#Taemin circus au

[nettlestingsoup]

hi! Random ask :D What inspires your fic ideas? (And if the answer is different for each fic, feel free to just pick one!) Does it come to you while watching tv shows you like, or from your life, or do you just suddenly get gripped with an idea? <3

hello! thank you for the ask! my fics are almost always inspired by music, books, or things i watch! for example, the current minchanjin project was inspired by the vibes of the song millie, warm the kettle by rabbitology, and i kiss every memory, one by one was created from taemin's 2 kids; all that makes me holy, i found in you was inspired by the book the night circus by erin morgenstern, and the butterfly collector from affinity by sarah waters; i wrote the southern gothic minbin after listening to the podcast old gods of appalachia! i just love getting Vibes from media, which is why i seek out books/songs/shows with such intense worldbuilding and characters!

there are a few exceptions; the beekeeper au and the river and the rowan tree were both inspired by Being Outside In Nature and wanting desperately to write about the landscapes i was in. very occasionally i just get Random Vibes, but mostly i'm inspired to write by something i see or experience.

thank you again for this ask! sorry the answer was so long <3

[theharrowing]

Boy Blue 💙 Playlist

While going through a painful but necessary breakup, you meet someone who is patient, kind, and understanding; everything your last ex was not.

Or is he?

Everybody Wants to Love You - Japanese Breakfast

Criminal - TAEMIN

Paradise Circus - Massive Attack

Stigma - BTS

Bloodsport - Sneaker Pimps

Yellow Tape - KEY

Turn Into - Jay Seom

Control - Mannequin Pussy

I Remember - Bully

Charmer And The Snake - The Velveteers

Dumb - Pretty Sick

R U Mine? - Arctic Monkeys

20th Century Boy - Placebo

Holy Mother - Starbenders

Mercy - IAMX

Panic Room - Au/Ra

Kill Bill - SZA

FEVER - ENHYPEN

Creature - E'LAST

Butn It (feat. MAX) - Agust D, MAX

DIFFERENT - WOODZ

nobody else - Lubalin

Toll - So Below

Every Breath You Take (Re:Imagined) - Denmark + Winter

Yandere - Jazmin Bean

💙 Boy Blue Master Post

(Is there a song that you think would fit the list? let me know, and i may add it!)

Also, thank you @sailoryooons for talking music with me and for giving me so many ideas!!!!

[dayeongi]

IDOLS AU song ideas pt 1

☆

Group songs:

GUYS:

The guys debut: stray kids' circus

They have a very standard hip hop & R&B vibe but they start to incorporate more rock and acoustic/ orchestral sounds

MANIAC- Stray Kids

NO MERCY - B.A.P.

Cherry Bomb - NCT 127

Sherlock, View - Shinee

Overdose - EXO

--

GIRLS:

The girl's debut: Female President by Girl's Day

Girl's style starts a little like every standard girl group then slowly morphs into more of a G-idle vibe when they are allowed more freedom

Daybreak, Wake Up, You and I by Dreamcatcher

Latata, Tomboy, My Bag, Hwaa, Nude, LIAR by G-Idle

Let it by CL

Every Night - EXID

Bon Bon Chocolat - Everglow

Catch me if you can - Girl's Generation

☆

SOLOS and Subunits:

Neji - Move by Taemin

Ino & Sakura - Naughty, and Monster by Irene & Seulgi

Karui - One Shot, Two Shot by BoA

Temari - Vengeance by BIBI, I'm a B by Hwasa, Lover Like Me, by CL, Eclipse by Moonbyul

TenTen - any of the new Sunmi songs

Hinata - does a lot of OST for TV and movies. So does Neji

Neji and Hinata - Some songs by AKMU, melted in particular

Neji, Sai and Sasuke - Artificial Love by EXO

Kankuro and TenTen - Because I'm God girl by HyunA and Il Hoon Jung

Karin - Wonderland by AleXa,

TenTen and Hinata - Full Moon by Sunmi & Lena

TenTen, Temari Kankuro, shikamaru - literally any dope song by KARD

Sakura, Ino and Hinata - whatever camp fever dream Orange Caramel has going on

[6v6taeminisloveshineeworld]

Champagne Life Is All You Want

Word Count: 15.7k+ 

Genre: Romance, Idol/Hoop Aerialist AU, Smut, Cirque Du Soleil vibes, Gatsby Flair

Summary: It’s simple, love for luxury. You've lived this way for a long time. True love only existed in fables but after hitting a complete stranger with a car that isn’t even yours you find out that your new victim’s name is Lee Taemin and he has fallen hard into your web of deception that allows you to live the life of expensive pleasures that you always seem to swindle from your clients. The truth will break his heart, are you only in it for the money or have you begun to fall as well?

Pairing: Taemin X Reader

Warning: Contains mentions of Abuse, Blood, Sexual, and Suggestive content, as well as some foul language. This material is only a work of fiction and does not mean to defame living persons.

Taglist: @slavefortaemin

The hood of your newly stolen yellow convertible was down and you felt the breeze of autumn as you drove through the back roads of Aureus and into the less reputable parts of town. 

You had lived in New Celes for the majority of your life and while most of your childhood years were spent in the Underground as the daughter of the most infamous crime groupe known as the Scarlet Wolf who were known to possess the heightened senses of sound, speed, and strength, you’d left them only to climb yourself from the gutter and into posh society with your charm. 

There was a reason New Celes was coined the City Of Heavenly Desire, it’s nightlife was vibrant and it’s nobility spared no expense, leaving the less fortunate to look on with jealousy as they wasted their wealth frivolously. You’d survive the only way you could. With a father who’d sooner leave you in the streets because you proved to be a weak runt according to the standards of the pack you left the gang and found yourself at your wits end. You would have died on your own had it not been for the Matron of Muldale Estate.

 The streets had been dark and unforgiving with lights only at the most populated corners and filled with people of ill repute. The Matron had found you frozen and half dead but still filled with a spirit that would not be extinguished. She took you to her estate, clothed you and fed you and in time you came to know the girls who lived there. 

The women of Muldale Estate were prostitutes, or as they liked to be called “courtesans.” Their Matron, Madame Felicity Dupont loved the sound of her own voice. 

When the Matron asked you to stay long ago you had thought you’d known just what you were getting yourself into and you promised yourself that it was only a temporary home. Now fifteen years later you knew you weren’t the same naive girl you had been before. Love was a mirage of deception and endless hoops. Love was only given if you gave in return even if it cost you your body and not your heart. 

Dupont showered her girls In pretty gowns and diamonds and sold them off to the highest bidder but at the end of the day when you couldn’t wash off the scent of your clients’ perfume, you felt more like a shadow than a human. 

Andre de Valois, the man who owned the car you drove now had been sadistic and cruel but he was very influential to Dupont. His wealth alone financed a quarter of the Matron’s income and that would have been fine if not for the fact that he only ever choose you. 

His possessive nature had grown so strong it frightened you and when he made it clear that he wanted Dupont to sign you away to an exclusive contract with him he was not pleased when you rejected him. Far from it. 

He was always used to having his way and the evening had ended badly to say the least with you landing a punch to his jaw and fleeing out the door taking his keys with you. Now driving carelessly fast downtown with tears ruining your mascara it was no wonder to find you had hit something. Or was it someone? You frantically unfastened your seat belt and stepped out of the car shakily to find a man passed out in front of the car. 

“Oh my god!” You said, rushing over to the man and turning him to the side to face you as you leaned down to check his pulse. 

You let out a sigh of relief when you felt his breath against your cheek. His lithe body rising and falling as you rested your palm on his firm chest. 

His features looked familiar somehow but you dismissed it from your mind as you agonized over the fact that his forehead was bleeding slightly and you were in the middle of an unwelcoming neighborhood with no license and a stolen vehicle. If this man pressed charges you were done for and it wasn’t for fear that you’d get locked up, but rather that you would be found and taken back that terrified you.

You took the end of your scarf in hand and started to clean the blood away, the man’s features becoming more noticeable as you moved his dark brown hair out of his eyes and all too soon you recognized the man before you as Lee Taemin, the idol of the Ten Rings Circus, more commonly known as the “Night Circus” and one of the wealthiest most well-known artists in New Celes. 

Fate loved to play games with your soul it seemed and she had a twisted sense of humor. 

If anyone could save you from Dupont’s dismissal and Andre’s rage it would be the unconscious man before you. 

Just then Taemin started to stir and you gave him your most concerned expression. Wide eyes and red lips pursed in a frown. Your smudged mascara only adding to your look of distress.

“Are you alright?” You said gently, careful to keep your distance from him in case he lashed out but close enough to look him in the eyes. 

You were surprised when warm brown eyes meet yours. You’d only seen those eyes in posters and magazines, he had always looked too stoic, too unapproachable to imagine ever meeting. 

“I’m fine,” he said sitting up slowly and looking at your car inches from him. 

You let out an audible sigh of relief that he hadn’t hit his head as badly as you’d initially thought. 

“But what about you? Are you alright? You were in such a hurry. Are you running away from something?” He said with a knowing look in his eyes as he took in your disheveled appearance. 

“No, it’s nothing.” You said brushing his words aside and getting to your feet. You felt a stab of guilt for wanting to use him as an easy escape moments before. Even though he was a complete stranger he was showing you compassion instead of anger, concern instead of annoyance. 

Somehow you knew taking his hand would be alright, but when you reached for it a strong wind blew away the scarf you had carelessly replaced over your neck before he’d woken, revealing Andre’s fingerprints on your skin. 

“How did you get that! Who did that to you?” He said in surprise, coming closer only to have you quickly move away out of habit as if he would strike you. 

 “It’s none of your business,” you said placing your hands around your shoulders protectively. He stepped back when he noticed you were uncomfortable and it genuinely touched you that he seemed to care. You’d grown used to seeing marks on your body, at this point, it was a part of life that faded just like a hundred nights worth of memories too painful to recollect.

Maybe it was the way he looked at you that made you confess these next words, maybe it was just your selfish greed that clung to you like a vise but you found yourself unable to continue your charade anymore. You were tired of pretending, and maybe just maybe, you could tell he had already fallen for the woman who had run him over. 

“No, no I’m not fine.” You said sitting against the hood of the car and holding back tears. “I’m a courtesan of Muldale,” when he nodded in understanding you continued. “My client… well he won’t be seeing me anymore I left him and if the Madam found out I was leaving her service before my time she’ll have the officials come and find me. My client is very wealthy you see and she couldn’t stand to lose-”

“How far along are you on your Emblem till your debt is paid?” He said determination in his voice. 

You looked up at him, eyes wide. Once again he’d surprised you. He seemed to be knowledgeable enough in the trade to know that the women of Muldale all had debts to pay to their Madame and that she kept count of their progress by marking them with a tattoo called an emblem. The emblem was of their own design choice from a limited selection but it was always along the back in a circle and once that circle was completed you were free to leave. 

“I owe a life debt to her, my Emblem is less than halfway through.” 

“I’ll pay it for you.” He said it so quickly that you were certain this had to be a dream.

“What do I owe you in return?” You answered just as quickly. You didn’t hide the distrust in your tone. “Nothing is free in this world.”

“You’re right,” he looked regretful of his next words but continued anyway. “If I pay for your Emblem will agree to pretend to be my fiancee?” You scoff, shaking your head but internally you are delighted. It would seem that your plan was going better than expected. You turned around and acted as if you were making your way back to the car before he stopped you with a light touch at the elbow.

“Hear me out-”

“You don’t even know me.” 

“I know it’s a crazy idea but I’m in a situation that I don't want to be in right now-

“Aren’t we all,” you said with a laugh.

“Yes, but I am constantly confronted with marriage proposals and one of these days I’m afraid the family I am indebted to will force me into an agreement.” He could have said anything else but this was the last thing you’d expected.

“You’re Lee Taemin, Shining Star of the Night Circus! If anyone had the power to say no it would be you.” 

He ducked his head when you mentioned his title, red blooming on the tips of his ears. “The Night Circus is not what posters would have you believe,” He said. “You and I are more alike than you know. The things I’ve had to do to make my way to the top. I owe that family everything for bringing me from the gutter to the spotlight.” 

His words cut like a fresh wound. Nothing in the glittering world of New Celes was ever what it appeared on the surface and if even it’s young gods walked their lives on burning coals well, nowhere was safe. 

“I’ll do it.” You said.

“Really?” He gave you the widest smile and suddenly you wondered if being indebted to this beautiful man was more dangerous than belonging to Andre.

“What’s your name,” he said the instant you were both in the car. You started the engine and made the turn back to Muldale Estate. You were silent for a few minutes till you finally said in a whisper,  “Call me Lady Basileia, everyone else does.” Like your old life, your true name had also been lost to you, and if you knew anything for certain it was the fact that there was no reclaiming it. 

Dupont was furious. Andre’s wrath was nothing in comparison to the lady’s words. “I’ve clothed you, I took you in from the streets when you were nothing and this is how you repay me! Go back to the Comte de Valois and beg on your knees for him to take you back.” Dupont was about to grab you by the hair before Taemin grasped her wrist, holding her back. You’d told him to stay outside but it seemed you wouldn’t have an easy time getting him to listen. 

“Mademoiselle Basileia will beg no one, Madame Dupont,” Taemin said from behind her. “She is a free woman from this day forward I will pay her Emblem price.”

A small collective gasp could be heard from the ladies who were listening in against the door-frame. Their palpable excitement grew hushed when Dupont swore at them.

Dupont laughed coldly before she said, “Young man, take your fanciful ideas elsewhere. You wouldn’t be able to buy a single night with her much less ten years wor-

Taemin faced her and she paled, her eyes widening as she too recognized him. 

“I beg your pardon, my lord. I did not know-”

“Mademoiselle Basileia and I are in a hurry,” he said.

Dupont gaped at you before suddenly tripping over herself to call in for some tea. When Taemin declined her offer and suggested they get right to business and that he would pay her in full she directed him to her office and left you to collect your things. 

Emilie was the first of the ladies to approach you. As soon as you sank into a tub of hot water she came to sit on the ledge and scrub your back with a sponge, her touch was gentle at the nape of your neck as she seemed to want to wash away William’s scars. “Is he kind to you? Lord Taemin, I mean. Or is he cold, like the pictures I’ve seen of him?” Just as you were about to answer the door flung open.

“Who cares Emilie!” Agatha said coming into the room with a stack of fresh towels. “He’s rich, richer than Andre. Only the best for Lady Basileia,” Agatha said, jealousy laced in her voice. “We could never compete with that.”

“Wealth is not everything Agatha!” Lily said coming into the room to join them, her cheeks were flushed and her buoyant voice ever-cheerful no matter her situation. If it hadn’t been for Lily and her optimism you thought you wouldn’t have survived your days here. Of everyone at Muldale, she was perhaps the only one who still believed in love and she was quite the romantic. Her imagination often kept the ladies entertained, and her short works of fiction were often shared at sleepless hours. 

“I can’t believe you met the Ice Fairy by chance!” Lily said taking Emilie’s place beside you. “I saw him go into Madam’s office and he is even more handsome in person than his portraits. It was fate Basileia, fate! Did he see you with the Comte at his estate and decide that he had to have you for his own? Was he a friend of Andre? Or did he see you on the streets and you melted his heart of stone? They say he doesn’t have one you know, he’s turned down so many pretty women and of noble families too!”

“Well, I suppose you can say I ran him over…”

Later when you were dried off and in your bedroom, you searched through your things to find the plainest dress you could. Nothing here was your own and other than the handful of letters from the ladies and Emilie’s handmade bracelet as a gift on your twentieth birthday you left everything else and closed the door behind you. 

Half an hour later you found yourself laying on your stomach in the tattoo parlor close to Muldale estate. You winced as the inked needle met your back again. The tattoo artist knew of the girls from their countless visits. When you had walked into the shop and declared that your entire Emblem be finished he’d been shocked but you could see the excitement in his eyes. Most girls picked the design for their emblem but you had let Eddie do whatever he wanted and as it turned out your back was his own personal masterpiece or that’s how he felt at least and you had to agree he didn’t waste his imagination when it came to his attention to detail.

 Eddie turned the open sign around and started right away, completing his design in a total of five hours. Every second had been worth it though you thought as he held a mirror up to your back and you saw yourself in the mirror in front. A flower time dial was beautifully etched into your back, primroses, cherry blossoms, roses, and lilacs. They weren't in color but they seemed alive and each stroke of ink depicted an emotion, from how the petals tilted toward the imaginary sun to how they wilted. 

“Thank you, Eddie, I love it.” He beamed at you and you felt the pride in him swell and his heart soar. Sometimes pain and pleasure really did walk hand in hand. 

It was late the next day when you reached the heart of Aureus, at some point you had let Taemin drive the car he rented after he insisted that you leave Andre’s car at Muldale where Dupont could return it to him. The nightlife here was even more vibrant than you remembered. In fact, if you were being honest you knew nothing of the high-end brothels and drinking taverns of New Celes, only the pompous champagne-soaked floors of dancing halls that Andre and other clients had brought you too, hoping to seduce you with charm and sophistication. No, the Night Circus it seemed was something different, something in between. Your heart raced a bit more excitedly as you read the giant billboard up ahead Our Aim Is To Please You, it read in painted crimson letters, like blood upon the lily-white backdrop. 

Taemin parked and took your hand to guide you through the crowd and into the enormous red tent. You could hear the music from within even from a distance, something akin to carnival music but more gentle. You could hear french horns and soft drums both haunting and sensuous. 

Before opening the tent flap Taemin leaned down and whispered, “The show is about to start soon. Ten will have my hide if I’m not backstage soon so make yourself comfortable in the audience.” You nodded at him before he disappeared into the crowd.  

It wasn’t long before the lights were dimmed and you squirmed in your seat as the young noblewoman beside you asked her manservant to attend her. She wore a diamond choker necklace at her throat and you caught the glint of silver on her left hand. The raven-haired manservant knelt at his mistress’s feet and lifted her skirts enough to engulf his head under. It wasn’t unusual for aristocracy to show their lewdness in public settings such as these. But you had to admit, you really hadn’t known anything about The Night Circus. 

The noblewoman's soft moans were covered by the sound of the now more vivacious orchestra and as the curtains of the stage began to rise, you forgot all about her. 

“Mesdames et messieurs,” the ringmaster bellowed. It was astonishing to see Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul, more commonly known by the stage name of ‘Ten’ the ringmaster before you. He acquired the nickname when his family came into possession of the largest fortune in New Celes, taking over ten towns along the coast and placing circuses, hotels, and nightclubs in each of them. His family name was known as the “Gatsby of New Celes” and honestly half the continent. It was no wonder that Taemin had money practically spilling from his veins. With Ten as a benefactor he was set for life and you couldn't help but wonder why Taemin would want to risk the family’s anger by denying any marriage they set forth for him.

 “Allow us to entertain you tonight under the canopy of the moon.” Ten continued, “let us seduce your mind and captivate your soul. May I present le cirque nocturne!” The crowd roared with applause and with a flick of the ringmaster’s whip, the opening act began. 

A woman in a lilac leotard appeared on stage and moved her body in ways you hadn’t even known possible. Her contorted body seemed to tell a story, the music flowed without words but like a ballet, the woman moved with the melody. As more dancers appeared you began to make more sense of the plot. The story the woman danced to was of a siren who had lost her tail and moved upon land in odd yet graceful ways. She reminded you of a sparrow in a world of swans, awkward yet full of life. When the curtains closed on the act you stood in applause with the rest of the crowd. 

Next was a pair of tightrope walkers, it was a woman and a man painted in makeup that made them look like cats with whiskers and all. The woman balanced a parasol in one hand and the man a cane with a larger than normal curved end. You realized why that was so when the man circled the cane around the woman’s waist and the audience gasped in wonder at the girl’s perfect balance as she made her way across the rope and into her lover’s arms.

 The next set of dancers stood on swings as they twirled long ribbon batons in their hands and swept them over the crowds. Their short satin red dresses left  little to the imagination as they entwined with each other and leaped through the air, catching one another by the wrists.

There were more acts that seemed to pass in a blur, jugglers and fire breathers. Your body grew heated with the number of people in the tent as you waited for Taemin’s performance and you became impatient till finally, Ten spoke again, “Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the act you have all been waiting for, our ravishing, shining, hoop aerialist, Lee Taemin!”

If the crowd had made any noise till that moment it was nothing compared to the deafening cries now. But as the curtains began to rise once more, everyone fell silent as if they were all holding their breath underwater, ready to be swept away.

Taemin was a sight to behold it was true and you could feel your pulse quicken ever so slightly as you took in the transformation before you. The man you arrived with seemed to be buried within this immorally captivating creation. He wore a black top hat with a half net across one side of his face and a shimmering silver and midnight blue leotard with sheer sleeves and a low neckline. His angelic figure and fair collarbone a teasing sight amidst all the tiny glittering diamonds sewn onto the fabric. The diamonds seemed to dance with the lights in the tent as Taemin moved his hands upwards towards the hoop hanging above him.

 He seemed to move with the music as you had never seen anyone move before. He was one with the melody like nature herself his gestures reminding you of water and wind. Once he reached the hoop his feet seemed to climb invisible stairs into the air till he was seated in the hoop and once more began to swivel and bend like falling water, tossing his hat aside as he went. His ankles caught the sides of the hoop as his head and body soared downwards. The transitions were seamless and watching the lithe muscles of his arms move as he grabbed the hoop and pulled himself up was hypnotic. You found yourself searching for his eyes and once they meet your own you felt yourself flush but were unable to look away. 

You knew now why they called him the fey king of ice and lust, his coal lined sultry stare seemed to undress you with a glance alone. He spun around the hoop like a snake till he stood upon the inner circle and then, oh gods above, he began to sing. You didn’t understand the words but by his tone, you could feel it was a song of deep longing and yet fragility as if the thing he yearned for lay far out of his reach or lay dead beneath the earth. His voice was both angel and devil, sweet as nectar and fatal as flame. He swung over the heads of the audience as he sang, the rope seeming to lengthen and glide along with him. He showered the spectators with diamonds from his costume as they loosened and fell like rain upon them. The audience’s applause spread through the crowd like wildfire and Taemin took a final bow before the curtains closed for the night and adoring fans threw roses and even entire bouquets to the empty stage as the lights in the tent brightened once again. 

Without a second thought, you hurried from your seat and slipped backstage determined to find Taemin and congratulate him on such a wonderful performance expecting to find him surrounded by fellow performers but instead, you found him backed against the wall, Ten’s arms caging him in with one hand beside his head and his whip in the other. You hid quickly behind a stage prop of what looked like an ancient Greek pillar, eyes widening as Ten tilted Taemin’s chin up with the tip of his whip, his eyes never leaving Taemin’s defiant gaze. 

“You needn't go through all this trouble over a harlot, mon tresor.” Ten said tracing his fingers against Taemin’s back. Taemin pulled away from his touch and Ten drew his hand away. 

“Others may mistake her for a fine noblewoman but you forget I have eyes everywhere, even in the lowest gutter of town. Why won’t you accept my offer? You could have so much more than this life, you would be a demigod among men with what I could give you.” Ten said taking Taemin’s hand to his lips and kissing his knuckles. 

“I’ve already visited the press with news of my new fiancee, Ten.” You won’t be able to quiet our engagement easily without causing a scene and disrupting your father’s trust. I am your family’s humble servant and nothing more.” Taemin said in a cold tone as he slipped from Ten’s grasp and into the changing room. 

Your mind was muddled with questions as you made your way back to the crowd unseen and waited for Taemin to find you.

It wasn’t long before you found yourself on the 20th floor of one of New Celes’s finest hotels run by Ten’s family of course. Taemin had a total of twelve rooms that all connected to one another. He led you to what you assumed was the guest room. The sheets were silk and there was a mahogany dresser with a beautiful matching vanity in the corner of the room, the edges of its mirror rimmed with gold. You moved to the window, moving the heavy curtains aside to take in the bustling night view of New Celes. You had to admit this offer was the best you’d ever had, although you felt a small stab of guilt for using Taemin in this way you found solace in the fact that he was also using you to run away from his own problems. “Wait,” you said, as Taemin walked toward the door to leave. He halted outside your door, his hand hovering over the doorknob. 

“Why did you lie to me?” You said turning from the window to face him. He looked puzzled at the statement so you continued. “I saw you with Ten, he seemed sincere, like he would give you anything if you agreed to be with him. Why would you refuse that?”

Taemin’s eyes darkened and he said briskly, “Don’t speak of what you do not understand.”

“It wasn’t a horde of girls I came here to shield you from but his advances wasn’t it.” You said coming closer, your voice matching his tone. “You think his obsession with you is a passing fancy? That he’ll soon tire of you with me around I gather or are you trying to make him jealous? What, is he not good enough for you? I know men and women would kill to have the place you have in his eyes. I won’t stay here and be put in danger! I won’t stand between the Chittaphon family and their desires, it would be like tying a noose around my own neck. Stop being stubborn and go to him-”

“Enough!” Taemin said shutting the door and coming to stand closer to you. “I’ll never crawl to that sick bastard even if he held a gun to my head.”

A look of pity crossed your features as you said, “Well if his being a man is what disgusts you so its nothing to be ashamed of. I once had a patron that was a woman-”

“That’s not the reason at all,” Taemin said interrupting you. His voice was composed once again and he seemed hesitant but continued. “You must tell no one you know of this but it’s Ten’s bloodstained hands and dirty money that disgusts me.”

Your eyes widened as you sat on the edge of the bed and waited for him to continue.

“All this wealth you see around you has come at a heavy price, the Chittaphon family have sold their souls for this luxury, the deaths of so many lay in their hands. The family makes most of their money in human trafficking and other despicable things. Ten is just as corrupt if not more so than his family. A flicker of sorrow crossed his eyes and then it was gone, replaced by ice once more. “We grew up together, it was no secret that we grew close to one another, I grew to love him and through the years I have seen him grow more and more twisted.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” You said a bit shaken at the realization that he knew some of your pain as well, knew how it felt to be shattered by the people you trusted the most. If your father had been a real father, if Andre had been an honorable man, you wouldn’t be here now seeking to console the dancer before you with an earnest hug. It would be hard to sleep in these sheets without thinking of the malicious lengths the owners had gone through to accumulate their wealth and it made your stomach turn. 

Perhaps it was the wine you drank before falling asleep but your dreams were persistently vivid. A russet wolf stalked you, it wasn’t hostile but it pursued you with relentless abandon. It never left your side, whenever you looked over your shoulder there it was yet you were not frightened. You were not frightened that was, until its scarlet eyes met yours, sending you a rush of memories you wished would stay buried. You woke with a scream on your lips, your throat felt dry and your hair damp with sweat. 

You slid from the bed and opened the mini-fridge in the small kitchenette of your room. Drinking an entire bottle of water and wiping your forehead with a cloth before slipping out of the room and into the master suite. Taemin’s room was right beside yours and you didn’t believe that was a mere coincidence. A candle was lit on the bedside table and you were greeted by his soft even breathing as you made your way to the enormous bed and climbed in beside him careful not to touch him. If it was a fiancee he had bargained for then it was one he would get. You turned your face away from his back and settled in to sleep but your eyes opened wide once more when you felt Taemin’s hand wrap around your shoulder in a gentle embrace as he turned to face your back and fell asleep once more. So maybe he had heard you awaken from your nightmare earlier you thought as your eyes grew heavy again and you fell asleep to the warmth of his touch and the thud of your heart.

You blinked as sunlight greeted you and you stretched, opening your eyes wider as you felt the absence of heat beside you and an empty pillow, your hands grazing over the indent in the fabric. Taemin was gone already, must have been since early this morning but his distinct scent still lingered, a combination of sweet oranges and heady cinnamon spice. You met the cold wooden floorboards against your bare feet with a groan as you made your way to the bathroom but a small young woman stopped you as you made your way to the tub.

“My name is Marguerite,” she said with a small curtsy. “Lord Taemin asked me to see to your needs m’lady. What minerals would you like in your bath?” 

“Oh, anything you like Marguerite I don’t mind truly.” You said moving out of her way so she could toss a few veils of lovely smelling soaps into the tub as she turned the hot water on. 

“How long have you been in Lord Taemin’s services?” You asked curiously. 

“Today is my first day m’lady, his lordship doesn’t keep many servants. Just the occasional cleaning maid. I expect he figured you’d be needing a handmaid.”

You nodded at this, touched that he’d thought so far ahead as to hire the girl already. You made a mental note to thank him later as you dipped into the warm water and watched the colorful bubbles that clung to your chest.   

The hotel breakfast was divine of course. Everything about the hotel was exquisite and filled with every out of season delicacy you could imagine. Grabbing an extra candied pear before you left the breakfast hall you decided to explore the grand hotel further. You made your way in and out of passageways and lobbies with sitting rooms and expensive carpets. But you wondered where the reception room for weddings and banquets must be. 

A hotel like this would have quite a few of them and sure enough, you came to a door that seemed close to the gardens. On the archway was a plaque that read Hall of Mirrors, you smiled at that. Of course, anyone who ran a circus would decide it a fitting name. You opened the heavy doors carefully and shut it behind you. Your eyes widened at the sight before you, you had never seen such wealth in one room alone. The hall was bathed in light, the sun shown through the many-windowed arches and reflected on the arches of mirrors just across. There were so many mirrors, more than three hundred if you could guess. the arches and walls all gleamed with their polished golden frames and elaborate craftsmanship. There were even mirrors that looked as if they belonged in a funhouse with odd shapes to them that disfigured your reflection. But most of them were tall and elegant. 

There was so much glass in the room you felt afraid to touch anything at all. Glass chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceiling and you wondered at the poor servant who lit the small white candles. This room in all its opulence reminded you of the photographs you’d seen of Versailles. This entire room was a show of power. You moved closer to the marble statue of what looked like Apollo riding his sun chariot. You ran the tip of your finger along the small stallions manes, fascinated by their detail.     

“My father thinks himself a god, Mademoiselle.” The voice startled you so that when you moved to turn around you’d cut yourself on one of the stallions sharply pointed ears. You stuck the pricked finger in your mouth to wipe away the blood as you stared at Ten before you. He looked straight through you at the statue before continuing, “Did you know there are eighteen figures alone in this hotel of Apollo? On fountains and vases.” He shook his head. “My father, the sun-god of business and opportunity.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn't have pried into your rooms.” You said, eager to getaway. I enjoyed the performance last night, it's a pleasure to meet you in person. My name is-”

“I know who you are Lady Basileia, the papers cannot help but jump at the chance to announce your presence.” 

“This banquet hall is very exquisite, do you hold weddings here?” Your heartbeat raced nervously but you kept a smile plastered on your face. Maybe if he bored of your small talk he’d excuse himself or throw you out even. 

“Why do you wish to know?” He said, looking at you as if for the first time. “Would you like to hold your wedding here?” Ten smiled in a mocking sort of way and he looked at you as if you were nothing but filth dragged in. “I’m afraid this sort of lavishness makes Taemin uncomfortable, there is no way your groom to be would agree to such a location. A pity really that such a humble man must deal with a fortune-hunting wench like you.” 

You didn’t dare break his gaze as you said, “If you’ll excuse me my fiance is waiting for me. I hope that our next meeting will be more pleasant. You gave him a small dignified curtsy and exited the room careful to walk entirely around him. You found your breath again only after you were a safe distance away from the hall and out of the hotel. 

You made your way to the red tent hoping to find Taemin and ask him to take you out to the city. You just needed to go anywhere else to get your mind off of your encounter and shopping was the perfect distraction. If all you were good for was spending money then you would do just that you thought bitterly. Ten had frightened you with his smile, the way his face seemed bright and youthful but his spirit dark in ways you didn’t want to imagine. He reminded you of Andre, the way he brought you down and made you feel as if you were truly nothing. 

 You still wore the only dress you owned and just because of Ten’s family dealings you weren’t going to stop yourself from using his money. The more you could spend before Taemin all of a sudden decided he’d had enough of his life here and was ready to flee his position in the circus the better. You didn’t plan on leaving with him if he did. You’d already left everything behind once in your life and being penniless again was not an idea you fancied. If you played your part well there wasn’t a soul besides Ten who would doubt your sincerity and that was payment enough in your mind. Taemin had given you a perfect opportunity to mingle with the highest of aristocracy here each night at the red tent and you weren’t going to pass up the chance to make some money of your own for your own sense of security. 

Trusting anyone and being indebted for life to anyone scared the hell out of you and even though Taemin seemed like some star-crossed spirit no matter how hard you tried to push the thought aside you weren’t about to trust in his motives anytime soon. The more his soul tugged at yours and the more your heart softened as you experienced his pain. When you spoke last night together it had frightened you and it did not change the fact that he was just human. A beautiful godlike figure but mortal nonetheless and people were prone to deception. 

You weren’t beyond using him as Ten had blatantly said, a deal was a deal after all and with every lingering touch and glance it was growing harder to ignore. As long as he didn’t muddle your interest in carnal pleasures for love you weren’t against it. In fact, it would probably be bliss to meet a passion so intense that it would make you forget Andre and his months of torment. A welcome distraction before parting ways in the future. 

Ducking under the tent flap you spotted Taemin immediately. He was impossible to miss, sitting center-stage in a gilded birdcage that took up almost the entire stage. He sat on the swing hanging down from the top of his golden prison like some exotic bird in a royal menagerie. You could imagine how extravagant the costuming would be that night for the show, A spectral of colorful feathers and brightly painted eyelids but you found a pleasurable peace in watching him with practice gear, the white full-bodied leotard hugging every curve of his body.

His voice was sweeter than any birdsong and you found yourself inexorably drawn to him as you went to sit in the front row to watch. This time his song told the story of fame and loss. Of a being so popular his lifeblood existed on stage. It was like listening to Taemin’s deepest worries while learning all at once that he wouldn’t give all of this up for anything. It seemed that you had misjudged him, he wasn’t a prisoner to this circus but a slave to himself and his never-ceasing desire to give his all in every performance, even in one like this that was just for practice. He may have started down this path because of his need and Ten’s family but his heart was also here and with his fans as if this was what he was born to do. When he finished singing you cheered louder than you had before, making up for the empty seats. He smiled at you and ducked as the other performers lifted the cage enough for him to slip under.

“You're just in time my love,” He said extending a hand to you and pulling you onstage. “I’d like to introduce you to my family.” It was clear that by family he meant the other performers. They gathered around you with curiosity as he said, “Everyone, this is my fiancee Mademoiselle Basileia that I have spoken to you of.” You nodded at them all in turn with a smile before they began to ask questions that you knew were coming. 

“Taem says you saved him! Is that true My Lady?” Said Valerie whom you remembered as the contortionist siren who had the opening act of the circus. Before you could answer a small middle-aged woman that you remembered faintly from the sidelines yesterday came bustling from backstage shouting, “Goddess be praised ye finally brought the lass over! I thought you would hide her away till the masquerade. The woman placed a glass of ice water in Taemin’s hands and kissed you on the cheeks. 

“This is Madame Orla,” Taemin said. 

“But you may call me Mother Orla,” she said taking your hand in her own. “Taemin, Yule is in less than two weeks, aren't ye going to take your future bride and buy her a gown for the ball. You know how ruffled the merchants get when you don’t give them dew notice! She’ll end up wearing some premade ill-fitting thing. She said in a chastising voice filled with love and amusement. 

It suddenly struck you that this Yule ball was not just any Winter Solstice gathering but rather the ball. The Chittaphons threw elaborate parties all year that was to be sure but their annual Yule Masquerade ball held in their own manor was unlike any other. It was almost magical in its limited guest list and famed extravagance and after your visit to the Hall of Mirrors, your mind could scarcely wrap around the idea of what their manor would look like. It was one of Lily’s favorite pastimes to write about one or all of the girls at Muldale attending, like Cinderella appearing at the palace. It hadn’t even occurred to you that you were now invited as Taemin’s fiancee to the event.  

 “Mother Orla, why don’t you give her a proper Sibylline greeting while I change. Taemin said kissing your forehead and further solidifying the ‘couple’ myth as the dancers tittered at his small show of affection. “Mother Orla is a seer,” He whispered into your ear before walking backstage. 

You didn’t believe in fortune-telling, it was all a play of lucky guesses and pretty lies that the client wanted to hear but you pushed these thoughts aside and decided to indulge Orla as she lead you with her to sit in a small round table backstage. 

“I read palms,” Orla said. “In palmistry, the lines of your passive hand signifies what you were born with and the attributes the gods have given you while your dominant hand signifies what you have done with that potential and the choices you choose to make. May I?” She said gesturing to your dominant hand. You gave it to her gingerly, your palm faced up and resting in her gentle hands as she skidded her fingers along yours and studied the line that rested at the top of your palm and ended under your pinky finger. 

“Well, your heart line starts below your middle finger. This suggests that you are a leader who is independent and you have a keen sense of intellect. However, this intelligence indicates that you combine romance with rationality and careful calculation.” She frowned before continuing, “ You are selfish with your love and quite materialistic, you are not happy unless you control your surroundings and this leads you to act coldly towards others.” Your eyes widened slightly in surprise, a bit taken aback by the honesty of her words. “See the way your love line is forked with indecision form your brain and heart at war with each other?” You nodded, actually agreeing with her on this point. Love was illogical to you and suffocating, it made you feel trapped. “Yet your heart longs for freedom as well, perhaps from your past, you are much like a lone she-wolf lass, stubborn as a mule but hungry for passion. If you aren’t careful your stubbornness will devour you and lead to the capture of your free spirit, found by the hunter that you fear.” You shuttered then at the comparison as you remembered the wolf in your nightmare. Perhaps the wolf was you and the hunter in this fable your father, the connection was clear and unavoidable. 

Orla moved on, paying attention to the line that ran down the center of your palm. “You may find this news more promising. Your Fate Line shows your talent in creating relationships even if they are imbalanced by personal gain. You will have someone faithful to you, a helpmate to strengthen your personal ties and belief in trust. But be warned, if you remain distrustful your life will be a lonely path indeed.” Orla said, utter seriousness in her tone. You pulled your hand away not looking her in the eye. 

“Well, what do the stars say of our love Orla?” Taemin said as he came towards them dressed in plaid red pants, black boots, and a black and white jacket that somehow fit together marvelously. 

“It was by fate that your soul encountered hers, I believe you will be her salvation if trust blooms and she your downfall should it crumble,” Orla told him solemnly. 

Taemin took your arm and entwined it with his. “Thank you for the reading Orla,” Taemin said brushing aside her grim account with a sideways smile. “But I believe Basileia and I have a way of steering fate in our favor.” You bowed your head as a thank you for the reading and left the tent with him. You didn’t turn around even as you felt Orla’s eyes pierced your back.

It was a short drive into the bustling city. The heart of New Celes was alight with Yuletide celebration. Trees were decorated in colored lights and wreaths were hung in every shop. Taemin brought you to a woman’s clothing store filled with elaborate day gowns and business slacks, helping you pick out a few and waiting by the fitting room as you tried on the ones you liked. You modeled a few for him, spinning around in slow circles as he watched the way the fabric cascaded down your legs and hugged your hips. 

He found a pair of gold-rimmed heels and knelt to the floor, you lifted your skirt and he slipped them onto your feet, avoiding contact as he did so. Watching his gentle hands against the heel brought a pang of annoyance to your chest. He was so careful with you, so distant, so cold.

“I believe these will be perfect for the masked ball,” Taemin said rising from the floor. You nodded and turned away to head back to the fitting room, your cheeks felt hot and you were ready to take the damn long dress off. You didn’t like the way it dragged across the floor no sooner had you thought it then you tripped over the fabric and tumbled off the mirrored platform. He was there in an instant, catching you by the shoulders and breaking your fall. You looked up at him, his face closer than it ever had been, even in sleep he’d kept at a distance. But now you felt his chest against yours, the beat of his heart one with the rise and fall of your breasts and his warm hands against your skin. His eyes met yours and yet you were the first to break the stare. “Thank you.” You straightened and he released you. 

“I’ll be next door fitting for my Yule costume,” he said. “It's best if we surprise each other though most couples like to match but I believe I’ll let fate decide this one.” His eyes were back to that blank lazy submission, any sparkle of openness lost as he turned and made his way towards the front of the store. 

It didn’t take you long to choose a Yuletide costume. You simply thought of what Lily would have chosen and the decision was done. You had to admit the symbolism of such a costume would be lost on no one and it gave you a thrill to think of it.

“And whom should I put the dress under for pickup My Lady? The seamstress said as she marked down the measurements of your waist, neckline, and shoulders into a massive book of orders. 

“You may put it under my name Madame Escoffier,” Taemin said as he came into the shop again with several bags. “I haven't seen you in months ma fée,” The woman said sweetly coming to kiss his cheeks.” Her fairy indeed you thought, marveling at his jovial demeanor and quick smiles. It was a gift he seemed to possess, he influenced the aura around him either radiating cold magnetic charm or sunshine that no one could escape.

“You tell Orla I’m waiting for a visit soon.” Madame Escoffier said as you walked out of her shop. Taemin grabbed the bags and assured the lady he would.

Next, Taemin took you to a small antique shop on the end on the street. The store was filled with old-fashioned bonnets expensive fishing rods and pendants. In the jewelry case, you found many pieces of faux earrings and necklaces and you wondered why they warranted the extra protection till your eyes fell upon a pearl necklace. Even if it was a fake you had to admit that the clasp and the sheen of glossy pearls were beautiful. “That one, I’ll take it,” Taemin said to the clerk when he saw you looking at the necklace. “You’ll need something old for the wedding won’t you?” He said with a conspiratorial laugh as he fastened the pearls around your neck. 

“Thank you,” you said somehow touched at this least extravagant gift than all the rest today.  

“Anything for my enchanting bride to be.” He said loudly enough for the clerk to hear. Taemin offered you a hand as you exited into the frosty streets and you took it gladly. It had gotten considerably colder and just when you were about to ask Taemin to hand you the new blue coat you had bought, a man with a tattooed shoulder of a vibrant rose-red she-wolf moved past. You clutched your own shoulder and shivered but not from the cold as you remembered the design of the tattoo all too well. The absence of the Scarlet Wolf Groupe resurfaced in your mind like a brand. You remembered the day long ago when you had burned it off your skin with the candle wax on your bedside table. The horror on Madame Dupont’s face when she’d found your scar was soon mended with makeup and lacy shoulder bands till the scars grew less apparent than a birthmark. 

Taemin hadn't missed the look of fear that crossed your face as the man walked past. Of course, he never missed anything, you thought as you made your face blank and continued to make your way to the car. Once inside Taemin didn’t spare a minute before he said, “It’s growing more and more perilous each night in New Celes. You would think the Chittaphons would be a little more subtle about where their alliances lie. He said revving the engine. 

Your head whipped toward his. “What do you mean his ally?”

 “Just what I said, the Scarlet Wolf is a long-time friend of the family. They do the Chittaphon’s dirty work like the dogs they are.” Taemin said, a look of disgust marring his perfect features and sending ice toward your veins. 

“It's an insane idea even for Ten to invite such mongrels to the masquerade under the guise of a truce. The Chittaphon’s seek “peace” with the beasts for the people of New Celes and wish to end their reign but it’s all a ploy to lure in the Alpha and assert their command. The leader of that rabid pack gets their money from someone we know.”

Your face paled and you couldn’t hide the panic in your voice as you said: “The Alpha is coming to the Yule Ball?” 

“Yes, but don’t worry he’s not the chatty sort, he said with worry as he took his eyes off the road to assess you. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost, Lady Basileia.” He didn’t know how right he was. You remained silent for the rest of the ride back to the hotel. 

You wanted to tell Taemin you couldn’t attend the ball but every time you did your words faltered. Going to the ball wasn’t just about you, it was for Taemin, it was for the entire scheme you had agreed to. Without your presence, it would be a nightmare for him and you would be entirely responsible. Your own voice nagged at you that it wasn’t Taemin’s safety you worried for but your own. 

Telling anyone you were the daughter to the Alpha of the Scarlet Wolf would make you a bargaining chip and a dangerous one. You didn’t want to think about what Ten could do, what leverage he would gain if you were discovered. The brand on your shoulder burned again, as if alive, tying you to your past like a collar. There was no love lost between you and your father that was certain, but it didn’t mean he wouldn’t want you back now. As a child you posed less of a threat, he probably thought you dead. But now if he ever knew you were still alive he would be afraid of the pack secrets you could reveal, the names you could sell and he would hunt you down without remorse.

 It was a masquerade after all, a festival of hidden faces and fluttering fans with a father you haven't seen in over fifteen years. He would not recognize you. And yet even with all of these excuses in your mind, your guilt ate away at you and the string of pearls Taemin had given you seemed to constrict around your neck in reminder.

Your loud thoughts were easier to dispel in the daytime but when night fell and you found yourself seeking the quiet comfort of Taemin’s company beside yours it grew harder and harder to remain silent and even more willpower to stay still. When you heard his breathing even out into a blissful sleep some nights you would turn over and look at his peaceful face- or what you could see of it from the dim bedside candlelight. Every fiber of your being craved contact. It was as if an insatiable fire had grown alight inside you, 

 Your fingers ached to trace the bridge of his nose from forehead to the unique dip of his lip. But you didn’t. You lay your head upon the pillow and fell away to darkness even as your body felt aflame in its own perpetual inferno. 

As the days grew closer and closer to the festival you’d had enough. You spent your nights in your own room, or else wear. You gathered money from new clients and disguised yourself with makeup and washable hair dyes. It was after the fifth night of going on in this fashion that you found Taemin in your room. It was four in the morning and you’d decided to leave your client asleep in his bed, helping yourself to a bottle of Champagne as you left. You hadn’t drunk much at all but when you saw Taemin leaning against the mantle of the fireplace as you entered your chambers you wished you had. 

You set the bottle on your bedside table carefully, not meeting his eyes.

“You’re back,” he said the obvious with a thinly laced veil of anger he was trying so desperately to conceal. “You shouldn’t be out at this hour, the Scarlet Wolf patrols are always about at night-”

“Who are you to say when I should or shouldn’t be out, are you my keeper? Do you think I will owe you forever.” You said placing cash on the table beside him and pushing it toward him. “Here is a week’s worth, I’ll pay off my emblem slowly but it will be done.”

“I never asked you to pay me back! I only asked you to keep up our agreement. His voice grew louder now as he took in your wrinkled gown and the stockings you’d draped across your arm. 

“Why don’t you just say what we both know is really on your mind.” You said, your voice growing heated as well. Your head felt as if it would burst and your feet were near freezing. “It hurts your pride that as your fiancee I was out hell knows where and with whom in the dead of night am I right?”

“Yes, It does bother me! I didn’t only make this arrangement for me Basileia.” He said coming closer. The light of the fire only added to the fervor in his eyes as he reached for you. One warm hand against your frigid collarbone. He pulled at the string of pearls around your neck till he found the clasp and set it loose, they fell to the floor with a clatter. His eyes meet yours as he said, “Is this Champagne life of luxuries all you desire? It bothers me to have you sleeping in another man’s bed with the present I gave you around your neck.” 

You stood so still you could hardly breathe. The passion in his eyes was frightening but not in the perilous way you were used to. Taemin’s hand across your skin wasn’t suffocating as Andre’s would be if anything you wanted him to pull you closer. His eyes were filled with a word you dared not say, it was sweeter than lust, more consuming than meer obsession. And so you dangled it before you like a token in your mind. It was love; bold, bright, and hopeful, dancing in his irises like tongues of fire. “I thought..” His voice was a broken whisper now. “I thought you would be happier here.” 

You were happier here with him. Happier than any time in your life. But to stay? To make the lie between you real? 

“I sometimes forget this is a lie.” You said softly, motioning between yourself and him. “When you touch me I forget myself.” 

He smiled then as if you had given him the world. He leaned in and whispered against your ear, “Then why not make this our reality, why pretend when we both want this? He took your hands in his “Or am I not enough?”

“You are more than enough, Taemin.” You said bringing his hands to your lips. “You’ve made me care like I never thought I could. You saw worth in me even when I looked upon myself in shame. And I will always be grateful to you but because of who I am I cannot stay in one place for long or dare to love someone.”

He extricated himself from your hands, a mask of ice was forming once more across his features, shielding his emotions away and in that moment you knew that if you didn’t tell him the truth you would lose him forever and that frightened you more than his love. 

“My father is the leader of the Scarlet Wolf, Taemin. I can’t allow him to notice me if I stay too long.”  His eyes widened, the shock melting his indifference. “I could never be a part of them and because I severed the ties between us he will certainly want me back if he finds I’m alive. 

“Is that why you stayed at Muldale? Did you feel you had to atone for your father’s mistakes by selling yourself?” His voice wasn’t laced with pity or animosity, he looked as if he truly wanted to know. It was honestly a question you had asked yourself many times.

 “No,” you said finally and he seemed a bit relieved by the answer. “My father’s sins, the Alpha’s sins, are his own. I only wanted to make a life apart from his and I made it in the best way I believed I could given my situation.”

He nodded at this, seeming satisfied that you weren't running yourself to the ground out of some twisted obligation to erase the Alpha’s blood from your veins. 

“I do care for you,” You said with much more conviction this time. The words tumbled out awkwardly but that didn’t make them any less true. You felt it needed to be said aloud, if not for you then for him. For the man before you who wore his heart on his sleeve in your presence. “I want you, more than I have ever wanted anything in my life.” You said, and a look of hopeful bliss crossed his features once more. He wrapped you into his embrace, his chin resting on your head as he played with the ends of your hair. 

“And I suppose you were going to wait till after the masquerade when you finished dancing with death to tell me all this?” He sounded worried and so you reassured him with the same phrases you'd kept telling yourself over and over. 

“He won’t recognize me, it’s been so many years.”

“It’s a bad idea, I can make up some excuse for not attending. If we go every eye will be on you. Our story is quite the talk in city gossip as it is.”

“All the more reason we must go. I won't sabotage your plans to show ourselves as a couple. Besides, the best way to hide is right under the Alpha’s nose.”

The inside of your gown scratched a bit against your skin but you had to admit it was worth it. The dress clung to your body perfectly and yet the bodice was breathable. The midnight-blue fabric swayed as you walked and the little golden stars, suns, and crescent moons sewn onto the shimmering canopy layer glowed just as brightly as the mask you wore. It was a simple mask, shaped like a butterfly. 

A delicate pair of gossamer wings attached to the back of your gown and seemed to merge with your back. The wings were stunning enough that they had taken your breath away when the costume had arrived wrapped carefully in parchment in the hands of Marguerite. The girl pinned tiny flower clips into your hair and as you gazed into the long mirror in your room now you found an ethereal Faerie Queen stared back. At a light knocking on the door you turned from your reflection to open it and it was then that your heart truly caught in your throat. 

Taemin had dyed his hair to a light white-blonde shade. Clips of hair the same hue cascaded down his shoulders. His eyes twinkled mischievously through the golden mask that covered half of his upper face. Golden antlers grew from the top of his mask with flowers growing from their tips and on his forehead was a crown made of leaves. His ears were pointed and a pair of wings also graced his back. A green velvet cape matched the single opera glove on his left hand as well as his pants. The ruffled white shirt with golden buttons closed to the collar granted him an air of nobility. You let out a wide smile at his choice of costume. 

“Pleased to make your acquaintance Lord Oberon, King of the Forest.” You curtsied slightly and he followed your example with a smile and bow of his own. 

“Likewise fair Queen Mab, Lady of Air and Darkness.” He said. Taking your hand into his gloved one and kissing the back of it.

“How in blazes did you know I would dress up as the Faerie queen of the Winter Court.” You asked him, only a little annoyed that he’d peeked at your costume.

“I didn’t I swear. Fate is really in our favor.” 

“Or the Fates are against us!” you said with a laugh. “Your queen Titania is not one to be double-crossed. You’re the King of the Summer Court and a Seelie at that! However would our love survive?”

“Opposites attract My Lady, you are as lovely and cold as snow. I cannot bear to part with you. Where others may say the Unseelie bring nothing but misfortune, I see beauty in those icy veins and a heart that beats as rapidly as mine own.” 

You lose it then, doubling over in laughter. “You are quite good at this.”

“I was born to appear on stage, are you really all that surprised.”

“Before we go would you help me with something.” You said, moving towards the vanity and taking the string of pearls you placed in his palm before moving your hair away from the nape of your neck. He fastened it, his hands lingering on your skin a moment longer and then he extended his elbow. You took it, entwining your arm in his. When you looked toward him you felt the rampant wave of emotions that radiated from him as he took in the pearls across your throat and your painted plum-colored lips so near yet not near enough. 

When you arrived at the Chittaphon Manor you were greeted by several footmen waiting at the door. Once inside you craned your neck up to look at the high ceilings covered in paintings as you walked upon the red-carpeted marble floors. The ballroom was filled with diamond chandeliers and scented red candles that smelled of cinnamon. There were so many people dancing to the vivacious orchestra and they were all hidden under masks, even the musicians themselves were in costume. Servants bustled about in black suits and dresses with the masks of ravens carrying trays of champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries.

 Your descent from the grand staircase had not gone unnoticed and Taemin squeezed your hand to reassure you as many eyes turned to watch you both. In spite of (or rather because of) his costume there was no mistaking Taemin or his companion. The crowd murmured as you passed and you supposed the sight of Taemin attending any party with a woman would stir up this much gossip and jealous eyes. Taemin didn’t ignore their gazes, he smiled politely as always and pulled you toward the center of the room and towards the company of your host. 

You noticed Ten before he did. He was dressed in a fox mask and a red suit, looking ever the part of a depraved demon you thought. His eyes then fell upon Taemin and flicked to you. He said nothing, assessing your costume head to toe before saying, “Ah it would seem you have switched places. Forgive me but as everyone here can attest, myself included, if there were ever a faerie tyrant too bold and in possession of a stone heart it would be your prized husband-to-be mademoiselle.”  Ten bowed and extended his hand, you gave him yours reluctantly but with so many eyes upon you, it was impossible to refuse him. You smiled, determined to keep your cheerful demeanor. 

“I am glad we should meet again at last, Lady Basileia, though I find it a shame you did not come dressed as Hestia, or some other hearth maiden as you bring so many men warmth on these frigid winter nights.” Ten’s eyes twinkled in amusement and the meaning of his words was not lost upon you as you heard Taemin clear his throat beside you. 

“And where are the rest of our hosts this evening, It would be a shame for Lady Basileia to miss them,” Taemin said. 

“Mother and Father tire of these festivities easily.” Ten said, grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing tray and taking a sip. “They retreated to the gambling tables as soon as the music began.” 

“Young Master, I believe your guest has arrived.” Said a servant in a crow mask to Ten who then excused himself. 

“I’m afraid Ten knows far too much about your whereabouts,” Taemin whispered with one hand at the small of your back, guiding you through the dance floor and closer to the orchestra and swaying figures that brushed you by. 

“But he couldn’t know about anything before Madame Dupont’s, Taemin. Even the Madame herself knew nothing of where I came from.” 

Just then Ten appeared in the corner of your eye again. He watched the two of you and the weight of resentment you felt from his gaze was enough to make you act rashly. If he did know anything of your past it was better to lure the truth out. Better the devil you know than die of ignorance too late. 

When Taemin grabbed a chocolate-covered strawberry passing on a tray you took his hand before he could eat it and moved his fingers to your mouth. The plum-colored lips that had so hypnotized Taemin before now took the fruit along with two of his fingers. Your tongue left not a trace of chocolate behind as the warmth of your mouth enveloped him and he thought he would lose his sanity as you moved closer, taking him in farther.

“What are you doing,” Taemin hissed. His voice was shaken and you gleamed triumphantly as you released him. 

“Merely speeding up our reluctant enemy.” You said as you searched for Ten again amid the crowd.

He was still watching, but his gaze had turned even darker and beside him stood a man that hadn’t been there before. It was Ten’s Guest who towered beside him and he was wearing a wolf mask. Leon Sauvage, the Alpha, stood ever too close to Ten like a familiar and comfortable lapdog. You turned your gaze away immediately.

“Let’s dance,” you said. Wrapping your arms around Taemin’s shoulder and pulling him closer as if it would shield you from the Alpha’s eyes.

After a few dances, you began to feel more at ease and relaxed into Taemin’s arms allowing the music to envelop you both into a bubble of happiness that you hadn’t known had been busting inside of you. Under different circumstances, at a different party, you would have been wholly engulfed in his company.

The twist in your stomach returned all too soon however when Ten appeared behind Taemin and tapped him on the shoulder. “May I have a dance with the ravishing Queen Mab.” Ten said. When Taemin didn’t pull away from you he leaned in and said to Taemin, “It was so kind of you mon amour to decide to sing for us, truly more than I expected.” 

Taemin paled at this and Ten only smirked as one of the servants announced loudly to the assembly, “And now I present Lord Lee Taemin, who will grace us with ‘Bird in a Gilded Cage’.”

“Go on, I  do believe they are calling you. You wouldn't want to make a scene,” Ten said.

You nodded at Taemin to go and squeezed his hand in reassurance that you would be alright without him as he threw daggers with his eyes at Ten and walked toward the front of the crowd. When Taemin started to sing the ironically dark and sorrowful melody of a woman who wasted her youth on a man of fortune. Ten began to whirl you around the room looking ever the part of a gentleman to his many guests. But his grip on your waist and hand was like a vise. 

“You’re like a dime,” you said when you couldn’t bear the silence any longer. “Two-faced, and not worth my time.” He laughed at that, it was a strange laugh like none you’d ever heard. It was boyish in its charm almost innocent even though his eyes were anything but. Still, the wide smile and flashing of teeth had caught you off guard once again. He held an air of pure calculation. Everything about him was deliberate, meticulous, dangerous and beautiful in its ferality.

 “Quite the handful aren't you, it's no wonder he can’t keep you for himself.” Ten said as he caught a ringlet of your hair and twirled it between his fingers. When you slapped his hand away he only grinned again then leaned in to whisper in your ear, “It matters not how many gowns and diamonds you wear, a wolf is a wolf, even in a gilded cage, even dressed in silk. And his daughter,” he said holding you tighter, “Is no exception.”

He knew then. Your heart pounded frantically as you began to race through plans of escape in your mind but Ten’s hands held too firmly to you. 

“Perhaps instead of thinking about escaping me, you should start thinking about what the Alpha can do to Taemin if you don’t leave him.” His words stopped your writhing as you stared at him. “Telling the world who you are would indeed sour Taemin’s reputation but only for a time. It's simply not enough, eventually they would just say you cast a spell on him, that with your succubus charms and angelic words you stole him away from the public and his many admirers. Martyr that he is he wouldn’t oppose to gossip for your honor. What is an idol without fame but a beaten dreamer out on the streets and you know how rough that can be my dear. The fool thinks he loves you, well he can love you from his grave.” Your eyes widened as the full force of his words came to rest upon you. 

“Your father is a wealthy man because of me, one word and I'll have those mutts of the Scarlet Groupe tear Taemin to pieces right before your eyes. 

“Ten,” you said gripping his arms now. “If you still bear one shred of love for him, please don’t do this.” 

“Oh my dear sweet vixen, he said tilting your chin up. “I won’t be the one breaking his heart, you will or else our songbird with never sing again.” And with that Ten spins you straight into your father’s arms. 

“My how you've grown,” The Alpha said, as he lead you along the dance floor. You were too stunned for words to slip away. You’d forgotten the gentle rumble of your father's voice, at odds with his intimidating demeanor and brash fits of violence. You saw his eyes soften as he looked upon you and it silenced you into submission. You had always been the omega of the Scarlet Wolf, distanced from the blood-lust and ostracized from their plotting. You remembered then the last time you’d seen your father’s disappointed eyes as he’d turned away and left you in the snow. It was a show of strength, if you had come back alive from the cold it would prove your worthiness and loyalty. But you had run away, abandoning your kin just as your father had abandoned you in his heart. You firmly believed he’d never once believed you would survive that winter alone. 

 “When the young master told me you were still alive I could scarcely believe it. I thought it was a trick to lord over me but it wasn’t. Come back to us, there is nothing for you here.” Your father said. “There is a wildness in your eyes just as there is in mine, you do not belong in the freak show that man calls art.” 

“You left me for dead! Why would I ever return? Especially now when you are nothing but a lapdog to the ringmaster and his family.” 

“I prefer bloodhound,” he said his voice turning colder now. “I had the feeling you would refuse but this isn’t personal anymore it’s simple diplomacy. The young master would like you to leave New Celes and Taemin. I spoke with him and we have come to an agreement. If you leave before dawn he will meet you in the Hall of Mirrors and grant you a small fortune to live on as well as safe passage. You will not be followed out of the city.”

“And if I refuse this generous offer?”

“Well, I will have to kill Taemin upon my young master’s orders.”

“Why not just kill me then, It would save you both the trouble. You know you want to. Leaving the pack is a criminal offense in your eyes is it not?”

“As I said before personal matters are behind us but that does not mean I will enjoy seeing you die, daughter. Your mind is of no use to me anymore, the names you remember, the knowledge of the pack even. Many things have changed since then and I would rather see you off safely than have you come to harm because of the young master’s whims.”

His earnestness surprised you. You’d thought for certain he would want you dead but instead, he was bargaining for your future and safety? 

“I am obliged to follow the young master’s words. It’s best you heed him or others will suffer. I’ve seen him shed more blood over less. I am merely the blade in his hands and his orders will be obeyed.” The song ended and he bowed before slipping away into the crowd. 

Just then a scream cut through the ballroom and the crowd went to circle a body that had collapsed. You pushed your way through only to find a young woman on the floor. One of the candelabras had collapsed and she’d fell with it, hitting her head in the process. You would have believed it an accident if the woman had been anyone else. But there lay Valerie her delicate frame motionless in Taemin’s arms as he picked her up calling frantically all the while for a doctor. It was a message meant for you and as you met Ten’s vicious gaze you knew what would happen if you didn’t do as he wished.

“She’ll be fine, Valerie is awake now.” You said to Taemin again as you both made your way back to the hotel.

“I know’ it’s just…” Taemin let out the shaky breath he’d seemed to be holding the past two hours as they’d brought Valerie to the Chittaphon’s personal physician at Ten’s request of course. You’d watched helplessly as she began to regain her senses slowly after the physician treated her head and held smelling salts to her nose. Valerie had been groggy and complained of a gastly headache but she was otherwise unharmed and it had taken a bit of insistence on your part and Orla’s for Taemin to leave her side and get some rest. 

It reminded you of the way you used to sit by Lily’s bedside while she had a fever. You’d watch over her and read to her for days until she was well. It comforted you that while you were leaving him behind Taemin wouldn’t be alone. He had a family here no matter how strange his position seemed to be he seemed to thrive amid the madness. 

As you looked toward Taemin now pacing like a lion and deep in thought you wondered at the ache in your chest. Maybe you’d always worshipped things you couldn’t have and now that you had him before you, you couldn't bear to let him go.

“I saw you dancing with your father,” Taemin said breaking you from your thoughts. “I wanted to intervene but by the time I got close enough the dance had already ended and Valerie- Well I’m just sorry I wasn’t there for you.” 

“No it’s alright,” you said. “I wasn’t in any danger, it seems my father rather I rejoin him than kill me.”  And so you proceeded to tell him of your refusal and decided it was best to say nothing of Ten’s plans.

 You didn’t want him to worry, you didn’t want to spend your last hours together explaining yourself or talking him into the idea of you leaving him. Perhaps it was greedy of you to want him to yourself just a while longer, but self-denial had never been your virtue and neither had patience.  

“Your song helped me push through my unease tonight,” you said coming towards him and turning. “Would you mind detaching my wings?” You said with an impish smile. “Marguerite has already gone to bed and I’d hate to wake her.”

With nimble hands he began to untie the knot at the small of your back and peeled the wings away slowly. Your back brushed against his chest and you held his gaze over your shoulder. In that moment you were reminded of the carvings in the Hall Of Mirrors that had gleamed in the sun. He was a golden angel, a graven image you dared not touch and yet you burned for him.

 Taemin stood so still, frozen in place as if even a whisper would scare you away. You felt as if you were standing at the edge of a cliff with hell down below. And so you welcomed the chaos of your desire as well as its many demons. You kissed him with all the rapture of an ending world. Your tongue caught the honey of his lips your breath heavy and untamed.With every button you loosened he grew unraveled. With every tug of his hair he was conquered. 

He ran his fingers through your hair sending flower pins flying as he pulled you closer. His lips sent feather-light kisses down your bare shoulder that set your heart racing. Your neck tilted back with the echo of his name on your lips and he claimed them with ravenous abandon. You’d forgotten to feel the depths of your loneliness till now. Before you survived living like a hollowed shell but now that emptiness was filled with something so sweet and new and it made you tremble. Your hands wandered across his chest as he probed your mouth with his tongue, it danced with your own in a blaze of heat and need. 

You slid from your gown, loosening the fabric that caught at your ankles and guided him towards the bed. Every move you made was languorous like a slow prowl your eyes and fingers traced every new patch of skin till you reached the uneven valley of his back and halted. Taemin seemed to come out of his torrid haze in that moment as well. His body seemed to lock in on itself in dread as you moved behind him and beheld his back. 

You were unable to hold in the gasp that escaped your lips and quickly you brought one hand to your mouth as if you could take it back. There along the curve of his spine and the center of his back were scars etched deep into his skin that looked as if an animal had clawed him. No not an animal but a monster you realized as you took in the unnatural pattern they left behind. The lines were shaped like a cross as they overlapped each other and in them the indisputable initial ‘T’ stood.They were whip lashings as brazen as the demon who had given them. You coiled your fists in the sheets, rage swelled within you as well as grief. It was as if Taemin’s body was an extension of your own and every slash of pain bit into your heart. 

“I’m fine.” Taemin said as he wiped your tears with his thumb. 

“How can you say that! How can you stay here with him watching your every move. What he has done to you is unforgivable and yet you stay. You felt sick and so very tired. Your fingers moved along the scars and Taemin allowed it. Watching you over his shoulder as if he was trying to find the words to help you understand. 

“Ten was always a devil in hiding, he took what he wanted and I never questioned his behavior. I was young and so blinded by admiration and blissful ignorance. In those days he could have set the world ablaze and called it snow, heaven knows I would have believed him.” Taemin said brokenly in a whisper of shame.

 “It was so easy to love his smile that even when I found out about the family business I confronted him in the hope that he wasn’t a part of it.” Taemin continued. “I could not believe that the boy who would awaken at dawn just to paint the sky and sketch portraits of me while he thought I wasn't looking was really a monster.” Taemin shook his head and took your hand in his.

“Once he found out I knew about the family business his careful mask seemed to fall around me day by day till one night Ten’s father had me sleep with the Countess Marie de Froissy. It wasn’t unusual for him to ask this of me. He often tried to further his own investments with the information the wives of stockholders and other aristocrats told me.” His eyes flicked toward you when he said this and the words Taemin had said when you first met came to your mind, ‘You and I are more alike than you know.’ 

It took until now to fully realize the extent of those words. You’d both grown up in two separate prisons unable to alter the lives you were given and you both had been so alone. It was then that you showed him where the mark of your kin had been on your shoulder before you’d rid yourself of the hold they had on you. What a fine pair we make.

“Ten was angry at his father and wanted to make it so that he never sent anyone to me again.” Taemin said. “I believe in his own twisted mind he probably thinks it was a gift. But I have learned to not let it define me.” 

“I see that by the way you hold yourself.” You said, moving towards him and letting his arms encircle you in warmth. “With every dance and soul-filled song you've shed these scars and now wear them as wings.” You said as you moved to kiss the scars on his back stroking the lines with the tip of your tongue like a baptism as you painted it across him. He let out an unholy groan that set your skin on fire.

 You pushed him down unto the silken sheets and held him captive with your lips on his again as you straddled his hips, poised upon him as if he were your throne. You trailed your hair down his chest, the strands gliding across him in slow excruciating designs; the thrust of your hips inducing a moan that mirrored your own. 

You reached for the clasp at your neck, unfastening the pearls and embracing the coolness of their touch as they slid pleasurable against your palm. You took the strand in your hands and encircled the beads around his length moving them back and forth against him in a way that made him whimper and quiver, sending a rush of excitement through your veins.

 And then he was there settling above you. His elbows were propped up on either side of your head and the smell of his skin, cinnamon and vanilla enthralled you again. He nestled between your legs, moving inside you with such slow, torturous, movements at first that set your body burning with insatiable hunger until suddenly you couldn’t hum to the rhythm of his hips anymore and the inside of your heavy eyelids were covered in stars. 

The Hall of Mirrors was an entirely different place at night. The mirrors and statues cast queer shadows in the darkness with only the moonlight coming through the archways for light. The chandeliers chimed against each other lightly as the brisk wind of an open window brushed across them. 

You wondered if the letter you’d left Taemin behind would be the first thing he would see when he woke up alone and your heart constricted at the thought. You hadn’t said much, it wouldn’t really have been a goodbye if you had but a promise of something more and you weren’t cruel enough the leave him hope that you would return. Your words were brutal and dipped in half-lies that made you want to throw the paper into the fire before he could ever read it but you hadn’t. Instead you’d dressed, grabbed your few belongings and shut the door.  

“I’m glad you could make it,” Ten’s amused voice came from behind you breaking you from your trance and in the next instant you heard the door click shut. You turned to see his wolfish grin as he crossed the room towards you and placed a single candle with its stand onto a table. You gave him a glare fixed with murderous intent. 

“I didn’t have much choice did I?” You responded bitterly. “Give me the money and tickets before I kill you for what you’ve done to him! I’ve seen the markings on his back, the way you branded yourself onto his skin.” Tears came to your eyes now and you let them fall you didn’t care anymore if this inhuman creature saw you wither at last for he had won and he knew it. “How can you live as if you have authority over all creation? Is everything a game to you?”

“Ahh yes, those tokens of my love. Tell me, when you kissed his scars and traced my name across his back are you sure it was your face he saw as you slept with him or mine.” His eyes gleamed in the candlelight with such perverse pleasure that you could hold back no longer.

You flew at him with hands and teeth. Clawing at his perfect features with your nails as if he had released some rabid thing inside of you. A maniacal storm unleashing itself as you let your repulsion, your hatred, overtake you. You had sworn never to use the abilities of your kin again but your anger took over and with it the bloodlust.

You felt a surge of strength flow through you and with one swift motion, your nails raked across Ten’s face. He screamed, pushing you away with such force that you crashed into one of the mirrors. You covered your face with your arms as you fell to the floor, glass shattering around you. Then Ten was there pinning you down as he sat against your thighs, his hands grabbing at your throat. You felt the blood from his wound dripping across your face as he leaned over you. You’d missed his eye but just barely, the slashes around it had gone deep. 

You could feel your strength waning as it always had before, one moment there then gone. You cursed yourself for your lack of power in a body so wasted away since birth that it only ever held a spark of ability unlike the rest of your kin who quaked with it. 

“What’s the matter, runt? Was that all you could do? Ten taunted. He pulled at the pearls on your throat till it snapped sending a shower of beads across the floor amid broken glass. 

“I meant it when I said this room wouldn’t hold your wedding. It was meant for something far greater: your funeral.’’ Ten said as he grabbed a shard of glass from the floor and drew it towards your chest. Just as suddenly a shadow swept into the room through the open window at an inhuman speed coming between you and the glass. 

You screamed as the Alpha’s vest started to soak in blood. The shard had gone right to his heart and you held his hand in shock as his face grew paler.

“I couldn’t fail you a second time.” Your father said, his eyes meet yours and you knew then that no matter what had happened in the past, he had missed you. The Alpha let out a clear whistle with his last breath before falling limp in your arms. You shook him in disbelief. The strongest person you knew was dead.

 It wasn’t long before Ten was surrounded by men and women in scarlet cloaks and furs. In response to the call of their leader and in a rage over their Alpha’s lifeless body they descended upon Ten like a pack of wolves in earnest till he lay across the marble floor, eyes dull and wide. 

The members of the scarlet wolf gathered their leader’s body with careful hands and pulled you to the open window. It was only then that you heard the shout of Ten’s guard as you were whisked away from the scene by a family you thought you had left behind forever. 

[onewfantaesy]

In circus au, since taemin essentially dropped out of high school to run away and join the circus, Jinki always takes a couple hours out of each day to go over some sort of learning material with taemin. It can be anything from math, science, English, history, all that good stuff.

Sometimes after performances, taemin can be found in jinki’s trailer sitting at his little table doing a worksheet while Jinki makes him dinner and comes over to sit down and help him when he gets stuck.

“You’ll be able to get your GED in no time,” Jinki will tell him. “When you’re ready, I’ll help you find where you can take the test.”

“Thanks,” Taemin mumbles, nibbling at little pieces of whatever Jinki made him to eat. Taemin practically lives in Jinki’s trailer anyway.

When Minho and Key run around the circus trying to find Taemin after thy see him performing, they find him in Jinki’s trailer working on a math worksheet and eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

[mymoodwriting]

NCT:

Gangster Haechan

Female!Reader x Haechan

Gangster AU

Mafia Taeyong

Mafia AU

Doctor Jeno

Hospital AU

NCT 127: Ex-Boyfriend

Mafia AU

Flight 609

“He turned back from heavens gate, cause he can’t live without her”

F!Reader x Kun

Demon AU

Save You, Save Me

{The Start}

Taeyong | Mark | Doyoung | Yuta | Jungwoo | Johnny | Jaehyun | Haechan

{The End}

Muse

“Are you a model?”

F!Reader x Xiaojun

Artist/Yandere AU

Love Theory

F!Reader x Taeyong

Yandere AU

Gangster Yuta

F!Reader x Yuta

Gangster AU

Passion

F!Reader x Jaehyun

Triangular Theory Of Love AU

Commitment

F!Reader x Doyoung

Triangular Theory Of Love AU

Sticker (II) (III) (IV)

Stupid college boys

F!Reader x NCT 127 (OT9)

College AU

Come Here

Reader & Jaehyun

Comfort AU

The Bat

Omega!Reader x Johnny & Jeno

ABO AU

Queen

F!Reader x NCT 127

Vampire AU

Perfume

F!Reader x NCT DJJ

Supernatural/Domestic AU

SHINee:

Just Me And You

F!Reader x Taemin

Demon/Yandere AU

Danger

F!Reader x Taemin

Rockstar AU

Killer

F!Reader x Key

Yandere AU

Chase

F!Reader x Minho

Yandere AU

Guilty

F!Reader x Taemin

Asylum AU

K.E.Y

F!Reader x Key

Android AU

Stray Kids:

A.I. Felix

A.I. AU

Your Highness

“Another day, another lonely morning.“

Female!Reader x Hyunjin

Royal AU

Red Lights

“I can’t leave you alone.”

Female!Reader x Hyunjin x Bang Chan

Yandere AU

Oddinary

“I’ll be fine, I promise.”

Female!Reader x Stray Kids

Oddinary AU

Circus

“When was the last time you were at the circus?” 

Female!Reader x Stray Kids

Circus AU

Maxident

“This is Hwang Hyunjin.” 

Female!Reader x Hyunjin

Yandere AU

What?

Female!Reader x SKZ

Yandere AU

Megaverse

Female!Reader x SKZ

Megaverse AU

ATEEZ:

Overboard

“She’ll make an excellent pirate.”

Female!Reader x Ateez

Pirate AU

Nero (II)

“A red ribbon will look great on you.”

Female!Reader x Ateez

Vampire AU

The Real

“Don’t cause trouble, Mingi.”

Female!Reader x Ateez

Supernatural AU

Second Chances

“I’m not going to leave.”

Female!Reader x Ateez

Ateez AU

Vampire Seonghwa

“What do we have here?”

Female!Reader x Ateez

Vampire AU

Deja Vu

“I know you get deja vu…”

Female!Reader x Ateez

Deja Vu AU

Witness

It all started with a fever…

Female!Reader x Ateez

From The Witness AU

Android Seonghwa

"I have a present for you.”

Female!Reader x Ateez

Android AU

Cat Hybrid Seonghwa

“Have you ever been to a hybrid cafe?” 

Female!Reader x Hybrid!Seonghwa

Hybrid AU

Yandere Jongho

“Is this your latest ploy for my attention?” 

Female!Reader x CEO!Jongho

Yandere AU

Birthday Wish

“Is it really your birthday today?” 

Female!Reader X ???!Ateez

Supernatural AU

The Boyz:

Drink It (II)

“I’m gonna get lost.”

Female!Reader x Younghoon

Drink It AU

Maverick

“You know better than that. You shoot, no matter what.”

Female!Reader x The Boyz

Maverick AU

Stealer

“I’m the Stealer.”

Female!Reader x The Boyz

Stealer AU

Be Awake

Without memories you find an interesting place to start anew.

Female!Reader x The Boyz

Be Awake AU

Roar

"Did you miss me?”

Female!Reader x The Boyz

Hybrid AU

Sweet

Welcome to Happy Vampire Village

Female!Reader x The Boyz

Vampire AU

Watch It

“Welcome to Wingz Express, how may I help you?” 

Female!Reader x The Boyz

Watch It AU

Fairy Tale Waterfall

“This trip is gonna be awesome!” 

Female!Reader x The Boyz

Siren AU

TXT:

Cats & Dogs (II)

“You adopted some strays?”

F!Reader x TXT

Hybrid AU

Gone Bad

“She didn’t just break up with us.”

F!Reader x TXT

Yandere AU

Sugar Rush Ride

“Are you… angels…”

F!Reader x TXT

Sugar Rush Ride AU

Deja Vu

“Hey… it’s me again…” 

F!Reader x TXT

Deja Vu AU

Seventeen:

Psycho (II)

“Found you.”

F!Reader x Jun

Psycho AU

Maestro

“Do you hear the piano?”

F!Reader & Seventeen

Maestro AU

EXO:

Dreamland’s Dawn

One loop hole in a demon contract leads to the journey of a life time.

Reader x Tao

Demon AU

SF9:

Jealous (II) (III)

“Baby, don’t get so jealous.”

Female!Reader x SF9

Vampire/Yandere AU

Xdinary Heroes:

Happy Death Day

“Happy Death Day”

F!Reader & Xdinary Heroes

Birthday AU

Pentagon:

Cerberus

Cerberus aren’t your average drug dealers, watch out.

F!Reader x Yuto & Kino & Wooseok

Supernatural/Alien AU

Just B:

Just Believe (II)

“Jump”

F!Reader & Just B

Just B Concept

SuperM:

No Manners

Yandere/Mafia AU

As We Wish

Mark | Kai | Baekhyun | Ten | Taeyong | Taemin

Yandere/???

Heist

(I) (II) (III) (IV) (V) (VI) (VII) (VIII)

Yandere/Superpower AU

Lee Jong Suk:

The Witch

F!Reader & Jang

The Witch AU

[whereisthecd]

Magnolia Riders: SuperM/Saddle Club AU ✨

CHAPTER FIVE

masterlist

Key Terms this Chapter

Bridle: The equipment that goes on the horses face when riding. Contains the bit which goes in their mouth, and has the reins which are used to control the horse when riding.

Lead changes: A lead refers to the foot the horse is throwing forward when cantering. It is important to be able to quickly change the lead depending on the direction the rider is going. A lead change kind of looks like the horse is skipping. https://youtu.be/MTmc5SPzhiI

Transitions: This is the act of changing your horse’s gait. For example changing from walk to trot, canter to walk, trot to canter. It’s important to practice transitions so you can have a quicker response time when asking for something from the horse.

Ground poles: Poles laid on the ground equally spaced apart for the rider to trot or canter their horse over. It’s a good beginner or warm up exercise before jumping. 

Ten precariously pulled the bridle over Frida’s head, slipping the metal bit into her mouth. He fastened each buckle slowly, trying to prolong the minutes before he had to be in the outdoor arena. It was Wednesday, the first lesson where the entire team had to be present, meaning Baekhyun would be there. There was nothing Ten dreaded more than having to share space with his enemy, the boy that ruthlessly reminded Ten of all his insecurities. All of the other boys had already left for the arena, and Baekhyun always arrived at lessons insanely early. These last few moments with Frida were the only moments of peace he knew we would be getting for the rest of the afternoon.

After giving Frida a few pats on the neck, and stalling as long as he could, Ten slowly made his way out of the barn. He dragged his feet, nearly causing Frida to pull him along. As they approached the wooden gate to the arena, a knot formed in Ten’s throat. He tried not to make eye contact with anyone, and pretended Baekhyun didn’t exist. He threw his leg over Frida and pushed her on into the arena to begin warming up. Taemin sat on a mounting block in the middle of the arena, Moon patiently sitting next to him. Taemin shot Ten a soft smile, which only made him more nervous. He especially hated riding with Baekhyun because Ten only ever wanted to impress Taemin, but Baekhyun brought out the worst in him.

Meanwhile, Lucas, Mark, and Taeyong were walking their horses along the rail in a line, chatting over each other. Taeyong was solidifying himself within the group and brought a soft side to the team when they needed it most. Baekhyun on the other hand, was busy working Galina up into a hyper frenzy. It didn’t take long for all the boys to notice.

“Baekhyun just let her walk for a bit, there’s no need to get her worked up,” Taemin shouted from the middle of the arena. Without saying a word, Baekhyun slowed her down. There was no question that Baekhyun was a good rider, he was one of the best at Sunset Magnolia. The boys just wished he didn’t know that. Taeyong, now seeing Ten warming up, trotted Flower to match their pace.

“Hey, you okay?” Taeyong asked quietly, not wanting anyone else to hear. Ten stayed focused on the path ahead of him.

“As best as I can I guess, I just hate riding with him. Just watch and see, he’s so rude about everything,” Ten murmured. Taeyong shot him a reassuring look and moved forward.

After a few more minutes of warming up, Taemin ran his riders through several exercises: lead changes, transitions, even ground poles. With every task the boys put in their all, only to be overshadowed by Baekhyun and his drama. Nothing could be done without a snide comment or sarcasm. If Ten rolled his eyes any more he was sure they were going to fall right out of his head. Taeyong had never seen someone act so ridiculous in public. Even worse, he picked on the riders he knew were still tightening their form. Mark and Lucas were used to this beat down by their bully, but today was especially brutal.

By the time course practice was to start, everyone was feeling put off by the vibe of the lesson. Taemin could tell his riders weren’t enjoying each other, but he knew they needed to start somewhere. Taemin’s job was always about balance. Whether it was the barn budget, schedules, or managing the feelings of each student, Taemin felt like he was walking along a tightrope. To mask the discomfort in the arena, he put extra effort into coaching today. As Lucas went forward to jump the practice course first, he tried to pump his riders up.

“Alright we’re all gonna pay attention to Lucas and Gus right now, watch his eye contact on the course. He’s the example to follow here,” he yelled, shooting a smile to Lucas before he took off. Lucas needed the encouragement, it was already hard enough feeling like the circus act of the riding team. He and Gus rallied through the course, keeping a steady pace. Gus easily had the best stride of all the horses, he was long and bulky and desperately wanted to please. It was a nearly perfect ride, except for two consecutive poles down in the last line of the course. Lucas heard the poles sway in the hooks before clunking onto the ground. He let out a sigh as he slowed down to a walk.

“Hey you did great,” Mark encouraged him.

“Yeah, a couple poles is nothing!” Taeyong cheered.

“Too bad you could have avoided that if you just would have had better eye contact, such an avoidable mistake,” Baekhyun mentioned while Taemin was busy fixing the fallen poles. The words stung against Lucas’s ears.

“God you’re such a fucking asshole,” Ten murmured, rolling his eyes before turning back to the course.

“Excuse me?” Baekhyun whipped his head in Ten’s direction. Before Ten or Baekyun could say anything further, Taemin interjected.

“Hey, both of you. Knock it off,” he directed. Ten’s face went pale. He hated disappointing Taemin. He lightly nodded his head. Meanwhile Baekhyun soured his face but kept quiet.

“Mark, it’s your turn. I want to see you confident! Annabelle may know what she is doing but so do you. Relax your hands, guide her with your leg. Tell her where YOU want her to go,” Taemin said. Mark nodded, moving Annabelle forward. He knew his riding was only getting better, he just hoped he could impress at today’s lesson. As Annabelle popped over the first jump she began to gain speed. Mark tried to hide his nerves, relaxing his hands as best as he could but trying to hold on.

“Give Annabelle her head, Mark! Remember, use your leg to guide her!” Taemin yelled from the other side of the arena. Mark tried to follow direction, adding pressure from his leg as best as he could. He and Annabelle arrived at the last set of jumps, soaring over each one. Mark rode his wild white horse in small circles to slow her down at the end, relieved he cleared the course and didn’t fall off.

“Hey nice job, that was fast but I can see you putting in work,” Taemin walked up to Mark and patted his horse’s neck. Mark’s cheeks were red both from exhaustion and embarrassment. He didn’t need Baekhyun to say anything, but he could tell by the shaking of his shoulders that he was holding back laughter. Mark walked back into line, where Lucas gave him a reassuring fist bump. He just wanted it to be over.

Baekhyun was up next. He walked Galina forward, barely pausing to let Taemin give direction.

“Don’t rush her, Baekhyun. She works hard for you, remember to ease up on your leg and open the reins up when you go into the turns. It’s about teamwork, don’t forget that,” he said as Baekhyun cantered Galina down the rail. The two went off, hitting each jump with ease. Galina’s timing was impeccable, and together the two really did look like a championship team. As they came into the final line, Baekhyun pushed Galina through, finishing a clear round in the quickest time.

“Nice work, next time try to slow her down a bit, but great work through those corners,” Taemin said softly. Baekhyun threw the boys a condescending glare as he walked back into line. Taeyong couldn’t dismiss the abilities of Baekhyun and Galina in the ring, but even he was getting sick of the attitude. Ten was ready to go next, he stopped by Taemin before beginning. Taemin put his hand on Ten’s knee, hitting right at Taemin’s shoulder.

“This is a simple course for the two of you, push Frida through it. She loves a challenge and you have got to remind her even the easiest of courses can be rewarding,” Taemin said before nodding to Ten. He tried to hide his nerves, not wanting Taemin to be suspicious. He squeezed his leg on Frida’s side and began. Frida was a lot hotter under Ten than normal, she could feel his nerves radiating off him. He hated when he did this to her, it wasn’t her fault Baekhyun got to him so much. He tried his best to calm her down and move into the first jump, but he missed the stride and Frida’s back leg knocked down the top pole.

“It’s alright, good girl,” Ten said under his breath. He looked on to the next jumps, easing Frida back into the course. She cleared the next jumps, finding her flow again and calming Ten back into the confident rider he knew he was. When the two were on, they were such an easy pair to judge. Ten and Frida cleared the rest of the course, even removing a stride in the last line. Ten let out a soft smile at the end of his ride.

“That was a great recovery! And even removed a stride, nice job you two,” Taemin said. Ten felt on top of the world, he impressed his idol and made it through his part of the lesson. It almost seemed too good to be true. He got back in line at his spot between Baekhyun and Taeyong, but before he could turn to Taeyong, Baekhyun insisted on starting a fight.

“Hey nice job, number two,” Baekhyun sneered.

“Dude come on,” Mark said from the other side of Baekhyun. Ten tried to keep his words down, but Baekhyun kept pushing.

“What, I’m just reminding him of the work he needs to do,” Baekhyun sarcastically replied.

“No, you’re being a fucking asshole. Will you ever shut up, I mean my god,” Ten snapped. Baekhyun began to lean forward over the side of his saddle to get into Ten’s face.

“Oh, I’m sorry? Did I pick on you in front of your boyfriend?” Baekhyun pressed. Ten’s face went completely red.

“He’s not my fucking boyfriend why are you acting like this you piece of shit!” Ten began to yell, he couldn’t take this anymore. The rest of the boys wanted to interject but didn’t know how. They were watching a train fly off the rails.

“Hey, knock it off, now!” Taemin yelled, but it was no use.

“No, but you wish he was! I see the way you look at Taemin, we all know you’re just here to impress him -” before Baekhyun could get another word out, all hell broke loose. Ten swung his right arm at Baekhyun, hitting his shoulder and shoving him back in the saddle. In a rage, Baekhyun shoved Ten with all his force, releasing him from his saddle. Ten tumbled down the side of Frida, now tangled in between her and Flower’s legs on his way to the ground. Taeyong immediately hopped off Flower to provide space, the other boys jumping off their horses as well. Taemin tried to move forward, now visibly frustrated. Simultaneously, the thud of Ten hitting the ground spooked Frida, causing her to kick out. The edge of her hoof crashed into Baekhyun’s knee before sliding across Galina’s stomach, ripping open the skin. Taemin paused in horror at the chaos in his arena. Ten crawled forward trying to hold back tears before getting onto his feet. Baekhyun, in a screaming rage, got off his horse and limped towards Ten. Taemin then pushed his way in between the riders.

“That’s it, I am fucking DONE! Both of you are done today, this lesson is over. I am not tolerating this immaturity in my ring. Both of you get out, now!” Ten looked up at Taemin, the words cutting into him. Before anyone could respond, Ten turned and ran off to the barn. Baekhyun stood furiously in the ring.

“You too, Baekhyun. Get the hell out of here,” Taemin ordered. Baekhyun marched off, trying to avoid showing a limp.

“Fuck all of this, all of you!” Baekhyun yelled, completely forgetting Galina in the ring. He disappeared down the path to the far off pastures. Taemin took a deep breath and walked over to Galina, analysing the gash on the side of her stomach.

“Guess I’m cleaning this up,” Taemin said quietly. For a brief moment he forgot the three other boys were still in the arena. Lucas and Mark stood there, staring at the aftermath. It was then that Taemin realized Frida was still here too, and that all the boys had a mess to clean up.

“Shit, I’m so sorry guys. Ahh Taeyong you didn’t even get to jump -”

“It’s fine, I’m not upset. Please don’t feel bad,” Taeyong tried to reassure him. Taemin stood in between the two riderless horses, trying to game plan.

“I need to take Galina to the wash rack and clean this wound, Baekhyun’s a lost cause at this point in the day, but I need to get Frida back -”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll take her,” Taeyong said as he pulled the reins from over Frida’s head and into his hand, “Mark and Lucas, will you guys clean up the arena? I’ll take care of Frida.”

The two boys nodded and tied their horses up to the arena fence before making their way to the other end. Taemin nodded in thanks towards Taeyong as he began to walk both Frida and Flower down to the barn. He knew Ten was in there, and he didn’t want him to be alone.

Inside the barn, Taeyong slowly walked both horses down the aisle, hoping to see Ten sitting somewhere. The trio moved down each stall, not seeing him in the aisle way. As he approached Frida’s stall, he noticed a thin figure perched in the doorway, facing away from them. Ten was covered in dust down his backside from the fall he took, his helmet now sitting on the floor next to him.

“Hey,” Taeyong said quietly, not wanting to startle Ten. He approached the stall with both horses, pausing outside the door. The two boys were now standing in between the horses. Ten turned to look up at Taeyong. He was only a couple inches taller than Ten, but at this moment he seemed towering. Taeyong put Frida’s reins in Ten’s hands and held on for a moment, squeezing his palm in sympathy. Before he could say anything further, Taeyong watched the tears well up in Ten’s eyes and overflow down his cheeks. Taeyong caught Ten in his arms as he collapsed forward, now sobbing uncontrollably.

“I’m so sorry, Ten. Love hurts…so much,” Taeyong said softly, holding nearly all of Ten’s weight in his arms.

“What am I supposed to do,” Ten cried in between intense bouts of weeping. Taeyong, reins still in hand and horses surrounding them, wrapped his arms even tighter around Ten, lightly rubbing his back.

“Just stay here for a moment, we can solve problems later,” Taeyong answered. Ten looked up, his eyes swollen and cheeks raw. Taeyong lightly wiped the tears off Ten’s cheeks before catching him in his arms again.

____

Kai pushed the wheelbarrow to the pasture across the path. He had been out all afternoon, doing his weekly routine of driving out to the back pastures. They were easily a half a mile from the closest pasture to the barn, and in the early spring heat, it was no easy task. Kai stopped the wheelbarrow to unlock the pasture gate, but noticed a figure walking vigorously towards him. Kai squinted his eyes to focus.

“Baek?” Kai said as he moved closer. Baekhyun approached Kai and grabbed his hands, a few tears had dried onto his cheeks. Kai squeezed his hands, trying to keep him still.

“What’s going on? Is everything okay -” Kai was interrupted by Baekhyun’s lips smashing into his. Kai, shocked but accepting, pulled a hand from Baek’s and placed it on his cheek, tasting the salt on his tongue from the tears that had soaked into Baekhyun’s lips. He pulled back and looked Baekhyun in the eye.

“Seriously, what is all this, what happened -”

“Just shut the fuck up and get in the backseat,” Baekhyun said, a bit angrily but calm. Kai knew there was more to the story but knew not to waste any time. He took a step sideways towards the back driver’s door of his pickup truck, fumbling for the handle as Baekhyun pulled up the ends of Kai's white t-shirt. His abs, covered in a light coat of sweat from the day’s work, only urged Baekhyun forward. As the door opened, Kai pushed himself farther into the backseat, pulling Baekhyun on top of him. He quickly helped Baekhyun pull the black polo from over his head, revealing his small yet built frame. Kai planted small, sloppy kisses along Baekyun’s neck and into the crook of his collarbone. Baekhyun let out a soft moan, only to push Kai down onto his back. He placed a hand on Kai’s chest before leaning forward and whispering in his ear.

“Take me away from here.”

[somaybeimbiased]

Masterlist

Updated: 7/13/2019

A/N This is lowkey a mess, but this is the best I can do since I do such a wide variety of stuff, thanks                                      -N

SHINee-

Superheros

Elementals

Mythical creatures (light)

Mythical creatures (dark)

Demons

Oneshot from Demon AU

Angels

Power Rangers

Ghost Hunters

Ghost Hunter AU revamped

Zombie Apocalypse AU-

Zombie Apocalypse

Onew’s backstory

Jonghyun’s backstory

Key’s backstory

Minho’s backstory

Taemin’s backstory

Harry Potter Houses

Demigods (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)

2Min Vampire

Mafia AU-

SHINee 5- Mafia

Mafia AU- Minho

Mafia AU- Taemin (+2min)

SHINee 5- Highschoolers

Minho- Drunk Texting 

SHINee 5- Descendants 

The Lamb’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Sugar Daddy AU-

SHINee 5- Sugar Daddies

SHINee 5- Sugar Daddy beginnings

SHINee 5- Sugar Daddy Cont.

SHINee 5- Sugar Daddy Cont. 2

Shinee 5- Sugar Daddy Cont. 3

Jongtae Runaway AU

SHINee 5- Underground Bar

SHINee 5- Rock Band 

SHINee 5 as Foods

SHINee 5- Vampire AU

SHINee 5- CodeLyoko Crossover

SHINee 5- King AU

SHINee 5- Witches

SHINee 5- Campus Shuttle Drivers

SHINee 5- Gangsters

Written AU for this

SHINee 5- Circus

SHINee 5- Secret Weapon AU

SHINee 5- Cabaret AU

SHINee 5- Wolf Pack AU

SHINee 5- Magic School AU

SHINee 5 | Maid Cafe AU

SHINee 5- Ninja AU

SHINee 5- Planet AU

SHINee 5 | Dogs

SHINee 5 | Season AU

SHINee 5 | Modern Vampire AU

SHINee 5 | Spaceship AI AU

SHINee 5 | Spirit AU

SHINee 5 | Mystic Messenger 

SHINee World (10th Anniverary)

SHINee 5 | The Breakfast Club

SHINee 5 | FlowerBoy AU

SHINee 5 | Stranger Things

SHINee Fanfics-

Domestic SHINee AU-

Domestic Taekey- Back Scratches

Domestic Taekey- Little itches

Domestic Taekey- Laundry Day

Domestic Taekey- Lousy

Domestic Taekey- Bad Cook

Domestic Taekey- Perfect

Domestic Taekey- Kitten

Domestic Taekey- Sick

Domestic Taekey- Summer Itches

Domestic Taekey- Scrapbooks 

Domestic Taekey- Eloped (w/ side Onho)

Domestic Taekey | Video Games

Domestic Taekey | Exams, Oatmeal, and Early Mornings

Domestic Taekey | Heartbroken

Domestic Onho- Sharing is Caring

Domestic Onho- What a cutie

Domestic Onho- Schedule

Domestic Onho | Sick Day

Domestic SHINee- Love Belt ( Jjong centric OT5 w/ side Taekey/Onho) 

One More Night (2min (For now) abuse tw)-

One More Night 1

Omegaverse AU

Omegaverse Taekey AU- Stubborn

Omegaverse Taekey AU- Fears

Taekey Omegaverse Alpha AU- Not Quite Right (This isn’t in the same AU as the other two)

Poly!SHINee

JongTaeKey- Swimmer’s Itch 

 OT5- Lucky 

OT5- Bonding

OT5- Soft

SHINee 5 - Breathe (Jonghyun’s Birthday Drabble 2018)

Possession AU  | Taekey

Part 1

Part 2

Colorful - WebCam AU | Taekey

Colorful Part 1

Colorful Part 2

Colorful Part 3 

Other (Various one-shots)-

Domestic Jongtae AU - Soft

Taekey- Green-eyed Monster

Taekey- Baby

Onho- Love You

Taekey- Lonely

2min- Dance with Me

Taekey- Fed Up

Taekey- Shut Up (High school AU) 

Taekey Magician AU 

Five times Taemin should’ve ended it, and the One time he had the courage to. (I’m sad and going through a  breakup hello)

NSFW

2Min- Daddy Kink

Ontae- Daddy Kink

SHINee as Pornstars

SHINee as Prostitutes 

SHINee reacting to you wanting a threesome 

Onkey- Behave

Jongkey- Not Here!

Taekey- No Strings Attached

Taekey- Strings (part 2 of ‘No Strings Attached’)

Moodboards

Jonghyun Evil Moodboard

Onew Evil Moodboard

Key Evil Moodboard

Minho Evil Moodboard

Taemin Evil Moodboard

Star Boy Taemin

Happy Birthday Taemin!

Happy Birthday Kibum!

Scenarios/Imagines

SHINee as your boyfriend

SHINee trying your foreign cooking

Minho meeting your family (MinhoxYou)

SHINee helping s/o on their period

SHINee as Fathers

SHINee’s night with S/O

SHINee after an argument with S/O

SHINee with a post-fight drunk S/O

SHINee with a s/o’s mood swings

SHINee with a short s/o

SHINee reacting to s/o moving in

SHINee when you’re mad at them

Videos

SHINee Clue MV /Fanmade

Other

Which SHINee member does Taemin adore the most? (opinion)

Which SHINee member does Kibum adore the most? (opinion)

Jonghyun Cocktail & Taemin Thirsty Comparison (MY MIND WAS BLOWN)

Which SHINee member cuddles and touches Taemin the most? (Opinion)

SHINee Pairing Theme Songs

Top 3 OT5 Fanfictions

Who is the itchiest SHINee member? (Opinion)

[endlessfics]

failed escapades; paws and badges (2/??)

jongtae | pg | 982 words | paw au 

shapeshifter cat taemin tries to escape the shelter that jonghyun, the dear aspca employee, brought him too.

one thing that taemin realised when he’s brought into the shelter is that it really smells of dogs. dogs bark when jonghyun carries his cage to the other end of the corridor and he knows that fighting dogs is not a good thing to do but then again, cats are stronger than dogs. the aspca won’t take well to him trying to pick fights with the dalmatian youngling that’s growling at him.

not that it would ever happen considering that he is stuck in a cage.

inside a room he recognises as a veterinary room, taemin is prepared for fingers poking at him. he is a healthy cat, he is very aware of that. as long as he doesn’t sneeze he will be fine. last time he sneezed, after playing with that feather on the concrete, he ended up naked in an alleyway in the middle of a beautiful sunny day.

he can’t end up naked on a big table.

but it goes quickly, he tries to not let his fuse get the best of him and they call him a cute little kitten (even though he is very much an adult cat). they pet him, say he is in good health after another few check-ups. the doctor worries for a moment about the fact that he has seven toes instead of five like normal cats. at least he’s healthy – that’s a good thing but the petting is cut short when jonghyun picks him up for and it’s sadly not for more affection. if he was in his human form, he would sigh. but instead he just accepts his current fate and leans against jonghyun’s chest. before he’s put into the big cage with other cats, jonghyun comments on his paws looking like mittens and taemin snorts internally. jonghyun ends up playing with his paw for a moment too long before he closes the cage door.

he will try to escape later.

later does eventually come. it comes when the lights are shut off, when everyone who is working there has left and it’s quiet. or somewhat quiet. the persian cat next to him is oddly loud for some reason.

the other cats stay away from him, it’s almost like they know he’s not really a cat but it doesn’t matter because he’s not going to stay for the full night. there’s no point in that because he did after all pay his rent for this month and while his landlord is very aware of what he is, doesn’t it mean he can disappear for days.

after pawing for several minutes at the cage lock, it finally latches up and taemin pushes it open. the two other cats in his cage stare at him and he, not as gracefully as he planned, lands on the floor. at least he didn’t trap like the time after he got stuck in a tree.

after a moment of realising he has no idea where he is, he decides that the effort of escaping can be saved for tomorrow.

he hears a cat meow at him and he looks over to see it’s the yellow tabby that came in at the same time as him, it’s the cat that jonghyun called a demiboy. now, he doesn’t actually know how actual cats think but he figures that cats would definitely not be quiet about what they are, if they now weren’t binary.

but that’s a thought for another day, taemin tells himself before he figures he should actually pay attention to what the demiboy is trying to tell him so he inches closer. he stops when he realises he doesn’t understand them – must be another dialect. he draws away from them and moves along the corridor instead.

that’s where he finds a little gang of pitbull puppies curled up together and he feels bad. the poor babies probably got abandoned or maybe something happened to their mother.

luckily, the lock to the puppies cage is a lot easier to open compared to his own cage. deciding to go against the stereotype that cats are assholes, he wiggles in carefully next to the puppies but he quickly regrets it when they start yapping about and wiggling way more than necessary and he quickly leaves the cage instead. where he does end up is, next to a big newfoundland dog. taemin’s never seen one before so he was surprised when the big pile of fur moved at first.

that’s where he ends up for the night. next to a big, warm newfoundland dog that lets him cuddle close.

the following day, jonghyun finds him and taemin wiggles closer to the newfoundland that’s just chilling about. there’s not a lot you can do as a big dog apparently.

”mae, mae come look at this–” jonghyun’s voice echoes down the corridor of cages and eventually he’s joined by a middle aged woman who coos at him. that’s until the two humans eventually realise that taemin should be in his cage and not with big bo, the newfie.

”jonghyun, put him back in his cage, will you? he should be there instead – how did he even escape?.” mae says before she wanders off who knows where and taemin tries to get away when jonghyun reaches over for him again.

damn it.

”how did you escape, huh? you smart little cat. you probably escaped from the circus.” jonghyun coos in a soft voice as taemin’s held to that strong chest once again. taemin actually tries a bit harder to get away this time because he wants to go back to big bo but jonghyun is resistant to letting him go.

”i’m going to name you teacup, you’re so cute. like the teacup in beauty and the beast.” jonghyun says proudly and taemin would, if he could, roll his eyes. he’s not a teacup.

he will plan his escape another day.

[onewfantaesy]

Hmmm this is not 100% thought out but

Au where taemin ran away when he was 16 and joined the circus and now he’s the star trapeze performer bc he’s very bendy and flexible and fearless

And he’s young and naive and a lil afraid bc he ran away bc his family situation was Not Good and he needed to Get Away and the circus took him in almost no questions

And he meets Jinki who idk what he does yet but he’s like 26 and he’s Taemin’s new surrogate big brother. He makes sure taemin gets his laundry done and eats dinner and stretches before his performances. He’s a good noodle.

And then maybe one day after a few months they’re at a show not far from where Taemin is from (it’s a traveling circus) and these two boys from Taemin’s old school, Key and Minho, see Taemin whilenhes performing and they csnt rly believe it and

Idk

Circus au

[onewfantaesy]

Maledictus AU

“I’m going to miss you so much, you better write me all the time, at least once a week, and don’t forget to take your potion in the mornings, and I’m going to miss you so much oh I love you so much can’t you wait just one more year before leaving me all alone?”

“Dad!” Taemin laughs, his cheek squished to Kibum’s chest as he’s hugged tight. When Kibum doesn’t let go after a full minute, he starts to whine. “Dad!”

“Kibum, you’ve gotta let him go,” Jinki says, putting a hand on Kibum’s shoulder.

“Yeah, he and his friends are gonna get the most shit compartment if you keep him any longer!” Minho teases.

“I love you so much,” Kibum repeats softly into Taemin’s ear, kissing his head, and squeezing him one more time. “We’ll send your potions via the mediwitch. I just want you to have fun and to make friends, alright?”

“Alright,” Taemin mumbles. “I love you too.”

“And remember,” Kibum says, “any House will be lucky to have you.”

Taemin frowns a bit, and he hugs Kibum tight. He’s been worried since he got his letter about what House he’d be sorted into, but Kibum has assured him endlessly that he’d be a good fit in any House.

Kibum lets Taemin go, but then cups his face and mimics the pout on the boy’s face.

“And,” Kibum says, kneeling down, “if you ever want to come home - for any reason at all - you hold your amulet and you call for me, and I’ll come running.”

Taemin’s hand moves up to grasp the amulet hidden under his shirt. Kibum had just given it to him that morning, and Kibum was wearing a matching one. If Taemin ever used it, the identical amulet around Kibum’s neck would heat up and relay whatever message Taemin sent him.

Taemin is quick to give him another hug, then hugs Jinki and Minho before running onto the train with his friends. After waving through the window, Taemin and his friends all sat down and started talking excitedly about getting sorted and what classes would be like. It had been fun and mostly uneventful until another boy passed by their compartment, did a double-take, and then excitedly opened the door.

“Taemin!”

Taemin looks between his friends and then back to the other boy.

“Yes?” Taemin asks, trying to remember how he knows this boy’s face but not his name.

“We - you’re - I’m-”

“Jongin!” another boy calls, and two older boys in Slytherin robes appear and flank the boy - Jongin. The tallest boy’s eyes narrow as soon as they land on Taemin.

“It’s Taemin,” Jongin says softly, a whine tinging his voice.

“Maledictus,” the tallest one spits, and Taemin feels his heart drop into his stomach. Because he realizes these are his brothers, and that they clearly know who and what he is.

“Don’t call him that,” one of Taemin’s friends, Ravi, says quickly, standing up and moving in between Taemin and the door.

“Come on, Jongin,” one of the older boys says, and he pulls Jongin down the hall. Jongin, however, looks longingly back at the compartment where Ravi is slamming the door closed.

Taemin is quiet for a lot of the train ride after that, playing what happened over in his head a million times. He runs his fingers over the amulet a few times, already contemplating using it. And he hasn’t even gotten to Hogwarts yet.

Kibum has told him about his biological family. About how the blood curse works. About how he has six older biological brothers, and how his biological father is the Ancient Runes professor and Slytherin Head of House. How he comes from a long line of Slytherins, even from his blood adoption from Kibum.

He desperately doesn’t want to be in Slytherin. Kibum said that was fine, and normal, and that he would be happy so long as Taemin was happy.

When he stands in the Great Hall waiting to get sorted, he realizes Jongin is waiting to get sorted too. He thought Jongin was supposed to be a year older than him. He starts panicking a bit, but Ravi holds onto his arm and keeps him calm.

Jongin is sorted into Slytherin, and several older boys all cheer, and Sooman looks pleased as he claps from the head table.

“Not Slytherin, not Slytherin,” Taemin begs in his head as the sorting hat is placed on him. “Please, anything but Slytherin.”

The sorting hat talks with him a bit, tries to convince him that Slytherin would be good for him. That he would do well there. That he has long family history there, from all three sides of his blood. Then tells him how interesting this is for that, seeing as he’s never sorted a Maledictus before.

“Please not Slytherin,” he begs, his fingers tangling in the ends of his robe sleeves.

“If you’re sure,” the sorting hat tells him. “Then it better be - Hufflepuff!”

Taemin lets out a relieved sigh, an ecstatic little grin on his face. He’d thought Hufflepuff sounded like the best fit for him, and he’d been hoping that was where he’d be sorted. He’s quick to scamper off to the Hufflepuff table, on the opposite side of the room from the Slytherin table. He does notice Jongin look disappointed, but he also notices the disapproving sneer from Sooman. Taemin is quick to look away and start introducing himself to the other members of his House he sat down by.

Ravi ends up getting sorted into Gryffindor, as does his other friend Amber, but his other friend Naeun is in Hufflepuff with him at least.

He adores being in Hufflepuff already. It’s warm and happy and comforting. The common room reminds him of home.

But by the end of the first week of classes, the entire school seems to know that one of the first year Hufflepuff boys is a Maledictus. A Maledictus who turns into a snake.

It’s not something Taemin is ashamed of, and he had told his roommates when they asked why he had to take a potion every morning. But he wanted people to know on his own terms, not because some of his older brothers decided to tell everyone.

He certainly didn’t want those same older brothers calling him Maledictus every time they saw him. Like it was his name. Like he didn’t have a name. Like he was still stuck at the circus they’d abandoned him at eleven years ago.

“Taemin!” Jongin tries calling him, running after him every day. Taemin always manages to escape him, but not today. It’s Saturday, and he doesn’t have the excuse of classes to hide in today.

“Leave me alone!” Taemin spits, trying to figure out where he can go. He didn’t want to hide out in the common room all weekend, but it was starting to look like the only option.

“Wait!” Jongin calls - begs - and he manages to catch up to him and grab his hand.

“What do you want with me?” Taemin snaps. “Let go!”

“I just - I want to be your friend,” Jongin cries, tugging lightly on Taemin’s hand.

“Why?” Taemin huffs, yanking his hand back unsuccessfully.

“Because - because we’re twins!”

“Are you insane?” Taemin asks, his voice going breathless. “We aren’t twins!”

“Fraternal twins!” Jongin says, nodding his head. “We are! Please, I just-”

“You’re lying,” Taemin spits. “You’re a liar and a jerk and stay away from me!”

“Maledictus,” an older boy snarls, and Taemin is pushed into the floor with a thud. The same two older Slytherin boys from the train flank Jongin’s sides, along with a third. “Stay away from our little brother, Maledictus.”

“Chanyeol, leave him alone!” Jongin whines, but he’s held back by the other two boys.

“Shut up, Jongin.”

“You tell him to stay away from me!” Taemin shouts back, pushing himself up. “And my name isn’t Maledictus - it’s Taemin. Learn to use it, you dumb knobheads.”

And he stomps off to the library to study for classes and to write a letter home. He needs answers about this twin nonsense. It has to be a trick. It can’t be real.

It can’t be, or Taemin might use his amulet before the first term even ends.

[onewfantaesy]

Idk where this is gonna go but

Au where taemin is a magical child, but he’s been stricken with a blood curse that forces him to turn into some type of animal every night between sundown and sunrise.

And he’s just a boy. A boy not only afflicted by a blood curse, but abandoned because of it. Left by his family because they couldn’t stand the shame of it, of having him soil their bloodline.

So he was picked up by a traveling magical circus. They perform mostly for non-magical people who think it’s all just some sort of illusion, a trick. And Taemin is the show’s wonderful little spectacle.

It’s not a fun way to live, constantly on the move, constantly yelled at when he doesn’t transform on command (even though it’s difficult for him to control and the ringleader knows that), constantly kicked around by the other, older wizards because he’s a child and he’s never had formal magical schooling like most of them have. He doesn’t even have his own wand, instead he knicked one off an older wizard and keeps it hidden in his things, only using it when no one sees him.

Until one day when Kibum comes. Because Kibum sees right through the outward allure of the circus. Sees the way the ringleader treats Taemin.

Sees Taemin get pushed into the dirt and beaten through a cage because he couldn’t transform on command, because it made all the non-magical people start complaining the show was a hoax and boring.

Sees the way Taemin cries from the pain and then finally, after several long minutes, turns into a small, childish version of a giant terrifying snake.

And the crowd roars, but Kibum can’t see past the pain in the way the boy slithers along the floor.

So the next morning, just after sunrise, Kibum finds Taemin. He’s in a tiny caravan inside a tiny cage, still shaking and still crying from the night before.

He rescues Taemin and escapes with him, brings him home. It takes days for him to get Taemin to fully recover, to trust him, to talk to him. But eventually, Taemin grows to trust Kibum entirely and completely.

Kibum tried to tell Taemin that now, he’ll be able to go to school. To properly learn magic. But Taemin retreats again and buries himself under a mound of pillows and blankets and hides.

“Can’t go to school,” he says, his words soft and muffled and longing. “Maledictuses aren’t allowed.”

“Then I’ll teach you.”

Kibum can hear the way Taemin’s breath hitches, can hear the way his heart pounds.

Smiles when Taemin pokes his out and blinks at him. Laughs when Taemin launches himself at him and thanks him a million times over and over again.

Kibum enlists the help of his friends Jinki and Minho to help teach Taemin. And just like that, they become a strangle little magical family.

[onewfantaesy]

In Maledictus, Taemin begs the sorting hat to not put him in Slytherin even though he was practically meant for it (even through Kibum) because he didnt want to be associated with Sooman at all. Are there any obvious traits/similarities that he shares with his birth family? Features, mannerisms, talents? Are they things that he fights against because he wants nothing to do with them or does he accept it as his own thing? Example, he excels at potions and so doesSooman but he hates when someone points it out. Does he back off out of spite or does he just shrug it off?

Maledictus AU 

Most of Sooman’s sons greatly resemble his wife’s family. They look like their mother and her siblings and her parents. In a way, it’s a little disappointing. He had five sons and not a single one of them looked like his family.

Then he had the twins, and at first it was hard to tell. As Jongin got older, it was clear that he was practically the spitting image of Sooman’s father.

Then he saw Taemin, and even the first time he saw him, he knew deep down it was his son. Taemin looks exactly like his grandfather, and then when he shows up at Hogwarts, it’s even more apparent. Taemin doesn’t know this, but his family does. Other purebloods in that circle even notice it. Taemin’s biological grandfather is the current patriarch of that family, being the oldest living male in the family. He shows up to all the important pureblood parties and has a high up role in the Ministry. 

Sometimes, people try to tell him, “You look just like your grandfather.”

Taemin always responds quickly with, “No I don’t, I’m adopted.”

He has a grandfather. He has a wonderful grandfather who loves him and spoils him silly. It doesn’t matter that he isn’t blood related to him, or his grandmother, or any of his other actual family members. They love him and that’s what’s important.

Taemin doesn’t even know if his biological grandparents knew he existed. Part of him hopes they didn’t until Hogwarts. Hopes they didn’t want him to just be abandoned at a circus. It’s bad enough to feel that rejection from his birth parents, he doesn’t know if he could handle it from grandparents too. Grandparents are supposed to love you in an extra special sort of way, that’s what his adoptive grandparents have always said. So as far as he’s concerned, they’re his only grandparents.

He knew Slytherin would have been a good house for him. Taemin knew he would have done well there. But he knew about his brothers, he knew about his family, he knew all of this stuff from Kibum and Jinki and Minho. They didn’t keep him in the dark. They didn’t sugar coat anything. And he was terrified to be forced to be so close to these brothers and his biological father, he was terrified to be a Slytherin.

Besides, he really liked Hufflepuff. He liked what they stood for, what they were about, he liked reading about the founders and learning as much as he could so he could figure out where he would fit best. 

And Slytherin has a long history of blood supremacy. Taemin, in his biological family’s minds, in a lot of people’s minds, has tainted blood. Cursed blood. He’s terrified of what they might do to him, if he were to end up in Slytherin. His brothers going “snake hunting” only further proves in his mind that he has ever reason to be terrified of his biological family.

For the most part though, Taemin’s personality mirrors his upbringing with Kibum and his uncles Minho and Jinki. He’s very silly and sweet and his sense of humor greatly relies on puns, thanks to Jinki’s influence. It drives Kibum up a wall, but he adores it, adores the way Taemin’s nose scrunches up when he laughs, a trait he picked up from Jinki, and the way he falls over whoever’s next to him as he’s laughing, something he’s picked up from both Kibum and Minho. 

Taemin himself is upset once he gets to Hogwarts, because he thinks Ancient Runes sounds like a fascinating subject. All of his uncles took Ancient Runes, his father took Ancient Runes, he wants to badly to learn about it. But Sooman is the professor for that class, so Taemin knows even as a first year that he’s going to avoid that class like the plague once it comes time to pick electives.

“I can teach you if you really want,” Kibum suggests. “During the summers. I still have my old textbooks.”

Taemin likes that idea a lot. Kibum starts teaching him a little bit before he even goes to Hogwarts.

As for classes he’s skilled at, he pretty much follows Kibum’s influence. Classes that Kibum excelled at - Potions and Herbology - are classes Taemin excels at. Because he’s been able to get Taemin excited about those subjects, been able to express how much he enjoyed those classes. Taemin doesn’t care what his biological family is good at, subject wise. Doesn’t even pay attention to it. All he knows is that he will never in a million years take Ancient Runes so long as Sooman teaches it.

[onewfantaesy]

I knew theyd have that twinsies thing lol.

Does Jongin or his brothers ever actually ask why Taemin was abandoned? Like, yeah hes cursed and bad for the rep but did he have to be thrown away? Did they not care if he lived or died? Does Suho or anyone even know about Taemin before Hogwarts? It has to feel weird/guilty for Jongin to know the same parents that loved and raised them so well could toss Taemin away.

Maledictus AU 

The older brothers all knew from the beginning that there was a seventh brother. They had seen their mother pregnant with twins, had seen two baby boys come home, had seen their parents take one twin and hide him away for over a month every night. They could never see their babiest brother after sundown. The younger brothers didn’t understand why, didn’t yet understand the meaning of a blood curse. But the older brothers - Suho and Xiumin - they knew why. And they were upset and confused about everything going on.

Then one day, just a couple months after their baby brothers came home, one of them was gone. And Jongin cried nonstop for months.

They thought the younger twin had died. That the blood curse was too much for him to endure. They were young and they didn’t fully understand.

Then when their baby brother is six, he makes a new friend. A little boy named Taemin. And they’re inseparable for months, Jongin talks endlessly about his new best friend, Taemin. Then they learn this other little boy is a maledictus. A maledictus who turns into a snake at night. And Jongin can never see this boy again, their father has forbidden it. Then their father sits all six of them down and explains their family’s blood curse.

And suddenly the older brothers start to understand. Their baby brother didn’t die, he was given up. Abandoned somewhere. They overheard his new father telling their father how he found Taemin at a circus, being used for entertainment, forced to transform. 

Suho was horrified. He was old enough to really understand what that meant, to understand that his parents just abandoned their baby brother, left him to be tortured because they couldn’t bare the shame of having a child with a blood curse. Suho was fifteen at the time, was already at Hogwarts and old enough to comprehend and come to his own conclusion. 

The other brothers at the time were still fairly young as well, but they were old enough to realize this other boy was their other brother. The one they barely remembered. 

But they see the way their father gets so angry at the mention of this boy - the Maledictus - and they assume he must be evil. He must have been given up because something was wrong with him, there was something wrong with his blood. It’s why they find it so easy to justify their bullying of him. Although Xiumin, the second oldest and a 7th year, does battle himself over it a lot. It’s why, on the night they decide to go Maledictus hunting, all he does is guard the corridor leading to the Hufflepuff dorms. He doesn’t actually want to be involved in hurting the kid, but he doesn’t want to go against his brothers either. He may be older, but he’s easily outnumbered, and he doesn’t want to end up in a body bind all night like Jongin.

Chanyeol is the ringleader when it comes to bullying though. He manages to convince Baekhyun, the 5th year, and Kyungsoo, the 3rd year, to go along with whatever he says. He can be very persuasive. 

But the entire week leading up to Christmas break, and the entirety of the break, Jongin is pretty much inconsolable. He’s upset and confused and he misses his twin more than anything, feels like a terrible brother and twin and person. He’s just sad.

“Why did you give him to a circus?” Jongin questions his father one day. 

“We didn’t,” Sooman says carefully. “We just - left him somewhere one day. We didn’t expect him to be taken by anyone.”

“So you just - you just left him? To die?” Jongin asks, the tears welling in his eyes starting to fall.

“We thought it would be best for him,” Sooman tries to explain gently. “Living life as a maledictus isn’t easy. And until just a couple years ago, there was absolutely no way to suppress the nightly transformations.”

“But you just left him to die,” Jongin accuses. “You didn’t care what happened to him.”

“Jongin-”

“What if it was me?” Jongin asks, his voice cracking. “What if Taemin was born first, and then me?”

Sooman is quiet for a long time, and Jongin really starts crying then.

“You would have just left me to die too?” Jongin asks, a strangled sob leaving his lips.

Jongin runs away from him then, goes to find Suho, and stays glued to him the entirety of the break. He’s confused and upset, and Suho is the only one who seems to understand why, the only one who seems to want to help.

“Mommy and Daddy love you so much,” Suho says gently, holding Jongin on his bed.

“Only because I was born sixth,” Jongin cries. “I want my Taemin.”

“I know,” Suho whispers, holding him tight. “I want him too.”

“He’s mine,” Jongin insists. “And now I’m never gonna see him again.”

Suho just continues to hold him, continues to comfort him as best he can, continues to reassure him that he loves him and that none of what has happened is his fault. 

[onewfantaesy]

Hey yo what up. Its me. XD so what does Taemin usually turn into at night. Any particular animal or is it random. What do Jinki and Minho think about taemin and what kibum has done?

Maledictus AU 

(tw - don’t quite know what it would be called, but taemin begs for death at one point)

“Are you insane Kibum?” a loud voice sounds throughout the house, and Taemin gasps and hides just behind the stairs, poking his head around the corner to see the two men who Kibum invited over. Kibum had said they would help teach him magic. Taemin knew it was too good to be true.

“He’s a maledictus! You can’t just take in a maledictus!” the voice argues again.

“He’s just a child,” Kibum argues back, his voice hushed. “And keep it down! He might hear you!”

“Well he should hear me!” the tall man shouts, and Taemin flinches back behind the stairs again to hide. “He’s a maledictus, Kibum! They’re evil! It’s in the name!”

“He isn’t evil! Would you say the same thing about a child who gets bitten by a werewolf?”

“Werewolves only turn once a month!” the tall man challenges. “A maledictus turns every night, Kibum! And this one into a snake. Nothing that turns into a snake can be good! You should take him back where he came from!”

“NO!” Taemin screams, his voice cracking. “YOU PROMISED NO! YOU PROMISED I WOULDN’T GO BACK! YOU PROMISED!”

He’s standing frozen in front of the stairs, looking at where the three men are standing in the living room. They all looked shocked at his outburst, but before Kibum can even try to calm him down, Taemin bolts up the stairs to hide in the bedroom Kibum said was Taemin’s now.

He’s huddled in the corner behind his bed, his knees pulled to his chest and his entire body shaking as he cries and sobs and starts to fear the worst. The tall man is going to take him back to the circus. The ringleader is going to be mad that he ran away. The other wizards and witches are going to be mean to him again, and no one will ever do anything to stop it. He’s going to end up evil just like the tall man said.

When Kibum and the two men come into his room, Taemin just starts crying harder and shaking his head.

“No no no,” Taemin cries, his fingers twisting into the fabric of his pants. “You promised, you promised no. You promised!”

“It’s alright, it’s okay,” Kibum says quickly, falling in front of Taemin, holding his arms out but then dropping them when Taemin shrieks and slams his head against the wall to try to move back. 

“I don’t wanna be bad, I’m not bad, I don’t wanna be bad,” Taemin insists, still shaking his head. “Not evil, no no no.”

“You’re not evil,” Kibum whispers, holding out his hands for Taemin to hold. 

“Kill me, kill me!” Taemin begs, not taking Kibum’s hands, not noticing the way the two other men look horrified at his words. “I don’t want to go back! I don’t want to be evil!”

“You are not evil,” Kibum says, his voice firm as he takes Taemin’s hands. “And you are not going back, I promise.”

“Don’t wanna be a snake,” Taemin cries, his head shaking fast, his eyes closing tight. “Don’t want to, don’t want to. Kill me now!”

“You are not evil,” Kibum says firmly, pulling Taemin close to hug him to his chest. But Taemin keeps crying, keeps sobbing, keeps begging Kibum to kill him. Continues crying and begging until the words become jumbled gibberish, until he’s crying for a mother who abandoned him, who he doesn’t even remember. 

“It’s okay,” Kibum promises, trying to hold back his own tears as he watches this little boy who’s so quickly wormed his way into his heart just completely break down. “It’s going to be okay. I’m here. Kibummie’s right here, and I’m not going to leave you.”

He turns back to his friends, who are both quiet now, both staring in horror. He hugs Taemin tighter as he says in a shaking voice, “There has to be a way to reverse it. Jinki, there has to be.”

“It’s a blood curse, Kibum,” Jinki says softly. “He was most likely born with it.”

Jinki sits down next to Kibum and Taemin, reaches into his coat, and pulls out a small vial.

“Here,” he says. “Calming draught.” 

“Taeminnie,” Kibum says, running his hand through Taemin’s hair. “Taeminnie, please drink it. You’ll feel better.”

“Taemin,” Minho sighs as he sits down too. “That’s his name? Maybe we can find his family. To find the curse.”

“It’s the name I gave him,” Kibum bites back, holding the vial to Taemin’s lips so he drinks it. “All they called him was Maledictus. He needed a proper name.”

Taemin calms down instantly after drinking the calming draught, but he’s still crying, still has a face covered in tears. He places a shaking hand on Kibum’s cheek and whines.

“It’s alright,” Kibum promises, cradling Taemin close. “It’s probably made you sleepy, hasn’t it? You should take a nap.”

“No sleep,” Taemin begs. “No.”

His voice is laced with fear even after taking a calming draught. It only proves how terrified he is.

“It’s not nighttime,” Kibum says softly, brushing Taemin’s hair out of his face. “You won’t turn into a snake right now.”

Taemin shakes his head, so Kibum tries smiling to help ease him.

“I’ll stay with you the whole time,” Kibum whispers, rocking back and forth. “I promise. Go to sleep now.”

Taemin blinks slowly a minute longer until he falls asleep, and once he’s knocked out, Kibum glares straight at Minho.

“Don’t you dare ever say words like that around my kid again,” Kibum warns him, his voice barely above a whisper. “Or I’ll take out your tongue.”

Minho nods, his eyes not leaving the sleeping face of the child in front of him.

“How old is he?” 

Kibum turns back to Taemin, a sad frown on his face.

“My guess? No older than five, maybe six.”

“He doesn’t know?” Minho asks.

“He didn’t even have a name,” Kibum growls at him, turning to Minho. “You think they told him how old he was? I doubt they even knew.”

“I’ll search archives for known families with blood curses,” Jinki says, trying to ease the tension. “See if we can find any details on his particular curse.”

“Do you have any ideas?” Kibum asks.

“I’d say it’s probably from one of the older families,” Jinki guesses. “Probably a seventh son of a seventh son type of curse.”

Kibum just holds Taemin close, cradles the sleeping child to his chest, and kisses the top of his head. Despite the trauma, despite the curse, Taemin has proven to be the sweetest child Kibum has ever met. On his good days, he’s silly and curious, and he already has such good control of his magic for a child so young. Kibum, who’s always wanted a child, can’t imagine ever being able to give him up, can’t imagine why any parents would abandon their own child. Blood curse or not, maledictus or not, how can someone just abandon their baby? 

Well Taemin is Kibum’s child now, and he’s never going to let him go. He’s going to do everything he can to make Taemin happy, going to do everything he can to try and relieve him of this curse. Jinki was already on board, even if he doesn’t think it’s going to work.

And Minho, watching this sleeping child’s face, is starting to understand why.

[onewfantaesy]

does snake!taemin want to keep hamsters for pets?

Maledictus AU 

“What do you think?” Kibum asks, holding Taemin up to the window of the pet shop. They’re in Diagon Alley, getting Taemin all new clothes and toys, and after a long day, he’d been drawn to the pet shop. “Would you like a hamster or two?”

“Two?” Taemin asks, turning to Kibum, his hands still pressed to the glass.

“So they can each have a little friend,” Kibum laughs. 

Taemin smiles and turns back to the window, pressing his face to the glass and watching the cage full of hamsters. They’re all running around or eating or napping, and he thinks they’re the cutest little creatures. 

And he’d been so happy, so excited, so cute watching these hamsters that Kibum was shocked when he pulled away from the glass and buried his face in Kibum’s chest, suddenly upset.

“Hey, hey,” Kibum says softly, cradling Taemin close. “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t want them,” he says in a hushed voice.

“That okay,” Kibum assures him. “You don’t have to. It’s only if you want.”

“Don’t want.”

“Okay,” Kibum says. “Do you want ice cream? Let’s go get ice cream, any flavor you want.”

Kibum found early on that Taemin has barely tried any sort of food. Ice cream - sweets in particular - were especially new for Taemin. He wanted him to try everything, to find his favorite. They go get ice cream together, but Taemin stays pressed as close to Kibum the entire time, even as he tries a new ice cream flavor: mint chip, which he quickly claims is his favorite.

That night, before sunset, Kibum lays in Taemin’s bed with him and holds him close, watching him cuddle one of his new stuffed toys.

“Can you tell me why you didn’t want any hamsters?” Kibum asks, brushing through Taemin’s hair. “I thought you really wanted one.”

Taemin frowns and stares up at him, his hands squeezing and un-squeezing his new dinosaur toy.

“Made me eat them,” Taemin whispers. 

“What?” Kibum gasps. “I wouldn’t have made you eat them! They’re pets!”

“No,” Taemin shakes his head. “At the circus. When I’m a snake. For dinner.”

“Oh, Taemin.”

“Hamsters and mice,” Taemin says, his voice shaking. “And rats. And frogs. Don’t like them.”

Kibum just squeezes Taemin close, presses a kiss to his head. 

“Well,” Kibum says slowly, “you never have to eat that again. You’ll eat when you’re still human. All the time.”

Taemin cuddles close to him, burying his face in Kibum’s chest.

“Sleep now,” Taemin begs, gripping at Kibum’s shirt. The sun is about to set.

“Alright,” Kibum says. “Sweet dreams, Taeminnie.” 

And he whispers a spell to put Taemin to sleep. It helps him skip the transformation, if he’s already asleep. From what Kibum understands, the transformation can be uncomfortable, if not painful.

For now, Taemin is too afraid to have a pet, too afraid of how they’d react to him turning into a snake each night. Kibum won’t force it on him.