#To put my luggage on the seat next to me. And sure most of the time i manage to remember just when im about to exit the train

[gguk-n]

Jokes In The Cloud (Carlos Sainz x Comedian!Reader)

No Face Claim. All the pictures are from Pinterest.

CONGRATULATIONS TO CARLOS ON WINNING HIS SECOND GP THIS SEASON!!

punchlineprincess

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punchlineprincess Vacationing with the people who get on my nerve the most

y/bff/user you forgot to take me😔😔 punchlineprincess y/bff/user sorry bbg, next trip with you alone😘😘 y/cousin/user you annoy us more🙂 y/mum/user not a nice thing to say Y/N punchlineprincess y/mum/user I was joking😅😅 user1 if someone saw her IG they would think she's a model😍😍 user2 God I've seen what you've done for others, when is it my turn🥲🥲 user3 pretty and funny. I want her!!❤️❤️

{Reader's POV}

The gears in my head my turning, I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I still had to refine my script; I was sure I could do it if I have a few hours. "Sweetheart, dinner's ready" my dad called out from the bedroom door. "Dad, I have to leave" I stated. "To where?" my dad asked, walking in. "You know that Netflix special I was gonna film" I began, he nodded along, "well, they want to film it on Monday" I finished. "That's in a day" he stated. "2, since it's in New York" I explained. "Cassidy will send me my tickets, but I think I'll be leaving now" I spoke. "Sorry about ditching the family trip. I know how important it was for you" I mumbled. "It's okay, darling. This is bigger. This will catapult you to fame like you always wanted, I mean I'm already so proud of you but this is still bigger" he explained trying to calm me. "Me and your mum will help you pack, come on" he said and called my mum.

The two of them helped me pack my bags. He explained how my Netflix special would be filmed soon and I would be leaving soon to everyone. All my younger cousins and nieces and nephews were so excited. Cassidy sent me the tickets. I made sure to pack everything while my mum fed me, it was chaos in the best way possible. "I'll be leaving now" I hugged my parents good bye. "Can't wait to watch it" my aunt spoke patting my back. "Mention us" one of my younger cousin's spoke. "I'll try" I laughed. My niece kissed my cheek wishing me good bye. My nephew wasn't ready to let me go yet, my brother had to pull him off me.

I waved good bye as the taxi left the resort, my family waving back as I disappeared. The ride to the airport was short, I was too busy going through my material to notice when I reached the airport. I paid the taxi driver and hauled my luggage to the check-in desk. The person behind it, checked me in and I was headed to immigration. This was the first time I noticed that I was sitting first class. When did my manager have this kind of money to book first class. I'd have to bring it up with her once I had the time.

I got done with all the formality and headed to the waiting area, where I spent my time going through my script and tweaking it ever so often. I downed a RedBull to try to align myself to New York time, so that I can combat the jet lag.

As the speaker's announced the boarding for my flight, I grabbed all my stuff with the plan to finish it up on the plane. The air-host lead me to my seat. I noticed a man sat on the seat next to mine, he looked an awful lot familiar, until it hit me that it was Carlos Sainz; my heart started pounding. I walked up to my seat, put my luggage away and sat down. My hands were shaking by the time I sat down, pulling my laptop out. I started typing away with shaky hands. "Is that a script?" a voice came from beside me. I turned around to find Carlos with his head turned, trying to figure out what's written. "Yeah, I'm a comedian, this is a script for my show" I tried to speak as confidently and calmly as possible. "That's cool. I'm Carlos, Carlos Sainz" he introduced himself. "I'm Y/N, Y/N Y/L/N" I shook his hand. "I'm a Formula One driver, maybe you'e heard about me" he further elaborated. I know, I've been obsessed with you for years, my poor brother has to listen to me talk about you for hours after every race, analysing the whole race. I have a fan account called carloslover, were the thoughts running through my head. "Yeah, I must've heard about Formula One some where" I said tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "Well it's nice to meet you" Carlos said. "It's nice to meet you too" I said with a smile. "I'll let you get back to your work" Carlos said pointing at my laptop.

I spent a couple more minutes working on it before I was disturbed by Carlos, not like I was complaining; "I'm sorry but I'm kind of curious about what the script your working on is about" Carlos spoke slowly. "I'm filming a Netflix special in New York. So, I'm fine tuning my script" I chuckled. "Oh, sorry for disturbing you" Carlos replied sheepishly. Damn, he looked so cute, I caught myself fawning at him. "Ah, it's nothing." I quickly looked away, "I love when people are interested in what I do" I smiled. "Then, I will continue to annoy you a bit" he laughed. "Be my guest" I smiled back.

A few more tweaks and a good hour later, I was able to close the laptop, happy with the script I had at hand. "I'm guessing you're done" Carlos chimed in. "I am" I said stretching a little. "Maybe you could practice a bit with me" Carlos suggested. "I do want to practice my crowd work" I thought out loud.

"So, Carlos are you really a full time driver or a model? I can't really tell" I said. Carlos's face turned red, "Is this how you do crowd work?" he trailed. "I, no, can't let the opportunity to flirt with a man as handsome as you go" I smirked. Carlos's blush only deepened, "So, I'm special" he laughed. "Obviously" I shrugged. "If it's anything, I thought you were a model and not a comedian" he retorted. "I get that a lot. But doesn't work in my profession when people don't think pretty people tell good jokes" I retorted back. "I've never heard any of your jokes, but I'm sure you're funny since Netflix wants you" Carlos said. "Hope so" I said holding up my hands with crossed fingers.

I felt like the time flew by, as Carlos kept me company. Just as the flight was about to land; "Will I see you again?' Carlos asked hopefully. "You could, if I had your number" I remarked. Carlos pulled his phone out and handed it to me. I put my number in and called myself. "I'll see you soon." I winked as I saved Carlos's number. "Can't wait" Carlos replied, smiling at me as we grabbed our luggage to leave.

Cassidy was waiting for me as I exited the airport. "I'm so sorry, I should've checked my emails" she apologised grabbing my bag. "It's fine, let's go. I'm exhausted" I replied grabbing my bag back. We caught an uber back to the hotel. I rehearsed my script with Cassidy for the next few hours, trying not to memorise it so it would sound genuine.

punchlineprincess

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punchlineprincess Done filming my first special, can't wait for it to air🥹🥹

y/bff/user I'M SO EXCITED🤭🤭 user4 I'll watch it just to see that outfit😍 user5 so pretty😍😍 y/mum/user so proud of my baby💖 y/dad/user my baby's all grown up😭❤️

punchlineprincess

Liked by y/bff/user, carlossainz55 and 3,289 others

punchlineprincess Joked my way into his life🫣🫣

y/bff/user ooohhhh who is this??👀👀 y/dad/user what is this behaviour y/n??? user6 OMG!!! I love this❤️❤️ user7 the best couple ever and idek the guy😅😅 user9 y/n being sporty wasn't in my bingo card🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ user10 the golf date!!!❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 user11 I want to go to an art museum with my lover and imitate art like that😏😏 user12 this is so Carlos coded plus he's in the likes😣😣

punchlineprincess

Liked by y/bff/user and 5,378 others

punchlineprincess I may have gone overboard for the premier at home🥲😅

y/bff/user I'M SCREAMING WHILE WATCHING IT🥹🥹 y/mum/user my baby❤️ carlossainz55 so proud of you ❤️Liked by Author user13 what does Carlos mean by that, like he knows her🙂👀 user14 the funniest shit i've watched in a while🤣🤣 user15 loved this so much!!!❤️🤣 user16 finally the real comedian that's getting the recognition she deserves😂😂

punchlineprincess

Liked by carlossainz55, y/bff/user and 1278,340 others Tagged carlossainz55

punchlineprincess Sorry I'm not normal about my boyfriend winning his second race this season😭😭

carlossainz55 I think having you there was my lucky charm🍀❤️ punchlineprincess carlossainz55 aww!! but it was your big brain and hard work❤️❤️🥹 y/bff/user aww!! watching both my babies win respectively 😭😭Liked by carlossainz55 and punchlineprincess y/dad/user good job Carlos👍 Liked by carlossainz55 user12 I should've known after those dates🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ user20 seeing her hug his mom when he won was so cute😭😭 user21 the most unlikely couple🥹🥹 user22 I get it Carlos, I get it😍😍 user23 Vamos Carlos!!👍👍 user24 I want a full timeline how everything went down😩 user25 I'm so happy I got to witness this race😭😭 user26 she was so sweet to all the fans and even took pictures with us!!😭🥹

After the race win celebrations on the podium and the team, after the interviews when I finally got him all to myself; "I'm so proud of you baby" I whispered as I pressed a kiss on his lips. "I'm so happy you got to see me win" Carlos mumbled not letting go. "I can't believe instead of watching you on TV I got to watch you in real life" I said pulling away. "I don't know why you lied to me when we met" Carlos laughed. "Well I couldn't tell you I'm @ carloslover on Instagram and Twitter and I've been in love with you since you debuted" I laughed. "I think I wouldn't have paid much attention since you're so pretty" Carlos smiled running his hands down my sides to rest on my waist. "Well I'm a Carlos lover and I am Carlos's lover. It's a win win" I smiled, "You and I both, princessa, you and I both" Carlos captured my lips in another, yet steamy kiss pulling me closer so my body was touching his, "You are all sticky and smell of champagne", I mumbled against his lips trying to pull away but Carlos pulled me closer, "No" he muttered and continued kissing me. He walked back to sit on the couch pulling me down with him, straddling his lap. He pulled me closer, our bodies touching, his hands roaming mine before they found home on my ass. We pulled away slightly breathless but Carlos than started his assault on my neck, sucking on my sweet spot near my collar bone while pushing me down on his lap. I could feel him grow under me. I pushed him away, "Nope" I said firmly. "No?" he asked cocking his head to the right with his big brown puppy eyes, "We're not doing it here. Let's get back to the hotel, maybe after you smell a little less like alcohol, I'll think about it" I said getting up. "Y/N" he whined holding my hands as I stood in front of him. "Not even for today's race winner" he pouted. "No. Baby, this is your work place. I will do anything and everything you want but out of the paddock" I said. "The car?" Carlos perked up. "Carlos, darling, we'll be on the headline tomorrow reading Carlos Sainz Jr knows how to celebrate his win in Mexico with girlfriend in his black Ferrari" I said. "Fine, Let's go back soon. I can't wait" he humphed before going to change out of his race suit. "I love you" I called out. "También te amo" he called back.

[sectumsempraaa]

Roadtripping

Pairing: they’re all in love w/ you lol x fem!reader

Word count: 1.9k

T/W: none

Featuring: Draco, Theo, Mattheo, Lorenzo

Summary: It’s a three day weekend at Hogwarts, and you want to make the most of it. But roadtripping with a bunch of Slytherin boys (who would do anything for you) means bickering, flirting, and a road-side emergency.

A/N: Some silly nonsense I came up with today. Needed a little fun 🤭

“Absolutely not.” Draco commands, his tone as stern as ever as he jangles the car keys in his right hand.

“Come on, you stubborn twit. You always drive!” Mattheo complains, his voice like that of a cranky teenager.

“There’s a reason for that, Mr. I-Swear-I-Won’t-Speed-Again,” Draco responds as the two of them bicker in front of the castle, waiting for the rest of the gang to meet.

You make your way downstairs with Theodore and Lorenzo, both of them helping to carry your luggage, despite your insisting that you were fine on your own.

It’s a three day weekend at Hogwarts and the Slytherin crew has decided to roadtrip for it, an idea you proposed that was met with immediate enthusiasm.

But let’s face it, you could suggest swimming with sharks and these boys would do it. Oh, you’re asking? Then the answer is yes.

You pick up on Draco and Mattheo’s argument as it becomes less distant. You roll your eyes, laughing to yourself as Theo and Enzo drop the bags next to the disagreeing couple.

“It was ONE ticket, TWO years ago, and-”

“One deep, unforgivable scratch on MY passenger door.” Draco sneers, lunging towards Mattheo as the argument intensifies. “You think I’m putting your clumsy arse behind the wheel with precious Y/N in the car?”

Yeah. It’s time to step in.

“Matty, baby, maybe we should take the backseat on this one. But, literally.” You interject with your soft, angelic voice and a comforting hand squeezing his shoulder.

The second he turns to you, his expression melts into a state of calm. His eyebrows relax as the corners of his mouth turn slightly up.

“As long as you’re back there with me, sweetheart,” He suggests, each word laced with a child-like hope.

“Sure-” you start, before you’re interrupted by Theo.

“What the hell gives you the right to assign seats? Especially for Y/N, who should obviously be next to me instead,” Theo retorts.

“And why’s that? So she can hold your hand when you get car sick?” Lorenzo mocks while holding his stomach and laughing, earning a middle finger from Theo in reply. Lorenzo continues to plead his case.

“I’m the perfect shoulder height if Y/N wants to take a nap. Therefore, she’s sitting next to me.”

“Can’t nap on them if they’re dislocated.” Theo grimaces as he takes an intimidating step towards Lorenzo.

You can’t help but giggle at the ensuing debate over something so trivial. At this point, there’s no use in trying to interfere. You stride over to Draco who silently observes the others with a permanent scowl.

“Hey, should we go warm up the car?” You ask, wrapping your hands around his arm.

“And make them drag all the luggage over themselves?” He suggests.

“You read my mind, Malfoy.” You smile, your agreement earning one from him in return. A wave of peace washes over his features, an effect you commonly have on the boys.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think you should sit in the back.” Draco says as you give him a knowing look on the walk to the car.

“To keep the storm at bay in the backseat?”

“That, and I think the whole lot might implode if they can’t access you. You just tell me when you need a break from babysitting.” He playfully nudges your side, placing a gentle kiss on your temple.

You both turn to the sound of the boys moaning and groaning while struggling to carry all the bags to the car.

“Meeting adjourned?” You joke as the boys catch their breath. Mattheo pipes in to respond, pointing a finger at you.

“You. Backseat. Center. Now.”

—

And so the trip begins.

Well, it would have started sooner if Enzo hadn’t needed two rest stops almost immediately, blaming it on his alcohol consumption from the night before. Followed by Draco demanding him to “just hold it,” which resulted in many verbal threats.

“Which one of you foul gits has the aux cord right now?” Mattheo asks with annoyance from your right side.

“We’ve been listening to this classical shit since we bloody left,” Theo snarls from your left as he stretches an arm around you, fiddling with the fabric on your shoulder.

“Guys, it’s Draco’s car, so it’s only fair he gets to choose.” You defend your driver despite it ending with pouts from the others. You can’t help but notice the blush forming on Draco’s face.

“It’s the radio, you blubbering idiot. You can change it if you like.” Draco offers.

Lorenzo’s hand almost immediately reaches for the knobs, turning it to classic rock and boosting the volume way too high for anyone’s liking.

“My god, turn that trash down, Enzo!” Theo yells from the backseat, completely ignored by a headbanging, dashboard-drumming Enzo. “Fine then,”

Theo leans forward, hoisting his whole upper body over the front seat in order to turn it down.

“Y/N, darling, you need anything?” Draco asks, catching your eyes in the mirror.

“I’d take a stretch. Oh, and a snack!” You reply, to which all heads turn to you like you’re some kind of genius.

Mattheo gasps with excitement. “Brilliant brain this one has, yeah?!” He laughs as he places his finger under your chin, guiding your gaze to meet his. He gives you a wink, acting like no one else in the car even exists.

Draco agrees, informing the group of the next rest stop in nearly 20 miles.

To this, you sigh and let a yawn escape you. Mattheo’s eyes light up as you remove his hand from your chin and wrap it around yourself, sinking into his side as you close your eyes.

Seemingly in unison, the other three boys observe your movement with looks of envy raging in their eyes. Even Draco, who should be keeping his eyes on the road, scoffs and mumbles to himself.

“God damnit, I should never have put her back there.”

“Mind if I nap here for 20 miles?” You ask Mattheo, knowing full well he would never deny you.

“You can nap here for eternity, love. I’m not going anywhere.” Mattheo wraps his other arm, both around your waist now, and shifts so the back of your head rests on his chest. Theo chimes in with his reaction.

“Great, so I’ll just sit here on the verge of illness and watch the girl of my dreams take comfort on this half-wit.”

“Yup.” Mattheo responds with a smug, shit-eating grin.

—

You awaken suddenly to a loud thud, jolting you from your small nap. A groan from Mattheo leads you to believe he was asleep, too.

“Great mother of fuck!” Draco blurts out, gaining everyone’s attention.

“Shit, Draco, what was that?” Lorenzo asks as Theo looks out the window to investigate. His head turns both ways before landing on the culprit.

“Mio dio… flat tire, mate.” Theo announces to the rest of the car.

You’d just barely made it to the next rest stop before driving over some glass on the road that unfortunately has you pulled over on the side of the road now.

The whole crew gets out, Theo looking relieved at the lack of motion. Draco bends down to take a look at the tire, his hands grazing its surface. He takes a long, determined pause.

“Is there… a spell for this?” He asks sheepishly.

“You’re joking, right? You can’t use magic out here.” Theo answers, gesturing to the busy highway passing by you. He saunters over to you, pulling you in his arms.

“Sorry, bella. I’ll buy you a snack after we fix this.” He rests his head on top of yours as you breathe in his scent.

An idea occurs to you, luckily, just as Lorenzo picks a fight with Theo over who’s buying you lunch.

You walk back to where Draco is and kneel beside him as he continues to observe the tire with defeat in his eyes.

“Draco darling,” you start, instantly winning his affection. His ice blue stare melts into yours as you rest a hand on his knee. “Do you have a spare?”

“A spare what?”

Your eyes close briefly in impatience, willing yourself to understand his privileged upbringing. Instead of asking again, you stand up and proceed to check the trunk for a tire. And to your surprise, you find one.

The other boys are too distracted trying to come up with solutions and trying to flag down other cars to notice your initiative. Draco helps you roll it to the side of the car, looking hesitant as you kneel back down.

“Tools?” You ask.

“Tools!” He affirms, quickly making his way back with a box of everything you need. “You sure you know how to-” he starts, cut off by your annoyed glare.

“Are you underestimating me, Malfoy?” To which he merely shakes his head and swallows, regretting his question and watching you return to the task before you.

“Can I help?” Draco coos, his eyes filled with apology.

“You just sit there and look pretty. Oh, and make sure those morons don’t get run over.” You joke, throwing a wink his way. He stands up and gathers the other boys, assuring them you’re going to be on the road again soon.

“You’re making her change the tire?!” Lorenzo yells, completely appalled.

“She’s our only hope right now, Enzo. You want to walk the extra eight miles to fetch her a sandwich?” Draco grits his teeth while scolding the boy. You give Enzo a shrug and a sympathetic look in return.

After a solid fifteen minutes, the new tire is installed and ready to go.

You find the boys sitting in the field, laughing uncontrollably and generally… enjoying each other. Which, for the first time on this trip, is extremely refreshing.

“Hey lovebirds!” You call from the side of the car, gesturing to your job well done. All four heads turn, once again, in unison in your direction. Mattheo the first to physically stand up, running over to you and nearly tackling you over.

He lifts you up and spins you in his arms while the others admire your finished product. Lorenzo pipes in first.

“Jeez, Y/N, where’d you learn to do that?”

“Gods, and I thought I couldn’t fall more in love with her.” Theo swoons.

“I told you she has a brilliant brain,” Mattheo remarks.

“While the lot of you were having playdates in mansions, I was out in the country. My father taught me how to get out of almost any situation.” You respond, the group looking at you like they worship you.

“C’mere you gorgeous thing,” Draco beckons, the rest of them crowding around you for the first and only group hug they’ve ever performed.

“Our fucking hero, principessa.” Theo declares. “We wouldn’t last two days without you, you know.”

“Oh, I know.” You state with the utmost confidence and a dramatic eye roll.

The tightness of their arms envelopes you, and you realize suddenly this might not have been the best idea. Your small celebration is quickly ambushed by the boys.

“Who’s touching my arse?”

“No one wants to touch your arse, you idiot.”

“Hey, don’t talk shit about Matty’s arse,” Theo joins in.

“Oh, that’s rich coming from you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Aren’t you supposed to be buying us lunch?”

“No, I’m supposed to be buying Y/N lunch.” Theo grabs you and pulls you away from the group, earning a playful yelp from you.

“My brilliant bella. What would we do without you?”

You look back at your boys; your helpless and immature, yet loving and fiercely loyal boys.

“I have no answer for you, Theo. I don’t want to imagine a life without you.”

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

[xshadowdelta]

Witch

Irene x Male Reader (3.6K Length)

"Hey rookie, it’s time to work."

You stood up and left that small service room, in whose sign was written 'Authorized Service Only'.

It was your first week in this new summer job as a bellboy at the most famous 5-star hotel, right in the middle of the city with a huge amount of guests every day. You got here thanks to a friend’s recommendation, not your dream job, but you really needed the money, and the pay was juicy. You arrived at the reception hall where your manager was standing next to a mountain of suitcases, feeling as if your soul wanted to leave your body seeing all those bags.

"Miss Bae Joohyun’s luggage, room 362, as soon as possible, she is waiting for it."

It took you a while to place every one of the suitcases in the luggage birdcage, using every skill you had in the Tetris game to not drop them. Then you took the elevator to the third floor, and once there, you drove until you reached the indicated room by your senior.

You knocked on the door and fixed the wrinkles in your jacket, since your first day, the manager had been very insistent on looking perfect in front of the clients. You heard the sound of the door opening and forced one of your best smiles,

"Good morning, Miss Bae, here is your luggage."

The woman in front of you didn’t say a single word as she scanned you up and down, just a slight head move to give you permission to get inside the room, meanwhile, she continues with the phone call in which she was involved.

Oh yeah, another rich middle-aged woman with a major superiority complex. You frowned and let out a whisper that only you could hear.

"Witch…"

But you have a job to do, so you entered the suite along with the luggage and began to unstack all the suitcases.

You looked back at the woman who was now standing, looking at the beautiful views offered by the windows of that room. She was speaking in a foreign language, maybe korean.

Yet you managed to understand the word "stylist" and it gave you the feeling that the person on the other side of the line was getting a good scold.

You could only see the profile of her face, enough to detect a serious and cold expression that you didn't like at all, but still you had to admit that she was a very beautiful woman.

The work was finished at the same time she ended the call. Your eyes met for a moment, and you felt a shiver run through your body. You gave her a small bow before saying goodbye.

"Have a good stay with us, Miss Bae, we are at your disposal." You were already close to the door when her voice stopped you.

"Wait a moment, please."

Another smile was forced in your face before turning on your feet to come face to face with her.

"Do you need anything else?"

"Here is your tip."

She got some bills out of her wallet and offered them to you. You hesitated at first, but you ended up taking them, and for the first time, your smile was a genuine one. You save them in the pocket of your uniform, ready to finally leave that room.

"By the way, just from one look, have you been able to deduce that I am a witch?" Suddenly, your breathing stopped, and your skin tone turned pale white. You were sure you had said it quietly enough for her not to hear that.

"Being a woman as important as me. I must be alert to everything that happens around me, don’t you think?”

Cool, now she can read minds, definitely a witch.

"I apologize, Miss Bae, it was never my intention to hurt your feelings." Your voice trembled, knowing you could be fired because of this.

"Feelings? I put them aside many years ago."

The confusion on your face was notorious, your eyes followed her to see how she took a seat, watching you with a scary look. Another shiver ran down your spine. Running away from there was not a good idea, first because it wouldn't solve anything and would make you look like a coward, but the truth is that you wanted to disappear from the world at that moment.

On the other hand, you could just cry like a baby begging for her forgiveness, that would certainly be ridiculous, but it would save your ass from a guaranteed dismissal.

"Miss Bae…"

"Don’t tell me. Do you want us to forget this incident, right?"

Her face was cold, and her words sounded like ice, sinking deeper and deeper into your chest. But you couldn't articulate a single word, just nodded your head.

For a small period of time, you thought that a halo of kindness would take over her, and she would give in to your request to forgive you, but kindness wasn't in the dictionary of Bae Joohyun.

"Get naked"

It took you a few seconds to understand the request she had just made. She didn't take long to repeat. "What are you waiting for? Get naked"

"WHAT?"

That scream only made her angrier, hitting the ground with her foot, impatient. Her look did not change at any time, she continued staring at you, challenging you.

"I see, you don’t care about this job, so…"

"Wait…"

Your hands started to move, and your uniform jacket fell to the floor. You continued unbuttoning your shirt, making your naked torso visible.

Next was taking off your shoes so you could get rid of your pants that would accompany the rest of the clothes on the floor, leaving you in underwear under the watchful eye of Mrs. Joohyun, who now had a slight mischievous smile while looking at you.

"I think we have a different concept about nudity."

You looked down at your nether area, and then your eyes returned to her. She was really trying to humiliate you in every way. "Everything?"

The coldness of her gaze was enough of an answer for you, making you slide your hands over your boxers, leaving you now completely naked. "Now I want you to stay there, don’t move and pay attention."

You felt like you were about to faint right there when you saw that woman spread her legs on the couch, raising her dress to reveal her panties, which she pushed aside.

She was showing you her naked pussy before she started caressing it with her hand. You couldn't believe your eyes, a minute ago you were fired, and now you had an incredibly hot woman masturbating herself right in front of you. Joohyun licked his own hand as she stroked herself fast, starting to moan with no shame. Despite finding yourself in this complicated situation, watching this show made your body react, and your penis was already completely erect. You tried to move one of your hands towards your penis, but Joohyun's voice stopped you. "Told you to, don't move!" "Remember that your job is at risk."

Then she inserted two of her fingers inside her pussy to stimulate herself more. Hear her loud moans, and the watery sound due to the humidity of her vagina was driving you crazy.

Joohyun continued like this for a few minutes that seemed like an eternity, Meanwhile, you were praying that this torture would come to an end, and miraculously she would decide to forgive you and run away out of there, straight to the employee bathroom to masturbate yourself, thinking about what you were experiencing at this moment.

"Come here" She demanded in an authoritarian tone, and you approached until you were right in front of her, which didn't stop her from continuing to pleasure herself.

"On your knees."

Now, your face was practically a few centimeters from her pussy, but you didn't expect Joohyun to let out one last pleasure scream, squirting directly on you.

You closed your eyes at time, however, now your face was covered by Joohyun fluids, who was now breathing tiredly but still looking at you, with a serious expression on her face.

“Wow”

Was the only thing you could say, you were in shock after what had just happened. You ran your hand over your face, trying to clean up the mess, licking a couple of your fingers in the process.

"Delicious"

"What have you said?" She was stunned, and her voice tone sounded even more enraged.

"You are delicious, Mrs. Bae."

That answer made her get up from the couch in a bad mood. She walked to the pile of your clothes on the floor and grabbed the tie that minutes ago had surrounded your neck, but now was being used to tie your hands at your back.

"What are you doing?" You asked, standing up.

She stood next to you and, without warning, grabbed your still erect penis with one of her hands, making you gasp.

"You keep saying vulgarities, you need a real punishment."

She whispered in your ear, starting to masturbate your penis slowly, making you moan a little bit. She was increasing the pace, stroking you with both hands at the same time.

"You were supposed to feel humiliation, and instead you had the courage to taste my fluids and the nerve to say 'delicious.'  I have never met someone like you, you are quite a challenge."

Your brain was unable to say anything as it was busy moaning in pleasure at Jonghyun's touch.

"Mrs. Bae, I'm about to…"

"Don't you even dare, now it's my turn to taste you."

She stopped touching you and crouched on her knees in front of you. She looked up, straight into your eyes, you saw that look again, that no longer seemed so cold, but immediately closed your eyes because of the immense pleasure you felt when her mouth devoured your cock.

Your body staggered, and you cursed for having your hands tied at that moment. You opened your eyes again only to see how she sucked your cock over and over again at an accelerated but constant pace, damn, you were in heaven.

She grabbed your balls, and at the same time she was sucking you, pressing on them, making you feel a mixture of pain and pleasure.

"Fuck, you have a good dick here."

She spit on your cock, going back to masturbate you, making wet your entire length, so that now when she sucked you, she also slurped some saliva.

“Mrs. Bae…”

She stopped for a second and looked into your eyes again.

"Irene…call me Irene."

The beat of your heart increased because of that, a feeling that was quickly replaced by another wave of pleasure when you noticed how she reintroduced your penis into her mouth, now even reaching his throat, causing her to choke on your cock.

You looked at the ceiling, trying to hold on as long as possible, wishing this moment would never end, then you felt a pinch of pain in your thighs, so you looked down again.

Your eyes found the view of Irene grabbing your thighs with her nails and the entirety of your cock inside her mouth, with some tears welling up in her eyes. She closed her eyes and started moving her head back and forth. You could say she was using you to fuck her own throat.

She stopped to take a breath, but immediately lifted your cock with one of his hands and began licking your balls desperately. "Keep looking at me or this will end here."

It was the first instruction that you would gladly follow.

She ran her tongue along the entire length, licking every inch before giving your tip a special treatment and taking it back into her mouth, this time masturbating you with her hands at the same time as she sucked you off. That made you about to explode.

"Irene…" You managed to say between several moans.

Then she let it off from her mouth again and masturbated you fiercely with both hands, looking at you with lust. She opened her mouth as wide as she could, sticking her tongue out. You knew what she wanted.

There was no need to say anything else. A few more seconds, and you let out a huge load of semen that fell directly into his mouth and face, squeezing until the last drop fell.

Irene's face was now a real mess. She had managed to swallow part of your cum, but other threads of semen fell near her eyes and part of her hair. She didn't mind at all, she was busy cleaning your cock now.

She got up a little later, walking until she stood behind you again, untying the knot that was imprisoning your hands. She took one of your hands and dragged you to another room in the suite, the bedroom with a huge bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she caught your attention again.

"Do you want to keep this job?"

Once again, you nodded your head.

"If you can make me have an orgasm, I'll pretend none of this ever happened, you understand?”

"Loud and clear."

You tried to hide your nervousness as best you could and mentally preparing yourself to give her the greatest effort of your life, your future depended on what happened in the next few minutes.

You took a few steps towards the direction where she was, she was imposing, she was scary, yes, but at the same time, you had a sensation running through your body that you had never experienced before, and you wanted to go until the end.

You bent your head straight to kiss his neck. She let out a sigh, a good sign, you deduced. You trailed kisses along his neck at the same time that your hands roamed her body.

"Not bad, but this is nothing out of this world."

You shouldn't rush, she was provoking you, you knew it. Make a mistake, and it will be over. However, you also knew how to play that game.

"Excuse my clumsiness, Mrs. Bae, my job consists of transporting suitcases, not to sexually satisfy clients, even so you seemed to have enjoyed my cock."

Your lips now kissed the part of her naked chest that was not covered by her dress.

"Even now you are still behaving like a reckless, shut the fuck up and take me off this damn dress…now."

She raised her arms, so the dress came out more comfortably, her black lace bra was still annoying, but with a deft movement it quickly disappeared as well, leaving you with the view of her naked tits.

Your mouth quickly acted as shelter for her boobs, drawing loud moans from Irene. Her hands traveled to the back of your head, pressing you closer against them.

"Just like that, fuck, work on these fucking little tits."

You sucked her boobs and licked her nipples, which at this point were really hard by the moves of your tongue. With every second that passed, Irene became more moldable under your touch.

At that moment, you took advantage of to move one of your hands to her lower zone, totally wet after the first session, you touched her pussy over her panties using circular movements.

"So fucking wet, Miss Bae." You said it with a superior tone.

"Told you to shut up." She was getting angry again.

"As you wish."

You replied and suddenly kissed her lips. Irene opened her eyes in surprise, but it didn't take long for her to respond to the kiss with even more energy, until both of you got separated to take a breath.

"It's funny, men are usually afraid of me, and I love to create that feeling in them, but it also makes them never dare to kiss me. I almost forgot how kisses felt." She said with a half-smile on her face, touching her swollen lips.

"In that case, let me help you remember."

You said, emboldened, kissing her again with passion, making her respond with the same lust and starting a battle of tongues inside your mouths. You lost your balance due to the fury of the kisses, and you fell on top of her when her back hit the bed.

When you separated from her again, you could see how her messy hair had fallen on her sweaty forehead and her cheeks were completely red, but you were surprised by her smile, this time it was a full formed and sincere smile.

"Show me what else can do that mouth of yours."

You kissed her lips again, a quick kiss this time, which was followed by another path of kisses all over her body until you reached her panties, you managed to take them off to finally see her naked pussy.

You kissed her thighs previously before sinking your face against her area, making her moan louder than ever. Your tongue moved fiercely against her pussy folds as Irene's screams filled the room.

"Don't stop, don't even dare to stop."

You were giving your best to make her feel good. Her moans, screams, and bad words only motivated you to continue doing this with more intensity. Having your tongue a rest, you quickly replaced it with your fingers, masturbating her with all your strength.

"Holy fuuuuuck, I’m cuming!" She screamed, curving her back and, once again, squirting a lot from her pussy, messing part of the edge of the bed and the bedroom floor.

She had now difficulty breathing correctly, and her chest was up and down again, trying to calm herself. Your fingers once again caressed her pussy, this time doing it so slowly. You approached to kiss her once again.

"Irene"

You called, so both of you noticed your penis fully recovered, ready for more rounds. She smiled at you, turning around, remaining face down, then you stared at her trained ass.

"Come on, what are you waiting for? Fuck me".

Your penis got excited hearing those words. You stood up immediately to stand behind her. Grabbing her hips and aligning yourself with her pussy, inserting your entire length at once into Irene's pussy.

"God, you're so tight." You moaned, starting to thrust into her.

"Yes, fuck, stretch my fucking pussy with your big cock."

"Holy shit, Mrs. Bae."

You increased your thrusts, making everything more and more primitive, to the point that your balls were colliding with her hips every time you buried your length inside her.

Irene couldn't stop moaning and screaming, grabbing the bedsheets with her hands while moving her hips to give more depth to your moves.

You didn't hesitate to grab one of her ass cheeks tightly with one of your hands and then give her a slap that echoed through the room and made the woman scream. You repeated it a few more times, having the same result.

"This is what you wanted, right? A witch like you just wanted to be fucked this hard."

One more spank to her already red ass, drove Irene crazy.

"Yes! Fuck yes, fuck me please! Don't stop now! Use my witch pussy however you want."

You kissed her neck from behind and ran your tongue down her back as your hips moved at a constant pace for a longer period of time.

"Wait." she said between moans. "I want to see you."

You took out your cock off her, allowing her to turn around, giving her another passionate kiss, you took her hips and brought her closer to the edge of the bed, sitting there, she opened her legs for you.

You entered inside her again, resuming your task of fucking her hard, Irene wrapped her arms around your head, moving a little on the bed, allowing you to fuck her deeper.

"So fucking deep." She sighs, closing her eyes.

When she opened them again, she met your eyes, making her blush a bit. You didn't ignore it and brought your lips closer to hers, touching them but not kissing her.

"Mrs. Bae, I'm about to cum." She took your face in her hands, smiling.

"Inside me, until the last drop… I need it."

That was the last thing you needed, Irene hugged you and in a last effort you fucked her harder than ever until you shot all your cum inside her pussy, making both of you reach an orgasm. Both of you really had made a mess.

Irene laid on the bed, still shaking, with one of her arms covering her face. You laid to next to her, looking directly at her.

"Don't worry, today is a safe day."

"That’s fine of course but wasn't my real concern."

Irene lowered her arm and stared at you for a few moments, her eyes widening as if she had forgotten the reason of this. He pretended to cough in an attempt to hide her mistake by sitting back on the bed.

"Yes, about that… You did your part, so I'll do mine, and I promise I won't say anything about what happened here."

Feeling a big relief at that moment, you didn't say anything more than "thank you" to get out of bed in search of your work clothes. You had a schedule to complete.

"I will stay here for a few days because of work."

You left your shirt half buttoned to watch as Irene leaned against the door frame, now wearing a bathrobe from the bathroom.

"Maybe you can offer me this special service again." Her mischievous smile made your face get one, too. "I am at your total disposal, Mrs. Bae."

[lo1k-diamonds]

Be as it must 💜 Part 3

“Is there more to learn about you, Jungkook?”

PAIRING: Alpha!Jungkook x Omega(f)reader

SUMMARY: You try to resist the CEO's charms, but it's hard... At least until the other shoe drops.

WORD COUNT: 8.9 k

GENRE: ABO, strangers to lovers, fated lovers, smut

RATING: R (explicit)

WARNINGS: tension and teasing, and angst

A.N. A huge thank you to @moonleeai for the beta read💜 This was never supposed to be so long, but I'm a fan of making the reader fall in love too... Before the bomb drops 💣 Enjoy 😉

Masterlist | Masterpost | AO3 | Wattpad | < Previous Chapter | Next Chapter >

You thought getting kidnapped would be the most bizarre experience you had ever been through, but it seemed like CEO Jeon Jungkook had other thoughts.

If it wasn’t weird that you entered his gigantic Seoul building while unconscious and tied up, it had to be that you exited escorted by the man himself, right into a car that you had only ever seen on television. You shrunk into the back seat, not only feeling weird with the surrounding spacious, immaculate leather, but with the fact that beyond the smoked glass, the CEO was telling something to the driver before he got inside the car.

You refused to look back to confirm whether the CEO had stayed put, watching you go; instead, you closed your eyes and heaved a deep sigh. It was outlandish that you wanted to turn around and see him there, as if you needed reassurance, when in truth, he was part of the problem.

You thought the weirdness would end there, which led you to look outside the window and see the tall buildings reflecting the city lights as the car moved. He was your boss, after all. If anything, he did need you to deal with the American consortium negotiations. And you trusted his word; he said you could leave once it was all said and done, so you weren’t a prisoner.

But you did not expect what he had planned for you.

“CEO Jeon has asked me to convey to you that he means to assure your comfort,” the man, Seung Ji-Young, said after introducing himself as the CEO’s driver and assistant, looking at you through the rearview mirror. You raised an eyebrow. ��Given the circumstances, he has made arrangements to have a series of boutiques welcome you so you may relax and feel right at home.”

Your forehead creased as you took a glance at the time displayed on the dashboard, “At this hour?”

“Of course.”

You blinked, glancing again — 20:25. You shook your head, “Why would I need clothes? Unless—” You leaned forward, “What happened to my luggage?”

“We have it, rest assured.”

You couldn’t stop frowning at the weirdness of it all, “Right.”

“If there is somewhere else you’d like to go to relax, like a spa, it is not a problem. I’ve been instructed to drive you wherever you’d like.”

Your lips became an uneasy line, “No, I’m fine.”

The man nodded as he drove with a serious demeanor, “Then may I suggest a Michelin star—”

“No,” you interrupted swiftly, afraid that his offers would never stop. “Just— Just take me home— I mean, where I’m supposed to sleep.”

“Certainly.”

You groaned mutely and rubbed your eyes; now, even you were talking weirdly. But could anyone blame you after everything that had happened?

You stayed quiet as the car drove smoothly through narrower and narrower streets. Despite trusting what the CEO had said, you couldn’t help the uneasiness twisting your guts.

Finally, the car entered an underground garage and you were able to breathe. Mr Seung circled the car to get your small luggage from the back, including your handbag, and you bowed in relief, finding in it all your very important documents and belongings. It certainly comforted you enough to follow Mr Seung across the parking lot and into the elevator with a renewed sureness that you were not a prisoner.

“Would you like to go straight to your suite or take a look at the amenities first?”

His voice was as gentle as ever, and you tried to offer him a small smile, “Straight to bed would be best.” He pressed the keypad to select the 48th floor, and you frowned again, “Shouldn’t I check in first?”

“You mean with the concierge? No, he’s aware of your presence and available 24 hours in case you need anything.”

Your mouth opened, but you quickly closed it; maybe the CEO owned an apartment. That would justify why you weren’t at a hotel right now. You honestly didn’t care as long as you could put that day behind you.

The final straw took form in the quiet, gentle explanation of Mr Seung, “The amenities at your disposal include the residence lounge, gym, movie theater, swimming pool and spa. The latter includes a sauna, whirlpool, jet bath, and steam room at any hour, while the massages and skin and body treatments are available during the day. Of course, given the circumstances, a call can be made to arrange any treatment of your preference within the hour. Anything from a massage to a mud bath can be arranged; please don’t hesitate.”

You nodded respectfully while you screamed in your head — why was this happening? You just wanted your head to hit the pillows. The exhaustion taking over your mind was rendering you out of order, yet that ahjussi was so nice. Why was it all so hard?

“Ah, here we are,” he said as the elevator came to a stop gently with a sweet voice announcing the floor over the speakers. 

You exited the elevator first, though you waited for Mr Seung to indicate to you which of the two doors was intended for you and to type the code in.

Once the door opened, you entered and braced yourself with eyes so wide they were twice the size. The stairs to your left indicated you were in a duplex penthouse, but it was the open concept of the space that floored you. Oak herringbone floors expanded into a panoramic view through floor-to-ceiling windows from one side of the building to the other. The soft touches of the white furniture and long couch in the living room extended into the dining room with a long glass table with an exorbitant vase of flowers that brought a heart stopping pop of color.

You blinked, befuddled, at the luxury surrounding you, and Mr Seung passed by you to indicate the next room, “There is the kitchen, should you need to arrange something, and a private terrace for your enjoyment as well.”

You glanced over the natural stone tops in shades of pure white matching the cabinets and circled the island to check what he was talking about. The view continued on that side of the building, leaving you speechless. From that high, the world looked small. It was as if that place was out of touch with reality.

“But perhaps you’d like to see the guest suite,” he smiled, and you just nodded.

You followed him back towards the staircase, ready to pick up your luggage, when he waved at a paper on the foyer table.

“CEO Jeon wanted you to know the password so you can make use of the apartment as you please. He’s also asked me to inform you that everything is at your disposal, including all snacks and beverages.”

You blinked, trying to keep up through the stupor, “How did he have time to fill up the pantry?”

You were wondering more to yourself, but Mr Seung chuckled, “We do it for him, of course. He particularly likes shrimp crackers, but I’m sure he won’t mind if you take some.”

You could only frown as though the information was odd. Mr Seung grabbed your luggage and started his way up the stairs, and you finally managed to say, “He lives here?”

“Of course, he owns the building.”

He didn’t stop, thus missing the way your grimace spelled a What?! with furrowed eyebrows, wide eyes and parted lips. You looked around you once more, taking in the crazy luxury surrounding you before hurrying up the stairs. You thought he had booked a hotel room for you, at most owned an empty apartment, and that was already in the realm of stupidly crazy rich. But what did he mean, the CEO lived here? Here, as in the building? Or here, as in—

Your breath caught as you reached the upper floor. The wall that faced the floor-to-ceiling window was entirely covered by a dark blue tapestry with glistening silver stars surrounding a central half-moon serving as the base of a vibrant orange tiger lily, shining brighter than any celestial bodies around it. You swallowed hard and looked at the master room across from where Mr Seung had disappeared with your luggage. Someone lived there, and you didn’t need more than the half-moon and dark blue colors to remember the Jeon Family emblem. Still, if that wasn’t enough, his scent reaching your nose told you everything you needed to know.

“Here you have it, the guest suite.”

Mr Seung was smiling as he opened the door to a walk-in closet, a small office, and then, across the room, to the ensuite bathroom. Meanwhile, a view as breathtaking as downstairs greeted you, and you continued to be flabbergasted. 

“I thought he meant a hotel…” you whispered.

“CEO Jeon wanted to make sure of your comfort personally.” 

You glanced at the man, and it was only because he seemed dead serious, almost concerned, that you didn’t throw your hands to the ceiling. Who cared about what the CEO wanted?! You were tired! And overwhelmed! And done with everything being blown out of proportion!

“But, of course, if you are dissatisfied, I can arrange for a five-star—”

“No, no, please,” you found yourself raising a hand and closing your eyes, begging him to stop. “I’ll stay, this is fine. No, perfect. It’s perfect, I’m perfectly happy.”

Mr Seung’s eyes instantly softened, as though you being pleased comforted him deeply. “I’m glad to hear it. I’m usually available to drive CEO Jeon at 6 AM, but should you require me to be available earlier, I’d be happy to assist you.”

You stared at the man, speechless. How was he so kind and sweet, and where did he come from?

“No, I— I can get to the office by mys—” You bit your tongue, then raked your hair back. What was the point, really? “I normally go to the office around eight thirty, so please don’t hurry because of me. I need to sleep. Badly.”

You huffed the last words, but Mr Seung stiffened as though he had been stung, “Of course, I won’t hold you any longer. Have a good night.”

He bowed deeply, making you rush to do the same before he left quietly. Your fingers gripped your hair roots as you looked around you — what the fuck? The incredible cityscape view, the suite that was probably your apartment size, the room across from yours where CEO Jeon slept… Everything was just surreal.

You woke up the next morning with a renewed vitality. Not because that was the best bed you had ever slept in, the biggest shower you had ever used, or the most delicious breakfast you had ever had, but because you had processed things. CEO Jeon Jungkook was an alpha of the Jeon Family who, through medieval means, had committed a crime based solely on your blood. Your rare designation did not excuse it, and as such, he was trying his best to accommodate you to prevent you from causing a scene, suing, exposing, or all of the above. There was a potential additional agenda that involved the traditional matching of an omega to an alpha, but you were in the XXI century. Alphas didn’t have to be with omegas, rare as they were, and you would not be coerced into engaging in such ancient customs. CEO Jeon would respect your wishes, and you believed his word.

He had even entered and left his own apartment without a word or a sound. You had slept like a rock — perhaps surprisingly, you felt safe there — but you had expected to see him at breakfast, at least. In the end, the only proof you had of his fleeting presence was the closed bedroom door and dirty coffee mug at the head of the dining table. You almost felt bad for potentially making him uncomfortable, but then remembered this was all his fault. Plus, he probably made Mr Seung drive him at 6 AM, which was also barbaric.

It brought a smile to your face to see Mr Seung’s happiness when you told him how you had rested well. You believed his care ran deeper than any CEO Jeon’s order, though you couldn’t help wondering if it was because he knew of your designation.

Fortunately, at the office, such things didn’t matter. As soon as you said your name to one of the secretaries on the last floor, she instantly provided you with your own office and badge, explaining how everything worked. You were used to sharing an office, but you had decided not to complain. Live and let live. If the CEO wanted to overbear you with such things, you’d accept them quietly. You just needed to do your job and leave.

Your laptop remained your own, so entering the workflow was seamless. You were pleased to find all the information about the rescheduled meetings, and emails about other projects you were working on. You even made sure to check in and reassure Yoon Minsik, your mentor, before attending the first in-person meeting with the legal team of that office.

Although you had only met most of them online, it was a cordial and nice moment before starting what you hoped would be a fruitful meeting. But then CEO Jeon arrived.

Before, you were just a member of the team, participating in meetings you’d otherwise attend online. After he entered the room, however, you were an omega in the presence of an alpha who easily disrupted the flow of the conversation. 

You didn’t believe he did it on purpose, in his defense. You could smell humans amongst the team, and even they were affected by the CEO’s presence. What you’d like to say is that you, contrary to them, were not impacted in any way, but that was not the case.

You had to clear your voice as you spoke and actively force yourself to pretend he wasn’t there. Inwardly, you kept reassuring yourself that it was just that department meeting to coordinate ongoing projects. He wasn’t usually there, but maybe he had made an exception this time.

Only CEO Jeon was present in every meeting.

It was exhausting to focus on each different project and give your best while trying to ignore him. Not that he spoke a lot, but when he did, it threw your attention completely off. He looked so fine. That black designer suit framed his large shoulders deliciously, making every move as evident as possible. Making you imagine what it would be like to be caged in by said arms, embracing you as if—

“Hey!”

You blinked and looked away as everyone got up from their chairs. You should have noticed the meeting ended and that the CEO had been forced to leave, called by that woman, his secretary — Sunhwa.

You faced one of your colleagues, who was smiling expectantly, “Should we have lunch together?”

It was easy to accede and join her and the team, but your thoughts remained on Sunhwa. She wasn’t present in the meetings, but you had noticed her easily because every single time you had to move between meeting rooms — and the CEO did the same — she showed up to talk to him, pass him a file, or just accompany him. To the point you wondered if he needed a bodyguard and heard whispers of other people potentially commenting the same. You couldn’t help feeling bad for her; you couldn’t decide if she was jealous of you, with all the stink eyes she threw your way at every chance, or overzealous.

Regardless, you thought it didn’t matter because, in the afternoon, things would be different. Those meetings would be all about the American consortium negotiations, both internal and external, and you ran those without the presence of the CEO.

You had to huff quietly as he pulled the chair next to you, oddly sharing with you the head of that meeting room table. Except for a glance and polite smile, you didn’t give him any more of your attention. It was unsettling enough if your boss would accompany you to every meeting as if to assess your worth, but the fact that he was so close, with big brown eyes trained on you while his scent made your head spin… It made it a thousand times harder.

Still, you braved through the meeting, expecting things to go well because that was your element. What you didn’t count on were his interruptions.

“I’m certain we don’t need to renegotiate the time window; they will surely accept it.”

“Have we established concrete rules for the use of prototypes?”

“What about intellectual rights? As the manufacturer, shouldn’t we obtain the rights to all procedures that we optimize during development?”

Your expression softened, “According to agreement stipulations, by signing, we commit to safely keep their intellectual property, which includes all manufacturing processes. If these are optimized, they will be added to the patent. We will, of course, negotiate appropriate compensation should that happen, including access to prototypes and benefits should the production cost or time be reduced.”

The room was quiet after you spoke, but you had forgotten about them. Instead, your eyes were fixed on the CEO’s. Very round and very big, almost sparkling at you, entirely taken by what you had said. His gaze was curious, intense and interested, so you couldn’t be mad about his disruptions.

Still, you sighed. He was distracting.

“Let’s proceed to the financial section,” you asked, waving at the appropriate head of the department to speak up. 

The CEO tapped his tablet to jump to the appropriate page of the document, clearing his throat, and you subtly leaned to whisper into his ear, “Focus.”

Your eyes met when you pulled back, and it was like the record changed. If his questions seemed chaotic and somewhat disconnected before, now they were spot on. From one meeting to the other, including with the American company representatives, every comment was precise, demonstrating flawlessly why the Jeon conglomerate was unavoidable in the South Korean industry.

You were secretly impressed, though you expected nothing less. Perhaps the way you had managed to work together so seamlessly in front of the American company representatives was surprising, but you imagined that a pro like him could make it work with anyone. He wasn’t nicknamed good at everything for nothing.

You assumed he was pleased, too, when the video call ended, and he leaned back into his chair, laughing quietly. His glee made you smile as you gathered your things and closed your laptop, observing everyone else in the room calling it a day while you wondered if Mr Seung would take you home. It was silly of you, but with everything that happened, you didn’t even memorize the address—

“That was so smooth. I think we floored them,” he grinned, getting up to his feet as though he was even more energized than before.

You chuckled and nodded, putting your laptop in your bag. Maybe that was so, but you were ready to go home.

“Have dinner with me.”

You stopped shy of closing the bag and looked at him instantly, batting your eyelashes with all your befuddlement.

“We have to celebrate,” he continued, and his grin reemerged as though he couldn’t contain it.

“They haven’t signed it yet,” you were quiet, instinctively reasoning with him despite not even being able to fully think right now.

He chuckled, “But they will, no doubt. I’m sure we will have a response by tomorrow and a verbal agreement shortly after.”

You nodded and looked down, unable to stop the way your body reacted. He was taller than you, broad, all-encompassing, and smelled strong, sweet...dizzying. There were two sides to that moment: who he was — so destabilizing, you thought there was no avoiding it — and what he was saying — so professional, when you wanted to forget all about it.

Fortunately, in your hazed mind, the latter won. “We’ll wrap up sooner, and I’ll get to return to Busan faster, then.”

Your entranced eyes captured the way his jaw hardened easily. His eyes sparked differently, with a look to them that caused a tingle to go down your spine, but he nodded, “Indeed. So dinner tonight.”

His tone implied you were just giving him more reasons to insist, and the corners of your lips twitched mischievously. Maybe you were; it was hard to resist.

“CEO Jeon?”

You stiffened like you had just been caught stealing candy and didn’t bother to look. You forced the zipper closed and grabbed your bag, purposefully pushing what Sunhwa was telling the CEO to fade with the background noise. Whatever it was, maybe it was a good thing — you needed distance to think, too.

You bowed to both on your way out and didn’t mean to spare a glance, but his voice beckoned you to look back, “Mr Seung is in the parking lot, please go with him.”

You nodded, meaning to appease the worry in his voice and eyes, and melted when you succeeded. His features instantly returned to a confident, dazzling smile before turning to Sunhwa about whatever work-related issue she was referring to, and you had to swallow. You shouldn’t be so attuned to how he felt; it didn’t make any sense. Still, as you made your way to his apartment with his driver, all you could think was that you never officially accepted his invitation.

Jungkook nodded after Mr Seung confirmed that he had dropped you off safely at the apartment, where you had stayed for the last three hours. You hadn’t requested to go anywhere in particular, and arrangements had been made for dinner, so he could relax.

He sighed as he closed his eyes and let the purr of the car lull him. He knew it would be an interesting day, but not even his wildest dreams could have prepared him for it.

First, arriving home the night before to the faint trace of your sweet jasmine scent absolutely threw him off. The whole night he had to keep himself in check; no, he couldn’t follow your delicate perfume to your bed, touch you, or claim you. You probably didn’t trust him after the way you ended up there, and he wasn’t a creep. He could reign in his primal urge and leave the decision up to you. He could show you that being next to him was fate, as intrinsically inescapable as the Earth and Moon orbiting each other. You’d realize that soon enough and ask him to touch you instead.

He could barely sleep, so his second move was to leave the apartment as soon as humanly possible. He needed to review everything about the projects you were working on, plus get his work out of the way so he could attend every meeting of yours and watch you in your element.

Jungkook was frankly impressed; you were like a fish in water, navigating every topic and hurdle effortlessly. He wasn’t sure you noticed how everyone quieted down to listen to you and obliged and interacted every time you requested it, but it was a wonder to see. If he hadn’t smelled your designation, he would have wondered what kind of woman conducted such ease and readiness.

Unfortunately, you were also incredibly distracting. Not only was he probably not of use to you in your work, but he was also falling behind in the slightest with his duties. Sunhwa kept reminding him, of course, and he appreciated it, but he couldn’t bring himself to worry about anything else.

Which made him wonder if you’d be a liability and not an asset if you stayed. However, that was a fleeting thought because as soon as it emerged, it evaporated when you whispered into his ear, “Focus.”

The whiff of your scent hit him so hard he had to close his eyes so no one would see them rolling back. Then he faced you, and your gaze did something to him. It was strong and encouraging, and he was set. Suddenly, he could focus. His mind was clear and everything just worked.

It was incredible, inebriating; better than hitting the jackpot, it was like you were his focus token that increased his abilities by two hundred percent. So inviting you to dinner was as easy as breathing. You mentioning Busan again almost ruined his mood, but then you obliged with big, starry eyes when he asked you to drive with Mr Seung in the exact spot he was in now, going home to you, and he couldn’t help the widest grin. He hadn’t lost you, not yet.

He knew it was late, and he wouldn’t dream of keeping you starving while waiting for him. Your shoes and handbag were by the entrance, so he knew you were inside. There was noise from the kitchen, though that couldn’t be you, so he jumped on the couch and heaved a deep breath, closing his eyes. He loved the sweet scent that lingered around the house because of you; it instantly relaxed him but also gave him a push. Maybe he should check on you—

He heard steps down the stairs at the same time his personal chef exited the kitchen to inform him dinner was ready and on the table.

“Would you like me to stay and serve?”

Jungkook dismissed the chef swiftly and quietly, acknowledging their head bow just in time to turn to you. His hand was on the noose of his tie, instantly loosening it as his mouth watered. He was starving, but it wasn’t food on his mind as he ate up the view.

You were wearing something quite professional — black dress pants with a silk blouse that was a hint of blue. He would have thought you too formal if it weren’t for your bare feet stepping quietly on the wood floor, along with your still-humid hair falling in waves over your shoulders and chest. But like this, he could only smile at you entering the living room and imagine you jumping into his arms to welcome him home after a long day. Then, what you wore wouldn’t matter, not because he’d be free to undress you, but because with your touch, everything would feel whole.

You bowed politely to the chef, watching them go, and it gave Jungkook a moment of clarity: what he felt was beyond simple interest. It wasn’t fascination or attraction, it was everything combined. He didn’t think it was possible; a skeptical part of him still insisted it wasn’t.

But then you opened your mouth and changed the very axis upon which his world spun. “Good evening.”

He could only smirk; the simplest words could escape your lips, and he’d drink them like they were gospel, “Good evening.”

Your astute eyes observed him, and it was like lying down at the beach under the warm sunlight, “Was there a problem at the office?”

He tilted his head, “I needed to finish up some things. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.”

Your lips twitched as you nodded, “It’s not a problem. In fact, I realized I never accepted your invitation, so I wasn’t sure if it still stood.”

He smirked, “It does, and it looks like you accepted.”

His arms stretched over the back of the couch, and you had to consciously keep your feet from taking you to him. It wasn’t an invitation, no matter how inviting it seemed.

“I thought it was wise to be ready,” you informed, taking a few steps to the side, unable to stay still.

“To have dinner with me?”

“To celebrate,” you corrected, trying to resist his smirk by keeping your expression as neutral as possible.

“By yourself?”

His eyebrow quirked, daring, and you finally smiled, “I was told there is a residence lounge. Thought I could get a drink there, and who knows who could join me.”

You shrugged nonchalantly, and he laughed openly, “You’re right.” He got up, loosening his tie completely and throwing it on the couch. It was enough to tense your back, dissipating your smile as you observed him taking off his suit coat and leaving it next to the tie. “I should have started by offering a drink. Is wine okay?”

Blood spread to your cheeks, but he didn’t notice as he turned around to enter the dining room. It gave you a moment to breathe. “If it’s red. Otherwise, I’m afraid I’ll have to leave.”

His laughter was music to your ears as you followed him, only to confirm that the person leaving was wearing a white chef coat for good reason. The glass dining table was set for two, at the head and the place to its right, and in between, an assortment of dishes released a delicious warm scent. From meat to shrimp, noodles to rice, boiled, fermented or fried, it seemed the chef had decided to leave you with a big variety just so you could have anything you possibly wanted.

Your eyes turned to him, his back facing you as he got a red wine bottle from the wine cooler. “This is incredible,” you voiced, unafraid of sounding too easily impressed. That table with the panoramic view and the incredible lighting showing his gleeful smile would easily shake anyone.

“I’m happy you like it.”

“Do you always have dinner like this?”

He placed the bottle on the table, twisting the corkscrew to get it open, “No, not at all. I asked for something special tonight.”

You heard the pop of the cork coming off, but that wasn’t why your heart skipped a beat. He reached for a wine glass on the table, poured a line of wine, then swirled it and took a soft sniff, smiling ecstatically after.

He raised the glass to you, and you stepped forward to accept it, entranced. You took a whiff, too, and the sweet, dark fruit aromas made your eyelashes flutter. You detected the blackberries and plums, and surely a trace of cloves.

Your reaction was enough for him to nod and pour a glass for himself. His shifting attention allowed you to swallow and ask, “Was this what you had in mind?”

He smirked, then turned to you, and your heart flipped again. He had shortened the distance between you and cupped your hand around the glass to tilt it forward towards his chest. The wine glugs, filling your glass, were but an afterthought as you looked at him, his eyes so close you could see stars.

“Absolutely,” he said quietly, yet you heard him so clearly. His expression was likely as serious as yours, mirroring the same tension as he took the bottle away. “This was exactly what I had in mind.”

The sound of the bottle being placed on the table didn’t rattle you; nothing was louder than your racing heart. His hand left yours, and although you could see the reluctance, you bit your inner lip to stay quiet. Being that close didn’t mean just having your breath stolen by his sparkly eyes or unique beauty marks; it also meant seeing how red his eyes were.

“I see… but if you're too tired, we can take a rain check.”

You were certain your worry was easily heard in your voice, yet he shook his head with a returning wide smile and raised his glass between you, “Not a chance.”

Your lips twitched, but you nodded and raised your glass to clink his, bringing it to your lips as he did the same. The velvety taste matched its aroma perfectly, but you weren’t paying attention. His eyes were locked with yours as though that tension was unbreakable, and you realized you didn’t know what you were celebrating. He didn’t specify the toast, and somehow, you knew work had stayed in the office tonight.

When you put the glass down, you weren’t sure you were dizzy with the alcohol or the moment, but your cheeks were hot. You ignored it, just to keep staring into the stars in his eyes, when a stomach growl cut the silence.

You looked down at his stomach, covered by a black button shirt, then up, “Woah, that was powerful.”

He smirked and rubbed the back of his head, “Sorry, I’m starving. Let’s dig in.” He waved at you to sit by his side, “Please, go ahead. Take anything you’d like.” 

He held back, even as you took your time to observe the table and take your pick. He adjusted himself on the chair, but it was surprisingly easy to let you start first. It was just right.

“I wanted to have samgyeopsal,” he confessed, smiling sheepishly. “But we’d have to go to a real barbecue for that and—”

Your eyes widened with a spark, a small gasp jerking your shoulders as you reached for a bowl, “Not a problem.”

He raised an eyebrow at your sudden interest, then chuckled, “Do you like japchae that much?”

“My absolute favorite,” you nodded, filling your plate with utmost focus.

“Alright, I’ll make it for you a lot.”

You had started eating but stopped stuffing your face with the delicious noodles, raising your eyebrows at him instead while he served himself. “You can cook?”

He chuckled, “I love cooking. I’d be showing off my skills right now, but I’m more interested in talking to you.” The butterflies in your stomach twirled around as you stared up at him. He only chuckled, “But now I know. Let’s see, what else? What about makguksu? I have an awesome recipe as well.”

It was easy to eat while you discussed food, especially if it was a chance to quiz him and confirm he knew what he was talking about. He did, and you overlooked his initial promise to cook for you in exchange for a normal, healthy culinary debate.

But neither of you wanted to eat or talk about food all night. He ate a lot, you noticed, and by the end, every dish was done. The red bottle was empty too, so it was the perfect moment to get up.

“I’ll grab another one,” he said, waving at the couch while he headed to the wine cooler. It could have been your chance to say goodnight, but you didn’t want to. “Why do you only drink red?” He asked loudly, and you turned to look over your shoulder at him. “Can't it be Lambrusco?”

You chuckled and sat on the couch, “Lambrusco is a red, and it's delicious. Bring it on!”

The sound of the bottle being dragged out of the cooler, placed on the glass dining table, and popped open made your skin tingle pleasurably. It could be his proximity messing with your nerves, or the alcohol. A cautious part of you thought it was best to call it a night, but the bottle was already open, and he was already extending a new glass to you.

You clinked glasses in silence again once he sat down, and this time, you didn’t bother wondering about the occasion.

“Why not white?”

He mused after the sweetness made him click his tongue, and you sighed with a second sip, “Too acidic for me.”

“Noted,” he nodded, his features serious. “I'll get rid of all whites to make space for more Lambrusco.”

You laughed, “Why would you refine your stock based on my taste?”

He laughed with you, then bit his lip. You smiled as you took another sip, and you looked so happy, simply enjoying yourself, that his priorities shifted. “I like learning more about you.”

“You do?”

You sounded surprised, but he didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

“Well, I haven't learned as much about you,” you scrunched your nose, choosing to take things lightly, and he chuckled.

“I'm sure you already know a lot.”

You tried not to scoff, “I don’t. You think because you’re the CEO, I would know your taste in wine?” Your tone only made him laugh more, leaning back into a pillow that had his abandoned suit coat before he faced you again. “Do you even like reds?”

“Oh yeah, but I prefer beer. Oh, and whiskey.”

“So we know our next drink…”

You hid behind the glass and he smirked, “Good idea. I'll make my specialty cocktail. Only close friends know about it, so know you'll taste something exclusive.”

“Really? I’m flattered; who knew I’d get to know the CEO so well.”

The corner of your mouth raised with mischief as you emptied your glass, and instantly, he was refilling it with a slightly raised eyebrow, “You can call me Jungkook.”

His dark eyes, as he instructed you, released a current down your spine that spread warmth in every direction. There was no way that calling your boss by his first name was a good idea, but you had stopped playing it safe a few glasses ago.

“Is there more to learn about you, Jungkook?” His name on your tongue drew his eyes to your mouth, conveniently about to take another sip. You reveled in the sweetness and tension of that moment, hopefully as much as him. “Something no one else knows.”

His teeth bit into his lower lip to stop a grin, and he nodded, “Certainly.” He placed the glass down on the coffee table and you swallowed. “There’s a lot to find out.”

He unfastened his cuff links, casually folding and pulling the sleeves of his black button shirt to his elbow, and you gasped.

You leaned forward with your free hand, “You have a sleeve?”

He grinned slyly, extending his right arm for you to touch more easily, “I do.”

He was quiet while you explored every tattoo line, from the clock to the letters, stopping to wonder at the tiger lily in bright tones of orange. “Incredible,” you muttered, dragging your finger easily. You were so focused that you missed the goosebumps forming under your touch. He let you turn his arm and even pull the sleeve a bit further up, where you noticed more lines and figures ready to show. You were so insistent you pouted when the fabric got so tight around his bicep it refused to rake further up to his shoulder. 

His chuckle drew your attention, “I can take it off if you’d like to see the rest.”

Your hands withdrew instantly, fingers rubbing on each other needily. Your eyes caught the absence of any other article of clothing underneath his shirt, and you swallowed down your heated longing. “No, I— Of course not.” 

You didn’t bother saying it was inappropriate; you fell back on your side of the couch. Your throat seemed to have blocked, so you cleared it. There was a line you shouldn’t cross, but you also didn’t want to stop whatever you two were doing.

“I don’t have tattoos,” you started, pulling your blouse sleeve. “But I do have this birthmark.”

His eyes followed your fingers, then he grabbed your arm delicately to trace it with his fingers. Your forearm erupted in goosebumps, electrified by his caress, attention, and warmth. It was almost overwhelming, and you had to swallow thickly to keep silent.

“It looks like a butterfly,” he mused, concentrating, and you nodded.

“My mother calls me that.”

He whispered something under his breath, then shifted in his seat, “Look.” 

He brought his forearm next to yours, and you realized what he meant: your birthmark was parallel to his tiger lily. Superposed, your butterfly would find its home in him. It made you shudder from head to toe.

“What ties you to Busan?” His question broke the spell despite his caresses to your arm. You frowned, trying to catch his line of thought. “Friends? Family?”

The Lambrusco swirled a little inside his glass, revealing a short tremble, and your eyes stayed low on his lily, “My mother, mostly. She doesn’t live in Busan, but in a village not too far away.”

Your apprehension was palpable, so you weren’t surprised when he brushed the back of his fingers in a feather-like touch on your forearm, “I understand if it’s too personal, you don’t have to tell me anything that will make you uncomfortable.”

Whether because of his soft touch or warm eyes, you instantly shook your head, “Not uncomfortable, just… I don’t really talk about her. Or my family. She doesn’t like it and—”

Your brow furrowed, and he was ready to reassure you, but you decided to say it.

“And nobody would understand, but maybe you would,” you pushed out, looking into his eyes. Your mom would chastise you for this decision, but it was yours nonetheless. You just felt so alone in all this. “Our family made sacrifices to be eradicated from the registry, and for generations, we’ve been hiding so we wouldn’t be detected.”

He nodded gravely, lowering his eyes to his fingers still touching your milky skin.

“You’re probably the last person I should tell this to,” you chuckled. “But even though times should be different, I was never certain where to draw the line between potential paranoia and it just being like she described. Unfortunately, recent events have made me conclude she was not wrong in wanting us to be cautious.”

“Wait, there’s—” He pressed his lips before he sorted his words, looking at you intently, “There’s something to be said about your mother’s fears and the outdated methods the Family uses to search for omegas. They should know it’s criminal, but it’s how my grandfather found my grandmother, so I suppose that’s why they insist on it.”

“He kidnapped her too?”

“No—” He almost choked. “Hunters found her and brought her to him. They were mates and inseparable.”

“You met her?” 

Your tone was almost anxious, and he smiled with a nod, “The only omega I’ve ever met other than you.” His expression showed fondness, “Grandpa was crazy about her and everyone loved her. She had this… aura to her. I was instantly calm. I was… a bit of a reckless and loud kid, but she never got angry at me. She would just put me on her lap and ask me what happened, and soon after, she was tickling me while I told her all about my adventures.”

You leaned on your side into the couch back, “Adventures, huh?”

It wasn’t hard to imagine, especially when he smirked mischievously, “My knees wouldn't have gotten bruised if I hadn't chased a pirate up a tree.”

“A pirate?”

Your eyebrows jumped, and you both laughed quietly. You were glad to be at ease, folding a leg under you.

“What an exciting childhood you had.”

“What about yours?”

You pursed your lips, “It was just me and my mother. My dad died in a car accident when I was a kid, and my grandma had dementia and died not too long after.”

His eyes softened, “That must have been hard.”

“It was the most on my mom.”

“How old were you?”

“Thirteen.”

“It must have affected you,” his voice quieted, and you noticed his thumb never stopped brushing your pulse point, soothing you for a while now.

“I grew up fast,” you shrugged, casually letting his touch continue. “It was hard because my mother was paranoid about us being caught, but I was raised around humans, unsure if her stories were true and if I should really just… stay hidden in that village or do something with myself.” He nodded, and you admitted, “That’s why hearing from others that my fate isn’t to be used as a tool, abused, or anything like that is…”

“No,” he pressed his thumb to your wrist, and it seemed to you it was to placate his own anxiety this time. “I promise you, that is not— I would never do that.” 

His voice was firm, but something in your eyes must have given you away. You didn’t want to believe he was lying, but it wasn’t in his best interest to tell you the truth.

“My grandma always said a mate’s love was the foundation of our family and that I shouldn’t give up, even if my father never found her.” His eyes lowered once more to your arm before he faced you, “I grew up with them, seeing what a mate’s bond looks like. I would never hurt an omega, even if she wasn’t my mate.”

“But there are those who would.”

“Maybe once upon a time, but I swear things are different now. It was their mistreatment that led to their extinction. Well, alleged,” he corrected, eying you meaningfully. “The Families had to turn to betas, which was seen mostly as a catastrophe a couple of generations back.”

“Why?”

“It affected the strength of their blood, lines started dying and alpha numbers dwindled too. The egoistical views and attitudes of a few generations almost cost us everything.”

“So shouldn’t the way omegas were treated be the real catastrophe?”

Your tone was rough around the edges, but his eyes remained soft, “Worse than a catastrophe, an atrocity. It hurt so many for so many generations.”

His tone was apologetic as he looked at you, but it didn’t soothe you. Not even his touch on your wrist did. “If you recognize the problem, then you should be the first one to set an example. You acknowledge it was an atrocity, but you still send hunters to kidnap omegas instead of searching for yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

He actually looked lost, so you clarified, “If you don’t want to give up like your grandmother suggested, then maybe you should go down to Busan and search for yourself. Meet people.”

His eyebrows jumped, then he shook his head with an embarrassed smile, “I… never considered it.”

“Imagine if you had.”

Your chest warmed with his gaze on yours. You didn’t know why you were admonishing him for not visiting sooner, borderline implying you would have met differently, just like his grandmother had hoped. The past couldn’t be changed, and nothing would happen regardless.

You cleared your throat, “Anyway, it's annoying that your secretary keeps calling me fake.”

He huffed, letting his head fall on the back of the couch as though it tired him too.

“I never wanted to be recognized or seen as just my designation, but it is who I am, so she's pissing me off.”

You sneered at the ridiculousness of the situation, and he nodded, “It's because she never met anyone like you… I don't think she's able to really smell it. She's not as sensitive as us. But you don't have to worry about her. I'll handle things with her.”

You took the glass to your mouth, musing over it quietly. “Well, she works for you… and I won't stay long anyway.”

He was drinking when you spoke, his jaw becoming the slightest bit sharper under the light. His thumb still rubbed your pulse point soothingly.

“Actually… I have a question if you don’t mind.”

You pressed your lips sheepishly, and he almost choked in his hurry to nod.

“What do I smell like?” Your eyebrows framed your curious, big eyes, and his lips parted in wonder. “I've asked my mom, but she only tells me I'm sweet. I've never met anyone else I could ask.”

He blinked away his shock, straightening instantly to lean in a bit closer to you. Not that he needed to; effectively, he could pinpoint every trace and note of your unique aroma. But when you let your head fall back the slightest to expose your neck, he couldn’t be stopped. It was the sweetest invitation, baring your neck to him so he could take you in up close and personal.

He almost growled, something so deep inside him stirring he had to grip the glass and keep himself from grabbing your wrist or pressing his face into the crook of your neck. He was certain you’d taste and feel as endlessly delicate as your scent, but he knew the limits. Even if he thought of you as his, it had to come from you. If anything came out of getting to know you, it was that waiting was the only option he had if he ever wanted to welcome his mate by his side. 

So he groaned silently and pulled back; he might not have met you in the right circumstances, but he wasn’t about to fuck this up.

“She’s right, you smell sweet,” he rasped, looking into your beautiful eyes again, so close he could see the black dots hiding among the lights. “Like jasmines — sweet, deep, and fond. And me?” He saw you swallow, but he couldn’t resist, “What do I smell like?”

“I’m sure you know,” you tried, though you didn’t move.

He shook his head, “What do I smell like to you?”

You looked down at his neck with a hint of uneasiness, but his soothing touch calmed you enough to go forward. You leaned into the crook of his neck, so close you felt his body warmth emanating. One deep breath, though, and you almost whimpered. Your free hand gripped his arm as your whole body warmed and thrummed with the heady scent.

“Strong,” you whispered, noticing a moment later his neck was covered in goosebumps. “Earthy.” You couldn’t resist nuzzling his skin the slightest, raising it up his neck until you met his jaw. “Spicy, something so alluring I just…”

You nuzzled his cheek and he turned to face you, with lips so close to yours, his warm breath lulled your eyes closed. You were certain his lips would touch yours, releasing all that tension into a burst that would raze your senses.

But the sounds of a keypad being pressed made you instinctively pull back, and you were happy you did because in mere seconds it was as though the rug was being pulled from under your feet.

The front door burst open, and you jumped to your feet, frightened. Jungkook stood up, too, trying to regain the touch that had been severed in the motion, but it was too late. You both had to face the woman storming inside the apartment, with eyes so wide, and nostrils so wide in fury, it confused you more than anything.

“What the hell?!”

Sunhwa’s outrage wasn’t missed on you, but all you could do was frown, stupefied.

“What are you doing?” Jungkook’s tone was cold, and you weren’t certain if that was the right reaction. Shouldn’t he be pissed that his secretary just stormed into his apartment late at night?

“What am I doing? What are you doing?!”

His eyes hardened as though her question didn’t merit a reply, and she threw the folders in her hand on the coffee table.

“I wanted to update you on the ASICS deal and thought you probably wouldn’t have eaten yet, so I called Chef Jae, and they told me they had prepared the special dinner you asked for!”

You glanced at him, even more confused than before, and his reply came quiet, “You should know better than to just barge in here.”

“You weren’t picking up the phone!”

Her screeches were starting to give you a headache, “Alright, listen. It’s past eleven in the evening, surely there’s nothing that can justify causing a scene like this.”

Her laugh was a shriek, “You have some gall to tell me I can’t cause a scene, huh?! First, you try to seduce him by falsely claiming to be an omega—”

“I am!”

“— and now you’ve invited yourself into his apartment! Do you really have no shame? I won’t stand for this!”

Your eyebrows jumped in pure disbelief, “And who are you to care what an adult man does in his apartment?”

She stomped her foot, fuming as she glared, “I’m his fiancé!”

Your stomach dropped, spreading such coldness through your guts, you froze.

In years of law, despite dealing with senseless clients at times, you had never lost your composure or words, but today was the day. Her words, that scene, and the deceit underlying that whole night gutted you, so you were speechless.

“You don't know what you're saying.”

His tone was firm, but one glance told you he was seething. Your first instinct was to resent him; he should be apologizing, not angry that his fiancé ruined the ruse.

Sunhwa crossed her arms with a laugh, “Oh, so I'm suddenly not?”

“We have a contract.”

“Precisely!”

Her clapback was triumphant, and you stiffened even further.

“This is not what you think,” he said, having turned to you.

You looked at him slowly, but Sunhwa was already stepping closer between you, “This is exactly what you think! He's promised to me! How dare you come in here and try to seduce him with your false claims and—!”

“Enough!”

His roar effectively silenced her, making even the glass in your hand reverberate. It forced you to look away and realize you had no business standing there.

You put the glass on the coffee table, “I see you have things to discuss, so I'll leave you to it.”

You ignored the smothering silence surrounding you and headed up the stairs. 

That silence was dearly missed when the last concrete thing you heard was Sunhwa freaking out, “She's sleeping here?!”

You closed the bedroom door and weighed your options, but then ended up locking the door and hiding with your face into your pillow. You had drunk too much, and it was too late to wander off in the middle of Seoul. For now, you’d just have to stay.

[xxblairexxss]

Hunt Game (Charles Leclerc x reader) (p.4)

Series contain stalking, harrasment, sexual violence.

Word count : 5.9k

Masterlist

What happened when Charles stopped believing in you and you were left all alone.

Chapter 4

"Leave it there, baby. I’ll take care of it.” Charles went to pick up a call that had been ringing for the past few minutes while he was helping you organise your luggage for the holiday. Upon discussions among the group over the past months, they had agreed to go with Greece for this year’s break.

It was their tradition even before you started dating Charles. Though most of them work in different professions now, they were willing to apply for a break weeks prior, adjusting their schedule to match Charles’ just to keep the tradition going, and it was really sweet how strong the friendships were.

The flight was scheduled to be a few hours away, and you still couldn’t make up your mind about which dresses you should opt for. Asking your fiancé wasn’t helping at all because he would always say, "You’ll look great in anything," but that surely wasn’t the answer you were looking for, so you had been staring at your dresses that were draped on the bed. Your white duvet wasn’t even white anymore. It was full of different colours from your colourful summer dresses.

The phone on the bedside table rang as it vibrated. The number alone was enough to send chills. It was the same number that had been bothering you for weeks now. There wasn’t any need to think twice as you rejected the call and diverted your attention back on the clothes. All you had to do is ignore him and think of something else. It will stop one day. You just needed to be patience. The peace didn’t last for long because it rang again the next second, over and over until you set the phone to power off.

"Y/N? Anything wrong?" Charles came in and pulled your attention away from the black screen of your phone that was thrown on the bed.

"N—no, not at all. Who was it?” You looked up as he strode in front of you to stroke his thumb on your cheek.

"Oh, it was the team. I asked them to update my schedule, and they needed to ask for my confirmation. Did Lizzy call you? I thought I heard your phone ring."

"Lizzy? Oh, yeah, she did. Um, she just asked me if I had finished packing my stuff." The dark green and rose floral-printed dresses in front of you didn’t look as exciting as they were when your mind was clouded with the number. What else did he want from you.

"Oh, I bought this on my way home earlier.” A small box of prescription medicine that was left on the dressing table was handed to you, making you stared at it in question.

"This is for...?”

He cackled and leaned in to kiss your hair. "You haven’t been feeling very well, haven’t you? I have been waking up to the sound of you throwing up every morning since a few days ago.” Heaving a sigh, Charles took a seat in front of you as he caressed your thigh. You knew what he was going to suggest, so you shook your head, beaming. "What?" His wrinkles around his eyes became more prominent.

You ended up laughing along with him. "We can’t not go on this trip, honey. They have been very excited about it."

"They’ll understand if I say you haven’t been feeling well.” He squirmed as you pinched on his waist.

"Are you throwing me under the bus?” You gasped dramatically while he tried to get away.

"But it’s the truth, baby! Or could it be food poisoning, no?” He eventually held your hand and brushed his lips along your fingers, stopping you from pinching his body. "Did you eat something wrong?"

"I don’t know! I ate the same thing you did. We should have suffered together.” You pursed your lips and pulled his face closer to peck at his cheek. "Let’s go! We shouldn’t be late."

"Says someone who still had tonnes of clothes here.” He picked up a dress and casually put it in the luggage, thinking he’s lending you a hand.

"I don’t want to wear that one!” You frowned, the white dress was being thrown back on the bed as Charles blinked, confused with how your mind works.

"Then why did you even bring it out?" He asked.

“Because I thought I wanted to wear them!”

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charlesleclerc has added to their story

ynusername has added to their story

The light from the bathroom and the sound of water constantly flowing pulled him from his dream. The empty bedside had given him the answer he needed as he dragged himself off the bed to check on you.

You felt his presence on the door frame before he could take a breath. The first night of the holiday couldn’t be even worse than this. You thought you were feeling better. You could joke around, playing games, laughing around for hours, thinking you could ditch on the medicine but your beauty sleep was cut short when you felt the need to eject all of the contents in your stomach the next morning.

"Sorry for waking you up.” Groaning, you lifted up your head to turn off the faucet as your fiancé stepped in.

"It’s alright." He breathed out and tugged his chin against your head as you leaned against his chest. Your body was definitely hot, even when there were layers of clothes between his skin and yours. "Have you taken the medicine?"

"No, I thought it had stopped.” You were so sleepy, but even when you closed your eyes, the constant feeling of something pushing everything in your stomach up to your throat would just kick the drowsiness away. Laying down made it even worse, and you were so worn out from having to run back to the toilet. Perhaps you could continue the last 2 hours before sunrise by sleeping in the bathtub, that way you wouldn’t have to rush when the nauseous hit again.

"Stay on the bed. I’ll take you a glass of water, alright?"

The hotel room couldn’t be any bigger; it would be a paradise if you were in perfect health, but right now, it was maddening. A walk back to the bed itself felt so far, you just wanted to crawl your way back.

The faint sound of the door knocking halted his movement. A few drops of the plain water dropped to the white, lavish-looking counter as he jumped from the sound with the glass in his hand. The hotel wasn’t an apartment that came with a long hallway. It was designated to give more privacy to the guests, so every unit would be roughly a few metres away from the next one. Though  it wasn’t unusual to hear footsteps or voices passing through as the guests went back to their rooms or went out to enjoy the night, but there surely shouldn’t be a knocking sound.

When he peeked through the peephole, he was a second late, as the person on the other side had turned his back to walk further away. He was wearing a nude-coloured uniform, the same one the bellboy was wearing. Charles walked back to the room, brushing off the knock as a mistake for the room number.

"Baby, here.” He handed you the glass of water.

Your head felt like it weighed the same as a bowling bowl. The nausea was gone now, but you still felt like you got beaten up head to toe. Everything hurt. You took the medicine that Charles had packed with the water he brought for you and scooted further on the bed to make yourself comfortable under the duvet. "I can’t.." You pulled your hand away and shook your head, rejecting his offer to lay down as you remained sitting up with your back against the headboard. "I can’t lay down, Charles. It will make me feel nauseous again, and it’s so uncomfortable. My back hurts."

"Okay, okay, baby. Then we’ll just sleep like this.” The end of the duvet slipped off his body as he sat up and copied your way of sitting while he drew you into his embrace. "Is this okay?"

"But you won’t be comfortable." You dipped your face closer against his neck as you closed your eyes, feeling the drowsiness slowly take over your body again.

"I’m more than comfortable. Go to sleep, honey."

Charles didn’t have to say it twice because the heat from his body with him fondling you acted like a lullaby. It felt like you were being hypnotised because you were gone with just a snap.

You just couldn’t live your life without him.

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"Alone?" Riccardo arched a brow as he saw his friend join the table for breakfast with no sight of his lovely fiancée, whom he was obsessed with.

"Y/N is not feeling well.” Charles replied as he leaned his head to the side while his hand applied some pressure to the spot. He woke up this morning feeling like he had nails hammered around his neck. "My body is sore, dude.” He bent his upper body down on the table and groaned from the pressure. Sleeping upright definitely used every muscle.

His friends started laughing, and he didn’t have to look at their faces to know what it was about. "No, it’s not what you think.” He laughed along, shutting down the thoughts.

"Yeah, right. Thank God our rooms are a few metres away."

"Ah, speaking about that. Did you,” The friends’ gaze went on him. "heard any knocks from the staff last night?"

"I was dead asleep, Charles.” Gabriel, Lizzy’s boyfriend, replied while Lizzy took a seat beside him.

"I heard." Lizzy interrupted. "I even looked at the peephole, but it was just the staff checking something, I guess. Why? It disturbed your little activity with Y/N?”

"Shut up."

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You chuckled as Charles made himself comfortable in your arms right when he came back from breakfast. He wrapped his arms around your waist and buried his face in your middle as you played with his hair. Though you woke up this morning feeling all better, you had developed some kind of trauma from eating because you always ended up in the bathroom the next morning so based on your logical way of thinking, if you didn’t eat, there was no way you would get sick again. So your fiancé had to go and have his breakfast alone, not literally because he had his friends but alone in the sense he didn’t have you to keep him accompany. Now that he was back, he had to cling on you to make up for the 2 hours of you leaving him alone.

"They are going to the pool, baby. Do you want to join?"

"Charles, stop. That tickles!" He laughed when you wiggled around as he poked at your waist. "Stop!" You sat up, hands cupping his cheeks while giggling as he stopped poking you.

"Do you want to eat something, baby?"

"I want pancakes.” Your so-called-logical way of thinking were left in the lurch when your stomach growled as if it was put on to speaker so you ended up caving in and requested for your favourite food.

He called for room service as you left the bed to get ready for the day. Just like how hard it was to decide what you should bring, it was equally hard, or maybe even harder, to choose what to wear right now.

"The green is cute, isn’t it? But the red is equally adorable as well!"

"Babe, just wear anything!" Charles was lying down on the bed, scrolling through his Instagram feed with your bikinis draped all around him like some kind of floor art. “Your pancake is here, honey and you still haven’t make a decision.” He stood up and went to get the door as the bell rang while you rushed to pick one out of all outfits because there was no way you had been contemplating this long.

"Room service!"

"Just put it on the table, please.” Charles snaked a few bills from the back of his jeans and handed them to the staff as a tip after he arranged the food. "Thank you so much."

"Honey, look! Oh, sorry."

He pressed his lips to hold his laugh when you scurried to cover up your body with the long white polo shirt that acted as the cardigan so you wouldn’t feel too naked, especially now in front of the hotel staff with the door opened.

"Is there anything else you need help with?"

"No, that’ll be it. Thank you." His body jerked back as you ran to bury your flushed face on his chest while the door closed behind him.

"That was so embarrassing! You should have told me he was still here!"

"You didn’t hear me talking to him?” He cackled even more.

"No?" You then dragged him to the table, where your pancake was beautifully placed with the syrups and honey on the side. "Are you not going to eat it with me?"

"No, honey. I’m full. I’ll go get change while you eat, alright?" He left you alone, enjoying the pancakes all to yourself, while he went to change, which only took less than 5 minutes without having to think about what it would look like in pictures. How easy it was to be a man!

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lizzyusername has added to their story

"Can she swim? Charles clicked his tongue and clapped on his hands as he approached Didi.

"She clearly can’t swim, Charles. She’s 12 months old! But she likes water.” Martha said in response as she handed her little girl to the driver as he carried Didi to the centre of the pool, where you were.

"Oh, she’s so cute!" You squealed when Didi giggled in his arms; the little hands slapped on the surface of the water, which made your fiancé’s face fully decorated from the droplets of water.

"We should definitely get a baby.”

You stopped playing peek-a-boo with the little one as your gaze went to your fiancé. There wasn’t any hint of tease or trick on his face. "Are you having baby fever from carrying her?"

"Yeah." He swayed little Didi in his arms as the little one shook her loaf-like arms in the water. "I can’t wait to build a family with you, love.”

This man in front of you never fail making you fall in love all over again.

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He found you. It was always easy to know where you were because he gave it all away. Just like how Charles’ 11 million followers knew where he was and how open and direct he was about his summer vacation, it only took him a split second to book the same hotel as you were.

It was a bit of a quandary for him to find where your room was. As witless as your companions were, they wouldn’t divulge the room numbers, so he had to take a screenshot of the pictures on their Instagram stories where it could reveal the view from the window and make a rough guess.

"Honey, look!"

Your voice. It was the voice he had been yearning to hear. He liked the way the white cardigan curved around your body. He saw the way Charles took you in his arms and how you hid your cheeks so he would stop kissing you.

Bastard.

It was unfair that he always had to be the one watching. Just like how Charles stole his career away, the chances away, the winning away, and the fame away. He had to have a perfect girl too.

But he had enough watching from the side now. It was too late to take the winning and the chances on the career back now but he could definitely take the girl he wanted.

He could definitely take you from him.

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"If Charles is looking for me, tell him I’m going to the bathroom!"

"What?!" Lizzy yelled straight to your ear; it would have drilled a hole in your eardrum if she went a pitch higher.

"I’m going to the bathroom!” You were so close to scream your lungs out.

"Oh! Okay go!"

Every night, the hotel would hold an event where they would blast a song until nearly sunrise, and people would just get drunk until dawn. Lizzy, her boyfriend, Gabriel, Charles, and you decided to hit it off for a few hours while Riccardo and Martha had to skip for their 12-month-old baby.

Something rough snatched on your wrist while you were on your way back and dragged you to the corner of the area. His gaze pierced straight into your eyes. The same gaze you had been seeing for weeks. The gaze that would always sent cold creeps. The gaze that was full of hatred and anger there was no comfort in it at all.

"Why did you ignore me?”

"What? Let me go!” You tugged on your wrist harshly, nearly punching him in the chin from the force. "I said, let me go! What the fuck do you want from me?”

"I hate it when you ignore me. Why are you ignoring me? Did I do something wrong? I—"

"Stop!" You obstructed him from continuing his words, which made him knit his brows together. "I’m not ignoring you! I don’t even know who you are!"

"Liar! You know me. We talked a lot of times. You said we have a lot in common!” He pulled on your wrist towards his chest, which ended you a gap away from him. "I have never met anyone who had so much in common with me. You just need to give me a chance, ba—"

"Baby?" Charles had a scowl on his face as he approached both of you. You were left to keep Lizzy accompany and he didn’t want to bug your girls time with her so he went to stay with Gabriel where he got carried away with the conversations with a few other acquaintance. When he came back to Lizzy, you were gone. He wasn’t expecting to see you in very close proximity to a guy out of anyone’s sight. "What are you doing? Who are you?"

"I’ll take my leave.” Charles saw his face very clearly as he was dressed very casual, like how any other people in this venue would dress. He finally let go of your hand and walked past the driver as you stood there, tongue-tied.

"Wait." Charles called out, and his gaze went on the guy. "We met before, didn’t we?"

"No? You got the wrong guy.”

You saw him quickly leave the area; his pace was fast but not enough to raise suspicion from the rest of the crowd. His hand was fishing out something from his back pocket, and the phone in your hand rang a second later.

"Who’s that guy?"

"He was—he was looking for his friend.” You could finally breathe when you felt Charles’s touch on your waist, full of reassurance and comfort—everything you needed at the moment.

He left a few lingering kisses on the side of your head, murmuring against your hair. "I thought he did something to you, honey. Next time, please let me know if you ever need to go somewhere.”

"I told Lizzy." You tilted your head to find him chuckling.

"She’s wasted. You chose the wrong person to deliver the message. Let’s call it a night."

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marthausername added to their story

tagged ynusername, charlesleclerc

"She opened the door and freaked out because—"

"You guys are so boring.” Martha cut off your storytelling, which made Charles grumble against your middle. He had been laying his head on your stomach while both of you were sprawled on the beach mat with your novel in hand.

Charles was just using an excuse so he could hear you talk while he fell asleep. He loved lying on you and watching how your eyes brightened whenever you told him everything that happened in the chapter. Though it was nearly impossible to understand because he didn’t even know any of the character’s name, the plot, the storyline wasn’t that important. He just wanted to listen.

"Can you leave us alone?” Charles replied, turning his face back to you, but his sight was interfered by little Didi when Martha put her daughter to join the both of you as she walked back to her boyfriend, Riccardo. "I—" He ended up laughing along with you. "I was going to get mad, but she smiled at me."

"We can always be her emergency babysitter." You commented before going back to your book while playing with his hair as he played peek-a-boo with Didi.

"You threw up again this morning, didn’t you?"

"Yeah.."

"We should really get you checked, honey. It’s been nearly a week? Surely the medicine isn’t working.” You glanced down and caught his worried face. It made you feel so bad because regardless how hard you tried to hide it from him, you knew Charles would always be anxious whenever you were sick, especially now when the sickness lasted longer.

"I’m sorry."

"There’s nothing you should be sorry about, love. I’m just worried about you. I’ll set an appointment with my GP, alright?” He assured and took your hand to leave a peck on the back of it before he focused back on Didi.

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ynusername has added to their story

"Are you sure it is okay for you?”

"Of course! I wouldn’t mind it. Just go and enjoy the night, Martha!” You firmly replied as Didi leaned her body towards you when you picked her up. "I’ll spend the rest of the night with this little girl."

"Thank you so much, Y/N. I wouldn’t know what I would do without you. Is Charles coming with us or—“ Martha looked at the driver as she spoke.

"I—"

"He’ll be coming with you! You chirped in before he could say anything. "He just needed to change first, right, honey?"

"Oh, okay! Then we’ll wait for you in the lobby.” The rest of the group left your room as they headed towards the lobby, all of them looking like they were so ready to get wasted.

"Honey, I can’t just leave you alone.” Charles exhaled, clearly looked like he wasn’t pleased with your decision.

"I can take care of myself! You spent this whole vacation worrying about me, honey. Go and enjoy the night. Didi and I will do just fine.” Didi let out a squeal as you cooed her. Despite all the persuasion and coaxing, he wasn’t even budge that you ended up having to turn it into some form of coercion just so he would leave the room by guilt-tripping him about how bad he was to make the friends waiting for this long.

"I’ll be back in an hour or so. Call me if you need anything.” He left after brushing his lips on your forehead, face wasn’t filled with any kind of anticipation. He was just looking like a kid who was forced to go to school.

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You tugged the little girl to sleep right when it hit her sleep time, and it was easier than you expected. Though you didn’t have any experience with kids other than being a part time babysitter back when you were still a teenager, Didi was a very manageable baby. You only had to feed her with the bottle that Martha had prepared beforehand as she played with her feet until her eyes got all droopy and she gave in.

Nothing beat the perfect idea to wind down your day by having little snacks you bought the day before while getting yourself entertained with the movie playing on the screen. 

Then you heard a knock. Talk about man of his words. He really came back an hour after just like how he told you. Giggling, you put the snacks away as you hopped your way to the door, all set to hug him as he walked in.

"Welcome back! Did you have fu—what are you doing here?"

"I missed you. I missed you so much.” He walked in as if it were the most casual thing and started pulling you for a hug, to which you shoved him away.

"What do you want from me?” You tried to scurry your way back to the room, but he tugged on your shirt and held something against your face. It was warm and a little wet. It was cupped harshly on your face that it left you with no chances other than breathing in the chemical, ether-like odor. You tried to pull his hand away, yanking on his shirt—anything that you could grab to free yourself but within every strive, your body started feeling heavier and heavier. Lifting up the arm felt like it needed every vitality, you just wanted to lay down. That was all you remember as your legs gave in as you succumbed to the darkness.

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Charles quickly tapped the access card and walked in when he heard Didi’s crying from outside the room. It was so loud and strained. She sounded as if she had been crying for so long and no one had noticed. He picked her up and swayed her as the wailing started to cease. Her cheeks were red, and her voice sounded sore from the heavy, excessive crying. It didn’t take her long to fall asleep from using her energy to cry, for God knew how long it had been.

"Y/N..?"

Once he put Didi back to sleep, he tread to the bedroom where you were tugged in and sound asleep on the bed, fully naked. Your hair was a mess and sticking all over your face. It was weird for you to be sleeping, ignoring the cries from Didi because you were a light sleeper and everything about it sounded so irresponsible. If Martha had to choose between you and Lizzy to babysit her daughter, it would always be you because she, Charles, and everyone else knew how much you loved kids. It was never like you to ignore a child just so you could sleep. The notification sound coming nonstop from his phone halted his movement as he brought out it out from his pocket to check on it.

It was pictures, and pictures. More than 10 pictures of you naked with a guy who he couldn’t seem to make out the face. The pictures were taken from different angles, and it was clearly something that would give anyone a nightmare to see pictures of their beloved partner under someone else, with no layer of clothes. The phone nearly slipped off his hand as he walked out of the room, feeling himself suffocated. Tonnes of thoughts started popping up in his head, wondering where it all went wrong, what he did to deserve all this, and why this happened when the relationship had been nothing but perfect throughout the years. There was never a big argument; you and he had been giving constant reassurance despite the career difference, with no insecurities or unspoken problems that couldn’t be solved. Why would you do this to him?

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You woke up the next morning and became conscious of your current state when the duvet was lifted off from holding on to your body. The room was silent, and Charles was nowhere to be seen. "Didi." You muttered, as if to remind yourself and got dressed with any clothes you could lay your hands on before hurried out to find the little one, but the baby cot was empty.

"Charles, where’s Didi?” You saw him on the couch playing with his phone. He was still wearing the same outfit from last night. Judging from how languid his actions were, it seemed like he didn’t catch a wink.

"I sent her back to Martha. Get your stuff packed. The flight is in two hours." He stood up and walked past you to get to the room. He was different. There wasn’t a smile or a touch. He wasn’t even looking at you.

"Charles." You grabbed his arm.

"Don’t fucking touch me, Y/N." He yanked his arm away and headed back to the room.

That was all you heard him say before he went mute for the rest of the days. He didn’t touch any of your stuffs. You were left to pick up everything on your own. You weren’t spoil but for more than 5 years, he was the one to help you pack, unpack, keep everything in check. Now that you were suddenly forced to be on your own despite being in the same room with the love of your life, you weren’t prepared for it. You followed him like a lost puppy with your luggage to say goodbye to the rest of the group. The vacation was supposed to end in two days, so you were taken back when he requested that you pack your stuff but obeyed without further questions.

When you met the rest of the friends, they were looking sad because you had to cut the vacation short due to Charles’ sudden call for work, as mentioned by Gabriel. You had to play it off so they wouldn’t feel like some things were off because you had ruined Charles’ vacation; you surely didn’t want to ruin everyone else’s.

"Your hickeys are fresh! No wonder Charles was eager to go back early last night." Lizzy cracked a joke as she hugged you. Your hands went on your neck as you rested it there, feeling your heart beat faster. You had no recollections of last night other than opening the door to the creepy guy, and you woke up this morning completely nude. You wanted to tell Charles about what happened up until what you could remember, but he had been ignoring you. His gaze was cold, and it terrified you to say anything.

Your flight back felt like a going home from a solo trip. He didn’t say anything and you weren’t talking as well so it felt like living in a world where everything was quite and there was no sort communication. When you reached your apartment, Charles helped you bring the luggage all the way up.

But it was just yours.

His luggage was left in the car.

“Where—where are you going?” You called out, grabbing his hand as he tried to walk out after dropping the last baggage inside the house.

"I can’t stay here with you.”He tried to pull his hand away, but your grasp went tighter, as you felt the tightness in your throat.

"No, please don’t do this to me. Please don’t leave me alone. About last night, I—"

"I give no fuck about what happened last night, Y/N." Your body was jerked forward as he pulled his hand away. "I was never enough for you, was it?"

"No, you don’t get it! He tried to—"

"Explain the pictures! He bellowed, full of rage.

“What pictures are you talking about?” You brought your gaze up and wiped your eyes with the back of your hand. "Charles, what pictures?"

He let out a chuckle and rolled his eyes. "No one’s going to believe this fucking act you got right here, Y/N. I am done with you.” He started walking to the elevator, leaving you to chase after him.

"Charles! No, please! Please don’t do this to me. What about us.."

"There is no us anymore, Y/N. You should have thought twice before bringing that guy to our bed. It was no wonder you were so eager to ask me to join them instead of accompanying you." He stepped inside the elevator and held down the close-door button, loathing to spend another second seeing your crying act.

"Please hear what I have to say! Charles!" You went down on your knees as the elevator closed. You stayed there, praying the door would open and he would come back, but he didn’t. "I can't—I can’t live without you.” You murmured, sitting on the cold ground for another minutes before picking yourself up as you trudged back to the apartment. The little stones and pebbles felt harsh against the soles of your feet when you didn’t even bother to put on any shoes when you chased after him earlier.

And that was the last time you ever saw him.

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Life was hard without Charles. He had always been the one who helped you with everything. It was as if you had to learn how to live all over again. A week after he left, you got a call this morning reminding you of your appointment. It was an appointment that Charles had made when you were in Greece last week, and he should have accompanied you.

You hadn’t stepped out of the apartment because something about going home to an empty house put you in a misery. You couldn’t even drive so you had to go on Internet to find out how to book a cab. You saw him in his black hoodie, black cap like the one he was wearing when he chased after you in the elevator weeks before. He was leaning against one of the lamp pole, eyes on the entrance of the apartment as if he was waiting for you. Before he could approach and get closer, you dashed to the cab that had been waiting for you from the booking you had set earlier.

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"How long have you been feeling sick?" Your GP, the lovely doctor that had been attending you and Charles for years asked and her gaze went on you. 

"A few weeks ago." You answered, fingers playing with your engagement ring. It was hard to make an eye contact with anyone because you felt horrible. You hadn’t stop crying to you eyes had been puffy for weeks. You had no energy left to put on any makeups so you just went with a tinted lip balm and a sunscreen. You hadn’t been talking to anyone that it felt like you could break down in tears if someone looked at you any longer than a minute.

"What about your period cycle?"

"I—" You pressed your lips into a thin line. You hadn’t been getting your period this month since last month but never bothered to think of anything because you had always had an irregular cycle. A skip for a month and two wasn’t really something that you were unfamiliar with.

Seeing how you were unable to answer the question, she gave a smile and asked the nurse to set up the machine. "How about we get you an ultrasound?”

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You had to lock yourself in one of the cubicles because you couldn’t hold your tears any longer. Back when you and Charles had a conversation about a family, you were actually 7 weeks pregnant.

It was always your dream to have a family with Charles, your dream man, but you never thought you would be walking out from the doctor’s room with a sonogram in hand without him.

You fished out your phone with your shaky hands and tried to call your fiancé, or ex-fiancé, hoping he would pick up this one call. If none of your phone calls were picked up since last week, please let him pick up just this one.

But you were only greeted with long beeps, like every other calls you had tried since he left.

"Charles, it’s me. Please, please call me back. I’m begging you. I have something to tell.” You pleaded, hoping he would listen to this voicemail as you hung up.

✧.* general tag list! @i83andrew @cltrlne @karmabyfernando @ohthemisssery @ru-kru @tastebaldwin @f1obessed @love4lando @shinrjj @ietss @leclerc13 @darleneslane @buckybarnessweetheart @xcinnamongirl @boiohboii @formula1mount @judespoision @alwaysclassyeagle @scenesofobx @mrsmaybank13 @vildetry06 @harriesgolden 

✧.* tag list for Hunt Game @livster @sainzluvrr @weaslyswizarding-wheezes @barcagirly @eugene-emt-roe 

If your usernames were crossed, meaning I can’t tag you! Let me know if you would like to be removed or to be added to the tag list! Or if I missed anyone!

[typicalchaos]

Problems

Prologue - Hayloft

Brahms Heelshire x Fem!Reader

Summary: Brahms wanted desperately for someone to accept him. Someone who saw him for everything that he was, for every problem he had. In his wildest fantasies he dreamt of someone who cherished each flaw with tender love and affection, kissing away his tears and just wanting him.

And he wanted it to be you.

—

You’ve got problems, Brahms’ got problems, ensue ✨romance✨

TW: Stalking behavior, Underwear Theft, Clothing Theft, Defilement of Toothbrush

Summary - Meeting the Heelshire’s isn’t what you were expecting it to be, but, granted, you weren’t what they had expected either.

A/N: This is the most self indulgent fic I might’ve ever written ngl, and it’s gonna be long asfff- But all in all I’m having a blast writing this, so I hope yall enjoy it!!

————

Tears welled in your eyes as you fisted your hair carelessly, hunched over in a mock protective ball- Your heart felt as if it threatened to burst from your ribs, you were trying desperately to just breathe. 

Forcing yourself to pause, you began to fiddle with your hair between your fingers, just focusing on feeling the soft threads, taking in a deep breath. 

Holding it for a moment you were brought back faster than prepared when a soft knock echoed into the small bathroom.

“Sorry love, but I’m afraid I can’t hold it much longer.” A withering call echoed from the door, the old woman’s voice was gentle, but one of hurry.Fixing yourself quickly you stood in the small confines that was the aircraft toilet. Smoothing down the simple but cute black dress you wore, pausing for a moment to stare at the wrinkles with a frown.

Dishevelled was to put it lightly, you had completely ruined your hair and creased the mid of the dress quite unflattering like. You sigh before hanging your head in defeat. The short and tediously curled locks you spent nearly thirty minutes just hair spraying  now stuck out in awkward angles and began to frizz out.

Pushing up your glasses you sharply turn away from the mirror before quickly open the door apologizing profusely to an elderly woman who shooed you off with a flick of her wrist, calming you with a simple gesture of assurance. Slinking back to your seat you thanked what so be deity that blessed you with an aisle seat. Taking in a breath, you tried to steal your nerves for what’s to come.

You were smart enough to fix yourself before even stepping foot out of the airport. But in your determination to make yourself presentable you accidentally made the poor chauffeur wait nearly another hour before you were hobbling out tying up your boots.

Apologizing sheepishly, you thanked the elderly man, who only looked at you with kind eyes and cheerfully grabbed your luggage from you, despite your protests.

Soon enough you were driven swiftly to what would be your new home for the next month.

“And every word she-said~ was a little surprise~!

Can’t. Re-member. How she smiled when she said my~name~..”

You bopped sleepily to the beat, yawning as you looked out the window and watched the passing trees. Shifting slightly in your seat you looked up towards the older gentleman, reaching up to your headphones and clicking the button to pause the song before pulling them off to rest around your neck, clearing your throat you spoke softly,

“Excuse me?”

The man didn’t acknowledge you, which you had expected-no fault of his own, you were soft spoken when you were nervous, or not particularly self aware (which was usual..). Taking a breath you spoke again, making sure to annunciate your words properly, hopefully louder this time.

“Excuse me, sir-?” You grin triumphantly when he tilts his head back, continuing on,

“I was wondering how much longer until we get to the house?” Your heart was pounding and you cringe slightly, hoping that he doesn’t get annoyed by your questioning.

Thankfully he chuffs out a laugh before responding.

“Sorry Miss, it’ll be about ‘nother forty minutes till we arrive.” You nod in understanding before a yawn erupts from your lips, causing the old gent to chuckle at your expense. 

“Go ahead and get some shut eye’. I’ll wake ya’ when we get there.” You smile appreciatively, mumbling a quiet thank you before placing back on your headphones and resuming the music. Lying back comfortably in the seat you make sure to take off your pink framed glasses and placing them in your skirt’s pocket. Once settled you relax with your back toy the corner where the door and seat.

Resting your head against the window with a sigh, you let your jet lag help succumb you to sleep.

You awoke with a shriek, banging your head hard against the glass. You slapped a hand to your mouth and face flushed red, scrambling around to face the also seemingly mortified old man.

He stared at you with an equally bewildered expression, but was soon wiped by a grin, his bushy mustache nearly wrapping around his nose. He chortled, then full on belly laughed at you, in turn causing your ears to redden, before beginning to laugh with him at your overreaction . 

You smiled contently as he composed himself, smoothing down his stache before opening the door, still chuckling as you shuffled your way out, casting a gaze down and rubbing the throbbing on your noggin’.

You helped him with the bags, not taking no for an answer this time, and finally took in the grand presence that is the Heelshire Mansion. To say it was overwhelming would be an understatement. Immediate doubt crept into your mind, eyes scanning the aging building practically trying to will it to a smaller size. 

You sharply looked down, forcing yourself to breathe as you hushed words of encouragement.

“You got this.” Trudging up the porch you still couldn’t help but gawk at the sheer grandeur of the Heelshire’s home, stopping before the door and setting down a duffel bag that held several containers of makeup and hygiene products. Shakily you grabbed the large handle of the knocker before bringing it down to the door, letting out a thundering sound. You repeated the action twice before pulling away and reaching back down to hold your bag.

Once fully stood the door opened before you, an older woman standing in the gap. She looked tired, eyes sunken with dark bags that hung on the wrinkles below her sockets. Her face furrowed at the sight of the doll-like appearance the girl before her wore. 

She opened the door fully, exposing her designer clothes and priceless jewels on full display. She spoke with a slight sneer, saying your name as if it were a question, you nodded, but that only made her lips tighten into a straight line. 

She stepped to the side, allowing you and the other man inside. You tried desperately not to gawk at the grandiose space around you, it felt as if the mansion was even bigger on the inside. Your bags were quickly set inside, and you made sure you gave the man your best wishes before he left. 

“So you’re Mrs. Heelshire I presume?” You say with a slight smile, trying to come off as bubbly as possible. The old woman barely even tossed you a glance, just wordlessly led you up down the hall and to what you assumed to be an office. As you do a rather large painting caught your eyes, it was of the Heelshires and what looked to be their young son, none of them wore any hint of joy on their faces, and the young boy’s eyes felt cold.

In the room was crouched a similarly fancy dress old man, speaking hushed words to what seemed to be their child. 

“I want you on your best behavior. You’re looking very smart, and I like that tie-“

“Daddy.” Mrs. Heelshire said sternly. The father stood quickly to attention, turning only to pause at your “odd” appearance.

Your hair was multicoloured that was styled in a more cartoonish fashion with glittery makeup to match. Your outfit was littered with pastels and you knew they both could plainly see the Hello Kitty and friends sleeve tattoo you proudly wore on you right arm. You were also smart enough to wear a shirt that covered the lacy black and pink tattoo that covered your chest and collar bone.

Pushing back your glasses with a nod you introduced yourself instinctively, in turn he stepped forward before reaching out to shake your hand, which you accepted enthusiastically. He smiled softly at you, his eyes tired. Pulling away he stepped back to stand next to his wife.

Finally, when Mrs. Heelshire stepped to the side, she introduced him.

“And this is Brahms.”

You gave your brightest smile, hands gripped together behind your back. But instead of being met with what you expected to be a young and possibly shy child- you were face to face with a small porcelain doll. 

Taken aback you stood for a moment, mouth agape in a goldfish like manner. Thoughts raced in your head, eyes flickering across the egg white doll.

But soon your face fell to one of sympathy, heart aching at the realization of what this doll stood for.

Face softening you slowly approached, “Brahms”, before kneeling down and taking his cold lifeless hand in your own.

“Hello Brahms,” You introduce yourself before continuing, “I hope you and I can get along.” Pausing for a beat, you studied the doll’s cracked and withered face. Letting go you then stood to face the couple, who stared at you with unreadable expressions.

Finally, Mrs. Heelshire spoke softly, asking her husband to take your things up to your designated room before getting your attention,

“We might as well get started.”

Leading you up the stairs with Brahms in her arms she made simple small talk, “Are you sure you’re alright with being all alone out here?” You nodded, but she continued as if she wasn’t even waiting for a response.

“We’ve hired several nannies before, but Brahms rejected them all. Though none were quite as young and…” She pauses for a moment, clearly searching for the proper words.

”Unique as you are…” You let out a sharp laugh, putting a hand to your mouth before giggling softly. You could hear her huff out her own amusement, and your face lit up at the sound. 

“You will wake him at seven o’clock each morning and you will dress him.” You nod, standing a foot or so away from the sitting woman, your hands neatly folded in your front. On her lap was a now blue pyjama wearing doll. “On the dresser are his clean clothes.” She said, standing sharply. You take a step back before turning towards the red drawers where the clothes sat. 

From behind you could hear the rustling of fabric as she securely tucked in Brahms. Turning you walked to the side opposite of her, heart slightly raised by her intense observation. 

Taking a breath you placed the clothes on the foot of the mattress, clearing your throat before gently sitting on the edge. Tenderly you brushed the faux hair from his forehead. With a gentle smile you spoke in a clear and pronounced voice,

“It’s time to wake up Brahms.”

Mrs. Heelshire stared for a moment, observing the interaction. With a huff she sneered coldly,

“Not too loud, you’re acting as if you want to startle him awake.” She said sternly. You feel redness spreading in your cheeks, averting your gaze from her chiding.

Suddenly you hear a loud thump coming from the wall behind the headboard, making you jump and let out an unflattering squeak. 

Her head whipped towards the plaster, eyes glaring daggers at the wall as if it were alive to feel her fury. Blinking confusedly at the display, you were quickly met with her huffing voice. 

“The pipes and walls are older than us both, so expect this on a regular occurrence.”

Once nodding meekly she hurriedly went on instructing you on what and how exactly you should follow Brahms’ schedule.

Mr. Heelshire showed you the rat traps, much kinder than his wife in his guiding of how to check and empty the small black boxes. 

After finishing the day of music, reading and securely putting away leftovers into a deep freezer, the elderly couple dressed and tucked the doll to bed as you observed awkwardly at the doorway as they spoke a soft prayer to him,

“God bless Mummy, God bless Daddy…” Pausing, they then spoke your name with a slight hesitance you couldn’t understand, they finished with, “And God bless me…”

“You were such a good boy today Brahms, you behaved like a little gentleman.” While she whispered hushed praise Mr. Heelshire turned from where he knelt to face you, leaning over to whisper something to his wife. Her head turned to you as she spoke in rushed tone, 

“Could you give us a moment please?” 

“O-of course!” You stuttered stepping backwards, but before you could even reach out the old man was already slamming the wooden door shut.

Blinking in bewilderment you stood shaken for a long moment, but truthfully you couldn’t find it in yourself to feel any resentment towards the elderly couple. You know what that doll means, what loss it represents to them. Part of you hopes that they would accept you, if only for the chance to ease the burden of their grief by simply taking care of Brahms for them.

It’d be simple. It had to be.

Snapped from your thoughts you’re met with the creaking sound of the old door, both Heelshires stepping out with tight expressions. 

The woman looked at you with strange eyes,  taking a breath before she spoke,

“He wants you.” 

That night you laid sprawled on your stomach as you scrolled on your phone, patting yourself on the back mentally at the fact you had changed your internet plan before arriving.

Your headset blared sweet melodies into your ears, finding yourself humming along absentmindedly.

“Sometimes I scare myself~ but I can’t help, what I can’t help.”

Your eyes flicked across the screen, utterly engrossed in the current Bo Sinclair x Reader fic you oh so happily indulged in, That was until your phone rudely paused you music, screen blurring as a banner titled ‘Take ur 💊’ hung at the top.

Your annoyance was quickly subdued however, when in your headphones began blaring,

“I’m on them An-ti-depressants!

“We feelin’ good today!

W-w-watch me make an entrance- Yeah, I’m the shit today.”

Giggling at your own antics, you rolled onto your back before sitting up with an overdramatised groan, standing as you stretch and very satisfyingly pop your back.

With a sigh you shuffle your way towards the connected bathroom, a giddy smile plastered across your face as you study your extremely oversized but adorable Ghostface hoodie. Once inside you open the small medicine cabinet above the sink and grab three of six bottles.

Two were for anxiety, but one also works as an antidepressant. The third was simply Benadryl, which you grabbed two of.

Popping them in your mouth you reach for the small glass cup that you had grabbed from the kitchen. Turning on the sink you poured only a small amount of water, just enough to help swallow. Finishing with a huff you also decide to go ahead and brush your teeth as well.

Leaving the sink running you brushed mindlessly, staring blankly at your reflection. For some reason it slightly irked you, like it wasn’t just a mirrored version of yourself staring back. Your eyes tightened as you leaned forward to spit out the paste before using the cup again to rinse.

Looking back up towards yourself, you couldn’t shake the feeling of someone’s gaze.

You sighed tiredly, eyes slipping shut with a shake of your head. Wiping your face off with a hand towel you quickly made your way back towards the bed, shutting off the lights before climbing back into warm sheets.

——

His heart was practically jumping into his throat, chest heavy with every hushed breath he took. Your gaze was pointed directly at his, gently yet yearning eyes locked onto his masked face.

But you weren’t staring at him at all.

No, your eyes were fixed with your own, unaware he sat just behind the one way mirror.

That simple truth crashed against him as if he was being crushed by roaring waves.

He watched as you walked away, waiting for the shut of the bathroom door before finally clicking open the latch attached to the glass and pushing it open.

With practiced ease he crawled down to the floor. He left the secret door agape, just in case he needed a quick escape. Tentatively, he reached for your toothbrush, still wet and sudsy from use. Part of himself wanted to pretend you left it unrinsed just for him, leaving a taste of you to entice him, and God did he want it.

Growing impatient he shoved his mask to the side before encasing the brush between his lips, tongue swirling around it as he groaned, savouring the flavour of your spit and the sweet toothpaste.

Palming his groin he sets the plastic brush back in its cup, turning his attention instead towards your discarded clothes tossed messily in the corner.

Shifting through he grabbed your pink and white striped tights along with the matching sports bra and underwear, both printed with cartoonishly drawn cats in astronaut suits floating around in what looked to be outer space.

Before shoving all three into his pocket, he took a moment to admire your outfit of the day, mesmerised by every detail and splash of pastel color.

He had never seen a girl like you before, granted, he’s seen very few girls in his life that weren’t old hags. But you, you were different. Decorating your skin as if you were a canvas with eccentric makeup and brightly colored hair.

It was only logical you’d wear clothing to match your beautiful body, a sheer pink ruffled skirt paired with a corseted cream shirt.

You were his perfect doll, a one of a kind gem he couldn’t wait to brandish.

Chapter 1 - You and Me, We’re Not The Same (Coming Soon)

[starlightsuffered]

Bus Trip

Info - fluff, small injury, a little anxiety, Timothée pov

I sighed heavily as I loaded my luggage on the bus. I was not looking forward to this cramped journey. I’d met up with some of my French friends in Canada, as they said this was the closest to America they were willing to get. I’d decided to take a bus back to New York. I really didn’t want to be driving with all the thunderstorms lately. It freaked me out. But so did this. I felt rather like a sardine.

“Is this row J seat two?” Asked a small voice. I turned to see a very pretty girl. She looked like she was trying her best to be confident, but was a bit frightened.

“Oh, um, yes, guess you’re beside me,” I said, giving her a reassuring smile. She nodded resolutely. She was attempting to lift her bag into the overhead compartment. The poor thing wasn’t nearly tall enough.

“Would you like some help?” I asked her gently.

“Oh are you sure?” She asked, but I could see the pleading in her expression.

“It’s no problem,” I shrugged. I grabbed the bag and slung it up beside mine. I gave her a smile.

“Thank you so much,” she said earnestly.

“Oh don’t even worry about it,” I brushed it off.

We settled in our seats. I noticed her hands making nervous movements. She touched the pad of her thumb to each other finger over and over as if playing some sort of odd instrument.

“You okay?” I finally asked.

“Just a bit nervous,” she explained.

“Why?”

“Well I’ve never taken a bus before. I live in the states and I have family in Canada. Usually, my family all drives up and down together. I wanted to stay longer this year so I booked a bus ticket back but…..”

“But?”

“Well I’m accident prone in the oddest ways. I’m sure something weird will happen on this trip, or I’ll miss a switch, or get sick, or something,” she said awkwardly.

“Well if I can be of any help let me know. I’m going back to New York, so I should be with you most of the way,” I offered.

“Oh thank you, that actually does make me feel better,” she said sheepishly.

“I’m Timothée by the way,” I told her.

“Y/n,” she smiled. I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks. She was very cute.

As the trip started, I noticed her eyes darting about through the window. She was closer to it than I was. I was so curious about what she was doing.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh?” She asked, not taking her eyes away from the window.

“You’re so focused on the road but you aren’t driving,” I said, trying to sound joking and not rude.

“Oh, I’m playing the alphabet game. Where you try to find every letter of the alphabet on signs and license plates. Usually you play against someone else, but I always make it challenge for myself. I’m already on Q.”

“I’ll play you,” I offered casually. Finally, her gaze whipped away from the road. She looked at me with such sweet hope I could’ve melted.

“Really?” She asked in near disbelief.

“Yeah,” I chuckled. “If we can start over that is.”

“No one ever wants to play with me,” she said with excitement. “Okay, one, two, three, go!”

“Z! I win again,” she crowed. One game had turned into three. She’d won every time. I hadn’t let her, but her cheering when she did was adorable.

“Alright, I’ll let you get to whatever you brought to occupy yourself with. I don’t mean to take up all your time with games,” she chuckled.

“No, I was having fun,” I told her honestly. “Do you have any more games?”

“Are you serious?” She asked with large eyes.

“Yes…”

“I’ve got loads!” She chuckled. “Let’s play the ranking game.”

She got a pen and notebook from her carry on. She made a list of 1 to 10. She explained to me that 1 meant the hottest and 10 the least hot. She told me she’d give celebrities and I had to put them at a place on the list without knowing who was coming next.

“Florence Pugh at five!” She exclaimed half way through the game.

“I know I know,” I groaned. “I’ve royally fucked this list up.”

“I mean come on Timothée,” she teased.

“Well all I had left were slots 10,5, and 1, and I wanted to save slots 1 and 10,” I tried to explain.

“Yeah, but in no world is Florence Pugh a five, you should have just put her at one for safety reasons,” she said knowledgeably.

“Alright, alright, next person please,” I asked.

“Selma Hayek,” she gave me next.

“Ten,” I said tentatively.

“She’s a total MILF,” y/n said, tossing a piece of Candy i’d offered her at me.

“I made my choice, which leaves my one up to fate,” I lifted my hands.

“Or up to the game master,” she said with a smirk.

“Hmmmmm,” she looked at the secret list of names she had hidden away from me. “This means your one issssss, Zendaya!”

“Oh thank you merciful goddess,” I said in a dramatic voice, nearly draping myself over her. She was giggling, but an older couple shushed us.

“That was fun,” I told her.

We ended up playing M.A.S.H, tik tack toe, battleship on our phones, and would you rather. However, after a while she kept yawning. I could tell she was enjoying herself but her eyelids looked heavy.

“Why don’t you get some rest, this whole thing is a twenty-four hour trip. You need to sleep sometime,” I told her.

“You’re probably right,” she agreed.

We both got settled. Soon, the lights in the bud were dimmed. I put on my headphones so I could listen to some music and not the snoring of the others in the bus. Soon the driving became lulling, and the rain that started gave a comforting ambiance.

Once during the trip, I woke up. It was pitch black outside. However, I felt a weight on my shoulder. I looked to see that y/n, in her sleep, had shifted to lay on my shoulder. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. I hunched down a bit so her neck wouldn’t hurt. I was much taller than her after all. Tentatively, I laid my head on hers for a second. I bit my lip. It felt good, but I couldn’t stay like that in good conscience. She’d done it without meaning to, and I shouldn’t do it without permission.

“End of the road folks!” Came the loud voice of the driver. It was time for us to switch buses.

“Oh shit, Timothée I’m sorry,” she said in alarm as she woke up.

“Huh?” I feigned not knowing what she was talking about.

“I didn’t mean to lean on you, is your shoulder okay? I hope I wasn’t too heavy,” she said as she gathered her things and blushed.

“Y/n, it was your head, not an elephant. It was comfortable, don’t worry,” I told her nonchalantly.

Y/n looked increasingly worried as the crowd began to grow. She was looking around the station at all the different buses. She gulped uncomfortably. I had both hands full so I couldn’t guide her, but I came up beside her.

“What’s your state?” I asked. She told me and I knew she’d be with me.

“Just follow me,” I reassured her.

I led her through the throngs of people and we found our bus. We made it back to our seats. I was happy we were placed together again. I was starting to really enjoy this girl’s company.

“Oh thank you, I can finally relax,” she sighed. “Just one more ride and then home.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

We began to talk again. She told me she was a teacher. I told her I was trying to be an actor. She said she wished her school had an acting program. She told me how she used to write plays and skits for some of her friends, and they would act them out.

“No, Avocado tastes like grass,” she rolled her eyes at me playfully.

“It’s good!” I exclaimed.

“Maybe if you’re a -“

Tires screeched. The driver called out. Before I knew what was happening I’d thrown out my arm to protect y/n, but my face was slammed forward into the seat in front of me.

“Holy shit,” y/n said when everything had been righted. She then looked down at how I had held her back.

“Y-you, you didn’t block yourself?” She asked.

“Is that bad?” I asked, feeling dazed and sore.

“You’re bleeding!” She cried, without answering my question. She yanked tissues from her carry on. She pressed them against my nose. She gently guided me so that my head was ripped back. My cheeks were bright red.

“It’s okay, it doesn’t even hurt,” I mumbled. She was stroking my cheek absentmindedly.

“Well I would hate to mar your pretty face,” she said lightly.

“You think I’m pretty?” I asked, eyes shifting to her. She smiled but didn’t meet my gaze, she was still looking for more injuries.

“Maybe a little,” she whispered.

“Well I think you are,” I admitted.

“Thank you,” she answered, biting her lip.

Thankfully my nose stopped bleeding. We talked on and off for the rest of the journey.

“Do you believe in fate?” She asked me suddenly.

“Fate?”

“Like destiny? Like, I don’t know, it feels like this was almost meant to be. What if everything was meant to work out so that we met one another on this trip,” she explained.

“No, I don’t,” I admitted.

“Yeah, probably stupid,” she said, sounding ashamed.

“It isn’t stupid,” I said, touching her arm. “I just have a difference of opinion. That doesn’t mean this hasn’t been fun or special. Perhaps not everything lined up perfectly in the universe to make this happen. Maybe it’s just random, but that’s important too. It’s important we make the most of the situations we’re in, and we’re doing that.”

“You know Timothée, you’re a good guy,” she said with a soft smile.

“Oh, thank you,” I said in surprise. “I think you’re good too.”

“Thank you,” she responded.

I really didn’t ever want this to end. I felt like I was on a lovely date that was going so well I didn’t want it to be over. Unfortunately, my stop was before hers.

“Well, I guess I’ve got to get off here,” I said sadly.

“Aw it’s going to be boring without you,” she said earnestly.

“Could, I, um, could I give you my number?” I asked, feeling shy suddenly.

“Yes!” She agreed enthusiastically. I watched her light up like a firework. I hadn’t anticipated the gorgeous stars in her eyes.

I quickly programmed my number into her phone. She laughed when she saw I’d named myself “Hot Bus Guy👃🏻🩸” she told me goodbye and gave me a hug.

I was finally back home, but I felt lonely. I couldn’t believe a simple bus trip could change so much. I felt like I’d left a life long friend. That’s when my phone pinged.

“I miss you already” - unknown number.

“This is y/n btw” - unknown number.

I smiled at my screen. I could already tell that wouldn’t be the last time I saw her.

@pmak2002 @softhecreator @plutoispurplw @sp1deyyf4ngz @seungcheol17daddy @jesschalamet @vvsdreaming

[birf]

You got any tips for traveling to Japan?

Oh yes I for sure do now

1. Learn some basic phrases to get around, especially for when buying stuff or ordering food. A few areas, especially in really touristy places, people will speak English to you, but I feel like people mostly just greet you/ask you things in Japanese regardless. And also you just wanna be polite! It’s also nice if you wanna compliment the food or people’s clothes.

You’re gonna be saying “arigatou gozaimasu” (thank you), “onegaishimasu” (please) and “sumimasen” (excuse me) a LOT

The google translate app is free and also great to use when you need!

2. Bring a coin purse

It’s still for the most part a cash based society over there. And you will collect soooo many coins. Have a little coin purse makes it easier to pull out. Also nice if you’re going to arcades. Plus all the vending machines.

Also when you’re buying stuff there will be a tray to put you’re money in and then they’ll ask if you if that’s okay before they take it. And then you say yes.

3. Pack very light on toiletries.

Unless you got some very specific products you like, convenience stores literally have everything you’d need plus they’re very cheap. All hotels and most hostiles will provide you with toiletries as well. Save the space and don’t pack them.

4. I ended getting a pasmo card to use for the subway and do not worry about the subway system being confusing. It’s also very easy to put money on your cards at the station (there’s all different language options.)

Google maps will tell you every single detail on how to get places through the subway even telling you which cart has the least amount of people. It was very easy getting around.

Don’t forget rush hour is around 7:00-9:00 AM, you will get squished.

5. You can ship you luggage to places your staying for very cheap.

My brother had to do this cause he’s moving back there so he had a lot of luggage. And it’s reallllyyy tiring to bring up and down a million stairs on the subway and so you can go to any station or hotel and ship that luggage there and it was like $10. It’s really nice if you need to do something like that.

6. Don’t bring a water bottle, but bring the best walking shoes you got.

You don’t need a water bottle cause there’s vending machines for drinks everywhere. But we were walking around 10-15 miles every day. You’re feet are gonna hurt.

7. Don’t eat and walk

Some places out on the street will even ask you where you’re going to eat the food so don’t walk away with it before they give you the food. Most konbini’s have a seating area. But if you buy food or a snack from somewhere just sit and and eat before you keep walking.

8. Always walk on the left side (unless you’re in Osaka for some reason)

Especially if you at a subway station, people are rushing, so always keep to the left. And then in Osaka it was just all on the right.

9. No trash cans outside

I’d seen a lot of people talk about how you gotta carry your trash around because there’s no trash cans outside which is trUE but you don’t gotta carry it around. Just stop in a konbini to throw away trash. Also almost all vending machines have bottle recycling next to them.

10. Always wait in the queue.

To get the subway, lines will start to form. Instead of getting in the front and waiting just by the train door be sure to get in line. There will be lines everywhere for stuff. Just make sure you’re not cutting in wait in line.

Also wait to cross the street. Even when it’s red and there’s absolutely nO cars around anywhere. You still wait for it to turn green. Just another polite thing.

11. Some more subway etiquette that I think of:

Keep an eye for elderly and disabled people coming onto the train to give you seat to. You can say “dozo” (go ahead) and gesture to the seat. There will even be signs on the trains explaining to do this but it is something that did happen a lot, also just the right thing to do so.

Don’t talk on the phone or eat on the train. Also just don’t talk loudly in general on the train. It’s mostly very quiet.

Anddddd this is all I can think of for now lol. Hope this helps!

[deariemaybank]

Concealed Hearts

Summary: Angela goes back to the outerbanks after many years to visit family but this time she actually plans on making her holiday worth it.

Pairing: eventually JJ Maybank x oc mid size reader

Pls note: this will also be posted on my Wattpad if you prefer to read it on there. This is my first ever time writing something, I’ve recently had an obsession with outerbanks and JJ Maybank that I had the biggest urge to write up a story thats been playing over in my head for a while. Sorry if this is not written well and as you can probably guess I’m from Australia so I will do my best to avoid any Aussie slang but can’t make any promises. This is a eventual JJ Maybank x original character story, it will not follow the show completely but most parts will be put in and adjusted to match up with the whole story. I don’t own any of the OBX characters, only the ones I added to the story. The prologue is the only thing that’s going to be written second person, the rest will be written in first person.

Warnings: swearing (which I have done my best to keep minimal at the moment), talk of body sizes

(Pls comment what you think and where I can improve and if you would like me to continue the story - which I probably will anyway 😂)

Thank you and I hope you enjoy the story.

Prologue:

“Flight 181 is now boarding…” you over heard on the airport speaker. You picked up your carry on bag, holding onto your current book that you were reading and followed your family to board the plane.

“Are you excited?” Your little sister asked you trying to make small talk to calm both of your nerves. You both loved flying but there was always a small amount of nerves lurking around. This was technically your sisters second but first time as she claims heading to the outer banks, you had been once before when you were about 6 years old just after your Aunty had moved, your sister came but she was still a bit too young to remember anything even though you two are only one and half years apart. You remembered small details here and there like the few people you got to meet but mainly remembered and tried to stay friends with a girl you met on one of your last days, her name was Kiara. Unfortunately you guys lost touch over the years as you both moved on with your lives, you in Australia and Kiara in the outerbanks.

“Yeah, you?” You replied, your sister nodded. You found your seat on the plane next to your sister, loaded your bag in the overhead compartment, made sure to grab your book and buckle yourself in because as everyone knows Australia to America is about a 15hr flight so you had no choice but to get comfy and wait for the plane to take off.

Once you landed in Charleston, you caught the ferry over to the outerbanks where you spot your Aunty waiting for you, you ran up to her with the biggest smile on your face, you haven’t seen her in a few years the last time being when she came to Australia about two years ago. “Angela!!” “Aunty Jessica!!” You both shouted at the same time running up to each other, your sister joining in not long after followed by your parents.

You drove to where your Aunty was currently residing with your uncle Matthew, who she met while on holiday and moved to the Outerbanks to be with. Your Aunty lived in what the outerbanks people called the cut which was for the working class/poor people. The rich people lived on figure 8 which was the other side of the island and were called the kooks, your Aunty and Uncle made enough to get by comfortably but just weren’t rich enough to live in figure 8, they were kind of in the middle. Your uncle had a garage working as a mechanic and your Aunty was currently working at a place called the wreck which is how you met Kiara after running into her at her parents shop last time you were here as you waited for your Aunty to finish up her shift on that day. Once you unloaded your luggages and found your room for the next 6 weeks, you decided to take a nap as it was night time in Australia and you could feel your body needing a good rest.

Chapter 1:

I could hear my sister coming into my room before I could even open my eyes fully, pulling me out of my peaceful slumber. We had landed in the outerbanks about three days ago and have just spent the last few days sleeping, settling in and catching up with our Aunty, Uncle and cousins who we weren’t very close to due to the age gaps between us all but I still cared to know how they have been going.

“Ange?” My sister called my nickname from the door before entering my room like she didn’t already disturb my sleep, I prefer to be called Ange, Angela was just a tad too formal sometimes and Angel just didn’t sit right with me “Can we please go to the beach today? The sun is out and I wanna go see some hot surfer dudes!!” I looked at her for a moment then decided why the fuck not, we are on holiday anyway. “Sure, sounds like a plan” I told her, I honestly had no interest in surfer dudes or any romance at the moment (especially not after getting my heartbroken like 3 weeks ago back home by a guy I had a crush on who was just playing with my heart strings because he thought it was funny in front of his friends, luckily I didn’t end up doing anything with him, thankful to my stubborn self for once for not falling for his trap fully and losing my virginity to him) but my sister was what I considered boy crazy, everything she did in life always revolved around them but as long as she was happy, that’s all that mattered to me. I just wanted to sit back in the sand and continue my book, perhaps go for a swim as well because the ocean is where my mind finds solace and swimming is just something I always found naturally easy and calming.

I put on my swimsuit and cover up on top, packed my sunscreen,towel,book and sunnies and headed out to the beach with my sister. We found a spot and placed our umbrella above us mainly above me because I am known to burn pretty easily, placed our towels down and got comfy, me with my book and my sister tanning while scrolling on her phone.

“Angela? Is that you?” I heard someone say, slowly looking away from my book,I turned to see a familiar face walking towards me, I swore I couldn’t put my finger on who it was, as the person got closer, I started to notice her brown eyes first, my mind knowing I knew those eyes from somewhere.

“Oh my god, Kiara is that you?” I shouted out as my brain finally caught up with what was going on. I ran up to meet her half way pulling her into a hug both of us squealing with excitement of seeing each after soo long. “ what are you doing here?” Kiara asked me “came to visit Aunt Jessica and uncle Matthew” I replied

“Girl it’s been too long and we have so much to catch up on, you look really good.” Kiara mentioned and I agreed with her “yeah it’s been way too long and what are you talking about? Have you looked in the mirror?You have grown up to look like an absolute goddess girl” I replied to which Kiara laughed at, thanking me for the compliment.

My sister came up behind me, eager to meet my friend “Oh Kiara, this is my sister, Isabella but we all call her, Bella. Bella this is my friend, Kiara. The one I met last time we came here.” I introduced them allowing Bella and Kiara to officially meet, they hugged and started going on about how it was so nice to finally meet each other in person and Kiara mentioning she is glad she got to finally meet my ‘famous’ sister.

“What are you doing tonight, Ange?” Kiara asked me “Nothing I think, why do you ask?” I replied. “My friends and I are having a bonfire tonight and I would love for you to come, Bella can come too.” Kiara asked me “Ah, thanks for the invite Kiara but I’m not a huge party girl.” I replied

“Angelllaaa” Kiara said dragging out my full name in a pleading tone “First of all, please call me Kie and second, I really want you to come please even for just a little bit so we can catch up and you can meet my friends, I know they want to meet you as I’ve told them all about you.” Kie said

I thought it over for a minute and then referred back to my previous mindset in the morning, I am on holiday, might as well have some fun. “Okay Kie, I will come for a little bit but can’t promise I will stay long.”

Bella decided to chime in then asking me “can I please come with you, Ange?” I replied “yeah sure but pls no drinking as you are way too under age and our parents will kill me.” Bella was so excited and hugged me and then went up to hug Kie then got back to her tanning session and staring at the boys surfing. After exchanging phone numbers and socials with Kie so I didn’t lose contact with her this time, Kie then had to leave so she could go help her parents at their shop.

“So I’ll see you tonight?” Kie asked. “Yeah see you tonight.” I replied. As I finally got comfortable again with my book, Bella started hitting me on the arm with such urgency that I almost lost my place in your book. “What is it, Bell?” I asked her, sending her a glare because I was certain it was about a boy to which I was correct.

“Ange, you see the blonde one surfing out there? He is so hot!!” Bella said. I looked over and spotted the blonde boy coming in with his surfboard, he was cute I couldn’t say she was wrong but I just didn’t have the same mindset as her especially after he who shall not be named fucked me over, I honestly was really here to just enjoy my holiday, I replied “oh yeah, he seems kinda cute” not fully interested in taking it further but not wanting to ruin Bella’s mood and went back to my book because fictional men are better then real men at the moment and they are always end up being perfect to their partners and thats because they are usually written by woman, which is a fact I will always stand by.

“Angela, make sure you look after Bella and stay safe.” My mum reminded me for the fifth time tonight before we left to go to the bonfire.I was wearing a simple black crop top and light blue pair of ripped jeans which always did wonders for my body shape, highlighting all my favourite curves and some comfy shoes because I mean who doesn’t want to be comfortable, with my hair left down in it’s natural style with slight waves, while my sister who has a slightly different wardrobe style to me was wearing black bike shorts and a white crop top which suited her body shape. My sister has always been skinner than me, she was just blessed with a faster metabolism like my father and I unfortunately was not as I took after my mother but I never let that get me down, even though people at school and some distant relatives always tried making me feel like I had to change my body which don’t get me wrong I have tried, it’s just never worked and I found that the less I try and I just focus on being happy mentally is when I actually see better results. My family and true friends never saw me any different which is why I was proud of the body I had, always doing my best to be grateful about small things in life I had where I can be. “Yes mum, I will.” I replied, Bella also voicing out a promise to our parents that she will be good, we headed out towards the beach where the bonfire had already started.

A/n: sorry there is only so little mention of JJ in this chapter, i always feel like backstory is important when starting something so you can fully understand the story. Anyway, I’ll put up chapter 2 soon and hopefully we can get a good start on this story. Thank you so much for reading :)

[fandomwrites]

idea!! cole x reader but it would kinda be like the barton x reader except cole surprises you and takes you to paris for your anniversary and he proposes to you.

Cole Zieser x Reader

Summary- During a surprsie trip to paris Cole decides to surprise you again. This time with something that you never expected. but it's the best surprise ever.

Word Count: 1108

ALWAYS YES

It’s been 4 years since Cole and I have been together. So for our anniversary he’s taking us to Paris. I was at home packing when he walked through the door.

“Okay I got the last of everything we need. Neck pillows, eye masks, extra chargers, and I got you more makeup wipes.”

“Aww thank you, I forgot I was almost out of them.”

“I saw when I got out of the shower this morning. Wanted to make sure you had some for the trip.”

“Well thank you. I appreciate it.” I give him a kiss.

“Okay we have about 2 hours before we leave. Do you want food?”

“Sure, maybe some Chinese.”

“Absolutely, I’ll go call.”

He then goes to order the food while I go sit on the couch to put on a movie.

“Okay it should be here in about 15 minutes.”

“Okay that sounds good.”

“Are you excited?” He asks as he puts his arm around me.

“Very, I’ve never been out of the country before and it’s gonna be a nice break after so many shows without one.”

“I know. It’s gonna be a nice break, though I have some stuff planned, we still have lots of spare time.”

“Good, I can’t wait.”

*A few hours later*

Once we got to the airport and went through security we settled down in a seat near our gate. We have about 30 minutes before we need to board. I see a girl wearing an outsiders shirt pointing at us. We look over and wave. At first I thought she was gonna come over but she just smiles and waves back. 

“It’s almost time. Are you ready? He asks as he grabs my hand.

“So ready.”

They then call our flight.

Once we get on the plane I realize that Cole got us first class.

“This is too much, baby. We are already going to Paris.”

“Just let me spoil you. You deserve it.”

“Fine, and only because I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The flight goes pretty smoothly. We both sleep for most of it. The tiredness of non-stop shows getting to us. 

We then land and start to get off the plan to claim our luggage.

“Okay when we get outside there should be an uber waiting for us. Then we will check into our Airbnb then we can get something to eat.”

“That sounds perfect.”

When we get to our place I'm in awe

There's a balcony with a clear view of the Eiffel Tower. It's so beautiful.

“Oh my god Cole, it's so beautiful. This is incredible. Thank you so much for this.”

I reach up and hug him.

“It is really amazing, it looks even better than the pictures. Okay what do you want for dinner?”

“Anywhere, it doesn’t matter to me.”

We ended up going to a place called Le Ju’. It was absolutely incredible. I might get fat on this trip. 

We got back to the Airbnb and set up a bubble bath in the jacuzzi tub.

As I get in Cole hands me a glass of wine and he gets in as well.

“So what is on the agenda for tomorrow?” I ask him.

“Well, first we are going to go sightseeing, and have lunch in front of the Eiffel tower. Then we can come back here, rest, do whatever then get ready for a super nice dinner.”

“That sounds incredible. I’m glad I packed a nice outfit.”

“Either way you would look great.”

“Aww such a sap.”

I kissed him.

When I wake up the next morning I’m alone in bed. But then I hear someone come in.

“I got us breakfast. I was gonna ask if you wanted anything specific but you were out. So I just let you be.”

“Ooh what did you get?”

“I got us croissants, they were nice and fresh too. I got some chocolate ones and plain. I got you waffles with strawberries and bananas. Then I got some pancakes with strawberries and blueberries.”

“Oh wow this looks amazing. Thank you.”

“Of course. Don’t want you to be hungry while we walk around.”

The sights were absolutely beautiful. I took so many pictures and immediately sent them to our cast group chat. 

After lunch we head back to the airbnb. I decided to take a nap before I get ready for dinner. And Cole goes to call his brothers.

When I wake up I hear the shower going so I decide to start getting ready.

As I curl my hair Cole gets out of the shower.

“Good morning sleepyhead.” He says and kisses me on the head.

“That nap was incredible.”

“I bet you looked super comfortable.”

“I was, I could stay there forever. But I'm excited for dinner.”

“Me too.”

I then finish curling my hair and I start my makeup. Cole comes into the bathroom in an outfit that I can only describe as “delicious.”

“Look at you.”

“Be quiet. It’s nothing fancy.”

“You still look amazing. I’ve never seen that shirt before.”

“That’s because I just got before the trip.”

“Well I’d love to see it more.”

“I’ll remember that. Are you almost done?”

“Yeah, I just have to finish my lashes and lips then get dressed and I’ll be ready. Maybe about 10-15 more minutes.”

“Okay that’s fine. No rush.”

After I get dressed we leave for the restaurant. When we get there once again I’m in awe. Everything here is so beautiful. 

“Hi, I have a reservation for Zieser.”

“Okay, perfect right this way.” A woman says with a very thick accent. She leads us upstairs to a balcony. A private table.

“Okay this is seriously too much baby. A private table.”

“Like I’ve said before. You deserve it. I wanted tonight to be special.”

After we eat dinner the waitress brings out dessert. On the plate it says something. I look at it and it says, ‘Will you Marry Me?’

I looked up at him shocked only to find him on one knee.

“Y/n, to this exact day 4 years ago I asked you to be my girlfriend. It was the best decision of my life. These past 4 years have been filled with the most fun I’ve ever had. The most love I’ve ever felt. And it’s all because of you. So why not continue all of it. I thought it would be fitting to ask you to be my wife, the same day I asked you to be my girlfriend. So, Y/n will you marry me?”

“Yes, absolutely. Oh my god!”

He puts the ring on my finger and stands up to kiss me.

The absolute best trip ever.

Their dinner outfits

[maramontwrites]

The Briefcase

Stealing at an airport is easier than you’d expect. Everyone has valuable stuff with them, most people are too tired to really pay attention to their surroundings, and they’re usually busy guarding their passport and boarding pass to realise their suitcase has just been switched with an decoy filled up with rocks. At least until it is too late and I’m already on a different plane halfway across the world.

This one had been even easier. An important looking gentleman in an expensive black suit was standing next to some benches, his briefcase balanced against the seat behind him, as he stared out into the hall, his eyes on everything except his luggage. He had actually seen me before I saw him, and the daunting feeling his gaze gave me when it fell on me almost made me reconsider, but he made himself too easy of a target for me to ignore. I didn’t even need a decoy, I just scooped up the bag and walked away. He didn’t look in my direction even once.

My plane was departing in only half an hour, but I quickly sneaked into a bathroom to check out my newest acquisition. I was hoping for some money, an expensive laptop, or company secrets I could blackmail people with. Whenever I stole from guys like him, it was always something good, even if it just seemed like useless papers. Even better, since papers are easier to get through security than loose money.

Instead, when I clicked open the briefcase, I was greeted by a loud wailing sound. I quickly snapped it shut, listening for any signs of people in the stalls next to me who could’ve heard that, but apart from my own heartbeat, the room was completely quiet. I calmed myself down by rationalizing that it was just an anti-theft alarm, which was not something I hadn’t dealt with before. Even though that wailing had not sounded like any alarm I’ve ever encountered.

I carefully shook the briefcase, hoping a rattling or rustling would still tell me its contents, but as far as I could hear, there was nothing in it. I felt like an idiot shaking it around like that, and I decided to just forget about the contents for now and focus on catching my plane, as I wouldn’t be able to find out what was in it if the guy who it belonged to would see me while I was waiting for the next plane. I walked out of that bathroom to my gate with confidence, both to act like I was someone who would carry such a briefcase around and because I knew I would have a good haul, even if I hadn’t yet figured out what that haul was exactly.

Nine hours later I landed at my destination, which means I was hopefully at least nine hours away from the original owner of my stolen goods. Security posed no problem; they barely even looked at me as I walked out of the airport. I had spent nine hours fantasizing, and I came to the conclusion that it must be even better than I had expected if someone had bothered to put such an alarm on a briefcase. I was already walking the halls of my hotel, eager with anticipation to see what it was I had gained that day, when a voice stopped me, the sound sending chills down my spine.

“Would you mind returning my property, please?”

I turned around to see the same man I had seen at the airport hours before, immediately recognizing his creepy eyes.

“I… Uhm… I don’t…” I stuttered, not sure whether to deny it even though I was holding the briefcase, or to just give it back and hope he wouldn’t call the cops. “How did you even get here?!” I eventually settled on. He had not been on the plane with me, I had made sure of that. It was physically impossible for him to stand before me, and yet there he was.

The man smiled, holding out his hand towards the briefcase. “I have my ways. Now, I believe that is mine and I would like it back, please.”

I instinctively handed it to him, feeling like I didn’t have another option. I had never met anyone who had been this polite about being robbed.

“That’s better. Souls should not be in the possession of a mortal anyway, you’re lucky this did not end up any worse.” The man smiled again, before turning around and walking away, his feet not leaving any footsteps on the soft carpet.

“Souls? What do you mean souls?!” I called after him, but he had disappeared into thin air after taking only two steps. I was left alone in that hallway, telling myself not to steal a briefcase like that ever again. I would just stick to suitcases.

[adorewo0]

SUMMARY : You are gifted barricade tickets to a Seventeen concert by your best friend. Woozi ends up taking your phone leading you down a slightly hectic and confusing love story with someone you never thought you would meet.

PAIRING : Idol!Woozi x Non-idol!reader

GENRE : Fluff, delulu, idol au/smau(?)

FEATURING : All of Seventeen

WARNINGS : None :)

NOTES : This is my first story, so any feedback on things I need to improve on would be helpful. Also some parts will be set up like a smau. It’s all based on what I’m feeling in the moment/what I think is visually appealing. THIS IS PURE FICTION AND NOT RELATED TO THE IDOLS IRL!

AN : At this point its Follow Tour Woozi cause he been looking too good. But I hope y'all are enjoying this! Originally it was for my bsf which is why its really cliche but I never finished. I'mma try and get chapters out more often so you don't have to wait. If you want to be notified when I update just tell me and I'll tag you!

Thank you<3

Chapter 2

“No cause vocal unit’s performance of Habit ate!” Kya emphasizes, “I swear a few tears dropped.” We are having our little debrief session at the airport waiting to board our plane.

“No cause S.Coups in Fire?” I point out, “That’s what did it for me.” So did S.Coups helping me. I force the thoughts of the many weird interactions from the night before out of my head.

Passengers for Plane ### may start boarding now. Please recall the information…

I tune out the rest of the information from the intercom knowing I don’t need it. Kya and I gather our things and get in line.

We ended up getting separated in the process of her booking our plane tickets, so I had to say a short “Bye” to her on the way to my seat.

When I get to my seat I put my luggage overhead and sat down. I’m sitting next to this dude with relatively long hair and a mask on. From what I can see of him, his face looks promising. I say “Hi” but he ignores me, looks out the window and turns up the music in his headphones. Oh.I decided to not let it bother me and focus on what movie I should watch from the plethora of options I downloaded beforehand.

Another person sits next to me, but I’m glued to my phone so I don’t pay much attention. I hear a deep voice say “Hey” and my head shoots up. I recognize the voice and as I stare at his mask-covered face more, the face matches as well.

“Oh hi! I didn’t expect to see you here.” I say dumbfounded.

“I didn’t expect to see you here either, you live in Atlanta or just visiting?” he asks incredulously.

“Yeah. My friend and I flew up to NY to see you guys since there was no ATL tour date.”

“Thank you! But sorry about that, we decided to do a last minute pop-up at a music festival in ATL a few days ago.” He says with a sorrowful look back.

“No it’s okay! We really enjoyed ourselves and the money was all worth it.” I say warmly.

“Thank you again for enjoying it.” I nod my head and the conversation dies down a little bit, but a few mins later he asks, “Do you wanna come to our sound check before the pop up? You can bring your friend and just hang out with us.”

“For real?” I ask in disbelief.

“Yeah! I thought it would be fun for you plus I think your chill and a couple of the other members think the same as well.” The information he provides me with is kind of surprising, but I go with it.

“Sure then! I’ll bring my friend Kya.”

“Great!” We continue talking on and off, my movie getting ignored for the most part the whole plane ride.

Kya’s POV

I get to my seat after my small wave to y/n. I’m trying to put up my suitcase, but I’m struggling due to my height being on the shorter side. The man who was waiting behind me stops me and takes the suitcase and puts it away. I let out a short sorry feeling self conscious. I sit down in the middle seat and he also puts his bag over my row and comes to sit in the window seat. I push my legs in, out of courtesy, and he slips past me. I distract myself with my phone and later the plane starts to take off.

I decide to fall asleep out of boredom after take off and lean my head back against my seat. I soon doze off but my head moves all the way to the left into an uncomfortable position. I feel someones’ hand grab my head and move it to the right on something hard. I look up and stare at the man from before and he slowly starts to look familiar. Minghao? Nah I’m trippin. I fall back asleep on the man’s shoulder which feels heavenly to use as a pillow.

He wakes me up when the plane has landed and I look up at him confused. I soon realized that my “dream” was not a dream and that was truly Minghao. Wtf… I decide to be chill about it so I don’t expose his identity. I let out a small thank you and move out of my seat to get my things.

Of course I struggle again, so he helps me with my bag and gets his at the same time. Fuck it. I make small talk with him while we're walking out of the plane which turns into a really chill conversation. Laughing with Minghao, we walk into the empty gate where I see y/n standing with 2 men. oh- I walk up to her with a questioning look and she does the same back.

[thegodshavehorns]

Sleepover on Hellmurder Island: A Cruise (3/6)

Your name is John Egbert, and you are about to meet a friend at the airport. This is a friend who you met online a year ago, and in most situations, this would not be a smart move. In this situation, it’s only slightly better.

“Straaaaaanger Danger!” you say to yourself, putting on a Texan accent just for kicks. Your chaperone, a plainclothes policewoman with a sigil of Mind printed on her cap, glances at you a moment, then goes back to looking bored. Maybe she drew the short straw, accompanying you while you take this little vacation. You ask her if that is the case.

Her verdict: “Why don’t you read a book or something, kid?”

She’s no fun.

What is kind of fun is that you’re in Honolulu, Hawaii! Vacation paradise! Land of hula and coconut bras!

…You don’t really know much about Hawaii. You’d buy a guidebook, but you’re not going to be in Honolulu for long. It’s really just a stopover. So instead you rifle through some free travel brochures.

You start pacing back and forth between the two nearest gates. It looks very sunny outside. You can see palm trees out beyond the runways, about the same size, at this distance, as the palm trees on the brochure in your hand.

The brochure also has surf boards and luaus and ladies in bikinis and fancy hotel spas. All sorts of stuff you’re pretty sure are not going to be happening to you on this trip. Unless Rose and Jade decide to wear bikinis. Um.

They don’t mention on the brochures how Kauai was overrun by the Witch’s monsters and abandoned about five years ago. That doesn’t count as “knowledge about Hawaii” — everyone knows about that… but chin up, John! Jade never mentioned monsters on her island. It’s probably fine.

Oh! You hear an announcement over the intercom. The flight from Houston has arrived at the gate! FINALLY.

Your escort holds up the “DAVE STRIDER” sign, and you scan the faces as they pour in, searching for the only one who will be wearing sunglasses inside the airport.

There! White-blond hair, dark shades, too-cool-for-school expression (never mind it was mid-summer!): Dave Strider, the one and only, just like on video chat.

“You’re so short, dude!” you blurt, and laugh. “I thought you’d be taller!”

“The webcam adds ten pounds,” he replies, not missing a beat. “Mine are vertical.”

“No way!” You grin. “I don’t think pounds can be vertical.”

“It’s just science, Eggy-B.” He raises one fist for a bump. “Pound it.”

“Pft.” You roll your eyes, but you can’t leave him hanging. You pound it. “I know this sounds sappy, but it’s good to meet you, man.”

He cracks a small smile. “We already met like eleven months ago, nerd! Hell, I meet you every day in fucking cyberspace. But I guess coming here and making a home run has got me all sappy too, ‘cause uh… Yeah.”

“Aw!” You beam at him. “I’m glad you think so too!”

———

“Dang.” You run your hands along the interior wood paneling of the yacht that will, over the course of the next three days, take you to Jade’s island home. “Fancy boat.”

“It’s alright,” says Dave, looking around the inner cabin of the yacht. “Don’t see why they couldn’t fly us there. Not like they can’t charter a plane. They have like infinite money. Scrooge McDucking up in this shit.”

You shrug. “Gods work in mysterious ways, who knows?” You grin. “But look at this snack bar, dude! There’s Gushers! You can’t get this on an airplane, come on. And there’s a couch and plush seats and, check it, a widescreen TV!”

“Is there a crew?” Dave wonders. “Or just that Mind-cop following you around?”

“I think she is here cause I uh, tried to run away, that one time,” you mumble. “But hey, I think there’s an Xbox attached here!”

“Mhm,” says Dave. “Hold that thought, I’m gonna go put my shit downstairs.”

Dave goes behind the counter and downstairs, his luggage rattling metallically as he drags it to the berth. You wonder briefly what he’s got in there that rattles so loudly, then go back to exploring the yacht.

This boat is unbelievably fancy. It’s got a minifridge and a bar (stocked with soft drinks, you checked), a DVD library (oh heck yes, they have Con Air and you’re absolutely going to force Dave to watch it). There’s a cupboard full of board games and another full of what looks like snorkeling gear. You’ve gone swimming in pools and once a lake, but never in the ocean before! You’re excited to try it, but also thinking a little bit about sharks. You’re not planning on telling Dave that part.

It’s nice that the yacht has a fair amount of space, so you probably won’t go too stir-crazy. The main indoor cabin has all the amenities, and the bedrooms are on the lower floor. There’s also a front deck and a back deck and an upper deck where there’s like, a captain’s room with lots of fancy looking monitors and buttons and stuff. You poke around the lower deck and find a locked room (maybe where the Mind-Cop is staying?) and also a cargo room, with a bunch of crates. They’re labeled with Jade’s name so you don’t mess with them.

Once you’ve explored to your satisfaction, you go to the upper deck, letting the wind blast in your face for a bit. It feels nice.

You turn to look back towards the boat’s…. You don’t remember what the back is technically called. The starboard? Anyway, you look towards the boat’s ass, and you see that the Honolulu shore is already barely visible in the distance. You’ve never been so far from home before. You swallow dryly.

“Hey,” says Dave from behind you.

You jump, just a little, and he smirks. “Pft, don’t jump off the deck, ectobiologist. They’ll have to stop the boat and waste hours fishing your ass out of the drink. We’ll be like, halfway to New Zealand or whatever and the Mind-cop steering the boat’ll be all: ‘Oops, we lost the less-cool one,’ and instead of kickin’ it with shirley temples and virgin mojitos we’ll have to go all the way the fuck back, only to find you dying of hypothermia in the unforgiving waves, and we’ll be like “I’ll never let go, John!” but we’ll have to let go cause you’ll be totally dead. Who did you think it was, fucking slenderman?”

You blink at him, just a moment, then smile. “It’s Hawaii. The water’s not that cold.”

He puts a hand on your shoulder and leans in like he’s whispering.  “One word, Eggy-B: jellyfish. Invisible, boneless sea-jello with poison that makes your flesh turn green and peel right off.”

You shove him lightly. “Fuck off, I am not gonna get stung by jellyfish.” You’re still grinning like a loon, excited at the prospect of spending nearly three days with no parental (or even any adult??) supervision. Anyway, fuck jellyfish.

“They can smell fear from miles away.”

You snort. “No way, man! You are definitely lying.”

“If the Witch changed ‘em, they could. Anyway, it’s not like you’re a marine biologist.” He pauses. “You’re an ecto-biologist, whatever the fuck that means.”

“It’s ghosts. So like, ectoplasm?”

“Okay, well ghosts are like the jellyfish of the graveyard.”

“Pfffaahahaha!”

This trip is gonna rule.

------

That evening, you wander into the cabin, thinking about food.

“Yo check it,” says Dave, then launches himself off the wall and does a backflip over the dining table. The mind-cop, who is putting out a few platters of reheated pizza for you, frowns at him but says nothing.

That was the sweetest flip you’ve ever seen, and you let out a whoop. “Dude, you should try out for the Olympics.”

“Fuck that, can you see me in one of those leotards? Skin tight with sparkles and shit and a national flag? Doing a triple-spin reacharound with a forward pirouette off the uneven bars? No fucking way.” Dave sits down at the table. “Anyway, I’m out of practice.”

You shake your head in amazement. “Dude. Did the Rogue teach you that?”

“Uh.” You can’t read his expression behind the shades, but Dave’s posture shifts slightly, turning away. “Not really.”

“Oh.” You wait for him to elaborate. “Okay.” He doesn’t elaborate.

“What about you, Bob the Builder?” He nods at the hammer looped around your belt. “You’re always going on about the Seer. You gotta have something to show for it.”

“Oh. Uh.” You frown and rub your arms. Phantom bruises. “I guess. Nothing like that.”

The Seer has told you, in no uncertain terms, to never go anywhere without your hammer within arm’s reach. She even punished you once for not keeping it by your bed at night. These days you barely even notice the handle’s weight against your leg.

Thankfully, Dave drops the subject, inspecting the contents of a little box on the table. Tea bags, apparently. “This tea is shit,” he mutters. “Lipton, seriously?”

You smirk at him. “You’re a tea snob?”

“Jolly right pip pip,” he replies, doing a terrible Dick Van Dyke impression as he picks up his pepperoni slice with his pinky stuck out. “Fancy a cuppa yourself, good chap?”

“Whatever.” You roll your eyes.

“Bollocks. Bloody hell.” He wiggles his pinky in your face.

“Stop it.”

“Arse,” he continues, pronouncing the word with a hard ‘r.’

“What the fuck kind of accent is that? You sound like a pirate. Arrrrrrrrs.”

“Avast,” he concludes. “Shiver me timbers. Booty.”

You lift your foot up and shove your shoe in his face. “Booty yourself!”

You both laugh as the sun sets over the waves.

--------

After two days on the yacht, motoring smoothly through tropical heat, the interior is basically trashed, with dirty dishes and food wrappers everywhere. Your cabins are in a similar state. Why did Dave put a real godsdamn sword in the shower stall? It is a mystery for the ages.

You pass the time with Dave playing Marvel vs. Capcom and chatting about whatever. You manage to convince him to watch Con Air, and his commentary is both hilarious and scandalous. You love it. The Mind-Cop stays in her cabin or sometimes goes to the captain’s cabin, presumably to make sure the ship is still on course. But other than those occasional glimpses, you and Dave have the run of the yacht.

The lack of adults is normal for Dave. He doesn’t have parents. In fact, you’ve been specifically advised by the Seer to not bring up family-related topics with him. Because he’s traumatized or something. You’re not sure about that, though. He doesn’t seem traumatized.

It’s the morning of the third day, and you are scheduled to arrive at Jade’s island that evening. Some combination of your time zones changing and no fatherly supervision has messed up your internal clock something fierce, and when you wake up you have no earthly idea what time it is.

“Blargh,” you say, and stretch, and shuffle out of bed. You glance in the mirror. You look like a mess, and you could maybe use a shower, but there’s a sword in there, oh well. You decide to just pat your hair down. Good enough.

When you manage to slouch upstairs to the main cabin, Dave is already there, writing in his notepad in the sunlight. “Sup, sleeping not-so-beauty,” he says, not looking up from the pad of paper.

“Does that make you prince not-so-charming?” you shoot back. He smiles, just a little. You’ll take that as a win. “What time is it?”

He doesn’t glance up. “Noon or something. I dunno.”

“What are you doing?”

“Sketching some comics.” He waves the notepad around, and you get a glimpse of what looks like a stick figure of Hella Jeff being keelhauled. “No internet out here, it’s fucking barbaric. I feel like a goddamn caveman, making comics with a stick and paper. We’ve moved past this. Fuck. At least it’s ironic. Acoustic S.B.H.J.: ten times shittier and one hundred times slower. Read it and weep, Charles Schulz. Pee these nuts.”

You lean over to peer at the sketches, but other than the keelhauling, you can’t tell much of what is going on. “Is that the yacht? Is this autobiographical?”

“I fuckin’ hope not. I’m not-”

That’s when the Mind-cop rushes in, and there’s something about her body language that makes you both shut up. “Boys,” she commands, and you blink in surprise, not having heard her voice since the first day. “Get down in the cabins, there’s-”

WHUMP. The boat shudders and rocks, nearly throwing you off your feet, reminding you very viscerally of the fact that you are out at sea, hundreds of miles from the nearest shore, with only a thin aluminum-and-fiberglass hull separating you from briny doom.

“The fuck was that?” Dave voices the same question you were thinking, and you both rush to the window.

“Boys!” the cop snaps, but you don’t really care: you can see the water frothing outside.

“What’s-”

That’s when the thing erupts out of the water, immense, like a semi-truck heaving up from the waves, with what must be hundreds of clicking, skinny, chitinous limbs instead of a grille. Seawater glistens on its crusty back, pouring off the dark maroon sides of what looks like a shrimp the size of a whale. It remains there a moment, then lunges at the yacht, heaving itself up onto the deck and lifting pincers like twin excavator buckets.

“Gaugh!” you scream, lurching back from the windows of the cabin as the horrible crustacean bashes them with its claws, making spiderweb cracks. The mind cop unholsters a gun as the second blow shatters the windows entirely.

Dave is retreating down to the berth as the yacht rocks under the creature’s weight, lurching back and forth. Is he going to get his swords? Maybe he’s just running away.

“John! Get down, get a-!” The mind cop fires one shot, a harsh bang ringing in your ears, and then the creature knocks her over with a flailing limb as thick as a tree trunk. It turns, slightly, and then you’re looking directly into a giant eye, big as a soccer ball, black and glittering and sunk into the prow of what passes for the creature’s face.

The mass of writhing limbs on its front are reaching for the fallen cop. Maybe it’s going to eat her.

Your hand finds the handle of your hammer. The hammer finds the creature’s eye.

The problem with fighting a giant monster with a hammer, you quickly realize, is that a hammer’s handle really isn’t that long, so you have to get pretty close up to hit it. So close you’re practically on top of it. So when the creature shudders at your attack and flails its massive limbs, you scream and hold on to its carapace for dear life, hammer hooked into its ruined eye socket. Your feet scramble and slip, trying to steady yourself to lift your hammer and hit it again, but it’s bucking under you like a mechanical bull.

Then Dave makes a reappearance. “Fuck!” he shouts, seeing your predicament as you hang off the side of the monster. With that as his battle-cry, he thrusts at the creature’s side with a katana.

The fancy anime sword breaks right in two against the monster’s shell. Fuck if it even noticed the attack.

Dave, seemingly undeterred, leaps onto the back of the beast just like he had the cabin’s furniture, then grabs your arms and helps pull you fully on top, to a more stable position.

“Augh! Shit!” you scream. “What are we supposed to-”

The creature lifts its heavy front claws and bends them back towards you, like it’s trying to grab you or scrape you off its back.

You lift your hammer and thwack the creature on the top of the head as hard as you can, making a sound like smacking a solid brick.

THWACK! THWACK! CRACK! Are you making a difference? Is any of this doing anything? You don’t know, you just need to hit it and hit it and hit-

The creature lurches backwards, and it’s only when Dave tackles you bodily from behind that you realize it’s retreating, and it’s about to take you both with it, through the window and into the ocean.

You land hard on the floor of the cabin and, nerves still ringing with adrenaline, scramble to your feet. The monster is gone. The surface of the sea outside is placid, with no sign anything had ever been there. 

Splinters of wood and shards of glass are everywhere. The cabin is ruined. But, you’re all alive. The mind cop is getting gingerly to her feet, holding her side and breathing heavily. Dave is standing behind you, gripping your shoulders hard, almost hugging you to him, in the same position as he was when he threw you off the monster’s back. He drops his hands quickly when he sees you glance back at him, and laughs nervously.

You join his giggles, a wash of jitters sweeping your skin as you realize the danger has passed. “Oh fuck, dude.”

“Rode that thing like a bronco.”

“Fuck.”

Dave calls to the cop: “Hey, you okay?”

“I’ll live,” she grunts, then lifts a hand and points at you. “You two, stay belowdecks until we get to the island. Try not to step on the glass.”

You glance down, and see the small shards of broken glass embedded in your forearms, shins, and knees. “Oh, shit.”

Down in the berth, you get to work on picking the shards out, while Dave does the same. “Sorry about your sword,” you offer.

“It was just a shitty katana,” he replies flatly. “Not a big deal.”

“The fuck was that thing? Was it a Witch-monster? I thought the Witch wanted us to come?”

Dave shrugs. “How should I know? Maybe she doesn’t control them that well. It’s not like she had it out for the island of Kauai in particular.”

That’s a distressing thought.

Hopefully, Jade’s island will be welcoming. You pick out a particularly nasty shard and wince. You wish you were there already.

⇒ Be Future Dave

[amiharana]

Bored with nothing to do so I’m requesting streamer au again 😕🏃🏻‍♀️🤙

ask and ye shall receive ☝️😌✨ i mentioned in the tags that the last time i posted about streamer au that i wanna write the champions going to twitchcon and sharing an airbnb together sooo 👹

i'm actually not too sure how to incorporate the location of twitchcon into this au, because (1) i've never been to twitchcon actually KJDJFKKJS and (2) it depends on whether or not hyrule is divorced from the u.s. & the rest of human society e.g. a universe where hyrule is the country analogous to the u.s.... for purposes of this au, i've been kind of writing hyrule as a city that all the champions live in, so maybe it can be somewhere in the u.s.? what state does the city of hyrule give LOL

reading the wikipedia about twitchcon tells me that most of the cons have been held in san diego, CA so all the champions fly there together for the con, and could you just imagine them at an airport 😭 like you know those tiktoks of people either traveling with their family or their friend group and in each case there's always like the dad/dad-friend who's in charge of everything, from being there super early to holding all the passports, etc? because i can totally see daruk being that guy HAHAHKDJHFDKJ

outside of being a streamer, daruk is a dad irl and the oldest of the champs so he quite literally sees all of them as his kiddos 🥹 the flight will be at like 5pm but daruk insists on being there at the airport at 9am, he'd write labels on each of the champions' luggage with their contact information, he would put all their plane tickets into a manila folder and keeps a death grip on it until they reach the desk for boarding 😭 the dad instinct has been Activated ✅ and then when they get on the plane, daruk gets his little travel neck pillow on and conks the fuck out once the plane takes off 😄

before i continue, here's the plane seating configuration i was thinking of in my head:

most planes are usually three-seaters instead of two but for purposes of this ficlet idrgaf 🤞🤓 move along and get with the fantasy 🙏❤️

urbosa will just be chilling to herself (i have this image of her with earphones in and also knitting? no one knew that urbosa was a knitter including me), sidon is talking to zelda's manager impa, and mipha and zelda are talking and giggling to themselves bc they're gfs now <3 but link and revali? woof. these homos are totally going to be shyly holding hands on the plane the whole time, and then when they land, zelda will post a selfie of her looking extremely unamused on the plane next to mipha giggling, with link in the background looking at revali with wide eyes blushing while revali is holding up their intertwined hands to his lips.

in my head, this is gonna be set after the LOH show from the last streamer au ask, but before the date that revali had planned during the show. so throughout the entirety of the event, from the plane rides to and from twitchcon to the sitting together at their panel, revali and link have Hella Tension with each other. since the date that revali had planned during the LOH hasn't happened yet (they have a day in mind though hehe), they're both anticipating it and are also in this limbo stage of being exclusive but not really having an actual label on their relationship. all they know is they really enjoy each other's presence and perhaps they'd like to be around each other more often :>

but link is still insecure and still quite surprised that revali even returns his interest, that the date has been planned and is on an actual, real day and that revali wants to go out with him, and oh goddess revali wants to go out with him. it has him sitting tensely in his seat, nearly sweating because this has to be some sort of fever dream, right? revali, a streamer infamous for his rather arrogant, brutal words and attitude, who has had all the disparaging insults to say about link, and doesn't miss a single chance to rag on him. this couldn't have been the same revali who looked at him so fondly through the camera on the LOH stream, who has taken note of everything link says offhandedly, who sent him a heart in their discord dms (and revali never uses emojis). this has to be some elaborate prank on link and—

he feels a sharp tap on the side of his head, knocking him out of his downward spiral, and he looks up, rubbing his head and ready to bicker with zelda, but it isn't zelda who's hit him. revali stares down at him, one knee on the plane seat and his hands on the headrests in their row and in front of them.

"stop thinking so loud," revali says, before finally sitting in his seat properly. "it's painful to watch."

link scoffs and rolls his eyes. "any more painful than watching you fall in the xp farm while you were making it?"

"maybe don't hit me while i'm building next time and i won't fall in," revali snips back.

"you were wearing an elytra."

"and with what space, pray tell, could i have used to gain altitude? it's a vertical column, you absolute fool, the only way was down."

"and down you went, so i could take all your xp," link replies cheerfully.

revali rolls his eyes as he finishes settling into his seat. "and you'll still use all of that on the worst combination of enchantments possible." they both fall silent, the quiet din of voices around the plane their background noise.

"what were you thinking about?" revali then says quietly, suddenly. link glances at him and is surprised to find the other man staring at him with genuine concern. butterflies come to life in link's stomach, so he averts his eyes, down at his fidgeting hands in his lap. there was no eloquent way to phrase his worries about their date to revali, of all people.

"don't tell me you have flight anxiety now," revali murmurs. it sounds like it was meant to be a joke, but it misses its mark when link doesn't answer, fingers still fidgeting in his lap. "link?"

"i'm not worried about flying or the plane," link mutters. "i've traveled by air before plenty of times, it's not that."

"then what's got you all locked up like this?" revali replies, in the same quiet voice. link still doesn't say anything. "link..."

then, revali reaches for the blond's hand, smoothly intertwining their fingers and bringing it upwards, propping his elbow on the armrest between them. link's eyes widen, blinking, and he slowly moves his gaze from his lap to their intertwined fingers, and then to revali's face. he only stares back, a rather soft look in his eyes, and the butterflies in link's stomach burst to life again.

"you don't have to tell me if it's something personal," revali says, and his tone is so gentle, link thinks he's going to melt in his seat right there. is this the same revali who called him a fool less than a minute ago? "but don't bottle it all up or you'll end up exploding. it'll only make things worse and we wouldn't want that, would we?"

link stares at him with the same wide eyes for a moment longer, and then nods once slowly. "yeah, i guess you're right," he whispers, and after another second, he squeezes revali's hand softly. it seems to make revali's gaze soften even further, and he squeezes back.

"is there anything i can do to help?" revali murmurs. link blinks at him, and suddenly, it feels like the floodgates have opened and he can't stop himself from telling the truth.

"it's the date," link blurts aloud, his cheeks warming and turning pink. shit.

revali's head tilts to the side slightly. "the date?" he repeats. "the one we—?"

"yeah," link whispers. under revali's gaze, filled with such genuine concern, he feels shy again and he looks back down at the other hand in his lap. "it's just... i know we talked about it already, but it just doesn't feel real, like it's all some prank, you know?" he giggles nervously, his left leg beginning to bounce. "knowing you, i wouldn't put it past you to plan one as elaborate at this either, but even if it wasn't a prank, i can barely wrap my mind around that it's actually going to happen."

revali doesn't say anything for a couple moments, and it makes link more nervous, his leg bouncing a little faster, his heart pounding a little harder. please say something, he thinks to himself.

"you know," revali says finally, still in that ever so gentle tone, "we don't have to do the date." and link's heart drops to his stomach. "it was never something i was going to force on you, especially not on that pathetic joke of a show. don't feel like you have to go on a date with me to please your fans if it makes you uncomfortable—"

"no," link says, whipping his head to look at revali with wide, horrified eyes. "th-that's not what i was trying to say, i do want to go on the date with you." admitting it out loud makes link blush and he wants to melt into a puddle in revali's surprised green gaze, but he can't keep shying away. so link steels himself and maintains eye contact with revali, taking a breath before continuing. "i do want to. please trust me on that, i do. i'm just nervous about it because..." link swallows. "i like you, like a lot, and this date is like, confirming that you like me back and actually planning to go on it is insane, because i never thought you'd really return my feelings and what if you back out? because i'm not gonna stop you if you don't wanna go on the date anymore, but i want to go on it so bad 'cause—"

"hey," revali cuts him off, with a strangely soft voice. "breathe for me, darling."

link blinks and then lets go of a long breath he didn't know had accumulated in his lungs. revali nods reassuringly and squeezes his hand again. "one more time," he says in that same soft voice, so link does, breathing in deeply and releasing it slowly. he feels much calmer now.

but then, revali presses his lips to their intertwined fingers, to the back of link's hand. "i want to go on the date with you too," revali murmurs to the skin, and link nearly shivers. "and believe me, i won't be backing out unless you do, because i like you too." he tilts his head slightly to the side. "do you think i'd be so cruel to drag this out if i truly didn't want to go? if anything, i should be worrying about whether or not you want to go through with it since i was the one who planned and proposed it."

"well, sometimes you're too proud to admit you're uncomfortable when it's about being better than me," link mumbles. "i would have been doing us both a favor..."

"i'm not uncomfortable," revali says softly, reassuringly, "but it's good to know that i wouldn't have been the first to back out." he smirks a little, but the fond look in his eyes betrays him.

link's stomach erupts into yet another swarm of butterflies, but he tries to play it off and scoffs. "this isn't a competition, revali."

"perhaps i'll make it into one, if that's what'll get into your stupid little skull that i want to go out with you too." the blond blinks and suddenly, revali's lips are grazing the tip of link's oh-so-sensitive ear. "first to back out of the date loses," he murmurs, the vibrations of his voice tingling into the shell of it.

in an instant, a million thoughts race around inside of link's head, and at the same time, he can feel his face reddening and dripping off of his skull like lava. his mouth drops and his eyes bulge out of his head, but no words come out as revali gently takes the tip of his ear between his teeth, and link all but short circuits—

"boys, i hope you're behaving yourselves back there," comes urbosa's voice. revali immediately pulls away and sits stiffly in his seat, hands in his lap, looking down. link blinks, missing the warmth though his face still burned, eyes still wide staring at revali, whose cheeks were beginning to match link's. "we have a fairly lengthy flight ahead of us, and i would hate to have to deal with you two causing any sort of trouble."

"like what, joining the mile high club?" zelda snickers across the way, only for mipha to gasp in shock, the both of them erupting into giggles.

link rolls his eyes and he catches revali's jaw tense, but the other man doesn't move from his position. letting out a breath through his nose, link sits back in his seat and looks out the window, watching the ground crew scurrying around and preparing the plane for flight. he's glad to have gotten reassurance and confirmation of their relationship now, at the very least.

but then, he feels revali's fingers slip back into his hand, warm and firm against his palm. link looks back, but revali isn't looking at him, his cheeks perhaps a couple shades darker than when he last looked. the blond just smiles and squeezes his hand, looking back out the plane window as the pilot announces readying for departure in the speakers above. revali squeezes back, and their hands stay intertwined for the rest of the flight.

TEHE THEY'RE IDIOTS IN LOVE. the ground crew are the koroks btw they flew on Great Deku Airlines 🙏 zel n miph definitely take pics of revalink holding hands and also when they fall asleep, link's head on revali's shoulder and revali's head leaning on link's... when urbosa wakes them up during landing, link only groans and tries to curl up closer to revali's side, mumbling about having another five minutes and urbosa is recording the whole thing for the champions vlog later 😹 when they get off the plane, revali is grumpy and glaring down anyone who tries to talk to him, but he adjusts himself when link leans on him sleepily, clinging to his arm 🥺 even in the rental car, link's head falls on revali's shoulder again as he snoozes and revali just stares down the rest of the champions, daring them to say anything as his own cheeks color pink 😄

by the time they get to their airbnb, link has regained some consciousness, but he keeps his head on revali's shoulder blinking sleepily until revali gently taps at his thigh to tell him to get up. there are four rooms in the airbnb, so roomies get assigned as (daruk & sidon), (impa & urbosa), (mipha & zelda), and of course, (revali & link). everyone rolls their eyes when revali and link blush at getting assigned to each other, glancing shyly at each other before looking away 😄

after that, the group begins to explore the airbnb. "this is a very nice place," mipha says politely, running her hand along the wall decor. "however, i didn't expect so much winter-themed decor in midst of summer."

zelda shrugs, following after mipha. "this place is owned by a man named pondo, who appears to have an affinity for the season." they come across a pair of bowling shoes mounted on the wall, surprisingly shiny and clean. "among... other things."

revali rolls his eyes as he follows urbosa down the similarly wintry-themed hallway to the room him and link have been assigned (where did link even go?), rolling both of their luggages along. why is revali taking link's luggage with him, you may ask? it's not like anyone asked him to take link's stuff with him either 😹

urbosa stops before one of the doors nearer to the end of the hall, leaning against its threshold and cocking her head at it. "this one's yours," she says, somewhat amused. "behave yourselves. you might be sharing a room, but we're sharing a whole house."

revali's face flushes and burns like a forest fire. "we're not going to do anything like that," he mutters, unable to meet urbosa's gaze. "we're not even official yet."

"but you're officially holding hands in public," urbosa lilts, pushing herself off of the threshold. "so that's official enough."

he makes a face at her. "i bet you're not even going to tell mipha and zelda the same thing, will you?"

urbosa sighs. "i have to keep a closer eye on both of them, actually. those two are complete menaces now that they're official." she pats at revali's shoulder. "i'll leave you to unpack."

and so revali enters the room, beginning to unpack some of his things and leaving link's stuff by the foot of the bed. when he finishes up, he flops onto the bed, staring at the ceiling of their shared room.

their shared room... revali blinks and sits up as it truly settles in that he and link are going to share a room for the week they're here. oh gods. they're sharing a room for a week, and sharing this one bed in the room. well, revali could always offer to sleep on the couch or make link do it, but he thinks about the warmth of link's hand entwined with his, link's soft sleepy expression gazing back at him, link's unruly blond hair spilling like silk all over his skin and the pillow he's laying upon— revali shakes himself out of his reverie, desperately willing himself not to blush. he shouldn't think such things when they haven't even put a label on their relationship yet—

suddenly, the doorknob turns and clicks open, and in steps link, dripping wet and dressed in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. his modesty (is it modest if you're already wet and half-naked?) is protected with only a gentle one-handed grip to hold the towel together and with his free hand, link pushes his wet bangs up and over his head. oh goddesses. it's like everything is happening in slow motion. revali's lips part, his eyes widening, and he can't look away. he should, because that would be the logical, gentlemanly thing to do, but alas... the droplets of water sliding down the ridges of link's abs are rather... enthralling...

"um," link starts, "hi. i, um, forgot to bring clothes with me to the shower."

"the shower," revali repeats dumbly, and it takes his entire will to force his eyes upward to link's face instead of his very grabbable slim waist, or the v-line slipping under the towel. link's cheeks are tinged pink and his eyes are averted as he scratches at the back of his neck.

goddess, he's adorable, revali thinks immediately before catching himself. he can't say things like this when link is practically naked!

"yeah, i needed to refresh after the flight," link says, biting his lip.

"to refresh," revali repeats, blinking. it feels like his brain is melting and reforming and melting again into a searing hunk of unintelligible meat. he can't form a single coherent, logical thought right now, completely transfixed by the enticing droplets of water sliding down link's pretty throat. refresh... oh goddess, revali needs to get out of here right now. "right, okay, shit, sorry, i'll just—"

revali makes it out of their shared room and into the backyard of the house in record time. urbosa and impa are going over plans at the breakfast nook as he zooms by, beelining for the sliding glass door that leads to the back of the house, but not before urbosa can call out, "i told you to behave!"

revali could behave, alright. but it seemed like revali jr. was going to need a little more restraint.

KFDHUSKDJFHKSDJHFFKH WELL ANYWAYS. idiots to lovers is my favorite trope for these two, like they are the ultimate little freaks ever <3

after link gets his clothes on and revali jr. calms down, the champions have a shitty little dinner composed of various fast food places that were nearby 😹 idk the last time i stayed at an airbnb, i went to get mcdonalds with my cousin in the middle of the night and now it's like a core memory, so i'm passing it onto the champs. i do love me some fries and chicken nuggets though 🤍 impa is outside taking a call at the time, but i'm thinking ab daruk n urbosa with double double burgers and animal fries from in n out..... sidon n mipha with five (5) filet-o-fish sandwiches each 😭 zelda dipping fries into her sundae :] link absolutely would have gotten something from dennys, he's chaos incarnate returning to his homeland (dennys), and revali kind of gives me the vibes that he doesn't fw fast food at all LOL, so he just gets whatever link gets to make it easier on himself, but grumbles and blushes a little when urbosa smiles knowingly at him. hehe >:]

after dinner, they all slowly file off into their rooms to wash up and get ready for bed. there's two bathrooms with showers between the four bedrooms, so they divide the two between the guys and girls. revali takes his shower after sidon, and takes a much quicker one than he's happy with. he totally seems like the type of guy that has an intricate hair care ritual/routine and would hog the bathroom for more than an hour, but link still has to take his actual shower and y'all already know down baddd revali is for him 🤣

revali comes back to their shared bedroom, his hair wrapped up in a towel, dressed in pajama pants and a large plain shirt. link is flopped on the floor of the room as he scrolls through what revali assumes to be tiktok.

"shower's yours," revali says, walking around link and sitting on his side of the bed. he takes off the wrap and bends over to towel dry his hair. "why are you on the floor?"

"my clothes are dirty so i don't wanna get in the bed with them," link says, sitting up and staring at revali. "and i'm sharing with you. i would have thought you would complain if i was in bed with my dirty clothes."

revali fights the heat crawling up his neck and swallows. goddess, they're actually going to share the damn bed. "do whatever you want," he manages in a mumble, sitting back up and throwing his hair back, grabbing the brush he left on the nightstand. "that's... very considerate of you, though."

link hums, before jumping to his feet and taking his stuff with him to the bathroom. when the door shuts with a click, revali glances back at it before letting out a sigh. can he really make it through the night sharing the bed with this heavenly creature of a man that's become rather fond of in the last few weeks?

revali is finishing up with the last of his braid when link comes back from his shower, thankfully fully clothed this time, dressed similarly with pajama pants and a shirt. but instead of practically breaking down the door, link opens it slowly and peeks inside, meeting revali's eyes and neither of them looking away, for several moments.

"are you going to come in or will you stand there the rest of the night like a ghost?" revali says finally, breaking the stare and tying the end of the braid. the only light on in the room now is the lamp beside revali on the nightstand.

link finally opens the rest of the door and shuffles quietly inside, closing it behind him before sitting at the edge of the bed. when revali looks back up, link is looking down at his lap and fingers fidgeting again, like he was in the plane. it makes revali soften, recalling why link had been anxious then.

"getting cold feet?" he says, as softly as he can. link's head shoots up to look at him, eyes wide with terror like he was on the plane when revali suggested that they didn't have to go forward with the date.

"no," the blond answers immediately, but revali can see the way his lip trembles when he says it.

"i can sleep on the couch—" he begins to offer, but link quickly shakes his head and crawls onto the bed to properly sit on it.

"no, i want to—" he starts before cutting himself off. link's cheeks pinken. "i want to... i want to share the bed... with you..."

"you don't sound very confident," revali tries to joke, but his tone is still so unbearably gentle.

link shakes his head again, and this time when he looks at revali, his face is set in an adamant expression, his brows furrowed. "i do want to share the bed with you," he says. "i can. i swear. please trust me."

for some reason, it makes revali's heart skip a beat, but he just snorts and shakes his head before settling into the bed, turning the lamp on the nightstand off. "sure," he says, tugging the blanket underneath link up. "and if i wake up in the morning with you on the floor or on the couch, i'll definitely still believe you."

link wrinkles his nose at revali (cute, he thinks), and then follows after him under the blanket on his side of bed. revali sighs as he relaxes, lying on his back as he stares at the ceiling. link shuffles beside him onto his side, and revali can practically feel those wide blue eyes staring holes into the side of his face.

"want to take a picture?" revali mumbles, already feeling drowsy. the travel fatigue was starting to get to him. "it might last longer."

"sorry," link whispers. "you're just so... beautiful."

revali almost has the energy to blush. almost. "thanks," he says instead. he shuts his eyes, and listens to the sound of link's breathing beside him. they're both quiet for a while, until revali continues in a much quieter voice, "you are too." he swears he can hear link's breath catch as he lets sleep claim him.

and it's the best sleep he's ever had in his life. usually, revali wakes up at the crack of dawn, when the light is barely creeping over the horizon, no matter what time he slept. but when he wakes in the morning, the sun is already fully above the horizon and shining through the curtains. link is curled into his side, head on revali's shoulder and an arm thrown over his stomach, revali's own arms cradling link's body, keeping him close. the blond snores lightly, but sleeps like a rock atop revali. dimly, he realizes their legs are tangled together under the blanket, but he's warm and he's comfortable. revali closes his eyes; maybe staying in bed a little while longer like this wouldn't be so bad...

but that thought is cut short with urbosa knocking on the door to their room. "wake up, lovebirds, breakfast is ready!" she calls. "make sure you look decent before you get out here."

even closed, revali rolls his eyes and lets out a soft groan. link mumbles and shifts under his arms, trying to snuggle closer to revali, who dares not move an inch as the blond makes himself comfortable once more. only when link settles, still curled around him, does revali speak again, opening his eyes.

"i'm surprised you're not jumping out of bed for food," he says softly. "i'd have thought of you as a ravenous beast with an endless hunger, or perhaps a garbage disposal unit."

link hums at him. "comfy," he murmurs in response. "still sleepy too."

fortunately for revali, he's also still too drowsy for his heart rate to pick up and link hearing it. "a couple more minutes wouldn't hurt then," he replies, letting his eyes fall shut. "breakfast can wait."

they get a max of 7 minutes cuddling together under the blankets before zelda and mipha bust down the door together, saying they're taking too long and the food is going to get cold, and i don't care if you're being cute and gay and snuggly GET UP ALREADY!!! this time, link groans and throws the blanket over their heads, clinging to revali, but he sighs and decides it's time to actually wake up. after all, revali is well-acquainted with link's large diet and he needs to make sure the blond is always eating well, right? 😁😁 link will still be sleepily, grumpily clinging to revali's arm as they make their way to the dining room since he was so comfy in the bed, and only fully wakes up when the smell of food hits his nose 😹

a couple days later, the champs have their panel at twitchcon 👁️ i don't really care enough to write a whole scene about what the champs get asked, because it'll probably just be standard questions like, "what kind of group content do you guys have planned?" or "are you guys going to make a twitchcon vlog?" ("yes") or "zelda please marry me" ("security please get this person out of here") and i just am not feeling creative enough to write all that

HOWEVER. HOWEVER. revalink during the entire panel. ooughh. oughh man. they're sat together towards the center right of the panel table (from audience pov/stage center left), giggling and whispering to each other as questions are asked, chiming in here and there to crack jokes or answer as needed, stealing glances/side-eyes at each other whenever they can. they're so silly :3

at some point, The Question gets asked; "okay this one's for link and revali. have you guys gone on the date that revali planned from the love or host, or has this all been an elaborate ruse to make us all think you were dating?"

the question catches both link and revali off-guard, the both of them blinking dumbly at it. i mean, they were expecting to be asked a question about their relationship, seeing as it was a bit public and anyone could see it from their collab streams & videos, the way they bantered on twitter or in the comments of each other's instagram posts. they weren't subtle about it at all, but of course anything could be an act on the internet.

link's cheeks begin to pinken as he glances at revali, before turning back to the questioner to respond. "well, um, so—" and finally, the sound of link's voice makes revali's brain click back into place.

"have you any decorum?" he cuts the blond off smoothly. "it's not anyone's business how our relationship is going, actually. but if you desperately wish to know, then all you have to know is that it's plenty real and though we haven't gone on the date yet, it's planned and it's happening." revali looks at link, whose head is fully turned to look back at him, utterly flustered, eyes wide and cheeks fully flushed pink. his heart softens; cute.

suddenly, revali gets an idea. as subtle as he can, he reaches under the table and takes link's hand into his, sliding his fingers down the blond's palm before lacing their fingers together. if it's possible, link's eyes get even wider, his face even darker with blush, revali's heart practically melting even more from the look on his face. "link will not be seeing anyone for a while," revali says softly, but making sure the mic catches his voice as he keeps his eyes on link, "and he's very content with our current predicament.

a chorus of "awh"s and cheers rise from the crowd, while the rest of the champions groan or roll their eyes at the display. link gives revali a small smile and squeezes his hand. revali returns the smile with a fond look and squeezes back.

"i hope you guys know they're holding hands under the table right now," comes zelda's voice through the speakers, haughty and prim. the crowd screams and shouts and cheers even louder. "it's very rich of revali to complain about you not having any decorum and then continuing to have no decorum himself in public."

"oh shush, zelda, you're holding hands with mipha under the table too," urbosa replies. zelda shrieks in opposition, mipha bursts out laughing, the crowd gets louder, but link and revali are still staring at each other, still blushing, still holding hands stuck in their own world.

and of course, people were taking videos during the panel. the entire scene from question to zelda's shrieking is recorded and posted and made edits of and retweeted and qrt'd to death, until they're #1 on trending. it's a little embarrassing; this is the most attention revali and link's relationship has ever received, especially outside of their community. but neither of them regret it. next time, maybe they'll even post a picture of them actually holding hands. <3

[total-drama-takes-takes-2]

ttwt episode 6

“Last time, on Total Takes World Tour: our remaining players stopped by the charming Polish city of Krakow, but the only charms they got were pain, pain, and no game! Bonnie went a little AWOL when they decided to switch to a nocturnal lifestyle, but that still didn’t stop their team from using them as a personal love coach- again. Albert got some bad news, but it was Kelly who really took the cake for most pathetic episode ev-ah after their non-monogamous ex decided to return to monogamy.... for someone else. Ouch! What does this mean for Kelly? What will become of Team Mojo with their mojo gone? Find out now, on Total Takes World Tour!”

“And here we are fleeing from the Bulgarian police. Pricks,” Patrick says, shuffling his handful of photographs while his team peers over his shoulder. 

“Aww,” they coo as Patrick flips to another Polaroid of Kitty being tasered. “And here we are getting caught by the Bulgarian police.”

“You guys are so cute,” Sha-Mod says. “How long have you been together?”

Patrick stacks the images and puts them in his blazer pocket. “We’re not. We’re more like… business partners,” 

Albert and Michela make fleeting eye contact and then shrug. Across economy, Bonnie yawns and stretches, rubbing their eyes. Max turns to them. “How much did you get?’

“Enough,” Bonnie says, then sighs after Max continues staring. “Two hours.”

“How are we supposed to win with you on autopilot?” he snaps, then lowers his voice to a whisper. “You expect me to carry the team with THESE people?”

He gestures behind him to Kelly, Staci, and Phillip, the latter of which is staring intently at a cockroach on the wall and holding his temples. 

Bonnie sighs. “Fine, I’ll get a coffee,”

---

“This has got to be the best season yet,” Ass sighs as a manicurist paints their nails. “If beating the other teams will be this easy, we might as well move in here permanently.”

“You’d think they have the numeral advantage, but we’re actually doing quite well. I’m impressed!” Courtney adds on. They stretch in their plush, first-class seat and sigh happily as the smell of breakfast wafts in the room. 

Julia watches the interaction and rolls her eyes before sitting back and pulling a sleeping mask back on to catch a few more minutes of sleep She kicks back and Mal slinks into the seat next to her, pulling out an ink pad and stamping her thumb print to an index card. 

“Mal!” Courtney shouts, pulling out a spray bottle and chasing her to the other side of the cabin. 

“It’s for my charity auction!” she yells. “It’s for charity! Well- my charity! These fingerprints go for a lot of money in the Balkans!”

Courtney backs them into a corner and then sighs. Ass rolls their eyes. “Next time we lose, she’s out,”

“I can get behind that,” they take an exhausted seat next to them. “I found her collecting hair from the shower drain the other day.”

Ass shivers. 

Chris’ voice squeals over the intercom, making everyone jump. “Good morning, passengers! If you’ll look out the right side of the plane, you’ll see our next destination- Australia!”

Courtney and Ass peer out their window over a vast expanse of green. “Are you sure we didn’t take a wrong turn again? End up in Austria?” Ass shouts. 

“Nope. Welcome to the rainforest, mates! Now buckle in and gear up, our landing track is a little… um, crowded!”

Courtney looks back out the window to see an overgrown, crumbling landing pad. They sigh. “He’s so doing this on purpose,”

---

Economy class buckles in just in time- seconds after Bonnie figures out the seatbelts in their disoriented state, the entire cabin begins tossing around luggage, garbage, and miscellaneous rats like a salad. 

The teens yelp and duck as clothes, books, and the occasional snack stash fly at their heads. A rat wearing a crucifix necklace latches onto Patrick’s shoulder. 

Finally, after several minutes of bumping and bruising, the plane comes to a stop. Economy groans and stands shakily as Chris laughs like a maniac over the intercom. 

Albert rubs a bump on his head and turns to his right. “Um, Patrick, don’t freak out, but-”

“Oh, please. I’m not a wussy fruitcake like the rest of you,” he says. “A little turbulence is nothing to a sigma like me. Man up.”

“Yeah, okay. You have a rat on your shoulder,”

Patrick turns to his shoulder. He goes pale and shrieks, standing up and shaking in circles, screaming “GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF ME!” while everyone else watches. Michela rolls her eyes. 

---

Patrick sits in the confessional in the fetal position, sobbing.

---

“Calm down! You’ll hurt him,” Albert says, scooping the rat off his shoulder. “He won’t bite.”

“What makes you so sure?” Max asks, raising an eyebrow. 

Albert holds him away and glares a little. “He won’t have to defend himself if he has nothing to fear,” 

---

ALBERT: "Max is... afraid of me. Interesting. Very, very interesting,"

---

Max rolls his eyes and drifts back over to Bonnie, helping them up to leave the plane. The rest of their team follows behind, then the Mojos. 

Outside of the great metal bird, the teens immediately swallow in the muggy, humid air. Birds chirp, mysterious creatures squawk and the rat on Albert’s shoulder squeaks nervously and scampers back into the plane. 

“Where are we?” Ass finally asks, hands on their hips and eyes lowered. 

Chris, busy picking his teeth with his pinky finger, looks up. “Hm?”

“I said where are we?”

“Oh, yeah. Forgot we were doing that,” he chuckles. “Welcome to the Dandenong Mountains!”

“The what now?” Sha-Mod asks, squinting. 

“Mountain range- well, more like hills and rainforest,”

Mal squeals. “OMG, in the original World Tour, the Amazons went to the Amazon forest, so does that mean that we’re going to the-”

“NO! There’s no Yaoi forest!” Chris snaps. He composes himself and smiles. “Today’s challenge is simple- you’ll be going on an itsy-bitsy safari for some of Australia’s finest- and deadliest!”

The teens shift uncomfortably and look between each other. 

“But don't worry, due to local laws we can’t have you capture any of the wildlife. You’ll be getting these!” he says as Chef passes around slips of laminated paper. “Your cards for species bingo. The first time to reach the finish line with a bingo wins first class- and avoids elimination!”

A bird squawks off in the distance. Team Yaoi looks between each other nervously, as every Mojo turns to Albert expectedly. 

“Ready? Go!”

The teens awkwardly amble off and begin moving through the brush. Team Friendship takes a leftwards path, Max in the lead while Bonnie stumbles behind him. 

---

MAX: “Maybe voting off Scruffy was a mistake. At least they knew how to lead a team of morons,”

---

“Keep your eyes peeled. A lot of these are big, so it shouldn’t be too hard to spot things,” he instructs, handing the team card to Staci. “Don’t lose this.”

She salutes and tucks the sheet under her sweater. Kelly gives her a thumbs up. 

“Y’know, I should be leading,” Phillip says, walking past Max. “I was in the boy scouts, but I had to drop out cause it wasn’t tough enough for a guy like me.”

He trips over a root and lands face-first in the dirt. Max steps over his limp body without a second thought and he sobs into the mulch. 

---

“This place is so cool- like we’re in Jurassic Park!” Sha-Mod says, petting a fern leaf. 

Albert passes by him, holding the bingo sheet. “Let’s hope not. And try not to touch anything you don’t recognize, the flora here isn’t known to be friendly,”

Sha-Mod quickly stands and hurries to catch up with the group. Patrick rolls his eyes. “Please. Afraid of a little plant?” he stops and stands over a shrub. “Oooh, I’m so scared.” 

A spider crawls out of the brush and sits atop the plant. He immediately screams and stumbles backwards into Michela, barreling her over. 

“Ow,” she grumbles, rubbing her shoulder while Patrick rocks back and forth on the ground. 

Albert backtracks and holds out a hand, which she accepts with a smile. He smiles back. 

---

ALBERT: “Okay, so, I lost my job. No big deal! I still have plenty to live for and now that I’ve been f-...f-f… fired- I can finally pursue them. I mean, I would've used the winnings to donate to the coalition, but when’s the last time I’ve taken a day off?” He smiles and his eye twitches. 

---

Albert stops the group in a small clearing to show them the bingo card. “Most of these are pretty easy to find. The spider that scared Patrick looked like a funnel web,”

He huffs and crosses his arms. “You’re welcome,”

“A lot of these are birds, so just keep your heads up. If we had time and gear, we could set up a really nice bird-watching party, but… a hike is just as good a way to see wildlife as any,” he shrugs. 

“You’ve done a lot of hiking, huh?” Michela asks, standing and brushing off her skirt. 

Albert hums and looks down at the sheet. “My dad and I used to do a lot of camping and hiking,” he stands and begins leading the group again. 

“Used to?” she asks, walking alongside him. He smiles sadly and shrugs. “Oh… sorry,”

After a brief moment of silence, Michela takes his hand and gives it a squeeze. Patrick rolls his eyes from behind them. “What a couple of fruitcakes, huh, buddy?” he chuckles. No response. “Um…”

Patrick stops and turns, prompting Michela and Albert to do the same. 

“Sha-Mod?”

---

Sha-Mod walks through the thick jungle with swagger, taking wide strides and whistling to himself. He makes it some steps before suddenly colliding face-first into a tree- sending him tumbling backwards down a hill, into a creek, and then downstream. 

---

“That’s not good,” Michela says. 

Patrick smirks. “Relax, sweetheart. Chris never said we had to make it past the finish line with the whole team,”

Michela grits her teeth and steps on his foot. Patrick screams in pain and whimpers, scampering away. 

---

“OMG you guys, there’s Yaoi on this list!” Mal squeals, holding the sheet to the sky. 

“Give me that,” Ass snatches it back and reads it. “This says YOWIE, you dolt. There’s even a picture!”

“I thought that was just a bear. Someone isn’t well versed on their gay terminology!” she crosses her arms. “Besides, Yowies aren’t real.”

Julia rolls her eyes from behind the two. “But yaoi is?” 

“Duh! We have gay rights for a reason!”

“Can you guys settle down?” Courtney asks, massaging their temples. “I have a really bad headache.” They turn around for a second and a massive spider crawls off their back. Julia and Ass go pale and make fleeting eye contact, then shake their heads. “Let’s just keep going,”

---

“Cockatoo,” Albert says, marking off another item on the bingo sheet. “We’ve got echidna, spider, and cockatoo, but… no Sha-Mod.”

“I hope he’s okay,” Michela says, somewhat nervously. “He wouldn’t leave us alone with… that thing, would he?”

Albert scoffs a little, slightly offended. “The cockatoo hasn’t done anything to you,”

“No. I meant the other thing,” she points to Patrick, who’s busy taunting the plants to hurt him. They both shiver, and then laugh.

---

ALBERT: "Michela is a good person. She doesn't care about what other people think about her, or losing her job and her very reason for existing! I could learn a thing or two. If only it was just us on the team,"

---

“Anything yet?” Bonnie yawns, stumbling over another overgrown root. 

Max shakes his head and moves a branch out of the way for them as they walk ahead blindly. “We might be doing better if we were QUIET!” he shouts, turning to Kelly and Staci behind them, who quickly stop gossiping. 

Max massages his temples. Phillip walks alongside him, covered in bug bites and dirt. “I had a dream that I could control animals with my mind once. I wrote a poem about it, do you want to hear?”

“NO!”

Bonnie yawns again and scratches their head. “Where are we, again?”

He groans. 

---

MAX: “SOMETHING has to be done about this team. Bonnie’s been avoiding everyone because of their- whatever you’d call their thing with Caesar- Staci is too busy gabbing about girls and gossip to be of actual use, Kelly is only here for moral support, and Phillip is basically a pet,”

---

“Look, there!” Kelly says, pointing. Max stops dead in his tracks and looks in the direction they’re pointing. “A fruit fly!”

He slowly sits down on the forest floor, puts his head in his hands and rocks back and forth. 

Bonnie walks over to Kelly and Staci, who are staring nervously. “You broke him,” they say before slumping over and falling asleep on Staci’s shoulder. 

---

“Sha-Mod!” Michela shouts. “Sha-Mod!”

“Is it really such a wise idea to shout?” Patrick asks. “I mean- not for me. But you know, you might attract something dangerous for you.”

“There are no large terrestrial predators in Australia,” Albert says nonchalantly. “Anything in these rainforests that could kill you isn’t predatory towards people, and would only act in self-defense. So let’s try not to antagonize anything else, okay?”

Patrick rolls his eyes. 

---

It’s dark. 

The sound of bugs flying, mammals chittering, and birds crying out fills the empty air. 

Slowly, Sha-Mod awakes. He groans and sits up, scratching his head with his back to the camera. “Owie,” he says. 

Then, it’s bright. Too bright. 

“Wait,” he grabs at his face. The feeling of warm flesh fills the void where smooth paper should be. Sha-Mod ducks to the ground and sees the mulchy, emulsified remains of Lighting crumbled in the dirt. “Oh, no. Oh no. This isn’t good.”

---

Julia presses ahead, swatting at the jungle growth with her arm while Ass, Mal, and Courtney follow behind them. It’s beginning to get dark, the sun setting off in the distance. 

“Guys, I really don’t feel good,” Courtney mumbles. “My head is pounding, I think I have food poisoning or something.”

“Did you eat any of Chef’s scrambled eggs, cause those were definitely expired,” a voice from the brush says. 

Team Mojo walks out of the undergrowth, converging with Team Yaoi. Michela walks over to Courtney and scans them over. “Cramping at all?"

They shake their head. “No cramping, I just feel sick,”

She turns back to Albert, who sighs and begrudgingly steps forward to inspect them. “What are your symptoms? You could’ve been bitten by something,”

Ass and Julia look between each other with wide eyes. 

“Headache, and… I feel nauseous,” they say as Albert holds a hand to their head. 

“Well, you’re not dead yet, so it can’t be that bad,” Patrick says. Courtney rolls their eyes. 

“Do you remember handling any wildlife? Maybe you fell into a bush and startled something?”

“We went through some overgrowth earlier, but I’m sure it’s nothing,” Julia says. “We should really get going, thank you.” She grabs Courtney’s arm and pulls them away. 

The cracking sound of thunder stops Team Yaoi in their steps and Julia grits her teeth as a sharp downpour begins to cover the forest. “You wouldn’t happen to know how to make a fire, would you?” 

---

“You know, we really shouldn’t be doing this. It’s winter in the southern hemisphere, and-”

“SHH!” Ass hisses at Albert. “We are on a survival show. We. Are. Surviving!”

He grumbles to himself and sits next to Michela after she finishes lighting the fire. “I hope Sha-Mod is doing okay,”

“Hey, maybe Team Friendship found him,” she says, tossing the fire-starting sticks into the hearth. “Max would take care of him for us.”

Albert raises an eyebrow. “Would he?”

Julia studies the interaction cautiously as Ass hisses at Mal for getting too close. 

Michela’s expression shifts at the speed of light, and she takes on a new, more annoyed look. “What does that mean?” 

“I mean, I don’t know him, of course,” Albert says, raising his hands defensively. “But he seems kind of… mean.”

“You can say that again,” Julia mumbles, kicking a rock into the fire. Albert nods. “See?”

“Well, Julia deserves it,” Michela says. “But he’s not a mean person. Right?”

Patrick whistles passive-aggressively. Julia rolls her eyes and Courtney avoids eye contact entirely. 

“He seems fine to me,” Ass says. “But that’s probably not a compliment coming from myself.”

“I like his yaoi ships!” Mal offers. 

Michela stands. “Fine, if you’re all so sure, you can stay here on your high horses. I’m going to go find Sha-Mod,”

And then she storms off into the rain. 

---

Staci finishes hammering together a makeshift wooden shelter with a hand-held rock and ducks under it, where Max is crouching in the dirt. Kelly is shivering, and Phillip is scribbling in his notebook. Bonnie is fast asleep on the ground. 

“Well, this is delightful,” Max sighs. “Anyone else enjoying themselves? This is basically a cruise!”

“You don’t have to be so negative all the time,” Staci says, sitting down next to Phillip. 

Max rolls his eyes and pulls his knees to his chest. “How long has Bonnie been out?”

“A few hours,” Kelly says, matter-of-factly. “On the bright side, we’ve got two animals on our bingo card now!” 

He groans and puts his head in his hands. Staci sighs. 

---

STACI: “Okay, admittedly, I haven’t been carrying this team like I know I could. My plan was more to fly under the radar like in Island, and then cruise to the final five. But… if we lose, Kelly might get voted out. They’re not exactly a class favorite right now,”

---

Bonnie suddenly yawns loudly and sits up, rubbing their eyes. “Mhmm… what time is it? Did we win?” they awake and turn from side to side. “Where are we?”

“The rainforest, sleeping beauty,” Max comments dully, flicking a lint ball off his blazer. 

“What? But I have a match in like, fifteen minutes! If I miss a league tournament they’ll kick me off the team!”

Max glowers. “I don’t think that’s the team you should worry about being kicked off of now,”

Bonnie looks away. 

---

BONNIE: “I don’t exactly have a good catalog of coping mechanisms. Avoidance is numero uno,”

---

Michela walks through the thick jungle, staring up ahead at the high canopy. The rain has begun to clear up, but it’s not any easier to navigate through the dark. 

“Sha-Mod? Sha-Mod!” she shouts. “Come on, man!”

No response. She sighs, but trudges on. As she pushes through another overgrown fern, a rustling behind her makes her whirl around. 

“Hey, it’s just me,” Albert says. “I couldn’t sleep knowing you were out here alone.”

She opens her mouth to retort and he quickly holds up a finger. 

“Not that I think you’re incapable of taking care of yourself, this is just a rainforest at night. Not the safest place to be off-trail,” he says quickly. “I have full confidence in your skills. But I also wanted to apologize, I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m sure Max is… a nice person…”

“You don’t have to lie to me,” Michela snaps, walking ahead again. Albert trails after her. “Sha-Mod!”

“He just comes off as kind of rude! And you’re so open, and helpful to everyone…”

“Sha-Mod!”

“I guess I just don’t see it,” 

“Sha-Mod, come on, man! Help me out here!”

“But…” Albert says, catching up to Michela and standing in front of her. She lowers her eyebrows at him. “I could believe that he’s nice to you, at least. You’re easy to be nice to.”

Michela looks away. “Thanks. I guess,”

“I won’t bring it up again, promise,” 

The two make brief eye contact and then hug for a little bit too long. From the brush behind them, Julia squints. 

---

JULIA: “Maybe Max isn’t a totally delusional control freak, after all. There is something going on between those two. But the question is, how can I get this to turn in my favor?”

---

Julia returns to the campfire and takes a seat. Courtney looks up. “Did you find any?”

“What?”

“Water?”

“Oh, yeah. Um, no,” Julia says, leaning back. “Guess you’ll just have to rough it.”

“Great work. Really top-notch survival skills,” Patrick says, trying and failing to carve a stick into a spear. 

“As if you could do any better,”

“Oh, please. I bet you’re really regretting being dumped by me now, huh?” he chuckles, pointing his barely-formed spear at her. “I could do this in my sleep.”

“I broke up with YOU!” 

He smirks and rolls his eyes. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, honey,”

Julia grits her teeth and sits between Ass and Mal, seething. Courtney chuckles lightly, looking pale and sickly. “Says the guy who got dumped here by his whole team,”

“Yeah, and not to mention your losing streak,” Ass rolls their eyes. “Really great ‘survival skills’, Bear Grylls.”

“And, for the record, it was Julia who broke up with you. It’s literally on my Patulia archive blog,” Mal nods. “Honestly, you should be so lucky you got to go out with her in the first place.”

“Yeah, what did you ever bring to the table?” Courtney asks. “Julia is smart, experienced, and a good leader.”

“We would never leave Julia behind with another team. And we hate her!” Ass says, jabbing a finger in his direction. 

Patrick grumbles to himself and half-heartedly tosses his spear into the fire. Julia blinks. 

---

Sha-Mod stumbles through the forest blindly. A large leaf has been tied around his face with a shoelace and, without proper eyeholes, he’s as blind as a bat. 

After walking into the third tree along the trail, he sighs. 

---

SHA-MOD: “Is this the universe punishing me for saying I needed time apart from Takes Three? I didn’t mean to get Joner voted out! I didn’t know I could do that with my mind!”

---

The rain picks up again and he sighs. 

A few minutes behind him, Michela and Albert are walking alongside each other, shoulder-to-shoulder. “I hope he isn’t hurt,” the latter says, scanning the treeline as if Sha-Mod might be up there. “Hey- possum. That’s another one for the bingo.”

Albert pulls the sheet out of his windbreaker and checks off another box. Michela raises an eyebrow and he stares back. “Bad timing?”

“No, no. It’s okay. But I wouldn’t hate it if we lost, I mean… Patrick has gotta go,” she says. “He’s been dragging his heels this entire competition.”

“Agreed. He’s been giving you a hard time,” Albert says, clicking his pen. “Poor Sha-Mod, though…”

The faint sound of a ringing bell catches both of their attention and they turn to each other. "Now?" Michela sighs before clearing her throat. “We should’ve just kept our heads, we wouldn’t be in this mess!”

“I thought so too, but then we lost Sha-Mod in the rain-for-est!” Albert continues. 

“Now if he goes missing-”

“-We definitely won’t be ‘winnin!”

“Oh, what would we do the-en?”

Sha-Mod stumbles through the foliage just yards ahead, coughing weakly. The faint, familiar dinging of the song bell sounds and he groans. He sighs:

“Lost here, woods are gonna make me boke,

Leaf in my face, get me outta this place!

Going solo was not what I anticipated, probably means I’m eliminated. Yeah, I’m out! Out, oooh, oooh, yeah, yeah, yeah!”

“Sha-Mod?” a voice comes from behind him.

Sha-Mod whirls around and runs through the forest towards the voice, stumbling over roots and logs before tumbling into a warm wash of light. 

When he looks up from the dirt, he sees Team Friendship watching him. Phillip finally squeaks out a quiet: “What happened to you?”

“I-I made it! I’m back! I’m safe, all by myself!” he says, pumping his fist. “I survived alone! I can do anything!”

“Okay, that’s great. Where’s Team Mojo?” Max asks sharply. 

Sha-Mod shrugs. “We got separated. I haven’t seen them since this morning,”

After a long, drawn out sigh, Max finally speaks. “Okay. We’ll find them in the morning,”

---

Team Yaoi (and Patrick) crowd around their dying fire, trying to shield it from the rain. A rustling from the bushes behind them turns everyone’s attention to the foliage. 

“Did you guys hear that?” Courtney asks nervously, looking from side to side with wide eyes. 

“It was probably just the wind,” Patrick says. “There are no large terrestrial predators in Australia. That’s something I knew all by myself. No one told me that.”

Julia rolls her eyes. 

“Maybe it’s Yaoi!” Mal squeals, kicking her legs back and forth. 

“A yowie,”

“I told you, yowies aren’t real, but yaoi is!”

The bushes rustle louder and everyone turns again. A large, ape-like creature jumps from the brush and roars. Everyone screams (especially Patrick) and takes off running into the forest. 

The “yowie” giggles and takes off its mask, revealing a short teenager. Kitty unzips the suit and then runs back off into the forest. 

---

Michela and Albert return to the campfire, wet and exhausted, and raise both their eyebrows at the sight of the abandoned embers and empty yowie suit. 

“I don’t even wanna know,” Michela grumbles. 

---

The sun rises over the mountains in the east, washing a new light over the damp earth. Bonnie yawns and stretches, looking much less pale and sickly than they had for the past few days. 

Max follows after, then Staci and Kelly rise. “Hey- where’s Phillip?”

As if summoning him from Hell, he arrives with his shirt full of berries. “Look what I found! Valuable asset to the team, right?” Max rolls his eyes. 

Through the fog behind him, Michela and Albert walk into the clearing. “And that’s a bingo,” the latter says, marking off kookaburra on their sheet. “Oh!”

Sha-Mod jumps up from where he’d been lying on the ground and throws himself into Michela’s arms. “IgotlostIwassoscaredneverleavemealoneeveragain!” he sobs rapidly. 

“We found him in the woods like a puppy in a wet box on the side of the road,” Max sighs. “Then he ate all our food supplies and scared off our last chances of finding a bingo.”

Sha-Mod sobs loudly in Michela’s arms. “Geez, alright,” she says, then turns to Albert. “See? Told you.”

He smiles and shrugs, then turns away from her to roll his eyes. 

Team Yaoi (and Patrick) come stumbling out of the fog next, all panting and exhausted. Once they’ve caught their breath, Ass whacks Mal upside the head. 

“Sure, let’s make it a party,” Bonnie yawns, then turns to team Friendship. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

---

The three teams- now reunited- cross the finish line at the exit of the forest, where Chris and the plane are waiting. “Wow, what happened to you guys? You look terrible!” he chuckles. 

The teens collectively glare at him. 

“Well, anyway. Let’s see those bingo cards…” he walks between the groups. “Two for Team Friendship, a full five for Team Mojo, and…. Surprise! Nothing for Team Yaoi.”

The team groans and he grins. “Lucky for you, this is a non-elimination round!”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Bonnie grumbles. Team Yaoi weakly cheers. Ass holds out their hand for a high five from Courtney, who swings and misses, then falls over. 

“Team Mojo, you’ll be enjoying first class,” he says, walking back in front of the groups. “The rest of you will enjoy gruel and grime in economy. See you there!”

Team Friendship groans. “Don’t look so glum, guys. At least I have these!” Phillip says, popping a small black berry in his mouth. 

“Yeah, I wouldn’t eat those if I were you,” Albert says. “Those look like nightshades.”

“So?”

“They’re poisonous,”

Phillip goes pale and spits out the berry, scraping off his tongue and whimpering. 

"Some boy scout," Max mutters.

---

The plane jostles a little, shaking economy. Courtney snores through the turbulence, hanging limply in their seatbelt. Ass mumbles a brief “ew” as Mal drools on her phone, and they scooch closer to Julia, who’s staring ahead intently. 

Bonnie is fast asleep, back to a normal human sleep schedule after their soiree in the jungle broke their bad habit. Kelly and Staci are leaning on each other, snoring, and Phillip is mumbling to himself. 

Max, balancing his head in his palms, blinks slowly, staring ahead out the window into the dark. After a few moments of silence, Julia unbuckles herself and crosses the great expanse from one side of the cabin to the other while the plane shakes. 

She takes a seat next to Max and he sighs dramatically. “What is it now?”

“Calm down, I just wanted to talk,”

“I’m not falling for that again,”

“I’ll make it short,” she smiles. “You weren’t with Team Mojo last night, after all. If I were you… I’d keep a close eye on Albert.”

Max blinks and looks pale. And with that, she walks back to the other side of the cabin. 

---

JULIA: “No, Michela and I aren’t enemies- but we aren’t allies, either. That makes her fair game. I want Patrick gone, and if that means I have to pick off the only player that’s keeping that team together- so be it,”

---

[robotstrategy]

Recalled • Part 5 • 34 - Roland and Nero

Previous • Series Masterlist • Part 5 Masterlist • Next

The air is cool today as Roland sits at a bus stop waiting for the city bus to come pick him up. Never in a million years would he have expected that him running away at 17 would lead to him going to a flight academy at 19 years old. Hearing footsteps, he shifts his attention to his right, seeing Nero approaching. She’s got a box in her hand as well as a backpack and suitcase.

“Hi, worm.” She teases.

“Hola pendeja.” He snaps back.

“Choosing violence today?”

“Verbal violence really, and I think you started it.”

“I did, didn't I?” She ducks herself into the shelter of the bus stop. Sitting down with him, she gives him the box in her hand.

“What’s this?”

“A present from the StaHo.” She air quotes.

Roland opens the box, inside is a white mask with a blue square in the middle, above the square is the word ‘MODIFIED’.

He looks at Nero. “This is a joke right?”

“No, you’ll have to wear that if you ever go outside of the United States.”

“So I’ll be branded basically?”

“Hey!” Nero pulls out her own mask and puts it on, the word ‘HOSTILE’ is printed on it. “Mine looks worse.” 

Roland leans away from her, as soon as she puts the mask on it’s like her feelings become completely unreadable. Roland doesn’t like it when he doesn’t understand the feelings of those around him, it makes the situation harder to control.

“Why?” The asks. 

“Starkey, that’s why.” She removes the mask. “I’ve already been almost pepper sprayed for just existing, I can’t imagine what bad luck these masks will bring,” She looks back over at Roland’s mask. “At least in your case, no one will be threatened by you. Modified Recalls are considered the most docile.”

“What if I want to be a little threatening?”

“You don’t, outside of the U.S. some people will still consider you unwindable, if they can come up with your old paperwork they’ll make any excuse to get their hands on you.”

“And what about you?”

“I’m like recycled paper, you can’t exactly recycle it again.”

“Huh.”

The bus soon arrives and they both get on, after finding two seats midway through the bus they sit down, clutching onto their luggage.

“I noticed something earlier, you spoke to me in Spanish,” Nero remarks.

“Yeah, turns out my mom was speaking with her mother-in-law, I guess half of my family is Spanish,” Roland explains.

“You guess?”

“I know.”

“So, by proxy, you’re half…..?”

“Spaniard, I think I used to speak Spanish, but Mr. Taggart got rid of that in the same way he always does.”

Nero takes a moment to speak. “Belt?”

“Belt, I’m guessing, the fact that I couldn’t even remember half of my family was Spanish means that the correction was made a long time ago. He could’ve used something else at the time.”

Nero gives a sympathetic look. “Probably just an older belt.”

“Yeah, you’re right, who am I kidding.”

It takes about thirty minutes to get to the campus, turns out the academy was built into an on-site co-op building for a community college. ‘Makes sense.’ Roland thinks he had wondered why a three-month-long program was offering residency.

“I suppose we go into that building.” Nero points to a building, on the side of it in big text is ‘South Campus’. 

They both head up to the building and get checked in, it looks like Nero will be on the third floor while Roland will be on the second.

“I guess no late-night chatting,” Nero comments.

“I feel like you’d find an unconventional way to get into my dorm,” Roland replies. 

“I probably would.”

Arriving in his dorm a mousy boy is exiting the room to the left, he looks up at Roland and pauses.

“What?” Roland asks. 

The boy scowls. “I bet someone like you gets a lot of women.”

“No I… I don’t.” 

“Sure you don’t, someone as attractive as you is bound to get females.”

“Uhh…”

The boy goes back into his room, there’s a waft of pungent wind that exits as he slams the door. Trying not to vomit, Roland goes into the room to the right, he looks around, there’s a lifted mattress, a desk, and a clothing rack. Roland sets his stuff down and starts unpacking it, he stares at an outlet on the bare wall across from his bed, he wonders if the residential administration will let him plug in a wallflower.

A few girls are chatting in the hallway as she climbs to the third floor. They look at her funny as she passes through the girls-only section. Almost going all the way down the hall she stops at a room just before the second stairwell, at least she knows which one to use next time she comes to her dorm. Opening the door she’s met with a guy listening to music while downing a protein shake. He looks at her, and he’s amazed.

“Holy Hell! Nice muscles!” 

Nero is taken aback. “Oh, thank you.”

“How’d you get all like that? I don’t mean this to sound rude, but you are a girl, right?”

Nero squints her eyes a little, analyzing the guy. Not everyone takes lightly knowing that Nero doesn’t consider herself one person, she supposes not even the people who seemed like they were in support of her took lightly to that knowledge. She decides that, for now, she is just a woman made of many parts. 

“I was just made like this, it’s just about maintaining it.” She declares.

“Well, colour me impressed.”

Nero rolls her luggage to the empty room when the guy talks again. 

“I was just about to go down to the gym, would you like to join me?”

Nero pauses for a moment, she does have her workout clothes on her, and her water bottle; she looks back up at the guy. 

“You got fuel?”

The guy smiles and puts his finger up, he goes to search the mini pantry, pulling out a protein bar. “This good enough?”

“Yeah, I could get in a few reps with that.”

She and the guy, who she now knows as Carter, sit on a bench doing curls. Nero looks around the gym, there doesn’t seem to be many people.

“That’s Judy over there, she’s in her second year at college. I like being her hype man every so often.” Carter points to a bigger woman doing squats.

“Then there’s Trevor, he’s been here for a week in advance for the pilot Academy, I think you two would be in the same class.” He points to the shirtless guy using the butterfly machine. “I think he's a showoff, but I won’t tell him, if he leaves it’ll make it more awkward between Judy and I.”

“Not many people use this facility huh?”

“Oh, no people use it a lot on the weekdays, it’s just empty ‘cause it’s a Sunday.”

“Ah, good, this place isn’t going to waste.”

Crickets are chirping outside when Roland gets a notification from Nero.

How’s your day been? She had texted. 

Terrible I’ve been roomed with an Incel, he seems to think I’m a fuckboy.

Oh no :(

I’m going to ask if I can plug in a wallflower. His room reeks so badly!

Nasty!!!

I know! How are u

I’ve got a gym rat for a roommate, he’s cool tho

Nice!

Roland steps over and flops onto his bed, he feels blessed that the pungent air hasn’t made its way into his room yet. If he can’t get something to plug in, he’ll want to change rooms as soon as possible.