#Some of these are insane. Like okay you like him we got it man
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pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader
word count: 11.7k words
summary:Â in which you and steve have the brilliant (and slightly insane) idea to try to get your bosses to date because maybe itâll make your jobs and lives easierÂ
warnings:Â modern!au, explicit language, one too many clueless references, drinking/alcohol mentions (drunk!reader and drunk!steve moment toward the end)
note: i didnât expect this to become as long as it did but here we are now<3 set it up nation please rise! this is very much inspired by that movie (that is in fact one of my favorites) and i was rewatching it a few months ago and it made me want to do something similar-ish. enjoy<333
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UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: i bet you ten bucks my night is going worse than yoursÂ
YOU: thatâs definitely impossible so i will happily take that bet and your moneyÂ
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: remember how iâve been doing toddâs sonâs science project for the past week?
YOU: yeah because the kid sucks at science
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: i finally finished it and gave it to todd today. he hated it and ripped it to shreds right in front of my face (i kinda blame this dumbass juice diet heâs on for him being much more of an asshole than usual). anyway, now iâm gonna have to spend all night doing a new projectÂ
YOU: holy fuck
YOU: you win
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: i would like cash pleaseÂ
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: what bullshit are you being subjected to right now?Â
YOU: at 8 kristen said she didnât want dinner because she wasnât going to be âstaying late tonight.â and then twenty minutes ago she asked me where her dinner was and gave me the most annoyed look when i said i didnât have itâŠ.
YOU: now iâm waiting in the lobby for a delivery guy to get here with pasta :)
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: ouch
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: want some company down there?
YOU: are you just asking that because you want your money?
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: maybeâŠ.
YOU: evil man!
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âThe jokeâs on you because I donât have ten bucks right now, so youâll have to wait until tomorrow for your money,â You told Steve when he walked into the lobby.Â
âI was lying. I donât care about the money. I really came down here to keep you company,â He said as he joined you by the front door.Â
You couldnât help but roll your eyes at him. âOh, whatever.â
He only smiled at you. âSo, how much longer until the delivery guy gets here?â
You took another look at your phone and then showed it to Steve. âLess than a minute. His carâs down the street.â
âHow annoyed is Kristen?â
âShe got pulled into a Zoom call with the team in LA right after scolding me, so Iâm ninety-five percent sure she hasnât noticed Iâm gone yet.â
âThatâs good.â
âIs Todd gone for the night?âÂ
You kind of had a feeling that you already knew the answer to your question because Steve looked more relaxed than normal; his white button-up shirt was untucked from his nice black dress pants and the tie that was around his neck and tucked under the collar of his shirt was loosened too.Â
âYeah, he left right after destroying the science project.â
You shook your head in disbelief. âI still canât believe that happened.â
Steve let out a tired sigh that you were certain wouldnât be his last of the night. âWhatâs another suitable project for a fifth grader?â
âSorry, but Iâm not brushed up on the current fifth-grade education system,â You joked, giving him a teasing smile. When he didnât match it, you held up your hands in mock surrender. âOkay, sorry, Iâll save all my jokes for when this is no longer a problem for you.â
His lips twitched upward in the smallest amused smile. âHow many do you have?â
âOh, a full stand-up set pretty much, but Iâll save it for tomorrow,â You said, trying to make your voice sound as serious as possible.Â
He smiled wider then and seeing him look at least a little less stressed felt like a success in your book. You knew that he wouldâve done the same for you if the roles were reversed in this moment, and there were many times when he had done the same. Made a joke when you didnât even know you needed to hear one, but it still made your day better, or told you a random story about nothing when you needed a breather from thinking about work.Â
This friendship you two had made your job feel a thousand times more bearable, and you were so glad that you met him eight months ago. That abrupt introduction had been another middle-of-the-night lobby situation like this one; when it seemed like everyone in the building was done and gone for the day, except for you two and your workaholic bosses. Both of you were waiting for meals from the same diner, which you didnât even realize until your separate delivery drivers almost mixed up the orders. It was a mix-up that was luckily fixed before it descended into a bigger issue with your respective bosses.Â
You two ended up talking a lot on the elevator ride up to your floors and found out just how much you two had in commonâ both of you being assistants to insane bossesâ and the rest was history.Â
âThank you. Thatâs very considerate,â Steve said to you now, placing a dramatic hand over his heart, which made you laugh.
Before you could say something to keep this playful banter going, you noticed the car pulling up in front of the building. You met the delivery guy halfway and let out a quick âThanksâ when he handed over the food to you. You did a quick look through of what was in the bag and smiled in relief when you saw that everything was there.Â
âHow long do you think youâre gonna have to stay tonight?â Steve asked you on the elevator ride back up.Â
âNo idea,â You took a look down at your phone. âSheâll probably eat this once her Zoom call ends in thirty minutes, and then hopefully want to leave for the night.â
âNice, then youâll actually be able to get more than four hours of sleep.â
âFingers crossed.â
The elevator came to its stop on the fifteenth floor and the doors opened, which marked your cue to leave.Â
You took a few steps and then turned around to face Steve again, giving him a quick wave. âGood luck tonight, Harrington.â
âThank you. Iâm gonna need it,â He responded, waving back as the doors finished closing.Â
You avoided looking at all of the empty cubicles that took over the space in the officeâ desks that had been left hours agoâ and simply went to your desk that sat right outside Kristenâs office. You could faintly hear her talking through the shut glass door.Â
You used the downtime to busy yourself with random work rather than doing anything remotely interesting or simply taking a break and doing nothing. You double-checked what Kristenâs calendar schedule looked like for the next few weeks and made sure that everything was in order, and then you went to your work email although nothing new had come in in the last thirty minutes.Â
When the time hit 10:03pm and you heard the door open and then saw Kristen walk out, you stood up from your chair and grabbed the bag with the food off your desk.Â
âHi, I have your dinner here.â
She gave you a confused look and it was then that you noticed that her coat was on and her purse was hanging on her shoulder. âI donât want that. It was supposed to be an early night, remember? Iâll see you in the morning.â
You nodded immediately at her words instead of doing anything else. You, of course, did not tell her that she had asked you to get her food, and you of course definitely did not ask her if ten oâclock could really be considered an âearly nightâ given that the night was pretty much already halfway done and it was basically Friday.Â
Nope, you didnât say any of that, because even though Kristen was nothing but contradictory at times, which made your job absolutely suck, you still liked having one at the end of the day.Â
âOkay, got it. See you tomorrow,â You told her, forcing a smile.Â
She nodded at you and then her eyes fell to her phone as she walked off.Â
You let out a tired sigh once you were certain she was out of earshot and then sat down once again. You couldâve grabbed your own jacket and bag and followed suit, leaving for the night and getting more than four hours of sleep just as Steve had mentioned and you had crossed your fingers in the elevator hoping it would happen.Â
However, you didnât slip on your coat or reach under your desk to grab your bag. Instead, you pulled out your phone.
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YOU: kristenâs gone for the night
YOU: do you want help with the science project?
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: please yes. definitely. thank you.
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You and Steve stared at the blank tri-fold poster board as you two ate the Alfredo pasta that had been meant for Kristen.Â
The idea for the project had already been decided; it was some sort of chemical reaction thing, seeing how food coloring and dish soap react to being put in different types of milk. Steve showed you a video about it and it actually seemed really cool.Â
After finishing the pasta, doing the experiment itself took less than thirty minutes because everything you needed for it was luckily spread about both of your break rooms and then it was just a matter of typing everything up and making the poster board look nice.Â
âSo, where does this situation lie on the worst things Todd has ever made you do? Is it breaking the top three?â You asked as you stood next to the printer on Steveâs desk and he typed away on his laptop.Â
âDefinitely,â He didn't hesitate to answer. âI think this takes the third spot that was previously held by him making me drive to the airport two hours away to pick up his mom.â
âFuck, I always forget about that,â You told him. âIf we knew each other when that happened a year ago, I wouldâve happily gone with you. I love a long car ride.âÂ
âAnd I wouldâve definitely taken you up on that offer because that was the worst drive ever.â
âGod, how did you survive before we knew each other existed eight months ago?â You asked jokingly and hearing his initial laugh in response made you smile.Â
âIt was really hard, I honestly donât know how I managed,â He responded playfully, making you smile wider. âHas your top three with Kristen changed recently?âÂ
âNope, the third is the cheese incident, the second is the dog thing, and the first is still all of the shit I had to do the day she interviewed her favorite director for the website.â
You still considered that the worst day you ever had being Kristenâs assistant. She had wanted to make sure that everything was perfect for that interview she had been working for months to get with the infamous Matt Scott, so you had gotten stuck with doing a bunch of tedious tasks. It was still hard for you to look at Skittles and not feel immediate disdain because you had to sort through so many packs of them that day since he weirdly only liked the red and yellow ones.Â
The only good thing that came out of that day was that the interview went really well and it was what skyrocketed the website into how big it currently was, and it was still growing.Â
You remembered when you randomly stumbled upon the website three years ago. It was a mix of reviews, essays, and articles discussing movies and television shows, all of which interested you a lot, and you liked the website so much that you continuously kept up with it. And the day that you found out that the woman behind the entire thing needed an assistant, you jumped at the opportunity. It didnât take you too long to realize that you hated being an assistant, but you were really good at it and you also really loved being a part of that environment; surrounded by other people who loved movies and TV and were actually making a living out of writing about it.Â
âI just learned that Todd loves one of the horror movies that that director did. âThe Damnedâ something I canât remember the full title of it,â Steve said, not looking up from his laptop and continuing to type as he talked. He was a weirdly good multitasker; youâd learned that early on in your friendship, but it still always really impressed you.Â
âThe Damned Rabbit,â You told him as you started cutting out the pictures on the pages you just printed. âThatâs Kristenâs favorite too. I can usually stomach most horror movies, but that one was way too gory for me.âÂ
âDo you think I would like it?â
âDidnât you say that you got scared watching the Goosebumps show when you were a kid?âÂ
Steve looked away from his laptop and at you then. âI honestly donât remember telling you that, but yeah thatâs true.âÂ
You shrugged. âI remember all conversations we have regarding any TV shows or movies.âÂ
His head tilted a bit and he gave you a look that you didnât take notice of because you were focused on properly cutting out the pictures. âAnd Iâm assuming youâre using that information to judge me and my taste.âÂ
âNo, of course not,â You told him, making your voice sound completely serious, and then you smiled. âI already know you have shit taste in movies, so thereâs no need for me to collect any more data about that.â Â
He placed an overdramatic hand over his heart. âOuch, that hurts. Truly. Badly.â
You couldnât help but laugh as you finally looked at him. âSorry, that was mean.â
âVery much so,â Steve agreed with a nod. âPlease take that back and admit that I have the best taste ever.â  Â
You shook your head as you smiled. âIâd rather not lie to you right now.â Â
He playfully rolled his eyes at you and then went back to focusing on his laptop. He finished typing out everything and then printed it all and you helped him cut everything out once you were done with the pictures. You two then set everything up in what felt like good places on the tri-fold and glued it down. The project definitely looked rushed, but it also looked like a fifth grader did it, so in your eyes it was perfect. And by the time one in the morning rolled around, both your and Steveâs tired eyes and lack of sleep thought it was the best thing either of you had ever done.Â
âI canât wait until Christmas comes and he goes to New Jersey to visit his family,â Steve said as you two began the cleanup process. âI think Iâm gonna go into hibernation for that entire week.â
You nodded in agreement, balling up scraps of paper and tossing them into the garbage and deciding against reminding him that Christmas was over two months away, and then you remembered something. âKristenâs also from New Jersey.â
âSmall world,â Steve said. âYâknow our bosses are actually really alike. Even aside from them being assholes a lot of the time, they kinda have a lot in common. From the same state, same favorite movie, same favorite food place.â
You nodded along to his words again, thinking about the fact that them both loving that small mom-and-pop diner twenty minutes away was the reason why you and Steve had met in the first place. âYeah, youâre right.â Â
âHonestly, theyâd probably be perfect for each other,â Steve joked with a laugh.Â
And even though you knew he was joking, you immediately didnât see it that way.Â
âOh my god,â You stopped what you were doing and looked at Steve, who was now looking at you very confused. âYouâre right.âÂ
His eyebrows furrowed as he shook his head. âI was kidding.âÂ
âYes, I know you were, but youâre actually so right. They would be perfect for each other,â You told him. âWe should set them up.âÂ
Steve only shook his head again. âAlright, I think the sleep deprivation is getting to you because youâre saying insane things right now. Weâre not gonna get our bosses to date.â
You ignored his words. âI canât believe we didnât think of this idea before. Itâs just like Clueless.â
âOkay, I have no idea what weâre talking about anymore.âÂ
âYou havenât seen Clueless?â
âNo.â
âWow, and you wonder why I say your taste in movies is bad,â You said and then shook your head. âSo, thereâs this one part where the main girl decides to set up two of her teachers because one of them is a hard grader. And once heâs happy and in love, he starts giving all of the students good grades and whatever, whatever. Anyway, all of that to say, if we set up our bosses and theyâre happy and in love with each other then they probably wonât be assholes to us anymore.âÂ
After a few moments of considering your words, Steve nodded. âHonestly, thatâs kind of a good idea.â
âExactly,â You said and smiled. You were still very tired, but you were now also hit with a random burst of energy at the thought of your job maybe becoming a lot less annoying.
âSo, how do we do this?â Steve asked.
You considered his question for a second. âOkay, so as far as we both know theyâve never met each other, which means that we need to get them to meet and we need to give them a good meet cute.âÂ
âOkayâŠâ Steve started, thinking of something as he sat back down in his desk chair and you leaned back against the desk. He looked up at you. âWhat about the elevator? Maybe we can figure out a way to get them stuck in it together? Thatâs a classic âmeet cute,â right?â
âThatâs good, but it doesnât feel like enough,â You said, looking away from him and trying to think of romcoms you liked, and then it hit you. âOh, what if we got them on the kiss cam at like a basketball game or something?âÂ
The amused look that Steve gave you in response was immediate. âOkay, now I definitely know that the sleep deprivation is getting to you because doing that would be impossible.âÂ
âYeah, but maybe not if weâŠâ You trailed off, hoping that the rest of the idea would come to you, but it didnât. âShit, youâre right. It would be impossible. Elevator it is.âÂ
Steve nodded. âI actually know the maintenance guy that works here, so itâll probably be easy to get Todd and Kristen stuck together.âÂ
Your eyebrows knit together in confusion. âHow do you know the maintenance guy?â
âLong story,â He answered and you decided against questioning him further on it right then.Â
âIf it wasnât one in the morning, Iâd love to hear that,â You said, and then you almost asked him when you two should put this plan into motion, but you realized something. âWait, shit, we canât just get Kristen and Todd into an elevator and hope for the best. We need to, like, âplant some seedsâ first. Make them aware of each other and these few things that we know they have in common.âÂ
âOh, okay, yeah, that makes sense.â
âSo we just need to subtly mention to both of them that theyâre from the same state and that they have the same favorite movie and food place,â You continued.Â
Steveâs confused look returned. âAnd how do we do that?â
âGreat question,â You said and for a second you considered trying to think of an answer right then, but your brain was too tired to come up with any ideas. âIâm not sure yet, but weâll figure it out.â
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UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: todd liked the science project this time
YOU: thank godÂ
YOU: i hope that means heâll be extra nice to you today<3
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: solid joke
YOU: thanks. i try
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: do you think youâre gonna have to stay late again tonight?Â
YOU: i am almost certain of it (sadly)
YOU: kristenâs been extra stressed today which means extra scary which means i live here now
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: ouchÂ
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: have you thought more about how we should do this set up thing?
YOU: no. iâve had like a thousand things thrown at me since getting here at eight and i havenât had time to think about anything else
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: same hereÂ
YOU: wow weâre really good at this
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: haha i agree
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The printer was on its last few days of life. You were certain of it, but you just needed it to survive a few more minutes before it completely croaked out on you.Â
âPlease just ten more pages and then I promise you can go into retirement.âÂ
âAre you talking to the printer again?â Steve asked from where he was currently sitting at your desk.Â
After Todd left for the night at ten, Steve showed up at your floor, knowing that Kristen had been gone for the last hour, but you were still stuck in the building and working on preparing everything for a meeting on Monday.
You looked over at him. âSometimes Jerry needs some words of encouragement.âÂ
âGot it. That makes sense,â He responded teasingly with a nod.Â
âI donât appreciate the sarcasm tonight, Steven,â You said as you turned your focus back on the printer, and Jerry was printing out the final few pages.Â
âDoesnât me helping you right now cancel out the sarcasm?â
You promptly shook your head. âNot after the science project last night.â
âAlright, thatâs fair,â He responded and once you sat down next to him after everything was finally printed out, he looked at the stack of papers in your hand. âHow many packets do you have to make?â
âTwenty,â You answered. âAnd then I need to do the name cards and set everything up in the conference room.â
âOkay. Let me get half of the stack,â He said and you handed over half of the papers in your hand.Â
You two easily fell into a routine for the next thirty minutes, a comfortable silence lingering as you focused on the mundane task at hand and let your mind wander a bit. The initial excitement you had toward the âset upâ idea had worn off by the morning and instead your non-sleep deprived brain was now thinking about it all from a much more logical standpoint.
âDo you think it would actually work?â You asked once you two were in the conference room, you placing name cards down and Steve setting out the packets. âUs trying to set them up?â
He gave you an amused smile. âYouâre second-guessing things already? I thought I would be the one to do that.â
âI donât know,â You shrugged. âIâve just started thinking that maybe it will be a waste of time.â
You decided against adding that your reasoning for thinking that way was because your and Steveâs life wasnât a movie and maybe this idea did sound a bit too good to actually end up working as well as it did when it was a plot point in any film. And the thought of Kristen somehow figuring out what you and him were doing and firing you because of it kind of scared you too.Â
âOkay, yeah, maybe it wonât work,â Steve said. âBut, why not try, right?âÂ
You considered his words for a moment before ultimately nodding. It felt a little unexpected, but also completely reassuring, that he was entirely on board with the idea and didnât seem to have any second thoughts about it. âYouâre right. Maybe weâll at least get a week or two of them being decent to us.â
Steve nodded in agreement. âYeah, exactly, and that would be great.â
You shook your head and let out a quiet laugh as you thought of something. âJesus Christ, I canât believe the bar is so low that the thought of our bosses being nice to us for a week or two sounds amazing.â
Steve laughed too, a quick one that matched your own. âShit, yeah, thatâs actually a little sad.â
It would be a thousand percent sadder if you didnât have each other through this shitty nonsense, but you didnât tell him that right then. Instead, you gave him a small smile and placed down the last name card you had in your lap.
âI have some ideas about how we should âplant these seedsâ and get them to learn about each other without them knowing that weâre doing that,â Steve said after he set down the last packet.Â
You were technically officially done for the night, but neither of you made any move to leave the conference room just yet. You sat down in one of the rolling chairs and Steve took a seat in the one across from you.Â
âI kinda love that the tables have turned and youâre the one thatâs super into this whole thing and Iâm being slightly hesitant,â You told him, the smallest amused smile on your face.Â
âYeah, you corrupted me and now youâre backing out.â
You couldnât help but laugh at how playfully serious his voice sounded. âI promise Iâm not backing out. Tell me all of your ideas, Harrington.â
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MONDAYÂ
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: i âaccidentallyâ emailed todd the video of the interview kristen did with the horror movie director guy and he ended up watching the entire thing
YOU: solid work
YOU: and on my side of things, i mentioned the new jersey thing to kristen when she brought up thinking about going home for the holidays and she actually found it a little interesting
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: also solid work
TUESDAY
YOU: okay kristen said she wants to get food from the diner for lunch. what about todd?Â
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: he wants it too. it surprisingly took very little convincing to get him to quit the juice diet
YOU: great. iâll see you in the lobby in 30 minutes
YOU: wait iâm just now realizing how horrible this can go for us if we switch their lunches just for them to learn that they have the same favorite restaurant. maybe we should just say that the lunches âalmostâ got switched and still make the comment about how the person that it almost got switched with really loves the place too? thatâll let them know that they have the same fave restaurant without them getting mad at us for fucking up their lunches
YOU: or maybe i'm just overthinking this
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: no you're right. thatâs a better ideaÂ
WEDNESDAY
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: slight change of plans. we have to push the elevator thing to tomorrowÂ
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: the maintenance guyâs not here today
YOU: okay
YOU: i was gonna ask if we should take this as a sign to not do it at all but iâm not gonna say that actuallyâŠ
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: itâs not a signÂ
YOU: good thing i didnât say it was then :)
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You made it to the maintenance room before Steve. Mainly because you were a little nervous to see how all of this would end up playing out, and being two minutes early somehow helped ease your worries a bit.Â
When you walked in, you immediately saw a guy with long curly hair wearing a black t-shirt and dark jeans and sitting at a desk with two computer screens; you assumed he was the maintenance guy Steve talked about.Â
You gave him a quick wave and then held out a hand. âHey, nice to meet you.â
His hand shook your outstretched one and quick introductions were said where you learned his name was Eddie and he and Steve went to high school together and were now friends; which wasnât as long of a story as Steve had initially made it out to be.Â
âSo, youâre the infamous âgirl from work.ââ
You let out a laugh at Eddieâs words. âSteveâs mentioned me before?âÂ
Eddie nodded. âOh, he talks about you a lot.â
Before you could say anything in response to that, Steve walked into the small room. Â
âSorry, Iâm late,â He said, even though he was actually right on time. He looked at Eddie and a confused look crossed his face. âWhereâs Wayne?â
âHe still has the flu, so he wanted me to cover for him today,â Eddie answered. âBut, he told me what you guys wanna do, so I got it.â
âOkay,â Steve nodded and then he gestured between you and Eddie. âYou two met?âÂ
âYes, and I just learned that you allegedly talk about me a lot,â You said and gave him a teasing smile.Â
You immediately noticed his face flush at your words, which actually kind of surprised you and for the briefest second you wondered what that reaction meant, but then he was playfully rolling his eyes at you. âItâs only so my friends know that I donât completely hate my job.â Â
âGlad to know that Iâm the only one who makes your job somewhat tolerable,â You said, smiling wider at him. âThe feelingâs very mutual.â
You looked away from him then and focused on the computer screens. Eddie had now pulled up the video feed of the security camera in the lobby on one side and the hallway where the main elevators were on the other screen.Â
âSo, Kristen should be getting back from the coffee shop down the street any second now,â You told Steve. âShe always likes going right before they close for some reason.â
He nodded at your words. âOkay, and Todd is still in the lobby talking to Martha about getting a new building ID, and they should be done any second too.â
âI still donât get how you managed to get her to call him down for that.âÂ
He gave you a smile. âThe ladies at the front desk love me.â
âHonestly, that makes a lot of sense,â You responded. âYou are the type of person that old ladies would love.â
âIâll happily take that as a compliment.âÂ
âRemember how all the moms in town were completely obsessed with you during your lifeguard days?â Eddie chimed in, a grin on his face.Â
Steve rolled his eyes in response, and you laughed while saying, âOf course, you were a lifeguard. That makes so much sense too.â
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. âHow?â
You shook your head. âI donât know how to explain it, but just know that it does. And I mean it in a nice way.â
Steve tilted his head and squinted at you. âI donât know if I believe you.â
âTrust me, Iâm your best work friend. Iâd never lie to you,â You said, holding a solemn hand to your heart, and he couldnât help but let out a laugh.Â
You looked at the screen again and saw that Todd was still talking to Martha, and Kristen was still nowhere to be seen.Â
You tapped Eddie on the shoulder to grab his attention. âIf one of them gets to the elevator before the other is there, is there any way that you can not let the elevator come?â
He nodded. âYeah, thatâs fine.â
Luckily, and surprisingly enough though, it didnât have to come to that. Because finally Kristen was walking back into the building and heading toward the elevators, and seconds later Toddâs conversation with Martha was coming to an end and he was heading in the direction of the elevators too.Â
Kristen pressed the up button and then her eyes went down to her phone in her hand, and Todd joined her in waiting after a few moments. Absolutely nothing was said between the two of them, not even when the elevator arrived and they got on together. Which, honestly, made sense to you because you rarely ever talked to the strangers you ended up in an elevator with.Â
âHow do you stop it?â You asked Eddie after he switched the camera to the one in the elevator.Â
âThereâs something to press that stops them for emergencies,â He explained as he got up from his chair and went over to a panel on the wall. âAnd thereâs also an intercom here to talk to them so they donât freak out or start panicking.â
He then pressed the stop button for the elevator Todd and Kristen were on. âDid it work?âÂ
You and Steve both responded with a quick âYeahâ at the same time. You noticed the confused looks cross your bosses faces and you saw Todd reach out to press the emergency button, but Eddie was speaking through the intercom before he could.Â
âHey, sorry about that, guys. Itâs just an electrical issue and it should be fixed in about fifteen to thirty minutes.â He looked at you and Steve again. âAlright, letâs see if your matchmaking thing works.â
It was quiet at first. So quiet that you couldnât help but wonder if this was actually the worst idea ever. You and Steve were âplaying cupidâ for two people who only had a few things in common, and it was all for entirely selfish reasons.Â
âIâm just now realizing how insane this whole thing is,â You told Steve, looking away from the screen that showed Todd and Kristen still not talking to each other. Â
âYouâre just now realizing that? That was pretty much the first thing I told you when you suggested this,â Steve reminded you.Â
âI know, I know,â You started. âBut now seeing it actually happen is making me understand that.âÂ
Eddie turned around in his chair and looked up at you two. âDo you guys want me to start the elevator back?â
Both you and Steve had the same immediate answer of, âNo.âÂ
You kept going after a second. âThis will either be the best thing ever or the complete opposite, but I think we should just see it through, at this point, right?â
In this moment, it seemed like things were leaning more toward the âabsolute worstâ side of the spectrum, but it didnât make you entirely change your mind about doing it, and it didnât make Steve disagree with you either. âRight.â
âOkay,â Eddie shrugged as he turned back around. âFor what itâs worth, I donât think this is that fucked up of an idea.â
You nodded, even though he couldnât see you. âOkay, cool, so weâre not completely terrible and manipulative people for doing this.â
âWell, I didnât say that,â Eddie responded and Steve whacked his arm.Â
You didnât say anything and instead looked at the computer screen again.Â
âCome on. Talk,â You mumbled. âTalk to each other.â
âThey canât hear you,â Steve jokingly whispered to you.Â
Before you had the chance to make a sarcastic comment back to him, there was finally something coming from the computerâs speaker. Â
âHey, you did that interview with Matt Scott, right?â Todd asked Kristen.
She nodded. âYeah, I did.âÂ
âI just watched it a couple of days ago. It was really good,â He said, and at that, Kristen smiled.Â
From there, it felt like the equivalent to watching a movie; and you could inwardly recognize how weird that sounded. They introduced themselves to each other and then continued to talk about that horror movie director they both loved, and they eventually bonded over the few things that you and Steve had told them about one another too.Â
Thirty minutes passed quicker than expected and you and Steve ended up sitting in two folding chairs that were in the small room and sat next to Eddie as you watched your bosses have what seemed like a really good conversation. It didnât seem as if it was coming to any sort of an end just yet, but you and Steve still had Eddie start the elevator back up again. And before Kristen got off on her floor first, they exchanged phone numbersâ which shouldnât have at all been surprising, but it still kind of was.Â
You looked at Steve once the doors closed and it was just Todd left in the elevator. âWoah.â
He nodded, agreeing with your one word that said a lot more than just that. âWow.âÂ
Eddie laughed a little. âNice work playing cupid for these two.â
You felt relieved, but not entirely so. âWeâll see if it actually works.â
.ă»ă.ă»ăâă».ă»â«ă»ăă»ă. .ă»ă.ă»ăâă».ă»â«ă»ăă»ă
Incoming call from UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR
.ă»ă.ă»ăâă».ă»â«ă»ăă»ă. .ă»ă.ă»ăâă».ă»â«ă»ăă»ă
Steve rarely ever called you.Â
It just never made sense with how crazy your jobs were, so you two always settled for texting. Apparently, this moment was different, though.Â
However, before you could make any move to answer your phone, you were getting called into Kristenâs office, and your heart was abruptly falling into your stomach because suddenly the timing of Steve's phone call felt like it had something to do with whatever conversation you were about to have with Kristen.Â
âHey,â You said, trying to make your voice sound as normal, and not worried, as possible. âIs everything okay?â
She looked up from her phone and then smiled at you. âEverythingâs really good, actually. Iâm going to be leaving early today, so you can head out too.â
That wasnât at all what you were expecting her to say, but you attempted to hide your complete shock.Â
âOh, okay,â You ultimately responded. âAre you sure?â
You regretted asking the question the second you said it, but this entire moment felt like some sort of trick or test, so you felt the immediate need to question it. Â
âYeah, itâs Friday,â She said as if that explained everything, which it did not. âYou can have a half day for once.â
You were convinced that this had something to do with Todd, but you still wanted some sort of confirmation. âSpecial occasion?â
âRemember yesterday when I told you about getting stuck in the elevator for half an hour?â She asked, and when you nodded she continued. âWell, I exchanged numbers with the guy I was stuck with because we had a really nice conversation when we were in there, and five minutes ago, he called asking to go to lunch and then to see this movie that we talked about in the elevator. Itâs the last day itâs playing at that small theater on the other side of town.â
You nodded along to her words. âThat sounds great.â
âOh, and funnily enough, itâs the guy that you mentioned a few days ago who works upstairs and is from Jersey, and our food almost got swapped from the diner,â She laughed a littleïżœïżœ happily, dreamilyâ like a woman with a crush. âIsnât that crazy?â
There was absolutely nothing about how Kristen said those words that shouldâve made you think she knew what you and Steve had done, but still, you couldnât help but think it.Â
Which made you force a nervous smile as you once again nodded. âYeah, so crazy. Small world. Or, well, in this case, I guess small building.â You laughed awkwardly at your non-joke and then immediately kept going. âAnyway, I hope you have a fun time with him today. See you Monday.â
Kristenâs eyes were back on her phone, smiling again as she waved at you in goodbye and you proceeded to quickly leave her office.Â
You called Steve back the moment you were at your desk again. He picked up on the second ring and the first thing he said was, âIt actually fucking worked. He asked her to go to lunch.â
âI know,â You whispered, even though all you really wanted to do in that moment was let out the happiest sound ever. âWhere are you right now?â
âToddâs letting me leave since heâs leaving, so Iâm about to head down to the lobby.â
âOkay, Iâll meet you there. Iâm gonna grab my stuff and immediately run away from my desk before Kristen can call me back into her office and tell me that this was all some sort of elaborate prank,â You said and then hung up, stuffing your phone in your pocket and grabbing your bag from underneath your desk.Â
You waved happily at Steve when you exited the elevator in the lobby and barely a second later he was pulling you into a hug. Even though that was something that had never happened before, you didnât hesitate to return the action, wrapping your arms around him too and smiling into his shoulder.Â
âYouâre a genius for this idea,â He told you, words hitting right at your ear.Â
âTechnically, you came up with it,â You reminded him when you two pulled out of the celebratory embrace.Â
âOkay, in that case, Iâll happily take the credit for all of this then,â Steve said and smiled at you.Â
You playfully poked his arm. âWhat I meant is that we both should get credit for this plan working. You kinda came up with the initial idea and I came up with all the nitty gritty stuff.â
He shook his head. âThatâs not entirely true, actually. Who came up with the elevator meet cute?â
You knew that he wanted you to say him, but you refused to give him the satisfaction so you simply shrugged instead. âA shitty Hallmark movie, probably.â
âHa ha, good one,â He said as he rolled his eyes at you.Â
âThank you, Iâll be here all week. Actually, thatâs not true because we finally just got a day off,â You smiled as you and Steve headed into the lobby. âThis is the first time Iâve had a Friday off in the past two years of working here, I honestly have no idea what to do now.â
The thought of spending the rest of the day, and then night, catching up on sleep sounded very tempting to you, and it only felt a little sad that youâd be completely sleeping away a Friday when you finally had the opportunity to do something even the tiniest bit fun.Â
âDo you want to come to a birthday party for my best friend/roommate tonight?â Steve asked. âWeâre having it at our place and I thought Iâd have to miss it because I was gonna be stuck here all night, but now I wonât be, and you should come.â
Initially, you smiled at his offer and you felt the urge to accept it on the spot. But then your brain couldnât help but consider what saying yes would mean. You and Steve had never hung out outside of this building, and the few food spots that were on the same street as this building, before. Although you two were friends, you couldnât lie and say that it didnât pretty much start and end at work; mainly because that was what consumed most of your time.Â
âWouldn't that be kinda weird?â You ultimately asked, deciding against verbalizing exactly what you were thinking about. âI donât think Iâd want a random girl from my best friendâs workplace to be at my birthday party.â
âYouâre not a random girl. I talk about you all the time, remember?â Steve said, reminding you of Eddieâs words from yesterday, and the playfulness in his tone made you smile.
Instead of asking more questionsâ like what it would mean to take your work friendship into normal friendship territory, and whether it would even easily happenâ you were simply agreeing and saying, âOkay.â
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YOU: what should i bring tonight?
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: just yourselfÂ
YOU: that feels wrong. itâs literally a birthday partyÂ
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: for someone you donât knowÂ
YOU: that doesnât matter
YOU: so what do you need? cups? some sort of side dish? more cake?
UPSTAIRS WORK NEIGHBOR: donât bring anything
.ă»ă.ă»ăâă».ă»â«ă»ăă»ă. .ă»ă.ă»ăâă».ă»â«ă»ăă»ă
âI brought alcohol,â You said when Steve opened his door and then you held up the two bottles of tequila you bought on your drive over to his apartment.Â
He shook his head at you but still smiled as he pushed the door open further to let you in. Seeing him out of his typical professional work clothes and in a simple white t-shirt and jeans was a nice surprise that honestly shouldnât have been all that surprising. âYou didnât have to do that.â
âItâs physically impossible for me to show up to places empty-handed,â You looked around the decently sized space as Steve closed the door behind you. There werenât that many people in the apartment yet, you only noticed two girls leaning back against the small kitchen island and talking. You turned to look at Steve. âShit, am I too early?â
Your hands were full so you couldnât pull your phone out of your denim jacket pocket to check the time, but you had a feeling what it would say. After working for Kristen for the past two years, it was pretty much ingrained in you to never be late anywhere, and most times you inadvertently ended up being early.Â
âA little bit, yeah. But, thatâs fine,â Steve told you with a shrug. âIâm glad youâre here early. Itâll probably make it easier for you to meet everyone.â
He then introduced you to the girls talking in the kitchen; his roommate and best friend Robin and her girlfriend Vickie.Â
âHi, youâre my new favorite person,â Robin told you when she noticed the alcohol in your hands. Â
âThank you,â You laughed a little as you set it down on the counter, joining the other bottles that littered it. âHappy Birthday.âÂ
âThanks,â She smiled at you. âHow are your karaoke skills?â
The randomness of the question slightly surprised you. âAbsolutely terrible, but when Iâm drunk I love doing it.â
âPerfect,â She said. âYou and Steve have to do a duet when we go to this karaoke bar later. The last time we went, he got so drunk he sang Footloose three times in a row.â
âI will admit, each time was very great,â Vickie chimed in.Â
âYeah,â Robin agreed. âHe surprisingly has a really good voice.â
You smiled and tried your hardest not to laugh at the thought of the Steve youâd grown to know over the past eight months getting drunk and singing karaoke. âPlease tell me thereâs video proof of that.â
âOh, of course,â She nodded and went to pull her phone out of the pocket of the high-waisted pants she was wearing.Â
âOkay, and before things get even more embarrassing for me right now,â Steve reached out to grab your hand and pull you out of the conversation. âLet me give you a quick tour of the apartment.â
You were laughing as you let him drag you away from his friends. âYouâre suddenly such an attentive host.â
He pointed out the bathroom and Robinâs room down the hall and then led you to his room.Â
âItâs clean,â You said, pointing out the obvious. His bed was made and there werenât any clothes or other random things littering the floor.
Steve let out an amused laugh at your words. âIâm scared to know what you expected it to look like.â
âI donât know, honestly,â You shrugged as you leaned back against his dark wood desk that was tucked in a corner. âYou definitely wouldnât want to see my room right now. Itâs a complete mess from me trying to decide what to wear tonight.â
You had ended up settling for the first things you had pulled from your closetâ a long sleeve black shirt and a brown plaid skirt that was shorter than you had remembered but still really niceâ so the clothes that had ended up making your bed a mess and floor a tripping hazard felt like a sad waste of time. And now knowing how early you had shown up to the party, you probably couldâve prioritized cleaning up before you left your home in a rush. Â
âYou look nice,â Steve told you, and you didnât expect to feel so affected by his wordsâ which you knew were just a simple compliment by a friendâ but you did. âDo you want me to take your jacket?â
âYeah, sure,â You pulled off the dark denim jacket you were wearing and handed it over to him, and he went to place it on the hook behind his open door.Â
âSo, what did you do after we were set free?â He asked as he sat at the foot of his bed. You got the sudden urge to join him, but you didnât, deciding to stay right where you were at his desk.Â
âI had the best four-hour nap of my life and then I played really dumb games on my phone while still in bed,â You answered. It had been the most perfectly boring evening. âWhat have you been up to with your past free hours?â
âI also took a nap, and then I watched Clueless.â
A smile immediately started to tug at your lips. âNo, you didnât.â
âI did,â He nodded. âIt felt like good timing.â
âI think good timing wouldâve been if you watched it before we did the plan, but better late than never,â You said and then asked the important question. âDid you like it?â
He gave you another nod. âYeah. A lot more than I expected to, actually.â
âNice, I knew there was a part of you that had, at least, a kind of good taste in movies.â
âIâm still very offended that you think itâs mainly bad.â
âYou told me that one of your favorites is the first Fast and Furious movie, and that was all I needed to know,â You said and then gave him a smile. âItâs honestly funny because an article about the entire series was actually the first thing I read on Kristenâs website.â
âAnd did it speak highly of the franchise?â
You nodded, holding back a laugh. âFor the most part, yes. Surprisingly. Iâll find the link later and send it to you.â
âThank you,â He said and then a beat of silence lingered before he asked, âHey, is that why you work for Kristen? Because you eventually wanna write for the website?â
âYeah, kinda, yeah,â You started with a quick nod. âIt didnât initially start that way. I just loved the website and wanted to be a part of it in any way I could. But, the thought of actually writing has only become more and more interesting to me, and yeah I think I wanna do that sooner than later.â
âYou should let me read something youâve written.â
Your head shake was immediate. âNo way.â
âWhy not?â
âOne, because thatâs embarrassing. And two, because I havenât even finished anything yet because of how busy I always am.â
âWell, weâre gonna start having a lot of free time on our hands, so itâs the perfect time for you to actually finish something,â Steve told you. âAnd also the perfect time to let me read it once itâs done.â
âIâll think about it,â You ultimately conceded and then proceeded to shift the subject away from yourself. âWhat about you, though? Why do you work for Todd?â
âHonestly, I donât really know. My dad helped me get the job, actually, which is a long story in itself. I initially hated it a lot more than I do now, but I knew that my dad would give me shit if I quit. And he probably still would,â Steve explained. Just from the brief way he talked about his dad, you could sense how tense that relationship was, and you really wanted to know more about it, but you didnât push further in that moment. âI donât even like this finance stuff, but I still donât really know what I really want to do, so Iâm kinda okay with dealing with Todd and all of his bullshit.â
You nodded understandingly. âThat makes sense. You never once gave me âfinance broâ vibes.â
Steve tilted his head at you amusingly. âWhat does that mean?â
âYouâre not an asshole mixed with a huge hint of douchebag.â
He let out a laugh which made you smile. âThank you. That really means a lot.â
âYouâre very welcome,â You told him, still smiling and matching his playful tone. âOkay, okay, enough work talk. We need to use our freedom to its maximum potential.â An idea was hitting you as you stood up from his desk. âLetâs get drunk.â
Another brief amused laugh fell from Steveâs lips, but he still nodded at your words. âSolid idea.â
It had been a long time since you drank so your tolerance was terrible. You felt effectively drunk after just two shotsâ one with Steve to celebrate being free from work and then a birthday shot with Robin that she made everyone do once more people showed upâ and you forced Steve to keep up with you, which he happily did. He was five shots in to your three and both of you were on the same level; a level that also exceeded everyone else at the party.Â
You learned that the initial plan was to âpregameâ here at the apartment for an hour or two and then head to the karaoke bar that Robin had mentioned earlier and spend the rest of the night there. However, you and Steve took pregaming to an entirely different level.Â
You two ended up staying in your own little bubble for most of the nightâ holed up on a spot on the couch as you talked only about non-work related things for the first time probably ever. You wondered if this bubble was because Steve wanted to make you feel comfortable in this space where you didnât really know anyone aside from him, and Eddie kinda, but you didnât question it.Â
A friendship that had initially felt as if it had started and ended at work easily shifted into something else as you two learned random things about each other and exchanged silly stories that could be deemed as unimportant nonsense, but it didnât feel that way coming from a person that you really cared about. And it was when you were laughing and telling Steve about the time you crashed into your childhood neighbor's mailbox just one day after you got your license when you were sixteenâ a story that you couldnât remember the last time you told anyone because of how embarrassing it wasâ you realized that there was something entirely different about Steve.Â
What you and he had wasnât just a work friendship, and even now in this space outside of work, it also didnât feel like a normal friendship either. Maybe it was never supposed to be limited to something as simple as that.Â
There was an unfamiliar feeling that settled in your stomach as you watched him happily stand next to his best friend and hold the cake that she blew the candles out of moments after everyone loudly sang âHappy Birthdayâ in the kitchen. You quickly pushed the sudden feeling away because it felt easier to not think about it for the time being.
You and Steve ended up back on the couch again after the cake was cut and you two shared a piece, a corner slice that you both thought was the most perfect thing you had ever seen.Â
At some point, you couldnât tell exactly how much time had passed, Robin came over to the two of you. You noticed the amused smile take over her features as she looked at the close proximity between you and Steve; there wasn't an inch of space between you two because you both wanted the plate to balance equally on your laps. âI think you guys have had more than enough to drink tonight, so you should just stay here.âÂ
âYou sure?â Steve asked, looking up at her.Â
She nodded. âYes, Iâm positive. If you puke in the karaoke bar and we get banned Iâll never forgive you, dingus.â
âThatâs fair.â
You looked up at Robin and smiled. In a way, it felt wrong that your conversation with her had been so limited earlier, she seemed really nice. âHappy birthday again.â
She smiled back at you. âThanks again.â
The apartment became empty minutes later and the quietness reminded you of when you had first showed up. There was still music coming from the speaker set up in the living room, but Steve got up from the couch to lower it and then it became a soft hum in the background.
âIâm sorry I suggested the getting drunk idea,â You told Steve as you grabbed the now empty plate in your hand and stood up to toss it in the trash in the kitchen; with your drunkenness, it was a task that felt as if it took forever. âI messed up your night with your friends.â
You saw Steve shake his head when you turned to look at him again. He joined you where you were in the kitchen and grabbed a couple cups off the counter to throw them in the trash can. âIâm happy here with you.â
âIs that because you really didnïżœïżœïżœt wanna do our duet and because I can help you clean up the mess in here right now?â
âSure.â
You wanted to ask him what he meant by that, because it felt as if there was much more to that one-worded response, and even in your current inebriated state you could see that. Instead, though, you were asking, âWhy are we friends?â
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the randomness of your question. âBecause we met that night in the lobby eight months ago?â
You shook your head. âNo, I mean, why are we just friends?â
You werenât sure why you were suddenly asking thisâ or even where your abrupt courage was coming from to ask itâ but in this moment, with you two standing in his barely lit kitchen, it somehow felt right.
Your question was met with silence, though, and that lack of a response from Steve made you suddenly feel as if you actually shouldnât have asked that question; because maybe it said way too much.Â
âOh, actually, never mind,â You abruptly said and pulled your eyes away from his, and went to grab the half-full red solo cup off the kitchen counter to toss it in the garbage.Â
However, in what shouldâve been a short and simple journey to the trash can, you roughly bumped into the side of the counter and spilled the entirety of what was leftover in the cup on yourself.Â
âShit.â
âShit,â Steve immediately echoed, looking at the mess on the lower part of your shirt and the front of your skirt. âUm, letâs grab you something to change into.â
Wordlessly, you nodded and followed him to his bedroom. You werenât entirely sure what you were more embarrassed aboutâ you spilling a drink on yourself and now smelling so disgustingly like alcohol or the stupid question you asked him that led to this happening.
âYou can grab whatever you want from in there,â Steve told you and pointed toward what you assumed was his closet. âIâm gonna get a towel for you.â Â
âThanks, Iâm sorry about all of this. I swear Iâm not usually this annoying of a drunk person,â You joked because it felt like the only right thing to do in that moment.Â
âYouâre not annoying,â You heard Steve say from somewhere behind you.Â
You wanted to follow up with another sort of playful and witty response, but you couldnât think of what to say. So instead, you silently pulled a long-sleeved white button-up off a hanger and turned back to Steve, who handed over a towel for you.Â
You headed to the bathroom that wasnât too far down the hall and as you closed the door behind you and were left alone, you refused to think about what happened in the past few minutes. You focused solely on the mundane task of pulling your shirt off and drying your damp skin with the towel and then moving to take off your skirt.Â
You werenât sure where you thought Steve was, but you didnât think he was standing right outside the bathroom door, so abruptly hearing his soft voice on the other side of the door made you jump as you slipped on the white shirt.Â
âI think weâre just friends becauseâŠâ He trailed off. âI donât know, honestly.â
You wished that your question couldâve simply been forgotten about, and you wanted to tell him just that; to forget it. However, there was a small part of you that wanted to push the conversation forward and actually talk about it, and somehow that small part managed to take precedence over logical thinking. Â
âMaybe we shouldnât be friends,â You responded, not outwardly saying what you really meant because you knew that you wouldnât be able to take it back once the words were out in the open and that was a slightly scary thought, even your drunk brain knew that. Â
âI think youâre right,â Steve said, and somehow you could practically hear him nodding. âSo, what should we be instead?â
It was obvious what he wanted you to say, and even though the words were on the tip of your tongue, you still couldnât seem to actually say them. You finished buttoning the shirt and then let out a quiet sigh.
âI donât knowâŠâ You ultimately answered. Selfishly, you wanted him to be the one to say it out loud first. âWhat do you think we should be instead?â
Hearing his soft laugh made you immediately smile. Somehow, this back-and-forth conversation between two half-drunk people who were beating around the bush about their feelings for one another was becoming more and more teasing, and you honestly didnât mind it because it just felt so typical of you and Steve.Â
âI donât know, either,â He answered, and for a second, you thought that the conversation was going to come to its end thereâ without either of you mustering up the courage to actually say the wordsâ but then he continued. âBut Iâll admit that whenever I see you, it makes me really, really happy.â
You could only smile wider at his words. âOkay, and Iâll admit that sometimes I like when weâre both forced to stay late at work because it means that I get to spend more time with you.â
You didnât realize just how true those words were until you were saying them. You had long accepted that Steve being in your life made your job a thousand times more bearable, but you were now finally seeing that it was so much more than that. You were suddenly so certain of the fact that you wouldâve quit your job long ago if going to work and dealing with Kristen didnât mean eventually seeing Steve at some point throughout the day, even if it was just for five quick minutes.Â
âHonestly, those late nights are kind of my favorite,â Steve responded to your previous confession and you felt yourself nodding in agreement even though he couldnât see you.
âI like you,â You told him. Your voice was soft but you knew that he could hear you. âAnd I donât mean that in a work friend or regular friend kind of way. And Iâm just now fully realizing it tonight, but I think deep down Iâve felt this way for a long time.â
âI like you too,â He responded, voice matching your softness and you could hear the smile in his tone. âAnd I donât mean it in a work friend or regular friend way either.âÂ
Things got quiet for a second and then you were opening the bathroom door and meeting Steveâs eyes. Neither of you said anything at first; mainly because it felt as if the contented smiles on both of your faces managed to say it all.Â
âI forgot to grab pants,â Were the first words you said after a minute of comfortable silence. Steveâs shirt on you was long enough and its length matched where your skirt had ended, so nothing new was really revealed.Â
Steve laughed a little at your random statement because it made it seem as if a huge thing hadnât just been admitted by both of you only moments ago.Â
âWe should probably get you those,â He looked down at your new outfit, or lack thereof, for a brief second and then met your eyes again.Â
You gave him a quick nod. âYeah, I guess that would make sense.â
Neither of you made any move to head toward his bedroom again, though. Instead, another handful of moments passed and then you were silently reaching out and letting your hand find his. You pulled him into the bathroom with you and softly shut the door behind him.
With two people now in it, you were realizing just how small the bathroom was, but this closeness felt perfect to you. And you could tell that the feeling was mutual because Steveâs hands were finding your hips, and then you were being shifted around so that you were pressed back against the sink. Your arms reached up to circle his neck and your hands settled in the hair at the nape of his neck; it all felt so instinctiveâ as if this was something that had happened a bunch of times before. As if this entire moment was something that had happened a million times before.
Your eyes drifted down to Steveâs lips for a quick second because they were only inches away from yours and you wondered who would be the one to close the final bit of distance between you two, or if youâd simply just meet in the middle and the rest would be history.Â
Before anything could happen, though, the annoying logical part of you was taking over and you got the urge to ask something. âWeâre not just doing this and saying all of this because weâre kinda drunk, right?â
Your words were whispered and your eyes were closed because you knew that your question had the opportunity to be a mood killer and ruin this moment entirely, and for those exact reasons, you immediately wanted to take it back. But, Steve was answering before you could.Â
âNo,â He whispered back. It was such a short and simple answer, but it somehow managed to say enough.Â
Your eyes opened and you could tell that he was about to say more, but you leaned in to kiss him before anything could be said. It was soft at first, soft and tentative, like you both were testing the waters and trying to correctly navigate this uncharted territory.Â
But then it was as if the same switch was flipping for you two at the exact same time because, after the briefest second, you both were simultaneously pushing any and all thinking to the side and simply leaning into what felt right. Steve deepened the kiss and you reciprocated immediately, pushing yourself as close as you could to him and closing any and all space between you two.Â
Your hands went from softly tugging at the hair at the nape of his neck, to fisting themselves in his white t-shirt. And then, with Steveâs help too, you pushed yourself up so that you were sitting on the sink counter. It wasnât the most comfortable position, but you didnât entirely mind it right then. Steve settled between your now parted legs and one hand was still on your hip, while the other was playing with the hem of your, his, shirt that was now riding further and further up your thighs due to your new position. Â
âI canât believe out of everything, you grabbed this shirt,â Steve said in between kisses.Â
You let out a contented sound when his lips moved to your neck. âWhy?âÂ
âBecause you look very, very hot right now,â He didnât hesitate to answer. âAnd your outfit earlier was really great too, and honestly you always look hot so maybe this shouldnât even be surprising to me right now.âÂ
You let out a soft laugh at his rambling. âIâm hot even when weâre at work and Iâm wearing a boring cardigan and jeans?â
Steve nodded and pressed a quick kiss against your lips. âEspecially then.âÂ
It was hard not to feel so affected by the two simple words; your heart quite literally stuttered at how certain he sounded, and you leaned in to kiss him again instead of saying anything in response. Your fingers carded themselves in his hair, eliciting a soft groan from him that made you smile into the kiss. And then both of his hands moved to your hips, pulling you to the edge of the counter so that you were flush against him.Â
In a way, it felt a little silly that you two were making out in his bathroom when there was a perfectly good bed right down the hall. But, it was a kind of silliness that made sense for you and Steve and everything you two built over the last eight months of knowing each other.Â
There was the friendship side of things that happened so effortlessly following that night you two met in the lobby, and now there was this new side that, weirdly enough, so quickly felt the same way. Kissing him for the first time right here, right now made you wish that you two had been doing this a lot sooner because of how irrevocably happy it made you.Â
âWeâre stupid for taking so long to do this,â You eventually told him when you two were in his bed. You were moments away from falling asleep, but you felt the need to finally say those words.Â
The two of you were under his grey covers and you had traded the button up for one of Steveâs t-shirts and a pair of his basketball shorts that were really comfortable. His warmth enveloped you completely beneath the blanket as he pulled you closer, wrapping an arm around your waist and finding your hand to intertwine it with his.Â
âLike we were stupid for not getting Todd and Kristen together sooner?â
You nodded, a small smile gracing your lips that he couldnât see because you were facing away from him. âYes, exactly like that.â
Steve pressed a kiss against the side of your head and then his lips tickled at your ear. âI agree.â
You hummed in response and finally fell asleep moments later because you were in way too comfortable of a position not to. It was your first time in Steveâs bed, but how at ease youâd felt since you pulled the blanket over you minutes ago didnât feel new or foreign. It simply felt right.Â
And before your eyes slipped shut and you drifted off, you came to the final realization of the night that everything felt right with Steve, it always did, and that was the most comforting thought to fall asleep to.
.ă»ă.ă»ăâă».ă»â«ă»ăă»ă. .ă»ă.ă»ăâă».ă»â«ă»ăă»ă
let me know your thoughts<333
#steve harrington x fem!reader#steve harrington x reader#steve harrington fluff#steve harrington smut#steve harrington x you#steve harrington fic#steve harrington imagine#stranger things imagine#stranger things fluff
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Hear me out: squid game edition
I've seen on tik tok and pinterest a lot of people saying 'hear me out' on the finest man of the entire south Korea which makes me believe this 'hear me out' has lost its meaning, so I'm gonna do a list full of my favorite underrated characters of squid game that no one talks about enough.
âĄâ€âĄâ€âĄâ€âĄâ€âĄâ€âĄâ€âĄâ€âĄâ€âĄâ€âĄâ€âĄâ€âĄâ€âĄâ€âĄâ€âĄâ€
N°6: That one math teacher from s1.
This man absolutely slayed his minutes of screen time and we have to admit he was smart as hell but unfortunately he was gone too soon (if he looked at me like that he would die looking a slurped caprisun)
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N°5: The square masked officer
He was given 2 minutes of screen time and he served and ate. I don't know if this if just me but I hope he makes a bigger appearance in the third season because I feel like he has some potential (help me lord he's fine as hell)
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N°4: Park Gyeong-Seok
Let's be real here, he did soooo good on episode 7, he literally went off and acted like he was in call of duty or something. He's honestly a great character and I got so sad they killed him because I want him to go back to his daughter (MY SHAYLA) but I also have a theory that N°11 (No-eul) was the one who went to shoot him but didn't actually kill him, this since we didn't see him die (he's so pookie I want him in my bed)
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N°3: Choi Woo-Seok
My baby did nothing but serve face for the entirety of s2 (LMAO) but I honestly love him so much, he's such a cool and funny character, although i found slightly annoying how much trust he put onto captain Park but i can't blame him since Jun-ho also believes him but I hope they get to find that island in s3. (That fuckass chain of his makes him finer oof)
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N°2: Deok-Su
BEFORE YOU COME AT ME LISTENNNN, OKAY? We can't lie and say he was the worst character because he WASN'T. Was he fucked in the head? Yes. Would he slay if he was alive during s2? Absolutely. This mf went INSANE during the bathroom fight and during lights out and although he wasn't the best with the brains, he definitely was one hell of a fighter. I don't think anyone in s2 would stand a chance if he was still alive (he's pretty fucking hot too I'd honestly let him destroy my insides)
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N°1: Seong Gi-Hun
How tf is he the MAIN CHARACTER but also underrated??? He's quite literally one of the best characters in the entire show but I'm so disappointed at how much trust he puts on people (frontman) but that only shows how much kindness he has in heart, I mean, after watching over 600 people die, losing both his best friends (RIP MY SHAYLAS) and also losing contact with his daughter??? This man deserves the best therapist in the world. I also will NEVER forgive Netflix for cutting off his fluffy hair and for taking away his smile. (He's so pookie and this pic is making me feral I want him to look at me like that when he sees me laying naked on the table as he waits for dinner)
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Anyway, this was a brief opinion on these characters and I know there's so much more I could say but I feel lazy and I can't remember half of the events of s1 but feel free to share your thoughts!! Like, repost and comment if you can I love you babesđ«¶đœ
#squid game#squid game x reader#gi hun x reader#jang deok su#choi woo seok#park gyeong seok#masked officer#square guard#seong gi hun
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In which Stone sort of has a daughter and Ivo and her are not getting along
so I've talked about this fic I started writing back when the first movie came out and since a few people seem interested I decided to post what I wrote back then to test the water
on the base concept this fic is supposed to be stobotnik but this first part doesn't even has Stone in it, as it is only the first encounter between Robotnik and the kid
it's also not supposed to be the first chapter and it's short but that's all I got the motivation to write back then and it's been 4 years so I'm just, I'm gonna post it now cuz that's long enough okay, we will see how it goes later đ
for context this takes place after the first movie and will only be canon-compliant up to that point
also uh cw r slur??? idk I don't condone the characters' language but it's there
tagging @thebadevil @alexcole1326 and @nosebleedy99 'cause you commented on the other post
- Meanwhile a few months latter on the mushroom planet -
The Doctor was looking for a way on a tricky path, a collapsing old mushroom cap he needed to step on in order to reach a better point of view, when his appliances went insane: there was some dimensional shit going on. He heard a big crack, like thunderbolt, then the dimentional fluctuation faded away.
Maybe two hours latter he heard something again, but something small, something he hadn't heard in a long time. It was not the wind, not the mushrooms growing, not his own breath, not Agent Stone rolling away. It was something that moved by itself, something alive, something animal. It was footsteps.
He was prepared for anything, really, he was prepared for humans, talking blue hedgehogs, other feaking rainbow animals, dinosaurs that would try to eat him... He was ready, and ready to fight for his life if necessary! What he wasn't really expecting though was a child in some kind of safety suit shaped like a dress? With a lot of shiny technological device attached here and there. He didn't get to see their face a lot but based on its proportions and the way it was standing it was obviously a human child, or a weirdly humanoid shaped alien, because as far as Robotnik knew the probability of an alien species to evolve in the exact same way as human, if statistically possible, was very low, and the probability to encounter it even lower.
The child glanced at him for a second and didn't even look up from the touchscreen tablet in their hands when they addressed him:
"I am looking for a human man who was known on his home planet, Earth, as Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Would you appear to 1) know English and 2) have seen a human looking quite like you, in that the human male standard shape and size are similar to yours. He should have a pale skin and dark hairs, and apparently a 'glorious mustache'?"
For once he didn't really know what to say, it only took half a second for him to remember how to register English words but the kid was faster and after a jaded sigh they resumed: "NÇ huĂŹ shuĆ pÇtĆnghuĂ ma? Kya aap hindee bolate hain? ÂżHablas español? Hal tatahadath alearabiatu? Tumi ki bÄn-"
"YES I do speak English, and other language stoo, thank you very much. Who are you and what are you doing here anyway?"
"I am here to find the Dr. Ivo Robotnik, I have already said that. Are you retarded or something? If you are don't worry I can explain things again, more slowly, I am trained for that."
"I AM, Dr. Ivo Robotnik," he said, trying very hard not to break the child's neck. "I know you're looking for me, what I'm asking is why? Who are you and who sent you here? No. You know what in fact I don't care who you are. I just want to know who sent you. Which government or secret agency, that sort of thing."
The mildly disgusted and doubtful facial expression they made as they were double-checking his appearance was speaking volumes about their internal thoughts.
"I have no more time to dedicate to you. I'm a very busy person and searching for you already wasted far more of my precious time than you deserve. All you need to know is that a very important person want you and you will follow me now if you don't want me to make use of force."
And on that, the child turned their back to him and disappeared behind a mushroom.
Great. One of those child genius who thought they were above everyone else just because they worked for a random government. He should know, he was one of them. But that kid would learn soon enough what their real place was: down below.
He still followed them though, because they looked like they knew a way back and, well, even if he was smart enough to find a way by himself, thank you very much, the sooner he could beat that hedgehog the better it was. Also, he could just kill them after learning whatever device brought them here and no one would know.
âââ
Soon they arrived to a more open area. The child seemingly took measurements, they walked around taking notes on their pad for a few minutes then stopped.
"Come here," they said while pointing the ground. "Don't move."
They took a device from their bag, some kind of tripod filled with wires and LEDs, and placed it on the ground. They stepped back and typed on their screen some more.
The tripod beeped and light beams came out of it, scaning the mushroom cap they where standing on. A dozen of flat devices escaped from the bag and and went to place themselves on strategic points marked by the beams.
The child then placed what looked like a power cell in the tripod. That blue glow emanating from it, could it be... But he had no time to think about it, lights amplificated by stimulated emission of radiation came out of the tripode and to the discs, reflecting into the others, and soon the whole place was illuminated. Reality torn open for the second time this day in a deafening din.
When he oppened his eyes again a ring, looking almost exactly like the one that brought him here, was now open on the ground before him. Almost, because it looked like it opened on a room specifically equipped for that purpose, and with the whole procedure to activate it, it could only mean it was a more primitive technology.
The Doctor looked up at the child, who was scrutinizing him for his reaction.
"I bet you didn't do that yourself, it looks just like this creature's gold rings portals," he said with a smirk.
"Yeah of course," responded the child with spite, "it's reverse engineering."
"Lame."
"Well at least I'm not stupidly stuck on a damn mushroom planet like an idiot. I favour efficiency upon ego, that's why I am here saving your ass and you are pathetically crawling over there covered in mushroom goo. Now, you will have to excuse me..."
They pressed some hiden button in their gloves and Robotnik felt something stinging his neck.
"...but I don't trust you."
The last thing he thought while falling to the ground and through the ring was: "But... That's my tech..."
#soooo... what do you think of it?#i think it's like the second time i post any of my writing in public so im not gonna lie im a little nervous#there was a little more written but it's back on earth so i decided to just cut the 'chapter' in half and focus on that part#i don't have a title yet but im gonna try to think of one#the kid has a couple reasons to hate ivo it's not 100% gratuitous#but you may learn about that in the future đ#i mean if... if you're interested đđ#also you very much can send me asks about this story if you want it might help with motivation maybe? (please)#(im very afraid of not being able to keep writing im a total mess ngl)#anyway uh... i should stop rambling#oh also don't hesitate to point out spelling or grammar errors or anythingâ english is *still* not my first language ah ah#stobotnik#is that okay if i tag the ship even tho this part is very much not about it?#like i kinda plan for it to happen at some point maybe but im not *sure* it will because i don't really have a *full* story planed y'know
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Love is real and it's stored in the way Chuuya looks at Akutagawa in official art
#ryƫnosuke akutagawa#chƫya nakahara#chuuaku#bsd#bungou stray dogs#bsd official art#mine#q.#06/04/23#Some of these are insane. Like okay you like him we got it man
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not to be a milennial but harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban really is that bitch....
#mom wanted to rewatch the movies so we've been going thru them <3#talk about a movie thats just like. grief. i turn into the jamie lee curtis halloween trauma supercut#SORRY..... the visuals are peak like that IS the hp vibe to ME and i am BLOWN AWAY this movie was made in 2004 it feels ahead of its time#the first two are so whimsical and magical enrapturing and this movie is like. a well worn cardigan. this feels 2011 cozycore to me#sorry but the introduction of lupin becoming a comforting trusted guardian type of figure AND the dementors representing hollow depression#this 13 yr old whos been kept in the dark on so many things being extra vulnerable prey to them bc of the severe trauma#but getting lessons on how to withstand that creeping dread.. through happy memories... still bonding w lupin increasngly ouagh...#the grief between them both over james and lily. also btw ofc defense against the dark arts being fighting yr fears through laughter. aaaaaa#and then sirius. black. im. i know we meme on the twelve years of it! in azkaban! but as a bitch whos now closer to those characters in age#and can appreciate and understand them obv more than i could when i was. a tween. that just hits like ok shit. VALID#so valid and real to see the child of your friends you knew at that age but who DIED and then see the friend who betrayed them#to see like the best of BOTH of them mirrored and living on in him and be like yknow what???? you WILL be protected frm that same fate#hoooo the briefest moment where harry might hope things will turn out okay. w sirius' name being cleared and peter having to explain himself#and sirius being like hey i get it if you want to stay w your family that is fine but. if you wanna move in w me...#(harry relaying this to hermione later as well. dreaming of a place fr just the two of them somewhere in the countryside#somewhere..... sirius might see the sky..... bc he thinks he would like that after all those years locked up do not even touch me rn.......)#only fr everything to turn to shit two friends fighting w deadly force. the chance to set this right slipping off into the night.#a million dementors descending relentlessly until utter exhaustion and certain death. some strange salvation? fight for a second chance?#but then still havign to say goodbye when they only just GOT this. and everything still being so. god. and lupin having to leave as well.#the thought of sirius also WANTING that guardian type connection but being forced to live in 1. a cave barely living more freely than before#2. then being confined to the stuffy somber abusive home he ran away from as a teen w that portrait still up there and everything.. bitch...#oh man the way i KNOW when we get to ootp (my favourite) its gonna leave me blasted into a million little pieces#the way i know shit like the knowing wink the entirety of the wall tapestry room scene and of course nice one james is gonna DESTROY me..#dont even talk to me abt that dark turn at the end of gof and how everything after gets soooo. god. w everything just getting destroyed and.#i cant even think abt it i cant even talk about it. wah#i dont care btw that they aged those guys up undermining how insanely young these people died. perfect casting fr the remaining marauders ok
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#finally adding buddie to my blacklist because you guys are all so sexy and i know you have fun with your little ship#but some other people in your fandom need to go outside touch some grass and maybe actually form meaningful relationships in real life#like it's insane what's going on in the 911 fandom and i only barely look at it sometimes#like man i was so excited about a bisexual man in an m/m relationship in a big network show but apparently everyone is Big Mad about that#anyway idk why i'm making this post but okay#maybe it's because i actually think buck and tommy are really cute together and i never cared much for buddie#maybe it's because i think lou ferrigno jr could rearrange my insides and i would thank him for it#whatever it is it's making me real thankful we never got canon bisexual dean winchester because imagine That shitshow going down#if he dated anyone but castiel lmao
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yearning to be in a relationship again fuckkkk can't do this
#i dont miss him. but i do miss those days.#enjoying eachothers presence is silence. the physical touch. knowing someone so intimately you can silently communicate#this doesn't need to just be attatched to romantic of course. platonic soulmates and all that#but i feel like all my bonds are destroyed. crumbled all the way to the source. i don't know if i can make those bonds again#so i pretend i could. i see these creators and believe that i could create those bonds with them. i become someone that'd be in their spher#but i also see the reality that. if i was in their sphere it'd take the same work i'd need to create bonds now.#and the source is rotten. the source can't create bonds. so i'm stuck to float and yearn.#stuck getting high to let my imagination run wild without the nagging. without reality setting in.#and i'm not even getting high cause i got no weed </3 and it's 2am I can't order any. and it's 20$ to order#So I'll stew here and go stockpile weed tomorrow. knowing i'm feeding into my addiction.#But maybe once I'm able to start working more and finals are over I'll be able to cut back.#Maybe When I feel I can connect with people again I'll cut back. I won't be here forever#temporary setback. that's alright. I'll figure it out eventually. Big man did after all. So can I#haha projection go hard. Sorry I try not to. That's a lie but idk.#The reality is we make jokes from some sort of reality#The reality is everyone is struggling and fucked up and cope in different ways.#And no matter how many layers of personas you put up there will always be a thread of truth.#Or maybe I'm fucking insane and projecting. Who knows. I wouldn't I don't know him.#But psychology and data extrapolation is my passion <3#God the ADHD is strong with the connection of thought process in this one. I always laugh looking at my tags#Whatever we live and vibe yahooo#I'm okay I'm just in a yapping contemplative mood lol
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all my live reactions :P
đŻđ: đđđđžđđđž đčđ
đđ đŽ đđŽđ
đ đ¶đżđŒđđŽđđž àŒ
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đN THIS STORY ă a life lived as a human among the fae is one hard-earned. the folk are built of indescribable beauty, and of debauchery and mischief. for some, a life lived subservient to the folk is just fine; but to those who dream of something more, they would spend their lives clawing and biting to make it happen.
you, looking for a way to escape a life as a faerieâs human servant, put a new foot forward thinking that any life could be better than that. but, when your first assignment as a kingâs spy is alongside a brooding, icy faerie man, you begin to wonder what your place in this foreign world really could be.
wc âł 20.2k
pairings faerie!taehyun x human!reader, faerie!yeonjun x human!reader
warnings angst, heated kissing, violence, blood, jealousy jealousy jealousy, controlling and obsessive behavior, a bit of a gross nightmare, magic spell places over a human, a bit of traditional values, i think thatâs allâŠ
playlists â yeonjun Ë taehyun Ë series
âŠđȘ¶ ashlynn's note guys. really. thatâs all i have to say. i love u and once again if u see a typo or like whack sentenceâŠâŠ no you didnât. also my back hurts help
â â â
Youâve come to a thought, in all your aimless idling about the estate. Running your fingers over the surface of all the things youâve done and the decisions youâd made leading you into this reality, youâve been caught on one particularly worrisome divot: the geas.Â
They hadnât exactly given you a time frame, but you surmise that youâre quickly approaching the limit. You've entertained the fantasy that theyâll just consider the both of you dead, but itâs just that: fantasy. You know itâs a ridiculous thought. Thereâs a plethora of things that they might first assume before coming to the conclusion that youâve met your ends. Though the geasâ workings are a bit elusive to you, you can imagine that all it would take is a tug to check whether or not youâre alive. So, if you ever really wanted to call this place home, youâve got to do away with it. Youâve got to. Otherwise, all your wagering to stay here would be in terrible vain. You imagine how much of a fool you already look to Taehyun, considering your entanglement with the prince, and how heâd warned you repeatedly. Itâs not your fault that he decided to stay here along with you, but you feel nauseous imagining your own mistakes getting the both of you killed. Â
Embroidering whorling designs on the hems of your coverlets or sweating away your energy with practicing blocks and parries, youâd also let your mind wander off to fill the silence. It was then that youâd remembered what Beomgyu had offered you in his attempts at luring you. I could dissolve that geas for you. Â
You sit, legs spread out ahead of you, in the little spot that youâve found yourself frequenting these days: pressed against the side of your wardrobe, just enough room for your feet to brush against the wood framing of your bed without having to bend your knees. Taehyun has recently been bringing an influx of faeries to work the estateâall indebted to him or his father. Or, well, thatâs what he tells you, anyway. You choose to believe him, but still, you wonder about the circumstances of those debts. The brownie assigned to your care, named Conifer, is long-limbed with bark for skin that crawls up from her spindly fingers and toes, just to end at her shins and fore-arm, and insists on bathing you and preparing your clothes each day. When you refuse her, she loiters around the doorway anxiously watching you prepare yourself with her watery black eyes until you decide to make her life just a bit easier and allow her to do her work. You donât exactly adore the scrape of her sharp fingers on your scalp while she does your tresses up, though. Their presence reminds you of the servants youâd see running around Yeonjunâs place. Â
In this corner, you avoid them. Itâs a nice spot to betray your own resolution; his letters are only a grab of the handles away. You try not to, but you read them. Often. When your memories really get kicking, when youâre sickened by twinkling, desperate eyes looking up to you from the ground, you read them. Â
âYou look sorry.â Beomgyu settles opposite from you, his back against your bed.Â
Scoffing at him, you pull yourself out of a slouch. âOh, wow. Thank you. You have a way with words,â you quip, hiding the letters youâd fished out indulgently away behind you.Â
He furrows his brows. âI meant it.âÂ
You drag in some air and release it slow. âI know. Iâm sure I do.âÂ
He points at you with the hand he has rested on his knee. âDoes it have something to do with the letters?âÂ
You hadnât hidden them fast enough. Shame crawls a warm red path over your cheeks and ears. Nobody has made any comments at you for your longing, but it feels pitiful to be doing so. You shake your head. âNo. I was just... thinking. About something you said when we first met.âÂ
Strong brows shoot up over lazed eyes. âI think I said many things,â he says, âyouâll have to tell me.âÂ
âThat you could dissolve my geas,â you say, fiddling with your fingers.Â
His eyes consider you. âIt bothers you.âÂ
âIt does,â you say. âIt was a mistake. I shouldâve refused it.â Hope flutters in your chest like a dead weight. You shun it away before reality can rip it out for you.Â
Deadpanned, and not particularly delicately, he tells you, âI cannot break it.â Â
Nodding, you wilt. Itâs what you were expecting, anyway. That would be too easy. "Why not? You said it yourself that you could.âÂ
âA geas is a type of magic cut from the fabric of a promise. Itâll exist until the faerie that placed it over you chooses to revoke it. I couldnât reach in and cut the line like I would another sort of enchantment.â He presses his mouth into a line. âI was under the impression that you were brought up here. Hadnât you known that a promise is binding?âÂ
 Wincing, you answer, âYeah. I did.â And yet, you made it. It was perhaps the biggest mistake youâve made in your entire life. You now understand Taehyunâs aversion when he first made his appearance at the den. You were too tunnel-visioned to really listened to him, then. You run your hands furiously through your hair. âStill... you said you could. How did you say that, if it was a lie?âÂ
A wicked smile cracks over his lipsâone that looks as though heâs sharing a joke that only the both of you might understand, but youâre far from being in on it with him. âA bit late to be learning how our kind play, I believe. I was able to say that because I made myself think it true. It is not plain, and it is not fair, but itâs what it is.âÂ
âThat makes no sense,â you say, shaking your head. âYou canât believe something is true over what you already know is the truth. Youâd have to acknowledge the other thingâs truth to do that.âÂ
He grimaces. âThat you believe that is why youâve found yourself here. Itâs paradoxical, maybe, but weâre good at that. Loopholes exist where you look hard enough for them. If you donât intend to get caught up, you just never accept a Faerie deal, thereâs no other way to it.âÂ
Running fingers over the grooves in the wood of the floor, you say, âI suppose I shouldnât ask you to work up an enchantment that might counteract it, then.âÂ
âPerhaps I could,â he says.Â
Perked up and mouth dropped open, youâre ready to ask him a waterfall of questions. He cuts in before you can even start. âIt wouldnât rid you of the original magic, and I can make no promises to you that itâd be watertight.âÂ
âIâll take anything,â you say. With narrowed eyes, you add, âAfter that whole speech about finding loopholes to lie, and to never trust faerie magic, though...âÂ
He frowns at you. âI see how it is.âÂ
âWhat? I mean, you said it a few seconds ago. I think getting tripped up into another Faerie trick, like, literally seconds after you warned me about them would be a bit ironic.âÂ
âWeâre no longer friendly,â he says, crossing his arms over his chest.Â
You laugh. Him considering you friends is news to you. The word is delicious. You want to say it more. âOh, please. Weâre only friends when it benefits you. How can I be so sure you arenât tricking me?âÂ
âNow, weâre really not friendly.âÂ
A laugh bubbles past your lips once again, and you crawl over to him to try and make amends. âYouâre the one who said it.âÂ
He turns his face from you. âSpare me.âÂ
âSeriously though, do you mean it? That youâd help me?â you ask. The proposition is too shiny to not consider.Â
âItâs not as if I could harm you in any way,â he tells you, dropping the theatrics. âI think Iâd like something in return for it, though.âÂ
You frown. Of course, in Faerie, there are no favors. âWhat would you want?âÂ
The kelpieâs eyes roam over your room for a moment, but itâs mostly for show, because his eyes come back on you with intent. He lifts his head at you in a pointing gesture. âThose letters,â he says. Â
Frown deepening, you sit back. âThe letters?â you say, trying to rein in your face. You donât want him to see how awfully you want to cling to them. Having them is inconsequential when stood beside dealing with the geas, but still... âThe ones from Yeonjun?âÂ
Eyes dancing with interest, he nods. âThose.âÂ
You pull them from behind you. They look a lot less pretty now, envelopes dented with your touches. You canât see why heâd have any interest in them; they werenât even for him. âWhy?â you ask him. âTheyâre just letters.âÂ
Beomgyu nod his head in acknowledgment. âThey are,â he says. âSo why do they bother you as they do?âÂ
Pausing, you consider his words. Why do they? Yeonjun is a liar. You werenât specialâjust a mission to him. You should hate him; seeing those letters full of flowery words and proclamations of love should anger you. And they do, they do anger you, but that doesnât stop you from reading them. Youâre not sure what youâre searching for in them. Closure? Proof of his lies? Or, excuses?Â
Beomgyu has no interest in the letters. Itâs his way of telling you that you need to grow a spine. You suppose itâs about time that you do just that.Â
âHere.â You push them off into his hands. âYouâll do it, then?âÂ
The corners of his lips turn up. âMaybe...âÂ
You hiss and reach for your letters, but he tugs them toward himself and holds them safe out of your reach.Â
âGive those back, you prick,â you say. âYou donât get them for free. Itâs called a deal. You said youâd help me.âÂ
With his eyes dancing with wild mischievous intent, he pretends to think. âDid I?âÂ
You land a smack on his upper arm, groaning when it only sends his face more viciously taunting. That playing glint in his eyes is welcomed, though. At least you know heâs only playing. Otherwise, you might be more worried that he is genuinely screwing you over. âStop playing tricks,â you say, furled out from gritted teeth. âYou know you did. This is what got you here in the first place, idiot. Iâm being serious.âÂ
His lip curls, and he relents. âDo not remind me.âÂ
âDidnât you learn your lesson the first time?â you say, sending eyes with dagger points his way. âCâmon. Magic.âÂ
Looking kicked, he grabs your hand. It sends you back to the day youâd gotten that awful geas and the way Cricket had done the same thing. Youâre going to fix that mistake.Â
âI was just having my fun. I suffer a terrible drought of it here.âÂ
Your skin tickles, and you know heâs working on it. Heart doing nervous laps, you say, âWell, look whose roof we live under. Itâs no wonder.âÂ
He likes that, wicked delight crackling over his features in just the same way his magic crackles through your veins. Itâs a far cry from the last time youâd felt a sensation like this. It feels as though a beast of the wild is crashing through your bones like theyâre hollow. Itâs untamed, but you know just by the thrumming of it that his magic is much more refined and ancient than the geasâ. Its claws brush up against your very core. Â
You try and blink away the daze, deciding to distract yourself away from it with speech. âYou know, I was thinking.âÂ
He raises his eyebrows, listening. His magic doesnât falter as he offers you his attention; no need for his concentration. Not when heâs had centuries to become intimately familiar with it. Â
âThat maybe Yeonjun is a gancanagh,â you continue. Â
A gancanaghâsugar-mouthed faeries with the power to send those around them enamored with them with only as much as their words. Theyâre better known for their other, and in your opinion more fitting, name: love-talker. Youâd been so taken by Yeonjun, so weakened by him. The idea that perhaps it was all to the effect of some magic... Youâre not sure whether it consoles you or makes it hurt more. Then again, it could also just be you trying to justify the mistakes youâd made. Your mind bends and twists around the thought, maybe the magic. Or, maybe, frustration.Â
âA gancanagh,â he says. Beomgyu considers the notion for a moment, but still works his magic through you. âIâm not sure.âÂ
Not sure? You press the issue. âHow are you not sure whether or not the prince is a gancanagh? I know you stay in your forest, but I imagine that youâd know that.âÂ
âHmm.â He turns your arm as if trying for a new angle. âI believe that the princeâs mother is one of the sorrier kinds that the High King takes. He has his Ladies, and he has his courtesans. It seems that he was not so proud of her, since her name never reached my lands.âÂ
A bout of nausea rolls over your skull. His magic is so potent. The tidbit of information is enough to have you perking up despite it. âYou think that his mother is a courtesan?âÂ
âWell, I know she is not a favored Lady. I know nothing of her. She could be gancanagh, or she could be any other thing.â He shoots you a pointed look. âIâm curious as to why you ask.âÂ
Skin clammy, you wipe at your cheek. âHow long does this take?â you ask.Â
âAs long as I make it take,â he says, tilting his head off to one side. âWhy are you worried of the princeâs heritage?âÂ
You know heâs fishing answers out of you. Shrugging, you tell him, âIt was a genuine thought.âÂ
Nausea and buzzing subside as he releases your arm. âThe King has many children. Only some were really considered for their fatherâs throne, though. I know that the young prince was never one of them. I suggest thinking on that.âÂ
You blow out a shuddering breath, controlled and small, to compose yourself under the weight of this new magic. âThatâs it?â you ask, brushing some hair away from your face. âWhat did you do?âÂ
âMostly, blocked.âÂ
âElaborate,â you say, running fingers over your skin as if you might feel the magic there.Â
Taken with amusement, he answers, âIf the one who placed the geas there tries and play that card, theyâll find the pathways blocked.â He slumps back onto your bed. âIt does not mean that the original magic is gone. It is still very much there. Just... hindered.âÂ
Your head swims. Itâs not gone, but this... You know that your sleep will come to you easier now. Maybe itâs not foolproof, but this is much better. Much.Â
âNo more deals,â he tells you. âYouâve only got so much of yourself. Each time you fill yourself up with our magic, you lose that space. You will never be whole again, but you ought to savor what youâve got left. You can only make the best of it.â His mud brown eyes are not joking, now.Â
Blinking, you fumble out a nod.Â
Youâll never be whole again. You hope thatâs more a clever wording than the truth, but with the chill that grips your belly and brushes over the overfilled parts of you, you fear you canât help but believe it.Â
â
You hate it.Â
Drowning in itâyou hate it. You hate the scarlet red of it, you hate the sticky spray of it on your skin, hate the cries of agony that follow its ceremony, and the feel of its blazing warmth fresh from the body. Youâre choking. Swimming up with thrashing arms, itâs so thick that you make no way. Â
The liquidity turns to sturdy arms. They cage you, grab your heart and twist, point daggers at your chest and they whisper words in your ears that you donât want to remember. Your place is in the dirt, they say. You are nothing. A boot in your neck chokes you. You want to scream and cry that you are good, that you didnât want to hurt them, that youâll just mind your place if they take their boot off from your neck, but you canât. You have no voice.Â
The metallic tang of the blood follows you, even as you find yourself standing in Court. It stains the muddy floor a wretched color. A thousand eyes blaze on your skin.
You feel them looking at you. You want them to stop, but they laugh and laugh. Yeonjun joins them, looking up at you with vile mock.
âYou think Iâd beg for you?â he sneers. His sweet voice is warped and twisted into something ugly and mean that grates at your ears and heart. His laugh echoes, and then youâre looking up at him as he hovers over you. âYou donât deserve my begging. I hate you.â
Metal burns your nose, and when you look between the two of you, heâs bleeding from the stomachâfrom the dagger youâd plunged there. He looks up at you, livid eyes piercing you. âLook. Look what you did. You killed me.â
You shake your head frantically, going to hold his face. You try to tell him no, no you didnâtâyou didnât kill him, but stillâ
Shooting up, you grasp for breaths and clutch at the bedding. Heart thudding in your chest, you find Taehyun stood in your doorway, looking dragged from sleep.Â
You adjust your sleep gown, disheveled with sleep and ridden up your thighs. Still piecing together consciousness, you croak out a, âHuh?âÂ
There, tickling at the back of your mind, you still smell blood.Â
âI thought something was wrong,â he says, taking in the room with a thorough sweep. âYou sounded...â Taehyun starts, but does not finish. âSince youâre doing fine, Iâll leave you to sleep.âÂ
âStay?â you blurt, before he can turn and leave you here. Your voice comes out thinner and more fragile than youâd meant it to. Â
Brows shooting up, Taehyun is hesitant to step into the room. âItâs probably hours before sunrise,â he says. âYou donât want to fall back asleep?âÂ
You shake your head. No, you donât. If you do, then youâll be back to drowning. You might not even be able to fall asleep at this point. The taste lingers. Youâre still panting a little when you say, âI donât want to bother you, but... Please.âÂ
Taehyun relents apprehensively, stopping just before the end of your bed. Moonlight blooms over his face from the window. It makes a show of his sharp cheek and jaw lines and emphasizes the feathering of his jaw around a hard swallow. âYou were having a bad dream,â he says, an observation rather than a question. âAbout what?âÂ
Him standing over you like that; it doesnât feel so easy to tell him that youâre haunted by what youâve done. You wince at him and send a gesture up. âYou donât have to stand there. You can sit here.â You pat at the opposite end of your bed.Â
He flexes one hand, a rare anxious gesture from him. âI wouldnât just invite myself into a ladyâs bed.âÂ
Well, he didnât have to put it like that.Â
You say, âIâm inviting you to sit down next to me, Taehyun...âÂ
Itâs a few moments before he does, bed dipping beneath him. Like this, it feels much less like an interrogation. Insects buzz outside, singing their song to the stars and mercifully filling up the moment that you take to pluck up composure. He watches you, but doesnât say anything. He waits.Â
Catching a few strands of your scattered thoughts, you say, âDo you get nightmares sometimes? About the people youâve killed?â Itâs blunt and not much, but itâs all you have in you. Itâs a thought that has served as a thorn in your side for quite a while now, too. Is it only you whoâs had a prison made of their own mind?Â
 Will it ever go away?Â
Resolutely, he shakes his head. âNo. I donât.âÂ
âOh.â You hold yourself a little harder, as if the chill that passes over you is a draft from the window and not bitter dread. âHow? How can you not be bothered by it? Theyâre dead, and theyâll never be coming back. They had as many thoughts and wants as we did. They had mothers that might weep to know theyâre gone. I canât... I donât stop thinking of them.âÂ
âItâs a bit too late for me to start feeling sorry for it,â Taehyun says. âYou canât let it rule you. Not everybody is good, and they were not. If they try to hurt you, you hurt them first. If they lay their hands on you, you cut them off.âÂ
You grow tense as he explains, eyes so heavy that you can practically feel the dark hollows beneath them. âNot even when you hurt someone for the first time? It didnât bother you then?âÂ
He eyes you. The pine smell of him so close to you is both familiar and a distant memory. âI saw blood too early for it to ever haunt me.âÂ
Turning finally, you find his eyes. âI feel so guilty.â Your body buzzes with the need to curl into him, to have him comfort you for it, but you know that he wonât receive it the way you want him to. The way Yeonjun had. Â
But you need it. You need it so bad right now.Â
âThat wonât absolve it. Guilt will not raise them from the dead,â he says. Itâs forthright, but he doesnât mean it to disconcert you. âYouâre tearing yourself up inside, but thereâs justice in protecting yourself.âÂ
Swallowing around tension, you nod. Heâs right; you had every right to kill those times. Youâve known that the whole time. So, why does it still visit you in the deep hours of the night? You chant his words in your head, as if to beat them into your skull. If you try hard enough, you will.Â
âWhat happens?â he asks, when the both of you have been quiet for too long. Itâs strange to see him making attempts to fill silence. âIn the dreams, what happens?âÂ
Shifting into a cozier position, you lean into the headboard by your shoulder. Some of the adrenaline has worked itself away, but remembering it is still bitter. Â
You donât miss the flickering of his eyes over the expanse of your thigh. You mightâve explained it away as a quick glance if that... look had not passed over his face. Restraintâdarting eyes and his throat bobbing. It seems that his concern about being in your bed was about more than just propriety.Â
âMostly, blood.â You make a distraction out of the hemming of your blanket, pinching and picking at it. âSo much of it. Sometimes the dreams are different, but... itâs always the common theme.âÂ
Acknowledging that, he dips his head in a slow, shallow nod. âWeâll start training you on the bow, then.âÂ
âThe bow?â you ask.
âI think that the long range will be better for you,â Taehyun elaborates.
You drink his face in once more. In it, you see him reaching out a handâitâs shaky and awkward and untrained. But under all that, you see that heâs trying. In the silver moonlight, the bow does not look so bad.
Taehyun doesnât leave you until dawn cracks through the windows.
â
You wish that you had your gloves. Itâs freezing todayâwind whipping your hair and teeth chattering even through your extensive layering. You have, like, two pairs of woolen stockings on. But Taehyun said that youâll need to be able to grip the bowstring good, and so you abandoned them when youâd dragged all this on.Â
Heâd made good on his word. Now, youâre out in some shallow neck of the woods, and heâs pointing out the trees that youâre supposed to be using for targets. Theyâre obscured in the onslaught of snowy haze. You want to gripe that heâd picked the worst day to drag you out here, but really, you know it was a fully intentional choice.Â
âNo bullseye for now, just try and hit them wherever you can manage.â Taehyun makes a gesture up at the array of trees. âDonât forget that the wind is blowing west. Youâll have to adjust for that.âÂ
He watches you take up an arrow, quiet as you clumsily wiggle it around until it sits in a spot that feels relatively correct.Â
âHigher,â he finally says. âFind the rest for the arrow, and then youâll find the nocking point on the string.âÂ
You fumble with the placement some more, freezing fingers not as agile as they could be. Just as he said, the arrow falls into a place where it sits comfortably. âThis?âÂ
He hums, voice closer. âThatâs good. Now, you lift it just like that. Donât lose that hold, and pinch the back of the arrow, behind the feathers, with your knuckles.âÂ
Raising the bow, youâre so concentrated on keeping the arrow in place that it shocks you how hard it is to pull the bowstring. The further back you pull it, the more force it demands from you. You only manage to bring it halfway before you stop. âWoah.âÂ
Wind stops brushing your cheeks and hair so hard, and Taehyunâs voice comes from right beside you this time. âHarder than you thought itâd be, huh?â he says, smirk in his voice matching the one you find on his mouth when you turn to look at him. âItâs going to be hard for a while. Youâve got to build up the muscle for it. For now, you just have to power through it.âÂ
You try again, finding the spot where your muscles protest and then going beyond it. Your arms tremble, some spot in the middle of your chest aching with it. You sift through the trees, rushing to find one to release the arrow on before you can no longer maintain the hold.Â
âStand straighter.â He reaches over to adjust your arm, pulling the string-wielding one even further back and forcing your chest further open. Your arms burn. Youâre not sure how much longer you can hold like this.Â
âHurry,â you say.Â
âGo ahead.âÂ
Deciding on the nearest tree, you let the string go from between aching fingertips. It misses and passes the tree to land somewhere in the foliage behind it, but not as awfully as youâd expected. Hissing, you shake out your arms and stretch your shoulders to try and kill the burn, but it lingers. âYou made that look a lot easier than it really is,â you tell him.Â
âMy first shot looked a lot like that,â he says, leaned back into a tree. âThat was a great first try. I shouldâve had you on the bow earlier.â He motions to the bow. âShow me another one.âÂ
Arms still ringing, you sloppily repeat. None of the arrows meet their mark, and you get worse with each. Youâd done so well with the first one, though. Frustration sparks in your chest, catching into a flame when this one misses as well. The cramping in your shoulders and the gnawing of frost at your fingers do not help your temper. âGuess that was beginnerâs luck,â you say, jaw tense. âI canât shoot for shit, now.âÂ
Pushing himself off the tree, Taehyun approaches you once more and says, âIt helps if you breathe out before letting the arrow go, but itâs mostly that your arms are tired. Today isnât about aim, itâs about repetition.â Now in front of you, his eyes dart down to your mouth, but itâs a split-second look. Youâd have missed it with a blink. You want to ask him why he keeps looking at you like thatâlike how he had in your bed that one night. You donât want to make the air awkward, though. Â
To be more honest with yourself, youâre afraid to ask. Youâre afraid what the answer might be; you have donât even have the foggiest clue. âMaybe we should go back. Iâll just stick with what I know.âÂ
âSo, youâll just give it up when it gets hard?â he says, a little ticked off. A muscle in his jaw feathers. Â
You wonder what heâs thinking, beyond just what heâs saying. What he feels beyond what heâll let you see. The reason that Taehyun dropped the spy life the moment youâd told him youâd stay here with Yeonjun is still just as elusive to you. Youâre no foolâyouâd seen the look that passed over his face when you had. It had brought a chill down your spine, something hollow but also desperate. Taehyun does not seem like the type taken to puppy love. He does not seem like the type to follow whims, either. So, what is this? Youâre unsure what to make of it, and what to make of him.
You two had been snapping teeth and blazing arguments, but what lays beneath that? Why does the impenetrable man let you get under his skin the way he does?Â
âYes,â you say, just to ruffle some feathers. âIâll just keep working on swordplay.âÂ
He catches the bait. âThen, what are we out here for? I thought close combat was bothering you.â Flakes of fluffy snow sit on his hair, white petals against black. âAnd, it doesnât hurt to diversify your skillset. Not with a war looming.âÂ
Frustration gives way to softness. Taehyun doesnât have to be out here. He has no obligations to help you with your ridiculous, pitiful dreams. Youâre thankful for it, no matter how rugged he comes across while doing it. âIâm just messing with you. You make it too easy,â you say, offering him a smile. Beneath it, youâre left reeling with the reminder about the war. In your choosing to omit it from your thoughts, youâd just about forgotten about it. Anxiety comes crashing back through the crumbling dam. By now, the King has absolutely realized that Yeonjun is not coming back. Does he think that the north has hurt him or holds him hostage? He might start the war himself, then. A thought dawns upon you. That mightâve been the intention all alongâto have him start things, to remain faultless. Taehyun had said that the Queen is a scheming sovereign.Â
âWar,â you say, licking over chapped lips. âDo you think itâll really happen? That itâll come to battles?â You canât help worrying. Youâve chosen your side in staying here. What if that was the wrong choice? What if your betrayal comes around to bite you? Or, what if the northâs reputation for brutality ends up doing the job before it ever can? You feel surrounded by deathâsurrounded by walls of violence, where too far in one direction would be your end. âItâs not as if Iâll be fighting, though.âÂ
Face solemn, he says, âLetâs start heading back.âÂ
That draws no complaints from you, tucking fingers under your arms to try and save them. He hadnât answered your question, though. âTaehyun?âÂ
Brittle leaves and brush crunch underfoot. âItâs coming.âÂ
Narrowing your eyes at him, tensed in the shoulders, you ask, âWhy are you acting like that? Are you hiding something from me?âÂ
The both of you pause to let a dryad scurry off, snow falling off its bark skin in chunks as it crashes through the forest and away from you. These woods are a lot fuller than the ones youâd found Beomgyu in.Â
âTaehyun,â you repeat. Your stomach is sick. Skin burning, you get flashes of memoriesâof Yeonjunâs guilty eyes that night. It rushes through your bloodstream like icy water. This feels like an overreaction, but your body does not align with your stuttering heart. You canât tamp it down. âWhat is it? I donât like secrets.â Your voice comes out fragile, like itâll break in the frigid air like ice and fall down to the ground in a crash.Â
His face is hard. You donât like that, either.Â
âYouâre not going to be fighting, but I know what is planned. Itâs messy; messy and dirty. And dirty wars are not afraid of collateral damage.âÂ
Frowning, you ask, âHow do you know whatâs planned?âÂ
âItâs a generalâs job to know the war he leads his army into.âÂ
You stop dead. âAre you serious?â you snap, voice on a tight leash. âSeriously, Taehyun?â He keeps walking, forcing you to tear your feet from their spot to follow him. Jogging to match his stride, you say, âSo, youâre just going to take up his will? Youâre going to lead a war, like him? What about me, Taehyun? What happens to me?â Â
It seems that heâs fully taken over his role as heir to his father and his estate, but why? Why, if he sheared off his own ears to escape that legacy? Taehyunâs moral code has exceptions for violence, but he said it himselfâhe doesnât like senseless killing. Not like what would come with taking on this role. Â
âBeing general secures me a seat while they discuss their plans. It means I have sway in what happens. This is not for my enjoyment, or for power, like how my father saw it,â he says, measured and steady. âYouâve not seen a Faerie war. Theyâre given to dramatics, and they span... they span long. If something is going to happen, itâs better off that Iâm in the room that they discuss it. Otherwise, weâre just sitting here and crossing out fingers that we donât get caught in the crossfire.â Head held high, he adds, âThis is my duty.âÂ
Anxiety warms your frozen bones. âDuty?â you say through a caustic laugh. âYouâll be going to war, Taehyun.âÂ
âNot petty battles. If something more drastic happens, I suppose I would, but being a foot soldier is not my role in this. Maybe my father wouldâve, just to see the blood and carnage, but not me,â he says, as if that makes it any better.Â
âI donât like this.âÂ
âThey know we were here as spies. They could decide at any moment to kill us. As general, my position would protect us.â He levels you a stare, hard. âYou decided to stay here for him, so this is what I have to do.âÂ
A terrible sickness settles in your stomach with his words. These are the consequences to your actions, for your overenthusiasm, but you feel more like a burden than sorry for yourself. Â
You want to tell him to stop paying the prices; that itâs not his job, but a chilly breeze sings in your ears that itâs much too late for that. Â
 â
Biting back complaints and the prickling of tears, you let Conifer work on your hair. Sheâs merciless with the tugs and pins, fingers threading through strands to tug them up into the frilly and loose updo. Â
âWhy do I need to be dressed?â you ask her, watching her work dutifully behind you through the mirror.Â
âMy Lady,â she says around a pin she holds in between her lips. âOne moment.âÂ
âYou donât have to call me Lady, or anything,â you tell her, wincing at the sound of it. âIâm no more a Lady than you.â Sheâd come into your room, nervously plucking at the pine needles on her forearms as she informed you that she needed to get you prettied up. Itâs random, but youâd perked up immediately. Itâs been so long since youâve done anythingâso long since you had a reason to look pretty and drag on glittering dresses. Not doing the work yourself is strange, though. You wonder if this is what your life wouldâve been with Yeonjun, with servants waiting at every corner to pamper you and make sure that your hands never again see any type of hard work. Â
You shake those thoughts away. Thatâs not your life here in Taehyunâs estate. It does you no use comparing. Youâre not so used to this, anyway. It gets under your skin a bit, though you know theyâre working off debts in his service. Â
âOh, the Lord would prefer that I do,â she says. A sharp pin scrapes up against your scalp as she pushes it in, securing up a willowy tress. All Yeonjunâs giftsâthe dress sheâd laid out for you, and the jewels she garnishes you in. How strange is it to have Taehyunâs servants dressing you in Yeonjunâs things? You still donât know why he even bothered with bringing them in. You all were managing before. It's not as if any of you are the type to demand being waited on, anyway. You all have lived in more humble means. Beomgyu literally comes from the forest. And, why would it even matter how she addresses you to Taehyun?Â
It wouldnât be fair of you to demand her to call you otherwise, then. You nod. âIâm sorry you have to work for me.âÂ
âOh, itâs no bother, dear. Iâm grateful that the Lord has chosen such a way for me to pay him for my debt.â She tugs a few tendrils loose. It looks now more like the style is worn in by a good night spent dancing and laughing than freshly combed up. âThere are worse ways to do so.âÂ
Thatâs right. For her, servitude is only a result of some extrenuating circumstance. Your servitude was nowhere near your fault. Thatâs where the difference lies; why she can be so blithe about it.Â
âWhat happened?â you ask. Itâs an invasive question, sure, but you prefer to ask it straight. No buttering it up or smoothing over words.Â
âThe late General spared my life on a whim. Iâd worked this estate for years, even watched the boy grow into his manhood, until the General passed and the young Lord went disappearing. No reason to work an empty estate. And now, by bloodline, my debt is owed to him.âÂ
You frown. Serving under Taehyunâs father, only because he decided out of the kindness of his heart to not murder you, sounds harrowing. Â
âBut, thatâs of no importance, dear. The Lord is expecting you; the Queen holds council soon.â Hastily, Conifer slides one last pin in, just for safe measure. âItâs terribly important that you maintain good manners, dear. Stay by the Lord, and do not speak unless they speak to you.âÂ
Council? Heâs expecting you to come with him to a war council? You pause, but she ushers you up and away.Â
Bounding down the stairs in a flurry of feet, you hold your skirts in a death grip, heart clenching with nerves. Once, youâd been a mirror to thisâpanicking over attending Court for the first time. That was nothing. If you had been oblivious to Court propriety, sitting in on a Faerie council in the presence of the Queen and her entourage... Youâre screwed. So, so screwed.Â
Taehyun waits beside the blackthorn tree. Noticing you, he greets, âReady?âÂ
âYouâre serious about this?â you say. Itâs hard to speak around the lump in your throat. âWhy do I have to come? It seems more like a risk than anything.âÂ
Brows furrowed, he adjusts his tunic. âYouâre smart, arenât you?â he says, cadence flat and matter-of-fact. âItâs not a risk. Iâm bringing you so that they know youâre with me. You wonât have to come to any more after this, unless itâs what you want.âÂ
Frowning, you say, âI feel as though theyâll react not so kindly to a human just... waltzing into a war council. You really think theyâll just let me come and sit in?â The Queen will be there, and all the terrifyingly massive players in the Unseelie Court, and then... You. Youâll just have to make yourself seem important enough to be there. Taehyun is one of those invaluable players now, you suppose. The General. Your mind still struggles to wrap itself around the enormity of that. Â
Will Yeonjun be there? Heâs no doubt got the status. You pick at your fingers viciously. Youâre not ready to see him again; not sure if youâve fortified your walls enough for that yet. You might crumple with just a glance, but to sit in the same room as him?Â
âTheyâll trust my judgement,â he says. The lines of his face do not carry the same confidence that his voice does. âYouâre not just stumbling in. Youâre walking in with me.âÂ
âBut, Iâm sure theyâre all very aware by now that we were spies. Doesnât that leave a stain on your word?âÂ
He reaches up to a low-hanging branch, dark and bristling with thorns, and snaps off the very ends of them into thin poles of twig armed with spikes. The thistles remind you of his eyesâin fact, the whole tree does. Barbed and dark and sturdy; the House of Blackthorn could not have better chosen their symbol. Â
âThey made me their general,â he says, circling until heâs come behind you. âTheyâve already made up their minds.âÂ
Tugging at your hair tells you that heâs wiggling those sticks, black and sharp, into the updo, as if theyâre accessories. Itâs like what heâd done with those berries just before youâd gone to Court for the first time, but these twigs do not act like a ward like they had. Â
You turn to interrogate him and his sudden interest in your hairstyle, but confusion splinters off into nothing when his cold hand brushes at the back of your neck. In a heart-pounding moment, his sword-roughened fingers drag down the length of your jaw from behind. He grabs your chin his hand and turns your face further toward your shoulder. Snowflakes and the breeze and the stars all stand frozen around you. Or, maybe, you havenât got the will to pretend they exist while heâs leaning down so that heâs right in your ear and whispering with puffed breaths that raise chills on your skin.Â
Under his breath, low and just for your ears, he says just one word. Itâs one that you donât recognize, curling in a way that you doubt your tongue would be able to even pronounce. As quickly as the moment had come, he releases your face. Snow crunches under his feet as he retreats.Â
Blinking for a moment, you spin on your heel to follow him. You make a point to not catch his stride fully, though. He absolutely should not see how ruffled you are. âWhat does that mean?âÂ
He doesnât answer, only leaving you in a flustered, charged silence. You beg the wintry breeze to carry away your racing thoughts, or at least to lick at your cheeks and cool them. Whatever it was that heâd said, you can only assume it to be in an ancient Faerie tongue.Â
With a stuttering heart, you follow him. Youâll just have to whistle in the dark. If you donât do it scared, you wonât do it at all, and youâre always scared.Â
â
Inside the council room, a handful of who you assume to be the Queenâs most important advisors sit around a circle table. On that table stand war maps and a collection of letters and objects no doubt important to plans and intel.Â
In one of those seats sits Yeonjun. Of course, heâs here. Youâd anticipated as much, but that doesnât change the way you jump right out of your skin the split second your eyes meet. Itâs a fiery exchange, sending sparks up your spin and rendering your mind a blistering mess. His eyes are hard. He doesnât shy away from it the way you do, tearing yourself away to sit in the seat next to Taehyunâs. Â
Itâs not just Yeonjunâs eyes that burn on your skin. Theyâre wondering why youâre here. You itch to dip out and away from their scrutiny.Â
âDo I have to say anything?â you say, voice barely anything but a whisper as you lean over to Taehyun. âLike, announce myself or anything?âÂ
âNot now,â he says. âNot unless youâre asked to.âÂ
Fidgeting with your dress under the table, you dip your head in a shallow, quick nod. Youâll just mind your own, unless youâre forced to do otherwise. You canât risk saying something thatâll end up screwing you both over.Â
Chairs scrape the floor, faeries standing and dipping at the waist. You follow them. Your back is to the door, but you donât need to see to know whoâs arrived. The Queen.Â
She sits in her seat, at the head of the table, and everybody else follows. You swallow hard. Her eyes, hardened and storm-colored, pin each of the attendees as she sweeps the room. A diadem of twigs and rotted leaf lays on her tangle of hair. The Unseelie Queen; she looks the part. Breath catches in your throat when her eyes come to you.Â
When she opens her mouth to speak, jagged teeth reveal themselves from behind grey lips. âThe human girl. Does the Blackthorn house claim her?â she asks. Her voice commands the airâboth slackened and imposing.Â
Yeonjunâs eyes bare down on you. Â
Taehyun answers her. âYes. She is my retinue.âÂ
One of the council members, with a haughty, long face and a sneer to match it, says, âIs this the girl that you sang so profusely to us for, prince? The spy girl?â His ruffled sleeves flourish as he gestures. Heâs dressed especially plummy among them, but they all are dressed in glittering robes and tunics. This faerie no doubt thinks highly of himself, though, to be poking at Yeonjun. Â
Yeonjun had spoken of you here? Â
You feel a little frozen. Becoming the center of their attention is the very last thing youâd wanted. Rather than sinking back into your seat, you claw at your insides to keep your head held high. You do exchange a quick glance with Taehyun, whoâs mouth is pulled taut. Â
He takes it in stride. âYes, it is.âÂ
âYou beseeched us for her safety, but...â the black-haired faerie continues, âSheâs sat beside our General.â A cruel smile plays on his lips. He knows exactly what heâs doing. âAnd I believe it to be unprecedented that a human joins us here, your highness.â He turns to the Queen, a smile that tells exactly of the game heâs playing.Â
âNot here,â the Queen snaps. âWe havenât the time for this. Who cares. Letâs not waste what slight time we have, with all of us in attendance.âÂ
The black-haired faerie snaps his mouth shut, but a nasty attitude lingers.Â
Another speaks up. âYour majesty, is there not something to be said of the exclusivity pertaining to who we meet here with?âÂ
She drums her fingers on the arm of her seat. Bored. âBe gone with it. I did not know youâd become so wary of humans.âÂ
That stings. Youâre not even worthy of being a threat. Jaw tightened, you grit your teeth.Â
âShe has ears,â he says. âAnd a well-working mouth, Iâm sure, and we have delicate issues to discuss.âÂ
None of them press any further as she sends them a pointed stare. They begin offering up and discussing their positions and knowledge, much of it lost on you. All youâre thankful for is that most of it is bickering over how to approach the war, and not plans for full-fledged schemes. Â
Taehyun offers up his approach a few times, his voice carrying strong and his shoulders squared. Yeonjun does not speak much at all. Â
And when itâs over and everybody disassembles, you know youâve got to leave. Fast; fast enough that Yeonjun will not be able to corner you into a conversation that you are too flimsy to be having. As you do, though, you war against every instinct in your bodyâheart and feet and arms ringing pleas in your bones. You canât. Really, you canât.Â
âPretty.â Â
That voice, smooth but also so very sullen now, shatters your frenzied bubble. You go solid and frozen to the ground.Â
âPretty, look at me,â he grits out, voice cracked down and raw. Â
When you donât, he steps around you. His eyes dart up, taking in something on your head, and then his jaw ticks when he finds something he doesnât like. The blackthorn twigs in your hair.Â
Heâd looked sullen and detached when sitting at the table, but here, up close, he looks awfulâfar and beyond worse than youâve ever seen him. Itâs as if youâd ripped the heart right out of his chest and asked him to go on living without it. In the hollowness thereâs a sadness, but thereâs also a blazing anger.Â
A frozen hand takes your upper arm and tugs hard. âCome on. Weâre leaving.â Taehyunâs voice is hard.Â
You stumble forward with him, summoning the will within you to not look back while you do. You do not want to watch his face as you leave. You absolutely cannot. Your gut twists viciously. Â
Youâre pathetic, missing him the way you do.Â
â
When you get the first letter, you accept it from the servant uneasily. You donât even ask whose letter it is. The wax seal tells you enough, but youâd know even without it. Yeonjun has broken his silence.Â
It confuses you. Taehyun had intercepted his letters when he sent them before. Why does he not bother, now? It doesnât feel like a kindness. It feels intentionalâlike a gambit. Beomgyu had made a point to take those original letters from you. You know he meant well in the cheeky way that he shows his companionship, but youâre spineless after all, and they come at a very weak moment. Just as youâve built up wavering pillars, he reaches in and crumbles them down as if they were nothing. Â
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Youâre able to let this one roll off your shoulders, but the next few are not so easy.Â
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The letters change with your prolonged silence, too.Â
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Itâs jarring, itâs more of that desperate pleading that youâve been trying so hard to escape, and itâs burrowing deep down into the tender parts of your heart like a stake.Â
There are some letters that are even more frenzied than that. Theyâre testaments to his promises: this doesnât end.Â
You had been sorely mistaken in thinking that Yeonjun would just step away. Terribly mistaken. Deep in your belly brews the feeling that this is not going to go over as smoothly as you hoped it would. In retrospect, how had you ever thought you could cleanly tear him off you? This is not like ripping off a bandageâquick and painfulâno, this will be much, much more unpleasant than that. Yeonjun had done a delicate job of veiling just how wretchedly he loves you, but youâd seen peeks of it. Flickers and moments of potent neediness and jealousy, quickly smoothed over with something more groomed and palatable. Now, you see it in full force. As soon as given the need to unveil himself, he was not afraid to. As long as it brings him you.Â
But he will not get you. Youâre not yet so foolish to go falling back into his arms. Not after youâd done just that, and then learned what trusting him just based off his inability to lie meant. Itâs not as if youâre not already slowly wanting to forgive him for the fact that his initial job was to kill you. In weak moments, you construct excuses. But if you brush off lie after lie, where is the limit to the lies youâll accept, if only just for him? There would be none. That is a dangerous beast to toe. Â
You think you know now, why Taehyun lets you read those letters freely. Â
 â
Lifting your fist to knock on the door, you bounce on your heels. Taehyun tells you to come in, voice muffled behind the door.Â
Stepping in, you drink in the sight of his quarters. Not once in the months that youâve spent here have you been in his room. In the center is the bed, bedding coal black. His desk is cluttered with maps and stray daggers. Taehyun works on the strap to his leather baldric, looking up to you. Â
âWhere are you going?â you ask him. Â
âThey called me for council,â Taehyun answers. He straightens up. âWhatâs up?âÂ
You purse your lips. âOh,â you say. âNothing. I was just seeing what you were up to.âÂ
Honestly, youâre not entirely sure why youâd stumbled in here. It had just felt right in that moment. It couldnât hurt to try and mend the tensions that lay between you two, anyway. If this is going to be your home, itâs better off that way.Â
Taehyun nods slowly, as if heâs not entirely sure what to say. His tongue darts out to wet his lips.Â
A smile tugs at your mouth. Beneath the confident, hardened exterior, Taehyun is stiff in the face of emotional connection. âDidnât want me to join you for this one?âÂ
He shakes his head, the lines in his shoulders stiffening as if the thought were offensive.Â
Scoffing around a laugh, you say, âI didnât do that bad, did I?â Itâs more to pester him than offenseâyouâd had your fill. And you want to know whatâs changed; why heâs suddenly averse to you joining. Â
Jaw shifting, he says, âNo, you didnât.â Taehyun brings his hand up and adjusts his collar. âIâd just prefer it.âÂ
You change tack. His face has fallen a bit, and youâd intended to lighten things up. âItâs fine. That was boring anyway,â you say, âBesides, Iâd prefer it here, with the army of servants waiting to see to my needs.â Tilting your head to one side, you give him a grin chock-full of mock pretension.Â
His brow furrows. âThe servants? Do you not like it?âÂ
Shrugging, you answer, âI donât hate it. Itâs nice to have help getting ready, though, I guess. Makes me feel special.â To quell your own gnawing curiosity thatâs been festering beginning the moment the first one had arrived, you add, âWhyâd you do it, though?âÂ
His face flickers. âThe estate needs to be run. They have duty to do so. If it were going to be anybody, itâs them.âÂ
You know that look. Living with Taehyun, youâve got to become fluent in the face and even the most subtle changes. What he doesnât speak in words, youâre forced to find there. Try as he might to fortify his mask, water will always find and slip through the cracks as slivers of true emotion crack through his face. Heâs not telling you the truth. You narrow your eyes.Â
âYeah. I understand that. I just thought we were doing fine before, I guess.âÂ
âI thought...â he says. âDid the prince not keep servants?âÂ
Your frown deepens. Why would it matter whether or not Yeonjun has servants? Of course heâd have attendants; heâs a prince of Faerie. Mind churning for a moment, you stumble upon a thought. Or rather, it stumbles upon you.Â
Taehyun had brought servants here because he figured that, because of your time with Yeonjun, youâd want that. It bothered him to think that Yeonjun could provide something for you that he couldnât. Heâd gone out and tracked down faeries indebted to him and his father because that got under his skin. You think to that morning heâd woken you up, spitting venom, because Yeonjun had sent you those dresses. And in his arm, heâd held a single crystalline gown.Â
âTaehyun, why did you tell Yeonjun about our kiss?âÂ
For a split second, heâs taken aback, shifting as though youâd lit a fire under his feet. The air hangs heavyâso, so thick. Itâs so stiff that you have to breathe with conscious effort. This silence, tense and on the brink of snapping, stretches for an eternity. Your mind reels; youâre just as caught off guard as him. You havenât the faintest clue where youâd trudged up the nerve, but you had, and now youâre terribly curious to know his answer. The memory had hovered around, blazing and impossible to brush off, from the very moment the words had tumbled out from Yeonjunâs lips. How had you even lasted this long, pretending it hadnât happened? All off that electric curiosity comes to a head hereânowâand you do not know if youâve prepared well enough for the truth of it.Â
As silent as it is, the moment buzzes. Itâs deafeningly loud, just as it is deafeningly quiet. His silence answers just as well as words. Â
His answer slices the air, cutting through the tension like a scalding knife. âThe prince told you that?âÂ
You step toward him, looking up at him through your lashes. âHe did," you say, quick and dismissive. âWhy did you tell him? When?âÂ
A flashâa flash of something untamed and deep like the woodsârenders his eyes dark. You remember that look; heâd scarcely let you see it. It had scrawled under your skin the first time he had. Something in it strips you down to your very bones, where you are nothing more than buzzing soul and heat. Taehyun approaches you in dark, languid steps. Youâre lightheaded, breaths lodged deep in your chest. Any semblance of clarity you might have had becomes a lost cause as he takes your face in his hands and leaves you no other option than to meet those smoldering eyes. Bitterly cold hands bite into the soft skin of your cheeks. Cold-blooded.Â
Your head spins. âTaehyun?â you say, short and breathless. Even just a naked whisper of his name, you struggled to manage it. Him, here, in front of you, is both so real that it rattles you down to you core and so intangible that you wouldnât dare believe it. And yet, blistering eyes pierce through the mist, and you know that it is sickeningly real. Â
âFuck,â he says, mouth turned down and at war with the rest of his face. Heâs so close that you feel the word on your face. âI donât know whatâs wrong with me.â His throat bobs. âI donât know who this is.âÂ
In a stumble of clumsy feet, you clash with the desk in a rattle. Thereâs hardly any perch for you, but in a scramble, you curl your fingers white-knuckled around the edge. He has you pinned between him and the wood with nowhere to breathe and nowhere to think. A controlled, shaky breath comes tumbling from behind your lips. Electricity crackles in the air between you, and youâre weak to it. You turn your head away, clawing for some semblance of control or respite from the bare intensity.Â
Despite your shock, somewhere deep, deep down in your belly, you know that this is only the fruit of some howling storm that has been swirlingâswirling and churning and gaining power. Youâd felt the trembling of it, the promise of something explosive and imminent, as oblivious as you were to its source. Now, the ground cracks open beneath you, and it will accept nothing other than to swallow you whole.Â
âDo you not think of me as a man?â he grits out. Since youâve decided to blatantly avoid his gaze, he gets down right into your neck. âWell, I am. And you brought him here. Brought him into my home, and you let him touch you. âÂ
Taehyun had been there that day. Â
Itâs as if time itself slows down around you. This moment inflates into something infinite. Everything that heâd done, every little thing that youâd struggled to digest, is laid out before you. Heâs holding your hips as if youâll fade around the edges and leave him here. Thereâs something raw beneath the growled words; something desperate.Â
Belly flipping ruthlessly, you speak, but theyâre not coherent thoughts. âI... didnât think that...âÂ
Heâs quick to cut you off, rearing back to look you in the eyes once more, forcing you to do the same. And he holds you there. âDo you think that he can provide for you better than me? That I canât provide you your needs?âÂ
Your heart is a ravenous, wild thing in your chest. All that heâd done: the dress, the servants, finding Beomgyu, staying here in the north, demanding that you donât depend or even associate with Yeonjun, urging you to not attend Court because he knew Yeonjun would be thereâwas because it was supposed to be him. And it was killing him because finally something had managed to drive right through that suit of ice armor he struggles so hard to keep up, right down to where his real emotions slumber, and he is forced to feel something. In all that banishing emotion away, heâs now faced with this blazing consumption, and he is utterly lost.Â
Taehyun curses, a relenting of his will, before heâs taking your lips to his. Itâs a ravaging, fervent meeting, clashing teeth and roaming hands with no destination. He lifts you up onto the desk, and then his hand finds the hair at the very back of your head. You remember this wild dance of tongue and mouthâthe first time heâd put his mouth on you, itâd been just the same. Youâre gasping and clawing at his shoulders. Â
What on earth are you doing?Â
His hands are all over you. Itâs as if he canât get enough, as if heâs catching up to all that had been bursting at the seams in his mind. His lips taste like finally. When heâs forced to release your lips for air, itâs not as if he gives you any real room to breatheâhis lips fall like glowing ashes down the column of your neck. Youâre helpless to the whines he takes from your lips. He melds your bodies into one clumsy thing, pushing you down into the desk in a clumsy clatter. He wholly overwhelms you, and you think that it is a conscious effort. He intends to wiggle his way into every little corner, every little space, until you have no room for thought but him. If the drunken haze thatâs rendered your thoughts sluggish is anything to speak of his efforts, heâs succeeded.Â
You catch yourself halfway down, before your back makes it down onto the desk. His mouth is back on yours, spinning with the sting of your scalp as he guides you through his kiss. His hands reach your upper thigh, making slow work of bunching the fabric.Â
âIf you knew,â he says, appreciating the bare skin as if it were as precious as jewel and gold the same way he had that night in your bed: as if every inch were just as intimate as a glimpse of your cunt. âIf you knew what I think about doing to you.â Â
Blood roars beneath your skin. The confession that Taehyun has thought about touching you like this, or the fact that heâs been battling against his own mind in the onslaught of those thoughts, sheds a new light over so much. Beneath that stony face, heâd been needing you. Â
Through the licking of your bottom lip and the buzzing behind your skull, you see Yeonjunâs face. Your stomach does a flip. Youâre not supposed to feel guilty. You shouldnât, but guilt slices like a molten dagger through the haze. How can you be here, doing this, when heâs out there aching for you? As far as you distance yourself from his sphere, youâre still reminded of who taught you your body now that another man touches you. You imagine how hurt heâd be if he saw you now.Â
You rage against those thoughts. You owe no guilt to the man that had only ever approached you because you were his target.Â
Taehyunâs gaze meets yours. You mustâve gone quiet, or maybe still. Perhaps itâs your eyes that gives it away, though, because he does not like what he finds in them. In a blink, heâs retracting back into his shell. Â
âYouâre thinking of him,â he spits. His voice is so caustic and venomous as it falls out that your skin burns. âEven while Iâm touching you.âÂ
You want nothing more than to reach in and pull that fire and raw emotion back out. He pulls away. Your skin is painfully empty of his touch. Chest aching, you say, âTaehyun, wait. Please. I wasnât.â The lie rolls off your tongue too easily, but you canât stand the chill fallen over your form.Â
His face is far off and distant, his jaw set tight. He runs a hand through his hair, made a mess with your touch, the action punctuated by a barbed laugh.Â
He doesnât even say anything more to you when he leaves the room. He just leaves. You sit for a few minutes, legs dangling and blood roaring. Â
Taehyun has kept a lot beneath a jaded and aloof front, but it seems that even he has a tipping point. Â
â
âThat reeks,â Beomgyu says. Heâs sat on the basin, legs dangling down.Â
The water embraces you in a delightful lukewarm that disarms your nerves and has you drowsy. âSoap?â you say with a subsequent rich snort. You scoot, bathwater lapping at the walls of the tub when you bring your knees to your chest. The round tub is big enough for you to sprawl out, but you prefer sitting right up against the wall. Only the suds and perfumed oils sitting in a thin, hazy film on top of the water protect your decency from Beomgyuâs eyes. With the servants insisting on helping you wash, though, youâve become indifferent to bathing in front of others. Itâs not as if youâve got to worry about him leering, anyway. He doesnât blink at your nakedness. You appreciate the company. âIt smells clean. You know, so you donât smell like straight mud.âÂ
âMud is not such an offensive smell as that,â he says, nose crinkling. âYou lather yourself in smells that are wholly unbelievable.âÂ
Laughing, you feign sending a spray of water droplets his way. âWell,â you muse, âWe are not hewn from the same stone. We have to clean ourselves.â While your worldly body demands that you maintain hygiene with soap and water, the folk wash for leisure. You donât bemoan it, though. Itâs your realityâalways will beâand you delight in coming out feeling fresh. âAnd your earthy... musk... is just as terrible to me as this is to you. So...âÂ
âAgree to disagree.â He sits still. Beomgyu is always eerily stillâyouâve come to the realization that itâs because he doesnât breathe. No rising or falling of his chest meant he could sit in absolute repose. Youâre not entirely used to it, even now. How could anything be a living, talking being, without breath? There he sits, though. Â
Echoes of your washing fill the room. You sigh. With each scrub, you imagine carving away both any dirtiness and any heavy thoughts. It doesnât work, of course. You feel no less heavy. If only it were that easy.Â
âTaehyun is general now,â you say, frown tugging at your face. âFor the Queen.â Remembering it makes you feel impossibly heavier. It had been a secretive move, but still... He had become the one thing that has haunted him for you. His words yesterday said as much. You buzz at that memory, heart racing at just the memory. It had been a battle pretending your first kiss hadnât happened, but this was different. Terribly different.Â
You blink, trying to bring yourself together when Beomgyu says, huffing out a humorless laugh, âHe is only his fatherâs son.âÂ
Sighing, you sink lower into the water. The kelpie wouldnât be himself without some snide remark in Taehyun or his fatherâs expense. You know why heâd done it, now, but youâre awful and canât help but consider what him being general might mean. Taehyun has a strict moral code; you donât think heâll go around killing in cold blood. Still, in order to retain his standing, heâll have to carry out the councilâs will. Itâs a slippery slope; you fear the heâll become the thing heâd once hated at your expense. With a sickened stomach, you hold your knees closer. You donât want that. âHe said it was to make sure weâre no longer targets. You know, since we came here as spies and all that,â you say, voice softening as thoughts grow louder.Â
Agitated, Beomgyu slips off the basin. âWhy would he have bothered with finding me, then, if he had already made other plans?âÂ
Spinning water with a finger and watching it swirl, you say, âI know for a fact itâs why he did it. Itâs just that I donât like it. I mean, getting involved in the war is one thing. We were already involved to some degree, anyway. Becoming the general is a whole other thing.âÂ
A wicked delight crackles across Beomgyuâs face, and you brace yourself for whatever has excited him so. âIf you would deign it with your word... We could be gone from this estate. Anywhere that pleases us, free from the fool.âÂ
âOf course,â you say, rolling your eyes and watching him pace the floor. âItâs always dramatics with you. Weâre not running away. Good try, though.âÂ
He pauses, grimacing down at you. You suppress a laugh. Maybe you couldâve entertained his grand plan. At least, for a moment. Your fingers have pruned up, but you have no will to drag yourself from the warmth. Let you just stay like this, cocooned in its welcoming arms, for a bit longer. Then, youâll find it within you to face the memory of Taehyunâs hands and the gravity of what heâd let slip.Â
â
Dust motes flutter when caught in the light. You, with bare feet padding on the chilly morning floors, plow right through them. A clattering, so lively in the still sleep-ridden estate, floats out from the kitchens. You follow it.Â
Beomgyu stands, lanky and strange as always, watching a servant work dutifully on a meal. You frown. Itâs a bit early for any of your usual meals.Â
âHanging around in the kitchen? Thought you didnât eat,â you say. Â
He gives you a distracted grumble. âI can eat. I just donât need to.âÂ
An eye roll slips. âThatâs even worse. You asked for a meal to be made for you, just so that you can taste it,â you say, hand on your hip. âVery inconsiderate.âÂ
Disconcertment lines his face at that, looking back over at the servant. âI did not ask for a meal.âÂ
âYeah... Okay. Anyway, do you know where Taehyun has gone? Out?âÂ
Beomgyu shakes his head. âNo, I donât believe heâs gone anywhere,â he says, eyeing you. âYouâre searching for the Lord?âÂ
âI mean, I was just wondering where he is. I didnât see him around, or anything.âÂ
âOh, pull your stake from my heart,â he grumbles and scratches at his neck. âI fear youâve abandoned me in my loathing, with who else am I to escape this place? â he says. Â
âThere you go again,â you say, relenting to conversation. Conversation with Beomgyu makes you feel lighter. âIf we ran away, weâd make it like... a week.âÂ
He cocks his head to the side. âYouâd last a week. Iâd be just fine.âÂ
âOh, you think so?â you scoff. âAnd where would we go?âÂ
Now, heâs really riled up, throwing his arms up, exasperated. âTo the forest,â he deadpans. âI... come from the forest. Of course Iâd go to the forest.âÂ
Mouth pulled into a grin that you know will irk him, you say, âSounds like a nice place. For you. You just want to get out of here, you donât care about what happens to me. Iâm hurt. This is supposed to be our escape plan, not Beomgyuâs.âÂ
He likes that, lips curling at the corners. âWell, I pride myself in my cleverness, and itâs not as though Iâll be leaving this rotten place by my own means,â Beomgyu says. Â
âOh, youâre just so clever.â Youâve become too familiar with that impish grinâheâs joking. But you donât doubt for a second that if you were to propose running away, Beomgyu would be elated. He makes the jokes for a reason, anyway. Itâs become a sort of game; him suggesting it, and you shutting it down. âAnd is that why you deign to bless me with your presence? Plotting and scheming?âÂ
âDonât give me your sarcasm,â he huffs. âI deign you with my presence because I ought to. What else should I do?âÂ
âYou love me,â you say, tableware and platters clattering and mingling with the sound of your voice. âI know it.â You drag out the last syllables in a taunting melody.Â
 The servant who had been busy with making the breakfast, a hob you donât really recognize, pokes in to tell you that itâs finished, so you move your conversation over to the table. Pulling out the chair, you eye the plates. Itâs more extravagant than you usually eat here. It reminds you more of Court food or what few meals youâd had with Yeonjun: a honeyed meat and some fire-roasted burdock root. Beside it is a bowlful of salt, but itâs only by yours. You dip your head at the faerie, careful of course not to say thank you. That would mean that the faerie has done you a favor, and then youâd be expected to repay it. A simple gesture works just fine.Â
Beomgyu doesnât sit, nor does he take any interest in eating. Instead, he hovers at the far end of the long table, telling you, âI do not love anything.âÂ
Raising your brows at him, you say, âWhatever.â You salt the bitter root before forking it. âWhat are you so antsy for, anyway? Isnât your whole thing that you sit around in a swamp for the entirety of your existence? Whatâs that, to staying in an estate for a bit? I think that you just like to complain to me.âÂ
He laughs, rocking on his heels. âItâs about free will,â he says, âAnd, maybe I do. Though, isnât it a wonder that you complain to me just as much?âÂ
Youâve finished your plate. âFair.âÂ
Taehyun emerges from a room. Your belly does a little surprised flip. You knew he was still here, but youâd hoped to avoid him. When youâd first arrived here, the estate had felt massive. Now, itâs not so much the same. Â
 He doesnât mention it, though. Instead, he surveys the table, and then his brows knit. âYouâve cooked?âÂ
âNot us. It was being made when I got up. Thereâs some for you, too, though. If youâre hungry.âÂ
His frown deepens, but he nods and wanders off into the kitchen. You understand. Youâd been confused when youâd went into the kitchen to find a meal being made so early. Itâs as if the servant is new and unfamiliar with schedules. Turning to Beomgyu, you say, âAnyway. Would sneaking out for one night appease you?â You push around the last bits of your breakfast, too full to eat anymore. âMaybe you just need to get the thrill out of your system. I have a tree by my window, that might up the ante rather than sneaking out the front door.â You give him a tongue-in-cheek raise of a brow.Â
âWell, I donât think itâs sneaking if you discuss it a room away from who youâre sneaking around,â he answers, picking at the wood of the table. âAnd, no.âÂ
At a crash, you both are whipping your heads toward the doorway. The hob servant is sprawled out on its knees. Taehyunâs face has gone cold, and he holds his sword out at the faerie in a point. Your eyes go wide, and you hop up out of your seat. âWhat are you doing?â you say, taking in the scene. Adrenaline sparkles in your pulse. One second, youâd been enjoying your morning, the next Taehyun has one of his servants at sword point. Itâs whiplash. Â
Despite your initial shock, though, you pull together the piecesâabout the strangeness of the routine, and the unusual meal, and the unfamiliar faerie. You go to share a look with Beomgyu. In the narrow twitch of his eyes, you deduct that heâs come to the same conclusion. And, youâd eaten that whole meal. Â
âFace me.â Taehyun barks out the command, looking down on the hob with a chilling severity.Â
The faerie does slowly, bowing its head to avoid Taehyunâs face in an attempt to placate him. Taehyun says, âWho have you weaseled yourself into my estate for?â His voice carries, strong and unforgiving. It penetrates down to your marrow. Youâre sure the hob feels it worse, though. Thereâs a long few moments with no answer. Either they wonât say it, or they canât. They dip their head further. âIf you think that your silence will earn you a quick death, it will not. Speak now, or give me your hand. Iâll have your fingers.âÂ
âTaehyun,â you say, shooting him a hard stare. âAre you serious?â Your stomach goes nauseous. Youâve seen Taehyun kill before, but a punishment like that, meant to inflict agony... It shocks you.Â
Taehyun looks at you strangely, eyes at war with the rest of him. He says to you, keeping his sword on the hob, âAm I serious? You just ate all of that, who knows if it was poisoned.â Now stood behind the hob, he takes it by the scruff and lines the deadly edge of his sword up to its neck.Â
Your heart does a little trick. You absolutely had eaten that food without question. Why would you question it? It hadnât come to your mind at all that somebody might infiltrate this estate. With Taehyunâs new role, it only makes sense. You donât feel bad, though. Not like when you had been poisoned at The Hovel. Youâd felt that pretty fast and hard. Right now, you feel fine. As much relief as that brings you, it does beg the question: if theyâd come here to do harm, why wouldnât they utilize such a blaring opportunity? The hob had just... made you food.Â
âI have every right to protect my home, and those who live in it.â Taehyun grabs harder, picking the hob up and pressing his sword in closer. The hob squeezes its narrow eyes shut. âItâs my duty.âÂ
Itâs always duty, with Taehyun. The sight of the faerie bracing, knowing that Taehyun will hurt or kill it, worms under your skin. Your fingers strain in trembling fist. You canât handle the awful sight, no matter if the faerie had intended to harm you.Â
You think you know whoâd sent the hob to come and be eyes on the inside of Taehyunâs estate, anyway.Â
Beomgyu scoffs hoarsely from beside you. âI watched the fool make it. Sheâs not fallen sick, had she?â His bored eyes shine with distaste. "You, general, just miss the taste of blood on your tongue. You miss it dearly, I know. Itâs a terrible hunger to have.â He exchanges the word Lord with one that you can acknowledge hits as a much lower blow, considering his past. Beomgyu would never miss the opportunity to remind Taehyun that from which he comes from. To that regard, you are thankful for not knowing who your parents are. No matter where you end up, at least youâve had the power to mold your own legacy. Taehyunâs follows him, grim and stained red. Â
âTaehyun, canât you just make an exception this once? Beomgyuâs right. If theyâd have wanted us hurt, they had a pretty good opportunity to. But, they didnât.â You flex your fingers hoping to expel some nerves and step closer to where heâs stood. Making a point to catch his eyes and hold them hostage, you add, âWeâd be hypocrites to kill for spying. You know that. Who are we, to call it justice and kill over this? Thatâs not fair.âÂ
He holds your eyes, pausing. âExceptions are dangerous,â he says, but his voice is changed. Thereâs something other than ice-cold resolution there. You release a breath of tension. Â
âI get that, but...â You search his face. âPlease.âÂ
The estate is quiet aside from the huffing of the hob for a second. The look in Taehyunâs face changes, and then heâs throwing the faerie to the ground. He sheathes his sword with a crisp click that youâve never been more elated to hear, and he snaps, âGet out. Go. Tell whoever the hell sent you here that I wonât take so kindly to this again.âÂ
The hob does not waste even a second in making good on their second chance. It scrambles up and away in a scramble of furious legs and arms.Â
Beomgyu shakes his head and goes to retreat off to wherever he spends a majority of his time, now that the show is over. Â
Taehyun, looking disconcerted with his arms folded and brows lifted, says, âSomebody is sending their people here, and now Iâve set a precedent. I look weak. Those wolves will pounce on any stretch of weakness they can find.âÂ
You sigh. âI know,â you say. âI know, Taehyun. Thank you.â You donât tell him that the wolf he speaks of is Yeonjun, and that the spy was not here to kill or collect intellect from him. Â
It seems that the prince has made his move.Â
â
âYou think that was the end of it?â Beomgyu says. âNo. That was nothing beyond a glimpse. A life spent beside his blood-drinking father is undeniable. How the gentry kids learn Court snark, the Lord learned to take butchery as a trophy.âÂ
Shooting him a glare, you slot the arrow in its home and pull the bowstring taut. It comes much easier, now. Your chest doesnât tremble, and you can properly hold it there comfortably enough to actually aim. Finding the bullseye of woven straw, you narrow your eyes down. You find the center of the spiral, further down the field now that youâve gotten a better handle on your archery. Like Taehyun had said, you aim a little left to make room for wind direction. You release a slow breath in a smooth, silver stream of breath. Wind whistles around the arrow as it dances down the flat of powdery snow. It pierces the center left with a far-off thud. Not a bullseye, but youâre glad to meet your mark. Â
You reach for another arrow. âOr,â you say, âGrowing up with his father taught him to be a better man for it.âÂ
The kelpie, having watched you practice out here for at least thirty minutes, looks up to you from where he sits squatted on the ground. âYou donât believe that,â he scoffs. He drags a finger in the snow. The ground around him is a work of muddy shapes, where heâs worked the snow so much that the wet ground beneath it has begun turning it to brown slush. âThe brute is no different. Ardently as he may detest the former general, he has followed his tracks in the snow. Reluctance makes him no better.âÂ
Cupping your hands over your mouth, you puff out warm breaths that soothe your stinging nose and stiff fingers. It lasts only a small, gratifying moment. You puff out a sigh and take the bow back into your hands. You thought youâd gotten over this conversation, decided to determine for yourself what kind of man Taehyun is, but... When he took up his role as general, you were set back an infuriating mile. Things are even muddier, now. You know he has a reputation to keep up as general, and that he made an exception for you in letting that spy go. If he doesnât present a strong front, itâll put you all in danger. That doesnât stop abrasive thoughts from sticking under your skin, though. Â
âDonât even try and act like you care about violence,â you tell him, giving him a high brow. âItâs not as if you donât trick people and drag them down into your swamp for your own enjoyment. You just dislike Taehyun.â You bring back the string and let another arrow go. It lands somewhere near the first. Â
He doesnât deny that, a rotten smile splitting across his face. Â
Your next shot lands beside the bullseye. Letting out a triumphant sound, you say, âDid you see that?âÂ
Beomgyu hums. âThat one was good.â He stands up to full height with creaking bones and adds, âBut, arenât you getting bored of this? I say we find something more interesting to waste precious time with.âÂ
You frown. âMore interesting...âÂ
He nods, enthused. Â
âThat sounds like a terrible idea, coming from you. Interesting is subjective, and I donât think Iâd like to learn your interpretation of it,â you say, voice sewn with suspicion. You lean your bow against the tree, though. Hitting so close to the center was enough gratification to appease you for the day. âAnd how can I be sure that this isnât part of an escape plan?âÂ
He groans. âLet me play some, wonât you? I have a place that will please the both of us.âÂ
You feign long consideration, but youâve already decided. As cold as you are, and despite your weary arms, youâre jumping at the opportunity to escape the strong walls of the estate. Youâve got a funny tingling in your veins that pleads with you to go and do something. Wherever Beomgyu may take you, youâll just appreciate the distraction from muddled thoughts and recycling anxieties. You nod finally. âFine. Donât bring me anywhere weird, kelpie.âÂ
Though, you never know what youâre getting into, with Beomgyu.Â
â
Well, the dusted walls of a once-great residence around you are not the worst you imagined when thinking where Beomgyu might take you.Â
âYou told Iâd me be pleased,â you say, voice bouncing off the walls and coming back to you hollow. It was the residence of some gone gentry folk, you know. Why that would be of any interest to you, youâre not sure. Itâs pretty, sure. Youâd fought snow and numb fingers to get here, though. You frown at him expectantly.Â
âYou have a sorry amount of trust in me. You would be, if youâd just open your eyes to it,â he cuts back. Â
You hum. âSure.â Raking your eyes over the baseboards, brown wood carved into leaves and acorns, and then down the still halls, you make an effort to see anything differently. Of course, it does nothing. Beomgyu speaks strangely, and he hadnât actually meant to look differently. Despite your conclusion, you still see a stale and forgotten place. You cross your arms over your chest and say, âI get it. This was just an escape plan. And Iâm gonna get your ass. Do you know how far of a that walk was?âÂ
âThis would be a nice to stay, if we were to forget a certain Lordâs estate...â he muses, tilting his head off to one side. âBut no.âÂ
Looking around, your eyes catch on the film of dust on the floor down the hallway that shoots off from the tall dining hall that you stand in. More specifically, youâre concerned with the set of footsteps leading down it. Your feet tell you to dart. âBeomgyu?â you say, eyes wide as you look over to him. âWhoâs here?âÂ
âShould we go find out?â he says, thick set of brows jumping in a playful twitch.Â
He sets off down the hallway. You follow, internalizing the new surroundings with large drinks. Youâre not sure why you ever thought this would end with him taking you out to the forest to watch will-o'-the-wisps dance in twinkling balls of light, or going to watch a babbling brook work its way over the earth.Â
A tall man steps out from a room. You jump, pulling Beomgyu back, as if he werenât some ancient faerie beast capable of managing himself. He cracks a laugh. The man looks between you two. Your tongue darts out to wet dry lips. Heâs no doubt wondering who you are, just the same as youâre wondering who he is. You whisper to your cavorting heart that Beomgyu is magically compelled to not shove you into harmâs way, and it seems that he knows who this is.Â
You notice the manâs round ears, and his soft and humble features, and the earthliness, and the imperfection-flecked skin. Familiarity bursts in your chestâyouâre looking into the face of another human. âWho is this?â you whisper over to Beomgyu.Â
âThis is Soobin,â he announces, answering your whisperings with his full chest. âA friend, and a human, as I think youâve noticed.â A proud gleam flashes over his eyes. âI believe that you owe me your thanks now.âÂ
The man, Soobin, dips his head at you. Dull, brown eyes study you. âI am,â he says.Â
Searching for words, you open and close your mouth a few times. A nervous thrill wraps you up. Youâve wanted to get to know and be friends with your kind for your entire life. âWhy are you here?â you ask, making a gesture at the residence. âIt looks abandoned. Very abandoned.â When youâd first arrived at Taehyunâs estate, itâd been left alone for quite a while in Taehyunâs leaving it behind. This, though, looks much different than that. You wonder who this place belonged to, and why itâs no longer in use.Â
Sullen eyes answer yours. They remind you of Beomgyuâs, the old tiredness. Itâs strange, seeing that look reflected on such a young face. How does Beomgyu known him, anyway? Soobin answers, âI was a glamoured servant here. Until the faerie died.â He continues talking as he returns to the room from which heâd come from. This room, off and away from the massive inner hall that makes up the majority of the residence, is fresher. Where dust balls and had taken over what was once most definitely a place busy with servants and the host of many feasts, this room is alive and no doubt where Soobin lives. âThen, the glamour died, and I came back to myself.â He sits down onto a foot bench in front of a green-sheeted bed. This mustâve been bedroom for the faerie heâd served. Now, itâs his. He brings his hands up. Where the soft skin of an easy life should sit, thereâs worn and ruined skin in its place. âI wasnât conscious when Iâd been working it, but when I came back... my body ached. It ached so bad, and at first, I had no idea why or... where I was. All I knew was that Iâd been worked into the ground.âÂ
Your heart hangs like stone in your chest, looking at his broken hands. When youâd been taken from the human world, youâd been so young that it made no difference to you. Growing up here, itâs all youâve ever known. Not every human is brought here how you had been, though. Some are snatched up from their adult lives; fallen to some faerie trick hidden in plain sight. Slip up, and youâre stolen away to come do work in this wretched realm. You donât know whatâs worse: what happened to you, being raised here and molded into a meaningless servant, or that. The faerie had stolen time from his life that he will never get backâand he remembers none of it. Glamoured servants had always stricken a gut-wrenching sick feeling in you, whenever youâd seen them. With gone eyes and hollowed out cheeks, theyâd look right through you like mist and continue on with their prescribed duties. Like a husk of a living being.Â
Even now, Soobinïżœïżœs body tells the story of the taxation. This faerie mustâve seen humans as cattle. âWhy stay here?â you ask, making a seat out of a sofa along the wall. The cushions accept your shape graciously; made affable by time and use. Beomgyu trades the cushioned seat for the floor in front of your crisscrossed legs. He lolls his head back, coarse hair tickling at your skin.Â
Beomgyu answers. âBecause he has no place else to go, and his awful stubbornness keeps him here. There are no rides back to the human world, if youâre not willing to give something away for it.âÂ
Soobin, looking more annoyed than genuinely angry with Beomgyuâs words, says, âIâm not going to give your kind any more of me than I was already forced to. Iâll find a way. Eventually.âÂ
Eventually. The word is heavy coming out from his mouth, falling out like a dud; not even he believes it. âHow long have you been here?âÂ
âI... donât know.â He shifts, watching the flooring rather than looking at the two of you as he speaks. âSince I was taken here? I have no idea. I donât remember a lick of it. But from what I do remember, long. Centuries, maybe.âÂ
Your fingers, raking paths through the tangles in Beomgyuâs hair, freeze. Looking up at him, you tilt your head. It sounds like it should be a hyperbole, an overdramatization to describe what feels like an eternity spent here in this old place. But he doesnât deliver it as such. No, his voice doesnât joke at allâhis eyes stare hard and lack the light of life. âWhat?â you say. Your voice crackles with a confused flare. âWhat do you mean, centuries?âÂ
âHe means that heâs been making this his home for centuries,â Beomgyu says.Â
âNo,â you say, willing your glare to burn holes through the back of his head below you. Of course, he doesnât stir or notice at all. âI mean, thatâs not possible. We donât live that long.â Nonetheless, he looks no older than you. Anything above twenty years is no less unbelievable than centuries. Â
âYou donât?â Beomgyu says. You hear the patronizing smile through his words. âI have known him long. And yet, he lives... How strange is that?âÂ
You deliver a punishing shove at the back of his head. âYou know what I meant, idiot.âÂ
Simpering, he says back to you from over his shoulder, âYouâre not so much the sweet girl I remember meeting. Spend enough of your time here, and even the humanâs body slows. The makeup of his human flesh has not aged for quite some time. Neither will yours.âÂ
A lifetime spent dreading how fast your life will dwindle away comes crashing down over you. You blink hard at the impact. Youâd been haunted; followed around by the dark and heavy promise of a soon death, of deteriorating joints and a forgettable name. That had all been in vain? The enormity of that realization... it comes overhead like dark and swirling water, sucking you down where no amount of kicking or thrashing will clear a way. It swallows you. A bitter anger kindles down in the depths from which that fear had nestled itself. So, Nut-hatch had made the very conscious decision to lead you to believe otherwise.Â
âYouâve reached maturity, and you will stay this way for until you leave Faerie. The years will begin coming to you, as long as you remain there; where time flows differently through the veins,â Beomgyu continues. âHe only wishes to spend his blessing of time decaying away here.âÂ
The two of them begin talking back and forth about whatever it is that Beomgyu says, but a loud silence like fog in your head has their words more like background noise. Youâd lived for so, so long thinking that you were running out of time. The tick of a terrible clock sounded off in the distance in a haunting echo in everything you ever did. Itâs why you ever rallied the nerve to up and leave the life youâd been dragged into. Youâd been so scared of wasting what little life you hadâfear welled up high and told you that time was running out to do it. Would you have ever even left, if youâd not thought yourself so rushed? Your face feels hot.Â
Soobin saying your name, loud and questioning, draws you out just enough to hear him say, âHow did you get tricked?âÂ
You swallow and clear your throat, sitting up straighter. âWhat do you mean?â you ask, mental inertia coloring your words lost. âTricked?â Doing a re-survey of the room, you stop on the windows. Day has begun weaning off into the gray of eventide. Â
âHow did you end up as a servant, I mean,â he elaborates.Â
âOh,â you say, nodding your understanding. âSorry, I got distracted. I was taken when I was little, so I didnât get tricked, or anything.â Nut-hatch didnât have to trick you to bring you here like most faeries do when taking humans from their world, because you had no will. Itâs the loophole in their governing nature; though they might not be able to just take humans without a promise or debt or something of that sort, they can take away the newly born. As long as they leave behind what they believe to be a replacement as payment.Â
âYouâre a changeling,â he says, as if realizing out loud. His eyes meet yours, dead and gone and bitter. âYou shouldâve killed that faerie. They all deserve it.âÂ
The acidic rancor there has you balking. Kill Nut-hatch? You may still harbor resentmentâdeep, deep gnarly gashes and crevices that youâd had to fill, and it just so happens that enmity did the job well. You understand his anger, but the thought of killing your stealer for self-gratifying revenge doesnât make you feel good. Not in the way he suggests it should. In a sick way that only a child with a cavity in their chest where the love for a parent should be could manage, you consumed her role as your owner and digested it down into something you could cling on to. And, with chubby little desperate hands, you had. Perhaps she would spit in your face if you were to return to her nowâbecause youâd failed to fulfill your purpose for herâyou could not fathom hurting her. You pull back the sour face twitching at your muscles and say, âHow do you feel about that, Beomgyu? I thought you were friends.âÂ
He shakes his head. âIf you make senseless bets, youâre already the fool. You canât act so surprised when youâre then asked to put on the foolâs hat and to dance,â he says, pointed derision like an arrow at Soobin. Â
Whatever that means. The folk speak with adages and idioms, but Beomgyuâs verbiage is infested with it. You scuffle down your laugh when Soobin does not share your humor.Â
âHow was I supposed to have thought Iâd be making a bet with a faerie? Nobody even knows this shit is real, there. Itâs all just folklore and scary stories. Itâs not fair ground if I didnât even know that I was doing it. And now, here I am: everybody I ever knew and loved is long, long dead.âÂ
His words are seething with hatred, and yet theyâre barren. Itâs carved him up inside, dug him out into a shell with only this awfulness left. It shakes you a bit. Youâd been so eager to find another human to know or to bond with. This, though... Your brain feels rattled around in your skull. You hope to never become this. Â
âSo, no. We are not friends,â Soobin says. âHe only comes here to enjoy my misfortune, and our kind live with the need for interaction. I tolerate it, I guess.âÂ
You husk out a laugh that doesnât find your eyes. âWell, thatâs not very nice, Beomgyu,â you say, stressing his name with false reprimand. âHe enjoys my suffering too,â you tell Soobin. You nudge Beomgyu with your dangling leg, trying to drag the nonplussed kelpie back into the conversation to save you.Â
âOf course, he does. Itâs why they take us from our world: our pain is no more than like playing with a beetle to watch it struggle, and then killing it when itâs no longer fun. Weâre bugs. Or, dirt. Iâm sure youâve heard that before. They love to tell us that.âÂ
You have. That memory is one that you prefer shoved down and compact where you canât let it remind you what your designated role really is. Youâve been so good about ignoring it, too. With a quick glance to the windows and the dark thatâs fallen outside, you say, âI think we need to go, Beomgyu. We didnât bring any lights...âÂ
The kelpie drags himself up from the ground and away from the room without any sharing of pleasantries. You offer Soobin a quick goodbye and are next out of the room, feet moving like the wood flooring has gone to hot coals.Â
Even in the round edges of a human face, you had not found the resonance that youâve longed so hard for. Humans have the capacity for unshaking violence and vacant souls too, it seems. Perhaps it was never that you were looking for a human to see yourself reflected inâyouâd just bloomed cloudy hopes of finding eyes that will see you clearly and deeply. Those hopes had been misplaced.Â
 But, if not in another human, then who?Â
â
Itâs utterly black outsideâa moonless night. Kicking your restless legs out from your blankets, you stumble down the stairs.Â
You canât find sleep, even behind closed eyes. Behind your eyelids, you see Yeonjunâs storm-clouded face and you taste Taehyun on your mouth. Youâre harassed by guilt cruelly, and feel the weight of your conversation with Soobin deep in your chest. Â
How you end up at Taehyunâs door once again, youâre not sure. Itâs a wholly inappropriate hour of the night, and you ought to have learned your lesson the last time youâd found yourself here. You donât know why your sleepy legs lead you here. Youâre better off plaguing Beomgyu with your restlessness instead. Why youâre stood here before this door... Itâs beyond you.Â
Though, youâve been desperately unable to shove down the urge to stick your toes in the water and see just how icy they are. Heâs pointedly avoided you, and you have no grasp on where you two are going after this. An innate feeling, settled heavy like stone in your chest, tells you that everything has changed.Â
Once youâve knocked and cracked the door open, though, a nervous tide creeps up on you. You should pivot and be back to your room. You would, if you were smart, but as Taehyun sits up with a mess of dark hair and sleep-dusted cheeks, youâre compelled by something other than your mind. Itâs something strangely human, waking up in a groggy haze. The sight of sleepiness on the ever-composed Taehyun is jarring. Itâs gone in only a blink, though, as he shakes it away.Â
âIs something wrong?â he says. He may have brushed away the fog in his brain, but heâs powerless to the husk still weighing his voice down. It sends a strange thrill through you. Â
You shake your head, throat dry.Â
He frowns. âYouâre having dreams again?âÂ
The gentle question has you pausing. Itâs so out and awayâso far beyond what you expect from him. Taehyun has never been one to ask around about how youâre feeling. Heâd much rather skirt around such things, and pretend them away. Emotional nuance is a lost cause on him. Or, thatâs what youâd thought, anyway. Whatâs changed? âNo,â you tell him, pursing your lips. âI just... wanted to talk to you.âÂ
Taehyun sits more fully upright. âAbout what?â he says. You donât miss how his shoulders straighten and stiffen.Â
On bare feet, you shuffle over to his bed. âNothing,â you tell him. You hadnât exactly planned on coming here. Of course, he thinks youâve come here to address what had happened. But... thatâs not why you came here. At least, you think it isnât. You donât know. âCan I sit?â You gesture at the foot of his bed. He nods, eyes trained right on you. Pressing one knee into the coverlets, you climb in.Â
The buzzing and hum of wind dance in the air between you. Youâre not sure what to say; itâs so heavy with every single thing. Itâs hard to keep things light with him, when even the silence is painted with intensity. Â
You settle with just saying, âI couldnât sleep.âÂ
He licks his lips, nodding. âIâd only just fallen asleep,â he says. âAlways something to think about.âÂ
You can relate to that. The melody of a serene, content mind seems like a distant memory. âSorry,â you say. You hadnât meant to ruin his rest. Rigidity intrudes on the flow of conversation. You donât remember ever being this awkward.Â
He dismisses that with a shake of his head. âIâll manage,â he says. âWhen I came back yesterday, you and the kelpie werenât here. Where did you go?âÂ
This is exactly what had been keeping your mind awake. You had wanted to think of anything but that, but maybe talking to somebody about it will be nice. âBeomgyu took me somewhere,â you say. You laugh softly as he makes a face. âYeah, I know. It was some old, run-down place. And there was this human there.âÂ
You pause, filtering through the memory. Taehyun doesnât speak, his eyes watching you with an attentive slowness. Heâs just listening. Continuing, you say, âIt was weird, because... Well, we were talking, and... He was nice. It was nice, talking to another human and seeing my features on him.âÂ
You give a passing glance over at his ears.Â
âAnd Beomgyu is a jerk, but I donât think I learned that yesterday,â you say. You ramble, perhaps filling the space where the uncomfortable memory sits before you can let it bother you. It doesnât help that the air is so quiet. Your mouth moves quick to make it less so. âBut... this guy. Heâs centuries old, and just lives inside that place. Iâd been so excited to have someone who could understand me like that, but then he started saying stuff that made me feel... just, bad for him, I guess. He was so angry and bitter.âÂ
Taehyun watches you speak, and then nods. Tinged with his sleepy husk, he says, âNot everybody stays good when they live for so long. He let it rot him.âÂ
âYeah. It was really like he was rotted. Not bad, I guess,â you say. âIt made me worry that Iâll end up that way, someday. Even though we came here differently, I still feel that sort of anger sometimes. I donât like it, though.âÂ
âI donât think you will,â he says.Â
His voice feels so strangely soft. You donât know how to respond to this, coming from him. Long, quiet beats only decorated by the crackling of bushes scraping up and down the windows, fall over you two again. Your gazes intertwine, dancing together in a way that is also different. âThank you,â you tell him, your voice meek. âI hope thatâs true.âÂ
The longer youâre sat there in Taehyunâs bed, the plush warmth of it and his presence serving as some sort of scarecrow for your pestering thoughts, your eyes grow heavier and your words more useless. Here, in his room and in his presence, itâs as if those thoughts and their terrible claws cannot reach you. You prattle on to him about sleepy nothings, but he doesnât seem to mind that youâre stealing his sleep from him. He only listens, eyes watching you melt down into something softer on the surface of his bed.Â
â
When youâd woken up this morning, youâd popped up in a frantic flurry. Instead of on your own bed, your dreary eyes were met with the walls of Taehyunâs room. You had fallen asleep in Taehyunâs bed; talked yourself into a solid sleep. You had been so thankful that he was not there when youâd been drug from your slumber by the feel of foreign bedsheets on your skin.Â
Even thinking about it now, your ears glow red. Had he been annoyed? You frantically shove those thoughts away.Â
Thereâs a thump from outside. You lean over from your spot on the bed and try to get the best look out you can manage, but itâs at an angle. You see nothing but winterâs flurries there. Â
Your head drops back down to the threadbare fabric in hand. Beomgyu, after a long-winded back and forth, had relented to letting you patch up his clothes. Well, just his shirt. When heâd handed it over to you, it had been a valiant internal battle to not run off and drown the thing in soaped water. For now, you settle for just patching up the mangiest bits. It gives you something to be busy with.Â
Taehyun has been especially busy lately. Youâre not sure why; he doesnât exactly go around singing about his stresses. Â
This time, thereâs three resounding and deliberate knocks at the pane of your window. Your working fingers come to a stop, head popping up. A nervous rattle thrums up and down your spine. It could have been a straying tree branch knocking a song with the windâs encouragement, but theyâd been so sure and pronounced. You let the shirt down and slip off the bed. Keeping your approach down to whisper, you creep toward the window.Â
Yeonjun, nose gone pink, sits on a sturdy branch.Â
For a moment, you stand there taking in the sight of him there; a prince of Faerie, crouched up and in a tangle of branches as he waits for you. Itâs absurd. Not only that, itâs dreadful. Youâve done well, tearing yourself away from him. So, so well. Recently, all that hurt has painted its face and made itself anger. At the sight of his face, it sparks in your chest. But itâs a dull, slow flame, oh so reluctant. This anger feels different than other angers. It bothers you so deeply that you canât place a finger on why.Â
And you want to let that anger sit there and fester, hoping that it will work at eroding away your still-connected heartstrings like rot. Even through the glass of the window, you feel themâred and reinforced and tugging you toward him.Â
Itâs ridiculous. This is ridiculous and pathetic, letting him send you fragmented just with this. Youâve become the sort of girl that youâd snort over in sappy loverâs ballads and odes, the kind that youâd looked down on for their lack of spine. How different it is, when it comes to your turn. Despite it all, you reach out and push the windows open. Even with the sputtering flame you foster, heâs frozen and does not look like heâs going to give up just at this. If you were to pretend he wasnât there and flop back down into the bed, you think that he might sit there brazen and let the ice freeze him from the inside out. Or, heâll find some other way to speak with you. The glint in his eyes, the only light reflected in flatness, tells you as much.Â
âThis isnât cute, or... romantic, like you think it is, Yeonjun. Not like last time. Itâs just hurtful,â you tell him.Â
Breath like smoke, Yeonjun says, âI donât mean to hurt you. It kills me that I do.â His voice is sweet and smooth like malt liquor. It grips your mind in dazzling claws.Â
You shake your head, staying a reasonable distance from him and the window. âYouâre not supposed to be here. You have to go,â you tell him, pulling the leash to the collar youâve put on yourself taut. âItâs icy. Climb down safe, please.âÂ
Of course, that doesnât budge him. âNot supposed to be here? Why, because you donât want it, or because heâll be angry at you?â he says. His pretty face has gone sour. âLook at you. Youâve lost so much weight. Heâs not taking care of you, pretty. Come home to me. I know you know where it is; I see the look on your face. I know that you lie to me with your words, but you were never good at hiding your face.âÂ
You stay rooted to your spot; you wonât be so weak to words again. No matter how sweet and soft they feel against your shining, weeping wounds. He put that hurt there. Leaning into it would just be self-destructive.Â
âPlease. It hurts both of us to be away, so why do it? I know that Iâve hurt you, and Iâll spend every last of my waking breath letting you know that it was a mistake. Iâll leave it all behindânone of it matters,â he continues. âMake me your servant. Ask me to swear my life away to you, and Iâll drop to my knees and put it on my beating heart right now.â Â
Your throat feels dry. Heâd swear himself in your service, give you the ability to control him as you will. Itâs an unfathomably massive show of trust and dedication. You donât want that, though. Not one bit. His frantic professions punch you in the gut nonetheless. Had you been losing weight? You havenât even noticed. Yeonjun did, thoughâat a glance, heâd known youâve been hurting. Â
âYeonjun, please. Youâre not making this easy for me. Just give it time; weâll get over it. Eventually, weâll forget each other,â you say, jaw aching with protest at each heavy word. Now faced with the reality of a much, much longer life, your own words bite you. It means, though, that you have so much time to build yourself up into something solid and beautiful. And, somewhere down the road, youâll think of this and be unaffected. Wonât that day come any sooner, though?Â
âForget each other?â he says, laugh like poison. âNo, we wonât forget each other. Time doesnât fix it. I promise you that I know that all too well. Our love is not the kind you can forget. It will just hurt forever.âÂ
âGo on,â you say. âLie to me again. I want to hear it.âÂ
Eyes shining and unable to lie, he says, âI love you.âÂ
Swallowing thickly, you back away and get ready to close the window. Â
He climbs in through the window in a quick move. You donât even have time to protest it before heâs saying, âAsk anything of me. Any last thing that you want of me, but do not ask me to watch you in his arms. I will not.âÂ
There it is againâthat dread. You want it to go easy, but of course it never was going to. âStop it,â you say, mustering up a shaking finger to point at him. âStop. Just go.âÂ
His face goes hard. âThat bastard is off to a war camp. Soon. He becomes more like his father every day, doesnât he?â His soft hands, warm and cradling, find your face. âYou donât have to punish me by being with him. Come be safe. All heâs done is throw you out in the path of danger. If he cared for you, it would have never happened.âÂ
Darting between his eyes, breaths come quick to you. âWhat?â you say. Itâs the one word you can pull out from the chaos that heâs wrought onto your thoughts. A blizzard erupts, and through the whipping breeze and shards you donât think to pull away from him or take his hands off of you.Â
So, thatâs why Taehyun had been busy. What does that even entail for you? Are you going to be here? Does he expect you to pack up and go there with him, to travel for a war that you donât even care for?Â
âAll I ever did was protect you, pretty. I know that, in hindsight, it all seems shady. But I promise you that I did. They were never going to hurt you, and neither was I,â he says, his voice thick and strong with conviction.Â
Metal rings, the sound of a quick blade being unsheathed. Â
âLeave,â Taehyun snarls. He holds his sword at point, right on Yeonjun. Itâs an emphatic promise of what heâs capable of and what heâll do.Â
Flame, wild and melting you around the edges, eats up every last bit of oxygen in the room. It leaves none for you to breathe. It crackles and pops between them, where their gazes meet and feed it. Everything else has gone still. Even the wind, it seems. Â
Sword held fast and unmoving, Taehyun says, âYou send your people into my home, and now you sneak in yourself. I wonât be walked over. Leave now, or you waste my courtesy.âÂ
So, heâd come to that conclusion as well. Heâs so stillâhis face carved of ice into sharp edges. Â
When Yeonjun sends a look your way, you shake your head at him. You have no clue what heâs thinking, but you want none of it. Your stomach does a violent flip. âYeonjun, go. I want you to go. Please.âÂ
His features lined with flame; he looks from you to Taehyun. âYour violence will be the fall of you,â he says, jaw tight as he pushes out toward your door. Not without a final glance sent to you, though. The promise you see there is a dreadful one.Â
You refuse to meet Taehyunâs daggered look. Beomgyuâs shirt lays forgotten on your bed. Youâre half tempted to grab it and resume work; to continue on and escape this.Â
âThat didnât take very fucking long, did it?â he says. âRight back into his arms.âÂ
Your drag your hands down your face. âI didnât tell him to come here,â you snap. âItâs none of your business who I talk to. How about we talk about you leaving? When did you plan on telling me, huh? I donât like secrets, Taehyun.âÂ
Taehyun slips his sword back into the sheath. It clicks back in place. âNone of my business?â he says. He repeats the words back at you with an aspâs curl. âWhen heâs in my home, in your room, itâs my business.âÂ
âWould you stop?â you say, exhaustion sputtering out your fight. âWith Yeonjun, I always know whatâs going on. With you? I donât know what to expect,â you say. âTell me. When were you going to tell me that youâre going?âÂ
His face morphs into something different: one of those bone-chilling ones that you donât know how to explain. He doesnât answer for a few beats; you can see his mind turning itself over. âThis was going to happen. I told you that,â he says. âAnd I was going to tell you.âÂ
You let out a long sigh, your shoulders loosening with it, when this time his voice isnât so venomous. Heâd been so busy lately. Being general assured that, especially now that things are moving. âWhen? How long will you be gone?â you say. âWhat if something happens to you, Taehyun? What are Beomgyu and I supposed to do?â You include Beomgyu in your proposition, but youâre not sure whether heâd stay with you or run off into the tree line the moment he finds heâs free. Then, really, who would you have?Â
âYouâll be there,â he says. âYou can come. I prefer it. If you stay here, youâre vulnerable to attacks. This estate is known to be mine, and now that Iâve become the general... I canât say that itâs safe.â Heâs come so close that now his eyes look down on you. They donât feel acidic on your skin. âAnd nothing will happen to me. I promise it, nothing will happen to me or you. Or that kelpie. Iâll win this war.âÂ
Around a thick swallow, you nod. Â
You donât doubt that Taehyun has the skill or the wits to do so. You only can hope that he doesnât destroy himself trying to prove it; to both you and himself.Â
âŠđȘ¶ ashlynn's note i know, i know. we made big moves this chapter. AHHHH! taehyunâŠâŠ taehyunâŠ..
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#still loving the beomgyus character over here he adds a nice energy to the mix!!!#even tho he did say something kinda insane and ominous in the beginning there about magic!#âthe pine smell of him so close to you is both familiar and a distant memoryâ NOT RELATED TO THE SCENE BUT I WANT HIMMMBBB#âBut under all that you see that heâs trying. Taehyun doesnât leave you until dawn cracks through the windowsâ sweet boy :(#âYou want to ask him why he keeps looking at you like thatâlike how he had in your bed that one night.â#OH! GONNA BE TOTALLY NORMAL AND FINE ABT THIS HAHAHAHA!!!!#âItâs a generalâs job to know the war he leads his army into.â im gonna kms. are you joking.#â âYou decided to stay here for him so this is what I have to do.â omfg. im really gonna kms now holy shit.#AHH YEONJUN LEAVE HER ALONE!!!!!!!!!!! âYouâre pathetic missing him the way you doâ YEAH YOU ARE!#okay wait ill give it to him that last letter was kind of a heater âits only fate and who am i to meddle with fate?â#But he will not get you. Youâre not yet so foolish to go falling back into his arms. YESSS MY QUEENNN#âI thought...â he says. âDid the prince not keep servants?â pause. what.#âDo you not think of me as a man?â he grits out. Well I am. And you brought him here.-#-Brought him into my home and you let him touch you.â#HOLY FU*CKONG SHIT I AM LOSING IT MY TUMMY IS IN KNOTS AND I AM GRIPPING MY BLANKET RIGHT NOW#Thereâs something raw beneath the growled words; something desperate. HOLHUDSFJ#âDo you think that he can provide for you better than me? That I canât provide you your needs?â#it was supposed to be him.#heâs now faced with this blazing consumption and he is utterly lost. IAOHUEYDFHIAEKHJR#He intends to wiggle his way into every little corner every little space until you have no room for thought but him.#âYouâre thinking of himâ. âEven while Iâm touching you.â#ARE YOUP FYUKCING JOKING DO NOT PLAY WITH ME RIGHT NOW OMG#WE WILL BE TALKING ABT THIS SCENE BUT THOSE ARE LIKE SOME OF MY FAV LINES/MOMENTS AHHHH#need to talk abt how you always know how to end a section of the story with a heater of a line#like they got my head spinninggggg#esp âThen youâll find it within you to face the memory of Taehyunâs hands and the gravity of what heâd let slip.â#SOOBINNN!!! :D#soobin :(#very sweet moment with tyun :(#YEONJUN???? no hes just so UGH infuriating and in love but mostly infuriating
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no bc there's Something abt which episodes he wears that hoodie in and the fact that yellow symbolizes hope and optimism and positivity hear me out
#delete /#like it started as just a meme for me bc that's my favorite color but Dude.... i KNOW they're repeating it on purpose now i swear#the first time we see it is .. either 2x1 or 2x2 when kreese shows up and johnny throws them in a cement mixer so they learn that you have#to constantly work hard and move forward so you don't get stuck in one spot and .. that whole theme carrying on for m.iguel through s2 (and#honestly waaay more in s3).. and then the next time he wears it again being after the school fight when him and johnny go out to the concer#and he's able to move his foot for the first time.. the pROGRESS THE HOPE !!!! and then i Think he saves it til s4 when he starts noticing#his mom and johnny but he's still trying to chill and adapt to it .. he's still optimistic and hopeful abt it because even though everythin#in his life is changing .. he's still got his sensei (he's not wearing the hoodie in the 'i still want you to be my sensei' scene at#e.agle f.ang but that outfit Does have some hints of yellow and that change in color palette is a whole Other thing)#and then i don't recall seeing it in s5 at all bc he's still trying to figure out himself after the shitty mexico arc but#IT'S BACK NOW I'M SO... I FUCKIN LOVE THAT HOODIE MAN THE CK COSTUME DEPT JUST **GETS ME**#okay i'm so so sorry .... og ck gang will remember how fucking insane i am over that one hoodie#s6 literally cannot come fast enough i swear to god
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i have a fever. let's imagine pokemon world dash discourse together. (sorry i do not have darkmode.)
đ€łđ» pokestopit reblogged team-sprocket
đ» gengaydar Follow
For the last fucking time owning a gengar is NOT graverobbing. what is actually wrong with you people
#gengar #why am i even still on this site #i don't have a gengar but like. what's even going on over there #is marowak graverobbing now too??
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deerlinguist reblogged givemeyourstrongestpotion
đ©ââ€ïžâđ© lightscreend Follow
farfetch'd is like the most edible pokemon just because he comes with his own aromatics. pop that bad boy in the oven with some oran berries.... don't mind if i do
⧠feministforcepalm Follow
@dyketraining tags pass peer review
đŁđŒââïž magicarpaltunnel reblogged haxorsus
đŠâ⏠corvikite Follow
I love to hate things and people. And when I turn out to be RIGHT and that person is a DICK? All parasocial relationships are bad and evil unless I am right about hating someone and then parasocial relationships are good actually
đȘwaterbubbil Follow
We all thought about the same person let's just be honest here....
đ contest-winrar Follow
For me it's always going to be people who keep Pokémon without any thought as to their enrichment and needs. You do not need a fucking Arcanine, you live in a studio apartment and don't walk more than a block a day. You think you want a Gardevoir but are you okay with having an unknowable creature reading your thoughts every waking moment of the day? Even while you do... the nasty?
It drives me crazy because people see a Champion and think they have the time, energy, money, and space necessary to raise a Dragon type. Unless you have generational wealth, let me spell it out for you: you do not have the funds for a Dragon type. And yes! Charizard is on that list, guys! You can't even afford to feed yourself!
đŻ jessiejustlickme Follow
local tumblr user declares the poors only get rat pokemon. maybe a bug pokémon if we are very good. we must grovel in the streets amen
đ contest-winrar Follow
Laugh all you want but I'm serious. I have heard of someone who is living with a MR. MIME like it's her HUSBAND!!!! That's fucking GROSS. These are creatures that TRUST us and NEED us.
Did you know that most Ponyta prefer to be in a herd? Are you going to have the space for that? Did you know that if you don't properly care for certain fire species their flame goes out? Sure, they're cute when they're small: but unless you're a rancher or a Gym Leader... I'm sorry. You're gross to me if you think otherwise. I hate people like that.
And for the record, rat and bug Pokémon are very valuable from an ecological standpoint. They hold an extremely important niche. People like you would rather they be hunted to extinction because they're pests, not pretty. It's disgusting.
đŠâ⏠corvikite Follow
anybody in this thread smoke weed
#NOT THE RATS FOR THE POOR PEOPLE... GIRLLLLLL #the thing is they're not like... wrong.... #like i agree with the sentiment #my friend tried to get a slyveon just by like. playing catch a few times #.... like you do need to try.... #also fyi i have a large species so i'm biased #grovyle my baby . my man. u are costing me like so much in pokepuffs per month
đâđš badsol
why are we all talking about what pokemon to eat tonight lmafo
#.... obviously jigglypuff. homegirl is 90% cotton candy
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feebassguitar reblogged metrognome
đ« sinisteacher Follow
Like okay I got into science because I love to learn but the more I find out about how we've classified Pokémon types the more insane I feel. What do you mean there's no singular true indicator? What do you mean that there are several conditions which completely alter their base type?
Literally today my lab partner and I got into a very serious discussion about Luxray. That thing is a fuckking dark type!!!!! I'm sorry!!! I don't care what Bulbapedia says!!!! anyway i threw a pokeball at him and it swallowed him whole and now i'm going to jail for unlawful imprisonment of a TA
đ thesandwichking Follow
there's something, like, very dystopian about the idea that if u put an ugly hat on ur favorite little creature it changes like. the DNA. like. do other pokemon look at what you've done and cower? that's their friend... similar but changed... forever having known a life that is entirely alien to them...
đł wailordsupreme Follow
.... Are we going to ignore that OP swallowed a human into a ball???
#yes we are. #my friend loves those hats but I think they're so ugly #and stupid #if i wanted a specific type imma get that type..... #typesetting #show james
đ§ââïž backpacksandcavesnacks reblogged eevee-lotion
đ lemmegrabmyballs Follow
ROUND 5 of 6 (see blog for more)
PLEASE REBLOG FOR VISIBILITY:
âïž dreepydrabbles reblogged ash-hole
â ïž marrowhackoff Follow
just saw someone say writing omegaverse fanfic of your pokemon is bestiality. ma'am this is the monster fucking site. you should be grateful that it's only omegaverse.
#the things i've seen would melt your eyebrows clean off your face #..... typhlosion they could never make me hate you baby #i know that's not what's in your heart
đȘœ honey-tree-skies reblogged gymcrawler
đ youngstirjoey Follow
Okay say what you will. But shorts really are comfy and easy to wear
đđœ intimidatecutsyourattack Follow
Sorry bud. But. Investing at 3 notes
đ youngstirjoey Follow
don't do this to me. i h avue a wife . and chi ld
#anyway. sorry. it's 1:30 in the morning and the Vibes possessed me.#pokemon#dash simulator#i don't have mobile i hope it still looks good lol#this took me like 3 hours#slightly edited to account for a glitch in spacing
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AU, where Bruce accidentally gets de-aged (physically and mentally), and the first person he bumps in is... Red Hood.
To Jason's defence, he didn't connect the dots at first. He was just patrolling around his usual turf, thinking of nothing in particular, when he saw a small child in a ridiculously serious suit, sulking around Crime Alley. He looks distraught, and considering that he looks rich, it is no surprise - that is not a place for him. So, he is either lost or something happened, right?
He takes the helmet off, as he usually does when he is dealing with kids (they got scared easily) and carefully approaches a brooding baby.
'Hey, shrimp. Where are your parents at?'
That said shrimp turns around, his big blue eyes looking confused and lost, and Jason thinks he looks awfully familiar.
'I am not shrimp,' he protests instantly, pouting at him. 'And they are somewhere... here. We just left the movie theatre together!'
Jason glances at the abandoned movie theatre, back at the little rich boy with a familiar frown, and it clicks. This is his fucking dad. Suddenly, a kid - but it is fucking Bruce Wayne, for sure.
'Was watching Zorro by any chance?' Jason still asks, just to be sure that he is not going insane.
Bruce - and it must be him - beams at him.
'Yes! This is a great movie, by the way.'
Oh, hell. At least, he didn't witness his parents' death just yet. Jason wasn't sure he would be able to deal with his father being so small, and mourning his mom and dad. He would probably cry himself at some point.
'Hey,' Jason calls out for him slowly, squatting down; God, who would've thought that this little shrimp would become so tall and big in the future. 'Aren't you... You must be Thomas's kid, right?'
Okay, yeah, Jason is going to lie to this kid. Because there is no way he manages just to steal Bruce as a stranger to bring him back home; it is still a kid, even if it is his father. Right?
'You know my dad?' Bruce tilts his head, little fingers tugging on the hem of his jacket; suspicious.
'You could say that,' Jason nods. 'Alfie... I mean, Alfred called me. Asked me to pick up a kid, since Thomas and Martha got an urgent call.'
Fuck his life and stupid life choices. What the hell he was even doing? He looked like a mugger; or like a psycho. But Alfred was his best bet - he could call him, after all; ask, well, support his idiotic made-up story.
'No one calls Alfred Alfie but my dad,' Bruce pouts in a very, very spoiled manner.
'Well... I do. We served together in the army,' he blurts out.
His armour, apparently, is enough a proof for the kid to nod slowly.
'Okay. But you gotta take off your strange mask first,' Bruce folds arms on his chest.
...???
Did this kid just agree for an unknown man to take him home? Like this? Who could've thought that this pouty child would become the most paranoid man alive in the future?
'Uh, why?'
'So I can remember your face and do an identikit, if you turn out to be a bad guy,' Bruce smirks stupidly. 'Duh.'
Jason is going to cry. This kid is so cute.
'Yeah, duh,' Jason huffs, but despite his better judgment takes the domino mask off as well. 'Go on, take your time. My identikit should be the prettiest, shrimp.'
Bruce... gawks at him. His eyes are comically wide now, mouth open, and then, he jumps a little closer to him - oh, God, he is jumping when excited? - putting his hellishly cold hands on Jason's cheeks.
'Woah. You look like dad.'
'Uh,' Jason nods awkwardly, and because he is an idiot, adds a joke: 'We are brothers, actually. Just don't talk much.'
...Apparently, little Bruce can't take jokes. Because he lets out an adorable gasp, and throws himself on Jason as if they knew each other for ages now.
'Uncle? That's so cool. You look like Zorro!'
Damn this little kid, and this stupid family. Damn Joe Chill and the night he killed this kid's parents. Damn it all. Bruce might be an asshole sometimes, but he was so... cute and innocent.
'Thanks, shrimp,' Jason slides a domino mask back on, picks up little Bruce with one arm, and grips a helmet with another. 'Come on, let's go home. Alfred will make your favourite tiramisu.'
'You know my favourites?!'
Jason sniffles.
'Yeah. Yeah, I do, kid.'
If he gets so emotional over this kid, he has no idea how worse Dick is going to be once he finds out.
Oh, this is going to be one hell of a night.
#batmobile conventionally appears to be somewhere close so Jason uses it to get lil Bruce back#Bruce is Buzzing with excitment this car is so cool#also Bruce âI get stolen for ransom everytime and then so I just chill most of the timeâ Wayne#*narrator's voice*: Dick in fact was sobbing when he saw little B#Alfred sniffled a few time#everyone was amused by Jason uncle story so they just kept teasing him about it#little B unironically thought his uncle was cool though#normal-sized Bruce and Jason stared awkwardly at each other afterwords#something about Jason reminding and acting like Thomas Wayne a lil...#jason todd#red hood#dcu comics#dc universe#dcu#batman#bruce wayne#batfamily#batfam
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I AM FREAKING OUT IN THE TAGS AAAH!!! op the angles you chose are so cinematic. i really love the linework!!! the brush you specifically used, and the way you vary the thickness is AMAZING. argh that transition from old swan to young swan⊠so beautiful. ouh and the TEXT PLACEMENT. absolute cinema. so many thoughts about swansea down below...
No way gang, I finally finished the animatic yayyy, clap if u care :3.
After 2 months of hard work I finally finished my wife's animatic, ily Swansea. There are a lot of easter eggs if yall wanna catch em all (UwU)
#đ iris' reblogs & rambles#OH MY GOD??? HOW HAS THIS NOT BLOWN UP?#guys this is an insanely gorgeous piece of art... the style is so clean and concise#i really love how everyone is drawn#especially swansea of course and seeing this younger version of himself is so soo cool. ouh my disco man#i've always wondered how he must've been in his younger years and i honestly think it'd be cool if he had a lot of similarities to daisuke#like maybe he was very energized and adventurous back then. he's probably rowdier and a lot more impulsive than daisuke too#but he involved himself in harder substances than sweetner packets (lmao) and adopted a negative outlook on life over time for reasons#perhaps he's always been a pessimist to some capacity but it's just worsened as he's gotten older#then you juxtapose that to daisuke who is the sunshine we all know and love#and maybe there's a part of swan that's jealous of that youth. he misses it so dearly. while he hopes daisuke never loses that (until heâ ïž)#he could be associating that period of his life with negativity bcs he no longer knows the feeling or something caused the memories to sour#i know a lot of adults (ppl in general rlly) can become irritated when they see someone at a younger age they link bad memories to#(though people can still be normal. it's more of a subconscious thing that can bother us)#aka a parent can't stand their kid for being too loud when they have fun. so they lash out bcs at that age#their own parents got mad at them for doing the same.#so (sub)consciously they think its unfair that THEY had to be punished but their kid can be as whimsy as they want.#thus finding their child more annoying than they really are. even tho the kid is just being a kid.#okay i hope yk where i'm going with here đ but suffice to say#swansea definitely cares for daisuke but prior to his death him seeing a lot of his younger self in daisuke irritated him#and its likely swan's environment was aggressive and verbally harsh. so he adopts that and we see it in how he treats daisuke#swansea really is like a lot of parents i know. especially gen x and above. aka people who REALLY need therapy#back to the animatic though I LOVE IT WHEN ARTISTS DRAW THAT SHADOW ON JIMMY'S FACE!!! IT'S SUCH A GOOD NOD TO THE DEAD PIXEL#mouthwashing#swansea mouthwashing#anya mouthwashing#daisuke mouthwashing#jimmy mouthwashing#curly mouthwashing#mouthwashing fanart
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Tie
Pairing: switch!Spencer Reid x sub!fem!reader Summary: Spencer gets unreasonably jealous of you. You let him take control to comfort and reassure him. That's what loving girlfriends do. WC: 3.6k Warnings: smut - oral (f receiving), edging, overstimulation, kinda softdom!Spencer, reader is compliant to everything he says, he's just as desperate as her, sir kink, creamp1e (i long for a better word), bondage, unprotected pinv, dirty talk (they yap), pet names, pussy slapping. Jealous Spencer deserves a warning of its own. Minors, please, do not interact. A/N: I have no excuse for myself (I'm ovulating). This is pure filth and indulgent because I was being tortured with thoughts of Spencer.
Feedbacks are always welcomed and appreciated <3 Masterlist
Subtle touches from Spencer all night had you going crazy. Well, they werenât exactly that subtle.
During a particular conversation you were having with Rossi about Italian cuisine (you were an enthusiast, both of cooking and eating Italian dishes like nothing else existed), Spencer, who had an armed slung over the chair you were sitting on, started twirling your hair in his fingers. When you laughed at some remark about how French people are insane for combining dairy with fish, your boyfriend pulled your hair rather crudely. You glared at him from the corner of your eye.
You got somewhat angry because it was uncomfortable for you to be that intimate around others, but his teasing worked wonders on you. Now, you wanted his touch to be bolder, thirstier, needier, just to match your own sinful thoughts and wants. Right now, Spencer was saying goodbye to Rossi, who was waiting for a cab to take him and his wife back home. Spencer's hand rested at the small of your back. The wine you sipped all through the night, combined with Spencer's bratty behavior, was now making your pussy throb with need for your boyfriend. Nevertheless, you wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing you all worked up in public. "Goodbye, Krystall, and again, happy birthday. Thank you for including me! It was incredible," you said to the woman, who hugged you warmly and thanked you with a smile on her face. "Looking forward to those cooking sessions you mentioned earlier," you said, a big smile on your face as you gave David Rossi a hug.
"Anytime, bellissima." He said simply as you pulled away, smile gracing his face. You held out your hand to Spencer to walk back to his car.
The nickname had struck a nerve. He wasn't jealous, no, he trusted you with his body and his soul, even if he, as a man of science, didn't believe in the latter â that's how much he loved and trusted you, and it was Rossi, for God's sake... Still, he was just another man. Another stupid, territorial man. He opened the door for you and you entered the car, giving him a peck on the lips, "Thanks, handsome."
"Anytime, bellissima," he said through gritted teeth after he closed the door and as you fastened your seatbelt, out of your earshot. He turned around to enter the car, taking the driver's seat.
You went home silently, but you could sense the heavy atmosphere between you on the way there. As you entered your apartment, he got down on his knees to take off your shoes for you. He always did it, no matter what. Apparently, acting weird was no exception to his care with you. You bit your lip, a little apprehensive to bring up the subject. "Thank you, baby," you said softly instead.
"You're welcome, darling." he said, not looking at you and taking longer than necessary in his task.
You sucked in a breath. "Okay, baby, what was that? We need to talk about it."
"What was what?"
"Just when we left the restaurant. I said thanks and you basically ignored me all the way here," you explained, even if you knew he definitely knew what you were talking about. your hand found the nape of his neck, making him look up at you. He had a guilty look on his face.
Busted.
He sighed, "I'm sorry, baby. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I was mean." He apologized, eyes sincerely searching your form and hands reaching up to rest on the sides of your hips.
"Why did you do it, then?"
"Bellissima. You know what it means. I just got... jealous? I should be the only one complimenting you," he said, now standing at full height in front of you. Kissing your lips, hands caressing your waist, touch light as a feather, "telling you how much you mean to me," you sighed as his lips brushed the skin of your neck, "how much it drives me crazy just seeing you," he bit the sweet spot just behind your ear, "my beautiful, gorgeous girlfriend. Mine."
You pulled on his hair so he could see your features. Looking him dead in the eye, with an almost angry look on your face. You wanted him to pay for everything he had done that night. "Baby, you were touching me all night, knowing that you were driving me insane. knowing you're the only one who gets to do that," you leaned in to kiss him softly. "And then throw a tantrum like the spoiled little thing that you are just because someone said a word to me? You know compliments mean nothing when it comes from someone who's not you, baby. Thought you knew better."
Silence. He looked at you like you kicked his dog.Â
"Remind me, then," he retorted, looking you in the eye. "Remind me how much you're mine and mine only."
One of your favorite things about your relationship with Spencer was that, in public, your dynamic was totally different from what you were like between four walls. When you were surrounded by people, Spencer acted like a gentleman, always making sure to cater to your every whim, opening car doors, taking off your shoes for you, picking nice places to take you on dates, accepting your suggestions of what to wear â it was no coincidence that he looked a lot more styled lately, but you also loved his usual attires. It was how you met him and how you fell in love with him, after all.
But, in the bedroom (or wherever he decided to have you), it was totally different. You were compliant to everything he said, letting go of the control you had over yourself, over your relationship, over everything so he could take you to fucking heavens. You obeyed everything without so much a "yes, sir", and he fucking loved it.
He unzipped the skin-tight dress after leading you back to your shared room. He sat down on the edge of the bed, you stood before him, whose tie was loosened around his neck. "Is this all for me?" he asked as he saw what you had underneath your dress all night long, absolutely sick with the slightest idea that someone else could have that.
You sighed as he kissed your neck and trailed down to your breasts, easily unclasping your bra. "Yes, sir, all for you."
Just like clockwork, all his attention drifted to your breasts. One of his large, calloused hands held your waist securely and the other played with one of your nipples as he licked the other, his hot tongue circling the nub, making you whimper and sending a rush of wetness through your core. "mmm, always need my mouth full of you, angel."
"nnngh, it feels so good."
He smiled on your skin, biting your nipple afterwards. The sting made you see stars and desperate to feel him in some sort of way, you'd take anything he had to offer you. You just needed to be touched. As he continued your ministrations on your breasts, switching from one to the other, you moaned, your hands finding his hair. "Sirâahâ, can you pleaseâtouch me?"
He stopped his movements and looked up at you, laughing mockingly. "Is that all it takes, pretty? A few minutes of my mouth on you and you're already so pliant? So eager for me to touch you?"
"Yes, sir. I need you so bad."
"Tell me, then," he scoffed, "where do you want me to touch you?"
Your incoherent babbles meant nothing, so he just laughed at your poor attempt at an answer.
"You're so good at begging, aren't you?" You nodded, licking your lips with the sight of his wet ones. "Wanna kiss me, baby?"
"Always do. Can I?"
"Yes, you can." No matter how dominant he was, he could never deny you a kiss.
You leaned down to kiss him. The brush of your lips alone made Spencer crazy, craving more and more. He could spend hours just kissing you, never getting tired of the mind numbing sensation it had on him. You deepened the kiss, your tongue caressing his, earning a moan from his end. You smiled. "I love kissing you." You whispered as you barely pulled away, breathless.
"I know you do, pretty."
His hands trailed on the sides of your body, earning a shiver from you. Just as he reached the hem of your panties, they traveled up again, grazing the skin of your arms instead. As he found your hands, he gave them a gentle squeeze. He stood up and looked down at you, in for another kiss. "You have no idea what you do to me," he groaned. His words only spurred you further. "Take off my shirt. Slowly." he commanded. And you complied, taking every chance to brush your fingers against his hot skin, desperate to rake your nails on his chest, to make him shiver for you, too.
Spencer turned you around gently so you could see yourself in the big mirror placed in front of the bed. You watched as he pushed your hair out of his way, resting it on your left shoulder to give him access to your neck, his hands finding your breasts so he could play with them, too. He started with light kisses on your neck, lips barely brushing the area, making goosebumps soon erupt on your skin. His caresses got gradually more aggressive, making you blatantly moan his name when he bit the sweet spot behind your ear and grinded his clothed dick against your ass. You whimpered, overwhelmed with so many stimuli.
Turning you to face him, again, he sat you on the edge of the bed, covered only by your underwear in front of him. You could see the tent in his pants and you were desperate to taste him, to take him in your mouth in order to make him as crazy as he made you. God, the things you'd do to hear him whimper like he knew you loved to hear...
"Thinking about something, angel?" He chuckled, mocking you yet again when he saw what were you looking at and the position you put yourself in: cunt in full display after you placed both feet at the edge of the bed.
You nodded violently. That was how you always found yourself pleading for him. It didn't take much, honestly. "Please, sir, I'll do anything. jus', please, let me feel you,"
Anything...
"Aw, pretty, you're so desperate for me," his tone was condescending. "thought you'd wanted someone else for a moment tonight."
"No! No! Never, sir. Never. I only want you. I only want you to touch me."
Leaning down, his fingers raked over your stomach, ghosting over the fabric of your panties. Spencer groaned as he touched the wet patch on your underwear, glistening, begging for attention.
"'s just how much I want you..."
"Look at you, angel, begging me to have my way with you," he sneered, "so pretty..." he muttered, getting down on his knees.
Through your soaked underwear, Spencer caressed your mound and outer lips, almost as if he was drawing your cunt from scratch, tracing every single feature, making it cling even harder to the garment. Each touch made you feel eager. Want something, say something, right?
He teased you for what felt like hours, but when you were finally able to form a sentence, he pushed your panties to the side and he moaned lowly at the sight of you. "Spenceâsir..." You started, but were cut by a breathless grunt that raked through you as he licked a broad stripe on your slit.
"You are soaked, princess, had to have a taste of you... you were sayin'?"
"Please, don't stop, sir," your hands flew to his hair, trying to push him back to what he had started.
"Nuh-uh, princess," he tsked, gathering his tie from the floor, "You don't deserve to touch me after the little show you put up today. Iâm gonna have to tie you up, alright?"Â
There it was. Your punishment.
One thing about Spencer is that he always made sure to tell you whatever he was planning on doing with you, both so that you could say no if you wanted to and also because it turned you on beyond limits. It made your heart soar, he was so careful with you, making every man on earth seem like straight up Neanderthals. You whined at his plan as he looked at you to see if you were okay with the idea.
You jutted your lip out, brows furrowing, but you couldn't disagree with him. Adorable, he thought. He tied both of your hands behind your back, using his fucking tie. "... Yes, 's alright. I jus' wish I could touch you so badly," you complained.
"I know, pretty," he cooed, "that's why I'm gonna give you a chance to be good for me, and when you prove to me you can do it, you can touch me all you want."
"O-okay," you stuttered as he started placing teasing kisses on your inner thighs. You sighed.
"You smell so good. Want me to taste you too, hm? You're soaked, your pussy is begging me to do something about it."
"Yes, yes, I do!" you almost yelled. "Please, sir, I'll be good for you."
"I know you fucking will." he stated. Just then, he started licking your pussy, delicately at first just so you could get used to the feeling of finally having him the way you wanted. His hands held your hips in place to stop you from moving. He was the one in control, after all.
Then, once he sucked your clit between his lips, he started flicking his tongue against the nub, eliciting moans from you. The taste of you in his tongue was something he could never get used to, every fucking time felt like the first. He felt addicted to the power it had over him. The best he could do was at least try to be in control. You squirmed, almost like you wanted to get away from him, but his firm hands held you in place. "Be good and stay still," he muttered against your core, slapping your pussy once. You nodded, whining, too lost in the feeling after the sting, in the feeling of his tongue punishing you in a rhythm that put you in a frenzy. Spencer's middle finger slowly pushed inside your fluttering walls. "You're dripping all over my fingers. What a messy girl."
Knuckle deep inside your cunt and mouth feverishly and steadily working on your clit, your boyfriend started to feel more and more desperate by the second with the sounds coming from your mouth. You, on the other hand, could almost taste your release, a complete mess on the bed, chants leaving your reddened lips from all the biting, "yes, sir! You make me feel s'good, you're s'deep in me. Fuck! I'm your good gâ" as he heard your words tinged with desperation in a high pitched voice and felt the muscles in your pussy tighten, he quickly stopped his actions.
He would bet money that it hurt him more than it did you.
"Noooo..." you whined, like a spoiled brat. A breathless, messy, spoiled brat. You knew what you were in for from the moment he took off your shoes. "Please, please, sir. You can f-eel how desperate I am for you," you blabbered, trying to argue. "Can I show you?" You decided to take matters into your own hands. Well, as best as you could.
He stood up. "Let's see what you've got, princess." He gripped his shaft in front of you, making saliva pool in your mouth. "You're not even being fucked yet, and you're already this dumb, baby?" He sneered at you. You looked up at his face, taking in his dilated pupils watching you. You looked like any man's wet dream, perfect pussy on display, chest heaving with anticipation of what was coming next, face contorted in the filthiest expression in the world.
He would be happy just to watch you, but he was actually able to taste, touch, see, smell and hear the whole thing.
He was the luckiest man in the world.
Half sitting on the bed, back against the headboard and already off of his slacks and briefs, he beckoned you over to his lap. You kneeled somewhat awkwardly on the bed to hover on his lap, cunt dripping arousal on his belly as you did so. He groaned, the dominant facade faltering for a moment. He had to be the most indulgent dominant man ever, because he was barely able to resist you and your seducing ways. "See how wet you make me?" You whispered, eyes focused on his, which looked directly at the sheer liquid pooling on his stomach.
"You're such a good girl, baby" in a weakened voice made its way out of his mouth. "Since you asked so nicely and you have proof, why don't you show me how much you love riding me, huh? Come on, pretty, sit on my cock. Ride me." His commanding sentences made your cunt gush yet again.
"Yes, sir!" you exclaimed, ready to obey his commands.
Spencer gripped his base and rubbed his dick against your folds. He groaned, biting his lip and it took every single ounce of self control not to kiss him senseless. After some more teasing, he muttered, "You can do it now."
You sat down on him, slowly, pushing the tip in. "Fuck," hoarse voice, just the way he loved it, "you feel so good, sir. And you're not even fully in yet."
"Come on, nice and slow, princess."
You sank a little further, his girth stretching you out so deliciously that it made you shut your eyes closed as goosebumps erupted on your skin, pure bliss running through you. "Fuckâahâ you're so, so hard, sir," you hissed.
"Yes, that's it," he grabbed your hands in one of his. He felt you clench around him. "Gonna make sure you get off on my cock alone."
Recalling his demand, you obeyed. Nice and slow, savoring the feeling of having him buried to the hilt inside of you. each time you pulled back just to slam his dick inside again made you feel dizzy. Spencer was mesmerized by the sight before him. First, your expression told him how much you enjoyed riding him, mouth agape to let out the dirtiest moans and words, unlike the poised woman he liked to brag about to whoever listened. "Fuck, you're so deep. 's so good, love it when you let me ride you, sir."
Spencer kept silent for a moment, still admiring your form. He watched as the hair on your skin shivered each time he started to meet your thrusts, eager to make you his. his eyes drifted to your breasts, bouncing with every movement of your bodies. It was wanton, watching you get off on top of him, using him to chase your own high, but the sight that got him enthralled was your pussy making his cock glisten with your arousal. "Yeah, pretty? So what do you say? D'you remember you have to be nice?"
"Thank you, sir"
"Thank you for what?" he urged.
âThank you for letting me sit on your cock. Ah! I'm all yours, sir! Yours."
"That's right. You're taking me so well, princess, fucking hell," he cursed. "Such a tight pussy, baby, so perfect for me."
At this point, Spencer was a goner below you. You rocked your hips and he met you thrusts ruthlessly, focused on chasing your high. You slowed your movements, clit grinding against his pubic bone, dick still rock hard inside of you. You felt the telling signs of your orgasm approaching and, mind filled with thoughts of all the filth you've done with him. You still wanted to do much more. "Fuck, pretty girlâyou're so good at taking me."
You leaned down to whisper in his ear, your tits brushing against his skin adding to the whirlwind of sensations. "Can I come, sir? Please! I want to come all over your cock," all your sentences sounded like heavenly, pathetic whines to Spencer's ears.
"You hafta take it, princess," he groaned, hands guiding your movements. "Take. It." He urged, words emphasized by two particularly hard thrusts. âWanna come inside of you.â
"Yes, please! I'm all yoursâSpencer!" You yelled out his name as your orgasm washed over you, still grinding against him.
The sound of his name leaving your lips was enough to follow you not shortly after. âGonna comeâfuckâinside you.â He gritted. After spilling inside you, he kept fucking his cum back inside with a few sloppier thrusts.
You crashed beside him, taking a minute to catch your breath. Spencer quickly reached to undo his tie on your wrists, kissing the soft skin after removing the garment. You chuckled at his care. âDon't ever stop me from touching you again,â you muttered.
âWhat are you going to do, angel? Stop me?â He laughed softly.
He cleaned you both up and you had your hands free to caress your boyfriendâs skin all night long.
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The next morning, Spencer had you on the phone as he walked in the bullpen, saying âyesâ, âof courseâ, and a series of different agreements, gleeful expression on his face.
He heard Derek Morgan chuckle. "Aw, Reid, she already telling you what to do?"
"There's no time for her to start, you know that, Derek," Emily quipped.
They had no idea you were telling him about the wet dream you had about him fucking you in the middle of the bullpen.
#spencer reid#spencer reid fanfiction#spencer reid x reader#spencer reid x yn#spencer reid x you#criminal minds fanfiction#mgg#matthew gray gubler#spencer reid fluff#spencer reid smut#switch!spencer reid#softdom!spencer reid#doctor spencer reid#spencer reid self insert
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Chase:
Today is a really weird day and I didnât know how I would feel about coming over to my best friend Bryceâs house especially after the incident.
Bryce and I have been friends for over 12 years now and him and I have always been a couple of scrawny gay nerds. We both love Minecraft legend of Zelda, just about every video game you can think of and one way we really bonded was figuring out that we are both gay.
Now for years, Iâve always known that Bryce had a crush on me. For me it was never that I didnât like Bryce or I was never interested, but I never wanted to ruin the friendship. But then you have Walker is older brother. Walker is a few years older than us. Heâs super handsome, athletic, charming, he could basically date anyone he laid his eyes on.
The truth is Walker was my sexual awakening for years. Iâve stayed at their house and spent the night and it wouldnât be uncommon to see Walker come out and nothing but basketball shorts hell I donât even think he would wear underwear sometimes.
I can remember the way seeing him made me blush, and I tried my hardest not to stare at him. I donât know if Walker could tell that I was checking him out. Or maybe Walker was just used to people checking him out shouldnât be any surprise that his little brotherâs gay friend had his eyes glued to him.
And somehow he continues to keep getting hotter and hotter and hotterâŠ
So several weeks ago, Bryce and Walkerâs family went on vacation to some tropical island. And something very strange happened while touring an old temple. How Bryce explained it to me was that they had a sign up that specifically said, â please do not touch artifact.â
Bryce can be such a stickler for rules and I can almost see it in my head. It all went down. Bryce told Walker not to touch it. Walker likes to get on Bryceâs nerves Walker reaches for it and then shit got real quick. Because Walker and Bryce have now switched bodies.
When Bryce was explaining all this to me, I really thought it was bullshit. I mean, who would believe that that sounds like something from a movie and yet even hearing Walkerâs voice, I can tell just by the tone that itâs Bryce.
So today is the first day that I have seen Bryce since he swapped bodies with Walker. And thatâs why I feel all kinds of weird.
Now Bryce and I have stayed with each other like 1 million times and itâs really not unusual for us to be basically naked around each other. OK maybe not completely naked but like at least in her underwear.
And I have tried really, really hard to make him feel comfortable and I think Iâm doing a really good job but having him standing in front of me in just his brotherâs boxers is driving me a bit insane.
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Iâm sitting on Bryceâs bed and walks back into his room just to ask me if I wanted anything from downstairs like something to drink or maybe a snack. I can barely get out the words because I canât stop staring at the chiseled God in front of me.
â chase youâre staying the night right?,â he asked me.
â oh yeah, of course Iâm staying the night as long as thatâs OK.â
â yeah man of course itâs okay! You know itâs okay man. No one cares you stay the night. Youâre like basically family sides. My brother isnât going to be home tonight. Heâs wanted a lot of space since the whole. Iâve got his body thing. And both my parents are out of town so itâs just gonna be us,â he says with a side smirk.
â well if itâs just us what do you wanna get into tonight?,â I say trying to make conversation.
Iâm holding my eye contact directly at his face and I try my hardest not to look anywhere else, but he takes his hand and start scratching his balls and I can almost feel my whole cock twitch.
â I mean since everybodyâs not here tonight, we can always break into my parents liquor cabinet, whoop whoop!â
You know I am probably the most innocent 18 year-old alive, I donât wanna attend parties nor do I really sneak around my parents but I feel like alcohol sounds like a great idea right now. I mean it I might be able to calm down a bit.
ïżŒâHell yeah! Thatâs sounds fun!,â I say with some enthusiasm.
âBet! Be right back!â
I hear as heavy feet running down the stairs and all I can do is try to think of something that would totally turn me off like anything taxes, my grandparents, just somethingâŠ
And yet all I can think about is how hot it would be if I could suck on his toes. Iâve had a thing for feet a while now and itâs taking me a little bit to accept it and a part of that I blame Walker for him because he has some sexy ass feet.
I can remember clearly the smell of his feet after he would finish football practice and he would pull off his shoes. Shit! Fuck! Iâm so hard right now. I feel like Iâm gonna have to sneak away and beat one out in the bathroom just to clear my head.
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And then here comes Bryce with two glasses in his hand and a bottle of wine for the both of us just super eager.
I reposition myself to where Iâm laying flat on my stomach so he doesnât notice.
Bryce hops on to the bed with me and tryâs his hardest to navigate a wine opener.
âGeez, I have no clue what Iâm doing hereâŠâ
I eventually take it and started twisting in. I try to pull it out but struggle.
âHere since you now have all of the muscles.â
He rolls his eyes at me and tugs it out.
âSuccess!â
âGood team work there he-man,â I say playfully.
Bryceâs pours both of us a glass and at first I thought it tasted awful. But the second glass⊠now I see why people like it. I feel so warm inside and relaxed.
We both lay back in his bed.
âIs it super weird for you?,â I ask him.
âWhat?â
âYou know⊠being in your Walkers body.â
âUm⊠yes. Yes and no I guess. I feel like everything has just moved so quick since the trip. I feel very different in public, like Iâm so much more noticed. girls hit on me⊠so do guys. Itâs a lot to take in especially since you and my family are the only ones who know about it.â
âWhat about Walkerâs girlfriend?â
âOh he broke up with her, thought it would be less weird. Although he had to do it over text because I refused to call or see her in person.â
âDamn! Thatâs crazy.â
âYeah but she was like his girlfriend for the month, nothing serious.â
Of courseâŠ
âSo is this pretty permanent?â
âYeah I think so, unless you know of any other magic objects than can reverse it haha.â
âNo, not off of the top of my head,âI say jokingly.
âWell⊠that answers your question. This is my body now. This is the new me I guess,â he says looking his muscles over.
I look them over as well and then my eyes draw this briefs⊠heâs got a hard onâŠ
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Bryce catches my eyes and says, âyou wanna touch it?â
âWhat?!?â
âCome on Chase⊠donât play games with me. I know you and I know youâve had the hots for this body. Iâve known for years now.â
I take a deep breath⊠I feel my nervous all over again.
âItâs okay, I know you like this body. Itâs my body now. And I want you to touch my massive dick.â
âBut Bryce!â
âShhh! Chase Iâve had a crush on you for years and I know you would never fool around with me. And now I have the body youâve been lusting for years now. TOUCH MY MASSIVE DICK PLEASE!â
âFuck, okay.â
I start touching it from the outside and it does feel huge!
âYou know I love you Bryce, youâre the most important person to me. I just never wanted us to loose our friendship. Itâs why I never tried anything with you.â
âI know. And listen I know you werenât trying to go after my brother. I know what he looks like. Everyone does. But now I have the body and the personality so, Iâm giving you no choice but to date me. Got it?â
âUgh fine,â I say rolling my eyes.
âNow can you do me a favor?â
âSure!â
âCan I see your feet?â he says to me.
Wow! Wasnât expecting that!
âWait why?â
âI hope you donât think this is weird but I have a thing for them.â
âShut up! So do I!â
âYou do?!?â
âYeah especiallyâŠ,â I eye down to his feet and wiggles his toes.
âOh my god! This is about to be a wild night!â
âWait, can I kiss you?â
âPlease!â
Part 2 ComingâŠ
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We need more young stan content out here.
And nah I ain't talking about 12 year old Stanley or 30 year old mullet Stan, I'm talking 17 year old, slicked back hair, acne riddled Stan pines.
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Yeah that one.
I am so happy mullet Stan is so popular because his fit slaps ngl and the angst is so potent I can't not respect it. But teenage Stan has so much potential it's driving me insane.
There is a line dividing the 17 years of relative happiness Stan had with Ford and the 10+ years of depression and crime he had on the streets, and teenage Stan uses that line as a goddamn jump rope.
Seriously, depending on how you look at it dude is either living his best life or is fighting for said life in the trenches of homelessness and poverty.
I see a lot of content regarding Stan on the streets but it only ever focuses on 30ish Stan in his later years of homelessness where he's already a hardened adult after years of dealing with this bullshit. But Stan didn't just drive away and then magically turn 30. There were times in those first few months after Stan got kicked out where he was in his car, trying to sleep, probably starving, while still being fundamentally a child.
Hell, compared to the 30ish age of mullet Stan and the 60+ year old con man he'd later become, teenage Stan is damn near a baby. There's a certain brightness about him, a sort of warm naive optimism that still clings to him because he's straight up just too young to know any better.
He's still fully convinced he's gonna make it rich and go back to his family in a few years. He still believes wholeheartedly that even if shit sucks right now, eventually everything is gonna be okay. It has to be. But it's not gonna be okay. It's not gonna be okay for a long time. And some parts are just never gonna be okay.
Seeing a happy and oblivious teenage Stan feels like watching a baby lamb walk into a slaughter house.
The next 10-something years are going to tear him apart limb from limb. In 40 years he's going to wake up on a boat during a bout of amnesia thinking he's in Columbian prison, or he's locked in the trunk of a car and about to drown, or his shoulder is on fire and his brother is gone, or it's the end of the world and everyone he ever dared to give a shit about is about to die in front of him and it's all his fault because he was too weak to stop it.
At some point, a young Stanley is going to get into his first true life or death fight. He doesn't even have to be involved with crime yet for it to happen. He's probably bruised and bleeding, with not nearly enough money to afford a doctor. He's sitting in the driver's seat of his El Diablo having a complete and utter break down because he almost died and suddenly everything is real.
Nothing is okay, absolutely nothing is going to be okay and whatever is left of his teenage innocence, naivety, and warmth dies in that car and it never comes back.
The next 10+ years are going to fundamentally change Stanley as a person and he's never going to be the same ever again. But teenage Stan doesn't know that, he's still a kid trying to sleep in the back of his car, ignoring hunger pangs and finding comfort in the half baked business ideas his mind cooks up because he doesn't understand how utterly done for he is.
12 year old Stanley I believe is so appealing because of his bright rambunctious spirit. He's still just a kid playing on the beach with his brother, but so was teenage Stan. I just wish the wholesomeness that comes with that and the subsequent hurt that follows as that spirit is broken over and over again by the world was explored more.
Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.
#gravity falls fandom#gravity falls#character analysis#gravity falls stanley#gravity falls stan pines#gravity falls stanford#stan pines#grunkle stan#stangst#stanford pines#stan twins#stanley pines#gf stanley#stan and ford#young stan pines#mullet stan#teenage stan pines#gravity falls ford#ford pines#I NEED MORE TEENAGE STANLEY CONTENT PLEASE HES SO GOOBER#fanart#gravity falls fanart
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Toji Fushiguro
Pairing: Actor!Toji Fushiguro x f!Reader
Warnings: MDNI!, smut, oral sex (m. receiving), spitting, vaginal sex, creampie, angst, family fluff, toji has like 50 kids (4) and tries to be a good dad
Summary: Toji's selfishness is getting in the way of your family. When he notices that your family is slowly falling apart, he does what he can to hold it together.
*Actually a long oneshot! for @ayyy-pee's collab
Discord +18 - Twitter - Ko-Fi
âACTOR TOJI FUSHIGURO SPOTTED GETTING A LITTLE TOO COZY WITH NEW CO-STARâ
The headlines are everywhere, itâs nearly impossible for you to ignore them. Itâs not only the headlines but the pictures, the videos, the talk shows, the clear chemistry between themâ And if that isnât enough, the messages and calls you receive asking if youâre okay, are driving you insane. You donât know how much more you can take of this.
Toji wanted to venture out of his usual villain role, wanting to do something more lighthearted, more fun. Whenever heâd audition for anything where he wasnât the bad guy, he would get a simple answer: youâre not the guy weâre looking for. Truth is, Toji is too intimidating and lacks the look of the perfect picture man that theyâre looking to cast in romcoms. You arenât going to lie and say that you were bothered by this, because in fact, you were glad he wasnât.
As selfish as it sounds, you were happy with the fact that Toji was getting stuck in the same villain roles. Heâs already famous enough, and you have more than enough money, he doesnât really need the lead role since it means that heâll spend even more time away from his family. But you lie to yourself because if he got the lead in any other movie, youâd be ecstatic for him.Â
The dreaded day came, and Toji got a call from his agent. An offer for a lead role in a new and upcoming romcom. It was hard for you to be happy for him, even though your husband was so excited to venture out of his usual character. âHeâs going to kiss someone elseâ was the first thought that came into your mind, and then you realized that movies nowadays are so much more explicit than just a kiss.Â
Toji wasnât supposed to, but he told you about a couple of things in the movie. He was so excited, and he couldnât keep a thing from his wife. He told you of the characters, the plot, the scenes he was most excited about and the scenes he was worried aboutâ The steamy scenes where Toji will be stripped to nothing with his tongue down another womanâs throat.Â
Jealousy would consume you for the next months, realizing that your husband is going to pretend to be with some other woman; however, you canât be too mad, since itâs all just happening in front of a camera. Youâre the only woman Toji loves, you know so. You shouldnât take this too seriously.
Until the relationship came off the cameras because the pair has undeniable chemistry, and the directors thought that hinting they were having an affair would make for great promo. You nearly begged Toji not to do it, but he didnât listen. He wants to ensure the movieâs success, which you understand but itâs humiliating for you and your family.
Youâre upset with him, and Toji knows this, but heâs allowed to be selfish. Heâs wanted this, and heâll do just about anything to make sure everything goes smoothly, he can risk having you mad at him for a few months. Although, heâll admit that it sucks because youâre so cold with him.
âHow about we take the kids and go out for dinner tonight?â Toji asks, watching as you get out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel. He wants to go on a date with just the two of you, but he also misses his kids. It doesnât matter what Toji suggests either way, because you ignore him. He clears his throat, repeating, âHow about we go out for dinner?â
âHuh?â You respond, acting as if you hadnât heard him before, and Toji doesnât know whether to laugh or roll his eyes. Toji repeats the question a third time and you proceed to answer, âIâm going out tonight, I canât.â
âWhat are you and the kids doing?â Toji questions, wondering why he wasnât invited. He guesses he knows why, but you shouldâve at least tried to make the effort since it involves your kids.
âIâm going out, the kids are staying with the nanny.â You tell him, which makes his eyebrows perk up. Toji stands up from the bed, walking over to you. He hugs you from behind, planting a kiss on your shoulder.
âHow about weââ He begins but you proceed to cut him off before he can even finish his sentence.
âIâm going out with friends. Without you.â You answer, removing Tojiâs arms from your waist. You walk to the closet to find your outfit for the night, and Toji canât seem to leave you alone, following behind you like a lost puppy.Â
âYou donât have to be so cold.â He argues, and you pay no attention to him. You were clear that you didnât want this to go this far, yet he let it happen. You can be as mad as you want to be with him. âWhat are you planning to do anyway? Cause a scandal to get back at me?â
âIâm allowed to have fun, am I not, Toji?â You respond. You simply want to go out without thinking of your husband and all the embarrassment his job is bringing. If it causes a scandal, then so be it.
âThen why are you so set on going alone?â He replies, and you scoff. You canât believe the audacity.
âI just want to be away from you because you humiliate me.â You finally look at him, shooting him a glare. It shouldnât hurt because heâs caused his own problems, but it still hurts to hear that from his wife, âI was upset about the movie, sure, but I knew you wanted to do it so I bit my tongue. This publicity stunt is too far, and I told you not to do it over and over again, but you did it. Fine. Youâre an adult.â
âAnd? You know itâs not real.â He argues, which only ticks you off more. You wonât raise your voice because your children are wide awake, and you donât want them to hear as you yell at their father.
âDo you know how many pity messages Iâve gotten? The amount of calls? Iâm just the poor victim to all of them, and also the stupid woman that wonât leave her husband.â You respond, and he opens his mouth to argue that itâll be over soon. In a couple of months the truth will come to light and everything will go back to normal. âThe kids are getting teased about it too. Megumi is old enough to know itâs a stunt, but the other three arenât.â
âWhat do you mean the two year old and five year old are also affected by this?â He questions in a mocking tone, which tells you that he isnât fully believing you. You feel your blood boil, and you take a deep breath to keep yourself calm. Youâre not letting him get the best of you.
âWell, considering that the ten year old canât keep his mouth shut and tells the other two that mommy and daddy are getting a divorce, Iâd say yes, they are affected by this.â You try to remain stoic, keeping your voice low and calm. Toji bites down his lip, his eyes going wide at the realization that his ten year old refusing to talk to him wasnât just a simple tantrum. âI tried to tell him that everything is fine between us, but he didnât exactly believe me.â
âIs that why theyâre refusing to talk to me?â Tojiâs demeanor changes, becoming somber in a matter of seconds. You end up shrugging, not really knowing why your son is acting the way he is, but you can only assume itâs because of it.Â
âIâm not sure. Probably.â You donât care to really find a solution to his problems since youâre upset with him too. He needs to realize that his actions not only affect him but also his family. You watch as the man walks over to the bed to take a seat and think of what to do with this new piece of information. And while youâre mad at him, you still love him and want to help him out one way or another. You focus on getting yourself ready while you tell him, âHow about you take them out tonight? Explain to them that everything is fine between us andââ
âWill you come with us?â He interrupts you, making you click your tongue.
âIâm going out, you can deal with the issues that youâve caused, alone.â You answer, and Toji furrows his eyebrows. He knows that he canât exactly be too mad at you because youâre right, he caused his own problems. âTake them somewhere to eat, watch a movie with them, play with them. I donât know. Iâm laying it all out for you, Toji. You can decide whatâs best.â
âWhat about you?â He asks, and you donât even care to entertain him, sitting in front of your vanity to do your makeup. Toji has to repeat himself, and you sigh.
âFigure it out.âÂ
âRyo, are you ready?!â Toji yells down the hallway, but his ten-year-old doesnât answer. Toji simply goes ignored, and the man tries to remain calm. Getting mad isnât going to do him any good, yelling angrily at his son isnât going to make Ryo any less mad.Â
You left around thirty minutes ago, and Toji spent the entire time trying to convince you to stay; however, his efforts were in vain. You didnât care enough to listen which shouldnât really shock him, heâs still upset though. After you left, he began getting his daughters ready to go out, telling his sons to put on something comfortable since theyâre going out to dinner.
Now that both of his girls are ready, heâs simply waiting on his sons. Toji knows that Megumi is somewhat ready, but he isnât sure about Ryo.Â
âAimi, baby, can you wait downstairs while I check on your brother?â Toji asks his five-year-old, and she nods in response. Toji has to talk to his son alone, but he canât do so with the two-year-old thatâs on his hip. He knows that Aimi isnât going to cause any trouble, but the little one that he holds is either going to get hurt or cause a big mess. Heâs dismissed the nanny, and he canât exactly leave her alone with Aimi.Â
Before making his way to Ryoâs room, Toji walks over to Megumiâs door. He harshly knocks on the door and puts Emi down in front of it, as if Toji were the stork himself. Emi is about to run after her papa but Megumi opens the door, and she squeals when she sees her beloved older brother.
âWhat?!â Megumi yells down the hallway when he spots his father. Megumi picks up Emi from the floor, ensuring that she doesnât run away.
âIâm going to talk to Ryo! Make sure she doesnât get hurt!â Toji responds, and Megumi sighs. Not that he particularly minds, but Toji couldâve at the very least waited until Megumi had her in his arms. Megumi clicks his tongue, shaking his head in disappointment before telling his sister,
âWhat are we going to do with him?â And she shrugs in response.
âI donât know.â She answers, which makes Megumi laugh. He walks out of the room and goes downstairs to join his other sister.Â
Toji stands in front of Ryoâs door. He knocks but heâs met with no response. Toji isnât willing to respect his kidsâ privacy, not when he pays for everything they have. Toji opens the door to the room, finding Ryo in his pajamas, playing with his console. Perhaps this would be the perfect time to have a heart-to-heart with his son, explain everything thatâs going onâ But would Toji really think of that right away?
âChange. Weâre going out.â Itâs an order, and Ryo doesnât like it. Heâs about to ignore Toji but Toji snatches the console thatâs in the boyâs hands. âDonât act like a fucking brat. Change. Weâve taught you better.â
âIâm staying with mom.â Ryo mutters, angrily getting out of bed to do as his father says. Toji wonât lie and say that the words donât hurt him, but he remains stoic.Â
âHurry up. Your siblings are waiting.â Toji says before leaving the room, the console in his hand. He has to hide it before leaving.
âNo more.â Emi pushes her plate away after taking a few bites of the food she ordered. Sheâs barely eaten, Toji wants to make sure that at the very least she finishes a chicken tender.Â
âCan you at least finish this, please? Youâve barely eaten, princess.â Toji asks her, but she shakes her head. Toji has to find a way to bribe her, but first he has to deal with Megumi and Aimi who bicker about⊠Something.
âChew with your mouth closed, donât be gross.â Megumi corrects her, but Aimi isnât going to listen to someone who isnât her mother⊠Occasionally she listens to Toji, but itâs rare.
âI donât care!â She yells, and Tojiâs face slowly gets red with embarrassment. People are slowly looking at the tableâ Itâs funny because he really thought that having Megumi here would be useful. Instead, heâs yelling back and forth with his five-year-old sister.
âYouâre nasty, Aimi!â
âYour face is nasty!â
âWill you two quiet down?!â Toji half yells. His eyes linger on Megumi, âRemind me how old you are.â
âSixteen.â Megumi answers, reality setting in when he says his age. His cheeks slowly turn pink as he waits for his father to say his next sentence.
âAnd youâre arguing with a five-year-old? Loudly, in a restaurant, dare I add.â Toji says, and Megumi pushes his plate away because heâs suddenly lost his appetite. Toji hadnât realized just how hard it was to deal with all four kids without any helpâ Well, three kids since Ryo isnât talking. Heâs not doing anything. Toji clears his throat before asking, âDo you like the food, Ryo?â
Ryo doesnât answer, and itâs slowly driving Toji to his limit. Heâs talking to everybody but Toji, the moment Toji addresses him, he goes silent. Toji looks at Megumi and points at Emi, âGet your sister to eat.â
âRyo, talk to me. Your mom and I are fine.â Toji claims, but Ryo doesnât say anything because things clearly arenât fineâ After all, everyone is talking about it. Toji is essentially ruining the family by running off with his co-star.
âRyo, do you want my leftovers?â Aimi asks her big brother and he hums in response, taking the plate from her. Toji takes a deep breath to remain calm. Ryo technically didnât even say a word, he just hummed in response, Toji canât be mad about that. Then Aimi asks, âDo you think daddy will get dessert? I think they have ice cream.â
âThe key lime pie is better, plus we have ice cream at home.â Ryo argues and Toji gets an idea on how to get his son to talk to him.
âDo you really want the key lime pie? I thought you liked cheesecake better.â Toji comments, and Ryo doesnât answer. He proceeds to talk to his little sister, and Toji canât take it. He slams his hand on the table and causes a scene, âFor fuckâs sake, Ryo! Donât ignore me!â
If all eyes werenât on them before, they definitely are now. The cherry on top is Megumi who tells Emi, âSee, heâs going to do that to you if you donât finish whatâs on your plate.â
Emi begins to cry her little heart out, and Toji lets out the biggest sigh. Curse the day he decided to have kids.
âIâm not going to do anything to you, Emi.â Toji says, but sheâs crying and stuffing her face out of fear. Everyone is looking at him, some people surely recognize him. At least this fits the narrative that his family is falling apart, and while it was all a stunt at first, itâs starting to feel real.
Itâs his fault, he canât blame anyone else but himself.
âFinish up, weâre going home.â Toji sounds defeated, and he is. Taking the kids out to dinner should not be this hard.Â
âWhat about dessert?â Aimiâs voice is filled with disappointment.
âDessert isnât happening because you kids donât know how to behave.â Toji answers, and Aimi crosses her arms, a pout on her lips. Toji wanted to make things better with his kids, but unknowingly, heâs made them worse.
âNight, night, princess.â Toji kisses Aimiâs forehead, but she doesnât care to even acknowledge him. She doesnât say anything, turning to her side so she doesnât have to look at him. Toji sighs, âYouâre ignoring me too, huh?â
She doesnât say anything, which doesnât really upset Toji. Sheâs just mad that she didnât get dessert, tomorrow sheâll be fine with him again. He kisses her temple before telling her, âI love you.â
He knows waiting for an answer is useless, so he turns off the lamp and walks out of the door. Aimi will eventually get out of bed and run after him to apologize because she feels bad since she loves her daddy so much.Â
Toji closes the door, and he looks for Ryoâs console. Once the console is in his hand, Toji goes to his sonâs room. Toji doesnât bother knocking because he knows he wonât get a response. Ryo has the lights turned off, trying to sleep since thereâs nothing better for him to do. But Toji knows that the child isnât sleeping, heâs just like you, he tosses and turns a million times in the night before actually succumbing to slumber.
âHereâs the console, kiddo. Thanks for going out with us tonight.â Toji says, putting the console on Ryoâs dresser before walking over to his side to press a kiss on Ryoâs temple. Toji hears some sniffling coming from his son, which makes the man want to fall to his knees and cry as well.Â
Toji has four kids, heâs heard them cry many times before for trivial things. Heâs never really felt this before with one of them because he really wasnât at fault. He was doing things for their own good⊠But this time heâs doing all of this for his own selfish reasons.Â
âMy baby boy, please talk to me.â Toji kneels down by the bed, hoping that his son will finally say something to him. Itâs killing him slowly, he just wants to talk to him. Toji doesnât want his kid to hate him, but it feels like Ryo is slowly getting there.
âI donât want you and mommy to get a divorce.â Ryo finally speaks up, and Tojiâs heart breaks when he hears him call you mommy, considering Ryo started calling you mom the day he turned eight. Toji stops kneeling, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.Â
âEverything is fine between me and your mommy.â Toji says although itâs hard to believe. Theyâre not fine, but youâre not getting a divorce either. âWe just have to talk things out, but weâre not getting a divorce.â
âAll of my friends are talking about you and how you two will end up splitting.â Ryo finally sits up on the bed, and Toji doesnât really understand why this is even a topic of conversation for Ryoâs friends, but it is and Toji has to deal with it. âAnd itâs your fault.â
It is, Toji canât really say otherwise. But he isnât splitting up the familyâ At least not by having an affair like the news claim.
âRyo, I promise you that your mom and I are not splitting up.â Toji tries to reassure his son, but Toji isnât all too sure himself. âWe are having some issues, but itâs not because of what your friends are telling you. What theyâre telling you is not real.â
âButââ Heâs about to keep going but Toji has to cut him off. Toji canât keep defending himself, he keeps using the same argument over and over again and he doesnât know how many times he can actually say the same words.
âDid you ask your mommy about this?â Toji asks, and his son nods in response. Ryo has asked a million times and you always have the same answer.Â
âYeah⊠She said that you two were okay.â He replies, yet he doesnât believe a single word of it. Toji is growing frustrated, but he canât let it show. His whole job is to pretend to be someone else, to act out certain feelings and suppress the actual emotions that run through his body, he should be able to do that, right?
âThen why donât you believe us? Your friends donât know whatâs happening in our relationship.â Toji points out, but thatâs not enough for Ryo.
âI know mommy was lying.âÂ
âWhat do you mean? Did she tell you she was lying?â Tojiâs confused. Ryo is ten, heâs not smart enough to spot a lie, especially from you. Youâre a damn good actress, when you show your emotions itâs on purpose, and Toji doubts you were purposely showing your emotions.
âI was going to ask her something and I saw her cryingâŠâ Ryo confesses, and Toji furrows his eyebrows. Heâs certainly hasnât heard that, but Toji clears his throat before arguing,
âYou do know that your mom has a completely different life and she couldâve been crying for something that doesnât involve me, right?â Toji is sure that the crying had to do with him, but he isnât going to let that be known. Ryo nods in response, since what his father says does make sense. Toji ruffles his sonâs hair before kissing his forehead, âNext time youâre mad at me, donât give me the silent treatment.â
âI wonât.â Ryo answers, although neither of them are too sure that heâll keep up with his word. Toji stands up and gives the gaming console to his son, and Ryo wastes no time in taking it.Â
âYou can stay up late tonight.â Toji tells him, which puts a smile on his face. Toji also walks away with a smile on his lips, feeling victorious after getting his son to talk to him. Toji exits the room, gently shutting the door behind him.
Toji begins his walk to Megumiâs room, planning to check up on him. However, when his hand touches the doorknob, he feels a pair of tiny arms wrap around his leg. He looks down to find his five-year-old hugging him. He chuckles, âWhatâs up, Aimi?â
âPapa, Iâm sorry. I love you too.â Tears are streaming down her face, feeling guilty about not telling her daddy that she loves him back. Toji picks her up from the ground, wiping her tears away and kissing her cheek.
âMy little princess, Iâll get you some ice cream tomorrow.â He assures her, rubbing her back. She continues to wipe her tears because once they begin, theyâre hard to stop. He takes her back to her room, reads her a story and puts her to bed once again.Â
Toji continues what he was doing, checking up on his kids before going to bed himself. He waits for you, but it gets late. His eyes are closing on their own and before he knows it, he falls asleep. Heâs getting old.
âToji, babyââ Youâre calling out to him. It takes a moment for him to open his eyes, but they open rapidly when he feels you kissing his cheeks. Itâs definitely nice to feel you kissing him after barely acknowledging him the last couple of days. Still, he canât help but question,
âAre you drunk?â You keep kissing him. He doesnât smell any alcohol on your breath, but that doesnât really answer anything. He feels your hand go down his torso to his sweatpants. Youâre just incredibly horny, thatâs a good enough reason. Your hand goes to his sweatpants, wrapping around the base of his cock before lazily stroking it. âWhat happened to you? What have you done to my wife?â
âI just need you. Need you so bad.â You say in between kisses. Your lips are on his neck, and Toji really canât complain. He misses your touch so muchâ But what the hell happened to you? You were barely talking to him a couple of hours ago; either youâre on something or something happened to you.
âWhat happened, baby?â He stops you. Your hand comes out of his hands and you get on top of him. Your lips go on his, your tongue quickly entering his mouth and pressing against his. Youâre avoiding the answer, and Toji grows worried. Youâre grinding on him, and itâs hard for him to have a clear mind when all the blood rushes to his dick. He doesnât remember the last time he touched you. Youâve been so mad at him that you shut him down the moment that he initiates something.
Toji wants to enjoy it, and his body is but his mind thinks about the fact that nothing has been solved. Heâs not done anything to apologize to you, so he immediately thinks that youâve done something. It takes every bit of him to push you away even though he doesnât want to. Youâre so gorgeous while youâre on top of him like this, that he doesnât want to ask the question but he has to, âWhat did you do?â
âWhat do you mean what did I do?â You furrow your brows, and Toji clicks his tongue. He canât believe that youâre initiating something and heâs stopping it. One week ago he wouldâve been beating himself up for passing up on this opportunity, but he has to know why you changed your mind.Â
âYouâve been mad at me, and now youâre all over me when I havenât apologized.â Toji points out, and you suck in your bottom lip between your teeth. That confirms that youâve done something bad, and his heart beat speeds up, thinking of the worst.
âI met a guyâŠâ You begin and Tojiâs heart breaks. He doesnât need to hear the rest of it because he knows. Tears well up in his eyes and he tries to take a deep breath. Yeah, he knew his actions would have consequences but not this. âWe flirted a bit, just having fun and then he invited me back to his placeââ
âYou donât have toââ Toji is about to cut you off, and heâs reasonably thinking the worst.
âI didnât go back with him. I remembered the amazing husband I have, how much I love him, how amazing he is at everything he does. I wasnât going to risk losing you even though Iâm mad at you.â You have to interrupt him before he gets into his head. You press a subtle kiss on his jaw before your lips go to his ear, âBut if you see some headlines tomorrow, donât get mad at me.â
âYou scared the shit out of me.â He chuckles. He guesses heâs getting a taste of his own medicine, but heâs not mad after his initial scare. Your lips go back on his, but they donât last long before moving down his neck and torso. Your mouth kisses to his nipple, your tongue circling around it which makes him bite down his lip.Â
Toji is sensitive. Just about anything will make him cum. You continue to kiss down his body until his sweatpants obstruct your path. You desperately push them down, while Toji reaches for the lamp to turn it on. He has a particular love for watching you while you take care of him.
Your hand wraps around the base while you spit on his cock. You stroke his cock a couple of times before your tongue circles the tip of his cock. You take your time working him up before you lower your mouth on his cock, taking in as much as you can take.
If Toji had known that this is how his night wouldâve ended by letting you go out, he wouldnât have tried to talk you out of it. A pathetic moan leaves his lips, feeling your warm mouth wrapped around him. Heâs missed this, fuck.Â
He wants to push your head down, forcing you to take all of himâ Which he normally does, but itâs not going to end well. Toji knows well that youâll stop, and he wonât risk that tonight. This is a sweet treat that he doesnât deserve, heâs not going to risk losing it.Â
You try to take all of him in your mouth either way, tears building up in your eyes as you gag, eventually spilling and messing up the makeup that was already coming apart. This is what Toji loves, watching the makeup that you work so hard on, fall apart just for him. And you do it because you want to. Because you love the taste of him on your tongue.
You take him out of your mouth, using your hand to stroke his cock. Tojiâs moaning with your every touch, itâs hard not to. Youâre just so fucking perfect with everything you do that itâs hard for him to contain himself.
âBaby, pleaseââ He sounds so pathetic. Toji is usually much meaner in this situation, but circumstances have obviously changed. He just wants to feel your mouth wrapped around his cock. âUse your mouth, baby. Pleaseââ
âHow can I say no to you?â You chuckle before your mouth wraps around his cock again. You take as much as you can take, your hand stroking what your mouth canât reach. Heâs shutting his eyes, moaning your name as his climax approaches.Â
His cum hits the back of your throat, and you raise your head. You swallow it, sticking your tongue out so he can check it. Toji sits up, his hand going down to your chin, thumb into your mouth. The bit of submissiveness that you had witnessed quickly fades.Â
âWhoâs my good girl?â He asks, your tongue circling around his thumb. He wants to know what happened that has you so aroused, but as long as you didnât get physical, he doesnât care. He takes his thumb out, a string of your saliva connecting it to your lips. He orders, âOpen your mouth.â
As soon as your mouth opens, he spits in it. You donât waste a second before swallowing. Toji lips meet yours again, his tongue messily entering your mouth and pressing against yours. You readjust your legs, knees on either side of him. Youâre grinding on him again, and the man pulls away from the kiss, not doing so without biting your lip first.Â
âYou want me to fuck you, baby? You need me?â He asks as you push your panties to the side. Youâre aligning him with your entrance, softly moaning as you push yourself down on him. You canât wait any longer, you desperately need him. You softly moan as he fills you up, your eyes nearly rolling to the back of your head. Youâre sure no one will ever feel as good as Toji.
âWas thinking so much about you, baby. I missed you, Toji.â You moan, throwing your head back. You give yourself a moment to get adjusted to him before moving back and forth on his cock. His cock brushes your sweet spot, driving you insane.Â
Toji shuts his eyes, getting lost in the moment. Heâs missed you so much too, but he canât speak right now because heâs groaning. He canât believe that heâs gone so long without you⊠He shouldnât have agreed to doing that publicity stunt in the first place.Â
âYou feel so fucking good, baby.â Toji moans, his hands going to your hips as you move on him. He hands roam, looking for the zipper of your dress, pulling it down so he can take your dress off you. His lips go to yours, your moans translating into his lips.Â
Youâre bouncing on him, his lips going down to suck on your neck. You let your moans roam into the air, feeling overwhelmed with how good youâre feeling. Toji barely even tries and he makes you feel euphoric. Maybe you were having second thoughts, but then you remembered just how perfect your husband is.
Toji pulls out, putting you down on the bed. He puts your legs on his shoulders before sliding back into you. He sets the pace, much faster than how you were going. Your hands are gripping the bed sheets, loudly moaning as your husband pounds into you.
âYouâre so perfect, baby. Youâre everything to me.â He praises you while one hand goes to play with your clit. Youâre almost at your limit, and he feels it as your cunt squeezes around him. He says through gritted teeth, âYouâre so fucking tight.â
âOh fuck, Tojiâ Iâm gonnaââ You announce, so close to reaching your peak.Â
âI know, babyâ fuck, I know.â He groans. Youâre driving him insane, itâs the effect that you have on him after not being with him for a while. God knows he needed this.
You loudly moan his name, your legs quivering when you reach your high. Itâs hard for you to last when his cock reaches deep, and reaches all the right spots. Toji canât help but praise you when you come, âThatâs my good girl, thatâs my fucking good girl.â
Tojiâs thrusts begin to get sloppy, even though he wants to stay buried inside you for as long as he can. His hands hold on to your hips, nails digging into your soft flesh.Â
âInside of me, baby, do it inside me.â You tell him, knowing heâs nearing his release. You need to feel his warmth in every possible way, and Toji isnât going to turn you down, certainly not with this.Â
Toji comes to a stop, groaning before filling you up with his warm cum. He stays buried inside of you until making sure every droop is inside of you. His lips go down to yours, kissing you as he pulls out.Â
âIâve missed you, love.â He says before you both get comfortable in bed. Youâll wait a minute before going to the bathroom to clean yourself up.Â
âFor the record, Iâm still mad at you.â You say before kissing his cheek, causing him to laugh. You stand up, walking to the bathroom to take a shower before going to bed, and he follows behind because heâs truly lost without you.Â
âYouâre here late.â He points out, unsure of what to say next.
âWhen you donât have the kids with you, things go surprisingly smooth⊠Speaking of, how was your night?â You get in the shower, and Toji is staring. Heâs watching every single one of your movements, even when he tries to tear his eyes away, he canât. You're just so perfect in every way, how can he look away?
âWhy did we have so many kids? They made the night so difficult.â Toji shares, and he hears you laugh. Itâs no surprise to you, youâve handled the kids on your own so many times before, and you always swear that you wonât even think of having another oneâ But then Emi comes to you with her teddy bear and begs for cuddles which makes you reconsider.
âWelcome to my world.â You respond, and Toji chuckles. He lightly bites down his lip, debating if he wants to go back to bed. He really doesnât, so he decides to join you in your shower.
âSo youâre less mad?â He asks, grabbing your sponge and pouring some body wash on it. Toji kisses your shoulder before he begins lightly scrubbing your body. You hum in response, and he can only wonder what you were up toâ But he canât complain. He couldnât care less what you were doing as long as youâre not mad at him.
âIâm still upset though, donât get me wrong.â You say as you take the sponge from his hand and use it on him. You peck his lips before muttering, âMy husband has still been misbehaving, I wonât forgive him so easily.â
Toji doesnât know how to come back from that so easily, so he ponders his answer. He helps you clean up.
âI talked to Ryo.â Toji announces, and you cock your eyebrow. Before you can ask about the details, Toji explains everything to you, ending off his sentence with, âWhy were you crying?â
âLife gets tough when your husband is allegedly cheating on you.â You answer, and Toji bites his tongue. You have said a million times how you hate this arrangement, and Toji has been too selfish to consider your emotions. Itâs not like youâve been silent about how much you hate this. He canât exactly be too mad at the fact that youâve been ignoring him when itâs deserved.Â
âIâm sorry, baby.â Is all he manages to say. You turn off the water, and get out of the shower, Toji following your lead again, even though heâs barely washed himself. You have your towel wrapped around him, while he opts out of getting his towel.
âI think youâll need a bigger apology, but I guess sex is good too.â You answer, but thatâs not enough for him.
âIâll call my agent and tell him that itâs off.â He says, and you stop in your tracks.
âNo! Youâve already done this much, the premiere is soon. Stick with it for now and just clear up your name after.â Youâre quick to object. That movie better do great after all youâve been through for this. Youâve suffered for months, you can put up with some more judgment for another month or so.
âBut now I feel horrible.â He responds, and you sigh. âI want to apologize.â
You take a couple of steps toward him, your hands meeting behind his neck. You kiss his lips before telling him, âAnother little Emi will suffice.â
âWoman, how dare you?! After the night Iâve had, that thought makes my dick flaccid. Donât you ever suggest having more kids!â He argues, and you look down. His words certainly donât match his feelings.
âAre you sure about that?â You ask him, and he sighs. He isnât going to lie to you, and he isnât going to tell you that youâre right, so he does the next best thing, picking you up and carrying you to the bed.
You have a long night of apologies ahead of you.
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