#Some nice amount of scares and tension

[triple-pupil]

GUESS WHO JUST FINISHED WATCHING THE FNAF MOVIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[hwanchaesong]

Ephemeral (Second Chances)

pairing: Yang Jungwon X F!Reader

synopsis: You sat and listened to the silence, the time ticked and you watched him walk down the aisle full of strangers. What scared you though, was the fact that everyone was blurry except for his dimples that you used to kiss.

word count: 12.1k

genre & warnings:fluff, angst, suggestive (borderline smutty), summer break setting, pet names, cursing, drinking, lots of arguing, bickering, tension and jealousy, themes of engagement and marriage,miscommunication, Yeonjun of TXT as your brother (his gf here is unnamed), other idols' names are used, making-out, slight dry humping, tell me if i missed some

a/n: first up is our jungwon bc why tf not lmao. next up would be probably be ni-ki's. this is a part of Enhypen: Tropes & Parallels. enjoy the ride! all likes, comments & feedback (esp this one, i love love love reading y'all reactions. legit gives me the serotonin boost) and reblogs are much appreciated ✨

The revival of the scorching sun is the mark of your independence from the tiring university life. Yet here you are, head hotter than the temperature outside that the air-conditioning couldn't cool it down.

"Are you fucking kidding me!?" you whisper-yelled at your brother with a staggering amount of self-control not to slap him silly for failing to tell you a very important information beforehand.

He held his hands up in defense, guilt written on his face and you almost forgave him when he gave you the puppy eyes.. but no can do.

"I take back what I said, I won't do it anymore." you solidly declared, turning around on your heels to leave the kitchen where you dragged your brother to have a 'private' conversation with him.

"Y/N! I really need you for this one." he held you back, latching onto your arm and if it's not a consequential deal then you'd probably guffaw at how he comically dropped on his knees, begging you for a favor.

"Yeonjun! I- let me go!" you tried pushing him away to no avail, his yowling further annoying you.

"No! Not until you g-"

His fussing were cut off when an eerily familiar voice resonated throughout the room, putting an end to the squabbling that is currently taking place on the shiny, vinyl floors of the kitchen.

"Yeonjun-hyung, is everything okay?" the intruder asked, making your sibling stand and fake a smile, waving his hand nonchalantly and wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

"Jungwon! Hi! Um, yeah, superb haha! Don't you think so, sister?" your fumbling brother turned to you, grinning but you take note of his googly eyes, silently notifying you to play nice and go along with him.

"N-" you yelped when you felt a stinging pinch on your arm, again, doing your best to conceal the unwavering indignation you're feeling. "Yes, don't mind us. You can go back to wherever you came from. We'll be out there shortly."

You felt his eyes on you, but you were adamant to not meet it, focusing on a piece of apple that was sitting on the counter instead.

The younger boy shrugged, muttering a small 'okay' before walking towards the living room again.

You face your brother, and he knows based on the shine in your eyes that you're pleading him to spare you, to look for another person who can help him because you don't want to go through this.. you don't want to go through him.

'High school sweethearts', was the category of your relationship back then.

The president and vice-president of the student council. The academic achiever and the sports champion. Yang Jungwon and L/N Y/N, a match made in heaven.

That's what everyone thought, if they want to talk to you, they just have to look for Jungwon and bam! You'll be right there as well. It was a common notion for you two to be inseparable, a matching set, the missing puzzle pieces that completes the picture.

You both knew that you were too young to be settling down, yet the assurance of being each other's endgame outweighs any lingering doubts.

Then on one fateful day, an incident happened. You dramatically gave it the title of 'Graduation Encounter: The Blessing of the Year.' (your friends were actually baffled on how you're able to name it like that, but they gaslighted themselves into thinking that maybe, this is your coping mechanism for dealing with heartbreak.)

You wanted to give him a gift after the ceremony, then you found him talking to his friend in the student council's room. You didn't mean to eavesdrop, and you're glad you did.

"Jungwon, do you see a future with Y/N?"

"No."

You heard his answer loud and clear to that damned question, and that was adequate for you to be crumpled, like the precious handmade present that you were holding.

That same night, you broke up with him through text. Not brave enough to face him in person but courageous enough to send him a long ass paragraph about what you learned before blocking him for good.

Then you did your best to avoid him like he's the plague. To forget him like that one sock you've probably hid somewhere but really didn't bother to look for until it flew outside your memory. Really, a vision of him brings you nothing but hurt and anger, also a terrible headache because you cannot fathom how he was once your beloved.

You did think that God loves you because Jungwon actually went to a different city to pursue his dream major in college, freeing you from his shadow. He won't be associated with you anymore and he'll be nothing but a mere nightmare that once haunted you in your peaceful slumber.

And now, you feel like the cycle is back to zero since you've had a glimpse of him. Like, all of your efforts to move on from him were nothing but trash, washed down the drain. Seeing him once more had you reeling into the hate shackle that he'd put you in.

"Y/N." Yeonjun called your name in a gentle manner, patting you on the head while he speaks to you sympathetically, "Look, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. I regret that, but please, you're the one I trust the most. I can't possibly ask anyone else. Besides, you don't love him anymore, correct?"

... He has a point.

What the fuck are you even grumbling about?

How could you forget the promise that you made to yourself while you burn the letters and photos that he gave you, watching the fire engulf the memories that you previously held dear.

'The next time I see him, no more feelings are attached. He won't affect me anymore. I'll act casual, make him realize that I can live without him."

You concurred, steeling yourself from the upcoming escapade that you're about to embark on.

"You know what Yeonjun," you removed his hand on your head, crossing your arms as you gave him a poised smirk, "get your ass ready 'cause imma bestow you a showstopping wedding proposal."

You're confident, it's been a year since you've hung around Jungwon. Surely, you can keep all of these as strictly professional. You're mature enough, probably him too, it's not like he's gonna go and be a total hazard.

Right?

....

Wrong.

You were severely mistaken because the man is insufferable.

He's cocky and assertive, always has something to counter your suggestions and not to mention, a huge basher.. and you're getting tired of it.

He got your number yesterday when you stupidly agreed with your brother's pleas, thus, you're sitting here in a comfy café with a boy that you've assumed to never cross paths ever again after he messaged you last night for a meet-up and brainstorming session.

You kind of understood why your brother got him to assist with the proposal, given that he is Yeonjun's best friend, automatically making him the best man for the future wedding.

But still, he doesn't have to be so passive-aggressive about this. You're doing your best to be civil with him, so the least that he could do is treat you with respect as well.

"Okay, we're getting nowhere with this." you muttered, taking a deep breath and getting yourself ready to say another proposition when he interrupted your train of thoughts with a rather sarcastic reply.

"I mean, it's you so.." he trailed off, taking a sip of his iced coffee and you are so tempted to choke him at this point.

"Dear god, Jungwon you-"

He cuts you off when he suddenly whipped up the surprised pikachu face, "Finally! You've decided to call me by my name. That's the first step."

You squint your eyes at him, losing your cool at his unreasonable attitude, "What the hell is your problem?"

He feigned shock, clutching his chest as some sort of what you'd like to dub as tasteless acting, "My problem? Oh, miss, it pains me to know that you're blissfully unaware of your rude tone, sassy mannerisms, and not to mention the stink eye you've been giving me ever since you arrived here."

You straightened up from your seat. Were you really acting that way?

Pride must be your greatest friend, letting it fly high that it made you neglect the ethics that you've recited in your head a million times in order to be in a state of zen for this meeting.

"Don't play games with me now." you muttered, glaring at him and it drove you up the wall to see him scowl at you.

You haven't been in contact with him ever since the.. separation, and magic happened it seems, suddenly he appears in front of you out of thin air like a bunny hidden inside a fancy tall hat.

Except that the bunny is a complete 180 of what was supposed to be a sweet and little cutie patootie. You are well aware that change is inevitable. Yang Jungwon won't be the same person as he was before. What's infuriating you though, was the fact that he has the balls to be this brusque.

He sighs in defeat and it makes you even more confused, irritatedly staring at him as you wait for him to spout some more nonsense.

"I owe Yeonjun hyung a big one." he speaks, tone calm and it irks you how he's able to compose himself that fast, "I know we did not end on good terms, but I want to help him as much as I can. He's an important friend to me."

First, you'll give him some credit. He does acknowledge that the whole situation sucks because your past is something that one cannot simply overlook.

Second, Yeonjun is your brother, of course you'd want to lend a hand for him too.

Third, if this guy can go to great lengths for a person that he values then why didn't he-

You blinked, stopping yourself from continuing that thought. There is no fucking way you'll complete that dreadful rumination you're brewing inside your precious brain.

"Then what do you suggest?" you watch him smile in triumph, the first since your rendezvous. And as much as you hate to admit it, you did miss that joyful vibe he'd always emit.

Finally, he laid out the plans that he had painstakingly plotted the moment Yeonjun asked him about the perfect wedding proposal.

You listened intently to Jungwon, mindful of the schedule and divvying up the work, also making a mental note of your own ideas that you might pitch in later on.

Your brother will ask his girlfriend next Wednesday, during her birthday party celebration. That means that you only have a what? A fucking week to get everything done.

"That's it." he finishes his rambling, glancing in your direction and giving you ample time to take in his word vomit.

You are willing to put the bitterness behind you if it means that you'll see your brother happy and satisfied. He deserves that much, after all the love and support he has given you, it is only natural for you to return the benevolence he had showered you with since you were born.

You stood up from your seat, extending your hand to the curious man in front of you, "We'll do that and the things that I will also say at some point." you smile, having half a mind to compliment him for the meticulous planning, "You never lost your touch when it comes to creating blueprints, Mr. President of the Student Council."

He smirks at your unforeseen flattery masked in irony, accepting the handshake and not missing the chance to throw a jab in, "And you're still good at heeding my orders despite your nature of splashing it with your own ideas, Ms. Vice-President of the Student Council."

Your eyes widened, caught-off guard by his witty teasing.

Amidst the quiet coffee shop where the calming classical music surrounds the serene space, an imminent cyclone forms as the two former lovers, turned partners-in-cupid, stand with their hands clasped in harmony, regarding each other in a pique.

Game on.

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

Day 1: Choosing a venue

You scanned the area thoroughly, a sense of merriment filling your heart while you observe the shades of green colliding in the small yard. Butterflies scattered around, the variety of plants and how they're trimmed and grown to perfection created a scenery of paradise. Not to mention the elegant fountain in the middle. (You could only chuckle at the thought of your brother gawking at the said piece of art.)

You're currently standing in a garden, the chosen location for the upcoming surprise, waiting for Jungwon to finish his business with the owners. He's the one who found the site in social media, thus, you made him do the honor of negotiating.

It was located in the countryside (2 to 3 hours drive from home), near the beach and the way the wind carries the ocean breeze brings a nice touch of freshness. It's tranquil in here, away from the bustling city and no gossip girls will appear out of nowhere.

You sat down in the wooden bench, taking a sip of your earl grey tea and sighing in contentment. Yeonjun would love it here, you also do think that the place is nice, and if you would be given the chance to choose a location for your own wedding engagement, this will definitely be your top pick.

"That's great! Thank you so much for giving us the spot next Wednesday."

Jungwon's distant jabbering snapped you out of your reverie, turning on your seat only to find him already focused on you, then he made a tiny gesture, telling you to come and meet the owners of the garden. You gave him a blank stare but obliged nonetheless.

You straightened your outfit, walking in his direction and coming face to face with the kind-looking elderly couple who's strangely gazing at you two with mirthful expressions.

"Good afternoon, I'm Y/N and-"

The older lady spoke, her sentence bamboozling you to no end.

"Is this the wife-to-be? Oh my god, she's gorgeous! You have a nice taste young man." she exclaims with a big grin, taking your hand in hers and shaking it vigorously.

"I have to agree with my wife here. You two are lovely together." her husband smiles as well, having the same opinion as his spouse.

"Oh no. Ma'am, sir, we are not- that's not..." you trailed off, awkwardness coursing through your veins and you had to get help from the equally bewildered man beside you, your whole body language begging for him to say something.

"I'm sorry to disappoint, Mr. and Mrs. Shin, but we're not together. It's actually her brother who's going to be engaged soon." Jungwon finally clears the confusion, a perplexed demeanor coming off from the pair.

After a while of explaining, the owners apologized for the misunderstanding, to which you easily accepted and even made a lighthearted joke about it. When everything's been settled, the place booked for next week's agenda and the duo promised to accommodate you to the best of their abilities, it was time to say farewell.

You made yourself comfortable in the passenger seat of Jungwon's car, peeping behind the tinted windows and being intrigued as to what they were discussing on the porch.

Right as you were about to leave, Mrs. Shin pulled Jungwon back to ask him a really important question. He had to usher you to go back first, but your inner detective conan was about to be let out of prison when you saw his scandalized facade just as the old woman whispered in his ears.

You witnessed how his ears turned red, the usual shy mien he had always sported back during highschool making an appearance, his adorable dimples showing when he pursed his lips to stop himself from laughing at what you can assume are ridiculous questions coming from Mrs. Shin.

You're a cat, a curious one at that, so you gaped at him when he entered the vehicle without so much of a word, revving the engine on and driving away.

Jungwon's right eye twitched when the irk of your not so subtle leering at him eventually provoked him to actually start a conversation with you.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

You puffed and glared at him, "The only thing that is wrong here is your attitude."

Jungwon visibly seethed through his teeth, gripping the steering wheel tighter, "Y/N." he called your name firmly, and believe it or not, his tone managed to create shivers down your spine. "Speak, we don't have all day."

"Well.." you bit your lip, suddenly embarrassed by your petulant behavior a few seconds ago.

"Well what?" Jungwon urged, momentarily glancing at your feeble figure.

"I was curious about what you were talking about with Mrs. Shin back there." you admitted with a small pout on your lips, evading his deriding eyes as you busied yourself with the enchanting terrains outside.

The sun had begun to set, casting a bright orange color across the skies, painting even the blue water seas with its beauty. A magnificent landscape, but your anxiety obstructs you from enjoying the view.

You heard Jungwon chuckle, and you were about to protest when he reassured you in the calmest way possible, "She was asking regarding Yeonjun hyung and his girlfriend. Nothing for your pretty little head to overthink about."

A certain word caught your attention, rotating your head a bit too fast that you almost had a whiplash, "Pretty? You think I'm pretty? Jungwon?"

He's smart enough to realize that you're doing this to rile him up.

"Y/N, I need you to shut up."

Day 2: Decoration and props

"No, we don't need that." you pinched the bridge of your nose when Jungwon picked up another set of balloons on the shelf, turning a deaf ear to his childish complaints when you rejected another item that he had deemed critical for the party.

"No fair!" he grumbles, pawing the objects in the cart, "All of the things in here are the ones that you've picked! You've never given me a turn to select at least one decor!"

You fight the intrusive necessity to abandon him in the aisle, personally wanting to save your crumbling image as the people around you begin to murmur at the commotion that Jungwon is causing.

"Alright! Alright!" you felt routed, you can never win against his juvenile stubborn personality, always having you at its mercy and if you tried to resist it, an impending doom is bound to happen.

"We'll pick one decoration of your choice, okay?" you showed him your index finger, shoving it into his face to reiterate your point, "Just one."

The way he cheered was akin to that of a child who was allowed by his mother to eat ice cream after winning a spelling bee competition. You shook your head at his antics, slightly laughing at his peppy steps as he sauntered towards the kids' birthday area of the store.

You begrudgingly followed him, grimacing at the item in his hand. You were about to nag the hell out of him, to question him the purpose or importance of some multicolor whistle blowout in a formal event.

But you stopped when you felt a tiny tug on your pants, squealing in delight when you were greeted by the cutest human being on earth.

"Hello little guy." you crouched down to match the child's height, your former frustration melting at the sight of his puffy cheeks and red eyes, probably from crying. "Are you lost?"

The youngster nodded his head a yes, and you couldn't help but coo when he made grabby hands at you, letting you know that he wanted to be carried. And who are you to say no to an angel?

At this time, returning the kid to his parents becomes your priority, "What's your name?" you gently asked the boy in your arms, swinging slightly from side to side in an attempt to further pacify him.

"Sunoo." he murmurs from your shoulders, sniffling and for a moment he gazes at you like he's in some deep thought, then he slapped your cheeks in his chubby hands, "You're young mommy."

You don't know if this is a compliment or not, but you smiled either way, thanking him and you're about to proceed to the security when Jungwon went and made his forgotten presence known again.

Sunoo shrieked when Jungwon blew the damned party horn, the tube unrolling and hitting the child in the face. For a minute you were so tempted to chuck Jungwon into a ditch, getting nervous at the thought of Sunoo crying... thank god he didn't.

The young one liked an element of surprise it seems, clapping his hands excitedly and spurred Jungwon (the child called him young daddy and you nearly gagged) to do it again, to which he did, causing Sunoo to erupt in a fit of giggles.

Something in your heart clenched while you watched the two interact, it was thumping rather loudly in your chest, reminding you of the dead and buried daydreams that you once had.

You'd be lying if you said that you never imagined a family with Jungwon. You'd be fooling yourself if you said that you've never pictured Jungwon as a part of your future.

The future that he said he couldn't see with you.

Rage suddenly shoots in and replaces the melancholic emotions you're in, and Jungwon felt that when your eyes are literally shooting him through his skull. His play time with Sunoo came to a halt, peering at your upset form and he frowned, inquiring if you're okay.

You refrain from meeting his brown orbs, giving only a hum in response and that made Jungwon's frown deeper.

The kid pouts, looking back and forth at the two adults, "Is young mommy and young daddy fighting?"

"No," you answered immediately, "we're not. Everything's fine honey." you tried your best to smile, albeit strained, "How about we find your parents, hm?"

You found the perfect way to escape Jungwon's piercing gaze, leaving him alone with his thoughts. You wouldn't be able to keep up with his interrogation and you'd rather die than be upfront with him.

This is not supposed to bother you. You must remain poised and rational at all times, a reminder that you kept on repeating inside your mind while you escorted the child to the security, having them announce the presence of Sunoo into the intercom.

After a few minutes of waiting, his parents finally arrived, thanking you profusely and as a way to show their gratitude, they happily paid all of your bills in the shop. (Jungwon stayed in the halls, giving the reason of not wanting to leave your cart unattended.)

You bid your goodbyes, promising Sunoo to visit him when you have the time. His mother and father were kind enough to give you their phone number and address, and it was your turn to thank them for giving you the opportunity to see Sunoo whenever you wanted to. They waved it off, saying 'our son was attached to you, he'll surely cry his heart out if he's not able to see you again.'

After the parting, the worst part that you're abstaining from followed, the stillness inside the vehicle was suffocating, and anybody with eyes can clearly tell how palpable the tension is.

You distracted yourself by counting the droplets of rain that fall on the window, listening to the buzzing radio, anything to brush the unsettling vibes aside.

The car went to a halt on the side of the road and you were stupefied at the abrupt break, you turned to reprimand the driver but you noticed that he was doing nothing but to stare ahead of the empty, wet pavement.

"Are you uncomfortable with me?"

He was direct, not fumbling around with his words and it made you hate him. How can he be so brave when it comes to confrontation?

"Let's just go. We're wasting time here."

Sidetracking was what you were best at, and that made Jungwon clench his jaws hard, will you ever change?

"Y/N, answer me." it was a ticking time bomb, the sudden change in your mood a while ago was a big mystery to him, and he'll never lay it off until he learns the reason why.

"Why should I?" you deadpanned, acting clueless to genuinely irritate him.

"Because we're not leaving until you answer me. You have two choices, Y/N." he's motionless, but you weren't, and you're about to do the most clichéd shit out there.

Yes.

You glanced at him for a second, gave him a resentful smile, then you exited out of his car, not paying any mind to Jungwon's shouts for you to come back. You were adamant to trek your way home if it means that you won't have to stay in that asphyxiating conflict.

A yelp escaped you when Jungwon harshly jerked you to cease your movements, your back bumping into his sturdy chest as he held you by the arm.

"Let me go." you demanded, not having the energy to struggle in his grip, you reckon that it'll be useless because Jungwon is much stronger than you. Ain't no way you're squandering your energy over a futile endeavor.

"Is it really that difficult for you to be with me?" he whispers and you've gone frigid, did he really say that with such dejection?

"If you are not comfortable with me, I could tell Yeonjun hyung. You wouldn't have to spend your time with a person that you.. hate."

It physically pained Jungwon to utter that dreadful word, but if it makes you feel better then he would gladly swallow the numbing pill, he won't say it out loud, but your happiness will always be his priority.

And you think you're being selfish, of course, the break-up did not only affect you, it must have damaged him too.

Undeniably, you need to knock some sense into your brain.

"I'm sorry," you shuffled around until you were facing him, "I'm being absurd. I was-" you took a deep breath, "I was reminiscing, okay?"

You didn't have to tell him more, he understands. He always did, even during your darkest times, he was the only one who could bring you out of your emotional shell.

Jungwon held his pinky out, "Tell me when your reminiscing gets too much, I'll give you space. For now, let's be casual, yeah?"

A hint of the corner of your lips quirking up made him feel like a champion, intertwining your pinky with his in a small-scale pledge.

It's thorny for it was not attended for the longest time, but the residual connection can be made as a starting point to fix a rift.

Under the heavy droplets of the heavens, soaking through your shirts, what matters the most in this solemn atmosphere is this: the neverending solidarity to Yeonjun's imminent marriage proposal.

Day 3: Food and catering

You were never a fighter, you have counted yourself as a lover, but right now, your fist itches to land a blow on a random girl's face... a broken nose suits her the most, you think.

She keeps on twirling her hair, her fake high-pitched voice is sickening, and the way she stands is so vexing.

Yeah, you do understand where she's coming from.

Jungwon, for some reason, was all dressed up for today's schedule. An outfit that hugs his lean body exquisitely, dynamic enough to tuck his long-sleeved button up in a black trouser, said sleeves of the button up were rolled up to his elbows. He was no doubt showing off his broad shoulders, rich man arms and slim waist, heck, even his hair is styled flawlessly.

You on the other hand weren't severely outclassed, aware of the fancy catering service that you're visiting. A simple dress and a pair of boots sufficed you, then again, you were never the fashionista in this tandem.

What you're pissed about is an enigma, but you do know that you want to thwack Jungwon in the face too. He eats all the girl's recommendations, and he has the audacity to giggle at every word that she says!

At first, you were ecstatic to test the foods presented to you, as time goes by, you lost interest because the host didn't bother to give you the fucking time of her day, focusing entirely on Jungwon.

Hence, you find yourself sitting in the corner of the room, boring holes into the pair as you nurse your glass of Cheval Blanc 1947.

"Here are our cheese section!" the woman speaks in an unnatural cheerful tone, and you couldn't help but grimace at her dying whale sounds. Just then, Jungwon turns on his heel and beckons for you to come.

"Ah, sadly I'm lactose intolerant. It's okay though, my girlfriend here can taste it for me." he motions in your direction, to where you stand dumbfoundedly at the most shocking news of the day.

He lied and he used the godforsaken title on you.

"Baby? Are you okay?" Jungwon asked, hurrying in your direction while resting his hand on your lower back, guiding you to the long table where the enormous amount of dishes are laid out. He then softly murmurs against your ear, "I'm getting tired of that girl, please help me get rid of her."

You raised a suspicious eyebrow, "Weren't you enjoying the attention from her?"

You almost winced, you sounded like a jealous girlfriend back there, but Jungwon was too appalled to even notice the slip-up.

"The fu- No. I was being polite but one more of her screeching and god, I'd jump off a cliff."

His nauseated visage made you snicker in amusement, yet you acknowledged his scheme and you are ready to bring your inner Julia Roberts out.

"Yep, I'm fine.. baby." you intentionally made your voice louder, adding the bit after a millisecond of self reflection, pressing your body closer to his and boldly landing a palm over his chest, "So, what about the cheese?"

From your peripheral sight, the attendant was obviously fuming at the blatant display of affection. She did well at concealing her rage though, keeping an impassive guise in spite of her clenched fist.

Jungwon grabbed some pieces of the dairy products (no, not by his hands, they are conveniently skewered), inspecting them and as usual, lady whale in clown make-up happily expounds each and every last one of the cheese to him.

He was unfazed by the unsolicited trifling, instead fixing his whole attention on you, his hands clutching yours when he felt your grip on him became tighter at the girl's attempt of flirting with him.

"Here, taste it for me." he prodded you, gently feeding you each cheese, completely disregarding whatever chatter was happening around the room.

The delicious milk excites you, unconsciously doing the dance that you used to do whenever you find a magnificent dish.

Jungwon beams, finding your actions endearing, then it fell down when the attendant who couldn't take a damn hint pitched in some cynical comment towards you.

Oh, he was about to berate her, but you stopped him from doing so, wanting to deal with the mini but pointless battle.

"Miss, may I ask what's your preferred cheese?" you detach yourself from the boy, squaring up to the attendant.

You're about to give her a taste of her own medicine, except you are preparing it to be more bitter than a gosam tea.

She eyed you sassily, feigning a cheerful expression before pointing at the Ricotta.

"I knew you were a basic bitch." a depreciating giggle was heard from you, facing Jungwon and throwing your hands around him which he naturally returned, "Wonnie, we should get the Brie de Meaux."

"Hm? Okay then, we'll order that. We expect everything to be fresh and that it will arrive on time next week." Jungwon utters with finality, his words directed to the food presenter but he did not batted her with any ounce of regard.

You craned your neck, smirking at the aggravated woman.

Sweet victory. Well, it's not like she had any winning odds. She had it coming to her either way, fighting a losing skirmish.

Today's events should've scared you to your wits. The manner in which you and Jungwon held, talked, and looked at each other.. it was too innate. It did not feel like you were putting on a show to make that witch act accordingly.

It's peculiar that the day ended in a carefree manner. Both sides were satisfied and radiant, no bickering and no ill intentions whenever the other had their back undefended.

Maybe the soliloquy under the rain washed the remnants of black smoke and withered petals away, creating a blank canvas that can be painted with the daylight colors of a blossoming friendship.

Yeah, that must be it. Friendship.

Day 4: Flowers

"Red roses are good. Also, please add some white lilies and pink carnations into the roster, she'll love it." you rambled to the florist, but she merely gave you an understanding nod and proceeded to work with your request.

A yawn was heard from the corner of the shop and you suppressed the urge to punch the suspect of the offending sound, you chose the peaceful option of ignoring the person, continuing to mind your own business not until someone broke the silence that you've been enjoying.

"What's taking so long?" he asked, boredom lacing his tone, and that's when you whipped around to give him a warning look.

"Jungwon, picking the perfect flowers takes some time. If you want to go home, then go. No one's stopping you." you sassily replied, gracing him a tight lipped smile in the process.

It irked you even more when he rolled his eyes, mumbling something under his breath that you're sure is a snide remark towards you.

He was fine the last few days, so why on earth is he acting like a brat now?

You sighed, rubbing your forehead and pondering some ways to de-stress later. Surely, planning a proposal with your ex-boyfriend is something that you, a sane person, wouldn't do during your free time but here you are.

What was your brother even thinking, sending you with this jerk (which is conveniently his best friend), to help and prepare for the upcoming surprise for his girlfriend. Of course you'd love to do whatever you can for your dear sibling, but this is ruthless.. and plain torture.

While yes, you agreed to your brother's request, days like this where Jungwon is being unbearable made you question your decisions in life.

Just before you go deeper within your thoughts, a handsome man holding a bouquet of your chosen flowers emerged from the back room. He beamed at you, his eyes crinkling adorably and his dimples poked through his cheeks.

"Hello there!" he greeted you with joy, polite but bright and it made you naturally smile as well. Like they say, happiness is a virus that can easily infect anyone.

"Yes, hello uhm.." you trailed off, looking at his name tag, "Soobin?"

"That's me." he giggled and dear lord, were you about to burst at his charming facade, "I'm the floral designer here and I wanna ask if you're okay with this presentation?" he raised an eyebrow, showing you the beautifully arranged bunch of flowers, wrapped in an abaca and tied with a pink ribbon.

"Oh, it's gorgeous! You're great at this." you exclaimed, making the tall man blush, getting shy at your compliment.

"Ah, not really. The flowers are doing most of the work here, which I'm guessing are your favorites?" he scratched the back of his head, gazing at you with a soft smile.

Jungwon on the other hand frowned, like, what the fuck is this exchange of flirting he's seeing?

Not. Fucking. Tolerable.

He stood up from where he was seated, slamming his hand on the counter, effectively startling the two people who were conversing which gave him immense satisfaction.

"That's good enough. We'll take that." he feigned a charming smile, allowing the dent on his cheeks to show as well.

That Soobin guy can go to hell, his height and deep voice (that were a stark contrast to his own traits) do not matter, he's not the only one with dimples here.

You were shocked, surprised, disturbed, all adjectives out there are not enough to describe the bombshell that Jungwon dropped, but you weren't gonna stand there and let him be rude. Right as you were about to tell him off and apologize to Soobin, he managed to leave an impact again.

This time, it's fatal for your poor, weak heart.

"And those aren't her favorites. It's a combination of lilac, purple peonies and white tulips, actually."

You bent your neck to look at him, realizing the small proximity you two are in. He's mere inches away from you. Too close that you're able to see his sharp side profile and inhale the scent that you've tried to desperately forget during the sleepless nights where all you've wanted was to be held by him.

You have forgotten about Soobin by now, the vow that you took, the walls that you've built, everything. The only thing that you care about as of the moment is that Jungwon remembers.

Jungwon still knows the flowers that you wanted for your own wedding.

"Jungwon.." his lowly muttered name from your lips made him aware of his surroundings, noticing how close he was standing next to you, quickly distancing himself so as to not make you uneasy.

"I'm sorry." he cleared his throat, sparing Soobin a glance before making an ungraceful exit from the flower shop. A half-assed excuse of having to do something and that he'll leave the decision to you.

When Jungwon was out of the establishment, you turned to Soobin and shot him an apology as well.

"Nah, it's fine. Seems like I crossed a line." he chuckles, wiggling his eyebrows at you teasingly afterwards, "He might come off as a passive one but he's actually possessive. That's hot."

You snorted and rolled your eyes, bluffing an expression of indifference and denying whatever the florist was trying to imply.

"He's not a boyfriend?" he asked, listing the order and other details so it'll be delivered on time for the celebration.

"No, not a boyfriend. He's a friend." emphasizing the latter, though it was clear that Soobin wasn't persuaded, given by the knowing smile he sent you.

"If you say so."

You hummed, eyes trailing to the cat-like boy outside, having finished his 'business' and is now leaning against his car, patiently waiting for you.

Having him as a friend is a good thing, yeah, you'll convince yourself that.

Day 5: Engagement ring

"Thank god Yeonjun actually did something for his own wedding proposal." you groaned, threading through the people of the jam-packed mall, spotting the familiar male in front of the jewelry shop that you've been finding for the past five minutes.

You were about to yell at him, but then you noticed he was busy with his phone. He was texting someone, with a small smile.. and dare you say that it was a smitten one.

The world slows down for a while in your perspective, you have to remind yourself that yesterday's ruckus, and the other days before that were nothing but a sham. A mere helping hand and concern for a friend. Nothing more, nothing less.

You told yourself not to be envious, in fact, it could be his sister or friend or a relative! Yada yada, no, it doesn't really matter even if it's a prospective lover.

Totally none of your business.

You inhaled, gripping your bag rigidly and stiffly walking towards him. Your silhouette must have caught his attention as he hastily closed and hid his phone in his pocket, acknowledging your presence with a tasteless hello.

Today's task is not a laborious one, you just have to check if the engagement ring is done and if it'll fit the finger properly. After that, you can take it back home, give it to Yeonjun so he could sneak it and voila- simple as that.

Entering the shop had your eyes bulging, the prices of the ornaments had you gagged. The fuck you mean an engagement ring can go up to a whopping 2 million won or more?

"These are expensive." you gasped, "Who would've thought that getting married can be this costly?"

"It's a precious gemstone, carved and refined into amelioration. It shows how much one cares about their partner, don't you think so, mademoiselle?" a voice startled you, clutching your chest, the jeweler behind the counter gave you a dazzling, apologetic smile at his suddenness.

"Gosh no, don't get me wrong. They are divine!" you raised your hands up in defense, "I'm sorry if I offended you."

"It's no problem." he laughs it off, placing a velvet red box on the glass counter, leniently opening it and you were blown away at the visuals of what was inside it. "By the way, this is the jewelry that you requested."

You were amazed to say the least. Yeonjun might be an idiot when it comes to art, but you can guess that love does strange things. He chose the perfect ring that his girlfriend will surely love.

"Is this ready to go?" Jungwon asked, startling you for the second time of the day, which was partially your fault because you did forget that he was beside you all this time while you're busy gawking at the trinkets.

He carefully studied the ring, the golden band with a cut of rose quartz on top glistens under the lighting of the establishment, it is truly sublime.

"One last step, monsieur. We have to make sure that it fits, you should try it on our mademoiselle here." the jeweler motioned to you, and you were about to reject him, apprehensive of the idea but you saw Jungwon hold his hand out.

You gaped at the boy, not expecting him to concede right away.

Time ticked by yet he's not showing any signs of trickery, the pressure weighs on your shoulders but you complied, cautiously covering his palm with your own.

It was electrifying, the way his fingers grazed your knuckles and his softened gaze on your skeptical mien. Goosebumps run across your arms, tickling the sentiments that you've locked in a vault as he slides the metal that was supposedly filled with promises on your ring finger.

"Gorgeous." Jungwon breathes, and you'd think that he was pertaining to the jewelry only if you did not miss the elusive starred glance he sent your way.

You surveyed your clasped hands, zooming on the ring and damn it to hell, it's too real to ignore and you're about to make a grave mistake if this continues.

A cough pulled you out of your self-absorbed hallucinations, separating your hand from Jungwon's and swiftly removing the ring on your finger, returning it to its proper place.

"It's excellent, we'll take it." you pretended to be fine, like your heart isn't about to pop out of your chest due to tachycardia that was rightfully caused by the person who is currently cooking you with his heated stare.

The jeweler gave you two a once over, a strange smile on his face before excusing himself and disappearing at the back of the shop, probably to pack the ring.

"What?!" you snapped when he remained steadfast on his staring, not having enough patience at Jungwon's antics anymore, crossing your arms in an unsophisticated stance, ready to drop kick the mixed signal giver.

He cackled at your aggressiveness, patting you on the head, "You're adorable when you're flustered."

He's bad news. He's dissolving your resolve and you think it's funny how he's able to scratch your surface easily.

Have you always been this weak? Or are you delicate only in his company, as if it's second nature to you after being with him for the longest time?

You'll never know and you're dead set on not knowing.

You'd live in this bliss called ignorance if it means that you can carry on with the denial, because there is no fucking way you're regaining the ardor you once held for this dumbass who broke your fragile heart.

You'll blame the bygone familiarity.

Flicking his hand off, you mustered the most arrogant expression you could do, "I was born adorable, Yang."

Day 6: Music

"Your obsession with Taylor Swift is unhealthy."

"And you think that BTS will do the trick?"

Jungwon lets out an affronted wheeze, "Yeonjun-hyung loves BTS."

You side eyed him from your position on the floor, "And his girlfriend's whole anthem is Taylor Swift."

You glared at each other, having a silent clash on which music should be played during the proposal.

"Can't we have a common ground here?" you went over the counter, refilling your empty glass of cheap wine that you found in Jungwon's cabinet and chugging it in one go.

The two of you are currently conceiving the ideal music to be played during the actual proposal in his flat's kitchen. It's 7 PM, he invited you over, you accepted, and now you're giving each other shit for the difference in music taste.

You understand the assignment. It should be romantic enough that it'll set the mood, love will fill the air and possibly make the girlfriend cry. Thus, you recommended a song that fits the occasion, yet your nemesis begged to differ.

Jungwon clicked away on his laptop, scouring through youtube but it 'coincidentally' ends up in the same audio that he's been fighting for.

"Open your ears and listen, Euphoria is the real deal here." he sassed, and you couldn't help but scrutinize him, making your way over to him and tapping on his keyboard aggressively.

"Daylight is what we're looking for, buddy." you played the song, making Jungwon groan in distaste.

He was yapping about how picturesque the celebration would be if Euphoria echoes in the background while Yeonjun goes on one knee, professing his undying commitment to the love of his life.

You put a hand under your chin, pondering over the concept, then a light bulb went off.

You slapped Jungwon on the back, shrugging his pained mewls off and telling him the great idea that you got. He was tentative at first, but he still did it when you threatened him that you'll eat his last stored curry if he didn't do your request.

Finally, a mash-up of two love songs in piano versions was made.

You listened to it, and you mentally give yourself a pat on the back at your once in a blue moon stroke of genius.

Euphoria is a good option during the actual proposal, but what about after it?

Slow dancing under the fairy lights, foreheads touching with lovesick smiles, knowing that you're on the road to forever with your soulmate is equal to Daylight.

"If we're talking about a slow dance then Serendipity would do the job." Jungwon intercepts, emotionless at the compromise that you made.

With your hands on your hips, you started chiding him for the unsought disrespect, "Boohoo, if you tried dancing to this then maybe you'll realize how amazing this is."

You shrieked when you were suddenly whisked to your spot, landing in the middle of the kitchen as Jungwon stands in front of you with an unwavering determination.

"Show me then maybe I'll understand your point." he mumbles, then you pause, is he actually telling you to dance with him? Right now? In his kitchen?

This is so random and ridiculous. What made him think that you'd do such a thing just to get your intention across a river of crocodiles to him.

"I don't have to do that!" you whined, glowering at him, crossing your arms in disdain.

You don't know what kind of evil spirit possessed him to act like this, but you don't like it. Simply because it's making you incredibly perturbed.

"I won't settle for Daylight then."

And like fate is by your side, the lights in his kitchen, without notice, sparked and then poof! Gone.

It was pitch black, and you'd think that this is the divine intervention that you needed to flee the nerve wrecking condition he's put you through.

You heard Jungwon cuss, sputtering some 'Jay-hyung' and 'fixed it my ass' before ordering you to stay right where you are.

Some shuffling was heard, you'd be astounded at how he's navigating in this blackout but you gathered that he'd probably memorized the layout of his own house by heart.

All of a sudden, the classical melody of Daylight plays loudly on his gigantic speakers, then a dim yellow light covers a small area to illuminate.

Mr. Smartpants used the refrigerator to cast a glow in the darkness, and now he is right there, situated right where he used to be, meeting you face to face and you're lost.

Lost in his eyes, in the way he saunters to you, his palms landing on your waist as he begins to move in sync with the velvety melody.

He speaks in the softest decibel you've ever heard, feathery touches scorched you despite the clothes that separate the tiny space between his hand and your skin.

"Show me, Y/N, and I'll believe you."

You could've pushed him away, but no, you just had to hold onto his broad shoulders, letting him swing you back and forth, delicately following the rhythm of the music in accordance to the beating of your heart.

The lyrics got stuck in your head when you dared to peek at him through your eyelashes, the truth dawning on you— Yang Jungwon is your daylight.

He was intertwined with you by destiny itself. Your black and white cinematics became golden when he entered your story.

Why did it have to go all wrong instead of the one that you prayed for?

"Y/N," Jungwon hushed, "you have no idea of how much I've missed you."

Each word was heavily punctuated with a certain yearning, and it may be the intimacy of the atmosphere or your unholy alcohol consumption, but you suddenly have this desire to cradle his face.

So you gave in to it. You only live once, so why not make the most of it when an opportune moment appears.

"Did you really?" he leaned into your touch, dangerously close yet you paid no heed to the warnings, choosing to relish in his warmth.

He mirrored your smile, dimples poking through his cheeks, and you're unable to refrain yourself from poking it. Fingers gliding on his smooth skin, digging on the inherent dent that the angels sculpted and gifted him with.

His arms are now fully wrapped around your waist, the tip of your noses tickling each other, his hot breath blows over your dry lips every time he exhales, a contrast to the icy ventilation generated from the opened refrigerator.

"I did. So fucking much that I asked your brother to set us up."

What did he do?

You dropped your arms to your sides, appalled at his confession, forcing you to move back from him, creating a minimal margin with furrowed brows, "What do you mean by that?"

He held you back, securing you in his arms because there's no way he's letting you go like he did before. No more blunders that he'll inevitably repent at a later date.

"My love, please, hear me out." it was his turn to cup your face, dropping all formalities and going back to the endearment that he used to call you.

When you didn't answer, he took that as a cue to continue, "You broke up with me through text, you avoided me, and I.. I thought it was done. That it really was the best for us to separate ways. I thought moving on would be the best option, but it wasn't. I went to a whole other city to forget you, but even there you followed me."

You were breathing rapidly, trying to cope up with the information that he was spilling, you opened your mouth, barely managing to utter a single question, "How come?"

"Because you are here," he grasped your hand, guiding it to his temple, "here," to his chest, "everywhere really." finally bringing your hand up to peck the back of it.

"Everything that I see there reminds me of you.. of us, but I endured the pain of living without you until I saw a photo of you with a guy on your social media." he chuckles, murmuring against your skin, "That shit got my head spinning and I knew I had to get you back."

In a flash, you were outraged, hearing his impulsive decision rooted from his ugly green monster. Your memories have been refreshed, the dead case now reopened from the grave. How dare he decide that he'll walk in your life again after the bullshit that he had carelessly spat.

"Wow! The audacity that you have." you mused, completely disengaging yourself from him in spite of the aching protests of your consciousness to stay still in his arms, "After telling people that you don't see a future with me? Now, you want me back?"

Your over the top 'Ha!' at the end of your sentence had Jungwon reeling in anger. Here you go again, acting out the stubborn lioness made out of sheep's wool.

He took slow but gnarly steps towards you, his eyes that held daggers pierced through your soul and that unlocked a new fear within you, causing you to take your own steps backwards. The cycle went on, until your back hit the counter.

You cursed at the deities of fortune for their inadequacy at today's chapter of 'Y/N escaping confrontation with Jungwon part 2.'

"You never let me unravel whatever shit you're thinking or hearing." Jungwon sneers with steady footsteps, and you had the conviction to stare right into his own orbs only to be thrown into the rabbit hole.

There he was, treacherous vibe and clenched fists but all you could distinguish are his porcelain features and glassy eyes. Never had you ever thought that anyone would look divine with only a somber gleam and shadows casted over their face.

Yang Jungwon had a great ability of proving your theories erroneous.

Finally, he towers over you, caging you with his hefty and sullen stature, "You didn’t hear the full conversation and you're quick to judge."

You gulped in anticipation, closing your eyes shut while gripping the marbled countertop and bracing yourself for the wave that will crash upon you.

"Y/N, I do not imagine you in my future." that stings, that shit hurts to the point that tears begin welling up, then your eyes are wide open at his next words, "You are not in my future because you are the future. My future. Do you get it? I don't imagine. I, indubitably, want you to be at the center of it all."

He speaks nothing but the truth. Seriously, what is the point of all this if at the end of his sail in the sea, he doesn't have the reason why he even went on the journey beforehand.

You are stupid, you think, willing yourself not to cry at your own ignorance.

Two things were validated: you are a very bad eavesdropper and an even worse decision-maker.

"W-won..I ruined everything we had, didn’t I?" you sniffed, lowering your head in shame.

"Baby, my flower," Jungwon whispers, hugging you tightly before tilting your chin so you're able to look at him again, "don't cry. Shh, it's okay."

"How can you sa- hmpf!" your sentence was cut short when a pair of lips went and shut you up.

It was a searing and soulful kiss, more than sufficient to convey the flickering love that kept on shining even during the seasons of yearning and ache.

It was the assurance that you needed, that you are and will always be forgiven despite the conflicts that you've caused. All is well, all is fine because as far as Jungwon is concerned, it's okay if the mess turned out to be an arson you orchestrated.

People might brand him as the batshit crazy kid in town, but he couldn't care less. You are his mess and he is your crazy. Thus, he will gladly burn for you if it means that his ashes will stick on you like a tattoo.

You unintentionally moaned when Jungwon bit your lower lip, aggressively shoving his tongue down your throat as he hoisted you up on the counter. His hands went to your exposed thighs, courtesy of you wearing shorts, while yours landed on his tuft of silky hair.

He situated himself in between your legs, tracing lines on your thigh and in stupor, you vaguely made out the 'mine' and a mini heart he drew beside it... or that may be your imagination taking a toll on you since his ministrations are definitely making you intoxicated.

Jungwon explored your mouth like a hungry beast, swiping over your gums, your teeth. It was a temporary fight for dominance, to which you gave in easily, allowing him to massage your own tongue in his.

He momentarily pulled away for oxygen, instructing you to stick your tongue out, and he managed to elicit another moan from you when he sucked on it, a sensual exchange of saliva occuring, causing you to tug on his hair.

A groan escaped from him, kissing you some more before detaching himself on your bruised lips, opting to slide his head down the crook of your neck, inhaling your scent and smooching all over that had you giggling.

He smiles against your skin, mumbling something that kind of sounds like 'Gosh, I love hearing you laugh.'

It was such a sweet moment, then the man went wild. Licking up a stripe just below your ears, lightly nibbling on your lobe to make you squeal before dipping his head in your clavicle, sinking his teeth on your collarbone before soothing it with a kiss. He then kicked it up a notch, skidding your shirt on your left shoulder to uncover more of your skin for him to feast on.

He trailed kisses on your shoulder, up to your weak spot until he decided to bite and suck on it, making you gasp in pleasure. You whimpered his name, which basically egged him to paint you more in purple, marking you as his.

Jungwon's hands can't stay in place, roaming around your body until it slips inside your oversized shirt. His calloused palms set your skin ablaze as it snaked over your bra-clad breast, palming it for a while before moving towards your back, unclasping your under garment and removing it expertly out of your shirt.

His hand groped your chest, the other one almost ripped your shirt in a haste to reveal the upper fats of your mound, his mouth immediately attaching on it to suck some more hickeys.

You were getting antsy in your position, wiggling and moving around to find some friction due to your growing needs. One that was found on Jungwon's jeans, pressing your lower half on his in a desperate attempt for relief.

"Fuck, baby." Jungwon cursed when you grinded on his clothed hard-on, his heavy panting covering the expanse of the room, "If you continue doing that, I won't be able to control myself anymore."

Your hooded eyes made contact with his dark ones, then you made a conclusion, pulling him in for a few seconds of make-out session.

"Don't control yourself then, Wonnie. I'm yours."

His smirk tells you that you don’t have to say anything anymore, swooping you off the counter princess-style, "I'll show you what it means to be mine, then."

Day 7: Finalization

It was safe to say that Jungwon was losing his mind throughout this ordeal.

He was set to wake up with you by his side, but to his dismay, no trace of you were left the next morning after your.. eventful night.

Jungwon was so sure that he'll straighten things up with you.

He already made a promise that he'll take care of you, that he'll love you more than he used to. He clarified your misunderstanding, reassuring you that communication will be the key this time around.

All those honeyed and candid pillow talk for this tomfoolery to happen?

Jungwon is not known for bragging but heck, you were, without a doubt, sent to heaven back on earth when he showed you how much he misses, loves, and owns you.

So where the fuck are you and why did you leave him alone and cold in his bed?

You didn't block him per se, his messages and calls going through but he did realize that you're actively avoiding him again.

This is literally making his blood boil, add to that the piling stress of overseeing the venue and other things for the proposal tomorrow alone.

"Jungwon!"

Well no, technically he's not alone. Yeonjun graciously called another friend to assist him during your unexcused absence. (He was being dramatic because you're not here with him.)

"What!?" he snapped, looking at the shocked but amused older male.

"Damn, did someone spit in your coffee today?" the man cackled, nudging Jungwon with a teasing grin.

"I'll spit on you if you don't drop it." Jungwon scowled, not in the mood to play around, "What do you need, Jay-hyung?"

The American smirked, biting his lower lip to withhold himself from tittering and possibly further annoying the moody sheep, "The workers are asking where to put the cut outs. They need instructions."

Jungwon groaned, that was meant to be your job!

"Okay, I'll go there." he says, stomping his way into the middle of the garden, and if you look closely, you'll be able to see the popping veins in his forehead and the fuming smoke coming out his ears.

Jay shook his head, truly, you have no idea how much you affect Jungwon, don't you?

D-day

Jungwon was 100% sure that you wouldn't attend, but then you got him flabbergasted when you appeared in your splendid glory.

Oh, what a gem you are. Your make-up and hair are elegantly done, and he thinks you're taunting him when you wore that godforsaken backless blue dress that you hauntingly paired with black pumps.

That night, he was certain you were shunning him away for whatever reason you have... and he's going to uncover you.

Jungwon was basically a walking thundercloud in there, but thankfully, the celebration and proposal went on without a hitch.

It was an enchanting scenario, the way Yeonjun dropped on one knee, professing a lifetime of a home filled with happiness and prosperity. It made you tear up, especially when his girlfriend said yes, their genuine smiles and love touching you to no end.

Then a minute speech ensued, the couple appreciating everyone who was with them throughout their relationship, a special shout out for those who helped Yeonjun with the proposal, which included you and the name you don't wanna hear.

His girlfriend suddenly cleared her throat, announcing an unusual tradition that she wanted to do for a while now, "I know this is done during the wedding but I want to do this uniquely."

She then walked up to you, thrusting the bouquet in your hands, "I love you like you're my own sister. Y/N, I want you to be happy too, to get married someday. I know that you'll find the right man soon."

You gripped the bundle of flowers with resentment. You're drowning in the flood of doubts but you still managed to thank her with a small smile. She merely gave you a cheeky wink, returning to her former spot and throwing herself in your brother's arms.

The gathering continued, visitors dancing, eating and drinking while you stood there at the side, contemplating whether to join in on the fun or be the kill joy of the day.

A rookie mistake that you did though was when you looked up, directly staring into the chocolate orbs of the man that you recently gave your purity to, only for him to drop it on the floor to watch it shatter into pieces.

You hated yourself for giving in, but you hated it more when your heart rate sped up at the meager eye contact with him. You hated the fact that the world seemed to cease its rotation when you're hit with the reality that you're in his presence. 

Your vision might have gone bad because how come that he's the only thing that you could emphasize on while the others are nothing but bleary images.

This is incorrect, an imprecision. it made you sick to your stomach when his dimples revealed themselves, much so when you were compelled to kiss it.

You had to get out of here and take a breather.

Thus, you find yourself standing in front of a pond, back in some alley in the garden. Good thing that the venue is spacious, having this kind of area as a getaway car from the rambunctious spell that the gods have cast upon you.

"You should join a marathon for being such a good runner." a sarcastic voice had your body stone cold, anxiety enveloping your whole being at the looming adversary that you have to face.

"Thank you for the advice that I won't engage in." you tried to sound strong, but your voice box failed you when your sentence came out meek and shaky.

Jungwon chortled at the ridiculousness of the situation. He finds it funny how the progress went from 0 to 100 then back to 0.

"What are you laughing about?" you lifted an eyebrow, cautiously peering at his abrupt change in mood.

"You." he mutters, gnashing his teeth while he eyed you incredulously, "You're a whole circus, from giving me false hope to stepping all over my heart. Real clown right here."

That made you scoff, bewildered at his rude attitude, accusing you of these things when in your perspective, he was the one playing games all along.

"Aren't you aware that you are the embodiment of a personified clown?" you're an erupting volcano, and you couldn't hold it back anymore, "I trusted you! Then I wake up in the middle of the night, see a text message on your phone from an unknown number saying that your baby misses you."

Jungwon opened his mouth to speak, but no, you weren't done yet. This film is something you have seen before, except tonight, it's not through a cowardly text message, you'll say it directly to him.

"Were your feelings truly genuine or you just weren't patient enough? Did you really love me or were you in love with the thought of having someone kiss you during your darkest nights, or having someone hold you during your coldest days? The chances that weren't given to you, you only chose me for that, right? Successfully distracting your heart that wasn't meant to take a risk."

A moment of silence. Then Jungwon gave you a bittersweet smile, turning around so you're now facing his back.

"Mrs. Shin asked me if I was lying to her about us not being together. She said that the way I looked at you was comparable to a devotee, like you are the reason for my being."

What? What is he talking about?

"When you were doting on Sunoo, you recall that kid back at the mall? Yeah him, I had this epiphany of you being my wife, the mother of my children."

This isn't the answer that you've been looking for, but it has you stunned to the core.

"That flower guy was annoying. His dimples got me jealous, got me carried away. When you acted as my girlfriend to fend off that presenter, I wished it was true. Then I couldn't shake the butterflies in my stomach when I put that ring on you. And during the fateful night, I really thought we had something going on there."

Jungwon's shoulder shook, his head moving upwards as an attempt to dry the moisture away. If this is how it's ending, then he'd let you go. But not after spilling his endless rumination and sentiments for you.

When you broke up with him, it felt like he was dying. He was an empty shell without you. He hated you for not giving him the chance to explain himself, but he hated himself more when he gave up and moved away to cover up his wounds.

Then he saw an opportunity to be with you again, and so, he begged Yeonjun to help him, but his efforts were all in vain, it seems.

"Y/N, I dreamt of you in a white gown, walking down the aisle of the red carpet. I've always prayed for you to be my endgame. But if I really don't have a chance with you anymore, then I'll bury all those dreams away."

He finished, letting the stream out, tired of holding it back. Tired of fighting a losing battle. He'll leave your life for good, heavy footsteps crackling under the pebbles. Then he stopped, "By the way, that message you saw was from my sister's new number. And the baby that was mentioned was my dog."

If there's an award for the best lunatic out there, it must be given to you. An amateur snooper that knows nothing but to misinterpret people.

You gulped and made a run for it, throwing the bouquet that you are still holding to fully embrace Jungwon from the back, burying your face in his expensive cashmere suit.

"The chance never left, Jungwon." you muttered softly, hugging him tighter to prevent him from leaving, "It never left, and it wants you to stay."

Jungwon lets out a weak laugh, "If you're doing this out of pity t-"

"No!" you cried out, because you're tired as well. Tired of hiding things from him, for foolishly keeping it all in when you could've talked it out.

You poured the stashed secrets. From the handmade paper ring that you were about to give him when you heard him in the student council room. to how you're afraid that college life might bring a fissure in your relationship, so you wanted to give him something that'll remind him of you and your love.

You told him that you cannot see a future without him, so you prematurely went into a heartbreak episode when you misunderstood his words. Every fault is a series of your insecurities and skepticism of a happy ending with him.

You confessed to him that you have always loved him, that your heart still belongs to him. You're just a plain idiot that couldn't communicate well but you swear, he's the only one that you'd choose in a room full of other men.

You spewed out promises of telling him whenever you're overthinking or overfeeling things. That you wouldn't get ahead of yourself next time, that you'd trust him more.

Your wrongdoings are not to be tolerated, but you'd do your best to make it up to him.

Jungwon finally turns around, his dried tear stains on his cheeks pains you, yet he's a sweetheart, wiping your own salty tears in lieu of his.

"The paper ring." he mumbles while bolstering your cheeks on his palms in a silly manner, pressing his forehead on yours, "Make me that paper ring again, this time give it to me."

You nod with the full intent of handing him the gift with the oath of staying by his side until you have both achieved your dreams and aspirations in life. 

Pinky promises are mainstream, adorable yes, but the best is sealing a promise with a kiss.

The buzzing noise of the party in the garden turned into white noise, the focal point is on the subject of your affection. The man who is currently kissing you under the stars. 

There is this one term that you read once, ‘Ephemeral.’

It was a pretty word, but its meaning is sorrowful. 

Yet with Jungwon, seeing the silver lining of the word is easier than studying for an exam.

The pain, arguments, hugs, kisses, and life itself is short-lived. Fleeting memories forgotten when you’re gray and old. Still, that gives you more reason to rejoice the moments as much as you can.

Besides, if Yang Jungwon is by your side, then every ephemeral will last perpetually.

taglist

@yzzyhee @maymarrylhs @dreamiestay @moon4moony @vixensss @star4rin @heelee-01 @ramenoil @lilyuwon

[kaijutegu]

How Do You Move A Crocodilian?

In light of a recent post, you may be wondering: just how CAN zoos move crocodilians without hitting them in the face with a shovel? I linked some good examples in the post above, but here's some more. Sometimes with small crocodilians if you want to move them, you can just... pick them up. Gently and carefully, but you can lift some smaller species without causing them much distress. Of course, there's a lot of trust that needs to be built first, but it can be done! Here's Cincinnati moving their Chinese alligators between habitats.

Great handling here. Two handlers on the gator at all times, pelvic and pectoral girdles supported, easy release into the water. This is a small species so this is safe, and look how relaxed and easy their body language is!

This is another safe way to move a crocodilian- leading them with a target! Obviously you can't pick up a fully grown American alligator very easily, but here's Brevard Zoo showing you how responsive their big boys are to this kind of training.

Zoos all over the world use different training techniques to work on their crocs. Here's a nice video from St. Augustine Alligator Farm that shows how they work their gharials to participate in their own healthcare:

Training is really important for human and animal safety. For the animals, it helps them participate in their own healthcare and know what to expect. It also helps mitigate social tensions, lets you see that every animal is getting the right amount of food, lets you easily work with them in and out of the water (you need to see them on land for an accurate body condition assessment), and provides mental and social stimulation for them.

But also: if your animals trust you and have some training, it protects both you and them in an emergency. When you work with large carnivores like crocodilians, you need to be able to predict the unpredictable, and be prepared for things to go wrong. Part of that preparation is setting the animals up for success. An animal that's scared of you isn't going to cooperate with medical care. It will be difficult to move in case of an emergency, and it will be harder to maintain control during a worst-case scenario.

If you have to evacuate your facility or something, and you need your croc to go into a carrier box, if it is trained to do that, it's not going to add yet another new, terrifying experience to a pile of new and terrifying experiences. Training is how zookeepers protect themselves and the animals, and when you compare this type of thing to more aversive techniques, it should be fairly easy to see why using the right training techniques is important!

[prettyfastcars]

thunderstorms | Lewis x Reader

Summary: Your mom and his dad have been in a serious relationship for a little while, but you do everything to avoid interacting with Lewis. He’s everything you’ll never be. How could you compete with that amount of fame, glory, power and multiple world championships. So you kept your distance in order to avoid hearing your mom praise him endlessly, but that was until a mandatory family vacation. Living in the same house, under the same roof, you couldn’t avoid him anymore. Neither could either of you avoid the tension in between you. 

Themes: smut, stepbrother!lewis, age gap (reader is in her early twenties), forbidden/taboo romance

The thunder sounded like it shook the entire cabin. 

You froze on the wooden stairs, holding on to the handrail for dear life. You liked to think that you were a brave human. But thunderstorms scared the hell out of you. Especially right now given you and your ‘family’ were in some cabin in the middle of nowhere. 

You could’ve been on a nice beach, soaking the warmth of the sun, swimming in the ocean, drinking all day, going on boat rides. But no, the golden son – your soon to be step brother – decided to take the family to a cabin, in the mountains where it is cold, humid and dark all the time. Where it rains incessantly. 

He wanted to hike. And naturally his dad and your mom agreed. And naturally your opinion didn’t matter. Sometimes you thought, all of you didn’t matter whenever he was concerned. After all, you were nowhere near as accomplished as he was. 

He had it all. He was loved by millions, admired, worshipped. People loved him, everyone wanted to be his friend, everyone wanted to be seen with him. 

All you had was a boutique in Paris, that too it was gifted to you by one of your mom’s many ex husbands. It was your entire life now. But no matter how luxurious, elegant, sleek and modern a Parisian boutique is, it cannot compare to multiple motorsport world championships. 

Hence, your suggestion of going on vacation somewhere warm was immediately ignored. As expected. And here you were now, still holding on to the handrail.

You finally let go of it, and wrapped your blanket tighter around you. You were on your way downstairs in search of something warm to drink. This whole cabin was freezing despite the multiple heaters. 

“Damn him,” You whispered under your breath as you walked into the open kitchen, turning just one light on and leaving the rest of the kitchen in darkness. “Could be on a beach partying right now,” You muttered bitterly like an old woman as you gathered your things to make your hot chocolate. “But no,” You hissed as you put the kettle on. “His Majesty wanted to be in this damn forest,” You grabbed your mug and put your cocoa powder in, “We could be killed in here,” You kept muttering as you waited for the water to boil. “God knows what’s in these woods, wild life, serial killers,” You scoffed. “As if he doesn’t get enough adrenaline–,” 

A smooth voice spoke up from one of the dark corners of the kitchen, “Still cursing my name I see?” 

You gasped, turning around to face the dark corner immediately. There he was, the light from his phone allowing you to look at his ridiculously handsome face, and his ridiculously handsome smirk. His braids were out of his usual ponytail. It angered you almost that he looked even better this way. 

You opened your mouth to say something, but ended up squealing instead as the loudest thunder ever shook the entire cabin once again. 

You crouched in place, holding onto the kitchen counter. Meanwhile Lewis broke into chuckles, laughing at you right in your face. 

“You are seriously scared of thunderstorms?” He laughed some more. 

You frowned at him, your bravery coming out of hiding now the thunder had passed. “Oh shut up. Of all places you had to bring us here?” You shook your head and turned around to carry on making your hot chocolate. 

You heard the chair screech as Lewis stood up from the small table, you heard him walk over to where you stood. Your body became hyper aware of each one of his moves. 

The way he placed both of his hands on the counter, on either side of you, caging you in. 

The way his torso pressed gently against your back. 

The way he subtly nuzzled your neck from behind. 

You froze. Lewis’ lips brushed against the back of your neck as he spoke. “Is that why you’re down here so late at night? Hmm?” He teased, “You needed your big brother to keep you safe from the thunderstorm?” 

“You’re not my fucking brother.” You gasped in surprise when you felt him purposely drag his lips up your neck. “Lewis…” You whispered, “What are you doing?” Your voice ended up sounding a lot more like a quiet moan. 

You’d be lying if you said this was the first time the two of you were crossing lines which you knew you shouldn’t. The man was drop dead gorgeous, it was hard to resist him. 

“What?” He acted oblivious even as he left soft, open mouth kisses all over your neck and slightly exposed shoulder. “I’m just helping you make hot chocolate before the water gets cold.” He said as one of his tattooed hands wrapped around your waist while the other grabbed the kettle and poured hot water into your mug. 

The warm drink was the last thing on your mind as Lewis kept kissing up and down your neck. “Lewis…” You murmured again, “We shouldn’t.” 

He didn’t stop. You didn’t want him to stop. He knew that. 

He let go of you momentarily and gave you enough space to turn around and face him. Fuck, that was a mistake. In the dim, partially lit kitchen he looked too tempting. Big brown eyes, how could you resist those? 

The blanket you had around yourself fell to the ground. Now you were left in tiny shorts and an almost see-through pj top. Lewis’ eyes roamed your body shamelessly. Your face burned when you admitted to yourself that you liked it. 

“Look at you,” He murmured, as he placed his hand on your waist again. His other hand came up to grab your chin. He leaned in slightly, his scent acting like an aphrodisiac. “What am I supposed to do when you’re walking around half naked, little sis?” He accused in that dreamy voice. “Am I supposed to keep my hands to myself while you walk around looking like this?” 

You couldn’t look away from his rich, dark brown eyes. Bottomless, warm, inviting. His eyes had an intensity that was hard to ignore. 

You were aware of how his thumb drew lazy circles on your hip. You felt weak in your knees. Lewis just smirked. “You better stop looking at me with those fuck-me eyes if you don’t want me to bend you over this counter right here right now.” He whispered, leaning in even closer to kiss the corner of your mouth. 

You were dragged back to reality once you broke eye contact. So you cleared your throat and pulled away from his embrace. The air felt immediately colder as you pulled away from him. 

Lewis picked up your blanket and wrapped it around you again. You muttered a quick ‘thanks’ as you clutched the blanket under your chin, securely as if it would keep you safe from him. Then he handed you your mug and said, “Wanna watch a movie?” 

You should’ve just gone to bed. You should’ve said no. 

Seeing you were contemplating, Lewis added, “Unless of course you want to go upstairs and be all by yourself.” 

Right then, another loud thunder echoed throughout the entire place. And your decision was made. 

So you found yourself in the living area, on the same couch as Lewis while some horror movie played on TV. And with each loud boom from the sky, you scooted closer and closer to him. He chuckled each time you jumped due to the thunder, but he made no further comments. 

After a while, and some more scooting he said, “Just come here, will you?” He patted the spot next to him and opened his arms. 

Maybe it was the thunder. Or the fact that he looked so nice, warm and comfy in his sweatpants and sweater. Or maybe it was that you were subconsciously dying to be in his arms. Whatever the case, you slid right up to him and let him wrap his arms around you as you laid your head on his shoulder. 

“There, see,” He said, “Isn’t it nice to let big brother take care of you?” He teased. 

You scoffed, but remained in his arms. “You’re not my brother. I hate you and your big ass forehead.” 

Lewis laughed. You smiled too, but hid it quickly. 

“Can I have some of your hot chocolate?” He asked after a few silent seconds. 

“I drank it all.” You said. 

“Shame,” He murmured, “I really wanted a taste of it.” He sounded almost seductive as he said it. 

There. 

You could feel the shift in the air just then. That line, you were gonna cross it again. 

You pulled away and looked right into his soft brown eyes. “Lewis…” You whispered. 

“Come here, baby,” He whispered, cupping your face and leaning in for a kiss. 

You melted instantly, kissing his warm and soft lips back immediately. You didn’t even hesitate before making your way to his lap, straddling him without breaking the kiss. You felt him smirk into the kiss, you did too. 

Too late to turn back now, that’s what the smirks meant. 

You only pulled away to take a breath, looking into his eyes to find him just as breathless as you. Neither one of you said anything. Not even when you whimpered as you felt his erection through the layers of clothing separating your bodies. 

“Tell me you want this,” He whispered. His hands touching you wherever he could. Sliding across your now exposed thighs, up and down your sides and fingers caressing your skin, dangerously close to where you ached for him. 

You didn’t say anything, but Lewis looked down and found your eager fingers toying with the waistband of his sweatpants. He smirked when he saw that, and looked up at you with a cocky look in his eyes. 

“Is that what you want?” He asked, sounding just as cocky as he looked. 

You nodded, heart racing at the thought of what you were about to do. But it was too late to turn back now. You held his heated stare as you lowered his sweatpants and wrapped your hand around him, slowly stroking his cock, making him throw his head back and groan under his breath. 

You leaned in close to him again, “I want you,” you whispered against his lips and then pressed your mouth to his. He kissed you back immediately. “I want you inside of me.” You said, urgently and breathlessly. 

You slipped your tongue past his lips and slowly stroked the top of his mouth. He groaned into your mouth, and you immediately bucked your hips against his, your clothed core rubbing against his cock and he grunted. 

His hands rubbed up and down your sides, fingers sliding under your thin top until he could toy with your nipples. 

“Take me,” He whispered against your mouth. 

You pulled away from the kiss briefly, quickly removing your shorts before you lowered yourself down on his cock, earning quiet moans and groans out of both of you as you sank down on him. 

Your body resisted just a little to fit him inside. Your face felt hot at the thought of him being too big to fit inside your wet cunt. Lewis felt it too, and an arrogant smirk formed on his gorgeous face. 

His voice was cocky and laced with lust as he spoke, “I bet you’re regretting wasting all that time on your little French boys now, huh?” 

You scoffed, deciding to mess with him. “Oh, trust me. They’re not little.” 

His brain short circuited. For a moment he loathed every man who ever touched you like this. 

Lewis glared at you for a moment, before he grabbed you by the hips thrust up into you. You gasped in surprise as you felt him fill you up. He was nice and snug inside you as he whispered, his voice filled with promises, “I’m gonna ruin every single man for you.” 

Your lust-drunk brain was barely able to process his words. All you knew was that you wanted more. His cock throbbed against your pulsating walls, causing the tiniest bit of friction which drove you both insane. It felt like he was splitting you in half.

“Ah,” You whimpered, “Lewis, please…” 

He grabbed you by the hips and guided you up and then back down on his cock. You whimpered as he groaned when the tip of his cock reached sensitive places you never knew existed. 

“Does big brother’s cock feel good? Huh?” He taunted before leaning forward to wrap his lips around one of your clothed nipples. He gave it a hard enough suck to make you moan, then moved on to the other one. 

Fuck. This was so wrong. 

The forbidden nature of it gave you a warm rush. You just whimpered and nodded as you moved faster, impaling yourself down on his cock each time. 

You felt him filling you up completely each time, feeling him reach deeper into you with each thrust. His hand slipped between the two of you and found your clit, he rubbed it lazily. 

When he noticed that you were comfortable with the pace, he let go of your hip and wrapped his hand around your throat instead. “You look so good like this, little sis.” He teased. “Taking my cock like you’re made for it.” 

You couldn’t help but lean down to kiss him, biting down and tugging at his plump, soft bottom lip while you sped up, and his cock stretched you out each time. Lewis pulled your warm body closer to his as you bounced on his cock moaning and whining, feeling him stretch you out as you stared into his dark eyes. 

Lewis rhythmically thrust his hips up each time to match your movements. Brows furrowing and panting while you rode his cock, throwing his head back and moaning. 

“Shh,” You whispered as you kissed along his bearded cheek, barely able to keep from moaning yourself. 

He panted against your cheek, kissing the side of your face and gripping your jaw with his hand. “You feel so good,” He whispered.

“Damn you…” You didn’t slow down as you felt your orgasm wash over you, and he kept thrusting his hips up into you as your eyes rolled back and you moaned out loud as you came, hard, feeling your walls squeezing and clenching around him as you came undone. 

You panted and leaned forward, pushing your face into his neck to catch your breath. 

Lewis came right after you, his warm load spilling inside of you, as he wrapped his arms around you and pressed your trembling body closer to him. “Fuck…” He swore before saying, “I think I like thunderstorms even more now.”

You still sounded breathless as you said, "I still hate you."

---

here's part two if you want

[rubyclover]

I said I can’t write but if felt nice getting that other idea out of my head. So I wrote this and will post. Technically I started trying to write this like a month ago… Please ignore the constant switching between past and present tense. It’s something I never seem to notice until someone else points out where it is.

Prompt: Professionals hate him but he was right! [Adam] Heaven and Hell come to the realization that The First Man played a larger part in the three realms’ political/social ecosystem than they thought. His absence leaves a vacuum that Lute is unable to fill but she may not need to because Hell is solving the problem themselves… The Morningstar Family can’t run from this.

No ABetaO we expire like Adam~

Imagine that Adam dies, the hotel has never looked better, the residents have healed up and Charlie gets another TV appearance. Lucifer is even more depressed than before but hides it. Adam is gone She’s going to reveal Sir Pentious’ redemption with evidence that is NOT childishly scribbled on key cards. Instead of the interview taking place in the 666News studio it’s held outside the hotel. She will take questions, live, right after the interview. Katie Killjoy wants to give the public a chance to cause chaos for ratings, so she puts Charlie in a vulnerable position.

Things go great… for the first 20 minutes. The interview isn’t even half way done when someone from the crowd interjects after Charlie says ‘The Sinners have a better life now that the Exterminations are permanently canceled.’

That person’s voice is calm but still pissed as Hell. They fire back that no, Sinners don’t have an easier life now that the Exterminations are over. It’s worse! Charlie and the crowd perk up.

The voice moves to the front. They’re short with plain street clothes, hood up. It’s obvious they’re poor and at the bottom of Hell’s pecking order. A couple of Imps are with them equally disheveled and tired looking. The man goes on to point out some rather hard truths.

Thanks to the last Extermination, angelic steel has become a hot commodity. While uncommon right now, there’s a pipeline to obtain an angelic weapon. All you need is enough money. Carmilla Carmine doesn’t care about how her product is used after purchase.

‘Permanent Murder’ is a new trend on HellTube netting ridiculous profits. The main targets are vulnerable Sinners, usually the scared and alone new arrivals, Imps and Hellhounds. All killed by beautifully glowing angelic weapons.

Overlords are more formidable with these weapons so the chance of contractees escaping, like Angeldust, has become damn near impossible even if they destroyed their contract. Some desperate souls were happy with their messed up immortality. It gave them some hope, ‘at least I have a chance to turn things around eventually,’ but that pathetic security is gone.

The Exterminations kept said Overlords in check to a degree. They were more inclined to take care of their underlings because that guaranteed their safety. Now? Just get an angelic gun for all your troubles. Valentino is having a fucking field day.

The ‘permadeath’ toll for one year will be ten times the amount of one Extermination Day considering how much Hell’s citizens like to kill Sinners…

Not to mention, whole industries in Hell, from top to bottom, are starting to crash. Their purpose or sales revolved around the Exterminations. Some workers cannot afford to lose their job and have to sell their soul against their will.

Etcetcetc

As the man speaks Charlie is surprised to see heads nodding in agreement! Someone comments that they hadn’t seen their Sinner friend in a few days and tries not to panic while another face falls in the crowd and wrings their hands together. An Imp with curved horns standing beside a young Hellhound sweats profusely and starts to leave. Tension moves through the public. Not just the ones in front of the stage but also those watching TV.

Despite her best efforts Charlie cannot lift the crowd’s mood. She realizes prematurely revealing Sir Pentious’ redemption is the only way to salvage this growing disaster. Unfortunately the man’s timing is perfect because the second she opens her mouth he turns his anger on the Morningstars.

He calls out how much her family misrepresents themselves as rulers. They don’t do anything for Hell anymore. They spend most of their time fucking around while the Sinners suffer. The other Sins manage their rings and hellborn, not Lucifer or Lilith. All three of the Morningstars can’t truly understand human suffering yet they profess to know how to best handle it. With no idea what it means to be human yet they pass judgement on them.

The crowd becomes agitated and the Imps beside the man move closer to him. They aren’t trying to draw safety from the Sinner but are taking defensive positions. Charlie realizes this isn’t someone speaking up in the heat of the moment. This is a planned speech. He’s highjacking her broadcast!

She sees the Sinner clench his fists and feels herself start to sweat. Why was he saying any of that? Yes, life will be a bit hard at first but now everyone can come together and rebuild! There are so many possibilities available to The Pride Ring. It would improve lives. Change was always good they just had to be careful. Yet the stranger goes on.

He claims that Lucifer is a washed up angel that can’t comprehend mortality because of his maladaptive dreaming and pride, Lilith is apathetic to Sinners and wishes to aggravate Heaven no matter how much Hell will suffer and Charlie is so sheltered that she thinks PTSD can be solved by clapping and saying positive affirmations.

Little is known about the royal family but the stranger’s comments sway the crowd. The hotel’s original commercials got the time of day because of Charlie’s status, not because the facility had managed to accomplish anything. Lucifer barely appears at all even when large fights break out leveling half of Pentagram City. And Lilith? Missing for 7 years after riling up all of Hell multiple times, causing Heaven to start the Exterminations.

The stranger calls the hotel a disgusting joke. Calls out how Charlie is trying to ‘pass the buck’ over to Heaven. The Pride Ring’s actual rulers are Overlords and they make sure Sinners suffer and continue to act depraved whether they like it or not. Her family has the power to take control and lessen the city’s suffering but they don’t. Instead they play with their little pet project .

Why are they focusing on shipping problems elsewhere? There’s a better way to solve the pain and suffering at the source than waiting! Fix Pentagram City! Show Heaven that the current number of Sinners isn’t a threat!

‘For all the crying and sniveling you do Princess Charlotte, you sure don’t actually help where it counts! I’m sure you care about Sinners but only on the same level as someone cares about cute public park ducks.’

Vaggie, who had been standing to the side of the stage leaps forward, places herself in between the stranger and her girlfriend. Everyone’s raised emotions have put her on edge. She ignores the harsh gasps when her angelic spear slides free and into her hands. ‘Back up! Now!’

Charlie’s heart sank at the escalation. She understood her girlfriend was still tense from the extermination but all their hard work was starting to fray around the edges! She just hoped her dad didn’t-

The King of Hell himself appears through a portal shortly after gathering himself together. The opening looked angrier in color, matching his mood. Sickly green lines run throughout the glow, radiating blistering heat. Parts of the stage began to melt and the forgotten camera crew swivel to their ruler. Lucifer’s face is set in stone but his bright flickering eyes give him away.

‘Who the fuck are you?’ He snarls, apple topped cane slamming onto the stage causing some of it to splatter. ‘How dare you speak to my daughter that way.’ Lucifer’s face morphs into a more demonic grimace. Katie Killjoy scrambles from her chair and off the stage at the same time as Charlie vaulting up to place a hand on Lucifer’s shoulder whispering ‘dad no!’ She doesn’t want the hotel’s improved reputation to evaporate. A confrontation with someone on live TV would scare people away!

Lucifer growls in the back of his throat, looking at where he assumes the bastard’s eyes are under his hood. Smoke and embers sizzle out from the corner of his mouth and inbetween teeth. He hated acting this way but he had an image to uphold. ‘Answer your King you wretch. Don’t confuse my inaction with benevolence. You’re testing my patience!’

After a beat or two of staring each other down the stranger has the gall to ‘tsk’ off to the side as if spitting. ‘As you with your majesty. It’s all fine by me.’ A small, scared hand reaches up and whips off the dirty hood exposing his face to all of Hell.

People instantly whip out their phones. His face is shockingly similar to Lucifer’s, in fact a basic carbon copy sans a few attributes.

Cameras catch alabaster skin and soft, blond, curly hair, short, wiry build, vivid green eyes, pale coral cheek markings, pointed ears and four demon wings the same color as his skin.

Leaf green eyes stair directly into Charlie’s while electing to ignore both fallen angels. He stands ramrod straight. Cutting a regal silhouette despite the filth on his body and clothes.

‘My name is Cain Adamson, The Wandering Star.’ He bows in a fashion Charlie hadn’t seen in all her galas. ‘Lucifer Morningstar’s first born and bastard son. It’s nice to finally meet you sister mine… I’ll be taking your family’s crown for my father.’

[So in this AU Cain rescued Adam’s body and resuscitated it. They had a familial bond even when Cain got banished for murdering Able and found out his bio dad was Lucifer. Eve didn’t pay much attention to her first born out of guilt so Adam stepped up. No one shamed her. Adam never felt like Cain was separate from his other kids even though he looked nothing like him. Now Cain wants to provide for his father who’s trapped in hell and in really bad condition by booting the Morningstars out of power in the Pride Ring.] Dunno about pairing but Adamsapple or Guitarhero would be a safe bet. Either way Lucifer will suffer lol

[wtf do I call this? Family Feud AU? Chessboard AU? Secret Brother AU? Idk h e l p ]

[moonswolfie]

You get caught by the sibling

Originally I was gonna write this for Lev but then I realised that I want to write this scenario for a fair amount of haikyuu boys so here we are (I decided to do characters who's siblings appear in the anime/manga excluding the miya twins and hoshiumi, sorry hoshiumi 😔)

I wanna write more for my boi hirugami, I just KNOW everyone's gonna be simping for him once the movies come out

CW: reader is gender neutral, I use the phrase "nii chan" cuz bro/brother sounds awkward, I use a name insert, some manga spoilers

Characters featured: Lev, Hinata, Kageyama, Tsukishima and Hirugami

˚ ༘ ೀLev Haiba

You were staying over at your boyfriend's place for the first time, and his family had been nothing but welcoming of you. They're all really sweet and excitable people, just like Lev himself.

That made you relieved, since you were scared his parents would be super strict or something, although that would be a little strange considering Lev's carefree behaviour.

Right now, you were sitting in his room in awkward silence. His room was surprisingly clean, you noted while looking around. (Alisa later informed you that he spent 3 hours cleaning his room before you arrived.)

"Hey, ummm..." you turned to him. He was looking off into a corner, eyes avoiding you nervously and a cute pink blush on his cheeks. He never usually acts like this. He isn't one to get nervous when asking for physical affection. He just asks you to hug him or hold his hand straight up. Or he just does it without even asking.

So that got you curious. "Yes?"

"Can I kiss you?" he asked, eyes shifting to you. He looked excited, looking at you with wide eyes and a smile, waiting for your answer.

"HUH?!" that was the thing you expected to hear the least.

"Hey, don't be so loud! I don't want anyone to come here right now..." he said, a pretty pout on his face. You just stared at him, wide eyed.

You noticed his body slightly trembling, probably from trying to contain his excitement and nervousness.

"Let's... do it." you said, clenching his blanket in your hand nervously.

At your confirmation, he made a noise of excitement, smiling widely like an innocent boy whose mom let him get candy while grocery shopping.

"Okay. Sit still..!" he instructed, awkwardly grabbing your arms. You closed your eyes, too nervous to look at him lean in. The bed made a noise as he shifted closer, and you soon felt his breath against your face. You were sure he could hear your heart beating out of your chest.

"Levochka~ I came to- Oh my!"

Your eyes opened immediately, and you spun your head around to find a surprised Alisa at the door. You didn't see it, but Lev looked equally shocked.

"THIS ISN'T WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" Lev shouted nervously.

"Ah, I'll come back later~ Have fun!" Alisa smiled cheekily and closed the door. Your head slowly turned back to him, and he looked both embarrased and annoyed.

"Damn it, and I was so close..." he mumbled.

"...You can still do it, you know?" you said, looking down at his blanket. There was an awkward tension in the room.

"Not now that the mood is ruined!" he grabbed his head in frustration, blushing wildly.

"Later, then." you shrugged, blushing wildly yourself.

˚ ༘ ೀHinata Shoyo

You were helping Hinata with his summer break homework, solving it together in his room. He thanked you excessively when you agreed to come over, but you could never refuse an opportunity to come over to his house anyways.

His mom was really nice and even brought you two cookies. Natsu seemed excited to see you, as she always is. She even asked you to play with her, but Hinata's mom explained why you came over and she had the cutest pout on her face after.

After a while, you two were finally done with the homework, and he looked over to you, an idea flashing in his eyes before his cheeks turned pink. He was avoiding your gaze nervously. You tilted your head slightly, curious about his behaviour.

"So, ummm... since you've come over and, uhhh, helped me and everything... I-I wanted to thank you." Hinata was bright red at this point and seemed really nervous.

You hummed in question, waiting patiently for him to continue.

"W-With a kiss..." he mumbled quietly, probably too embarrased to say it louder, but you still heard him. You giggled a little at how cute he was.

"That's the best form of thank you I can possibly get." you couldn't contain your smile. You saw him tremble a little in excitement, and he scooted closer to you.

"O-Okay... I'll do it n-now..." he whispered, and you closed your eyes, knowing that he would get nervous if you kept looking at him.

You felt his lips press gently against yours, and you felt his hair brush against your forehead. You didn't kiss Hinata often yet, so every time it did happen it felt special, exciting.

"Nii-chan, let's go play with your...EW!" Natsu slid open the door to Hinata's room without warning, scrunching her little face up in disgust when she noticed what you two were doing.

"Nacchan! I-" Hinata scrambled away from you, stumbling over his words and not finishing the sentence.

"I'M TELLING MOM!" Natsu yelled, running away without closing the door. Hinata was too shocked to move, but soon swiftly got up, face scarlet red. "No, Nacchan, wait!" he ran after her.

You could hear Natsu tattling "MOM! NII-CHAN IS KISSING [NAME]!" downstairs with Hinata nervously denying it, attempting to do damage control. You could hear Hinata's mom chuckling at the scene, too.

To be fair, you were laughing right now as well. Whether it was from embarrasment or amusement, you're not sure.

˚ ༘ ೀKageyama Tobio

Kageyama randomly invited you over today, saying he was home alone. You knew his parents are often busy, but his sister was usually home with him, so this was quite the opportunity.

Knowing Kageyama, you were sure he didn't invite you over to do anything weird and simply wanted to spend time with you alone since things tend to get awkward when his family is around.

That being said, all you were doing was sitting in his room in silence. It didn't really feel uncomfortable, though. You have a feeling Kageyama simply enjoys being in your presence and doesn't feel the need to talk around you. Either that or he's just awkward.

Suddenly, you felt your hand being grabbed roughly, and you looked to your left to see Kageyama looking at you with strange determination. You haven't ever seen him make this kind of face, not even during a volleyball match.

"...Tobio?" you questioned, confused by his behaviour.

"Kiss me." he choked out, furrowing his brows.

"Uhhh, what?" you raised your eyebrows in disbelief. There's no way he just said what you think he said. Where is this even coming from?!

"I said, kiss me." Kageyama grit his teeth, face completely red now. You have a feeling he just doesn't know how to ask for a kiss properly, holding back your giggles as you let him do what he wants.

He grabbed your upper arms, and you let your eyes shut. You felt his breath on your face, lips so close to touching, when you suddenly heard a gasp.

"Tobio-chan, you little charmer~" Miwa leaned on the doorframe, smirking mischeviously. You covered your mouth with both of your hands, eyes wide as you moved away from Tobio.

"Why are you home?!" Kageyama yelled, mortified. He immediately let go of your arms.

"Work ended early. And there's no way we aren't talking about this later." Miwa seemed awfully amused. Kageyama huffed in annoyance at getting his opportunity to kiss you ruined.

"Oh, and by the way, you were doing it wrong. I'll teach you how to kiss the right way later." she said, closing the door behind her. There was complete silence in his room for a long time after that.

You turned to Kageyama, who was still red all over, gently taking his hand. "Tobio, I-"

"Don't. D-Don't say anything." he said quietly, his hand wriggling out of your gentle grip. Oh well, gazing at a flustered Kageyama is also a great activity.

But you can't help but worry about what Kageyama will do with Miwa's advice.

After his parents found out he has a partner, they incessantly kept asking him to meet you. In their own words, they wanted to "know what kind of person would fall in love with a kid like Kei". And you couldn't really blame them, knowing Tsukishima.

˚ ༘ ೀTsukishima Kei

They were pleasant to you, treating you well and even letting you stay over for dinner. You were a little surprised at how different they are from Tsukishima.

He took you to his room as soon as possible, wanting to avoid his mom questioning how you two ended up together, what he's like around you and such.

His room looked about the same as you expected, and he let you sit down on his bed, joining you.

"Your family is so nice! I wonder how they managed to get a grumpy boy like you mixed in there." you commented, smiling at him. He rolled his eyes, that being the only answer you got.

You didn't really know what else to say, so you just sat next to him in awkward silence. Then, you suddenly got an idea. A very very fun idea.

"Kei." you said, leaning forwards. He looked at you from the corner of his eye, waiting for you to continue. "Let's kiss." you said in an excited tone, and his lips pursed, face remaining blank.

"And why?" he asked, turning his head to you.

"Don't couples do that all the time?" you tilted your head, acting innocent. He sighed.

"...Fine." he acted like this was a pain to do, but you didn't miss the tiny sliver of a smile on his face. He was definitely excited right now. You leaned close and accidentally bumped your nose against his glasses.

"Be careful, those are- mmph..." you pressed your lips to his before he could finish his sentence, trying not to smile too hard into the kiss. This feels awesome!

His arm slowly wrapped around you, deepening the affection.

"Kei, mom says that- Ah!" you quickly broke the kiss to find Tsukishima's brother, Akiteru, standing at the door, frozen in shock.

"Well.... This is unexpected. I'm glad you two are happy together?" he said, awkward smile on his face. He slowly moved to close the door, not wanting to disrupt you further but just before he did it, Tsukishima stopped him.

"If you ever tell anyone about this, I will murder you." he said, furrowing his brows. The door opened again slightly, Akiteru wearing a worried smile on his face in the crack of the door.

"I won't, calm down. Just what do you think of me?" he assured him before shutting the door. As you sat there, processing what just happened, Tsukishima slowly brought his hands to his face, pushing his glasses up to his forehead. He groaned loudly into his hands.

"Are you okay?" you asked cautiously, blushing yourself.

"Do I look okay to you? Of course not." he pinched the bridge of his nose, face red.

You came over to your boyfriend's house for another study session this week. Exam season has been wild this year and you're eternally grateful for his help in your studies.

˚ ༘ ೀHirugami Sachiro

His family welcomed you upon your arrival as usual, the dog being especially happy to see you. The two of you are taking a break from studying just now, talking about various things in his room.

You suddenly felt the need to be close to him out of nowhere, wordlessly settling on his lap and hugging him. "Oh? Why are you hugging me?" he asked calmly.

"Do I need a reason?" you mumbled against him. "I guess not." he responded, gently placing an arm around you.

You looked up at him, not even trying to disguise the fact that you were staring at his lips. He raised an eyebrow, smiling slightly.

"Can I...?" you asked gently, not removing your gaze from his lips. He chuckled, asking "Can you what?"

He definitely knew what you were asking for, but just wanted to tease you a bit. You pouted, grumbling "I know you know what I mean." His smile became wider. "You're right, as always."

Before you could ask again, he gently pressed his lips against yours, and you hummed happily, squeezing him in your hold. His other hand gently moved to your face, holding it.

"Now what's this I see?" you were interrupted by Hirugami's older sister, standing at the door with an amused smile on her face. "You hate when my boyfriend is lovey dovey with me, but it's fine when you do it?"

Hirugami let out an annoyed sigh. "I hate your boyfriend because he's getting lovey dovey with you in front of me. I atleast do it in private."

"Jeez, okay then, you prude." his sister narrowed her eyes.

"I'm not a prude, I just prefer to not make others uncomfortable by making out with my partner in the living room." Hirugami still had a calm smile on his face, which made his sister even more annoyed.

"Whatever." his sister huffed, closing the door and walking off. When her footsteps could no longer be heard, he looked back at you with a slight frown on his face.

"Sorry about that. Where were we again?" he asked casually. It surprised you how calm he is about the whole thing, while you were turning red from the embarrasment of being caught.

"I... believe you were kissing me..." you mumbled.

"That's right." he said, cupping the side of your face.

[clareguilty]

Ghost/f!reader - Possessiveness, Edging

Second kinktober prompt! If anyone is interested in commissioning another Ghost or MWII prompt pls let me know <3

Ghost/f!reader | Possessiveness, Edging, Uniform, Size Kink Rating: Explicit | No warnings Word Count: ~2000

You should have woken up at the sound of the door.

The fact that you don’t even stir until the padding of the too-small bunk is sinking under sizable new weight means that you’re in way worse shape than you originally thought.

Still, the only person who would be trying to squeeze into your bunk in the dead of night is pretty low on your list of threats to watch for.

“L’t’nant?” You mumble, scooching closer to the wall so he’ll have more room. Not that it would make a difference. The bed is barely big enough for you. Ghost would hang off the edge at every end even if he had the whole bunk to himself. “What’re ya doin’?”

“Heard they had to pull you out of a hole earlier,” he manages to settle in behind you — not comfortable, but at least close. “Came to see how my girl was doing.” His voice is low, more of a rumble than anything else. You can feel the rough material of his vest against your back, and you want to grumble at him for not even dressing down before coming to bother you, but it’s nice to feel his arm wrapping around your waist.

“Bad,” you groan. “Medical has me off the field for a few weeks at least.”

Ghost makes an inquisitive sound low in his throat. You aren’t sure what he’s asking, so you just ignore it, choosing instead to bask in the comfort of having him here with you. It’s dark and quiet in your room, and even being cramped on the smallest bunk the SAS could offer is nice compared to the shitshow you just crawled out of.

He shifts slightly, trying to keep from falling off the damn mattress, and his fucking gear pokes you in the side.

“Could you take that shit off?” You want to jab him with your elbow, but you can’t. You settle for kicking at his shin with your heel.

“Can’t,” he sounds apologetic. “I’m heading back out as soon as they get a bird ready.” He has nothing to be sorry for. This is the way it’s always been. The two of you catch each other for hours at a time — passing moments — in between missions.

“How long do we have?” Your voice sounds small and you hate it. Now is definitely not the time to be weak. 

“Hour? Maybe two?” He runs a gloved hand over your side. “You should sleep.” He starts to move, to pull away, and you can’t have that. You can’t even reach for him.

“Wait,” you kick him again before he can stand. “Stay. I’ve got plenty of time to catch up on sleep after you leave.”

Ghost doesn’t say anything, but you watch his silhouette step away from the bunk. Before you can even try and protest again, the fucker has flicked the lights on.

“What the fuck?!” You curse, shielding your eyes with your good arm as you jolt upright.

“What the hell happened to your arm?” Ghost is kneeling by the bed before you can blink, inspecting the sling on your arm and the concerning amount of tape and bandages beneath it.

“Just a strain,” you would shrug, but you can’t actually move your shoulder. “Some fucker wrenched it out of place, and then a beam fell on it when the building came down.”

He’s still got his mask on, but you can see the tension in his jaw. “Someone touched you?” He growls. His hands are hovering over the sling. Too scared to hurt you.

“Graves’ men.” You reach out with your good arm and lace your fingers between his. His gloves make his hands bigger than they already are, but you make it work. “They got some kind of code or something and turned on us. We couldn’t send a signal out. I was trying to fight my way out when someone had the brilliant idea to blow up the entire base.”

“Please tell me you killed the fucker.”

“With his own fucking gun,” you spit. Piece of shit.

“That’s my girl.” Ghost brushes a hand over your hair. He trained you to be able to take care of yourself. The touch is sweet, but then you realize how closely he’s watching you. The way his eyes flit across your body, calculating.

“I’m fine,” you promise. “Just the arm. Nothing else. It’s not even that bad.” You pull up your sleeve to show him.

That turns out to be a mistake.

There’s a dark purple palm print, bluish at the edges. It wraps around your arm in the exact place that the American soldier had grabbed you earlier. You didn’t even notice the bruise before. It was all the same throbbing pain.

Ghost is gentle, surprisingly so, as he lifts you off the cot with strong hands beneath your hips and lays you on your back, splayed across the bedroll. “Absolutely not,” he hisses. “No one gets to mark you but me.”

There is the screech of metal on concrete as he yanks the cot away from the wall, giving him more room.

He can’t get your shirt off without destroying all of the medics’ hard work, but he yanks your pants around your ankles and tugs them off before tossing them aside.

Honestly, you like this turn of events. There will be plenty of time to sleep after Ghost has shipped off to wherever he’s going. You’re going to be grounded and on bedrest for at least a few days, the least you could do is kick it off with a bang.

“Fuck yes,” you hiss, shifting your hips to get more comfortable on the bedroll. 

He runs his hands over your thighs, and you wish he would take his damn gloves off so you can feel the warmth of his skin against yours.

Instead, he takes his time. Seeking out the tension in your muscles and kneading in with his thumbs. It feels heavenly, but it’s not what you want right now.

“Ghost,” you warn, “hurry the fuck up.”

He responds by pinching your ass, and it’s so cheeky and childish that you can’t help but giggle. “Don’t rush me, Dove,” he orders. There’s so much command in his voice that you have no choice but to obey, and he knows it. He trained you, after all.

He does finally remove his gloves, and you all but melt at the heat of his hands. His thick fingers drag through the wetness between your legs, and you arch your back, hissing in pleasure when he drags his thumb over your clit.

Usually it’s so quick and rough between you, those heated collisions after a firefight or the rushed scuffles in the dark. This is more time and quiet than you’ve had with Ghost in weeks. He knows it too, because he refuses to give you exactly what you want.

“Please,” you gasp, reaching for his wrist with your good arm to try and direct his fingers where you want them.

He catches your hand, pinning it to the cot and leaning in to growl in your ear. “You’re going to be patient.”

You want to tell him that patience isn’t on the table when he has to ship out in less than two hours, and that he better make you come before then, but you know better than to talk back to your lieutenant.

He doesn’t even give you the chance to speak, because he chooses that moment to increase the pace of his fingers against your clit until you’re hurtling toward that peak. All you can do is gasp and moan as he brings you off.

Except the bastard doesn’t. He pulls away at the last possible second, pinning you in place with his hands on your hips so you can’t even move as the overwhelming pleasure disappears in an instant.

“Ghost!” You cry out. “Fuck! You piece of shit!”

The fucker just has the audacity to laugh. You want to punch him straight in his stupid mask, but your good arm is currently in a sling.

“Patience, Dove,” he warns you again.

By now, the aching pleasure has receded back to a humming need, and Ghost slips his fingers back between your legs. You nearly kick him when he presses two slick fingers inside you and curls them, the stretch and shock of pleasure overwhelming after his previous torture.

“Yes,” you breathe.

It’s slower this time. He doesn’t rush as he works you over. He drags his rough, thick fingers over that same spot again and again until you’re shaking and whimpering before increasing his pace and pressing his thumb against your clit.

You’re so close, and it’s so much stronger this time. Every muscle in your body is tensing, and you don’t even mind the pain from our injuries when every other sensation feels so good. You can’t even keep your eyes open.

And then it stops. Again.

You actually do kick him this time. At least you try to. He catches your foot before it can connect with his face.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” You demand.

He leans over you, cupping your jaw with his clean hand.

“We’re going to do this one more time. And you’re going to behave. If you can do that, I’ll let you come on my cock. Understood?”

You lay there panting, staring up into his mask and the burning intensity in his eyes.

“Yes, sir.”

“That’s my girl.”

This time, you don’t fight. He doesn’t waste your time like he did before, bringing you right to the edge and holding you there, fucking you on his fingers as you bite your lips and dig your fingers into the bedroll.

And when he pulls away just before you can tip over into an absolutely mindblowing orgasm, you hold yourself back from trying to wrestle him to the ground with his own knife.

He wrestles with the fasten of his trousers, freeing his cock before settling between your legs on the bunk. “You’ll stop me if it hurts?”

You dig your knee into his side. “Just fuck me already.” You don’t care if it fucking hurts. You just want to actually get off.

He’s still gentle as he lifts your hips and lines up his cock, sinking in to the hilt in one blinding motion.

At least he’s done dicking around at this point, because he actually fucks you like he means it. And he doesn’t knock your hand away when you reach between your bodies to rub your clit.

“You wanna come?” He asks, and you feel your blood burn white hot at the question. “Gonna come on my cock?”

“Yes, sir,” you answer automatically.

And then it crashes over you, all of that built up pleasure. Every single touch. You’re absolutely sure you’re going to need to go back to the medics because you definitely just fucked your shoulder back up again. But it’s so worth it when Ghost is making you feel this good. You almost regret trying to kick him. Almost.

“That’s right,” he says, thumb tracing over your spit-slick lips. “Who makes you feel this good?”

“You, sir,” you pant, chest heaving and heart thudding as you come down from the blinding rush of sensation.

“And can you give me one more?” He doesn’t even wait for you to answer before he’s fucking into you again harder than before. You know he’s going to make you come again.

You don’t stand a chance, already clenching around his cock as he forces another orgasm out of you.

It’s only when you’re limp and absolutely fucked out beneath him that he lets himself come. You want to be angry about the mess, but you’ll clean it later.

Ghost doesn’t bother trying to get your pants back on. Just half assedly wipes up the mess between your legs before climbing back onto the tiny cot and curling around you. You don’t even mind the roughness of his vest and the way all his gear jabs and pokes you.

“How much longer ‘til you leave?” You ask.

“Not long.”

He’s quiet for a moment, then: “I’ll wake you before I go- if you want to sleep.”

“I’ll sleep when you’re gone.” You grab his hand that’s draped over your waist. He hasn’t put his gloves back on yet, and you trace all of the scars and marks on the rough skin.

[ghoul-foolery]

Flufftober, Day 2

Guided Touching / Just Friends

Prompt List - Kink/Flufftober Master List

//

> Just Friends > Hancock/Nora >Tags: Mentions of masturbation > Words: 870 > Notes: This one started growing legs. I wanted to combine the two prompts, but time became a precious resource of which I had very, very little. Would love to come back and go into the guided touching portion I had planned...

They were just friends. 

That’s why he was on his bed roll, pretending to be asleep, as Nora chased after a fleeting orgasm. It started some time ago. A toss of her body in one direction. A heavy, sigh laden, turn in the other. A meager attempt to fluff a too worn pillow. Perhaps it was too hot near the smoldering coals of the fire; she pushed her covers away. There was a perpetual chill in their camping space; she dragged the covers back into place. She rotated on her sides again, rolled to her stomach, flipped to her back. 

There were chems that could help ease her muscles, and quiet her mind, and he knew for sure that they’d help her sleep if only she’d take them, but he knew she wouldn’t. The loss of control scared her. If they were someplace safe he’d have a chance to talk her into taking a hit of this and that, but they weren’t. They were out in the Commonwealth, tucked away in the remnants of an old military bunker. The place was barely secure enough to have a proper fire, but it would be a miserable night without one.

The flames were so low, the light was so dim, he didn’t even realize what he was seeing. Not at first. In the midst of all of her tossing and turning he’d taken to watching her because… because. She was his friend, and he was getting worried for her. It had been a handful of nights now where sleep became some hard-fought thing. The amount or proper rest that Nora was getting was minimal at best, and it was starting to really affect her.

When her hand first dipped beneath the covers he thought nothing of it. When she sighed and tossed her head he thought she was just frustrated, and then there was an undulation of her hips. It was a fluid movement; so perfectly sensuous when paired with her fluttering eyelids that it finally dawned on him that Nora was touching herself.

He rolled over, putting his back to her, because she was his friend he would offer what privacy he could even when they couldn’t really have much at all. But it seemed as if the moment he closed his eyes, he became hyper aware of the sounds she made. A barely there sigh. A wavering gasp that stuttered into a held breath. A pitchy whimper that surely had to give way to pleasure — only the sound that followed was clearly disappointed.

Poor thing just wanted to sleep, and when she couldn’t do that she tried to take some of the edge off. And when she couldn’t do that… what then? Another endless night that would leave her nearly too tired to function the next day. She either needed the chems, or she needed some help.

Hancock rolled back over, nice and easy, so as not to call her attention. 

Nora was flat on her back, eyes screwed shut as she worked her hand between her legs. She didn't even look like she was enjoying herself. There was a scrunch of tension between her brows, her mouth looked like it was drawn taut and thin. 

Licking his lips, Hancock did his best to gather up his rampant thoughts and his fleeting confidence. He wanted to help his friend and short of offering her chems he knew she wouldn’t take…

He spoke, soft and quiet like the dwindling fire so as not to startle her, “Breathe, sister. Relax.”

Hancock anticipated Nora to jolt into action; to roll to the side and pretend like she absolutely wasn’t masturbating – or trying to. But she didn’t. Instead, Nora did exactly what she was told. 

Her chest expanded outward, puffing up as she sucked in a steady breath through her nose. Exhaling through her mouth, her entire being seemed to deflate, sinking into her bedroll. 

“Atta girl,” he crooned, keeping his voice low. “One more for me. Good…”

When Nora’s eyes fluttered open, she turned her head, peering at him silently. Poor girl must be downright desperate if she wasn’t tucking tail and hiding away in embarrassment. 

“You doin’ okay, Nor?”

Nora closed her eyes, muttering a wavering, “I just can’t…” in a voice that sounded small and weak.

Can’t sleep. Can’t relax. Can’t come.

Hancock pushed himself upright, immediately reaching into his folded up coat to find his cigarettes. With the cigarette between his lips he said, “I can help. If ya want.” 

The answering quiet was too heavy. Too long.

Every piece of him wanted to rescind the offer and tell her to forget that he ever offered in the first place. He was high (he wasn’t), and wasn’t thinking clearly. Maybe he was just a little pent up himself. No, he wouldn’t say that. The uncertainty raged in his skull, and yet he patiently waited for an answer. He let his head fall into his shoulder lazily as he exhaled a curling cloud of smoke. 

“Yer so tired, and it’s making you stressed. You shouldn’t have to fight yourself to feel good.” If she said no, then he’d try talking her into taking a couple chems, because he couldn’t stand seeing his friend struggle night after night, day after day.

When her eyes finally opened, they immediately met his from beyond the fire. 

“What do you have in mind?”

[mehidktbh]

Bandages

Pairing: Dr. Ludwig "Medic" Humboldt x Fem!Reader

Summary: Getting hurt on the field leads you to take a trip down to Medic's lab in hopes of a quick recovery. Only to get more than what you expected.

Warning: Blood, mentions of fainting and nausea, serious injury...?, talk of bone, swearing, bad german translations, nakedness???, the reader takes their shirt off and some sexual tension ;)

A/N: Why am I suddenly getting into tf2 again? I mean after years of knowing the game why does the hyper-fixation come back after everything,,, (Anyway let's just hope the fandom isn't that dead) 👀

A soft murmuring surrounds you, your eyelids closing every once in a while as you sit back. Your palm supports your head as you try to stay awake. Unknowingly knowing that you are full-on staring at Solider ahead, he sat opposite you on the other side of the room. The more time passes as you sit amongst multiple (injured) men, some more severe than others as they clutch themselves into a puddle of agony. All you got out of today's battle was a nice old spy knife in the back. Taken out previously by you and now all that was left was a gash, dripping and leaking of blood.

But the loud sound of the lab door awaken you out of your slumped-over state, merely wiping off the drool that had only appeared under your mouth. "Thanks, Doc!" Scout walked out happily, his cheerful mood was something everyone was looking forward to. Instead, he showed off his new bandages. And feeling no pain was something everyone wanted...

Just before you could dip your head down back into your half-asleep state the sound of Medic clearing his throat scared you again. Looking up to see him, his straight posture and evil smirk were too well-known, as his eyes drifted to you as he proudly spoke. "Y/N?" You quickly fumbled getting up from your comfortable position of being in that chair for so long, swearing under every step you took until the doors shut behind you.

"Wieder von hinten erstochen?" You turn to Medic, confused and staring into his eyes as you tried to understand what he just said. "Spy, again?" He said more clearly, turning around as he began to get his equipment together. "Ha, yeah..." You said, standing there awkwardly as you tried to laugh dryly too. Looking around the room, a single bed creepily welcomed you to lie down. But the dark red blood spots that littered the white sheet told you otherwise. Medic looked up, eyeing you from head to toe before smirking.

"Vell, take your zhirt off." Looking over to him he had his back turned to you. Thank God. A bit of respect was something you appreciated out of Medic when it came to you, though he didn't with the other mercs...

So you quickly discarded of your red shirt, of course feeling the sense of discomfort and embarrassment instantly rose to your head and body. Trembly hands, the feeling of fainting and vomiting all over the tilted floors were flooding your mind. But you didn't have any time to act on them as you were soon ushed to sit down on the bed. Medic's hands came out to lightly push you down, the feeling of his latex gloves was cold but comforting.

His tongue ticked against his teeth, as he swore in German, though you couldn't see him you could feel his hot breath tickling your neck. The strong feeling of his eyes staring daggers at every part of your back, not to mention the slight ranking of his fingers down your bare skin too. After a while of sitting in such an uncomfortable position for what felt like an eternity, Medic sighed. The sound of him dropping the tool back into the dish meant it was over.

"Is it done?" You questioned, looking back for a second, swallowing the amount of swelling you could still feel. "Nein. I still need to wrap you up," He walked around, grabbing a roll of bandages, his whole hand swallowing it up. "Coo!" "Precisely Archimedes." As he walked back to his original spot behind you his hands reached out, directing you to sit up straight with your hands raised. You watched as his fingers rank up and down your whole chest, as he pulled more on the roll of bandages.

Your eyes stalked him as his hand suddenly appeared in front of you. His chest was right up against your back as he was trying to get a clear view of what he was doing in front. Grazing and still trying to be respectful as he slowly and carefully wrapped the bandages around your bra. His fingers just touching your breasts through the material before he finally stopped.

"Alles erledigt!"

[spiderdramaqueen]

so, i’m finally writing a post about my ren/doc/red king/martyn au i mentioned here.

it’s called complementary quartet au (or cq!au for short), because Ren’s and Red King’s color is red, while Martyn’s and Doc’s is green, which are complementary colors on color wheel.

in this au, traffic life and hermitcraft are different universes. also only third life happened at the start of the au.

cq!au is set in season 9, during Ren’s king arc. rift that grian found doesn’t lead to empires. instead, one day, Red King (RK for short) and his Hand come out of there. mentally, they’re still red lifes. so needless to say they’re pretty hostile to the new server, especially to the players who ‘were’ in third life. besides, it’s hard for them to believe that on this server you can respawn infinite amount of times and you don’t have to battle to death.

and then they meet Ren and Doc, and new problems arise…

okay, let’s start with relationship chart at the beginning of an au.

now let’s examine every pair closer.

Ren and Doc. these two are in established relationship at the start of cq!au. but they’re kinda in a fight because of Ren’s kingship. Doc didn’t declare Perimeter’s independence yet tho. Ren and Doc didn’t took an official break in their relationship or anything, but they started seeing each other less than before and there is some sort of tension between them at the moment. they both miss each other, but too stubborn to actually talk it out.

RK and Martyn. they’re in love with each other, but didn’t talk about it yet! it seems that everything is good between them, but meeting Ren changed things. Martyn is trying to get closer to Ren. seeing this, RK… he doesn’t feel jealous (…it’s a lie), but he’s… thinking. he doesn’t think that Ren is a good king, but at least he’s living on a peaceful server and has a lot of friends (while RK has only enemies and dead allies). so, he distances himself from Martyn, because he thinks it would be the best for his Hand. (at some point they have a conflict about it, but maybe i’ll elaborate on this in another post, because this one is getting long already. let me know if you’re interested i guess?)

RK and Ren. they’ve seen some pieces of each others’ lives in their dreams. things are VERY tense between these two at the start of an au. Red King despises Ren and think that he’s an unworthy ruler. secretly, RK’s also envious of Ren’s peaceful life and doesn’t know what to do with this feeling. meanwhile, Ren is a little bit scared of his alter version. but they grow closer to each other after RK and Martyn have a fight (again. i’ll need a whole another post for this)

Ren and Martyn. as i’ve already said, Ren and RK have seen bits of each other lives in dreams. therefore, Ren has seen Martyn in his dreams before. the most vivid dream was Martyn promising to “go through as many crits as he can” and then taking three painful swings of axe to kill him. so. Ren is wary of Martyn even tho he seems cool. at the same time, Martyn is very curious to get to know this version of his king better. he likes to spend time with Ren. eventually, Ren warms up to Martyn.

Doc and RK. oh, these are fun. their first meeting was literally RK attacking Doc. so, they start with some sort of rivalry. but in the end they both have a lot of fun with it. RK can blow off steam and his pent-up blood thirst with Doc. plus, he respects Doc as a worthy adversary. Doc was irritated with him at first, but now he enjoys thinking of new ways to counter RK’s attacks. though RK’s red life morality kinda unnerves him sometimes. when Doc declares Perimeter’s independence, RK supports him.

Doc and Martyn. probably the most chill guys here, they’re on a good terms. RK told Doc a lot about Martyn, so Doc thinks Martyn is a nice guy, even tho Martyn likes to mess with Doc every now and then. and Martyn heard a lot about Doc from Ren. he’s extremely curious to find out why he and Ren fell apart. these two also grew closer after rk-martyn argument.

so, even tho these four definitely have some troubles at the start, with some time they get to know each other better and overcome their problems and end up in a weird and funny polycule.

if you have questions or just want to talk about cq!au, my askbox and dms are open!

i actually have more bits about cq!au scattered in my friends’ dms lmao, so i think i might post some of them later too. i also drew some stuff for this au but idk. don’t really like these scribbles.

[afterbirdlow]

AFTERGLOW: CHAPTER 3, A LONG WAYS TO GO

Step step step step step step step step. How long had they all been walking? ...And how long had it been since someone said anything?

- U-Um! H-How long until we get to the n-next village? Isa? Madame? – Young Mirabelle speaks up, she knows full well they’re about 2 days until they get to their current destination, Nid de Pivert, but she simply needed to nip this quiet in the bud, nature is beautiful and the forest smells are great but she can’t help but feel a horrible tension when ABSOLUTELY NO ONE has been saying anything at all for Change knows how long.

- Oh um, more or less 2 days? At least at our current pace, we could run but... I dunno, I like this pace! Very relaxing! – Isabeau replies as the same time he is stretching his back.

- I concur, it’s nice I finally can just walk peacefully without constantly trying to catch up with all of you. – The amount relief on Odile’s voice! It’s just starting to click in Mirabelle’s head just how much effort she put into just moving at the same pace as everyone. – I don’t plan on rushing for even one more second.

- You’re so slow Dile! Uuuuuuuuuuuuuugh! You’re like if a slug was human and didn’t know how to use its legs yet! – Bonnie protests as they jump around Madame Odile. She snickers lightly, it is kind of a funny visual.

- Too bad young one, it seems you’re stuck walking at normal people speeds for the time being.

- My sister is gonna be waiting sooooooooooooooo long for us to get to her!!! She’ll be your age when we arrive! This is stupid!!!

- She’ll be in her prime just like me then.

- Nah, she won’t be nearly as... sluggish. – Funny Jokesperson at it again from the back, terrible. Mirabelle sees Odile do the most annoyed eyeroll she’s ever seen a person be able to muster.

- Boniface, remind me to stock up on croissants and potatoes when we get to Nid de Pivert.

- Frin you crab! I’m not feeding you anything but grubby worms!!! And croissants! I’ll fill the croissants with grubby worms!!!

- Aww, just for me?

- Just for you.

- Gotta say, you always prepare the best grub Bonbon.

- HAHAHA!!!!!! YES!!!!!! – Isabeau’s uproarious laugh scares off some birds chirping atop the trees as Bonnie continues to curse out Siffrin.

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

The next part of AFTERGLOW is up now!

You can read it in full here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55564648/chapters/141540217

Or start fron the prologue here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55564648/chapters/141022909

[angels--trumpet]

Milky Comfort

Hi, another goopy handful of wiggly worms for you 🫵 my followers

Cw: 2714, lactation, A/O/B

Not as NSFW as you proably think it's gonna be

Yuji also was a bit of a rebellious kid, well not rebellious he wasn't doing any of this to get under people's skin he just did whatever his curiosity took him, and if that led him into abandoned buildings with friends, Bullies that need a good knock on the skull to get there shit together, or in a bar/club/parlor that he really wasn't old enough to get into, then yeah.

Yuji was one of those omegas that could lactate without pregnancy, it was a bit embarrassing, honestly, so he always ended up just using loose hoodies and clothing for the max amount of comfort. In case he starts dripping and all that 

He was just curious and having fun.

The fun of going out like this was always because of the possibility of getting caught, but it wasn't like he actually wanted to be caught! 

So on one of the many nights, he was out with a random group of classmates from his 3rd hour class, they get caught, all of them leaving yuji behind. Now usally Yuji would have cleared the distance of a football field in under a minute, but at the current moment, his chest decided its a great time to leak causing a sudden pain to spike on his sensitive chest and forcing him to try and hide among the crowd of customers.

The man in front of Yuji turned around enough to look at him, elbow resting on the counter edge and chin in hand with a smug little smirk on his face.

In his rush to hide away, he decided to sit right behind the biggest man he's ever seen using his body like a shield to hide himself while the security chaced after the teenagers that ran outside leaving the parlor with chuckling patrons that soon ebbed away.

He wore a blindfold made from bandages, but it felt like the man could see Yuji anyway.

It's creepy but also kinda cool? 

"Let me feed off you and I won't tell anyone you were a bad boy today"

Maybe he should of just let himself get caught but honestly curiosity got the best of him so that's how he ended up here.

He should be scared, but honestly, he wasn't all that afraid of the guy. Even if he was freaky tall and freaky muscular for a dude that was supposed to look like slender man.

In a hotel room far away from the smoke and flowing booze with a man whose arms felt a LOT thicker and stronger than how they looked wrapped around his waist And a warm tongue lapping away at his nipple easing the milk out gently before he started really feeding. And feed he did easing the presure in Yuji chest within an hour, honestly, it was nice and Yuji couldn't help the purr that eased out of him and got an answering muffled rumbling Purr in response back. When Yuji left that night he was left with the memory of how nice it was to do that but pushed it in the back of his head for later. Then he meets the guy again, almost like he was looking for yuji standing at his door while his grandfather was out.

So Yuji let's him in and let's him feed again since Yuji makes a bit too much milk and it honestly hurts if he doesn't get rid of it somehow so why not let some random guy drink it instead of letting it go to waste? 

And that's how he got to know Gojo.

But there was something bothering Gojo, Yuji can feel it like he had a dark cloud over his head that he hides with a big goofy smile.

The man was kind of weird and had a bit of an edge to him like he was covering something up but he was fun to be around and paid Yuji good money to let him drink off him so Yuji didn't push to ask.

Body curled on his side, pressed tight around Yuji like he was a comfort he couldn't live without, lips wrapped around his nipple tight to not let a single drop go to waste nosing up into the soft breast with a nearly slacked face.

It shows whenever he feeds though.

Tension all gone just a softness that doesn't show when Gojo isn't feeding.

Yuji was confused but never pushed. 

It's a shame cause the guy was seriously pretty. Yuji had no idea what type Gojo was, there was just no scent what so ever coming off the man and it didn't look like he wore scent blockers from the times Yuji snuck a peak under his collar and sleeves. Maybe he just never got a designation? It's not impossible, just super rare. Then again the man can purr so maybe he was an omega with no scent? 

Gojo became very generous when his grandfather got sick, leaving an extra tip, sending over food, telling Yuij to eat more fruits to improve the sweetness of the milk, even sending him gifts.

He spent an entire year doing this with Gojo, it was good money like a part-time job except the pay was over what the manager got at any retail store.

Like a courting alpha.

Yuji rolled with it, he enjoyed the mans company he even liked there little dates and meet ups, he especially loved feeding days because it eassed the pressure in his chest and he got to have someone physically close in such a domestic position it soothed his inner omega to do it.

When Grandfather passes away Yuji wasnt alone when it happens. Gojo is right beside him, pulling Yuji close and letting him cry even if he knows his grandfather would yell at him for it. A little cry won't hurt, just a minute.

They are found like that by Megumi, Gojo's student who demands something from him and tells Yuji his friends will parish if he because of it.

And for the first time ever he smells Gojo, such a nice scent that he cuddles up close nose pressed right into the mans chest to take in the scent, an alpha after all.

Yuji, of course, tries to lead the way, but gojo just takes over, grabbing Megumi arm and warping them right to Yujis school. No time to gasp at how cool it is because Gojo and Megumi are gone again.

Yuji accepts, feeling like he already bonded too much with Gojo now to let him disappear.

In the end, the thing they searched for was retrieved and Megumi and his friends were only mildly injured. Since seeing this happen and the situation with his grandfather leaving him all alone Gojo decides to ask Yuji if he would like to come with him.

Now attending a new school and visiting Gojo and his students to drop off lunches and treats for their hard work, they risk their lives every day after all, it was the least Yuji could do and for Gojo he gets a special treat just for him.

Extra bits!

They do get married a few years later and Yuji is seen as bumpkin by the higher-ups and the Gojo clan, but he's an omega and can give Gojo a heir so they don't say it to his face mainly because Gojo looks at them a bit scary when they say anything at all like that

Yuji ends up living with Gojo and becoming his omega once he graduates

Yuji still becomes good friends with Megumi and Nobara and sometimes helps them because of his crazy strength. He thinks about joining them, but Gojo puts a very hard no to it.

Yuji works in medical with Shoko :>

[protags-fic-blog]

Brothers Conflict - Tired of Waiting

Featuring art from @nicoruusplayland! Give them a follow!

Ukyo held the door open for her, offering his hand as she stepped out of the car.

She looked up at the tall building, excited for what may come. She remembered this restaurant fondly. This was where they went for their first date. The height of the building gave a nice view of Tokyo’s streets, but she knew her eyes would be on him.

Ukyo grabbed her hand, guiding her up to the elevator. She focused on the ground, careful not to trip over her own feet, and waited patiently as the elevator approached the upper floors.

“Good evening. We’re here for a reservation under Asahina,” Ukyo said, giving a small smile to the host. The host nodded, looked down at something hidden behind the desk, then nodded again. “Right this way,” he said, taking striding steps up the stairs.

Ukyo wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her steady as she slowly ascended the stairs. “This is different from where we sat last time, no?” she asked, trying to create idle chat.

He nodded as he helped her up the last stair. “I wanted somewhere a little more private. Somewhere no one would bother us.”

She stood, quietly taking in the luxurious dining room. There was a massive chandelier that must have weighed more than the both of them combined. It threw warm light across the walls, which only served to draw her attention to the sheen of the red velvet drapes that hung over the floor to ceiling windows.

She looked down, embarrassed that she was so shocked at the elegance, only to find that her dress was shimmering with each step she took. Maybe Fuuto was in on the date—picking out something like this would need some forethought.

Ukyo followed the host to the table, thanked him, and pulled out Ema’s chair. She flushed, giving him a mumbled ‘thank you’, before taking her seat. She watched Ukyo take his, then picked up the menu that was placed on the table. The amount of options was, like before, overwhelming. She didn’t even know what escargot was, and at this point was a little scared to ask.

“Shall we start with a drink?” he asked, looking at her from behind the menu. She frantically flipped to the page with the drinks, only to find it was painfully confusing.

Ukyo noticed, clearly, and smiled. “Don’t worry about it now. We should wait until we know what we’re eating first,” he said, slightly soothing her worries.

She smiled back, and turned back to looking through the entrees. Most of them sounded amazing, but she wasn’t exactly sure how much she was allowed to spend. After all, he had already paid for a lot so far. If she could just gauge the price, it would be much easier.

“What are you-” He cut her off with a small wave of the hand. “You don’t need to worry about the price. Order what sounds best to you.”

She made a small sound of shock, but tried to pretend she wasn’t surprised. It made sense that he would take her somewhere nice and be ready to spend. She was just overthinking things.

The waiter walked up to the table. She heard Ukyo ask for steak and lobster. The waiter looked at her, and she felt shy. “I think I’ll have the swordfish,” she said, handing the menu to the waiter.

There was a moment of silence after the waiter left. The tension was obvious. Each of them wanted to talk, but neither knew how to start. She turned away to stare out the large windows. They were so close to the sky, right between the stars and the city.

She turned away from the window, watching Ukyo, but she was embarrassed to find him watching her instead. “The view is really nice,” she started, scanning the restaurant for any sign of their waiter. “I’m glad you enjoy it. It is a nice view,” he said, but he didn’t so much as glance away from her.

“Ema?” She looked up at him, giving him her full attention. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

She was silent for a moment. The waiter stopped by, a bright smile on his face as he refilled the drinks of water. “Any other drinks tonight?” he asked. Ukyo slightly frowned, then put on his professional face to talk to the waiter. “I think we’ll each have a glass of Pinot Noir, please.”

The waiter nodded. “Two glasses of Pinot Noir. Would you like that now, or served with your meal?” he asked. It was clear that Ukyo was a bit annoyed—perhaps he wanted to be left alone. “With the meal, thank you,” he said, ending the conversation.

He shook his head as the waiter left. “Oh, it’s alright. We’ll have plenty of alone time later tonight,” she said, giving him a small smile.

He nodded, but he let out a small sigh. “I would’ve picked a different restaurant if I knew the waiters here were just as annoying as our brothers,” he remarked.

“Not nearly as annoying. Remember when Wataru brought home that cat? The living room was covered in cat hair for months, even after we found its owner,” she laughed. “Oh, I wish I could forget. I’m still finding hair in my nice suits,” he said.

“They have their perks, I suppose. Fuuto helped pick this dress,” she started. She saw a hint of jealousy in his eyes, and was quick to backpedal. “Hey, I didn’t even know where we were going. Better to have someone in on it than spoil the surprise, no?” she teased.

Ukyo relented, finally giving a real smile. “I suppose it’s good that you’re dressed for the occasion. I just wish it could’ve been me, that’s all.”

“Me too,” she laughed.

He cleared his throat for a moment. “Speaking of that…”

“Steak and lobster and the swordfish,” the waiter interrupted, setting the plates on the table in front of them. “And your wine,” he continued, placing the glasses on the table. He took the bottle from the tray and poured wine into each of them. “Enjoy your meal,” he said, swiftly leaving.

She cautiously took a bite, waiting to see if Ukyo liked his steak. “Regards to the chef. Both are very well done. Ema, would you like some?” he asked, already cutting her a bite of both. “How do I eat it? Together?” she asked. He laughed quietly. “First the steak, then the lobster,” he instructed.

“Oh!” she squeaked. “That’s really good! The flavors are so different… But they go together really well. Do you want to try some of mine? It might not be as exciting, but I think it’s well seasoned. There’s some rosemary in there, I can tell,” she said, cutting a bite for him.

Passing him the fork, she waited for his judgment. “Your knowledge on spices has markedly improved since the last time we visited.”

She blushed, proud of her hard studying. She wanted to be able to enjoy any dish Ukyo cooked for her to the same extent that he could. Even if she wasn’t nearly as close, she was excited.

A long amount of small talk later, the meal was finished, and the check was paid. She smiled as he offered his hand to her, and pushed in her chair. “You seemed to enjoy the view. If you’ll humor me, I’d like to show you it again,” he said, guiding her to an elevator.

It was shimmery and new. There was no distinct smell of metal, only the soft perfume of flowers. There was no rough shake when it started to move, nor when it stopped. She glanced at Ukyo, but he was focused on something else, hands in his pockets.

The door opened to another door. Ukyo pushed it open for her, and she gasped. Stepping out onto the rooftop, the wind whipped at her hair and dress, but she couldn’t care less. The sky was black, but the stars glistened, each a small ray of sunlight poking through darkness. She felt as if they were just out of her grasp, if she was just a little higher, she could hold them in her hand. She traced a few constellations with her eyes, then looked to Ukyo.

“Ema. I think, finally, we can be alone,” he said, taking her hands in his. “I’m glad. It’s not every day that we can,” she said.

“I love you. And I’m tired of waiting.”

She was frozen with anticipation. Was this what he wanted to talk about? Probably. But was it what she wanted to hear? All he had to do was say it. All she had to do was say yes.

“It’s difficult to explain how you make me feel. You’re special to me in so many ways—I don’t know how you view yourself, but I know how I see you. You’re everything to me. You’re the one thing I would never give up. Never for my work, and never for my family. Never. And I’m tired of waiting. I thought I was a patient man, but I can’t wait any longer to call you my wife. Please, Ema,” he paused, lowering to one knee.

“Will you marry me?”

She pulled her hands as she gasped, staring at the ring he offered her. There was one next to it in the box, not as sparkly. She nodded as she watched him slip it over her finger, her mind filling with the image of her as his bride and her heart filling with love, and pulled the other from the box. “I’m tired of waiting too,” she said, slipping his ring onto the matching finger. Lacing her fingers in between his, she bent down to hold him. He wrapped his arms around her, and allowed her to bury herself in his warmth. “I love you, Ukyo.”

~~~

She leaned back, slumping into the chair. “Imai, are you done yet?” she asked. “Hold still and maybe I will be!” Imai chastised, switching brushes yet again.

“Okay…” she paused, fanning her hands over Ema’s face, then stood up. “You’re done!”

Ema opened her eyes, staring at herself in the mirror. She almost didn’t recognize herself. She looked so mature, yet so innocent. She felt silly seeing such a canvas on her. “It’ll look better when your hair is done. Don’t get self conscious on me now, Hina.”

Ema smiled. “No, it’s pretty. Don’t worry,” she told Imai, smiling at her in the mirror. Imai nodded slowly, skeptical of her answer, but seemed satisfied. “I’ll go get Louis, then. Stay put.”

The door opened again, and she watched Louis from the mirror shut the door behind him. “Ema… You already look so beautiful.”

She gave him a playful frown. “Quit flattering me. I don’t even have my dress on.”

He shook his head, but didn’t press more. He placed one hand on her shoulder as he carefully unwound the horrible bun that Imai had put her hair in.

He grabbed the brush that Ema had supplied him, and carefully began to brush from the bottom. She continued to watch him in the mirror. He was so meticulous about it.

“You’re scared.”

She was caught off guard, spinning around in her chair. The brush pulled through a difficult knot, and she hissed in pain. “Be careful, you’ll just hurt yourself more,” he warned.

Her eyebrows furrowed. “I’m not scared. Why would I be scared? You can’t just say-”

The look on his face made her stop. “You don’t think you’re worth it.”

Her mouth opened for a rebuttal, but it didn’t come. Louis was right. She was scared that she wasn’t enough. He was a lawyer, a responsible man with a respectable career, and he was a gracious older brother. She was just some girl. Just Ema.

Louis was blotting her face with one hand, the other placed atop her head, gently stroking her hair. “You’re worth it. You’re warm, even when others are cold. You’re strong, and resilient. You survived all 13 of us for long enough. Consider us your final test, and you passed it with flying colors,” he said, gently curling a lock of her hair around his finger.

There was a moment of silence before she broke out in to a wail. “I can’t hurt them like this!” she cried. Louis took an involuntary step back, surprised by the outburst. He couldn’t deny that some of them would be hurt, especially the more gentle ones. But that wasn’t what mattered now.

“We stepped down, remember? We stepped down because we wanted you to be happiest. Maybe it does hurt… But we made our choice, and we’re happy because you’re happy,” he told her, wrapping his arms around her.

She looked up, trying to give a small smile. “You finish crying… And I’ll do your hair. I’ll call in Mahoko when we’re both done. Just remember how happy we are,” he smiled, reaching for the curling iron.

She eventually stopped, carefully blotting to smear as little of the makeup as possible. She glanced up, and caught a glimpse of her reflection. Every curl was perfect. He watched her examine herself in the mirror, and smiled. He patted her once on the shoulder, then left.

He was quick to return, this time with someone else. “Mahoko was busy getting ready… I brought the second best option.”

Hikaru stood next to him, a hand resting on his hip. “Sheesh. You look awful,” he muttered, raising a hand to his chin. He took an intimidating step toward her, flashing that devilish smile. “We can fix this. Close your eyes, relax, and we’ll get you set.”

There was mumbling, and she felt her skin pulled every which way. But finally, he finished. The look was much simpler than before… But she would be lying if she said she wasn’t happy about that. It felt more natural, less heavy. It looked more like her.

“You’re still a little swollen around the eyes. So just be careful and try not to rub them. It’ll make it worse,” he instructed, straightening his back.

She was left alone, but only for a minute. A soft knock on the door signaled that the wedding was close. Miwa quickly entered, and pulled Ema from her chair. “Come on now, sweetie, we’ve gotta get you in that dress. Just put your shoes on and stand still,” Miwa said, rushing around the room. She grabbed the wide petticoat, and placed it on the ground for Ema to step in to, then pushed a stool closer to her.

“Oh, wait,” she said, turning around to grab something. “Something old. It’s the garter I wore when I married Rintarou. Now you’ve got one for each leg! Whichever one you want to toss, it’s up to you, but I want you to wear it as a sign of love. It’s what brought us all together, right?” she said, her voice slightly quivering.

Ema gave a soft smile, taking it delicately from her hands and slipping it up her leg. “It’s perfect,” she said with a small smile, admiring the lace.

Bunching the dress up as delicately as she could, she stood above Ema. “Arms up,” she commanded, before dropping the dress over her. Before Ema could even ask how late they were running, Miwa had finished fixing the lower half and now stood behind her.

She took a deep breath in as Miwa pulled the zipper up, and pulled the front of her dress up to prevent any accidents. Taking a step back, she smiled. “You always look so beautiful,” she said, her sweet, maternal warmth serving to calm Ema’s nerves.

Miwa stood there in silence, admiring Ema. There was a hint of a sniffle, and it’s clear she wanted to hug Ema, but she didn’t want to mess up the bride.

“There are a few gifts prepared for before the wedding. Do you want to go see them?” Miwa asked, holding the door open.

Nodding, Ema followed after her into the larger room. There they stood, watching. A few of them stepped forward. “Something new,” Kaname stepped forward, moving her hair to the side as he clipped an elegant gold necklace around her neck.

“Something borrowed,” Hikaru said, stepping forward with pink sapphire earrings, fixing them in her ears.

“Outside is your ‘something blue’,” Masaomi said.

“And your bouquet, too,” Iori said, offering her the large amount of flowers.

She smiled at her family, happy to have them all here. “Okay, well, I think the wedding is starting soon, so get ready for the processional,” Miwa said, patting Wataru’s head.

Miwa ushered for them to follow, organizing them into a perfect line and walking them out to the start of the aisle, when he saw her. They met eyes for a moment, and both broke into a smile. “Dad!” Ema called, rushing over to give a hug. “I’m so glad you could make it,” she said, shifting to hold her bouquet in the crook of her arm so she could hold his hands.

He laughed a little. “Ema, I wouldn’t miss this day for the world. Are you ready?” he asked, shifting to offer his arm. She smiled, and took it. “I am.”

Deep breath in… Deep breath out.

Around the corner, the doors opened, flooding the building with light. She blinked a few times before her eyes adjusted, and glanced to her father. He nodded, and walked forward. Stepping in the brilliant light of the sun, she looked up, wondering if the world was smiling upon them, before letting her gaze fall on to the people gathered. Friends and family, all smiling at her, all watching her.

Then her eyes shifted to him. He was waiting for her. She was ready to run in to his arms.

She had to keep a steady pace, doing her best to match her father’s, and she gave him a hug, but when he released her to go to the altar, she nearly ran.

The officiant said a few words, but she couldn’t focus on anything but Ukyo. He cleared his throat, and looked away for a moment as he gathered his strength. “Ema…” he started.

“You have taught me what it is like to love someone so pure, so kind. You have taught me what it is like to enjoy the world as it comes, to smile even when things are difficult, to love, even if it hurts. It never hurts to love you. It will never hurt to love you, ever. And I’m going to love you forever. Death will never break the bond we share. I love you, Ema,” he said, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face.

“Ukyo… It’s difficult to say what you’ve taught me. You’ve opened my eyes to all the wonders of the world, and taught me how to live life happily. You’ve shown me just how amazing life can be with you—I can’t imagine denying myself the happiness of being with you forever. So forever it is. I will wake every morning to see you, prepare every meal with hopes of sharing it with you, and cherish every moment. I love you, Ukyo!” she exclaimed, squeezing his hands.

She grabbed his ring from the small pillow and excitedly put it on his hand, watching with anticipation as he pushed her new wedding band onto her hand. “I now pronounce you husband,” the officiant paused to motion to Ukyo, “and wife,” he finished, gesturing to her. “You may-”

The world was their own. His hands rested under her back, dipping her backwards as he kissed her. Shivers ran through every part of her body, the magic of the moment coursing through every vein. She wanted this moment to last forever… but she knew that there would be many more of these moments to come. He finally broke away, staring in to her eyes with an intense lust, but didn’t go back for seconds.

He set her back on her feet, and she linked arms with him, took her bouquet from Imai, and ran down the aisle, running to their new life.

[ridiculouslly-ridiculous]

Currently thinking about having an arranged marriage with Leon 😮‍💨

Leon Dompteur x Princess!Reader

Just imagine you were a princess of one of the boarding nations around Rhodolite, and in order to establish peace (or some other reason) you have an arranged marriage to Leon.

You’re very much the beauty of Jade/Benitoite/Obsidian and very much fawned over. You, my love, are a goddess among royalty.

I can see Leon having a very civilized approach to your marriage. He’ll be nice, give you a respectable amount of distance, and make conversation over tea. Leon would definitely not ignore you. He would always try his best to have his meals with you.

As time goes on, you definitely become closer and actually become good friends, and no longer have that awkward tension between the two of you. The two of you actually start to fall in love with one another, but are scared to act on those feelings.

He becomes worried when the pressure from the court comes about producing heirs. He is definitely nervous about bringing the subject up to you, this man fought in blood stained rose day but is scared to bring up the subject of a child up to his wife! He fights them off for as long as he can.

But it’s one day that your average group of assassins come into the Rhodolite palace. You were minding your own business in the palace, when you come face to face with one of them.

Thankfully your older brother gave you same self defense tips before you left home. You manage to take down your assailant and you come of of it with just a few scratches. When you’re getting inspected by the palace physician, your husband busts into the room, nearly taking the door off its hinges.

Caught up in his emotions, he can’t help but to cup your face and kiss you. Sure, the two of you shared a kiss on your wedding day, and kiss every so often to play the parts of husband and wife, but this one was different. This one was out of love, not necessity.

Soon the physician finishes up examining you, leaving you and your husband alone to discuss your feelings and how to move forward.

Nothing really changes in your daily routine, the only difference is that your love is no longer just for show, it was the real deal.

It doesn’t take too much longer for the Royal court to stop harassing your husband about producing heirs 👀

Sorry if this doesn’t make sense. It’s like 5 am when I’m posting. But this Leon arranged marriage brain rot was too stronk. I will maybe come back to improve/edit once I’m not running off of fumes!

[wirewitchviolet]

The Trouble With Dying in Horror Games

So as you could probably guess after posting a week ago that I'd just played most of the way through SOMA and planned to finish it today, I just did so. It's an excellent game, I'd highly recommend it, and I'd particularly like to sing its praises for mostly delivering on the horror end by throwing a lot of heady philosophical questions at you while forcing you to actually pay attention to everything going on, because you absolutely are not given any sort of map, compass, or current objective tracker. The one aspect of it that didn't so much click for me though was the monsters, and I'd like to share some thoughts on why, and how this is honestly one of the trickiest needles to thread in game design.

So the thing about horror games is that you want the player to feel, if not actually scared, a certain amount of tension, unease, disquiet, dread, etc. You don't want to keep that feeling mounting for the entirety of the game of course, you want to build build build build but then and release now and then, give a breather, and start building it up again. And while there ARE other ways of doing that (and again, the game that got me thinking about this is pretty good at making you stress over, frankly, roleplaying decisions), the most obvious and probably the most effective is making the player stress out over some sort of fail state, or as we call it in game design circles, death.

Problem is, dying releases tension.

This applies to any game really. When things are getting rough and it seems like you're about to die, yeah that's some great heart pounding high tension stuff, but then you miss that timer or take that hit or flub that dropped block or whatever and you're snapped back to the reality that oh right, this is just a game, and now you just have to try what you were doing again. And that's nice in a lot of situations, but in a horror game it's pretty much always going to throw things off because there is, again, this very particular sort of timing you want in the building and release and that early release can really screw with it. And generally, because really this is just how games work, you need to decide how far you want to roll the player's progress back to get back into that right rhythm.

Now personally, I'm a big fan of the golden age of horror games. Stuff from the earliest disc based systems, where not only are save points few and far between, but there's limitations on how many times you can save your game at all. Death had a hell of a lot more sting to it as a threat with games like that, and it also played super well with the first couple Resident Evil games and the way they make you sweat over all your resources in the long term by slow-drip-feeding you ammo and healing items into your very limited inventory. Now the downside to this of course is that you WILL, in all likelihood, die at some point where you have gone Some Time without saving, and while that leaves a good runway to reestablish the tension it's also, you know, super frustrating and you'll maybe want to step away from the game for a while to cool off.

Modern games though, with few exceptions, do not do save points anymore. They have fallen completely out of fashion, and the modern expectation is that every game will constantly be autosaving at very closely packed checkpoints, which is generally considered an evolution of the kindness of letting you save anywhere at any time, probably with zippy quick-save and quick-load buttons, which have kind of been back-ported to older games thanks to emulation and... honestly personally I hate this and that's a rant for another time, but I acknowledge that I am in the minority there. HOWEVER, this still really sucks for horror because we now have the tension break of death, with little to no sting following it, and we're then right back where we were, with no time for the tension to remount at all, and then whatever you died to is just an annoyance, especially if it happens again.

Now, SOMA is as much of a modern horror game as you can get. Like, you tell me something is a "modern horror" game, I'm immediately going to picture something with more or less this gameplay and frankly, something from this developer or someone trying to be like them, and sure enough, if you die you lose absolutely no progress at all. The checkpointing is so generous I swear I've actually MADE progress when dying, and it really hurts the ability for deadly things (by which I pretty much just mean monsters) to have the sort of impact they need. Which is a shame, because these are some pretty neat monsters! Every new one you encounter has a very distinct look and, in theory, a different rule you need to work out in order to avoid being killed. Here's one you need to keep from seeing you, one you need to avoid looking at, one you can't break eye contact with, one that won't kill you if you're perfectly still, etc. And that's neat.

But... I say "in theory" because I absolutely DID get through the game without figuring out the deal with half of them. Either I just booked it before they could reach me (which is great, actually, that keeps the tension if it feels like you're just barely staying ahead) or I just... ate the deaths which didn't even change my position but kicked the monster further down the hall. Which... yeah, nobody's happy with that.

Now, here I should point out that in this particular game this really isn't much of a problem at all because SOMA has like... 8 monsters total, give or take? It has much more cerebral ways to get under your skin, to the point where a lot of people say it'd be better not having monsters at all (and there's even an option to play it that way). I disagree though. They're fun designs, they have interesting patterns, and from both a perspective of story pacing and world building, it's quite important that we at least occasionally have some twisted monstrosities that may once have been human shuffling about in a menacing fashion. We just don't want the tension totally destroyed when they succeed in that menacing.

So how could we fix that? Well my go-to answer is "quit doing constant checkpointing, make me lose real progress so the stakes feel high and I'm really incentivized to work out the safe way past," and for a LOT of games, yeah, just do that. Here though, it's tricky, because a big part of why this game works as well as it does is that it's a bit mazey in its design with zero handholding, it doesn't have you collecting stuff, and aside from some chasey bits which are, again, great, there's no combat or action scenes really. You spend a lot of time stumbling around clueless and confused, picking up cool bits of world-building lore and familiarizing yourself with your surroundings enough to properly orient yourself and work out the path forward. If you die in the middle of that and get sent way back to the start of the area, you're not going to retrace those steps. You've seen those files you've worked out that mental map, you're going to get right back to where you were now, but now that monster is an annoyance not a threat.

So OK, if we can't restore tension after a death without sacrificing good stuff, what if we just avoid dying in the first place? I mean, that IS the ideal, really. You want to constantly be worried you're about to die, and then never have it happen. Tension builds constantly and only gets released when the designers want it released. This is tricky to accomplish though. You can literally just not put anything in that's actually going to lead to a death. Monsters that come charging and screaming up corridors but never reach you because a door slams shut or a walkway collapses or whatever, but that's a huge gamble because if the player notices even once that they weren't really in any danger, they now know death isn't a thing in this game, and the threat of it can no longer establish tension. The more fake-outs you do, the more likely they are to see behind that curtain.

OK, so, how about the monsters DO have the ability to kill you, but they rarely if ever will if you approach them smartly? This could work. Again, in our case in point, there's some trick to every monster, and if you know the trick, and can execute it, you're safe from that monster. It's still tense if there's some chance you might not use the survival strategy properly, we can still ratchet things up in a hurry by taking away the means to do what you need to at the climax of a given monster encounter, so things are still plenty tense, but the player has to be fairly incompetent to get killed, and hopefully they'll learn from it for the next attempt but be iffy on that. I do feel like this would work for SOMA and going in with outside knowledge of what does/doesn't cause each given thing in the game to come charging at you so that death is possible but rare would be ideal, BUT again the whole nature of this particular game not holding your hand and rewarding thorough exploration only with more details about exactly what the heck is going on and really pushing for isolation eliminates the easiest ways to clue that in-game. Unless of course it was dropping hints with the whole corpse black box recording deal and I was just too personally distracted to pick up on it. Again though, I'm just using this game as an example to discuss this in the abstract.

How about this though? What if we took dying to the same thing twice out of the equation? If this particular monster in this particular hallway kills you, you return to the last checkpoint, but when you get back to that hallway, the monster isn't there anymore. There's a risk of players treating this as an alternate solution to the problem of dealing with monsters and just face-tanking through the whole game, but you could mess with people's heads with it. If that monster isn't here, then where is it? Why isn't it here? Do we have diegetic respawns? Is the monster not here because it's off eating the corpse of the previous version of me? This feels like it's worth exploring.

Here's another one for you. Have softer fail states. SOMA actually does a bit of this in fact. When you die, sure, you get back up pretty much where you were standing, and it almost or literally does feel like monsters aren't so much trying to kill you as just giving you a big ol' bonk on the head as they pass, but it screws with your vision, and sometimes your ability to walk straight. I'm not going to lose progress from a death, but I am going to have a bad time if I get caught. That can work really well, and hell, in SOMA I took a lot of hits where I'm actually unclear if I just screwed up and got knocked out, or if we were just punctuating the end of a scene with me getting taken off guard and cold-cocked in cinematic fashion. There's a lot of ways you can play with this design space too. Maybe you get dragged off somewhere if you get jumped and have to work out where you even are when you wake up. Maybe you drop plot items when you get taken down like this, and have to track those back down when you're back on your feet (just, if you do this, be sure to make it a fail-forward sort of thing where you're just on a different path for a bit and people don't have to just do repetitive runs fishing keycards out of the sewer every time they get smacked by the monster they're stuck on or something).

How about some more variations on this? Every time something should kill you, fate gets altered by the weird artifact you're carrying. Maybe this is just fancy fluff for HP, or it's like the Gamecube Resident Evil Remake's survival items. Maybe sidekicks take the hits for you but then die forever, like Hellnight. Maybe you live but with a permanent injury (this is an idea I personally plan on taking somewhere when I get the time). So long as the player keeps moving forward after, these can all be really impactful partial fail states that don't break tension.

Anyway, this is all just stuff to consider if you ever end up designing a horror game... or just a game in general. But anyway, SOMA's great, definitely worth checking out.

Anyway if you'd like to seem me keep rambling about things, I honestly quite desperately need money to live, my patreon donations fell off a damn cliff this month. And if you want to see me stream more, OK, I'm going to try to make that a regular thing, monday nights, 8 PM.

[donutsupremacy]

No need for strategies

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Warnings

Slight stalking

You have a 3rd wheel

Gorou has muscles

Reader has slightly inappropriate thoughts about said mucles

Awkward first dates

You get headbutted while kissing lol

Mostly fluff

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He was absolutely over the moon when you chose him.

Gorou practically coddled you on the spot as soon as you announced your slightly rushed decision. Nevertheless, you weren't disappointed when you blurted out Gorou's name in a fit of panic, as you admitted; you liked the young half-canine.

Gorou was a very courageous person, who would almost never back down from a fight to defend a friend. Despite his seemingly adorable appearance, he was surprisingly built. Sure, he clearly doesn't look like a bodybuilder who could lift a truck, but his strength shouldn't be underestimated. He's strong enough that as he pulled himself up on a pull-up bar, you could see his biceps flexing.

That was one little secret you would bring to your grave.

Razor and Cyno were more disappointed, but if Gorou can make you happy, then they would have to back down from the competition and admit defeat. After all, your happiness is their top priority.

Tighnari may have made an offhanded comment at your decision, but eventually (and more reluctantly) gave up in the end, as he knew he shouldn't force you to change your mind.

And as soon as the other three left you alone with Gorou, the half-canine immediately began bombarding you with questions regarding your first date. Questions like "Where would you like to go?" "When should the date began?" "Would you like me to pick you up?"

Feeling overwhelmed, you simply told Gorou to slow down and invited him to the nearest coffee shop as a start. You weren't saying it would be the first date, but you thought it might help loosen any tensions between the two of you.

Even for a first date, it would be nice to get to know Gorou, you've rarely got to hang out with him due to your schedules being different.

He stiffened for a second when you asked him to slow down, taking a deep breath when he noticed he was making you uncomfortable with his questions. Eventually, the male agreed without hesitation, his tail unknowingly wagging around in excitement.

You stifled a laugh at how careful he looked, as if he was afraid of scaring you away from him. You gave him a gentle pat on the head, telling him you would meet him at the entrance after you changed your outfit.

Once you finished with your buisness, you rushed out of the building and towards the nearby coffee shop, it was only a 3 minite walk from the campus. You greeted a few familiar faces on the way there, but stopped upon seeing your date frantically typing on his phone, his bsck turned to you.

You grinned mischievously, slowly sneaking up behind the male who was anxiously typing in capital letters. "Boo!" You exclaimed, receiving a very high pitched scream from the male who nearly shoved a fist into your face.

Perhaps you might've exaggerated with the courageous part.

"Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to try and punch you..." The half-canine apologised as he quickly reeled his fist away from your shaky figure, his ears drooping at the sight of your frightened face.

"No, no, it was my fault for scaring you... Don't feel bad." You reassured with a laugh, eyes now darting from his relieved face to his phone. "Are you busy?"

"No!" He practically screamed out, quickly burying his phone in his bag. "I-I mean, not at all! Just... texting a friend!" He laughed awkwardly, you barely got to catch a glimpse of pink on the screen of his phone.

"Ah, I see... Anyways, let's just take a seat out here." You suggested, noticing the amount of students occupying the seats inside, presumably with their dates or doing their assignments.

You dragged Gorou to a nearby empty table, setting your belongings aside before facing the stiff male. "I'm sorry if I was late... my roommate stole some of my things and misplaced them."

"Oh, no, it's alright. I understand... I have a roommate who has a bunch of Onikabutos and he lets them crawl around the dorms everywhere... One of them got into my bed while I was asleep." Gorou shivered at the memory while you chuckled at his misfortune.

You noticed his teal eyes dart behind you, his ears twitching and the corner of his lips twitching downwards before his eyes averted back to you. "Right, is there anything you'd like to eat? O-Or drink? I'll pay for it."

"Gorou, it's fine. I can pay my own share." You insisted, taking out your wallet.

"N-No, no, I insist." He stood up, the chairlegs scratching against the wooden surface of the floor. "I'll helo you order, what would you like?"

After about half a minute of insisting you could pay yourself, you eventually gave up and chose [dessert] and [drink]. It was a great decision, just to see his tail wagging in excitement and stars shining in his eyes. Absolutely adorable.

Right as Gorou rushed into the shop, you heard a silent 'yes!' behind you. You spun around, but saw no one talking to you. All you saw were 2 tables, one with someone burying their face in a book and the other had a couple occupied with chatting.

You turned back around, assuming you heard the 'yes!' from the couple. You gazed at the passersby walking pass you and the coffee shop, an elbow on the table and your cheek resting on your palm.

You're a little envious, to see so many couples acting so lovey-dove with eachother, in public too. You sighed, staring at a florist shop nearby. Someone was loitering outside, holding a bouquet of [flowers] and pacing around nervously.

Until someone exited the shop, still in their uniform while holding a watering can. Their face, upon seeing the person holding the bouquet, went from confusion to shock, before contorting into joy as they gave the person a hug.

You wondered if something like that could happen between you and Gorou...

You shook your head, touching your cheek that grew warm at the thought. "...Maybe." You muttered thoughtfully, you weren't too close with the male, sure, but you always felt attracted to him in several ways.

His looks, his personality, his charm, his quirks... you could go on, honestly. What's there to not like about him?

You even love the way he slowly walked out of the shop, holding your drink and his, shaking like a leaf.

...

"O-Oh! Let me help you with that!" You hurried over to his side and took your drink, allowing him to hold his own more comfortably. The male sighed in relief and thanked you as the both of you sat down from across eachother.

Sipping your drink, you smiled as the loquid kissed the surface if your tongue, a satisfied hum emmiting from your throat. 'This place never disappoints.' You mused to yourself, unaware of Gorou fiddling with the hem of his shirt, his teal eyes focused on something behind you.

"Ah-Ahm... [Name], i'm sorry if this seems random, but is this a-an actual official date b-between us?" Gorou blurted out, his ears drooping low in embarrasment.

You hummed and looked at your drink, the surface showing your puzzled expression. "...Well, i'm not saying it isn't." You chuckled, watching as his tail began to wag in excitement. "If you'd like this to be a date, I don't mind... I kinda like that idea."

"Great!— I-I mean, sure, i'd like that idea too." He laughed, shoulders stiff and cheeks flushed. You were definitely exaggerating on that 'bravest person' part.

"Lovely, this'll be our first date then." You proposed, clasping your hands together and smiling at him. Just looking at you makes him feel calmer, his muscles loosening at the sight of your bright smile.

Thankfully, the date went smoothly, you enjoyed talking to the half-canine who seemed to share quite a handful of interests with you. "Oh! If you'd like, we could go rock climbling together!... O-Or you could just watch me climb if you'd like."

You certainly wouldn't mind that, just to see his muscles flex as he climbed.

For a moment, the male felt worry, wayching as your face bloomed bright red before shaking your head furiously. "I-I-I'd love to join you some time! Haha... Though, maybe not as a second date."

Gorou, though confused at your flustered behaviour, decided to drop the topic. "I see, I wouldn't mind that.... Uh-Uhm, i'd like to show you a magic trick!" He blurted out so suddenly and randomly, it took you a while to register his request.

"Sure, show me what you got!" You encouraged, as soon as the male got up, you noticed his body trembling while making his way behind you.

"J-Just close your eyes. And no peeking!" He instructed, his voice breaking near the end. You stifled your laughter and closed your eyes.

Your smile dropping when you picked up faint murmuring behind you, it didn't take too long for you to realize it didn't belong to Gorou. It sounded feminine.

Before you could open your mouth to question him, something that sounded like paper was slipped in front of you, your eyes instinctively opening to see a bouquet of paper [flowers] being held in front of you. "I-I don't know if you're allergic to pollen or not, but I made some of these for you!" Gorou said, handing you the bouquet of well-made [flowers].

"These look incredible, Gorou! I love them, thank you!" You turned around, flashing him a grateful smile that made his heart skip a beat.

You had completely forgotten about the female's voice, distracted by the gorgeous origami made especially for you. "I didn't know you were into origami, though." You teased, now his smile contorted into panic.

"I just got into it recently!" He blurted out loudly, catching a few confused and startled looks from passersby. He froze, sweating bullets before clearing his throat. "I mean... I wanted to get you [flowers], but I didn't know if you were allergic to pollen or not, so I made these myself...?"

You blinked owlishly, he sounded so... stiff. Almost as if he was reading from a script without practising. "...Anyways, i'm glad you like them! Ahaha..." He awkwardly laughed before taking his seat across you, his teal eyes still wide with panic.

"You didn't have to... but they're absolutely perfect, Gorou." You praised, playing with the [colour] ribbon tied at the bottom of the bouquet to distract yourself from the heat in your cheeks.

Gorou closed his eyes, smiling proudly at himself. "I couldn't resist, for something that shined as bright as gold, I must... uh..." Slowly, you could feel his bright sunshine like aura turn gloomy, the corner of his smug grin trembling downwards.

His ears twitched before drooping low, and his eyes refused to meet yours. "...What?" You asked, he immediately stood up, the chairlegs scratching against the wooden surface of the floor. "I-I'll be right back!"

He laughed sheepishly before rushing into the shop, you stared at the café's entrance, puzzled at his sudden departure. Normally, he could keep his composure under a pressuring situation, it's a surprise to see him this panic-stricken. Perhaps it was becaue of you?

"KOMI! HELP!!"

You nearly jumped out of your skin at the sound of Gorou's voice from behind you, followed by a frightful 'Whoops!'.

It took you a while to realize you heard the half-canine's voice from someone's phone, you were not mistaken.

You turned around, fast as lightning, and saw a pair of familiar wide light indigo eyes staring back at you. Right as those eyes ducked down to hide behind the book, followed by Gorou's voice abruptly stopping—

"...Sangonomiya??"

You grabbed the book and snatched it away from the gloved hands, revealing the pink haired girl who wore a large coat and a hat, it would've been amusing to see her disguising herself like this if you hadn't realized she was talking to your date on her phone.

Her eyes widened in shock, staring at you with panic as he hat fell off in a comedic fashion. "Wha... Sangonomiya? Gorou?? Gorou, are you there?" You asked through her phone, hearing a high pitched 'Uh oh—' before Kokomi quickly hung up the call.

"[N-Name], I can explain!—" Kokomi tried to apologise, but the half-canine bursted through the doors and quickly rushed over to you.

"[Name], please forgive me! Don't bring Kokomi into this!" Gorou got down to his knees, hands clasped together and held over his head as he continued to spew out one apology after another.

You glanced at the amount of people Gorou attracted with his loud pleadings, before sending a confused look to the pink haired girl. "...Gorou? You can calm down now... we really need you to calm down." Kokomi whispered to the male, gently shaking his shoulder.

"Itwastechnicallymyideatobringhe— Eh?" His teal eyes looked over at the small crowd staring at him, a few phones directed at his now embarrassed face. "Ah! Uhm... [N-Name], let's go over there!"

Without telling his friend a single word, Gorou grabbed your wrist and ran away with you in tow. Kokomi, on the other hand, sighed in defeat, before looking over at the crowd who looked back at her. "...What??"

Across the street and back at the campus, the both of you were walking back to the dorms, not a single word exchanged with eachother.

You were too more confused than you were angry, more questions than you had any awnsers to them. 'Why was Sangonomiya there?' 'Has she been with us the entire time?' 'Why was she watching us?' 'Why was Gorou calling her in the middle of the date?'

You swore you had a headache while more questions flooded your head, but those thoughts drowned out when Gorou suddenly held your hand tighter. Your whole face flushed bright red, noticing you've been walking hand-in-hand with eachother the whole way here.

You stopped walking when you arrived at the empty courtyard, which in turn, caused the male to stop as well. His whole body tensed up, and as he was slightly in front of you with your hands still linked, you couldn't see the anxious look in his eyes. "Gorou..."

"I-I'm sorry..." He whispered softly, ears drooping low and eyes closed, as if he was preparing himself to handle your wrath.

Your heart ached at how sad he looked, just like an abandoned puppy. "Gorou, i'm not mad..." You reassured, rubbing your thumb across his hand and offering the most gentle smile you could. "But... i'm just confused. Would you care to explain why Sangonomiya was with us the whole time? And why I was not aware of her but you were?"

He hitched a breath, laughing sheepishly. "...How should I put this?... Iaskedhertohelpmeonthedate." He spoke, a little too fast near the end. Noticing your puzzled expression, the male let out a sigh and rubbed his forearm shyly. "I asked her to help make the date sucessful... I know I shouldn't simply call it a date without asking if it was, but I couldn't help it."

He paused briefly, looking at you for any negative reactions. You nodded, encouraging him to continue. It's cute to see him become so careful when it comes to you, but it hurts more to see that scared look in his eyes as he looked at you.

"I wanted to know how I could be the most perfect lover for you, so... I asked her to be the third wheel. But I didn't want you to feel awkward with her around, so I asked her to wear a disguise so you wouldn't notice her... Aha— I also kind of asked her for help on anything romantic I could do for you. I didn't make those paper flowers, she did. All I knew was what your favorite flowers were... Heh, she even gave me a romantic poem to memorize for you, and I messed up..." He confessed.

You stared at the trimmed grass beneath your feet, taking in everything he told you. When you glanced back up at him, you noticed his apologetic expression, in fact; he was ready for you to reject him.

You left out a sigh, petting his unurprisingly fluffy light brown hair. Your touch caused his ears to perk up, before drooping back down whilst he melted into your touch, tail swaying side to side slowly. "Gorou, i'm not actually as mad as you'd think. Sure, it would've been nice if you told me Sangonomiya would be our third wheel, I don't mind her at all, but next time... please just get my opinion."

"I-I'll keep that in mind, I promise!" He declared, you cooed at how cute he looked when his eyes shined in determination.

"I know you will... besides, you did your best to make our date as romantic as you could, you even remember my favorite flowers... How could I not forgive you?" You chuckled, now moving your hand to squish his blushing cheeks. "You may not be the most perfect boyfriend in the world, but I would absolutely love calling you my boyfriend."

A sense of Déjà vu hit you when he decided to bring you into a bone-crushing hug, spewing out a thousand thank yous for your forgiveness.

You patted his back, thankful that he released you from his loving death grip. "Of course... with the bouquet of paper [flowers], how could I not give you something in return?" You teased, and Gorou instantly knew as his eyes averted to your lips.

You leaned in, but didn't think Gorou would lean in at the same time, much faster than you. As quick as your eyes closed, both of your heads crashed into eachother first before your lips could near, a loud 'Thonk!' followed by pained groans from your throats.

Laughter erupted from yours soon after, before grabbing his chin and gently pulling him into a sweet kiss. Though the pain in your foreheads were tingling and quite troublesome, all you could focus on was the feeling of his lips on yours as all he could think about was finally claiming you as his.

...

...

...

'Vrrrrr'

"Eh?" Gorou quickly fished his phone out, nearly dropping it to the ground. Without looking at the caller ID, the male pressed the accept call button without a second thought.

"Hey, Gorou?... You and [Name] left your stuff here... Actually, can you guys come back to the coffee shop? I didn't bring my purse since I don't need a drink... and you guys haven't paid yours yet."

"Oh." "Right, on our way... sorry, Sangonomiya..."

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A/N: ehe i got sick lol

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What if...

You chose someone else?