#This one's for you little mimi we can fix it

[illdothehotvoice]

Concept of Paper Mario and the M&L games merging was SO fucking good I am so sad original characters were not allowed and the M&L series had to end on its lowest point and also Mario's characterization was really bad???? <---[Paper Jam Fan]

[sillyuin]

"One, two, three."

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Genre: fluff, very fluff.

Pairing: Seokmin x female reader.

Warnings: None, just Dokyeom being a real-life prince.

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That day was marked on every calendar of the house, however, there was no way you could overlook it. Seokmin was coming back to the city after being away for a while, and just the thought of seeing him again was enough to make you feel like a lovesick schoolgirl.

You had chosen a pretty dress that you bought some days ago and you spent a long time matching out accessories, makeup, and hairstyling; it was a special day, so you made a great effort to look the best you could.

In the middle of the afternoon Seokmin made you know he was nearby and a few minutes later the apartment’s doorbell rang. With your hand on the doorknob, you took a deep breath and opened it quickly.

“Mimi!” you exclaimed, throwing yourself onto his shoulders and hugging him. He returned the gesture, wrapping you tightly in his arms; after all, it had been months without being able to do so. After a few seconds, you stepped some paces back, holding his hands and intertwining your fingers. “Welcome home.”

“y/n? How!?” He brought one of his hands to his face, trying to cover it; he felt his cheeks starting to flush and became a bit embarrassed, but he couldn’t look away. “You look like a princess!”

You laughed, gazing at your feets in shyness, and as if he had read your mind, Seokmin stepped closer and gently took your chin so he could meet your loveable gaze.

“No… You look like my princess,” he whispered softly, placing a tender peck on your lips. “Shall we go?”

You nodded and took his arm as if that were your favorite place to be, headed to the car and set off. You went to a public garden that you used to visit often and before getting out of the car, he asked you to close your eyes.

Seokmin placed a small box on your lap that you deduced had been hidden somewhere in the car, it was adorned with a beautiful golden ribbon, and after untying it, you saw a small digital camera inside. You had been wanting one of those for a while, and the fact that it was a gift from him made it even more special.

“I saw this in a store window and thought of you,” Seokmin confessed. “Do you like it?”

But there was no respond; you just took the box and pressed it to your chest, trying to hold back your tears of happiness. “Wait, don’t cry yet!” he added playfully. “We have to try it first!”

As the afternoon went by, the camera’s memory started filling up with photographs. One after another, you captured everything that crossed your path: flowers, pets, distant buildings, even the reflection of the two of you in the car window. It was such a perfect day.

As the hours passed the battery began to run low, and you noticed it while sitting on a bench, looking at the saved photographs in the gallery. You couldn't deny it, that made you feel a little sad.

“It was to be expected,” you sighed, letting out a satisfied laugh at the end. “Thank you so much, Mimi. I love it.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Seokmin cleared his throat and put his hands in his pockets. “Can I ask you a favor? I would like a photo before it turns off.”

You nodded and stood up from the bench indicating that you would take the photo right there. It wasn’t unusual for Seokmin; he liked for you to have pictures of him on almost all your outings, however, this time he seemed a bit nervous, his gaze distracted.

“Relax a little,” you told him. “Just be yourself, as always.”

“Oh, yeah… I’m sorry.” He swallowed hard and let out a heavy breathing, then settled into his seat. “On the count of three…”

Your gaze was fixed on the camera screen, your finger on the shutter button while he counted. After saying "two", he fell silent and you saw on the screen his hand appearing, then you heard a loud and clear “three.”

For a moment you thought it was your imagination because the camera shutter clicked and the screen turned off, but when you looked back at him, you realized it wasn’t your imagination; Seokmin was sitting in front of you with a small golden box on his hands, and he opened it revealing the most beautiful diamond ring your ever saw.

“Will you marry me, princess?”

You stood frozen in place, not responding, still trying to process what was happening, and you realized it when the tears were too many to hold back. You tried covering your flushed and embarrassed face with both hands, but this time it was you who couldn’t stop looking. You didn’t want to look anywhere else.

“Now you can cry,” Seokmin said with a tender laugh, standing up to repeat, “Will you marry me, princess?”

You ran to hug him while breaking down in tears of joy, and he held your body with equal emotion. The days you spent apart felt like just a bitter dream, and now you were awake in the arms of the most beautiful person in the world, asking you to stay by his side now and every day…

“Yes, Mimi…” You lifted your face to kiss one of his cheeks and pulled back to find his gaze, tears falling from his smiling eyes. “… I do.”

[oh-koenig-my-koenig]

gaming with him

(cw: they play a shooter video game (might contain inaccuracies); age gap 25/41, nsfw, MDNI, smutty smutt with some butt stuff, bit of spanking; evolving their dynamic a little more)

the part before: talking on the phone

Ding dong.

Oh, that must be him. I put the ladle down and hurry to the front door. I open it up and his tall stature is filling the whole doorframe. His broad shoulders, the worn leatherjacket almost brushing the sides.

“Hi.”, he says, smiling at me, his long dark hair falling to the front as he looks down at me.

“Hi.”, I smile up at him and step to the side to let him in.

He almost hits his head when he steps through the door, the top of his hair brushing even as he ducks down. “Ah shit.”, he curses, and I laugh, before I get cut off by his lips on mine. A short, but big kiss.

“Sorry, my apartment isn’t made for giants.”, I say, as I close the door behind him.

He pulls of his shoes, the huge combat boots falling to the floor, before he puts them neatly on the shoe rack.

“I noticed that. Your bed is so tiny, last time I actually hit my head when I woke up.”, he tells me, a jokingly pouty grimace contorting his serious features.

“Awww, you need me to put a kiss on it?.”, I say, teasing him.

But he actually bows down until I see the top of his head. I laugh again, grabbing his face, coming closer to press my lips to his hair with his loud smooch.

“Better now?”, I ask, when he straightens back up.

“Much better.”, he says, shedding the leatherjacket, hanging it up right next to mine.

“Any other body parts you need kissed better?”, I tease him. And I half suspect him to just whip his dick out. I mean, I wouldn’t mind.

“Doncha know it.”, is all he says, while wiggling his eyebrows at me.

I roll my eyes, not being able to stop grinning. "Come on, big guy. I uh- actually cooked for us. I hope, that's okay.", I say.

He shoots me an amused look. "You cooked, how dare you.", he jokes with a serious expression on his face, following me to my kitchenette where the pasta is still bubbling away on the stove.

"No, it's uh veggie bolognese, so we can both eat it. I made it, so it has a bunch of protein, though.", I explain.

His hand strokes over my back until it rests against my waist, as he stops beside me. "I won't crumble into bits, if I don't have all of the macronutrients perfectly balanced for one meal. So, don't worry about that, okay?", he tells me.

I nod. "Okay.", giving the sauce another stir.

"Thanks for cooking for me.", he says.

I beam up at him. "You're welcome."

When the pasta is ready, I fix us two plates, a BIG portion for him and a smaller one for me, and we sit at the little table in my living room, that I barely use to eat at. Most of the days I just have dinner in front of my computer.

Mimi is not leaving him alone, the little minx totally enamored with the huge man, sitting on his lap while he eats. I offer to take her off his hands, but he refuses. The big metalhead with the black kitty that almost doesn’t show up against his dark clothes. Patting the small purring ball of fur, his big, tattooed fingers scratching her head, while he shovels the pasta into his face with the other one. It’s a picture for the gods. I lift my phone and snap a quick pic, his eyebrows shooting up at the same time as I press the shutter to save the moment.

After dinner I show him around my apartment which is done with a twirl around the main room and opening one door. I mean, he already knows the bedroom and the bath, so I don’t need to show them to him.

But I drag him into my “office” which is more like a hobby gaming room. It only has a desk and a bookshelf which isn’t anywhere near as impressive as his. He still inspects the books, his eyes lingering on my collection of classic romance novels and the anniversary edition of Lord of the Rings.

“I forgot the books I picked out at your place by the way.”, I comment.

“Pity.”, he says, shooting an amused look my way. “Seems like you have to drop by again someday.”

“Pity.”, I echo, grinning up at him.

He turns to look at me, sitting in my chair, and his gaze pans to the computer screen.

“So, games, huh?”, he asks, his voice sounding as vague as his question.

I chuckle. “Yeah, games.” I can see interest peek through the grimace on his face. “I have a lot. Too much, I can’t play them all. From Animal Crossing and Mario Kart, Baldur’s Gate and Witcher 3, to WoW, Counterstrike, ... Plus a bunch of strategy and puzzle games.”

“I don’t know what any of those games are, so you can tell me all about them.”, he says, leaning over the back of my chair.

“You never played any or just no shooter games?”, I ask him, recalling what we talked the night before on the phone.

He shrugs. “When I was younger, a friend of mine had a console where we played Super Mario, but yeah, didn’t have one of my own. Or a PC. And then later I didn’t really get into it anymore. You know, other stuff to do.”

“Yes, I see.”, I say, smiling up at him from my chair. “You wanna try?”

“Uh sure, but you gotta show me the controls.”, he answers.

I get up and let him take a seat. I want to scream (internally) when I see the big man in my gaming chair, his stature way too tall for one that is fitted to my size, almost bursting out of the seat. The backrest isn’t high enough to support his head. His thighs press against the armrests. It looks ridiculous, but he grins at me.

“So, Counterstrike? Or Animal Crossing?”, I quip, while I start the first game on my computer.

I put my headset on his head and show him how to move, the most important shortcuts. How to aim and shoot. And the ridiculous nature of our situation right now is everything but lost on me. I let him try the shooting range first, instead of queueing up for a match, I’m not a total monster.

He looks at the screen, inspecting all of the pistols and rifles. Starting to list stuff off as he goes through them, talking more than I ever heard him talk before. I just listen to him rambling like a madman who finally gets to talk about his hyperfixation as he explains the differences of the various types and models, the recoil, the spray. All the stuff I never bothered with when playing those games.

He finally found a few that are to his liking, and he chooses one of them.

Actually playing the game though? He fails miserably. Running into everything, like a bull in a china shop. He’s just aimlessly pressing buttons, his big fingers hitting more than one key on the keyboard all the time. If it was possible, he would have knocked everything over.

His shot? You couldn’t even call that aim. My small computer mouse is too small for his big hand, the sensitivity too high for him. I dial it down a bit, which helps, and I try to coach him through it, telling him which buttons to press, but I can see that frustration sets in.

“Come on, you almost had it there.”, I cheer him on, as he misses another one of the targets.

He grabs me and pulls me into his lap. "You play, I'm better at this stuff in real life." and puts the headset on my head.

"Wait, I’m not sure the chair can support both our weight!", I say.

But he doesn't let go of me, letting his head rest on my shoulder and pulling me closer. "If it breaks, I'll buy you a new one, okay?", he grumbles.

"You mean like the panties you ruined?”, I ask pointedly, hiding a little grin. The panties he ripped while we were fucking and never replaced.

“Uh, maybe.”, he answers, his face contorting into an apologizing grimace.

I laugh a little at that. “I’m just teasing you.”, I say. Pushing the one side of the headphones back to hear him better.

I adjust the height of the seat and come closer to the desk again. His one arm snakes around my waist, while his other hand strokes down my thigh. The fingers softly squeezing the supple flesh. I try not to let it deter me, as I queue up for a new match.

I shoot him a look, but his eyes are fixed on the monitor as his thumb softly strokes over my inner thigh. The only hint that he's totally doing that on purpose, is the little twitch of his mouth.

The match loads up, and I look forward again. Choosing my weapons, waiting for the time to count down.

I wait for the teammates to spread out, following one of them down A. Trying to concentrate on the game while I can feel his hand inching further up, closer to my pussy. Teasing. Grazing over it, with his fingertips.

My breath halts in my throat, and I bite my lip not to make a sound. Not giving into it, not giving him the satisfaction.

I see the enemy duck behind the wall, lining up the rifle, waiting for his head to pop up again. A moment before I take the shot, his fingers stroke over my clit, pressing down on the sensitive nub. A choked back moan drops from my lips, and I lose my focus. I miss the shot entirely, cursing, dropping my cover and getting mowed down by another enemy teammate. He chuckles, pressing soft kisses to the side of the face, moving down to my neck.

"Seems like you got hit.", he murmurs, his hot mouth coasting over the soft skin, which sends shivers down my spine. I squirm against his lap, feeling his hard length press against my ass.

The next round starts up and he nudges me. "Come on, Liebes, it's starting again."

“Yeah, yeah.”, I groan, moving with his touches, while trying to play the game.

"You can do it.", he whispers, his breath hitting the shell of my ear. His huge hand, the one that has been sitting on my waist, slips under my shirt, until he reaches my tits. Pulling down the bra a bit and toying with my nipple. Stroking over it with his thumb, making it stiffen up. Rolling the pebbled tip between his fingertips. Pinching it. His other hand circles my clit, still over the cloth of the leggings, and I feel how my wetness seeps into my panties.

I whine and bite down on my lip, my eyes fixed on the screen, trying to find the enemies. But honestly, right now, I'm just glad, I didn't get the package, because my mind is distracted by his teasing touches.

It gets even worse to focus on the game when his fingers slip into my pants, down to my already soaked underwear. He hums softly as he strokes over the puffy wet lips, his digits sliding further down until they push inside me. Just one at first, then quickly the second.

“I have a confession.”, he whispers, the voice dark and needy, as he works himself inside me slowly, stretching me.

“What confession?”, I ask, sounding breathy.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about sinking my fingers into your warm, wet pussy again.”, he drawls, being knuckle-deep inside me now. “Especially after hearing yourself do it yesterday. Knowing that you were fucking yourself with your fingers… Getting off to my voice...”

“You liked that?”, I breathe, needing to hear it, while in reality I can barely stay sane right now.

“Yes.”, the answer more a growl than the actual word.

I can’t hold back the moans any longer and his soft hums against my neck are killing me, while he presses kisses to it, and the motions of his fingers pressing into me are not helping at all.

"König, please, I-", I start, but I break off when he strokes over the sensitive spot deep inside.

"Hm, what do you mean, Liebes?", he says.

"More, more.", I sigh. My hips move of their own volition, searching for more friction.

He chuckles, the deep cocky sound, so close to my ear sending a shiver down my spine. Fuck, I don't think I can ever get enough of that. "What do you want me to do, Fräulein?", he asks, puffs of air hitting the shell of my ear. "More of what?"

I groan, a little bit, between trying to play the game and his teasing, my body and mind and torn in two. His fingers stop moving inside me, and I whimper. On the one hand I can focus better now, on the other hand I just want him. Need him. To do me.

"Come on, you can tell me.", he drawls, his voice low and soft.

"I-" The words won't come out of my mouth. I can imagine it, I have the pictures right in front of my eyes. But the words... Saying it out loud is another thing.

It even had been easier yesterday on the phone. Or when we texted. A simple “yes, please”, a small comment here and there. Teasing him a little. But fully voicing my thoughts… I don’t know why I am having a hard time with it.

“You can tell me what you want me to do, just say the words and I'll do it.”, he promises, pressing his cheek against mine.

Another round starts up and I'm already getting flamed in chat. But all my brain can think about is all the stuff I want him to do. His other hand is softly caressing my hips and thigh, while his fingers are still inside me. Not moving on their own.

"I don't know.", I finally whisper, running down one of the corridors and getting eliminated. Again. I sigh, slumping into him. His warm scent engulfs me, his huge pecs are my soft pillow.

"I know that you like it when I take control. But I also wanna hear from you. I want to know what you want.", he explains, his voice gentle. "What you like, what you don't like, what you fantasize about." He makes it all seem so... easy. Normal. No big deal. “Yesterday on the phone… I liked how you told me what you wanted.”, he adds.

It was easier, lying in my own bed, engulfed by darkness. His deep sultry voice and my own thoughts the only company. Now in the light of day, sitting here, right in his lap – while still playing a video game or at least trying… It is a completely different scenario. But I know what I want, I just need to tell him.

I swallow, once, and then I just blurt it out: "I want you to bend me over the desk and just eat me out from behind." Breathless and meek, but I said it out loud. See, it wasn’t that hard, right?

It is all I can think about right now. The memories of how he ate me out like that when I was bent over the bar are plaguing me and I just need him to do it again.

The sound coming from his throat, low and gravelly, is sending a pang of need straight between my thighs and my pussy clenches around his fingers. "Good girl.", he whispers. Oh, his voice does something to me.

He doesn’t wait and just gets up, pulling me up with him, until we both stand. Bending me over the desk, just like I said I wanted him to, so my forearms rest on the surface, my hands still on my keyboard and mouse. I can feel his erection pressing against me, as he positions me, his fingers slipping out of my pussy and his hands grabbing the waistband of my pants.

"Like this, hm?", he asks, and pulling them down. The panties must go as well, of course.

"Yes, just like that.", I whisper. Still a little... shy? No, that's not the right word. “Maybe kneeling behind me?”, I suggest, my voice barely audible.

He drops to his knees in an instant, his hands on my asscheeks. His fingertips are digging into them, pulling them apart, and I can feel my own wetness against the skin that still coats his fingers.

“For you, always.”, he drawls, huffs of air hitting the wet skin of my exposed pussy with every word. He just presses his face against me, licking me like a starved man. His tongue dips into me, he’s fucking me with it. Lapping up my juices.

And all I can do is take it while my eyes turn up and I can’t even really see the screen anymore. It seems like I failed miserably at actually playing the game.

He pulls back a bit, his lips brushing over me. “You have another round to play.”, he grumbles. The game is long lost for me and my teammates, and I can’t focus on it anyways, so I just let go of my mouse and keyboard.

“I can’t. I- Fuck.” My words turn into moans, when he licks up, dragging his tongue over my pussy. “I give up.”

He chuckles, the soft sound sending a shiver through me, before he repeats the move from, the tip of his tongue drawing a trail up, until he almost reaches my other hole. My eyes widen and my spine stiffens up. Would he…?

“You like that? When I play with your ass?”, he asks, his voice so close and deep, puffs of air coasting over the sensitive skin when he is speaking.

My breath hitches in my throat, the blunt dirty words making me choke up, but I answer: “I- I like it, yeah.”

“Good, cause I like it too.”, he says.

He pulls back a bit and spits, the filthy noise making my cheeks heat up. I can feel his saliva hit my puckered hole, the wetness dripping down a bit, before he catches it with his hand.

His fingers are softly massaging, the light touches sending zaps of pleasure through me, until he dips into me, the stretch of just one digit making me almost lose my mind.

He dives in again, his finger matching the rhythm of his tongue dipping into my pussy. And then his mouth drops down further until his lips close around my clit, sucking, gentle at first before it gets more intense. The sensations catapult me over the edge, and I come hard against his face. He doesn’t stop eating me out as I rub myself on him, feeling the tip of his nose nudge against my wet folds. Same with the roughness of his 5 o’clock shadow. Fuck, I’m really losing my mind over here.

"Please, fuck me, I need you to fuck me hard.", I sigh, throwing all my reservations out the window.

"Did anybody ever tell you that you beg so prettily?", he growls, I can feel the vibration against the sensitive skin of my pussy. Fuck, I just want him to do that again.

He gets up from the floor and a condom out of his wallet, and I hear him unbuckling his belt, the clang of metal telling me so. By now it has become quite the recurring theme, me trying to break his concentration while he puts on the condom. Shimmying my hips. Rolling my ass back into his lap. Teasing him to make him pound me even harder.

I’m putting my all into it today – a little pay back for how he distracted me while playing. I slowly move back and forth, until the swell of my butt hits his thighs, as he rips the foil packet open and rolls the rubber down on his dick.

He tuts. “Needy.” The word is a reprimanding growl while he spanks my ass. Once. Another little tradition that makes me giggle, relishing the faint sting of the slap. His fingers grip the supple flesh, his hips rutting forward, and I sigh. He lines himself up, slipping inside, just the tip. My breath halts in anticipation, I wait for him to push into me, stretch me around his dick. But he doesn’t.

I look back at him, turning my head, craning my neck. The big man is towering over me, behind me, just standing there. His hand still on my ass. And his gaze on my face.

The tip of his mouth tips up, the smirk getting wider. "Fuck yourself back. Come on.", he says, and he chuckles when he sees the expression on my face. “What? You moved your hips so prettily, just a few moments ago. You can do it.”

I groan, but the imagination alone and his little coaxing order make me even hotter. I push myself onto his dick, until my ass hits his lap. Deep, so deep. Pulling back again and feeling every inch of him slip out of me.

“But I asked for you to fuck me.”, I whine.

“Yeah, and then you had to be bratty.”, he answers. “Trying to tease me.” His voice deepens. “And brats don’t get what they want.”

Well, it seems like I did that to myself. I sigh deeply and start to move again. I can feel the wetness seep out of me when my ass hits his lap over and over again, making a total mess of him.

He doesn’t do anything, he’s just standing there, watching me fuck myself on his dick. I can feel his heated gaze on me as I bounce on him, my motions getting smoother, finding a rhythm that is driving us both crazy. Stretching my pussy around his girth, colliding with him, an immovable wall of muscle. A very turned-on immovable wall of muscle, judging by the soft groans that drop from his lips.

His hand grabs my buttcheek, squeezing a bit, before he spanks me again. That little move spurs me on, pushing myself back harder. But it doesn’t have the same impact as when he does it.

I just want more.

“König?”

“Yes, Liebes?”

His hand comes down on my ass once more, the palm colliding with the supple pillow, and the sound it makes fills the room. My hips stutter and he almost slips out of me when a shiver shakes my body.

“Please, fuck, I need you to do me.”, I beg, sliding onto his dick again, stopping as he’s seated deep inside me. I look back at him, catching my breath a bit.

“Will you be good then? Next time?”, he asks, pushing some of his hair back that’s falling over his face.

“I will, yes.”, I breathe.

“Good.”, he growls, his hands grabbing me, while he starts to pound into me. He pulls my hips back into him, packing a punch to his thrusts. The slaps of skin against skin are loud and almost obscene, intermingling with the moans that get pulled from my lips when he bottoms me out.

My whole body gets shaken, the surface that I’m still holding onto moving with every push. My headphones get shaken off my head, tumbling onto the desk. The clank of plastic hitting plastic resounds when they fall onto the keyboard. But I don’t care about that right now.

The tip of his dick hitting me deep inside floods me with arousal, my mind filled with hazy pleasure. It doesn't take long, a few hard deep strokes, and my thighs start to shake. I actually have a hard time keeping myself up. My legs buckle, but his arms steady me, as I cum around his dick.

“Fuck, Liebes.”, he groans. “Squeezing me so tight.” The last word drops out when he comes as well, pushing into me one last time, his groin colliding with my ass. I slump down and sigh, my cheek resting on my arm, as I relish the last waves of my subsiding orgasm.

He pulls back, pulls out of me, and I still just stand there, bent over my desk. Naked from the waist down, while he only got his dick out. I breathe in and out, trying to pull myself together, slowly straightening up.

He’s already gotten rid of the condom, zipping himself up again, when I turn around to put my arms around him. He leans down and gives me a kiss, a long overdue one, his hand stroking down my back, while I snuggle into him.

The waistband and lap of his jeans are a tiny bit sticky with my wetness, I can feel it as I’m pressed up against him like that. He doesn’t care in the least bit, sitting down in my chair again and pulling me into his lap. Softly playing with my hair, basking in the little comfortable silence.

“You okay?”, he asks then, pushing some strands back, brushing them out of my face, while his eyes search for mine.

“Yes. I probably got reported by my mates, but that was totally worth it.”, I answer, grinning at him.

He laughs and presses another kiss to my lips. “Yeah, sorry about that.”, he says, with a cheeky grin on his face.

“Oh, you’re not, and you shouldn’t be.”, I tell him, and I can tell by the look on his face that he is in fact not.

"So, what are those animals and why do they keep crossing?", he asks me out of the blue. I burst into laughter, almost falling off his lap. Still laughing a bit, I get the controller and start up my Switch to show him the villagers on my five-star island, while I snuggle against his chest and he wraps his arms around me.

next part: breaking the bed or more stuff in the Masterlist ~

a/n: @kathy-ifnt planted the idea for such a scene in my mind and i just had to do it... i played some CS but not a lot, generally i'm more of an RPG/WoW girlie, but i didn't wanna make you sit through me explaining how to heal a dungeon run, lol also tried to evolve their dynamic a little more explicitely... stay tuned <3 and thanks for reading as always <3

[marlynnofmany]

Paws in a Circle

There’s a poster I saw once, back on Earth, that had a silhouette of a bear with deer antlers, and it was labeled “Beer.” I had forgotten about it completely until I met our newest client, who by that logic was definitely a beer.

I’d already done my part of the interaction by carrying out one of the heavier boxes, so while the captain went over the delivery fees with her, I was free to stare politely and decide which other Earth animals she resembled. (Fur coloring more like a red fox, and semi-upright posture that was less bear and more extinct giant ground sloth.)

I was so focused on watching the client handle the datapad with her giant paws that I completely missed it when the hovercar behind her sprung a fuel leak.

Paint saw it, though. “Oh! Your car!” she yelped, pointing. “I’ll get Mimi!” She was off in a flash of orange scales, back into the ship in search of our mechanic.

The client growled a swear word that didn’t translate, shoved the datapad back at Captain Sunlight, then galloped over to her car. While I expected her to throw open the hood in search of the part that was leaking, she instead made a beeline for the back seat.

When she threw open that door, I saw why.

“Kids! Out of the car! It’s not safe!”

A half dozen bundles of spotted yellow fur tumbled out, making distressed noises that didn’t need translating. They had tiny little antler buds and very big eyes.

Captain Sunlight was busy talking to someone through her communicator, probably Mimi. I stood there uselessly by the packages. What did I know about fuel leaks? Nothing helpful. I knew the puddle was growing by the second, and was probably flammable, but that was about it. And this backwater spaceport barely had an information booth, much less a local response team.

The client ushered her cubs over to where we stood just as Mimi and Paint returned. Blip and Blop followed with a big toolbox carried between them. Mimi was already taking charge and waving tentacles about, talking to the captain about the lack of reliable repair shops this far in the boonies, telling Blip and Blop how best to use their muscles in opening up the engine, and reassuring the customer that this was fine, actually, that model hovercar had a known issue with the fuel lines.

When the client dithered over minding her cubs and being present for the repairs, Captain Sunlight pointed a scaly yellow hand at me. “Our human can keep your little ones entertained. Bring them over here.”

“Uh,” I said.

Captain Sunlight looked up at me, still talking to the client. “She has extensive experience in tending to small furry creatures.”

I wanted to say that veterinarian training and childcare were two very different things, but I wasn’t about to make the captain look bad. And knowing Mimi, this would be quick.

The client said, “Thank you. Kids, you need to stay over here, okay? Next to these boxes, but don’t touch. Listen to the tall one. I’ll be right there helping fix the car.”

The tiny-voiced replies were recognizable words in the most common trade language, though their pronunciation made me clock them at around three or four years old in human years. They were very cute.

And they were suddenly my responsibility, all looking up at me like spotted teddy bears while the rest of the adults fretted about the car.

The questions were immediate.

“What are you?”

“Where’s your fur?”

“Did you lose it because you ate the wrong thing? Mommy says we have to eat our vi’mins so our fur doesn’t fall out.”

“Is this instead of fur?”

I freed the tiny paws tugging at my pants. “I’m not supposed to have fur. I’m a human. And yes, I wear clothes to keep me warm instead.”

“It looks funny.”

“Do you have to brush it?”

“Do you know any games?”

I brightened at that. “Games! Sure, I know some games.” I wracked my brain for something that would keep them entertained without causing new problems. “What kind of games do you like to play?”

They all answered at once in an avalanche of words, bouncing around in excitement, with a couple grabbing each other’s fur to keep from falling over. I couldn’t make out a thing they were saying. But I had the beginning of an idea.

“Do you like dancing in a circle?” I asked.

They had no idea what I was talking about, and possibly no understanding of basic shapes yet. Three of them spun in place while the others waved their arms.

“First you stand in a circle, like this,” I said, sketching out the shape in midair. “Here. You stand here, then you there…” With some gentle nudging — they were so soft — I soon had them arranged in something like a circle. “Now hold hands with the person next to you.”

I was a little concerned that their paws weren’t suited to this, since they had long blunt claws already and didn’t look very dexterous, but they managed. With lots of giggling and hopping in place.

“Now everybody step to the side, in this direction.” I ushered them into a clockwise rotation, nice and slow (and giggling), with no risk of any little fluffy heads bonking onto the spaceship landing pad. It took them a second, then they got the rhythm without tripping over their own feet.

Then they unanimously spun faster, hopping and laughing with squeals and barks that were probably making more than one adult turn to stare. I don’t know; I kept my eyes on the littles. My arms were out and ready in case somebody stumbled and brought the whole circle crashing down.

But no one did. The half dozen youngsters wheeled and spun, bouncing with glee and showing no sign of stopping.

“That’s new,” rumbled a voice behind me. I tried not to flinch when I looked up at the mama bear. Beer. Whatever. She asked, “Is that an activity from your planet?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Pretty basic, and it seemed good for kids.”

The antlered head nodded. “Looks like valuable practice at coordination, as well as teamwork. There are a few adults I know who could benefit from that.”

Images flashed through my head of huge antlered bear aliens doing ring-around-the-rosie as a corporate teambuilding exercise. And professional athletes trying to improve their footwork. “Yeah, they probably could. And it’s a fun bit of community bonding time.”

Mama Bear nodded. “Okay children, the car is fixed,” she announced. “Time to go home.”

The cubs made the exact same disappointed noises as human kids. Even when their mother waded in and picked them up one by one to urge them towards the car, they didn’t want to stop playing. They grabbed hands in pairs and spun off that way, even faster than before. I did have to catch one fuzzy little teddy toddler, who just laughed about it and hopped around some more.

Peripheral vision told me the rest of the crew was helping move the packages into the hovercar’s storage space and mop up the last of the fuel. Overheard conversation told me that the good captain had tactfully gotten us a bonus payment for the mechanical assistance. I couldn’t tell if childcare was part of that, and I didn’t ask. I just focused on herding the excitable youngsters back to their car, where thankfully they all knew how to get into the safety harnesses without help.

Mama Bear closed the door. “Thank you for everything,” she said, directing that at me as well as Captain Sunlight. “I will recommend your services highly to anyone who asks. And we will probably need more deliveries soon, once we get the new house set up, so perhaps we will see you again!”

Captain Sunlight nodded. “Perhaps so. It was a pleasure doing business with you.”

I waved goodbye to the kids, who had found the button to open the window and were just as excitable as ever. “See you later! Maybe next time I can teach you the Hokey Pokey. That’s big on my planet.”

~~~

These are the ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book.

Shared early on Patreon! There’s even a free tier to get them on the same day as the rest of the world.

The sequel novel is in progress (and will include characters from these stories. I hadn’t thought all of them up when I wrote the first book, but they’re too much fun to leave out of the second).

[solarisfortuneia]

— 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐤.

and a man with birds in his hair.

✦ info: he hopes you know that no matter what ails you, he will do his best to see you smile. (fluff. jing yuan basically attempts to cheer you up with birds and a lion.)

✦ featuring: jing yuan.

✦ notes: i was going to relocate this drabble to this blog sooner but i forgot about it lmao but once again, jing yuan is my favorite disney princess <3

perceptive as always, jing yuan notices your crestfallen expression the second you step in through the door. a frown seems to have made its home in between your brows, and your eyes look heavier than he's ever seen them. you drop your bags on the ground, uncaring of the pile they form, and surge forward, all but jumping into his arms.

he catches you effortlessly, a small noise leaving his lips. "oh, my darling," he whispers softly, holding your face in warm, calloused hands. "you look like you're surrounded by cloudy skies."

he racks his brain, trying to think of something to explain your mood, but he comes up short. though in possession of a mind so intimately familiar with strategy and logic and the act of anticipating an opponents thoughts, he cannot fathom the reason of your sadness for the life of him. 

"what happened?" he asks ever-so-gently. he receives his answer in the form of you turning your gaze away from his.

clearly, you don't want to talk about it.

every fiber of his being screams at him to fix this, to fix your downcast expression, to right everything until you grin brightly.

but he cannot take away pain of the mental variety, no matter how much he wants to. even the all powerful general on the luofu has his limitations. he knows you will tell him of your own accord soon enough, and he is a patient man; he will wait.

but what should he do in the meantime? 

change tactics, of course.

"would you like a bird for your sorrows?"

momentary confusion immediately replaces your gloom. "excuse me, a what?" you blink, once, twice, thrice, absolutely appalled. he can see the thoughts rushing by in your head. did you hear him right? a bird? surely not?

"i asked if you'd like a bird for your sorrows, my dear." he laughs lightly, a twinkle dancing in aureate eyes. a little bird chirps cheerfully, perched comfortably on his shoulder, and another pokes its head from between a cluster of white hair, contributing another bird-like sound to the conversation.

"i picked these guys up on a stroll this morning," he says, by way of explanation, smile growing as he watches your astonishment. "we've been good friends since, haven't we?" he looks up in the direction of the ceiling, attempting to gesture to the bird on his head with his eyes.

you exhale, the tiniest bit of amusement finding its way onto your face. 

"but, i can also offer you a lion, if that is more your preference." he gestures to his beloved mimi curled up at his feet. 

the large cat cracks one eye open when it's mentioned, before lazily stretching out on the carpet. they make quite a pair, the dozing general with his resting lion. it saunters gracefully over to you, gently laying its head on your lap. it nudges your palm a couple of times; a clear indication it wants you to stroke her head. 

"would you look at that," he beams, satisfied that a little smile of your own slowly starts to bloom on your face as you run your fingers through the lion's soft white fur. "let us dispel more of the clouds above your head, shall we?" he holds out an arm, beckoning you to take it. "i believe a date to the dessert shop is in order."

he hears you laugh when the birds on his head chirp in agreement, and he nods to himself in satisfaction, grin never leaving his face. 

he hopes you know that no matter what ails you, he will do his best to see you smile.

[drabblesandimagines]

Little Bird

Jing Yuan x gn reader (consensual bondage) 1,447 words

-

“Are you sure you’d still like to do this, little bird?”

You nod. You’re sat on Jing Yuan’s bed, garbed only in your night clothes - white lace. You’d wanted to look pretty, though he assures you it’s impossible for you not to be. You’d napped together before, of course you had, but the only issue now is he is also in his nightwear, which isn’t a lot. Soft sleeping pants and a shirt which is unbuttoned, revealing his toned chest to where your eyes are currently fixed.

“I need to hear it,” he chastises oh-so-gently, sitting down besides you and taking your hand, stroking across your knuckles with his thumb.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

You’ve always been painfully shy – a result of your sheltered upbringing. It’s a miracle your relationship with the white-haired man has even got this far. The first time you’d been introduced and he pressed a kiss against the back of your hand in greeting, you had heart palpitations for days after at the memory of it. He’d been charmed immediately by your sweet nature and orchestrated chance meetings which led into tea dates, enamoured by how easily flustered you seemed to get from his words only. He’d only ever been a gentleman in your courtship. It was only recently, at your determination, that you’d began a more physical aspect to the relationship.

Jing Yuan was a very patient teacher, always going by your pace of things but therein lied the issue. You’d get so nervous about what you were doing or not meant to be doing whenever the two of you kissed, lost in your own head. He’d organised a private dinner on a blanket in the most beautiful garden, surrounded by candlelight, and it had ended in tears when your nerves got the better of you during a passionate embrace. The sweet man cuddled you close into his chest, assuring you any moment within your company was enough.

This evening was his suggestion, one which he had raised with extreme hesitation, worried he’d frighten you away. Jing Yuan seemed almost flustered as you when he raised it – a very cute sight - stressing he only would dream of suggesting it because you wanted to overcome your hurdle and he’d hated seeing you so upset. When a bird is distressed, covering their eyes calms them down and he wondered if the same would work on his own little bird.

“Would you like to lie down first?”

“Okay,” you nod, already feeling the nerves building. You scoot back on the large bed, until your head comes to rest on the array of pillows at the top. You put your hands down by your side, then clasp them on your stomach, before back by your side. Jing Yuan smiles warmly at you, “Beautiful, as always.”

He has a scarf in his hand now – you’re not sure where it came from – as he clambers onto the bed, crawling up alongside you before looking down, his hair cascading around him, bathed in soft light.

“Ready, my darling?”

“I’m ready.”

“And do you remember the word we agreed on?”

Jing Yuan had suggested a word which meant that the two of you would stop immediately. He said it needed to be a word that wouldn’t come up in the general flow of things and, of course, there was one that jumped out straight at you.

“Mimi.”

“Good.” He nods. “Now, can you lift your head up for me a little?”

You do so and take one last look at his chest before the fabric is placed over your eyes - the world goes black as he gently knots it around the back of your head, careful not to catch any of your hair.

“Can you see me, little bird?”

“No.” You lay your head back down on the pillows, your fingers now fidgeting with the sheet beneath you.

There’s a moment of silence – you wonder if he’s perhaps testing to see if you can’t actually see anything. A hand clasps your own as his weight shifts on the bed. He’s now straddling you between his thighs but not leaning his full weight on you.

“Is this all right?”

You nod, though your heart is now pounding.

“Words, please”. His breath is on your face, it smells of peppermint tea. You wonder how close he is now.

“Yes.”

Soft lips press against yours – cautious, tender, gentle. You try and concentrate on kissing back, matching his rhythm… but still you’re wondering where you should be putting your hands. Yes, he’s holding one, but what do do with the other? Should you be placing it on his shoulder, or his face? But then you might smack him due to the blindfold. You bring it up cautiously, keeping it low to the mattress until it’s by your face and gently intertwine your fingers within his hair, occasionally your fingers finding the silky ribbon he uses to keep it in place. He deepens the kiss then, releasing your other hand, his tongue running along your lips, seeking entrance. Maybe you should put both of your hands on his waist now, his shoulders, flat against his toned chest, or back in his hair… Why is this still so awkward? Maybe this was a bad idea, you’re just all the more conscious of your limbs now. You release his hair slowly, placing your hand back down and hesitate in the kiss, pulling back slightly.

Suddenly, fingers grip around your wrist and pull it up above your head. Your other hand soon joins it, pinned into place by his large hand and you gasp, allowing his tongue entrance at last. You can feel him smile into the kiss, his tongue trying to dance with your own. His weight shifts a little and the pressure on your captured wrists forces out a moan.

After a moment, Jing Yuan pulls back slightly. “May… May I suggest something, darling?”

You let out a shuddering breath. Why does it sound like he’s flustered? “Of course.”

He places a hand on the side of your face, caressing your cheek with his thumb. “Correct me if I am mistaken, however you seemed to quite enjoy when I pinned your wrists down. I wondered if you’d permit me to bind them.”

You couldn’t argue with his analysis – it was nothing like you’d felt before. “You may.”

“Wonderful. Let me think…” He kisses you again – small, quick pecks – as his mind works. “Ah, yes. Don’t move.” He releases your wrists and you feel his weight shift again, sort of like he’s sitting back. It isn’t long before his weight moves again and you feel something silky wrap around your wrists as he gently knots them together.

“What is it?”

“My hair ribbon. Soft but strong. We’ll just wrap this bit around here…” Your wrists get tugged up a little further and by the tautness of the binds you realise he’s looped the end around the bedframe, tethering you in place.

“How does that feel? Not too tight, I hope.” His fingers caress your wrists, checking it’s not digging in.

“No, it feels nice. Reassuring.” The fingers leave your wrists. “Is that silly?”

“Of course not.” His thumb rubs against your lip. “I like it – very much. My nervous little bird, calm and subdued.” He runs his thumb down to under your chin, tilting it up, and lays light kisses on your neck and you relax into it – almost as if all the pressure that had been building up has been released despite your compromising position.

You feel his hair tickle your shoulders as he continues his exploration of your neck, apparently determined to kiss every inch after being denied of it for so long – if he had dared tried before you’d squirm away, arms up to stop his endeavours. Of course you still try but your hands stay firmly in place and that only increases the pleasurable sensations. It doesn’t take long until he finds a particularly sensitive spot, coaxing another moan out of you.

He trails kisses up your neck and along your jaw, before up to your lips once more, slipping in his tongue with no fight. You can’t think of anything else but his lips, the weight of him upon you, the slight tickle on your collarbones from his hair.

He moves back down to your neck again, nipping ever so lightly at the skin. “I’d call this a success, wouldn’t you?” He murmurs into your neck.

“Very much so.”

“Are you ready for the next stage?” You swear you can feel him smirk into your neck.

“The next…?”

“I’m going to find a spot that makes you moan my name, darling.”

-

Can you tell I'm obsessed with this man and his dang hair ribbon?

Masterlist . Requests welcome . Ko-fi

Details for my event celebrating 200 followers.

[whalesforhands]

the gojo-geto household’s playtime!

“Would you like another cup of tea, Mr. King?”Nanako’s voice is pitched far too high, an attempt to act a flair of elegance to her words as crumbs of the cookies Tsumiki had baked linger by her lips.

“Oh, with pleasure, Princess Of Green Bunnies.” You watch with amusement as Suguru tips his cup down towards the girl, trying his best to move his admittedly larger frame around without knocking anything over. Your hands gently wiping Nanako’s face when she leans in closer towards you momentarily.

“Mama—“ She coughs, sputtering in her next words. “Mrs. Queen! I am perfectly fine!” She’s whining up at you as you only silently pat her head.

“Can we eat now?” Megumi— No, Prince of The Animal Kingdom, impatiently drums his fingers against the plastic table, staring down at the potato chips and corn snacks before him. Tsumiki tuts, lightly smacking her little brother’s hand. “That’s rude, Prince! We have to wait for the Princess of Stitches to give us the signal.”

Mimiko nods. “Thank you, Princess of Strawberries…” A shy tilt of her head towards her plushie before she clanks her plastic spoon against the plastic teacup.

“Ah! Mimi has an announcement!”

“I wanna eat…”

“Gumi, be patient.” A ruffle of his hair from the long-haired man to sate him.

“I want to thank you all for coming…”

There’s a trudge, before from within the large pile of pillows and blankets, emerged the domineering figure of he who cannot be exorcised, he who rises from the dead, he who kidnaps children and swallows them whole!

The Banished Demon King Who Rules Over the Banished Bad Guys!

(Also known as simply, in Megumi’s complaints of the too long title, The Demon King.)

Gojo Satoru’s boisterous laugh is heard as he uses his tall frame to tower over the tea party, the gasps of shock and horror music to his ears. “My, my! A wonderful tea party!” With a rude step forward, he plants his foot upon the play table, albeit with a bit of care as to not rattle it too much, ego and confidence radiating off of him.

“But it seems my invite got lost via the carrier pigeon!” He places a melodramatic hand to his forehead. “You tiny lot wouldn’t be so cruel to not invite me, would ya?” The glitter upon his paper crown glints underneath the lights as his eyes search the puffed up faces of his daughters and uninterested one of his son.

“You were never invited, cruel monster!” Several plastic utensils are thrown at him as he deflects them with his ‘evil magic’. (He turned Infinity on momentarily before turning it off again.)

You only watch with a pleasant smile next to Suguru, just happy to be a part of this whilst lightly clapping along. Geto’s stare moves to watch you, lips quirking up at the sight of you. He chuckles when he spots a bored Megumi at your other side, sneaking bites of the snacks now that the girls were distracted.

(Megumi wanted to play his console, but everyone voted for this first, so he did too, to the twins and Tsumiki’s delight.)

Satoru’s blanket that acted as his all-menacing cape is unwrapped from around him as three gazes of unwavering determination face him. “I see…” A glint from those sunglasses hiding the ever mischievous pair of blue. “Then I suppose a kidnapping is in order to placate my evil desires! WAHAHAH!”

You don’t even have time to react before you’re scooped up into a pair of arms, the half-eaten biscuit still in your hand as you’re thrown over your husband’s shoulder, his long legs carrying you away and out the door into the living room, cackling all the way as you begin to put on airs.

(This was not in the script.)

“Oh no~!” You let out a gasp for dramatic effect as you’re carried further and further away. “I’m being kidnapped by the evil king! Save me!” The smile on your face completely going against your words, finding it hard to get into character.

“Our Queen has been kidnapped by the evil curse! Oh no!” Nanako raises a foam sword as Tsumiki fixes the ribbons in Geto’s hair. “Quick, we must have an emergency meeting plan to save her!”

——

Gojo settles you down gently on the nearby couch, humming lightly as he sneaks a kiss from your lonely-looking lips. “Gotta play it up a bit, honey. You don’t mind, right?” His once discarded blanket is now upon your shoulders, lightly and messily knotting it to act as ‘binds’. “And so you won’t get cold.”

“How sweet of a Demon King.” You lean forwards to peck his forehead, swooning at him as starry blue eyes meet yours, nuzzling his face against you with a grin on his face.

“Special treatment for my loveliest Queen, of course—“

“Halt right there, evil doer!” Tsumiki has taken charge of the party. “You haven’t won yet, since you forgot our secret weapon!”

“Papa!” Nanako and Mimiko push forward a very compliant Suguru, his hands raised as the sparkly ribbons and bows in his hair attract the demon king’s attention.

“Hello~” Geto only simply waves with a smile on his face.

“Evilllllll BLAST!” His fingers glow red before immediately flickering out, Geto taking the ‘hit’, clutching his heart as he makes a show of stumbling around, before dropping to the ground conveniently right next to you.

“He defeated the King! He’s too strong!” Nanako is gasping in defeat for her siblings, falling to her knees as she acts troubled.

“This curse has more plans!! I eat children who don’t give their daddies enough love today!!!” Gojo gives a sneaky pat to the prone Geto on the ground next to you before he turns to face his defeat.

“Order of Sorcerers! Plan B!”

“RAHHhh- Ow! Hey!” He’s getting pelted by an onslaught of toy bullets as an arm is held up in front of him to defend himself, stray bullets bounce against his face and off of his sunglasses, falling to his knees as he’s sniped from a distance.

Megumi.

Mimiko rings the bell in signal as Tsumiki hands out the next orders. “Megumi has temporarily stunned the monster!” A thrust of her sword upwards towards the ceiling. “All troops! CHARGGEEE!”

“Since when did princes use guns?!” Satoru is adamantly taken aback, holding both hands in the air in surrender as the twins held his legs down in place, Megumi pointing the toy gun menacingly at him as Tsumiki held a pillow up over her head in victory.

“Admit defeat and set our Queen free, monster!”

And they descended upon the poor man like ants to a fallen ice cream scoop, running at him as they poked him with their foam swords, bludgeoned his face with pillows, as he squealed, simply letting himself get overwhelmed and laying in defeat as he continues to get pummeled.

They’re distracted. This is your chance.

“Are you tired?” Your voice is gentle as your head hovers above his, looking down into his lovely copper-amethyst gaze as black ribbons of his hair splay out against the carpeted floor.

He really does look like something out of a fairytale. You’re surprised he wasn’t asked to play a princess.

“My back is a little sore...” Well, hunching over a tiny plastic chair all day isn’t very healthy. “But I’m mostly fine, dear.” He makes it a point to keep his already soothing voice low, tinged with gentle reassurance and eyes blinking slowly up at you.

(He still has the very important role of keeping the roleplay alive, after all.)

“And how is my gorgeous Queen doing?” The act is temporarily dropped when a hand reaches up to cup your cheek, grazing over the skin as his stare holds your own, the background noises fading into nothing as he takes this moment entirely for himself.

“Kiss me?” A plead that you can’t deny.

You relent, a lean downwards that allows you to press a kiss to the man’s forehead, easing his stress and begetting the softness of his eyes, before pulling away.

“Mm. Good… But I prefer somewhere else…”

A loud crash.

“The monster has fallen!” Nanako arises victorious, socked feet standing upon Satoru’s prone body, heels digging into his chest whilst her twin sat upon his stomach as he feigns death on the ground, Tsumiki patting the defeated man’s arm and Megumi poking his face with a stray bullet as the grown man fights to keep the ‘dead’ act as a smile is a laugh away from twitching onto his face.

masterlist

Notes:

“Daddy! You can’t put the word ‘evil’ in front of everything and call it a day!” Mimiko has a small pout on her face as she looks up at the light-haired man, star-shapes carrots on her fork as she regards the figure with a narrowed stare.

You and Suguru both had to console the defeated demon king quite a bit, despite the fact that he had voluntarily taken up this role.

Gojo regrets buying those toy guns. They actually hurt quite a bit.

nvy’s aftertalk:

sorry guys i was playing minecraft and studying lol

[honkytonk-hangman]

Water Like a Stone (3/?)

[Orm Marius x Reader]

Summary: Exiled on land and taken in by Tom Curry at the Lighthouse, Orm is introduced to family friend and Marine Park Ranger Grace, a woman unafraid of swimming with sharks and whose job it is to care for the Amnesty coastline... How is he not to adore her.

Warnings: Language, sexual references, mentions of almost drowning? Reader is named, but it shouldn't come up too often, it just makes it easier to write xxx

Notes: This is set post The Lost Kingdom, and is a slight AU given that in this story Atlantis hasn't yet come forward to the world. This is my first time writing for Orm, I hope you enjoy it!! TY to @hangmanssunnies you are my ROCK!!!!!!!

Word Count: 5.5k

Arthur grins at Orm from across the room. Orm, for his part, ignores him.

“Grace’s really got you domesticated, huh?” he says, grinning wider when the seal pup in his brother’s arms fusses, and Orm shushes her. The blond looks up at his brother, and glares.

“Stop disturbing her, she’s meant to be feeding,” he scolds, turning back to the pup swaddled in his arms like a baby. He adjusts the bottle in his fingers.

“You know, when dad asked me if we had any leftover baby bottles, I was hoping that meant Junior would be getting a playmate,” Arthur tells him jovially.

Orm looks up at him sharply, and frowns.

“He does have a playmate. Mimi,” he nods at the seal in his arms, her round little body nestled in a towel. Arthur chortles, and nods.

“Yeah, she’s definitely a friendly little thing. Who came up with ‘Mimi’, anyway?” Arthur asks, his voice giving away how ridiculous he found the name. Orm straightens some and fixes his brother with a stern look.

“Grace did,” he tells him, his tone even, as if to let his brother know that he’s ready to defend your choice should he have more to say.

Arthur puts his hands up as if in surrender, but he snickers still.

“Mimi,” he says under his breath. Orm ignores him, and focuses on Mimi again as she finishes off the bottle in his hand, and wiggles impatiently.

“There, perhaps that will stop your mewling,” Orm faux complains, readying himself to plop the seal back on the ground when Arthur starts.

“What are you doing man? You have to burp her!”

Orm looks at his brother with a squint, his lips pursing.

“She’s a seal, she does not need to be ‘burped’,” he argues back, but Arthur is already standing, already in front of him, and already holding out his hands. Orm frowns up at him, and hesitates, but before he can make any choice, Arthur has leant down and plucked the pup from his hands. Orm watches as his brother adjusts the towel to hang over his shoulder, manoeuvring Mimi to rest against it.

He pats her back gently, even as the brat continues to wiggle. Orm stands too, unsure of himself, and wishing to be at hand should Mimi require freeing from his brother’s clutches, but before he can ask Arthur to place her down, she lets out a tiny, hearty little belch.

Orm and Arthur stare at one another. They both open their mouths, but neither gets to speak as a creaking from the doorway catches both their attention and they turn to find Tom, phone camera raised.

“Smile!” Tom says.

Arthur grins wide and gives a thumbs up. Orm frowns. The picture is taken and Orm blinks hurriedly, but turns back to Arthur and takes the seal from him, letting her down to scoot her way over to curl around Tom’s feet and bonk her head against his shins. “Now if you two are done getting on each other's nerves, help me bring the groceries in.”

The brothers comply in relatively friendly silence, making their way out to the car, where the trunk has already been opened. Mimi follows, and only manages to get under their feet once or twice, which is the best Orm could ask for, still, he smiles a little when Arthur almost trips. He accepts two heavy bags from his brother, but finds even though he turned to leave first, Arthur has fallen into step beside him quickly anyway.

“So…” Arthur begins, adjusting a package of toilet paper under arm. “How is Grace?” he asks. Orm sniffs a little, but relaxes himself almost immediately. Despite all evidence, he knows Arthur isn’t trying to get under his skin. The teasing is to be expected, natural even, but he calms, knowing Arthur does not ask for any reason other than to be pleasant.

“She is well,” Orm tells him, and oddly finds that contrary to his natural way of keeping his private affairs private, it isn’t hard for him to want to gush about you. “We have been in one another’s company for two months now,” he goes on, pausing for a moment before continuing. “I believe she is happy.”

Arthur, despite the bags in his hands, and the package under his arm, somehow manages to clap him on the shoulder.

“That’s sick, bro. Grace is great, you deserve somebody like that.”

Orm hums, unsure how to respond to that statement.

“Hey, did she ever tell you we went on a date once?” Arthur asks then, more mischief in his voice than before. Orm smiles, a little wickedly, but he looks over at his brother and nods.

“Oh, yes. She did not speak very highly of it,” Orm tells him as they ascend the steps and enter the kitchen door.

“What? Man, come on,” Arthur complains, but is quickly directed by their mother to place the bags on the table, and stow the toilet paper in the laundry.

“Atlanna tells me you gifted Grace a necklace the other day,” Mera lights up when she sees Orm. She stands by the windows, Junior perched on her hip and she bounces him ever so slightly. Orm passes by her to deposit his own bags, and side eyes her evenly as he does.

“I do not remember asking my mother to share such information,” he says pointedly, a little louder than necessary so that his mother, who had busied herself in the pantry can hear. As he passes Mera once more, he uses one of his now free hands to smooth over the top of Junior’s hair.

At the boy's soft little cooing, Orm stops, and raises his other hand so that he may cup Junior’s cheeks, chubby, and pink, and briefly mush them gently. Junior lets out a soft squeal and kicks his feet, using his fat little fingers to grasp and curl around Orm’s own hands. Pulling away, Junior fumbles to stay latched on to his uncle’s pointer, to which Orm shakes it faux warningly in his direction.

“Does she even know what that means?” Arthur asks then, reappearing from the laundry with a slight frown. Despite himself, Orm feels a flush form on his skin, and he wills it to leave.

“She will. I will tell her when the time is right,” Orm quickly says, wishing the conversation to be over. Atlanna pokes her head out of the pantry.

“Grace doesn’t know yet that we aren’t humans,” she explains.

Arthur makes a face, but before Orm can respond, his brother whistles as if the conversation should be over. Orm finds that he’s rather thankful.

“Speaking of not being human, Tylo wanted to see you.” Arthur tells him, clicking his fingers. Orm pushes off the counter he’d come to rest against and perks up.

“He’s out in the bay now?” he asks.

“Well, I told him to wait a bit deeper than that, but yeah,” Arthur tells him.

“You wanna go see him?”

-

“You’re gonna tell Grace soon right?” Arthur asks, a small amount of concern entering his voice. Orm knew he wasn’t lucky enough to have this conversation just be over. The two brothers trudge up the shore, Orm only glancing behind him briefly when he hears Mimi slap up onto the surface behind them.

“I do not enjoy keeping anything from her, I will tell her soon,” Orm assures his brother quietly. Arthur grunts.

“She’s too smart, and if I’m honest brother,” he begins, stopping briefly to turn to Orm as they reach the crest of the small hill they’d climbed. “If she already likes you, I wouldn't worry about the rest.”

Orm stops to face Arthur, and frowns at him.

“Thank you… I think.”

Arthur grins at him, and claps him on the shoulder. Orm grunts a little, but gives his brother a grim smile. Mimi begins vocalising then, barking happily as she squeezes herself between their legs and hurries forth to the grassy lawn outside the lighthouse. Orm hums lowly at her as she goes, frowning once again.

“What’s got into her?” Arthur asks, dropping his hand from the blond’s back. Orm follows Mimi with his eyes, before quickly straightening up and turning away from his brother entirely.

“Grace is here,” he says absently, no longer paying any mind to the man beside him, finding himself following quickly after the seal pup. Behind him, Arthur makes a whooping noise, and vaguely, Orm hears him begin to trot after, making a sound he assumes to be that of a whip.

Orm ignores him.

By the time he reaches you, you’re sitting on the blanket he assumes had been laid out by his mother, across from Mera. You have Junior in your arms, and you coo at him sweetly. When Mimi reaches you, the brat attempts to crawl up into your lap too, and although you acknowledge her with a swift pet of your hand over her head, you do your best to keep the seal away from the baby.

You don’t notice him, until he’s stepping right up beside you, and gathering Mimi in his arms.

“Orm!” you say with a slight shock to your voice. Orm’s eyes haven’t left you since he first spotted you, and while crouched beside you, he leans in, with only a small amount of hesitation, knowing his mother and Mera sit right there, but regardless, he presses his lips to your cheek, earning a small sound of approval from you as he does.

“I had not expected to see you today,” he says, releasing Mimi as you let Mera take Junior back from you and you attempt to stand. Immediately, Orm straightens and offers you his hand, which you take gratefully, and allow him to help you up. He doesn’t release your hand, which makes you smile shyly at him, but he holds fast and steps slightly away from the blanket, gently guiding you with him.

“Grace!” Arthur interrupts just as you open your mouth to speak. You break your gaze with Orm, and smile politely as Arthur approaches. “Long time no see, chickie!” Arthur says, pulling you in by the shoulders. Your hand is pulled from Orm’s, and you fluster a little, but after a moment you hug Arthur back.

“Hey, what have you been saying about our date back in the day!?” Arthur asks suddenly then, pulling back from you and crossing his arms over his chest, almost intimidatingly. Orm’s heckles rise a little, but they’re calmed almost as soon as he registers Arthur’s words, and a sly grin takes its place on his face. You frown and cock your head. The taller man bucks his chin at the blond, but keeps his eyes on you. “Orm says you thought it was bad!” he faux complains. Orm’s smile widens. You look confused between the two brothers, though your eyes catch on Orm’s grin and the glint in his eyes.

“I never said anything like that,” you say slowly, realisation dawning on both you and Arthur, and you snort in amusement. Orm lets out a short, low chortle at the look on his brother’s face and you step back toward him and elbow him softly in his side. Your own smile takes on an impish quality, and you glance back at Arthur.

“If I’m honest, I don’t remember it much at all,” you tell him slyly, which only makes Orm scoff good naturedly.

“That is more damning than anything I implied,” Orm chuckles, slipping his hand down your still crooked elbow to take up your hand once more. Arthur glares. “If you would excuse us, brother,” the blond says then, sidestepping his brother and once more guiding you several steps away.

“Can you believe that guy?” You hear Arthur ask as both Mera and Atlanna hush him, and he sits down on the blanket, and begins cooing at his son.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” He asks, knowing it’s much too formal, especially at this point in your relationship, but also knowing that you quite like his formal tendencies.

“I wanted to ask you something,” you say, turning your hand over in his to link your fingers. Orm looks down at your joined hands briefly, and his lips quirk up at the corner of his mouth.

“Anything,” he says, and once upon a time he would have scolded himself for replying as such and so quickly, but here and now, he allows himself the chance to be besotted.

You smile at him, clearly taken by his words, and any of his remaining restraint takes its leave of him.

“My father and I usually take a trip out in the bay once or twice a month, he called today and we’re going to go tomorrow,” you tell him, your eyes briefly flickering out to the water, and it’s such a simple thing, but Orm can’t help but feel his heart beat a little heavier in his chest at the clear adoration and joy in your gaze. “I thought maybe you’d like to come.”

The wind blows between you, dislodging some of your hair, which you quickly brush back. Orm watches, enchanted by you, and perhaps for the first time being struck by the thought that he’s glad to have been exiled to the surface, glad that he has the chance to experience such wind, experience the way it serves to highlight things about you he never might have known had he lived his entire life below the water’s surface.

“I would be honoured to accompany you both,” he tells you, not realising how his grip on your hand has tightened. You startle a little, as if you hadn’t expected him to accept your offer.

“Great!” You say excitedly, bopping up on your heels for a moment. Orm’s lips only widen in their smile, and he nods. “Well, we’ll meet you down by the docks in town at around nine,” you say.

“I look forward to it immensely,” Orm says, a light and airy feeling filling his chest at the prospect. You grin at him, but a moment later you blink rapidly and your smile drops a little.

“… My father can be a little strange, so you’ll have to forgive him for that,” you say, sounding a little nervous. Orm can’t help the chuckle that bubbles out of him at that.

“I am also strange, am I not?”

You laugh as well, and you squeeze his hand.

“You are, but in a different way,” you say, still smiling, but a small frown creasing your brows. Orm can’t help but recall his brother’s words from only a short while ago, of you being too smart to keep in the dark for much longer. His skin itches uncomfortably as he’s more aware of his dishonesty now than he normally feels cognisant of, and he doesn’t like it.

-

The moment Orm meets Captain Havelock’s eyes, his blood runs cold. Your father looks him over in one swift glance, before meeting his eye again, and Orm feels a sickening feeling settle in his stomach.

He knows.

“Dad!” you say happily as you release Orm’s hand and step forward to where your father waits on the docks, beside the gangway that’s set up. Captain Havelock swivels his gaze away from Orm and to you, where his thick beard twitches and beneath the neatly groomed fuzz, a small smile appears. The pulled tautness of his eyebrows doesn’t disappear, however, despite the sinking feeling Orm has, he gets the distinct impression that is just your father’s face.

“Gracie,” Captain Havelock says gruffly, quickly wrapping you up in a tight bear hug. Orm swallows as you pull back, and your father adjusts to place his hands on his belt, his smile gone now, and he nods in Orm’s direction.

“Whose this, then?” he asks, voice almost entirely unreadable. Orm startles just a little, and despite everything in his body telling him to dive for the water, he steps forward as you gesture for him to do so.

“Dad, this is Orm. Orm, my father,” you introduce simply. Neither man makes to move at first, and Orm practically squirms under the sailor’s intense gaze.

“Call me Phillip,” your father eventually says simply, leaning forward and outstretching his hand. Orm nods, and quickly takes up the offered hand, shaking it firmly. Your father grunts, and after peering at him a moment too long, he nods at Orm.

Despite the cold feeling in his blood, oddly, the reaction seems to assure him. He searches his mind for anything he knows of human sailing culture, and jerks his head in the direction of the boat.

“Permission to come aboard?” he asks awkwardly. His eyes cut across to you just behind your father, and although you smile wide in amusement, you say nothing, your own eyes trailing up to your father, who’s grip on his hand tightens ever so slightly and he shakes it one last time, before he uses his free hand to clap Orm’s shoulder in a friendly manner. Before he releases him, Captain Havelock leans in slightly.

“Did Grace tell you that?” he asks. Orm shakes his head. “Good man, come aboard.”

Your father turns on his heel then and stalks heavily up the gangway and onto the modestly sized boat. You come to his side then, and pat his arm, shooting him an almost sympathetic smile, tinged with amusement.

“He likes you,” you say assertively, taking the hand Orm offers to you as you too mount the walkway, and move confidently over the bridge. Orm frowns and purses his lips.

“I am not so sure of that,” he says, mostly to himself, and follows you when you beckon.

Orm watches on as you and your father work in quiet unison to get ready to make off. He feels a little useless, but follows the tasks curiously with his eyes. He’s watching you lean over the boat to grasp at the mooring line when he perks up and steps around a large tack box in the middle of the small aft deck, placing his hands briefly at your sides to let you know he is there, and allowing you to step away. Orm reaches over and easily unties the knot around the docking post, his muscle memory from his duties at the lighthouse taking over as he begins to wind the rope up neatly.

“Hang it there,” you tell him, pointing to a hook on the inside of the boat, and he obeys, dusting his hands off once he’s done. Looking up, and around at the craft, Orm pauses when from inside the large covered cabin, he spies your father watching him intently, the other man not bothering to look away or act as though he had been doing anything else as the two make eye contact.

Instead, Captain Havelock siddles himself out of the fastened open door, and nods at the two of you.

“Ready to make sail?” he asks, and with an affirmative from the both of you, he returns back inside, and after only a few more moments of lingering by the pier, the boat's engines kick in, and you begin to move.

Orm comes to a quick conclusion that he enjoys being on a boat. It takes him a moment to gain his steadiness, but he finds it not unlike being beneath the waves, and the way Atlanteans are able to stabilise themselves despite the currents and the movement of the water around them. The salty air around him is familiar in a strange way, and despite the ‘foul weather’ (as Tom had called it earlier), he also enjoys the way the sea spits up and splashes against the sides of the boat as you cruise further and further away from the land.

“Why are you nervous?” you ask sometime later, exiting the cabin to find him where he stands on the back deck, looking out over the sea. Orm turns to you, hands clasped behind his back, but before he can unwind a hand to hold out for you, you sidle up to his side and wrap both your hands around his bicep, leaning your cheek on his shoulder. Orm straightens a little, making sure he stands steady for you, and looks back out at the water.

“Your father is not an unintimidating man, and he is your father,” he says truthfully, fighting against all instincts that tell him not to admit such a thing to you.

You chortle softly and lift your head briefly to kiss the top of his arm. He looks down at you, raising an eyebrow, but watches you as you rest your head once more against him.

“I am waiting for the moment in which he gives me, as Arthur called it, ‘the third degree’,” he says. You laugh again, and squeeze his arm a little, running your fingers up and over it.

“That’s not going to happen. You asked to come aboard his boat, trust me,” you tell him. Orm lets out a small scoff, and you lift your head again, this time manoeuvring around to his front, sliding yourself between him and the back of the boat, slipping both your hands up his arms and over his shoulders, before wrapping them around his neck.

“My dad isn’t like that. He’s had to leave for weeks at a time for work throughout my life, he trusts me, he trusts my opinion, and my opinion is that I like you,” you say, and despite this information not being exactly news to him, he feels his heart beat a little faster in his chest anyway. He unclasps his hands at last, and rests them lightly at your waist, smoothing his thumbs up and down over your thick knit sweater. “So his opinion is that he likes you too,” you tell him.

Orm hums, unconvinced, and looks up over your head briefly, before lowering his chin once more to meet your gaze. You roll your eyes some and shrug your head to the side. “Besides,” you say. “He’s the one who gave me my big knife,” you tell him, your voice dipping lower. His hands tighten a little around your middle and your lips curl upwards at his immediate reaction. “I can handle myself if you decide to mess me around,” you say.

Orm does not even give thought to the idea, instead he dips his head forward even more, almost so your faces touch.

“You know how I feel about that knife,” he says, brushing the tip of his nose over yours. You laugh, and kip up on your toes slightly to press a soft, short kiss to his lips. It's over much too soon for his liking, and when you pull away, he can’t help but chase you, resting his forehead against your own. “But I will defer to your opinion on such matters,” he says quietly, his eyes still fixed on your lips, and his voice barely above a whisper.

“Good,” you say simply, removing your hands from around his neck to cup his cheeks. He can’t help but lean into your touch, comforting as it is for him.

The boat slows, before eventually coming to a stop, and heavy footsteps from behind him make you both break apart slightly, to look over at your father, where he stands now in the doorway of the cabin.

“Orm,” he says roughly, almost barking it out. “Would you like to steer the boat?”

Orm looks back down at you, his eyebrows raised in surprise, and you remove your hands from where they’d come to rest against his collarbones, to tap his arms in encouragement.

“I told you so,” you say. “He never lets anyone drive his boat.”

-

You watch as your father and Orm disappear into the cabin, but quickly you turn your head back out to the waves all around you, scanning the water. The weather may have been overcast and rainy, but it was beautiful out in the bay all the same. You smile when you feel the boat lurch a little, before it begins to move at a steady, slow pace, and you lean against the railing of the aft deck to watch the water.

Normally on these trips you take with your father, you’d expect to see Khan. He recognised your father’s boat, and you would often get updates from him about your finned friend when your father took tourists or the like out, and he’d assure them not to worry about the tiger shark trailing behind them. Sometimes, he’d even throw a fish or two back out to him.

You don’t see Khan, in fact you don’t seem to see any of the sea life you normally would expect to find in water this deep, and you hum to yourself, finally pushing off the railing to return inside. You pause upon entering, finding Orm and your father with their backs to you, Orm’s hands firmly set on the wheel, your father standing beside him, neither speaking, both simply staring out at the ocean ahead. You scoff internally, and roll your eyes.

Of course they’d get along. You knew they would. They were different stripes of strange, but they were both strange nonetheless, and it brings a smile to your face.

“Hey Dad,” you interrupt whatever it is they have going on in here, and your father turns his head back to you, not yet taking his eyes off the water, however. “Have you seen Khan out there today?” you ask. Your father grumbles and shakes his head. He points off to the left, and silently you watch as Orm gently turns the wheel in his hands to follow the wordless direction. You roll your eyes again.

“I haven’t seen the king in several days,” he says to you. Orm’s head twitches slightly to the side, but it’s as if he resists looking away from his work.

“Haven’t seen many fish, either, mind you,” he goes on after a few seconds. You frown.

“What? Really? In this season?” you ask, intrigued. Your father turns back to you at last, standing side on to look between you and the water ahead of the boat.

“Aye… Mighty strange,” he says, gaining a conspiratorial edge to his voice. “Almost as if something bigger has come up closer into the bay. Scaring ‘em all off…”

“Something bigger?” Orm asks, finally looking away from the water to frown at your father.

You watch them, almost appearing to have a silent conversation as they stare at one another, and you almost expect Orm to say something more, but you cock your head when he blinks rapidly, and suddenly looks away. You shake your head. Strange, you think.

Orm clears his throat, and his shoulders square up.

“Well whatever it is, it probably wouldn’t stay in water this shallow for very long,” he says. Your father stares intensely at the side of his face, and you ready yourself to tell him to cut it out.

“Aye, is that so?” he asks. Orm glances back over at him, seemingly anxious, meeting your fathers eye and nodding once.

“That’s what I would imagine,” Orm replies, uncomfortably, and you at last step forward, gaining your father’s attention and giving him a stern look. He lightens up almost immediately, but grunts and turns back to the water.

“We’ll stop over here, see if the lines have any luck.”

-

Orm returns to the lighthouse in the dying evening light, a parcel of trout and striped bass in his hands. He feels a strange mixture of lightness and heaviness swirling around his chest, and he’s glad Tom and Arthur are both sitting at the kitchen table when he enters, closing the backdoor softly behind him.

“How’d it go?” Arthur sing-songs. Orm gently rests the parcel of fish meat on the table and purses his lips.

“He knows. About me. About us,” he says grimly. Tom only lets out a short, sharp chuckle, drawing the blond’s attention, and he frowns at the older man.

“I imagine he does,” he says, as if that is supposed to make him feel better. Arthur only nods along.

“How?” Orm tries not to grind out.

Tom shifts in his seat, pulling out the one beside him, and after only a moment of pause, Orm huffs, and sits down.

“Man spent years at sea, if he didn’t pick up a thing or two about the truth, I’d be worried,” he says lightly, before shrugging his shoulders, conceding. “Besides… he told me a story many years ago, said he fell off a ship once, started sinking real deep in all his gear… but was saved by a man who swam up from the depths, took him back to the surface, then disappeared… tell me that doesn’t sound like an Atlantean, or what-have-you.”

Orm flattens his lips and frowns even deeper.

“Grace never told me that,” he says, wishing he had been able to hear the story from you. Arthur waves his hands and takes a sip of the beer set in front of him.

“She probably wouldn’t. Humans get judgy about stuff like that, and Grace is a Ranger,” he says. “She probably just wants to keep the ‘professional’ trust folks around here have in her. You start talking about mermaids or whatever,” he makes a poof’ing noise and motion with his hands. Orm looks to Tom, who nods solemnly.

Orm startles then and looks back at Arthur.

“He knew Tylo had been out in the bay,” he says hurriedly. “He said ‘something big’ had been scaring off Khan and all the fish, you must make sure he retreats deeper!” Orm tells him firmly. Arthur’s face perks up into a wide grin and he leans forward.

“Khan’s still coming by? Man, I love that guy,” he says, ignoring the point of what his brother is telling him.

“Arthur–” Orm begins again, trying to sound stern, and reasonable, but Arthur only rolls his eyes and waves his hand again.

“I sent him back off to Atlantis this afternoon, stop worrying!” he says. Orm frowns deeper and purses his lips. “Besides,” Arthur goes on. “Maybe all this will finally get you to tell Grace the truth,” he shrugs.

Orm lets out an annoyed grumble and sits back in his chair.

“Why are you so concerned with how I handle my relationship?!” he asks, sounding a little more aggressive and angry than he really means to. Arthur shrugs again, still smiling, clearly pleased with himself for getting under his brother’s skin.

“Just think, no more lying, no more–”

“–I have never lied to Grace,” he growls, offended at the mere idea of doing so. Arthur’s smile falls some and he leans forward, matching Orm’s own aggression now.

“But you haven’t told her the truth, either, have you?” he bites back. Orm has really no recourse for that, and he snarls. “You can’t talk to her, really talk to her about your life, who you are. She won’t ever really know you,” Arthur says angrily. “And the longer you keep it from her, the worse it will be!”

Orm stands suddenly, as does Arthur, but neither man has the opportunity to act or say any more, as their mother appears in the doorway, hands on her hips and with danger in her eyes.

“Arthur! Enough!” she says, and both men are immediately cowed. “Your brother is capable of making his own judgments, and we will not have this discussion again, do you hear?”

A beat of silence passes between the two men, with Arthur huffing under his breath and taking his seat once more. Orm stays standing, but calms himself. He fixes his brother with a piercing look.

“My past is not an easy thing for me to wish to discuss… with anyone, let alone Grace. But I would not keep it from her, she has a right to know who I am, and what I’ve done,” he says heavily. Arthur stares at the table for a moment, before lifting his eyes to meet his brother. “And at that point I imagine she will make a choice to be with me or leave me,” he goes on, sucking in a deep breath. “And I am not ignorant of that fact.”

With that, Orm leaves the dining room entirely, not exactly shrugging off his mother’s hand that she places on his shoulder as he passes, but he certainly does not stay to talk further, trudging up to his room. Mimi wakes from the little bed of throws and cushions someone had made for her on the couch as he passes, and he’s halfway to the second floor before he hears her barking for him pathetically from the foot of the staircase.

Letting out a huff, he stops on the landing, and closes his eyes, before returning back down and picking her up. She mewls into his shoulder as he rests her against his chest, and absently he pets the back of her head as he once more ascends the stairs, and disappears into his room.

[wooahaeruby]

Chapter 4: You've Given Me A Piece of Happiness

Chapter Word Count: 3,683

Anything in Bold Italics are Korean/Another language

Master List | Prev | Next

2020

Everything went to hell for a while.

March brought the shutdown of New York. Covid-19 was running rampant across the entire world. You didn’t know what to make of it. Though your job didn’t lay you off, you were working one-hundred percent from home. It was killing you, months of staring at the same walls, trying to navigate the unknown of the world around you to survive. Many days held anxiety for your loved ones, worried for their wellbeing, their soulmates. Being in one of the epicenters of the breakout, you took care to self-isolate and keep inside as much as possible.

It was hard, but over the years, your mental health got better, you spoke with your friends, your family, and started making more friends here in the city. You had moved up in the past three years at your job, you had an amazing team behind you that was open minded and ready to work unlike many of the other coworkers you’ve dealt with in the past. You made the comment of being alone but never lonely.

“Mimi, you really should just let me have groceries delivered to your house, I can afford it if it’s too much for you.” You sighed into the phone, laying back on your couch. “Or let me reach out to Jay and have her help you since she is in town.” 

“ Sweetie, you know I don’t really mind going out, I need it! I might be old but your grandfather and I are healthy, we are letting the soulbond do its magic.” Mimi laughed, moving something around in the background. She huffed and more rustling was heard. “ I’m taking precautions; masks, washing my hands, and I’m taking those damned vitamins you sent us every day – which is annoying as hell by the way. And your grandfather is being a peach fixing all the little problems we’ve had in this house for years now.” 

Shaking her head, you blankly stared at the ceiling before rolling your eyes. “Just don’t do anything reckless. I have Jay keeping an eye on you and I can get the neighbors to-” 

“ Goodbye Y/N, I love you. Don’t pester me-” And she hung up on you.

Not long after your abruptly ended call, a video call came in, one from your coworkers turned close friend, James, or Jamie as you call him. He has been calling you nearly every day since he was bored at home since his boyfriend, who worked in the Japanese business aspect of the company, was across the country with his family. Swiping your finger across the screen, you were met with a similar sight to yourself, Jamie laying back with his phone above his head. 

“Babes, listen up, I have the best announcement of the year.” You scoffed but said nothing in protest. “Seventeen is having a comeback next month.”

Ah yes, that was a recent development. For about a year now you have fallen into the trap of Kpop – thanks to Jamie. Seventeen was the first group he introduced you to when you noticed a guy as his background, who you thought was his boyfriend at first. Turned out to be a member named Mingyu, who you jokingly called Big Sexy once while drinking, and his boyfriend’s – well, soulmate – Kazuk ‘bias’ as they called it, was Jeonghan. 

“Didn’t they just release Fallin’ Flower a little over a month ago?” 

“Yes and? Moving on, we need to start saving money for when they have another world tour since we didn’t go to the one before the pandemic.” 

“You won’t take no for an answer?”

“Never, you have accepted yourself into this hole and I’m going to drag you in every way I possibly can.” At that, you laughed now, letting a snort out at the foolishness. Jamie only grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. “And you can see your favorite, most handsome bias in the whole world live, Scoups~” 

“That isn’t so unappealing…” You sat up from your lying position and shook your head. “If we work hard and can get everything done from now until then without an issue, how about I treat us to it. Deal?” 

“Deal, boss lady.” 

Jamie laughed now, jumping up and off his bed as he paced energetically about his apartment. “You better start saving your money because I’m going to knock this shit out of the ballpark. Do you understand me? I’ll hold this bet over your head now!” 

The sudden shift in languages wasn’t uncommon now. You had finished your linguistics degree, having proficiency in four languages, and were currently in the processes of your Masters in business and international relations. It only reminded you of when Jamie first introduced you to Kpop the year prior. 

“Wait wait wait, you speak, read, breathe Korean in your job, you literally deal with international business from there and you don’t know Kpop?” He had asked, eyes wide and disbelief across his face. 

“I hate to tell you this Jamie, I’ve been living under a rock trying to keep my head above the water and moving up in my job. It isn’t like I had a lot of free time between that and finishing my first degree.” You replied as you typed away on the computer at your office desk. “Plus, I’ve listened to kpop, just never dove deep into all the fandom and group mumbo-jumbo.”

“ I don’t doubt that at all my dear friend.” Something Jamie liked to joke about was that your voice became softer each time you spoke in Korean, Japanese as well. “ But don’t just be working hard for a concert, understand? If your performance drops after, I can and will fire you as your boss.” 

“Oh because you would totally want to fire me, basically secretary and best friend.” Sarcasm bled into his words. “ You wouldn’t have a piece of entertainment in that boring off all day when we go back in the building or in your quiet studio apartment if i never called you so often. ”

Thinking back at those memories never failed to bring warmth to your chest. Jamie’s relationship with Kazuki, or just Kazu as he liked to be called, had given you some hope of the relationship you hope to have with your soulmate; communication, love, support, and understanding. From what you can tell, your soulmate wasn’t someone from your country, you’ve had many sleepless nights because of their sleep schedule being opposite of your own. 

Many of those nights you wondered what kind of person they were, what they did for a living, so much more, but you didn’t ponder too much. You held hope for yourself and your soulbond unlike your parents did. Those same nights you looked down at the countdown on your wrist, feeling whatever emotion they were experiencing, and wondered what that day will bring when you meet them. 

“I don’t even feel sick but we have to be holed up in our rooms for two weeks.” Seungkwan complained in their zoom call ‘schedule’ before they were recording. “ It just sucks we can’t do the stages and see Carats.” The pout was permanent on his expression currently. 

“ Yah, just be grateful we aren’t feeling sick like millions of others in the world.” Mingyu rolls his eyes, leaning back in his desk chair. 

“ Mingyu-hyung, you know I don’t mean it like that!” 

“Both of you, quiet. Let’s just get through this and pray the next two weeks go quickly so we can move on from this.” Joshua sighed, adjusting his laptop for a better view of himself once the recording started. 

Getting Covid right after the release of a new mini album wasn’t the worst thing so far. Or at least that’s what Jihoon told himself. Well, aside from the fact that he didn’t have much of his recording equipment…or a palace where he can work out properly…and all he really could do was watch anime. That wasn’t so bad.  There were plenty of new anime that were released or some that were getting another season. 

That began the longest two weeks of his life. Boredom was the overarching feeling. While he was a homebody (or studio-body as everyone liked to say for him), he hated the feeling of being locked up and unable to do anything. Jihoon had started a workout routine with the items he found around his room or calisthenics. He had taken to sleeping the majority of the days and while on a normal schedule, that would be fine for a day off, but after his third nap of the day and still days on end to go, he resorted to reading tweets, instagram posts, and more entertainingly, Tik Toks. 

Carats, despite Seventeen’s inability to perform for them, were great at entertaining themselves. Edits, assumptions, and just overall weird or funny tweets were simple joys they could pursue. In his mindless state, he began sending them into the groupchat the thirteen of them had. Jokes were exchanged regarding Jihoon of all people sending Seventeen memes into the chat, but not long after, a few others joined in on the antics. It was better than them watching netflix in bed, now it was just social media flipping before going back to netflix. So amusing. 

While Jihoon was glad his members, his staff, and himself were safe and only had mild symptoms for a few, he held immense relief that his soulmate was alright. There were some days over the past few months that he had anxiety bubble up in his chest at random times, how sometimes he had felt their worry but it didn’t last long from you.

It was funny how you had such a vast bank of emotions. While he did have many emotions, his own didn’t seem as deep as yours. While he worried, you had fear or anxiety pocketed with it. While he had excitement for comebacks and new music in general, when you felt excited, it was electrifying as if it was sparking him to life. He held partial envy concerning it. Your emotions alone reminded him of Seokmin, Soonyoung or even Minghao now, so emotionally mature to a point, so intune with their emotional expressions. It drove his music most days. 

Soonyoung actually made a list of some of their recent songs that had to do with the emotions he felt from his soulmate. Together was one from their recent album. It was inspired by the idea that one day he will walk on the same path with his soulmate and go through the hardships together. Jeonghan and Joshua had a field day making fun of him when they found out about Second Life . While he is someone who speaks comfortably with his brothers about how he feels and what runs through his head, he kept many of the feelings you subconsciously shared with him to himself. 

“ ...ung….Hyung…Woozi-Hyung.” Jihoon shook his head, sitting up from his slowly reclining position in his desk chair to look down at his ipad screen. 

“ Thank you for coming back to earth.” Mingyu snorted, starting to wiggle his eyebrows. “ Are they awake?” 

A few of them insisted on video chatting today since they had been so bored. It was a majority of the Maknae line that blessed his screen. At the question, snickers were heard through his speakers causing him to roll his eyes.

“ No, I was thinking about somethi-”

“Thinking about how in Loooooove you are with your soulmate.” Seokmin and Seungkwan hollard out with extra obnoxious energy. 

Closing his eyes, Jihoon took in one long breath, flattening his lips in his signature ‘bread face’. He held his breath in for a moment before opening his eyes and stared deadpan at the people on his screen. 

“ I know where you sleep.” 

“Hey hey, wow, six feet apart, Hyung, can’t have us getting sick again.” Seungkwan’s words flowed out quickly, holding a hand out towards his screen.

Jihoon’s expression went from flat to somewhat disgusted. Once again, he rolled his eyes.

“ We are already- You know what I’m not even going to attempt to argue this with you because you will just continue to make jokes.” 

From his point of view, he saw his bandmate’s faces light up in victory and grin wide. 

Glancing down at his wrist though, he traced his thumb over the dark numbers on his skin. He just needs to be patient. Just over two more years.

2022 

From all the hard work from the three of you and the rest of your team, you all had received decent bonuses and a healthy promotion for yourself, advancing up to an assistant manager position in the sector of the international business section of the company. You felt accomplished outside of it all. Your masters was finished, you were advancing in your job, and you felt genuinely happy. Your grandparents were still around, your friends only got closer, and you had on and off butterflies knowing that you were so close to meeting your soulmate. 

As you sat in your office, leaning back in the cushioned chair, you lazily read through some of the files you needed to get through by the end of the week. So far, you were ahead of schedule so you didn’t stress too much, however you wanted to just peek at the information you needed to know. It was a quiet Tuesday so far, nothing too serious popping out at you. 

Your soulmate had been up all night, they were jittery, both excited and nervous. It had been building for the past couple of days, but it was nothing too major until now. 

It was later in the work day for yourself, closer to 4:30. You were passively getting work done before you clocked out at five and went home. Somewhere on your organized mess of a desk, your phone vibrated, but you paid no mind to it, knowing you can check it later. Not long after, you hear hurried steps from down the hall thanks to your office door being open and the out of breath call of your name as Jamie bends over in the doorway. 

You sat up, dropping the files on the desk and standing up. 

“Hey, is everything alrig-”

“Just…” He heaved a breath in, “Check twitter now!” 

Confused, you were taken back when Kazuki appeared behind Jamie, eyes wide and absolutely beaming at you. You’ve seen him animated before, he was bounding on the balls of his feet. It didn’t dawn on you yet but as you picked up your phone and opened twitter, it hit you. 

Staring down at your phone, you laughed to the point tears bloomed in your eyes. 

“Oh my god. You both are ridiculous.” You leaned forward with your hand on your desk. Though tear hazed eyes, you shook your head, seeing the two standing just beyond your desk now, giddy and nearly childlike. The fancy suits only added to the comedic scene.

To be far, you didn’t expect Jamie and Kazu to actually take your bet as seriously as they did, but yeah. It happened. You owed them (and yourself) tickets to the Seventeen concert now. 

“Jamie, Kazu, we are going to see Seventeen!” 

In the first days of June, Jamie, Kazuki, and yourself sat shoulder to shoulder on your living room floor. Though it wasn’t ideal, the three of you took the day off in advance for this. Each of you unsurprisingly had the Weverse membership, but you sat early in the queue for the ticketmaster sales to go live for early access. Your laptop rested on the coffee table before you, taunting you. On September 6th of this year, the group will be performing in Newark, New Jersey. You had decided to go there instead of New York itself. 

Your body buzzed with excitement, hands shaking and unable to stop your leg from bouncing. Jamie was doom scrolling through twitter, Kazuki was attempting to focus on the video he was watching, but your eyes never left the computer screen. Over the last hour, you triple checked your credit card information and the amount of money in your account. Now you sat, listening to the idle words leaving Jamie’s lips when he found an amusing tweet. The words never processed in your head, melding together with the brainless thoughts. 

“You look ready to throw up.” Kazuki placed his arm around your shoulder, making you tense but let out a breath of relaxation after. 

Turning your gaze to him, physically you deflated. “Nervous energy is building up. I’m excited, dizzy, and a little stunned that we are sitting on the floor of my apartment sitting in early access queue for all this. I just want to get us good seats.” 

“Babes, no matter what seats you get us, you know we won’t mind.” Jamie now threw his arm over your shoulder from the other side, squishing you between them. “All I care about is us seeing them and you getting to meet your soulmate! Hopefully they are cute, and who knows,” He began to wiggle his eyebrows, “Maybe it’s your bias.” 

The look of pure disbelief at his words had both of them cackling. To be honest, it wasn’t like you didn’t think about it. Kazuki did make that joke when you started to bias Seungcheol, but you never took it seriously. That was some delulu shit. 

Returning your eyes to the computer screen, your heart dropped. You were in the proper queue. You voiced the change and suddenly the three of you were sitting forward. As the number slowly got closer to zero, your heart jumped to your throat as the floor plans appeared. 

Fast fingers work on the bluetooth mouse and keyboard, quickly finding open seats that nearly had you keeling over. Floor seats, front row just off center to the left from the extended stage. You took no time to secure the tickets, bated breaths praying you were able to get them in time. From past ticket sales along, you knew the competition was cutthroat to put it lightly. As you watched the screen load, you froze in awe. Before you on the screen were three confirmed seats for the concert, front row.

Jamie’s hand on your shoulder slowly traveled to your back and began patting slowly at first but turned into semi-hard slaps of elation. “YN, YN you got them!” He yelled in your ear, breaking your unblinking stare at the confirmed screen. Your phone buzzed with an email regarding the purchase and a copy of the tickets. 

You blinked once, twice, three times, then the tears just…started to fall from your eyes and you let out a high pitched squeal. The sounds that began to leave you were really coherent, rather babbling of unnecessary doubt about the situation. 

“Holy fuck!” You were finally able to form proper words. “I just spent over a thousand dollars for this, you better get me food and stuff for the rest of my life! Kiss the ground I work on! Worship me like a Goddess!” 

Standing up, you jumped around the room, unable to keep yourself still even for a moment, believing that if you stopped, you’d wake up from this dear. 

“We’ll need outfits, a hotel, take the time off to-” You rattled off necessary things, but Jamie laughed and wrapped his arms around you, jumping in a circle. 

“One step at a time! I’ll make sure everything gets in order for this.” He placed the fattest, wettest kiss on your cheek. Half gagging as a joke, you push him away and snort.

It was going to be a night you will never forget for sure. 

“ I’m telling you hyung, they have to be a carat. No one can be that restless on a weekday and the time matches up with-.” It was the third time Jihoon said something similar to that in the last hour. 

Sitting in his studio, the animated energy that his soulmate pushed through to him was keeping him up. To no one’s surprise, Seungcheol and Soonyoung were lazing around on the couch on their phones, however it was nearing 4 in the morning. 

“ Jihoonie, if you repeat yourself one more time, I’m going to kick you out of your own studio.” Seungcheol dropped the arm holding his phone over his head, huffing before he continued. “ Take a chill pill and breathe. ” 

Turning around in his chair, Jihoon physically deflated despite the curiosity he held within himself. Beside the leader, Soonyoung hit his arm gently against the former’s chest. “ Leave him alone, let him be a love sick puppy and believe his soulmate is a carat. ” 

“ Yah, I’m not a love sick puppy-” 

“Yes you are.” His counterparts retaliated. Soonyoung continued sitting up to look level with Jihoon, “ For a guy that doesn’t want to talk about their soulmate much because you want to keep their emotions private, you sure do talk about them a lot.”

As he was about to counter argue the point, a tightness formed in his chest. The excitement he felt turned into pure unfiltered adrenaline. The sudden rush of emotions had him dizzy, using his elbows on his knees to hold his head up. That adrenaline only lasted moments before a bloom of bliss washed through his limbs. Soonyoung was kneeling in front of him when he came down from the shared high, shaking his head to clear the fog that was forming. It was like they had dipped themselves in euphoria and were riding out the glee. 

“ Tickets just went on sale in the US, right? ” Jihoon asked, giving no explanation to his friends, but Seungcheol gave him confirmation nonetheless. 

Soonyoung frowned, eyebrows knitting together as he sat back on the small ointment pushed against the wall behind his desk. 

“ I’m probably right by the way, assholes.” 

Scoffing in disbelief, the three shared a laugh. 

This year was going to be interesting.

[paloma-ascends-into-hellfire]

things my director has said during rehearsal:

“BENNY 👹!! …you did great! 🌈🌸🎀😊”

”Roger and Mimi, good job on the drugs! It was very smooth!”

”Will I…” *disapproving glare* “vocals were great!”

”I will not be GASLIT into thinking that you did it correctly!”

”now, remember your damn line! ‘give me your D, man,’ or whatever it is” *proceeds to perish as we ruthlessly make fun of her*

”you killed a dog, got a thousand bucks, you’re rioting! smile more, there is no such thing as overacting when you’re in drag.”

“collins. sob harder.”

“WHO was running backstage during Without You?”

“Collins and Angel, so touching. Beautiful. Ensemble… fix it.”

“Run. You WILL lose your dignity. No one will care. You will NOT wake tomorrow from this nightmare.”

*holds up a coffee in each hand*

“oh, so you’re drunk mexican jesus.” “I was MEXICAN??”

“Mo and Jo… less dramatic.”

“write it yourself or i will do it for you. and you do NOT want me to do it for you.”

“More energy, take care of yourselves, guys!” *keeps us there till 10pm*

“you can fumble it a little bit, but right now you look totally incompetent. like, they’re losers, but they’re not THAT loser-ish.”

“Guys, you need to take the line ‘mucho masturbation’ seriously! i know it’s easy to turn the characters into caricatures, but they have DEPTH!”

[waterbottle2006]

can we get some headcanons on team bleck characters pls?

whoever you are anon? i love you

(ahem)

i got a whole bunch of headcanons but i'll cut these things down to three.

starting off with the count of counts, man of men. count blumiere bleck.

he and dim actually knew each other in the past , having been somewhat of acquaintances. the reason he didnt want dimentio joining at the time was because he didnt want to get a friend involved on these antics and potentially hurt this plan. however, afterwards he would eventually allow him on board because of careful consideration as well as "well honestly, tbh, i dont think he'd get THAT hurt."

next up, he was the absolute worst at trying to accommodate things for the minions to get them comfortable. he didnt know what half the things they requested were and eventually passed the requests job to nastasia who took care of it with ease.

he plays favorites. as much as count bleck doesn't say "i dont have favorites" he definitely does and it's mimi.

speaking of mimi, boom, mimi headcanons.

mimi is a robot, very much so of a robot. shes very much based off a wind up toy and ends up having a lot of spare energy with the wind up. that thing has been spinning for ages.

she and Mr. L have the like second closest relationship in the castle. Mr. L upgrades her and mimi just shittalks all the time while also slipping a few of the shinest screws in her pockets. if she ever gets damaged she ends up going to L to fix the damages

she is the fastest of all the members when on foot. she is VERY fast and even FASTER in her true form. you do not want a 10ft spider robot chasing after you at 30mph. although, when chasing the heroes in merlees mansion, her ass crashed into literally everything while chasing because she doesn't know exactly how to come to a smooth stop when in a packed house.

now for o'chunky boy, one of my silly favs

hes the kindest out of all of them but that is really SAYING something when your competition is the rest of team bleck. he's willing to protect the team and even those that are literally just innocent bystanders to everything. if you aren't the heroes, hes not gonna be doing anything to hurt you, trust.

everyone usually calls him to swat dimentio out of the air since he has the furtherest reach. he always succeeds too. the rivalry between them only persists.

hes usually the dedicated "bring everyone here to this exact room" person because hes always first to arrive and always the first to hear the announcement. so he has to drag everyone else out of their rooms in order for them to listen.

nastasia? nastasia.

nastasia is the person you can always find, no matter where you are. for some reason, you can just find her there conveniently when you need her. how does she do this? shut up, you don't need to know.

amongst the stealthiest of characters, nastasia has to be the first in stealth. her footsteps are completely silent somehow and you can never hear her breathing. this makes it easy for her to sneak up on literally anyone, no matter who they are. she even gives our dear count a scare from time to time.

considering that she is the most responsible they usually call nastasia for the littlest of things. like bugs or broken doors or dimentio being a little shithead. in return, she calls the correct person for the job as her skill range is very limited.

ik yall were waiting for dimentio so here you go

he wanders. like he wanders a lot. you dont see him in the castle that often because hes in the wilderness just nature walking (flying?) and when he is in the castle, hes just wandering the halls, waiting for the next moment to be a bitch.

he teases everyone in the castle, especially count. it never dawned on him until later that the count was blumiere so he took this chance to bully him for literally no reason at all other than spite.

out of all of the members, his worst relationship is with nastasia. they somehow know more about each other than they'd like to. he doesnt talk to her much and when he does, its out of obligation or because he was spoken to first.

here, a few additional mr. l headcanons

for some reason, he always has chocolate on him. (this carries over to luigi too) he just has an infinite supply of chocolate and no one knows where he gets them and everyone is convinced hes more of a magician than dimentio.

he ends up being more active with the group rather than closed off. when he is closing himself off from the group, his door is always open. its an invitation for anyone to come in a chat, even if he says "an open door is not an invitation." it is an invitation, hes lonely.

he and dimentio tend to have small skill show offs. dim shows off his EPIC magic and Mr. L beats the shit out of him with his robots. dimentio still somehow always wins.

ANYWAYS ANON THANK YOU FOR ASKING ME THIS IVE BEEN WANTING TO GIVE HEADCANONS FOR AGES BUT DIDNT KNOW HOW TO FORMAT IT. YOU BROKE THE CURSE. and also being the first person to give me an ask ever. anon if ur reading this? ur literally the best

[kemetic-dreams]

1938 - PAULINE JOHNSON and FELICE BOUDREAUX, sisters, were once slaves on the plantation of Dermat Martine, near Opelousas, Louisiana. As their owners were French, they are more inclined to use a Creole patois than English.

"Us was both slaves on de old plantation close to Opelousas," Pauline began. As the elder of the two sisters she carried most of the conversation, although often referring to Felice before making positive statements.

"I was 12 year old when freedom come and Felice was 'bout six. Us belonged to Massa Dermat Martine and the missy's name Mimi. They raise us both in the house and they love us so they spoil us. I never will forget that. The little white chillen was younger than me, 'bout Felice's age. They sho' had pretty li'l curly black hair.

"Us didn't have hard time. Never even knowed hard time. That old massa, he what you call a good man.

"Us daddy was Renee and he work in the field. The old massa give him a mud and log house and a plot of ground for he own. The rain sho' never get in that log house, it so tight. The furniture was homemake, but my daddy make it good and stout.

"Us daddy he work de ground he own on Sunday and sold the things to buy us shoes to put on us feet and clothes. The white folks didn't give us clothes but they let him have all the money he made in his own plot to get them.

"Us mama name Marguerite and she a field hand, too, so us chillen growed up in the white folks house mostly. 'Fore Felice get big enough to leave I stay in the big house and take care of her.

"One day us papa fall sick in the bed, just 'fore freedom, and he kep' callin' for the priest. Old massa call the priest and just 'fore us papa die the priest marry him and my mama. 'fore dat they just married by the massa's word.

"Felice and me, us have two brothers what was born and die in slavery, and one sister still livin' in Bolivar now. Us three uncles, Bruno and Pophrey and Zaphrey, they goes to the war. Them three dies too young. The Yankees stole them and make them boys fight for them.

"I never done much work but wash the dishes. They wasn't poor people and they uses good dishes. The missy real particular 'bout us shinin' them dishes nice, and the silver spoons and knives, too.

"Them white people was good Christian people and they christen us both in the old brick Catholic church in Opelousas. They done torn it down now. Missy give me pretty dress to get christen in. My godmother, she Mileen Nesaseau, but I call her 'Miran'. My godfather called 'Paran.'

"On Sunday mornin' us fix our dress and hair and go up to the missy's looking-glass to see if us pretty enough go to church. Us goes to Mass every Sunday mornin' and church holiday, and when the cullud folks sick massa send for the priest same's for the white folks.

"We wears them things on the strings round the neck for the good of the heart. They's nutmeg.

"The plantation was a big, grand place and they have lots of orange trees. The slaves pick them oranges and pack then down on the barrel with la mosse (Spanish moss) to keep them. They was plenty pecans and figs, too.

"In slavery time most everybody round Opelousas talk Creole. That make the words hard to come sometime. Us both talk that better way than English.

"Durin' the war, it were a sight. Every mornin' Capt. Jenerette Bank and he men go a hoss-back drillin' in the pasture and then have drill on foot. A white lady take all us chillen to the drill ground every mornin'. Us take the lunch food in the basket and stay till they done drill out.

"I can sing for you the song they used to sing:

"O, de Yankee come to put de nigger free,

Says I, says I, pas bonne;

In eighteen-sixty-three,

De Yankee get out they gun and say,

Hurrah! Let's put on the ball.

"When war over none the slaves wants leave the plantation. My mama and us chillen stays on till old massa and missy dies, and then goes live on the old Repridim place for a time.

"Both us get marry in that Catholic church in Opelousas. As for me, it most too long ago to talk about. His name Alfred Johnson and he dead 12 years. Our youngest boy, John, go to the World War. Two my nephews die in that war and one nephew can't walk now from that war.

"Felice marry Joseph Boudreaux and when he die she come here to stay with me. There's more hard time now than in the old day for us, but I hope things get better.

[oh-koenig-my-koenig]

Hey peeps. I'm really sorry but I actually have bad news and not a Valentine's Day chapter for today. I got diagnosed with tendonitis and I need to rest my hand and not write too much. I'm currently also working on my Master's thesis and that has priority, for obvious reasons I think, and I'm having a really hard time not being able to write some more König stuff, because really that's all I want to do.

I mean, I have found some speech to text programs that work pretty well (I'm actually using it right now to type this out), but it still takes a lot more time and then I still need to proofread manually, so it will take until the weekend or next week to post some more.

I have some chapters already written out that I finished some time ago that might not fit the plot exactly, but will work as random scenes. So I might fall back on some of those for the time being.

I hope you understand and thanks for your patience! 

I actually wrote a little scene about it when my wrist first started hurting, so I'm just going to post this today (I also read through it again and the big guy is still my comfort character), maybe some of you can also use a little fluff with König today <3

kissing it better <3

(domestic fluff, hinted-at smut, mdni)

Monday at 8, I go to work after drinking my morning coffee with him and I return to his house again in the late afternoon, finding him and Mimi cuddling on the couch, the little ball of fur snuggling into his broad chest. Seeing them like that, squeezes my heart a little bit.

I hop onto his lap, Mimi meowing because now she isn’t the only one occupying this space anymore. We laugh and I can finally give him a kiss. He kisses me back, his arms wrapping around my waist and thighs.

Next to him on the end table, there are three new bottles of black nail polish. “They didn’t have the brand you normally use, so I just bought a few.”, he explains, smiling at me apologetically.

And this small gesture makes me melt a little. I picture him, the ridiculously tall, scary looking metalhead standing in the boutique in front of the shelf with all the tiny bottles of nailpolish – and then picking out three of the same colour because he didn’t know which one I would like.

“Thanks, even though that wasn’t necessary.”, I say, pressing a little ‘thank you’ kiss onto his nose. I reach for one of the bottles but pull back when a pang of pain shoots through my wrist.

His eyes widen, just a bit, his look fixed on the spot where I hold it against my chest, slowly massaging it. “What happened?”, he asks.

I shrug. “I don’t know, my wrist just hurts.” I sigh. “It started today at work and it just doesn’t go away.”

He catches my hand, pulling my wrist from my hold, and inspects the joint, softly moving it. He stretches it down gently, my small palm between his huge, tattooed fingers. “Does that hurt?”, he wants to know. I shake my head and he pulls it into the other direction. I hiss slightly, as the light sting of pain spreads, and he lets go immediately.

“I think, you may have overworked it a little bit.”, he mumbles, softly massaging the muscles and tendons around the wrist. Pushing his thumbs into the sensitive skin, until I sigh and relax a bit.

König pulls my wrist closer, up to his lips, pressing them onto the joint. Placing soft kisses where it hurts. Kissing it better. I can feel his warm breath coasting over my skin as he slowly makes his way to the inside of my wrist, still rubbing the spots that hurt lightly with his big strong fingers. His eyes snap up to mine, holding my gaze that is already on him.

His tongue darts out, licking over the pulse point, like he can’t help himself. The soft wet touch sends a pleasurable shiver down my spine. My mouth drops open just a little bit as he puts his over the sensitive spot and sucks, gently. A little moan escapes my lips, and I can see the heat in his eyes intensifying.

He pulls back, pressing another kiss to my wrist, lingering a little longer than he needs to. Still holding my gaze. “A little better?”, he asks, with a soft smile. His little kisses seem to be the best medicine, even though they are pure placebo.

“Yes, thank you.”, I say as I lean forward and give him a proper kiss on the lips.

“Just let it rest the next few days and it’ll get better, okay?”, he suggests then.

I nod, but I can’t help myself, as I add-on: “So, no handjobs?”, biting back a grin.

He shoots me a look that tells me to stop being such a brat, but the corners of his mouth turn up. “Exactly, that was my point, Fräulein.”, he answers sarcastically, patting my ass.

His demeanor changes again before he asks: “Are you hungry? I cooked some pasta.” He already kinda knows the answer to that (I can always eat, especially carbs) as he’s getting up, just lifting me up in one swift motion, only to set me down on the floor next to him.

“Starving actually, I didn’t really have lunch today.”, I sigh. “More exhausting clients instead.”

“We’ll get you something to eat and then you can tell me all about it. How does that sound, hm?”, he suggests. His arm snakes around my waist while he presses a little kiss on the top of my head.

“That sounds great.”, I tell him, a small smile on my face, as I take his hand – with the wrist that doesn’t hurt – and follow him to the kitchen.

Mimi gets up as well and tipples after us, her tail flicking up in the air, as she meows again like she wants to say ‘I’m hungry too!’.

~ more stuff in the Masterlist~

[cupoftaae]

Forever And A Day (KTH x READER) series ♡ The Art Exhibit (Chapter 6)

Summary: your lifelong friend is forced to face his true feelings for you once he breaks the number one rule of becoming friends with benefits: dont fall in love. He knows he loves you, but you on the other hand need more convincing of the most important thing: the right decision.

Genre: fwb. Roommates, friends to idiots to lovers, fluff, angst, smut, the whole 9 yards tbh.

Pairing: taehyung x female!reader

rating: 18+ (minors dni!!!)

word count- 5k

chapter warnings!- swearing, alcohol, this is kind of a fluffy ass chapter, but the end is a little frusterating. NO BAD VIBES THOUGH! reader is finally happy rn. tw: annie.

a/n- Hi guys! first of all, HAPPY SPRING! Also happy Ramadan to anyone who is celebrating!! I really wanted to publish this by last Monday at least, but I ended up getting a cold, and then I had an exam this week too that I crammed studied for. I wasnt happy with the ending of this chapter and wanted time to fix it up a bit!! we are getting to the good stuff now so I really hope you enjoy! (ps. another thanks to all the likers, rebloggers, commenters, it means so much to see feedback, ily guys.

The song of this chapter was on repeat while I wrote it !!

This week had been good.

For the first time in what seems like forever, life was actually giving you a break....sort of.

"Kwan, cmon! I promise French isnt that hard if you just sit and let me teach you!" you exhale with a wide smile, looking at the 6 year old who was now running around the living room.

Since Tae quit his job, you decided to start picking up after school shifts to tutor your neighbor, Mrs.Chin, and her bratty 6 year old. You used to tutor her other child, Mimi, who was always well behaved, but she went to study abroad, leaving you alone with the devil reincarnated.

"I dont wanna! its stupid!" the younger child yelled back, making you take a moment to breathe before responding. "Kwan, I would appreciate if you let me teach you, or at least if you even sat down and listened to me read." you said calmly.

You looked over at the pouting boy and his action figures, arms now crossed over his chest as he glared. You sighed and ran your hands over your face, lets just say if the pay wasn't $90 an hour, you probably wouldn't submit yourself to this.

"Kwan." you said, getting up with your textbook and sitting on the floor next to him "your mommy hired me to help you learn, I really want to be able to teach you something here, because whether you realize it now or not, learning a second language is a really beautiful thing" you show him all the pages of notes youve taken from your own classes, watching him view it over.

"I wanna be here for you, we can be buddies, ok? no more fights, no yelling. How about this-" you turn around to him "If you let me teach you for a half an hour, 30 minutes, you can have 20 minutes of playtime, yeah?" you spoke softly

"mmkay.." he looked at you, nodding gently.

"aw, see, you are a good boy I knew you were, cmon, sit and i'll teach you how to introduce yourself in French, so when you go to daycare tomorrow, you can show it off to everyone" you smiled and gently tickled the boy, making him giggle loudly.

You really did enjoy teaching and learning, something about it just made you feel incredibly intelligent, and yes, you loved acting too, but the idea of being able to offer something new to someone genuinely got you excited. If you could go back and change your major to anything, It would probably be French or some other foreign language, teaching abroad doesnt sound too bad.

-

At the apartment, Tae had been cleaning a little bit more. He figured if he was going to have more free time, then he needed to learn to help out around the house....He also needed a distraction from the fact that tomorrow night is the art exhibit, and to say he was nervous was a complete understatement.

The work he'd been creating is done, but like always, he wanted to change it last minute. You sat with him last night and explained that it didnt need to be changed, and he needs to be more confident with himself and his art.

His thoughts were interrupted when you walked through the door, offering a quick smile at him before walking off into the kitchen. He put down his broom and walked over to you, "How did tutoring go?" He asks softly, watching you pour coffee into a mug. "It was okay" you shrug, looking at the clock and internally sighing, it was dinner time and you hadnt prepared anything.

"You okay?" he asks

you look back at him and lean against the counter, "yeah...Kaito was supposed to pick me up at 8, and I sat outside texting and calling him until 8:30, when I decided to just get an Uber home"

"why didnt you call me? I would have drove over there" he frowns, leaning against the opposite counter. "ah, didnt want to bother you" you shrug.

He sighed and looked down. "I made you dinner, by the way" he spoke, making you look up at him warily. "by made, I mean bought, dont worry theres no food poisoning here" he rushed, making you giggle.

"thank you tae, I really appreciate that" you walk over to hug him gently, telling him you were gonna wash up and shower before eating.

He finished cleaning the living room before finally crashing on the couch, watching as you left your room with a towel on your head, making him laugh. "are you gonna tell me my fortune"

You scoff and grab your bulgogi, sitting onto the couch next to him.

"yummy?" he asks, searching for something to watch, "mhm" you smiled and offered a bite which he gladly took.

"oh also, Because tomorrow night is the art show, I was thinking afterwards we should get dinner or something..." he trailed off, avoiding eye contact.

you turned your head to him, smiling softly, "hm that sounds fun. are we thinking Mcdonalds?" you giggle, making him laugh as well.

"nooo, no" his head shook, "I dont know yet, I'll look around."

"we can go to that Korean barbecue place that just opened, and celebrate your win" you shrug

"we dont know if Im gonna win, there are many talented artists participating. I have like no chance, y/n."

you scoff and shake your head, "you are telling me, that THE Kim Taehyung has no chance? I dont believe this!"

He smiled and watched as you rambled about how he has worked for this and deserves it, laughing quietly.

"yeah...I dont even care for the money to be honest. I Just want to go to Paris again...it was fun when we went last time" he sighed.

You chewed your food and nodded, standing up in front of him with your hands on your hips, "Mr.Kim, I am putting it into the universe now, that if somehow you dont win, I will make sure we both go to Paris once more"

"really?" he spoke after a moment, unable to take you seriously with the towel head.

"really"

"I dont think Kaito would like thattt" he sung jokingly, getting up and grabbing the blanket from the other side of the couch, covering himself in it.

"I dont careeee" you sung back before jokingly jumping onto him, squeezing his face as you continued to speak. "I dont even know where he is right now, probably drunk or something"

"does he get drunk a lot?" tae asked, smiling as you poked around his face with your hands. "yeah....kinda. He can handle it most times but.." you cut yourself off, not wanting to say anything else.

"but what?" tae asked, head turning to yours as you laid on him. Your eyes simply scanned over his face as he did the same with you. The urge to kiss him was there, but you knew better.

You got up and off him, making him sit up and look at you. "but what?" he repeated

"nothing" you smiled before stealing his blanket and running off to your room, making him get up to chase after you.

You were both laughing, but Tae was still catching his breath. You looked like you wanted to kiss him, no? His mind ran around in circles, ultimately convincing himself that he really does need to drop this and stop over analyzing everything.

He sat into his bed that night, looking over at his painting which leaned against his desk. He so desperately wanted tomorrow to be perfect, he wanted to win, but he also wanted to impress you.

His mind wandered down the rabbit hole. was it too clingy to ask to go to dinner after? was he annoying you and you didnt have the heart to tell him?

He rolled his face against his pillow, sighing heavily as tannie ran up and jumped on the bed, cuddling with him.

Across the hall you paced your room, glasses on as you tried to memorize your studying and figure out an outfit for tomorrow.

You gently hummed to yourself before moving the coat hangers around to see what you had, you dont exactly have 'art show' worthy clothes. You knew that ultimately it didnt matter, it wasnt about you, it was about him.

You climbed into bed and wrapped up your homework, deciding to pull your phone out and see if your boyfriend called or texted.

0 notifications

you sighed and opened up messages, texting him quickly.

you: hey....I hope you are okay? You havent texted or anything, im a little worried. you were supposed to pick me up today and then go for like coffee or something. did you forget? its okay if you did, just hope you are safe.

you bit your lip as you sent the message, waiting for a few minutes for a possible reply, but ultimately receiving nothing.

-

"ah, Yun Y/n, you really have impressed me, this is amazing"

you looked at your theatre teacher with hopeful eyes, glad that she appreciated the project script you stayed up to finish last night.

You bowed politely, "thank you so much, that means a lot"

"of course" she responded, taking her glasses off, "I really do hope you decide to take this class next year, you are one of my best students and I think the incoming freshmen would love to learn from your writing skills"

you smiled and nodded, "I dont see any reason why I wouldnt stay" you laughed lightly, making her nod, "good!"

she handed you your papers back with the received grade, allowing you to walk out into the hallway to see a certain someone.

"um...hello?" you spoke, aggravation evident in your voice. Kaito looked up from his bag at you, a guilty expression now showing.

"y/n, baby im sorry about yesterday"

"Look, I dont care about the pick-up thing, why couldnt you text me this morning even? I thought you died or something"

he laughs yet you were not amused. "My phone broke" he cleared his throat. You sigh and look around. "you know how many phones are on campus? you also have so many classes with Chae, would it kill you to relay the message?"

"im sorry, ok?"

you glared at him. 'Sorry' had become his broken record repeated phrase lately, and honestly, it didn't sound all to genuine anymore.

"yeah" you shrug and begin to walk away before he stops you. "Oh, are you free tonight?"

you stop and turn, shaking your head, "no, I have plans"

He scoffs, "doing what?"

"I have an art show with Taehyung and its late, we are going right home after"

"I see" he nods sarcastically, obviously pissed off. "are you going to the party that Jungkook is throwing at least?" he adds

"oh yeah....Dahyun invited me, I'll be there I guess" you mumble

"good" he smiled and held your cheek, making you look up at him. "dont bring him, okay?"

you look over his face before rolling your eyes and turning to walk to your next class.

Things lately with Kaito havent been as well as you had planned. When you two first started dating, the romance was there, there was a spark within sharing similar interests and likes, there were cute dates, late night conversations. As you find yourself walking down the hall, you wish that perhaps you never got to know the quiet boy in your acting class. You ponder about what would have happened if you two just remained friends, strangers, even.

His drinking was something you had been made aware of by a few classmates, but you can only blame yourself for ignoring them. As much as you hated to admit it, you didnt care in the moment. You are a young girl, who has vulnerabilities and of course wishes to find someone that makes her feel special....but given that....you also deserve pride, and the power to know, or to walk away from situations that arent helping you grow.

You dont ask much of kaito, he couldn't even pick you up on time and let you know why. It was borderline pathetic. He was pathetic, and the marks still evident on your wrist were enough to prove it.

you dont know what you had done in a past life to get such shitty treatment from men, but you could only pray that either the universe sends you in a different direction, or fixes the broken path you are currently trying to fight through.

-

"I called the restaurant, they take walk ins" Taehyung cheerfully spoke, barging into your room to see you sitting with your back towards him, papers sprawled around your desk surface.

"thats good" you mumble, refusing to turn around at the excited boy.

Taehyung notices the shift in your voice, the way your back is slumped over as you hid yourself in the piles of paper and homework. As he walked over, small droplets of tears resting on the wooden desktop below you are visible. You had been crying. A gentle hand comes up to graze against your back, remaining still for a moment before he spoke. "Y/N, whats going on?"

You sniffled, wishing that you could just be alone but also refraining against sending the boy out, he just wanted to help. "Im just stressed" a simple shrug and a blow of the nose make taehyung sit on the end of your bed as he faces you, deciding its enough distance from you, but not too much. "do you wanna talk about it?" he asks softly, his hair resting in front of his eyes, its grown so long these days.

You looked back at him and remained quiet for a moment before opening your mouth, "no" you shook your head. "I just....I just want tonight to be fun, I want you to have fun, I want this for us, just one day without anything pulling us down, okay?"

Taehyung nodded slowly, not sure what could have sent you into a spiral like this, but respecting your decision to not speak on it. "Okay, yeah, we will have fun okay?" he whispers, hand now holding yours as he got closer to you, wiping away your tears. "don't cry, everything will be alright sweet girl" he brings you into a tight hug as his words are close to brining you to cry again. You can blame it on being hormonal, but something about the comforting nature of the boy in front of you made you just want to constantly be there, support and love him for what he is. You would cling to him like a koala if you had the chance.

but he wasn't yours, and you were not his.

You had not been the best friend to taehyung for the past few weeks, something youve tried to make up for by either cooking, or buying him new art tools. You even stayed up late with him a few nights ago just letting him rant about all the shit on his plate. It made you realize that this boy would tell you every little detail about his life, he trusts you so much, yet you couldnt even be honest about the kaito situation.

Guilt was the best emotion to describe the feeling in your chest.

The best thing you could do tonight is to treat him like he were king of the world, he deserves a break, and it would kill you to have to be the one to ruin it again.

You sniffled and looked back at him, "so are you gonna show me the menu of the restaurant or what?"

Taehyung laughed lightly, squeezing your hand as he helped you up and led you out into the living room with him.

-

Every time Taehyung see's you upset, he feels as if those emotions transfer to him. If he could snap his fingers, or wave some magic wand, he would make it so you never cried again. A part of him was upset that you didnt feel comfy enough to open up about what exactly was bothering you, yet at the same time, he was able to understand your reasoning. You two fought more in the past few months than you have in your entire lives, it felt like walking on eggshells every time he spoke, he was fearful of losing you as a friend, so he made sure each word that came out of his mouth was nothing but delicate, kind, and loving.

He buttoned up his suit, smiling at himself in the mirror as he sprayed on some cologne you bought for him last Christmas. He remembers how much you loved to cuddle up to him when he got home from work, hiding your face in his neck, complimenting how good he had smelled.

Seems like those memories are so distant, in a way he almost mourns them. He is grateful to even have you at all, but as time goes on he truly believes he may never get over you, that you will always just be the one that actually got away.

He looks down at his drawer in his bathroom, the drawer that had been shared by you whenever you had used his bathroom. It hadnt been open in a while, but as he looked through it, he couldnt help but laugh.

purple nail polish.

You asked him if you had left it in his bathroom and he told you no. He thought it was cute that its the shade youve always worn. He even bought you a new bottle just so he could keep the one you left behind.

His mind flickers back to when you had begged him to let you paint his nails, after about 30 minutes of pestering, he finally gave in, letting you give him the full spa treatment.

He softly smiled as he examined the polish, carefully putting it back before walking out and into the living room.

"AHH you look so cute!" you giggled and ran up to him, squishing his bread cheeks. Tae had never worn a suit before, but you took him shopping a few days ago and convinced him he would look really good in one, and he has to admit he feels pretty well fit in it.

You fluffed his hair up and smiled softly, watching his eyes scan over you, something that made you blush. "You look really good, is this a new dress?" he asked quietly

"wow you noticed" you teased

"Of course, you look so pretty in it" He wanted to go on, he wanted to tell you how beautiful your smile looked and how it didnt matter what you wore, because in the museum full of brilliant art, he probably would only be able to look at you tonight.

"thank you" you shyly spoke, "are you ready?"

He held up his canvas, smiling brightly and nodding. "Here" you placed a plastic bag over the art so it wouldnt get destroyed or ruined in any way, especially since it was raining out.

"thank you" he spoke, lifting it up again before grabbing the umbrella and walking towards the door. "Lets go win that prize and rub it in everyones face" you tease, cheering as you made your way down the hall, tae walked behind and watched your childish nature, giggling to himself.

-

It was crowded.

You didnt even know there was this many art students in your school.

"just stay with me, its okay" Tae whispered to you after dropping off his artwork at the front table so they could enter it into the contest. He noticed your fidgety state, gently grabbing one of your hands with his own. You offered a light squeeze in acknowledgment.

"Taehyung!!!"

You both turned around to see Annie running up, smiling brightly with a glass in her hand. "Uhg Im so glad you made it, did you submit your work??"

"yeah I just gave it to them" he pointed at the adults working the table. "great, I seriously cant wait to see your work hung up, I know whatever it is will be beautiful."

"ah thank you, you are too kind" he spoke softly, feeling your grip on his arm tighten.

"Hi Annie" you spoke, annoyed that she chose to ignore you. "Oh hi!" she waved. "Im sorry, I forgot your name, what is it sweetheart?"

Taehyung scoffed quietly, stopping you from speaking before him "Her name is Y/N, I only talk about her all the time" he looked down at you, offering a reassuring smile.

"Oh, I forget everything im sorry" she giggled loudly. "cmon, lets go get something to drink" She tugged on his other arm eager to get him away from you.

"do you want anything?" he mouthed to you, making you shake your head. "no, go have fun" you offer, watching him give into annie's aggression with a sad smile, walking away.

You took your time walking around the exhibit, stopping at each frame to read the small descriptions and notes. You were never super artsy like Taehyung was, but it was impressive to see how dedicated he was.

you made your way through the large crowds of chatter, searching for taehyung before spotting him in the corner by the food stand. You walked over and gently hugged him from behind, it wasnt an act of anything, you just hated being in crowded areas, so you clung to him as best you could. His hand gently grazed along your arm before turning, a audible scoff from Annie is heard as he turns to face you.

"Hi sweet girl, You okay?"

"yeah" you nod, "I was just looking at all the art, which is beautiful but I think they have nothing on yours"

"Youre biased" he chuckled

"tsk tsk, I tell the truth" you giggled, hugging him as you rested your head on his chest, his arms around you loosely. To any onlookers, you two were a couple.

You both are naturally cling people, perhaps it can be to blame for how you both fell so easily into the friends with benefits thing.

"I didnt know you guys were dating" annie took a sip of her wine, gesturing between the both of you.

"oh no, we arent" you quickly spoke, "we are just really close"

"ah..." she trailed off and gave a knowing look to Taehyung, making him shrug. He didnt like to be mean, but he also liked seeing how jealous she got of you. He would never date Annie, and he felt guilty for maybe leading her on, but he feels pride in knowing that shes jealous of you.

you are his girl whether you were dating, friends, anything, everyone knew that.

"they have food if you are hungry" he suggested, patting your back to get your attention.

"Oh, thats okay, im saving room to stuff my face with Tteokbokki later" you both giggled,

"lets go look around, yeah?"

you nodded and grabbed his hand, leading him away from the judgmental girl watching you both like a hawk.

You noticed his frown as you sat in front of a canvas filled wall, "whats wrong, tae?"

"these are all....amazing..." he gestured towards a few, head lost in thought and self doubt.

"bubs, i promise you, yours is just as good if not better. remember what I said, no matter what happens, the outcome will be okay" you rubbed his shoulder, watching a small smile appear on his face.

"everything will be okay" he whispered to himself, taking a deep breath before nodding

-

As the night went on, guests were informed that the ranking and award ceremony would be taking place in just 15 minutes. Taehyung had been wrapped up in conversation with another one of his classmates, eyes absent mindedly searching around the banquet hall for you.

You told him a bit ago that you were gonna go grab a drink, and its been 10 minutes.

Across the room, little to his knowledge, you were wrapped up in your own conversation with a boy who caught you admiring his own work. "It took me a few months" the boy spoke softly, both of you standing in front of his painting. "You didnt want so submit it into the competition?" you asked, watching him shake his head. "I dont need people judging my art, it doesnt matter what they think. I like being able to just put it out into the world for what it is, I dont need a prize for that"

You were taken back by how well and soft spoken he was, unsure how to respond, "Whats your name by the way?"

"My name is Jung Hoseok" he bowed his head lightly, smiling brightly at you. "Ah nice to meet you Hoseok, Im Yun Y/N"

"pleasure meeting you" he spoke, shaking your hand. "so are you here tonight for your own art?" he added

"oh no, no, I am definitely not an artist", you giggled. "Im here with my best friend, he is the one participating tonight"

Taehyung finally found an out in the conversation and began his search for you, pushing through the room to see you standing next to some stranger. He would be lying if he said he didnt like to see you with other men, especially Hoseok, who was in his art class. He would rather you be standing with Kaito at that point.

"Oh taehyung!" Hoseok greeted the man you didnt even know stood behind you, making you turn and smile. "Sorry, I got lost" you giggled, taking his hand as he moved beside you. "Hello Hoseok" tae bowed his head.

"Y/N told me you are trying for the contest, good luck, I heard the judges tend to pick favorites" he laughed and tapped his arm, making him awkwardly smile. "I think he will be ok, wait until you see his painting, its beautiful" you spoke up

"Im sure" he looked at you both, bowing politely before walking off into a new conversation with his nearby friends.

"dont let his charm get to you, he isnt the nicest person" taehyung turns and speaks, gently leading you back to the front of the banquet hall.

"What? he seemed so sweet" you spoke

"I heard he is kind of....you know....like, he likes to play with multiple women at once" he explained as best he could, making you smile, "a man whore" you suggested, making him laugh. "yeah, a man whore"

"dont worry, Im not interested. Ive had enough boy drama to keep me away from any penis within a 5 mile radius" You spoke, watching Taehyung burst out in laughs. "speaking of him, is kaito mad you are here?"

"If he is, I dont care, tonight isnt about him, only you"

-

A few moments later, everyone had gathered into the front of the banquet hall, a panel of 3 judges proudly standing on the small stage ready to reward the prizes in rankings of the top 5 works of art submitted tonight.

"I am so nervous" Taehyung whispered, not directly at anyone but himself. You looked back and smiled, grabbing his hand and entwining it with your own. "Stop stressing, your hair is gonna go grey." you both quietly giggled before the lady on the mic began to speak.

"Thank you all so much for coming to our annual art banquet show, this is the 11th year we have been graciously welcomed back and we could not be more excited as the number of participants grow each year." she adjusted her glasses before speaking again. "Tonight is not about winning, or being the best, it is about recognizing talent of all unique levels, seeing things from other peoples eyes, its about the beauty of art"

The audience clapped lightly, making you smile as you looked around at everyone piled up together in anticipation.

"With that, I believe we are ready to begin the gift ceremony. The other judges and I graded on not only the art itself, but the impact received through it, we were looking for those who went outside the box, and we are happy to say we were not disappointed."

Taehyung looked at the black cloths that hung over the art work that was pinned on the wall up front, unsure if his was one of them or not.

"I'll remind everyone of the prizes, 5-3 place recieve a generous cash prize, as well as a discounted art session for next semester, 2 place recieves a larger amount of cash, while 1st place gets a visit to the Louvre Museum in Paris France, fully paid!"

The crowd happily cheers, the excitement in the room can easily be felt. You were nervous for Taehyung, not because you didnt think he could win, but you knew how much he wanted this trip. You wanted to see him happy, and most importantly, you wanted him to be proud of himself.

"We will now begin" The older woman walks to the lined up art, standing in front of one. "In 5th place, we will happily be awarding this to...." she gently pulled the black sheet off, revealing the art as the crowd clapped happily.

"Seo Yoon, with 'a walk with existence'"

you looked around to see the girl stand up and go to collect her certificate, bowing and thanking the judges.

"4th place, goes to.... Park Jimin, with 'serendipity'"

Everyone cheered as the younger man walked up to join the others.

You felt taehyungs hand squeeze yours lightly, as the 3rd person was revealed and it wasnt him, now he was eager. He either got 2nd, 1st, or none at all.

you gently rubbed his back as the woman went to reveal 2nd place. "In 2nd, we have..." the painting was revealed, "Kang Annie, with 'daydream'"

You both looked at eachother, "I didnt think her art was that good" taehyung claps but whispers in your ear, making you giggle and hold his arm for support. The tension in the room grew as the judge made her way to the remaining painting, the cloth gathering in her hand.

"and for first place, we, the judges have decided to reward...." the curtain felt like it fell in slow motion, taehyung quite literally on the edge of his seat.

"Kim Taehyung with 'Forever and a day'"

You jumped up immediately as his name was called, his beautiful painting on display for everyone to see as claps and "congratulations" were gifted his way.

"I won?" he mumbled, standing as you grabbed him close, hugging him tightly. "I fucking knew you could win!!! Im so proud!!!' you cupped his face and smiled, making him smile as well.

"get up there and claim your prize" you mumble, urging him up to the stage where he went to collect his prize and certificate. "Congratulations to everyone who won, and everyone who participated! lets get a round of applause for all the talent here tonight"

The room clapped loudly as you caught his eye, smirking and chanting loudly, maybe a bit too loudly for an art show. He laughed and congratulated the other winners, giving annie some bullshit answer when she joked about being his Paris plus one.

"You have no fucking idea how proud I am, Taehyung" you hugged him once more as you two started to get ready to head out. He made sure you took 10 million photos of his painting on display, making it your lock screen on your phone.

"I still cant believe I won.....it doesnt feel real" He joked, linking your arm with his as you both made your exit after saying goodbyes to everyone.

"wait until it hits, you are gonna be so proud of yourself. Paris....PARIS, taehyung, this shit is huge. Im not gonna lie, I almost cried when I heard your name"

"you did not!" he chuckled as you both walked to your car.

"Yes I did, you just dont get it" you teased "felt like such a power moment, you just know annie was pissed too....little bitch"

Taehyung bit back his laugh as he sat in the drivers seat, pulling his seatbelt on and resting his head back as you got in. "Thank you for everything, for coming....for just being my support" he spoke kindly, wide grin stuck on his face.

"dont thank me, im always gonna be here for you, seriously. Now, lets go eat until we get full, order dessert we cant finish, take it home and get drunk" You put your seatbelt on, car filled with excitement and giggles as he began to drive to dinner.

He really did feel excited, He was mostly in shock on how he was able to win something he threw together last minute.

Blame it on the alcohol, but some deep part of him wanted to come clean in this very moment, as you were now in the crowded restaurant, music blasted as you sang loudly, you looked so beautiful and alive.

The painting was about you.

Taehyung spent hours dedicating himself to that painting, and it was about you. It seemed like a perfect time to just rip the bandaid off right now, a night where everything was going right.

"y/n..." he mumbled, watching as you happily looked over at him, his heart now in his throat. you stopped dancing and made your way over to where he sat at the bar, your drunken self leaning forward to hear him over the music.

"I just wanted to tell y-"

"youre so handsome, jesus christ I hate you" you interrupt, words slurring as you look at him lovingly.

He knows you are drunk, but the comment still made him laugh, "thank you" he whispered as you walked back out to the dance floor, dragging him with you.

"ah y/n, im not really a dancer"

"you dont need to be, just listen to the music and feel it" you shout, jumping around and holding his hands. He has to admit, seeing you away from your usual tight knit persona was really attractive, of course he admired you always, but he never saw this side before, it was new and exciting.

He allowed himself to relax a bit, taking another shot before finally giving in and dancing with you in the crowded bar. "thats it!" you yell, jumping around with him as you both fell into fits of giggles. "cmere" you turned around and pressed your back to his chest, and even in his drunken state, his heart still fluttered at the sudden contact. You carefully danced against him, not in a promiscuous way, simply just a light sway.

You two ended up spending a bit too much money at the bar, making tae ultimately put a cap on the drinks for the night. You werent ready to leave yet, so he ordered a basket of fries and water, sitting at a table with you in the next room.

"we have to sober up just a little bit, I still have to drive home" he giggled and sat beside you, taking a few fries and shoving them into his mouth. "thanks bubs" you slur, eating the fries and chugging water like you havent had any in weeks.

"are you having the best day of your life?" you ask, making him smile, "yeah, I am actually" he held a fry up and fed it to you. "good, me too" you spoke, mouth open and full of food.

the two of you sat and spoke until you felt some of the alcohol waving off, "hmm, do you wanna go home?" you asked him, noticing how tired you both were getting.

It had been almost 5 hours youve been here, and you didnt want him to only stay because you wanted to.

"yeah...its kinda late" he smiled softly, standing up and helping you.

"youre okay to drive?" you ask, watching as he looked into the next room, listening to the jazz song that was playing.

"tae?" you walk over, watching him turn and smile. "wait, before we leave.." he held your hand and led you into the other room. "dance with me, just one last song" he looked down at you, and there was no way to say no to him.

You two were surrounded by some older couples, all of them turning their attention to you as you made your way into the center of the floor, saxophone blaring through the speakers.

Taehyungs long arms wrapped loosely around your waist, resting just above your butt, your arms reaching up to hold his shoulders as you two slowly swayed to the music.

"Why are you looking at me like that" you mutter, thankful for the dark lighting hiding the current blush on your face.

"Like what?" he smiled

You shrug, giggling softly, "I dont know" you bit your lip and looked at him, alcohol still able to be felt deep in your veins.

"whats so funny, hm?" he teased, looking directly at you with a wide smile, "whats my girl always laughing about?"

you shyly looked down, the weight of his gaze too much. Your head rested against his chest as butterflies filled your stomach. this was wrong.

"you cant say that" you whine quietly

"why not?" he stood back and gently spun you around, making you smile as your hands returned to his shoulders.

"because....im not your girl" you mumble, eyes fixated on both of your feet below.

He sighed and rested his head against yours, words not needed, yet actions saying much more as his hands squeezed your waist gently, rubbing up and down carefully.

you looked up at him finally as the song was coming to a close and allowed yourself to just be, smiling as he looked at you. "You will always be my girl" he whispered so only you two could hear, he quickly turned, grabbing your hand. "lets head home"

You felt breathless, and most of all guilty....but not in the way most would think. You were guilty about not feeling guilty. You had fun, and you werent going to apologize for the mindless flirting that occurred tonight.

-

The both got out of the car and jumped under the hood of your apartment complex, looking at the rain pouring.

"I had fun, tae..."

"I did too" he looked at you hopefully, his hand returning to yours.

"we need more time for just us, we've been so wrapped in other shit" you sigh, the sound of rain surrounding both of you.

"I agree, I dont care what we do, im always enjoying myself with you"

You smirk and jokingly jump towards him, embracing him tightly "ahhh tae tae...what will I do with you, little art boy" you smile as he laughs.

You both pull away, arms still on eachother as you stood outside your home. There was a moment of quietness, eyes scanning over eachothers faces.

"Tae...." you whisper, gathering your thoughts before he slowly leans in, nose brushing yours. The top of his lip grazes against yours as you lean in, suddenly realizing what was happening as you pull your head away.

He didnt react sharply, just watching you with sad eyes.

"we cant" you whispered, shaking your head

"why not?"

"because we dont know what we are doing tae, we know better than this." you firmly say

"do we?" he spoke calmly, eyes still fixated on you.

"yes.."

He looks down at your hands, squeezing them "please...."

You frown when he isnt looking, dragging your hand to pull his wet hair out of his face. "Im sorry" you softly spoke, rubbing your thumb over his cheek, "lets go get some rest, yeah?"

he waits a moment before nodding, silently following you into the apartment.

You werent sure what exactly was in the air tonight, but you knew something changed, and maybe it was the universe finally answering your call.

A/n: sorry ...

Tag list:

@turnthepageandbeburnt @taebangtanbabe @borahaexoxo @lelefoodlover @tan-veee

[ihuntvisualmentoo]

Joseph Cullman x Motel Owner! Reader

The sign luminates the night sky, hovering over a one story building that looks to go through maintenance every year. 

“Here it is,” Joseph mumbled to himself. After some time walking down the streets of El Paso, he finds a surprisingly clean motel, don’t see that much around this part of the city. He steps foot inside, the bell on the door rings alerting a woman behind the counter in front, “Be right there!” she shouted. Joseph waited, learning against the desk, his eyes wandering the office.

 ‘It’s nice in here too,’ he thought. He hears footsteps approaching behind the desk. A woman a little taller than average with a well built athletic figure. Cute too. Joseph glances at your name tag on your chest, “ Sunny ”, 

The landlord.

“Room for one?” you asked 

“Yeah, uh, how much do ya charge?”

“Hmm? Oh! 80 a month,” you said, Joseph taps his chin in thought, recently he just got a role as a tv host of a children’s show, so the checks don’t start rolling in after a couple of episodes. “Is there-a possibility to make up for the payment? I don’t exactly got the cash on me right now” 

He hates to admit it, but it’s true.

You eye him with concentrated eyes, as if you’re checking for reasonable compensation.

‘Aah, of course,’ Joseph had already felt what you wanted from him, I mean, it’s nothing new to him. He’s always the compensation.

….. Sigh

“Well, there’s definitely something you can help me with~” you said

Yep! Just what he expected, “Well then, when do we start?”

__________________________________________

… This is NOT what he expected

“Move that piece over there," you told him, balanced on a ladder, Joseph moves the metal pipe to the specific you pointed to from below. “This good?” he asked. In response he gets a smile and a thumbs up. 

How did he end up here you ask? Let's take it back to that last night.

You step away from the desk and come back with a piece of paper, leaving Joseph confused as he reads it. It looks to be some sort of list. A list of chores to be exact. “I’ve been meaning to get these things done, but it ain’t gonna be so easy by myself,” you said, “If you can help me with this, then you don’t have to worry about the money until you’re able to.” 

The proposition was the easiest deal he could get for a room, Joseph didn’t have to think about it as he's already agreed. “Great!” you quipped, “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon then.”

And for 2 weeks now, he's been helping you with fixing up the motel with you. 

“Well if it isn’t Sunny and Josie,” said a chipper voice. You and Joseph turned to see the sweet elderly lady with a basket in hand presenting it to us, “Lunchtime!” 

“Thanks mimi,” you thanked the old lady, grabbing a chorizo and potato sandwich from the basket and handing it to Joseph. Taking his seat on the curbside of the motel and you joining him as well.

“Thanks”

Taking a bite of your own, you asked

“Sooo… How long ya been on the road?”

“Bout’a good couple of years I think”

…

“Must’ve been tough, huh?,” Joseph glanced your way, taking notice that he's got your full attention now. It’s clear that you’re interested in his story but kind enough to not pry into it since it’s a personal chapter of himself. “Well then,” you said, getting up from your spot, you looked down and smiled.

“You’re past it now, ain’t ya? I’m sure you’ll get a hitch from your starting point.”

….

Huh. Sunny really does suit you. “Heh, I’d like to believe that too,” Joseph responded, recovering himself. “Guess I’ll try though,” “Then try and come help me getting this pipe back on,” you teased

A smirk tugs on Joseph’s lips. “Yes ma’am.” Looks like he’ll be having a good time here.

[deafknell]

For reasons and stuff I need Ricardo information. So I ain't wasting this chance. For the Ask i choose Ricardo. Gimme the Ricardo

Sexuality/Gender/Ship Headcanon: Honestly, I have nothing for most of these - completely valid for people who do hold these - but Ricardo to me is just a caring dad. I don't have a ship for him.

A BROTP I have with said character: Ohhh boy. Toxic brotp would be him and Reisel, the way it instantly goes from "Hey Ricardo's just a goofy dad raising Ana and the triplets" to "Okay we need more side content on his backstory immediately" is so good. Everything about Reisel is a red flag and yet still Ricardo chooses to nearly jeopardise his position working with Ana over an old debt owed to him.

Ricardo and the bar lady in Kararagi Girl Meets Cats/Kararagi Girl and Cats Eye have a pretty cute bond as Ana's parent figures. The bar lady is basically Anastasia's former employer who took care of her as a young kid, and she regularly talks to Ricardo about being a good role model for her. He seems to value her opinion a fair amount, but also insists on her keeping his involvement with Reisel private.

A NOTP I have with said character: Ana/Ricardo. I know it's said Ricardo was her first love, but it's just a childhood crush type thing. They met when Ana's 10-11 years old and Ricardo basically raised her.

A random headcanon: Ricardo isn't the best with tact or talking to girls, but he went out of his way to learn how to braid/do different hairstyles for Ana. I imagine the bar lady taught him so he could fix up Ana's hair when she started growing it out properly, something she then learned and did with Mimi when she grew up.

General Opinion over said character: He's 10000% team dad. Massive softie with a heavy backstory often left to the side because of his father-daughter bond with Ana in her backstory. People know she bought him out of slavery, but there's very little discussion on what actually happened to him before then.

Since you requested Ricardo information, I'll give a rundown of what exactly happened before he met Ana (From Kararagi Girl & Cat's Eye):

[Content warning for discussion of slavery/torture/abuse]

Ricardo was somebody who regularly rebelled against the slave owners and frequently angered the guards at the camp. He was often targeted and beaten for very trivial reasons solely because certain guard really didn't like the fact he had such a strong fighting spirit despite his circumstances.

For over two months each beating grew worse and worse, wounds overlapping and he was fully prepared to die during this time. But one day Reisel, a tanuki beastman looked in his cell and saw him still alive, came to visit him and spoke to him a bit. Because he was well known and liked by guards, a connection was made between Ricardo and Reisel, so the abuse towards Ricardo was lightened instantly.

There was still the threat of death, starvation, and hard labour, but Reisel's interference saved his life. Reisel admits he only interfered as he wanted some "muscle" to protect him in the camp, and Ricardo acknowledges this, feeling indebted while still disliking the guy for seeming quite two faced.

This hunch turns out to be true, as Reisel later organises a successful escape with a bunch of slaves. He does not invite Ricardo, and Ricardo is later tortured and left half-dead for that very association that saved his life previously. Ricardo endured through everything, never losing that spirit, and eventually became a free man after meeting Anastasia.

Later, when reunited with Reisel, Ricardo admits he knew Reisel leaving him behind was a calculated move to ensure the guards went after him and not Reisel. Despite knowing this, he still willingly honours his debt to Reisel, helping him with stealing cargo (later revealed to be on Capella's orders, as Reisel is one of her children.)

[Lore dump end]

There's a lot you can say about Ricardo, both in his appearances in arc 5, and his backstory with Ana. He's a very resilient character who puts up with a lot of shit, but never forgets his debts - someone both cold (only willing to help if given ample reason as a merc) and warm (never lets his burdens fall on others, keeps that positive slant on any interactions, rescues Ana from slave traders) that you have to wonder how exactly he got to the point he's at.

I haven't finished Cat's eye yet - maybe about a third done? - But there's a lot of questions I have about who he was prior to being a slave, and I'm not sure there's any concrete answers yet for them. Where was he prior to slavery? How long was he a slave? He's 39/40 in canon now, so would've been 30 when freed as a slave - what childhood did he have, his family life, it's all a bunch of ??? that's a lot of free real estate for interpretations.

Very fascinating character that needs a lot more love. Think a lot of people shy away from discussing him due to him being a "furry" but it's a real shame to neglect one of the coolest characters and best dad in the series, aside from Kenichi. I think there's a ton you can do with him given the right prompt and enough lore knowledge.

Hopefully this helped :D if you want more Ricardo or minor character info I'm happy to go in more depth/give more sources for info, being a lore nerd about the Ana camp is my main role in this here fandom.