#TO HAVE ONE SINGLE CONVERSATION. MATTHEW PLEASE.

[pink-lightsabre]

good lord can we PLEASE stop acting like just because dorian is anti-god that it means he's gonna abandon bells hells for ludinus and the vanguard at the drop of a hat. p l e a s e.

[ivrousae]

- Take A Chance With Me ✩°｡⋆⸜ 🦢✮

Synopsis: You and Gunwook have had a complicated history with each other since ages ago, but a 7-day trip changed it all for you both.

Genre: fluff, angst (with a good ending), academic rivals, enemies to lovers, childhood friends

Pairing: Gunwook X Fem!reader

Word count: 9.5k (lol………..)

Warnings: skinship, kissing, cursing, a lot of teasing, mentions of wearing make up, pet names, a lot of sensitive topics (parents, family, grades/academics, etc), please tell me if i missed some

A/N: there WILL be so many typos and grammar error bcs I did not double check hehe, I got confused about where I should have them go for the trip, and because I’m Indonesian, I was just like “Oh, Bali it is” LMAO, and let’s act like everyone In the story already has their driver's license☝🏻, OH, and play your sad playlist from day 3 until the end of day 4 for a better experience😋😋😋

You and Gunwook have known each other for basically your whole life, things were okay between the two of you up until the first year of middle school, at first, the two of you drifted from each other, he joined the soccer club, giving him a new group of friends, while you have your own, but the two of you have gotten a little competitive with each other, academically, creatively, or just generally.

There had never been a single day where the two of you didn't bicker with each other, now that is if you guys even talk with one another, other days are just filled with your own life, no interactions what so ever.

You’d be lying if you said that there has never been a day where you weren’t sad that your friendship with Gunwook changed so drastically in a snap of a finger, but that was way back during middle school, it’s safe to say that you’ve learned to accept it.

────────────

“UGH, Y/N WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG?” Your best friend Yunjin asked on the phone “Girl, I’m right behind your car,” you said as you rolled your eyes before hanging up the phone and opening the door of Yunjin’s car.

“Oh, HEY BAE! I’m so excited about this trip, I can’t wait to finally have some days off from these assignments” Yunjin laughs as she starts her car and drives away from your house “Is everyone on their way to the airport yet?” you asked “yup, they’re on their way” she smiled. The one-hour drive to the airport was filled with laughter and screams as your favorite songs played on the Bluetooth.

.

As both of you arrived at the airport, you noticed that your other friends had also arrived, Gyuvin, Ricky, Matthew, Sheon, Winter, and…Gunwook!?

“Yunjin???” You stopped in your tracks the second you saw Gunwook standing with the other guys in the waiting room “Huh? What?” “You didn’t tell me Gunwook will be coming?” You spoke out, a little frustrated from the sudden news “Oh…see, because I knew you wouldn’t wanna come if you knew that Gunwook was coming, so I didn't tell you about that, sorry..” she laughed nervously “You should’ve told me? Now I’ll have to deal with his ass for the rest of the week, this is not any better than 50 assignments, JENNIFER.” “WOAH, you even brought up my English name and all, MY BAD?!?!?!” “Whatever” You shrugged, continuing your path to the waiting room to meet with the others.

Let’s all be honest, we all know the nonchalant face you have while you walk over there was all an act, you hated the fact that you’ll have to put up with him, but you don’t wanna seem like a sensitive no fun loser in front of him, that’ll just give him more reasons to tease you.

“Y/N!!! YUNJIN!!!” The girls shouted in excitement, their faces were occupied with bright smiles as they ran to hug you and Yunjin, while the guys just smiled and waved before continuing their conversation.

.

After an hour or two, the plane has finally boarded. You sat down with Yunjin, Winter sat down with Sheon, Ricky sat down with Matthew, and Gyuvin sat down with Gunwook, unfortunately, their seat was behind yours and Yunjin’s.

“Hey, Y/n, lend me your phone real quick” Gyuvin reached out his hands while tapping your shoulders “For what?” you asked confused by his sudden request “I need to search for something, my battery died” he responded. You handed him the phone, a little concerned, but what is he gonna do anyways?

After a few minutes, he returned your phone, the second you opened your gallery, it was filled with silly selfies that Gyuvin and Gunwook had taken, “Was your battery even out?” you looked back to him “Nope” he chuckled while scrolling thru his phone.

.

A few hours have passed, and the 8 of you have finally arrived at your destination, Bali! You and your friends used the car that you guys rented to go to the Villa you’re staying at for the week, entering the car, Gunwook sat in the driver’s seat while the others were in the passenger’s seat. “You’re driving?…” You asked a little concerned “Yeah? I’m a good driver, trust” he laughed, putting on the seatbelt before driving “If I die, I swear to god Gunwook I’ll be keeping you awake for the rest of your life” “Go on” he replied nonchalantly while he starts driving.

“Can someone put on some music? It’s kinda quiet in here” Ricky sighed “Ooooo yes! I have the perfect playlist for this” Winter responded, pulling out her phone to open an app. Once again, the drive to the villa was filled with laughs and screams as your favorite songs played on the Bluetooth.

{ Section 1 - The trip! }

- Day 1

☆ 3.45 PM

When you arrived at the villa, you were happy to be there of course, but you were a bit too drained to join the others talking in the living room, so you decided to excuse yourself to your bedroom, “Guys, I'm gonna go clean up and rest for a bit, I’ll join you guys later on” You smiled, taking your bags with you to the bedroom.

You took a deep breath while you lay down on the bed, the room was cold, and the glass wall with the glass door in front of your bed led to a balcony, which showed a view of the pool in the backyard and the beach behind it have given you the best atmosphere ever.

You get up from your bed to go to the bathroom inside of your bedroom, removing your make-up before getting into the shower. You were drowned in the warmth of the shower, and the sudden rush of freshness yet comfort took over your tired body, finally waking you up for reality, the good thing is, you’re out on a trip with your friends, the bad thing is, one of the ‘friends’ is Gunwook.

After your warm shower, you go back to your room and change into something more comfortable before plopping yourself onto the bed and scrolling down on your phone. Without noticing, scrolling down on your phone has slowly drifted you to sleep.

☆ 5.40 PM

You woke up from your nap due to someone softly shaking you “Huh?” you said confused “God, you’re finally awake, get up, we’re gonna go get dinner,” Gunwook said while opening the curtains “Let me sleep in for another 5 minutes” you groaned, putting a pillow over your head “Fine, I only woke you up because everyone else is already getting ready, if we leave you then don’t blame it on me” he shrugged, leaving your bedroom and shutting the doors “Ughhhh, fine I’ll get up” you whined tiredly, sitting down on your bed to gather up your sober self first.

After getting ready, You went out of your bedroom to see that everyone else was sitting down in the living room while waiting for you “Oh my god, took you long enough” Sheon complained, standing up from the couch “I was taking a nap” you laughed “Okay okay, C’mon, we don’t have much time” Matthew spoke out while taking the car keys on the table.

☆ 7.05 PM

“I’m sitting beside you?” Gunwook said unhappily while turning off his phone “If it was my choice, I’d be sitting at a different table from you, so if you want to complain, don’t say it to me” You rolled your eyes “Can you guys not argue for once?” Yunjin asked while looking at the both of you up and down “No” the both of you replied at the same time “Suit yourself” she sighed.

“Gunwook, lend me that spoon,” you said while pointing at the spoon beside him “Take it yourself” he replied “Bitch?” “I’m kidding” he laughed, giving you a gentle push on the shoulders before handing you the spoon “Thanks” you smiled sarcastically.

The breezy air at night on the beach has given the restaurant such a cozy vibe, the most surprising thing, is that you still feel comfortable in there even when you’re sitting next to the person you hate the most.

The warm delicate food filled your and your friend’s stomachs in the best way possible, it’s safe to say that the dinner went smoothly!

☆ 11.55 PM

After a long tiring night, good sleep is all that you need, when you’ve arrived at your villa, you cleaned yourself up and went straight to bed.

.

- Day 2

☆ 7.30 AM

You wake up from your slumber, and a glimpse of the sun shines through the curtains blinding your eyes “That’s bright” you say in your sleepy voice.

You got out of bed and washed your face before exiting your bedroom, You were greeted by Gunwook who was making himself some breakfast “A lion’s out of her cage” he said teasingly “Shut up” you said quietly “Where is everyone else?” “They’re still asleep, why are you awake so early always?” he asked “I don’t know. My body just decided to wake up” You laid down on the couch, eyes still sleepy “Cool, get off I wanna sit down” Gunwook declared while holding a plate of food “No? Sit down on the ground” He clicked his tongue before pulling you out of the couch “You’re so annoying” You groaned, getting up from the ground and walking to the kitchen “If I’m annoying then you should go and check out what’s wrong with you” he scoffed as he searched for some shows to watch on the TV.

“Why are you guys so loud? It’s too early for this” Gyuvin got out of his room, hair messy and face sleepy “If your friend isn’t so bitchy, we wouldn’t be so loud” You said while slowly taking a glance at Gunwook “C’mon, he’s your friend too Y/n” Gyuvin laughed “No he’s not?” “No I’m not?” Both of you said in sync “Oh!” Gyuvin reacted “I tried, I’m going back to sleep” He entered his room and shut the door.

☆ 9.15 AM

Finally, everyone is awake! The 8 of you guys sat down together in the backyard of the villa, having random conversations while drinking some fresh beverages.

You guys spent the rest of the day out shopping and hunting for some traditional food, and of course, you guys had to visit the beach and experience the beauty there.

☆ 10.30 PM

The day has passed and it’s finally nighttime, you and your friends sat around a bonfire while having deep conversations, silly conversations, stupid conversations, and even drunk confessions on a sober brain. At this moment of the day, all 8 of you have grown to connect more, the bond between all of you has grown to be stronger than before, and what’s most important, is that all of you understand each other more, as shocking as this will sound, you and Gunwook have somehow slowly understood each other more, no, that doesn’t break the hatred you both have for each other, but it delivered the both of you some understanding

“Oh c’mon Ricky that’s such a dumb confession” Sheon scoffed “What? I literally just confessed my love for strawberries to you guys?” “Yeah, and we know about that already you dumbass” Winter chuckled “Hmmm, Gunwook, how bout you? Do you have any confessions?” Matthew asked, “Maybe about how you’re able to achieve the title of ‘best student award’ every year?” he chuckled “Oh..honestly, I think I just grew up with my parents having to force my academic scores to be high, even with the titles that I’ve gotten these past few years, they’re still not satisfied” he lets out a soft chuckle, a forced one for sure, “But you’re always first in class? Let alone class, our whole grade?!” Gyuvin spoke out shocked by Gunwook’s confession “It’s hard to satisfy them, dude, but it’s fine, really, I’ve already grown to accept it” he laughed

“Y/n, you good? Why are you so quiet?” Yunjin asked concerned “Hm? Yeah, I’m good, I’m just a little tired” You smiled “If you’re tired you can just go back inside and sleep, it’s getting late anyways!” Sheon mentioned while checking the time on her phone “No no, it’s okay, I’ll stay” “Just sleep, if you stay you’ll just end up falling asleep” Gunwook said teasingly yet softly at the same time “You know what guys, I’m also getting a little tired, let’s end today and go to sleep” Winter stood up while taking her stuff “Okayy, good night guys” Yunjin enunciated and everyone went back inside to their own bedrooms.

There’s something about that conversation keeping you up that night, you asked yourself “Am I just over-sensitive? Or am I just jealous?” while staring up at the dark ceiling of the bedroom. Ever since your rivalry with Gunwook started in middle school, You grew up with this pressure in your heart, constantly telling yourself to just..be better than him. You’ve always been compared to him, even by your parents, as much as you work for something. Your achievement can never be better than Gunwook’s, he’s first in class, so why are you always second? You work equally just as hard as him? And if you finally beat Gunwook on something, people would still have their focus on Gunwook, Okay?! He’s the popular smart soccer player in school that everybody has a crush on, but all you’ve ever asked for is to be appreciated.

“This is dumb” you sighed, holding back tears and putting a blanket over your body, letting yourself fall asleep.

.

- Day 3

☆ 9.15 AM

“Hey you seem like you’re in a bad mood, what’s wrong?” Gyuvin asked you “Nothing’s wrong? Just still a little sleepy, you know?” “I see, well if you’re really that tired just go back to sleep, we don’t have anything to do yet anyway,” he said while scrolling through his phone.

“Hey, y/n, come here!” Yunjin shouted from the kitchen “Coming!” you walked over to the kitchen “Help me make some cookies” she laughed “Call for Gunwook too, I need him to help prepare the ingredients” “Okay, hold up” you smiled, walking yourself to Gunwook’s room before knocking on his door “Come in” he shouted “Yunjin wants you to help her prepare some ingredients for making cookies, c’mon” you leaned over the door frame “Fine, give me a minute”

You went back downstairs and after a few minutes of waiting, Gunwook finally came down to help “What do you need help with?” he asked “Can you take the bowl on the top shelf?” “Yeah, hold on” he answered, reaching up for the bowl with such ease.

The baking session for the three of you was interesting, You guys honestly made a big mess and Gunwook kept on putting flour on your face, but the cookies turned out pretty good so you couldn’t even complain about it.

☆ 00.40 AM

The day ended, and everybody was asleep, but yet again, something was bothering you, you hated it, you hated having that weird burden inside of you. The worst part of it is that you know this is all because of your jealousy toward Gunwook, you didn’t want to be jealous of him, but you were.

You decided that you needed something to drink, so you went out of your bedroom to get something from the kitchen, but the sight of Gunwook sitting down on one of the chairs on the kitchen’s aisle stopped you, you hesitated, but you went for it.

You tried your best to avoid eye contact with him while taking some water from the dispenser, but knowing that he was looking at you made it hard for you to not look at him back.

“Hey, Gunwook..” You sighed “I’ve tried to keep this to myself, but sometimes it’s so hard to act as if I don't hold anything against you but I do.” you scoffed “Y/n” he spoke out with a low tone “Look, I’m sorry that your parents have put so much pressure on you, I’m sorry that it’s hard for you to satisfy them, but do you always have to steal every single fucking thing from me Gunwook?” “What?” he scoffed “What is it that I have stolen from you, huh? Everything they’ve pressured me to do is all because of YOU, y/n.” “You don’t understand Gunwook, All these years, you’ve been number one, constantly, number one, number one, and number one, and where am I? What place am I entitled to? Second. All this time I’ve lost to you, all attention is on you, all of the pride goes to you Gunwook. Oh, look! Park gunwook! The best student in the school huh? And then there's Me, Y/n, the student who studies day and night just to be a tutor for lacking students without being appreciated at all. You know my parents loved you like their son Gunwook, maybe you don’t notice this but I grew up being compared to you and it isn’t fair?! You’ve stolen everything from me, the least you can spare for me is just to let me make my parents proud, wook..” Each word gets louder and louder from all the rage you’ve held.

Pushing his shoulders with your fingers on every sentence to express your anger, Gunwook stood there listening to your rage, before he took a deep breath

“Look, I wasn’t trying to hurt you Y/n and I’m sorry if I did, but I never stole your chance of making your parents proud, I’m sure they’re proud of you but let me say this. You might think I’ve accomplished something by taking first place all the time, but trust me I never reached my goal. If being first can make your parents proud then take the place y/n, because as much as I try, my parents will never appreciate me for it, so even if I’m first, we’re equal aren’t we? I’m first yet the person I try to satisfy has nothing to say about it, you’re second and no one appreciates you for it, right? Loss and loss. Being first and second won’t make a change for me y/n, so if you want appreciation from people, take my place. I might have people mentioning me for it but all I need is for my parents to say the things THEY did, so take everything.”

Gunwook wanted to be mad at you, he wanted to shout at you, but he couldn’t. All the rage that you’ve held against him, he’s held the same amount, yet he can’t make himself shout at you, even with the biggest desire, his voice just couldn’t come out.

“Sometimes I wished our parents weren’t friends, maybe that way we wouldn’t get to each other’s ways like this,” you said, holding back pools of tears

“I wished for the same thing, trust me I did”

Holding back tears had been the hardest thing to do the whole night, and at this point, you couldn’t hold it in any longer, so you rushed to your bedroom, leaving Gunwook standing alone.

☆ 7.15 AM

“Y/n, wake up, let’s get breakfast!” Winter shouted while knocking on your locked door “I’m awake, give me a minute” you shouted back “Woah, you’re awake early” she laughed.

Of course you were awake early, you didn’t even sleep, did you? You let your emotions take over you, and you feel good after letting them out but there are some regrets wandering around.

- Day 4

☆ 7.30 AM

After quickly cleaning up, you went out of your room wearing something simple like shorts and a T-shirt, as the eight of you were just going somewhere nearby for breakfast.

“Oh, y/n come sit here” Yunjin tapped on the space beside her on the couch, signing you to sit beside her, but you saw that Gunwook was sitting on the other side of the couch, and you didn’t feel like seeing him so you sat down on the kitchen counter “Why are you sitting so far away? Just sit here?” Sheon questioned, “Because, why not?..” you laughed awkwardly, Gunwook turned his head from his phone to your direction, but he didn't say anything, his face was straight, and the burden that you felt was probably the same for Gunwook. “C’mon, I’m hungry” Ricky spoke out while rolling the sleeves of his button up.

☆ 8.05 AM

After waiting for the food, your orders finally came, you sat beside Sheon while Gunwook was in the seat in front of you, was it a good sitting, no, but was it a better option than having to sit beside him? YES.

As your orders finally arrived, you reached your hands to take the bottle of sauce on the table, when your hands touched the bottle, you felt Gunwook’s hand on top of yours, also trying to take the sauce, “Oh, sorry, you take it” the both of you said at the same time “No, no it’s fine, Gunwook you take it” “Nah, I’ll take it after you” “Gunwook, just take it.” you laughed awkwardly “Won’t you wanna be first for once? You know, I can’t be the first one all the time, right?” “Oh? You know, maybe when you decide to take that sauce first your parents will be pro-” “OKAAAYYYY, I’m taking the sauce, thanks guys” Matthew cuts off your sentence before you can continue any further “What in the world is going on with the two of you” Ricky asked “Sorry” You quietly said to Gunwook.

☆ 10.15 AM

What is a better way to relax with your friends in Bali other than going to the beach? The sensation of having a filled stomach made you and your friends too lazy to do activities that exert too much energy, so the eight of you went to the beach behind your villa to relax.

As your friends were playing with the water, Gunwook accidentally splashed water onto your body, of course, it wasn’t a big deal, but because it was Gunwook who did it, you rolled your eyes as a reflex. Although you didn’t want to ruin the fun for other people, you decided to ignore him and continue with what you were doing.

“What is it with the two of you?” Sheon asked while looking your way “What do you mean?” “God, forget it” she sighed.

.

It reached the point where you and Gunwook could not stop getting passive-aggressive toward each other, almost starting a fight, or even having small fights here and there. Some examples of the other times you guys fought that day was when you went to a tourist attraction a couple of hours after going to the beach.

You were just walking around the streets of the area, and Gunwook suddenly pushed you with his shoulders by ‘accident’, “Can you not?” you said frustrated by his action “What? It was an accident?” he scoffed, continuing his walk like nothing even happened.

Or maybe when the eight of you had finally gone home to the villa after a long day, and as you guys were sitting down on the couch, you and Gunwook would bicker here and there, it was a small fight at first but then it got annoying to the others.

☆ 6.45 PM

“What is it with the two of you, stop,” Yunjin spoke out in the middle of your and Gunwook’s quarrel, her voice close to shouting “You two were just fine yesterday, what happened?” she sighed.

You and Gunwook stayed silent. It was a normal thing for you guys to fight, it was weirder for you guys to get along rather than fight every single day, but that’s the problem. The two of you got along, well, kind of, but before the fight you two had last night, everything was fine, you guys can last a day without having to fight each other, and even have conversations to keep up with each other’s life after a while, but the two of you were stubborn, you both realized that, but being the stubborn person you two are, none of you wanted to admit it.

“You know, you guys just need to stop being so stubborn?” Winter said softly, her eyes still focused on his phone “You guys continue doing your thing, I’m gonna get cleaned up” Gyuvin stood up from the couch, stretching his body before heading to his bedroom.

☆ 9.01 PM

You were sitting down on the patio swing in the backyard of your Villa, drowning yourself in thoughts as you stared at the view. Without noticing, a tear fell from your eye as you were thinking about everything that had been overwhelming you these past few days.

You quickly wiped off your tears when you heard the backyard door opening, showing Gunwook’s figure walking to the swing that you were on, “Can I sit beside you?” he asked coldly, you nodded your head, signing that it was okay for him to sit beside you. Gunwook placed himself on the other corner of the swing, both of your eyes were fixed on the view of the backyard with no one brave enough to make an eye contact.

“Can I be honest?” Gunwook requested “Yeah, go on” “Remember in 5th grade when we’d have sleepovers at your place or my place with our other friends? when we played games together, we’d always end up on the same team, winning every single round?” “Mhm” you slightly smiled “Or, maybe we were against each other in some games, but if one of us wins, we’d give each other a hug while saying good job?” he laughed “Of course I remember” “Y/n, we were always so proud of each other back then, so why can’t we do that now? I don't know how it is for you, but having that pressure inside of me all the time because of the constant competitiveness we have toward each other is slowly killing me.” He said calmly while playing with his fingers. Once again, you were holding back tears, “Gunwook..” You said speechless, “These past few years, all that we’ve been doing is just working so hard for a title, a title that can make our parents proud of us, that was our promise right? But we got too competitive. If no one will be proud of us, then let’s just be proud of each other Y/n.”

The last few words that Gunwook said in his sentence were able to let all of your tears lose, you’ve tried your hardest to hold back the tears but they couldn’t stay, even when you were already crying, the tears just couldn’t stop, could it?

“Stop crying, you look stupid” Gunwook chuckled and pushed you gently, trying to make you feel annoyed rather than sad “Shut up” You laughed while tears were still falling “All jokes aside, I’m sorry, yeah?” he pats your shoulders “I’m sorry wook” You sobbed.

Who would’ve known? Who would’ve known that you and your childhood friend would finally apologize to each other sincerely on a trip where you didn’t even want him to come on?

Guess the world has its ways.

.

- Day 5

☆ 8.00 AM

You got up from your bed to exit your bedroom, seeing Sheon, Yunjin, Gyuvin, Ricky, and Gunwook sitting down on the couch in the living room “The sloth is awake” Gunwook teased “Yeah, good morning to you too Gunwook” you said sarcastically before sitting down next to Gunwook on the couch “Ya’ll good now?” Yunjin asked confused “Yeah, what happened to the fighting? I was enjoying the drama” Gyuvin yawned.

You and Gunwook just laughed, not agreeing but not denying their words as you looked at each other. What Gunwook said last night was right, what’s the point of hating each other when you have the same goals? It’s only better to support each other.

“Oh my god, you’re not denying?” Sheon gasped “Why are you so shocked?” you laughed “I can sleep in peace” Ricky cheered, this was the moment that all your friends had waited for, something as simple as ‘stop being so stubborn to each other’ took you and Gunwook ages to do, It’s about time to try and do so.

“Gyuvin, wake the others up, let’s go out” Yunjin smiled “Me? Why me?” he groaned “Because you’re the most energetic right now?” “Whatever” he sighed, getting up from the couch before walking to the other’s room.

.

The rest of the day went great, you and your friends had fun, enjoying the sky, the activities, the air, and of course the view. What made it even better is that you get to experience all of this with your friends, and most importantly, someone you can now call your childhood friend and not your enemy.

☆ 7.15 PM

It was now dinner time and you sat beside Gunwook in the restaurant. Jazz music and dim lights give a certain vibe to the dinner table, camera lights flashing from the number of pictures taken of each other, you looked at Gunwook, confused about what to order “I seriously don’t know what to order, I’m not even hungry yet” you sighed “Well, you still have to order something? This looks good” he said while pointing to one of the dishes stated on the menu.

While waiting for the food to arrive, the long day that you’ve had that day has made you feel drowsy, you place your head onto your arms on the table, close your eyes, and fall asleep. When you wake up, you see that Gunwook’s jacket is wrapped around your body to prevent you from getting cold, you sit down properly, taking the jacket to give it back to Gunwook, “Thanks” you smile, leaning your head on his shoulders from still being tired.

You hesitated to do that at first, but when you finally placed your head on his shoulders, it gave you peace, nothing feels weird when it comes to physical touch with him because of the memories you’ve shared since childhood, but it seems like you’ve forgotten about that before you rested your head.

“No problem” Gunwook smiled, patting your shoulders in response. As you had your conversations with Gunwook with your head on his shoulders, Yunjin, who sat in front of you, secretly took a picture of the two of you, capturing a beautiful memory that will last a life time.

☆ 11.45 PM

Coming home to the villa from dinner with a happy stomach, you immediately got cleaned up and went to bed, preparing yourself for the upcoming days.

.

- Day 6

The trip with your friends is nearing an end, so the eight of you spend the remaining moments walking around Bali, shopping, going to the beach, eating some more traditional foods, and learning more about the culture.

Spending the whole day out with different activities was a lot of fun, but it drained all of your energy by the end of the day. When you all went home to the Villa, you guys spent more time talking and ordering food before heading to bed.

☆ 00.40 AM

You were lying down on your bed while scrolling through your phone before hearing a knock on the door. When you opened the door, you saw Gunwook standing with his hoodie, shorts, and glasses, “Need anything?” you ask “Yeah, I’m bored” he sighed “So? What should we do?” “I have some ideas” he smiled, pulling your hands gently to follow his lead.

The two of you ran to the car that you guys rented on day one, “Where are we going?” you asked confused “Anywhere, just get in the car” he laughed. As he starts the car, he sets up his phone to put some music on the Bluetooth, giving a fun vibe to the moment.

Gunwook drove around the empty streets with the car, blasting music with the windows down for the wind to enter.

Suddenly, Gunwook stopped the car on the beach, the lonely beach was illuminated by the moon’s grace. The two of you sat down on a bench inside the beach, it was silent, the only noise filling the space between the two of you was from the waves in the ocean, but that was what made it beautiful, the silence wasn’t awkward, it was far from awkward, the silence connected the two hearts and the two souls.

“Hey, Gunwook” You looked at him “Hm?” “I’ve had a lot of fun, thanks” You smiled, and Gunwook gave you a sweet look, his eyes filled with genuine Awe before he wrapped his arms around your shoulders “My pleasure, y/n” he laughed, ruffling your hair till it was messy.

You spent your time at the beach walking around while having deep talks, writing your names on the sand, and chasing each other around. The amount of fun you had that night was unexplainable, believe it or not, you were glad you spent the night with Gunwook at the beach while opening up to each other.

“It’s late, we should go back to the Villa” Gunwook declared while checking the time on his phone “You’re right, let’s go” you replied, walking back to the car with Gunwook to head back.

☆ 2.18 AM

“Thanks again, I had fun!” you tiptoed to give Gunwook a pat on the head in front of your room “No need to thank me, Good night, sleep well” he laughed, giving you a short hug before heading to his room, the hug was warm, it gave you all the comfort you’ve ever needed.

The hug was short, but it stayed in your mind the whole night, it’s just odd to think that you and your childhood friend have finally fixed your friendship after years, but you’ve grown to love it

.

-Day 7

☆ 10.00 AM

Packed and ready, you and your friends finally went to the airport to end the trip. All eight of you felt a little sad to leave Bali, but there will always be another time to come back.

“Here, let me help you with that,” Gunwook said while taking your bag “You don’t need to” “I know, but I want to” he smiled, carrying your bag and his bag.

There were a lot of ups and downs during the trip, but it was great to end it on good terms.

In the airplane, your seat was beside Gunwook’s, if it was the first day of the trip, you would’ve complained and asked one of your friends to switch seats, but it isn’t the first day, so it’s safe to say that you were quite happy with the sitting.

You’d often fall asleep and wake up with your head on his shoulders, and sometimes your arms would be intertwined with his.

Other parts of the flight would be filled with your silly conversations with Gunwook, and some more catch-ups during the few years.

.

{ Section 2: Trip’s aftermath! }

After the trip, you and Gunwook would often hang out at school during breaks, and even hang out after school, some people were confused because of the sudden change of behavior between the two of you, and some of them were even jealous of you.

Gunwook would often come over to your house during his free time when the two of you were bored and had nothing to do.

One week after the trip the eight of you had to Bali, school unfortunately started and you had to continue your routine of studying all the time. You and Gunwook were assigned as pairs for a project, so you decided to come to your house to finish it.

“Gunwook?!” Your sister Amaya shouted from the living room when she saw Gunwook standing by the door “May?” he smiled “I haven’t seen you in ages!!” Amaya laughs, running to Gunwook’s open arms “How old are you now?” Gunwook asked as he let go of the hug “I’m ten now” she smiled, showing a shocked expression on Gunwook’s face “Weren’t you like five when I last saw you?” “Well, it has been a couple of years” “Okay you two, Amaya you can talk to your long-lost brother after we finish this project, and Gunwook you can also talk to your long-lost sister after we finish this project, okay?” You chuckled, patting your sister’s head softly “Okay sis, bye-bye Gunwook!” she smiled.

Considering you and Gunwook have known each other since birth, Gunwook has also been familiar with your sister ever since she was born, when your parents were out together, Gunwook and you would often take care of Amaya back then, but it stopped ever since your rivalry started with him, and Amaya missed Gunwook for a while, he was like a brother to her.

The project was a pretty big one, and the deadline was still in a couple of weeks, so you and Gunwook decided to only research things for the project today and continue the main thing on the other meets. When Gunwook exited your room, he saw Amaya sitting down on the couch “Amaya, I’ll be heading home okay!!” he said “Okay!! Please visit more” she replied with a smile “I will!!”

When Gunwook and you reached the front door, Gunwook bid his goodbyes by hugging you before entering his car, closing the doors, and driving away.

☆ 2.35 AM

Ever since you were young, you’d often get nightmares here and there, some of them aren’t that scary, but some of them are capable of keeping you awake the whole night, and in this case, it kept you up all night.

Your parents are on a business trip and your sister is already asleep, you are shivering and scared beneath your sheets, unable to move a single muscle due to the fear you have. The only thing within reachable distance was your phone, you thought of someone who could accompany you, but nobody came to mind, but there was one person who lives near you, and who you also feel comfortable with, Park Gunwook.

You took your phone, dialing his number with a heavy breath and panicked state. It took some time for him to answer, his voice tired and low, signaling that he was long asleep before you called him, “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked when he heard your heavy breathing “Gunwook, I can’t sleep” You replied slowly as your words were cut off by your breathing “Oh is it your nightmares again? Calm down, you’re okay, give me a couple of minutes and I’ll be there” he spoke out, you could hear the rustling from his bed when he hurriedly stood up to put on his hoodie.

“I’m not gonna hang up, so just lay down and scroll through your phone, I won’t take long” he comforted you while starting his car, driving through the empty streets at midnight for you.

After a few minutes passed by, you heard the passcode from your door getting unlocked, and as you were about to panic, you heard Gunwook’s voice through the phone “It’s me, don’t panic, I’ll hang up now” he enunciates

Your bedroom door opened, revealing Gunwook with his Hoodie and his shorts, accompanied by his glasses and messy hair, he walked over to you, pulling you into a comforting hug “You’re okay y/n, you’re okay” he chuckled, placing soft rubs on your head with the hug “Stop laughing” you whined “I just find it funny how you’re still scared of your nightmares, I remember having to comfort you all night during our sleepover when we were kids” he conveyed “Sorry for bothering you, It’s late” You sighed “It’s fine, I understand” he smiled.

Gunwook ended up staying the night at your place because it was also too late for him to drive back and he was tired….and you were also still scared.

.

A few days passed and Gunwook came over to your house after school again for you guys to finish the project.

When the two of you were taking a break, you both laid down on the bed, bored and hungry, “I’m hungry” you sighed “Same, any food downstairs?” Gunwook asked, “Nah, you wanna order something?” “Yeah, sure” he smiled, sitting down on the bed to stretch his body.

When the food arrived, you and Gunwook ate your meals while watching the series that the two of you started together.

You worked on the project until it was late at night. When the clock struck 11.30 PM, you and Gunwook had finally finished half of the project, raining the room with happiness and relief, both of you cheered and gave each other a high five before Gunwook lifted you in a hug to spin you around, making you shout “Okay okay! Put me down” you laughed “I’ll get going now, sleep well, call me if you get more nightmares” he smiled, quickly patting your head before leaving your house.

You went back into your bedroom, lying down and smiling to yourself from all the butterflies in your stomach, “Stop why do I feel like this, am I going insane” you laughed awkwardly, obviously denying the truth.

.

“Hey Amaya, Gunwook is coming over again for our project, so don’t be too loud, okay?” You smiled “You know me, I’m never loud! And, is he your boyfriend yet?” she giggles “What kind of question is that?” “Oh, I know you’ve been giggling about him, sis!” “In your dreams? Go back to your bedroom.” you scoffed before hearing a knock on your front door, Amaya shrugged her shoulders and sprinted to her room, leaving you alone to open the door.

When you opened the door, you saw Gunwook standing with a bag of food “So we won't have to order food again, I got us some food on the way here” he smiled “Thanks, Gunwook” you laughed, ruffling his hair while you tiptoe.

.

Okay let's be clear, your feelings are there, it's obvious to you that you like him, but you’re in denial. Why? Because falling in love with your childhood friend who then turned into your enemy, then your best friend feels a little…odd? You keep on questioning yourself ‘What is he gonna think about me?’ What image would he have on you if he figures out that you are quite literally in love with him? Is the friendship gonna end again? Or will it be a good ending?

But during your daily overthinking session, Gunwook suddenly texted you

Gunwook: Hey, let’s go somewhere, I’m bored

You: Sure, what time?

Gunwook: I’ll pick you up by 6, get ready

You: Okayyyy

You didn’t even know where you were gonna go, but it was an automatic response for you to say yes when he asked you to go somewhere, you didn’t even hesitate.

You wore an outfit that matched the weather outside, the outfit fits you well, starting from how the colors blend into your shade well, to how nicely fitted the clothes are with your body shape.

After getting ready, you checked and saw that the clock had reached 6 PM. Right when you realize, you feel your phone buzzing, showing an incoming call from Gunwook.

“I’m downstairs” his voice was heard from the phone “Gimme a minute” you replied, spraying yourself with perfume before going downstairs to his car.

As you entered his car, he wore an outfit that matched yours perfectly, making the two of you look like an inseparable couple. “Hey, we’re matching” Gunwook laughed, ruffling your hair in adorance “I know right, what a coincidence” you replied, a bright smile plastered across your face.

Gunwook started to drive his car, and you arrived at a park filled with cute restaurants and cafes. The area was lively, it was surrounded by flowers and nature, giving you a fresh yet graceful atmosphere.

Turned out, Gunwook had already booked a seat in one of the restaurants for the two of you, he chose the semi-outdoor restaurant, the walls covering you were all glass and the interior had a lot of greens, there was even a fountain on the center of the restaurant.

Because the wall and the ceiling were glass, the moonlight from above shined through the glass, with all of the beautiful things surrounding you, like nature, the moonlight, the small candle in the center of the table, and most importantly, Park Gunwook, you felt safe and comfortable.

When your meals arrived, Gunwook fed you some of his dish, smiling at your puffed cheeks while you munched on the food he fed you.

Eating and having silly talks with him definitely filled up your stomach, but there’s always enough space for ice cream.

While the two of you walked by the park to the nearest ice cream shop, he pointed at the stars, while you stared at the beautiful sight of the star, he was also starting at a beautiful sight, you.

“Wait here, I’ll buy us the ice cream,” he declared, pointing at the bench near the ice cream shop, you nodded, not thinking much about it. While waiting for Gunwook to come back with the ice cream, you spent your time on your phone, scrolling through endless contents, before noticing that it had been sometime after Gunwook left.

You were just about to text him before you felt someone’s finger tap your shoulder. You saw Gunwook standing there with a smile, holding two cups of ice cream…a stuffed animal and…flowers?

“Sorry if that took a little long” he chuckled, giving you the cup of ice cream “Oh, and here’s one more thing” he smiled, handing the bouquet filled with roses, “The sudden bouquet? What’s going on?” you looked at him suspiciously, “I think you missed the note inside there, read it” he laughs “Hold on” you sighed, taking out the note before quietly reading it.

‘Okay y/n, I know you hate bullshits so let me just get to the point HAHA, after the trip we had to Bali, we fixed our friendship and we were able to catch up with each other, and when school started again, we were paired up for the project, and from all those days I’ve spent at your house, I would find myself constantly thinking about you when I’m at home, even somehow missing your annoying ass the second I drove away from your house. Yeah yeah cringe whatever, but I like you, and it’s not something that I can control, thank you for understanding me, thank you for keeping up with me, so, will you Take a chance with me?’

You gasped the second you finished the letter and realized that Gunwook felt the same way as you. You faced him, holding back a stupid amount of tears after being relieved that he wouldn't think you’re insane, and also because it got to you, the guy you grew up with, the guy who was always there for you, but also the guy who you hate, the guy who you can't spend a single day with ever since middle school, fell for you, and you fell for him? The long years you’ve spent together, thinking that you will have no feelings for each other at all.

You laughed, feeling tears coming out of your eyes “This is so dumb, why am I crying” you whined, standing up from the bench to walk into Gunwook’s opened arms “Yeah, why are you crying?” he laughed, brushing soft strokes on your hair while he hugs you.

After taking a moment to let go of your tears, you took a breath, stepping out of Gunwook’s hug, still sniffling after crying “Sorry, your shirt is kinda wet now” you giggled “It’s been through worse” he smiled “And, yes, I'll take a chance with you, Gunwook” you looked at him, his face filled with mixed expression, you can tell that he was shocked, but you can also tell that he was happy about it “Seriously?” “Yeah” “You’re not joking?” “I’m serious,” you said, Gunwook hurriedly hugged you once again, lifting you while spinning you around “Thank you” he whispered while he slowly put you down.

You and Gunwook continued your time at the park while intertwining your fingers together, the two of you look like an inseparable couple, and you most definitely are an inseparable couple from now.

Even when he was driving you home, he drove with one hand, the other one holding yours as his eyes were focused on the road. You felt comfortable, so comfortable, to the point where you fell asleep in the car with your hand in his.

The end of the day had come, and it's safe to say that it’s been such a rollercoaster that day, but overall, it ended with the best thing you can ever ask for, you can call him yours from now on.

The two of you stood in front of your door on your front porch, before you entered your house, you hesitated for a good fifteen seconds before giving him a quick peck on the lips, his face was frozen, let alone his face, his whole body was frozen, and you were about to enter your house before he pulled you in for another kiss, one hand is placed around your back, and the other supporting your chin, you can feel the slight curve forming from his lips, expressing his happiness to be yours.

When you’ve gotten cleaned up, you lie down on your bed, rolling around and throwing pillows across your room, clearly flustered from what just happened.

You hug the stuffed animals that he gave you, falling asleep with his scent that’s stuck on the item you’re hugging.

You’ve never had a better sleep than that night.

.

{ Section 3: So…we’re a thing now? }

You and Gunwook would try to keep your relationship from your friends, but it seems like they just naturally figured it out by themselves.

Gyuvin and Ricky caught Gunwook kissing your cheeks once, and the others just assumed that you guys were dating.

☆ 3.15 PM

The eight of you were studying at a cafe together, preparing for the upcoming exam. You sighed, scrolling through the pointers on your laptop, overwhelmed by all of the things you have to prepare for, “You okay?” Gunwook, who sat beside you, asked you when he noticed your expression “Mhm” you nod, placing your head on his shoulders, “Cool, yeah, cute, get a room” Gyuvin sighed, earning a laugh from the rest of you.

It’s been a week since you and Gunwook started dating, this is all so new for both of you, so you’re taking the time to adjust, although Gunwook has been treating you in the best way possible, and there weren’t any awkward moments between the two of you.

There’s this one time when a junior went up to Gunwook while the two of you were walking together in the school’s hallway, and started to try and have a conversation with him, even asking for his number. Gunwook was a nice person so he kept up with the conversation, but when she asked for his number, he just smiled, holding your hands to give a code to the junior, she noticed the way your fingers were intertwined together, embarrassed yet sad, she walked away in defeat.

You continued scrolling through the pointers, taking notes of the topics that you didn’t quite understand yet. Even when your other friends were taking a break from studying, they’d order food and talk with each other, but your eyes and mind were still focused on your books and notes, panicked about failing the exam.

Gunwook was taking a sip of his drink while resting his back on the chair, keeping himself away from studying for a few minutes before coming back. He noticed you being so focused and stressed that your fingers were massaging the temple of your forehead, signaling the pressure.

He slid his plate of cookies to your side, also offering you his drink while rubbing your shoulders “Don’t think too much about it, you’ll do fine” he sighed, knowing that you were always the stubborn type when it comes to your grades “What if I don’t do well? What if my scores decrease?” you said panicked “At least take a break, yeah?” he replied, evidently worried about you “I will after I take notes of this slide, I promise” you smiled. He knew that you wouldn’t, he knew that you’d just continue studying without taking any breaks, but he also knew that forcing you wouldn’t make any changes, so he just sighed, taking another sip of his drink.

A few hours passed by and all of your friends had gone back to studying again after a few rounds of breaks, with no surprises, you hadn’t had a break at all, and the time was already showing 9.30 PM.

When Gunwook was revising his books and taking notes, he saw your head resting on the table with your eyes closed, he chuckled, finding you cute as you took a nap, but he also felt bad, because you’ve worked so hard the whole day while panicking about the exam until you didn’t get any rest. With some hesitation, he shook your body gently to wake you up, “Hm?” you spoke out tiredly “I’ll take you home, you need to rest,” he said softly, tucking your hair behind your ears “I’ll study for a bit more, please?” “No, you’re coming home.” he insists, his voice going firm to show his seriousness about his words “Fine” you yawned, knowing that you were tired anyway.

While he drives you home, he takes off his jacket to give it to you, giving you warmth and comfort so you can fall asleep again, which is exactly what you did.

When he was gonna drop you off on your front porch, you stopped in your tracks when you got out of the car, “Can you stay?” you asked “Hm?” “Stay for the night, Amaya’s having a sleepover at her friend’s and my parents are on another business trip, I’m uh..scared,” you said shyly, Gunwook staying over was a normal thing, it was never odd, it’s just that he’s always stayed as your friend, and not your boyfriend, “The clothes you left are still here, so…” “I’ll stay” he smiled “But you have to promise that you’re sleeping right away.” “I am, I promise”

After the both of you had gotten cleaned up, you both lay down on the bed in your PJs, you wrapped your body into the warmth of your blanket and Gunwook’s arm, falling asleep with his arms around you while his fingers played with your hair.

☆ 7.50 AM

As you woke up from your slumber, you felt an arm around your body, holding you close. You turned back your body to see Gunwook asleep, his hair covering parts of his eyes and his duck-like lips slightly parted.

The small ray of sun shining through the small opened space in between the window illuminated his facial features, without noticing, you found yourself staring at his beautiful face for a few seconds.

You were about to stand up from the bed, but your movement woke Gunwook up from his sleep. You faced your body towards him, giving you a clear view of his face, he smiled at you, rubbing his eyes while sitting himself down on the bed.

“Morning” he laughed, still trying to gather himself up while taking his glasses from the bedside table, “Morning” you smiled, standing up from the bed “It’s the weekend, let’s do something with the others instead of studying” Gunwook brought up while stretching his body “I mean, sure, but where are we going?” you asked “We can go karaoke? We’ve been planning on doing it anyway” he mentioned, bringing up an idea that you and your group of friends had planned on doing “Sounds like a plan” you smiled.

.

When you arrived at the karaoke place, you entered the room that Yunjin had booked for the eight of you, seeing that everybody had already arrived, you and Gunwook laughed awkwardly, acknowledging the fact that the two of you arrived late, “Took you long enough” Ricky scoffed, taking a sip of his strawberry milkshake “In our defense, there was traffic” Gunwook shrugged his shoulders, sitting down on the couch with your hand in his.

Yunjin passed the mic to you, signaling you to go and choose a song to sing, and at the same time, Matthew passed his mic to Gunwook, signaling the same thing. You and Gunwook chose to sing Almost Is Never Enough, showcasing both of your talents through a duet. Your voice and Gunwook’s voice harmonized as your eyes connected while singing, losing yourself in the melody of the song.

When the song ended, you and Gunwook laughed, bowing at the crowd, or your friends, earning applause from the room, “I might cry” Sheon whined “What” Gyuvin laughed “YOU GUYS ARE SO CUTE” she exclaimed, fake crying while adoring the relationship you have with Gunwook.

Singing with Gunwook brought you back to the days when your tiny bodies would sing together for fun in each other’s room, not caring about your surroundings as a child.

You and Gunwook sat back down on the couch, you placed your head onto your boyfriend’s shoulder, making him smile and wrap his arms around you in response, he kissed the top of your head before saying something, “Babe” he said “Hm?” you look at him.

“Thank you for taking a chance with me.”

[thefallennightmare]

Matty brain rot has been real so please enjoy this little smutty blurb.

Best Friend!Matt x Reader

NSFW BELOW THE CUT. 18+

The pounding nosies of the drums brought a sense of calm throughout you as you internally danced to the song Matt had been playing. While Kooter had already finished setting up Folio’s drums, Matt wanted to run through a song just to make sure it sounded fine.

Everyone knew it was mostly because Matt secretly missed drumming.

Adjusting the strap of the camera on your shoulder, you smoothed out your sundress as you let the hot Arizona heat blast against your bare shoulders and watched your best friend slam the sticks against the drums.

Wonder what that would feel like.

Shaking those thoughts about your best friend out of your head, knowing he didn’t feel the same, you watched with a smile on your face as you picked up on the familiar beats of your favorite Bloodline song.

Same Stories.

But what really made you break out in a smile is when you saw Matt trying so hard to keep his long locks of hair out of his face, ultimately falling. Since your camera bag was on the stage next to you, you rummaged through it to pull out a hair brush and a hair tie.

You were always prepared.

Your shoes smacked against the stage as you walked up the mini stage towards the drums where Matt let out a frustrated groan, dropping the sticks so he could run a ran through his hair yet again.

“I can’t believe I forgot my hat,” he muttered.

“You could just cut your hair,” you teasingly shrugged which earned you an ice cold flare from him.

You held up both hands, still holding the hair tie and brush. “It was a joke, Matthew. No need to go feral on me.”

Please do.

His eyes softened as they grazed over every inch of my body and suddenly I wasn’t warm from the sun any longer.

“What’s that?” He pointed a drum stick towards my hands.

“Don’t mind me, I’m going to fix your hair for you. It’s way to hot to leave it down, even with a hat,” you replied while maneuvering yourself behind him.

Matt had been wearing a cut off shirt, his muscles glistening with sweat and you bit your lip at the sight of him. You’d had feelings for him for a long as you could remember but always kept it to yourself after over hearing a conversation of him and Noah where Matt admitted six words that made your heart sink.

“I don’t do relationships. Never will.”

And it was true. You’d been around Matt and the Bad Omens crew for the last two years and never seen Matt in one single relationship. Not even a fling.

But the two of you were incredibly close, the best of friends and he proved it more than once he cared and loved you. Just not in that way. So you swallowed the way you felt in order to keep your best friend.

“You don’t have to always take care of me, you know?” Matt’s question pulled you out of your thoughts and you merely hummed, running the brush through his long golden locks.

“If I don’t then who will?” You retorted back with a wink as you peered your head around to face him.

His dark eyes traced your tongue as it darted out to wet your lips. Then followed a single bead of sweat as it trailed down between the valley of your breasts that were peaking out over the top of your dress.

Behind him once again, you finished brushing his hair and let the comb fall to the floor as you gathered all of it in a low bun.

“Please don’t braid it,” he pleaded while kicking his feet slowly on the pedals of the drums.

You snorted after finishing tying all of his hair out of his face and walked to the side of him. “I think you would look really cute in braids, Matthew.”

Something flashed in his eyes as his hands shot out to grab your hips, pulling you into his lap as he still sat on the stool. Your giggles echoed into the blue sky as his fingers gently tickled your sides.

“You think so huh, baby? I’d look cute?” He teased with a low voice.

You sucked in a breath at not only hearing his pet name for you but also what you felt brush against your semi wet core.

Matt’s cock was hard underneath his sweat shorts making you bit your lip as he raised his hips up against you when he noticed how much it turned you on.

“Oh, what this? Did you forget how to speak?” Matt grazed his lips gently over your collar bone.

This wasn’t anything new, you two teasing each other like this. But what was new was how hard you felt his cock pushing against your pussy. The thin material of your panties doing nothing to stop you from staining his grey shorts with your arousal.

“I-I,” you panted, him practically forcing you to jump him while on the drum set.

“You’re so cock drunk and I haven’t even slipped it inside of you, baby girl.” Matt bit down on your neck, causing you to cry out.

Thankfully everyone was in the back hang out area of the outdoor venue and couldn’t see you nearly falling apart.

His fingers lifted up the end of your dress so your ass was exposed to the sun, him kneeding the sensitive flesh.

“I’ve been dreaming of fucking you against a drum set,” Matt admitted while leaving a deep red mark against your neck.

Your pussy was on fire now so close to falling over that edge of bliss and you dug your nails into the exposed flesh of his arms, Matt still forcing your hips back and forth against him.

“What-what happened to you not doing relationships?” You breathed your question, so close to your release.

He wrapped your pony tail around his hand to yank your head back, exposing more of your neck to him.

“That’s for everyone else. For you, baby. I’m all yours.”

Your heart leaped into your throat at his admission and you let out a silent scream of agreement as your body exploded with pure euphoria.

[didyoulookforme]

(not quite) sfw alphabet: cute & soft matty healy x fem reader

oh, hello hi! seems like many of you enjoyed the nsfw alphabet so i thought i would try and do the (mostly) sfw version to give lovely soft matty some sort of backstory.

again, in my dream world this bf matty is a shy romantic horny opinionated man who is mostly a sub.

nothing super unique, just mostly here for the soft matty vibes because we all deserve one of those. that and i've been in my fluffy feels these past few days.

warning: 18+, some smutty mentions. grammatical errors, typos. this doesn't really follow a timeline, so let's suspend reality here.

matty healy masterlist here

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a = affection (how affectionate are they? how do they show affection?)

towards his friends: he will give them a hug here and there, but he usually reserves those for very special occasions (eg. birthdays or record launches) or if someone is clearly upset.

towards you: he will shower you with affection whenever he can without being too overbearing in public (unless he's had too much to drink hehe. he will cling to you like a leech then.) hugs, kisses on top of your head, holding hands. he likes cute signs of affection while you're out and about. now, if you're alone, he will hold you for as long as he can. think cuddles on the couch, limbs all intertwined, your bodies melting into each other, him almost begging for you to please play with his hair because he loves the feeling of your nails against his scalp. he will listen to you ramble on about whatever happened at work, pretending like he's following along but half of the time he can't keep up because you talk 10 miles per second. he knows that your favourite flowers are tulips, so every spring he will make sure the vase on your bedside table is full of them, and if he's on tour, he'll arrange for you get a special delivery of the yellowish orange ones you love so you don't dare forget about him. not that you ever would <3

b = best friend (what would they be like as a best friend? how would the friendship start?)

lucky for you (and not in a sarcastic way), matty's been your best friend since year 9 when you became his tutor because him and numbers do not mix. you would stay with him after classes to try your best to help, but half of the time the two of you would end up getting distracted talking about random topics such as your favourite bands and gossip from school, or sneaking out to smoke (he’s the one who showed you how to do so). you found him intriguing since the beginning—you weren’t sure how someone so shy and soft spoken could be in a band and have a bunch of teenage girls lusting after him. he was quiet, sure, but very witty and funny once he got on chatting. he took an interest in you too, noticing how you’d try your best to keep the conversation going as he wasn’t an eloquent one with words. he appreciated that, your patience to actually keep him engaged and your eagerness to connect with him. even though the girls were after him and his bandmates at all times, he never really paid attention to them, thus the boys were in shock when he brought you over to practice one night. like, matthew bringing a girl to their sacred space, wtf? but handsome george did notice how matty played effortlessly and better when you were around so george would try and get you to come to practice every once in a while so they could get the best version of matthew possible.

as best friends, you were there for each other through it all (even through your arguments) because you just clicked so well. you knew everything about each other. every. single. little. thing. but as the band started to get bigger, it was difficult to find the time to hang out as he would be rather busy. you were always supportive, but you'd be lying if you didn't miss having your friend around and being able to see him whenever you pleased. it wasn't the same just seeing photos of him pop up on the internet or get texts from him whenever he could find the time. however, when we would come back, you picked up as if nothing had ever changed. and it is always hard to believe that after 15-16 years of friendship, you'd finally get over yourselves and actually try to see if you could work out romantically. which you do :)

c = cuddles (do they like to cuddle? how would they cuddle?)

"can i have a cuddle?" is probably one of the things he says the most to you. he loves loves loves to snuggle, but just with you though. he enjoys the company and the warmth of having you close to him when possible. it makes him feel safe. his favourite is when he gets to cuddle you after you wake up, just heavy limbs around each other while lazily kissing your lips. there's been times when he's been sad about something and you're not there, so george will tease him (do you need a cuddle, sweetheart?), but the good friend that he is, he will actually spend some time with him, an arm around matty's shoulders trying to cheer him up. it does the trick most of the time.

d = domestic (do they want to settle down? how are they at cooking and cleaning?)

my boy here calls in the movers (eg. george and ross) the second you accept to move in with him. matty is over the moon that he will get to wake up pressed against your naked body every morning, that he will get to see you wear his clothes when you make your daily cup of tea, that he will come home to you and mayhem cuddled on his sofa after a long day at the studio. he's been dreaming of this moment for quite a while and when it does happen, he's thankful to everything that is holy that you like him enough to deal with him on a daily basis.

which, you do have to deal with his messes because he is not the neatest person. he's not that bad but you have to pick up after him when he gets distracted because he's already probably making a slight mess elsewhere. think shirts over chairs, empty mugs on surfaces, socks by the sofa, towels on the bathroom floor, a stack of open books on the desk, etc etc. again, not bad really, just a quirk of his. however, you don't mind it at all as he's a mean cook in the kitchen. matty will treat you to a three course french gourmet dinner any evening (plus some sex as an extra dessert).

e = ending (if they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

oh god... he thinks the world of you and wants you to be the happiest ever so if at some point he feels like you'd be better off without him, he'd heartbreakingly let you go, letting you know that he will always be there for you. if it were to happen, there would be endless tears and so much pain due to the loss of your relationship. but you would eventually be friends again, maybe not as close as before, but you've shared so much together to not be a part of each other's lives in some way, shape or form. ugh. too much for my heart to handle. don't make me even though i secretly love angst.

f = fiance (how do they feel about commitment? how quick would they want to get married?)

on the same vein as above, commitment often scares him but not because he's afraid of spending the rest of his life with you, but mostly because he's weary of not being enough or giving you what you deserve. he's also not really sure if he's the marriage type of guy, thinking that it's mostly a label and what would actually change if you did get married (other than having fancy rings?). but that was until that one time when you got a piece of mail and, for some reason instead of it having your surname, it had his attached to your name. this made him feel some sort of way as his heart started to race and his hands got all clammy, the name being repeated inside his head over and over again. huh. it didn't sound half bad, did it? that stayed with him for weeks on end, until one night, when you were all at a bar with friends and someone asked the both of you that annoying "do you think you'll get married?" question. you were about to answer, but were surprised when matty beat you to it, "i think i could see myself settling down." he looked at you with apprehensive eyes, knowing that he had never voiced any interest in marriage out loud and was nervous of what you'd say. but you responded with a blush on your face and a soft "yeah, maybe" while you grabbed his hand under the table and gave it a tight squeeze which he returned. <3

g = gentle (how gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

he's the most gentle boy you could ever imagine, you couldn't have dreamt him up even in your wildest dreams. i guess that's partly due to his shy, soft demeanour. he's always been that way as far as you can remember. well, to you at least. he can be snarky with his other close friends if deeply provoked, but it still takes a lot to get him to that point. but yes with you, he'll do everything in his power to make you feel at ease. if you're anxious or sad, he will listen to you and hold near you while you cry (and let you take out his frustrations out on him). if you're in pain, he will comfort you, wishing he could take the hurt away (and this is where period sex comes in because he knows it will make you feel better...)

h = hugs (do they like hugs? how often do they do it? what are their hugs like?)

he loves them. cannot get enough of them. each time he sees you he has to wrap his arms around you and bring you as close to him as humanly possible to breathe in your scent. BUT that's only after you started dating. prior to that, yes, he would hug you but tbh it was very hard on him as he was (very obviously) pining for you. before you were official, it would take all of his strength to not keep holding on to you but he knew that if he did it for too long, then his heart wouldn't be able to take it. this boy NEEDED YOU for him to be complete. poor matty. however, now that the both of you are an item, he hurries to wrap his arms around your waist each time he greets you, drawing soft, gentle circles on your back as he kisses the top of your head. he's a precious one.

i = i love you (how fast do they say the l-word?)

the thing is that, even before you confessed you liked each other, matty already knew he loved you so it was very difficult for him to not say it right away. you might be surprised because, well, it's shy subby matty we're talking about here, but he was actually the one who said it first a few months after you were dating. not entirely sure of the situation (as this could be a blurb on it's own because who doesn't love a fluffy 'i love you' story) but when he did say those three words, it took you a minute to realize you weren't dreaming that even sweetheart matty got very nervous and begged you to "please, say something" as he grabbed and kissed your hand. it wasn't until you finally came back to reality and the ringing in your ears stopped, that you said it back to him. and there was a lot of kissing and passionate sex after lol.

j = jealousy (how jealous do they get? what do they do when they’re jealous?)

sweet matty tries to pretend like he NEVER get jealous, but it's so darn obvious when it happens that it's actually endearing (most of the time, at least). he won't really get mad at you per se as you are not really the flirty type, but what triggers him is when other guys try to touch you in a suggestive type of way (eg. when a hand lingers on your arm for too long or someone wraps their arm around your lower back). you can tell he is jealous because his nervous tendencies become apparent, like the rapid tapping of his foot or running his hands through his hair nonstop. but if he gets really, REALLY jealous, then his small but possessive side will show, going to interrupt whatever inappropriate interaction is taking place. when this happened the first time, you were taken aback as to how suave he was when he put a hand on your ass and pulled you close to him, continuing on to interrogate the other guy who was trying to get in your pants.

an interesting time was when you (drunkenly) admitted that you once made out with ross backstage (pre-dating him). matty about went and drove to his house to give him a piece of his mind but he ended up just sitting on the couch acting all upset that one of his friends got to kiss you before him. the next day you got a text from ross "hey. is matty alright? he keeps looking at me like i just kicked a baby kitten..."

k = kisses (what are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

75% of the time they're sweet and gentle with the other 25% being needy, sloppy (in a good way), and breathtaking (literally). he's one of those that will have his sleeves over his hands as he cups your face and sweetly kisses you, cutely grinning against your lips and whispering endless i love you's. or he'll place his arms on your shoulders and wrap them around your neck, bringing you as close as possible to kiss you as if this is the last time he will ever have you, all while countless moans and whimpers spill onto your lips (<- this will usually happen when he's very very turned on).

this man loves to kiss your hands, too. he loves to kiss them as often as he can. whether it is when he firsts sees you, or when you are in a date, or when you’re holding his face.

and for him, kiss that spot under his ear where the jaw meets his neck and he will melt. every. single. time. if you do it while pulling on his hair? that's it. you will have him at your mercy to do whatever you require (not that he really needs any convincing).

l = little ones (how are they around children?)

seeing him around children is one of the most endearing yet hilarious sights ever. he treats them as if they were already adults. he'll have conversations with then about topics that no child should be discussing (eg. the film he just watched or the state of the world). but his favourite is making them listen to music he likes because he wants to be the cool uncle / friend / individual in this child's life and introduce them to good music early on.

you haven't necessarily discussed having children, but every now and then you'll catch him say "when i have a kid, they will..." or "my kid would be / do..." which makes it fairly obvious that at some point he does want to have a family of his own.

m = morning (how are mornings spent with them?)

you usually end up waking up first, but you'll be sure to cuddle with him prior to actually getting up for bed. that or having morning sex because that never hurt anyone, did it? unless you have something to get to, as then you'd for sure be late for it because, as we know, quickies aren't a thing for either of you. ANYWAY. a perfect morning for the two of you is a lazy one, really. not having much obligation nor having to think about what the day holds ahead. there are times when you'll just spend a couple of hours cuddled up watching your fav show—matthew would probably end up passing out again. or sometimes you'll be out n about doing some grocery shopping while matty tries his darnest to pick up after his messes only to end up being distracted by a song idea, his puppy, or browsing ebay for some new art to buy.

if you for some reason do have to get up super early, you better be sure there are 5 or 20 alarms set as the two of you combined can set the record for the most snooze hits in an hour.

n = night (how are nights spent with them?)

when you finally live at matty's, you get into your ritual of making sure you eat dinner together when he's around. it's filled with him cooking up the new recipe he just found, sharing a bottle of red wine, listening to some of your fav records, a cute cozy endeavour. there's an unspoken understanding that this is the time when you catch up each other on how your days went.

every now and then, you'll take a bath right before bed and he will come in and sit on the chair besides the tub, reading you a few pages of your book outloud. you may have sex, but even if that doesn't happen, you'll always kiss each other softly for a few minutes before calling it a night. he then passes out stat.

when he's away on tour and if there's nowhere to be after a show, you can expect that he'll be in his bunk or at the back of the bus texting or facetiming you depending on the time zone. if it's a very late video call, it's mostly a silent conversation while you look at each other, sometimes quietly sobbing because you miss each other so.

o = open (when would they start revealing things about themselves? do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

this is a slow endeavour for the both of you, not because you don’t trust each other (hell, you eventually become bffs), but because you are interested in each other romantically almost from the start and don’t want to ruin your friendship by divulging too much. at the beginning, you’d talk about common interests and what not. as you grew up you'd talk about your relationships trying not to be awkward about it. which btw, when you told matty you had lost your virginity he about passed out because a. you were having sex with someone who wasn't him, b. it sounds like the dude was fucking awful at it (you didn't spare the details mentioning that he didn't make you cum), and c. you were comfortable enough talking about your sex life with him which he secretly enjoyed as he got to take mental notes of what turned you on... just in the off chance he could have an opportunity with you... he mostly listened and nodded and shook his head. on the other hand, whenever he would talk about his dating and sex life with you, you'd question him about every single detail (you have no shame or filter), sometimes making him turn scarlett red because of the questions you ask (eg. what's are your kinks or how do you like to go down on a girl?)

p = patience (how easily angered are they?)

for the most part he's one patient human being. he has a pretty chill, calm demeanour in most aspects of his life (eg. the band, his friends, his family, you). he doesn't really believe in getting stressed out too much when things are out of his control, maybe it's all the weed too, though.

q = quizzes (how much would they remember about you? do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

when it comes to you, it's almost like he has a filing cabinet inside his head, filled with anything and everything in regards to you and your friendship / relationship with him. he's head-over-heels smitten that he remembers and notices the most random details about you: your favourite tea condiments (oat milk and honey), your favourite eye shadow colour (cobalt blue), your favourite kind of cat (orange tabby). he also remembers every single one of your exes and has noticed, funnily enough, that most of them tend to have brown curly hair…

r = remember (what is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

there have been so many memorable times spent with you, but one instance that often comes to his mind was after one of their first shows. everyone was over at his place. you all went outside behind the house to a beautiful green space leading up to a small creek, everyone sitting down by the edge of the water drinking the many beers and bottles of wine brought along. after a few hours, everyone (including yourself) was properly drunk and it was all bliss. you spent hours upon hours talking to all of them, hearing about their thoughts regarding the show they had just played, sharing their favourite bits from the set. it seemed simple, but knowing that you cared so much about him and the band meant the world to him. he remembers as everyone eventually started heading off to bed, but you didn't, you stayed behind to chat with him even though he could tell you were growing tired. and out of nowhere (probably due to the alcohol in his system) he asked you about a boy you had been seeing on and off. "how come you two aren't together?" "i guess i'm old fashioned and just want someone to myself and he doesn't. so i'm not really what he's after." "there’s nothing wrong with that. but i think he's an idiot for not being with you." you laughed it off casually, but he very clearly noticed as you slowly scooted closer to him until your legs were touching. again, it was a small gesture, but that was the first time when he felt that maybe, just maybe, there was something that could happen between the two of you. and god knows he wanted it because he had been dreaming of being with you so badly. however, it still took years to get there. all good things take time.

s = security (how protective are they? how would they protect you? how would they like to be protected?)

he's shy and soft, but he is oh so protective of you almost to a fault; he wants nothing bad to ever happen to you, physically or emotionally. he will defend you whenever someone says anything remotely bad about you. sometimes it's not even something overly malicious, but he can read into things too much when you're involved. like that one time a girl mocked you for your outfit. you honestly didn't think much of it (you agreed really, even if she was a bitch about it), but dear matty here wouldn't shut it as he was more offended than you. he means the best, though.

t = try (how much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

oh god, the dates and anniversaries. he wants everything to be perfect that if something goes wrong, then that's one of the times when he'll actually get stressed out and flustered. he's got the dinner making down to a science (he knows your fav recipes by heart), he knows what you like for physical gifts (he has a list on notes app of things you mention in passing), but when it comes to scheduling events or making reservations... that doesn't come so easily to him lol. he has a horrid habit of leaving it until the last minute. that's probably why at the beginning of your relationship, the dates always (well, for the most part) end up being in your flat, with him making you dinner instead, which you honestly prefer that as it makes it for personal and romantic. after a few months, it becomes an unspoken agreement that you're the one that schedules any restaurant dinners or trips (and he's oh so grateful for it). you just tell him where and what time, and he'll be there with bells on, wearing his best bf matty outfit possible. you better bet that for one of your restaurant dates he'll pull out this number and you won't even want to finish dinner because you have to get back home and shag him. and when he wears this one for your one year anniversary, well, you end up renting a room at the closest hotel because there is no way in hell you're waiting to use that bow tie to have some fun.

u = ugly (what would be some bad habits of theirs?)

he picks his nails and it drives you up the wall. you try to get him to stop but he always swats your hand away when you do so. he does it so often and doesn't even realize it. you've jokingly given him mittens every single year for his birthday as a (not so silent) plea for him to stop lol.

v = vanity (how concerned are they with their looks?)

it goes in phases with current bf matty. it mostly depends on his mood, really. there are times when he'll just choose from the pile of clothes he left on the floor throughout the week and that will suffice. but there are other days when he tries out about 7-8 different outfits until he lands on the right one for the occasion (mostly to impress you).

for some reason he has gotten into straightening his hair every now and then which made you throw a fit when you saw the photos on twitter while he was on tour. the thought of him frying up those beautiful curls of his made you tear up a bit but deep down you were like FUUUUUUUUUUCK ME UP DADDY you're gorgeous.

and don't get me started on the chain necklaces. if he wears those without a shirt on? you immediately have to excuse yourself and go scream into your arm because you cannot handle it. and he is well aware of this, which is probably why he does it in the first place. little minx.

w = whole (would they feel incomplete without you?)

nope. even if he waited years and years you're the only person who would truly make him complete. and to be fair, everyone and their mum knew this was the case before either of you fully recognized it or did anything about it. he's like a lost puppy without you, even to the point that when he hears your name mentioned, he perks up looking to see / hear what is being said about you.

x = xtra (a random headcanon for them.)

he has one of those freaking electric scooters which he likes to ride everywhere, and he can be very annoying about it. you bet he's inside the concert arenas doing laps on this thing while the stage is being set up.

he will try to get you to ride with him even though you hate it as you feel like you're just gonna fall off and break your leg. but in reality, he gets you to ride along as an excuse for you to hold on to him, because he's too afraid / nervous to show physical affection towards you in many other ways.

once you start dating and he reveals this, you bow to never go on or near that thing ever again. but that same christmas he does gift you your own as a joke (well, not really tho) so you have to resign yourself to ride around with him, but not after getting yourself a helmet because the last thing you want is for your death certificate to read "cause of death: matty healy's scooter."

y = yuck (what are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

some random things that he dislikes: sandals with socks, raw onion, cars honking, his old cranky neighbour, vaping, hann when he's trying to teach him a grownup lesson.

some things he doesn't like in a partner: when they chew loudly or when they lie. we're talking two very different ends of the spectrum here. make sure you never lie to him if you don't want to see him get truly mad...

z = zzz (what is a sleep habits of theirs?)

it's absolutely clear to every single person who knows bf matty that he LOVES his beauty sleep. he makes sure to take a short nap (almost) every day to give him some energy, cuddling up to mayhem and/or you if either are near him. during tour, everyone knows to not wake him up when he's in his bunk otherwise he'll be grumpy and a diva for the rest of the day. when he's not sleeping with you in his arms, he will lie on his stomach with his arms under the pillow and snooze away. he's also an underwear-only kind of guy when he goes to bed at night (or naked if he's just had sex with you).

--------

if you made it this far again, thank you for indulging me :)

let me know if there are any bits you'd like me to expand on. always more than happy to do so when it come to this matty (my dream boy, really).

[vzp1kl]

𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞?

• you and Matthew were the closest, but when he was starting in movies, everything changed..

• Note: Please understand that English isn't my strongest language, and if I made any mistakes, I'm truly sorry.

• I had made this story months ago, and I had changed a lot of the parts of the story to make it longer.

• There are no warnings in this just a story with two parts. Enjoy! (I will make a part two!)

You and Matthew were best friends since childhood. You guys had great memories, but as both of you grew older, both of you took different career paths. Matthew started in movies while you started your own business that was pretty successful through the years.

Years went by, and you guys started to fall apart. Even though you were friends, it didn't mean one of you had feelings for one in another. You never get to talk to him because he was a successful actor when you were a businesswoman. You couldn't help yourself but to amire from afar. Seeing him acting in moives made you proud of him. Losing contact with him was really hard. Losing that connection you had with him was broken glass everywhere it really hurt when you cut yourself in the glass and try to fix it.

Years went by, and by no call, no message, no voice mail, nothing. It was already around the 2000s. You found a sweet and gentle man. Things went well with him. Both of you hit it off and started to date, then in 2004, the year you and him got engaged and married. Things started well. You both had stable jobs. You and him never thought of having a family yet..?

After a year you got married, you got a random caller you didn't know who it was so you answered it then that's when you heard his voice it was Matthew calling you. "Hey, Y/n it been a while. How are you?". You wanted to cry hearing his voice after so many years. Memories started to replay in your mind with him. "Hey Matthew, yeah, it's been a while... I've been good. How about you? I have seen your movies me and my husband really love them." When Matthew heard you say 'husband', he knew it was already too late to say he loves you.

"Your husband?... you got married? Didn't you see the letters I have sent you?" When he mentioned letters you were confused you never got a letter from him your husband usually gets the mail when he comes from work but letters? He never told you about letters from Matthew. "Matthew, I don't know what you're talking about. I never gotten a single letter. Matthew, what letter? Please, I dont what letters!... I'm really sorry but I have to go... it was nice talking to you.." Before he could answer, you hung up.

Matthew pov:

'How can I be so stupid? Did I really lose her? Gosh, what was I thinking I should've called before I sent those letters.' Matthew couldn't stop thinking about you and the conversation he had with you. He was sitting there just disappointed in himself and how he missed every opportunity that he could just to be with you. All those memories he had with you came back into his mind and how much he actually wanted to be with you. "Was I really too late? Too late to love her?"

@angeldiarybook

[siampie]

Risk and Reward||Chapter 6: I Think He Knows

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.1k

Summary: Tension rises between you and Matt. That’s it. That’s the chapter. Also, teasing Matt and Reader.

Warnings/tags: No smut but mentions of sex, angst, fluff, mutual pining, idiots in love, childhood trauma

A/N: Don’t kill me for this, please. Comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated.  

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Tag list: @marytheweefrenchie, @sunflowersandsapphires, @abbyhaslongshorts, @schneeflocky, @danzer8705

@ebathory997,

Dividers by @cafekitsune

Song the title is referring to:

He got my heartbeat

Skipping down 16th avenue

Got that, ah, I mean

Wanna see what’s under that attitude, like

I want you, bless my soul

And I ain’t gotta tell him, I think he knows

I think he knows

You stood outside with Amelia as she was smoking. It wasn’t as chill as it was a few months ago.

“Crazy thought.” You started; Amelia hummed as she glanced back at you. “Would it be crazy if I just grab a handful of Matt’s ass?”

“The hell?” Amelia looked at you, mouth agape.

“Would it?”

“No, it wouldn’t be crazy for you to put your hands on your boyfriend. In that way.” Amelia said slowly. “And really, that's your crazy thought?”

“You’re right, I chose the less crazy one.” You said seriously. “Do you want the real crazy one?”

“Hit me.” Amelia nodded.

“So, I was watching the Walking Dead last night. It was the Terminus arc and I was wondering—would you be willing to eat people in an apocalypse if it meant survival?”

Amelia let out a big exhale, smoke flowing in the air, she turned to you with a deadpan look on her face. “Yep, that’s on brand.”

“So?”

“I’ll do you one better.” She laced her arm with yours as she led you back inside the bar. “Would it be considered cannibalism if you took a bite out of your boyfriend’s ass?”

“Kinky, maybe.” You giggled.

“You thought about it, didn’t you?”

“I’m thinking about it, now.”

You both giggled as you made your way back to your group of friends. You took your seat next to Matt. A boyish grin lighting up his face, he pulled your chair closer to his, before wounding his arm around your waist.

Things had been going well between you and Matt. It has been a month since you officially became a couple. Between lunch and coffee dates, you and Matt spent as much time as possible together, you were practically joined at the hip. Both of you couldn’t get enough of each other.

The giddiness and the butterflies never seemed to leave you. And they only seemed to amplify each and every single time you saw him. You couldn’t read his mind but you hoped he felt the same way. You hoped you had the same effect on him as he had on you.

His calloused hand had found its place on your thigh as the evening went on. His thumb brushed on the inside of your thigh, making it hard for you to focus on the current conversation. Heat pooled at your core. You took in a shaky breath and you saw a cheeky grin bloomed on his face.

“What are you doing?” You leaned in to whisper in his ear.

“Nothing.” He answered, faking innocence. His hand moved a little further up.

“Matt,” you said his name in warning.

“What is it I’m doing, sweetheart?”

“Careful, Matthew. Two can play this game.”

“Oh, really?” Matt huffed out a laugh.

You leaned closer, your hand resting high on his thigh. You gave it a light squeeze. “Really.” You smirked, pulling away, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. His fingers flexing against your own thigh.

You stood in the corner next to Marci as the rest of your group were playing pool. Your eyes had inevitably found Matt’s wonderful ass. He was bent over, giving you a clear view. The best so far in the bar. And tried as you may, you couldn’t pull your eyes away from it. Marci bumped into you, bringing you back to the one-sided conversation she’d been having for the past few minutes.

“You’re staring.” She teased you.

You glanced quickly away from him. “No, I’m not.” You took a sip from your beer.

“Liar.” Marci scoffed. “There’s no harm in you appreciating your man’s ass.”

Heat gathered to your ears as your eyes made contact with Matt over the pool table. A boyish smile gracing his lips. “Stop. I wasn’t staring. I was—admiring the view.”

Matt’s grin widened at your words as Foggy led him around the table to the cue ball. He leant over the table, jutting his hips out, giving you a better view of his beautiful ass. The gesture gave you pause, though. If you didn’t know any better, you’d thought he would have heard you from across the room. But that couldn’t be. He and Foggy were too far away for them to hear your conversation. Still, it seemed as though he was doing this on purpose.

“I have no doubt about that.” Marci smirked at you.

“Oh, shut up.” You huffed out a laugh.

A game of pool later, Matt was sitting next to you while the rest of you was engage in another game. You were highly aware of his thigh pressed against yours as his fingers kept on brushing back and forth on the back of your neck. You let out a shaky breath, crossing your legs, a feeble attempt to create any kind of friction to ease your heated core.

“You sure you don’t want to play?” Matt questioned playfully.

“I wouldn’t know how.” You replied, shifting in your seat.

“I can teach you.” He offered, turning slightly to face you.

“Maybe another time.”

“Come on, sweetheart, it’s not that hard.” He said in a sultry voice. His left hand came to rest on your knee, his fingers brushing against the back of your knee.

“You’re just looking for an excuse to bent me over the table, aren’t you?” You tried to make yourself sound sexy. As you pronounced those words, you let your fingers run up and down his forearm.

You leaned in and kissed his nose, then his cheek, before pressing the last one on his lips. Your left hand had moved to his thigh, hidden from view, you slowly trailed it higher, inching closer to his crotch. His hand circled around your wrist.

“Careful, sweetheart, don’t start something you can’t finish.” His voice huskier than before.

“Who said anything about not finishing?” You shot back.

His hand left your wrist, moving to tuck your hair behind your ear. A boyish grin made its way onto his face, “I like that side of you.”

“You do?”

His nose brushed against yours as he leaned in. “I can’t wait to see more of it.” He pressed his mouth against yours.

“That’s enough, you two.” Amelia dropped in the seat next to you. “We get it, okay. You’re horny for each other.”

“Amelia,” you whined, your ears and cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

“What?” Amelia shrugged. “I’m only stating facts, am I not?”

Karen sat down next to her, Foggy and Marci joining your small group. “I agree with her.” Marci remarked. “You two are all over each other.”

Your entire face flushed, heat spreading through it. Now, you were mortified. Did they have to be so open about it? Sure, you and Matt had been focused on each other all night, but it wasn’t a bad thing, was it? You started to pull away from Matt, his grip on your knee tightened, stopping you from moving too far from him.  

“Alright, guys, I’m calling it a night.” Karen announced as she got up, sliding her arms in her coat.

“Yeah, we’re right behind you.” Foggy nodded.

“Karen, you wanna share a cab?” Amelia suggested.

“Yeah,” Karen shook her head yes.

“Don’t do anything too crazy, kids.” Foggy said as he and Marci started out of the bar, she sent you a quick wave, and a sly wink.

Karen and Amelia both left together waving you goodbye. You and Matt were on the sidewalk as you watched both women get into the cab. Matt’s hand slid in yours, making you turn to face him. His free hand came up to cup your jaw.

“I don’t want the night to end just, yet.” He said softly.

“What do you have in mind?” You asked him, in the same tone.

“Well, we could finish that little game you started?” He gave you a cheeky grin;

“I wasn’t the one who started it, if I recall correctly.” You teased back.

He huffed out a laugh. “And if I remember correctly you did talk about finishing it.”

Your face flushed in response, his sultry voice sending shivers down your spine, “how do you propose we do this?” You questioned breathless.

He gazed down at you, his thumb brushing along your jaw. “I have a few ideas.”  The boyish grin morphed into a soft smile. “Would you like to come back to my place?”

You nodded. “I’d like that,” your voice barely above a whisper. He laid a soft kiss on your lips, before pulling away, both of you walking to his place.

It was quiet between you on the way there. You wanted this; you really did but you were also growing nervous. You had some apprehensions regarding physical intimacy with Matt. Physical intimacy, sexual intercourse had been quite a miss for you. You had never really had a good experience when it came to sex. Mostly because most of your sexual experience happened quite late in life, later than most people. It wasn’t that you were a late bloomer. It was more because of a lack of opportunities.

As your father’s primary caretaker, you didn’t have a lot of occasions to go out. And if you did, it would be rubbed in your face for months while he berated you, calling you ungrateful. It didn’t matter that it was the only outing you had in months. He would remind you of this, in every fight, in the months that followed. So, of course, there were not many opportunities for you to date or have sex.

After your brother stepped in and took your father in, you did go out more before moving to Hell’s Kitchen. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good either. And since moving to Hell’s Kitchen, you only had a one-night stand, that didn’t exactly go well. You were not even sure that it deserved the name of a one-night stand.

You started to think that since you had never reached orgasm during sex, that maybe something was wrong with you. Maybe, you were broken in some ways. You knew you could get there, after all you were no stranger to masturbation. Still, sexual intercourse didn’t really do it for you so far.

But never stopped you from trying, though.

You stepped into his apartment after him and stood in his entry awkwardly as he shut the door behind you. You had been to his apartment before, but he was never just the two of you. This was the very first time that it was just you and him. You walked into his living room, after him, shedding your coat. He moved into his kitchen as you draped your coat on the arm of his leather couch, the neon sign lighting up the room.

“Do you want to drink anything?”

You dropped your bag next to your feet, “no, not really.”

Breathing had become hard suddenly. You clasped your hands together, in an attempt to calm your nerves. Matt came back with a glass of water, placing it on the coffee table. He took off his red tinted shades and left them on the table, giving a clear view of his eyes.

“We don’t have to do anything tonight.” Matt said softly.

“I know, it’s just—” You let out a shaky breath, tucking your hair behind your ear. “I want this,” you shifted, angling yourself to face him. Your knee bumped into his.

You wanted to tell him the truth, be honest. Let him know that although you were by no means a virgin, you had not had a lot of experiences when it came to sex. Matt was a handsome man and you were sure that he had been with a lot of women before.

“There hasn’t been anyone in a while, anyone that mattered.” He admitted quietly, his calloused hand reached for your knee, squeezing it gently. “Truth is, I’m nervous too.”

You placed your hand over his, turning his palm up so you could place your hand in his, interlacing your fingers. “I don’t have a lot of experience when it comes to this sort of—intimacy.” You finally confessed, “and I’m afraid that you can’t help but compare me to others. Because if you do, you might be disappointed. And I don’t want you to be.”

He pulled your hand to his lips, kissing the back of it. “I won’t.” He tugged you towards him, closing the small gap between you. You landed in his lap, straddling him, your hips hovering over his. His hands moved to your hips, yours laid on his shoulders. “You call the shots. If anything makes you feel uncomfortable, we stop.”

“That’s the sexiest thing I ever heard,” you sounded breathless. You sank down onto his lap, his grip on your hips a little tighter. You bit down your bottom lip, stifling a moan, as heat spread through your nether regions.

His hands palmed your ass through your dress, a groan rumbled through his chest, as his head fell back against the back of the couch. “Just tell me what you want, sweetheart.”

“You.” You leaned in, your lips barely brushing his. “Only you.”

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[jaetyun]

Most likely to with some trainees please?

Boys planet MLT’s; a thread!

featuring: gyuvin matthew s.hanbin keita junhyeon zhang hao seunghwan honghai gunwook jay

fluff!

a/n: i use mlt kind of loosely, making every question less of a rant of most - least but more one option - another option

being pampered vs pampering

being pampered

honghai, gyuvin

i mean it’s kinda obvious

honghai is a total baby

he just wants to be little spoon after a long day of work and can u blame him :(

gyuvin LIVES off praise, he needs to hear from you hes doing it right even if it’s just simple things like cooking or doing chores

both of them spend nights giggling kicking their feet twirling their hair biting their finger over sweet texts you send

just clingy

so incredibly clingy

the more i write the more i realize gyuvin is so bf coded ☹️☹️

gunwook, matthew

now you might be wondering

how is gunwook not with the former??

to that i say he’s totally pamper you to as a congrats

you aced an exam? he’s out buying you ice cream and best BELIEVE he’s gonna be feeding you

if you can’t sleep he’ll tuck you in and sing you a lullaby <33

matthew has no preference

you just happen to end up spoiling him more often

you just can’t resist his aegyo ☹️❤️

he uses this to his advantage

“babbbbyyyyy can you pleassseee make ramen for me” while batting his eyelashes

jay, junhyeon

it’s very unpredictable w them

theres no set dynamic w either of them

you want him to buy something for you? sure!

he’s feeling little spoon in the moment? you’re big spoon 🫵

neither of them care very much

if i had to pick one way or the other jay is more likely to spoil you and junhyeon is more likely to be spoiled

potentially unpopular opinion..

junhyeon seems like he’d be very calm and chill in a relationship

he uses all his energy and humor with his friends youre his little safe area to recharge his social battery

jay is just always a very down to earth guy

he doesn’t really care either way 90% of the time

keita, zhang hao

they just have very motherlike tendencies

they’ll naturally buy things for you cause “you’ll run out soon anyways”

keita writes songs for you all the time

if morning texts were a love language that’s what zhang hao has

he hasn’t missed a single day of saying good morning and good night to you even if there was no other conversation that day

keita likes paying

i cant explain it but anytime you’re out you might as well not bring your wallet cause he’s gonna fist fight you before you’ll ever buy anything around him

the ONLY time you’ve paid was on your first date where you split the bill

seunghwan, hanbin

seunghwan moreso than hanbin

his face would curl in disgust at your attempt of big spooning

“what do you think you’re doing?? come over here” he wraps arms around your waist, leaving you as mush in his hold

hanbin is also very motherly

would literally make a lunchbox for you everyday if he could

both of them are just so good at indulging and pampering like i’m at a loss for words

i cant even explain on paper it just makes sense okay

i’m right my word is final!!!

pampering

easily jealous vs secure

easily jealous

gyuvin, gunwook

not necessarily possessive??

but they’re the type to death glare ANY guy that comes your way

gyuvin is probably a lot more pouty and gunwook

like gyuvin would be so clingy if he felt threatened in your relationship

hes just a lil insecure and needs reassurance but it’s okay cause we love him for it 💔

gunwook says he likes pda cause he likes physical touch

hes lying

it’s so he can basically let everyone around the two of you know you’re off limits

he feels like you’re too good to be true

he needs to fight for you yk

if you tell either of them to knock it off they def will though

junhyeon, keita

they’re more willing to let things go

like if it’s just someone checking you out they’re chilling

it’s when flirting starts that drives them mad

i think keita would be more vocal about it

he’d do something immediately

“you’re just so stunning-“ “arent i lucky?”

junhyeon would watch on the sidelines then scold you afterwards

once you give a friendly reminder they’re perfect for you theyre back to chilling

not nearly as much guard dog energy as the other two

but don’t mistake that as chill

keita has def said some things in the moment he wish he could take back

honghai, hanbin

the pouty boys

it takes a while for them to crack, it wjen it happens they’ll be SO WHINY

hanbin is so petty

“how does this look on me?” “why don’t you ask ___?”

hai isn’t passive aggressive he just gives you the silent treatment

most of the time some rando isn’t gonna hurt their pride

it’s your friends thatre a lil too close to you…

which results in full blown fights

it gets resolved though cause communication is sexy 🙏

zhang hao, jay

it’s not that they don’t get jealous

they just handle it pretty well

instead of being like gunwook who’s practically holding you or like keita who makes sly remarks theyll be silent in the moment

afterwards they rationalize it in their head and their fine

it’s not that there’s no communication

they just realize you’re loyal and they don’t have to worry 💯💯

i think hao is more likely to say something

not a whiny or petty comment but just a genuine “do you realize ___’s intentions with you?”

very down to earth men

they don’t wanna fight they just wanna head empty love partner

and we love that tbh

seunghwan, matthew

SO SELF ASSURED

like they would argue with their friends over their lack of jealousy

“why would i be worried about ___? they’re not the one kissing y/n are they?”

they genuinely cannot fathom a possibility where you cheat

which is reasonable cause let’s be real youd FUMBLEEE if you lost one of those two 😵‍💫

seunghwan might have doubts here and there but overall he can realize how important he is to you and that solves most issues

secure

going out vs staying in for dates

going out

junhyeon, seunghwan

it’s like an adventure to them

so many more possibilities on things to do

junhyeons fave dates are when you go out late at night and see what’s open

will you end up spending 4 hours at a theatre hopping around random movies at random times? will you find a cool dinner spot? will you scavenge through an abandoned building? it’s always an adventure!

seunghwan likes going to romantic places

takes you on picnics, going to a carnival, renting a karoke bar, bowling

he would totally have a bucket list of cliches he’d want to fulfill

he also just likes showing you off to the world <33

the best part is when you guys go home together both exhausted and rambling about everything you experienced throughout the day

taking showers after spending a hot day in the sun in the summer 😵‍💫 or a warm bath if it’s a cold winter day ❤️

*WALL*

jay, gyuvin

definitely prefer staying at home

does not mind going out though!

gyuvin has made it his personal duty to find the best cafe in town with you

you both have your own ranking you bicker over all the time

secretly his long term goal is learning your perfect pastry and trying to recreate it

he’s not telling you though itd ruin the sincerity of the coffee shop nights

jay wouldn’t mind every once in a while

it would get draining after like the second time a week though

has a soft spot for places like an aquarium or an arcade

places that might come off as childish

those jay could go to all day everyday

still doesn’t beat a nice cuddle session while watching a movie by a LONG SHOT for either of them

hanbin, keita

homebodys at heart

would do it for you though

especially if they have super outgoing s/o’s

very easy to convince

will react in very opposite ways though

if hanbin ends up agreeing on a date night out hes making 100000 steps and plans

he knows exactly where you’re going and when you’re going down to the minutes

he wants it to be perfect for you!

keita though

he lets you pick

“you wanted to go out! so where should we go??”

very easygoing though

down for literally anything you’d wanna do

except like rock climbing sky diving or axe throwing

that’s a hard no

matthew, gunwook

i honestly have nothing to say here

it just makes sense okay

im tired

bare with me

zhang hao. honghai

okay homebody by ph-1

their ideal date is making a lil dinner for you then playing a board game or video games

simple men

they just like being with their safe person in their safe space

zhang hao will show you all his fave tv shows and want your reactions

hai will spent HOURS just scrolling on tiktok with you next to him

it’s like a game to see how synchronized your fyps are

if either of them have a pet they’d love playing with their pets w you

if you have a pet theyd have play dates

doesn’t matter the species

you guys will make it work

like who says it wouldn’t be iconic to have a dog and bird friendship??

staying at home

[dwarf-vader-of-middle-earth]

Stars and Seas: A Drowned Tale

Years ago, I made a short story titled "The Drowned", which featured Matthew and Lyrus, a Human and a Merfolk variant called "Drowned", who fell for one another and became eternal lovers.

I'm happy to say that, years later, I have a continuation of this story just as well! Stars and Seas: A Drowned Tale features the former side character Ilias, and a new character, Thompson.

Story below the cut.

Words: 4468

Days off for Thompson were extremely rare. Hospice required constant attention from the nurse, but ever since Matthew was discharged, the man found himself with more free time than usual. Matthew was the main resident to whom Thompson was assigned, and without any new residents since, the nurse had little to do.

With a full free weekend, Thompson decided to visit the boardwalk on the edge of town. It was the location’s prime attraction, with a small amusement park and multiple boardwalk games. Pizza, chicken, fries, burgers, you name it and the stalls sold it.

Alone, Thompson wandered across the wooden planks, looking at various carnies who called to families with their children, friends with their friends, and couples with their lovers.

Yet there he was.

Alone.

The man’s heart grew heavy, but no less he walked toward one stall, and pulled out the wallet in his pocket.

“What can I get you, sir?” the lady asked.

Thompson looked up, and pointed to a bag of green cotton candy. “I’d like that bag please,” he said. “Is debit ok?”

The woman nodded, reaching to pull the bag off its hook from the overhang. “That’ll be five dollars,” she said. “Anything else you need?”

“Actually yes. May I please have a bottle of water?”

“Sure thing!” The woman set the cotton candy down, then turned around to a small fridge, and opened it, pulling out one bottle of water. “Alright, that’s another four dollars, so your total comes to nine!” She scanned the two items.

Thompson pulled out his card, and placed it against the machine. Once it beeped, he returned it to his wallet, and input the pin. The machine rang a gentle tone, and he nodded, then grabbed his food and drink. “Thank you, ma’am. Have a great day.” He forced a smile to her briefly.

The woman nodded. “You, too.”

Turning away, Thompson located a table in the distance, just outside the amusement park. With even steps, he made way toward this.

Two young men stood outside the park entrance, fumbling for cash to pay the fee.

“Damn. Guess we spent more at the diner this morning than I thought,” the smaller man said, chuckling.

The other smiled, and kissed the first. “Worry not, my dear. I’ve got this covered.”

Thompson’s heart sank even deeper hearing this conversation. Two men. In love. Yet here he was still alone. He glanced toward the lovers briefly, then stumbled.

“Lyrus, I told you to stop covering me!”

“Well really it’s my father covering us both.”

Turning toward the two young men, Thompson quickly approached. “...Matthew?” he asked.

The smaller man turned around, his mouth immediately falling agape upon seeing Thompson. “I–you… Thompson?!”

“Yes!! It’s me!!” Thompson cried, a smile coming to his face. He reached for Matthew, wrapping his arms around him gently. “Oh my god!! Look at you!! You’re–you’re completely healthy now!!”

Smiling warmly, Matthew returned the hug to his old nurse, nodding. “I am!! I feel great!!”

Thompson separated from him, and looked upon the young man who now stood. He stood. Matthew’s legs were riddled with cancer before, and left him confined to a wheelchair for the most part, save for good pain days. But Thompson looked at Matthew’s wrist.

Upon it was tied a single small bracelet of seashells, the rope made of dried seaweed.

And Lyrus’s wrist held one just the same.

Thompson nodded, smile never waning. “Healing is a magic in and of itself, isn’t it?” he asked.

There, Matthew stumbled slightly. “Wh–what do you mean?”

“Getting better in any way. It seems to bring people together, doesn’t it? You two have each other now, and that’s incredible. It’s perfect. The magic between you both seems to have done more than modern medicine ever could.”

Matthew fell silent, his blood running cold.

But Lyrus stepped up, smiling. “You know, Thompson, sir. Matthew has told me much about you in the time we’ve been together. I was hoping to meet you someday.”

Thompson smiled gently. “I’m honored to meet you all the same, sir. And I truly wish both of you a great eternity together. Even though… I’ll likely never see Matthew again.”

“Perhaps there will be more meetings,” said Lyrus. “You never know what the future holds, after all. Things change. People change. That is the magic of life.”

Nodding, Thompson’s smile now waned slightly. “Well… I hope you both have a great day. And a safe return home. May the tides pull you to safety.”

Lyrus bowed to him. “And may they never tempt you into the depths all the same.” He pulled Matthew into himself. “Come on, hon. Let’s keep our little date going.” Together, he and Matthew handed the cash to the person at the front gate, and entered inside.

Thompson sighed, and walked to the table. Situating himself, he opened the bag of cotton candy, and began eating it silently. Pondering. His heavy heart beat slowly and painfully against his chest, and he turned to look at the beach, its gentle waves lapping away at the sand as children played about, and people of all ages spoke and smiled. 

But Thompson himself frowned, for he was alone as always.

Forever alone…

====================

That evening, Matthew and Lyrus returned to the castle of Limrias. As both sat together at the table alongside Ilias, they ate their dinners as a family.

But Matthew seemed oddly quiet. His gaze was distant, almost as though the man focused on something beyond the present.

“Are you alright, hon?” Lyrus asked.

“...No.”

“Talk to me.” Lyrus put one webbed hand on Matthew’s shoulder, and reached the other to brush his hair behind a finned ear. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s… it’s Thompson. From before,” Matthew said, sighing. “He looked… I don’t know. Sad? I could feel it. All his sorrows flowed into me like they were my own. I know Drowned can feel connections to one another through the bonds we have. But can a Drowned do the same with a Human?”

“It’s possible,” Ilias said. “You and Thompson had a great deal of investment in one another before you became Drowned. Those feelings of love still remain, and through your love for him, it’s very likely you could feel a bond between yourself and him as you would any other Drowned.”

Matthew nodded. “Thank you. I just… I wish I could help him. He always seemed so happy when he was around me, but I know he’s been through a lot. He never told me what he experienced, though.”

Ilias cut into a filet, and stabbed it with his fork. “Is he still nearby? Still at the boardwalk?” He placed the filet piece into his mouth, and began to chew it.

“Maybe. I’m not sure. Why do you ask?”

“Because I’d like to meet him, and thank him for having cared for you all these years,” Ilias replied. “He seems as though he could use such thanks, and he should know you’re in good hands now.”

“Dad, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Lyrus asked. “He knows Matthew and I are Drowned, but that’s dangerous enough in and of itself! Do you really want to risk revealing yourself, our king, to him?”

Shrugging, Ilias stabbed the last piece of his filet. “If he already knows about us, then what’s the harm in showing him myself?” He bit into the piece, and swallowed it, setting his fork and knife down. “You two go enjoy yourselves for the night. I’ll be back by morning. Promise.” The king smiled at his two boys, and swam from his chair, then pushed it in. Without another word, he exited the room.

====================

Upon the beach, Thompson sat solitarily, knees to his chest as the waves crashed in the distance, their extended falls reaching the man’s feet. The water kissed him softly. Thompson reveled in what little peace this brought him.

Looking up into the horizon, boats and ships sailed across the night, far out into the dark, every star above illuminating their shapes.

How he longed to leave this land and see the world as those people did… Maybe things could be better elsewhere…

Thompson sighed, burying his head in his knees, shoulders dropping.

“Quite a sight, isn’t it?”

The man jumped, and looked up. There, his eyes fell upon a tall, broad man, roughly his own age, whose hair and beard appeared black and salt-worn, hints of gray running through their lengths. He smiled kindly to Thompson.

“Mind if I take a seat?” the man asked.

Thompson scooted to his right, shaking his head. “No, please. Go ahead.”

Bending down, the stranger sat carefully, placing his hands against the sand to steady himself as he lowered into a sitting position. Upon both his wrist lay two gorgeous bracers of seashells, tied in place with colorful seaweed.

Thompson’s eyes widened at their sight. However, he remained silent.

The stranger gazed up at the stars meeting the sea afar. “Matthew’s told me lots about what you’ve done for him. I’m grateful. For you. For all your care and help given to him over the years.”

“You’ve done more for him than any medicine could have,” Thompson said .

“I don’t mean just medically, but emotionally as well.” There, Ilias smiled kindly, and turned toward the Human. “He’s struggled a lot. Learning to be part of a family when he’s never had one is certainly a difficult thing. But he tells me he learned what he could from his love for you. Matthew always tells me you’re the father he never had.”

“Well I’m not much to go by. I don’t have a family, either…”

Ilias raised an eyebrow. “You don’t?”

“No. It’s a long story. You wouldn’t care for it, I promise.” Thompson sighed heavily, his demeanor lowering into sorrow.

Pausing a moment, Ilias readjusted himself. “I’ve got time. And Matthew is worried. He tells me you’re sad. I see it in you that you are. Maybe talking would help ease the burden?”

Thompson shook his head. “I can’t. It’s no use. I’ve spoken to therapists for decades now, and it doesn’t do anything to make this better… Not what with I’ve been through…”

“Well… what about talking to a friend?”

Pausing a moment, Thompson glanced toward Ilias, eyes wide. He saw, there, the king’s kindly smile, and welcoming self, so genuine and gentle. How could he say no to this man? Regardless, Thompson looked away, shaking his head again. “It’d be wrong to burden another with my troubles. Especially a king…”

Ilias chuckled a little. “Friends exist to carry the burdens of one another in part. Nobody can make it through life alone. And if you do not tell me now, I will continue to visit each night you’re here until I gain your trust enough that you speak. It wouldn’t be right in my heart or mind to let such a great and kindly man as yourself suffer alone.”

“Why do you think so highly of me?” Thompson asked.

“Because you kept Matthew safe. And Matthew has opened my heart to trusting once more.” The king took a deep breath. “I spent more than a millennia distrusting Humans. They’ve proven to be enemies of my people for ages now, polluting our home and using it for selfish gains. But Matthew and Lyrus fell for one another more than a year ago now. And I’ve seen since then what good Humans are, and what good they bring. Lyrus, my son, was so lonely and broken until he met Matthew. Those two healed each other’s hearts and lives, and their love has, in turned, healed me.”

Thompson’s eyes nearly welled with tears now. He gulped the sadness back. “Love is… it’s something I’ve not had in a very long time…” His tears began to fall.

Ilias lifted a finger, and the teardrops shifted from Thompson’s face, floating away toward the sea.

Eyes wide, the Human watched his sorrows move from himself and join with the water beyond. He shook his head. “I’m… a lot like Matthew in a sense… I, too, love men. I’m how he realized his own sexuality. But my parents–my entire family both immediate and extended–they shunned me for what I am. They called me a disgusting whore, and threw me into the streets. I tried to go back! I tried so many times!! But eventually they moved, and I never knew where to! I had nobody and nothing!!

“My boyfriend at the time, he proposed to me, and we were planning our wedding. We found out he was pregnant, and both of us felt ecstatic! The future was bright, and we’d just gotten an apartment together here in the city. But… this hardly lasted…” Now Thompson’s tears fell in a large stream, and the man sobbed violently, clutching his knees to his face as he pressed his forehead into both harshly. “Kevin, he–he miscarried. Just a few weeks into the second trimester. We were devastated, and the doctors found out why this happened.

“Kevin had late-stage ovarian cancer. He was dying. And no amount of medicine would ever help save him…”

Ilias’s face dropped, his heart sinking into an abyss of sorrow. He reached for Thompson, but retracted his hand before it could touch him.

Thompson tensed, biting his lower lip harshly. “I was alone. I had nobody. No family. No partner. No love. And I tried. I tried to find someone else! But I’ve been broken!! My sorrows are too great, and my pain is immense! Nothing makes it better! Nothing!!” He rammed a fist into the sand, trembling. “I’m lonely… I’m broken… And I see no reason to keep going. Ever since Matthew left, there’s been little hospice work to do. It’s like I’m not needed anymore. Nobody needs me, and I am needed nowhere. I can’t keep going like this…”

Shifting toward the Human, Ilias sat on his knees and wrapped himself around the balled-up Thompson, hugging him softly. “You’re needed. Always. That I promise.”

Thompson sobbed, his heart weighing itself down into the depths below. "If I fell into the ocean to my death, far away from any land, would the world even notice? Would I be forgotten?"

"The ocean would remember," Ilias replied. "The waves would carry your soul forever with their every rise and fall. The very creatures which live within it would see your descent, knowing another joins them but not in life. They would mourn. The sea is seemingly paired with death, but we can only take so much tragedy before it becomes too much. Perhaps this is why the Drowned were created. To prevent such sorrow from ever taking over."

"But I am not worthy of mourning. I'm nobody. And I am worth nothing. Not even life." Thompson shook rapidly, tightening his fists.

"Has the world truly taken so much from you that you've forgotten how to receive all the same?"

The Human shook his head. "I'm not sure. I don't think I've ever been given anything in my life before..."

Ilias grasped one of the Human's hands, and stood up. "Then come with me a moment. I wish to give you something."

Thompson shook his head. “Please. Don’t–”

“You need to see this. Please. Just come along.”

With a scoff, Thompson pushed himself upright, shaking his head, standing to meet the king. Gently, he was pulled toward Ilias. Into him.

Ilias held Thompson close and walked toward the water, then into it. Once deep enough inside, the long mer tail formed, and fins extended from his wrists and ears. His green eyes glowed bright against the darkness, clearly made to peer through the depths of the seas. Here, he clutched Thompson softly, and carefully began to swim out. Away from the shore.

Thompson watched as the sand grew further and further away until it no longer remained visible. He spoke not a word, just letting his sorrows run rampant through himself.

After several minutes, Ilias stopped, and shifted Thompson in front of himself. Here, the king smiled warmly, and pointed upward toward the vast, starry sky.

Tears streaking his face still, the Human looked up where the king pointed.

"Centuries ago, sailors used the stars to navigate the oceans, and cross them safely. All the same, those stars told stories and gifted them to children who looked at them in hope,” Ilias said. “No matter where you are in the world, the stars are always there. No matter where you are in the world, the water is always there. Nature is inherent. It's eternal. Hope and safety are always here. Waiting for you to find them. You only need let the world guide you."

Thompson gulped his sadness down again. "Then why? Why has my life led me away from the world? Why am I so blind to the future that I can't even see it?"

"When you spend forever in the dark, it hurts to look at the light. But it's there no less.” Ilias looked Thompson in the eyes. “I am here."

The Human’s mouth fell agape. He shook his head. “N–no.”

“Why not?” Ilias asked. “Why not accept love for a change?”

"I... I can't. How can I ever love again when I will lose you, or you will lose me? I couldn't bear to be with a man who has two sons, knowing you’ll all live forever and I won't–that you'll all be of the sea, but myself of the land. I am nothing compared to you! I am... nothing… Even as a person, I am nothing..."

"You are a great man with a great heart as vast as the seas," Ilias said, holding Thompson tighter now. "I never thought I would feel this way for a Human, but all the same, every Drowned was once Human. We aren't so different."

Thompson hiccupped, shaking. His aching heart seemingly sank into the ocean itself as he remained within it, held by the king.

"When a Drowned Embraces a Human, their love is gifted all the same. A bond is forged between the Drowned who makes another. These bonds create families. Parents, children, lovers, siblings. They are eternal and endless. There is no breaking the bond of two Drowned who’ve joined together. And they feel everything between one another. Joy and pain. Love and fear. Any and all emotion is shared.

“But I feel it all, even without such a bond between yourself and I. Your sorrow is great, and your pain greater. You fear and you grieve, but I am here. And I love. I love you, Thompson. Sweet Baris. I wish for nothing more than to see you happy–to see your smile and know your joy not as my own, but for you to feel yourself. You deserve happiness. I can bind us together in eternity beneath the very waters in which we tread, and I will hold you as my own. You will never be alone again. I promise."

The torrential tears dripping from Thompson’s eyes began to fall into the ocean. "I’m not worth it… I never will be…What have I done that's worthy of this?" he asked. "To gift me not just any Embrace, but yours? Why?"

Ilias smiled gently, pressing into the Human, holding him closer. "Because you are you. And all are worthy of love for the mere fact that they live. And I love you. The world takes so much that we often forget we can give all the same.

“Just as well, none must be worthy of the water's gift to receive it. One must simply embrace its love as their own. And I know you long for love. But look no further. We are here. Together. Between the stars that guided us to my kingdom, and the seas in which it resides. Please. Come home with me, Baris."

Thompson sobbed into the king now, harsh and ugly. "But... Matthew. He doesn't need me anymore. He has you. All the Drowned."

"That doesn't mean he can't use more love. You need it all the same. And if he does not welcome you then know that I do. I will be the one who brings you home and gifts you the Embrace." Ilias leaned in, and kissed Thompson on the cheek. "I will bind us together in eternity, and hold you as my own. You'll have a family–two sons, Matthew and Lyrus–and of course, me. Loneliness will never reach you again. Of that I swear."

Thompson trembled, trying to breathe but he couldn’t. He shook his head, sobbing harshly. “Does it hurt? Letting the magic take you?"

"No. It's peaceful. Your very soul is engulfed in serenity, and you know, in that moment, you're forever saved from all death and sorrow."

With a harsh cry, Thompson clutched the king dearly, clenching his eyes shut. "Please... Please just help me!!" he begged. "Make this stop! Take my pain away! Please..."

"I can give you what you need to make it leave in time. It will not fade immediately. But I will be there every moment you need someone. I will always love you, Baris. That will never change." Ilias smiled warmly. “You will learn to live in peace, not rest in sorrow. Let your mortal pains wash away into the sea. It’s time to come home.” The king lifted his hand to Thompson's heart, pressing it against him. The palm began to glow, and he shifted his face to see Thompson's, meeting the man's lips with his own which he kissed gently while pushing him backward, leading them both below the water.

The glow began to overtake Thompson, who kissed Ilias back, a warmth spreading from his heart through his entire body. The very tears upon his face washed away into the sea which now held him completely. And the man welcomed it.

As the glow intensified, both lovers remained connected for a long moment before Ilias backed away, shifting his hand off Thompson.

Slowly, the bright illumination faded from the man entirely as he lay within the king's loving embrace. And there he rested, a long, finned tail now in place of legs, and matching fins upon his wrists and ears. Gills opened from his sides, and he breathed through them, taking the water into his very being, merging himself with it at long last.

Ilias smiled. "Welcome home, my king."

Thompson–Baris–opened his eyes and looked at himself. Now Drowned, he gazed upon his new form in silent awe, examining the long tail and strange fins, the webbing between his fingers. And there, a feeling of serenity filled himself, overtaking his entire being. Baris sat upright, and threw himself into Ilias, clutching the king tighter, a wholeness and unity of sorts driving him toward the man.

A unity with his lover, Baris realized. A unity with his future–with the very seas in which he now lived and breathed.

Both parting slightly, Ilias’s smile only grew. "You are the greatest man I have ever met, and I will never be far from you. Even if I am, our eternal bond will hold us together. I feel your elation. The relief in your heart. And I am happy all the same. You’ve needed this for ages now, and it is yours to keep. I’ll make certain you never lose it."

There, a smile formed upon Baris’s face. He kissed Ilias passionately, deeply, holding the king against himself as he wrapped the long tail around his lover, pressing into him. “Thank you. Thank you, my love. My king. I… I love you. So much.”

“Please. Call me Ilias.” The king smiled, joining his tail with Baris’s, and both held one another for a long moment in silence.

Minutes passed, and finally Baris unlatched from his lover, shifting backwards. He looked at himself entirely now, and chuckled a little, smiling.

Ilias looked puzzled at his lover. “What’s funny?” he asked.

“I… I just realized a slight problem."

"Oh?"

"I can't swim."

Ilias suddenly burst into laughter. "Oh, gods! That is quite a problem, now isn’t it?” He grinned, and pat Baris’s shoulder gently. “Well there's no time like the present to learn. It's not that hard. I'll show you."

Baris grasped the king’s hand, who led him down into the depths, flicking his tail gently while keeping his and Baris’s arms parallel to themselves.

After many minutes, Ilias let go, and motioned for Baris to follow him.

And without missing a beat, Baris continued. Swimming close by. Swimming.

He was free.

The Drowned cut through the water with ease, as though the very universe parted to let him and Ilias pass, and both made their way toward a glistening, large kingdom with ornate bridges and city buildings spanning across the entire ocean floor.

This was the beauty of Limrias.

====================

Within the castle, Matthew and Lyrus lay within one another’s arms in their bed together, cuddled up smiling and content. Both looked outward from the window to the kingdom far below, then to each other, their minds at ease and their hearts entwined in love.

However, a knock came to their door. “Lyrus? Matthew? Are you awake?”

Ilias, they realized.

“We are! We’re coming!” Lyrus called. He helped Matthew up, and both held hands as they swam to the door. But Lyrus grasped the handle, and pulled it open.

There in the doorway, both smiling, hands together, Ilias and Baris tread as one. As Drowned.

Matthew’s eyes welled with tears. He charged Baris, and threw his arms around the man, squeezing him tight and pressing into him. “You–you’re–”

“I’m home,” Baris said, leaning into Matthew gently. “I’m grateful. For all of you. I owe you everything.”

“You owe nothing but to love your life,” Matthew said. He looked up at Baris. “Please. I know you’ve been hurting. I know you’ve been sad. But give this a chance. It’s going to get better now. We’ll all make sure of it.”

Baris nodded, smiling even more. “I know. I will. I promise. I will live, with you, and we will always be together. My heart is open to love, and I have that of Ilias. And I couldn’t ask for anything greater.”

Lyrus swam toward Baris and Matthew, putting one hand on each. “You have my love all the same. Gods know my dad needs it more, though.”

Everyone laughed, and leaned in, hugging one another.

And there, Baris felt it. The bonds between all of them. Each person of this family loved him, and all the same he loved them. Their feelings flowed through one another as though part of each other despite each belonging to different people. They were united. And nothing would ever tear them apart, for, nature’s love in the stars and seas had brought them together at long last.

[astroyongie]

Zerobaseone June Reading 2024

note: please take it lightly and have fun

Hanbin

love: he is still single at the moment and honestly things aren't the best for him. In January he was rejected. Yet he is stilç very conflicted. there’s this one person he also has a crush on but this person has been beefing with them? to a certain point. where their conversation is only arguments so it's kind of annoying him  

career: things are going okay for him, this comeback to come also helped him progress when it comes to his own artistic talents. i feel like Hanbin has been trying to expend more of himself. he wants to tour, to travel and to be friends with other people 

self: he is okay. his health seems to be okay and he is mentally strong as well despite the difficulty he has to manage his anxiety. he hasn't been worried much about things since he is taking a more positive perception on life overall thanks to his therapy 

Jiwoong

love: he is still dating the same person as before and things seem to be doing rather well. their relationships as expended and they are also trying to search for more depth. At the moment their partner is probably overseas tho. 

career: he is extremely frustrated with the comeback. mostly because he believes that the company hasn't put any light on him and he feels like he has been sabotaged or at least not as appreciated as the other members. his actions are also hasty which can cause some issues 

self: overall he still struggles a lot when it comes to his own feelings. everything that has happened to him as impacted him a lot and he still doesn't know how to deal with all of that 

Hao

love: ah! remember Hao was in love with someone and he thought that the person dont love them back. seems like he was wrong because from january to now they finally got into a relationship and things seem to be doing rather okay so far. 

career: career wise things are a little more complicated for rhim. he knows he has a lot of burdens whenever there are comeback preparations and lately he feels like he has too much on his shoulders. Hao understands that he needs to release pressure but he is scared of things 

self: mentally, it’s not the best. There's anxiety and some fears, but mostly I see Hao using unhealthy coping mechanisms in order to be able to survive through his days. 

Matthew

love: It seems like his relationship with his sponsorship has been cooling down and things are a little bit better to him. Matthew is currently searching for love, and he truly wishes to be closer to other people because he feels the need to be loved and needed 

career: things are complicated here. like his work is overall okay and he is happy with everything. it's just that matthew has such a hard time managing his anxiety and his stress when it comes to comebacks that he often will self isolate 

self: he has been spending a lot of time out whenever he can, in environments that sound like gatherings or parties because he needs to put his mind out from the everyday stress that the idol life brings him. He has quite a social circle.

Taerae

love: Not really much luck in his life. He is single at the moment and he isn't seeking for anyone since his heart is a little fragile since the past person he has liked. at the moment he is trying to make amends with his love life and reconcile himself with his feelings 

career: people might have a very negative opinion of Taerae (those who work with him). He has the type of personality that is very frontal and because of that, peoçel see him as someone cold hearted and even bitchy/asshole like. he doesn't seem to care about that 

self: there’s a lot happening in his life and he doesn't give himself time to process anything. instead Taerae is the type to just push forward and keep his mind focus on his work 

Ricky

love: single as well and not really focused on his love life to be honest. At the moment Ricky is focused on his career and on the money he is earning which for him, is the most essential thing. after his break up, it seems like he closes his heart

career: he has been self limiting himself a lot in this comeback. He wants his members to have some spotlight as well and he has been helping them, even if that means to put himself on the side. Ricky knows that he doesn't need to put much effort on himself due to his looks so he is trying to help his colleagues instead 

self: he is okay and he is actually enjoying his life. Ricky, like I said, has been spending a lot of his time with his members, creating strong friendships with them and learning from them and also bringing his own teaching and experiences. 

Gyuvin

love: he is still single and still super harsh on himself. Gyuvin believes that he is someone that can’t do things properly. the thing is, because of his demanosu and his way of being, the people around him also sem him as the typical “manipulative victim” which does not help him 

career: things seem to be doing well. Out of all the members, he probably has a great relationship with people he works with and with his members. Gyuvin will also be super communicative with his fans because that's something he loves to do 

self: the same harsh energy is seen in his self. Gyuvin has been the typical impulsive guy that gets angry easily. that can make him quite ruthless with his words but it seems like his close friends don't take it personally 

Gunwook

love: he is still single and still having the same attitudes that he had before (which means being a little bit impulsive and weird around feminine people which ends up scaring them). Gunwook isn't the most oblivious person ever 

career: i feel like this comeback that is being prepared has kind of taken a turn on him but he is holding on. What worries me is the co dependent relationship he has with his mother, a manager or a sponsor. 

self: his physical health seem to be a little bit more on the fragile side but he is also taking care of it already so he doesnt get sick midway through the comeback 

Yujin

love: Yujin isn't in a relationship anymore. The breakup has been very very complicated with him. He hasn't been getting any sleep lately, I feel his energy to be quite gloomy. there’s a lot of fear of benign alone, a lot of things he lied about and his inner turmoils that are killing him inside 

career: he is so scared of this comeback, mostly because he doesn't feel like he is enough for it compared to his teammates. he also feels jealous toward some members that have it “easier” than he does 

self: his physical health seems to be okay but the rest is quite challenging. his biggest enemy at the moment is himself which isn't easy to deal with everyday 

[notthequiettype]

about an ash

hello hi howdy etc, since tumblr has completely fucked up the way a blog's subheader looks on mobile and it can't be expanded any more, we're making a pinned post!

the basics: ash • old and unhinged • ao3 • twitter • ask • currently into hockey and hrpf, always into something • i block u18s and bad vibes on sight • if you consider text nsfw, i'm the definition • nsfw images are (usually, but imperfectly) tagged unsafefw • i keep a full queue, do not tag anything consistently, and generally don't use read mores • like and reblog at will, you're not bothering me • i know the difference between fiction & reality. do you?

i am a wild and oilers homer with a third team that just kind of alternates depending on my interest but i do follow most of the league throughout the season and there's not a single team without a couple of guys i like and i will read and write anything if it interests me enough, including probably every kink and kind of """problematic""" content you can imagine (well, not that one... or probably that one, but no palette can hold every color, right?)

i love asks and love chatting with you guys but am sometimes bad at responding (as we all have the right to be! be nicer to yourselves!) and often save nice messages instead of replying so i can hoard them. also if you don’t want to send anon or if i have anon turned off, please know that whatever account you send me a message from is always safe with me, if you ask me not to publish your name if i answer a q, i am happy to do that <3

i hate the tumblr messaging system, but i do try my best to use it if someone sends me one, tbh the easiest place to have a conversation with me is twitter (which i also have an info post about lmao)

i block ruthlessly and plentifully -- bad takes, annoying content, not appreciating leon draisaitl like he deserves, being mean to connor mcdavid or the minnesota wild -- my definition of 'bad vibes' above is broad and it's probably not personal and tbh i will tolerate a lot if i like you and i'm very easy to please!

i will not ever block you for being horny in my notifs tho, even if it is not my flavor of horny, for i respect no greater freedom on this here website than that one

tho i have begun mildly defrosting toward him after the cup final results, if you are primarily a matthew tkachuk fan (or only here for my matthew/leon content) i am afraid you are likely to be disappointed for the foreseeable future

okay, that's it, i think! sorry to have to be a pinned post guy, i really was so close to doing a sarcastic dni and didn't so at least there's that, love you!! <333

[rainbowmoonstonestories]

Let Your Dreams Be Your Wings | Chapter 4

Chapters: 4/? Fandom: The Sandman (Netflix 2022, minor content from the Comics) Rating: Explicit Relationships Dream of the Endless/Morpheus x F!Reader Characters: Dream of the Endless/Morpheus, Lucienne, Matthew the Raven, Mervyn Pumpkinhead, Hob Gadling, Death, Rose Walker, The Corinthian, other minor Sandman characters, Original Characters. Warnings: 18+ content (upcoming, minors DNI), explicit sexual content, POV switching, very long chapters to read. Summary: You always dreamed of becoming a successful Fashion Designer, sharing your creations with the world and making your father proud. But with him being very ill and so many costs solely weighting on your shoulders, things didn’t go as planned and you had to take a different path instead. An interesting offer led you to the elder Alex Burgess and you were hired as a new housemaid for a very good pay. However, your kindness and outstanding empathy convinced the man to give you an additional task for a doubled compensation; gaining the trust of Dream Of the Endless, held captive into the basement for over a century. Despite the shock of finding such an ethereal entity stripped of all his clothes and contained into a confined space, you had to accept for the sake of your father. But the more you got to speak to the mysterious anthropomorphic personification who didn't utter a single word, the more you were lost into his eyes that, conversely, seemed to contain the entire universe. A deep connection formed between the two of you, separated only by a thick layer of glass.

Little did you know, what started like a simple housemaid job was about to change your life forever.

Credits: The moon dividers were made by firefly-graphics.

Note: I had to split the chapter in two parts because it was getting way too long, so I'm posting Chapter 4 and 5 at once!

I also wrote something that you may recognize if you listened to the Dreamcast tracks on Spotify!

WARNING: This chapter includes an attempted assult with some minor physical consequences due to what it led to! It's actually nothing major and Reader will be totally fine, but if you get triggered by this sort of stuff, feel free to skip that part the moment you reach it!

Chapter 4

You fell in love with a God. What could possibly go wrong?

Another month had quickly passed and it felt like it had gone by the blink of an eye.

You would find yourself heading down the basement whenever your work schedule permitted it, growing more and more fond of Dream of The Endless despite his well known stoic presence and the one-sided conversations. The sense of companionship made you feel a little less lonely each time you visited, there was never a feeling of boredom or irritation coming from his stillness and it was a comfort to be around him even in the silence.

Unfortunately, it was also foreseeable that Mr. Burgess would call for you in his study at that given time.

You walked up to the door with slow, almost dragged footsteps. You took a deep breath as Mr. McGuire opened it for you, leading you into the antique room filled with more relics from the past and a set of wooden furniture that perfectly matched with the rest of the house.

Inside, Mr. Burgess was sitting on his large leather chair behind a mahogany desk and you began to feel the weight of the pressure that was now resting on your shoulders.

Mr. McGuire walked to his husband to gently lay a hand on the back of his neck, the tension within the room was palpable, creating an atmosphere of solemnity. You could feel Mr. Burgess’s eyes on you from across the study and you went rigid the moment he finally spoke. “Miss Y/LN, thank you for coming. Please have a seat.”

As you sat in the chair facing your employers, Mr. McGuire gave you a reassuring smile. You could barely return his comforting gesture with his husband’s cold gaze intensifyng your anxiety.

Despite this, you ignored the trembling in your hands and maintained a composed demeanor.

“I am sure you know why I called you here,” he said. “Pressuring you is not in my intentions, but you’ve been talking to Dream of The Endless for quite some time, even more so recently. I was wondering if you might have some… good news to share with me?”

Mr. Burgess wanted a statement of assurance from Dream that he would not seek revenge if they decided to release him. However, you were unable to offer that as Dream had not spoken once, also at your request. Though Mr. Burgess was providing The Endless with an opportunity, it seemed to also function as a bargaining tool in much the same way his father conducted business before him.

Their safety was of paramount importance, but it was unacceptable that Dream was still locked into the cellar for his silence. While he could not guarantee they’d be left unharmed, what Mr. Burgess was giving him was a cruel and unfair ultimatum that violated The Endless’s rights. Over the course of his century-long incarceration, Dream had been forced to undergo immense emotional suffering. He deserved to receive his freedom with no exceptions and yet it wasn’t happening because of an old man’s whim.

It was risky, yes, but what would the alternative be?

You straightened your back. “Well, he trusts me enough to accept my presence and handle my boring speeches almost every day. You have to let him go, Mr. Burgess. There’s no reason to still keep him where he is.”

The man didn’t respond, so you continued. “I’m sure it’s going to be okay, if you do so.”

Mr. Burgess took a few calming breaths to ensure he maintained his composure. Mr. McGuire gently placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it while looking at you in a supportive way.

“So, he didn’t tell you anything at all?”

You gritted your teeth. “No Sir, nothing.”

“No progress, then. Just as I feared.”

You sighed heavily, unfiltered statements were delivered (in)voluntarily. “You didn’t receive a single answer from him in over 80 years of try. Did it not occur to you that maybe he can’t even speak, or doesn’t really want to for obvious reasons? And even if he did, you can’t be so sure he wouldn’t just say what you want to hear. People would do anything when they’re desperate, Mr. Burgess. Even Gods, I’m sure.”

The man rubbed his forehead in frustration. “Yes… yes you’re right, of course. But, you see… the guards have told me the way he reacts whenever you’re around. Based on this fact I was thinking…”

“You were thinking you were finally close to get what you were hoping for.” Your frustration had returned with great intensity. “Don’t you think it is time to give him the freedom he deserves? Didn’t he suffer long enough?”

He considered your suggestion with thoughtfulness, then responded. "I guess.”

You knew there was a ‘but’ coming.

“But,” Called it. “it’s not me I am worried about, Miss Y/LN. Paul and anyone else involved in this matter, if not the entire house, might suffer from my inconsiderate decision. Even you.”

You clenched your fists and your knuckles turned white. You found it difficult to keep the anger at bay as it seemed to be mounting with each breath you took.

“How much do you know about Dream of The Endless, Mr. Burgess?” You asked.

“Enough to say that his power could possibly doom us all.”

“Exactly, possibly. Which means it could also go differently.”

The air around you seemed to be growing thicker and thicker by the second.

“Sir, I understand your concern. But the longer you keep him trapped into that bowl, the higher the risk for you, or us, will be. I honestly do not see how you could make it better this way.”

The potential consequences Dream’s power could cause were indeed an alarming possibility, but would he really wipe the entire mansion out of existence without batting an eye? While it remained unclear just how far such power could reach in fruition, you were confident that his capabilities would never result in a widespread destruction.

“Miss Y/LN,” Mr. Burgess’s voice was sharp like a razor. “You would tell me if he talked to you, right?”

‘Of course not.’

“Of course.”

Mr. McGuire called for his husband’s attention with a subtle throat-clearing gesture. “Come on darling, there’s no need to be hasty. She’s trying… and she did a better job than we could manage in such a long time.”

You stared back at Mr. Burgess with equal fervor, but the man appeared more relaxed after his husband’s words. “Yes, okay.” He removed his glasses to massage the fatigue from his eyes. “My apologies, Miss Y/LN. Please keep up the good work.”

Mr. McGuire was an invaluable presence in the workplace. He had consistently shown you great kindness and support, his level of patience and understanding was incomparable. He was greatly contributing to a welcoming environment even at the most difficult times and you were really grateful for it.

You forced a smile, slightly bowed your head in respect and politely said your goodbyes. As you stepped out of the study and the door shut behind you, their muffled voices resumed the conversation and carried on in your absence, but you were too disheartened to try and listen in.

With another long and deep sigh you continued walking, shaking off that hideous feeling from your chest and knowing for certain now that any form of persuasion would end up failing with someone as stubborn as Mr. Burgess.

What were you even thinking? Of course it wouldn’t be easy. 106 years did absolutely nothing to convince the man that leaving Dream imprisoned to the bitter end was not the right way to guarantee a prosperous future to his family. Clearly, speaking from the heart had proven to also be ineffective.

Dream needed help and the only solution seemed to be unconventional. Despite your reflective thought and effort, no plan presented itself except for direct action. You racked your brain over it, but anything that wouldn’t involve you smashing the glass to pull him out seemed futile and a waste of time you didn’t have the heart to invest into, for his sake.

They say that when all other options have been exhausted and no alternatives remain viable, a last resort may be the only remaining choice. Your entire working career may have depended on that choice, as sabotaging one of your employer’s “possessions” would have been counterproductive for your Resume.

You didn’t want to resort to taking an unfavorable path, but ensuring that Dream was released from captivity had become your own personal quest. You had multiple responsibilities to attend to and many pressing issues to prioritize, but you were also risking to neglect the most critical aspects of your life while juggling too many things at once and allowing your feelings to get the best of you.

As the days went on, it became increasingly difficult to control them. Thoughts of Dream occupied your mind constantly and you would often zone out while in the middle of a conversation or activity at work. His captivating eyes, full lips and one-of-a-kind aura simply left you spellbound.

You were falling in love with a being who wasn’t quite a man, drawn to an otherworldly creature who would never truly be yours. You knew you were setting yourself up for heartbreak, but you welcomed the joy and exhilaration of being in his presence despite the inevitable pain that laid ahead.

For as long as you could.

Paul McGuire walked down a long hallway, past the various rooms and relaxation areas the house had to offer. He was looking out the windows to admire the beautiful colors of the sunset sky, but he came to a halt when his attention was quickly taken by your working figure in the garden.

You were wearing your outer suit consisting of light-colored jeans, sneakers, a short-sleeved shirt and a sweater that was carefully tied around your waist. He studied your activity as you planted a new batch of seeds, occasionally brushing a few strands of hair out of the way. Dirt and moss soaked into your clothes and your bare hands sank into the ground. Paul couldn’t help but smile, reminiscing about his days as a gardener. Your fingers smoothly glided through the grains of topsoil, memories filling his own nostrils with the scent of wet earth and fresh grass. He never was one to shy away from hard work, tending to orchards and vineyards, chopping wood in the blazing sun or in the midst of violent storms. The physical exertion of those tasks never frightened him, whether it meant breaking a sweat or braving the freezing rain. He was always up to the challenge, taking pride in his ability to push himself to his limits.

Alex often watched him while pretending to read a book, barely knowing the written summary or the title itself. It was fun, nothing short of invigorating and thrilling, creating a sense of excitement and joy that was hard to ignore.

You stood up from the ground, brushing the dirt off your hands and ensuring that the seeds were ready to grow. With that task complete, you moved to the bushes in front of you that appeared to need a bit of trimming.

Paul noticed that you had a preference for spending your day outdoors instead of doing your work inside the house, but he also observed that you approached each job with the same level of dedication, performing to the best of your abilities. Your punctuality and willingness to take on even the most difficult assignment did not go unnoticed by him. He admired your unwavering commitment to your goals and the sacrifices you were making to achieve them with tenacity and ambition.

At the same time, he felt a pang of sadness at the thought of such an extraordinary woman potentially giving up a better future for herself. From the moment you first stepped into their house, Paul was struck by your beauty, bravery, intelligence and compassion. You exuded those qualities in everything you did and he found himself enjoying your presence more and more each passing day.

If he had a daughter, he would have wished for her to possess the same spirit and good heart.

As he walked on, Paul could hear the guards chattering outside the basement. You were justified in disliking those two, given how often they seemed to slack off and treat their job so unprofessionally. Upon his arrival, they immediatly reverted from their relaxed and carefree behavior to their vigilant conduct. They regained their composure, but the embarrassment for having been caught was evident when they greeted him, lowering their heads in defeat.

Paul nodded, allowing them a brief respite before beginning the night shift in the next hour. He swiftly opened the metal door once the guards departed, proceeding towards the elevator and discending into the damp depths of the cellar without hesitation.

Dream was as still as a statue and in the same sitting position that Paul had found him in when he first went to the basement. The man felt apprehensive seeing Dream’s meneacing frown as he stepped onto the platform, the only recourse left open was for him to try and fix his own mistakes.

“Hello Dream,” he said with a smile, which the Endless plainly overlooked. He gazed at Paul inquisitively, his being there alone without Alex was an unusual event none of them ever experienced before. “I know… I’m not exactly the one you where hoping to see.”

Dream averted his gaze out of resentment.

“I’m not here to ask you to talk, I just want you to listen to what I have to say.”

Dream’s eyes seemed to reflect a sense of weariness, the lines on his face told a story of their own, each one representing a struggle he had faced and overcome. Although he managed to keep his head held high throughout it all, the weight of his experiences was heavy on his mind.

“Alex is a broken man, ruined by the cruelty of a father who left a deep scar into his soul.”

Dream’s fists clenched tightly and his eyes blazed with a fiery intensity.

“I should have tried harder to convince him the first time, but I let him handle it the way he wanted. I should have also freed you myself when I realized he wouldn’t do it, but I just allowed this to consume the both of you because I wasn’t brave enough to stop him. I chickened out whenever I felt like taking matters into my hands and I failed him, just like I failed you.”

Paul’s voice was laced with sorrow, regret and guilt poured out of him as he spoke. He had let fear and indecision hold him back for his lover’s sake, to the detriment of Dream who saw his freedom further denied and stripped away.

“Y/N had nothing to do with this. Alex involved her out of desperation and that poor girl is really trying hard for you. She wants your freedom more than anything else now.”

Dream moved ever so slightly hearing your name and Paul noticed it. “You like her.”

Dream adverted the man’s gaze once again. Paul interpreted the silence that followed as the confirmation he was looking for.

“She won’t be here forever, Dream. She deserves better than the whole ordeal she’s been dragged into.”

He had witnessed first-hand the debilitating effects of consumption and mental exhaustion on his husband. Despite the presence of Dream, which kept them alive for an extended period of time, the toll on his partner's physical and mental health had been significant.

Paul had noticed that you were intentionally disregarding Alex’s wishes and doing what you believed was best for Dream. You were traveling between Whych Cross and the city every week to check on your father, in addition to managing the stress and anxiety caused by the Endless's situation while overworking yourself around the estate. Paul was concerned that you were pushing yourself too hard, risking your well-being for something you shouldn't have discovered to begin with.

He sighed. “I am at fault, too. I begged her to do as he asked and forced the pills into her hands. I don’t expect you to forgive me, what my husband did to you is undoubtedly wrong and I went along with it.”

The sound of his voice was like a dam breaking, unleashing years of hidden guilt and suffocated pain. Every word he spoke was filled with the weight of his suffering, a burden he had carried for far too long by himself. It was as though he had been holding back a flood of emotions, now pouring out in a torrent of raw and unfiltered truths.

”Maybe I was afraid to admit it to myself, but I realized that I owe you at least an apology.”

Dream wasn't looking at him, but the man could tell he was listening. Paul knew that apologizing for 106 years of confinement was not enough to solve the problem, but he hoped that Dream could at least understand where he was coming from. Paul's ultimate goal was to find a meeting point with him to put an end to that madness once and for all without having to involve someone else in the futrure.

“Seeing how strongly she cares about you, you could say that Y/N kind of inspired me.”

Your dedication towards Dream had motivated Paul to become a better person. The passion and affection you had for the Endless reminded him of his youth, when he would gaze at Alex from afar and lose himself into his own fantasies. Your feelings were infectious and Paul couldn’t help but be drawn to them. He began to approach life with a renewed sense of purpose and he wanted to live his remaining years with the man he loved without any string attached to their necks.

“If it comes to that, I assure you, this time I will take care of it myself.”

Dream pressed his lips into a pout and lowered his eyes once more. Paul knew the risks that could come with his release, but at that point in his life, he was willing to face them without cowardly running away. The alternative was not any better; his husband was already doomed and drained by something that had always been too overwhelming for him to handle. Paul weighed his options, and despite understanding the fallout he could cause, he was still willing to take the chance at the right time.

Paul didn’t want that responsibility to fall on you.

With his eyes filled with fear and determination, he turned on his heels and left the Endless in the familiar silence and coldness of the cellar that had sucked him in for over a century.

As you walked towards your old bookshelf, a sense of excitement built inside you. Your father was lying comfortably on the couch, wrapped in a soft blanket and holding a warm cup of tea.

The bookshelf held many stories of adventures, tales of love and lessons of life. All those books had shaped, taught and inspired you countless times, undoubtedly becoming a part of you. You could almost hear the characters whispering, inviting you to join them on their journey once again.

However, your attention was focused on just one story that day.

“Are you looking for something in particular?” Your father asked.

“Do you remember the book you used to read to me when I was a child?”

“Ah, the King of Dreams? You loved that one!”

You inspected the books with eager eyes. “I thought I took it with me when I moved out, but I can’t find it anywhere. Perhaps I left it here?”

“I can’t say. It’s been a long time since I last went through those books and we've added so many over the years.”

The bookshelf was a treasure trove of memories, a portal to different worlds and a reminder of the person you used to be. Your father's presence was comforting and you could feel his warm gaze on you as you picked up one book after another, just like the old times.

As you knelt down to check the last books on the third row, you noticed one that had fallen behind and become wedged between the wall and the stack in front of it. With caution, you carefully removed it from the tight space, breathing a sigh of relief when you realized it was the volume you had been looking for.

As you brushed your fingers over the title, more memories of your childhood came flooding back at once.

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓢𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓶𝓪𝓷: 𝓐 𝓣𝓪𝓵𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓓𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓶𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓝𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓶𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓼

Your father noticed your sudden quitness and craned his neck to see what you were doing.

“Did you find it?”

You smiled brightly, turned around and held the book in front of him with satisfaction.

He observed your expression and his laughter erupted effortlessly. "That face right now..." He paused to reminisce. "It reminds me of when you were still a little girl.”

He was mentally transported back to a time when you were innocent and carefree, a time when he took pride in being your protector before everything turned upside down.

“Come,” he said, motioning for you to sit next to him on the couch. “Let’s read it together.”

Just like a happy child, you threw yourself onto the soft cushions and grabbed a piece of blanket for yourself. It’d been a long time since the two of you had enjoyed a peaceful moment, relaxing in front of a good book without him being in constant pain.

It was difficult to determine whether the medication was working as intended, or if a miracle had simply occurred after a prolonged period of suffering. Regardless of what fate had in store for your family, witnessing him regain his appetite and spend more time out of bed was something you wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

You took a deep breath and opened the book, reading the first lines aloud.

“He is said to sprincle sand or dust into the eyes of children at night, to bring on sleep and dreams. You have met him before and he has many names. He is the King of Dreams and Nightmares, he is Dream of The Endless.”

Those were the words you remembered the night you met Dream for the first time.

“He is The Shaper of Form, with the ability to control the subconscious mind. Be wary, my child; respect his power and always be mindful of what you're dreaming about when you fall asleep. The Sandman is watching and waiting to take you on a journey through your wildest dreams, or your darkest nightmares.”

As you turned the pages of your treasured book, you noticed the slight darkening and roughening of its once pristine appearance. The story was not new to you and it could only be just that - a story. Or a gateway to a world beyond your own.

Perhaps it was the intricate details of the Endless' dimension that made it feel so real, or the vivid descriptions of his powers and abilities. Whatever it was, you found yourself captivated by the possibilities that laid within its pages.

“He is a story, an idea, the anthropomorphic embodiment of dreams and imagination. He is that which you do not know and he is that which you can not know. He is a mystery to some, a legend to others. He rules his realm between the living and the dead. He needs no such things like food and water, or any other human emotion like sadness, anger or love.”

As you repeated the phrase "He doesn't need love" in your head, it was worth considering whether that statement was actually true. After all, isn't love something that every being deserves, regardless of their identity or status? Whether you're a human or a God, the need for love is universal. It's what binds us together and gives our lives meaning. Love has the power to heal wounds, bridge divides and create connections that transcend all boundaries.

Dream was unlike anything you had ever seen or experienced in your entire life. His eyes were full of emotions - fear, pain, rage, loneliness. Was it possible for a being like him to be bound to live his endless existence without any form of love?

‘It is not your love that he needs,’ those words echoed through your mind. ‘You are not like him, you will never be.’

Your heart cracked right in that instant.

You continued to read. “He can sense something deep, something that you need, something you want. What is it, child? What is the one thing you wish for, more than anything else in the world? Say it out loud and it will be yours. Speak, and the King of dreams shall make your world into paradise.”

You were so engrossed in your book that you almost jumped at the sound of your father's loud snore. Looking over, you saw him asleep like a baby himself and you couldn’t help but smile despite the disruption. You gently placed the book on your lap and adjusted the blanket on his chest. After settling him comfortably, you resumed your reading.

“Everything around you can shift, twisting like smoke. The Sandman's influence extends beyond the realm of dreams, as he is capable of affecting reality itself. His powers are vast and mysterious, many have tried to understand or harness them, to no avail.”

You thought of Dream, imprisoned in a glass sphere by a man who sought to use his powers for personal gain.

“There is no limit when you dream. The Endless can show you wonders unseen, take you on a tour of the infinite, to the stars within the stars.”

You felt yourself swept away by the idea of limitless possibilities. The thought of exploring the unknown and seeing things that had yet to be discovered was uplifting.

“Worlds beyond worlds, dimensions that you do not yet understand, universes so strange that they would shatter your mind.”

But as you continued to read, your eyes began to droop and the text in front of you started to blur.

An unusual sense of fatigue was creeping over you. Your hand slowly lost its grip on the side of the book, letting it slide onto the couch.

It felt as though your body was shutting down, the caffeine and sugar you ingested weren't helping you to stay awake.

And then, everything went black.

As you walked through a dark and misty forest, you felt transported to a different reality. The towering trees reached out with skeletal branches in the hazy atmosphere, but you didn't feel afraid and continued on to take in the sights and the rustling sounds of leaves moving in the breeze.

The mist was so thick that you could barely see where you were going, listening to the occasional hoot of an owl following you. The damp air clunged to your skin and hair, your senses on high alert.

You didn't know your destination, nor how and when you ended up in that place. All you knew was that you wanted to continue walking and get out of the forest to find what was waiting for you ahead.

As you sprinted through the woods, your heart pounding with excitement and adrenaline, you saw a glimmer of light in the distance. You picked up your pace, your feet moving faster and faster until you burst out of the forest and into a natural clearing with a suspended bridge, stretching across a murky swamp.

Two brick houses stood on either side of the bridge, looking like something straight out of a medieval fairytale. The sky above was filled with clouds that danced and converged into a sort of twist, creating a mesmerizing pattern that you couldn't take your eyes off.

You crossed the bridge and were immediately struck by the gloom that surrounded you. Dry leaves crunched beneath your feet, fallen branches littered the ground and decaying ornaments were scattered throughout the area. The overall effect was one of abandonment and you started to wonder if you were alone in that unknown land.

Your thoughts were interrupted by a sudden and explosive roar, which echoed through the sky not far from where you were standing. You saw a dark figure plummeting towards you when you looked up and you couldn’t immediatly make out what it was. As it drew closer, it shaped into a winged creature unlike any you'd ever seen before.

The animal landed heavily on the ground, which shook under its claws. You took a few steps backward, but in your panic, you found yourself stuck in the garden with nowhere else to go. The creature’s wings were not particularly big, but the head was massive and you could already feel its hot breath as it moved closer.

Desperately trying to get away, you stumbled over a branch and fell on your bottom almost comically (but strangely, you felt nothing). You were rendered inert by fear the moment the creature approached you, sniffing your clothes with its large nostrils and stopping just a few inches away from your face.

Your heart was about to explode, but you didn’t react, unsure of what to do. The strange animal watched you with curiosity, its big and shiny eyes looked almost human-like, not at all threatening. You decided to take a chance and tentatively reached out your hand to touch its nose. Its skin was thick and rough, warm and bumpy. To your surprise, the creature responded with a happy, guttural sound that filled the air, smiling at you and jumping up and down.

You let out a sigh of relief and chuckled in amusement, it was surprisingly cute! You lifted yourself from the ground and stood before the animal, it was big and tall even if it wasn't fully standing on its legs. The creature bumped its nose against your chin and you laughed, taking its head between your hands and gently brushed them along the reptile’s face.

“Gregory! Is everything all right?”

You heard footsteps approaching from behind the creature. Two men appeared in the garden and froze on the spot, staring at you with surprise and confusion. It was clear that they weren't expecting anyone to be trespassing on their property, but they didn’t seem dangerous or hostile.

Both of them had slicked-back dark hair and long beards. One was dressed in a sleeveless green vest with a white shirt underneath, while the other wore a grey jacket and a red scarf around his neck. Their suits looked like they belonged to a distant era, quite a strong contrast with your modern attire.

“Hello,” you greeted them politely. “My apologies for the intrusion. I think I got lost.”

They were completely stunned, to say the least. They gazed at you as if you were a mirage or some sort of illusion. It took them a moment to answer you.

“We… we have a visitor…?” The man with the jacket said.

“It cannot be…” Said the other.

You laughed nervously. “I shouldn’t be here, I’m sorry.”

As you turned to leave, one of them spoke up. “Wait! Please don’t go. We’ve been alone here for so long… We’re not used to visitors anymore.”

Your eyes moved back and forth, from one man to the other. “What is this place?” you asked.

The man with the sleeveless vest responded. “This is the Dreaming, Milady. ”

Didn’t you already hear that before?

“The Dreaming…? Am I asleep?”

They both nodded.

You stood there lost in your own thoughts, gently caressing the face of the animal beside you.

“Have I been here before?”

The man with the jacket took a step forward. “Not here with us, no. Things are a little… different than they used to be without Lord Morpheus.”

“Lord Morpheus…?”

Again, you had a feeling that you'd heard that name somewhere else, but you couldn't quite recall the details of when or where.

"The King of Dreams abandoned us a long time ago and the Dreaming has been deteriorating ever since. No more dreamers have shown up at our door.”

The man with the vest's face began to visibly show anger, while the other seemed to be more sad than resentful.

“But today is a good day, because someone did show up!”

You smiled at them. The creature responded with another happy jump and a pleased growl, as if showing its approval for your arrival.

“Ah, our Gregory seems to like you!”

“Gregory? That’s a nice name. What kind of animal is he?”

The man in the jacket walked closer and tenderly patted Gregory on the back. “He’s a gargoyle! Such a good boy, isn’t he?”

As you stood in front of Gregory, you felt a sense of adoration for the magnificent creature. Despite his size and initially daunting presence, he approached you with the excitement of an oversized dog, eagerly welcoming you into his presence.

The man in the jacket spoke again. "I'm Able, by the way. This is my brother, Cain."

Cain smirked. "Greetings."

"Y/N," you replied, pondering whether their names had any connection to the well-known biblical figures, or if their mother was simply inspired by their original story. Since you were aware that you were dreaming now, nothing seemed particularly out of place in your thoughts. That’s just how dreams are, right?

Cain motioned for you to follow him to his home, which was one of the two enigmatic buildings you had spotted while crossing the bridge. “Please, make yourself comfortable.”

You took a deep breath and let yourself relax as your host guided you into his home, with Able walking in after you. The moment you stepped inside, you were enveloped by the warm and inviting aroma of freshly baked biscuits and tea. The inside looked rather spacious, it felt intimate and cozy with the woodsy scent of the room adding to the feeling of comfort.

As you settled in front of the fireplace, the warmth emanating from it wrapped around your entire body, providing a much-needed respite from the cold and damp weather outside. The sound of distant thunder grew louder as a sudden downpour erupted from the raging sky, the raindrops pelting against the windowpanes in a rhythmic beat. Looking out one of the small windows, you caught a glimpse of Gregory running away from the rain and disappearing somewhere into the garden among the trees.

Able sat next to you. “It’s really nice by the fire.”

Cain snorted. “Of course it is, powder brain. It's exceedingly cozy.”

Able shrugged and reached for the teapot on the wooden table. "Here's your tea, just the way you like it," he said with a smile.

And he wasn't lying. As you gently took the mug he filled for you between your hands, you were hit by the familiar scent of tea that you regularly had in the real world.

“You can take your shoes off, if that's more comfortable for you.”

Cain snapped. “Absolutely not, this isn't a barnyard!”

You could feel the warmth of the tea on your palms and the hot steam on your face. Your senses were heightened and everything was more vivid than you thought possible in a dream. The taste of the tea was just as good as what you would expect in reality - perhaps even better. It seemed to have a depth of flavor that you had never experienced while being awake.

The two men were nice too, welcoming and friendly.

Cain took a seat in front of you by the fire. “Now that everyone appears to be settled, we can tell you the first story. Our story begins-”

“Oh, our friend here already knows who we are,” Able interrupted him, looking at you with a pleased expression. “You look smart, even sleeping.”

Your cheeks turned pink as you smiled.

“Yes, yes I can see,” Cain continued. “Well, I was a farmer.”

”And I was shepherd,” said Able.

“We were competitive, as all brothers can be.”

“I don’t think most brothers are like you at all…”

“You are ruining the story!”

Their random bickering was entertaining to watch, their presence offered you good company in an unfamiliar world.

Cain let out a deep sigh, his eyes transfixed on the raindrops that were sliding down the windowpane, tracing their path as they went. The pitter-patter of the rain against the glass seemed to fill the air with a melancholic melody that matched Cain's mood.

Able followed his brother’s gaze. “It's really coming down out there.”

“I'll brew another pot of tea,” Cain stood up, breaking his trance from the rain. He picked up the half-empty pot and turned around, making his way to the kitchen to prepare a refill for the three of you. “it's a boring story anyway. I've told it a thousand times.”

You believed there was no such thing as a boring story, but you failed to express your sentiment and your mind started to feel clouded.

Able shook his head. “Don’t mind him. You stay in dream as long as you like.”

You wanted to express gratitude, but found yourself tongue-tied. You set the mug down on the table and your vision became unclear, everything around you lost its sharpness and your fingers looked incredibly weird. Although Able was speaking, his voice seemed too far away and you felt as if you were submerged underwater. The distance between you and Cain's house was growing, you were floating in a sea of confusing images, shaping and moving uncontrollably.

When you opened your eyes, you were greeted by the bookshelf in the living room and your father's snoring was loud in your ear. You blinked several times to focus and shake off the disorientation. You were certain that you had seen something, dreamt it even… but the more you tried to recall it, the more it slipped away from you. The name "Gregory" was the only thing that remained vivid in your mind, along with the lingering taste of tea at the back of your tongue.

Strange, considering you didn’t make any.

You took a deep breath and retrieved the book that had fallen onto the cushions. Although your insomnia still troubled you at night, you had begun to notice a pattern of random naps during the day. Maybe your body was so fatigued that it seized any opportunity for rest and relaxation when you didn’t have work to do, or maybe Dream's influence in your life was more powerful than you had imagined.

Somehow, you were inclined to believe it was the latter.

As the days passed, you found yourself remembering fragments from your forgotten dreams. These recollections were sporadic, a sudden flash of images passing before your eyes like distant memories.

Did you actually see those things at all, or were they just some metaphorical visions from your subconscious mind?

You knew Dream wouldn't answer any of the questions that had been plaguing you for weeks, but he was the only living being that could at least understand what you were trying to put together.

During your last visits, the guards had stopped granting you the privacy you had requested. Upon further inquiry, you found out that Mr. Burgess himself had directly imposed a similar restriction out of nowhere. Given the growing suspicion he was developing against you, that sudden decision didn’t exactly come as a surprise to you. Any excuse related to your well being was beyond ridiculous, but you could only comply with what he wanted.

Despite the added pressure of being watched, you continued to visit the Endless whenever possible, keeping your voice low in hopes that they wouldn’t hear you.

During your most recent conversation with him, you described the detailed images that kept recurring in your mind. Although you weren't certain if those were actual dreams, he was taken aback by your descriptions and you could tell that he knew exactly what you were talking about. Somehow, that also led you to believe that you had gained access to something really big, something you didn’t even know how you could reach after a lifetime or dreamless nights with him sealed away.

You didn't want to be delusional, but Dream's eyes always seemed to soften whenever you were around. It was a truly inexplicable experience; you intuitively perceived his thoughts and managed to understand him just based on his body language and the way he looked at you. You had never felt such a strong bond with someone you hadn't even heard speaking once, it was a compelling sensation that continued expanding with time, leaving you longing for more.

But it also amplified your discomfort for your total inaction. Despite asking for his trust, you failed to provide anything that would warrant his faith in you. This lack of follow-through on your part was leaving you with the sense that you had let him down in some way and it was devouring you from the inside.

In an effort to address the situation, you decided to apologize to him. You expressed your regret, explaining that you had attempted to convince Mr. Burgess to change course, but your efforts had been unsuccessful. You were even contemplating rejecting the money they were still offering for your assistance, as it made you feel like you were just as bad as Roderick Burgess, gaining profit from his imprisonment.

You lowered your gaze and let out a shaking sigh, placing your forehead against the cold material of the sphere. You weren’t expecting much in return, but to your surprise, you saw his hand moving towards the glass. Witnessing this gesture of empathy, your heart warmed up and you could barely contain the joy coating it.

You smiled, sliding your fingers up to where his were waiting and let them rest just there. Your hand against his appeared small and delicate, which only made you desire to feel the contact of his skin. You longed for his fingers to intertwine with yours, bringing you closer together. You yearned to feel his heart, assuming he had one like humans do, and brush the tip of your nose along his cheek.

It was as if you were falling in love for the first time all over again.

Dream stared back at you without blinking or smiling. And yet, his eyes glistened under the dim light above and his Adam's apple bobbed, leaving you with no doubt about the honesty of his feelings.

The intensity of the moment was so strong that you literally snapped out of it when the guard called you from the other side of the platform.

“Oi. Get a room, shall ya?”

You rolled your eyes, cleared your throat and reluctantly moved your hand away from the glass. Dream did the same, looking away and clenching his jaw.

You turned slightly, glaring at the guard from afar. “Why, are you jealous?”

At least this time he didn’t point a gun at you.

The man didn't respond, but instead, snorted and crossed his arms in a pompous manner. The woman sitting next to him was giggling like a schoolgirl, adding to your frustration.

You gazed at Dream, disappointment and resignation written all over your face. His posture revealed the desperation he had been suffocating for many years.

"I should probably go," you told him, your lack of enthusiasm was evident in your voice. “See you tomorrow.”

Parting ways with him always felt like torture, knowing that you were leaving him trapped and mistreated every single time. You just wanted to free him from his cage and hold him close, feeling his warmth, scent and breath on your lips.

And yet, you found yourself turning on your heels once more, leaving Dream alone with those two individuals who only saw him as nothing more than a cash cow.

But as you walked away, you didn't notice a bit of paint from the bounding circle had ended up under one of your shoes. Dream, however, was looking at the very subtle smear that was starting to form on the ground, causing the left corner of his mouth to rise up.

Another month went by and your life had become awfully repetitive.

You were working in the mansion from morning until late evening, running back and forth between Wych Cross and the city, serving guests and venturing down to the basement over and over again. But your salary was something to be more than satisfied about and your father's health was only improving with each passing day. These factors, combined with Dream being a stable part of your daily routine now, made all your efforts and physical exertion worth it.

That was, until one fateful night.

Mr. Burgess's and Mr. McGuire's "friends" were partying in the main resting area, enjoying drinks, snacks and various conversations about things that only made you cringe the more you listened to them.

There was a guest in particular who seemed to be captivated by your presence. He was in his mid-40s, showing up with a new branded suit every time. You couldn't ignore the fact that his eyes were constantly searching for you, and he even tried to strike up a conversation whenever you stopped next to him to clean up.

You had to politely turn him down at least three times, using your duties as a pretext to avoid his annoying advances.

The man was a regular visitor to the mansion, but before that moment, he had never shown any interest in you. Perhaps he had too many drinks and lost his lucidity, or maybe you had been too naive to even notice his glances the times he was there.

Things took an unpleasant turn when you went to the kitchen to refill the tray with fresh food and a couple more bottles of prestigious wine. He took advantage of the loud chattering and general distraction in the other room and followed you through the corridors like a silent predator. Sneaking into the kitchen, he stopped just a few inches away from you without even announcing his presence. When you turned around, you almost crashed into him and barely avoided splattering the food all over your uniform.

He was too close for comfort, staring at you with a pair of darkened, hungry eyes.

The chef's shift had finished half an hour before, leaving you alone with that man now who didn’t seem to have good intentions at all.

"Sir, you shouldn't be here," you told him firmly. "If you want something, I can bring it to you in the living room."

He snickered evilly. "Oh come on. Don't pretend to be all innocent now."

"I'm sorry, but you are misunderstanding," you said.

He moved closer and placed his nasty fingers on your waist. "Misunderstanding my ass. How about we have a little fun?" The smell of booze coming from his breath was nauseating.

You held the tray with all your might and tried to slip away from his grasp. Despite how drunk and unbalanced he appeared to be, his grip was quite strong on you and he started to push you against the wall.

"Sir, please let me go," you protested.

But he didn't want to see reason, forcing you to walk backward and causing the tray to fall with a loud crash. The bottles broke instantly, covering the floor with glass shards. The food was ruined, scattered everywhere as the wine spread into a big red puddle that almost resembled blood.

“What the hell are you doing?!” You squirmed between his arms, but he refused to let you go.

He sniffed your neck like an animal, ready to taste its victim. "Stop pretending. I know you want this."

You started to panic. The hard wall against your back was rather painful, so you finally threw away all your professionalism and shoved him off of you as hard as you could.

"Get away from me!"

The man stumbled, his expression immediately switching to full rage mode. "You damn bitch!"

He grabbed your wrist and yanked it so hard that you could feel it twist and crack slightly. The force in his gesture pulled you forward and knocked you down onto the floor, soaking your shirt and the tips of your hair with wine in the process. You felt a sharp sting on your back, indicating that a piece of glass was most likely piercing your skin through your clothes. Smaller shards were scratching your arms, pricking you like a bunch of small needles.

For a moment, you couldn’t even breathe from the impact. Judging by the way you could still move your limbs, there didn’t seem to be anything broken, but your wrist was burning like fire, your shoulder was most likely dislocated and some drops of your blood were staining the already dirty tiles, mixing with the wine.

You didn’t know what to expect. His state of utter confusion made him horribly aggressive, assaulting you out of nowhere and without warning. At that point, you didn't want to consider the possibilities of what he could have done to you.

But before he could kneel down and climb on your inert body, Paul’s voice boomed into the kitchen from the entrance.

“What is going on here?!” His tone was filled with authority and concern.

The man froze, looking at Paul and then back at you. He ran his hand through his disheveled hair and nervously adjusted his partially undone tie. "I-uhh.... She... she tried to jump on me. I-I didn't mean to push her so hard," he stammered.

"What?!" you exclaimed in disbelief.

"And what were you doing here in the kitchen?" Paul asked skeptically.

The man was sweating profusely. "Well, I... I wanted to get a drink-"

"This house is not a place for you to explore without permission."

You pushed yourself up with your elbows, your head spinning and your wrist throbbing with pain.

"Paul, my friend. Come on, you wouldn't seriously believe that I'd do anything bad," the man pleaded.

You saw Mr. McGuire take a deep breath, trying to calm himself down as he pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes. If looks could kill, the man would have been dead right in that instant.

"Get out of my house," He said, his voice filled with so much anger that it almost shook you.

“B-but I-”

“I’ll bid a cab. You take your leave and never show your face again. Is that clear?”

The man was stunned. He dropped his head and nodded silently as Mr. McGuire escorted him out of the kitchen. He promised to return with Mr. Burgess's doctor right away, so you were left sitting on the floor, your heart beating like a drum and your body shaking uncontrollably. You held your wrist tightly against your chest, trying to steady your breathing and ease the pain in your shoulder that felt like it needed a good pull. You could smell the wine all over your clothes, feeling it seeping through the fabric and sticking to your body.

When Paul returned, he crouched down next to you and gently placed a warm hand over your good shoulder. The doctor took hold of your wrist and examined it carefully, twisting it slowly and causing a pained groan to escape from you.

They helped you stand, accompanying you to your room for better care and examination. It was discovered that your shoulder was indeed partially dislocated and although the procedure to fix it was quick, it wasn’t entirely pain-free. Your wrist was sprained due to the man's hard pull, so you were advised to use good bandages, an ice package and a pain relief cream to help with the healing process. With a sling also put on your shoulder, you needed to let your whole arm rest for a few days.

The piece of glass that had injured your back was stuck between the uniform and your skin, the thickness of your shirt preventing it from going deeper. Although the cut wasn't severe, you were certain you'd be left with a small scar there.

The tiny scratches on your arms were cleaned and disinfected properly. The doctor didn’t need to cover them with a bandaid, but your skin appeared as though it had been grated.

After the woman left, an awful silence fell over you. You were lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, unsure of what to say or do. Mr. McGuire took a seat on the chair next to you, his face was etched with pain, guilt and apprehension.

You sensed that he wanted to say something, to break the tension that had settled on the room. Finally, he let out a deep sigh and you turned your head to look at him.

"Y/N, I am so sorry for what happened. This is entirely my fault.”

You noticed that he had called you by your name for the first time, without even using "Miss" to address you.

"I've been inviting these people over because I wanted Alex to socialize," He explained. "He never considered them close friends, and we always knew they were only interested in what we could offer rather than our company. But you see, I was at least hoping that he could take his mind off all the things that are troubling him.”

You sighed. “Mr. McGuire-”

“I should have protected you. You are working for us and keeping you safe is our responsibility. But I allowed that to happen because I was so lost in my own head that I didn’t even notice he was following you,” Paul lamented.

“Sir-”

“Please forgive me. I wish I could say or do something better, but I can only apologize to you.”

“Paul.”

You thought to yourself that now was not the time to be formal with someone who had proven to be a good friend more than a common employer.

“It wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t imagine he would do this to me," you reassured him.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I am supposed to keep an eye on you."

"You talk as if I need protection 24/7. You hired me to be a housemaid, nobody expects you to be my bodyguard and keep my every movement in check," you pointed out.

Paul was distraught, his left foot was rapidly jumping up and down, as if he wanted to make a hole in the wooden boards. "I just wanted you to feel comfortable here with us. Knowing that one of my guests assaulted you like that..."

You bit your lower lip. "What's done is done. And what that man did, or tried to do, isn't really your responsibility. "

He chuckled. "I'm not sure I deserve your kindness after tonight."

"Why not? You stopped him."

"I'm not the good man you think I am, Y/N."

"Yes, you are.”

Paul surrendered, letting his back rest against the chair as he finally relaxed after a long and emotionally exhausting day. The silence that followed was complicit, an unspoken agreement that solidified the mutual respect you had for each other.

You could tell that Paul didn't want to leave you alone after the traumatic experience you had endured, but what you really needed now was a shower to get rid of the wine that had already dried off and was making you smell like a vineyard from head to toe.

After stepping into the shower, you were grateful for the privacy of the bathroom in your own room. With caution, you removed the sling and turned on the water, ensuring that your bandage and medication around the wrist did not get wet. As the water ran along your hair and slid down on your body, it washed away the wine, but not the misery and disgust that still lingered on your aching frame. The cuts were already healing, but they were extremely painful under the hot jet.

It became clear that Fawney Rig was not the place for you, not after that night. The environment and culture were not aligned with your values and aspirations and paying a rent for an apartment you weren’t even using was a waste you didn’t really want to further prolong.

Having the rest of the evening to yourself, you thought about going to Dream to satiate your need for comfort. You decided against it though, because you didn't want him to see you in your current physical and emotional state.

You put on your nightgown and sat on the edge of the bed with a towel wrapped around your hair, the sling back in place. You took out your phone and checked the message that Hob had forwarded you a few days before, as he was the person you truly wanted to talk to at that moment. Although you promised him that you wouldn't disappear again, you failed to maintain proper contact and even forgot to answer his last text. Hob never tried to call you, nor was he the type of guy who texted people over and over again until they finally reached out to him. You knew he was worried sick about you and you wanted to let him know that you were at least okay.

But were you really okay? Your body being a little worse for wear was one thing, but the bottles of wine weren't the only things that broke into a thousand pieces. You felt empty, completely lost and utterly devastated. Your pride had been immensely damaged and your entire self-confidence had crumbled like a sandcastle.

You tapped on your phone and opened the first conversation. Hob’s profile picture appeared at the top left corner, looking as charming and professional as ever. There was a time when you thought you were developing a little crush on him, but eventually, you realized that he was more like family to you than a potential lover.

You read through his text again, figuring out a way to answer.

You began typing your reply, but then stopped midway. You contemplated what you wanted to say, deleting your words and trying again with a newly formed sentence. On your fifth try, you closed the conversation and opened your contact list directly, selecting his name and initiating a call. You heard the sound of a free line as you placed your phone against your ear, waiting for him to pick up.

Assuming he was already in bed considering the time, you let out a pained sigh and lowered the phone when he didn't reply. However, before you could press the red handset to end the call, you heard a familiar voice coming through the speaker.“Y/N?”

Your heart sped up and you immediately brought the device back to your ear. “Hob?”

“Bloody hell, Shortcake! You left me on read, where have you been?!”

You smiled, his caring nature managing to fill your heart with excitement. You needed it now more than ever.

“Hey. Sorry for going silent again. Work’s been keeping me rather busy.”

He let out a long sigh. “My dear, you sound tired as fuck. Are you okay?”

You wanted to tell him that you were absolutely fine. You wanted to reassure him and lift the worry he constantly carried for you. You parted your lips, ready to deliver the most positive answer you could think of, but the words just didn't want to come out.

You swallowed the lump that was forming in your throat. “Yes,” you finally said. “I’m fine.”

“Okay, seriously now. Don’t think I didn’t notice that pause. What happened?” He asked.

You were practically an open book to him, and you were absolutely terrible at hiding the way you felt.

The truth was that you wanted to scream, to cry, to punch something so hard that the entire house would fall down. There was so much you wanted to tell him, but you absolutely couldn't reveal all of it. Having secrets with the ones you cared about was something you could barely handle, so you only revealed the part that didn't need to be kept secure.

“Well, you see, there was an accident,” you confessed.

“What? What accident? Are you hurt?!” He was literally panicking now.

“I’m okay... sort of. Just a few scratches here and there, nothing to be worried about.”

You could feel his nervous laughter coming through the speaker. "Are you kidding me?! Of course I'm worried! Tell me everything. Now.”

Your mind went back to where everything started — to the glances that man gave you throughout the night, to the way he followed you to the kitchen, drunk and reeking. To his nasty hands over your waist as they pushed you against the wall and him abruptly grabbing your wrist, pulling you face down on the dirty floor.

You told him all that and more. You opened up about your fear of failing every time, about how much you tried to fit in, to ignore the differences between their world and yours. You admitted your strong desire to pack all your things and walk away, only kept at bay by something else you needed to take care of.

Hob listened silently until you were done. After a moment of evident shock, his voice came through the phone, louder and more agitated than before. “Y/N, are you crazy?! You can’t stay there, what the hell?!”

“I know Hob. But like I said, I can’t bring myself to leave just yet.”

“That bloody asshole assaulted you in your workplace and you got injured because of him! Do you really want to stay in such a toxic environment, only because they pay you more than anyone else would?”

You sighed. “Actually, it’s not that. Not anymore.”

“Then what is it?”

Maybe, just maybe, you were allowed to alter the story a little bit.

You closed your eyes, breathed in deeply and let your feelings spill out like a raging river. “Hob, I think I’m in love.”

You could almost hear the sound of his jaw hitting the floor. “You what?!”

You chuckled. “I know, it’s absurd.”

“Hold on a second. Shortcake, what are you talking about? Did you actually meet someone in that shithole?”

If only he could have known.

“I did.”

"And you want to stay, because of this lad?”

You nodded, even though he couldn’t see you. You were feeling foolish for admitting it out loud. "I know it's silly, but I can't help the way I feel.”

Dream had become such an important part of your life without even trying. You were in awe of him, mesmerized by his power and enigma. He was more than a God, the King of Dreams and Nightmares who you only read about when you were a child, then again when you retrieved that book from your old bookshelf. A being so powerful that he could literally shape an entire world from the ground up, so extraordinary that his grandness was far from your reach. His presence alone was enough to fill you with wonder, as if you were standing before an unfathomable force of nature.

He was a friend, a confidante, a source of comfort in times of need. Somehow, he was inspiring you to reach for greater heights, and you wished he could follow you in your journey for many years to come, guiding you through the twists and turns of existence.

But it was just a beautiful daydream. As you were on the cusp of closing that chapter of your life, there came a point where you could no longer ignore the inevitable approaching. You had to face it head-on, acknowledge it, and find a way to move forward on your own legs.

And it hurt you tremendously. “I love him, Hob. I really do.”

Love is a complex emotion that has the power to lift us up to the highest of highs and bring us crashing down to the lowest of lows. It is both beautiful and dangerous, bringing with it joy and happiness as well as heartache and pain.

You were feeling both ecstatic and terrified experiencing this new form of love after a long time. It was as if you were on top of the world and standing on the edge of a cliff simultaneously. Despite a part of you feeling complete and alive, you knew that this love was bound to end before it could even begin.

“Oh, Y/N.”

Hob was incredulous, but your sincerity had moved him deeply.

“I’ve known you for quite some time now and I’ve never heard you speak so fondly of someone before.”

So far, he had only witnessed a very brief flirtation with a man you had dated for a short period of time. Whenever he offered you the chance to meet one of his friends or coworkers, you always turned him down in fear of another waste of time you didn’t have the mental strength to deal with once more.

“I’m not going to lie to you; things are complicated between us right now. But there is something I must do before leaving, or I will regret it for the rest of my life.”

You could hear him smiling, breathing softly into the speaker. “I’ve been in love too. I know exacly how you feel.”

Although your story was far-fetched, Hob didn't want to pry and no questions were asked about the man who made you fall so hard.

The shock and dejecton were crushing you from within, but instead of wallowing in those emotions, you spent the next hour on the phone with your friend, who provided you with the perfect balance of humor and support. His jokes and words of encouragement were just what you needed to ease the burden weighting on you, his presence and the way he always knew how to make you feel better were absolutely indispensable.

When you noticed the tiredness in his voice, you thanked him for the company, wished him a good night and hung up the call, letting his uplifting words sink in.

He reminded you of your courage, allowing you to fight through your hardships instead of drowning in them. You were sensitive, compassionate and caring. You had nothing to reproach yourself for regarding how things turned out at the Burgess mansion.

Despite knowing this, there was still a voice in your head telling you that you could have tried a little harder, especially with Dream and the entire situation surrounding him.

Now you were injured and uncertain about the future, wondering how you would even face him looking like a total wreck.

After removing the towel, you brushed your hair with one hand while the sling kept your other arm firmly in place. You then got under the covers without bothering to use a hairdryer, as you massaged your sprained wrist in a circular motion. You could feel the nerves protesting and pulling under your skin, your upper arms stinging from what seemed like little electric shocks and the fabric of your nightgown rubbing against the small cut on your back, which made it burn unpleasantly even with the coverage that had been applied. Despite your efforts, you couldn't find a comfortable position that didn't make your body scream and twitch uncomfortably.

The more you thought about it, the more it resembled a movie that you had been watching from afar. It had happened so quickly and suddenly that you were still trying to come to terms with it all.

Objectively speaking, you had many things to be grateful for, especially now that you were succeeding in accomplishing what you truly wanted when you accepted to work for Alex Burgess. However, apart from the environment not matching your standards and being away from the city almost all week, something inside of you had clearly changed drastically since meeting Dream. It was more than just the feelings you had developed for him, more than a simple crush for an attractive “man” that you thought about all day. He was the answer to the many questions that formed in your mind about life and humanity, someone you had so much to learn from and were looking up to.

A creature you still knew so very little about, someone you weren’t even allowed to touch.

You closed your eyes, slowly falling into a deep sleep as your body finally started to succumb to exhaustion.

That night, you had no dream, floating into nothingness and sucked into a dark vortex.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 (currently reading) Chapter 5 ->

Read on AO3!

[woah-were-halfway-there]

I know this is way in the future but what’s it like when Mia is older and has a boyfriend? 🥺 do Carson and Auston like him?

PLEASE no because I have this entirely planned out. So Mia has a couple of boys she goes out on like one date with but they’re not very serious and don’t escalate to anything until she’s in the 10th grade and dates a football player who is a total dick. They date for the entire school year and break up just before summer starts and their breakup is messyyyyyy. He was pressuring into sex and she wasn’t ready and put him in his place about it. She has no one she was really interested in after that and stays single for the whole summer. However, at the beginning of summer a friend of hers who’s family lives in the same neighbourhood as the Matthews’ and are family friends, introduces her to Owen, his hockey teammate and best friend. Mia had seen Owen in the halls at school and knew of him but didn’t know him as he and her friend were in the grade ahead of her. Anyways, the three of them become inseparable and spend the whole summer hanging out all the time doing fun things (in this time Owen hasn’t met Carson and Auston as Mia’s friend yet but they’ve heard about him and Auston knew of him from his part in the hockey community in the Phoenix area) and then by the end of summer Owen and Mia have feelings for each other and on the literal last day of summer they kiss.

And so they start dating kind of secretly, only their friend knows and he freaking loves it, they never make it seem like he’s a third wheel and their group doesn’t change just because Mia and Owen are together. As they grow tired of sneaking around, Mia tells Carson but doesn’t tell Auston right away because she’s nervous to and so Carson’s like “I know how he can get, babe. But you gotta tell him. You know I’ll be there to help if you need me” and so Mia tells him and Auston pretty much has a meltdown over her dating a hockey player and is so dramatic about it and it really upsets Mia because even when she’s older, that strong bond between her and Auston never fades. She’s still the biggest daddy’s girl and for him to react that way is just really upsetting for her and Carson’s there as it all goes down and it leads to an argument between Mia and Auston and so Carson steps in and says “Mia, you can go. I’m going have a talk with your father” and Mia nods, trying not to cry and rushes out of the kitchen and runs past Carter and Liv who were eavesdropping and to her bedroom and they both go after her because they don’t like that their sister is upset. And as all the siblings are together in Mia’s room, they can hear Carson and Auston in the kitchen as they start raising their voices at each other.

Carson tells Auston that he’s blowing this completely out of proportion and that he should be happy Mia is happy and that he shouldn’t be so hard on her about it just because he’s upset she’s growing up, which is exactly what it all comes down to. And so Auston’s like “she’s dating a hockey player, Carson. Of all things, a hockey player. He could hurt her. Of course I don’t like it.” So Carson raises her eyebrow at him and says “funny you say that because I dated a hockey player too I and like to think I turned out just fine, Auston. Mia didn’t want to tell you because she knew this was how you’d react and I honestly can’t blame her. Now, I’m going to go check on our daughter because she’s upset her dad shut down her relationship with a guy she really like without even knowing him and you can join us when you’re ready to be reasonable about this” and then storms past him out of the kitchen. After that she goes and quietly knocks on Mia’s door and asks if she can come in and smiles when she sees all her kids together but Mia just really wants her mom and so Carson apologizes to all of them that they had to hear her conversation with their dad but like Carson and Auston never fight or argue in front of their kids but show their kids that even if they’re upset with one another, they can still talk about it and it’s important to let each other know about those feelings. Anyways neither of the kids think they were actually fighting but know their mom is not happy with their dad hahaha but Carson asks Carter and Liv to give her and Mia some privacy and so they leave and Mia cuddles up to Carson on her bed and tears up again as she says “I really like him, mom. And I want dad to like him too” and Carson tells Mia a story saying “when I was a few years older than you are now Mia, I met your dad. We were friends at first, just like you and Owen, and then that eventually became something more. When me and your dad did start dating, I also had someone I was very nervous to find out and didn’t tell right away. It wasn’t your grandpa, he quite liked your dad, actually. But this was someone who’s opinion I’ve always valued and they mean a lot to me, just like how you feel about wanting your dad to like Owen. I was so afraid they wouldn’t like that me and your dad were in a relationship and at first they didn’t love it, but they came around.”

So Mia moves away slightly from her mom to look up at her and says “they ended up being happy for you and dad?” So Carson nods then Mia asks “who was it?” And Carson just smiles at her and says “it was Mitchy. And I don’t have a single doubt in my mind that your dad will come around like he did. Mitchy cared most about me being happy and I know at the end of the day, that’s what your dad cares about most when it comes to you.” And that makes Mia smile because she just thinks it’s crazy that her Mitchy made her mom so nervous about being with her dad and then Mia says “do you think Mitchy will react like dad when I tell him about Owen?” And Carson laughs then says “he’ll be dramatic for sure, but not because of Owen. Probably will tell you that you’re making him feel old” which makes Mia laugh and say “he always says that” and the two of them talk a little bit longer until someone knocks on the door and Auston peaks his head inside and says “can I come in?” And Carson glances to Mia, who is looking at her dad still before looking back to her mom then nods. So Carson pats Mia’s leg and says “I’ll let you two have some privacy” then gets up off the bed and walks toward Auston, giving him a slight warning glare but then winking before passing him and leaving the room and that’s when he and Mia talk it out.

After finally meeting Owen, Carson and Auston do love him a whole lot. He becomes part of the family. The only Owen related thing that causes a fight between Mia and Auston after that is one night when Mia sneaks out to go see him and doesn’t even tell him she snuck out. But Mia goes to cheer Owen on when he plays in the world juniors championship and then he gets accepted to play hockey at the University of Michigan and Mia travels to visit him, she’s with him when he gets drafted into the NHL and everything like that’s who she ends up with and the thing with Mia and Owen is that they’re soooooo much like Carson and Auston it hurts, like with how they are together and now physical touch is such a prominent love language for them. But Carson and Auston don’t even notice lmao, it’s everyone else that is like “Mia and Owen are literally the two of you 2.0”

[lesmislettersdaily]

Prudence Counselled To Wisdom

Volume 1: Fantine; Book 2: The Fall; Chapter 2: Prudence Counselled To Wisdom

That evening, the Bishop of Digne, after his promenade through the town, remained shut up rather late in his room. He was busy over a great work on Duties, which was never completed, unfortunately. He was carefully compiling everything that the Fathers and the doctors have said on this important subject. His book was divided into two parts: firstly, the duties of all; secondly, the duties of each individual, according to the class to which he belongs. The duties of all are the great duties. There are four of these. Saint Matthew points them out: duties towards God (Matt. vi.); duties towards one’s self (Matt. v. 29, 30); duties towards one’s neighbor (Matt. vii. 12); duties towards animals (Matt. vi. 20, 25). As for the other duties the Bishop found them pointed out and prescribed elsewhere: to sovereigns and subjects, in the Epistle to the Romans; to magistrates, to wives, to mothers, to young men, by Saint Peter; to husbands, fathers, children and servants, in the Epistle to the Ephesians; to the faithful, in the Epistle to the Hebrews; to virgins, in the Epistle to the Corinthians. Out of these precepts he was laboriously constructing a harmonious whole, which he desired to present to souls.

At eight o’clock he was still at work, writing with a good deal of inconvenience upon little squares of paper, with a big book open on his knees, when Madame Magloire entered, according to her wont, to get the silver-ware from the cupboard near his bed. A moment later, the Bishop, knowing that the table was set, and that his sister was probably waiting for him, shut his book, rose from his table, and entered the dining-room.

The dining-room was an oblong apartment, with a fireplace, which had a door opening on the street (as we have said), and a window opening on the garden.

Madame Magloire was, in fact, just putting the last touches to the table.

As she performed this service, she was conversing with Mademoiselle Baptistine.

A lamp stood on the table; the table was near the fireplace. A wood fire was burning there.

One can easily picture to one’s self these two women, both of whom were over sixty years of age. Madame Magloire small, plump, vivacious; Mademoiselle Baptistine gentle, slender, frail, somewhat taller than her brother, dressed in a gown of puce-colored silk, of the fashion of 1806, which she had purchased at that date in Paris, and which had lasted ever since. To borrow vulgar phrases, which possess the merit of giving utterance in a single word to an idea which a whole page would hardly suffice to express, Madame Magloire had the air of a peasant, and Mademoiselle Baptistine that of a lady. Madame Magloire wore a white quilted cap, a gold Jeannette cross on a velvet ribbon upon her neck, the only bit of feminine jewelry that there was in the house, a very white fichu puffing out from a gown of coarse black woollen stuff, with large, short sleeves, an apron of cotton cloth in red and green checks, knotted round the waist with a green ribbon, with a stomacher of the same attached by two pins at the upper corners, coarse shoes on her feet, and yellow stockings, like the women of Marseilles. Mademoiselle Baptistine’s gown was cut on the patterns of 1806, with a short waist, a narrow, sheath-like skirt, puffed sleeves, with flaps and buttons. She concealed her gray hair under a frizzed wig known as the baby wig. Madame Magloire had an intelligent, vivacious, and kindly air; the two corners of her mouth unequally raised, and her upper lip, which was larger than the lower, imparted to her a rather crabbed and imperious look. So long as Monseigneur held his peace, she talked to him resolutely with a mixture of respect and freedom; but as soon as Monseigneur began to speak, as we have seen, she obeyed passively like her mistress. Mademoiselle Baptistine did not even speak. She confined herself to obeying and pleasing him. She had never been pretty, even when she was young; she had large, blue, prominent eyes, and a long arched nose; but her whole visage, her whole person, breathed forth an ineffable goodness, as we stated in the beginning. She had always been predestined to gentleness; but faith, charity, hope, those three virtues which mildly warm the soul, had gradually elevated that gentleness to sanctity. Nature had made her a lamb, religion had made her an angel. Poor sainted virgin! Sweet memory which has vanished!

Mademoiselle Baptistine has so often narrated what passed at the episcopal residence that evening, that there are many people now living who still recall the most minute details.

At the moment when the Bishop entered, Madame Magloire was talking with considerable vivacity. She was haranguing Mademoiselle Baptistine on a subject which was familiar to her and to which the Bishop was also accustomed. The question concerned the lock upon the entrance door.

It appears that while procuring some provisions for supper, Madame Magloire had heard things in divers places. People had spoken of a prowler of evil appearance; a suspicious vagabond had arrived who must be somewhere about the town, and those who should take it into their heads to return home late that night might be subjected to unpleasant encounters. The police was very badly organized, moreover, because there was no love lost between the Prefect and the Mayor, who sought to injure each other by making things happen. It behooved wise people to play the part of their own police, and to guard themselves well, and care must be taken to duly close, bar and barricade their houses, and to fasten the doors well.

"Did you hear what Madame Magloire is saying, brother?”

“I have heard something of it in a vague way,” replied the Bishop. Then half-turning in his chair, placing his hands on his knees, and raising towards the old servant woman his cordial face, which so easily grew joyous, and which was illuminated from below by the firelight,—“Come, what is the matter? What is the matter? Are we in any great danger?”

Then Madame Magloire began the whole story afresh, exaggerating it a little without being aware of the fact. It appeared that a Bohemian, a bare-footed vagabond, a sort of dangerous mendicant, was at that moment in the town. He had presented himself at Jacquin Labarre’s to obtain lodgings, but the latter had not been willing to take him in. He had been seen to arrive by the way of the boulevard Gassendi and roam about the streets in the gloaming. A gallows-bird with a terrible face.

“Really!” said the Bishop.

This willingness to interrogate encouraged Madame Magloire; it seemed to her to indicate that the Bishop was on the point of becoming alarmed; she pursued triumphantly:—

“Yes, Monseigneur. That is how it is. There will be some sort of catastrophe in this town to-night. Every one says so. And withal, the police is so badly regulated” (a useful repetition). “The idea of living in a mountainous country, and not even having lights in the streets at night! One goes out. Black as ovens, indeed! And I say, Monseigneur, and Mademoiselle there says with me—”

“I,” interrupted his sister, “say nothing. What my brother does is well done.”

Madame Magloire continued as though there had been no protest:—

“We say that this house is not safe at all; that if Monseigneur will permit, I will go and tell Paulin Musebois, the locksmith, to come and replace the ancient locks on the doors; we have them, and it is only the work of a moment; for I say that nothing is more terrible than a door which can be opened from the outside with a latch by the first passer-by; and I say that we need bolts, Monseigneur, if only for this night; moreover, Monseigneur has the habit of always saying ‘come in’; and besides, even in the middle of the night, O mon Dieu! there is no need to ask permission.”

At that moment there came a tolerably violent knock on the door.

“Come in,” said the Bishop.

[four-loose-screws]

FE7 Novelization Translation - Chapter 9 Section 2

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Chapter 9: Dragon's Gate (Section 2)

Eliwood and his allies landed on the Dread Isle and began their march towards their destination, the Dragon's Gate.

Fog had started to settle in.

The eerie atmosphere coming from the trees stretching out before them was overwhelming, but Lyn said to shake off their worries, "Let's go, everyone! Be careful not to get separated!!"

Hector nodded in response, then just had to take it one step too far. "Once you've taken a single step on this isle, you're done for. I have a feelin' we'll never return again." He muttered.

"Hector!! Don’t say anything that will jinx us!" Lyn screamed in anger at him. She was afraid of how eerie it felt inside the trees, and Hector’s words only made it worse.

Eliwood, standing beside them, was more concerned about Ninian.

"Ninian, are you alright?"

"...Y-Yes… I'm… fine." She said in a small voice. 

He couldn't help but worry about her. She was being pursued by the Black Fang and their assassins, and had even lost her memory. She was scared due to the danger she was in and not knowing who she was. Her current situation was very unstable. It was as if she was standing on a giant mound of sand.

It was for those reasons that he wanted to do whatever it took to protect her.

The entire group clustered together and stepped foot within the woods. After about an hour had passed, Eliwood, who was marching in front as their vanguard, noticed that a person was close by.

"There’s someone there!"

"What? There's already someone here…? Hm?" When Eliwood said something, Hector noticed the person, too. Through the milky white fog, he could see them standing against a tree - it was Ostia's spy.

"Oh hey, Leila! You made it!" Hector said to her and waved.

But Leila did not respond at all. 

That made Eliwood suspicious, and he got closer, then tried speaking to her again. "...She's acting strange. Leila? Lei…!!"

A single red thread dangled out from the corner of her mouth. Her skin was pale and her body lifeless. Her warmth was no more…

All those signs pointed to only one possible answer.

"...She's dead…?"

"...That can't be! Leila’s one of our best spies. Maybe even the best…" Hector muttered in utter shock, unable to believe what he was seeing.

ー

Invade enemy territory, gather information, then perform work that would subvert the enemy’s operations… In every one of those duties, Leila was lauded as the most skilled of all the spies that served Ostia, putting her on a completely different level than Matthew.

Her death…

No one was more saddened by the news than Matthew, and nothing could have a deeper effect on him than this. Both as a fellow retainer who served the same lord, and as her lover…

"...I'm sorry, Matthew." Hector felt personally responsible for what had happened.

"....What are you apologizing for, Young Lord? She made a mistake in her work. …That’s all there is to it." Matthew said. 

Matthew picked up his beloved's now cold body.

"Matthew… Leila was your…"

"...After our work was done here, I was thinking we'd wash our hands of all this, but… I didn't make it in time. Ha ha ha." Matthew's laugh rang hollow.

Neither Eliwood, Hector, nor anyone else in their army could find the right words to say to Matthew.

"...Young Lord, may I step away for a moment? …I have to bury her…”

"...Of course."

"Ah…. Let us go with you…!"　 To Lyn, Leila was the person she had to thank for saving her grandfather's life. Though they had never fought in battle together, Leila was one of her allies.

And so, she wanted to help bury Leila, but Eliwood stopped her. "...Let them be alone. That's… That’s the only thing we can do for them right now…" 

Lyn agreed.

ー

After Matthew took Leila and left, Hector slammed his fist into one of the trees next to him. “Dammit! They put Leila here on purpose so we would see her…!”

“I’ll never forgive them… This is the lowest of the low!!” Lyn was so angry that her entire body was shaking.

Eliwood shared their feelings. “...Let’s go! We need to stop them before anyone else falls victim to their schemes!” 

The moment Eliwood declared his newfound determination, Ninian shouted, “Ah!! …Be careful! Something’s coming!!”

“What?!” Lyn reacted immediately.

Though Ninian had lost her memory, she still had her ability to sense danger.

However, before Lyn could survey their entire surroundings, the danger appeared like a gust of wind.

It took just a split second for Lyn’s arms to be twisted and pinned behind her back, leaving her unable to move.

“...If you value your lives, then you will hand over the girl.”

“You are a nomad of the plains?!” Lyn looked up at the man holding her arms, and shouted.

From the style of clothing he wore, it was clear that he was a man of Sacae, just as Lyn said. He was a rugged man with facial hair along his chin, glaring at them with sharp eyes, like those of a hawk targeting their prey. He wore a bandana wrapped around his head, and his clothing was all black. His physical appearance reflected perfectly the kind of person he was.

The man nodded at Lyn’s words, and said, “I am Uhai of the Black Fang. I have been ordered to take this girl… and end your lives. But… if you hand over the girl quietly and leave this isle, then I will let you live.”

“And… if we do not do as you say?”

“None of you know anything. Of Nergal’s terrifying might… Nor anything else, so you think that you can try to stand against him. No matter what any of you do, it will change nothing. You will speak not another bad word about him, and leave here at once!” Uhai's sharp voice shouted.

But Eliwood would not stand down. “...It may be true that we do not know anything… But if we flee here, then it is certain that nothing will change… And that is why we will struggle, even if that is all we can do until the end!”

“...Foolishness.” Uhai muttered a single word, then let go of Lyn’s arms and pushed her towards Eliwood and the rest of her allies.

“...Why did you let me go?” She asked.

“It is disgraceful to fight while holding a woman hostage. We are even now. I will show you some mercy, at least. …I will defeat you all here, so that you will die having not seen any further depths of this hell!” Uhai said, with pride befitting a nomad of Sacae, then disappeared into the forest.

Within the trees, his soldiers, a unit of the Black Fang, was lying in wait for them.

ー

[itsyourchoicedevotionals]

ProActive

“And then many will be offended and repelled and will begin to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and obey] and will stumble and fall away and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred. … And the love of the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity, But he who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:10,12-13AMPC

Discussing the latest events in the saga of Biden-Gate and Illegal Take-Over with another believer, I heard words— ‘overwhelming’-‘unbearable’-‘impossible to listen to’-‘lost.’ My thoughts were ‘How long Father, how long? How long must we endure?’

Both of our ways of thinking were way off. Jesus followed up by saying— V14“And this good news of the kingdom (the Gospel) will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end.” Our thoughts need to follow how to bring an end to this time of interim— “the Gospel) will be preached throughout the whole world.”

Where are the perimeters of each of our worlds? I was talking in an earlier devotional about GenZ. This age group had been to church, but were severely disappointed in the lack of love, miracles, faithfulness of the believers. GenZ has been through many disappointments. Parents who loved money more than raising children. Believers who didn’t have a real relationship with Jesus to begin with. GenZ has seen the worst of the worst. Does your world intersect with the GenZ? They need your unconditional love.

My daughter is the head-cook in a school. She describes children who have two and three word sentences in the upper elementary. No one carries on a conversation with them at home. Parents that are physically present, normally are quite absent with their smartphones. Many of the children are raised in drug houses, alcoholic homes, or single-parent homes where the children are alone while the parent is at work. Does your world intersect with these smart-phone-children? They need you to love them by showing them Jesus.

We are currently attending a very small fellowship church. If you miss on Sunday, they notice you’re not there. One of the ways the Lord has put on my heart to preach the Gospel is simply helping the pastor in whatever capacity he needs. Larger churches may have their staff set, but your preaching may come in making yourself available to work with any outreach the pastor sets up.

Do you speak Spanish? Missionaries are needed in every neighborhood to work with the illegal populations coming across our borders. Show them Jesus and perhaps separate them from terrorist lifestyles they came across to fulfill. Preaching the gospel wherever we happen to be is the Master’s commission, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” Matthew 28:19-20NIV.

Being proactive for Jesus is the only way I know to fight the feelings of despair and hopelessness, to prevent hate. Proactive in praising God no matter what we see. Proactive in reading the Bible. Proactive in praying, especially praying in tongues. Proactive in preaching, winning the lost to Jesus. The time is here where we can no longer say, ‘the pastor needs to…’ Pastors are fainting too. No, we are the preachers. We’d best be getting busy. It’s your choice. You choose.

LET’S PRAY: LORD God what we see isn’t what You are telling us. You don’t want anyone to become defeated. Help us to begin to be standard bearers, bringing the Gospel to the world until all are saved, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

by Debbie Veilleux Copyright 2023 You have my permission to reblog this devotional for others. Please keep my name with this devotional, as author. Thank you.

[hearts-hunger]

Please don't be offended by this as it is a coming from genuine curiosity. Why would you want to follow a religion or a church that has discriminated, marginalized, and brought so many different groups of people so much pain? I'm way more than perfectly fine with people finding solace in God, so that has nothing to do with it at all, i promise. I just can't justify supporting a church that has done so many horrible things to people. Again, not trying to offend at all. I don't want this question to be misconstrued as me trying to be judgemental at all I'm just really curious. (Also, this is a different anon than the one you just got telling you not to talk about it. I think the way that person came at you was being really rude and if you want to talk about your faith you are way more than welcome to as it is your blog and space to do with as you please.)

first off, thank you for your open and genuine tone - i appreciate that this ask is coming from a place of curiosity and honest discourse. i'm more than happy to have these kinds of conversations in a civil and respectful way! i put my answer under a readmore, because it got kind of long, but i hope it answers your question, or at least offers some food for thought :)

so, alright. i'd first like to say that i won't deny that there have been horrible, awful things done in the name of the church and by its members. i completely and wholeheartedly condemn those actions and the people who did them. they will have to stand before god in judgement one day and explain why they used his name and his house to hurt his people, and he is going to deal with them with perfect justice.

the thing is, though, that in any group of humans (religious or not) there will be things done that hurt people. that's just the nature of sin. people hurt other people, and there's no two ways around it. the catholic church is not exempt from this, unfortunately - sin abounds everywhere, and so sin is inevitably in the church. but if i stopped being a part of groups that had hurt people, i wouldn't be a part of any group ever.

the catholic church as a political/social institution is riddled with the disease of sin, and this is because people are riddled with the disease of sin. it breaks my heart and it breaks the heart of jesus when the institution of the catholic church hurts people, i promise you this.

but, despite the disease of sin, the gospel lives and triumphs. in jesus there is life and light, and no darkness of sin can ever overcome that light. because jesus dwells in the catholic church (and in other christian churches, but here we'll just stick with the catholic church), the darkness cannot overcome the church completely. sometimes, when the people of the church hurt others, it seems like the darkness has snuffed out the light out completely. but jesus promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against the church (matthew 16:18). which means that no matter how many sinful things the people in the church do, the church in itself, as the physical dwelling of god, remains steadfast in truth and goodness.

i believe the gospel of jesus christ lives and breathes in the catholic church. the good news of the steadfast love, goodness, and mercy of god in the person of jesus finds its home in the catholic church. the people of the church - priests, bishops, fellow churchgoers - don't always follow the gospel - there's that pesky sin nature. but just because some people (or even many) don't live like jesus, that doesn't mean that the inherent truth of the gospel does not live in the catholic church.

i follow the catholic church because i believe it is the home of the true and living god, the god who created me and loves me in spite of how many times i've cursed his name and walked away from him in pride and stubbornness. i am a part of the catholic church because we celebrate the triumph of love over sin and death every single day in the sacrifice of the mass. i am a part of the church because jesus found me when i was furthest from him and took my hand and rejoiced over me with singing and thankful praise to his father, and then brought me home to the church where the rest of my spiritual family was busy getting ready for my homecoming party.

in short - and thank goodness, because i've made this answer pretty long 😉 - i'm catholic because i believe that despite the sin in the church, jesus still lives there, and i want to be where he is. i know jesus is calling me (and all other catholics!) to be living proof that the catholic church can be what he wants it to be and in fact commands it to be, what it will be when everything in creation is perfected and sin is gone forever and love has stood on the neck of hatred and lopped off its ugly head. it's my prayer that i can be at least one catholic that shows that love endures there, and it's my privilege to try and answer your questions with the truth as best as i can. ❤️