodies moved together, the pleasure it brought the two of you. 

His hips jerked up, hard, forcing his cock deep against your inner walls. He did it again and again until you were squeezing his hand, tight enough to hurt, but you needed your release. You were desperate now. 

The complicated tornado of emotions inside of you was getting to be too much, you wanted it to be over. You needed it to be over, so you could figure out what the hell you were going to do. 

“Need more. Fuck me, Jinyoung. Please,” you whispered, deliberately squeezing your walls around his cock. He groaned low, wrapping his arms around your waist to tip the two of you forward until you were on your back again, knees locked around his waist. 

His hands found yours, lacing your fingers together as he held your arms above your head, pressed deep into the mattress as he drilled into you. “Mine,” he told you, eyes locked onto yours. He didn’t know just how true that was. 

You knew you were close by the way your thighs started trembling, tightening where they rested on either side of his hips. Jinyoung sensed it as well, picking up his pace. His jaw tightened with the effort, a bead of sweat dripping down his neck. 

“Oh fuck, you gonna come for me?” he asked, running his tongue over his lips. “Come on, baby, come for me again. Need to feel you.” 

His words went straight to your center, where his body met yours, sending you tipping over the edge. You arched your back, not caring how loud you cried out. Your hands tightened around his as your entire body pulsed around him, locking your legs around his waist. 

Jinyoung must have been encouraged on by your orgasm, as you felt his thrusts become more and more off rhythm. He let go of your hands and buried his face into your neck as he filled you up, letting out a guttural groan into your collarbone. 

You crossed your ankles behind his back, not ready to let him pull out of you just yet. With your arms and legs wrapped around him, you tucked your face into the crook of his neck and willed yourself not to cry. 

It’d be okay, you knew it would be, but right now you just needed him to hold you. You’d find a way to forget this someday, the perfect way he fit inside of you, the way he made your heart pound without even trying. 

Your efforts were unsuccessful. Once Jinyoung pulled away, he reached up to wipe wetness from your cheeks. “Did you miss me that much, angel?” 

“Shut up,” you said, averting your eyes. “My period must be coming… hormones or whatever…”

“It’s okay,” he told you, lips brushing across your cheek to collect your tears. “You don’t have to explain.”

Jinyoung left you with a hollow feeling as he pulled out of you, falling to lay on his side next to you, feet at the pillows. Propping up on one of his elbows, he brushed your hair away from your face. 

“You’re okay though, right?” 

You nodded, not having the confidence to answer out loud. But he backed off, though you could tell from his expression he didn’t completely believe you. With a kiss to your forehead, he climbed off of the bed to grab a cloth to clean you up. 

“Wait-” you reached out for him. “Stay.” 

“Gotta get you cleaned up,” Jinyoung replied, the corner of his lips lifting in a smile.

“Just-” you sighed, reaching for his arm to tug him back to you. “Just a few minutes. Please?” 

Jinyoung stared down at you, you knew he was trying to read your expression but you prayed that he wouldn’t find the truth there in your features. “Okay.” 

He laid back down, pulling you close as you curled up into him, soaking up all of the warmth he could offer to you. You tucked your head into his chest, eyes closed to keep your emotions trapped behind a wall, however shaky it may have been. 

Just tonight, you told yourself. Just tonight, you could pretend. 

[pedropascalonline]

Love is fire

Maxwell Lord x Reader 

Summary: Y/N is saving up to attend the university of her dreams,she is shocked to find out that her father got her a job as Maxwell Lord’s assistant. Y/N can’t stand him but soon enough they become infatuated with each other.

Warnings: Swearing. 

A/N : Hello everyone. I’m an absolute simp for Max Lord. I hope y'all like this and want me to continue. Feedback is appreciated and remember to let me know if you want to be tagged.

“I’m sorry Wyndham but there’s nothing to do, I just don’t have an opening at the moment.”

“That’s okay, Mr.Lord I was just hoping that maybe there would be a place here for my y/n I have worked here for years and I was kind of envisioning the same thing for her.”

Wyndham had been Maxwell's personal driver since he was 40 and Maxwell only 20, now that he was 65 the time came for him to go home indefinitely at the end of his shift today.

“Mr.Lord, I have them on the phone for you.” said his redhead assistant Anna. Who was visibly uncomfortable in her high heels.

“Are you alright Anna?” asked Wyndham noticing her uncomfortable walk.

“Oh yes thank you, I just can’t wait for this one to finally come out, he’s making my feet swell like crazy,” said Anna as she looked down at her swollen belly.

Max rolled his eyes at interaction.

“Right Wyndham I need to take this call I’ve been waiting for it all week, I’ll see you later then. Remember it’s straight home tonight.”

“Of course Mr.Lord.”

Wyndham and Anna took their leave and left Max to do his job, which seemed like lately, it was only screaming at people.

X

You sighed as you wiped down the sticky counter top, you couldn’t believe that it was the fifth time a child had knocked over their drink on your shift. Every time you reminded yourself to never have children.

“Y/N when you’re done there can you please come to help me in the back ?”

“Yes, Charlie I’ll be there in a minute,” you answered.

Charlie was your boss but also your best friend. He’s the one that got you your waitressing job after you finished high school together.

His family owned the cafe where you worked. Your family didn’t have enough money to send you to the university of your dreams so you decided you’d make the money yourself. It was proving to be more difficult than you initially thought.

“What’s up?” you asked Charlie.

“Are we going out tonight or what? This week has been exhausting and I need a distraction.”

“You can say that again but unfortunately not tonight, it’s my dads last night of work and I want to be there when he gets home.” You said smiling sadly.

Charlie sensed your change in mood and hugged you.

“Hey, cheer up. It’s the 80’s anything can happen, just don’t give up yet.”

“My parents are old, and now my dad won’t be bringing back money anymore, my mum is getting tired of looking after kids all day and now I’ll have to start helping with bills. I don’t mind doing it but this just isn’t how I saw my plan going yah know?” tears were spilling down your face at this point and Charlie pulled you in tighter.

“Listen, you’ve got this. If there is anybody that can do this, it’s you. I’ve never seen you fail at anything and I won’t have you start now.”

“I love you so much,” you said as you held him closer.

“I love you too babe.”

X

“You ready Mr.Lord?” Asked the elderly man.

“Always,” replied Max as he got into the back seat of his limousine.

Wyndham got into the car and adjusted his mirrors for the last time. He put on his driving hat. His eyes meeting Max’s in the rearview mirror.

“Going home, Mr Lord”

Maxwell only nodded as the car took off. He’s heard those words for over 25 years and now it’s suddenly stopping. His new driver will be picking him up on Monday morning and he sighed at the thought of having to get to know someone all over again.

The city was alive with teenagers partying, adults dancing and kid’s at the movies. Sometimes he wondered...

X

The view of The Lord mansion came into view as the large iron gates opened. The doubted rooted in the middle of the drive-in looking especially beautiful with the recently added lights. The head housemaids idea. Agatha practically raised Max since his parents were always away for business.

Wyndham and Agatha were about the only people Max could stand. Well, and of course the exception of his assistant Anna and maybe just maybe his Gardner but he never really saw him all that much but he reminded him of one of the friends he has as a child. Heck, he didn’t even know his name. Alec maybe? Or Rodney?

Wyndham opened the door for Maxwell and swiftly closed it behind him again.

“Well Sir, it was a privilege working for you. I’ll never forget how good you were to me.” The old man’s eyes turned glasses as he took off his hat, handing it over to Max.

“Keep it please, it won’t be same in somebody else. Are you sure I can’t give you any kind of compensation?”

“No Sir please we’ve been over this, I’ve managed to put away a sum of money each month, I couldn’t take any more.”

“This doesn’t feel right Wyndham, is there anything I can do? Anything at all.”

“Well, perhaps there is one thing...”

X

“YOU GOT ME A JOB AS MAX LORD’S ASSISTANT?” you were fuming.

“Oh come on Y/N this could be your big break,” said your dad trying to cheer you up.

“My big break? Dad, I’m not working for that prick.”

“Hey you watch your mouth, that prick is who paid your school fees and fed you your whole life.”

“I know it’s just...I’ve never liked him, he’s so cold and have you seen him on tv? He’s so full of himself and he doesn’t know what to do with all that money and...”

“Didn’t you use to have a crush on him? You would see his commercials and go all read.” said your mother from across the room.

“MOTHER !!!”

“Listen, honey, just give it a chance. It’s good money and it will look great on any university application.”

“Your father is right Y/N just see how it goes, we would never force you to stay if it’s unpleasant.”

You never could say no to your parents and half of the time they were right.

“What if I take the job but work at the cafe at nights with Charlie?”

“You could do that but won’t that be exhausting?” questioned your mother.

“Being a personal assistant can be a lot of work especially for Mr.Lord.”

“Maybe your right, I’ll go down to the cafe tomorrow and talk to Charlie. How did you get me this job anyway?”

“Well, his current assistant is pregnant and is going on leave soon. When I dropped him off tonight I asked him.”

“And how did he react ?” you hated that you were curious.

“Well he wasn’t surprised but since it’s only temporary he agreed, he mentioned sometime about how he cannot wait to meet you.”

“There she goes all red again.” said your mother giggling.

“Stop bothering the child Lillian.” said your dad grinning at your mother. Enjoy your embarrassment equally as much.

“Okay fine I’ll do it but if he gets on my nerves I’m quitting.”

X

“What on earth are you wearing ?!” Charlie practically had a heart attack.

“What do you mean this is all I had? I wore it to a christening.”

You shyly pulled down the hem of your dress to get the dress to cover your knees.

“We’re you the one being christened?”

“Oh shut up.”

“Okay listen if you were leaving me to work for Max Lord then you can’t go in looking like that. They will eat you alive. It’s business not pancakes.” said Charlie as he desperately tried to put your hair up.

“What do you suggest?” You asked defeated.

“We'll start by curling your hair if you are going to wear it loose or at least pin it up. Your make up shouldn’t be all over your white-collar and it’s the 80’s your allowed to wear pants, get rid of that dress and maybe buy a pencil skirt.”

“With what money Charlie? I can’t just make a new wardrobe appear.”

“I’ll tell you what. I know this cute thrift place downtown, I’ll take you there and give you your last paycheck early. Sides you get a gift as a thank you for your service yah know.” said Charlie as he grinned at you.

If it wasn’t for Charlie you probably would be a lost cause.

“Okay fine, you and me after work okay. I need your advice if I’m gonna take over the business world.”

Both of you started laughing. Your laughter stopped however when you saw Max’s commercial on the TV that was in the kitchen of the cafe.

“Shoot I’m late, I gotta go. See you later.”

“There she goes.” Mumbled Charlie as he watched you run off.

X

“Being late isn’t exactly a good first impression Y/N.” said Anna as her eyes landed on you.

“I know I’m sorry I lost track of time. Has he asked about me yet ?”

“You’re in luck, he’s not in today. He’s away for business he’s out the whole week. That’s good because if he saw you in that outfit he’d probably send you home.”

“He’d send me home for wearing a short dress what a - “

“No don’t even go there, he’s not like that, he’d send you home because you have terrible taste in fashion,” said Anna as she gave you a stern look.

“This is not an easy job but I trust in you. I’ll show you the basics today and then at the end of the week you’ll be starting on your own.”

The idea was scary. Would you be able to cope all alone in a big office? The one upside though was that Max’s assistant had their own little office away from the other workers which mean nobody could stare at you the way they did when you came up.

At least you could go shopping with Charlie after work, you didn’t want to admit it but you wanted to make a good impression now that you knew you had a second chance. Maybe your parents were right. This could be good for you.

X

Monday morning came zooming than you would have hoped. Your thrifting with Charlie went well and at least now you had a decent enough outfit.

Why did you even want to make a good impression, don’t you loathe this man?

Maybe it was just to avoid the uncomfortable stares from your co-workers. Everyone here looked like they belonged somewhere like they had to succeed.

To be honest, you felt intimidated walking to your office, maybe this wasn’t a good idea, maybe you should just go home and -

“Ohf, I’m so sorry I didn’t look where I was going.” you apologized.

Your bright e/c eyes traveled up to meet the dark brown ones of the man you had just bumped into. It was him. Max Lord.

“That much is clear.” His words sounded forced, almost like he didn’t even want to waste his time talking to you.

“I...I -“

“Out with it girl.”

“I'm new I’m filling in for Anna.” you managed to string together a sentence while still locking eyes with his.

“Oh yes, I was told you’d be here. Uh, why are you standing about? You know where to go.”

“Yes of course.” You muttered.

“Also, why don’t you get me some hot coffee. I’ll be in my office. Knock before entering.”

And just like that, he walked off. People seemed to be in awe of him, you couldn’t blame them, so were you.

You hurried down to the cafeteria and got Max his coffee, luckily Anna had shown you how to make it. No sugar, no milk, no cream no nothing.

“Black, like his soul.” Anna’s words came back to you. She chuckled when seeing your fearful face.

“I’m only joking, he isn’t all that bad. Just don’t cross him and by no means be a smart mouth.”

You wondered what she had meant by that, why would anyone want to talk back to Max in the first place?

You timidly knocked on his office door and entered when you heard his authoritative voice permitting you.

“Here’s your coffee Mr.Max.”

He looked amused at you, not in a good way.

“Mr.Max? Honestly are you that nervous, it’s pathetic.”

“So just Max then ?” And there it was. It’s his fault he made you want to talk back.

It was your turn to look amused as he almost choked on his coffee.

“Cat got your tongue, Max?” For God’s sake why couldn’t you stop talking.

“You may call me Mr.Lord or Sir if the former is going to be a struggle for you.”

“I guess we’ll have to see.”

You turned on your heels and made for the door, ready to go stick your head in a hole.

“Were you this much trouble working at that pathetic little cafe ?” He spat back.

“Oh, much more Sir.”

X

[angelbabyszn]

Only You (Cesar X Reader)

OMB Masterlist

"This is ridiculous. I'm not getting this done today." said Monse as she starts to stress about the math problems in front of her during math class.

"Come on, Monse. We got this. Ms. Allison agrees that we can work together on this." you said sitting next to her.

"Oh really? We can work together?" said Monse and you nodded. Monse grew a smile on her face and motivated herself to start working on the problems again with you.

A few minutes later, somebody came over and quickly sat down on the other side of the table which startled you and Monse.

"Hola muchachas!" said Jasmine in a sassy tone and waving her hand at both of you.

"Ugh, Jas, can you leave us alone? You know I'm not good at Math." said Monse annoyed.

"Oh hush. Math that we won't ever need in our life could wait." said Jasmine and Monse rolled her eyes. She pushed the worksheet in front of her off to her left side aggressively and let it fall to the ground.

"My birthday is this upcoming Saturday so you already know I'm throwing the biggest and baddest party ever! And I'm inviting both of you exclusively so you have to come!" said Jasmine excitedly to serious, causing you and Monse to widen your eyes in fear. 

"Sure, we'll go." you said and Monse gave you a face like you made the biggest mistake of your life.

"Y/N!"

"What? It would be good for you. Are you doing anything this Saturday?" you asked Monse and she didn't respond in a few seconds.

"Your Saturday is taken away. You're going to the party, whether you like it or not." you said and Monse drops her head down on the table in regret and annoyance.

"See y'all chicas!" said Jasmine getting up from her seat and blowing a kiss at both of you. She leaves the table with two invites on the table. 

"You're lucky. Cause if I never became your girl best friend, you would be stuck with a group of boys." you said. looking at Monse with a certain face. 

"Yeah. I guess so. I should appreciate you more. I probably will be stuck with Jasmine and I can't stand her." she said and both of you continue to work on the math problems.

You felt a presence come to the table. You turned your head to the right to see Cesar literally just looking at you with a huge grin on his face.

You looked at him for a few seconds and back to the problem you were working on repeatedly for a few moments until you sigh and drop your pencil.  

"What you need, Cesar?" you asked, looking at him with your head leaning against your left hand with your elbow on the table. 

"I, um, well..." Cesar stutters and starts to feel heat on his face. Monse looked up from her paper and looked at him annoyed.

"Cesar, we don't have time for this. We need to finish this by the end of this period so goodbye." said Monse strongly at Cesar with glaring eyes.

"But I-"

Monse glared at him even harder with her furious face, causing Cesar to get up and go back to his seat next to Ruby.

"Monse, you didn’t have to scare him like that.” you said while giggling,  remembering how fast he left the table. 

“Who cares. I want to get these problems and sleep for the rest of the period.” said Monse seriously and go back to the problems. 

You go back to work and you feel somebody looking at you. You have an idea who it is but dare not to look back and find out who it is.

-

"This is going to be the best party I throw yet! It's all for my babe." said Ruby as him and his guy friends walked together after school ended.

"Now, we need to work on food, drinks, and decorations. Any ideas?" asked Ruby, stopping in front of Jamal and Cesar to stop them from walking. Jamal and Cesar have no ideas so they stayed silent.

"Don't worry baby. My ideas are right here."

All the guys jumped in shock and Ruby turned around to see Jasmine standing in front of them with her binder in her hands.

"How did we not see her?" asked Jamal, leaning on Cesar's left ear.

"I don't know but that was freaky." said Cesar and Ruby rolled his eyes at his friends.

Ruby walked over to Jasmine and gave her a sweet kiss. After the kiss, Ruby took her binder and started to look through it.

"Fireworks, carriage, chocolate fountain, sparkly dress...I can definitely do this." said Ruby as he was looking through her binder.  Jasmine did a jump excitedly and she kissed him on the cheek.

"Can you please stop with that? I'm not used to both of you together yet." said Jamal, causing Cesar chuckle.  Ruby looks at them with an angry face.

"Don't worry about them. They are just jealous I have somebody and they don't." said Ruby, looking at Jasmine with heart eyes.

"I've actually had Kendra so Cesar's the only one over here lonely." said Jamal and he starts to laugh. Cesar quickly punches Jamal's left arm, causing Jamal to open his mouth wide with no sound coming and hold his left arm in pain.

"Excuse me."

Cesar turned his head to the voice and his eyes widened along with his eyebrows lifted by the sight. He saw you trying to pass Jasmine and Ruby with Monse right behind you.

"Hey Y/N. Where are you going?" asked Ruby with a smile and Monse gave him a glare.

"So you're just going to ignore the fact that I'm here? Wow, what friends you are." said Monse with an attitude looking at the guys.

"We're going to the mall for the party. What about you guys?" you said, causing Monse to quickly turn to you with a puzzled face.

"I thought we were going to the library and hang out," said Monse upset.

"See y'all later." you said and you start to pull on Monse's right hand and start to walk again with her behind starting to whine.

"Sorry Y/N." shouted Cesar at you. You turn back and give him a small smile before turning back straight. You continue going to the mall with Monse.

"You're such a dumba*s." said Ruby and Cesar quickly turn his head to look at him in confusion.

"Y/N could've been your girl right now if you weren't scared of just talking to her." said Ruby looking at Cesar with a certain face.

"I'm not scared. I'm just...I don't know man. I really like her but I don't want to make the wrong move or say something stupid." said Cesar as he starts to stress out of nowhere.

"Why are you stressed? You know she has a thing about you back in junior high right?" said Jasmine looking at him and he nodded.

"She honestly made it easy for you and you're taking too long to talk. Sooner or later, she is going to be taken unless you confess." said Ruby and Cesar starts to think deeply about his feelings about you and what he should do.

-

"Please welcome the beautiful princesa, of the evening, Jasmine Flores." said Ruby over the microphone in his hand. Jasmine came out to the backyard in her beautiful purple dress that Abuela made her, making everybody clapped and cheered for her.

Ruby walks over and hands her the microphone for her to speak.

"Thank you. Thanks for coming to my quince. It wouldn't be possible without my amazing boyfriend so let's get this party started!" said Jasmine in a sassy voice and the music starts again. 

Ruby and Jasmine walked over to the rest of the group hand and hand.

"Okay girl. I see you rocking that blue dress." said Jasmine looking at Monse as she awkwardly stands in with a drink in her right hand. 

"Thanks. I would've come in my favorite hoodie if Y/N wasn't here." said Monse with a small smile.

"Trust me. We know." said Jamal and the whole group started to laugh except for Monse. 

"Happy birthday Jasmine."

The group turns around and Cesar's heart skips a beat. He starts to stare at you with your outfit on.

You were wearing your favorite color body-con dress that shows your whole body at the perfect spots with your hair down and straight with silver jewelry and clear heels and strap heels.

Cesar couldn't keep his eyes off of you. You look beautiful and hot in his eyes. His eyes go from the bottom of your outfit to the top and then repeats but reverse.

"Cesar?"

Cesar widened his eyes and shook his head to get out his imagination to see the whole group and you looking at him puzzled.

"You're okay?" you asked and Cesar quickly nodded.

"I hope you enjoy your new camera. For your YouTube channel." you said looking at Jasmine holding a camera that Cesar didn't notice until now.

"Y/N, this is amazing. Thank you so much." said Jasmine and she hugged you and you immediately hugged her back.

"I'm going to get a drink. I'll be back." you said with a smile and started to walk away.

Cesar starts to look again at you as you walk away. His imagination went into another place as he saw you from behind.

"Man." said Cesar underneath his breath and he holds his right hand over his mouth and wipes it.

"Still a dumba*s."

Cesar quickly looked at Ruby with a glare. 

"But seriously though, you are." said Ruby and Cesar rolled his eyes. 

"What are you going to do about it? She's right there. In front of you. Talking to nobody. All alone." said Ruby.  

Cesar looked straight to see you drinking and swaying with the music as you looked at people dancing all by yourself.

"Um-"

"Go Romeo!" said Jamal and he pushed Cesar towards you. Cesar stumbled a bit and he looked back at his group of friends in confusion.

"...Go!" said Jamal looking at Cesar with wide eyes and waving his hands towards Cesar with them dipped to move him towards you.

Cesar does a huge sigh and he turns back around and he sees you still at the same spot you are all alone with your drink.

Cesar starts to slowly walk up to you. He starts to get nervous and his heart starts to beat faster and faster at every step he takes as he walks up to you closer and closer. 

All of the sudden, another boy comes in front of you and starts talking to you.

He stops and stares at you talking with him. You look so comfortable talking to him, making him feel hurt in his heart.

He never saw you like this with anybody. He didn't know what to do now. Should he go over there and say something? Stay where he is and do nothing about it?

Cesar's eyes widened to see you and the guy starting to dance with each other and looking into each other's eyes. That did it.

Cesar quickly walks over to you and the boy, grabs your right hand, and starts to pull you away quickly making you drop your drink on the boy by accident.

"I'm sorry!" you shouted as you were still being pulled by Cesar.

Cesar pulls you inside Jasmine's kitchen. He walks in and closes the door that went out the backyard after you enter behind him forcefully.

"Cesar, you wanna explain why the heck you pull me away from him? I was trying to get his number." you said with your arms crossed against your chest while leaning against the counter. 

"You can't be serious right now." said Cesar looking at you crazy.

"Yes I am. I like him. He's interesting." you said looking at him crazy back.

"You can't date him." said Cesar walking up to you. He pinned you against the counter. 

"And why not?" you asked with an annoyed face looking at him.

"Because...because..." started Cesar but it wasn't coming out.

"Bye Cesar." you said and you quickly moved one of his hands off of the counter and you started to walk back out. A moment later, you felt a pair of arms wrap around your waist.

"Wait." said Cesar softly in your right ear, causing you to gain heat on your face and a warm feeling through your body.

Cesar slowly unwraps his arms from your waist after a few moments later and you turn back to him with a puzzled face.

"Y/N. I like you." said Cesar, finally confessing and your eyes widened and your heart beating fast.

As much as you want to jump into his arms and kiss him right there, your brain gets you back into reality.

"Are you sure? It doesn't seem like you're into me. Also why are you telling me this now? You know I've liked you ever since junior high." you asked, reminding Cesar about your little crush on him.

"I didn't say anything because I didn't know how to approach you." said Cesar.

"Really? Cesar Diaz, the confident and the flirt of Freeridge High School, didn't know how to approach me?" you said and Cesar slowly nodded.

You started laughing a moment later, causing Cesar to look at you in confusion.

"Ha, that's a great joke. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to go back to Andrew, a.k.a. the guy that you took me from and get his number." you said and turn back around. 

A moment later without you even realizing it, you were sitting on the counter with Cesar in between your legs looking up at you.

"You sure about that?"  asked Cesar with his voice suddenly being deeper, causing your eyes to widen and a warm feeling through your body.

"Yeah." you said softly as you looked at his face. Just being in this position with him is making you feel nervous and your heart beating out of your chest.

"Look, I really want to be with you. I don't want to be with anybody else. And I don't want you with anybody else but me." said Cesar looking into your eyes deep.

"Um, when did "Property of Cesar Diaz" came on my forehead uh? I don't belong to you. You ain't my boyfriend." you said with a strong voice. 

Cesar was amused by your voice. He never expected that out of you and that honestly made him interested in you more.

"What about if I give you a kiss? Maybe that would remind you who you're with." said Cesar with a smirk.

"Did you not hear me? You're not my boyfriend. I can kiss anybody I want and whenever I want." you said and you cross your arms against your chest and look away with your head high.

"You sure you don't want to kiss me?" asked Cesar. still smirking at you, enjoying this person you are right now. 

"I'm sure." you said looking at him again. 

Cesar pulls you closer to him which causes your eyes to widen. He put one hand on your waist and put the other hand on your left cheek and moved your hair behind your ear. He got closer to your face and started to caress your right cheek.

"Just say the word and I'll kiss you, right here. Right now." said Cesar looking into your eyes and getting close to your lips.

You couldn't take this tension any more so you quickly pull Cesar's top of his shirt and pull him to your lips to connect it with his.

Cesar quickly kisses you back and he takes over being dominant of the kiss. He pulls you even closer than before while you went through his hair with your hand. You pull his head closer by his neck to continue kissing him. 

About half a minute later, both of you finally ended the kiss and looked at each other deeply.  You were breathing hard and seeing both of your lips pink and flushed out.

"You're mine...got it?" said Cesar and you nodded knowing you ain’t going to get rid of him now. 

"Okay, we see you."

You and Cesar both turn your heads to see the whole group looking at you two with grins. 

“What is happening?” Jamal said, confused and looked at both of you kinda frightened, making the group laugh a little bit

Cesar gives you a sweet kiss and helps you down from the counter as the group left back to the party.

"Never thought our first kiss would be me sitting on the counter." you said as you pulled down your dress.

"Well expect it. I'm going to be the best boyfriend you ever have." said Cesar with a grin. You rolled your eyes in the silliness of him and walked back to the party hand and hand.

Cesar wasn't wrong. He was the best boyfriend ever and you were never more happier than with him.

[fitzs-trained-monkey]

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Revelation

Rated PG-13 For mentions of abuse, trigger topics such as suicidal thoughts, torture, language, and kidnaping.

Masterlist

~I am not the only traveler

And then I can tell myself

I had all and then most of you

When the night was full of terrors

There aren't very many things worse than watching one's little brother die. I think the only thing worse than that is enduring it twice. I had already had to watch Jasper be slaughtered like a pig in front of me. Wasn't that torture enough for a lifetime? Was having to salt and burn my own brother the universe's twisted idea of a joke? This wasn't funny!

What kind of cruel world was I living in? Why did my last words to my precious little brother have to be empty promises? How was that okay? Jasper would spend the rest of eternity waiting for me to show up, tell him my stories, and tuck him into bed, but I never would. Because if I lived, I would be stuck down here on this awful planet, reliving the same day over and over and over again. And if the Winchester's decided to kill me when they found out what I was, then I wouldn't be going to heaven. I already knew where I would go. It wasn't anywhere good.

Well, if my life was a joke then I hoped at least somebody was getting a kick out of it.

I knew I wasn't.

From the top of the stairs, I heard Sam, Dean, and Cas open the sliding glass door and shuffle outside. Jack firmly insisted on staying here. He probably thought he should stay in case I ' needed him ' for comfort or something.

'Well, joke's on you, puppy, cause I don't need anyone.' I thought, bitterly. I traveled down the dark hallway to my room, the one with the plain white door all the way down on the end. The door opened with a soft click and squeaky hinges and I kicked it shut behind me.

My room was exactly how I had left it. Not a single thing was out of place. Of course, it was about as far away from immaculate as anything can get. There were pieces of paper strewn all over the desk, plenty of wadded-up sketches in the trash can and even more outside the trash, pencils were left in strange places, and mix-matched fairy-lights draped over  way  too many things. Miscellaneous articles of clothing were draped over a chair, clustered around the laundry basket, crumpled on the bed, and a few were even hanging from the doorframe of the closet. The bed wasn't made, the blankets and sheets hopelessly tangled together and there was an atrocious number of glow-in-the-dark stars glued to the roof. Oh, and let us not forget the rainbow-colored streamers hanging from the ceiling fan, so really everything was just an absolute mess.

But it was a comforting mess and that's how that girl who used to be me had lived. She had been a scatterbrained, messy-haired, and bright-eyed sort of girl, she'd had so much potential. That girl could have great. Her mess comforted me too. Maybe she wasn't as dead as I'd thought.

"Well, I'm just about done with this whole damn popsicle-stand of existence. You?" Isaac asked, sounding more dead than he looked.

"Done," I agreed. "So, so done."

I flopped down on my already messy bed, staring up at the tacky stars on the ceiling while I tried to come to terms with the fact that I'd never see my little brother again. I couldn't feel the prickling of tears forming in my eyes. I guess I'd run all out of tears to cry. Lucky me. I felt like throwing up.

"Should we go down fighting or give up and roll over? What say you?" Isaac collapsed at the foot of my bed.

"What's the point in fighting?" I asked, shaking my head.

"Dunno." He shrugged. "Frequent flyer miles?"

"So... Nothing?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Maybe I would just attack the Winchesters once I tore Felix to sheds. Maybe they wouldn't kill me fast. Maybe they'd make me suffer. Then maybe I could cry like I was supposed to.

I had hardly been debating those thoughts for a minute when I heard footsteps pounding up the stairs. Oh, joy. Five minutes of peace was all I'd asked for and apparently I couldn't even get that. Screw my life.

The door flew open with an overly dramatic bang but I didn't flinch. Jack stood in the doorway, eyes alight like molten gold. I turned my head lazily to face him, aware of my void expression but ultimately indifferent to it. I couldn't even bring myself to act like the fake version of myself I had made to fool the Winchesters. I felt oddly numb like nothing mattered. Because honestly, what did? Not even getting my revenge on Felix would change anything. Things wouldn't get better, my life would still suck to an astronomical degree, and this whole stupid world would just keep turning like it always did. Getting revenge was just self-indulgence, really. So what if Jack saw the real me for a couple of hours?

With luck, I'd be dead by morning.

With luck, he'd be the one to kill me.

I deserved it.

"Welcome to the year Nineteen-Thirty, puppy. What do you want?" I addressed him. My tone was clipped, calloused, and cold, but I didn't care.

Jack's eyes were glowing and the air was charged with his power; it made my hair stand on end and my ears hurt like when a plane takes off. Yet, oddly enough, if there and been one in my hand, I would have been swirling chocolate milk in a wine glass for all I'd cared.

Jack didn't answer me. His mouth opened and closed and opened and closed. There was something in his eyes, something akin to desperation. He knew what he wanted to say but the words died in his throat.

"You deaf, honey-bug?" I lifted an eyebrow and took an actual glance at his expression. He didn't look angry. He looked...

Terrified.

And shocked.

And torn.

And betrayed.

I did this. It was me. I had hurt him.

His hands clutched an object tightly between them with enough force to turn his knuckles white. It was a picture frame. I caught a glimpse of the picture within; it had been taken two weeks to the day I'd died. I looked back up to his eyes.

Ah, yes. There it was. The recognition. What a clever, clever boy.

He'd finally put all the pieces together.

'Well, good for him.'

"Uh, oh spaghetti-oh's; looks like the Nephil knows," Isaac droned from the foot of my bed.

"What are you?" Jack asked, his voice trembling. He blinked back tears, biting down on his lower lip to keep it from trembling.

I blinked, feeling sick. I didn't want to lose him, I realized. As much as the bitterness inside me tempted me to bite into him and taste his sweet blood or tell him the truth and watch him squirm just for a distraction from the pain, I couldn't. Because then I'd lose him. I didn't want to lose him. I'd already lost Jazzy today for the second time, I couldn't lose Jack too.

Isaac turned to me, his expression as empty as mine. "Ya gonna tell him?"

"I am Miss. Nidsbit," I answered, flatly. It was supposed to sound friendly like I was teasing, but it only came off as evasive. Jack glared at me. It was already happening; I was already losing him. I guess I deserved that much.

"Don't joke," He said.

"I thought it was hilarious," Isaac chimed.

"In that case, I'm bottled-depression." I flashed my teeth in a way that held no joy whatsoever. "Pint-sized for your convenience," I added, trying for a familiar joke about my height. It sounded empty.

"That was better," My brother snickered, leaning back and closing his eyes. He was probably just going to keep making sarcastic jabs in an attempt to vent his anger, so I ignored him.

"I asked you a question," Jack growled in a way that somehow managed to be threatening despite the whole baby-face puppy-eyed thing he had going on. It was actually kinda hot... Wait, what? When had that happened?

"And I answered you." I sat up. Why did I sound so bitter? Why couldn't I change it? My eyes flicked down to Jack's throat without my permission. His skin looked so soft and I realized I was suddenly famished. My throat burned and desire reared its ugly head inside me. Isaac's voice snapped my attention back to reality.

"Oh dear, Marty. You made the Nephil sniffle."

Jack clenched his teeth and hissed, seemingly bothered by the fact that I wasn't afraid of him. He wouldn't hurt me, right? No, he would. He would hurt me if he knew. If he knew what I wanted to do to him. I wanted him to hold me as he had a few days ago but I wanted to sink my teeth into him at the same time. I deserved to die.

"What are you?" He repeated, taking a step forward. He would hurt me. Good.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied, my voice inflectionless. Wandering towards my dresser I started fiddling with some meaningless piece of junk. Anything for a distraction from his soft throat and thrumming pulse. Jack's glowing eyes followed me.

"Y-you're lying," He said. He was trying to sound strong, but there was something broken in his tone.

"Ya think?" I deadpanned. Jack swallowed thickly; his hand shot out to grab my wrist, eyes fading back to their soft blue.

"This isn't funny, Marty. Stop." His eyes pleaded with me. I eyed his hand.

"Or what?" I challenged. What would he do to me? He looked me in the eyes, frowning and moving closer to me. He needed to step away. I caught my gaze drifting to his neck again but I couldn't stop.

"I really don't want to hurt you," He said.

'Then don't make me tell you.' I thought. His eyes searched my face for any glimpse of his friend, but that girl had never been real, not really anyway. I had made her up.

I wished I could go back in time. Back to the night we met. We could do it all over again and maybe, if I had another chance, he wouldn't figure it out. Maybe it would've been better if I'd never come with Jack in the first place. I wished we could go back to the night we met. Then I could have said no. If I hadn't come with him, I never would have hurt Jack like this. If he had never touched me then I would never have had to feel this pain. If I could just go back.

"And you won't," I said, taking a chance.

Jack huffed, his expression pained.

"This is freakin' five-star entertainment," Isaac mused, resting his chin on his fist, observing Jack and me.

"Please, Marty," Jack begged in a whisper. His sweet-smelling breath was warm as it washed over my face. His eyes flicked down to my lips but only for a split second. No, no. Anything but that. "Just tell me the truth."

'You already know it.'

"I have," I lied. Everything kept coming out wrong! I sounded emotionless like I didn't care but I did! Jack's soft expression melted into one of betrayal.

"So, you're just going to lie?" He asked. "Right to my face?"

I didn't have control over what slipped from my lips next.

"Says the Devil's kid."

"Ooh! One point to the Marty!" Isaac laughed.

Jack stared at me like he was heartbroken. Then his eyes narrowed into a glare, lighting with gold as he released my wrist and moved his hand to seize my throat. He whirled us around and slammed me into a wall with more force than I'm sure than he intended to use. Not that I couldn't take it. Without so much as a flinch, I tilted my head as much as I could with Jack cutting off my air supply.

"Tell me what you are!" He shouted. There was desperation there.

"That's quite the grip ya got there, puppy," I taunted, rasping. He loosened his grip but only slightly, holding the picture of my family up for me to see, the corner was dated January 8th, 2014.

"You said they died five years ago. This picture- it was taken five years ago! You said you were nine then! But y-you - you weren't!" Jack's eyes were wide, almost crazed as he glanced from the girl in the picture and back to me. He knew the truth; he just didn't want to believe it. His voice softened. "You haven't aged a day. Five years and you haven't aged a day."

My voice was soft and it wasn't just from the lack of air. "I aged about a month, actually."

Jack let go of my throat like I was burning him, shaking his head as he backed away like a frightened animal. As well he should. He was the prey here and I did want to kill him. But I wanted him to hold me again even more. "Y-you're one of them..." He whispered.

'Don't leave me. I'm sorry, just don't leave me!' I thought desperately, but that wasn't what came out. I felt trapped in my own skin, the monster inside me taking over, fed by my own bitterness.

"I'd say something along the lines of 'say it out loud' but I'm pretty sure that would have copywrite issues," I said, shrugging and moving back to sit on my bed. Jack watched me carefully.

"Felix - h-he turned you. He made you just like him - a vampire... You're a monster!" He spat the word like it was snake-venom.

And it hurt. It hurt so freaking bad. It was like I had lodged a knife in my own chest years ago and now Jack was twisting it.

'I know I am.' I wanted to say.

"Well that's a harsh way of putting it. But I've been called worse." I brushed it off like I didn't care like it wasn't that deep like I wasn't  bleeding  to tell him how sorry I was. I lowered my head in shame.

"I-I have to tell Sam and Dean," Jack said, shifting onto the balls of his feet, edging towards the door. He was going to make a run for it. Suddenly, I was in control of my body again.

I couldn't let him. I needed more time. I needed to beat Felix first and then they could all find out. I had to fix this. I could still fix this.

I had made Jack forget once.

I could do it again.

I would take us back in time. Before he knew. Make everything right. Take us back to the night we met.

He had to forget.

"I can't let you do that," I spoke softly, my gaze still focused on my feet.

"Are you going to try to kill me?" He asked accusingly.

"No." I shook my head. No, I could never kill him. I was too selfish for that. He deserved someone so much better than me. But I loved him.

"Then what are you going to do?" Jack shifted closer to the exit.

"Isaac," I glanced at my brother out of the corner of my eye. Jack stiffened, his eyes snapping to where mine went. "Get the door."

"On it!" Isaac said, overly eager. Jack bolted but he was too slow. My brother flicked his wrist and the door swung closed with a click. Jack swallowed thickly and glanced back to me, fear filling his features. I knew what he was going to try next.

'This is necessary. One day I'll be sorry.'

"His wings," I said to Isaac, my voice breaking. Isaac grinned widely and reached out, making a pinching motion. Jack froze in a panic, then he clenched his eyes shut groaning as Isaac twisted his hands just a bit.

"Can I rip 'em off?" He asked, basking in the Nephilim's pain.

"Isaac, no!"

"Oh, come on," He twisted his hands even more and Jack cried out, his innocent face twisting in agony. "Just a little?"

"Stop! Just-" I sighed. "Please, don't hurt him, Isaac. Just keep him still, please."

Isaac rolled his eyes. "Oh, fine!" He let go and Jack fell to the ground, panting and shaking. He did his best to get to his feet but Isaac flung him into a wall, pinning him there. "Go ahead and Obliviate the simp."

I stood and stepped towards Jack, slowly and carefully, trying not to scare him any more than I had. I could tell he was trying desperately to move but Isaac was too strong.

"What are you going to do?" Jack demanded, trying to hide the fear in his voice. "Are you going to drink my blood?!"

I froze.

Because I could. Then, I could make him forget.

I glanced at his throat. My fangs ached to come out - to bite.  I could imagine what it might feel like to bury my teeth in that soft, delicious-smelling skin. I could imagine what he might taste like. He'd be sweet like candy. I could be gentle! Maybe if he could somehow understand how badly I needed him then he'd let me. And he heals fast so he'd be okay.

But he wouldn't understand. And I wanted him to hold me again.

I just wanted Jack to hold me again.

"No," I said. I plucked the picture frame from his hands, gazing at the smiles of my family for a moment. I looked up, trying to smile despite the ache of grief and guilt in my chest. "I'm going to need you to forget this."

"I wish I could," Jack said, glaring at the floor. He couldn't even look at me. He couldn't even look.

I nodded. "You will."

"W-what?"

I sighed and moved over to the window. The crisp breeze blew in from the sea as I threw it open, the curtains billowing like vicious barking dogs on a leash. It was a long way down to the black rocks where the land met the ocean. I dropped the picture and watched it tumble until it smashed into the rocks, shattering that perfect picture frame, shattering my picture-perfect family into a million pieces.

"I can make you forget," I told him, over my shoulder. "Take us back to the night we met." The power inside me trilled with excitement; it wanted Jack, it craved him. Or maybe that was just the monster I was, begging to be unleashed. I turned away from the window, closing it as I did.

"What do you mean?" He asked cautiously. He was scared. He was  so  scared.

"I'm going to talk to you, and then you're going to forget, and everything will be back to the way it was." I would fix this. His arms would be around me as soon as I fixed this and everything would be okay. I hung my head and let the power inside me launch forward and wrap itself like chains around my Nephilim. I could feel his light, his grace, fighting back but it had nothing substantial to fight. My power wasn't physical, I just imagined it being so.

"No! W-wait!" Jack watched me with dread, beginning to feel the effects of what I was doing to him. I was locking his memories away, locking him up in his own head. But I had to. Because he wouldn't understand and I needed him.

"I have to do this," I whispered, digging my mental claws in deeper.

"Stop," He gasped, beginning to tremble with effort, "Whatever you're doing, just stop!"

"I can't stop, Jack. I'm sorry, but I just need a little more time," I said, gently. "Four moves and I win."

"Four moves..." He mumbled to himself, his brows furrowing, "Four moves? I-I've heard that before. Where have I heard that before?" Then he groaned and squeezed his eyes shut again.

"Please, just forget. I need you to forget."

'I need you to hold me again.'

"Get out of my head!" Jack's voice rose with panic. He flinched away from me as much as he could but Isaac kept him pinned and helpless.

"I'm gonna make everything okay again. I promise." I fought harder against him, willing my power to work faster. Jack moaned and I glanced up to see his face contorted with pain.

"Please!" He begged me, grimacing, "Please, stop! Marty, please. It hurts." I tried harder, and a choked sob escaped his throat. "Marty, please! It hurts! It hurts! You have to stop! Please!"

"I wish you hadn't found out, Jack, and one day I'll be sorry about this."

"Wait. Wait, no!"

I pushed my power harder than I ever had before.

A horrifying scream of pure agony ripped from Jack's throat. But the walls of this house were built to withstand hurricanes. I was the only one who could hear him. With one last burst of effort, I overpowered the walls of his grace and my power flooded his mind, wiping away any memories of what I was. His scream faltered into groans and those softened into whimpers and Jack's body went limp.

Isaac let go and the Nephilim collapsed but I caught him before his head hit the floor. Carding my fingers through his hair, I pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. Picking him up, I carried him to my bed and laid him there. He weighed more than I did, obviously, but he didn't feel very heavy to me. I laid down beside him, hugging him around the middle and pressing my face into his chest.

Then I finally cried.

"I hope you can forgive me before I'm sorry. Because I'm a liar and don't think I'll ever really regret this."

***

"You hear something?" Sam asked, perking up. Castiel sat dutifully on a large black bolder, watching the house. The angel flicked his eyes to Sam and gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head before focusing back on the house.

"Hm? Uh, no." Dean hardly spared a glance. He was too busy drawing inappropriate words in the sand with his foot. Sam frowned.

"Weird." He shook his head, swallowing thickly as he paced back and forth across the moonlit sand.

"Martina threw a picture frame from her window and it shattered against the rocks approximately sixty-two feet south-east of where you are standing," Castiel informed him, "Perhaps that's what you heard."

Sam shook his head again, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No, no. It, uh, it wasn't that. I just- I-I coulda' sworn I heard someone..." He trailed off. 'Scream,' He wanted to say. The sound had been like a phantom pain; intense yet insubstantial.

'Just like the visions...' Sam thought. But no. That wasn't possible. He hadn't had a vision or any manifestation of psychic abilities for going on twelve years! He was probably just imagining things. Sam pushed the thought away as soon as it had come. It was impossible... Right?

Yet still, his eyes wandered to the window on the upstairs floor of the dark house; the only window with a slim shaft of light peaking through the curtains. Because what if...

No .

No. Everything was fine, Jack would have alerted them if there was any danger - or at least - the brothers and their angel would've been able to see if Jack thought there was any danger. Judging by the lack of explosions, Sam could assume that everything was fine.

There was no trap here after all. Although, if he thought about it, that may have been the trap in itself. That monster called Felix had lured Marty back here to relive the most painful day of her life. There had been no vamps waiting to do her any physical harm, but Felix didn't need them to. He just wanted that poor, sweet, little girl to hurt.

And, boy was she hurting.

Sam knew how it felt to lose a brother. He knew how it felt to watch his brother die twice. Hell! Sam had watched Dean die more than one hundred times on the one hundred worst Tuesdays of his life. It had made him feel empty inside - hollow. Like somebody had scraped out everything inside of him, the good and the bad, and had left an utter nothingness in its place. And in the face of all that nothing, fear had gripped Sam's heart like a vice. Fear of that emptiness - of all the unspeakable things it made him willing to do. Sam had been willing - eager even - to do whatever it took if it meant filling that awful hole inside of him.

That was what scared him. It was that ruthlessness. It was that titanium will he'd always shied away from. It was when he'd looked into a mirror and seen John Winchester staring back at him. Deep down, that was what both Sam and Dean had always feared the most. Becoming their father. Becoming the shell of a man that had raised them.

Sam could see the beginnings of a similar shell-forming in Martina. He had seen it when they'd rescued her from that shed the week before. Her shell wasn't made of hate like John's had been - not completely at least. Marty's shell had come from grief and fear. She was just trying to hide; both from Felix and from the shell of a person that she was becoming. Jack had told Sam about Marty's memory gaps - about how she couldn't remember what had happened in the shed after she had left. Sam knew that traumatized people tend to blot things out, it was common. But things like the shed and her return to her childhood home could only serve to send Marty further into her shell.

And the last thing the world needed was another John Winchester.

"These kids were livin' a dream, aye Sammy?"

Sam frowned as Dean's mumbled words knocked him from his train of thought. "H-how do you mean?"

"I mean, look! They had everything!" He said, gesturing from the white sand of the beach to the black rocks to the brine woods. His tone and expression grew sober. "Just like a little fairy-tale. And, I mean, three psychics? Those kids - they had a lotta' potential. So smart and talented and now..." Dean trailed off with a frown.

"Yeah..." Sam quietly agreed. Dean turned to his brother with a pensive expression.

"Got me thinkin', maybe-" He sighed. It was hard for him to say and he didn't want to say it. Even though Dean knew that Marty was capable of more than she seemed and that she could affect his emotions, he didn't really care.

Well, he did  care . Dean hated people screwing with his head or his feelings, period. But somehow Marty was different. He didn't really care to admit it, but Dean had always wanted a daughter. A sweet soul he could love and care for but definitely, with a badass side, he could bestow his knowledge upon. Claire was a close as he had gotten but she had already grown up and she didn't want his help. To Claire, Dean was only a painful reminder of all she'd lost.

And, of course, there was Emma.

But Dean didn't like to think about her.

Thinking about Emma was too painful.

But Marty was still young, and she didn't see Dean the way Clair did. Marty looked at Dean with hope in her eyes and he desperately wanted to keep it that way.

Jack had used to look at him that way. Jack didn't look at him like that anymore.

Because Dean had messed up with Jack. He could admit that now. He'd messed up and he'd messed up bad. Things had gotten better between them; little by little over time. But Jack hadn't even been five days old when Dean had promised to take his life. After that, Jack had only watched Dean with fear. Not hope. Just sheer friggin' terror on his face whenever the elder Winchester walked into the room. And though things had gotten better, they'd always have that promise between them.

That promise from the night when if Dean had only been a better person he could have made things better and not worse like he always did. (Because he was always making things worse. Always too selfish. Always screwing things up. Always getting people hurt. It was always him, always his fault.) Dean could've snatched that knife from Jack's hands and told him it was going to be alright even if it didn't seem like it would be. And Dean could've given the kid the kind of hug he should've been given the day he was born; a father's hug, just like Castiel would have given him if he'd been alive to do it. Because that was Cas's son. That was Cas's kid! Oh, God... Cas... How could Dean have let his best friend down so horribly? Cas, who had given everything up for him and his brother. Cas had saved them time and time again at his own expense. Cas, who would bleed every drop of blood he had with a smile on his face, all in the name of the Winchesters. How could Dean have betrayed him like that? It wasn't enough for Dean to just let the angel die!  (It was Dean's fault, of course. It always was. How couldn't it be? He could have prevented it. If he'd just been a little faster or a little smarter.) No, he had to go and tear that innocent kid to pieces just cause he was sad. (So, selfish. How could he be so selfish? Why was he always so selfish?) Cas had trusted Dean with his son and Dean had repaid him with the promise to take Jack's life. No wonder Jack still could hardly bear to look Dean in the eyes. How could he? Dean wasn't meant to be a father to anyone. He was too frickin' selfish for that.

But this time, things would be different. This time around, Dean would be different - he would be better. For once in his life, he would be selfless and he'd do the right thing even if it possibly meant giving up his only chance to raise a little girl. Because, despite being tainted by darkness and tears, there was still so much good inside Martina Linville. She had so much potential, with the right chances, she could grow up to be great. But she would need those right chances and she wouldn't get them if she stayed with the Winchester's broken little family. All they brought to people was tears and death.

Dean didn't want that for her. She deserved better. Just like Dean himself and his brother had deserved better. She deserved to live a life free from all this pain - a good life, a happy life. Dean wanted that for her. Dean just wanted to help. That was all he'd ever wanted. The last thing Marty needed was more darkness in her life. She didn't need them in her life.

She didn't need him in her life.

So, Dean would be selfless and he would let her go and he would give her the chance to shine like the stars she loved so much. It was probably the most fatherly thing he could do for her. 'Cause Dean just wasn't cut out to be a Dad.

But, oh, did he wish he could be one. Even though he knew that Marty's empathic abilities were probably what was making him feel so strongly about her, Dean couldn't help but go along with it. It wasn't like she was stuffing thoughts in his head; his feelings may have been bolstered but Dean's mind was his own. Dean had always wanted a daughter, Marty hadn't made that up that wish, she'd just reminded him of it. He felt awful about how he had treated Jack and craved a chance at redemption for his mistakes; Dean had made those choices, all Marty had done was exist to give him a chance. Sure, she was rioting his emotions. But what did that matter? Because Dean wanted this and damn it! This felt real!

But he couldn't have it.

Because Dean, and his brother, and their angel, and - yes - even Jack -- it was all some sick, screwed up, god damn beautiful tragedy -- But they were the last thing Martina Linville needed.

So, Dean would be selfless.

"Thinkin' about what?" Sam's question shook Dean from his reverie and back to what he'd been meaning to say.

"Maybe we should put her into the system after all this," He said, thoughtfully, though there was regret in his tone also. Sam blinked twice, shaking his head.

"W-what? The system? You mean the foster system?" He asked, incredulously.

"Yeah? Something wrong with that?" Dean responded. Sam gaped at him.

"Is something wrong with that? Dean, everything is wrong with that!" He exclaimed. Dean opened his mouth to argue but Sam didn't let him. "We made Marty a promise! Just this morning you said she was part of the family. Was all that just talk?"

"No, but-"

"Then what the Hell was it, Dean? Because you can't just go back on something like that! We said we'd take care of her," Sam huffed, crossing his arms and glaring at his older brother.

"And that's exactly what we'd be doing," Dean argued, "Giving her a place that's safe."

"Who would take her in? She's fourteen and she's got more trauma than some war veterans, I don't-"

"Exactly!" Dean cut him off. "The kid's got issues! She needs help, the professional kind."

"Since when do you promote therapy? Sam scoffed.

"When it doesn't involve me," Dean grumbled. Sam shook his head, getting back to the point.

"Throwing her on a bunch of strangers with no clue what she's been through, and who couldn't possibly understand her even if they knew, isn't going to help her! She'd get tossed around or thrown into some group therapy home till she's eighteen and then they'd dump her back on the streets where we found her! How is that taking care of her?"

"It's getting her out of this life, Sam," Dean said firmly. Sam glared.

"You mean getting her out of your life," The younger brother spat lowly.

"What did you just say?" Dean asked dangerously.

"You heard me."

"You have somethin' ya wanna say to my face, Sammy?" Dean growled.

"Dean," Castiel said his name like a warning, his hand gripping Dean's shoulder, holding him back.

"Yeah, I do." Sam's nostrils flared and his mouth was pressed into a thin line. "I'm not gonna stand by and watch you do this again."

"Do what again?" Dean questioned, Cas' hand on his shoulder reminding him to keep calm.

"This thing you do. Anytime a kid comes along, you do this. You act all annoyed, then right as you start liking having 'em around something happens and you realize the responsibility and it freaks you out so you back off and you push 'em away."

"I don't do that," Dean said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah? 'Cause you did it with Kevin, you did it with Claire, you did it with Jack, and now you're doing it again right now with Marty. The second things get real, you get scared and you run away." Sam kept eye contact with Dean, challenging him to look away. Dean clenched his teeth, his pride preventing him from losing the contest of wills.

"Quit fooling yourself, Sam. Look at me!" Dean's voice broke just a little. But he cleared his throat, quick to cover his mistake. "Er, at us, I mean. We can't raise a kid!" He protested.

"We raised Jack," Sam countered.

"Because there were  literally no better alternatives!" Dean seethed. Sam opened his mouth but Dean wasn't done. Hyperaware of Castiel's presence just behind him, guilt ate at his heart. But Dean had never been very good at apologies. "And I even screwed that up! I'm not Dad material, Sam. I'm just not!"

His outburst of emotion made Sam blink, rendering him momentarily speechless. He could have spoken his next words gently but pride made them come out like acid.

"I don't think that's what Ben thought," He hissed. Sam knew it was a low-blow bringing up Ben. That wound was still sore.

"Yeah?" Dean laughed but there was no humor in it. "WELL LOOK HOW THAT TURNED OUT!" He yelled. Sam tensed but didn't back off.

"Something isn't real because it lasts, Dean," Sam said, speaking just a little bit gentler now. "For however short a time, Ben had a dad that loved and cared about him. For however short a time, you made him happy. You say you're not dad material, but that's not what I saw. If that's what you're so worried about, then don't be. 'Cause you made an pretty awesome dad, Dean, even if Ben doesn't remember."

Dean sighed in defeat. "We have nothing to give her, Sam."

"We have trust and understanding, a-and that's more than some random foster home could give her."

Dean shook his head. "It doesn't have to be random."

"What do mean?"

"Jody," He suggested, "I mean, she's already got Claire and Alex. What's one more?"

Sam sighed through his nose, shaking his head. "Yeah, she's got Claire and Alex-" He paused giving his older brother a pointed look. "-  And Patience and Kaia. What's one more? That's only five emotionally unstable teenage girls to take care of, on top of a full time job as a sheriff, and hunting to worry about too."

"I agree with Sam," Castiel spoke up, "We cannot simply dump yet another troubled youth onto the already burdened shoulders of Sheriff Mills." Sam gestured to the angel as if accentuate his point.

"But at least she'd be safe," Dean argued, pursing his lips into a thin line.

"From monsters, sure," Sam agreed, nodding. Dean could sense a ' but ' coming. "But not from herself."

"Jody could help Marty just as much as we could - probably more!" He said. Dean could hear Sam grind his teeth in frustration, but Cas held up a hand to speak.

"I don't think that's true, Dean."

"Why not?" Dean asked the angel.

"'Why not?' Haven't you been listening?" Sam exclaimed. Cas shot the younger Winchester a look and he fell silent.

"I am sure Sheriff Mills is a competent and kind woman; however, Martina does not know or trust her. Sending her to live there would only be marginally better than shipping her off to a stranger," The angel stated, evenly.

"What's that gotta do with what Sam said?" Dean asked. Cas gave him a long-suffering look but continued in perfect patience.

"As weary as I am of Martina's true motives and intentions, I think it is plenty clear the choice she faces after the termination of her family's killer. That is, if she has not made her decision already."

Dean's face scrunched with confusion. "What choice is that?"

"The choice of continuing to live free from the threat of Felix Monroe, or..." The angel trailed off, frowning. His tone made Dean feel like there was a knot in his chest.

"Or what?" He pressed, cautiously. Cas sighed.

"Or to end her life and return to her family," Cas finished, soberly.

Dean was stunned. He hadn't thought- He had never realized.

"Wait, whoa. Are you telling me Marty wants to commit suicide?" His eyes were wide with fear and alarm. She was too young for that. Too young to want to kill herself. No. She couldn't. Dean wouldn't let that happen. "Where's this coming from?" He demanded. Sam glared at him.

"She told her little brother she'd be with him soon. Combine that with the scars on her wrists, and it's really not that hard to figure out," He said, coolly.

Scars? Dean understood now. That was why she was always wearing long sleeves, even in the sweltering heat of Florida. Sam took advantage of his older brother's silence.

"Think about it, Dean," He pushed, "Sending her away from first people she's allowed herself to get attached to in five years? You think that will help?"

The thought made Dean reconsider but Sam had more to say.

"A-and think of Jack! You've seen how much he cares about her. I've seen him smile more in these last two and a half weeks than he did in the five months since we got him back from Apocalypse World. What do you think would happen if he found Marty laying in a pool of her own blood? What do you think that would do to him?"

"It would kill him." Dean sighed, nodding in agreement and Sam cracked a smile.

"I mean, we both know he loves her, Dean. And I-I don't mean like a sister," The younger brother said, fondly. Dean chuckled and the tension in the air cleared.

"Yeah, there's definitely a thing there." He shook his head, grinning. "I mean, it's totally weird but it's a thing." Sam nodded and shrugged.

"Well, I dated a demon. I don't think I can judge."

"You can say that again!" Dean laughed.

The sudden chime of a phone ringing cut through the cool nighttime air like a knife and Dean reached to answer. The smile dropped from his face as soon as he caught a glance at the screen.

"Who is it?" Castiel asked.

"Blocked," Dean answered, apprehension filling his voice, "Three guesses as to who." He mumbled, sliding a finger across the screen to pick up the call and putting it on speaker.

"This is Dean Winchester," He announced as the line connected.

There was no voice on the other side of the call.

"Hello?" He tried again.

Again nothing.

Dean could hear someone breathing but they didn't speak. The breaths sounded ragged and uneven like the person was out of breath. There was background noise as well, a deep rumbling that seemed to increase in volume as time wore on. Without warning, the sound of a deep bellowing horn blared from the phone's speaker. It was the sort of horn that typically accompanies a low rumbling noise. It was the sort of horn that accompanies a really, really big train. The sound of the horn grew louder but soon began to fade as the train passed by whoever had been holding the phone. Something told him this wasn't a simple case of a butt-dial. The situation unnerved for some reason he couldn't name. It was like a scene from a movie.

"Tell me who you are or I'm hanging up," Dean said, his voice demanding.

"I-I would'nt d-do that if I were y-you!"  A desperate, ragged voice called from the phone. Dean had gotten it wrong. The person on the phone wasn't Felix. The person on the phone was a little girl and she wasn't out of breath. She was terrified.

"Why not?" He asked, cautiously.

"B-because little Pamala o-only get's this one c-call." The voice on the other end sounded oddly robotic despite the words being broken into syllables by the girl's sobs.

"What do you mean?" He wondered.

"She-she's lu-ucky you picked u-up. If you hadn't I'd have t-old my friends to e-eat swe-eet Pammy here! Sh-she's seven, just so you know!"  The little girl choked out.

"Felix," Dean growled, "You're using the little girl to talk for you?"

"Pamala is a c-cute little pup-pet. But she's a-annoy-ing. If she d-doesn't stop s-stutter-ing, I'll tell one of my f-friends to t-ake a bite!"  The little girl whimpered and took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice for the sake of her life. " So, what shall I make Panama say next?"

Dean gritted his teeth together. To his right, Sam looked like he was going to be sick. But this wasn't just sick, this was downright  vile . On his left, Cas looked about ready to rip that monster apart with his bare hands.

"Why don't you talk to me with your own voice, Nessie? Ya scared?" Dean taunted.

"No. That would ruin the fun of the game." The girl spoke slowly, trying her best to stay calm.

"What game?" Castiel demanded, sounding a step away from livid.

"You hunters and your angel have thirty minutes to come and rescue poor, little Pamala. When time is up, I'll tell my friends to- to r-rip her in- into itty-bitty pieces!" The girl let out a panicked sob after finishing the monster's words.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Dean demanded, fuming. "She could be anywhere!"

"No, not anywhere, Dean. She's sitting all wrapped up in the attic of the Florida East Coast Railway Station at Fort Pierce. I might be there with her too, gives you a chance to catch me just to make things interesting. But you better hurry, I hear t-traffic can be a biatch."

"You're gonna pay for this, you son of a bitch!" Dean growled.

"Watch the language, Dean Winchester. There are children present. You don't wanna spoil little Pamala's innocence, do you?"

Dean was so enraged, he couldn't even speak. Luckily, Sam was thinking the same as he was.

"We're gonna kill you," Sam promised.

"Perhaps. But not before I show y-you the truth."

The truth? What truth?

"This call will end in...

Five...

Four..."

"Stay strong, sweetheart!" Dean called to the little girl on the other side of the phone. "We're gonna come help you!"

"Three...

Two...

One...

...

...

...

Please save me...

...

...

...

I don't wanna die..."

Then the line clicked and the call was over.

Dean clenched his jaw and put the phone away.

"Let's go gank that sick bastard."

~I am not the only traveler

And then I can tell myself

I had all and then most of you

When the night was full of terrors

Lyrics from: The Night We Met by Lord Huron

I had all and then most of you

[meghanpage]

To the Stars Ch. 7 - For Those in Peril on the Sea

Words: 2784

Also on AO3

---

After she had taken Valentina back to her rooms the night before, Juliana had returned the beautiful black dress to Lucía. She had missed the silky feeling of the gown as soon as she had changed back into her old clothes. She carefully draped it over her arm, running her fingers over the fabric, before returning to the sitting room where Lucía was waiting.

“So, did you enjoy your night?” Lucía asked as she took the garment back, winking at Juliana with a grin. It had been Lucía who had given Juliana the pencil and paper to write her note to Valentina, so she of course knew the two hadn’t really left separately.

Juliana flushed, but returned her smile. “I did. It was… it was really nice. I can’t thank you enough.”

“Not at all!” Lucía laughed, taking a few steps away to drape the dress over the back of a couch. “It’s me who should be thanking you. I have no doubt that without you there to lighten up the atmosphere, dinner would have been a terrible bore.”

Her compliments made Juliana blush even further. As she put down the dress, she picked up another garment from the couch and carried it back over to Juliana, holding it out to her.

“This is for you.”

“What?” Juliana questioned, automatically taking the garment. It was a double-breasted overcoat, made out of thick, black wool. As she looked closer, she could make out a subtle gray-and-black houndstooth pattern on the wide lapel.

“This is gorgeous,” she whispered, running her fingers over the soft wool. “This can’t be for me.”

With a soft smile, Lucía gently placed a hand over one of Juliana’s, pushing it and the coat closer to her chest. “I assure you, it is.” When Juliana only looked at her with wide, disbelieving eyes, she gave her hand a firm squeeze. “Miss Valdés, I think you’re a wonderful young woman. You have so much promise to you. Think of this as a way to make sure you remember me when you make it big someday.”

She pointed to the inside of the collar, where a small fabric tag was sewn in place, stitched with the name “Borges.”

Juliana laughed briefly, looking back up to Lucía with shiny eyes. “I don’t know what to say.”

“All you have to say is ‘thank you,’” she teased.

With another laugh, Juliana did just that. She accepted the hug Lucía offered, as well as her help shrugging into the overcoat. As she was ushered out the door, Juliana knew she wouldn’t be forgetting the other woman anytime soon.

Back in her bunk, Juliana couldn’t get Valentina out of her head. Her mind kept replaying the events of the night, filling her chest with a fluttering warmth. It had been like a dream, spinning across the dance floor with Valentina so close in her arms. And while they were playing Valentina’s game, she could have sworn she felt Valentina lean in towards her. Of course with her eyes closed, she couldn’t be entirely certain, but she had felt something - maybe Valentina’s energy? Or she might have just felt her warm breath on her mouth.

Her stomach swooped, and she rolled over sharply, punching her limp pillow into shape. She could hear a rat in the wall near her head, it’s little claws scrabbling behind the boards.

Valentina was a high class woman. And Juliana was most certainly not. Even if their stations were equal, should she even be having these kinds of… thoughts about another woman?

Juliana had never been kissed, never been in any kind of relationship. She had never given it any thought. In the rare moments she had given the concept any reflection, she had always imagined herself with a man. Wasn’t that the way it was meant to be?

But spending time with Valentina brought her so much happiness and warmth, she couldn’t find it in her to think their closeness was wrong.

Pulling the thin blankets over her head, Juliana resolved to just go to sleep. When she went to see Valentina in the morning, she could try to examine her feelings more.

---

Juliana retraced her steps to the first-class area, trying to think where Valentina might be. She was pretty sure there was a private church service being held for first-class passengers, as it was a Sunday, so she would start there.

She bounded down the stairs towards the saloon, eager to see Valentina once more. Following the sound of singing, she found where the first-class passengers were gathered - double doors blocked the walkway, but the partition wall was free of glass between its white arches. Two attendants flanked the door, and one stepped forward as she approached, holding a hand out towards her. “Miss -”

“I just need to talk to somebody for a second,” she said, trying to sidestep him and peer through the partition wall, searching for a glimpse of Valentina.

The attendant ignored her, putting himself between her and the service. “Miss, you’re not supposed to be in here.”

It chaffed a bit that, even with the very nice overcoat Lucía had given her, they could spot her as third-class from a mile away. “I was just here the other night. You don’t remember me?”

Putting his arm out, the attendant tried to guide her back towards the stairs. “No, I’m afraid I don’t. Now, you’re going to have to turn around.”

Just then, Lucho’s manservant Montilla stepped through the doors - the slight commotion must have caught his attention. Sure that at least he would recognize her, Juliana gestured to him. “I was here, he’ll tell you.”

The attendant stepped aside as Montilla approached to speak to her directly.

“I just need to -”

Ignoring Juilana’s attempt to explain herself, Montilla spoke over her in a flat tone. “Mr. Luciano and Ms. Carvajal continue to be appreciative of your assistance. They asked me to give you this in gratitude.”

Reaching into his vest pocket, he pulled out a couple folded bills and held it out to her.

“I don’t want your money,” she said, gesturing towards the church service in frustration. “Please, I just want -”

“And to remind you,” Montilla interrupted once more, “that you hold a third-class ticket, and that your presence here is no longer appropriate.”

His words stung, but Juliana clenched her jaw, trying not to let it show. “Please, I just want to talk to Val for one second.”

“Gentlemen,” Montilla addressed the attendants, but didn’t take his eyes off of her. “Will you please see that Miss Valdés gets back to where she belongs, and that she stays there?”

He held one bill out to each of them, and they eagerly took them before stepping forward to roughly turn Juliana around. “Yes, sir. Come along, you.”

Juliana glared at Montilla as she was marched away, who simply watched her go with a barely-suppressed smirk.

There has to be another way to talk to her, Juliana thought as the men deposited her back on the third-class deck. She was certain that Valentina wouldn’t have refused to see her - her sister and fiancé must have been blocking her. They may have thought she could be bought off with a couple bucks, but they had the entirely wrong idea about her. She wasn’t giving up that easily.

Glancing around at the deck around her, she spotted some equipment near the railings that looked suspiciously climbable.

---

After their church service, Camilo invited Valentina, Eva, and Lucho on a private tour of the ship. As he explained the inner workings of the ship, Valentina did her best to pay attention, pushing aside the thoughts of Juliana that kept creeping in.

Camilo brought them to the bridge, introducing them to the captain. He had white hair and a trimmed white beard, looking a bit like a stern Santa Claus under his sharp captain’s hat. The two men showed them the various instruments in the room, describing how they allowed communication between the bridge and engine rooms.

“Why do you have two steering wheels?” Eva asked. There was one wheel in the middle of the wide room they were in, and another in a smaller room directly behind the first wheel.

“We really only use this wheel near shore,” Camilo explained. “The one in the wheelhouse is for navigating while at sea.”

A messenger approached the captain, handing him a slip of paper. “Excuse me, sir. Another ice warning. This one’s from the Noordam.”

The captain thanked him, and the messenger gave him a sharp nod before walking away. He tucked the paper in his pocket, then caught the look of apprehension on Eva and Valentina’s faces.

“Oh, not to worry,” he said, smiling at them. “Quite normal for this time of year. In fact, we’re speeding up. Mr. Corona thinks we can make it to New York in record time. I’ve just ordered the last boilers lit.”

The captain returned to his post, and the tour continued from there, Camilo leading them to walk along the topmost deck. They made their way along a line of lifeboats positioned at the outer edge.

“These are our lifeboats,” Camilo said. “There are sixteen in total, positioned here on the top deck, with a capacity of sixty-five each.”

As they continued to walk, Valentina ran over the numbers. With that capacity, the lifeboats would be able to carry about a thousand people. But she knew from newspaper articles that the ship could carry more than two thousand passengers…

“Mr. Guerra, forgive me…” she said as she caught up to walk beside him. “I did the sum in my head, and with the number of lifeboats times the capacity you said…” She paused, almost unwilling to speak her concern out loud. “Forgive me, but it seems that there aren’t enough for everyone on board.”

Camilo came to a stop, looking at her an approving look in his sharp eyes. “About half, actually. You miss nothing, do you, Valentina?”

Valentina smiled briefly at the praise, her heart aching for how much he reminded her of her father.

“In fact, I put in these new-type davits,” Camilo said, “which can take an extra row of boats inside this one.” He gave her a wry smile. “But it was thought, by some, that the deck would look too cluttered. So, I was overruled.”

Lucho sidestepped around them, knocking the belly of one of the lifeboats with his cane. “Waste of deck space as it is on an unsinkable ship,” he growsed.

As he and Eva continued down the deck, Camilo gave Valentina a smile. “Sleep soundly, young Valentina,” he reassured her as they followed the other two. “I’ve built you a strong ship, sound and true. She’s all the lifeboat you’ll need.”

He stepped ahead, attempting to catch up with Lucho and Eva to direct them to the next stop on their tour, when Valentina felt a hand on her arm. She whipped around, only to find Juliana with a finger to her lips.

She let her pull them through a nearby door into a small gymnasium, her heart in her throat. What was Juilana doing there? Why had she found her then, of all times, when she still hadn’t been able to sort out what she should do about this whole thing?

She stepped away from Juliana as she closed the doors behind them, wringing her hands together. “Juls…”

God, what could she say? Her heart was split in two. One half told her to throw herself in Juliana’s arms, to feel her warmth and look into her beautiful dark eyes. But the other half pulled her back towards her family, reminded her of her duty to them. She loved her family deeply;  even though Eva could be a pain and Guille was far away from them, they were both incredibly important to her. She couldn’t just abandon her sister when she needed her.

“Juls,” Valentina said again, unable to look Juliana in the eyes. “This is impossible. I can’t see you.”

She spun back towards the door, just wanting to escape, but Juliana caught her arm once more.

“Please, Val,” Juliana said, her voice plaintive. “I need to talk to you.”

“No, Juls.” Valentina swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I’m marrying Lucho. I love Lucho.”

Nevermind that her words were lies, leaving an acrid taste in her mouth. What she was starting to feel for Juliana, she had never felt for anyone before. Certainly not Lucho. But admitting that, even to herself, was dangerous. She had to do this for her family.

“Val, please.” Juliana looked at her with shining eyes. “I - you’re amazing. You’re the most wonderful girl I’ve ever known, and…”

Valentina turned away, her heart shattering in her chest. “Juls, I -”

“Wait, please, let me try to get this out,” Juliana pleaded, moving with her.

Forcing herself to stop, she put her back against the wall. As she looked up to meet Juliana’s eyes, she took in the depth of desperation and hopefulness mixed there.

Taking a deep breath, Juliana continued, “You’re - I’m not an idiot. I know how the world works. I’ve got ten bucks in my pocket. I have nothing to offer you and I know that.” Her eyes flicked rapidly between Valentina’s, her gaze searching. “But I’m too involved now. If you jump, I jump, remember? I can’t turn away without knowing you’ll be all right.”

“Well, I’m fine,” Valentina replied, fighting to keep the tremble from her voice. “I’ll be fine. Really.”

“Really?” Juliana asked softly.

Valentina couldn’t make herself nod.

Juliana went on, “I think they’ve got you trapped, Val, and you’re going to die if you don’t break free. Maybe not right away, because you’re strong, but sooner or later that fire that - that I love about you, it’s going to burn out.”

Valentina’s breath caught in her throat at Juliana’s choice of words. Tears stung the corners of her eyes, but still she made herself say, “It’s not up to you to save me, Juls.”

With a shake of her head, Juliana stepped back, blinking against the shine in her own eyes. “You’re right. Only you can do that.”

For a moment, something inside Valentina screamed at her to throw herself into Juliana’s arms, to hide herself in Juliana’s neck and never come out. Instead, she wrenches herself away from the wall, turning back towards the door.

“I’m going back,” she said, knowing her voice was choked but unable to do anything about it. “Leave me alone.”

---

Valentina had left.

Juliana touched the textured glass of the window, where she had seen Valentina’s form pass by just a moment ago. She felt bruised, like someone had kicked her hard in the ribcage.

As she left the gymnasium, she pulled her overcoat tight around her, the April air chilling her more than it had a moment ago. She hurried to the stairs leading down to the lower decks - she was sure that if anyone tried to tell her she was where she didn’t belong right now, it would come to blows.

Valentina had left. She twisted her lips to the side, blinking back the burning in her eyes. How had it all gone so wrong? She knew there was something special between them. Even if she didn’t feel ready to examine exactly what it was, she knew it was there.

Hadn’t Valentina felt it too? She must have - wasn’t it Valentina who had drawn them close together last night, her lips only inches from Juliana’s own?

Juliana wasn’t good at expressing her feelings. As she had climbed to the top deck and hidden herself between two lifeboats, waiting for her chance to snag Valentina, she had done her best to figure out what on earth she was meant to say to the other woman.

But Valentina had still walked away.

And yet… There had been tears in Valentina’s eyes, and a tremble in her voice. Was it possible that she was doubting her own words, even as she said them? Juliana thought about that rude manservant, Montilla, telling her to get lost on behalf of Mr. Luciano and Ms. Carvajal - Lucho and Eva. Could they have been talking in Valentina’s ear, telling her to stay away?

Juliana didn’t want to get her hopes up. She needed to think.

Returning to her bunk briefly to grab her sketchpad, she wandered up to the fore of the ship. Settling herself on the massive anchor right at the tip of the bow, she opened her pad to a fresh sheet of paper. Then she simply looked out into the distance, tracing the breaking waves to the line of the horizon.

[paintedwithapalette]

Presenting a lovely commission I recently received from @wingbladeweaver1357​ of Naminé and Kairi from my Memories of You fanfic where they’re twin sisters! I’m absolutely in love with it! 

Decided to write up a quick snippet to go along with it as well that may or may not show up in the future of Memories of You itself! Enjoy! 

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Memories of You:  Naminé and Kairi 

Word Count: 1,383

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"Knock, knock," Kairi called. "Dinner is served."

Kairi backed into Naminé's room with her hands preoccupied with a tray of grilled meat and curry rice. Naminé sat at her desk, lost in her own world as a zest of inspiration compelled her to look over her work with a great amount of scrutiny as she scribbled into her sketchbook. 

"Thank you," Naminé replied, her eyes unmoving. "Smells great. On the bed is fine."

Kairi paused. Did she hear right? For the first time in weeks, Naminé’s voice didn't sound like it was desolate of all life and energy. "So, I suppose asking you to come downstairs and eat at the table with us like a normal family for once is out of the question?"

"What was that?" Naminé asked, not tearing her eyes away from her drawing.

"Never mind," Kairi said tiredly, complying with her sister's earlier request and set her dinner on the mattress. "Just promise me you'll at least touch your dinner this time?"

"Don't worry, I will. And I'll be at breakfast in the morning. Promise," Naminé assured her offhandedly. Kairi couldn’t claim to be convinced. She had heard it a million times before. "If I don't show up, I'll do your chores for a month."

"Deal. I’ll hold you to that, you know.” 

Before leaving, she stole a stealthy glance at Naminé and took note of her seemingly more animated posture. It was far from the first time she had seen her sister absorbed in her own world. But this time, something seemed different; whether it was the way her pencil scraped against the paper sharply, or the way she chewed her lip, or the slightest bounce etched in each of Naminé's movements. It was a subtle something that only a sister of sixteen years could pinpoint.

Kairi peered over Naminé's shoulder to get a glimpse at whatever kind of artistic spectacle was in the works. "Soooo, whatcha drawin'?"

"H-Hey! Do you mind?" Naminé was quick to press her sketchbook against her chest. "You know I don't like when people look."

Kairi raised her hands in a show of no ill will. "Sorry, are my unrefined commoner eyes tainting your latest masterpiece?" 

"Why, yes. Yes, they are. Glad you understand."

Kairi scoffed. "No need to get uppity. I was just curious because you seem a bit more excited than usual."

"Excited? What do you mean by excited?" Naminé chuckled nervously. "I'm not excited. Who's excited? Are you excited? Can I not just be immersed into the wonderful world of art without arousing baseless accusations of this so-called excitement?"

Kairi snickered at the transparent façade. "Subtle."

Naminé frowned. "Don't you think your food is getting cold or something?"

"Funny, I was just about to say the same thing to you." Kairi giggled at the dirty look from her sister and headed for the door. "Fine. I can take a hint. I'll be downstairs if you need anything." 

When Kairi turned towards the door, Naminé gave a look of gratitude and returned her focus to her sketchbook. However, when Naminé was least expecting it, her sketchbook was quickly swiped from her work station. With eyes on the brink of popping out of her skull, Naminé looked over to find Kairi making a mad dash towards her own bedroom with a most evil cackle trailing behind her. 

“Kairi!” Naminé cried, immediately rushing out of her room to give chase. 

“Sorry, little sister, but I couldn’t resist,” Kairi called, her eyes running over her sister’s sketch as she sped walked down the hall. It was an impressively constructed piece of Roxas with an insurmountable amount of attention to detail resulting in an insanely accurate depiction of the boy in question. “Aha! Just as I suspected.” 

“Kairi,” Naminé shouted, her voice coming off more whiny than anything. As Naminé chased after her sister, she couldn’t help but remember when Roxas took her most embarrassing doodles of hers when she was little, teasing her all the while. What was with these two and their incessant need to humiliate her? “Give that back!” 

“But this is so good,” Kairi said as she entered her room. Naminé hurried inside soon after and sprinted towards her sister with the intent of tackling her to her bed, but Kairi simply raised a hand to catch Naminé’s face, ignoring her muffled moans and whines as she pathetically reached for her sketchbook. “No wonder you were so focused. It’s like... almost a photograph.” 

“Thank you very much. Now hand it over.” 

Kairi gave it one last look, a wide smile spreading, before handing it back to Naminé. The bespectacled girl held it close to her chest protectively and adjusted her glasses. 

“Look, I know I might look like a bit of a weirdo,” Naminé started, “but it really was just an excuse to practice portraits. That’s all.”

“Mmm hmmmm,” Kairi mummed in disbelief. “If that’s the case, why choose Roxas?” 

“Because, uh...” Naminé stumbled. “I-I like his hair?” 

It wasn’t a lie, anyway. 

Kairi smirked, shaking her head as she set her hands on her hips. “Little sister. Have you not learned your lesson that your lies hold no weight over me, your true evil overlord?” She gradually began to speak in a dramatic tone. 

 “Would you please stop calling me your little sister? We’re only minutes apart.” 

Kairi grabbed Naminé by the shoulders and shook her. “Your meager attempts at diverging the topic of our current discussion do not sway me, woman! I know thine heart hath a penchant for the boy who hails by the name of Roxas and your denies are futile!” 

“And stop talking like that. It’s starting to freak me out.” 

“Just admit it,” Kairi said, her voice returning to normal. “I’ve admitted to you about how I feel about Sora. The least you can do is return the favor. Don’t you trust me?” 

Naminé eyed her up and down with scrutiny. “Do you really want me to answer that question?” 

Kairi rolled her eyes. “Do you like Roxas? Yes or no?” 

Naminé bit her lip as her eyes moved all over Kairi’s room in an attempt to avoid that gleam of anticipation of hers. “I... maybe, okay? Maybe. Now, will you leave me alone?”

Naminé hurried towards the door, but Kairi read her like a book and swiftly stepped in front of her as she blocked her exit. “So, you admit it!” 

“I said maybe.” 

“Which basically means you want to bear his children!” 

Naminé felt a blush sneak up on her at the accusation. “W-What...?”

Kairi snaked one of her arms around Naminé’s shoulders. “Hee hee! You wanna know what I think?” she asked, her voice returning to normal. 

“After that comment you just made, not particularly.” 

“I think you should give it to Roxas as a gift.” 

“Kairi,” Naminé said plainly. 

“I’m serious. You know how much he loves your art. I’m telling you, he’d fall head over heels for you!” 

“T-That’s not really the point,” Naminé said, her eyes running over her sketch. “Isn’t it kind of creepy? Drawing somebody without their permission?” 

“Maybe if you didn’t know the person, but we’re talking about your friend, remember? Our friend. A friend who adores everything of yours he’s laid his eyes on. Also, helloooo? His birthday is coming up next week. The time is now!” 

Naminé’s look of uncertainty didn’t waver much, her eyes repeatedly switching from her sketch to her sister’s hopeful eyes. “So, you’re saying I wouldn’t look like a creep if I gave this to him?” 

“Not at all! You should give Roxas more credit. He’s not some judgemental jerkface, and you know this. He’d be thrilled. Just have a little bit of courage and I’m sure it’ll all work out.” 

Naminé still looked unsure.  

“How about this,” Kairi continued. “I’ll be right there beside you when you give it to him. If you ever get discouraged, I’ll be right there to nudge you in the right direction.” 

“I don’t know about this, Kairi...” Naminé whispered, lifting her sketchbook over the bottom half of her face to hide her quivering lips. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” 

Realizing that Naminé was beginning to warm up to the idea, Kairi noticeably brightened and clenched her fists. 

“I’m positive!” 

-----------------------------

If you’re interested in seeing more of their sisterhood, feel free to check out Memories of You on ff.net! It would mean the world to me! 

[night-rhea]

MC House Challenge! ❤️💛💙💚

This is  @kyril-hphm​ ‘s amazing idea!  I wanted to do it daays days ago but... Some shit happens everyday right? And ı also wanted to try different style to draw hairs, ım sure one day ım gonna figure it out. (ı realized ı made their eyes color wrong...damn.)

So here ı am with my girls!

İts turn out a bit long, so ım putting this button here. İf you want to know girls better, just click it!

Gryffindor Night ❤️

She is LOUD. You think Slytherin Night is loud enough? Just wait to hear this Gryffindor's voice. Bill use her in the mornings when a few Gryffindor couldn’t wake up in the time. Also need a silent moment in the common room? Just ask her, ım pretty sure even Ravenclaw Tower can hear her "Shut the fuck up!"

Also yes, this Night is not shy about swearing. But she is mostly creating absurd swear sentences. "For the fuck sake Merula, ı dont give a fuck about your fucking power GO AWAY AND FUCK SOMEBODY ELSES EAR WİTH ALL YOUR SHİT" As you can guess, she is bff with Merula.

İf you cant hear her voice, there is 2 possible place she can be. Quidditch Pitch and detention.

She is playing as a Chaser and this is the one of the only way to shut her up. Like Rath, she let her skills speak for her.  Even its just a practise, Night is always so focussed in game, sometimes her looks scaring Charlie away. She really loves Quidditch, this adrenaline. Oh and she loves the victory of course. That makes her second Skye. Poor poor Orion..

For the detention part, she is in there more than she is in  her own dorm room. Unlike Slytherin Night, she is a fan of Tonks and Tulip's pranks and loves to mess with grumpy Filch. Also detention is not that bad. With Jae here, there is always a way to have fun. Charlie always says that one day Night and Jae's closeness will blow their towers up. Everyone is just waiting for this day. Even McG.

Lets talk about her relationship with Jacob. They were really close when they are little. Because of their last name's bad popularity (ım planning to explain this later), they didnt have any friend other than each other. When Jacob left home, she lost not just her brother but also her best friend too. (Lucky for her, in Hogwarts there will be Rowan)

She dyed her hair red right before coming Hogwarts. To show everyone how she is gonna be Gryffindor just like her brother. Also while everyone talking shit about Jacob, Night refused to believe her precious brother can do something bad like that.

giggles Wanna gossip about her? Like her best friend ,she has a big fat crush on Bill. You should see how she blush when Bill compliment her. She cant help it he is "too fucking cool"!

Night and Rowan spend so many nights to talking and fangirling about him. But after realizing that he see her as a sibling,  not a lover, she was a little heartbroken and tried to date some other guys who is like him. She ended up single of course, because no one can be perfect like him.

İf you want chaos, Gryffindor Night is your girl!

Hufflepuff Night 💛

My favorite thing about this Night is her smile. İts so warm and full of love..I should admit she is the purest Night but she is too good for her own. This is the why she is entire Hufflepuff's little sister. Especially Diego's. But nor she or me can decide that he fancy her or just love her as a little sister. you know, because its Diego...

Not so suprisingly ,She loves to take care of her friends, just like Orj Night, but this girl is doing it more serious. She is the mom friend of their group. She is gonna make sure you eat all your meal and drink enough water. And if you didnt, well you need to deal with her.  Also Night will remind you to take right books for your class if you two have same class. "Did you study for todays quiz? Oh why didnt you?! Come on ı can tutor you! We only got 11 minutes but nevermind that!" Dont worry she got you. Aand One more thing, she has best shoulder to cry. Im not kidding, she will hug you until you feel better and ı can guarentee you that her kind hug and angelic voice will help you calm down.

İn the other hand, Huff Night is not good at handling her own bad emotions. Her anxiety level is a little higher than other Night's.

She is not a "so different" person. İts her words not mine. Being Rhea makes her a little bit special of course but not in the good way. She is just average girl with a unlucky family, thats all. She loves her loved ones more than she loves herself, and always wish that she can be powerfull just to protect them. But sadly she dont believe she can, she is not like Merula. Not that brave or confident . Or Tonks. Not that talented. Or Penny. Not that pretty and popüler. Aah ah, this pure girl has a lot in her mind(or should ı say her heart?) but so shy to talk about them. Damn girl, go and talk about this to Rowan (While you still can...Can you imagine how she break after she cant save her best friend..?)

Enough, İts time to tell you happy thing about her life!   She was very suprised and happy (but mostly suprised) when Merula ask Night to be her date. They started to date in fourth year. (Everyone thanked Night for making Merula more calm and tolerable. Night said that Merula dont need to be tolerated)  Well they have their up and downs of course. Before Rakepick betray them, fifth year was pretty good (Night cried for her girlfriend when she learn about Merula's parent) but unfortunate thing  that  happened in buried vault, made their hearts to apart. Night still love her deeply and wishes  she was powerfull enough to save her from Rakepick so they would still next to each other now.(I know ı said "happy thing". Thats why ı wont tell you that after Rowan's death Night thinks maybe its best if Merula far from her. No ı wont tell you that)

But dont worry about her! She is gonna smile no matter what because her smile can make someone else smile too! İf you love tea and cookie, please let her know your favorite cookie. Her mom sending her delicious Turkish tea and she will be happy to share with you!

Ravenclaw Night 💙

After Slytherin Night, Ravenclaw Night is my second favorite. I really love her general mood.

As you can see, she is the only Prefect Night. And there is simple reason for that, she is perfectionist. She didnt became Prefect because she wants to help others, she became one to make sure everything is right. All other Night helped their Rowan to be Prefect but Ravenclaw Night dont believe that other Ravenclaw's will listen Rowan. She herself is more suited, just like Chester. (She really respect Chester) But dont get me wrong, Night dont underestimated Rowan. She just believe Prefect should be more serious and Rowan's heart is so pure for that.

And unlike Hufflepuff Night, this girl have a lot faith in herself. When Night is doing something, she knows it will be perfect because she wont stop untill its perfect.  

I should warn you about her, she loves to complain. "Damn ı have to do all work. Why cant you do anything  right on your own? İt was easy, even for you. Go and do something else ım gonna finish this one. No stop wait dont do anything. Just. Go."

Just like this,she can easily tell "rude" words. Even if she didnt trying to be rude.  She is just saying whats true! İts not her fault that truth is more bitter than lies. And sorry but truth has to be told. Even if someones heart can get hurt. Lies can make everything worse than a little heartbreak. İts like a poison that tastes good and late effecting. They should thank her for not poisoning them.

Her friends? She dont have a lot. Because of her rude attitude, a lot of people dont get near her often. Fine by her. She dont want "extras" anyways. Her little group of friends is enough for her. Also she have Rowan, right? Rowan is her true soulmate. This two girls can spent hours in library and this is their favorite hang out. Honestly all Night need is Rowan and some book, she can live without any other people, thanks. But she can admit Talbott and Badea are pretty good too. Especially Talbott. He is her second best friend, if she has to give it a number. (This two became friends a little too fast. They have so many similarities. Biggest one is "Fuck Peoples" motto. They even have a ugly t-shirt that saying that. Andre died when he saw it for the first time.)

I think her mom Selina is responsible for Night's reckless behaviour. She was already angry to Jacob for leaving her behind and being ignored by her only parent makes her..ıdk, like that? She tried so hard to make Selina to notice her daughter is still with her.Tried to make her portrait with her pastel pencils, tried to brush her long hair and dressed like a princess, tried to write " I love you" in her mirror.  But little Night's little heart couldnt understand that pain of losing her son (just like how she lose her husband.) When she came to Hogwarts, she give up about her mom." İf a mother dont need to worry about her own child, then ı dont need to worry about anyone else too." But of course, she is not that heartless like she likes to think.

I think you can imagine that other students calls her names. Like "freak" or "selfish" or "egoist". She mostly just ignore them (because she dont believe they are worth to explain why she is not these name) and pretend like nothing had happened, Talbott and Rowan know she actually care and wants to be more "good". More "likeable". She is just making everyone uncomfortable when she walks in and she know it. But there is nothing she can do. İts in her blood. She is just like her mother.

I feel like ı talk too much about bad thing. İts time to tell moments when Ravenclaw Night smile. She dont have a normally smiley face but of course she smile. And you know what? İts mostly because of her boyfriend. This girl has a big soft spot for Barnaby. She literally melt every time he talk. İn the beggining she thinks he is just some stupid Slytherin and not worth lose any time but after being friends (which is a miracle) she can punch you in the face if you call him stupid. (Dont test about how hard she can punch.)

How the heck this boys heart can be this beautiful? Like, boy your parents nothing but shit to you how did you turn into biggest and cutest puppy in the world? And again, how did he love her? I mean, look at Night and look at Barnaby. They are so different and he can be with literally every witch in schooli and yet he is with Night. She dont know what she did to be this lucky but she is not planning to let him go. Just watch her.

(And ı dont know if she will notice you if you dont talk with her. She will talk with you politely at first, dont worry. Just try to not say something about her being bad prefect or something bad about her friends or boyfriend, you will be fine.)

Slytherin Night 💚

It's finally Original Night's turn to shine. How about starting with why she is most masculine looking Night?

İt was because of Selina. After Jacob left, he was the only thing Selina talk about. She talked about how she misses him playing violin, his eyes that he took from her husband, his gentle voice. Unlike Ravenclaw Night, this didnt make our Night angry. İt made her jealous. She decided that if she wants to make her mom happy, she should remind her Jacob. Maybe if she can do this, her mom would miss him less and smile more to Night. So she asked Selina to cut her hair like Jacob's.

While she growing, she tried to act like Jacob. She learned violin, wore his old clothes. She even answered when Selina called her "Jacob". And it worked. Selina started to smile more, started to talking with her more, even she cook  special meals sometimes. Menu was always full with Jacob's favorites but it doesnt matter to Night. Her mom did it for her!

İn Hogwarts, she learned that she is nothing like Jacob. Hello,  dissappointment. She was too loud, too energetic, too friendly. She learned that she can't be Jacob for her mom. At first, it  freaked her out.

Thats why she didnt want to go Celestial Ball. Didnt want to wear dress and made her hair longer. (She did want. She just didnt let herself.) And when Andre and Rowan keep asking about,, Night finally tell them everything. You know what happened? Her two angel friends talked about hours how they love her in the way she is, how she dont need to be Jacob because its her own life and she deserved to be happy.

After a lot of hugs and crying, Night wore the dress that match her name, kept her hair short.

I made this too longer ı guess ( ı was planning not to tell about Slytherin Night...) but ı always wanted to explain why ı love her. İm proud of that she can make her peace with herself. Selina is still problem for her, and still will be problem in the future too but right now Night is free from the cage she made it herself. Of course sometimes her anxiety hit her and made her feel like she is all wrong but its not a something a few late night flying cant solve.

Am ı gonna make it longer because ı wanna talk about Night and Talbott relationship? No, there will be another time for that.

She is always open for more friends. Wanna play quidditch or make/ listen music or drink tea or cook something? Night will be happy to join you in literally everything.

[miastideclock]

The One Where The Dogs Gets Away (Bang Chan)

broooo, so I love this friends thing, but why not start off in smaller sections? Like maybe you could rewrite the part where Rachel lost Marcel(the monkey) and she and Ross fights?? But you're really good at angsty stuff, so throw some of that in there?? And could you do it w Chan??? I'm trash sorry

This is from when I asked if I should do Stray Kids as F.R.I.E.N.D.S. lmao its been a wHILE- SORRY

Word count: a lot 3,527

-

She could hear talking, but her mind was so utterly focused on the ticking of the clock that struck eight, that she didn't make out a single one of the words that were said.

"Corey?" Was what pulled her out of her train of thought. She snapped her head towards the speaker, and instantly apologized for not paying attention.

"Chan, sorry. This is so stupid!" She burst, referring to the incident they had talked about just previously. One of her colleagues was getting married, and that meant the entire project laid on Corey's shoulder. It was quite a massive one too. Corey didn't mind that her coworker was getting married, well maybe a little, but what really irked her was the fact that he coworker knew she was getting married that date, a year ago- and still said she could work the project, but the project would be in motion during her honeymoon.

"I should just be happy for them right? I can do some extra work. I am, I'm happy for them." She lied through her teeth, Chan instantly catching on, placing a hand on her back, questioning her truthfulness.

"No. Oh, I guess it would just be different if I were- with somebody. Like maybe I would understand her thinking more?" Corey sat back in her chair and picked at a noodle with her chopsticks. This caught Chans attention.

Ever since he first met Corey, he had been elbow deep in love with her. It was almost as if his whole life revolved around her, that everything he did was for her.

"Whoah, uh, what happened to 'Forget relationships! I'm done with men!' the whole penis embargo?" Chan mentioned, hinting to the thing she had sworn off after her last boyfriend, Hyunjin.  

They hadn't been a good couple at all. Corey and Hyunjin didn't even speak the same language, so it was hard for them to do anything else than makeout and have unnecessarily loud sex when they thought they were alone. Corey's roommate Changbin, didn't find that very fun.

In fact, everyone in their group was grossed out by it. Especially Chan, as he was the one most affected by it.

"Oh, I don't know. I guess it's not about no guys, it's about the right guy, y'know? I mean, with Seungmin, it was safe and it was easy, but there was no heat. With Hyunjin, that's all there was, was heat! And it was just this raw, animal, sexual-" Corey explained, but soon to be cut off by a severely uncomfortable Chan.

"Wait-wait. I got it. I was there." He smiled to hide the fact that he wanted to absolutely kill Hyunjin. Corey then grabbed Chans hands out of happit as they continued to chat. Chan had to admit to himself that there had never been a second in his life where he had to concentrate this bad to not kiss someone. Because there she was, the girl of his dreams, holding his hands, her face ten inches from his. Her brown eyes seemed soft and gentle as they looked into his, him getting lost in them.

"Well, I mean, do you think you can ever have both? Y'know? Someone who's like, who's like your best friend, but then also can make your toes curl?" She breathed as she continued to stare into his eyes. This made Chan's heart leap as she spoke. It was everything he had ever wished she would tell him, and more.

"Yes. Yes. Yes! Yes, I really do! In fact, it's funny, very often, someone who you wouldn't think could-could curl your toes, might just be the one who-" He started, building up the courage to confess and maybe even kiss her- but the moment was ruined when the owner of the apartment, Changbin, came home with friends.

"Hi." He greeted them and placed the groceries on the kitchen counter right behind Chan. Corey soon let go of Chan's hands and asked the group how the movie was. Jisung and Felix hated it, while Changbin and Woojin had been quite large fans of the film.

They discussed it for a few eternities according to Chan, all before he realized he had to leave. He had to take his dog, Berry, home.

"Alright, I've gotta go. C'mon, Berry! We're gonna take a bath. Yes we are, aren't we? Yes, we are!" Chan baby talked his dog as he got the leash on him. The King Charles Spaniel had been sleeping on the couch while Chan and Corey had been having dinner.

"They are still just friends, right?" Felix asked in a joking manner, implying that Chan and his puppy had a weird relationship. Most of them ignored him, and Corey walked over to the dog, petting him. "And I will see you tomorrow!" She grinned as Berry wagged his tail at her.

"That's right, you're gonna spend tomorrow at Aunt Corey's, aren't you?" Chan continued to baby talk, this however perked Changbin's attention. After all it was his apartment.

"Oh, hang on, hang on. Does Uncle Changbin get a say in this?" He asked, a brow raised as he was suspicious to the idea. Everyone knew how weird Changbin was about his apartment.

"Pwease, Uncle Changbin, pwease?" Chan picked up the dog and hid behind him, pretending it was Berry talking. He didn't seem even a tad bit interested, making Chan give up. "Oh, unclench. You're not even gonna be here." He added as he walked out the door with the dog.

Not long after, Corey went to bed, and before she knew it, she was dog-sitting Berry.  

"Now, now the one in the feather boa, that's Dr. Francis. Now, she used to be a man. Okay, now look, see, there's Raven. We hate her. We're glad she's dying. Okay- " Corey explained to the dog as they watched the television displaying a Spanish soap. As she was speaking, Berry knocked over a pillow revealing Changbins left yeezy.

"Berry, are you playing with Changbin's shoes? You know you're not supposed to pl-whoah. Berry, did you pee in Changbin's shoe? Berry, bad dog!" Corey continued to talk to the dog as she picked up the smelly shoe and held it at arm's length. She used some paper towels to clean out the pee as good as she can, then carried the paper towels over to the trash chute in the hallway, accidentally leaving the door open.

While throwing it down the metal drain, she heard a gunshot come from the television, making her rush back in. "Who died? Who died? Roll him over! Oh, c'mon, roll him over! Oh..! Well, we know it wasn't Vanessa, right Berry? Because-" But as she looked down to continue talking to him, he was gone.

"Berry?" That was when she turned around and noticed the door was left open. Panic struck.

By now, she had called everyone to the apartment, all except for Chan. "Okay, it's his first time out, so he's probably gonna wanna do some of the touristy things. I'll go to Seoul Tower, and you go to The Blue House." Felix said sarcastically as they all tried to figure out where the dog was.

"Oh, my, God! C'mon, you guys! He's gonna be home any minute! He's gonna kill me!" Corey panicked, starting to bite her nails in stress.

"Okay, we'll start with the building. You guys take the first and second floor, Woojin and I'll take third and fourth. Corey, you stay here, and just wait by the phone. Spray Lysol in my shoe, and wait for Chan to kill you." Changbin instructed and chased everyone out of the apartment, Corey softly asking if anyone wanted to trade, but no one replied.

Corey looked around in every room in the apartment, just in case he was still in there, but to no use. After maybe thirty minutes, she decided to call in for the big guns. Unlucky for her, she was on the phone with animal control when Chan entered the door. "Okay, he's a, he's a brown and white King Charles Spaniel, with a-" Her heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach when she saw Chan coming in with a smile on his face.

"with, with Russian dressing, and pickles on the side. Okay. Thanks." She covered and hung up, turning to Chan as if nothing was wrong. They greeted each other. Corey immediately noticed the bottle of wine in his hand and asked him about it. He confirmed her theory of its contents, then proceeding to ask if she wanted some.

"Oh, I would love some. But y'know what? Y'know what? Let's not drink it here. I'm feeling kind of crazy. You wanna go to Jakarta?" Corey tried persuading, desperate to postpone the inevitable truth, that she had lost his dog.

"Uh, okay, yeah, we could do that. But before we head off to the robbery capital of Southeast Asia, I was, uh, kinda wanting to run something by you. You know how we were talking before, about relationships and stuff? Well-" Chan started, obviously nervous as he was about to confess his feelings for her. He unscrewed the cork of the wine bottle, but Corey cut him off. Not because she knew he was going to confess, cause she didn't. She was beyond stressed about his dog.

"Oh God, Chan, I can't do this." She said as she paced back and forth in the kitchen, Chan's face falling. "Okay, Chan. Please don't hate me." She continued as Chan intensely tried getting the cork back on the wine. He looked at her first with concern, then confusion- because she was way more stressed out than what was normal when turning someone down.

"Y'know Berry? Well, I kind of.. I kind of lost him." She admitted, Chans arms falling to his sides as he looked at her in disbelief, almost as if she was waiting for her to tell him it was a prank.

"I-I-I ca- I can't believe this! I mean, all I asked you to do was keep him in the apartment. No, y'know what, I guess it's partially my fault. Y'know, I shouldn't have asked you to start off with a dog. I should have started you off with like a pen or a pencil." He yelled, pacing around, furious out of his mind.

Corey found herself in tears as she tried to explain herself. "Chan, I'm doing everything I can, I've got everybody looking for him, and I-" She was cut off as the intercom buzzed. She rushed over and asked who it was, pleased as she heard it was Animal Control.

"You called Animal Control?" Chan spoke in a low voice. Corey looking at him with a worried expression, asking if he didn't like them.

"Berry is a loose dog. If they find him, they are going to take him away from me, as I am not fit for a owner if I manage to lose him." Chan explained.

There was a knock on the door, Corey swiftly opening it. "Hi thank you for coming." She greeted, a man clad in a brown Animal Control uniform, and a huge butterfly net stood there, looking miserable as he probably didn't like his job very much.

Corey and Chan soon pretended they had no idea what he was talking about when he mentioned a dog, but Woojin soon came and accidentally revealed that there was in fact a dog on the loose.

"Look, I'm sure there's some friendly way to reconcile this! Um, have a seat. First of all, we haven't been introduced, I'm Seo Changbin." Changbin stated, pulling out a chair for the man and sat down in a chair himself. The man's eyes widened as Changbin mentioned his name.

"Oh my God, you are! And you're Corey Lee!" He said as he pointed to Corey. "Lee Minho! Cheongdam High? I sat behind you guys in home room!" Minho lit up as he introduced himself to his old classmates.

This pitched the fakes most annoying play ever produced, Changbin and Corey pretending they remembered Minho. "Minho? Oh my God, Changbin! It's Minho!" Corey started with a voice absolutely drenched in enthusiasm.

"The Minho from home room!" Changbin threw himself on, making a fool out of himself with his horrid lying.

"You have no idea who I am, do you?" Minho asked as he called out the two actors. They quickly admitted that it was the truth, something that hurt Minho. "Well, maybe that's because you spent four years ignoring me. I mean, would it have been so hard to say 'Morning, Minho'? Or 'Nice dancing'?" He spat back, the two embarrassed that they had behaved so poorly to someone when they were younger.

Changbin started to apologize for everything, but Minho cut him off. "Ah, it's not so much about you, you were a fucking loser, you had your own problems." He started, Changbin being dumbfounded by the entire thing as Minho turned to Corey. "But you? What a bitch!"

Everyone was taken aback by his statement, especially Corey. Fair enough, back in high school she was popular, cheer captain and all- but Minho was being a bit harsh if you asked her.

"Be that as it may, d'you think you could just help us out here on that dog thing? Y'know, just for old times' sake?" Changbin spoke softly, trying to persuade the man, but to no avail.

"I could.. but I won't. If I find that dog, he's mine." And with that he was out the door.

The group immediately split up as they had to find the dog before Minho did. Woojin and Changbin ran after Minho, Felix and Jisung was still in the building looking, so Corey and Chan decided to go out to the street and look.

"Berry!" They called every now and then as they walked the block for what felt like hours. "Ber- oh this is ridiculous! We've been all over the neighborhood. He's gone." Chan sighed as he stopped and sat down on a staircase that lead to the front door of an apartment complex. Corey felt her heart drop as she saw the state he was in. She walked over to grab his hand, like she always did.

"Chan, you don't know that." She spoke softly, rubbing the soft skin of his palm. Chan let it go on for only a split second before he snapped back to reality and pulled his hand out of Coreys.

"No, this is just classic Corey! I mean, things just sort of happen around you. I mean you're off in Corey-land, doing your Corey-thing, totally oblivious to people's dogs, or to people's feelings.." He trailed off his angry rant, his words sending a ache in the back of Corey' s throat as it closed up.

"Chan, that is not fair-" She tried, but was instantly cut off.

"No it isn't fair that the fact that you're useless hurts me! I asked you to do something that is literally the easiest thing ever, second after breathing. Had you not been such a bratty bitch in high school, maybe you could actually have paid attention in class and gained a few brain cells. But no! You have kissed more boys than you have IQ points, so it's my fault that I trusted you to keep Berry in a room! No wonder you feel stupid around your family, you’re the biggest idiot I’ve ever met." He snapped, this sending tears over the brim of Corey's eyes.

She had always known she wasn't the smartest person out there, and she was more insecure about that than Chan could even begin to imagine. But she had always had the safety of knowing that her best friends never judged her for that- but to hear that one of the most important people in her life viewed her as a dumb slut, that hurt.

"Chan. We're now going to find Berry, and after that- I want you to never speak to me again." Corey spoke in a surprisingly steady voice, as it was low and almost dangerous. They then continued to walk up and down the neighbourhood until they eventually gave up and walked back to the apartment.

When they got back, they got to hear the greatest story of all time, as Minho had accidentally shot a dart at Woojin instead of Berry. After hearing a yelp from the floor below them, they decided story time was over and that they had to check it out in case it was Berry.

On bottom of the stairs, they could see Minho holding a cage with a white and brown dog inside, yelping as it was scared. Berry.

"Alright, we want our dog!" Corey demanded as she rushed down the stairs, the rest of the group hot on her heels. "No, prom queen!" Minho simply replied.

"Oh, c'mon Minho! Alright. In high school I was the prom queen, and I was the homecoming queen and you.. were also there! But if you take this dog, you are going to hurt one of the most important people in my life. You can hate me all you want, but please do not punish him. C'mon, Minho, you have the chance to be the bigger person here! Take it!" Corey spoke, begging in fact. For a second, it looked like they had persuaded him, but once he refused yet again, Corey decided to pull out a trick she had saved for emergency only.

"Alright, well then how about I call your supervisor, and tell her you shot my friend in the ass with a dart?"

The room grew deathly quiet, no one dared to even move. Minho had a look in his eyes that was hard to place, but it didn't matter because after a few more seconds, he gently placed the cage on the floor and turned on his heel. The group cheered among themselves as Chan almost fell to the floor to let Berry out of the cage.

Corey let out a sigh as she saw him hug the dog. She had done what they agreed, now it was his turn to keep up the deal. It was almost as if Chan thought about it too, because after a few minutes, he asked everyone but Corey to leave.

"Corey, I feel so bad, I am so sorry for what I said earlier, you know I didn't mean it-" He started apologizing, but Corey didn't feel as if it was enough.

"No. I don't know that you didn't mean it. It obviously had to come from somewhere. And we have known each others since we were in kindergarten, you know me inside and out, which is why I know you wouldn't have said that unless it was to severely hurt and damage me. You know how insecure I am about those things, and yet. Sorry just doesn't cut it." Corey spoke softly. She thought she would be more angry than she was, but she was too exhausted. Her voice spoke almost as if she had given up.

"But you're my best friend." Chan's voice cracked when he spoke. He grabbed her hand and held it close to his chest, scared that if he let go of her hand, she would vanish. He didn't realize how bad what he had said was, but thinking back on it now, he wanted to knock himself out.

If there was one thing he knew about Corey, it was that she was very insecure about her intelligence. She was the youngest in a family of doctors and lawyers and professors, so of course she felt dumb when she never understood what it was they talked about at the dinner table. But she wasn't. She was one of the smartest people Chan had ever met, but in non-traditional ways. Maybe she couldn't solve a math problem in a second, but she knew how to take care of plants, and how to perfectly fold her clothes so they wouldn't crease. She knew how to put together an outfit with the help of color theory and knowing which patterns not to mix. But none of that mattered, Chan had hit her where it hurt and he had no idea how to fix it.

"If I was your best friend, you wouldn't use that against me- no matter what." Corey spoke softly, almost as if she was comforting him- but as you listened to what she said, you quickly realized that was not the case. She then pulled her hand towards herself, Chan letting out a small yelp as she did so- and turned on her heel and went home.

-

That was a lot sory..

I hope you like it, feel free to request!

-bentley

[medu-nefer]

Whumptober 4: Caged

The Dragon Prince, Ethari-centered, Ruthari, gansters AU

(After a year of writer’s block, I finally managed to spew something out, and while it’s so not up to my old standards [please forgive the rusty English; also, it was about 2-3 AM], it’s gotta do for now. Perhaps I’ll rewrite it after the event is done and I have more time to write for all the prompts I have planned out and in the end been unable to get to.

Still, Ruthari content is Ruthari content, so here goes nothing.)

*~*~*

Ethari stared at the people filing into his workshop with an odd sense of detachment.

He had been working on a necklace for one of his clients, something worthy of a grand engagement, when the door burst open and six people came in. He could see two more through the windows but the pair remained outside.

The people inside were well-dressed in dark green, blue or purple suits – and carried knives and guns, quite openly. They scanned his workplace and made sure nobody else was there, and then one of them approached.

The sides and back of his head were shaven, leaving an artistically messy strip of pale blond hair at the top. His eyebrows were thick and dark, and his hazel eyes gave Ethari a quick once-over.

The young craftsman couldn’t help his gaze travelling to the two earrings adorning the man’s left ear before looking into his indifferent eyes.

‘Come on,’ the man murmured, gesturing with his head to the door. As he took a step back to make space for Ethari, his hand ventured towards one of his guns.

Ethari might have been bigger than any of the men – courtesy of indulging in blacksmithing every now and again – but he knew better than to argue. He stood up from his stool and walked to the door. The two people stationed there barely looked at him, focused instead on the street. Once outside, he paused and let the man lead the way. He noticed two of the people remained in his shop.

As they walked through the alleys, Ethari couldn’t help his growing agitation. He didn’t know where they were going or why. He didn’t know whether his skills were needed or if he was being taken for some other reason. He didn’t know if something had happened elsewhere in the city.

He noticed people staring at them from afar but once they walked closer, everyone got out of their path and averted their gazes. The Moonshadows may have been known to never cause unnecessary trouble but it wasn’t wise to get in their way without a good reason regardless.

After all, who in their right mind chose to have contacts with gangsters?

The corner of Ethari’s mouth wandered upwards at the thought and a small snort escaped him, earning him the attention of the woman and one of the men, but he just shook his head.

Finally, they arrived at the warehousing area and he was ushered into one of the buildings. Outside, it looked quite decrepit but on the inside the conditions were better than in most ordinary houses of Silvergrove.

One of Ethari’s eyebrows twitched when he noticed a lone desk and chair in the far corner, far enough away from a few massive tables in the centre of the room – and very far from the entrance.

The leader of the group approached him and gestured towards the desk. ‘Make yourself comfortable. It’ll take a while.’

Without any real choice, Ethari walked over and let himself inspect the furniture. The big tables were made crudely, without any finesse. After all, it was pretty clear they weren’t there for aesthetic purposes.

The desk was an entirely different story, though. There were ornate decorations etched into the wood – ebony, if Ethari wasn’t horribly mistaken. The chair was high-backed and upholstered, a single silken cushion placed on the seat. There were sheets of paper, pencils, pens and measuring tools placed neatly in one of the desk’s corners.

Ethari looked back to the four people watching him closely and sat down with a heavy sigh. He reached for the paper, immediately noticing its ridiculously high quality.

What should he do? Design some weapons, probably. He had never planned on taking his career in this direction but he would be lying through his teeth if he said he hadn’t made anything deadly.

He reached for the pencils and started sketching out an idea he had been entertaining for a while. It was of a knife that could be turned into a hook or have its blade retract altogether to conceal its purpose, depending on the gestures of its user.

For the first hour he ignored a bunch of people that came in or left the warehouse, and focused on his schematics. But eventually, his attention started straying from his task. He watched the woman from before, took in her blue suit, the braided hair with exquisite ornaments. He knew she noticed him looking but ignored him completely.

Growing more and more frustrated – the wave after wave of worry and trepidation making him increasingly more irritable – he decided to abandon his project and focus on something else. Something he had been putting off for too long.

He grabbed a new sheet and started sketching out two circular objects. Finally allowing himself to focus on the positives in his life, he remembered all the good things the last couple of years had brought him. He had never expected to find himself in that place but he was more than happy with how things had played out.

His lips pulled into a soft smile when he created something delicate and peaceful rather than lethal.

Suddenly, there was a presence at his side and he looked up to see one of the other men coming to a stop next to him. His suit was dark green with black elements. He had half of his hair braided at the side of his head, while the rest remained loose. He glanced at Ethari’s new project and smiled.

‘Can’t wait, eh?’ he asked in a thick accent.

Ethari gave him a little smile and shrugged. ‘You know how it is.’

The man nodded curtly. ‘Let me know if you need anything. We’ve run into some trouble with the Katolis’ scum so there’s some issues with the net but I can’t see why you shouldn’t make yourself at home here while we wait.’

‘Thank you, Skor. Unless you can tell me what’s going on, I’m good.’

Skor winced and looked away. Ethari knew what that meant. The information was there, he just wasn’t privy to it. Of course. He was kept in a confinement, with guards watching his every move. What else did he expect?

Suddenly, there was commotion at the entrance. Three Moonshadows entered, limping and swearing. The soles of their boots left bloody footprints on the polished floorboards.

‘What happened?!’ the leader of the group yelled, striding towards his wounded comrades.

‘What the fuck do you think happened, Callisto?’ one of them snarled. ‘Fucking Katolis’ scumbags set an ambush. That fucker Viren orchestrated it. Killed at least three of us. We should have killed him when we had the chance.’

Callisto took a step back when the man started coughing up blood, and got his people’s attention. ‘Ram, take care of them. Andromeda, you go up on the roof and prepare a lookout. We need to know if we’re approached and by whom. We might need to help some of ours get here. Skor, we haven’t heard from the Boss. Find him.’

As he spoke, a few more Moonshadows entered the warehouse and Ethari felt the walls coming down around him.

He really was locked in a wooden box, with more and more gangsters coming in and watching him, while out there, something horrible was happening. He was in a cage and couldn’t get out. He couldn’t—

Tunnel vision and laboured breathing. He had to grab the back of the chair he had been sitting on just moments ago lest he fell. When had he even gotten up? He was shaking and couldn’t focus on anything beside the overwhelming need to go out of there and do something, before it was too late.

But all of a sudden, the door burst open once more and a lone figure walked inside.

‘Boss, you’re fine,’ Callisto said, relief clear on his face.

The leader of the Moonshadows wore a three piece suit and an unbuttoned pea coat on top of it. They were all  in dark blue or green shades, matching each other perfectly. His hair was white, long and partially braided. His piercing turquoise eyes searched the inside of the warehouse and focused on Ethari.

The young craftsman barely registered what was happening before the gangster’s long legs carried him through the room and into Ethari’s personal space. He began to relax only when he felt hands on his cheeks and lips crashing with his own.

His hands latched onto the other man’s vest and pulled him closer, the excruciating weight of fear lifting off his shoulders.

‘Runaan,’ he murmured against his lips, earning himself a bone-crushing embrace.

‘I’m sorry for worrying you,’ Runaan whispered. ‘Viren was making a move against us and I needed to know you were safe.’

‘I was scared something happened to you.’

Runaan pressed their foreheads together hastily. ‘I promised you I’d be fine. Don’t worry.’

Ethari gave him a weak smile. ‘Somebody has to.’

Unwillingly, they let each other go but kept their hands intertwined when Runaan turned to his people and started giving orders. Within moments, they had their plan of action and most of the gangsters left to do their part to ensure Katolis wouldn’t be able to deal any more damage.

Runaan was making plans for the immediate future when he noticed Ethari’s designs on the desk. He reached for one of them and picked it up, a warm smile adorning his face.

‘Think you can make these before the wedding?’

Ethari tore his gaze away from Runaan’s beautiful face to the two wedding rings he had sketched out.

He felt a grin splitting his face as he pulled his fiancé into yet another kiss, knowing he’d steal plenty more later on, when all the Moonshadows were safe and accounted for, and the two retired for the night.

’Why don’t we see?’