#SURPRISE CECIL \ o / this one's for you

[nelithic]

ahem, happy unbirthday to @loveevangelist ! this is for you :snicker: commissioned from one of my favorite creators, hasuyawwn ( go support them ! ) happy ethereal ball 2024 !!!

[blueesnow]

Halloween Voice Lines Translation (Live Emotion)

-You can look at it again on the Event Log: Talk section and the Voice Log in Idol Page, the voice line is titled ハロウィン (Halloween).

-Also the translations might not be fully accurate since I'm not that fluent on jp/en, so if i ever made a mistake do correct me🙏

From Event Log (Talk):

Otoya: I might want to hear your “Trick or Treat” rather than mine! I'm all ready for some sweet pranks, okay? Masato: Can I feed you some Halloween candies by my own hand? …There's no one else watching right now. Natsuki: I'm happy with anything that you give me, but I'd love to hear some sweet words to go along with the treats. Tokiya: I've made sure to have everything ready for today. Here is a selection of different kinds of treats. Which one do you like the best? Ren: If you were to ask me "Trick or Treat", I'd probably answer yes to either one of them* in a heartbeat. *Technically what Ren said here is "どっちも" which means he's fine with whatever, so he's probably trying to left the answer to you lol Syo: If you don't give me a candy then I'm going to play a prank on you! …Eh, what kind of prank, you ask? Um… t-the funny one of course, the one that made you laugh! Cecil: Oh, you can put the candies over there! Instead of prank, I actually have a favor to ask. I want to be with you all alone. Reiji: What kind of costume I'd like to wear for Halloween, huh. Maybe I could dress up as a vampire and bite on Kouhai-chan? Just kidding☆ Ranmaru: Just so you know, treats alone aren't enough to satisfy me. Bring me something else. Of course, I'm not just talking about food. Ai: I heard that the Jack-O-Lantern was originally made from a turnip, so I prepared one in advance. Let's go and work on it together. Camus: Trick or treat. Surely, you know exactly which one you should give me, don't you? Eiichi: I can't pass up on a Halloween party for just the two of us. I'd love to dance the night away with some mysterious and jolly music along. Kira: If I were to put on a costume… I definitely wanted to wear one…that could surprise you. Fufu, I'm just kidding. Nagi: Let's have so much fun with Nagi for today so that there is no room for ghost to come in☆ What shall we do about the pranks~♪ Eiji: I've prepared a bunch of different sweets that I think you might like. Will you give them a try and let me check whether I got it right or wrong? Van: I'll escort you down the road glowing with pumpkin lanterns. I wanna stay with you until the night. Yamato: If anyone were to try to play a prank on you, tell me and I'll protect you right away. In return, we'll split the snacks fifty-fifty, 'kay. Shion: I don't need any treats. And you don't have to play a trick on me either. However, could you please play me a tune that is suitable for this evening?

From Voice Log (Homescreen):

Otoya: Trick or Treat! Masato: It's Halloween. Natsuki: Trick or, treat! Tokiya: It's Halloween. Ren: Happy Halloween! Syo: Trick or Treat! Cecil: Trick or Treat! Reiji: Happy Halloween☆ Ranmaru: It's Halloween. Ai: It's Halloween. Camus: It's Halloween. Eiichi: It's Halloween. Kira: It's…Halloween. Nagi: Happy Halloween☆ Eiji: It's Halloween. Van: Happy Halloween! Yamato: It's Halloween. Shion: It's Halloween.

[evereinefaust]

. . . ⇢ ˗ˏˋ 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮 ࿐ྂ

Pairing: Starish X afab!Reader X Quartet Night

Synopsis: On this momentuous night, MC ends her visit with a special song dedicated for each of her beloved idols.

Word Count: 1,504

Tonight's the night. The night that she finally finished visiting them. She already seen their smiling faces and their unique personalities, each and everyone differ from each other and it truly captured her attention.

The [h/c]ette teen hummed a gentle tune that was written by no other than the girl herself—For You. It was the song that she wrote to express her feelings for each and every one of her beloved idols, and that's the reason why she's very jubilant tonight.

[E/c] eyes wandered around the place as she walks; the blooming, pink leaves of the famous cherry blossoms caught her attention successfully. The bright, full moon shone its white moonlight down unto her figure, an opaque shadow forming right behind her walking form.

After meeting everyone from both St☆rish and Quartet Night, [Y/n] left the premises and decided to take a midnight stroll once again outside. She arrived at the garden that was filled with bountiful cherry blossoms everywhere. A smile found its way unto her lips once she saw the moon giving light to the place, several pink leaves floated around.

'Koko ni aru no wa

Kimi ga ima made eranda michi no

Kotaetachi yo

Hora jishin motte susumeba ii

Totemo shizen na no

Ameagari no asufaruto ni

Niji ga kakaru you ni'

She sang. Her angelic and soft voice resonated around the place, creating an echo of delicate harmony. The wind picked up and made the leaves of the trees sway, some fell off from its respective branch and floated pass the girl. Her [e/c] orbs reflected the shine of the moon as she halted to a stop, her figure glistening under the heavenly arrays of light. The previous soft breeze gently caressed her [s/c] skin whilst her hair danced along with the evening winds.

'Lonely kaze ga fuite

Feeling ki ga tsuita yo

Kotae wa doko ni mo nai kedo

Call me wakatteru wa

With you ai wa itsumo

Atae au mono'

[Y/n] reached a gazebo and slowly trudged her way towards it. It was designed with ivory, marble tiles, and white, wooden pillars on each corner, vines climbing up until it reaches the top. The white roof was painted with a cherry blossom design, covering most space with pink and green hue. In the middle of the gazebo was a lone white, wooden bench. She sat on it and closed her eyes, relaxing her body as she leaned back. The girl continued to sing her heart out, both of her hands clutched on her chest. Her eyelids slowly fluttered close, deciding that it is better to sing with closed eyes to be able to feel the emotions surging through.

'For You

Kitto kimi wa itsu no hi ka

Kono sora o toberu hazu dakara

Nando tsumazuita toshite mo

For You

Taisetsu na koto wa hitotsu

Yume miru koto

Kokoro dake wa tozasanaide ite'

Unbeknownst to her, three members of St☆rish heard her sing and taken by curiosity, they decided to search for the source of the voice. Though even without any evidence, those three knew whose voice that was. They knew that it belonged to no other than [Y/n] herself.

Red, brown and bluish-black hairs emerged from a corner and their eyes immediately fell on the gazebo. There they saw the silhouette of the girl sitting on the bench in the middle of the gazebo.

Otoya's reddish-orange eyes stared lovingly at [Y/n]'s silhouette from the distance, listening attentively to her angelic voice. As for Tokiya, he was entranced by the girl's harmony with his blue eyes dilated wide in surprise. Though a small smile soon tugged his lips.

"[Y/n]-chan's voice is blessed by the muses..." Cecil breathed, taking in every tune.

'Kizutsuite mo namida korae

Gaman shiteta yo ne

Sonna kimi o ichiban chikaku de

Mitekita kara

Nani mo iwanakute mo

Wakatteru yo

Donna toki mo gambatteta koto'

As the song progressed, a pair of blondes appeared from behind the building, rounding the corner and soon their eyes landed on the gazebo before them. The two blondes, one tall and one short, immediately stopped in their tracks and stared at the person from afar.

Natsuki's emerald eyes lit up in recognition of the voice. "It truly is [Y/n]-chan!"

"Ssh! Not so loud, Natsuki!" Syo instantly scolded the taller male in a hushed voice. "You don't want to ruin her performance, do you?"

"Sorry, Syo-chan..." Natsuki rubbed his head apologetically.

The two didn't exchange words after. They stayed silent and focused on listening to [Y/n]'s singing. Syo and Natsuki once heard the [h/c]ette sing before, and the first time that they did, they were enthralled by her delicate song and gentle voice.

Syo's blue hues softened as he gazed at the girl's back, watching her from the shadows. He leaned on the wall with his arms crossed, deciding to close his eyes in order to feel the emotions even better.

As for the tall, glasses-wearing blonde, he had his hands clasped together in front of his chest. A genuine smile sported his lips, along with gentle gem-colored orbs filled with excitement.

'Lonely mayotta nara

Try again nando datte

Yarinaosu koto dekiru kara

I'm here soba ni iru wa

Believing osorenaide

Shinji au koto'

"Well, well, well~ If it wasn't little kitty~" Ren purred quietly while emerging from the garden of trees.

Masato soon joined him and his sapphire eyes spotted the girl singing in the distance. His eyes widened by an inch after realizing whose silhouette was that. "It really is her..."

"Told you that it was her voice~" the blonde teased, chuckling slightly.

"Shut up. I know it's her, I'm just making sure," Masato remarked, closing his eyes in the process.

"Whatever you say, Hijirikawa," Ren shrugged and leaned on a tree.

The two decided to stick for a while and listen to the girl's singing. After all, this was their first time hearing her sing and the first time they ever heard her voice this angelic. Both males had a small smile on their faces.

'For you

Kitto kimi mo itsu no hi ka

Kono sora o toberu hazu dakara

Nando kizutsuita toshite mo

For you

Taisetsu na koto wa hitotsu

Yume miru koto

Hitomi dake wa sorasanaide ite'

A blue-haired android appeared from the other side of the garden, his face showed no emotion whatsoever. Along with him was the blonde count who looked very serious.

"I never thought that [Y/n] would be singing here," Camus stated, walking closer to hear her properly.

"I agree," Ai nodded. "Though it seems that we're not the only one who're listening while she sings. Look."

Camus's cerulean hues went from the trio of Tokiya, Otoya, and Cecil to Ren and Masato then lastly to Natsuki and Syo. The count scoffed and closed his eyes. However, he didn't appear as he was irritated, rather, he seemed to be delighted as shown by his small smile on his lips.

"Let them be. [Y/n]'s singing had the power to enchant her listeners; It's like magic."

"I can agree with that," a smile tugged the blunette's lips as well.

'Kimi ga egaku yuuki ga hora

Kakegae no nai takaramono ni kawaru yo

Ima ryoute hiroge Fly high'

"Heh~ I can't believe that I would be able to hear her sing again," Ranmaru mused, a grin etched on his face.

"You heard her sing before, Ran-Ran?" Reiji asked, catching up to the silverette who stopped a few meters away from the gazebo and stared at the person sitting on the bench.

"Yeah. Only once though."

Reiji fixated his gaze on the girl and decided to listen to her singing. The song sent warm sensations throughout both males' body and somehow, it made them happy inside. The brunette smiled and clenched his pounding heart.

"Your voice sends warmth to anyone..."

'Kitto kimi wa itsu no hi ka

Kono sora o toberu hazu dakara

Nando tsumazuita toshite mo

For You

Taisetsu na koto wa hitotsu

Yume miru koto

Kokoro dake wa tozasanaide ite'

As [Y/n] finished the last words, she heard new voices singing 'La~la~la~' in the background. Her lids shot open in surprise and saw the boys walking slowly towards the gazebo she was currently in. The [h/c]ette didn't stop, however, instead she continued to sing and hum the last part of the song.

She slowly closed her eyes again, feeling all emotions surging through her being and filled her with warmth and happiness. All 11 idols soon emitted their own warmth and it combined with her own, engulfing all of them.

At last the song has come to an end, her voice slowly died down as well as the boys. [Y/n] opened her eyelids and revealed [e/c] eyes staring back at her beloved idols' multicolored ones. She smiled brightly, blush painted her pale cheeks. All of them had smiles on their faces as well.

"For you..."

[utanoprincesamascenarios]

Could I request Starish and qn's reaction to their s/o playing an otome games like mystic messenger and getting really into them and the characters??

Otoya likes video games as much as the next person, but he’s a little shocked when he sees how long his s/o plays at a time! He’s always happy to listen to whatever his s/o has to say about their current game. Otoya will also keep an eye out for any new releases that his s/o might take an interest in and might surprise them with a copy if it’s on a console. 

Masato is a little flustered when he learns of his s/o’s interest in romance games. Admittedly, they’re not his cup of tea, but it’s a hobby that means a lot to his s/o, so he puts an honest effort into understanding them. He’ll come to the conclusion that his s/o likes those games because they’re a big romantic at heart, and that’s a trait he’s always admired about them. 

Natsuki thinks it’s adorable when his s/o gets worked up over the characters in their games. He’ll make sure to remember the names of all of their favorites, and he’ll even pick one to be his own ‘favorite’. He’ll make sure that his s/o knows that they will always be his number one favorite, and they’ll tell him that the feeling is mutual. 

Tokiya isn’t really one to play video games, but he is an avid reader and he’s no stranger to getting sucked into a good story. It’s something fun to talk about at first, and when he sees how invested his s/o really is, he thinks it’s rather endearing. However, he does complain a little when his s/o plays in bed and the light from the screen interrupts his sleep.

Ren would definitely tease his s/o, but it would all be good natured. He’ll prod his s/o and ask if they picked a character that reminds them of him. He’d playfully pout if you were spending more time with the game than with him and offer to show you a few reasons why a real-life relationship is much, much better. 

Syo’s heard about those games before, but he’s never really understood the hype. He’ll ask his s/o for a crash course to get him up to speed, and he’d be surprised that the floodgates would open so strongly. Syo’s the same way with his favorite movies and shows, so it’s just another form of media that they can share with each other. No matter how much he tries, though, he can never remember the name of his s/o’s favorite character. 

Cecil sees anything story-driven like that as an opportunity to sharpen his language skills and will ask his s/o if he can play along with them. He’ll go along with whatever route his s/o wants, and he’ll probably get just as invested as his s/o does! He’ll tease his s/o about their choices a bit, and ask if he should be more like the characters, but it’s all in good fun. 

Reiji asks his s/o about their game when he notices how much time they’ve spent glued to it. When they get to the part about romance, Reiji feigns distress and wonders why his s/o has to resort to games for that! The teasing dies down quickly enough, though, and Reiji will cozy right up to his s/o when they start to play. It’s the best of both worlds – his s/o can play with their fictional crushes while getting some cuddles from their IRL crush. 

Ranmaru isn’t exactly the most invested person when it comes to his s/o’s hobbies, but he was quickly pulled in when his s/o started to bring up their game every chance they could. He’s a good sport about it, and he’ll ask some questions just to hear them talk about it more. They’re pretty cute when they’re passionate about something. He’s actually pretty interested in the background music for some of them and learns the words to their opening themes. 

Ai is very fond of games, and when his s/o starts talking about a new one they’ve picked up, his interest is piqued. He’s heard of otome games before, and he knows how dedicated some fans can be. Ai can help his s/o track down hard-to-find pieces of merchandise and knows the best websites for online shopping. He also sends his s/o any piece of news he finds hinting about sequels or new projects. 

Camus has absolutely no interest in video games, but after his s/o explains that they’re more story driven than anything else, he starts to appreciate them as a medium a little more. He’ll pop in and watch his s/o play, and he always has quite the commentary to provide when he does so. After a while, his s/o has to shoo him away because although his opinions can be insightful, they’re often a little too much. 

[feelinsheepish]

Part 2 of this

"I've just never even HEARD of a taur like you before!!!" Terrance was excited, that much was evident.

After gathering himself up, he had come to realise he had been in the presence of a tortoise centaur! It had taken a moment of awed silence until it was broken again by a chuckle from the stranger, who made sure to sit the young sheep down and make sure he was okay. Cecil he introduced himself as and Terry very meekly offered his own name out as they sat and began to talk together.

"It isn't a surprise to me," Cecil smiled softly. "My kind is... Well..." He didn't finish but offered a smile and a tilt of his head towards Terry. "Its wonderful to hear a new voice though... And may I ask? Are you a sheeptaur? I'm sure I felt the wool when you landed."

"Hm?" Terrance was confused, did he not see that he was a sheep? "Well, yes, I'm... Well, can't you tell?"

Cecil chuckled. "No, I cannot, I can't see."

Terry blinked and then gasped, suddenly realising why the older man's eyes seemed so distant. Oh god. He had been rude hadn't he? "You're!-"

"Ruggedly handsome? My shell is very shiny?" Cecil gave a light laugh again, offering a comforting smile. "Yes, I am blind, don't fret over it, little one, not many notice at first."

"But- How did you-? Why?-"

"Heh, my staff helps," He tapped the stick in his lap. "And I've tuned myself into the sounds that are around me, no doubt it is difficult at times, you wouldn't BELIEVE how hard it is to find some good food." The elder laughed again and it caused Terrance to smile in response, he didn't know why, but he felt so much at ease around this man, his voice gravely yet smooth like silk.

"Well, what are you doing out here?" Terry asked. "All by yourself as well, isn't it dangerous out there?"

"Ah, well, its dangerous everywhere," Cecil revealed and grasped his staff with a knowing smile. "One must only know how to traverse it.

Terry made an 'O' shape with his lips, finding it rather fascinating to say the least.

"But what about you? Hm? I thought sheep stayed with the flock?"

"Oh... Well... Um...." He scratched the back of his messy head with an awkward tone.

"Ah." Cecil connected the dots and smirked. "Not meant to be out here, hm? Well, perhaps you ought to be getting off home, little one."

"But... What about you?"

"I've stayed out here for years, I know my way around, perhaps I'll stay in these woods a little longer, especially if there is kind company around." With a smile, Cecil reached out with his hand, feeling at nothing for a moment before it connected with Terry's shoulder. "You take care of yourself, try not to fall down out of the sky again, hm?"

Terry could do nothing but nod in response, for a moment... Feeling captivated, warmed by something... Otherworldly? He shook it off and rose to his hooves, dusting himself off.

"Well, stay safe, okay? Maybe... I'll see you around? Tomorrow? Or... Some day soon?"

Cecil chuckled. "I hope thats a promise."

The sheep grinned, his little woolly tail wiggling happily before waving a farewell. "Bye, Cecil! See you soon!"

The tortoise lifted a hand in farewell, listened as the hooves of the sheep disappeared with the sound of rustling leaves and gentle thumping of grass. The hand lowered slightly, a moment of silence with nothing but the birds singing and the trees rustling in the breeze... And then suddenly a green light radiated from Cecil's hand, a snake summoned into existence as it wrapped around his fingers.

"I know Enid... I think we've found him..."

[btswrckd]

War of Hearts II

Mafia Boss!Taehyung x Fem!Reader

Summary: Being in an arranged marriage with Kim Taehyung does not mean you have to be civil. Or make his life easy.

Warnings: mentions of violence, mentions o weapons, mentions of blood, slight angst, next chapter will be smut

------------------------------------------------------

Taehyung isn’t sure how you can sleep through the night after the little stunt you’d pulled, but he finds himself tossing and turning through most of it. When he does finally manage to fall asleep at the fun hour of 3 o’clock in the damn morning, he’s woken an hour later by the dipping of the bed from your side. “Going somewhere, princess?”

“I have to pee,” you snap, “or will you be holding my hand to the bathroom as well?”

“Is that an invitation?” He grins, tucking one arm behind his head. Huh. Maybe you aren’t as well rested as he thinks. Maybe you’d spent the night just as frustrated. At least he isn’t alone in that.

“Shut up, Tae.” You stomp across the room and slam the bathroom door behind you. You can hear him laughing from the other side and silently contemplate shoving him off the bed when you return. You hadn’t slept, body anticipating his touch every time he moved but it never came and then you’d deflate in disappointment. You don’t know what time he plans on starting his day and hope it’s soon because you need space. You need room to think back on last night and figure out where the hell your sudden boldness came from. Where had you gotten the idea to touch him from? You were pretty bitter about the incident in the living room, sure, but to play a dangerous game like that? 6 months ago, you wouldn’t even dream of it. Now you’re panicking in the privacy of your personal bathroom because what, you actually want to sleep with your husband? You’re fairly sure you won’t be the first woman having sex with her own husband, but still, it was Taehyung. Tae. The chubby cheeked little kid who’d been your partner in crime at boring dinner parties that both yours and his parents attended. What kind of audacity did he have becoming so fucking attractive? Who allowed this?

“Are you going to actually use the restroom?” Taehyung’s voice startles you as he leans against the doorway. “Or can I brush my teeth?”

You didn’t hear him open the door. You hadn’t even locked it like you usually do. You’d forgotten and that irritates you. It means you’re letting your guard down when you can’t afford to. Not today of all days. You look at him, see the hunger swirling in his eyes, and your stomach drops because it’s been a very long time since any man has looked at you like that. “What time is it?”

“4:30,” he responds with a sigh, rolling his neck to release the tension that built overnight. “Why are you up so early, princess?”

“Why are you?” you fire back quickly and see him grin. He’s always known that you have a habit of deflecting when you can’t answer a question or explain yourself. His eyes drift down to the purple bruises around your neck, a lasting result from his mouth yesterday, and he smirks. You step back when he pushes off the door jamb and stalks forward, lightly gripping your chin.

“I wasn’t able to sleep,” he answers your question, “because my wife likes to play games and leave me with the worst case of blue balls I’ve ever had.” He watches your breath hitch and his smirk grows wider. “Then she runs into the bathroom and forgets to lock the door after winning said game from last night. As if I won’t come in, bend her over the sink, and play my own little game.”

“Just brush your teeth, Taehyung!” you squeak, shoving at his chest and rushing out of the bathroom before your mouth has a chance to ignore your brain, and most likely ask what kind of game he’s talking about. You throw yourself on the bed and burrow beneath the blankets in hopes of disappearing.

Taehyung doesn’t actually brush his teeth. He didn’t really need to. It was the only excuse he had for checking up on you after 30 minutes of silence. He does, however, splash cold water on his face to cool the heat spreading through his body. Last night is still very fresh in his mind and just being near you sets him off. He makes his way back to bed, falling onto the mattress and praying he’ll get a few more hours of sleep.

You peek out from underneath the blankets when he sighs, burying his face into a pillow. His nose scrunches up in discomfort. You know that it’s because he can’t fall asleep, can’t stop thinking about last night, despite having to be up soon to do...whatever the hell he does. Truthfully, you won’t be falling asleep either, even though you really need to if you’re going to pull off what you have planned for the day. Scooting closer, you see his eyes drift open in silent question, but you dip beneath the weight of his arm and tuck your head to his chest. His breathing stops for a moment before his hold tightens and he shifts onto his side, nuzzling his face into your hair. It’s this way, snuggled up to Taehyung, that you finally fall asleep to the sound of his steady heartbeat.

The shrill ringing of the alarm clock has you jumping in Taehyung’s embrace. You swear you had just shut your eyes before the screeching woke you, but looking at the time, you see that it had actually been 4 hours later. Taehyung blindly reaches for the clock, pressing random buttons until it finally quiets down and wrapping his arm around your waist once more. The shuffling of feet outside the bedroom door alerts him to Jungkook’s presence and the hushed tones of someone asking how he’s still alive alerts him to Jimin’s company as well. Right. He’d forgotten that they’d be taking you on another book haul after he’d ruined the one from yesterday.

At first, he had shut down the idea entirely when Seokjin texted him after his shower. Seokjin insisted that you be out of the house by the afternoon and Taehyung insisted on tearing his head off if he kept on with that nonsense. But Seokjin had just gotten a call from Namjoon and Hoseok that they were on their way back, and that they’d contacted Cecil for a meeting. To which Taehyung responded by reiterating that you needed to stay in the house until it was dealt with. He doesn’t remember how Seokjin had convinced him to let you go, but he had, and now he’s supposed to wake you up to get ready when he doesn’t want to.

“Princess,” his voice is groggy and barely audible, but you stir nonetheless. “Jungkookie and Jimin are going to take you somewhere today.”

“Where?” you mumble into his chest, brushing the tip of your nose beneath his chin.

“It’s a surprise.”

“I don’t like surprises.” You shift against him, tossing one leg over his hip.

“This one you will.” He smiles against your hair and presses a kiss to the top of your head. “It’s not like you to deny going out.”

“When I have more energy to burn, I like going out.” You don’t know why, but you’re working your mouth against the skin of his neck, teeth playfully nipping at him. “Not when I’m running on 4 hours of sleep.”

“Even if it means getting to pick out a new book?” He teases, and you’re up in a flash, stumbling to the bathroom to get ready. Your love for books and knowledge rivals Namjoon’s and between the two of you, Taehyung isn’t sure how there’s not a daily debate on whatever topic either of you bring up. Yesterday, when you’d rifled through half the shelves at the store, you resembled a kid in a candy store.

“Boss.” Jimin knocks on the door as Taehyung gets out of bed to answer it. He grins at Taehyung when he sees the look on his face. “Morning, boss. How’d you sleep?”

“Don’t let her out of your sight,” Taehyung snaps at him in return, yet Jimin merely laughs. “I don’t care if she brings home the whole fucking store, as long as she makes it home, am I understood?”

“Yes, sir.” Jimin nods, side eyeing one upset looking Jeon Jungkook and gesturing to him. “If it makes you feel any better, Taehyung, you’re not the only one who thinks she should stay in.”

“Are you saying she should be out and about with everything that’s going on?”

“I’m saying that despite whatever progress you’ve made as a couple,” Jimin clarifies, “if she continues to feel suffocated, she’ll lose her mind. You’ve seen it happen.”

Taehyung opens his mouth to argue with him when you duck beneath his arm, fresh faced and dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt, a jacket hanging over your arm, and the backpack you’re sure to fill with books. You step up next to Jungkook, nudging his side with your elbow and not so subtly tilting your head Taehyung’s way.

Jungkook looks like he’d rather vomit than say whatever is lingering on his tongue, but you pin him with a look that says he’d better spit it out. “Yesterday,” he clears his throat and looks to his feet as he addresses Taehyung, “I was out of line, boss.”

Jimin reels back in shock, Taehyung following his lead. Jungkook is still young and while he makes for a great marksman and an even better fighter, his mindset can be hard to crack through. Though he’d never been defiant against Taehyung, he could still be stubborn in his ways and would sooner chew off his own arm than admit he was wrong. So, this is what you were up to last night. Taehyung had known you’d been texting Jungkook, he just didn’t know what about and had honestly forgotten all about it until now.

You give Jungkook another hard nudge and when he shakes his head, you stomp on the top of his foot. Both Jimin and Taehyung raise their brows at the way you dig your heel in until Jungkook finally caves and lifts his foot to get you off.

“Arlight!” Jungkook hisses in pain and resists the urge to kick off his shoe to see if you’d broken any bones. “I shouldn’t have overstepped and it won’t happen again.”

“Let’s go,” you announce with satisfaction and shoulder past Jungkook, who limps after your retreating figure.

Jimin waits until you’re both out of sight to throw his head back and roar with laughter, nearly toppling over as he wheezes. “Sh-She really made him apologize. She got the most stubborn person on the planet to say he’s sorry. Oh, my God, I really think she’s my new favorite person.”

“She most likely did it for his benefit more than mine.” Taehyung is still unable to fully process what just happened. “Losing Jungkookie as her bodyguard would devastate her.”

“Even so,” Jimin gasps as he tries to catch his breath, “she still got him to admit he was wrong. That was gold. I should have recorded it.”

“Yoongi probably already did.”

-------------------------------------------------

Namjoon and Hoseok arrive back at the house not long after you leave, refusing to believe Yoongi’s tale of Jungkook’s apology.

“No way.” Hoseok shakes his head. “Jungkook would rather shoot himself in the foot than admit he was wrong.”

“Hobi’s right,” Namjoon agrees with a nod. He’s sitting in the chair next to Yoongi’s in the security room while Taehyung and Seokjin prepare for Cecil’s visit. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Then I suppose it’s a good thing I got it on camera.” Yoongi snickers, pulling up the feed from this morning and pressing play.

Namjoon and Hoseok simultaneously wince when you shove your foot into Jungkook’s and put a good amount of pressure on it for some time. They listen to Jungkook apologize without really using the words ‘I’m sorry’, but it seems to be good enough for you. It’s when he limps after you that Namjoon and Hoseok share an amused look before bursting into laughter.

“Jimin is so lucky he was there.” Hoseok wipes at an invisible tear as Seokjin steps into the room with a questioning look.

“Do you 3 mind getting your asses in gear and getting the hell out here?” Seokjin scolds them. “Cecil just pulled through the gate.”

Namjoon, Hoseok, and Yoongi right themselves before following Seokjin to the living room where Taehyung is already waiting. They move to stand behind him just as Cecil strolls in through the foyer. All but Taehyung sneer at him and the two men at his side.

Cecil is an old, sweaty, greasy excuse of a man that couldn’t be more than 5’5. He’s balding, though he attempts to cover it up with a toupee, his stomach hangs over the waistline of his pants, and he smiles with crooked and yellow teeth. Even his appearance could be looked past if he wasn’t such a piece of shit person. Before Mr. Kim had gotten involved, Cecil had dabbled in human trafficking, mostly targeting women and girls 13 and older. When Mr. Kim had begun building his empire, Cecil was desperate to work underneath him, but Mr. Kim had demolished the trafficking ring Cecil had run in response. Cecil had exploded and accused Mr. Kim of being a hypocrite when Mr. Kim himself had dealt in drugs and assassinations. Mr. Kim admitted to being an awful person, but neither he nor anyone wishing to work with him would ever deal in people. Needless to say, Cecil had never gained Mr. Kim’s trust and very few people chose to work with Cecil anymore. Everything about this poor excuse of a man is nauseating.

“Kim,” Cecil greets with a sneer of his own, “you’re very much like your father, aren’t you? Sticking your nose in my business where it doesn’t belong.”

“Your business with the Seong family is my business, Cecil.” Taehyung peers at the two men flanking either side of Cecil. “What do you want from them?”

“Who says I want anything?” Cecil taunts. “I saw a pretty face and wanted it for my collection. I wasn’t aware she was a Seong girl.”

“And my wife,” Taehyung informs through clenched teeth. “You were aware that this is my home, and that she lives here, so why the fuck are you really circling around here, you greasy son of a bitch?”

“I knew this was your home when my boys scoped it out.” Cecil nods, observing the living room carefully. “I just thought the Seong brothers put her under your protection. I had no idea she was your new whore.”

Fire flashes in Taehyung’s eyes, nostrils flaring, as he steps in Cecil’s direction. “My original plan was to find out what you wanted and be done with you. Now the only way you’ll be leaving here is in pieces.”

Namjoon and Hoseok advance on the two men Cecil has with them. The men fight, but they’re no match for Namjoon and Hoseok, going down quite easily. Seokjin and Yoongi draw their guns quickly, both cocking back the firing pin as Cecil panics.

“I’m not the one that’s after her!” Cecil admits, hands raised in surrender. “I don’t know who is!”

“Don’t fuck with me, Cecil.” Taehyung raises a hand to stop Seokjin and Yoongi from pulling the trigger.

“I’m not!” Cecil insists. “It’s like this, okay? I’m sitting in my office one day, giving over some books for a new product I want to move when I get a call from a number that’s untraceable. They tell me to look into the Seong family, that there’s only one living girl left, and they want to get their hands on her. They tell me I’m the only one who can get it done, and they wired $1 million into my account as payment, but by the time I got to the Seong brothers, the girl was gone. She’d been moved and I told them that the next time they called. They were the ones who told me where to find her, they were the ones who set up the plan to trick your cameras, I just had the perfect lackey, that’s all.”

“What else do they want from her?” Yoongi is the one to ask, hand shaking with rage at the thought of someone getting to you.

“They didn’t say. Just that they wanted her.”

“Boss.” Namjoon looks panicked, and Taehyung is about to ask why when the sound of the front door opening hits his ears.

“Fuck,” Taehyung hisses, swiftly barreling into the foyer. He relaxes when he finds that his father is the one coming through the door. “Dad, you should have called.”

“I did.” Mr. Kim pats his son’s shoulder. “Y/N said she was out and that you’d be busy at home.”

“Why did you call Y/N?”

“Because she’s my daughter-in-law,” Mr. Kim states as if that should have been enough of an explanation, “whom I happen to adore very much, so if you’re done lecturing me, then shall we proceed?”

Taehyung guides his father back to Cecil and his unconscious men, nodding his head at Namjoon when he’s met with a questioning raise of Namjoon’s eyebrow.

“Mr. Kim.” Hoseok beams at Taehyung’s father as he looms over one of two beaten men.

“Always a pleasure, Hoseok.” Mr. Kim returns his smile fondly before turning his attention to Cecil. “I’m not at all surprised that you’re behind this, Cecil. I am, however, surprised that you were stupid enough to believe you could get away with it.”

“My men are expecting me back soon,” Cecil informs the room and is less than enthused to find that Mr. Kim’s smile has not faltered. “If I’m not back, they have orders to swarm this place and swoop down on your girl, Kim.”

“Of course.” Mr. Kim nods at his declaration in the same way a mother would do to a child that’s spouting a lie. “I believe you, Cecil, I truly do. Unfortunately for you, there are no men left to wait for you.”

“What have you done?”

“It’s been brought to my attention that perhaps I’ve been too lenient with you and that I’ve killed men for far less than you’ve done. I plan on fixing that, starting with the complete eradication of your entire syndicate. Well, what’s left of it, anyways.”

“This is your son’s mess,” Cecil bellows, feeling his knees shake at the new information being given to him. If what Mr. Kim said rings true, then he won’t be able to rebuild. He’d already been hanging by a thread as is. “But here you are to clean it up for him while he runs around playing ‘boss’. Pathetic.”

“This isn’t a mess,” Mr. Kim corrects him with a dangerously straight face. “Nor is it something for my son to handle on his own when it affects the entire family. This is us coming to a solution for a problem that will soon cease to exist.”

Hoseok and Namjoon rush to Cecil with a wave of Mr. Kim’s hand, gripping him by the shoulders and dragging him back through the front door to Mr. Kim’s waiting car. They wrestle him into the back seat where two of Mr. Kim’s men sit patiently.

“You’re sure all of his men are dead?” Taehyung asks his father.

“Every single one,” he assures. “We’ll handle Cecil from here. It’ll get bloody and your mother’s used to seeing it on my hands. Y/N hasn’t had to clean you up after a job yet, I’d like to help you keep it that way.”

“Cleaning him up isn’t exactly what she’d do,” Hoseok jokes upon his return to the living room. “More like make him sleep on the couch.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes while his father and Hoseok share a laugh. He doesn’t argue against Hoseok’s joke because it’s true. Though it would be more from being pissed off that he’d get into a fight in the first place than it would out of concern for staining an expensive set of sheets. When his phone rings, he barely hears it over the ruckus that is his father and idiot friend, but he fishes it from his pocket when he finally does hear it. “Jungkook.”

“She’s gone,” Jungkook is panting from having run around the entire bookstore and then around the entire neighborhood.

“What the fuck do you mean gone?!” Taehyung’s voice booms so loud that Seokjin and Yoongi drop the two men they’d been working on disposing of. “Where?! How?!”

“She went to the restroom, but never came out.” Jungkook can feel his chest tightening with each passing minute. He needs to find you. Not just for the sake of his own life. For the desperate need to make sure you’re still alive yourself. “We took all the precautions. No one was in there when she went in. We kept watch, boss, I swear on my life. She just never came out.”

Yoongi doesn’t need to be told to hop onto his tablet and tap into your phone. His fingers are already racing across the screen when Taehyung turns to him. Mr. Kim is rushing out with his own phone to his ear, barking orders to search the entire city, shut it completely down if need be. Namjoon, Hoseok, and Seokjin feel helpless when all they can do is wait for Taehyung’s command. They could attempt to hack your phone, but that’s what Yoongi’s for, and if he can’t find you then they for damn sure won’t be able to.

Taehyung is running through every possibility in his head and finds nothing to clue him in as to where you could be. Yoongi’s frantic ‘I found her!’ has everyone gathering around him, Taehyung’s nostrils flaring at the location on the screen. He still has Jungkook on the phone, informing him that, “We know where she is, Jungkook, calm yourself now. Get Jimin and meet me back at the house as fast as you can. We’re going to pick her up.”

“You want us to ride with you?” Namjoon asks, the concern in his eyes quickly morphing into anger. If anything had happened to you…

“No,” Taehyung sighs as he hangs up the phone. “I want Yoongi and Hoseok to go talk to the Ahn brothers. They have eyes and ears everywhere. I’m sure they can give us some answers.”

“I’d rather go with you,” Hoseok chimes in. “Y/N has a tendency to listen more when I’m there.”

“Everyone has a tendency to listen more when you’re around, Hoseok,” Seokjin points out.

“Which is exactly why you’re going with Yoongi to the Ahn brothers.” Taehyung begins dialing his father’s number into his phone, hoping to stop him before his men turn over the entire city.

--------------------------------------------------

It’s the second month of your marriage when you finally get your phone and laptop back. You comb through both of them to make sure they still work the way they’re supposed to. Yoongi had promised that he didn’t delete or alter anything and you’d snorted in denial. Taehyung had taken them for a reason and if Yoongi was the one returning them, then they’d both definitely been tampered with. You were holed up in your room for hours, answering emails and text messages, scrolling through Instagram and Facebook to catch up on your friends’ lives, editing pictures that you’d promised Soyoung weeks ago, and called the HR department of your job to confirm if you even still had one. They had seemed confused by your questions and had let you ramble on like an idiot before informing you that the leave of absence paperwork you’d submitted had been approved, and they were looking forward to whenever you were ready to return. It was after the phone call that you realized Taehyung had been the one to submit LOA papers on your behalf. That sneaky little son of a---.

“Y/N?” The tapping of Jungkook’s fingers on your door startles you. “Dinner’s ready. You haven’t eaten all day. If anything’s gone wrong with your phone or laptop, Yoongi will fix it. So, please come out and eat something.”

Your heart melts at his tone, looking to the bedside alarm clock to find that it was nearing 9 o’clock in the evening. Resisting the urge to face palm, you scramble out of bed and race for the door, throwing it open. “I’m sorry, Jungkook, I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“Is everything okay?” He steps back to give you space to move, shutting the door behind you and following along to the dining room. “Is there a problem with your stuff?”

“No, no,” you sigh, shaking your head and running a hand through your already messy hair. “I just lost track of time catching up on some things. I didn’t realize how late it was.”

“Didn’t you get hungry at all?”

“Not when I get busy doing things,” you explain and laugh at the expression on his face, a memory coming to mind. “Namjoon gave me that same look the other day when I was reading a book I borrowed from him. I guess I hadn’t been out of my room all day and missed lunch and dinner, so he came looking for me. I told him that when I was a kid, my mom used to lose her head when she couldn’t find me. At the time, I didn’t fully understand how dangerous it was to wander off by myself. Anyways, her and my dad would tear the house apart looking for me. Turns out, I’d ended up being curled underneath my bed with a book in my hands. The second I learned how to read, I never stopped. It drove my parents nuts because I would become so engrossed in a book that I wouldn’t pay attention to the world around me. They complained that I needed real friends, not imaginary ones, and set up playdates with their friends’ kids. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that I actually had made friends, through the equal admiration and love for a specific book.”

“You must miss them,” he notes and winces at the sheer stupidity of it. Of course you miss them. “I’m sorry. That was a dumb thing to say.”

“No,” you smile at him. “I miss them very much. I was 14 when they died, so they didn’t get to see me grow into adulthood. Some days it’s a little harder than others.”

“I’m sure they would have been very proud.”

“Not if they knew what a huge nerd I stayed,” you joke and earn yourself one of his rare bunny smiles, teeth, dimples, and all. “They never met any of the friends I still have now. Soyoung, Yunhee, and Bora are the same girls who’ve stuck by me for so long. Soyoung was actually the girl I met who loved the same book she’d caught me reading like a loner during recess one day.” You laugh fondly as you recall the start of your friendships. “Or attempting to read, I should say. A few annoying boys from our class had taken the book from my hands and played a little game of keep away. Soyoung saw them, came over, knocked the biggest one to the ground, and challenged the rest of them to a fight. They ran away and Soyoung spent the rest of the time sitting with me to make sure they didn’t come back.”

Jungkook isn’t sure what he’s done to deserve the retelling of a happy memory, but he doesn’t stop you from talking, even when he finally steps into the dining room where Taehyung is already waiting. When he sees Taehyung, he attempts to interrupt your story, though he doesn’t as Taehyung shakes his head with a slight smile on his lips.

“That was the first time I knew what protection was,” you continue while staring off into space, not yet noticing Taehyung standing from the table. “Sure, my parents had their own version of it, but having their security guards around wasn’t the same as having someone around that actually listened to you.”

“Princess.” Taehyung almost laughs at how high you jump in place. “Are you ready to eat something?”

With your trip down memory lane on hold, you walk past him to sit at the table. You think maybe you shared a little too much with Jungkook. For two solid months, you’d managed to hold off giving up your friends’ names, even when Taehyung had offered to have them brought over to stave off your boredom. Nothing had ever sounded so tempting and had you said yes, it would have undoubtedly been an amazing day. Still, you can’t risk their lives for your own selfishness. You look down to the plate filled with carbonara, your favorite, and bite back a smile because you know it was Taehyung’s idea to have it served. You’re not willing to give him the satisfaction of seeing you smile when he had held your phone and laptop hostage for two months.

Taehyung sits beside you as Jungkook stands just a few feet away and Jimin comes in to stand at the other exit. He sees your eyes squint with suspicion and almost tells you that he’s expecting a guest. Instead he taps gently on the table to get your attention. “Is there a specific reason you didn’t eat anything today? Or so much as leave your room?”

You give him a sideways glance, jamming the fork left for you in the pasta. “You had my phone and laptop for the last two months, Taehyung, things piled up.”

“And catching up was more important than eating or seeing the sun?”

“I wasn’t hungry and I prefer the moon to the sun anyways, so yes, catching up was more important.” Only half of that is true and just barely. It’s not that you weren’t hungry at all, it’s that you didn’t notice you were hungry until Jungkook had come to fetch you.

Taehyung rests his elbows on the table, rubbing at his temples and hearing Jimin snicker in the corner of the room. “Princess---.”

Suddenly you lean in close, propping your chin in the palm of your hand and hoping neither Jimin nor Jungkook can hear the next words about to come out of your mouth. Your gaze drops to Taehyung’s lips and then flickers back to the intensity of his eyes, the corners of your mouth tilting up. “Will you fuck me, Tae?”

Taahyung chokes on his own spit as you sit back, satisfied at having rattled him. He’s 100% sure you’re not serious and it’s payback for what he pulled the day he took your computer and phone. Lifting a hand to his mouth, he clears his throat and peers at Jungkook, then Jimin, who hadn’t heard what you said but laughed at Taehyung’s expense all the same. When his eyes land back on you, they’re met with a cat-like grin on your lips, your teeth biting down on the steel fork as you shove pasta into your mouth.

“Cute,” he comments dryly. He’s not completely unamused but he won’t be cracking a smile soon either. You had called him ‘Tae’, a nickname reserved solely for you to use when you’d gifted it to him as children. As a kid, it melted his heart when you would call out his nickname and he would do anything you asked. Now, it brings on an entirely different reaction and he’s adjusting the way he sits, and he knows you know why he’s squirming in his seat.

“Something wrong, Taehyung?” You pretend to be worried, hearing Jimin take a step in the direction of the table in case something was wrong with Taehyung. “You look uncomfortable.”

“I know you’re fucking with me,” he rasps through grit teeth and Jimin freezes in place. “But on the off chance that you’re not, the answer is ‘yes’, princess, I will fuck you tonight. I’m so glad you asked.”

Jungkook lets out an awkward cough as a deep blush creeps up your neck. He looks over at Jimin, the older man nearly doubled over in glee with a hand covering his mouth. He thinks he should step in and give you an excuse to flee, but truthfully, you really should have known better.

“You get on my fucking nerves, Kim Taehyung,” you hiss and hear Jungkook hiccup at the bold way you speak to Taehyung. With a quick glance, you can see his eyes go wide and jaw drop before he looks at Taehyung in a panic.

“Relax, Jungkookie,” Taehyung chuckles darkly, completely abandoning his food in favor of reaching out to grip the back of your neck to pull you close. “I’ve killed for less, you know.”

“Then by all means,” you challenge, have no qualms about matching his glare, “kill me, Taehyung.”

“How charming,” someone quips from the dining room entrance and you snap your head up to look for the unfamiliar voice.

“Hoseok,” Taehyung leans back in his chair and lets you stew in panic for a minute. “You finished your assignment early. You’re not due back for another few weeks.”

“I got impatient.” Hoseok shrugs in response, eyes darting to you. “Ah, so you’re Y/N. I have to say, you’re much prettier than Taehyung gives you credit for.”

“Is that so?” You manage to relax at the familiarity between your husband and this new stranger.

“He really doesn’t do you justice,” Hoseok teases, watching Taehyung tense. “Relax, boss, I’m not going to steal your wife. Though if she happens to fall for my charm then it’s really not my fault.”

Taehyung hears you bite down on a laugh and rolls his tongue against his cheek in irritation. With your attention still on Hoseok, he takes the opportunity to invade your space by leaning in close.“Finish your food, princess, and then go to bed.”

“I’m not a kid, you know.” You turn to him, breath hitching at his proximity. Moments ago, you’d been too pissed to care how close he was, not to mention how mad he was himself. But his face had softened in the last few minutes, now looking at you as he always did.

“I’ll make you a deal,” Taehyung offers, hand coming up to twist your hair in his fingers. “You finish your dinner and I’ll give you anything you want. Sound fair?”

“I want to go back to work.”

Taehyung sighs and leans back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Anything but that, Y/N.”

“That counts as anything, Taehyung,” you argue through clenched teeth. “You don’t get to change the rules because you don’t like what I’ve asked for.”

“It’s not safe for you to go back to work right now.”

“Then I’ll take Jungkook with me.” You’re not opposed to begging, not if it gets you back to work. “My cousins used to have men watch over me at my job all the time. As paranoid as Joongki is, he still let me go to work, that’s a testament to how uneventful that place is.”

“The answer is ‘no’.” Taehyung’s voice is firm as he sets his jaw. There are many things he’d be willing to bend on. You leaving the house is not one of them. “Don’t pout at me like a child or like I’ve kicked your puppy. You asked, I answered, and now you deal with that, am I clear?”

“Are you, really?” You push away from the table with so much force that the chair nearly falls backwards in the process. “Or are you going to change your mind when it suits you?”

Jungkook moves behind you quickly should Taehyung decide he’s had enough of your attitude and goes back on his promise to never harm you. He isn’t allowed to stop whatever Taehyung may do, but he is allowed to stop it from going too far.

“Sometimes I think you forget how hard I can push back.” You glare down at your husband. “And how painful that can get for whoever I feel like putting in their place.”

Hoseok lets out a whistle of appreciation after you storm out of the dining room with Jungkook hot on your heels. He looks at Taehyung, chuckles at his tired state, and sits at the table while Jimin decides to join them. “She’s a handful, Taehyung. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“She’s not a handful,” Taehyung counters lamely because what Hoseok just saw definitely seemed like a handful. “Y/N’s lived like this her entire life and, unlike most of us, doesn’t embrace it.”

“Certainly sounds like she does.” Hoseok plucks the glass of water from where you previously sat and takes a sip. “Or does she only talk like that when she’s throwing a fit?”

“Believe me when I say if she plans on putting someone in their place,” Jimin finally speaks up, “she’s going to do it brutally. You’ll feel pretty stupid afterwards, too, so you should do what you can to avoid arguing with her, Hobi.”

Hoseok snorts. He won’t be intimidated by some girl who thinks she can handle the cruelties of this life just because she’s grown up around it. So has he, but he’s never been arrogant enough to throw out an attitude like that, especially not to a fucking boss of all people. Maybe if Taehyung wasn’t so whipped, he’d teach you what respect is.

“I’m serious, Hoseok.” Jimin is no longer smiling when Hoseok turns back to him. He recognizes the look in Hoseok’s eyes and doesn’t like it. If Taehyung, the one who actually gets a say in how you’re treated, says to never lay a hand on you no matter the circumstance, then all of the boys are to keep their damn hands off. His friend is far from abusive, Hoseok simply respects the chain of command with more passion than anybody. If something threatens that, then he’ll do what’s necessary to protect it. “If you can’t handle Y/N’s attitude, then you stay the hell away from her.”

Hoseok watches Jimin march out of the dining room, rolling his tongue against the inside of his cheek before facing Taehyung. “First Jungkookie looks ready to throw himself between you and her in the middle of a fight, and now Jimin thinks he can just go around threatening anybody. That girl’s power trip must be contagious.”

“We’ve been friends for a long time, Hoseok.” Taehyung curls his hand into a fist on the table and notices Hoseok’s eyes dart to the action. “But if you can’t respect Y/N, then I’ll toss you right back where I found you, rotting in the gutter.”

Hoseok looks down at the table and smiles, not at all bothered by Taehyung’s threat. “She reminds me of your mom. Y/N’s so much like her that I flashed back to the Christmas of our senior year in high school. Remember that?” He doesn’t wait for Taehyung to answer before he continues. “Your father had promised that year’s Christmas to be a work free one, but when she’d caught him on the phone, dealing with another shipment, she lost her mind. She screamed at him, hit him, threatened to disappear from his life if he didn’t get his shit together.”

Taehyung laughs at the memory. “Everyone had been home that Christmas. My grandparents, my aunts, and uncles. They all watched my big bad father get chewed out by a woman who could barely reach his shoulders. They likened it to a pitbull being afraid of a chihuahua. I think that’s why my mother loves Y/N so much, because she doesn’t take anyone’s shit.”

“So she has momma Kim’s seal of approval, huh?”

“The only girl who ever has.”

“You did bring some pretty mean trainwrecks through her house.” Hoseok teases him, though his smile drops as he becomes serious once again. “I know Jimin thinks I’ll hurt Y/N if I think she’s overstepped, but I won’t. If anything, I look forward to watching you cowering under the hateful gaze of your wife. It’ll be the most entertaining thing that’s happened in a long time.”

“All of the boys are excited to watch that happen.” Taehyung shakes his head.

“Are you going to let her go back to work?” Hoseok tilts his head in question. “It won’t be too bad if Jungkook’s with her. Maybe she’ll even let Jimin tag along.”

“I can’t take that chance right now. Joongki might have let her work, but there weren’t any threats against them at the time. Now someone’s after the Seong brothers and if they can use Y/N to do it, they will.”

“This is the Y/N you’ve been obsessed with since you were a kid, isn’t it?”

“I wasn’t obsessed,” Taehyung insists. “At least not in a creepy way.”

“She’s married to you,” Hoseok points out. “The girl you’ve been hopelessly pining after since you were a teenager is now your wife. Tell me that doesn’t sound like a creepy stalker.”

“Shut up, Hobi.”

----------------------------------------

Standing across from Taehyung in the break room of your workplace, you grip the strap of your backpack tight and clench your teeth. You should have known better. Honestly, you almost didn’t run off because you knew he’d come chasing you down eventually. Even more honestly, if you didn’t actually want him to know where you were then leaving your phone somewhere miles off would have been the best idea. You’re aware of the ‘discreet’ tracking app that Yoongi had installed on the phone, hiding it amongst the music files as if you hadn’t memorized each and every one.

Coworkers gather around to watch the spectacle Taehyung has created. Some have the decency to pretend they’re not being nosy while others whisper to each other about the handsome stranger you’re facing off with. Most women are trying their hardest to catch his eye, but his focus is solely on you. It drives the women nuts and you almost smile at the thought until Jimin and Jungkook flank Taehyung on either side.

You almost flinch at the look of betrayal on Jungkook’s face. He was in charge of you, of your whereabouts and needs, and you ran from him. You’d snuck off from right under his nose and sent him into a panic, leaving him with no other option than to dial Taehyung. His anxiety subsided when Taehyung calmly explained that he was sure of where’d you be, thus leading them to this moment. You want to explain, to tell him that deceiving him was one of the hardest decisions you’ve made in a long time. There’s relief in his eyes, obviously, but there’s also anger and pain. “Jungkookie, I---.”

“Y/N?” Your friend and ex-boyfriend, Seojun, questions as he enters the break room. He scans over Taehyung, Jungkook, and Jimin, sensing the anger rolling off of you in waves. He steps in your direction to make sure you’re alright. Being broken up doesn’t mean he can’t still care about you. When your eyes cut to him, he catches you wince before the deep bass of Taehyung’s voice recaptures your attention.

“Princess,” Taehyung grits out in irritation when your attention shifts elsewhere. A smirk lights up his features when your eyes dart between him and the man who’d just called your name, panic crossing your features. You don’t want him to know who this is and that’s something he can use to his advantage. “You could have easily avoided my being here if you hadn’t snuck away from Jungkook. You really hurt his feelings, sweetheart. Look at him, he’s heartbroken.”

“Shattered into a million pieces, boss,” Jungkook deadpans, earning himself a spiteful glare. Tilting his chin and raising a brow, he silently questions why you’re the one who’s angry when he’d been running around like a chicken with his head cut off for the past two hours.

“Something of his will be broken soon, but I can assure you it won’t be his heart,” you snap, making Taehyung grin his rare boxy smile that you’d possibly return on any other day. Now though, now you want to slap the smile off his annoyingly handsome face. You see Jimin take a cautious step away from Jungkook in hopes of protecting himself and admittedly, it almost makes you giggle. Jimin always knows how to make you laugh even on the darkest of days, yet as he stands at Taehyung’s side, you know who he’ll always remain loyal to.

Taehyung’s heavy sigh slices the tense air and he’s in front of you in a matter of seconds, tucking a stray hair behind your ear. He can see the internal struggle you have to not recoil at his touch or slap his hand away. Maintaining a public image is something drilled into someone as soon as they step into the mafia life, but he figured you’d be angry enough to not care in front of your coworkers, and expecting you to blow up at him. When you don’t, he suspects it has something to do with the women who haven’t stopped ogling him since he first walked in. “Interesting,” he voices aloud and you jump at the way his fingers slide along the length of your jaw before he tucks his thumb, tilting your chin upward.

Your breath catches in your throat as he steps closer, bridging the gap between you two. It takes everything in you to not bite the thumb currently skimming across your bottom lip. The last time you’d done that, Taehyung had taken it upon himself to return the favor by biting down on the pulse point of your neck. You don’t need a repeat of that incident in front of your coworkers. A sigh escapes you when he wraps his free arm around your waist and nuzzles his face in your hair.

“You don’t want me,” Taehyung whispers in your ear, playfully nipping at it, “but you don’t want them to have me either, do you, princess?”

You grit your teeth, dropping your forehead to his chest, and using your hair as a curtain to hide your mouth. “I don’t care if they want you, Kim Taehyung. You could take any of them home right now if you wanted to and I wouldn’t give a damn.”

“Don’t tempt me, Y/N,” he growls low and it’s then that you realize how angry he truly is. Taehyung doesn’t use your real name with the exception of introductions during a dinner party, charity event, and when you get too stubborn in your ways. “If you want me to take a girl home and fuck her brains out while you sit and stew in your own denial, then I will.”

You stiffen in his arms, the mere thought making you nauseous. You know damn well how eager any one of these girls would be to jump in bed with him. Suddenly, a certain presence looms over the room, something dark makes the place feel smaller than it already is. “Seojun,” you breathe with realization. It’s him, his stare nearly burning a hole into the side of your face as his jealousy blankets the room.

Taehyung grits his teeth, hand sliding up to tighten at the nape of your neck and knotting the hair there. His fingers twitch against your scalp as he’s about to move away to face whoever the hell Seojun is. His grip loosens and fear strikes the air before you’re looping your arms through his to lock together at his back. The embrace is seemingly romantic to everyone else, but he knows that it’s to keep him in place.

He sighs once more and skims his fingers down to massage the tension in your neck, lips brushing against your cheek as he pretends to ignore what you’ve just said. “Can I kiss you, princess? And then every girl in here will know who I belong to. Sound good to you, baby?”

You’re on the tips of your toes, gripping the back of his neck, and tugging him down into a kiss as soon as he finishes the question. The hand in your hair tugs on it gently, silently asking for you to open up to him, but you’re already pulling away before it goes too far. Public affection is never something you could bring yourself to like but Taehyung makes it a little more tolerable. Even so, this was still your place of work and it requires a level of professionalism that you’re one more kiss away from throwing out the window.

Taehyung grins against your mouth as your chest heaves and he straightens up to take the backpack hanging from your shoulder. He tosses the bag to Jimin, who immediately digs through it in search of your work vest. With Cecil’s men dead and Jungkook on a new level of awareness after your disappearing act, enough of the threats to the Seong family have been eliminated for you to work peacefully. You’re not entirely out of the woods just yet, there’s still the matter of finding who paid Cecil, but he’s already spoken with your boss about Jungkook hanging around and keeping an eye on you. He’ll send Jimin down to help after the house has been cleaned up.

Jimin produces your vest and tosses it to Taehyung after swiping the name badge clipped on the fabric. He hands Jungkook the backpack to rifle through the contents, catching a quick peek of your puzzle book. Such a nerd, he thinks as a fond smile spreads across his face.

“I could murder her,” Jungkook mumbles from beside Jimin. “Scaring the shit out of us like that. Almost getting us killed because Taehyung was so pissed.”

“You have to admit that her determination is admirable,” Jimin jokes, nudging Jungkook with his elbow. “Come on, Jungkookie, don’t stay upset with her for too long. You saw the look on her face when we came in. She didn’t like sneaking away from us, but did we give her any other choice? No. So stop pouting and hold down the fort until I get back.”

Jungkook snorts in response. He’s still pissed off at himself for letting you slip through his fingers like that. Jimin only chuckles under his breath and Jungkook is left rolling his eyes. He catches the sight of Seojun in the process, the man’s mouth parted with confusion and brows pinched together in anger. Jungkook looks Seojun over and notes the way his eyes never leave you and Taehyung. Elbowing Jimin to get his attention, he gestures to Seojun, and Jimin clocks the way Seojun’s fists curl at his sides.

Taehyung is too busy swinging the vest around your shoulders to pay any more attention to Seojun. Pulling the zipper up to secure your vest, he tugs you a step closer and fiddles with the pull tab while pressing his forehead to yours. “You can stay, sweetheart.”

“I can?” You break out into a smile before you can stop yourself, pulling back to see his face. If he’s pulling a cruel joke, you’ll kill him. You will 1,000% murder your husband on the spot. But no, he’s not teasing you. “Seriously?”

“Under the condition that Jungkookie stays with you,” Taehyung clarifies, setting his jaw. When you bite your bottom lip in attempt to stop your smile, he tests your giddiness by leaning in for another quick kiss that you happily return. “Jimin will be back in about an hour to help him keep watch. So don’t try to run away from either of them.”

“I promise!” You throw your arms around his shoulders and squeeze him close. To a normal couple, being told that one actually has permission to do their job would be cause for concern. So it was understandably confusing for your coworkers when you practically vibrated with excitement at being allowed to work, of all things.

Taehyung presses another kiss to your lips, holding it just a bit longer than the previous two and smiles as you laugh against him. He’s surprised to find that he can easily slip his tongue past your parted lips, and that you eagerly accept him. When he finally pulls away, you’re looking at him like he just gave you the world, and it dawns on him that this, this is all you asked for. The freedom to make your own choices and keep at least a little bit of your previous life didn’t seem like an option with your cousins and now he was doing the same thing they had. He’s keeping you from enjoying the little things like the job you didn’t necessarily have to keep anymore.

“Thank you, thank you! I’ll see you at home, bye!” You rush past your husband, quickly snatching the name badge Jimin was holding out, and dancing in place as you swipe it through the time clock. Jungkook is basically sprinting after you in an effort to keep up with your newfound energy.

Jimin steps up beside his friend as Taehyung tries to compose himself by shoving one hand in his pocket and clearing his throat. He rolls his eyes as Taehyung uses his thumb to swipe away the chapstick you’d left behind on his lips. “You look like a kid in a candy store, you weirdo.”

“She called it home.”

“Yeah, for now,” Jimin snorts and it’s Taehyung’s turn to roll his eyes. “I give it two days before you fuck up something else.”

“Thanks for the support, asshole.”

----------------------------------------------

You don’t explore much of the house until about the 4th month into the marriage. You've seen most of the first floor and so far, Namjoon’s miniature library is your favorite place. The second floor consists of the guys’ rooms and you find it odd that Taehyung would have them sleep an entire floor away from you. They’re meant to protect you should anything go wrong, so why?

“Find what you’re looking for, Mrs. Kim?”

You jump and whirl around to face Hoseok, your heart nearly beating out of your chest. “Jesus, Hobi. You scared the hell out of me.”

“Sorry,” he laughs, though he doesn’t seem very apologetic at all. He’s drenched in sweat, hair is matted to his forehead, and he’s unraveling tape from his knuckles.

“You were boxing,” you point out with admiration. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

“No, I was done anyways.” He waves his hand dismissively, but notes the way your lips part in curiosity. “Do you want to try?”

“I didn’t know Taehyung had a gym in the house.” You immediately change the subject. Yes, you want to box. Not exactly ‘try’ because you have enough training to defend yourself. This newfound knowledge of a home gym has you excited. The idea of being able to let out your frustrations on a punching bag is thrilling.

“Jungkook requested it before the house was built.”

“Kook did?” You reel back in surprise. If Jungkook was around before this house was built then… “How old is this place?”

“A few years, I believe.” Hoseok finishes unwrapping his hands and crumples up the used tape. “Taehyung had it built for you when he found out your cousin wanted to merge the families.”

“Right.” You clench your jaw. You often forget how long this plan was in the making before judgement day. Or your ‘wedding’, as some would call it. Still, that Taehyung would go through such effort to build a home just for you, almost brings a smile to your face. Shaking the thought from your head, you take the tape from Hoseok’s hands to keep your own occupied. The itch to pick at your cuticles is clawing its way to the surface and you need to stop it before it takes over. “It’s flattering, I know that, but it’s also a reminder of the life I didn’t intend on having.”

“A safe one?” Hoseok quirks one of his brows, watching you fiddle with the used tape and catching the tiny scabs on your cuticles.

“A different one,” you say as the ball of tape is tossed back and forth between your hands. “One where I didn’t feel like a prisoner.”

“What happened?” He quickly snatches one of your hands and the tape falls to the floor. There’s a hint of dried blood on the cuticles of your nails and the skin around the pads of your fingers look to be gnawed on. “How long have you been doing this?”

You try to pull your hand back but it’s useless when it comes to escaping Hoseok. You learned this after spending a month with him as your bodyguard instead of Jungkook, when Taehyung had insisted you build a friendship with Hoseok before the rest of the guys. You had asked why and it had become clear after Hoseok was the one to track you down in a matter of minutes during your first attempt to run away.

“Hobi,” you grunt, twisting your wrist out and away from his hold with ease, instead wrapping your own fingers around his wrist to shove him away and he stumbles back. You laugh at the shock on his face. “Sometimes when I get too nervous or antsy, I chew on my fingers. It’s not very ladylike, is it? I didn’t do it for awhile after my teen years, but recently---.”

“How did you do that?” He interrupts your explanation. “Get out of my grip like that?”

Of course, he knows how you did it. His question is more about who trained you to do it, who taught you to defend yourself, and who taught you to fight. It’s the first time he’s seeing anything like it from you and he’s sure that Taehyung and Jungkook, or any of the guys for that matter, have no clue you can do it either.

You shoot him a teasing smile and pick the tape up from the floor. “My grandfather always wanted to make sure I could do at least the bare minimum if I was attacked. So, he had some of his men teach me to fight alongside Joongki and Jeonghan. I’m sure I’m nowhere near any of your guys’ levels, but I like to think I could hold my own against you if need be.”

“You’re really something else, aren’t you?” Hoseok questions with awe. He doesn’t mean it in an offensive way and he’s glad you realize that as your shoulders tremble with more laughter. “Taehyung always said you were amazing, but I thought it was because he’s so in love with you. Not because you’re a genuinely amazing person.”

You pale at the words ‘in love’ because although you’ve always known about Taehyung’s affections, you’ve never known how deep they truly run. Up to this point, you thought his feelings were more infatuation and lust than anything else.

“Enjoying your little tour, princess?” Taehyung comes from around the corner, leaning against the wall.

“You’re back.” You resist the urge to go to him. The space he’d given you when you first moved in was welcomed, and then you’d gone and given him a reason to revoke that privilege by trying to run away. After spending time together now that he’d been sleeping in the same room, that you had come to learn was actually the master bedroom and he’d been gentleman enough to leave it to only you, you found that you would actually miss him when he was out. There are nights when you sidle up to him as soon as he steps in the door, and you know he’s aware of how dependent you’ve become on his presence because Jimin did you the not so kind favor of pointing it out.

“I’m home,” Taehyung confirms, the ends of his lips almost tugging up into a smile. The way you basically wait for him to come home every day tugs at his heart. He didn’t think it would only take a few months for you to warm up to him, slowly, but definitely surely. He’d calculated that it would take you at least a year to want to be around him. Maybe two, maybe even ten given how stubborn you are. “Finally found your way upstairs, huh?”

“I was bored.”

“I know.” He pushes off the wall and comes to take the tape from your hands. He finally looks at Hoseok and nods. “Did Hoseok teach you anything?”

“Apparently there’s no need,” Hoseok explains while crossing his arms. “Did you know that she can fight? Not that sissy slap fight that some people do. I mean, real fighting, Taehyung.”

“You’re exaggerating, Hobi.” You roll your eyes and try to snatch the tape back from Taehyung, but he’s quick to pull it out of your reach. “You make it sound like we just went a full round of sparring. I was just able to get out of your hold, that’s all.”

“That’s the most important part,” Hoseok says as you and Taehyung begin a playful game of keep away. He’s sure you don’t notice the grin on your own face when you jump for the piece of trash in Taehyung’s hand. “Even if you can’t actually fight, being able to get away and run as fast as you can is the deciding factor in whether you live or die.”

You’re not listening anymore. It’s not to be rude or simply because you’ve heard it already. It’s because you’re trying to pry the tape away from your husband and you don’t even know why. Perhaps because you had it first? It’s childish thinking, you know it, but it’s what makes this part so fun. You make one final lunge for the used tape and Taehyung grabs your wrist, not prepared for you to counter it so quickly. Clamping down on his wrist with your free hand, you pry it away from your own and duck. You twist around, never letting up on his wrist, and pin his arm gently behind his back. A triumphant grin breaks out on your lips, but it’s short lived.

Taehyung spins around on his heel and is able to quickly back you against the wall. His fingers are already curling around your forearm to press against the plaster. He feels the push of your other hand to his chest and he’s shoved away with more force than expected. His chest rises and falls rapidly, winded from the surprising amount of energy this small little tussle took from him. You don’t rush to him like he thinks you will, instead clutching something in your hand that you open to reveal the balled up tape.

“Whoa,” Hoseok whispers, having been present the entire time rather than giving the two of you privacy like the other guys usually do. He was simply too curious to see how this would pan out. He’s going to say something, not entirely sure what words to use, when he looks back at Taehyung to find an all too familiar look on his face.

Taehyung’s pupils are blown wide as he drinks you in. From the cat-like curve of your lips, to the useless tape balled up in your palm, and down to the heaving of your chest. He’s always been an adrenaline junkie, he knows that, but never had a scuffle turned him on. The fact that you’re his wife and not some bulky, sweat drenched man definitely contributes.

“Well,” Hoseok chimes in uncomfortably, “I’m going to go anywhere that’s not here. You guys have fun.”

You don’t even realize Hoseok is still there until he breezes past you to make himself scarce, watching him disappear from the hallway. When you look back at Taehyung, he’s already in front of you and running the back of his knuckles across your cheek. The affectionate touch makes you blush, heat spreading across your entire body as he leans in so close that his nose bumps yours.

“Will you welcome me home, princess?” he rasps against your lips and it snaps you out of your own thoughts.

“Your home, Tae,” you whisper back and bump his nose gently, “not mine.”

“You are my home, Y/N.” His lips brush yours with every whisper before he fully presses against your mouth. A tiny kiss that somehow leaves you wanting much, much more. But then he’s pulling away and kissing your cheek next. “I know you hate being here, and the idea makes you want to puke, but this is your home. Always.”

----------------------------------------

Later, when you basically skip into the living room with a very tired looking Jungkook and Jimin, Taehyung is surprised when you plop next to him on the couch. You’re equally as exhausted as the guys, but it’s a good kind of tired, like you’ve accomplished something.

“What did you do to Jungkookie, princess?” Taehyung plays with the locks of your hair. He looks to his youngest member and almost laughs at the way Jungkook’s shoulders are slumped forward, his hair is matted with sweat, and like he’s on the verge of passing out.

Jimin is standing next to him looking pristine as ever, a smirk lifting the corner of his mouth at Jungkook’s state.

“I didn’t do anything to him.” You roll your eyes and laugh. “He was just having a hard time keeping up, that’s all.”

“Retail workers are animals!” Jungkook bellows, throwing his arms out in frustration. “And the customers who shop there are even worse! Who raised these people, savages?!”

“Kook, you’re in a gang!” You look at him like he’s grown two heads.

“Yeah well, nobody I’ve ever pointed a gun at has yelled at me for giving them the wrong color sweater, alright?” Jungkook runs his hand down his face before rubbing his tired eyes. “I need a nap.”

Taehyung chuckles as Jungkook stalks upstairs to his bedroom. His shift is over now that you’re home anyways, so the least Taehyung can do is let the poor kid sleep.

Jimin bids the two of you goodnight, making his way to the staircase and quickly following after Jungkook.

“I think Kook’s traumatized.” You turn your head to Taehyung just as he leans in and brushes his nose against yours.

“We should probably get him an emotional support animal,” he jokes, pressing a kiss to your cheek. “Did you have a good day, sweetheart?”

You tilt your chin up as his mouth travels lower, leaving open mouthed kisses down the column of your throat. Nodding in response to his question, you ask, “did you?”

“It’s boring in the house without someone to argue with,” his tongue snakes out lick at your skin before he’s pulling on it with his teeth.

“I’m sure Yoongi could have kept you entertained if you pushed his buttons enough.”

Taehyung knows that his being able to touch you within reason is basically a reward for granting you basic human rights. He didn’t like to think of it as keeping you a prisoner in your own home, but he knows there’s no other way to describe being locked inside almost 24 hours a day. He wanted to think you were finally understanding the rules and would stop fighting him. That wasn’t the case, he sees that now, because he practically falls to his knees every time you allow him to touch or kiss you. Little by little, you���re breaking his resolve with how defiant you can be, and then turning him to mush when he apologizes for making you feel a certain way. You’re practically training him like one would a new puppy.

“Tae,” your moan breaks his train of thought, and he pulls away to find that at some point he’d leaned you flat on your back. His hand had dipped into the waistband of your jeans and he was quick to pull back in case you were uncomfortable. You giggle and sit up to cup his jaw, giving him one more kiss before retreating to the bedroom.

“She’s happy,” Yoongi observes as he steps into the living room. “What did you do to deserve that?”

“Why doesn’t anybody in this house ever take my side?” Taehyung readjusts the way he sits on the couch. He beckons Yoongi closer and takes the tablet from his outstretched hand.

“Because it’s easier to take Y/N’s side.” Yoongi smirks. “It’s certainly more entertaining.”

“This Seojun guy,” Taehyung swipes through photos of your ex, most of which consisted of you by Seojun’s side or tucked underneath his arm. “Who is he?”

“A nobody, really.” Yoongi throws himself on the couch next to Taehyung. “Just some guy who was lucky enough to be hired fresh out of high school. He’s been with the company for 7 years now. He and Y/N dated for about a year before breaking up. Jimin asked around and found out that Seojun didn’t like how secretive Y/N was when it came to her family. So he broke up with her.”

“She didn’t look too happy when I showed up today.” Taehyung grips the tablet tighter when a picture pops up of you and Seojun from his instagram. You’re in a bed with Seojun’s arms wrapped tight around your waist and his face tucked in the crook of your neck.

“She never looks happy to see you,” Yoongi counters and earns himself a sneer.

“I’m saying she didn’t want me to know who this guy was, smartass.” Taehyung tosses the tablet back to Yoongi. He runs a hand through his hair and moves for the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. “Did you get anywhere with the Ahn brothers?”

Yoongi pulls up more images on his tablet and hands it to Taehyung. “The Choi family isn’t happy with Joongki and Jeonghan. It seems your family wasn’t the only one hoping to merge with the Seong’s.”

Taehyung stiffens as he swipes through photo after photo of you with Joongki’s men, but there was someone else trailing you. They weren’t close enough for you to think anything of it, and maybe your cousins hadn’t pieced it together yet either, but Taehyung knows this man, and he clenches his jaw. “Meaning?”

“Mr. Choi had been trying for months to convince Joongki to hand off Y/N to his oldest son, Hyunwoo, and he almost did before your father stepped in and told him the truth about the Choi family.” Yoongi leans against the kitchen counter and drops his voice to a whisper as the opening of a door echoes down the hallway. “Joongki didn’t want to scare Y/N or his brother, so he didn’t tell them why he was so quick to go to your father. Neither of the Seong brothers are the actual target. Y/N is.”

“What about me?” you pipe up, stepping into the kitchen while running a towel through your damp hair. You grab the glass full of water and take a few sips, eyeing Yoongi and Taehyung suspiciously. “What are you two up to?”

“Taehyung was curious about your friend Seojun,” Yoongi is quick to throw his boss underneath the bus, crossing his arms and tsking at Taehyung. “Jealousy is not a good color on you.”

“Sometimes I think you really forget what I’m capable of, Min Yoongi.” Taehyung pushes Yoongi out of the kitchen with a hiss. “Don’t think I won’t get you back for this, you son of a bitch.”

You hoist yourself onto the counter, running your hand through the tangled mess of clean hair. It should probably piss you off that Taehyung had Yoongi dig up information on Seojun, but your ex isn’t exactly your favorite person. After he’d broken up with you, he had made it pretty clear that unless you fessed up about your family, he wouldn’t be coming back any time soon. Six months after that, he’d heard about your marriage but was yet to know who your husband was. Protecting him from Taehyung earlier was more out of instinct than anything else. Taehyung just doesn’t have to know that part.

“You don’t like Seojun.” You swing your legs back and forth gently as Taehyung makes his way back into the kitchen.

“I don’t like any man that’s touched you before me.” He takes the cup back and downs the rest of the water. “I imagine you wouldn’t like meeting the women I’ve been with either.”

“Your one night stands aren’t comparable to the relationships I’ve had.” You glare at him with the hope that the side of his face will catch on fire. “Your women were just placeholders in your bed. They were there to warm it, not to become a permanent fixture in your life.”

“And you were planning on being a permanent fixture in Seojun’s life?” Taehyung turns to meet your glare with a sneer of his own. “Were you going to marry that pathetic little nobody, share a mediocre life, and live in comfort rather than luxury?”

“Your definition of luxury is burying someone in the most expensive gifts and then leaving them to their own vices.” You jump off the counter with a huff, snatching the towel you’d set down. “Maybe the women you’ve slept with could live with that, but I can’t. Seojun may not have millions of dollars to throw at anyone he wants, but he makes due with what he does have. And unlike you, his father wouldn’t have to step in to get me to marry him.”

Taehyung braces his hands against the counter as you saunter off, his shoulders tense and chest heaving with anger. He hears the slamming of the bedroom door and he bangs his fist against the counter before he’s storming down the hall after you. When he reaches the door, he’s even more pissed to find that you’ve locked it, and he’s seconds away from tearing it off its hinges when a piercing whistle catches his attention.

Jimin is standing at the end of the hallway, leaning against the wall and swinging a key ring around his finger. “Man, I really should have bet a few hours before you fucked things up instead of betting two days. I can’t wait to see how your wife reacts to you lying about having only one key to the master bedroom.”

Taehyung snatches the key from Jimin and growls out, “if you don’t want to be the next person I murder, then I suggest you walk away, Park.”

Jimin only shakes his head with a laugh, raising his hands in surrender and doing as he’s been told. It wasn’t the first time Taehyung threatened him and it certainly won’t be the last. He makes it back to his room in one piece where he finds the rest of the guys waiting. He grins as he looks around and says, “I think Y/N is my new hero. Nobody’s been able to piss off Taehyung like that in a long time.”

“She’s ballsy, I’ll give her that.” Yoongi looks up from the laptop he’d been typing away on.

“She’d make one hell of a leader,” Seokjin chimes in and Yoongi chuckles low in his throat.

“You’re lucky if Taehyung doesn’t have you tossed in a river with weights tied around your ankles for starting that fight,” Namjoon scolds Yoongi and gestures them closer to see what he’d been working on. “The Choi family is gaining quite the reputation for all the shit Hyunwoo keeps pulling. We’re talking gambling debts, jail time for street brawls, even a few women accusing him of sexual assault. I mean, this guy is close to costing Mr. Choi his whole empire. Nobody wants to work with them, even their supply is suffering. They’ll be left with nothing soon.”

“Choi wants to use Seong’s climbing reputation to save his own ass.” Jimin skims his eyes down the screen of Hyunwoo’s rap sheet.

“It goes a little deeper than that,” Namjoon frowns as Yoongi pulls up a different tab. “Hyunwoo went to high school with Y/N, had the biggest crush on her, but she always rejected him. I talked to her friends and they said that Hyunwoo couldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Whenever Y/N snubbed him, he’d corner one of them and threaten their lives if they didn’t try to talk Y/N into dating him. He was obsessed with her, still is. So I’m guessing he promised Choi that he’d clean up his act if he got Y/N.”

“Choi must have pursued Joongki for a long time.” Jungkook stretches his arms above his head until his back finally pops. He rolls his shoulders next as if preparing himself for a fight. If they go to Taehyung right now then they’d certainly be gearing up for one.

“He was close, too.” Yoongi curls his hands into fists at the thought of where you’d be now if Mr. Kim hadn’t stepped in. “Joongki almost agreed to the marriage because he was under the impression that Choi still had a good following.”

“So what happened?”

“Mr. Kim happened,” Yoongi explains, letting out a slow breath. “Nobody’s loyal to Choi anymore. Some of his men branched off and told other bosses what the plan was for the Seong family. Luckily, one of them came to Mr. Kim and he was able to get to Joongki before anything became final.”

“Does Y/N know any of this?” Jungkook questions while looking back and forth between Yoongi and Namjoon. When both men shake their heads, he scoffs. “Don’t you think she should? She’d probably be more inclined to fucking listen to us if she knew what was really happening.”

“Or she’d run away and disappear off the map.” Seokjin offers an alternative. He knows you well enough by now and if you knew how much danger you were truly in, then there’s no doubt in his mind that you’d leave. “We can’t take that chance, Kook. She’s our family now and we take care of family. So we’ll deal with Choi soon and be done with it.”

---------------------------------------

“I’m not really sure what you think you’re doing,” you interrupt whatever Hyunwoo is doing at your locker and he whirls around to find you a few feet away, “but it’s not going to happen, Choi. Move on.”

He steps away from your locker, giving you space to open it and shove your books inside. He gives you a greasy smile and leans against the locker next to yours. “You always say ‘never’ Y/N, but I’m pretty sure I can change your mind if you let me.”

“The only way I’m going to give you a chance is if you let me push you off a cliff.” You slam the locker closed just as your friends approach. “What’s your deal, Hyunwoo? Why don’t you get it by now? I don’t want anything to do with you.”

“Most girls would kill to be by my side,” Hyunwoo slaps an open palm on the lockers, rattling them enough to make your friends jump, but you stand strong.

“Then you don’t really need me, do you?” You turn to walk away with your friends only to have him clap his hand on your shoulder, and you’re shoved against the lockers. You wince at the impact, the combination locks dig into your spine, and Bona runs off to find help.

“I don’t need your permission to have you, you know?” Hyunwoo hisses in your face, his forearm rests gently on your collar bone, not heavy enough to cut off your air supply, yet. “My father will give me anything I ask for and if that’s you, then you don’t get a choice anymore. I suggest you come willingly while I’m still asking nicely.”

“There’s not a fucking thing nice about you, Hyunwoo,” you sneer and stomp on his foot, digging your heel into the top of it. It’s enough for him to release his grip as he jumps back in pain, and you’re already cocking your arm back to land a solid punch across his jaw when Bona comes rushing back with Jeonghan in tow.

Jeonghan moves for Hyunwoo but you step in front of your cousin before he does anything to get himself in trouble. He stiffens as Hyunwoo straightens up and uses the back of his hand to wipe away the blood dripping from his mouth. Gripping your arm, he gets ready to pull you behind him if Hyunwoo gets any closer.

You shrug Jeonghan off and take a step toward Hyunwoo. “Your daddy may baby the shit out of you, but make no mistake, Hyunwoo, you’re a trash human being. If you keep this up, you’ll run your father’s reputation into the ground and then where will you be? Certainly daddy won’t keep you around if you’re useless.”

Hyunwoo is seething, and if steam could come out of his ears, you’re pretty sure it would. He lifts his hands to grab you once more, but a teacher’s voice stops him. His eyeline is blocked by Mr. Lee, a math teacher that won’t have a job tomorrow if Hyunwoo can help it.

Mr. Lee directs both you and Hyunwoo to the principal’s office, stopping every so often to ask why Jeonghan is following behind him. He gets a mere shrug in response and he sighs, letting your cousin do as he pleases. He sits you in a chair far away from Hyunwoo before entering the principal’s office and explaining the situation.

Jeonghan stays plastered to your side, concern written all over his face as you goad Hyunwoo from across the room. You certainly had grandmother’s temper and, not for the first time that day, Jeonghan wishes you were a little less fierce. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Hyunwoo sneer at you, bloody gums and all. You tilt your head mockingly in response, leaving Jeonghan to nearly facepalm. The only thing that stops him from slapping his own forehead is the rapid footsteps of Joongki, grandfather, and one of grandfather’s men.

Mr. Choi and his right hand man come barreling in next. They blink in surprise at Hyunwoo’s busted lip and your completely unruffled response to him. Mr. Choi is about to ask what exactly is going on when the principal steps out and calls everyone into his office.

“Mr. Choi, Mr. Seong, thank you for coming down.” Principal Chang settles in the chair behind his desk, swiping the glasses from his face to rub at his temples. “Seong Y/N, I wish I could say it’s a surprise to have you here, but it’s really not, is it?”

“Y/N,” your grandfather sighs tiredly in the cramped space, “what have you done now?”

“Nothing that wasn’t prompted,” you defend yourself wholeheartedly.

“You assaulted Hyunwoo, did you not?” Principal Chang looks at the bruise forming on Hyunwoo’s jawline. He wouldn’t voice out loud how impressed he was given that Hyunwoo is twice your size. Unfortunately, his actions speak for him as he nods his admiration for you.

“I didn’t assault Hyunwoo, I defended myself when he nearly choked me to death.”

At this, Joongki snaps his head up to look at the boy in the other chair, rage building underneath the surface. “He did what?”

Mr. Choi lays one hand on Hyunwoo’s shoulder and uses his other to grip his son’s chin. “Look at this. My son is the one bloodied and bruised, and you mean to tell me that you’re the victim in this?”

“Your son doesn’t understand the kindergarten concept of keeping his hands to himself.” You grip the sides of your chair and lean forward to taunt Hyunwoo. “I was simply reminding him of what happens when he doesn’t respect someone else’s boundaries.”

Your grandfather grips your shoulder and hauls you back into the seat. “Stop it.”

“Maybe if you weren’t such an uptight bitch, then I wouldn’t bother you.” Hyunwoo fires back and tries to get in your face as you did him.

Daeseong, your grandfather’s most trusted man, steps in front of you and effectively cuts off any access Hyunwoo might have had. He stares down at the kid with a quirked brow until Hyunwoo seemingly shrinks in his seat. “You’ll refrain from using such language when it comes to Ms. Seong.”

Mr. Choi sputters at the blatant way his son is being intimidated and looks to Principal Chang for some kind of interference. “This girl damages my son’s face and her bodyguard has the audacity to try and scare him. Yet you want me to believe she’s done nothing wrong?”

“Believe what you will, Mr. Choi,” your grandfather’s voice holds the kind of authority that grown men usually cower at, “but given how your son just spoke to my granddaughter, I think it’s quite clear who the antagonist here is. Admittedly, it’s my fault she’s so headstrong. You see, Mr. Choi, my family doesn’t believe in ‘when you’re dead, lie down’, so my granddaughter obviously found it necessary to correct your son’s behavior.”

“You’re aware of who I am, Seong,” Mr. Choi seethes, attempting to be just as vicious. “I suggest you get that delinquent under control before I have to.”

“You’re also aware of who I am, Choi, so I suggest you watch your tone and be careful of who you threaten. Whatever happened here today is just a glimpse of what my granddaughter can do, and unless you want to find out what more there is, then you’ll get your poor excuse for a son under control before I have to.”

Your grandfather is bluffing and it really takes every muscle in your body to keep from reacting. The strength behind your punch is literally all you have, though after today, you’re sure you’re about to get some new self defense lessons. You’d throw your head back and groan if it didn’t give away his obvious lie. Thankfully, Principal Chang’s dismissal of everyone from his office so he can ‘think on your punishment’ saves you from embarrassing your grandfather any further.

Mr. Choi stops you from getting too far by gripping your arm, quickly letting it go as Daeseong latches onto his wrist in return. “You must think you’re so precious, don’t you, little girl?”

“No.” You don’t flinch away from him and you can tell he hates it. “I just know what it means to be a decent person. You’ve taught your son that the world would fall to his feet if he so much as commands it, but he is neither king nor god, Mr. Choi. Hyunwoo doesn’t get to demand the world only to throw a fit when he ultimately breaks it, and then you come in to clean up his mess. The longer you let him believe he’s untouchable, the more likely he is to fall harder than anyone else.”

---------------------------------

Taehyung watches you stomp around the room, pacing back and forth while tugging at your hair because he’d lied about there being one and only one goddamn key to the master bedroom. Tomorrow he plans to do away with the door completely if you so much as think about locking the fucking thing again. He’s sitting on the bed, dressed in sweats and a plain t-shirt, waiting for your tantrum to be over. “Are you done, princess?”

“No, I’m not fucking done!” you screech, picking up the nearest object and hurling it his way. Another frustrated scream bubbles from your throat as he easily catches the bottle of perfume headed towards his skull. “You asshole! You said there was one, one fucking key to this room, Taehyung, and you lied to me!”

“This isn’t about the key, Y/N, you and I both know that.”

“It’s certainly not about the array of women you’ve paraded through here!” You pick up a bottle of lotion, your favorite to be exact, and launch it at him. When he skillfully dodges it, you begin picking up anything and everything that isn’t nailed down and try your damndest to cause him some kind of damage.

“I’m not bitching about Seojun, am I?!” Taehyung counters and peers around for any more loose objects. “I’m not throwing the disaster of that relationship in your face!”

“It wasn’t a disaster!” Your chest is heaving from exertion and you’re sure that if your pulse raced any faster, you’d have a heart attack. “Seojun was the best thing that happened to me and my cousins ruined that! This life ruined it! And yes, Taehyung, if Joongki hadn’t pimped me out to you then I would have absolutely married Seojun. We’d get married, leave this godforsaken city, have some kids, and live happily ever after.”

Taehyung knows you’re trying to get under skin, knows you’re trying to work him up so you’d have an excuse for your cousins to pull you from his home. Truthfully, your words do hurt, they pierce his heart and piss him off at the same time. Joongki didn’t pimp you out to the Kim family, and he for damn sure wouldn’t have let you marry Seojun and take off. The idea of you having kids with your ex-boyfriend makes Taehyung’s blood boil. The mere idea of Seojun putting his hands anywhere on your person is enough to have your husband close to pulling out his phone and calling for a hit on the poor guy.

You can see the gears shifting in Taehyung’s head, the cold calculation of whatever he’s about to do, and you know that if you didn’t diffuse the situation soon, you’d cost Seojun his life. “Stop it, Taehyung. You don’t get to be an asshole about Seojun and then get mad at me for calling you out on it. You for damn sure don’t get to be pissed that I wanted some space after you were the one who lost your shit over nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing,” he growls low in his chest and shuffles up the bed to get comfortable. “It was that you felt like you had to protect him in the first place. You really think I’m some kind of monster that would have him killed because he dated you? Far from it, princess. I’m glad you were happy, but he’s not part of your life anymore. You’re my wife, mine, so you’ll forgive me if I get a little testy when you brag about some other man giving you a better life than I can. Especially when you haven’t even given me the fucking chance.”

“Hauling me into this house and then locking me in is not a better life, Taehyung. It’s barely even a life at all. You can say it’s for my own safety, I’ve heard it a thousand times before, but I know that it’s more about your pride than anything else. That the great Kim Taehyung has what someone else wants and no one can get to it.”

“You think if this was about my pride that I’d keep you locked away? There is nothing more that I want than to show you off to the world, Y/N. To show whoever wants you that you’re protected and safe from them, not because they can’t have you. My pride stems from the fact that I have one of the strongest women by my side who isn’t afraid to put me in my place. Not everyone finds that in this life, so yes, I’m proud to have you and no, I will not apologize for whatever kind of blow your ego takes because you can’t stand to be wrong.”

You walk up to the bed, and for a second Taehyung heaves a sigh of relief that the fight is finally over, but you simply strip the mattress of its sheets and turn to leave the room.

He’s on his feet, striding across the room and boxing you in against the door before you can yank it open. “And just where the fuck do you think you’re going?”

Whirling around to face him, you hiss, “I’d sooner sleep under a bridge than in the same bed as you right now, Kim Taehyung.”

“That can be arranged if you want it, princess.” Taehyung is done. He’s jealous, he’s pissed, and he’s exhausted, so if you want to throw out empty threats then he’ll match you vicious word for vicious word.

“Then do it,” you challenge quickly. If he wants to toss you out because you fought him so hard then that’s all the opportunity you need to disappear.

His hand comes up to slap the door, landing dangerously close to your cheek, but you aren’t afraid of him or his outburst. He curls his lip up in a sneer before he bites down on his bottom lip and takes in a deep breath to compose himself. “We can fight, we can yell and scream at each other all you want, but at the end of the day this is the bed we’ll be sleeping in. You and I, because it’s ours and I’ll be damned if you curl up elsewhere, understand?”

You swallow the lump in your throat when he presses his forehead to yours because damn it, you’re supposed to be mad at him, not craving his stupid touch. You understand perfectly well, but he doesn’t need to know that, nor does he deserve a verbal response. Shouldering past him, you spin around and hold your hand out. “I want the key. Both of them.”

“There’s two for a reason, sweetheart.” Taehyung explains, turning to lean his back against the door and crossing his arms. “If you lock yourself in here and something happens, either me or one of the guys needs to be able to get in here. In fact, for that reason, I think I’ll be giving one of the keys to the boys and keeping the original copy for myself.”

Your fingers curl against your palm and you clench your teeth. “If I could, I’d drown you, Kim.”

“I know that you’re perfectly capable of it,” he smirks and crosses the room to the bed, “yet I’m not afraid to sleep in the bed as you.”

You try to crawl onto the bed next to him, but unlike most nights, he’s chosen to occupy your usual side of the bed. You huff and try to shove him over. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Sleeping.” He pretends to yawn and bury himself into the mattress.

“I sleep on this side, Taehyung, you know that.”

“Not tonight, princess.” He smirks and closes his eyes, knowing how much you hated sleeping with your back against the wall. The bed was pressed into a corner of the very large room simply because after he moved into the room, he’d keep you pinned between him and the wall so you couldn’t run off in the middle of the night. After a few weeks, you’d complained about feeling claustrophobic and he’d relented, granting you the open side of the bed.

“I won’t do this crap again, Taehyung,” you warn with your hands on your hips after giving up on trying to move him. “Move over.”

Taehyung doesn’t say anything, instead tucking his arms behind his head and crossing his legs at the ankles to make himself comfortable. The bed dips unexpectedly and his eyes shoot open to find you swinging one leg over his frame as you settle yourself in his lap. He wastes no time in gripping your hips to keep you from falling if you lose your balance. “What are you doing?”

“You didn’t move.” You shrug your shoulders, sitting your full weight on his crotch and bunching your hair up to pull into a bun. “The only way for me to get to that side is to climb over you.”

He isn’t paying attention anymore, his hands grip you with a bruising force as your chest juts out with the way you pull your hair up. Your hips circle ever so slightly and he hisses through clenched teeth. This is payback, he realizes, and doesn’t have time to react before you’re rolling off and throwing the blankets over your body.

You hear him grumble something under his breath, but can’t tell what exactly it is. He’s angry, but it doesn’t stop him from turning on his side and snaking his arms around your waist. You nearly lose your breath when he harshly tugs your back to his chest so you push back against him in retaliation.

“You’re being a child,” he growls into your ear, “and if you plan on pushing against me all night, then you should also plan on not sleeping.”

You turn in his hold, coming face to face and bumping your nose against his. “You’re the one being a child, Taehyung. Not that you need to know, or even deserve it, but Seojun isn’t someone to be concerned about. I may not like that we’re married, but I’m not going to go out and violate the sanctity of our marriage either.”

You duck your head and nuzzle it beneath his chin before he can see the blush forming on your cheeks as you whisper, “I’m yours, Tae, no one else’s.”

He freezes and knows that if you hadn’t been embarrassed about admitting as much, then he would kiss you until you both struggled for breath. Your lashes flutter against his neck and he pulls you closer, burying his face in your hair and placing a kiss to your head.

[britishchick09]

‘ghost on the roof’ s1 finale livewatch

the first livewatch of 2023 is here!!! to kick things off we’ll descend into fangirl madness with the season 1 finale of ‘ghost on the roof’! i livewatched the first two eps in march (nearly a year ago!!!), so i figured i’d pull a clarissa and do the same for the finale! i’m absolutely excited af to see how this amazing webtoon will end... for now! ;)

before we start... ♫ prediction time! ♫ in the last ep, a gala was held for the new production of ‘don giovanni’ and christine got one of the lead roles! pretty soon, she and carlotta will go to the stage for a special preview (hmm....)

but for now, christine is celebrating with her crew, aka raoul, meg, jo and cecile!

christine isn’t wearing a mask, just a stick mask! she’s wearing her contacts so a mask shouldn’t be a problem, but maybe she prefers stick masks! *ignores rewrite erik’s incessant rants about stick masks being awful in the background* :)

but then...

HE’S there in the crowd!!!!! and not wearing a skull mask like the past red deaths! no one will recognize him anyways, so he’s smart to do that! ;)

christine is like ‘!!!!’ and decides to go investigating. of course, raoul is suspicious and jo is like ‘wait was that the ghost?’ but he can’t do anything since cecile insisted that he stops his investigating for his safety. he still goes up to christine and asks if she’s seen a ghost...

will she say yes? will she fib to get jo off her back so she can eat her macron in peace? will she sneak off to find erik? will there be yet another rewrite coincidence with a secret dance like rewrite raoulstine? will a certain shiny af object fall during the ceiling to end the season on a... not quite cliffhanger? with how amazing i know this ep will be, will i survive to the end? let’s find out! ;)

IT’S UP YAAAAAS!!!!!!! :D

good christine said no to the ghost question!

she’s hiding ‘cause she knows somethiiiinnnnggg...... ;)

ooh raoulstine dance!

i wonder if she’ll see erik in the crowd like how rewrite christine did during her raoul crowd dance... ;)

lol! ;D

there are foot missteps just like rewrite raoulstine! good to see those things never change! ;D

also i just noticed the domino on her gloves! clever! ;D

aww raoul said she looks stunning in it :) (he’s not wrong she sure does!)

ooh christine needs a bathroom break!

a... bathroom break... ;)

HE CAUGHT HER WHEN SHE FELL OMG!!!!!! :D

it’s like how hans caught anna when she tripped at elsa’s coronation but better! ;)

also two bfs... one party... one jelly moment perhaps? ;)

eeeeee yas!!!!! :D

OMG ERISTINE DANCE????

erik just got  f r i e n d z o n e d  B)

someone’s jellyyyyyyy...... ;)

OMG YES but also omg no because he’s a secret boi! but maybe he’ll be in the gang in the epilogue like a certain story... ;)

oof same erik people aren’t fun! :(

also are those weird eyes on the people?

THANK YOU YAS!!!!!! :D

christine anime! ;D

;)

i’m sure they would sweet erik! :’(

OMG JINX! ;D

oooof... :/

yes you are! :)

but elsa said that same thing and she went into the unknown so... ;)

ooooooh they’re in a rotunda just like rewrite raoulstine!!!! :D

AND THEY’RE IN THE SUN ROTUNDA JUST LIKE THEM???? :O

*adds this to the list of ever growing list of ‘ghost’ and rewrite coincidences*

now share a dance you two! ;)

he thinks she’ll be ashamed of him! :(

yeah christine you tell him! you’d never be ashamed of such a sweet talented masked boi! :D

also his surprised look tho lol! ;D

lean twins :)

aww he’s glad they could see each other tonight :)

OMGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIRST CANON ERISTINE DANCE!!!!! :D (besides the rewrite that sort of doesn’t count)

he doesn’t entirely like the persian like how he doesn’t like lerik in the book! ;D

and we sound like good friends? ;)

ooh sick burn bro! ;D

his face is cute :)

cuties!!!!! :D

also lol! ;D

omg he’s actually smiling!!!!!! :D

his little laugh and his cutie smile and his eyes closing because of that laugh and smile are so adorable!!!!! :D

his alternate reaction could’ve been this:

aww :)

the next ep should just be christine playing try not to laugh challenge videos! ;D

also they’re leaning in awfully close... ;)

OH????

thanks for breaking that off we’ll need more almost kisses in s2 for that sweet sweet tension ;)

aww he seems a bit sad to be ending the dance :/

but i’ll definitely be using that enchant line for the rewrite... ;)

:)

raoul is freaking out man! :o

he’s an uwu puppy ^_^

aww a bracelet gift! :D

that’ll go well with her scorpion necklace... ;)

also does it say ‘ca’?

edit: turns out it’s a grasshopper! (and a clever little book reference... ;) )

they’re so awkward i love them! :D

she’s so pretty! :)

“you’re just giving me other bf vibes that’s all” ;)

OH CRAP

the chandelier seems to be ok... maybe it’s the lights?

OR IS IT JO????

NONONONONNONO FRICK NOO JO!!!!!!

i should’ve known it was coming since buquet dies in the original but it’s still so shocking and sad! :’(

i’m guessing he just got mixed up in a trap and it wasn’t intentional like rewrite buquet but we’ll find out in s2...

this has the same vibes as that one ep of sailor moon crystal season 3 where a tragic thing happened and then the upbeat ‘otome no susme’ with chibiusa plays and it’s like ‘...hello SOMEONE JUST FREAKING DIED????’

anyways that was the season 1 finale of ‘ghost’! it was incredible, it was adorable, it was shocking and I LOVED THE ERISTINE MOMENTS SO MUCH!!!!!! that pretty much sums up all of ‘ghost on the roof’ though! it’s the best webtoon out there and i can’t wait to see what it has to offer in season 2! :D

[desertflowerbowling]

wtnv, cecilos, 5 (maybe the arby's scene 🥺 for nostalgia) thank you!

#5: Put my hand over yours and you didn’t pull away

Bored? Send me a prompt from this list!

Warnings: none

Notes: Still longer than I expected (467 words to be precise).

Carlos stared at the lights, at their ever-shifting colors and the way they grew brighter and dimmer, seemingly at random. Sometimes, patches of lights would swirl around each other or merge, but mostly they seemed content to just float there, drifting aimlessly. It was the first time he had studied the lights closely, and though he couldn’t yet see a pattern, he was almost certain one could be found. It was just a matter careful measurement and-

Footsteps behind him. The sound of someone running up to the car jolted him back to the reason he was there in the first place. Carlos turned to see Cecil looking at him with an expression of anticipation.

“What is it?” they asked. “What danger are we in? What mystery needs to be explored?”

Carlos smiled and shook his head. “Nothing.” He paused, trying to figure out what exactly to say. “After everything that happened… I just wanted to see you.”

“O-Oh?”

Carlos was struck, then, by just how different this Cecil in the parking lot was from the Cecil on the radio, so calm and detached. This Cecil’s eyes were wide with… surprise? disbelief? concern? all three? Their face was flushed and they kept nervously twisting their hands. Carlos realized all of this, and knew the correct response to none of it, so instead he turned to look at the sun. “I used to think it was setting at the wrong time. But then I realized that time doesn’t work in Night Vale, and that none of the clocks are real.” He turned to look back at Cecil and gave a little shrug. “Sometimes things seem so strange or malevolent, and then you find that, underneath, it was something else together, something pure and innocent.”

Cecil nodded. “I know what you mean.”

“Come up here,” Carlos said, gesturing to the spot next to him on the trunk of the car, and Cecil did, leaving a little space between the two them, as though unsure how close was too close.

Carlos wasn’t sure, either. “Is there a pattern, do you think?” he asked, pointing up at the lights.

“I don’t know.” Cecil frowned. “Be careful trying to find one, though. The lights are almost hypnotic, and before you know it, the weather’s been done for who knows how long, and Station Management has some choice words for you about the three hours of dead air.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“Maybe.”

Carlos laughed, and moved his hand ever so slightly, so that it rested on top of Cecil’s.

Cecil looked at their hands, surprised but not unpleasantly so, and leaned over to rest their head against Carlos’s shoulder. Carlos was surprised to find he didn’t mind at all. He squeezed Cecil’s hand and looked up at the lights once more.

[pokedash55]

ULTRA LONG TIME TWIN HEADCANNONS

@sippin-on-waterfalls your post is ready

From Pokedash and Purplefern

Ooooooookay here we go.

_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_

-Krux perceives time slower than others so he is easily late to events (plus he gets distracted and way into projects so he can easily lose track of time, ironically) so he could end up missing a lot of Elemental Alliance meetings

-Acronix made sure he informed Krux it was time to go (whenever he remembers, anyway) otherwise he’d be uber late all the time. Good thing they always go together

-Acronix is super early all the time because of his powers and he and Griffon Turner’s grandfather got along really well

-All the same, between lack of attention span, focusing on other things, and not caring for the meetings in general, Krux and Acronix miss a LOT of meetings 

-Before alliance meetings Wu is training little Morro and the Twins and the Master of Speed just waltz in the monastery doors an hour early

-Acronix teaches Morro some sick fighting moves (some rather underhanded)

-Krux advises him to never let people get away with harm cause you are the most important thing in your life. (Revenge!)

-Wu be like plz stop encouraging my kid into violence and dishonorable tactics.

-Krux brought refreshments to an EA party exactly once. It was pickled beet tea and nobody liked it. He took it very personally. 

-Back during the war, the love triangle with Misako was actually a love rectangle. Krux had a crush on her too but he literally had no idea how to act on it so his part of the rectangle was staring at her longingly from afar and not saying anything. 

-Yes Acronix teased him immensely about this. And tried to act as a wingman several times but Krux swore if he did he would murder him 

-Pre-series, Misako would do work for the museum a lot, so she ended up working with Sanders Saunders quite often. Despite her relationship to Wu and Garmadon and their “history”, he did like working with her ok

-They both also worked with the Explorer’s Club a lot, and have equal disdain for Cecil Putnam and Clutch Powers 

-Krux hates Cecil’s stuffy rules (even though he couldn’t show it while being Dr Saunders) and Clutch’s….everything

-Krux’s doctorate is real, and he has a doctorate in History and and Master’s degree in Museum Studies 

-He’s the Curator of History at the museum, and the other curator is the curator of natural sciences 

-Acronix is a big nicknames guy. He doesn’t usually call people by their actual names. Only the people he actually cares about or that he super hates. 

-But he also generally despises nicknames given TO him. The only people allowed to call him Nix/Nixie are  his brother and mother (and later Shannon). 

-Krux only calls Acronix "Nix" if he's feeling particularly vulnerable/scared/etc (so like, when being the older twin isn't feeling that fun and he decides to ignore those 3 minutes and be more like the "younger" twin.) So this becomes a lot less as he becomes more arrogant. 

-(Based on how he describes Dareth getting beat up by the Vermillion warrior) Krux likes watching wrestling. It’s a guilty pleasure of his 

-And of course Acronix loves it once he learns about it, so the two watch it together 

-Krux occasionally plays strategy board games. He tried to get Acronix into them but he found them boring. 

-(Sometimes he’ll suck it up and play with him anyway, though.) 

-Both are sass masters

-Both also like science

-But like completely different facets of science. 

-Krux of course likes the more stable and earthy sciences. Biology and geology, ecology. Those elemental science that have always existed but we just haven’t yet understood them

-Krux is also a total history nerd. Things like paleontology and anthropology are also really interesting to him 

-Yes he was a dinosaur kid. (Especially since dinosaurs had just started to be discovered back in his day.) 

-Acronix of course likes advancement and the otherworldly sciences. Technology, Astronomy. Sure we build upon the discoveries of the past but what about creating something new for the future? 

-Acronix does like bioengeneering since it is a new advancement but he knows saying so would make Krux grin with “I told you bio was cool” vibes

-Krux can engulf himself into his work or his schemes for days. As he is very patient. 

-Acronix is less so. He sees time constantly moving forward so sitting idle to “Plan” seems a ridiculous waste of time. 

-He jumps from activities quickly as the novelty of it wears off and he is always on a quest for what's new and what may work, not really what has been confirmed to work

-Krux of course sees this as a fool's errand. We need to respect the knowledge we have and use it and plan with it. 

-But when they are in sync you should be SCARED

-Both thinking in the Present can make them in perfect harmony, Both in fighting and talking.

-Their different planning methods can help eachother get things done. So yes, when they work together you should be scared 

-Krux can get really fixated on an idea, and get into major creative blocks. Acronix helps propose out of the box solutions that keep his ideas moving forwards that he wouldn’t have thought of himself. 

-But as we see they can also be reeeeallly different and fight over the miniscule things.  

-Krux lingers on Grudges easily as he physically cannot not put value to the events of the past.

-Acronix’s main grudge with the alliance came from his ego and arrogance, not his element. I think he feels very internally about wrongs to him in the moment but if he sees nothing really changed a couple of days later he loses interest in holding such a grudge easily

-Each of them have the ability to not be affected by the other’s powers

-Acronix has no patience to listen to anything he doesn’t want to hear. Back when he had his powers he COULD and WOULD just “skip” peoples’ dialogue if he got bored of it. 

-Krux has a bad habit of “freezing” people if he feels like they’re interrupting him. Like, he will freeze people who are trying to get him to stop working on something while he’s trying to get something done, and then get back to them when he feels like it. Everyone has to work on his time. (Annoyingly, this does not affect his brother, which is why Acronix is the only one who can actually get him to stop working on his projects.) 

-Whenever Krux & Acronix would hang out with Chen, Acronix loved messing with Clouse. Clouse reminds him of his brother, but even more stuffy and annoyed somehow, so he just has an instinctual urge to annoy him as much as possible. 

-(Clouse does not appreciate this, but Master Chen says they’re “important” to his plan so Clouse just suffers quietly.) 

-Acronix likes the Master of Speed, but also finds it annoying that he can resist his slo-mo powers by going really fast. (On the bright side, though, this does make him the closest thing to an equal he’ll get for a sparring partner, if Krux doesn’t want to train with him for whatever reason.) 

-Because of his element, Sound is one of the rare people who doesn’t really mind Krux but REALLY dislikes Acronix. Acronix is just so loud all the time and it physically pains him because he is so sensitive to vibrations and volume. Krux is generally pretty quiet so doesn’t bug him as much. 

-Acronix is an Entrepreneur (ESTP)  and Krux is an Architect (INTJ) 

-They have no Feeling whatsoever

-Otherwise, they are complete opposites

-Both of these personality types hate rules, regulations, and micromanaging restricting authority figures (hmm, wonder why they broke away from the alliance…)

-Acronix is arrogant in the way that he doesn’t care about his flaws, because obviously he is awesome and everyone else is just jelly, Krux is arrogant in the way that he hates people pointing out his flaws, because shut up he doesn’t have any 

-Their mother is Polaris, they take after her physically 

-Father is Kronos, they got their powers and ego from him 

-Their father actively encouraged them to have immense pride in their element -- being the former master of time himself 

-Ordered them the sweet matching armor

-He was a samurai back in his day, which is why the Twims wore samurai helmets.

-Between their two loving parents, the Twims were nearly spoiled 

-Krux and Acronix grew up pretty rich, Kronos was pretty much high society and Polaris was too 

-They went to a fairly fancy private school growing up

-But everyone there were snobs so they didn’t get along well with their classmates (what a surprise)

-Their parents died in a skirmish with Serpentine, leading the Twims to join the alliance full of vengeance. 

-Acronix has a battle scar from being grazed by an anacondrai sword on his left pec cause I said so

-Also a lot of misc snake bit scars and a burn scar from that one time (Ray’s got a bad temper and Acronix likes pressing people’s buttons, so that went super well)

-Acronix super cares about his looks so has a ton of, like, haircare and beauty products. Krux has a single bottle of 3-in-1 and a bar of soap and says that that’s sufficient. 

-Back in the day Acronix had a bunch of oils and whatever for his hair, and when he’s in the present he’s got a bunch of fancy shampoos and such.  He’s definitely the vain one of the two twins

_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

A collection of Neurodivergent Twims HCs

-Acronix has ADHD and Krux is autisitc

-Acronix is early, but only to things he remembers. He often forgets dates. And Krux will get involved with something else, and has a warped sense of time. Together, the two miss a lot of EM meetings 

-And when they’re at them, neither of them are good at conversations. Acronix talks a mile a minute and doesn’t let anyone get a word in edgewise. Krux either doesn’t talk to anyone or similarly dominates conversation and doesn’t let anyone else talk. 

-The two also get sent on solo missions alot

-They don’t focus well in a group setting (Acronix generally ignoring the plan for what he prioritizes as the better option and krux simply not being popular with the others and only really battling well beside his brother)

-They are generally strong enough to protect a village by themselves

-The other EM work better with them out of the way since they are “annoying” and no one really likes their arrogance, pride, or entire personhood

-They seem to be happier working only together than with the whole group

-Once during a group charge on a collection of Serpentine races Acronix notices a horde heading in a different direction and follows them impulsive

-All of these things together make them especially unpopular with the other EMs

-Especially with the Master of Ice, who considers their actions disrespectful and often scolds them on their behavior 

-Krux and Acronix can BOTH get hyperfixated on things they are interested in, and can also forget to eat and sleep.

-Acronix struggles with insomnia a lot because his brain doesn’t shut up. Luckily his brother never really sleeps either. They spend a lot of long nights talking about nonsense 

-Acronix tries to use time skip powers to not waste time while sleeping. He skips the night, but he still didn’t get sleep. He crashes after a few days of this and Krux tells him that he’s a moron 

-Acronix has a fidget spinner, which he got for the memes but ended up finding unironically helpful, and gives Krux a fidget cube (which Krux reluctantly accepts and actually does use pretty often.) 

-Before learning what a fidget spinner was he would flip his phone a lot. It was both an easily accessible stim and assurance he knew where it was cause he tended to leave things around at random. 

-Krux used nail-biting as a stim, mostly because it can appear pretty neurotypical 

-Acronix is “annoying” around the ninja during his lil redemption arc, but instead of reacting like the elemental masters, the Ninja actually do research and come to an understanding (especially Zane, who is perceptive, understanding, and has an instantaneous link to the internet). 

-Altogether he’s a little surprised when they actually put effort into tolerating and understanding his differences. Huh. How’s bout that? 

-Jay is also pretty understanding, he’s got a lot of nd cousins and has ADHD himself so it’s kinda just *shrugs*

-Modern dyes and preservatives really trigger Acronix’s ADHD to be even worse than usual. 

-Zane picks up on this, and like the mother hen that he is starts to put in a special effort to keep dyes away from Acronix (or to keep Acronix away from dyes, as the case may be)

-Jay has a similar problem with dyes (which Edna let the Ninja know about, thanks a lot ma ) so Zane works double time to keep them both away from dyes

-Makes special dishes that are “ADHD safe” 

-Neither appreciate it (well Jay does but will complain openly at every chance he gets)

-Acronix got into a lot of trouble with their dad when he was a kid, because he just couldn’t pay attention 

-Has bursts of anger a lot, oftentimes this happens during things like parties or pre-meeting conversations. (which easily leads to him getting a label of “aggressive” or “hotheaded” by the EMs) 

-DEFINITELY struggles with Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria

-Ninjago history is Krux’s special interest 

-Krux freezes people around him when he needs a sec to destim

-Krux is pretty high-functioning, but is on the borderline. He's high-functioning enough to be aware of himself and mask, but not enough to avoid things like shut/melt downs 

-Acronix is fiercely protective of his brother whenever he shuts down. Messing with Krux while he's like that (whether the antagonist is aware or not) is a one way ticket to his wrath as well as physical punishment. 

-Whenever things got too intense at a meeting/party type thing, Acronix would ditch and sneak them both out whenever Krux was heading towards a shut down. Being the awesome supportive twin that he is, he learned to pick up on the signs of one and was certain to prevent them pretty much whenever possible. 

-Acronix failed in his efforts only once (he was kind of sick that day and wasn’t at the top of his game to be keeping a watchful eye on his bro), and Krux kind of ended up time freezing a few of the EMs in the process. It was something the elemental masters (or Krux himself)  did not soon forget or forgive. 

-He'll go nonverbal sometimes, to the minor aggravation of the alliance. Sign language isn't a thing yet so anyone trying to understand him when he's like this are pretty much reliant on Acronix and his twin sense to translate. 

-When their parents died Krux went nonverbal for a little over a month. 

-Krux was pretty delayed in learning to speak, he didn’t say his first word until he was 3 ¼ 

-Even during his redemption arc, Acronix does not tell the Ninja about Krux's autism, from a built in fear that the knowledge would be used against him in possible future battles. (Also because he knows Krux wouldn't want them to know.) 

-Krux doesn't just hate phones because “ugh technology”, he also just hates talking on the phone because it’s super difficult

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OK there are way more that we have but... did you know there is actually a word limit on Tumblr? Heh heh... If you want more Twim goodness you can read our extensive fanfic collection... or maybe we’ll make a part two (That’ll probably consist of Home life pre-war stuff, post-canon AU junk, Vermillion family nonsense, and more random stuff)

[writer-akihiko]

Chapter 6 - First Names [STARISH]

If you had noticed, I worked on the navigation of the chapters. Please comment if you would like a navigation to the previous chapter, as I always implement the navigation for the next chapter

Chapter 7 →

Otoya Ittoki

At the moment, your relationship is over calls and messages. By next week you'd be going on your first date with Otoya in person. You were giddy at the thought of it.

Otoya asked to video call you again. You decided to use your laptop since you were in the middle of work.

"Otoya-san!" You said as he came online.

"Hello YN-senpai..." He replied, slightly uneasy.

"Otoya-san? What's wrong?"

"Can we call each other by our first names?" He blurted out.

"Eh? Umm... It's so soon though... " You said, hiding your face at the thought of it.

He pressed on. "It's odd to add honorifics when we're in a relationship. Can we at least try?"

"Okay..." You said. "But it might take a while for me to adjust."

"Alright... YN," He said, smiling at you. You had to contain yourself from squealing.

"That... That was cute," You said.

"Not as cute as you look right now," He quipped, reaching out to his camera, trying to touch you. "Can you try with my name?"

"Otoya-saー" You stopped yourself and tried again. "O... Otoya..."

"I'll see you at our date YN."

"You too, Otoya."

Masato Hijirikawa

You and Masato hung around the music room, trying to plan a romantic date. Masato wanted a proper time and date, which you went along with since you too had a busy schedule.

"Masato, what do you think about going out of the city?" You suggested.

Masato paused, staring at you. "You called me without honorifics..."

"Isn't that what couples do?" You pointed out. "We're the same age anyway. There's no barrier between."

"It's... It's embarrassing."

"Is it difficult to call me YN?"

"No! Absolutely not!" He said. "Y-YN..."

"See~" You teased. "You look so adorable!"

Natsuki Shinomiya

"YN-SENPAI~"

"YN-senpai..."

Natsuki came slightly after closing time. He helped you clean up shop, as he talked about his day. He hasn't stopped smiling since your reply.

"Natsuki?" You called unconsciously.

Natsuki came towards you, shielding you with his body. "(Y/N)-senpai... You called me without honorifics..."

"Ah... I did..." You realised. "I'm soー"

He connected his forehead towards yours. "Then this means I can call you my YN-chan."

"Natsukiー"

"Hm?"

"We should meet somewhere else next time. I seriously need to close shop..."

Ren Jinguji

Your relationship then began off your letters. You would send letters to him and occasionally he would call you. You used a house phone, which you sent the number to Ren.

The phone rang once again.

"Hello Jinguji-san?"

"YN, what do you think about going shopping together when you come over?" He said.

"Hmm..." You contemplated. "I have the necessities..."

"Except for a phone. I am buying you one," He cut you off. You knew how expensive phones were. No way are you letting him buy you one.

"I don't need one Jinguji-san," You said. Ren still tried to convince you. He then struck a deal with you.

"YN, if you call me Ren, I'll leave the whole phone business on hold," He said.

"Okay Ren."

Ren laughed, the vibrations of the sound tickling your ear. "You switched it so quickly... It's almost dissatisfying to hear... A deal's a deal. It's on hold for now my lady. We should concentrate on getting you Tokyo."

Cecil Aijima

Cecil already considered calling you by your first name.

"Since we're dating, should we call each other by our first names?" You asked.

"Is it a romantic thing?"

"Yeah," You said. "It's common for couples to do so."

Cecil went in shock.

"Cecil?"

"YN... Does this mean some people have been courting me this whole time?!"

"What?"

"Everyone of ST☆RISH calls me Cecil..." He said, chills running up his spine.

"That's completely different!"

Syo Kurusu

You called him Syo out of instinct ーduring your reply ー but now that you're in a relationship, you began to call him Syo.

The main issue here was the unwillingness of Syo to call you by first name.

"Syo, don't worry. It's not disrespect. We're lovers now," You pointed out. "It's natural."

"But what if those guards kill me?" He muttered, beginning to panic.

"They won't. I won't let them," You assured. "Can you try? Please Syo?"

He held his hat to hide his reddening face.

"Y-YN..."

Tokiya Ichinose

"Tokiya... Call my first name."

He made a noise of surprise, dropping his pen. "What... What's going on?"

"Just do it."

Is this some romantic thing she wants to try out? I mean... she's calling me Tokiya too... I don't see a reasonー

"Hurry up."

"O-Okay," He said. "YN... Is that what you want me to call you?"

.......

...

.

"PERFECT!" You cried out. "It goes so well with this scene!"

You began scribbling on your notebook, sketching drafts for your manga. Tokiya peeked over your shoulder, hugging you as well.

"Do you still want me to call you YN?"

Chapter 7 →

[utanoprince-imagines]

What kind of couple items would Starish get their s/o?

A/N: Decided to try and write a scenario for all 18 boys at once! Thought it would be a fun idea to try writing this and I indeed had fun coming up with various items the boys would gift! Instead of posting this as one long scenario, I decided to split it according to the groups, so stay tuned for Quartet Night and Heavens’ versions. Mini disclaimer that these ideas are just my take on the boys’ personalities!

Read the other boys here! [QUARTET NIGHT] [HEAVENS]

Otoya: Bag

As a couple, the both of you enjoyed going for runs together or simply taking walks together 

Recently, wandering around the streets of Japan was a thing the both of you were into

As Otoya took note of the couples on the streets, he had the thought of getting matching bags since he felt that it was a couple item that was rather subtle and immediately dragged you into a shop selling such bags 

The both of you got matching fanny packs and proudly wore them everytime you took a walk together, proudly telling the world that the both of you belonged to each other 

Tokiya: Diary

Both you and Tokiya love writing down your thoughts that you found too difficult to express sometimes

Therefore, Tokiya brought you out with him one day to pick a couple diary

Both of you preferred a simple design to the flashy kinds, and eventually settled on a matching journal that suited your tastes

While the contents in a diary is usually kept private, the both of you often exchanged diaries to read each other's thoughts and it helped you understand each other better 

Natsuki: Piyo Figurines 

When you first knew Natsuki, you weren't such a big fan of Piyo unlike him, but eventually, you fell for the cute, lovable character

One day while catching up with one of the episodes, you casually told Natsuki that it would be cute to own a Piyo couple figurine (You had seen the pusheen bride and groom version and you thought it was cute) 

Of course Natsuki was totally up for the idea and bought a pair to display in the living room

Every time someone visited (especially Reiji), you guys were subjected to the question of "when's the wedding day?" 

Masato: Apron 

The both of you love spending time in the kitchen together, cooking all sorts of meals and baking all kinds of pastries

Masa figured that since so much time was spent there, he decided to drop by a store one day to get matching aprons 

Masa being masa, wouldn't get something too flashy, but rather something simple (like matching designs or colours), so he eventually settled on a set of dark blue aprons since that was his designated colour in Starish as well as the colour of your shirt when you first met him

He will then to proceed to stitch your names on the apron to make it more special (which you absolutely adore) 

Ren: Matching game consoles 

Nothing feels better than coming home after a long day at work and snuggling into the couch with Ren for some game time 

The two of you played a wide genre of games, from the chill ones like animal crossing to the more intense ones like resident evil

One day, Ren surprised you with a pair of switch joycons that were in your favourite colour and a pair that you were meaning to get for yourself one day. It was another pleasant surprise when he showed you that he himself got himself a matching pair 

He also took the time to customise the cases by putting your names on them

Syo: Earrings 

Other than being into fashion, the both of you boasted a rather big earring collection. There was never an occasion where you would turn down the offer to buy a new earring

It was an essential part of your everyday life, and you both pretty much had a different pair to match with every outfit 

So naturally it would make sense for Syo to grab you both a matching pair for your anniversary and you loved it so much that you told Syo your concerns about your remaining earring collection 

"This earring is too special to me I honestly don't need the other pairs of earrings anymore" you joked 

Cecil: Keychains 

Cecil is a simple man, but that didn't mean he couldn't be the most romantic sometimes 

His idea of getting a couple keychain came when he was looking through his huge stash of keychains that he got from various theme parks/tourist spots

He was sure to made it extra special by getting a design that carried a lot of meaning to the both of you

He eventually got keychains of the orange blossom flower, for it meant his eternal love and his desire to spend the rest of his life with you 

[cecilspeaks]

174 - Radio Jupiter

This is Radio Jupiter calling out to all who hear. Please respond. Awaiting your reply.

[different theme song]

This is Radio Jupiter. I’m not sure who is listening. I’m not sure if there’s anyone to listen. I can only verify my own existence. I can only verify the void around me, the apparent fact of stars, the swirling atmosphere of the planet below me. I cannot verify much. I don’t know who I am or where I came from. I woke up here, and all I have to go on is my call sign. So this is Radio Jupiter, reaching out to whoever there is to be reached out to.

It is so beautiful here on my perch, here in my place, in the cosmos and the universe about which I know nothing but feel everything. I don’t know if everywhere is as beautiful, or even most places. Did I happen onto the one beautiful place in the all of it? Without perspective, there is only what is nearby. Without the burden of comparison, everything is beautiful.

If a person is the sum total of every experience they’ve ever had, is a person without memories still a person? Or are they a different creature altogether, made either limited or limitless by the possibilities of a clean slate? I am either trapped or I am more free than anyone who can hear this. If anyone can hear this.

There is a framed photo in this room. It is an elderly woman. Maybe my mother or my grandmother or an aunt. Perhaps merely a photo I saw in a magazine once and liked for whatever reason. I have no way of knowing what kind of person I am, what kind of photo I would keep. Perhaps it is a photo of you. Do you present as an elderly woman? Would you like to? I think perhaps I would like to, even for just a little while. But I only am what I only am, I ever am, whatever I am.

[distortion] This is Radio Jupiter calling all cars, all (species), all… [fades out]

Cecil: Is that any better? Is that better? Can you hear me? [clears throat] OK, my producer is giving me the signal that we are now back on the air. Sorry about that, not sure what that other signal was, but it completely took over ours, which is rude. We’re currently looking for the source of the signal. We’ve narrowed it down to up. Just right up there somewhere, beaming on down to us. But we’re back in control and we do not expect any more interruptions. Of course, we didn’t expect that interruption either. I don’t expect almost anything that happens to me, my life is full of mystery and surprise, as is yours I’m sure, but still, we seem to have this one technical issue addressed. With that settled, I think we can get to the news.  

Our top story concerns… [reluctantly] Susan Willman. OK. Sure. There has been a lot of talk in town since the whole incident with the Obelisk, in which Susan Willman learned the name of an immortal all knowing being. This name now exist in her head, an object of great power reverberating through her thoughts. She has withdrawn from her duties as director of the Night Vale Community Theater and the Night Vale PTA. Oh darn, we’ll miss her and her prosaic, muddled staging and grandstanding about home-work life balance.

Susan has instead taken residence in a booth at the Moonlite All-Nite Diner. There at all hours, toying with a half drunk coffee and playing with the reflection of the sun in the back of a spoon. At night, the mint light of the sign outside sends strange shadows across her face, and her friends say they sometimes don’t recognize her at all. Steve Carlsberg, who is taking over her role at the Night Vale Community Theater, went to talk to her about some finer details of the casting process, and said that she was less than helpful. She was weeping, and the only thing she said the entire time he was there was that she was afraid to speak, lest the awful name slip past her lips. “No one was meant to carry such death inside of them,” she whispered, and then said no more. “Oh sure, yeah yeah, makes total sense,” said Steve, as he (-) [06:51] down some invisible pie. Well, I think we’ve given Susan enough attention for now, moving on.

In other news, the new beer cave at the Ralphs has been closed for repairs due to occasional time loop issues reported by certain customers. Manager at the Ralphs, Dave Ball, issued a statement by spelling out words with cantaloupes in the parking lot, saying “everything is fine with the beer cave, it’s a great and refreshing addition to Night Vale. Please don’t go inside or even look at it, as we don’t know why it’s doing what it’s doing. Everything is fine, please stay safe and stay away.” Dave then rearranged the cantaloupes to create complex fractal designs that made me dizzy to gaze upon, but were beautiful nonetheless. When reached out for a comment, Ralphs corporate said they had no records of any branch in a town called Night Vale, and were tired of receiving prank calls with bizarre tales about a made up store. When provided with pictoral evidence of Night Vale, a representative at Ralphs corporate began to bleed form the eyes while shouting: “This can’t be real! My god, this can’t be real!” More on the story of the beer cave if anything happens [distortion, fades out]…

Agent N-223: [--] out there, out there? Not sure if any of this is getting thru, but continuing to narrate on the off chance anyone will hear this and come, you know, to collect me. I’ve been doing some digging through the spaceship, and I’m disturbed by what I’ve found. Weapons. Many, many weapons. Racks of guns, cases of grenades and explosives, radar that I instinctively know is for tracking combatant space crafts, even though I have no memory of receiving that training. I am armed to the teeth and ready to wage war. But on what? There are no living beings in sight, and for all I know, there are no other living beings anywhere. Perhaps I’m here to wage war upon the planet below me, that swirling gaseous titan. Maybe someone had enough of it and sent me up here to put Jupiter back in its place. If so, I think the weapons they gave me were insufficient. I experimented by shooting off a round or two out the airlock, but the bullets soared into the upper atmosphere of the planet without slowing at all. My attack had no appreciable effect on my victim. So maybe the planet is not my target. Could it be the stars themselves? I am sent here, a pinprick in the side of God to cast myself as the stars, shouting threats and tossing grenades until the entire (-) [09:42] of the universe cowers and surrenders. Perhaps that.

Or perhaps I am at war with you, whoever is hearing this. Maybe I was given this radio in order to threaten and terrorize before I attack. So be afraid, I am coming. O-once I figure out where you are. I have no idea which direction to start moving and I don’t even know if this space ship has any way of controlling movement or if I’m just stuck in this orbit. Either way, this is Radio Jupiter apparently declaring war. [distortion] Consider it declared and [fades out].

Cecil: Can you hear, they can hear me? OK, I apologize, we’ve been doing all kinds of troubleshooting, including shifting the angle of our broadcasting tower, updating all of our software, and yes before you ask, we did try unplugging it, doing a ritual spilling of blood and plugging it back in. The issue we’re having is that these broadcasts are being sent out on military frequencies, which unfortunately automatically override ours. I’m unclear why the military would be getting into broadcasting, that’s more of a community radio thing, so let’s all stick to what we’re good at. I’ll keep doing radio shows that inform and delight, and the military can spend three trillion dollars on a plane that instantly explodes if anyone tries to fly it.

We have reached out to Rudy DeJardin, the local representative of the military industrial complex. He has a little table set up outside of the hardware shop, and anyone who has any questions for the military can just ask him, and he’ll do his best to answer. Most of the stuff can’t answer because it’s classified or embarrassing, but sometimes he’ll say a few cryptic words. In this case, his only answer was to make “mm-hm” sounds and shake his head frantically, while rolling his eyes toward the heavens. Not clear what to make of that, but I sure love whatever this broadcast is off my frequency, Rudy. Any time you want to get on that.

And now a word from our sponsors. Today’s show is brought to you by Nature’s Caress Fountain of Youth gentle flushable wipes. Did you know in most of the world, they just wash after using the toilet? They have a whole thing specifically for doing that. It takes a couple of seconds, cleans thoroughly, and doesn’t create mountains of paper waste. If you dirty your hands, do you wipe at them frantically with an even less robust version of tissues, or do you use water and soap? Why would it be different for anything else? Because it just is, that’s why. It’s the American way, love it or leave it. Nature’s Caress Fountain of Youth gentle flushable wipes: clog the world with your debris. This has been a word from our sponsors.

And now, as a special treat, Mr. Lee Marvin himself will perform act 3 scene 5 of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”. This is the scene that contains the immortal line “I never knew the meaning of fear until I kissed Becky.” [distortion] OK, Mr. Marvin, take it away!

Agent N-223: This is Radio Jupiter speaking to you from a time of peace. Yes, there was that brief episode of war, and it was regrettable. I fired upon an innocent planet, although that planet seems none the worse for my crimes. In any case, that war is now over, as far as I’m concerned. I have no interest in battles and conflict, especially when I have no memory of what that conflict could involve. I have no interest in killing anyone, and I have no interest in dying quite yet.

So, peace in our time. I’m jettisoning all the guns and other weapons. Let them scatter out harmlessly into the universe, most of them swirling down the gravity well of Jupiter, where the immense pressure of the inner atmosphere will compress them into diamonds. I don’t know if that idea is scientifically sound, but I like the thought of it. All these worthless guns made glittering jewels, swirling in the endless storm of a planet that doesn’t even know they’re there.

As for me, now that I’ve declared peace upon the galaxy, I would like to know what is out there. I have found the controls for the ship and it seems I must have been trained in their use, because whatever I do appears to work as I want it to. I am turning away from the only star I’ve ever known. Because my memory is short and it’s the only star that has been there for the last two hours. I’m turning out to the dark unknown, and I’m casting myself into it. I hope there is a grander universe out there, I’d love to see it. This is Radio Jupiter, letting the cosmos know that I am on my way. I’ll see you soon. Or, given the size of space, most likely I won’t see you. But we’ll both exist, and [distortion] won’t that be nice?

Cecil: [clapping] Wow, wow wow wow. Thank you, Mr. Marvin, truly a performance for the ages, and what a treat… What? What happened? When? Oh not again!

This is Cecil Palmer of the Night Vale community radio station. I don’t know if you can hear these words, but if you can, we have identified the source of these intrusive broadcasts. She is agent N-223, sent during the early years of the space program on a secret mission. She was put into hibernation so that she could wake up and serve as reinforcement in the Blood Space War at some point in the future. But it appears that the hibernation damaged her memory, and anyway the Blood Space War doesn’t happen for another thousands years, so eh, she won’t be much use in that battle yet. Ah, thanks to the anonymous tipster who snuck us this top secret info. We owe you, Rudy.

Oh, uh it looks like we might be having more interference due to some Rough weather.

[“The Faded Red and Blue” by David Berkeley http://davidberkeley.com/]

Agent N-223: This is Radio Jupiter on the tail end of the tail end. If there was anyone listening back near that star, I think I’m getting out of range. I feel you getting out of range. Whatever presence I felt that I was speaking to, that feeling is getting hushed and fuzzy. The way I’m sure my voice is for you now.

You’re gonna have to go on without me, I suppose. Be brave about it. Or be scared. Your feelings are not my problem anymore, if they ever were. I have new problems now, problems of void and cosmos, problems of dark matter and lost memories. I am adrift in a universe that does not know I exist, but then you are too. I don’t know what is out there, but I hope I live to see it. Won’t that be something, if I get to see whatever happens next? I hope I do.

Well, this is Radio Jupiter signing off for the last time. [echoing] Stay safe out there, I’ll try to stay safe out here. Goodbye.

Cecil: The signal has faded out. It seems she has finally left our world and also left my radio frequency. I’m not trying to speak badly of a strange remnant of a war that has not yet happened, floating out into the nothing beyond the nothing, but come on, please, use a different frequency. It’s just rude. The military, through Rudy DeJardin has disavowed any knowledge of Agent N-223 or her mission. “Nope,” Rudy said through clenched teeth, “Never heard of her. Iiii certainly wouldn’t just say her name on the radio, after being asked not to. That’s not something I would do Cecil,” he said. So I dunno. Maybe we got the story wrong.

It is something, isn’t it? We are bits of life floating in a whole lot of non-life. The fact is true for us in both space and time, we are brief on any measure. And yet we can reach out our voice and be heard, even if only for a moment. And that has to mean something, doesn’t it? Doesn’t… it?

Stay tuned next for an angry buzzing from inside your cutlery drawer, but you’ll be too afraid to open it and find out its source.

Good night, Night Vale, Good night.

Today’s proverb: Diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Agate is a girl’s worst enemy. Emerald is a work acquaintance who a girl hung out with once and then it just – never turned into anything more.

[ghosttotheparty]

say my name and say it twice (cotton candy skies)

30. also on AO3 chapter twenty nine

Lucas is leaning against a crosslight pole, ignoring the cold seeping through his jacket and sweatshirt (and ignoring the cold biting at his cheeks and nose, which he’s almost positive are the same shade of pink as the sky.) He scrolls on his phone, his fingers moving deftly across the screen as he responds to the group chat with Kes and Jayden (“you guys are so stupid”), and as he sends a message to Isa. 

He came out to her the day after he came out to the guys, through a text message. 

Hey, Ies So I don’t really know how to tell you this so I’m just going to say it I’m gay  And I’ve actually, really come to terms with it since moving and I have a boyfriend (his name is Jens, I think you’d really like him) and I kind of just wanted to tell you because I love you and you’re really important to me even though we haven’t been talking much so yeah

And her response had made him cry.

Lucas. I love you so much and I support you and love you no matter what I expect to meet this Jens, I need deem him worthy of you

Now he responds to a meme she’s sent but looks up when he hears Damien’s voice say his name. 

He grins as he watches Damien, Lena, and Rosa come out of the studio building, laughing as Lena attempts to trip Rosa unsuccessfully. 

“Hey, honey!” Lena says as they approach him and they both reach out, slapping their palms together before she lifts herself up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. 

“Jens is talking to Cecile, he should be down soon,” Rosa tells him, answering his unspoken question before kissing his cheek and Lucas nods as he shakes Damien’s hand. “I know you miss him,” she adds, smiling sweetly. 

“I do,” he says, sighing. “How was practice?” 

“Good,” Damien says, his voice a stark difference from Rosa’s, which is light and gentle, soft-spoken as Jens had said, whereas Damien’s, while also gentle, is low and rough. “I would like to go to bed like, right now, but I have homework.”

Rosa gives him an exaggerated frown, drawing a finger down her cheek from her eye, and he laughs, hitting her shoulder lightly. Lucas shakes his head at them, smiling, and he catches Lena’s eye. She shakes her head, copying him, and rolls her eyes. 

“Stop flirting in front of Lucas,” she says, hitting Damien. “You’re gonna make him miss Jens even more.”  

“Shut up,” Rosa says, her cheeks darkening, as Damien hits Lena back saying, “We’re not—” as she giggles, hiding from his swinging hand behind Lucas. 

“Anyway,” Rosa says when Lena steps next to Lucas. “Practice was fine. Cecile is excited about the recital coming up so she’s extra bubbly.” “If that’s what you want to call it,” Damien says. 

“What do you mean?” Lucas asks. 

“It’s like she chugs five cans of Red Bull before we get there,” Lena says, looking up at him. 

“It’s actually ridiculous. But, also kind of encouraging?” Damien says, cocking his head, and Lena and Rosa both nod, agreeing. 

“She’s kind of like Lena before she has a date,” Rosa says. 

“Look,” Lena says, holding a finger up, and Damien smiles as he pulls his phone partially out of his pocket, looking at the screen. “I get very excited to see Elsa because she’s fun, and you know that.” 

“She is, it’s true,” Rosa concedes.

“She is,” Damien adds, and sighs. “I have to go, I have a project due tomorrow and I have not started.” He does finger guns to Lucas. 

“What’s it about?” Lucas asks. 

“Psychoanalytic behaviour theory.”

“Eeee-yikes.” Lena makes a face, grimacing. “Good luck.”

“Thank you for your sympathy.” 

“Always.” 

“I’ll see you later,” Damien says to Lucas, shaking his head at Lena as she gives him a faux smile. 

“You know, you and Damien would be really cute together,” Lucas says to Rosa after Damien leaves, and she gives him a disappointed look as Lena squeals, grabbing Lucas’s arm and shaking him back and forth. 

“Lucas, don’t you start…” 

“I’m just saying!” 

“Well, stop saying,” she says, leaning forward with emphasis, a hint of a teasing smile on her face. 

He holds his hands up, surrendering, still laughing as Lena shakes him one last time, finally shoving him and letting go. 

“You would be cute together,” Lena says, just to jab at Rosa. 

“Sto-o-o-op.”

“Whatever,” Lena huffs. “Anyway. I’m tired, so I’m going to go to bed as soon as I get home.”

“No homework?” Lucas asks, bumping his shoulder against Rosa affectionately. 

“Oh, no, there’s definitely homework. But am I gonna do it?” She raises her eyebrows, looking at him. “No.”

He holds back a laugh, inhaling, and then purses his lips, furrowing his brow at her. 

“I feel like you should do your homework.” 

“I feel like I need a nap.” 

He shrugs. 

“Can’t argue with that.” 

“Well, I’m gonna do my homework,” Rosa says. “So I’m going to go home.”

“Can I walk you?” Lena asks. “I don’t wanna be lonely.” She sticks her lower lip out, tilting her head slightly and giving Rosa puppy eyes. 

“Sure, why not.” 

Lena drops the look immediately. 

“Because I for sure am going to annoy the shit out of you.”

“Fuck.” 

Lucas laughs and leans down as they both tilt their heads up to kiss his cheeks simultaneously, and he smiles, his cheeks turning pinker than they already were. 

He watches as they walk down the sidewalk together, and smiles more when Rosa catches Lena’s hand and swings it. Lena lifts their hands and makes Rosa twirl, catching her by the arm when she stumbles and Lucas can just hear their laughter from where he stands. 

He waits a few more minutes, his hands curled into fists and stuffed into his pockets, until the doors open again and Jens steps out, his cheeks flushed red, his hair mussed, his mouth smiling. He shuts the door behind himself with both hands and then comes toward Lucas, clutching the strap of the duffel bag going across his chest. 

“Hey,” he says, stepping up close to Lucas and grabbing his waist, kissing his mouth and swinging him around slightly, the soles of Lucas’s shoes rubbing roughly against the concrete.

“How was practice?” Lucas asks when they pull back, pressing his cold hands to Jens’s face. His skin is warm. 

“Good.” He steps back slightly so he can see Lucas’s face clearly. “I’m really tired.”

“Understandable.” Lucas kisses him again, tossing his arms over his shoulders. “The flat’s empty tonight, do you want to come over?” 

“That sounds good. I don’t have any homework either, so we can just chill. Or, I don’t have any homework due tomorrow, I definitely have something due next week but…” 

Jens keeps talking, but Lucas glances past him, over his shoulder. 

And sees Robbe.

And Moyo. And Aaron. 

He almost immediately feels sick, his eyes locking with Robbe’s, who looks surprised, frozen in his tracks like a deer in headlights, like a child caught stealing candy. 

“Uhm…” Lucas interrupts Jens, not taking his eyes off the guys, his arms slowly coming off of Jens’s shoulders as he steps back. 

“What?” Jens asks, his smile dropping as he notices Lucas’s distressed expression, and his hands fall from Lucas’s waist. Lucas’s eyes flick to Jens’s and back, gesturing to them subtly. 

Jens turns, and what little was left of his smile that was left on his face vanishes. He looks blank for a second before he steps away from Lucas, facing the guys. 

“What are you doing here?” he asks, his voice lower than usual, shaking slightly. Lucas looks to him, his heart aching, scared. He wants to grab his hand. 

“Jens, I swear, we didn’t know there was even a dance studio here,” Moyo says, stepping forward slightly when Robbe and Aaron don’t say anything. 

“What are you doing here?” Jens asks again, slower, louder. 

They’re quiet, looking dumbstruck, speechless. 

“Get out of here,” he says quietly, shaking his head faintly. 

“Jens—” Robbe steps forward, looking to comfort him, to reassure him, but Lucas shoots him a look, a not now, just leave, please go look. 

“Get out of here,” he says again, stepping forward with emphasis. 

Lucas reaches out and grabs his sleeve, tugging it gently, trying to pull him away, glancing at the few dancers around, who are starting to turn to watch. 

“Leave!” 

“Baby…” Lucas says quietly, tugging his sleeve again, stepping closer to him. “Come on.”

The guys finally go, giving Jens one last apologetic, somewhat frightened, look. Lucas wonders if they’ve ever seen Jens like this, this angry, this scared. Robbe gives Lucas another look like he’s asking for reassurance, and Lucas shakes his head. Just go.

“Fuck,” Jens says softly, lifting a hand and pressing his fingers to his forehead. 

“Jens…” Lucas pulls at his arm, trying to pull him somewhere else, somewhere where there aren’t people looking, watching, wondering. 

“I…” Jens inhales shakily, and Lucas pulls again, finally leading him to the entrance of the alley, murmuring “Come on.” 

When they’re behind the wall and there aren’t any eyes on them, Lucas pushes Jens’s hand out of the way and brushes his fingertips over his face, over his forehead, brows, cheekbones, nose, lips. 

“Okay?” he asks softly when Jens takes a deep breath, his eyes closed. 

Jens lets out a quiet whimper, and his face scrunches up. Lucas shushes him quietly, pulling him into a hug, wrapping his arms around his neck and feeling Jens’s wrap around his waist, pulling him closer. Jens buries his face in Lucas’s neck. 

“I’ve got you,” Lucas whispers quietly. 

“They weren’t supposed to know,” Jens chokes out, his voice thick. 

“I know, baby,” Lucas sighs, and he shuts his eyes. 

Jens pulls away abruptly. “I’m not—” He cuts off with a sharp breath. “I’m not ashamed of you.”

“I know, Jens,” Lucas says, shaking his head. “I know.”

“It’s just…” His eyes flick back and forth between Lucas’s, his mouth ajar as he seems to think his way through his thoughts and words. 

Lucas lifts a hand and wipes a tear from his cheek. 

“I’ve always had a secret,” Jens says after a second, quietly. Lucas listens. “For a little while, it was that I had a sister. I don’t know why,” he says adamantly. “I love her, with all my heart, it was just… how it was. And then it was the ballet. For years. And now they know about that, and I just…” 

“I understand, baby, I do,” Lucas whispers, leaning in and pressing his forehead to Jens’s, closing his eyes. 

“I don’t have anything,” Jens says, his voice breaking, and Lucas pulls back to look at him. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Like…” He stops, crying, and Lucas holds him. “I’ve always had a secret, I’ve always had something that was mine, that I…” He trails off, looking at Lucas, his eyes glassy and desperate, and Lucas nods, leaning in and kissing him gently. 

“I don’t have anything,” he says again.

“It’s okay, Jens,” Lucas whispers, ignoring the cars driving past, the sounds of voices from outside the studio, ignoring the rest of the world. He pulls him back into a hug, his arms around his neck, and carefully runs his hands through Jens’s hair, scratching his scalp and tugging his hair gently. 

Jens’s shoulders shake and he hides his face in Lucas’s neck again, against the warm skin of his neck (Lucas can feel the chill that’s beginning to set in on the tip of Jens’s nose and cheeks) and the fabric of his coat. Lucas sways him back and forth, squeezing his own eyes shut and trying not to cry, tightening his arms around him. 

When Jens’s shoulders stop shaking and his arms loosen around Lucas, the sky has darkened slightly. 

“They don’t know about this,” Lucas says softly. 

“Yes, they do,” Jens responds helplessly, lifting his head. His eyelashes are dark and clumped together like he’s wearing heavy mascara, and his cheeks are red. 

“No,” Lucas says, specifying, moving his hands to hold Jens’s face, his thumbs brushing under his eyes. “This right here. This moment. It’s ours.”

Jens’s face doesn’t change, and then—

“I love you.” 

Lucas smiles, pulling him in for a soft, slow kiss. 

“I love you too.”

---

The flat is empty when they get there, though Jens had been prepared just in case someone was home. 

“What do we say if Zoë or Senne is home?” Lucas had asked as they made their way to the flat, their hands linked between them. 

“The truth, I guess,” Jens had responded, shrugging. “Might as well.”

It’s also dark, and Lucas turns the lights on as Jens messages his mom. 

“She says I can spend the night as long as I go to school tomorrow.” 

“Promise to go to school tomorrow?” Lucas asks, raising his eyebrows as he takes Jens’s jacket and hangs it by the door. 

“I guess,” he sighs dramatically, and Lucas kisses him again, smiling. 

They lay in Lucas’s bed together, their legs tangled, facing each other, Lucas’s fingers brushing over the back of Jens’s hand between them. They leave the lights off, letting the small amount of light left in the sky and from the streetlamps come through the window. 

“I might come out to Zoë when she gets home,” Jens says, his voice soft, his eyes watching Lucas’s fingertips run over his knuckles and down his fingers. 

“She’s coming home really late tonight,” Lucas says. 

“Then maybe I’ll tell her in the morning. It would be hard to take the same route to school as her without telling her I’m here.”

Lucas chuckles quietly. 

“True.” He looks up at Jens, studying him, seeing the flicker of uncertainty flash across his face. “She’s going to be supportive. You know she is.” 

“I know,” Jens says, almost inaudibly. “I’m still nervous.”

Lucas laces his fingers with Jens’s, squeezing lightly. 

“I wish…” Jens sighs. “I wish I could just… not care about what anyone says. Or thinks.” 

“Yeah.” 

“Like…” He shifts, his legs untangling from Lucas’s and then one of them laying on top of him. “I wish I could be like you.” “What do you mean?” Lucas says, furrowing his brows in confusion. 

“I mean… You don’t care about what other people think and—” 

“That’s not true,” Lucas interrupts, and Jens’s eyes snap back to his. “I do care.” Jens doesn’t say anything, listening. 

“I care too much, honestly.” He sighs, looking at where their hands are joined, watching his own thumb run back and forth over the back of Jens’s hand. “I care so much that I just… pretend not to. And hope that eventually maybe the care will just go away.” 

“It doesn’t seem like you care,” Jens says. 

“Maybe it’s working, then.” 

Jens smiles softly. 

“I mean… I care about how people look at me, what they think about my clothes—” he looks down at his purple pants and makes a face— “and my makeup, about the kinds of things people say online about people like me. And it’s… scary, you know?” 

Jens nods. 

“So I pretend I don’t care. And I shouldn’t honestly, I mean, life is short. Too short to give a shit.”

Jens scoffs and kisses him, leaning in close. 

“Well for what it’s worth,” he says when he pulls back, “I think you’re amazing.”

Lucas stares at him, smiling slightly. 

“And funny,” he says, “And smart and creative. And clever and beautiful and talented.” 

“Stop…” Lucas says half-heartedly, looking away as he feels his face flush, and Jens lifts his hand, detaching it from Lucas’s and pushing a curl out of Lucas’s face before letting his palm press to his cheek.

“And,” he continues, smiling, “I would be perfectly happy to spend the rest of my life with you.” 

“Are you proposing to me right now?” Lucas asks, putting on a scandalized expression. 

“Yeah,” Jens says. “Come here, get up.” He lifts his hand from Lucas’s face and sits up, pushing himself up and standing at the end of the bed, and Lucas turns to watch him but doesn’t get up. 

“What are you doing?” he asks, laughing softly. 

“Come here.” Jens beckons with a jerk of his head and Lucas scoffs lightly, shaking his head as he joins him. 

“I don’t have a ring, but…” 

Before he can move, Lucas lifts his hand, showing him the gold ring around his ring finger, and Jens lets out an “Oh!” excitedly, waiting as Lucas carefully slides it off, dropping it into Jens’s outstretched hand. 

Jens kneels in front of him, and Lucas watches in disbelief, shaking his head again, smiling. 

“Lucas van der Heijden, love of my life—” Lucas interrupts him with a snort, but he can’t take his eyes off him— “will you marry me?” 

Lucas watches him, his smile softening, his eyes burning. 

“Someday?” Jens adds. “When we can actually legally get married because we’re still just in high school right now?” “Yeah,” Lucas says, the word just a short gasp, nodding. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he repeats, laughing, nodding again. 

“Oh, thank God.” 

Lucas laughs again, louder, and Jens carefully slides the ring back into place. 

When it’s on, Lucas grabs Jens’s face, leaning down and kissing him and Jens slowly stands, placing his hands on Lucas’s hips to pull himself up. Lucas smiles against his mouth, opening his lips and feeling Jens’s do the same. 

Jens’s hands slip around and grasp his legs when Lucas bites down on his lower lip, tilting his head to kiss him deeper. He pulls, lifting Lucas up, and Lucas wraps his legs around his hips as Jens turns and kneels on the bed, lowering Lucas onto his back as Lucas’s fingers bury themselves in Jens’s already messy hair, pulling when Jens’s tongue slides into his mouth. Jens hums, and Lucas feels it vibrate into his mouth. 

Lucas places his hands on Jens’s face, holding him in place and kissing him again after pulling back for a gasp. Jens’s cheeks squish under his hands, and the kiss lingers, both of then inhaling deeply as Jens slides his hands under Lucas’s shirt, pressing to his skin. His hands are gentle, a little cold against Lucas’s waist, and Lucas shivers, kissing him again. 

Jens’s hands move up more, sliding over Lucas’s chest and making the sweatshirt ride up, but Lucas pushes at his shoulder, detaching their lips with a breathless huff, pushing Jens over so Lucas can climb onto his lap, leaning down and kissing him, sliding over his exposed collarbones and neck before he straightens up again, reaching down and pulling his sweatshirt over his head. 

Jens’s eyes scan over his bare chest, his hands sliding over his waist, up, up, up, until he pulls at his neck, pulling him down and leaning up until their open mouths crash together. Lucas presses his fingers against his neck again, just under the sharp line of his jaw, and smiles when he feels Jens’s quick pulse on his fingertips.

He pulls away, his smile growing when he hears Jens let out a quiet whine, leaning up and trying to catch Lucas’s lips again as his hands travel down his sides, resting on his thighs, slipping over the thick, folded fabric at his hips and squeezing. 

Lucas pauses, biting his lip and looking down at Jens’s face, his eyes shut, mouth hanging open, looking wistful. Just as his eyes begin to open, foggy and dazed, Lucas leans back down, pressing a short kiss to his mouth before kissing his cheek, his jaw, down his neck, pausing to bite and suck gently. Butterflies blossom in his stomach when Jens hums, open-mouthed and breathy, and Lucas smiles, kissing up his neck until he finds his earring. 

He kisses around it for a second, listening closely as Jens’s breath catches in his throat, feeling Jen’s hands tighten on him.

Lucas bites it, gently pulling before letting go and lifting his head, looking down at him, smiling at Jens’s heavy breathing. 

“Fuck,” Jens says, letting go of his thighs before tightening his grip again. “I love how you do that.”

“I know,” Lucas says, giggling as Jens’s mouth curves into a lazy, slow smile. Jens shakes his head, the smile growing, and leans up, kissing him. He lets go of his thighs again and wraps his arms around Lucas’s waist, the fabric of his hoodie soft against his bare skin, rising until he’s sitting up straight. Lucas runs his hands through his hair, pulling until Jens lets out a soft moan. 

---

Lucas is almost asleep, but not quite. 

He knows Jens isn’t. He can feel him touching him, running his fingertips over his cheeks and lips, pushing back curls that fall in his face, pulling the blanket up over him. He isn’t cold, having put on Jens’s hoodie when he’d begun to shiver, but he does appreciate the extra warmth, and if he were slightly more awake than he is, he would smile. 

Instead, he sighs, nuzzling his face into his own arm, which is bent under his head, and Jens’s finger brushes lightly over his cheek. 

I love you.

The words echo in his head.

They only said it once, in the alley, in their alley. They didn’t need to say it after that. (They didn’t need to say it in the alley either if Lucas is honest. Everything they do says it. Every touch, every glance, every whisper and gasp.) 

Lucas hears the front door open, the sound of the slight creak and quiet click of it shutting muffled by the walls and Lucas’s bedroom door. He doesn’t move but feels Jens’s hand still on his face before it lifts, leaving his cheek cold. The bed moves as Jens gets up, and Lucas bends his knees, curling into himself. A part of him wants to look at Jens, but his eyes don’t open. 

The bedroom door opens and the room chills slightly. Jens must leave the door open because his voice is clear in the silent flat. 

“Hey,” he says, sounding tentative. 

“Jens!” Zoë’s voice says, quiet and friendly. , and there’s a quiet thump like she’s dropped her backpack. “What are you doing here?” 

“Uhm, I’m here with Lucas.” He sounds hesitant, careful. 

“Oh, I didn’t know you guys were friends.” Lucas can hear her smile in her voice. 

“Actually, we’re uh… we’re dating.” 

A pause. 

“Oh!” 

Another pause. 

“I didn’t know…” “Yeah, I haven’t— I haven’t told anyone.”

“Oh. Not… Robbe? I mean…” Jens laughs quietly. 

“No, I— I didn’t tell him, but uhm…” 

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” It’s quiet for a second. “I was thinking about telling Jana and them tomorrow.” “If you want to. We can walk together.” 

“Yeah.” 

It’s quiet before they both laugh quietly. 

“I’m assuming you’re the one that makes Lucas all smiley,” Zoë says, and Jens giggles again. 

“Maybe…” 

It’s quiet again, and Lucas smiles to himself. 

“I’m really happy for you, Jens,” Zoë says. 

“Thank you.” 

There’s a quiet rustle like they’re hugging, then quiet shuffling on the floor and a slight creak, and a few seconds later, Zoë’s voice says, “I’ll see you tomorrow,” whispering just outside his open door. 

The bed moves again, shifts under Jens’s weight, and the blanket lifts off of Lucas before lowering again, shutting out the short rush of cold air over him. (He appreciated the blanket a little more now.) He can feel Jens’s eyes on him and Jens’s fingertip traces his cheek and lines of his lips. 

Jens takes a short, quiet breath before, 

“I think it’s getting easier.” 

His voice is hushed, just a breath. 

And Lucas smiles again, turning his head slightly and pressing a lazy kiss to his hand. Jens moves closer, tossing the blanket up so it doesn’t get caught between them, and Lucas straightens his legs, letting Jens’s entwine with them, and Jens’s arm wraps around Lucas’s waist. Lucas feels Jens’s hair brush his chin and neck, and Jens presses his face to Lucas’s chest. 

Lucas finally starts to drift off, his arm resting over Jens. 

“I love you,” Jens breathes, and Lucas almost doesn’t hear it. 

But he does. 

He moves his hand, feeling up Jens’s back and neck until he finds his head, and then tangles his fingers in his hair, tugging lightly once. 

I love you, too.

[captain-jinguji]

Starish walking in on their love masturbating reactions. Pls and thanks it's a thirsty kinda day 👉👈💗

Its always a thirsty kind of day 😝😩🙏

WARNINGS: Slight NSFW

STARISH walking in on their s/o masturbating

Natsuki:

You were supposed to have movie night with him but you were late... Like over an hour late and he got worried that you forgot, so he went to your room. In his defense, he did knock and he could hear you shrieking and trying to find your blanket to cover yourself, yelling "just a moment!" But Natsuki heard the fumbling and opened the door to see what the commotion was about and... Well your naked self was just standing in front of him and he didnt know what it was but his mind clouded with lust, slowly closing the door behind himself to approach your smaller frame, "so... You forgot about movie night to have fun... Without me?"

Tokiya:

You were showering when he entered your room, worried of why you wouldn't answer the door. He really was just about to let you shower but then he heard his name through the door and you know, curiosity killed the cat. So, he slipped his slim self right through the bathroom door and into the steam filled room to discover your... Unholy actions. A blush grazed his cheeks but instead of leaving, he stripped himself and joined you in the shower, coming up from behind, "you know... All you had to do was ask."

Cecil:

Cecil legit just jumped on your balcony in the middle of the night to peak into your room because you didnt answer his messages but BOI was he about to witness a show. The sight of you so... Dirty and pleasing yourself while he heard HIS name that was being moaned, did some things to his own privates. He started cupping his bulge but honestly he couldn't hold back for long and ripped the balcony doors open, pouncing on you like a tiger in heat, "I'm sorry, my prince/ess, but you look so sweet right now."

Ren:

Ren just wanted to drop by and take you out for some late night coffee adventure, but seeing your naked form atop your sheets, your hands down south working some magic, was a better adventure than some stupid coffee. He stood there, smirking, leaning against the wall and surprised that you hadnt noticed him yet. His own arousal was growing from the sight and he sighed softly from the feeling, which finally made you aware of his presence. You stumbled to cover yourself and he laughed, "don't stop on my account, unless, of course..." He moved closer, slow, careful, "youd like me to help, little lamb?"

Otoya:

He was just coming by to talk to you and your door was slightly open so he thought you might've been awaiting him? Lucky coincidence? Well when he opened it, it was right on your final stages of your little session and he saw it all. Saw your hips lift off the mattress while you shouted his name during your climax and he went redder than his hair "(y-y/n)..." His voice was barely above a whisper but you whipped your head his way, becoming equally as red "o-otoya..." He shook his head, closing the door for real this time, "n-no... Say it again like you just did..."

Syo:

Its not unusual for Syo to just knock your door down in excitement of whatever it was he was about to tell you, but this time it was more inconvenient. Thankfully, you were underneath the covers and the dimly lit room didnt allow for much sight on your naked self but Syo still stopped dead in his tracks, blushing hard. "I-im... Sorry...?" It was more like a question and you hoped hed leave but he didnt, instead he followed it up with another question, "m-maybe... I can help?"

Masato:

He swears he just came to you this late at night because you left your notebook with him earlier and he was really debating on just doing it in the morning but Jinguji and Kurosaki were fighting and he really needed an excuse to escape. Its just that... When he approached your room he heard your soft moans through the door and immediately froze. Either you were being stabbed or are stabbing yourself with uh... Something else and he's... Not sure which one is worse. So, in reality, he didn't really walk in on you but he heard you and for the rest of the night his brain created a very vivid picture of what that scene mightve looked like. Yeah he won't face you for a while now.

[mmmleckerlecker]

This Cecil guy sounds like a prick. He's gonna be fun isn't he :D

I hope Lux will be able to make Camille understand quickly not to blurt out in surprise seeing him cause that a detail Cecil could exploit and get Lux to leave the facility for being a traitor... Oh wait, I do hope Camille will blurt out in surpise seeing him actually :o

It was a good build up chapter, and I feel the next few ones are gonna be ✨Interesting✨ to say the least :3

Cecil is absolutely a prick and I love him so much. Lux has 100% punched him in the face before and 10/10 WOULD do it again.

Camille just casually dropping that she knows Felix in front of Cecil would make EVERYTHING SO MUCH MORE MESSY. She could accidentally ruin her own rescue whooopsie 😅 tho maybe Lux would be able to talk himself out of that one if he tried hard enough.... 🤔

Yes thank you!!! The next few chapter are gonna be so *clenches fist* definitely interesting. I’m excited to post them!!

[kevinvoiceofdesertbluffs]

179 - First Snow

Y’know, I didn’t even bat an eyelash at the title. Just accepted it. Nevermind Night Vale’s in the desert, it’s fine.

It is unusual though! As Cecil helpfully points out - snow? In Night Vale? Also not just gentle snow, a full on blizzard! Everything is covered in white, powdery goodness. And it’s not cocaine this time.

Everyone likes the snow, of course, the rarity it is. The City Council even declares it a snow day! No joy allowed. Well, a little joy, maybe. Everyone is being joyful, after all.

Cleanup of Mission Grove Park has been completed! Good job us. Well, good job Lyenne Hart, really.

M C H O H L O Z B G I Q O F W E N V N Q T E E T H

So much snow now! The tourism industry will boom, probably. City Council declares a big ol’ holiday. There’s a whole community... event... thing! Festival thing!

Hey there, Cecil! An Agony Aunt segment! How have we not had this before? This is such an obvious thing, I’m surprised it took this long. Very fun segment, with Telly and hearing Cecil just so mad. Tamyka also feels like she’s stuck. We’ve all been there. Never too late to apply for college!

Cecil goes to the winter festival! Fun!

The weather is neat. Very my style.

Well, what an ending! I’m gonna spoil it under the break, boop

This is just... so good. At first, when the snow turned out not to be snow, I was like “Wow. Who knew Night Vale has lacre.”

Lyenne being just totally bewildered about what everyone is on about was so good.

This is one of those stories that you wish you came up with. I almost just want to steal that entire plot point.

A wonderful fun story, gotta listen to it again once it actually snows here!

Good night, Night Vale.